Capt. Redblade

My condolences, man. A death in the family is never easy, and I don't think anyone can object to you dropping out, given the circumstances.

I think we should take a closer look at Shiro's loyalties. Throughout this family gathering, he has not been very vocal, having made only ten posts in the last five days, and none of them very helpful. For example, the first thing he said on Day One was... Normally, posts like this are enough to get my vote on their own. Any dolt with half a brain (especially one with as much experience as Shiro ) should know that lynching the wrong person is always a possibility. Always. Even Cops are not right 100% of the time. The second part of Shiro's statement makes me very wary. It could be nothing? Really? Nothing? We are talking about the statement that was the kickoff for the entire lynch campaign against Yasu, aren't we? The one that told everyone she was not only Scum, but the worst kind of Scum? (Scum and Dumb.) Becuase, if we are in fact talking about that statement, which I suspect we are, it was as far from nothing as possible. And now that we know that Shiro's fears of lynching the wrong person were unfounded, I have to ask isn't it possible that he, too, knew they were unfounded and was simply trying to dissuade a lynch vote against one of his fellow Scum? Day Two, Shiro was more active than I've ever seen him (though not by much), and, strangely enough, that's the only time the lynchee was an innocent Yakuza. Admittedly, four posts doesn't seem like a lot, but it's still 25% more than on Day One. Days Three and Four, Shiro made one statement each, both times to vote. Very succint, right to the point. I like that. What I don't like is how Shiro offered no thoughts of his own, and simply echoed the consensus that had been reached by that point in each respective day. And now, here we are, more than a third of the way through Day Five, and Shiro has had only one thing to say: First, he makes a brief summary of what we have just experienced in the night, a classic technique of those who have nothing to say. Then, he says something that seems helpful, but is ultimately vague and unspecific. Next, let's have a look at Shiro's voting patterns... What's this? A clean sweep on Day Four, and look where Shiro is! Not safe and cozy in the middle, where he seems to like it, but tacked on way at the end. Almost like the vote for Hiroki was an afterthought! What sorcery is this? Could it be...? Nah... It's stupid to think that Shiro didn't want to add to his scummy teammate's woes, and only voted for him so late in the day so he himself could look like the sweet, innocent, stay-at-home father he claims to be. I mean, no scum in their right minds would ever think to vote for one of their own just to throw others off the track! It's such an absurd concept that nobody would think it could possibly work! On the slim chance that Shiro's a true Yakuza, I won't lose too much sleep getting rid of someone as talkative as him. Vote: Shiro (Alopex)

I said I would suggest it. Would. As in, "here's a suggestion I might make if it weren't useless, but the fact is it is useless, so I'll not make it instead."

Um... that was pretty much my entire point. Tamiko's behaviour was too scummy to not suspect, even if we now know she was loyal. Is it possible that our honoured grandmother is starting to go senile?

Hmm. I would suggest that we look at who voted for Tamiko over the past few days, now knowing that she was loyal, but that might not work considering her crazy scum-vigilante-jester comments. I think all of us suspected her after that.

So, where'd Great Grandpa and Stephanie meet?

Good review! I got this and the 6864 Two-Face Chase for Christmas, and, even though the TFC is the bigger set, the Funhouse was hands-down the highlight of the holiday. If any of you are on the fence about the Funhouse, stop it right now and go buy this damn set! Clone-o is right about the lack of accessories, but if anyone still has the original Batman sets, just steal weapons from those. It worked for me. If you can't, just Bricklink 'em.

As I've said, they're definitely a threat. As for which faction is more of a threat, we should look at the numbers. Originally, it was estimated that there were about 5 or 6 Mutineers. I estimate there's maybe about the same number of Secret Agents, give or take one or two. For the sake of this argument, let's assume hypothetical figures of 5 and 4, respectively. That adds up to nine enemies, which is roughly 28% of the total population. (Slightly more than the 20-25% that seems common these days, but bear with me.) Now, if we've got one Mutineer dead and two agents, we assume that's 20% of the Mutineers gone and 50% of the Agents gone, so there's probably a few more Mutineers remaining than there are Agents. Now, if the Agents can convert people, they may have many more than I have estimated, and unfortunately, we do not know how many they started with, or if either of the two dead agents are Templies who were converted, so there could be as many as eight agents (assuming they started with no more than five, which seems like a fair number, and they managed one successful conversion each night). For the sake of argument, assume conversions are possible, but there have only been conversions on one or two nights. That makes maybe five or six Agents, and two out of five or six is 20-25%. So, there might be more Agents than Mutineers, and thus the numbers say we should be worried about them, but the Mutineers appear able to do more. Which begs the question: do we worry about a faction that possibly numbers fewer and can do more, or a faction that numbers more but can do less? (Of course, all these numbers are hypothetical, so don't take them as gospel.) On closer inspection of my statement, the numbers are probably actually about the same in my hypothetical world. New question: watch out for the people who can kill and all the other stuff, or the people who can only probably convert? Let's go with Door #1.

It's an extremely obvious choice today. Vote: Hiroki (Etzel)

Granted, they weren't Townies or Scum in the classic senses of the words, but it still sounds like they were our enemies, and the fact that they are dead sounds like progress to me. I think that it is, as others have said, unlikely that anyone would have framed you. You have made no lasting contributions to the discussion, have not telegraphed your intentions as clearly as some others, and have been pretty middle-of-the-road so far. It's just enough to warrant an investigation, but not enough to warrant somebody misleading us into lynching you. If anyone was going to be framed, it would be a very active Templie whose absence would benefit the scum, i.e. Noria. Your absence (if you were innocent) would not affect the Scum either positively or negatively, so it seems like a wasted move. If we can, I think we should look into this lovers idea. So, you admit then that you are an idiot. Seriously, how in the seven circles of Hell are you still alive?! I meant to say Norio. I shall never forgive myself for this grievous error.

So I skip over the occasional post in my mad dash to catch up. So sue me.

Vote: Someboy who's mildly suspicious, but is not Minoru. Unvote: Someboy who's mildly suspicious, but is not Minoru. Vote: A second person who's mildly suspicious, but is also not Minoru. Unvote: A second person who's mildly suspicious, but is also not Minoru. Can't say I don't learn from my mistakes. Vote: Minoru (VolcanicPanik)

Huh. I must have missed that comment amongst all the shouting matches.

It looks to me that besides a Mutineer killer, we also have a SK or an overzealous vigilante on our hands. Hooray, those are always fun.

I'm not willing to change my vote so late in the day, but at least you can die happy, Ichirou-san, knowing that you have died giving us two potentially useful leads. (If you are a loyal Yakuza, that is.)

Thank you, this is the kind of answer I wanted. With Door #3 now closing, I look once more to Ichirou and Maniko, and after studying the conversation once more, I feel the right move would be to... Vote: Ichirou (Tamamono)

I'm kind of torn between Maniko and Ichirou right now. Ichirou is much more vocal in his actions, and I am suspicious of his conviction in learning everyone's roles. He could be a Scum trying to deduce who the most dangerous Yakuza are so he can direct his scummy teammates at them, or he could just be an innocent Townie trying to learn who to keep on his good side so he can win. Maniko, on the other hand, has given no valuable input, is giving answers that are more mind-screwy than those of the dearly departed Yasu-chan, and has role-claimed as the Jester. Now, this could have been a stupid attempt to get herself lynched which backfired completely, or it could be a very cunning move disguised to look like said, but was in reality a brilliant tactic to avoid getting lynched. And behind Door #3, though it pains me to say this, is my own mother, Emi-chan, with whom I have spoken in private and with whom I have attempted to make peace, but who has made no attempts to work out our differences. Below, I have transcribed her very words to me: Note that I extended an olive branch, I legitimately tried to make peace. And yet, when I asked her to elaborate on where she saw an admission of guilt on my part, I received no response, and am, in fact, still waiting for one. Perhaps she is not as scummy as the other two, but she has been very obtuse and unhelpful in my conversations with her. Oy. I'm gonna need a minute with this one.

It's a quote from The Godfather. Again, try not to read too much into my statements.

The last part of my statement was not directed at you, or anyone. It had nothing to do with suspicion or your assessment of my behaviour (which I am in no way mocking). It was a simple joke into which you are reading too much. To paraphrase Al Lettieri: "I'm the hunted one. I've missed my chance. You think too much of me, Emi-sama. I am not that clever."

Okay, wow. Yikes. When you put it like that, that is scummy as s**t. Jesus. I, Lizzy, pseudo-quasi-daughter of Emi, do hereby swear to no longer jump around with my votes, and only leap on whichever bandwagon is the most convenient, like a good Townie should. All jokes aside, by "scummy", I mean "the actions of a no-doubt-about-it Scum", not "actions that are Scum-like." While I can totally see whence the accusations come, I maintain that my actions weren't scummy, in that they weren't the actions of a no-doubt-about-it Scum. But by your definition, holy hell, they totally were. Sorry. Just so nobody is confused: Suspicious? Yes. Actions of a no-doubt-about-it, lynch-'em-high-and-charge-'em-for-the-rope Scum? No. I am not the droids scum you're looking for.

I am not saying I should get investigated, I am saying that I would not oppose an investigation into my activities if one were deemed necessary, and I would not oppose said investigation because I have nothing to hide. I deem my previous response a proper one, because, as I said, it simply is the only explanation I have to offer. Were my actions impulsive? Yes. Were they sheepish? Perhaps so. Were they a collectively stupid move that might have resulted in me completely kneecapping myself? The more I think about it, yeah. Were they scummy? Absolutely not, and whatever course of action is seen fit to prove my innocence is one for I which I will lead the crusade. On another note, do I see why I am being persecuted? Yes. Do I take offence to the persecution? No, it is natural that people will point fingers at behaviour as (admittedly) erratic as mine in the early days. But do I take offence to your attitude? Most certainly, and I hope any further accusations levied at me will be levied in a more civil tongue.

That is all I have to say for myself, because that's the only explanation there is. I have no ulterior motives, and certainly no scummy ones. If you will not take this statement as fact, then I welcome the scrutiny of the Town Cop.

I guess I was just a bit impulsive yesterday. I gotta watch that. First-day jitters and whatnot.

Ah, how could we forget Fred the Angry Lion? Truly, the best mafia animal mascot that ever was, after Koilette of course. *Looks knowingly at Flitwick.*

Good eye, Mother. Maniko-chan makes it appear that her contributions are well thought-out and constructive, but it's a lot of empty space behind the words. She appears to be contributing to the discussion, but is really saying nothing and staying below the radar. If I'm not mistaken, that's Scumtells 101. Unvote: Yasu (TheBoyWonder) Vote: Maniko (swils)