A clatter sounds from the edge of the assembled group, and a small quartz crystal tumbles into view. Steven steps forward and kneels down to pick the crystal up from the ground. His hand trembles slightly as he gives the crystal a wistful smile and tucks it into his pocket. There's a deflated air to the way Steven stands, his shoulders have drooped, and the wistful look doesn't fade even as his smile does. He turns to the girl so dedicated to her partner pokemon that she even dressed like them. He'd finally learned her name, and now...
"I'm so sorry, Hana. I was unable to protect you, in the end." Steven's fist clenches at his side. "I could have done more to save you, and Kent, too."
He lets his gaze linger on Hana's. He'd seen the desperation in her eyes when she'd defended Kent from Mike, the desperation of wanting to be a part of this game, to survive. It made his chest hurt. He took another breath before turning to address the group.
"I believed that revealing too much was a dangerous thing. It turns out I was a fool for not revealing more, and because of that, two innocents have been exposed. The lovers have nothing to offer, nothing to give in order to protect themselves. Hana has been forced to give up everything to protect her partner, and even then it might not be enough to save either of them. We, as a town, had to be the ones to protect them, and we've failed. I've failed."
Steven stared hard at the ground. If only he'd been bolder, quicker...
"I now know I need to share more of what I know, and what I have deduced. I am Town. I cannot give any more information to corroborate this on the grounds of giving away valuable information to the enemy. The only thing I have to say is that I realized Tetra's role earlier in the day, and tried to protect both her and Kent by supporting Kent's innocence. I could not give anything more other than my support, otherwise it would reveal their roles and expose both of them to danger."
"I realize this is suspect, the timing of everything. That is why I wrote everything down to make sure there could be no dispute as to when I arrived at these conclusions." Steven pats the letter, still safely tucked in his jacket pocket. "I know you all cannot read my writing, but surely Diyem can corroborate what is written here." [[sorry quick RP break, trying to figure out a way to explain that I had all of these reads as of yesterday before Sind's claim to know who the lovers were, but was unable to post due to real life schedule. Curious how Sind's lovers claim came in just *after* I announced I was going to bed. Probably coincidence, but the irony is not lost on me.]]
"Speaking of timing, it is because of this that I do not believe Clovis's claim that he knows who the lovers are. If he had known, would he not have tried to defend Kent from Mike in the first place? Why did he only come out to claim he knows the identity of the lovers after my support of Kent's innocence? I don't believe Clovis knows the identity of any of the lovers and made up their clue to put suspicion back on Kent, either that, or they have extrapolated their clue from "there is a pair of lovers in this game" to make a false claim of knowing their identity. To have a vanilla role receive the identity of not one, but two, players as a clue is a huge boon and one I am inclined to believe is impossible. So far the clues have not carried any huge significance to revealing the identity of any player by name; I cannot believe a clue would outright name the roles of two of the most vulnerable players in the game."
"That being said, as suspicious as I am of Clovis, I am uncertain if we should vote for him tonight. This is because of the amazing coincidence that so many players in the game have decided to land blame on Kent right out of the gate. Nothing has pointed to Kent in being a role of any sort before he was already being accused. And not just from one direction, from multiple. This, in my eyes, is a coordinated effort. As we know, Town cannot coordinate with each other without exposing their information to the general group, and therefore to the Mafia. Town must play their cards close to the vest in order to survive and protect each other. This means, then, that a coordinated attack on one player without prior suspicion suggests premeditation, which is only something the Mafia can achieve."
"Yes, Kent was being aggressive toward many players and that does not make many allies, but that is also not a reason for Mike, Reme, and Clovis to vote Kent, not once, but multiple times throughout the course of the day's discussion. There were others who voted Kent, yes, but after new evidence came to light, they were more hesitant to vote."
"There has been no hesitation on the part of Mike and Clovis, and to some extent, Reme, to vote for Kent continually and for multiple, unrelated reasons. I'm sorry, I cannot come up with specifics right now because of the amount of discussion, and also expediency, as we are nearing the end of the day, but I hope you can trust me that all of this is documented in my notes."
Steven turns to Reme. "I'm sorry to have to say this, but I don't fully trust you at the moment. You were very kind to Mike in healing his ankle, but kindness cannot hide the fact that you were adamant that Kent should be eliminated by the Town today. And even with Hana's role reveal, you still are insistent to vote Kent, and are abstaining from voting against both Mike and Clovis."
Steven glares at Clovis. "I am not voting for you tonight on the simple basis that I am unsure of your actual alignment. Let it be said though, you are not here to help anyone but yourself."
Finally, Steven wheeled to face Mike. "I am not a fan of someone who can so easily point a finger at another person with the knowledge that their accusation may lead to their... elimination. You have proven to be untrustworthy, and also a potential hazard to yourself and others due to your reckless behavior. Both of your role claims are important Town positions, but as bulletproof you set yourself up to survive even if the Mafia decides to target you. This, to me, is a very convenient claim as a Mafia member when during the night, you are not targeted at all. Not because the Mafia fears you won't die because of your bulletproof status, or that they want to not waste a Juggernaut kill on you rather than at someone valuable who is protected by a doctor, but because you are Mafia yourself. You were armed with the knowledge, somehow, that Kent would be the Mafia's target today, and you started things off right out of the gate. Either that, or you actually are innocent, but because of your blunder, you've set this chain of events in motion that exposed even more of your fellow townspeople. For that, I am choosing to vote for Mike tonight."
"Ah," Steven caught himself, realizing how much he'd actually talked just now. "I'm sorry. I've taken up a lot of your time tonight. I do feel better, though, having said my piece. If it's alright, I'd like to spend the remainder of the night enjoying the scenery."
