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Author Topic: The Lonely Prince: He Who Shall Serve  (Read 193300 times)

Leafsnail

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Re: The Lonely Prince, Day Five: Death and the Virgin
« Reply #855 on: October 08, 2013, 09:29:13 am »

PFP, in my post earlier today I meant to say N2, not N3.  This should be clear due to the fact that NQT died night two.  My actual N3 theory is unchanged.
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Vector

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Re: The Lonely Prince, Day Five: Death and the Virgin
« Reply #856 on: October 08, 2013, 10:29:51 am »

Tiruin: Wrote that late at night--went back to fix the writing in a couple of places.

"Chit" is basically a medieval word for "bitch."  It's a rude, immature young woman who doesn't know her place.

I generally dislike explaining flavor directly, but I think there may be an issue of cultural conveyance here--Horatio is both somewhat lacking in formal education and severely dyslexic.


Toaster: Brown with reddish undertones.


More updates when I get home from work, on the sides of both flavor and votecount.
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"The question of the usefulness of poetry arises only in periods of its decline, while in periods of its flowering, no one doubts its total uselessness." - Boris Pasternak

nonbinary/genderfluid/genderqueer renegade mathematician and mafia subforum limpet. please avoid quoting me.

pronouns: prefer neutral ones, others are fine. height: 5'3".

Tiruin

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Re: The Lonely Prince, Day Five: Death and the Virgin
« Reply #857 on: October 08, 2013, 10:40:01 am »

Got the second note on Horatio..the thought of dyslexia came across but it drifted away.

Also..no need for timecount. I somehow missed the Day ends Thursday note....right above my post there, sorry. Thanks though.

Toaster: [...]
[...]
[LEAFSNAIL_NOTE:NO]
. . .So my guess on us all wearing fancy masks is discarded. Theory #49 gone.

PFP, in my post earlier today I meant to say N2, not N3.  This should be clear due to the fact that NQT died night two.  My actual N3 theory is unchanged.
TBH, most of the case does point to Lenglon at the idea, and yeah I get..or more likely, understand the context of a subtle bus under how Web acted on the previous day to be plausible, though on the formal picks there and how you're guessing Web is bussing...Metatell, or are you suspicious on more than that?
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Leafsnail

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Re: The Lonely Prince, Day Five: Death and the Virgin
« Reply #858 on: October 08, 2013, 11:51:10 am »

PFP I guessed he was bussing when I realized Lenglon was scum earlier today.  Then, thinking about it from the mafia's perspective (Lenglon had to fake a track target and didn't want to risk dying for nothing) I realized bussing at that point made sense.  The fact thst webadict made an absolutely godawful claim, in spite of generally being a good player, further reinforces that.

@Toaster: Lenglon would have caught flak for deviating from Jim's plan.  And your action as claimed was confirmable by the target anyway, meaning you'd have an alibi anyway even without Lenglon's help (although Tiruin doesn't seem to trust last night's flavour).

What does your flavour say you actually do?  Does it maybe have you spreading earth on people to help them grow roses?
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Toaster

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Re: The Lonely Prince, Day Five: Death and the Virgin
« Reply #859 on: October 08, 2013, 12:12:06 pm »

Leaf:  No.  I literally give them a rose.
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HMR stands for Hazardous Materials Requisition, not Horrible Massive Ruination, though I can understand how one could get confused.
God help us if we have to agree on pizza toppings at some point. There will be no survivors.

Tiruin

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Re: The Lonely Prince, Day Five: Death and the Virgin
« Reply #860 on: October 08, 2013, 12:47:37 pm »

Leaf:  No.  I literally give them a rose.
Ok I thought I posted this but it isn't somehow up there.

...

Why're you giving your scion to everyone else in hopes of doing in their fertility?

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Toaster

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Re: The Lonely Prince, Day Five: Death and the Virgin
« Reply #861 on: October 08, 2013, 02:42:16 pm »

Because the more people wear roses, the more they're planted, and that's a good thing.
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HMR stands for Hazardous Materials Requisition, not Horrible Massive Ruination, though I can understand how one could get confused.
God help us if we have to agree on pizza toppings at some point. There will be no survivors.

Leafsnail

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Re: The Lonely Prince, Day Five: Death and the Virgin
« Reply #862 on: October 08, 2013, 07:44:56 pm »

Okay, Tiruin.  I am not repeating myself to you any more.  I have presented answers already to all the questions you have asked.  If you have a problem with the answers I gave, state them.  Don't make me restate them again and again and again.

I know. Let me work.
You are voting for someone who cannot possibly be the person we need to lynch today.  There is no room to "work".  Stop doing it.


"How how how how how?!"
Tiruin has her hands up in a flurry, the fan already fallen to the ground before she calms down and relaxes her stance, a tear falling from her eye. She picks up the fan, closes her eyes, and apparently hides her face as she fans herself.

You keep on forwarding Webadict planning a bus, doing a bus, executing a bus, and preferably sawing a bus in half with his own two teeth that it killed him but not how that makes sense in context given the list of OTHER suspects!

Where is the planning and its relevance to Lenglon's flavour claim? How does it matter? Link it all because I'm blind! Look at Lenglon's night actions, and justify them ALL. Especially that note on Solifuge!
I am going to be frank and say I have no idea what you are getting at here.  I have explained why the scumteam planning to bus Lenglon is a good idea several times.  I'll try once more and then I'll just give up and let you throw the game by voting a confirmed townie, because I am really completely sick of restating myself over and over again and clarifying points that were cleared up weeks ago.

The mafia wanted to make a kill night three, because otherwise the game would not move to mylo, and that would force the mafia to secure two mislynches instead of one.  To reliably make that kill they would have to block TWS, who had an ability that could block nightkills.  However, if TWS was to be blocked (by webadict) then Lenglon would have to perform the kill.  This presents something of a problem: Lenglon had already claimed to be a tracker.  How could she pretend to have a tracking result when she actually didn't?  Answer: claim she saw her partner, who could tell her his action via quicktopic.  This was her best option due to the lack of a massclaim at the time.  By throwing her partner under the bus, she could clear herself of basically all suspicion and win easily on the last day, rather than risking having her night 3 track being torn apart and being lynched.  webadict made sure his claim was absolutely terrible, so that people had no reason to scrutinize Lenglon's claim.

The questions I know you'll ask: Why not say webadict went somewhere else?  Because webadict's role makes itself known to its target, so lying about its target would mean someone would know both mafia members were lying.  Why not frame some random person for the kill?  Because that person could easily have an alibi, or could perhaps beat Lenglon in a 1v1 fight due to her weak claim.  Would the bus really gain Lenglon that much town credit?  Yes, yes it did.  You and Toaster are both struggling to believe that Lenglon could be scum with Toaster.  That is proof that it would be worth doing.  Why is Lenglon's flavour claim relevant?  Because her flavour claim was terrible and she probably knew it.  It would be good to try and draw as much attention away from it as possible.

Look at Lenglon's night actions, and justify them ALL. Especially that note on Solifuge!
I honestly cannot see what is strange about any of Lenglon's night actions at all.  I will look at them anyway.

Night 1 - track Solifuge
Lenglon tracked Solifuge because she is a mafia tracker and wanted to find town PRs.  She hit the jackpot and was able to mislynch a vigilante due to Solifuge being tracked to a kill.  Note that Ottofar was alive on this night, so there was no reason for Lenglon to make the kill (presumably Ottofar's kill was stopped by ZU).

Night 2 - track Toaster
Again, Lenglon was looking for town power roles.  That's it.  That's the entire motivation of a mafia tracker.  webadict performed the kill on NQT as discussed earlier.

Night 3 - kill TWS
Discussed above.  TWS was a very attractive nightkill target due to his abilities, the fact everyone saw him as town and the way he'd weaken my role.  Lenglon had to make the kill as webadict needed to block TWS.

Night 4 - kill Jim Groovester
Does this really need explaining at all?  Jim had a direct line to the dead, and was claiming to have a diverse set of powerful abilities.  No sane mafia member would have allowed Jim to live.

Now, I'd like to turn this question around on you.  Let's imagine for a moment that Lenglon is not a mafia member.

Why would the mafia allow Lenglon to have completely free reign for three nights, in spite of having both a kill and a roleblocker?  After Lenglon claimed day one, they could have easily neutralized her with either a kill or a roleblock on nights two and three, and could also have killed her on night four.  Why didn't they?  Why did they allow a powerful investigate role to continue living for this long?  This is on top of the "why would me and webadict kill the guy giving us powers" question I posed to you earlier.

Why in the world would Lenglon follow up on a bus, when it is only by her word that people caught on that Webby web web was lying?
Because Lenglon had to fake a tracking target.  Because Lenglon wanted to appear to be unimpeachably town.  If sacrificing one mafia member makes the other invincible then it is a good move, because you only need one living mafia member to win.

Also what is this. Proves what -1 vote?! What are you even going on at that point? It's confusing more often than not.
It's pretty obvious.  See how when I voted it counted against the extension.  And how when I unvoted the extension was granted.

I'm also all for bussing, but those and this marks inconsistency with your linking it to Lenglon.
I don't know what you're talking about.  You linked the post in which webadict basically proved that he was scum by claiming an impossible night action result (and also a block he didn't actually do).  How does "a post in which webadict kills himself" contradict the theory that "webadict wanted to die so that Lenglon could get insane town credit for bringing down a mafia member"?

Oops wait I just had a blindfold over here. Last paragraph. TWS says he got distracted, then killed.
We know who did the distraction [Webby web], and it would be really strange to see Lenglon's tracking skills cue Solifuge's death without any...viable reason. Toaster also targeted webby web there.
webadict distracted TWS.  Lenglon killed TWS.  Solifuge was lynched on day two and has nothing to do with any of this.  Assuming you mean TWS instead of Solifuge, it isn't hard to work out.  Lenglon used the factional mafiakill instead of his track to kill TWS.  You know, the factional mafiakill ability that the mafia gets in almost every game.

Check the wording. I'd put the plurality to being a singular there, but who would listen to someone before killing them?!
Literally anyone who enjoyed music?

Anyway. The only correlation I see with Lenglon + Webadict = that link.
Yes.  And that's the crucial correlation: Lenglon bussing webadict by tracking him to the kill, and webadict killing himself by making an impossible claim.

Could you give details on what TWS/Webadict/You chatted about? Also answer those things above LS.
Yes: absolutely nothing of interest, because if we thought of something interesting we could just post it in the thread rather than a smaller subset of the thread.  The only thing we talked about for most of the time was "why do we have a quicktopic".  I suggested it was because I had finally solved part of the puzzle and Vector wanted to further encourage us/ show that we were on the right track, and the others didn't think that was too likely but didn't suggest any other reason, other than suggesting that maybe I was responsible for it somehow.  TWS then asked whether he should block all nightkills, and webadict told him to decide himself without claiming it (presumably because he knew he'd be blocking TWS either way).

He has a conjunctive alibi--believe either Lenglon, or Toaster. They're both linked in the way that Lenglon > Toaster > Me.
Ugh.

If you believe Lenglon, Toaster didn't perform the kill and is town.

If you don't believe Lenglon, then Lenglon is scum and Toaster is still town because if they were both scum then they'd have won already.  I really can't understand why you aren't getting it.  It is completely and utterly different to the situation that me, you and Lenglon are in.

I did not receive any rose, nor did I check for any rose (because I am fancy like that to get outta bed and get out of that area where I was in).. The only note he did was where he found me in.
BUT LENGLON CLAIMED TO SEE HIM DOING IT JESUS CHRIST

Few problems with that idea of the puzzle, LS: There is no constant basis. All the pairs are different. You know why I doubt your assumption? I did conclude that the puzzle does "screw over" *ahem, flutters fan* the 'last pair' by differentiating them, but I've trust in a meta way that Vector doesn't do that sort of thinking by exclusion. Also the really pointy picking out there was a factor.
I don't understand what you are saying.  The colours are the reason we are meant to see the three core pairs as similar.

Now on the matter of night action order and targeting, that's where I believe the shots go. [Also if you really wanna argue with me on the pattern - look at yourself and web and TWS. Scum KILLED TWS for some reason, and given that one certain player (whose role had changed into a non-killing person).
TWS was not suspected by anyone and had a powerful role.  That is more than enough reason to kill him.

I'll just assume that there is a factional NK
NQT died night two and nobody claimed it.  TWS died night three and nobody claimed it.  Jim died night four and nobody claimed it.  It is by now blindingly obvious that the mafia have a factional kill (the night one kill could have been stopped by ZU).

On Leafsnail. Your connection with TWS has nothing else but you're affected by his music. Sorta like a collateral, compared to everyone else holding a different kind of bond.
Except, you know... that's exactly the same as webadict's connection with TWS.  Because me and webadict are the paired roles and TWS is the role that creates an explicit link between us.

If I were to check back and see how aggressive people were in trying to completely pinpoint others: Leafsnail. How you poke Lenglon comes as more than debating aggression.
Aggression is not a scumtell at all.  Not even remotely.  And it's needed if players around you are doing stupid shit (like, say, voting for confirmed townies at mylo).
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Leafsnail

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Re: The Lonely Prince, Day Five: Death and the Virgin
« Reply #863 on: October 08, 2013, 07:45:35 pm »

Tiruin should unvote Toaster and vote for someone who might actually be scum.
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Lenglon

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Re: The Lonely Prince, Day Five: Death and the Virgin
« Reply #864 on: October 08, 2013, 08:46:44 pm »

Busy, will have a proper post up later tonight.

N1 ZU protected me.
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((I don't think heating something that is right above us to a ridiculous degree is very smart. Worst case scenario we become +metal statues+. This is a finely crafted metal statue. It is encrusted with sharkmist and HMRC. On the item is an image of HMRC and Pancaek. Pancaek is laughing. The HMRC is melting. The artwork relates to the encasing of the HMRC in metal by Pancaek during the Mission of Many People.))

Leafsnail

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Re: The Lonely Prince, Day Five: Death and the Virgin
« Reply #865 on: October 08, 2013, 08:49:55 pm »

...but was redirected to griffinpup/TWS.
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Tiruin

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Re: The Lonely Prince, Day Five: Death and the Virgin
« Reply #866 on: October 08, 2013, 09:09:21 pm »

Okay, Tiruin.  I am not repeating myself to you any more.  I have presented answers already to all the questions you have asked.  If you have a problem with the answers I gave, state them.  Don't make me restate them again and again and again.
When.

Since when have i asked you to restate anything over and over again? Or did it come off as such?

The very reason I ask you such is that to give a clearer viewpoint. Like what you just did on the bus -- most of which was unstated earlier. I'm asking for your viewpoint as we don't have, or share the same point of view on the current matters. I already stated my problem with those questions, and yet you think I'm repeating the point like a blithering idiot.

I feel insulted. Someone of your capability would at least point that out despite it being partly negative in criticism-you aren't. I can see your intent there, and its partly cloudy in its judgement.

How do you view me, as a player?

And isn't it clear enough yet? I'm being skeptical, to forward the point. Lenglon isn't speaking, and this is quitely her last chance to speak-that's what I'm giving. Everyone deserves a second chance.

...not that anyone will get the Prince. Myself included.

I did not receive any rose, nor did I check for any rose (because I am fancy like that to get outta bed and get out of that area where I was in).. The only note he did was where he found me in.
BUT LENGLON CLAIMED TO SEE HIM DOING IT JESUS CHRIST
And praise be to he, sir! Hail!

Now you tell me, in the calmest and unflattering of possible tones that you can make, where madam Lenglon EXPLICITLY said what you claim.

Tell me, and I'll eat my figurative hat and/or freeformschooler.

Go ahead.

tl;dr, if she's lying, please check the first link before you say that at my face.

Praise be to him.

If I were to check back and see how aggressive people were in trying to completely pinpoint others: Leafsnail. How you poke Lenglon comes as more than debating aggression.
Aggression is not a scumtell at all.  Not even remotely.  And it's needed if players around you are doing stupid shit (like, say, voting for confirmed townies at mylo).
OH YES IT IS IF YOU SEE THE BLOODY CONTEXT. THAT IS NOT AGGRESSION, IT IS BLATANT AND OUTRIGHT PUSHING THE NOTIONS TO THEIR EXTREMES IN ORDER TO IMPLICATE A PERSON--WHILE SAID PERSON IS SCUM IN YOUR VIEWPOINT, YOU CAN DO IT IN A BETTER WAY THAN INSINUATING SUCH UNGRACEFUL COMMENTS.

THAT IS UNBECOMING OF A LADY, SIR. UNBECOMING![/aggression]

The questions I know you'll ask: [...]
Ok, this is getting personal that you think that you can predict what I'll do or ponder. From a biased way, that's disgraceful, but I get your point there.

Quote
You and Toaster are both struggling to believe that Lenglon could be scum with Toaster.
Uh huh. No, I'm contending it with you as scum. Toaster has been clean since she [Lenglon] said so earlier (yes, the dirt was the only thing that dirtied up his innocence.), and thus why I'm leaving my vote on him--there are no hammers, and the day can only end if someone hilariously shortens, and it would be more than hilarious to see someone else vote Toaster, but it still lies in probability despite the general belief.

In itself, the notion of voting like so also pushes how people watch the votes. You seem to be taking me voting Toaster like it's a fact that you can't quite grasp-as if I'm as blind as a southern cave bat who just yaps on and on to find a way out without listening to any response to figure out where it stands. The analogy seems fit to detail your reaction, as it seems.

I know where my vote goes, and the psychology under being voted and not being voted. The freedom of speech and how someone may keep talking under pressure, no matter how trivial or experienced the person is.

You can see the results, yourself. And apologies if it hit your blood pressure along the way...collateral damage is not what I predicted.

Look, while the puzzle has mostly been solved and all, I'm leaning on the side of skepticism to clear this all up and make the best use of the time given despite what IRL stuff here dictates (just end it already and blah blah blah exams school pressure) but I can take it because I, in my most honest opinion, know what I'm doing.

(Also its a Wednesday here at the time of posting so relax a bit. C'mon dude. I know that you're a smart fellow, but surely you aren't that biased or jaded to see me flailing like a fishy fish. :I)

Returning to the point at hand and why I'm skeptic on it. Webadict could've gone with the conventional 'make it up and hope it works' method when replying to Lenglon.
I'm also all for bussing, but those and this marks inconsistency with your linking it to Lenglon.
I don't know what you're talking about.  You linked the post in which webadict basically proved that he was scum by claiming an impossible night action result (and also a block he didn't actually do).  How does "a post in which webadict kills himself" contradict the theory that "webadict wanted to die so that Lenglon could get insane town credit for bringing down a mafia member"?
Yeah, ok, settling the point-I also get the feeling on webadict. We both know he's a cunning and sly player, but the query stands on that notion I uphold above.

He could've gone with that method rather than push an incredibility to favor a mafioso. He could make it up, and then solidify that Lenglon targeted him at that certain point in time (compare: objection to subversion. After the role is seen, which would give better clarity to whom to trust? This is hypothetical, but an answer would be appreciated.)

That is where the insane town credit comes in, and how it relates to people's sense of logic. Mine may be skewed, bent or even turned around in a parabola that it doesn't make sense when its shaped as itself, but that point is a point to ponder upon.

What I've been saying before on checking Lenglon as a superficial suspicion? That's just a ruse that I'm saying in order to diversify the suspicion between you and her. You could say a reaction test of sorts..I don't know the exact term for it. However that note on your description on the N3 TWS? Its matching what I'm pondering about, and the 'mishap' on N3, which is what I subtly termed earlier...I was thinking about it for more than 2 days.

Note that I keep tabs on people.
Also what is this. Proves what -1 vote?! What are you even going on at that point? It's confusing more often than not.
It's pretty obvious.  See how when I voted it counted against the extension.  And how when I unvoted the extension was granted.
...This is what confused me then, and caused the succeeding querying.

...Your vote is a universal -1, huh?
Quote
.
You may ask for an extension or shorten by putting the respective word in bold.  Extensions require 33% of players to agree minus any players opposing, and requires at least three players. Extends are for 48 hours including weekends, and there may only be a maximum of four Extends.
Did a check on everything beforehand. If what you say is true, then it should be sensible to point that the extend/shorten votes would also carry on when you had a double vote (...I mean, wow. That is one in depth depression that it stalls time.)

Here till here, we had 6 total votes. Excluding yours. Disregarded. Same here.

...That continues long onwards. This tiny point has been answered in my memory but I lack the time to find the answer. Anyway...
Here till ..err.
..Right.
Here until here has ZU only voting, which was the reason for the motivator thing I appended to you, LS..unless I missed the other one.

...And nothing else, then TWS died.

HOWEVER, the note was on semantics (x more people to extend..stuff stuff)..I can't really fathom how you say you've a confirmed -1 vote in that manner to also attach it to a lynchvote.

One question you missed: Any reason/lore behind your double-vote/lacking vote power? Is your vote a single-use effect weakness?


Lenglon: Speak, or forever hold your peace.

PPE: ...
Err. Why was that the only thing you said, Lenglon? Also take care. Same to you Leafsnail..

Toaster eat yummy dirt and post more. :I
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Tiruin

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Re: The Lonely Prince, Day Five: Death and the Virgin
« Reply #867 on: October 08, 2013, 09:12:20 pm »

Say now, in a hypothetical situation, Lenglon:
Take yourself as being scum.

Why did you clear up Toaster there? You do know that it'll really glance your chances off-and given that you're also clearing me via trust? He could as well have killed me for whichever reason comes to mind~
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Vector

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Re: The Lonely Prince, Day Five: Death and the Virgin
« Reply #868 on: October 09, 2013, 01:28:37 am »

Hey guys, you might not want to read this while eating anything.  Or if you ever plan on eating anything again.  Just a note.

Also, this update, more than any other, contains some human beings being really awful to each other.  So.  Whoever ends up winning this really, let me say, deserves their happy ending.  Yes, everything will be tied up.  It shall be all right in the end!  Probably.  It may take a while.


First check what the body is and then let the other girls know of it!

...Ok I panic run to, or try to find the PRINCE or HORATIO and point point at the body in the bed, stating its a body, and then requesting a full examination of said body (and..bloodstains. I'm sure there are bloodstains.) And the wound and his guess on its cause! (I'm expecting rotting on an exponential scale but this is too much of an opportunity to pass up on)

You unwrap the sheet.

"By Death's icy tits," says Alexandersen, putting a handkerchief to his nose.  It's a dead woman, tall, slim, with a youthful turn to her body.  Her teeth and her hair have all fallen out and lie about her in a halo of black and ivory.  Her stench is putrid, somehow worse than rotting meat, past cloying and firmly situated in the realm of the fantastically foul.  You are shocked that you can't see it flowing out, a haze over her body.  Her body certainly looks loose and heavy, as though her flesh had lost its grip on her bones.

Strips of skin have pulled away in long pieces and now hang from the blanket.  From one depends an entire detached finger.

"Wait here," you say from beneath the rising weight of your nausea.  "Open the window or something.  I'm going to go get help."

Alexandersen stands stock still, frozen.  You abandon him, heading down the stairs towards the Great Hall.  The other girls are sitting around a small table, heads together, bickering.

"Corpse. . . in the Prince's room.  Thought you should know," you pant, and pass out through the door towards the undercroft.  A flight of stairs later you remember to take off your mask.  As you wait outside the storage room's door, fumbling with the knot, you hear the distinctive sounds of a quarrel.

"You thought you would mention this now?"

"Peace, Sigfred, I had only thought--"

"I have tolerated you and your proclivities for all too long!  You're an abomination!  An affront to dignity, an arrogant satyr who would choke on the heft of his own spit-shined hubris if he ever tried swallowing down anything other than--"

"Sigfred, you needn't be so awful about this--"

"You should count your blessings every day that you have a roof over your head, you stupid, indolent lout, when both of us know you aren't worth the dirty straw you lie your poxy body on.  You ought to be spanceled and muzzled, knave, until such a time when you can control your bestia--"

"Enough!  Peace, Sigfred, do sit down.  Let's speak of this like men--"

SMACK.

"I have told you," says the Prince's voice some moments later, quavering distinctly.  "I told you that thou'rt not to lay hands on our person and now look at what you have done--"

". . . As I would have said: Let's speak of it like men, rather than animals."

The scrape of a chair.

"We are grown now," says Horatio, "and no longer children in the studyroom, to be beaten for their casual errors.  I do not know what has enraged you so, and driven you so far afield from your usual disposition, but this fit of abusive petulance is beneath you."

Silence.

"I know not what to say to you," says Horatio.  "You are changed from the man I know, and I know not wherefore."

"I will not speak of it, so do not ask it of me," says the Prince.

Silence.

". . . Horatio, you're bleeding."

"Perhaps if you removed your signet next time.  Or chose to strike me with the palm of your hand, rather than the back."

Silence.

"I would be left alone."

"That is fortunate, as I would leave you," says Horatio.  "It matters not.  The complexities of your bursary are far above the capabilities of my humble intellect, liege, and I abandon you to them."

You hear his footsteps approaching and you hurry up the stairs so that you can be hurrying down when he opens the door, rather than caught eavesdropping.

"Horatio!" you say.

"You," he says neutrally, as blood slowly runs down his cheekbone.  From behind him, you can hear the door closing again and being barred shut.

"There's something you need to see," you say, and hurry back to the Prince's solar, Horatio trudging behind.


"I--I asked Captain Alexandersen to let me accompany him on his rounds today," you tell him.  "But we found something in the Prince's room--something horrid!  A corpse!"

"The guards are asked to patrol the hallways, not inspect the royal chambers," says Horatio.

"Come on, we should hurry," you say.  You hope that he's really as dazed as he sounds.  Horatio opens the solar door and you rush ahead so that you can stand by the bed and dramatically point at the body.  Fortunately, Alexandersen opened every shutter, so the stench is not quite so bad.

"Look at that!  A body!" you say helpfully.  "She's dead!"

"I see.  Yes," says Horatio.  "That certainly is a very dead woman.  Hullo again, Captain."

"Well met, Semele," says Adolf Alexandersen, inspecting his fingernails.

"Well, go on, Horatio," you say.  "Examine her!  Head to foot.  Be thorough!"

"If I must."

"This is too good an opportunity to pass up!" you exclaim.  Horatio gives you a bit of an odd look, but approaches the bed.

"It's the woman who seemed to have died," he says, glancing at the corpse and looking away, "who is now definitely deceased."

"And?  And?!"

Horatio's expression closes as he walks closer.  In that moment, you realize that you have never looked at him carefully before, and see him clearly now--a tall, pinched man, conspicuously clean-shaven (if showing a beardy shadow at this hour).  His nose and cheekbone show evidence of having been previously broken, and in his thick black hair you can see a few threads of silver.  As he gently pushes the corpse's flesh away from the pit of her wound with his broad bare hands, he bites the tip of his tongue, peering down.

"She has a hole in her chest," he says.  "The ribs are shattered with pieces protruding into the surrounding tissue and the lung is perforated in multiple places.  The heart is missing and the arteries have been ripped.  From the stage of decay I would say she has been dead quite some time now.  The skin has lost its tension and has taken on a spongy texture."

"You sure know your corpses intimately," says Alexandersen.

"I have had occasion to bid final farewells to a great deal of death of late," says Horatio.  "Strange.  The bone here is thick and rough, as though stone had grown on it."

"What about bloodstains," you say.  "What about the inside of her chest?  Are there any more clues there?"

"Why don't you come over here and find out yourself," he says, wiping his gooey fingers on his trousers.  "You can put your hand in and root around in there.  Mayhap the murderer left a note."

Even you can recognize the sarcasm for what it is.

"What do you think caused the death?"

"I would suspect," says Horatio, "that it may--perhaps, though it is a stretch and I am prepared to retract my professional statement at your word--it may have something to do with her missing heart.  However, there is also the possibility that she is merely pretending again.  Now, if you would excuse me.  I have matters to which I must attend elsewhere."

Horatio turns.  He walks away, shaking his head a little, raising a hand as though to pass it through his hair but thinking better of it.  You wish he had offered to bury the corpse, or done a better job of rooting through her chest cavity.

He stops in his tracks.

"'Semele'?"
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"The question of the usefulness of poetry arises only in periods of its decline, while in periods of its flowering, no one doubts its total uselessness." - Boris Pasternak

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Tiruin

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Re: The Lonely Prince, Day Five: Death and the Virgin
« Reply #869 on: October 09, 2013, 02:25:58 am »

ohgodswhat.



...Since I'm waiting muchly on Lenglon here I might as well indulge on this opportunity again.
(seriously nobody else wanting to talk here?)

Why is it that he looks so different..now?
...
Did Semele have an effect here?


"S-" It would be rude to repeat. "Someone you knew?"

Ask.



Now you tell me, in the calmest and unflattering of possible tones that you can make, where madam Lenglon EXPLICITLY said what you claim.
[...]
Also this was all Lenglon's posts of the day.

Checking back..yeah I'm too tired to think. Toaster's role is being weird, I feel clarified enough to fix the gap of Leafsnail acting in the night, Lenglon's quiet and..pretty much under presumptuous flak.

...Toaster: You're a third-party, aren't you?

...Can I also examine that mask I got? Or remember on how it was if I don't have it?
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