[Town victory] Vanilla Mafia!

[HelloYellow17]

[[Gonna leave some notes since I won’t be around much before EOD come next morning.

Ok so. I’m pretty darn sure we have this game in the bag with Espy and Phan as our last scum. Please consider my notes above regarding their play style! If somehow —some-freaking-how— both of them are innocent and Clovis and Pixie turn out to be our scumteam I swear on my life I will shut myself in the nearest closet and spend the rest of my days there because ARE YOU KIDDING ME. I will eat every last one of my socks and then give up on life. Can’t even describe the emotions that that thought provokes in me, guys. 🤣😐

I think I’m just psyching myself out at this point and over-analyzing things in my brain, though. Like I said, I’m pretty confident in the direction we’re headed. So ye, let’s stick to the plan, refer to Chibi’s EOD notes, and we got this!

…and, uh, I realize I really didn’t need to type this all out because it didn’t actually say anything super insightful but I needed to cope with my wild thoughts somehow LOL. Sorry, all. 😅]]

 

[Homestar!]

[[Hey, just wanted to let you know that I've had a lot of fun despite Mike's whinging. I hope everyone is enjoying this 'down day,' and that y'all are doing well wherever you are or whatever side you're on!

See you on the other side!]]

 

[Namohysip]

Final votes:

Sparkle: 6 (Persephone, Phant, Fusion,Homestar, Yellow, Sinderella )

No vote: Espeon

--

One of the large secrets of Sparkleglimmer's success was her Voice. The voice in her head told her what to do, when to do it, and how. Of course, it was never something she would share with another living soul, and that was that. She frowned upon those who flaunted their Voices publicly, forfeiting their greatest secret at no gain to themselves.

Her Voice was different from the others. She had long figured out she was on a different team from the 'do-gooders', which suited her well. The Voice, though not the one she had grown accustomed to over all her years, instructed her accordingly. Analyze this person, kill that person. Don't let another soul know your true colors. As along as she followed what the Voice told her, she and her team could control the game.

And then it all went terribly wrong, and things spun out of control. Sparkleglimmer was never one for bad press, so she tried her best to look like she was a part of the winning team. But eventually, that became impossible. She realized she was wasting her time here, and came to a somewhat more morbid realization: there was no way to control the game.

That was a foreign feeling to her, who had spent years in control, who always needed to feel in control, who had stamped out any notion and opposition that would put her out of control. She didn't know how to feel.

She met her end silently, and the last thing she thought was that she had been foolish to think she had ever been in control of this game at all.

--

Sparkleglimmer has been eliminated. She was Mafia.

Day 7 will begin in 48 hours.

 

[Namohysip]

Wes snapped awake in an instant.

He couldn’t see much in his isolated dark void in the night, but he didn’t need sight to know they were there. The hairs rose on the back of his neck and he whipped his dagger out from under his coat.

They’d finally come for him. He knew it had been only a matter of time.

He raised his knife with a snarl. If they thought he was going to come quietly, they were going to have one hell of a time—

Or maybe…he could accept this.

He paused at the thought, then slowly lowered his blade. Things weren’t over yet, but they were close. Very close. And he’d done everything in his power to help the survivors.

For once, Wes could say he was proud of what he’d done.

But what about Neo and Novo? He even though of Rui, and of how upset she would be to find him missing. And yet…despite the ache in his chest, he knew they would be fine. Neo and Novo could live out their days peacefully in Rui’s hometown and finally get the happiness they deserved.

He wasn’t sure whether to be relieved at that, or bitter at the thought that the only thing standing between them and a peaceful life had been…him. He opted for a little bit of both.

He could have sworn he saw dark, shadowy chains reaching out for him, but it was hard to be sure of anything in this blackness. With a deep breath, Wes raised his head, squared his shoulders, and said quietly, “All right. Let’s do this.”

And with that, he walked into the dark’s waiting embrace.

--

Dry, bitter, red dust slowly drifted throughout the landscape. Withered, black trees loomed over them, several stories high and several arm's lengths in width, with twisted branches that reached for the sky with gnarled fingers.

"Goodness," Eien said, looking between them. "Only five of you remain, now... I'd like to congratulate you for getting this far. But I do not think there is much more for me to tell. Continue, then. Here you go!"

Another letter fell...

Wes has been eliminated. He was Innocent.
Night 7 will begin in 48 hours

[[Special note: if at least 75% of the players elect to end the day early, and more than 24 hours remain in the phase, and no other night-extension rules are in effect, the day will end early. In this case, 4 of the 5 players will need to agree to end the day early.]]

 

[Fusion]

Reme took in the deadly ominous atmosphere, rather disappointed, according to the look on her face. "I have either awoken into a nightmare or fell asleep in..." As she spoke, she took a head count of everyone that remained... then doubled back once to make sure. It looked like Wes had been taken in the night...

And took the remaining braincells that the Town had left with him.

"Fascinating," Reme clicked her tongue, then clapped her hands. "I assume we can all get this over with early, then. I vote Hazel(Phan)." The Gardevoir coughed, that voice still being hard on her. And what the hell was a "Phan?"

 

[Shiny Phantump]

Null had spent the last night wondering what she could do tomorrow. There was one bad person left, and she knew it wasn't her. She also trusted four other people, so... that made it the man with the coat, right?

Except... Where was he?

He... He... Oh.

This was not a good situation. This made her look worse... but it did give her some information, too.

She knew it wasn't her, it was mathematically impossible for it to be the fancy human and the annoying Vulpix. It couldn't be the Gardevoir because Anti-Bravoman was sure of it.

She wanted to give up, but this would be the last day one way or another, so that wasn't a option. [[MElO (miseliminate and lose) is normally 4 but since we have lovers it's 5 here]]

She had to keep going, then, even if she didn't stand much of a chance.

"It has to be you! The human with the nebulous brain!"

 

[Fusion]

"Nebulous makes it sound grand," Reme said, shaking her head. "His brain is more like ricotta cheese in comparison."

 

[Shiny Phantump]

"Nebulous makes it sound grand," Reme said, shaking her head. "His brain is more like ricotta cheese in comparison."

"Well, maybe not his brain, but his thoughts were very nebulous."

 

[Homestar!]

"Nebulous makes it sound grand," Reme said, shaking her head. "His brain is more like ricotta cheese in comparison."

[[Man I got that ricotta oblongata HARDCORE.

Hey y'all I have been subbing for second graders who haven't even met their real teacher this year. I am wiped.

Vote: Phan
Vote: End Day

If we really need me, please ping me to hell and back.]]

 

[Fusion]

"I'd say misguided, but that's a matter of opinion at the end of the day," Reme said, chuckling. She then turned to Mike, saying, "I'm sorry if I'm being too mean-spirited, but I couldn't not."

The Gardevoir inhaled, coughing a bit as she tasted that bitter dust. It was awful and oddly familiar. "Regardless of the cheese factory upon my friend's shoulders, unless you, Hazel, have enough to prove his misguidedness was purposeful, you will still have my vote."

 

[Sinderella]

Clovis literally could not believe he was still alive. It was unreal. He’d outed himself as a lover and managed to live it out to end. He wished he could say he was impressed, but he was truthfully kind of bitter. He could blatantly see what the scum were trying to do, and it was a dirty, dirty game.

Truthfully, it scared him.

Were the scum so confident that town wouldn’t win? That they wouldn’t just wipe out the other set of lovers and call it a day? It was ringing far too strange to him, and he wasn’t sure what else to think. But, he had to remember Ebony’s reads. They had the best outlook on things, by far.

He sighed deeply. “Placing my vote for Hazel, tentatively,” he said.

 

[Homestar!]

"I'm sorry if I'm being too mean-spirited, but I couldn't not."

"Nah, that's just how friends do," Mike coughed through the dust. He pulled his undershirt over his nose and pinched it in place.

"Well, maybe not his brain, but his thoughts were very nebulous."

"Didn't you just--" Mike caught himself, vainly dusted himself, and poorly composed himself.

"I embrace fully the guilt of nebulous thoughts and/or cheese brain," Mike spoke. "I've, uh... Well...

[[Honestly, since I punted D1 and was told I couldn't shouldn't quit on D2, I've been playing harder but also looser, if that makes sense? I've been trying to be more analytical, study more, cast wider nets, and honestly embrace my gut feelings. That also lead to long, winding, speculative posts where I tried to figure out exactly what I want to think. And then I go ahead and post them for the sake of transparency and honesty. In future games, I'm gonna keep a scratch Doc pulled up to work out my thoughts. Or maybe just go full Cheese!Head and talk to myself irl lmao.

However, I let those two facts stand self-evident for my town alignment: I punted D1 and immediately fessed up to it, and I tried to quit D2.]]

"... And in conclusion," Mike agonized several long, dry minutes later. He had finished drawing a complicated chart-table bastard child in the dust with a long stick, however, the beginning of it had long since blown away. "It's the thingie with the helmet. Not the other thingie with the helmet hair, nor the..."

Mike squinted at the Kalosian and the little canine. He couldn't come up with a quip, which alarmed him more than he expected it to.

"Nor the lovers." He killed the dead air without wit. "Reme's clear, I'm exonerated via stupidity, and the lovers exist. On the off-chance the lovers are the mafia," Mike turned to them all with wide, almost scolding eyes. "The off chance," he headed off the notion, "we have tomorrow to nab them. Drop Shellmet, lose either Reme or Myself in the night...

"Wait, that doesn't work either," Mike chewed on the end of his long stick. "Unless they're the damn Romeo-Juliet thing. Honestly, it's them," Mike pointed at the Type: Null with the end of his stick.

 

[Shiny Phantump]

I'm exonerated via stupidity

[[There's no such thing as "exonerated by stupidity" after playing scummy. This is the same logic people used when assuming Espy was probably not scum over Astrid, and that didn't turn out reall bloody well for us either, did it? Turns out fakeclaiming, then only walking it back once you've successfully forced people to claim D1 is just a scummy thing to do in general. Because of a combination of my hint and Fuse's play in Fall 2020 Mafia, I let it slide afterwards, but you do not get to claim that forcing a bunch of townies to claim exonerates you.]]

 

[Shiny Phantump]

[[Then, you angled up the idea that it must be scummy of me to suspect that any of the two remaining Mafia players other than me might have been Wes, before flipping him tonight.]]

 

[Homestar!]

Turns out fakeclaiming, then only walking it back once you've successfully forced people to claim D1 is just a scummy thing to do in general. Because of a combination of my hint and Fuse's play in Fall 2020 Mafia, I let it slide afterwards, but you do not get to claim that forcing a bunch of townies to claim exonerates you.]]

[[My bad for using the word exonerate if that's the issue. And my bad for trying to votekick someone being openly antagonistic in RP (and I do mean that sincerely).

But, point 2 stands firm:
Mafia wouldn't want to quit.
Town has a whole role built around strategically mic-dropping and gtfo-ing. Mostly to dodge this particular kind of day.

Not to mention the insane defensiveness that popped up almost out of nowhere for you when we moved for an extension the other day. Not to mention going after Wes, now proven innocent and, prior to it, one of the hardest collective town reads.

[[Then, you angled up the idea that it must be scummy of me to suspect that any of the two remaining Mafia players other than me might have been Wes, before flipping him tonight.]]

Bruh you served up that sus yourself. Everyone had Wes as hard town, and rightfully so. The only reason I ever even looked into it was you muckraking like it was going out of style, and even then it all amounted to more of the same smoke-blowing we saw from Jean. Oh, not to mention the willful misinterpretation of facts in your accusations against them.]]

 

[Homestar!]

[[*misrepresentation, not misinterpretation.]]

 

[Shiny Phantump]

Not to mention going after Wes, now proven innocent and, prior to it, one of the hardest collective town reads.

[[Of course I suspected him! He would still have been my most likely read if he hadn't been killed tonight given that, even after all that, nobody ever gave me a reason to read him any other way, because of course he would be, it's process of elimination. You should have just left him and I to go at each other instead of trying to "prove" your own theory right by flipping him.]]

 

[Homestar!]

[[Of course I suspected him! He would still have been my most likely read if he hadn't been killed tonight given that, even after all that, nobody ever gave me a reason to read him any other way, because of course he would be, it's process of elimination. You should have just left him and I to go at each other instead of trying to "prove" your own theory right by flipping him.]]

[[You straight up lied about the facts. Multiple times. And they called you on it.]]

 

[Shiny Phantump]

[[And Wes was still voting for Clovis until I was writing my readlist, you can go check, my read for him says it's a good thing he changed off of tunnelling on Clovis while I was procrastinating. I remember him acting that way because of that occurrence, which... isn't false at all, actually:

Wes (HelloYellow): Lucky you, I procrastinated enough that you had time to change your vote and get off my sketchy list.

It made sense for me to suspect Wes as Espy's teammate for the time, no matter how badly you want to push the idea that me suspecting people other than myself is super scummy.]]

 

[Fusion]

"In their defense, that's correct," Reme nodded. "To Hazel and their Voice, it made sense to not suspect themself. And for them to suspect someone against them."

"That doesn't clear them of any suspicion, that is literally acknowledging their opinion."