The Syndicate

Okay, I have been wary of a Jonathan lynch but his last couple posts have brought me around to not trusting him. He really sounded genuine at first, and I think Absalom is a little extreme in saying that he hasn't at all defended himself, but his tone as well as his refusal to bring up other suspicions is really pinging me now. He's not even trying to help or contribute, he's just trying to save himself. I've been generous in accepting his "don't lynch me you'll regret it" rhetoric because of my own use of that defense, but I am not finding it believable anymore. Also, he referred to civvies in the second person. That's really the straw that breaks the camel's back for me.

Still not feeling 100% confident about this, but definitely less worried than I was. That last post just reeks. Sorry Jonathan, I am hoping Absalom is right about this one.

Lot, you just said you trusted me

Rahab, why does the hint make you more suspicious? Again, my role is known to be alive, so I can't be fake-claiming. Anyway, I've already defended my admittedly poor voting record. Eye me all you want, but lynching me would just slow down the baddie hunting.

I would also like to see Isaac participate more.

What happened to discussion of Rebecca and Pilate? I think they, along with Mordecai, are our best bets.

Jacob wrote: I'd be welcome to look at any of these.

That doesn't really make sense does it. Good morning

Belshazzar wrote: I think I have an idea what's up with Lot. We talked a while ago about Job being forced to go at Uzziah (and maybe Uzziah to go at Job, as well??) rather than having tunnel vision - I think Jonah acknowledged the possibility and then so did I - and that it might be a Horseman's doing (War? Conquest?). For Lot to suddenly be enlightened of that must mean that he just got afflicted and Lazarus is the player he must go at.

The only part that threw me off a bit was the "Horsemen shall ride on." sentence. It made me think of Lot being recruited by another Horseman (Conquest?) and having to adulate him or the Horsemen altogether. But it doesn't usually make sense for a recruited player to hint so hard and root for the recruiter.

Ah, this makes sense indeed. I think I missed the previous acknowledgment of a coercive power but it makes a lot of sense. As for the second part, I think (and his latest post supports this) that he's saying the horsemen ride on to hint that he's been coerced by them and to let us know that they're still around and affecting the game. I really don't think he's been recruited.

Mordecai, interesting thoughts there but I am really convinced that both Balaam and Lot are civvies, and have been for quite a few day periods.

I sympathize with Jonathan and would be wary of lynching him, I really think he is genuine and I don't even remember what the original case on him was (but I think it was similar to the one on me). My main lynch candidates as of now are Rebecca, Pilate, and maybe Mordecai or Samuel. I'd be welcome to look at any of these. Also I saw someone mention Deborah, can someone summarize that case for me? I don't remember anything at all about her.

But looking at the list of players there are some that I just don't even recognize as having been playing. Bathsheba? Judah? Malchus? IIRC these people have missed more votes than I have and I'm surprised they haven't been modkilled tbh.

Lot wrote:

Jacob wrote:Lot, what was that about the horsemen?

Yeah, that does read pretty randomly doesn't it. Perhaps if you read the post as a whole it might make some sense.

What is war good for? Absolutely nothing. Certainly not for me.

Yeah I didn't understand the rest of the post either.

Oh yup looks like nobody died. Cool.

So nobody died? These host posts are really well written but a summary at the end would be nice because sometimes the actual information is not clear. But the summary on the front page hasn't been updated with anything, so either he hasn't updated it yet or nothing happened.

Lot, what was that about the horsemen?

RIP Jeph.

Okay I have to go now. I'm voting for Rebecca. I think either she or Mordecai could be bad but I've been less certain of Mordecai.

No I'm obviously Zombie Jacob. The Island needed me.

Lot- Belsh made the point that my role is one that could not possibly be dead at this point. That might help. But I feel like I should shut up now because I don't know to what extent Epi allows hinting

Balaam wrote: Either Jacob and Jonathan are both baddies or Jacob is Heathen and is trying to set Jonathan up after Jacob flips Heathen.

What?? Could you explain why you think this?

Lot wrote: Jacob seems like a dead cert to me, I'd be really surprised if he isn't heathen.

Well then prepare to be surprised. Or, you know, actually read my posts and consider that you're wrong. You keep saying my votes are damning, and I keep explaining that I have just been misguided and in the wrong place at the wrong time, but your judgment is clouded. Wasting a lynch on me would tragically ruin our baddie-catching streak. We can't afford this.

Absalom no don't betray me I'm hesitant about Jonathan too as I said, I think he might be genuine. But if I have to vote him to save myself I will, because I know how valuable I am for the civvie cause.

Hmm, not sure where I stand on Jonathan. I still feel like I can trust Absalom but I don't necessarily trust his gut, and Jon's defenses read genuine and again I'm afraid he's in a similar boat as I was... Idk, I could see him either way. I don't really like that he's no-u'ing on Abs though.

Pilate though. Pilate is not looking good. Wtf even was that last post of his? So weird.

I encourage people to read my posts WITHOUT presupposing that I am bad. I think you are all putting a spin on everything I say, and sure I don't have the cleanest voting record or consistency of opinions, but I have been nothing but honest in each of my posts. Try going in without that bias and see me for the unfortunately very frustrated civvie that I am. Also look for my very subtle hints

Too bad this is a sock game -- anyone who knew who I was and has played a few games with me would know that this happens to me as a civvie way too often I say things that end up being damning but totally made sense at the time I said them. I'm just always in the wrong place at the wrong time -- maybe my sock should have been Job instead

Belshazzar wrote:Let's lynch Jacob.

4 posts containing anything about Ruth. 4 posts in six chapters. All of them the previous Day.
"Case on Ruth is intriguing."
"Ruth is unlikely to be Uzziah's teammate because she hunted him consistently."
"Feeling ambivalent about Ruth, don't feel like voting her."
"Hope you're right about Ruth"

If you actually read them, this progression makes perfect sense. I was intrigued by the Ruth suspicion, so I read back through her posts. I thought it was odd that she switched to the mary vote day 3 to prevent a tie with Uzziah, but otherwise she had been voting Uzziah a few times and kept bringing him up, so I thought it unlikely for her to be his teammate, unless she was going for the long drawn-out distancing risk which she apparently was. But that was enough to make me doubtful enough not to vote for her, and to be a bit wary of the bandwagon. I'm sorry that everything I honestly think and say in this game looks bad to you, but you will be sorely disappointed if you lynch me because I have hinted multiple times, my role strongly increases civvie chances.

Rachel (or anyone), do you have reason not to believe that Laz is Simon? It seems believeable since he's been consistently voting for the same person and I don't know that anyone else has been doing this, but it is weird that he seems to be using it against someone who barely anyone else suspects (if he is Simon he doesn't have BTSC, and is presumably just going off a gut feeling unless he got info somehow). But also the real Simon could be dead already? Idk


linki: My name's been brought up before. But now that I'm around more to defend myself, I will. I don't want to waste a lynch when we should keep trying to get consecutive baddie lynches.

LInki: Oh whoa does that mean Jezebel?? Sweet! Let's have another productive lynch while we can!

Rachel wrote:

Jacob wrote:Yes of course I read your exchange Rachel, I commented on it. And yes I've been flippy-floppy with regards to you, so what? I'm having trouble reading you and sometimes I change my mind, does that make me baddie mcbadderson?

Convenient that you flip to voting me once I state I am suspicious of you.

Huh? I have been considering you for this entire day. I've gotten some mixed vibes as I said, but they're bad enough to warrant a vote that's not going to end in you being lynched anyway, it's more of a prod. I said once a few days ago that I thought you could be civvie but ever since I've felt weirder about you.


linki: okay, sure, I believe you. Sorry I was so inattentive to this game in the first few days. My bad. I was busy and overwhelmed by all the discussion and missed some stuff. I'm paying more attention now.

Man I really hope you guys are right about Ruth.

I don't know, I guess for some people Uzziah was a strong suspect from the beginning, but I remember "root"gate and that seemed weak, and if there were more reasons to suspect him in the subsequent couple days I missed them.

Yes of course I read your exchange Rachel, I commented on it. And yes I've been flippy-floppy with regards to you, so what? I'm having trouble reading you and sometimes I change my mind, does that make me baddie mcbadderson?

@Belsh: Because you realized they weren't at all damning? That I was just being honest, and may have inadvertently worded it in a way that was easily misinterpreted :/

I feel pretty equally ambivalent/very slightly positive about both Absalom and Ruth and don't really want to vote for either of them, so I'm voting Rachel.

Wow Belshazzar you got a lot wrong about me. I never defended Uzziah nor said I trusted him -- where in the world did you get that from? I made that one post when I thought he was an "easy target" but as I said that was my honest take on the situation. As others (Mordecai?) have said the original reasons Uzz was suspected were kinda weak and he was a backburner suspect, and I was just saying that I was prioritizing stronger suspicions. I absolutely never defended him nor said I trusted him. I also never really trusted Rachel, I mentioned once that I kinda thought she and Job were civ-on-civ but I was never sure. Also you missed Lot and Balaam on my trust list.

I am very confused about this stuff with Laz and Pilate but it seems Laz is hinting that he's Simon -- given his voting habits that would make sense. So I hope he is not wrong about Absalom. Very odd that he and Pilate posted copies though.

Lazarus and Pilate both think Absalom is bad. What is the reasoning behind that?

Also, Laz has been voting Absalom for several days, to the extent that he's not contributing to the lynches at all. I find this post incredibly suspicious:

Lazarus wrote:So I'm catching up now. I really want to keep voting absalom till he is lynched but the list could also be a big help finding out who was on uzziah's team.

He's not at all enthusiastic about hunting for Uzz's teammates, he has this tunnel vision about Absalom. Meanwhile, Pilate insists that Absalom is in fact Uzziah's teammate. What to make of all this? I have sort of low-key trusted Absalom for most of the game, but if someone has evidence against him I will listen; otherwise I think Lazarus and maybe Pilate as well are full of BS.

Read through Rachel's and Ruth's posts. It does seem that Ruth suspected Uzziah consistently for a few days and was vocal about it, so it seems unlikely she's his teammate. Rachel, well, I don't really know what to think of Rachel. She seemed genuinely surprised that Job was good and Uzziah was bad, but idk I'm getting mixed vibes from her. I think I need to reread a couple other players before I decide.

The case on Ruth is intriguing. I have to agree with Stephen that she could easily have been a teammate hiding in the Uzziah vote/not voting for Jeph because it would look like a save. I'm going to do a bit of my research on Rachel and then likely vote for one of these two R-ladies.

Lot, lynching me would not be just 'fine' tbh I assure you, I'm worth keeping around. I know I haven't contributed much in thread but I am helpful for the civvie cause and I will try to participate more in the next few days.

How did I pull a "No U"???

I have to agree with Isaac here (regarding Lot's methods etc.), and since I'm in a similar boat I'm willing to give him and Jeph BOTD for now because they seem like they are also genuinely civvies who inadvertently look bad. Voting patterns are by no means any more of a secure way to determine who's bad than anything else in-thread. When I voted for Mary Mag I really thought she was bad, whereas Uzziah didn't seem like a threat. I posted my honest thoughts and now it's come back to bite me because I happened not to vote for a baddie and because I happened to vote at a certain time? Sorry I don't fit your flawless formula for innocence

Interesting quote from Rachel there. Not sure what to make of it. I've been getting weird vibes from her all game and am definitely considering looking at her for today. There are a couple other players whose posts I might look through if I have time. I'm really afraid of wasting another lynch, but it's so hard to be sure of anyone.

My record doesn't look so great does it I really am so sorry about missing so many votes. I keep getting distracted within the last hour of the poll. I'm surprised the host hasn't punished me yet.

Lot jumped to some unnecessary conclusions from my voting pattern though. Maybe from the numbers/vote orders alone it looks like I was trying to save Uzziah but the truth is I didn't even notice the Uzziah votes for the most part. I remember people looking at him funny on D1, maybe into D2, but like I said discussion of him seemed to always be on the backburner and felt like the easy fallback suspicion for some people -- surely this trend is at least partially thanks to Uzziah's teammates, they probably contributed to a lot of the other discussion that directed away from him. At the times that I voted, on the days that I did, I was voting for my strongest suspect at the time, based on the thread. Yesterday, I was fine with Uzziah finally being lynched and might have voted for him if I hadn't been an airhead and missed the deadline. Now that he flipped bad I'm kinda frustrated that we didn't lynch him earlier, but other stuff always comes up and I tend to vote for whoever is acting the most suspicious at the time rather than mild suspicions that haven't been stirred up in current discussion. There's nothing really to read into the order/timing of my votes, they were just when I happened to vote.

I agree more with Jeph's assessment of what voting patterns can tell us, and Mordecai looks interesting now. His quick defense feels somewhat genuine though, and I'll have to look back at his posts to recall his earlier attitudes toward Uzziah, but if they're as he says, again vote patterns may be a red herring.

My record may look sketchy, and I'm really sorry I haven't been giving this game the attention it deserves, but I really am civvie and my role actually significantly increases our chance of winning. As long as we don't waste another lynch. I'm interested in looking more closely into Mordecai and Rachel, and maybe still Jephthah.

linki: Ugh, again, Balaam with the useless lists... really dude I don't suspect you anymore, but you're not really helping by posting all this unreadable summarizing that drowns out real discussion and doesn't really contribute thoughts.

Oh damn I hecked up and missed the vote again. But hey, we're finally down a baddie!! Woohoo!

I'd be happy to see either Uzziah or Jephthah gone today. Honestly I'm surprised Uzziah wasn't lynched within the first couple days, since he was acting weird and has been a consistent back-burner suspect ever since -- somehow other stuff always came up that pushed discussion of him away. I think both Uzz and Jeph are bad and I'm honestly having a hard time deciding which one to vote for (though it looks like Uzz is more likely to be lynched at this point)

Definitely getting unfavorable vibes from Jeph throughout that exchange. I more or less trust Lot now, and Jeph's attitude is not looking civ to me. Sorry about your RL stuff though <3

Okay so the way I interpreted that was that we were literally to vote as soon as possible, like as soon as we read the post. But people seem not to be doing that, so unless the host tells us we're Doing It Wrong, I'm going to hold off.

Yay for Amorites; RIP Nico and Barney. The Amorites being off the poll limits our options a bit, though I was beginning to trust that Balaam and Lot are civs. Out of the names on the poll the only one that particularly stands out to me is Rachel; I still really don't know what to think of her.

Voting for Amorites because amor = love

Shit, I screwed up and missed the vote again, I'm so sorry I would have voted for Balaam. Though it's odd how strongly Lot is vouching for him

I'm leaning towards thinking Rachel and Job could be civ-and-civ. They both seem genuine, and could just both be wrong in their suspicions of each other.

I'm really liking Nico's and Absalom's points about Balaam. Especially the first one -- Balaam has done a good job of making plenty of posts that look helpful but are really just fluff. Could be a baddie trying to hide in plain sight.

Belshazzar wrote: Jacob, what makes you think Pilate has hinted at Absalom's role?

"Boils" and "blood." Plagues.

Ah, I didn't catch that... looks like Pilate might have been hinting at Absalom being the Pharaoh?

Wow, I've just gotten rickrolled by God.

RIP Gideon.

Well shit. Sorry Mary.

Let's just go for a five-way split and see what happens

Voting for Mary. Not feeling the most confident about this lynch though. This game is hard.

I feel like Uzziah is too much of an easy target. He could turn out to be bad, but for now it doesn't seem all that worthwhile to go after him.

I'm not really clear on what the cases are against Absalom and Job. I felt okay about Absalom, and I think Job said he wouldn't be around so I don't really want to vote there.

I think I am most likely to vote for Mary Mag at this point. She jumped in, didn't even wait to finish catching up, saw someone's (I forget whose) point about Rachel (I don't think it was even that great a point) and immediately votes based on that. It's like she just assumed that she was going the popular route at the time and was a bit too eager to establish her willingness to go along with others' suspicions.


And I'm sorry my posts have been sparse and fluffy. I've had a really busy couple of weeks, and I'm still having a hard time keeping track of all the names and suspicions going on in this thread. I'm trying to keep up but I don't have the greatest mental picture of this game.

Belshazzar: I assumed Isaac meant he had just replaced into the game, but I'm not entirely sure. It seemed like he was implying he had yet to catch up on the thread.

RIP Paul.

Aw shit, I missed the vote. Sorry everyone, very busy day.

RIP Martha. I would also guess that it was an attempt to frame Absalom or Paul.

I am not buying this. I don't agree with Martha's interpretations and I don't see any particular reason to suspect Absalom.

RIP Samson.