The Syndicate

Krampus is going to pay me visit for that one. Now that the sing-song flower power fun is over, I can post normally* again. I took a chance on Nova and it burned me, so I’ll stick with my red reads from now on. I’ll go over all my reads as I have time tomorrow. Good night.


*normal for me is a very relative term

Epignosis wrote: ↑Tue Dec 18, 2018 11:14 pm I don't know why anyone would have any qualms about lynching nova. It's low-risk, high-reward. I like those propositions.

1. nova isn't participating (much).
2. There's apparently reason to suspect he is Darkman or Shade Man or throwing shade.
3. There is no reason to believe he is not bad.
4. It saves the hosts from trying to find a replacement (which I hate having to do myself when I'm in the position).
5. I get to rub it in sig's face that I helped his ass the next time he suggests I be lynched just for having the audacity to linger.

Karaoke Karl says...

“Like a bridge over troubled water
I will ease your mind.”

Epignosis wrote: ↑Tue Dec 18, 2018 11:05 pm

G-Man wrote: ↑Tue Dec 18, 2018 10:53 pm Karaoke Karl says...

“Whoever is unjust- let him be unjust still.
Whoever is righteous- let him be righteous still.
Whoever is filthy- let him be filthy still.
Listen to the words long written down,
When the man comes around.”

G-Man wrote: ↑Tue Dec 18, 2018 10:57 pm

timmer wrote: ↑Tue Dec 18, 2018 10:56 pm My catch up had been understandably incomplete. Do we know if there is a reason g mah is doing this karaoke karl thing?

Karaoke Karl says...

“It’s a kind of magic...”

Can you imagine a Johnny Cash and Freddie Mercury collaboration?

Karaoke Karl says...

“It’s easy if you try.”

timmer wrote: ↑Tue Dec 18, 2018 10:56 pm My catch up had been understandably incomplete. Do we know if there is a reason g mah is doing this karaoke karl thing?

Karaoke Karl says...

“It’s a kind of magic...”

Karaoke Karl says...

“Whoever is unjust- let him be unjust still.
Whoever is righteous- let him be righteous still.
Whoever is filthy- let him be filthy still.
Listen to the words long written down,
When the man comes around.”

Karaoke Karl says...

“Hello Darkness, my old friend.
I’ve come to talk with you again...”

Karaoke Karl says...

“Can’t you hear me knockin’ on your window?
Can’t you hear me knockin’ on your door?
Can’t you hear me knockin’ down your dirty street?”

G-Man wrote: ↑Mon Dec 17, 2018 11:47 pm Karaoke Karl says...

"You can spend my money
Don't you waste my time (my time, prime time)
Well right now makin' up for lost time, yeah!
Alright! alright!
I think it's high time we lay it out there on the line.
Now it's about time
It's about time
It's about time
Yeah!"

Spoiler: show

Long Con wrote: ↑Fri Dec 07, 2018 12:22 am

Players - 25 23 Alive

ColinIsCool
colonialbob
Dana
DharmaHelper
Dragon D. Luffy
Enrique
Epignosis
G-Man
insertnamehere
Jackofhearts2005
Kylemii
LoRab
MacDougall
novaselinever
Quin
S~V~S
sabie12
sig
Sloonei
Sorsha
speedchuck
timmer
Tranq

"And I, get sick when I'm around,
I, can't stand to be around
I, hate everything about you!"

"Oh, that's the way, uh-huh uh-huh
I like it, uh-huh, uh-huh
That's the way, uh-huh uh-huh
I like it, uh-huh, uh-huh"

"My blender, my blender
It sits in my house.
My blender, my blender
It's as quiet as a mouse."

"How does it feel?
How does it feel?
To be without a home,
Like a complete unknown,
Like a rolling stone."

"Oh I think I smell a rat
I think I smell a rat
All you little kids seem to think you know just where it's at
Oh I think I smell a rat"

"I really wanna know
(Who are you?)
(Who, who, who, who?)"

"But when the sun went down
The rapid tempo of the music fell.
"C'est la vie", say the old folks,
It goes to show you never can tell."

"I am the greatest man that ever lived.
I was born to give and give and give."

"I think you're crazy
I think you're crazy
I think you're crazy
Just like me"

"Ooooh that smell
Can't you smell that smell
Ooooh that smell
The smell of death surrounds you."

"I don't know you and I don't want to"

"You lost that lovin' feelin'
Whoa, that lovin' feelin'
You lost that lovin' feelin'
Now it's gone, gone, gone, woh"

"I don't know what I'm up against.
I don't know what it's all about.
I got so much to think about.
Hey, I think I love you,
So what am I so afraid of?"

"Hello? (hello) (hello)
Is there anybody in there?
Just nod if you can hear me
Is there anyone at home?"

"Pussy purring and look so satisfied.
Pussy purring and looking so satisfied.
Lost in his little yellow round eyes,
Lost in his little yellow round eyes,
Pussy purring and looking so satisfied."

"I can't quit you baby,
So I'm gonna put you down for awhile."

"Let me sleep on it,
Baby, baby, let me sleep on it.
Let me sleep on it,
I'll give you answer in the morning."

"Smells like R. Kelly's sheets (piss!)"

"Sometimes I feel I've got to
Run away I've got to
Get away from the pain that you drive into the heart of me
The love we share
Seems to go nowhere"

"Are you lost or incomplete?
Do you feel like a puzzle, you can't find your missing piece?
Tell me, how do you feel?"

"Don't be surprised when a crack in the ice
Appears under your feet
You slip out of your depth and out of your mind
With your fear flowing out behind you
As you claw the thin ice"

"Clowns to the left of me
Jokers to the right
Here I am, stuck in the middle with you."

"You want to see the other side
What's going on behind the eyes
Still it seems if you can't trust
You can't be trusted"

“Oh what you think about that?
Now you know how I feel.”

Karaoke Karl says...

"You can spend my money
Don't you waste my time (my time, prime time)
Well right now makin' up for lost time, yeah!
Alright! alright!
I think it's high time we lay it out there on the line.
Now it's about time
It's about time
It's about time
Yeah!"

Karaoke Karl says...

“This is the end
Beautiful friend”

Enrique wrote: ↑Mon Dec 17, 2018 3:14 pm My reason is Luna vouching for him when she was Yang. Narrowing it down to two is also more fun.

Karaoke Karl says...

“It takes two to make a thing go right.
It takes two to make it outta sight.”

Karaoke Karl says...

“If I could, you know I would.
If I could, I would- let it go.

This desperation
Dislocation
Separation
Condemnation
Revelation in temptation
ISOlation
Desilation
Let it go!”

Karaoke Karl says...

“And so I wake in the morning and I step outside
And I take a deep breath and I get real high
And I scream from the top of my lungs-
WHAT’S GOING ON?!?”

Dragon D. Luffy wrote: ↑Mon Dec 17, 2018 7:56 am Is G-Man cursed or is he just being wacky

Is it even possible to distinguish between the two at this point? Has anyone ever figured out how?

Karaoke Karl says...

“Oh, oh, oh,
It’s magic, you know!
Never believe it’s not so.”

sabie12 wrote: ↑Mon Dec 17, 2018 5:43 am
That darkness thing...

Karaoke Karl says...

“I believe in a thing called love,
Just listen to the rhythm of my heart.”I

Sloonei wrote: ↑Mon Dec 17, 2018 12:59 am [VOTE: G-man] aubergine
mixin' it up

Karaoke Karl says...

"Oooooooh, I've got some new for you.
Ooh! I really hate your ass right now."

DharmaHelper wrote: ↑Mon Dec 17, 2018 12:49 am Lol why are we piling on Tranq what gives

Karaoke Karl says...

"Kick 'em when they're up
Kick 'em when they're down
Kick 'em when they're up
Kick 'em all around"

Karaoke Karl says...

"What moon songs do you sing your babies?
What sunshine do you bring?
Who belongs?
Who decides who's crazy?
Who rights wrongs where others cling?"

Keine neue posten von Quin. Colin’s leaning hard at Sabie. I think he’s got a schoolyard crush on her. Neither Tranq nor INH feel sincere today. Sabie’s my next ISO. I’ll join the Quin train for now.

S~V~S wrote: ↑Sat Dec 15, 2018 5:57 pm So INH is trying to scare us into not voting for him?

Kinda seems like he wants to be lynched. He’s just using reverse-psychology now. Or is it reverse-reverse-psychology? Or something even more confounding? I’m not putting anything past INH.

Kicking back for a minute after a day of Christmas shopping. I apologize for not finishing my ISOs yet but I will tonight after my company’s Christmas party.

Quin and Colin have been my weakest reads so far, but I have to check on what they may have contributed today. Colin’s Day 1 was full of what I’m calling white noise- posts that don’t cover in-game content very much. Day 2 he was absorbing things and looked like he was starting to get into the game but on a superficial level. More focus on Sabie Day 3 is where I need to pick up.

Quin’s rationale and votes were all over the map Day 1 amd yet he suggested it was a productive day? His Day 2 posting had some relevance but it felt obligatory in nature. He had only post twice Day 3 before I went shopping. Some of his on-point posts have felt measured and I don’t like the way that makes me feel.

I’ll brush up on them quick and set a vote down in case I’m too bushed after the party.

Sloonei wrote: ↑Fri Dec 14, 2018 8:31 pm

G-Man wrote: ↑Fri Dec 14, 2018 8:30 pm Know what’s a sure fire sleep aid? ISOing this game.

Nevertheless, he persisted...

#downwithketchup

Ketchup is overrated, but I have come across a few nuggets.

Know what’s a sure fire sleep aid? ISOing this game.

Nevertheless, he persisted...

Kris Kringle is coming to my house this year. I’m a civvie. Bank on it.

I’m phone posting at work to let you know my ISO’s are under way (read: I’ve done two so far). Don’t vote to “put me out of my misery.” I won’t tolerate that crap and you should suspect anyone who votes that way. If you’re going to vote for me, do it because you’re convinced I’m the best option. I won’t begrudge anyone of that because we’re all imperfect people making imperfect assumptions for fun on the Internet.

I signed up and I need to honor my commitment and find more time for this. It looks like people aren’t posting like hyperactive little ankle-biter dogs anymore, which will help. I’d like to post all of my ISO assessments at the same time. If I can get them done before the deadline, I will. If not, I’ll either post them at night if I’m not lynched or I’ll use them as a basis for following the game if I am.

I’m trying folks. I really am. Good luck hunting today. I’ll check back in later.

Kangaroo court is in session- the honorable EOD CFD is presiding. Yikes! What a mess that D1 lynch turned into.

juliets wrote: ↑Tue Dec 11, 2018 8:49 pm
G-Man, you said you suspected me after reading me - why? I would like specifics and not something general. Whatever your reasons were are they still present currently? And why didn't you try to address me on whatever issues you found? And the vote - Sloonei has asked these questions but I will ask them again - why did you say you were voting me and then vote for Sloonei? What happened there? Why didn't you share your thinking and if you couldn't before the vote why haven't you shared it since?

Of the five people I ISO’d Day 1, your’s seemed most plausible to be manufactured. Having read through the thread in full, I can still see it that way but I’m casting a wider net now and going back to ISO everyone.

My intent was to make an imperfect vote for you Day 1 but then I saw Sloonei taking the notion way too far. I wish I had been able to look through more ISOs for blenders but I ran out of time. Sloonei got my vote because he went from pushy to accommodating to cordial to panicky to desperate all in one day. That’s exhausting to read through and it looked lame in the moment.

I didn’t want to start a bona fide train on you. I just wanted to find a place to dump a Day 1 vote based on partial reads and imperfect understanding. Voting for you after Sloonei would have made you a train. I think my vote for Sloonei tied him with Wilgy at the time, which added to the cheeky fun of voting without posting.

Why aren’t I sharing more often? Because I’m tired most of the time, busy at home, stressed out at work, and fighting like heck to deny the impulse to let this game take over my life. I also don’t like answering lots of little questions in this sea of yip-yip-yip. I’m going to move forward because I choose not to explain the past too much. It slows me down too much. I remember pissing off MP a few times doing this sort of thing.

Onward.

Keeping up with this game is proving to be impossible. I remember now why I swore off playing games this large. I’m not even going to pretend that I will get caught up and ISO everyone before the Day 2 deadline. I will try but when there’s so much diarrhea of the mouth, my eyes glaze over and there will be much skimming.

For the record, I am posting such blunt comments and being honest with my intentions in order to stay just a hair above blendy. Taking me out will not help the civvie cause but it will help me get more work done in real life. Trade offs.

Sloonei wrote: ↑Mon Dec 10, 2018 10:20 pm @G-Man Why did you vote for me yesterday?

Kinetic energy steered me in a different direction. Without finishing my ISOs, my net was narrow to begin with and you went hog wild on Juliets after she looked worst on my narrow list of observations. Maybe I just haven’t seen Super Sloonei in a while but you were all over the place yesterday. We’ll see how I read you once I circle back around to your ISO.

Epignosis wrote: ↑Mon Dec 10, 2018 8:07 pm Dear God. A guy goes to work and comes home sixteen pages behind. What the hell?

Kooky, right?

Kicking myself off the phone for the night and going to bed. I didn’t finish my ISO’s of mid-post level players. Colin’s ISO is thin. CBob had some meat but I need to give it another look when I have more time. Nutella was lean, DDl seemed adequate, and Mac is Mac. I didn’t hit the Jack, sig, or Luna reads yet.

I’ll vote for Juliets since I placed her the worst of my big talkers. If I wake up in the morning to find myself still alive, I will ISO everyone over N1 and the first part of D2.

The trouble with this game is that it’s only Day 1 and there are almost 900 posts, most of which is bluster and white noise.

Linki- oh good grief this may not end well for me.

Good night.

KA-POW! We watched Incredibles 2 tonight. I wasn’t all that impressed.

Anywho, the top five talkers by post count when I snagged it were Sloonei, DH, juliets, timmer, and Epi.

Sloonei was quite talkative for someone with a paper to write. From my skim, he started out throwing poo everywhere to fetch reactions. Standard issue stuff. He tried to shut down Epi’s ‘gotcha’ sequence and became less poo-flingy as the day went on. By the end of the ISO he felt more accommodating and interactive rather than just “WHAM with the poo and tell me how you feel about that.” More dialogue and less shooting from the hip. It’s been a long time since I played with full-bore Sloonei.

DH was a pretty good read but I know he’s wiley as all get out after seeing his charm offensive in Outpost 31. Thing of beauty, that one. He talks about a number of people without going too far in interpreting their actions. No seed-planting as far as I can detect. Nothing out of place there, but Outpost 31.

Juliets spends most of her time responding to people’s thoughts and stances on other people without offering many of her own thoughts on anyone. I feel like this is normal but it’s also easy to fake. Her post count is high but it is, as she admits, all over the place. Is she being a sponge or just feigning a somewhat active appearance?

Timmer feels like Timmer. Some general discussion the first half of Day 1 but he doesn’t just ride the phase out in neutral. He’s warming up, gradually engaging in discussion about specific people and offering his own insight. Progression doesn’t always mean anything but it felt good to see it from a Top 5 Talker.

Epi seemed to Epi along but then hit Sloonei with a try-hard sledgehammer with extra stank on it. He’s a force to be reckoned with regardless of alignment, and no one can accuse him of dialing it in early here. It’s a bold play for a baddie to try to demolish a civvie like this early but there are also two baddie teams, so baddies are hunting too. Fairly standard stuff but the presence of multiple baddie teams gives me pause.

If I had to put these five in order of most likely to be faking it to least likely, my gut puts it like this:

Juliets
Epi
Sloonei
DH
Timmer

Know this- I just took a screenshot of the post count. I’m going to skim over some ISO’s here like I said I would. Be back soon.

Turnip Head wrote: ↑Sun Dec 09, 2018 11:12 am

juliets wrote: ↑Sun Dec 09, 2018 11:05 am

Turnip Head wrote: ↑Sun Dec 09, 2018 11:04 am G-Man's not as loosey goosey as I remember

TH, what does this mean?

Like in Economics when he posted in all pictures. He's a goofy poster. He's more measured here so far.

Kibosh on that. I’m being as goofy as usual. You just haven’t found it yet.

Turnip Head wrote: ↑Sun Dec 09, 2018 11:41 am To be fair to G-Man, it's still Day 1 and I try not to hold anyone to their past meta. But he got into it with DH over the tie thing, and I wonder if that's a bone he wanted to pick, or simply a bone he thought he could pick to look involved (which he sort of copped to himself).

It was a little of column A and a little of column B. It was equal parts “don’t tell me what I can’t do” and a self-serving way to make enough noise to stand out from other low-posters.

Sloonei wrote: ↑Sun Dec 09, 2018 12:52 pm

juliets wrote: ↑Sun Dec 09, 2018 11:23 am

Turnip Head wrote: ↑Sun Dec 09, 2018 11:12 am

juliets wrote: ↑Sun Dec 09, 2018 11:05 am

Turnip Head wrote: ↑Sun Dec 09, 2018 11:04 am G-Man's not as loosey goosey as I remember

TH, what does this mean?

Like in Economics when he posted in all pictures. He's a goofy poster. He's more measured here so far.

Oh, ok - I don't remember playing Economics (I think I sat that one out) so I didn't realize that was a thing.

Economics was my first game on the Syndicate and having a guy post in all pictures for no reason was hilarious and charming and made me want to stay.

Aw shucks, you’re sweet. But I had a very good reason for it. I was neck-deep in Biblical Mafia at the time and couldn’t handle full involvement in two post-heavy games at the same time. Posting only in pictures served to lower people’s expectations of my output in Economics. I stuck with it after dying in Biblical because it had become too fun to stop and would have struck some as odd. I was a civvie in that game but my shenanigans got me lynched in a LYLO that went down to the final two minutes. Golden the Coward was the baddie and he won the game. I try not to let my shenanigans impair me too much since that game.

Knitting a sweater takes time. So does forming reads on people (for me at least). It feels like it’s been ages since I played in a game this size, and I’m already blurring several of you together in my mind like all the dwarves in The Hobbit. Certain personalities stand out more than others but that’s because I don’t play often enough.

My comments to DH were designed to be loud enough to register with people, helping me be noticed in a game where I haven’t said much yet. I’m playing a long-game strategy, which will probably get me killed for admitting it but oh well.

I’m not interested in competing in the big, loud Day 1 contest some of you like to engage in. That’s never been my style. Feel free to fling poo, needle, and fish for reactions. Just know that I’m in observation mode out of both preference and necessity (guess who doesn’t know I’m playing- again).

I didn’t like the concept of “let’s avoid ties because of the mysterious sppoky tribunal thing,” so I said something. Then I reiterated it. I’m done talking about because I don’t want to be perceived as a one-issue player (least of all over a tangential issue).

I’m going to look at the loudest folk and try to determine who among those voices sounds insincere. I’ll also look at the middle-of-the-packers and decide who may look the most blendy. I’ll vote for whichever one I feel strongest about at the time.

Kylemii wrote: ↑Sat Dec 08, 2018 4:01 pm

G-Man wrote: ↑Sat Dec 08, 2018 2:19 pm Keep an eye on the folks who darted in here early and, in light of the D0 poll result, pooh-poohed ties on the lynch poll. It’s a subtle way to establish a preemptive cop-out for either train-hopping later (to show they stick to their convictions) or blame-shifting to set up fall guys who tie polls that result in mislynches.

Close lynches and ties (whether mid-phase or at EOD) are valuable sources of information. Granted, that information is best in hindsight after the herd has thinned some.

like

We may not know who is on the Tribunal but we’re starting out with more civs than baddies (unless this game is extra-double whacky) and there are also two baddie factions, so the odds are against Tribunal being filled with one baddie team.

what is tribunal?

Knowledge is power:

Long Con wrote: ↑Sat Dec 08, 2018 1:15 am The Tribunal of Judgement has been chosen. Three players will each secretly vote to decide the outcome of tied lynches.

DharmaHelper wrote: ↑Sat Dec 08, 2018 2:25 pm To me the only reason a person would vote to tie a lynch that they weren't in danger in is because they are on the tribunal or know who is and they want to save the person that is in the lead during the un-tied period.

Significantly more plausible baddie motives RE: Ties.

Knowing more than meets the eye is far from the only reason that ties happen. At EOD it does look suspicious but it happens many times during the day phase as well. Some people have hunches about and reads on people that lead them to tie up the poll. Poll momentum shifts as the day progresses as well. Your post is very short-sighted, reactive, and dismissive. Anyone else posting it and I’d be somewhat suspicious. But you’re you, so I don’t know if the needle moves much.

Keep an eye on the folks who darted in here early and, in light of the D0 poll result, pooh-poohed ties on the lynch poll. It’s a subtle way to establish a preemptive cop-out for either train-hopping later (to show they stick to their convictions) or blame-shifting to set up fall guys who tie polls that result in mislynches.

Close lynches and ties (whether mid-phase or at EOD) are valuable sources of information. Granted, that information is best in hindsight after the herd has thinned some.

We may not know who is on the Tribunal but we’re starting out with more civs than baddies (unless this game is extra-double whacky) and there are also two baddie factions, so the odds are against Tribunal being filled with one baddie team.

Kvetch all you like, but I’m tying this poll up.

I want to become more than what I am. Let’s light this candle!

Knowing the epic nature of Long Con & Black Rock games, the fact that the baddies kill range increases as their numbers wain shouldn’t surprise me, but oof. Clever way to keep everyone else from getting overconfident.