[MAFIA WIN] Second Anniversary Fanfic Mafia - Game Thread

[AbraPunk]

Didn't you say the reason you swapped Chibi and Spark was because you didn't think anyone would target either of them? Even though Chibi is famous for dying N1?
Also not relevant to the N1 action confusion but who'd you swap nights 0 and 2?

[[ True, but also not entirely. The real reason was because I figured someone would target Chibi. So, I decided to swap them with someone who likely wouldn't've had any targets. You can see how well that went.

On N0, I swapped Phant (Lusamine) and Inkedust (Altair).
N2, Mellow (Namco) with Equitial (Mewtwo). ]]

 

[DawningWinds]

N2, Mellow (Namco) with Equitial (Mewtwo)

Did anyone target either of these players?

 

[Namohysip]

Three. Three three three three three. Like all of Alexander's heads had been cut off at once. Sure, one was Mafia, but three. In a single night. How? How? Was the Arsonist not dead?!

"If some Vigilante had performed an act, speak now," Alexander spat, making absolutely certain that his voice still sounded calm. "We need to know if the Arsonist is alive or not."

All he had to do was stay calm. Calm, and he could think this through gently, rationally, and--

If two healers target the same person, they die. So, uh...big whoops...

Alexander swooped over to Wes and pinned him to the ground. "What are you talking about?" the Hydreigon snarled. "That wasn't part of the rules. That isn't part of the rules in the last game this ran. There was an overlap. There was an overlap and their target did not die. What changed? Did it change? Did you know? Why was this never communicated?! If that's a clause... Ngh...!" He shoved Wes away. "Of course you wouldn't bring that up. That would have outed you as a healer. You would have to somehow silently coordinate with the other healer. That was the trap. And now we lost both, because now we know for certain that there are multiple healers and we still lost our alignment-seeker."

Breathe. Calm. Think.

Breathe. Calm. Think.

One Mafia was down. At least four remained. Probably. What did that leave them, ratio wise? 4 against 9. Still healthy. If there had been six Mafia, 5 against 8. Slightly worse. Especially if they chose incorrectly today.

This admittedly ticked me off more than it probably should have. Your experiences are not universal. People are different and I’m not you. I don’t type well on mobile because I get physically uncomfortable real quick.

Alexander held up his smaller heads. "Do these look like I can easily use a phone with them? Honestly."

 

[DawningWinds]

Did anyone target either of these players?

And if so did you do it with an action that could confirm the switch or prove it didn't happen? If not probably don't claim it if you haven't outed your role already and you targeted one of them. (I think everyone who's roleclaimed has outed last nights targets though so just if there's no chance of your targetting confirming this probably don't claim it.)

 

[HelloYellow17]

[[OOC post, here we go.

[[ I suppose that's fair, although the only reason I'm ambiguous is that I simply don't have enough hard scum reads. Going after someone (Mewtwo) that I suspected at first based on their aggression only made people suspicious of me. It's only logical that I'm going to be more guarded with who I'm actually suspicious of now, after that kind of reaction. ]]

That’s completely fair. You and I have very different play styles—I wanted to get things going and tried coming up with theories (yes, very sucky ones, I’ll admit it) to at least make something happen. We kinda felt like sitting ducks on Dtwo people died that night.

[[ For the record, I'm honestly glad I'm not the only newbie that's causing confusion for people this game. If this were just me alone, I'd probably have just bowed out from shame, embarrassment, and frustration after day 1. ]]

Lol I am...kind of on the verge, tbh. I know I’m a crappy player but it feels like no matter how hard I try to explain myself, it’s still not enough to convince people, and I kind of feel like I’m constantly getting flack for not writing a 2k word post to explain my every action. I literally do not have the energy for that.

[[ I'm perfectly willing to consider the notion that you flat-out didn't realize this was an option, but I do find it rather odd how you did not change your vote at the end of this post, despite saying you'd have done so if you realized why he was inactive... which, obviously, you did before the voting deadline. Even if it didn't influence the result, if that was your only reason for voting an inactive (you didn't realize he had given a valid IRL reason), then you could have at least attempted to take suspicion off you by changing that vote. You didn't. Again, I realize this simply could have slipped your mind, but I admit it does make me actually sus you now. ]]

Namo said they would also move their vote, and if two of us moved, more would possibly follow, and then the vote may have been spread across several people and ended up with nobody being eliminated. And iirc, Namo didn’t bring this up until about 30 minutes before the deadline...I think? And I felt like there wasn’t enough time to really discuss it without potentially botching the vote.

Now, I understand why you don’t like targeting inactive players. Honestly, if it was just one inactive person, I would feel the same, but we had several people who hadn’t said anything at all, and it’s really difficult to play a game like this when 4-5 people are just nonexistent. And I felt like nothing was happening, so when I noticed Namo voted for Lance, I simply rolled with it because I still don’t have hard reads on anyone and I’m not really a player to no-vote or abstain because I get stressed about the time limit, lol. And especially in this case, where multiple people are dying each night, I think votes are more important than ever.

This a host dependent thing. Are we sure this applies in this game?

Yes, Negrek stated this in her role DM to me. You can even ping her and ask.

 

[Namohysip]

Yes, Negrek stated this in her role DM to me. You can even ping her and ask.

[[Not possible, we can only take your word for it, per Mafia rules. Hypothetically another doctor probably got the same thing and they'd be able to confirm.]]

 

[windskull]

[[hi. Am at work and don't have time to read all the big posts so I'm just saying "holy shit" and leaving it at that.]]

 

[windskull]

[[*leaving it at that until I have time to properly read over the thread]]

 

[elyvorg]

Tefiren listened with interest as the funny-arm Human told everyone he was a protector who'd protected the half-zolt, the same thing the think-talky one had also just said - and that that was why the half-zolt was gone.

"Is that how it works? There were two protectors in the last game, and none of them said anything about it then." He turned to the think-talky one. "What do you think?"

[[Which is to say, I'm asking Equitial (because I don't trust HelloYellow's word on this, I'm afraid) if there's anything in his role PM that suggests the possibility of healer clash. It wasn't a thing in the previous games, so I feel like if Negrek included it as a mechanic in this game they'd give some kind of indication. Maybe.

...Well, actually, HelloYellow just claimed it was in her PM, so yep, we can just have Equitial corroborate this.]]

"See, I don't believe the funny-arm Human. He's saying this stuff about protecting the half-zolt too hard because he wants to explain why they could be gone anyway. Because if the thunder-cat was a Mafia - and she is!--" [[again, Tefiren's certainty, not mine]] "--then you wouldn't want us to think that a swap might have been the reason the think-talky one couldn't protect the half-zolt. But you can't fool me that easily!" He laughed to himself.

[[Will probably express some thoughts on some of the recent longquoteposts, but I at least wanted to get this quick mechanical point out there.]]

 

[Dragonfree]

[[Okay this was a lot to read.

Listen to elyvorg, I think she's got something very plausible going. Chappie's claim has been bugging me too and this actually does tie that up neatly with a ribbon.

The one deviation from that is I actually completely believe Wes's healer claim now. The impression I got of his first post today was that he was a healer who'd targeted Arctozolt and yet he'd died - and then voilá, Mewtwo shows up also claiming healer who targeted Arctozolt. The moment that came up I went welp, okay, so that's how that kill happened. Wes could not have known about Mewtwo beforehand, so deciding to fake-softclaim doctor who healed Arctozolt would be pretty bizarre move for him if he was mafia - it'd only work if Wes and Mewtwo were both mafia and coordinated this, but I doubt this for several reasons.]]

 

[Fusion]

"Bloody hell things got tense while I was out," Fusion muttered, side-stepping from Wes when that three-headed beast pounced him. He... probably should have helped. Everyone was either pissed or pissing someone off, and from the feel of it, things outside of this world was getting murky. At least that meant that angry dog and the now-dead fox cowboy were right, this was probably a game played for others enjoyment, and yet some were finding it hard to enjoy... Fusion felt like that was oddly familiar to him.

Lol I am...kind of on the verge, tbh. I know I’m a crappy player but it feels like no matter how hard I try to explain myself, it’s still not enough to convince people, and I kind of feel like I’m constantly getting flack for not writing a 2k word post to explain my every action. I literally do not have the energy for that.

[[I just want you and any of the other new players to know that it's fine to not be able to put out giga-posts like everyone else is, and I know I wasn't here to see everything, but if it's getting to the point where several people are getting upset over something like this, it might be best to try not to hold the size of people's posts or how they make posts against them. I would hope returning players aren't holding the new people to the same standard as them, or would at least cut them more slack in the future.

I feel like everyone involved in this game wants to win, but it's leagues more important that everyone has fun above that.

As it would be, I don't have any game-related OOC thoughts so...]]

After whatever P.A. System in Fusion's head cut off, and that sappy message got delivered, he held and shook his head. No wonder that dog dude was so goddamn jaded, this place was a headache and a half... or like having a hangover without drinking anything. Fusion himself doesn't drink often but he just might by the time this is over.

 

[elyvorg]

But what if! What if what if what if...

"Maybe you're right," Tefiren said. "Maybe you can protect someone so hard that they disappear in this version of the game. But then, if that was a thing... wouldn't the Mafia have that trick, too? Wouldn't it be a useful trick to have in this game?

He turned back to the funny-arm Human, grinning. "So you! You 'protected' the half-zolt, knowing someone else probably would do, knowing it'd get rid of them. And then the Mafia - the normal Mafia, the one who catches people, also caught the tall fiery fox last night! It explains it! It explains why both of them got caught!

"...And then someone else, someone on our side, realised I was right--" [[and Dave, and Nefari, thanks, Tefiren]] "--about the yellow-haired Human last night and caught her for me. Because I'm not using my own tricks in this game, you see - otherwise I could have just done it myself.

"See? It explains everything! None of it's a mystery, not to me!"

 

[Dragonfree]

[[Additionally: if Wes and Mewtwo are both mafia, it strikes me as surprising they'd even come up with healer clash as a convoluted explanation for this kill, seeing as the main wiki referenced for roles here doesn't mention healer clash, and my impression has been it's not really a common mechanic outside of particular circles. One particular circle where it is a thing is my forums' meta, where Negrek has played and GMed - so it is something she'd come up with.]]

 

[Dragonfree]

[[But yeah, Wes being a mafia doctor whose purpose is to cause healer clashes is also consistent! In that case the first post would have been made to plant the seeds of the claim while hoping for the town doctor to step forward.]]

 

[Dragonfree]

After whatever P.A. System in Fusion's head cut off, and that sappy message got delivered, he held and shook his head. No wonder that dog dude was so goddamn jaded, this place was a headache and a half... or like having a hangover without drinking anything. Fusion himself doesn't drink often but he just might by the time this is over.

[[Assuming this means Dave, he is human here and would be positively incensed to know this alien thinks there is anything remotely doggy about him, what the fuck are you talking about]]

 

[Fusion]

[[Assuming this means Dave, he is human here and would be positively incensed to know this alien thinks there is anything remotely doggy about him, what the fuck are you talking about]]

[[Well excuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuse me, I read over dave sign up post like ten times and everytime I leave it I have to ask myself if he's a Mightyena or not. I am physically unable to comprehend human Dave and I think that might be a problem.]]

 

[Namohysip]

Namo said they would also move their vote, and if two of us moved, more would possibly follow, and then the vote may have been spread across several people and ended up with nobody being eliminated. And iirc, Namo didn’t bring this up until about 30 minutes before the deadline...I think? And I felt like there wasn’t enough time to really discuss it without potentially botching the vote.

Now, I understand why you don’t like targeting inactive players. Honestly, if it was just one inactive person, I would feel the same, but we had several people who hadn’t said anything at all, and it’s really difficult to play a game like this when 4-5 people are just nonexistent. And I felt like nothing was happening, so when I noticed Namo voted for Lance, I simply rolled with it because I still don’t have hard reads on anyone and I’m not really a player to no-vote or abstain because I get stressed about the time limit, lol. And especially in this case, where multiple people are dying each night, I think votes are more important than ever.

"I will also note," Alexander said, "that I only cast my vote near the end of the day--well, relatively near--because as far as I could tell... nobody else wanted to cast one that I could truly get behind. I had little confidence in what that one was saying." He pointed at Tef. "And the constant babbling only confused me further." [[I will be honest, the epithets and excited syntax made it hard to follow at times...]] "I defaulted. I didn't like it. I said as much. But few others had the wherewithal to do otherwise."

if it's getting to the point where several people are getting upset over something like this, it might be best to try not to hold the size of people's posts or how they make posts against them.

"Hmph. I would like to add that even though I have three heads, they all share the same brain." He tapped the snout of his left head on the forehead of the central one. "I can only hear so much. I do not intend to make large, grand speeches if I can help it. Less is more. You can say very much and convey very little. I feed off of the misery of those around me, but you Guardian Spirits provide to me nothing. I suggest you spirits get along properly and leave me alone to think."

 

[Inkedust]

"So then," Altair began, listening in on the ongoing conversation. "If one of these deaths was a direct Mafia kill, and the second was a healer overcorrecting—potentially a Mafia aligned Doctor. Then what of the blonde woman?"—Lusamine, was it? "I see two possibilities here. One: it was a well directed hit from a Vigilante. Two: that lucario wasn't the Arsonist but another third-party instead, meaning that the Arsonist is still among us. That'd explain the scorch marks, but why only ignite one victim, and why spend a night doing nothing? Did the mafia finish the job before them? I wonder..."

 

[Fusion]

"Oh, I myself wanna keep things short and snappy while I can. The more thinking involved, the more chances there are to mess up in my experience," Fusion nodded to Alexander. He leaned back, and his good ol' flying Nimbus swooped in to catch him. "Everytime those... Guardian Spirits, as you called them, get really into whatever the hell they're doing, it feels like my skull's splitting in half."

He listened in on Altair's theorizing, putting his chin to his fist and humming. "I feel like one arsonist can only do so much arson on their own, either that or the laws of this rift or world or whatever keeps them from lighting everything ablaze."

"As for why they didn't act on a night... Perhaps just to gather information. It's been three days or so and all we really know is we accidentally picked off a third party, there's potentially an arson still around, and we only got one of the mafia members," he went on. "It's only natural for someone with an ability to take a life to be hesitant and cautious when using it, which shows they're potentially on the side of the innocents. As far as I know, anyone who isn't looking to spill some blood is safe from this vigilante."

 

[AbraPunk]

the thunder cat was a Mafia, too? What if that whole conversation, all of her being sad about it and not sure if she should tell us anything, the other three encouraging her to spill it... what if it was all made up?

"I-- What?? You really think I'm a killer? Really?? ...Damn, you must not be as smart as I initially thought."

"But if you swapped those two, and you're also a Mafia... everything would make sense! We were all so confused about why the Mafia would ever go for that tiny Raichu who's just been napping this whole time! But if they knew about the swap, because the swapper was one of them, it'd have been on purpose, and they were trying to catch the fun Human after all!"

[[ ok, gonna have to do some OOC reasoning here. Yeah, I already explained it earlier, but I swapped Lexx with Spark because of their vastly differing significance. Obviously, Lexx would have been a great help if he'd stayed alive, which is why I tried swapping him with Spark, someone whom I thought wouldn't have contributed much. No offense. But, well, obviously something got messed up along the way, and we're left with a dead Lexx.]]

I said yesterday, that I thought someone else must have done something to mess it up - someone blocked you, or someone else did another swap. But why would a Mafia block you, when you barely even said anything on the first day? Would a Mafia swapper, if you aren't a Mafia, really just happen to guess the same swap you did, to cancel it out? Or, why would the Mafia just actually go for the tiny Raichu? All of those are so unlikely! It makes so much more sense if it was all on purpose."

"Well, maybe the Mafia has some kind of role that... like, stops other abilities? Because I did try to swap Lexx and Spark. But maybe someone in the Mafia had some kind of ability that ignored the swap, and thus was able to kill Lexx anyways. Does that make sense?"

why would she tell us? Why would they make a big show of her saying it like it was a big accident, like it only happened because she was sad? All that does is put her at risk of being found out, if anyone clever enough - like me! - realises this is the only way things make sense."

"...You know what, I'm just not gonna bother with you anymore."

But there's one reason the thunder-cat might tell us. Because she seemed really sure at first that the Mafia actually tried to catch the tiny Raichu, even though that doesn't make any sense. And we all thought, when we were thinking about getting rid of one of the sleepy quiet ones yesterday, that at least it shouldn't be the tiny Raichu, because maybe the Mafia targeted her, so she probably isn't a Mafia! But... what if that was the point? What if they were trying to make the tiny Raichu look innocent?"

Chappie pointedly ignored the rest of Tefiren's speech.

"All of it was because you knew I'm the best at this game, so you tried to catch me! It all started with that!" He stalked some more in fierce, tight circles, not around anyone in particular, staring up at the blank white sky. "I don't need anyone else to be able to win this! All of it was me!

There was still no comment. [[ just as an aside, all hostility is completely IC. I don't yet have any concrete suspicions on anyone yet. ]]

could very well be another one as she seemed genuinely upset when she realised that she failed to keep the heat off Lexx.

[[ Yeah. that's exactly what happened. I really did screw up with that. But then again, like I said, maybe it was just unstoppable. ]]

“Listen to me,” he snarled “I’m only gonna say this once and I’ll make it very clear: I am not a killer. I’m an Arceus-damned healer, alright? And I might be useless as shit at it, but I’m trying, alright? So stop wasting your energy on me and find the real killers before you screw us all over with your personal grudges!”

Chappie still said nothing, but simply glared at Tefiren.