Taupe Gecko

Extract from my post last night. Admittedly, it was partially also a gut read and my post was trying to figure out why I had it, but I try and find reasons for my suspicions so people can respond to them and defend themselves. To date, Octopus hasn't done so. If Lion flips Village, then my suspicion of Octopus would also go down a little. Good point. Let's fix that. Old Rhino was Odium's pet, Which made others so very upset. They were tossed off the tower, With words really quite sour, And they've still not reached bottom just yet.

Well, I was going to announce that after this post, it would be questionable how much I'd be able to get on until the very end of the discussion, so I'm glad the lynch isn't going to be an especially controversial pick this cycle (Rhino). That being said, we should probably talk about who our next in line candidates for lynching are once Rhino's out of the way. I'd again say Lion, based on my previous posts, and then beyond that it would possibly be Octopus. I'm kind of disappointed that no Dustbringers finished Lion off, tbh, since it would have given us a good deal more information to work from. Still, with 3 Elims down, that's plenty of associations and votes to go off of to try and narrow it down, anyway. I would not classify Albatross as a confirmed villager, though. If someone else told Albatross that they also scanned Rhino, then it's quite possible their hand was forced in revealing Rhino's flip to the thread or else show that they and Rhino are in cahoots together. I'm not sure I completely got why they were the leading candidate besides Lion last cycle, but it's something that I want to analyse more closely whenever I next have more time.

Barring secret roles, the only ability that could have protected Lion was Elsecaller, which means it's now burned out, so I'm in favor of a Dustbringer finishing them off tonight (all the reasons we have to be suspicous of them are still valid, plus plenty of new ones with him not dying to the lynch or announcing that he would survive), so we don't waste another lynch on a candidate that wouldn't net more information or discussion than has already been produced. From the point Falcon placed the first vote on Lion, every single subsequent vote was on Lion, except for Vulture, who voted on Rhino. If Lion is Village, then that might be because the Elims bandwagonned onto Lion to save a teammate. I'd suspect Albatross, with lesser suspicious reads on Octopus and Vulture. If Lion is an Elim, then presumably they were either not active towards the end of the cycle, or decided it was better to let the lynch go through than to publicly defend Lion too much. This is harder, but I'd obviously put a strong trust on Falcon, and a slight suspicion on Octopus, who tried to cast suspicion on Falcon without ever tying themselves to Lion too closely, which is fairly consistent with how I'm expecting the Elim team to behave right now. (I say slight because the timeline doesn't exactly match up the way I expect it too, since Octopus first expresses suspicion of Falcon before Falcon votes on Lion, and then is the third vote on Lion, tying them with Albatross, which is slightly earlier than I'd expect an Elim to bus a colleague.)

OK, so I don't like either of Toucan or Iguana as candidates. Iguana voting on Zebra as a distancing tactic doesn't seem like that great of a strategy since Iguana broke the tie, so they could have easily just voted on someone else and had an extra Elim buddy instead without much more immediate suspicion on them (in fact, judging from this cycle, probably less). Toucan seems to be a more disengaged candidate who's not as analysis-heavy as other players, and doesn't have any interest in being - from what I've seen, whenever players are lynched over playstyle differences they've usually been village because the Elims genuinely try to blend in, whereas villagers generally feel free-er to experiment with more different playstyles. Also, the meta goes back and forth on this, first with Jain, then later with Stink, but I personally find lynching based off playstyle a pretty cremmy thing to do - we're here to have fun, and dictating to others how they should play only diminishes that. There's also the fact that they're inactive, which is a more justifiable reason to try and lynch them, IMO, but they've provided an explanation for why, and a timeframe after which they should be more active, which is good enough for me. Even if they hadn't, if the theory of everyone (or almost everyone) being Dustbringers is right, we can expect 2-3 Dustbringer kills a night, and I'd rather those go towards purging the inactives instead, because lynching based off of inactivity nets very little information for the village. I'm going to second Falcon's vote on Opal Lion - I also thought they were being a little vague and noncommital with some of their posts, and having another person say it as well makes me think it's probably not just in my head. Admittedly, I can see why they might be struggling to find something to say - I haven't really found many leads to be suspicious of either, but there was something about their posts that seemed like they were never really trying that hard and just wanted to sneak under the radar without saying anything that put them too firmly in one camp or another. I'm still not sure how I feel about Falcon themself, but I've generally agreed with the vast majority of their analysis up to this point - if they are an Eliminator, then a) I have terrible reads, and b ) Falcon is doing a great job of pocketing me, seemingly without even intending to. Overall, I'm inclined to trust them, but with a healthy dose of paranoia. A couple of people have PM'ed me and I haven't responded yet - my apologies, I've been busy and tired - I promised myself I'd post something in thread before I went to bed, but I'm tired and going through my PM's to answer all of them individually is too much to ask of me right now, at least if you want a semi-coherent reply. I pinky swear I'll get back to y'all soon (and that goes for anyone else that decides to PM me this Day Cycle as well). Also, hopefully more RP, with these new revelations - I won't say whether my role is a Worldhopper, because too many people have claimed already, IMO, but Brana as a character certainly is, and it will be fun to be a little more overt about that fact.

My apologies for not being more active today, Christmas season and various social things have kept me from participating as much as I'd like. I should be more active from hereon out, especially after New Years. Brana - Roshar - Jesachev 1172 I sat, staring numbly at the wall. I'd known about the murder of Naihir, but it had seemed... distant, somehow - awful things happening to people I didn't know and wouldn't be affected by. Surely it wouldn't affect me. I was just a Scholar, interning under Lady Jasnah. These murders, they were a problem for other people, for the new Radiants - the larger-than-life heroes that people told stories about. A pool of blood, congealing slightly around the young man's throat. In the background, the sounds of the city carried on unheeding, as though everything were normal, as though a dead body was just another one of the sights of Urithiru. Stormfather, I've only been here a few days and there's been two murders and a lynching. Maybe that's how things are around here. One moment, you're walking around, going to the shops, meeting with friends. The next... There's a slight thickness to the air, an acrid taint with a slightly metallic aroma. Rotspren were starting to pop up near the body, eager to prey on their free meal. Shockspren follow soon after - I think for a moment that they must be summoned by the man's sudden surprise at dying, before I realise the shock is my own. I tried reading a little more of The Realms of Existence and their interactions, but I wasn't able to focus on the words. Sitting and dwelling clearly wasn't doing me any good, so, reluctantly, I grabbed my coat and walked outside, eager for my feet to take me somewhere, anywhere, away from here. This whole thing was a mistake. I turned a corner, and in the moments it takes for my eyes to adjust to the shadow I swear I see another body, stacked up against the wall, knife plunged into their chest. Then the shadows faded, and the tricks of my eyes faded with it. I saw a swinging sign for "The Storm's Reprieve" - a tavern. Who knows, some strong alcohol would probably do some good. And maybe, if I was lucky, I could keep an ear to the ground and find out who committed the murders, and how to prevent any more. Taking a deep breath, I grabbed the door and swung it open. OK, so that was lucky. I agree with Falcon's analysis on the lynch, with a hint of paranoia - Certainly, Penguin and Iguana are the strongest trust reads right now, though I wouldn't go so far as to call them cleared - it's possible they decided they'd sacrifice an inactive teammate for a trust read, especially if they weren't aware of Zebra's role. That's unlikely, though, and I'd rather look at basically anyone else for the lynch first before coming back to them. This is the point I really want to point someone out to look at in particular, but no-one especially jumps out as suspicious to me as suspicious, unfortunately. The other player I want to keep alive at this stage is Falcon - not necessarily because I trust them - I think most of their posts are NAI - but because they're providing good analysis and are encouraging activity. Also preferably Swan and Axolotl, entirely because I find their RP funny. I think the only player who hasn't posted yet would be Flamingo - ideally, I'd like to encourage activity, so I wouldn't be opposed to lynching Flamingo, but I think there are many more people who have posted once or twice to show they exist, but with almost entirely RP content and generally flying below the radar in terms of how they're percieved. In particular, I'd like to hear more from Vulture, Heron, Gecko (oh wait, that's me, isn't it... ), and Kangaroo. By the way, does anyone have any idea if we're allowed to change the time zone settings on this account, and how to do that if we are? I'm trying to keep track when things happen in my local time (the natural way of thinking about when things happen for me), Fifth time (when things happen relative to when rollovers occur), and whatever time this account is set to (what the time is recorded as when I look up when a post was made), which I'm pretty sure is neither of those, and it's bugging me more than it really should.

Brana - Roshar - Jesachev 1172 I skimmed through the paper I was reading, On the Nahel Bond, and its form in the Cognitive Realm, slightly bored - leave it to a scholar to take an interesting topic and bury it under so much jargon that it becomes impossible to read. I looked up from my book, to see someone passing by. Was that... "Lady Jasnah!" I called out. Lady Jasnah looked back over at me, with an impatient look on her face. I stopped. "I just wanted to say, I'm really glad to be studying with you, and I'm looking forward to working with you to investigate the mysteries of the Knights Radiant." Jasnah gave me a blank look. "You're one of the new interns?" I nodded eagerly. "I was really excited when I got the news - this is always something I've wanted to do, and..." I cut of seeing Jasnah's distracted expression. "Anyway, I won't let you down." "Well, Brana. Welcome to the group." She nodded to me, politely but curtly, and strode off, at a slightly faster pace than before. That went quite well, Brana thought. She returned to reading the paper, energy renewed.

This RP will span the past cycle, starting with Night 4. N4~ Gilgamesh stood before the cavern that held this world's singularity. Much had happened in the previous days. He had made new friends, ones even stronger than he was, only to see one of them brutally executed by those who feared their power, or would steal it for themselves. He had learned the language of this worlds wizards, the "worldhoppers" who told them of the "singularities," the gateways between worlds, and of "shards," this worlds gods. He had been told his friend was one of them. And they had killed him for it, despite the fact that he had done nothing but good. What impudence. Gilgamesh could practically smell the malevolence of those who had killed him on Silverlight all the way from Scadrial. He was done gathering power, done waiting for things to happen: Now it was time to act. Gilgamesh looked into the cave that he had first appeared in front of. It would take far more energy to pierce this gateway than it had to enter the one in Silverlight; that one had been condensed purely for the purpose of entering Scadrial; this singularity was untamed, and would require much of the power Gilgamesh had gained to transverse. Gilgamesh steadied himself, drawing from the many metal minds he had collected during his stay on Scadrial. He tapped strength, allowing the density of his muscles to increase tenfold. Investiture, as he had been told it was called, swirled around his arms as he gathered the strength and speed he had stored over the past days. He flexed, testing his power. He would have to concentrate it in order to make it through this singularity. He calmed himself, letting power flow through his body. He entered a stance, stepped quickly forwards, and punched through the singularity. Investiture condensed rapidly, and swirled as reality folded around Gilgamesh's fist. He felt himself being swept through the singularity, and into the Cognitive Realm. ~~~ Later that night... Gilgamesh stalked the now nearly empty streets of Silverlight. He had spent several hours searching for the one who he believed had been directing the execution of his friend. His friend, the man they had executed, had been a quiet type, and though it filled him with sadness, Gilgamesh had never learned his name. Still, the man had taught Gilgamesh much about the Cosmere in the time they had known each other, and when they had sparred, Gilgamesh had been forced to bow to his superior strength. Gilgamesh thought there was good in him, and his death had been unjust. The man had found Gilgamesh hiding on Scadrial, given him the fight that he had wanted, beaten him, and yet still stayed to teach him. Such a man deserved a better death than a public execution. He had fought Odium's influence to the bitter end. Now, Gilgamesh hunted. He was looking for the worldhopper who had coerced many others into testifying to his friend's guilt; the worldhopper who had gotten his friend executed. Vioax. Gilgamesh had followed the scent of his friend's power - which had been stolen from his body as he lay dying - to the streets of Silverlight. And now he saw her. Vioax. She stood among other world hoppers, talking and laughing. "VIOAX!" Gilgamesh roared, tapping his metal minds for a moment and letting his muscles swell as he walked towards her. "You've been avoiding me! Now tell me..." Gilgamesh stopped as he saw Odium's power swirling around Vioax. She tried to hide it, but it was as clear to Gilgamesh as the night sky. "I'd like to know what you've done with Odium." Gilgamesh said, gathering his strength for a fight. When his friend had held this power, it had been an unstoppable force. But now, in this woman's hands, it's power was nowhere near as unstoppable a force as Gilgamesh's rage at the injustice that had been done to his friend. "I don't know what you're talking about." Vioax said, looking around nervously. "I only thought that man was dangerous! I had no idea he had Odium." Gilgamesh glared at her, towering over her now. "Lies." Gilgamesh whispered. "I know you have Odium. I can feel it's hatred corrupting you." Vioax's eyes flashed, and Gilgamesh saw the power condensing around her. What could she be doing? Perhaps she was preparing for an attack. Gilgamesh readied himself, tapping mental and physical speed. The world around him slowed. Yet Vioax did not attack. Instead, Gilgamesh watched as a spren manifested next to Vioax, it's vines wrapping around her. And he roared in frustration as, with a CRACK, Vioax disappeared from Silverlight. Gilgamesh didn't have anywhere near the power to cross between realms right now, and by the time he got to a singularity, Vioax would be gone. Gilgamesh steadied himself. The others had seen. They would know that Vioax was hiding something. Fine. He would play her game. He would spread the word of her treachery, and soon enough, he would see her executed for her crimes. Soon. D5 RP to come.

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH! I was right. K I'm done even playing now lol. Back to RP for me. I'll try to get some up as soon as I can.

If he took Hoid last cycle, how could he not have Odium on him? If he does turn out to be Hoid, then he's likely not a benevolent party since he's been hiding it. I actually don't know or really care whether he killed Khriss or not. The only thing I need to know to have a whole bunch of my own questions answered, whether I revealed them in the thread or not, is his role and his faction. Besides, I don't have good reason not to kill him, and as I've shown before he's simply the best lynch option.

Mmk. Well I'm done attacking you for now. I would kinda feel weird if I kept doing it and if I haven't made my point by now then what is even the point of me.

Fair enough. Just don't accuse me of not trying to communicate. It's not like I haven't tried; I tried through the only means available to me. So what you're saying is you're a wildcard who's willing to work with anyone to get what they want? I'm kidding, of course. Fair enough. I'd ask again, however, how you know what faction either of them are in.

...Alright perhaps I didn't quite think that one through. Feel a bit silly now. I mean, it's possible I guess, but you're basically right that in a normal game you have to lie as an Elim. But that's normal. ...Ax, we're literally in a PM together. I definitely discussed things with you outside of the thread, with no threats. After you said you didn't know what I was talking about as far as secret roles and Odium go, I backed off and literally asked you to explain how you had extra actions. You refused to explain! Sure, I choose to think your dangerous, because if you were benevolent, you'd have explained that already. Seriously, only dangerous people have something to hide. ...Do you know something I don't? How do you know if either Pearl or Magenta are in either of those factions? And you seem to be missing that people seem to be allying against you, not for any other reason.

...Sorry to interrupt this weird and hilarious derailment, but I've gotta make another post attacking Axolotl. Either not having a shard or not having a secret role. Possibly not having Odium? I don't know what to believe of what you've said at this point. Idk who else could possibly have stolen Odium besides you Axolotl. And I have no reason to believe anything you say because you've been keeping secrets and lying all game. There's no way you don't have a shard, and don't have a secret role. Bold mine. GAH. No, no no no no no. It's not. I've made it through loads of games with out lying. Hyperbole? Sure. Exaggeration? Sure. Deception? Of course! But that's just tricking people, using the truth to get their own minds to make connections that simply aren't there. It's even possible to make it through a game being totally honest, without using any deception. This game, I'll admit I've tricked a few people. But I'm fairly confident I haven't lied once in this game. This attitude only makes me more sure that you've been lying to us. Finally, I can't reiterate enough that no matter what you think of Axolotl, their role, or whether or not they're dangerous, they are still the best lynch option. There's simply no other viable option on the table. Yes, Axolotl is likely dangerous, yes they probably have a secret role, and yes they're probably lying about it. But even if you don't believe any of that, Axolotl is still the most viable lynch solely on the possibility that these things might be true. Even on the information we gain alone from lynching them, they outweigh everyone else on the table. So I urge you to vote negative in this round - Oops debate years coming back to haunt me. *shudders* Vote Axolotl for lynch.

Wait, then who killed Salmon? I am confused.

-sigh- From what I've heard, Penguin thinks that the IRE are in this game for some flavor reasons about stealing shards, and that they stole Odium, and that Axolotl isn't in the IRE. Idk what their reasoning is beyond that, because I'm just getting bits and pieces from the PM's I'm in, but that seems to be the gist of it. So basically, a series of conjectures. *cries* Also I seem to have fallen off the RP wagon. I'll try and do some more tomorrow if I have time. edit: Ninja'd by Axolotl. So, basically, because Penguin voted on you, (and then took it off) and weasel voted for you, the two factions are aligned and trying to kill you? You're suspicious beyond what one faction thinks of you, and you claimed the ability to survive the lynch. I'm frankly not surprised Ruin targeted you. Suspicious people get targeted lol.

Do you know something I don't? Why would you say they're allied?

This looks like you grasping at straws to try and protect Axolotl. Not the first time either, looking back at the thread. Plus Axolotl tried to protect you as well, in the lynch with Opal Lion. Worth noting, I guess. At any rate, I'd still rather lynch Axolotl than Pearl. The big thing here for me is, I've got reasons to lynch Axolotl. In the very least I'll see their role and faction. That should be more than enough to gain the info I'm looking for, and to me is more info than I'll get anywhere else. What? We'll see their role, their faction, and we'll see whether or not I was right about them being a secret role. Their lack of forthcomingness about their role, and their avoidance of the repeated questions about it makes me sincerely doubt that it's a benevolent role. Better safe than sorry, as has been said before. Do you know something I don't? Because as far as I know I only see one secret role. Sure, it's likely that there's a Nazh counterpart for the Khriss role, but we simply don't know who that is. The only obvious possibility this far is Axolotl, who has repeatedly claimed to not have a secret role or a shard, against all probability, without offering alternatives. I have no recourse but to assume they're lying. I don't really get your reasoning. I feel like a possible shard stealer is slightly more dangerous than Chameleon, who has done almost nothing. Frankly, I worry slightly about all the opposition to an Axolotl lynch. Most people should be willing to kill this person; he's simply the most obvious threat. He's an unknown, with the potential to be an unknown with killing power who targets shards. It concerns me slightly that people aren't at least worried enough to kill him.

I leave town for a cycle and everything happens. O.o I personally feel like we've got good reason to lynch Axolotl. I think that this lynch will honestly provide us with a lot of information, and I'm worried enough about Axolotl's role to want them dead. Weasel, maybe a good lynch, but we're never sure they'll die, and honestly they've wasted a lot of our time. Idk about them spreading around information, and honestly that's not all that surprising, but despite all the weird things that Weasel has done, I honestly don't think that they're a threat to anyone's win-cons at this point. Iguana, I don't really know what's going on there but it looks like it's died down at this point. Axolotl on the other hand is a wildcard. They could be Hoid, I guess, and there are a few other options, but it matters less to me what there role is at this point than the dangers it presents. Yes. There are exactly two, aside from being a Shard, which you have claimed not to be. I asked Seonid to explain them to me pretty early on, since I was wondering how many actions I would be able to take, as a Worldhopper. The first option, an investment from Cultivation, is one that I doubt applies to you. The second, a Returned action to give you two extra actions, is null because there were no returned at that point. So there's still no explanation for your abilities. At this point, it really matters less to me what your role is, and more that you seem to have apparently inexplicable abilities which you've refused to expound upon. If you'd explained when asked before, I might have been a little less suspicious, but your refusal to explain what's going on only compounds my suspicion of you. Additionally, even if I'm wrong about you having a secret role, and somehow there is a natural explanation for your actions, you've refused to give it. In the very least your lynch would clear the air, and I could have my suspicions confirmed or negated. And finally, there's no one else I'd rather lynch. Joe you troll. Why you do this to us.

Well a Weasel vote seems pointless at this point. Whatever. I actually agree with Mauve on most of the things they've said, for what it's worth. I personally like working alone, because I see no reason for my opponents not to backstab me after they get what they want from my faction. Honor is all very well and good for the truly honorable, but for the traitorous it's cheap. And that's kind of the point of this sort of game; betrayal is fun. I've been backstabbed too many times. Besides, as a truly honorable person, I'd rather not be tempted to go back on my word by a true alliance. Not to say I'm not willing to work with others in this particular game. Like I've said earlier, I'm mostly following Gilgamesh around for this one, as long as I can keep finding the time to RP consistently. So if anyone wants to contact or work with me, I'm pretty happy to work with you, as my goal for this game is mostly to survive long enough to have some fun RPing. As far as the lynch goes, Mauve honestly seems like the best option, but I like what they're saying. So I'll vote for Dingo, I guess. Hope it takes off. There's nothing really wrong with what Mauve is saying, and honestly for the more competitive of us, it really resonates. At any rate, even if you don't like it, it's probably not worth lynching over. (Sorry Dingo. I'd just rather lynch you than any of the other options.)

Ahaha. This is why I shouldn't write posts while I'm tired. I don't really even know what I was trying to say there. It's weird because I'm more focused on doing things with Gilgamesh than anything else, so I'm actually pretty happy with how things are going. Lol. Well I guess I can't argue with that. Yeah. Honestly I'm probably being too aggressive, all things considered. You're probably fine. A little aggressive is pretty normal for someone under the threat of lynch, anyway, and I shouldn't post while tired. I still want you dead tho. I suppose I'm just as guilty of fabricating reasons for a lynch as anyone else is, though. In the end it just comes down to you not being from my faction, and not having lost a faction-member yet.

Gilgamesh sat in a tent several miles from the city, which he had learned was called Elendel. He had bought some basic camping gear with his remaining "boxings," and set up camp in the hills outside Elendel. Now, he was in the process of testing out each of the metal minds he had purchased from the thin man. He'd made his way through most of them, and while some of them had given him useful attributes like speed or strength, or increased his weight or senses, some of them seemed to be completely useless. One of them made him overheat, while another seemed to make him feel like he'd just had a large meal. He'd noticed that metals of the same type would only give you the same sort of ability, so he had discarded many of them after finding them useless. Still another trinket, made of gold, appeared to do nothing at all. What was even more interesting was that Gilgamesh had found that he could actually store certain attributes in the trinkets as well! And for a man of his impressive physique, he could easily store a fair bit of muscle and speed while barely losing anything at all! It would be more like a workout than anything else. He could probably even store some of his weight while also storing muscle, and then later tap the weight for an extra great workout, or to lend more force to his punches. It was perfect! Gilgamesh figured he'd probably stay here a little while longer. Just to see what else happened. On a world this interesting, he was bound to meet someone strong eventually! I smell a conspiracy. I don't like it. Weasel. You've dodged the lynch one too many times. If I must, I can get behind another lynch, but I really don't like how this game has been going. Plus, I'm fairly certain no one from your faction has died yet. Also, you've so far purposely failed a lynch, gotten another Utility Company guy killed, thus disturbing the balance, and offered to give up the identity of shards both in and out of your faction just to save yourself. Really, I don't see a whole lot of reasons to keep you alive. Plus, in the very least, actually seeing you die would be a nice change of pace. If you die, we'll probably get more information than lynching Lion, who as far as I know hasn't really done a whole lot of interesting things; and we could rid of the focus on you, which is inhibiting other analysis. That's kind of interesting, seeing as you're the one who lost us the first lynch. And in many ways, tipped the scales for the second. I think the most information would come from killing you, thank you very much. Also your tone puts me off a teensy bit which may be influencing my choices.

That's an interesting perspective. I can see where you're coming from. But you have to remember: at the end of the day, this is Sanderson ELIMINATION. People gonna die. Also my competitive nature hates that idea.

I feel like a Ruin kill would have a bit more pomp and flair to it, you know? Although Penguin did write his own death scene. Idk.

Who thought you were Devotion? I was fairly certain you weren't. I kinda do feel bad about killing a talkative person though; that's the fatal flaw of this kind of reasoning. The quiet people don't get killed because no one knows about them, and no information would be gained from them, and the talkative people die. This continues until only the inactive remain. It's a brutal cycle, which is why I usually advocate inactive slaying. But that gets villages in trouble. Here, it's less of a bad thing, so I'm kind of reconsidering my view now... I'll have to think about it. Because we do have pinch-hitters. Are there any players who haven't posted yet?

...So what you're saying is, we should kill a quiet person because they'll give us more information than a talkative person. I'm afraid I'm not seeing the connection here. In my mind, a talkative person would give us more information, because their death information could be cross-referenced with more events, rather than a quiet person, who would only give us a faction name and a role, with no other information to work with.