Long Game 74: You Want It Darker

[Stick. she/her]

7 minutes ago, Devotary of Spontaneity said:

Sadly, or rather fortunately, Fifth's ability only works on villagers. My Seeker ability only works on elims, and we're only pretty sure that the 'random' ability it confers is always bronze. I'm going to give it one more try tonight.

That doesn’t sound right at all 

also since you’re also now answering questions, why aren’t we seeing the Aftermath right now? Why this night turn?  

[Araris Valerian he/him]

"I get this nagging feeling that people think I'm a Spiked. Come on, all I did was whack someone with my rolling pin, and he definitely deserved it. Besides, the Spiked and the Koloss aren't real anyways, so how would I be one? I'm just trying to keep some of the sensible folk left in this town alive."

[Stick. she/her]

5 minutes ago, Illwei said:

That awkward moment when the only people talking in thread are the Elims + Elandera

EDIT:

Wait. And me.

Wait what about me  

[Fifth Scholar he/him]

1 minute ago, _Stick_ said:

also since you’re also now answering questions, why aren’t we seeing the Aftermath right now? Why this night turn?  

Bold of you to have assumed we had an eight-person team. Y'all still outnumber us. For now  

[Stick. she/her]

1 minute ago, Fifth Scholar said:

Bold of you to have assumed we had an eight-person team. Y'all still outnumber us. For now  

But with the NK it’s gonna be at parity  

wait do you guys win at parity or outnumbering?

[STINK he/him]

I'm realising the errors in my PM ways

[Illwei]

Just now, _Stick_ said:

Wait what about me  

I donno about that one, chief

2 minutes ago, _Stick_ said:

why aren’t we seeing the Aftermath right now?

Speaking of Aftermaths, it's almost been a year since MR41 lol...:P.

[Fifth Scholar he/him]

Just now, Illwei said:

I donno about that one, chief

Speaking of Aftermaths, it's almost been a year since MR41 lol...:P.

cries in perfectionism (I should just get on that, sigh)

4 minutes ago, STINK said:

I'm realising the errors in my PM ways

We might have lied to you, no need to lie to yourself  

5 minutes ago, _Stick_ said:

But with the NK it’s gonna be at parity  

[Devotary of Spontaneity]

13 minutes ago, _Stick_ said:

also since you’re also now answering questions, why aren’t we seeing the Aftermath right now? Why this night turn?

Apparently when the Mistborn dies, some other villager becomes the Mistborn and might be able to Lurch the kill target.

[Elandera she/her]

You know, I should have known Maill was an elim. 

@Fifth Scholar, how much did you laugh when you found out I was a thug?

[Illwei]

inb4 Elandera is actually the last vote maniper trying to stay alive

[Fifth Scholar he/him]

3 minutes ago, Elandera said:

You know, I should have known Maill was an elim. 

@Fifth Scholar, how much did you laugh when you found out I was a thug?

Considerably; I both prophesied it in our doc and then cracked up over it when Devotary's scan came back  

[STINK he/him]

16 minutes ago, Fifth Scholar said:

We might have lied to you, no need to lie to yourself

is anyone else in the group village or is the whole thing just one big joke 

[Elandera she/her]

I'm village. I think.

I'm starting to feel as crazy as my character. 

[Kasimir he/him]

9 minutes ago, STINK said:

is anyone else in the group village or is the whole thing just one big joke 

Does the GM PC count? I can promise hand-to-heart that Kast is completely innocent and 100% Village

Also, pre-emptive GM clarification as I notice some confusion here and among the Spiked:

Technically, the Spiked wincon is to outnumber the Village, while the Village wincon is to eliminate all the Spiked. At this point however, I will call the game the moment the Village no longer has a chance to vote out the Spiked at the lynch and otherwise remove them from the game.

[Stick. she/her]

37 minutes ago, Illwei said:

I donno about that one, chief

:feelsbadman:

31 minutes ago, Devotary of Spontaneity said:

Apparently when the Mistborn dies, some other villager becomes the Mistborn and might be able to Lurch the kill target.

hmm that checks out 

19 minutes ago, STINK said:

is anyone else in the group village or is the whole thing just one big joke 

illwei I guess

7 minutes ago, Kasimir said:

Does the GM PC count? I can promise hand-to-heart that Kast is completely innocent and 100% Village

Also, pre-emptive GM clarification as I notice some confusion here and among the Spiked:

Technically, the Spiked wincon is to outnumber the Village, while the Village wincon is to eliminate all the Spiked. At this point however, I will call the game the moment the Village no longer has a chance to vote out the Spiked at the lynch and otherwise remove them from the game.

alright thankss

@ village lurcher other than Bard rip, if you exist, please PM me! We can work something out - the fact that the game isn't over yet is good news! 

[Ashbringer he/him]

Derrick lowered his arms.

He'd failed.

In more ways then one, a rue voice resounded in his head. The more familiar one. The more friendly.

Shut up, Derrick, Derrick resounded back.

You still planning on playing this charade? There's barely more than the Lifeline tying us together. You know that. Listen to yourself. You don't even sound mad anymore. Just... angry. At me, yourself, your own inability to get people to listen to you? You knew they wouldn't. You knew it wouldn't have made a difference anyway.

Derrick shuddered. Asserting himself. Both of himselves. He would give Derrick one more night. The experiment may have been a failure, along with essentially everything he'd done in this blasted town. He didn't even get any takers for waffles; everyone'd been too busy watching a Mistborn face a beatdown. But that didn't mean he had to give up just yet. What could he do. He was fairly certain that the Spiked wouldn't come for him this night; they wouldn't be able to tell his scrambled signature from that of someone under a Coppercloud, and they likely had more vulnerable individuals they could find. Even if they did, they couldn't hurt him. Not really.

Can't they? a sibilant voice muttered.

"Shut up," Derrick muttered. What to do. The Spiked would reign. He was the only Immortal left in Fallion's Tears. Roko's iteration was dead, although Derrick had concealed the orb where it would be able to find it again. Philico was gone; Derrick wasn't sure if he kept any eyes and ears in the village, but it wouldn't have mattered. Philico wouldn't come back. Any fighters in town? Wyl and Kast were survivors; perhaps they would be able to escape. Could Kast fly with his Allomancy? Would he have the chance? Who else was left? Tesse Mourn was out there, somewhere. Something nagged him about that. Everyone else was dead unless there was something even the Overseer didn't know. 

Besides, that was neglecting the obvious. None of those three would ever trust Derrick again. His hand hadn't struck the final blow, but he'd stood still, even cheered Marll on as Roko bled out. 

So. Derrick would be the only survivor of Fallion's Tears. The only one left without a Spike rotting their mind.

Now, there. That isn't true, the voice whispered again. You're just as corrupt as the lot of my children.

Derrick snapped. Or, rather, the other Derrick snapped, taking command. Burning nicrosil. Stoking the Progression. Flicking out a wrist and starting to count heartbeats. He wouldn't actually summon the thing, not here, not now, but it was the process that mattered. It Connected him to Honor, just as the Lifeline did to the Overseer. Progression to Cultivation. Nicrosil to Preservation. He even attuned the Shadowblaze and the fragment of the One Power for rust's sake, trailing threads that stretched far beyond the bounds of space. Not for the first time he wished he'd brought his good bones. Even Dominion would be welcome.

Any ounce of power that wasn't his.

"SHUT UP! SHUT! UP!" Derrick roared. He didn't care who was listening. No one would be around to  "I'm beyond your reach! I will not be your slave! Not again! Not ever!"

Perhaps, said Ruin.

The Shard laughed. That laugh had been locked in Derrick's mind since he'd gotten into this town. When he'd realized that this was the golden age of Hemalurgy, and that Ruin was alive and well. And perfectly willing to send thoughts to any powered madman he could see.

But perhaps not. You have many more of these spikes than I normally need to sink in to your kind. And yet... your Overseer? A Shard, by the way you address them. They are protecting you... my gifts are no longer mine. From an Inquisitor to a simple madman, bearing thoughts but not actions. Intriguing. But it is no matter. It will all... end.

That was Derrick's last bastion. The Overseer had nothing to really fear from Ruin, not alone. But such a powerful entity learning his name, his purpose... he had been ordered not to let it happen.

Like you were ordered to help save this town? To find the element hidden here? One is long gone, the other is going. And you helped it happen.

Derrick burned with rage. But he had to be cautious. Not think what he knew. No. 

"I'm still beyond your reach."

But not the reach of the Spiked. You think I haven't told them about you? No, they're watching you. And they know what to do if you start... breaking the rules.

Derrick finally wrested his mind back from Derrick. He began walking, turning his back on Ruin's voice. Trying desperately to ignore it, to let the whisperings fade into his subconscious. He could repair his mind when this was over. He couldn't repair what he could do if he broke. He'd been so close. He'd put so much together. Only to watch it fall apart. 

Such is life, Ruin said. Derrick found himself nodding. Realizing something. 

"Sometimes it's more merciful to try and hold on, to save whatever you can."

And sometimes it's more merciful to let it go. Even help it along.

Derrick nodded, halfheartedly. "I suppose. The trick is to know which is which."

That was the only way. The equation had collapsed. This town was going to end. The world... it would be spared a while longer. Derrick could only make things worse, now. Talking with Ruin would be dangerous. And... Fallion's Tears would meet its fate. There was nothing he could do.

You're not just saying this to make me feel better, are you? Ruin said.

Derrick cracked a grin. Perhaps he wasn't locked in his mind with Ruin after all. Perhaps the Shard was locked in there with him.

It didn't matter much either way. Either he 'fell' with a knife to the back, or someone else would, and Fallion's Tears would fall to tears either way. Nothing he could do would change that, not without irreparable consequences. So, Derrick took the choice. He took a shaky step, then another, down to the corner of the bloodstained square. No sense in paying Arenta for a night in a warm bed. He simply collapsed in an ash heap, facing the horizon.

And waited for the sun to rise.

[Mailliw73 he/him]

2 hours ago, Elandera said:

I... Uh.

I feel so pocketed.

You're telling me?! Fifth PMd me and laid out some solid reasoning on Connie/Tani being an evil mistborn, and I don't know if it was because I had just woken up or what, but I got super paranoid of evil!Connie mistborn just devastating the village tonight. So I switched my vote and then had all my highest suspicions +Stink and Fifth switch too... So that's fun. Clearly Fifth is now at the top of the list but it's not even suspicion anymore

2 hours ago, _Stick_ said:

Ahh right

Elim hammer was beautiful tho

edit: someone soothed a vote off Araris

Beautiful? I'm mortified that I fell for it. I'd call it despicable.

2 hours ago, Fifth Scholar said:

1. Four of them, actually, so therefore 2. yes. Your Smokers turning off their copperclouds have consequences  

I told everyone and have been for literal years that village Smokers have a purpose.

EDIT: That said, Marll's Advertising Agency is still open tonight! And he's an equal opportunity advertiser, so Fifth and Devotary and the rest of you, he'll even advertise for you.

Edited March 13, 2021 by Mailliw73

[Elandera she/her]

2 minutes ago, Mailliw73 said:

You're telling me?! 

Wait... You're not one of them? 

I guess it makes sense with Fifth saying he predicted and only learned with a Devotary scan.

[Mailliw73 he/him]

Just now, Elandera said:

Wait... You're not one of them? 

I guess it makes sense with Fifth saying he predicted and only learned with a Devotary scan.

Uh no. I've been saying that all game... 

[Stick. she/her]

Just now, Elandera said:

Wait... You're not one of them? 

I guess it makes sense with Fifth saying he predicted and only learned with a Devotary scan.

*insert suitable emoji/gif to convey my absolute confuzzlement right now*

[Mailliw73 he/him]

Storming Fifth... Well, my congratulations to you unless we figure out our one option I assume we have still to beat you. 

Any ads submitted to Marll's agency should be submitted by 10 hours before rollover for confirmation that they will be included.  Happy advertising!

[Kasimir he/him]

40 minutes ago, Mailliw73 said:

I told everyone and have been for literal years that village Smokers have a purpose.

I was Kassien Estvaril, unlamented AG2 Village Smoker, and I approve this message  

Half the Village was riding me hard that game for actually having Smoked >> The one Seeker didn't even object!

@Wyrmhero- Don't you bloody dare. You do not get to stick your oar into this one. The guy who roleclaimed Tineye to me and I think Maili N-freaking-0 does not get to have an opinion about this >>

[Wyrmhero he/him]

7 minutes ago, Kasimir said:

I was Kassien Estvaril, unlamented AG2 Village Smoker, and I approve this message  

Half the Village was riding me hard that game for actually having Smoked >> The one Seeker didn't even object!

@Wyrmhero- Don't you bloody dare. You do not get to stick your oar into this one. The guy who roleclaimed Tineye to me and I think Maili N-freaking-0 does not get to have an opinion about this >>

You and I both know that it had an important purpose.

[Kasimir he/him]

1 minute ago, Wyrmhero said:

You and I both know that it had an important purpose.

It did not. So help me God I swear I will feckin' fight ya on this Wyrmimir >:( 

Edited March 13, 2021 by Kasimir