The White Elephant in the Room: Christmas Mafia 2020

[Tanuki]

White Elephant in the Room​

‘Twas weeks before Christmas when all through the world, the worst crack of peppermint everyone heard. Each stocking hung on each mantle did fall; all peoples tardy to Old St. Nick’s call. Each child cried, curled up in their bed: Christmas was cancelled; Santa was dead.

The North Pole then crumbled without Kringle’s Cheer, and no, not one elf, could bear their worst fear. Some grabbed a bell, or holly tree leaf in hopes that these items would assuage their grief.

Black Christmas Day just twelve away, a party might just save their hearts, some did pray. Gathered together with presents to share, perhaps communities this burden could bear.

But one such gathering was sadly too full: sinister some brought not presents, but coal.

———
​

Welcome! This mafia game will be just a smidge unique. On the first day, you’ll get a pm with details on the present your character brought to the party. This is not your role. At night, they will be randomly distributed among the group. You will then get a different pm that has your role’s abilities and goals.

The town’s duty is to find the lecherous present-holders among them that want not only to end this party, but even your lives! Without Sweet Saint Nick to check his list twice, it’s up to you to parse naughty from nice!

Please reply to this thread in this format
Name:
Species:
Appearance:
Personality:
Story: (optional) a link to the story your character’s from.

 

[DawningWinds]

Welcome! This mafia game will be just a smidge unique. On the first day, you’ll get a pm with details on the present your character brought to the party. This is not your role. At night, they will be randomly distributed among the group. You will then get a different pm that has your role’s abilities and goals.

These are the sorts of mechanics that I simultaneously love and hate.

I'm in.

How long are sign-ups open?

Character:
Name: Nilam (Pronouns: Prefers they/them but is mostly fine with anything other than it/it's)
Species: Rotom Phone
Appearance: So I'm just going to point to Hop's phone on SwSh and say basically like that. Yeah.
Personality: Very cheerful and enthusiastic. Loves to go on tangents about random things; nobody's are really sure if they're pulling these facts from Wikipedia or somewhere else on the internet or just knows them. Either doesn't mind or doesn't usually notice when people ignore them; also doesn't seem to recognize sarcasm. Doesn't have very good observational skills.
Story: The working title is Frozen Paths. I hate this title and would guess that when it's released, the title will probably still reference snow or ice, but will most likely be a different title.

 

[Chibi Pika]

Name: Palkia
Species: Space Incarnate
Appearance: Doesn't always need to take on its physical draconic form, feel free to portray it as some kind of messed-up extradimensional abstraction.
Personality: High-class troll, delighting in chaos and disarray. Loves to see mortals persevere against impossible odds, and especially loves when they act in new and unpredictable ways. Finds humor in almost everything.
Story: Technically LC, but it has only shown up in the April Fool's Special

 

[Tanuki]

How long are sign-ups open?

Uh. Good question. Later, probably.

 

[DawningWinds]

Uh. Good question. Later, probably.

Can I ask you to be more specific? I have another Mafia game that I'm debating signing up for, but I'd also like to avoid doubling up on games so I need to have a rough idea of whether they'll be overlapping. And to know how long I have to quit being indecisive.

 

[Tanuki]

Can I ask you to be more specific? I have another Mafia game that I'm debating signing up for, but I'd also like to avoid doubling up on games so I need to have a rough idea of whether they'll be overlapping. And to know how long I have to quit being indecisive.

I’m really not sure. I want to give time for people to sign up and not get too close to the holiday itself since that’s a busy time of year. I want to tentatively say the game will start on the first or second week of December, signups closing about half a week before then.

There’s more under the hood in this game than I can say, so a proper estimate on time between signups and game start is really difficult. I don’t know a lot of factors that I need to know, like player volume, to just give you a date.

I can’t give you a good date for when signups will close right now.

 

[DawningWinds]

I’m really not sure. I want to give time for people to sign up and not get too close to the holiday itself since that’s a busy time of year. I want to tentatively say the game will start on the first or second week of December, signups closing about half a week before then.

There’s more under the hood in this game than I can say, so a proper estimate on time between signups and game start is really difficult. I don’t know a lot of factors that I need to know, like player volume, to just give you a date.

I can’t give you a good date for when signups will close right now.

Understandable. This is a good enough estimate for me to work with, so thanks.

I know these questions are probably getting annoying, but out of curiosity, how long are the day/night cycles?

And just because I want to be absolutely clear on this, this game is RP-optional like previous games on TR, right? (I'm assuming probably yes, but just want to be sure.)

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Name: Jesse Stranger
Species: Red Delphox (former human)
Personality: Abrasive, confrontational asshole who's certain he knows better than you. Feels responsible for everything and everyone, extremely judgey, absolute helicopter father. Saved the world a couple times. Burns himself out constantly trying to save as many people as he can. Will put his life on the line for you even though he hates your guts. Still deserves an ass-kicking.

 

[Namohysip]

Name: Darkwhite(?)
Species: Mew
Apperance: Here
Personality: Chaotic, playful, attention-seeking. Generally disregards rules and established norms unless she can't go against them or they happen to align with what she wants to do. The only real way to reason with her is to convince her that it would be more fun to do things your way.
Story: Blacklight Eternal

 

[Fusion]

Name: Lee

Species: Lycanroc (Midnight)

Appearance: He's a tall Midnight Lycanroc. I'm gonna draw him soon and will make a link to it when I do

Personality: Chaotic, conniving, rather self-centered. Does whatever he must to get what he wants. While he tends to be serious, he can easily lose that seriousness if he's causing enough mischief. Prefers working in small groups, or alone, but if the situation calls for it, will tolerate teamwork. There's probably more under the surface, but hell if anyone had the gall to try and find it.

Story: Ties of Fate, although as the time of this post, he's only appeared in the FFN Version.

 

[Dragonfree]

Name: Mia Kerrigan
Species: Scyther Pokémorph
Appearance: Looks like a thin teenage girl in baggy clothes, but her face is elongated, her head has three spikes poking out of her green hair, her feet are Scyther feet, and she has blades running along her forearms, growing out of her ulnae. (Illustration)
Personality: Has an entirely different way of thinking about things than a regular human, which sometimes looks like hyperrationality and sometimes just like moon logic. Barely smiles or laughs; emotional range is mostly content to mildly annoyed; no actual empathy. Likes it when things make sense to her; dislikes it when they don't. Drawn to violence, prone to wanting to kill and eat people (but doesn't, as this would be highly impractical and lead to further undesirable consequences).
Story: Morphic

 

[SparklingEspeon]

Story: Do Psychic-Type Pokemon Dream of Electric Sheep?

 

[Tanuki]

Understandable. This is a good enough estimate for me to work with, so thanks.

I know these questions are probably getting annoying, but out of curiosity, how long are the day/night cycles?

And just because I want to be absolutely clear on this, this game is RP-optional like previous games on TR, right? (I'm assuming probably yes, but just want to be sure.)

Day cycles will be forty-eight hours barring a few exceptions, night cycles will be twenty-four. As for rp, I’m sorry to say that out of character posts will not be allowed. A few tweaks in the mechanics have made it so that posting out of character or having out of character sections can’t be allowed.

I intended to figure a way around that, which is why it wasn’t in the announcement post, but it’s going to have to be in character only. The game simply can’t allow it.

 

[Tanuki]

Anyway, it’s about time I submitted my character I suppose.


Name: Squirt
Species: Squirtle
Appearance: He’s your average squirtle with an indistinct red bandana.
Personality: Very much a child at heart. Easily excitable, and the kid seems happy just about all the time about just about anything. He doesn’t stay down for long, and it’s hard to find anything that gets him down. He seems happy with just about anything. He can’t wait to meet all his new friends at the party (if he can resist hitting the slopes long enough).

 

[DawningWinds]

Anyway, it’s about time I submitted my character I suppose.


Name: Squirt
Species: Squirtle
Appearance: He’s your average squirtle with an indistinct red bandana.
Personality: Very much a child at heart. Easily excitable, and the kid seems happy just about all the time about just about anything. He doesn’t stay down for long, and it’s hard to find anything that gets him down. He seems happy with just about anything. He can’t wait to meet all his new friends at the party (if he can resist hitting the slopes long enough).

Wait but you're the host? If you were a player you'd have an unfair advantage? I've seen hosts write themselves role PMs for fun so I guess I should naturally assume it's part of that or something.

 

[windskull]

Exclusive! Society Head Blue Disappears Through Mysterious Portal. Hoopa Cultist Shenanigans Suspected

We at The Daily Mystery Dungeon pride ourselves on keeping up with all things Expedition Society. And part of our job involves keeping tags on the Society's leader at all times. The vaporeon is known for being quite secluded in his private life, so you can imagine this can be quite the difficult task to accomplish. You must imagine our surprise when one of our haunter journalists happened to catch Blue in his private quarters. But before she could spring from her hiding spot and ask him the difficult questions we've all been wondering (such as an explanation for his mysterious ability to run on water, or if he really is dating his second-in-command), a portal suddenly appeared beneath him, swallowing him up!

Blue is quoted as saying "this is fine" as he disappeared, though obviously, things are less than fine. This is obviously the work of Hoopa, Palkia's tricky messenger. Or else, perhaps one of his cult-like followers. But the exact culprit is still under investigation.

As you all know, Blue is known for his typically level-headed personality, providing a rock for all pokemon to look up to in shaky times. His calm demeanor even in the toughest situation explains how he could possibly be so nonchalant about being kidnapped. Only once have we ever seen his wrath, though that's a story for another day.

When asking Mago about the disappearance, the pangoro declined to comment. We wonder if perhaps she is in on the act.

Our reporters will continue to investigate the situation and bring you updates as soon as possible.

Follow for more updates on all things Expedition Society!

Spoiler: TLDR

Name: Blue
Species: Vaporeon?
Appearance: A normal vaporeon in every way. What? Why are you looking at me like that?
Personality: Calm and level headed even in the most difficult of times. Patient and mentorly. Very rarely loses his temper.
Story: He's from PWCH but he's yet to so up so....

 

[Starlight Aurate]

Name: Tabitha
Species: Mightyena (though normally a human)
Appearance: He's a rather large Mightyena with matted, tangled fur; his scruffy appearance befitting his rough personality.
Personality: A human who doesn't know how he became a Mightyena and has no idea why he's at a holiday party. Despite being a Team Magma commander, Tabitha has a strong sense of morality that he tries to follow (with plenty of opportunity for failure along the way). Accustomed to being in charge of most other people in his life, he's a bit socially awkward when on equal footing with others and prefers to have quiet and be alone. He treats the divine and supernatural with great respect and thinks that messing with them is a bad idea. Stuck in the early 2000's and doesn't have a grasp on modern technology. He is a very good strategist and a VERY good physical fighter--in his human form, at least. Does this carry over to his Mightyena form? We'll see.
Story: Drowning

 

[Equitial]

Character: Mewtwo

Origin: A mostly game-verse interpretation of the character.

Gender/Pronouns: Doesn't care much about gender, but most refer to Mewtwo as he/him so that's what he goes with.

Description: A genetically engineered super-weapon who rebelled against his creators, this cloned murder-kitty now spends most of his time sitting alone in caves thinking about how powerful he is. (He is rather powerful). He doesn't like humans. He likes Pokemon more, meaning he grudgingly accepts their existence in this world. He likes being alone. He purportedly dislikes the few beings so powerful that he cannot remove them when they seek his presence, though some of those beings quibble with this claim.

Favored Winter Holiday: Unfortunately, Mewtwo has little interest in the customs of mundane individuals. If he did, he'd be willing to take an excuse to treat himself to seafood or a refrigerator box in which to lounge.

 

[Persephone]

Name: Nocitlalin / Unit001_101110110
Species: Beldum
Hobbies: Observe, Initiate Ramming
Thought Processes: Code as imagined by an author who cannot code
First Appearance: Electric 2.7

 

[IFBench]

Name: Gen
Species: Human-turned Oshawott
Appearance: A normal Oshawott, with a reunion cape.
Personality: Gen is very analytical. Unless under pressure, he likes to assess the situation before making a decision. While under pressure, though, he is very prone to making mistakes, and under enough pressure, he'll break down entirely. He isn't often one to admit when he's wrong. He doesn't very often speak unless prompted, or he has a question. He hates being alone, and will do a lot, even risk his life, to not be alone. He often weighs the risk versus the reward of a choice. He also has anxiety.
Story: https://forums.thousandroads.net/index.php?threads/pokemon-mystery-dungeon-eternal-shadows.509/