The Syndicate

I am going to lock this thread and request it to be transferred over to the archives. The game has been over for more than a week now, so it's time to move on. Replacing this spot on the main page with a big gaping hole may even help spur interest in the other games currently in sign-ups. It's time for the next Heist host to step up as well!

Thanks for playing, everyone. It was fun and just a tad surreal.

EPILOGUE

David Koch sat in his favorite chair, reveling at the chaos unwinding on his television. Donald Trump was dead and media pundits were falling all over themselves to cover the first assassination of a presidential candidate in almost 50 years. First, there was the crime itself. A massive manhunt was underway for Donald’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner.

Second, there was the political fallout. What would the RNC do now? Who would replace Trump as the nominee? With ballot deadlines fast approaching for most states, the Republican Party had to act fast to avoid widespread confusion on Election Day. David didn’t care. He would wield his money and influence over the GOP in an attempt plant his desired politician as the replacement. If that failed, he could stomach four years of Hillary. When you’re a billionaire, it’s easy to stomach a lot of things.

His brother was in the other room, talking on the phone. His face soured at his brother’s happy discourse and tone. Charles Koch walked into the room and flashed a smug grin as he finished his phone call.

“So Jeb made it to the safe house?” David asked even though he already knew the answer.

“Yes,” Charles said. “He is officially off the grid now. And to think, you suggested we hire Ted Cruz for this mission.”

“Yes, indeed. What next, then?”

“Just like we planned,” Charles explained. “In two weeks, he will be picked up and undergo surgery to make him look like himself again.”

“And he knows that this means he cannot be the replacement candidate?”

“Yes, he is well aware of that.”

“Good then,” David said. “I think I’ll go for a drive.” He got up from his chair and made it halfway across the room before his brother coughed in an attention-getting way.

“Don’t forget about our bet, David,” he said. “You lost.”

“Indeed I did,” David sighed. “Which of your accounts shall I wire your million dollars to?”

“None of them,” Charles said. “I think this time I’d like my winnings in hand. Gold bullion will do nicely.”

--------------------------------------------

Pamela Brown woke up in a strange place. It took her a minute to realize that she was in a hospital room. She racked her brain to recall what put her here. Then she noticed a boy sitting in a chair, staring at her with contempt. It all came back to her in an instant- the mission, the accident, everything.

“Good,” Barron Trump said, “you’re awake.”

“What happened? How long have I been out?”

“None of that matters right now. At least, not to me. My father and sister are dead. I don’t know if you’re responsible for that but until I learn otherwise, I am going to treat you as though you are. I don’t know who you are yet but you are going to tell me everything you know about Operation Cobalt and the people you work for.

“Now that you’re awake, we can take you anywhere we want for further treatment. Your cooperation will determine where we take you, the duration of your stay, and the conditions you will be subjected to. I will avenge my father. Believe me.”

--------------------------------------------

Will Barron Trump get his revenge?

Find out in BLUE vs. RED

Coming ???

Voting is over. In one last surprise twist, METALMARSH89 has been voted MVP of the game. Congratulations!

Under 24 hours to go to submit your MVP votes!

Metalmarsh89 wrote:Was there a Spectator Chat for this game?

Yes but it was poorly attended. Maybe if another game requiring 38 players hadn't been going on at the same time, a few people may have stumbled upon it. Then again, a heist game featuring more posts than most Speed games may have scared people off too. Seriously, over 10% of JJJ's total posts sitewide come from this game.

Catching up on all the posts. One thing I want to make clear is that Jeb was not compatible with the civvies. Had JJJ been NK'd by Jeb, he would leave the game. If this happens when the mafia is still alive, Jeb gets a win and leaves the game. Then the rest of the civvies still have to eliminate the baddies.

With the mafia gone, a Jeb win means a civvie loss. Jeb either takes Trump out himself or he takes everyone else out to be the LMS. Even if the mafia is eliminated, the civvies need to get rid of Jeb to win.

Let me explain it this way- the civvies were tasked with eliminating all threats to Trump's campaign. They can't win with Jeb because he is a threat to the campaign. I couldn't spell it out for you guys because the closed setup required me to keep killing faction information from you. If that devolved into a grey area, then I guess that's just my fault as the host. It was always civvies-v-mafia-v-sk. Had Trump been lynched, Jeb could have accomplished his mission in the narrative had he made it as LMS.

Ricochet wrote:Cool stuff, G-Man, I think it's clear how much detail and purpose you've put into the theme, the roles and the flavor - about the same kind I like to pigment my own designs, as much as possible. I wouldn't say there are any issues with a villanous third party role - in theory, anything could have happened to him, from Day 1 till endgame, it just happened to achieve a maximum potential this time. I also designed the Reaper in Triskaidekaphobia as an exiter, so I think that side of it is also cool beans, but in that case it was a benign role simply because I would have exceeded the 3-limit rule by giving it something to actually do within the game.

That being said, I do have two topics of inquiry that I sense could morph into issues:

1) if there is any actual explanation to the faux-flips we've seen in the case of the mafia team? I mean, I've read something above about baddies in disguise and plastic surgery, but... is flavor all it was to it? If so, I'd say the issue is when flavor would affect the dynamic of the game and the effects on the players. I think I remember at least one instance in which a fake mislynch reveal caused players to end up at each other's throat over it, after which the real reveal made one side emerge justified and victorious and one side looking, erm, poopy.

Of course, the kerkuffle happened to be between a civilian and a mafioso, so my case is not completely strong, since the mafia side probably faked being so berating, still, overall, I'm inclined to think lynch reveals are meant to deliver the facts straight up and particularly make the civilians face up either the successfulness or the misguided nature of their endeavour. It's clear you did not design any seemer / temp seemer / something alike, which to justify legit flip fakery, so yeah, I'd say Host shenanigans in revealing endphase results should be kept at a low.

The faux-flips were a kind of fusion of the game thread and the narrative element. It's a bridging element that was never (to my recollection) a part of either Lostpedia or STV games, so I would say it's something I came up with on my own. Two factors contributed to this mechanic's inclusion in the game. One, in college I did theatre and one of my favorite acting decision stories is the one that just got recycled when Gene Wilder died. When he first appears as Willie Wonka, he appears cold and weak, gimping along with a cane, only to stumble and surprise everyone with a spry and happy demeanor. Gene Wilder would only take the part if he could present Wonka in this way because, if his first appearance to the audience was a lie, then the audience would never be able to take his actions at face value through the rest of the film. It's brilliant on his part and on some level, I wanted to keep you guys guessing and on the edge of your seat throughout the game so it made sense to feed you a red herring for a little while.

I knew early on, though that I had to be deliberate about the actual reveal. I didn't want to drop it all 11th hour on you guys because that impacts the game too much. While the reveals after the lynches were six or so hours removed from the lynch post, it would have only been an hour or two from the events of the lynch post in the narrative universe where this game only takes 6 days to run its course. I allowed Epi's NK reveal to run even longer because day phases are 48 hours.

The second factor was that within the narrative, Operation Cobalt operatives would never just confess that they're spies after getting kicked out of the Inner Circle. It would take time (a la Barron's interrogations) to bring out the truth. The same goes for Epi's NK. I decided that since it would take time in real life (or the narrative) to bring these shenanigans to light, then it should take time in the game thread for the truth to come out.

To be completely honest, it' probably 50% me trying to use a mechanic that I think is clever and relevant to the political thriller genre the game morphed into and 50% me trying to work around the 3-power role limit for heist games. I understand from a player's perspective that those red herrings are frustrating, especially if you have momentum going on a theory and you come to learn that you just "wasted" your time on it because of a delayed reveal. My previous games hosted on TP all contained some kind of frustrating elements that I myself would hate to have to deal with as a player. I can empathize and understand if you think it's something best left out of future games.

Ricochet wrote:2) Now that you've disclosed it, I confess that I find the "Leetic was submitting kills but not posting or voting, so I felt like I had to replace him." slightly questionable. Part of that is due to the fact that I don't think you designed or even alluded to the fact that not posting would eventually consistute a game offence deserving removal or replacement - maybe I've missed it, but I don't see it. Then, a preliminary question would be if you contacted leetic to ask if his method is intentional.

All in all, believe me, I'm probably the #1 inactive hater, precisely because of how they can borderline force the civ pack to have to simply remove them in order to extract a read out of them (or just leave them be and potentially suffer the consequences), but the way you phrased it, leetic was clearly not out of orbit, and it is left as interpretable if he was carrying a tactic with his inactivity or not. Which makes the replacement, at least from the deity-approach to hosting (I think Epignosis coined it?), not a clean intervention.

Part of me wants to say I am justified in my actions because leetic hasn't posted anywhere on this site since August 28th but I recognize that I was sloppy in assembling my rules for the game. I should have put something out there explaining what could trigger an automatic replacement and I failed to do so. Because leetic was not posting or voting, I sent night PM reminders to all my power roles (I communicated with Epi/the mafia via the BTSC thread). On Night 2, I did inform him that if he did not post or vote during Day 3, I would replace him. He sent in his kill request and did not say anything about my ultimatum.

I was also prepared to replace reywaS if he survived the tied lynch though I don't know if I warned him that it might be coming. He lost the coinflip though, so it's a moot point there. I will be more specific in future games about participation standards. While I respect the existence of the P-Score system devised on this site, I have yet to really see it enforced hardcore, so I have no way to judge its effectiveness as a deterrent to low or no participation. I have a system where missing votes and not posting gets you penalty votes but I thought it would threaten the balance of an already small game like heists are supposed to be. I don't know what the answer is to the low and no participation issue.

One problem I know I had was that I rushed the game into action with zero prospective replacements in queue. That was dangerous and it bit me. I had to resurrect dead players back into the game and we all know that doing so sucks for baddies who work hard to get rid of particular players for one reason or another.

I believe that I would have pressed a vanilla inactive much in the same way as I did leetic because, especially in heist games, inactivity can be a game-changer. I tried hard not to be too meddlesome as a host. I did that in a game I hosted long ago, coaxing a baddie role to use a power and it helped expose them and may have helped bring down the entire team as a result. It's a constant battle to carry all the excitement of being the omniscient host with nobody to share it all with.

Thanks for the input! I have to agree in part to both of your points. I certainly did venture into a grey area with this game. Next time I will strive to be more clear-cut.

Metalmarsh89 wrote:I am curious to hear why Sloonei was nightkilled.

G-Man wrote:NIGHT 4:
JJJ selected sycophant #1 (CARSON / Sloonei) to protect him. Sloonei was the last sycophant remaining.
INH protected himself, IVANKA.
Golden 2.0 targeted JJJ but Sloonei died in his place.

Oops. I forgot the Ivanka protections. Just added them to that list.

FUN FACTS:
I did not expect my three power roles to make it all the way to the end of the game. That was wild.

Had JJJ ever died, it would have (hopefully) become apparent to INH that leetic/Golden was the serial killer, as there are only three power roles allowed in a heist game. I'm surprised JJJ didn't try to milk that more / at all. Also, had INH ever died, JJJ should have become wise to leetic/Golden given the early suspicion of a BTSC unit outside of the mafia.

Lawrence O'Donnell, the Operation Cobalt operative mentioned in the Day 0 post was actually supposed to be in the game as a role. Then the real Paul Manafort resigned from Trump's campaign during sign-ups, so I went scrambling for another option. Tiffany Trump was originally a civvie but I added Conway as Manafort's replacement from the campaign staff. Rather than make Conway a baddie, I thought it made more sense for a secret operation to replace someone who's been involved longer. Thus, Tiffany became a baddie in disguise. I liked how it made it possible for Ivanka to protect a baddie. Sure enough, it happened!

I chose all of the Operation Cobalt operatives because they share a passing resemblance with their aliases. I picked Manafort, Glassner, and Murphy and looked for liberals / media people who looked enough like them. In real life, that would give plastic surgeons a solid foundation to build upon.

Operation Cobalt didn't even exist until partway through Day 1. There was a baddie team but I didn't have a name for them. I came up with it quickly, knowing that cobalt is used as both a catalyst and to create blue pigments. Operation Cobalt wasn't originally going to be tasked with killing Trump because they wanted him alive. The mafia really just wanted to make sure they outnumbered the rest of the Inner Circle so they could continue to lead Trump down a path of crazy to cost him the election. I was originally going to task the mafia with not killing Trump but then I realized that it was a near-impossible task to ask of them. That's when I changed the lynches and NK's from true kills to other means of neutralizing the roles. Lynches knocked them out of the Inner Circle and NK's incapacitated them somehow.

The Ivanka-Jared BTSC was an idea I had very late on. Originally, Jared was going to be a civvie and they really would have BTSC. Then I added the serial killer. I wavered on that. I wasn't sure if a serial killer was allowed in a heist format. Indie role, yes, but an indie role that could kill? I wasn't sure but I added one anyway but then I realized that I had four power roles- Trump, Jeb, Ivanka and Jared technically because him having BTSC has an impact on the game. So I merged Jeb and Jared together. Sure enough, in real life, they are the same height.

While I can totally understand the frustration of being tricked by a civvie-SK BTSC pairing, I fell in love with the idea. I don't recall if I ever saw that sort of thing before and it added an extra layer of deception to it all. Leetic was submitting kills but not posting or voting, so I felt like I had to replace him. I don't know how much I expected INH to question leetic or Golden 2.0 but I think INH was just glad to have someone to talk to when Golden subbed in. It would have been fascinating to watch that BTSC relationship ebb and flow all game long but it just didn't work out that way.

I have always supported coin flips to determine lynch poll ties up until now. The JJJ v. reywaS lynch was a critical point in the game and it essentially sealed a loss for Operation Cobalt (especially since Golden NK'd Epi right out of the gate after subbing in as the SK). I do best-out-of-seven for my coin flips. reywas lost the first two, then JJJ lost one, and then reywaS lost the next two to seal his fate. I was very worried that there would be a tie on Day 5. Had JJJ and MM89 rallied on Golden instead of turning on each other, that tie vote would result in a coin flip that determined the game. I would have hated that. As such, I am now adopting Epi's tie vote = no lynch philosophy. Votes matter. Coin flips suck.

Had Jeb been lynched or NK'd, I had a line ready. Ivanka was going to say something along the lines of "well that explains why the sex has been so low-energy lately." :P

That's all I have for now. Do you guys have any questions or comments? This is my first time hosting in years, so please let me know if you think I made any mistakes in terms of setup, balance, mechanics, or game management. It's the only way I'll get better at it!

Also, I send out a PM regarding voting for MVP later this evening. Right now I have to get back to work. Thanks again for playing! I hope you all had fun.

DAY 0:
JJJ got to select one of the sycophants to protect him for the Day 1 lynch. He chose sycophant #1 (BEN CARSON / Slooeni)

NIGHT 1:
JJJ selected sycophant #2 (CHRIS CHRISTIE / Boomslang) to protect him.
INH protected MELANIA TRUMP (Beck)
Epignosis targeted and NK'd DrWilgy (CONWAY).
leetic targeted JJJ but Boomslang died in his place.

NIGHT 2:
JJJ abstained from using his power, so he was actually on the chopping block in the Day 3 lynch.
INH protected TIFFANY TRUMP (Epignosis)
Epignosis targeted and NK'd Golden 1.0 (HUCKABEE, aka sycophant #3)
leetic targeted and NK'd Ricochet (PENCE)

NIGHT 3:
JJJ selected sycophant #4 (RICK SANTORUM / DrWilgy 2.0) to protect him.
INH protected DONALD J. TRUMP (JJJ) but was superseded by JJJ's sycophant assignment.
Epignosis targeted JJJ but Wigly died in his place.
Golden 2.0 targeted and NK'd Epignosis (BROWN / fake TRUMP)

NIGHT 4:
JJJ selected sycophant #1 (CARSON / Sloonei) to protect him. Sloonei was the last sycophant remaining.
INH protected himself, IVANKA.
Golden 2.0 targeted JJJ but Sloonei died in his place.

Thank you all for playing. There was probably more involved in this game than a heist should have but I hope you all still had fun.

Beck / Quin 2.0 -----> MELANIA TRUMP
Boomslang------------>CHRIS CHRISTIE
DrWilgy 1.0----------->KELLYANNE CONWAY
Epignosis-------------->PAMELA BROWN / TIFFANY TRUMP
Golden 1.0------------>MIKE HUCKABEE
insertnamehere------->IVANKA TRUMP
JaggedJimmyJay----->DONALD J. TRUMP
leetic/Golden 2.0---->JEB BUSH / JARED KUSHNER
Metalmarsh89--------->DONALD TRUMP JR.
Quin 1.0--------------->ERIC TRUMP
reyawS/MP07--------->SHAUN DONOVAN / JIM MURPHY
Ricochet--------------->MIKE PENCE
S~V~S/DrWilgy2.0---->RICK SANTORUM
Scotty------------------>WES BLADE / MICHAEL GLASSNER
Sloonei----------------->BEN CARSON

FULL ROLE LIST:

DONALD J. TRUMP, the Republican nominee for President of the United States. You're a businessman, which means you delegate. Each night you get to pick one of four sycophants to shield you from harm. You won't know their role name or identity unless they die protecting you. You simply send me a PM stating which sycophant (1, 2, 3, or 4) you would like to use. If they do not die protecting you from a nightkill, the sycophant of your choice will then protect you from being lynched, getting lynched instead of you. The sycophants do not know about any of this. If/when you run out of sycophants to shield you, you become vulnerable to lynches and nightkills.

THE FOUR SYCOPHANTS

#1) DR. BEN CARSON, a Trump sycophant and a vanilla civvie.

#2) CHRIS CHRISTIE, a Trump sycophant and a vanilla civvie.

You are #3) MIKE HUCKABEE, a Trump sycophant and a vanilla civvie.

#4) RICK SANTORUM, a Trump sycophant and a vanilla civvie.

TRUMP STAFF AND FAMILY VANILLAS

KELLYANNE CONWAY, Donald Trump's campaign manager and a vanilla civvie.

MIKE PENCE, Donald Trump's Vice Presidential pick and a vanilla civvie.

DONALD TRUMP JR., a member of the Trump family and a vanilla civvie.

ERIC TRUMP, a member of the Trump family and a vanilla civvie.

MELANIA TRUMP, a member of the Trump family and a vanilla civvie.

JARED AND IVANKA

IVANKA TRUMP, a member of the Trump family. You are one of Donald Trump's most trusted children and advisers. You're strong bond to your family gives you the strength to protect them. Each night, you may protect one member of the Trump Family. This will keep them safe from nightkills on the night you send their name in. PM your protection choice by the end of the night phase, specifying which Trump family member (not a player name) that you wish to protect. You cannot protect anyone whose last name is not Trump, so you cannot protect your husband.

JEB BUSH, failed Republican candidate and an enemy of Donald Trump. You have been hired to assassinate Donald Trump by powerful Republican donors who will do anything to necessitate a substitute candidate for November. At night, you act as a serial killer. Each night, you may submit the name of any player you wish to kill. You will exit the game victorious if you kill Trump yourself. If the mafia kills him or he is lynched, you can only win the game by being the last man standing.

You are operating undercover as JARED KUSHNER, Ivanka Trump's husband. If pressed for information, you can tell her that you are in charge of Donald's security detail and you may select one of four Trump sycophants to die instead Trump if he is lynched or nightkilled. You and Ivanka have BTSC. Do not tell Ivanka or anyone else your real identity!

OPERATION COBALT

WES BOYD, a liberal activist and co-founder of MoveOn.org. In disguise as...

Spoiler: show

PAMELA BROWN, a low-level CNN reporter and member of the mainstream media. In disguise as...

Spoiler: show

SHAUN DONOVAN, The Director of the Office of Management and Budget in the Obama Administration.. In disguise as...

Spoiler: show

Golden 2.0 has won the game! He was JEB BUSH, a hired assassin...

...in disguise as JARED KUSHNER, Ivanka Trump's husband.

TRUMP GOES THUMP

Donald Trump had all but dozed off to sleep when a knock on the door gave him a start.

"Who is it?" he asked.

"It's Jared," a voice came from the other side of the door.

"Just a moment." Donald opened the door to see his son-in-law dress in dark clothes. "What are you going out for run in the dark or something?"

"You might say that," Jared replied. He handed Donald a folder. "Here's the daily dossier. Ivanka called it an early night."

"Good for her. You take good care of my daughter. I've always appreciated that about you. Loyalty is important."

Donald snickered as he read through his staff's review of the day. It featured the key points about both his campaign and Hillary's that were trending online and across the media spectrum.

"Look at this," Donald laughed, "all these rumors about Hillary's supposed health issues aren't going away. We should find a way to tap into this and make her confront it head-on. We'll have to keep an eye out for any signs of illness leading up to the debates and just drench her with it. I'm going to enjoy this."

"Not as much as I'm going to enjoy this," Jared said as he punched Donald right between the eyes. The presidential hopeful fell down in a surprised and angry heap.

"What the hell are you doing, Jared?"

"Something I've waited a long time for," Jared hissed as he kicked him in the face and ribs. He grabbed Donald by his comb-over and dragged him out onto the balcony of his luxury suite.

"Jared," Donald pleaded, sensing his fate, "I have always been good to you. Why are you doing this?"

The fake Jared grabbed Donald by the throat, lifted him up, and pressed him against the balcony railing.

"Because I'm not Jared Kushner."

"Then who the hell are you?"

The assassin flipped Donald over the railing. Donald tried his best to keep a tight grip on the railing with one hand and his attacker with the other.

"Am I high-energy enough for you now, Donald?" the man shouted. "Am I?"

"High-energy?" Donald muttered. "What the- Jeb?"

"That's right."

"Jeb are you insane?"

"No, Donald. I'm not insane. I just, as you would say, know people. Smart people. Rich people. People who will do anything to keep you off the ballot come November."

"Jeb, please don't do this. I'm begging you!"

"Grovelling will get you nowhere. Don't worry though. You may not get to be president but nobody is ever going to forget you now. Your death is going to be yuuuge."

With that, he let go and watched as Donald Trump fell dozens of stories to his death. Satisfied and his mission accomplished, he strolled back through Donald's suite and left the hotel in the most conspicuous way possible. Come morning, there would be a national manhunt for Jared Kushner but he would be long gone by then.

-------------------------------

JaggedJimmyJay has been assassinated. He was DONALD J. TRUMP, a role capable of protecting himself via his sycophants.

THE CONFESSION

Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner returned to their hotel suite and slumped down on the couch together. Without hesitation, she grabbed the remote, turned the TV on, and started cycling through the new programs covering today's drama within the campaign.

"Don't you get tired of this?" Jared asked. "I mean, I know you want to help your dad and all but why relive the day through the snide commentary of all these idiots?"

"You know the drill, honey," she replied. "I've got to see what they're saying so we can hit back in the morning. Only two months to go and then it's all over. We can get our lives back then."

"And if he wins, what then? I mean, the kids are being raised by nannies and we haven't had a moment to just be us since before the convention. Do you really think this circus will all go away if he becomes president? Wouldn't he ask us to be on his White House staff? Can you honestly see yourself doing this for at least another four years and not losing your mind?"

"Well," Ivanka paused, "if it comes to that, we'll find a way through it."

"In that case," Jared said as he rose from the couch, "I need a drink. You want one?"

"Nothing alcoholic for me. I'm still pumping for Theodore. Is there any iced tea left?

"Sure," Jared said from the mini-fridge. He poured himself a double shot of whiskey, drank it, and steadied himself. He poured iced tea into another glass and pulled a vial from his pocket. A determined look crossed his face as he stared at the vial. He poured it into the iced tea and mixed it up. Letting out a heavy sigh, he walked back over to his wife.

"Here you go," he said, handing her the glass. She gulped most of hit down on the spot. "Easy," he joked, "that's the last of the iced tea. You're not pregnant anymore so if you want more you'll have to get it yourself."

She smiled back at him. "Two word- room service." They both laughed. Jared walked back for another shot of whiskey.

"You know," Ivanka said. "I have to confess that I didn't think dad had a chance at the very beginning. In fact," she yawned, "I don't think I was ever 100% convinced he could win it all. Does that make me a bad daughter?"

"No," Jared responded. "I mean, it's still all very incredible, right? You're dad coming out of nowhere to fend off a field of more supposedly more capable and qualified politicians? You can't write this kind of stuff."

"Truth is stranger than fiction," she said. She yawned again and laid her head back. "I may just fall asleep right here on the couch. I'm bushed."

"Well," Jared said, walking over to the couch, "I've got a confession to make too." He leaned down and whispered into her ear. "I'm not really your husband."

Ivanka opened her eyes wide but the sedative was already overpowering her. "What?" she murmured. She didn't even feel the prick of the needle as the imposter injected her with a fatal serum. He came around the couch, kissed her on the forehead, and looked her in the eyes.

"I'm not your husband and now I'm going to kill your father."

---------------------------------------

insertnamehere has been killed. He was IVANKA TRUMP, a protector role capable of protecting members of the Trump family.

DUMP-A-TRUMP JR.

"Good evening ladies and gentlemen, I'm Wolf Blitzer in the Situation Room. Our lead story tonight is Donald Trump. Reports are circulating that after a firey and expletive-laden speech in Ohio, the Republican nominee met with his Inner Circle once again behind closed doors.

"As we've reported all week long, rumors suggest chaos and paranoia running rampant in these closed-door meetings as a series of accidents have plagued the Trump team. Desperate for answers amid weaking performance in the polls, sources suggest that Trump has been cutting long-time allies and even members of his own family from his Inner Circle.

"Just minutes ago, a CNN source close to the campaign reported overhearing a heated debate in Mr. Trump's green room backstage. According to our source, Donald Trump Jr. stormed out of the green room and shouted at aides as he left the area. While this is not a confirmation that Mr. Trump's eldest son has been cut out of his father's most trusted group of advisers, it does seem to suggest that not all is well in the House of Trump.

"No polling data has come in yet since Mr. Trump's youngest daughter was injured in a highway accident or since this morning's apparent attempt on his life. One would assume these events would garner sympathy for the candidate and possibly even for his campaign but rather than wait to see if any polling bump materialized, Mr. Trump attacked these incidents head-on in today's speech.

"In blaming the political Left for everything that has happened to his team these past few days, does Donald Trump risk losing any remaining credibility but plunging headlong into conspiracy theories? Our panel of experts will discuss this in a moment.

"But first, Hillary Clinton's campaign released a statement after today's Trump event, saying, 'While our we condemn at alleged attacks upon any candidate and his or her campaign staff, the Mr. Trump's inability to keep his anger in check highlights once again that he is not fit to be President of the United States.' And now for our panel of experts..."

---------------------------------

Metalmarsh89 has been removed from the Inner Circle. He was DONALD TRUMP JR., a member of the Trump family and a vanilla civvie.

Day 4 poll has been added to the poll thread.

THE DOCTOR IS OUT

Donald Trump woke up with a start. He rolled over, the luxury hotel sheets caressing his aging body. He frowned as the empty place where his wife normally slept reminded him of the previous meeting of his Inner Circle.

After showering and dressing for his morning flight to Ohio, he picked up the phone to order breakfast. It was dead. Furious at the poor maintenance of his luxury suite, he called the hotel lobby on his cell phone. Nobody picked up.

"Jesus," he muttered. "It's like I have to do everything by myself. Not good. Not good."

He left his room, only to be greeted by a dark hallway.

"Did everyone go on strike or something?"

He walked over to the elevators and pushed the down button. No response. Was he surprised? No, not the way the morning started.

A bright light turning on down the hallway took him by surprise. Someone was holding a flashlight but he couldn't tell who was holding it. Assuming it was a member of the hotel staff, he gave them a piece of his mind.

"What the hell is going on around here? You call this luxury? Everything worked fine down in Mexico. This place is falling apart just like the rest of this country."

No response from the person with the flashlight.

"Hello? I'm talking to you. Do you understand English?"

Again, no response. Angry, Donald marched toward the person and yelled at the top of his voice. The commotion started to rouse the other suite occupants.

"Do you know who I am? I'm Donald fucking Trump you moron! You either serve me well or you don't exist to me. Right now your service is really in the shitter. Maybe if you pull your head out of your ass and take care of your customers these kinds of things won't happen."

As Trump got closer, the flashlight holder's face became no clearer despite the intensity of the light. It wasn't until he was no more than six feet away that Donald realized the person was wearing a black ski mask.

"What the hell?" Donald asked, confused out of his mind. When the mysterious person took a step toward him, instinct kicked in and he took a step back. "What do you want? Money? I've got lots of money. Believe me."

But the masked person did not want any of Donald J. Trump's money. Raising the flashlight above their head like a luminous hammer made it quite clear to Donald what this person wanted. Donald continued to back up, calling out for help.

His attacker's gait overcame Donald's as a door opened nearby. The flashlight came down in a forceful arc.

"Donald, no!" a voice cried out. The flashlight connected with flesh and bone as more doors opened. The attacker took off running, his mission accomplished.

Or was it?

People emerged from their rooms shocked to see Donald Trump sprawled out on the floor. Frantic calls to 911 were made as Secret Service agents spilled into the hallway. They had lapsed in their protection of a presidential candidate and there would be hell to pay for them.

But to everyone's relief, Donald sat up and looked around. Bewildered, he checked himself out. There was blood on his tailored suit but he was not bleeding anywhere. His heart sank as he saw a body laying next to him on the floor, blood trickling out from the head.

It was evident now that he was right. No one could deny that someone was out to kill him. He would rub this in the face of the media who called him paranoid or a danger to his own people. He would use this in his campaign rallies to show that outside forces were afraid and hateful enough to try to assassinate him. Yes, it would be spectacular.

But first he would mourn the loss of a brilliant surgeon and supporter.

---------------------------

Sloonei has been killed. He was BEN CARSON, a Trump sycophant and a vanilla civvie.

It is now Day 5.
You have 48 hours to remove someone from the inner circle.

IN THE DOGHOUSE

Donald Trump sat watching his daughter Tiffany as she slept. Her peaceful face was the yin to Donald’s stern-faced yang. He was deep in thought when his phone rang.

“That was fast, son,” he said into his phone. “What’s the word?”

“Mom is Mom,” Barron answered him. “No surprise there, really.”

“Is she still taking it badly?”

“Oh she is very mad at you. It’s been all ‘neumen this’ and ‘prekleta cepec that.’ It’s pretty bad.”

“Mmm. I love it when she talks dirty in Slovenian. Very hot.”

“I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that. Any idea how you’re going to smooth this over?”

“Two words. Hear me and learn them well: make-up sex.”

“Gah, dad!” Barron said. “I don’t need to hear that!”

“I tell you- the most powerful orgasms a woman will ever have is through make-up sex. Believe me.”

“Stop talking about it! Do you want me to be scarred for life or something?”

“Ooh, I’ll bet she’ll wear her leather…”

“Dad, no! Just… no!” Barron shouted as he hung up the phone.

Donald didn’t care about cutting Barron’s report short. His train of thought was fully occupied with something else now.

-------------------------------------

Quin 2.0 really was MELANIA TRUMP.

And seriously, getting those PMs to me by noon (EST) would be yuuuge.

NO FOREIGNERS ALLOWED

The sun had already set over an hour ago but the Inner Circle sat by Tiffany Trump’s bedside, making their decision. Donald, exhausted as he was from his journey to Mexico and a rally in Phoenix, could not pass up the photo-op of him sitting by his ailing daughter’s bedside. Was it cynical? Sure, but it also projected his softer side.

As Tiffany lay motionless in her coma, Donald fought off Melania’s objections. It had been a close and laborious vote.

“Donald,” she fumed, her Slovenian accent biting hard into the antiseptic hospital room air, “this is ridiculous. Don’t shut me out. I have been nothing but loyal to you.”

“I’m sorry, my dear,” Donald consoled, “but this is how democracy works. You got the most votes so you have to go.”

“How are you so sure this is even necessary?” Melania asked.

“Because I know things. I know things and I know people. Great people. Believe me. I’m a businessman and I have great business sense. That business sense is telling me that something fishy is still going on here. If you’re clean, you’ll be back in the Inner Circle once this is all over.”

“Donald,” she pouted, “you are making a mistake.”

“Sweetie, sometimes you have to make mistakes to obtain success.” He sat up in his chair and pointed to the other four people in the room with him. “Hey, that’s pretty good. One of you write that down. We’ll put it in a speech.”

“Donald!” Melania huffed.

“Don’t Donald me, honey. Just go met Barron in the limo. He knows what to do.”

Melania put on a happy face so not to feed the tabloid journalists lurking and looking for any reason to continue their rumors of chaos inside the campaign. Donald watched her as she walked out.

“I hate to see her leave but boy do I love to watch her go!” Donald laughed. He sat down in a chair and let out a heavy sigh. “What a day. Mexico- my God what a mess! No wonder they never win any Olympic medals. All their best runners, jumpers, and swimmers are already over here!”

He looked around for smiles and laughs but received none. “Tough crowd,” he murmured. “Tough crowd.”

-------------------------------------------

Quin 2.0 has been removed from the Inner Circle. He was MELANIA TRUMP, Donald Trump's wife and a vanilla civvie.

It is now Night 4. If at all possible, I'd like to receive your night PMs by noon (EST) once more to get us back on track.

Sorry. Got pulled into a meeting about our company vehicles. Post coming shortly.

Back and working on the post. Sorry again for the delay.

Metalmarsh89 wrote:
JaggedJimmyJay wrote:I'm about to call G-Man's workplace and claim he needs to sign for a package or something so he can get out of his meeting and reveal dat rogue.
If Quin is the rogue, we won't actually find out until later tonight right?

I've been swamped at work and I may get pulled away for a 1:30 off-site meeting (deadbeat customer wants to negotiate installment payments- I'll fix their little red wagon!) That being said, the lynch post will almost certainly be late today. I apologize because I know this has already been a high-stress day (not to mention game).

JaggedJimmyJay wrote:G-MAN: Is it possible to no lynch in this game?

No.

JaggedJimmyJay wrote:Okay. I think:

Wilgy 1.0 was killed by the SK. It was a "fire" with no known cause.

Boomslang was killed by the mafia. He was killed as an effect of an explosion perpetrated by multiple people.

Ricochet was killed by the mafia. The same conspirators in the explosion poisoned him.

Golden 1.0 was killed by the SK. He was tripped by one unknown person.

Epignosis was killed by the SK.

DrWilgy 2.0 was killed by the mafia.

Sloonei wrote:
G-Man wrote:
JaggedJimmyJay wrote:I suspect G-Man wouldn't want it to be so easy to discern which kill is which. Who knows.
You are wrong about this. You have all the information you need to figure out who killed whom.
I'm not seeing it. Can you just tell us who did it?

I come from the olden days of Lostpedia and SpoilerTV. Back then, the TV-centric fandom of those sites encouraged longer narratives in lynch and night posts. Those posts helped add depth to the story being told concurrent to the events of the game. They also often contained game-relevant information and were not to be skipped over just to see who died. This is an element I think I miss the most. Gone is much of the art and beauty of the narrative side of game. Instead we trend more toward data-driven posts that cater to those who approach the game more as a science than as a form of entertainment.

This is my first time hosting on The Syndicate. I've got my hosting feet planted firmly in the past. I don't write longer lynch and night posts out of vanity or ego. Read the posts and find the clues.

JaggedJimmyJay wrote:I suspect G-Man wouldn't want it to be so easy to discern which kill is which. Who knows.

You are wrong about this. You have all the information you need to figure out who killed whom.

AN OCTOBER SURPRISE IN THE MAKING?

"Congresswoman?" an intern asked, her head in the doorway.

"Yes, Tina?" Debbie Wasserman Schultz replied, looking up from her desk.

"There's a Mr. Blumenthal here to see you. Shall I show him in?"

Debbie paused and let out a slow breath. "Yes, Tina, please show him in."

A thin man with an effete but stern face strolled through the door. Behind his Harry Potter-esque glasses his eyes studied the woman before him. Debbie couldn't tell if he was pleased or angry.

"Congratulations on winning your primary yesterday," he said with a smile.

"Thank you, Sidney."

"Here," the man said, pulling a miniature champagne bottle out of his briefcase. "You should celebrate. Your challenger gave you a good test. Thank goodness your district is blue enough to ensure you retain your seat."

"You're too kind," Debbie chuckled. "I never take November for granted, even if what you say is true."

"That's a good attitude to have. Bill and Hillary also send their congratulations," Sidney said as he pulled two pieces of paper from his jacket pocket. "You've been a long-time ally of theirs and they appreciate that. They take care of their friends. Here's a note she penned for you."

Debbie took the pages and started reading. The top sheet was indeed a message from Hillary, congratulating her on the close but comfortable primary victory. The second page, however, sent her heart crashing down into her stomach:

Don't read any of this out loud. Give it back to me when you're finished.

You fucked up, Debbie, and it might cost you big.

You selected, vetted, and managed Operation Cobalt's operatives well enough. For that, we thank you. But you overlooked a minor detail that might expose everything. In selecting our field of alternate operatives, you failed to match blood types.

When O'Donnell resigned, I called up Pamela Brown from your pool of alternates. She was a match in every physical way- hair and eye color, height, dimensions- all a perfect match. This morning's accident left her in the hospital though. The doctors will treat her based on Tiffany Trump's medical records, including her blood type.

Pamela Brown and Tiffany Trump are not the same blood type. In fact, they are incompatible. If they need to perform a transfusion, Pamela's body will reject the blood. It won't take them long to start asking questions. You better hope they don't discover her blood type is wrong or else Pamela will be in deep shit.

We can't extract her with all the security roaming around, so you better hope she can explain her way out of it. If she talks, there's no telling how much she'll reveal.

Take your champagne home tonight and enjoy it. Try to relax and enjoy your primary win because until you get an all-clear from me, you'd best be on pins and needles. The operation is over but we're not out of the woods until we can extract our operatives and assess the situation. There's no telling what Trump will do if he finds out we kidnapped his daughter.

Lucky for us, it looks like there may be another agent in play. If he or she gets caught, perhaps Trump's people won't be able to separate the two and this other party and their financiers will get all the blame. One can only hope.

Now hand this page back to me.

Debbie swallowed hard. Sidney took the note and rose from his chair.

"I think we're done here," he said. "Congratulations again on that win. And good luck going forward." With a nod, he left the office. Debbie sat dazed for minutes before calling it an early day. She was going to need more than that miniature champagne. That much was certain.

-------------------------------------------

Epignosis was really PAMELA BROWN in disguise as Tiffany Trump. He was a member of the mafia and part of Operation Cobalt.

TWO FOR THE ROAD

“Good morning ladies and gentlemen from coast to coast. It is 5:00 a.m. on the East Coast. Today is Wednesday, August 31st, 2016. It is 69 days until Election Day. I’m Steve Inskeep with Renee Montagne and David Greene. Tropical Storm Hermine is setting its sights on Florida, Prince William and Harry commemorate the anniversary of Princess Diana’s death, and Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff faces an impeachment vote today. But first our top stories. Here’s Renee with more.”

“Thank you, Steve,” Renee said. “Donald Trump’s bumpy week shows no signs of easing up on the Republican nominee ahead of his meeting with Mexican president Enrique Peña Nieto. Shortly after arriving Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport an unauthorized drone fell out of the sky directly above where candidate Trump and members of his Inner Circle were meeting before leaving for a chartered flight from Tucson to Mexico City.

“Airport security footage is already circulating online. In the short video, you can clearly see the drone circling around Mr. Trump’s entourage several times before plummeting toward the tarmac. At the last minute, former Pennsylvania Senator and Trump surrogate Rick Santorum threw himself between the drone and Mr. Trump. Had he not done so, the Republican nominee would have surely been struck.

“Senator Santorum was rushed to the Mayo Clinic Hospital in Phoenix with a fractured skull and serious lacerations to his scalp. He is being evaluated for a concussion and potential swelling of the brain. One would think this was enough excitement for one morning for the Trump campaign but you would be wrong for thinking so. Here’s David Greene with the latest.”

“Yes, Renee,” David said, “after seeing Senator Santorum to the emergency room, Mr. Trump and headed by motorcade to Tucson with several of his family members and closest advisors in tow. Halfway into their journey down Interstate 10, calamity struck once more, only this time striking closer to home.

“While passing Picacho State Park, Mr. Trump’s tour bus was slammed into by a tractor trailer. Mr. Trump’s driver managed to keep the vehicle from overturning despite a collision that local police suggest could have been lethal for most if not all on board. Tiffany Trump, Donald’s youngest daughter, was the only one standing up when the collision occurred and was thrown violently across the interior of the bus.

“Knocked unconscious during the incident, Miss Trump was taken to Banner University Medical Center Tucson and early reports suggest she may be in a medically-induced coma. Donald Trump plans to return to Tucson after his meeting with the Mexican president to be with his daughter as she recovers.”

“Thank you both,” Steve Inskeep said. “We will keep you updated on both Senator Santorum’s and Tiffany Trump’s condition as information is released. In the meantime, news of these incidents spread fast across both conservative and progressive media outlets with both predictable and surprising results.

“In what is widely considered a move to generate sympathy for Mr. Trump and his campaign, FoxNews and conservative radio personalities immediately suggested that some or even all of the recent accidents befalling the Trump campaign this week could be the work of a conspiracy to assassinate Mr. Trump ahead of the election. Everyone from Bernie Sanders supporters to the Chinese government are being floated in the conservative blogosphere.

“Meanwhile, progressive media figure Rachel Maddow has drawn mixed opinions about her early comments on this week’s incidents. Suggesting this all might be ‘some kind of karmic tsunami finally coming home’ and her assertion that Mr. Trump ‘has officially become a threat to his own family as well as our nation,’ Ms. Maddow is being hailed as spot-on in her assessment from fellow progressives while derided as insensitive and inappropriate from those on the Right. More on the fallout of these comments as the story develops.”

---------------------------------------------

DrWilgy has been hospitalized. He was RICK SANTORUM, a Trump sycophant and a vanilla civvie.

Epignosis has also been hospitalized. He was TIFFANY TRUMP, a member of the Trump family and a vanilla civvie.

It is now Day 4. You have 48 hours to remove someone from the Inner Circle.

Ricochet wrote:
G-Man wrote:The Day 3 poll has been added to the Polls thread. Sorry for the delay. My work computer has a newer version of Microsoft Office and does not have the picture manager program I am used to cropping screenshots with.
prtscr and mspaint, man

t's how trump does it

Ha! I forgot all about Paint's crop tool.

Thanks Rico.

Golden wrote:
Epignosis wrote:
Golden wrote:Can we move on from Jay being bad now? Anyone? Beuller?
3J is the serial killer.

I haven't by any measure looked into hunting for a serial killer, or read Jay's analysis. But, I will say that my views on Jay mostly extend to him not being mafia. I could see him playing his town game as sk. So it is possible.

I also am not ruling out town vig until the mafia is dead and the game hasn't ended. Although, G-Man, would we find out if that was the case?

The Day 3 poll has been added to the Polls thread. Sorry for the delay. My work computer has a newer version of Microsoft Office and does not have the picture manager program I am used to cropping screenshots with.

THE OTHER SIDE OF THE COIN

Barron Trump should have been in bed hours ago. It was alright though because he was doing work for his father. Papa Trump always approved of going the extra mile.

"Good evening son," Donald said as their FaceTime session connected.

"Hello father," the boy said. "What on earth are you eating at this late hour?"

"A gold-star, Donald J. Trump approved taco salad. Delicious, believe me. Delicious. It'll help get me in the zone for my meeting with the Mexican president tomorrow. You watch, he'll practically beg me to let him build the wall. And pay for it."

"Taco salad at 1:00 a.m.?" Barron asked. "No thanks."

"You forget, son," Donald said between bites, "I'm on the West Coast. It's only 10:00 here. Taco time!"

"I'm glad you're in a good mood then. In hope my report doesn't lower your spirits."

"Fire away, soldier."

"Just like the fake Glassner, I found login credentials on Murphy's phones. He had a login called reywaS, which he uses to access online forums."

"Oh God, not another Star Trek weirdo!"

"Actually, no. His handle is a truncation of an older handle I found after hacking a few of his email accounts and hard drives. It was short for reywaS moT. It seems he started his internet presence as a frequenter of progressive rock fan forums. It's a Rush song but spelled backwards."

"Rush? You mean like Limbaugh?"

"No, dad. Rush like a Canadian band with a high-pitched singer who had their heyday in the 70's and 80's playing synthesizer-infused rock music. He shortened his name to just reywaS when the TV show Lost came out so he could come and go between fan forums as he pleased."

"Jesus, Mary and Joseph! What kind of people are we hiring here? He sounds like a total fruitcake."

"He's also a total fraud, dad. His real name is Shaun Donovan. Until four months ago, he was the Director of Office Management and Budget. He's been on leave of absence since you became the clear front runner."

"You mean to tell me he's part of the Obama Administration?"

"A lower lever player but yes, an Obama minion all the same."

"Good work son. We've got these bastards against the ropes now. I might even be able to use this to blackmail Obama into pardoning a few of our associates. Just don't let the press get a hold of this. We still watching that scumbag O'Donnell?"

"Like a hawk, dad. Nothing out of the ordinary yet. If he knows what's good for him, he's scared of his own shadow."

"That's my boy. Great work as usual son. Now get to bed."

"Thank you dad. Good night."

-----------------------------------------

reywaS was actually SHAUN DONOVAN disguised as Jim Murphy. He was a member of the mafia and part of Operation Cobalt.

Golden is replacing leetic effective immediately.

ON THE TOSS OF A COIN

It was a tense and, at times, dramatic meeting. Voices were raised and not just so Donald could hear everyone through Skype. His visit to Washington state was going well. It’s true what they say- there really are no blue states, just blue cities surrounded by less populous red counties.

After all was said and done, the vote was close. Two members of the Inner Circle couldn’t be bothered to vote. One voted on his own. The rest of the votes were split among two people.

“Well now what the hell do we do?” Donald asked. “If nobody’s willing to budge then nothing is going to get done.”

“Sounds a lot like Congress,” someone joked. A few nervous chuckles escaped into the ether.

“What about a coin toss?” another person suggested.

“A coin toss,” Trump pondered. “Very democratic. I like it, believe me. But we gotta keep it fair. Get Barron in there to flip it and call out the results.”

One of the Inner Circle went off to fetch the youngest of the Trump children. He looked none too pleased to be interrupted from his dinner.

“Okay champ, use your commemorative Trump family coin for this. I know they’re legit because I designed them myself. Make it fast though because I’ve got a rally to prep for tonight in Everett. I’m telling you, tt’s gonna be a yuuuge event. We’re going to win a lot of people over. I’m sure of it. You can stay up to watch it if you want.”

The Inner Circle waited nervously as Barron flipped a gleaming platinum coin and marked down the results. He looked around the room, making everyone sweat with anticipation. The boy stopped and stared down the loser of the coin toss.

“You,” he said, “come with me.”

“Thank you, Barron,” Donald said through Skype. “You can handle it from here.”

The young Trump stared down the man again, as if trying to judge him already. “Come with me,” he said and led the man to the exit.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

reywaS has been removed from the Inner Circle via coin flip. He was Jim Murphy, Donald Trump’s national political director and a vanilla civvie.

It is now Night 3.
You have until noon (EST) to send me your night actions.

Metalmarsh89 wrote:I wish modkills were still a thing.

This tbqfh. Next game... next game.

Formatting changes have been made to the night post and the front-page posts have all been updated. Thank you for your patience.

OPEN MIKE NIGHT

With Donald flying solo to Washington state, the rest of the Inner Circle gathered for breakfast. Well, not all of them. Between bites of a breakfast burrito, one of them looked at his watch and quietly excused himself.

Once secluded in a quiet hallway, he pulled out a secret cell phone from his jacket pocket. Right on time, it began to ring. He answered it.

"Good morning, Charles."

"Considering the fact that I'm watching news about Trump landing safely in Seattle, I'd say it's not my idea of a good morning. Was this another rush job like what took out Christie?"

"Not exactly, Charles. And remember that the blast was on target regardless of how hasty I was. Christie just got in the way."

"So what happened this time?"

"Dumb luck."

"How so?"

"I spiked the wrong glass. Trump ordered smoothies for everyone. The waitress didn't deliver them in the same order as everything else she brought."

"So who woke up wishing they were dead this morning?" Charles asked.

"Pence. Which is just as well. He was asking for it anyway."

"Just remember that David and I are not paying you to create drama within Trump's campaign; we're paying you to eliminate him. Hillary isn't winning over any new hearts and minds these days, so it's vital that we get a substitute candidate in play."

"Yes sir."

"Any idea what happened to Huckabee?"

"Hard to say for sure. We were all following Donald to see him off for his red-eye flight when Mike went down hard. We were pretty tightly packed but I swear it looked like someone tripped him. I couldn't tell who. He twisted his ankle, broke his wrist and his nose."

"Poor baby. Still, it's curious, the timing of it all. Keep an eye out for any intra-campaign mischief. I'll call you tomorrow morning, same time as usual. Now go get back to your breakfast

----------------------

Ricochet has been hospitalized with food poisoning. He was MIKE PENCE, Donald Trump's Vice Presidential pick and a vanilla civvie.

Golden has also been hospitalized. He was MIKE HUCKABEE, a Trump sycophant and a vanilla civvie.

It is now Day 3.
You have 72 hours to remove someone from the Inner Circle.

A Polls thread has been added.

Quin really was ERIC TRUMP. Now he's replacing Beck.

Polls are inside spoiler tags for those using phones.

DAY 0

Spoiler: show

DAY 1

Spoiler: show

DAY 2

Spoiler: show

DAY 3

Spoiler: show

DAY 4

Spoiler: show

DUMP-A-TRUMP

Debbie Wasserman Schultz smirked when her phone started ringing. Despite the pressure of her primary vote the next day, she felt cool, calm, and collected.

“Good evening, Sidney,” she said, “I have some good news for you.”

“Good,” the man’s voice replied. “After yesterday’s debacle, I believe I’m owed a little good news. What’s the latest on Boyd?”

“That’s not the good news,” Debbie said. “Boyd has not been seen or heard from since Sunday’s Inner Circle meeting.”

“I fail to see where the good news is then.”

“Neither of our remaining operatives were removed from the Inner Circle today. In fact, they removed one of the Trump kids.”

“Really?” the man asked. A hint of glee elbowed its way into his otherwise stern voice.

“Yes, they sent Eric off to isolation just before dinner.”

“That’s going to rattle the cage quite a bit.”

“I’m counting on it.”

“Any details on tonight’s operation? I certainly hope they know better than to start another fire.”

“I’m sure arson is not in their plans tonight. That would look too obvious and the last thing we want anyone feeling for Donald is sympathy because someone is out to get him.”

“Indeed. Any details on what they are planning?”

“No,” Debbie answered. “Since the net was lowered on the Inner Circle, I’ve been shut out from any details. But we know that the campaign is splitting up tomorrow. Donald is heading out to Washington state while Pence stays in Georgia. Donald has a red-eye departure. With security splitting their focus, there ought to be ample opportunity to add a little more chaos to his campaign.”

“Good. As long as the fire investigation doesn’t yield anything illuminating, I’m willing to tolerate the loss of one operative.”

“Our firefighter union contacts have assured us that the cause of the blaze will be deemed electrical in nature.”

“Excellent. Barring any undesirable discoveries, I think you can rest easy tomorrow. We’ll make sure you win your primary by a relatively comfortable margin. Besides, the last thing she needs is for a reliable ally to be replaced by one of Bernie’s people. That old man and his pretty little revolution isn’t fading fast enough. But that’s another plan for another day. I’ll leave you to your evening.”

“Goodnight Sidney,” Debbie said and hung up. A relatively comfortable margin? That was music to her ears.

--------------------------------------------------------------

Quin has been removed from the Inner Circle. He was ERIC TRUMP, a member of the Trump family and a vanilla civvie.

It is now Night 2.
You have until noon (EST) to send me your night actions.

Metalmarsh89 wrote:Hey G-Man, was Scotty a special kind of baddie, or just vanilla?

Metalmarsh89 wrote:I wouldn't mind a marmot in a snowglobe.

Any other requests before I go to bed?

Quin wrote:Until a herd of angry sheep come charging through this thread it is not absurd enough.

You're welcome.

Metalmarsh89 wrote:
JaggedJimmyJay wrote:
Epignosis wrote:I assumed G-Man was just being a clown. His little smiley post gave me that impression. Otherwise the mechanic makes no sense.
There is absolutely no way. That's not a host being a clown. It has a major impact upon the game. It was a component of some role that caused that to happen, either in Scotty's own role or elsewhere.
Is it meaningful that Scotty was both "a member of liberal mafia" and "part of Operation Cobalt"?

Linki:

The liberal mafia is a component of Operation Cobalt, the rest of which is purely narrative in nature.

Golden wrote:
Epignosis wrote:
Golden wrote:
insertnamehere wrote:
Exactly.

"Oh no, Jay would DEFINITELY try to overtly save his teammate. Even though his teammate would come back looking town. It's what ANYONE would do."

The case on Jay is devoid of rational thought.
Why did Scotty show up as civilian and then mafia? Do you have a solid grasp on that that is role-related?

I assumed G-Man was just being a clown. His little smiley post gave me that impression. Otherwise the mechanic makes no sense.
G-Man, were you just being a clown?

I do not believe a host would 'just be a clown' in that way. G-Man included.

I feel obliged to answer this question. I was not being a clown with the delayed reveal on Scotty. Perhaps your frame of reference on this game should be different from other games. That's all I'm comfortable saying right now.

The smiley post I made was me being clownish in that I was giddy about what I was about to do to you guys information-wise.

I am in need of another replacement player. If you know of anyone who might be willing to step in, please let me know so we can fill another vacancy.

DrWilgy has replaced S~V~S.

If you wish to cast a vote for DrWilgy during Day 2, you may vote for S~V~S.

THE ROOF, THE ROOF, THE ROOF IS ON FIRE

"Let's get right into the big story of the morning," Joe Scarborough announced at the top of the 6:00 hour. "A fire broke out around 3:30 a.m. this morning at the luxurious St. Regis Hotel in Atlanta while Republican nominee Donald Trump and his campaign staff were staying there. What do we know so far, Mika?"

"Authorities are still looking into the cause of the blaze," Ms. Brzezinski said, "and several Trump campaign staffers are being treated at Emory University Hospital. Among them are Trump's recently-appointed campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway, and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.

"All authorities can tell us about the fire itself is that is started Conway's room and spread from there. Ms. Conway is listed in serious condition, being treated for smoke inhalation and second-degree burns. She's expected to remain at Emory hospital for the next few days before she can be released to either re-join the campaign or be transferred to another hospital."

"Terrible," Joe muttered. "Meanwhile, Governor Christie is also listed in serious condition after being struck by falling debris as he shielded campaign members as they made their way down a stairwell. Initial reports from witnesses suggest that the debris was caused by an explosion of some kind but authorities have been very tight-lipped about what that means."

"That hasn't stopped Donald Trump from speculating. Less than an hour ago he took to Twitter to comment on the fire and the ongoing investigation:"

"So what do you think, Joe?" Mika asked. "Is Donald jumping the gun by pulling out the conspiracy card?"

"While I think it's in the realm of possibilities, I think it may be a little too early for him to suggest foul play. Let the investigators do their job and see what they come up with."

"But you think it's possible someone might have set this fire on purpose?"

"Sure, why not?"

"But fires happen all the time."

"Do they happen around Presidential candidates, Mika? Do they?"

"Oh now you're just being ridiculous."

"I don't think so," Joe admonished. "Look, I'm keeping an open mind here but you have to consider the possibility that some anti-Trump person or people may have some involvement. The odds are small but they're still real odds."

"If you say so," Mika condescended.

"Look, if this had happened to Hillary's campaign, you know everyone would be wondering if some angry far-right lunatic tried to kill her. It would be the first thought to cross many minds. Why is it that, because it happens to Donald Trump, it's assumed to just be an accident?"

"Because there are more instances of violence coming from the political Right than there are from the Left, Joe."

"That is not true, Mike. Not true. You know the history of the Left- Stalin, Mao..."

"Yes but those were other countries."

"Okay, how about the Weather Underground and radical leftist movements here in the 60s? It rarely gets mentioned, but there are almost always more protests at Democratic conventions by members of the Left than at Republican conventions. Don't try to pass it off like there's no history of violence there. Several Trump supporters have been attacked and beaten at campaign events since last year, often times by anti-Trump, anti-Right activist thugs."

"Anyway," Mika sighed, "Governor Christie is being treated for smoke inhalation, a concussion, and other undisclosed injuries. He will also be held for a few days before heading back to New Jersey to recuperate. More on this story as it develops throughout the day."

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DrWilgy has been hospitalized and cannot continue with the campaign. He was KELLYANNE CONWAY, Donald Trump's campaign manager and a vanilla civvie.

Boomslang has also been hospitalized and cannot continue with the campaign. He was CHRIS CHRISTIE, a Trump sycophant and a vanilla civvie.

reywaS is replacing MovingPictures07

It is now Day 2.
You have 48 hours to remove someone from the Inner Circle.

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