TWG CLIX: Form your special exclusive groups now! - Game Thread

[Precarious]

XelNya

Xel takes a non-serious but aggressive tone to start. I still have no idea how to interpret Xel's opening day; it's just so aggressively unhelpful in most places that it kind of defies alignment. There are some little digs here and there at Haku that really irritated Haku. Then was an actual content post (#312 - a few reads) hidden in the middle of the random stuff. I don't really care for all that, because it creates the illusion of activity without having to commit to reads or game ideas, but some people play that way. The thing is, every now and then on D0, there are little snippets where Xel actually plays or makes game related observations. The whole thing is weird.

Anyway, Xel continues this way for a while. There are some observations on posts he likes, but the opinions feel wrong. On the other hand, he stays on Haku consistently. It's obvious that there's real thinking, regardless of alignment, going on behind the nonsense posting, but it's difficult to get at it. Given that, though, I really don't like the D0 vote on Freezin, because it has nothing to support it.

Originally Posted by XelNya

I dun has tem to read freezin

I understand coming down on one side or the other, but come on.

On the second day, Xel's approached changed entirely. He challenged Shado on Shado's bad suggestion of shooting Charu, and started replying to and examining more game stuff. There was a little bit of stuff that looked like buddying with Charu, but that's inevitable in a game based around conversation. #1223 actually contains a lot of real thought and an interesting approach to the Shado shot situation. On reconsideration, though, I'm not so sure what to think of Xel's initial self-inclusion in the shot pool, given that it's almost a dare (and one that's unlikely to be taken up as a result). Didn't fully agree with Zenith on not lynching newcomers, but didn't fully disagree either. Was extremely pissed off for like six straight posts, I think from suspicion? (starting at #1389) Memes coming back too. Goes after Mellon in #1564. Ended up voting DFR in the DFR/Juckter split.

Started off with some mechanical speculation abouts the second night's two kills, then did this scummy feeling thing where he asked about who Charu guarded (Charu responded that he wasn't guarding anyone). Acknowledged a weak EoD. Mixed in images and sarcasm with real arguments, sort of a blend of the first two days. Did not like psycho. Made a case against psycho as the serial killer, based on towniness. Not super convincing to me, but at the very least it was an effort post.

Today, acknowledged that the night kills look bad, but argued that he'd have never done them as a result. That invites a WIFOM argument, which set off a small war of words over terminology. Sort of suspects me for SK, but doesn't see how the third night kills would make sense if I was (this is funny to me, because the third night is the one that most closely approximates what I would have done if I was). At the same time, NK analysis does require real thought, and some of it outside the box. Got a little snippy while under pressure, although most people do.

If Mellon and Zenith are the SK pool, then Xel and MML are the wolf pool, and MML looks a lot townier than Xel. The thing is, on its face, there's not a whole lot to pin on Xel. The meme-y, off topic stuff is hard to parse, and there's some real thought in places. I'm not sure how I feel about the early interactions with Haku; I can't tell if its team distancing, real pressure, or somewhere in between. Charu's point that Xel has been reluctant to name a wolf candidate is an interesting one, because I can see that bending in both directions: it could speak to a guilty conscience, or it could speak to real confusion. And then there was the self-shot gambit. Ultimately, I lean toward Xel being the wolf from the remaining player base, but I don't really feel great about it. I'd rather lynch Mellon today, but that's unlikely to happen.