[[Okay, welp, looks like I need to claim now.
As everyone seems to have pieced together, I am a Mailman. I'll explain why I did stuff the way I did.]]
[[I think you're confused on what Chibi is getting at; they're not talking about subsequent nights there at all.
I think the difference between death flavor and this hypothetical mailman parrot is that if as a GM you tell the parrot to write a message before the outcome of the night has been 100% determined, you're either leaking an unacceptable amount of info to them, or will actively mislead them. Suppose you get the parrot to write a message for the mailman they targeted; this tells them that the target is a mailman (already kind of giving the parrot an amount of power they shouldn't have). Now suppose that at the last minute a bus driver changes their mind about their action and makes it so that the parrot actually targets a non-mailman. Now either
- you tell the parrot actually they aren't going to be sending a message whoops, telling them not just that their target was a mailman but also that their target was messed with; a player shouldn't get to know this for reasons outside the natural scope of their role
- you don't tell the parrot this, and thus they assume they sent a message that they in fact never did at all
This just strikes me as a can of worms? I wouldn't want to GM this way. Mayyybe theoretically if someone got their message a little while after the start of the day; I know I got mine before.]]
[[Okay, so THIS is where I was getting wrong.
I assumed the Parrot was working on the same night they targeted someone. So, yes, I thought a Parrot might have targeted me N0 and that was why I received a message. But, given that Parrots work only on subsequent nights, I think this theory is dead. It looks like we have:
- Three mailmen (me, whoever messaged Free N0, and whoever messaged me N0).
"I wish to look at other players individually before casting a firm vote, and I certainly hope to get the assent of Neo and his Voice before committing to a vote, but... At this time, I believe this sailor is possibly our Mafia Mailman or Absorber, and has thus far attempted to avoid controversy and attention, or getting caught on a wagon...
"I vote for Archie."
[[I didn't want to claim I was a Mailman D1 because communication roles are (I think) valuable for Town and I was worried I would be targeted by the Mafia at night. I tried to target NeoLurosa because their play read as very Towny to me and I thought I could trust them. Yes, I wrote my message in pirate speak and included stuff about "message in a bottle" purely for flavour because I was really enjoying the RP aspect of this game (again, sorry a lot of it was obfuscating and took away from the actual game ._.).
I didn't send a message out on N0 because I didn't know anything about the game play and I didn't think I'd have anything useful to contribute. And honestly, it looks like the messages we received have made us more confused than anything--as of now, I certainly don't know what to make of the item messages that Free and Neo (though supposed to be Wind) received, and I definitely don't understand the quote from my message on N0. That's why I was positing that maybe those mailmen only sent out letters to let us know they existed, since it seems to be that's all they've done.]]
"I mighta figured out who the other mail guy is now! But I'm not telling!" This was definitely not a way to cover up the fact that she wasn't sure if it was a good idea to reveal or not.
"Oh yeah? And what makes you so sure of that?"
Discussion of how a parrot would work after interacting with a mailman. This has since been discussed quite a bit, and I agree with Free's most recent take: if a parrot exists in the game and is able to mimic a mailman, they would have to be sending the same message. The alternative would have to be that they can't mimic mailmen for whatever reason.
[[But wait, the Parrot would HAVE to be sending the exact same message that the Mailman tried to send? So if I tried to send a message saying, "Yarr!" and the Parrot targeted me, I'd receive a message saying, "Yarr!"? I just want to know if I'm correctly interpreting what you're saying.
If so, that's not what I was thinking when I discussed the Parrot theory... and I'm sorry for bringing it up in my message to you/Neo, Wind, and for causing so much more confusion.]]
I don't want to say anything definitive until Star has had a chance to defend herself but the most recent posts just... idk, I find it weird that star was bringing up the possibility of one of the recipients lying when she would know there would be a third recipient. Maybe it was to coverherself and try to not come across as having a messaging ability
[[As I stated above, yes, I brought up the possibility of there being something other than three Mailmen because I didn't want to give away that I was one of them.]]
Why would it be so important to not let the Mafia know that you're a Mailman that you'd mislead Town? Obfuscating roles in the early game is pro-Town, but not this sort of thing... The more I think about it, the more I feel this is scummy stuff. Firm vote.
[[I wasn't intending to mislead Town, I was only intending to cover my own tracks. I'm not opposed to the possibility of three Mailmen; I went along with the Parrot theory because:
1. I thought Parrots worked by targeting their target on the same night
2. I thought a Parrot was plausible because I received a message and I am a Mailman
3. I didn't want to roleclaim as a Mailman because I thought the usefulness of my role was partly in keeping it hidden
I just thought it was so weird for me to receive a message when I'm a Mailman, to see that Free received a message, and to know that I can send messages too; I thought three Mailmen sounded like a lot, though now, it looks like it's the most plausible theory. know I made a mess of things, and I'm sorry. But I wasn't lying about receiving a message N0 and I was trying to make more use of my Mailman ability by teaming up with NeoLurosa, which I think is more than whoever sent out the message to me did. I know now that my playstyle is not very good or coherent, but as anyone who has played this game with me knows, I'm not very good at this game ^_^;)]]
Starlight's theory of a Mafia Mailman reminds me a lot of second anni's Mafia Doctor, where the scumteam gently pushed the theory so they could appear helpful.
[[When did I theorize there was a Mafia Mailman?]]
[[With that said, it doesn't look like we're any closer to finding out anything useful. I'm a Mailman, and I've explained my motives for my lack of action N0 and for what I did N1. Yes, they weren't good, and I'm sorry for causing a snipe hunt and misleading Town. If this puts a Mafia target on my back tonight to prevent me from communicating, all I can say that is that I tried to be helpful, and I'm sorry it looks like we only wasted half a day phase by causing turmoil about all of this. If anyone can make sense out of the messages Pano or I received, then by all means, go for it. I'm still confused by the item messages meant for Free/Wind.]]
[[People also pointed out that they thought I lied on getting a message N0 because Free said it before I did. I'm gonna be honest: I had that RP-post typed up ahead of time and posted it immediately in the hope that I lived. I didn't actually have time to go through things and post until hours later, after Free had put in that she received a message, too. ]]
[[A couple people also point out that I'm non-committal when it comes to voting, so I'll place a vote now and see what people say.
Reads:
NeoLurosa, DawningWinds, and Windskull have all had corroborative actions from last night, so I'm Townreading them. I was Townreading Neo and Wind before, and DW admitting to swapping them makes her look more innocent. Granted, Mafia Bus Drivers have existed in the past, so I don't think this proves DW is innocent, but her explanation is solid.
Soft Town vibes on Inkedust and Dragonfree. She rerailed us when pointing out that the Mailmen theory discussion was completely unhelpful and has been bringing up good points. Free has let us know she got a message, and she brought up good points (pointing out how Parrots actually work, so thank you for that ^_^;), so I'm soft Townreading her now.
I'm more confused by Chibi than anything. Jet put a vote on DawningWinds D1, claimed it wasn't random, and now claims to know who one of the messengers is but won't say. I understand wanting to keep some information private in the game, so I won't pressure too hard, but honestly I can't read Jet's motivations and I'm getting a null right now.
I'm also totally null on Pano, AbraPunk, Bench, Virgil, Flyg0n, and Sind. Pano received a message and divulged its contents, but not much else. She admits she's been busy, which is fair, but I'm not getting scummy or Towny vibes from her. Sind posted a readslist and has contributed to discussion, but hasn't said much since D2 started. Bench and Abra haven't said much at all. Virgil brought up the Absorber theory, which is helpful I guess? I also just haven't seen Flyg0n say much yet so I'm curious to hear more from her.
Just to get things rolling more, I'm placing a vote on
AbraPunk. If you've got stuff to contribute, come and feel free! I have made my case and want to hear what others have to say in the next 21.5 hours.]]
"And whoever sent me that message on N0, I got one thing to say to you," Archie growled.
"It's a neighborly day in the beautihood."