This bracket of thoughts has the capability to be word salad. Something I wanted to write so I had a place to put my frustrations. Replacement has weighed on me. Not in a dispiriting way rather I am taking upon a game that has made motion without me. I don't really like doing the maximum if I don't have to, but I guess that's the reputation you build up when you're able to write walls. I was hoping to avoid this outcome but I may as well use it like catharsis. Peta was telling me that he didn't want my feelings and rather my analysis but I think that's a tall order. My feelings feed into my analysis as the way I play this game is trying to get into the mind of someone. I think about what
I
would do in their position. This includes scum. I think mafia is the type of game where experience over time becomes the deciding factor. I'm oscillating between trying to let myself not be stubborn and just letting go entirely.
It doesn't really need to be said but this game is hard. Pooky and Ceph are both capable townies who were killed early. Gamma was put into the chair under the pretense of elimination (from what I've read) and a lot of people were righteously convinced it was the right idea. This has flipped and caused a scramble because you had a good amount of prominent "townies" all agreeing with the outcome. Then it didn't happen.
I put townies in quotations because I don't think this would be so difficult if the team weren't involved. I mean, I guess that's obvious. My slot (Galron) was chosen by Gamma and the Stagehands intervened and killed off Pooky. Right now I am almost certain that Gamma would not chose to execute a (Townie) just to have his own team disagree and sabotage the event when he has control. Gamma is certifiably town for that alone. So what am I to think about the fact (Galron) was spared over Pooky? Not much, because nobody else seems to care. That leaves me a bit biased and feeling like I shouldn't compromise with people who can't see that Galron is not a big enough player (no offense) for Stagehands to waste one of their sabotages on. Were they afraid of clearing Gamma? Doesn't seem so because the sabotage itself already clears him in my mind.
I've had some people (shiki) question my motivations to look at Gamma's wagon than my own. Yet it's clear to me that Gamma's vote for the chair was more orchestrated than a vanity wagon on my own slot. I think scum were put in a position where they'd rather just be idiginant towards Gamma and kept him as the "elimination." I think maybe you have some stragglers who were voting me but I couldn't put it into words. That feedback goes into 'this is much harder than I want it to be' and that some prominent "townies" are scum. It's a little frustrating when people ask you for answers as if I should have them. If I'm being honest, usually scum have answers at the ready because they don't have to think about perspective. Say things that look townie and move a form of agenda and move on. There's a bit more nuance with scum who are self-aware and can fake indecision and being unsure, or are just are supremely awkward as scum and don't know how to play like you have an agenda.
I think the team probably has a mix of both. It's still not a definitive, but complete stab in the dark (I'm writing this with limited amount of homework done) I'd say something like..
Toog/Taly(?)/(Skitter/Peta)/Saber/Cakez.
This is not a herosolve. Very unlikely I have solved the game and this is the whole team. I am missing pieces but it's a start. It's a start. This is where I'd like to vote and see what comes of it. Infinity has left my mindset due to what happened with Ydrasse. I'm not touching that with a ten foot pole and I think I'm going to slot her at a comfortable null as with Ydrasse. I was convinced by her frustration but I can't objectively see it anymore and honestly looking back on it gives me bad feelings. Ydrasse's argument with me was
not
a peaking moment of where she finally shows how town she is. Ydrasse is capable of being manipulative and I don't want that attitude put onto me. It doesn't matter what anyone believes-- I was only giving her olive branches. Irremedably frustrating to have my inentions be twisted and then be dogpiled by people who can't let go of the ghost of Galron and are putting shit onto me.
...Moving on.
My angle on Toog is that their voting patterns suck. I don't see them as carefree or just trying different shit for the fun of it. Their vote on me is a literal call for bloodshed and that's not fitting for someone typically more even keel. Meta is not fully indicative I just think you ask yourself where Toog belongs in this game. I vehemently disagree with Skitter's take that Toog doesn't care because I think it's the opposite. The votes and 'jeez! what is everyone doing!?' attitude is a displaced scum who doesn't know what to do themselves. So they fake motivation in ways to rush decisions while having nothing to do with them. There's no sleuthing at all even if Toog is not exactly a detective. I am getting zero essence from them that they care about what the outcome of my elimination means or anything for that matter.
Taly is a big question mark for me because they don't fit in my mind. This is a curious (?) where I don't think they're townie but also not null. They're a hard elimination and in my absolute tinfoil paranoia I think they're being protected by scum. I have less on the motivations of why, but I feel their presence to not be something that relieves me. Maybe it's their nature to weird, but I can't townread weird because something tells me that Taly is probably decent at his own weirdness and using it as a means to be townread. There's nothing entirely wrong with his approach but that alone makes me question because it is presented in such a processed and orderly manner where every appearance by him is very deliberate. It would be townie in another game but not this one, and not based on the events that have happened.
Skitter/Peta need to get solved eventually. I am putting these two here because they're involved in the current state of the game. Peta was one of the louder voices about Gamma and Skitter was on my slot. Don't really think these two are aligned and were working different angles of the game. I would love to trust both of them but I do not. I think right now I would give Peta more favor than Skitter. I was a little pissy about him voting me but I also appreciated that he wasn't locked into it. I'm weary but if he's just having another good scumgame then I doubt I have the means to topple it. Least not right now. These two are the most far in terms of..viability. Viable to be voted out or eliminated. It's too much of a risk and it's just not going to happen anytime soon. So why talk about them at all? Dunno. It helps. That's all these paragraphs have been. It's helping me and focusing me.
Anyways, about Skitter. I just disagree with her. I disagree with her a lot and often. Does disagreement need to be the reason why she is scum? No. No I didn't want to believe that, and I was trying to find compromise and not end up in a situation like Siege where I backed out of my townread of her because we came to a disagreement. I think Skitter is very not afraid to put her stake in things but that makes it dangerous because I've seen her do so to dissuade town. It's just this dismissive attitude that is rubbing me wrong and I wish it didn't.
Saber is scum. I feel it in my bones. I have less words about this but goddamn. I have not felt good about one fucking post they made. It's so agenda-driven and handpicked out of the right arguments to make at the right time. It's calculated and not in the sense of a townie who is just making use of their time. It's calculated to where it's always just 'doing enough' and no more. That's my problem. She does enough to not be scrutinized but goes no further. It's missing the blemishes that make up townies where they don't know the answers. It's the exact fucking thing I look for and at this rate? I think I'm pretty damn good at recognizing it. She had just the right amount of push onto me and reason to vote me and now she's backstage in her PT because job is done. Conversation and interaction with her even from an outside perspective just read like someone who is trying to sell you on the appearance of a townie. And you're all fucking buying it and it annoys me.
Cakez I'm going to withhold what I think because apparently Peta has a case and there doesn't need to be two cases. He's not really a developed scum so if Peta is not a stagehand I'll probably just sheep his thoughts.
There is my unfiltered and complete dump of thoughts. I could probably make more but I digress. I don't think I like playing at 'I suspect all these people' but the good news is that I acquired some townreads and I'm starting to believe in my own vision of how this game is playing out. Now it's just a matter of letting it lie and see if it comes true or not, and stopping any momentum scum has made.
