Battle School - The Mafia / Round One: OOC / Mai 17 years ago

Round One: OOC

Talk amongst yourselves here

MEC 17 years ago
Alright, this is what I've been looking at so far:

Suddenly the space around him cleared as the group took a step back. The voice took the tone of a kindergarten teacher rather than an angry bully, causing Pinual to look up in wary confusion.

“Now. Pinual. What are we all doing here in Battle School? What is the –most important- reason we are here?”

Pinual hesitated for a long moment before mumbling an answer.

“…beat the buggers…”

A hand clapped down on his shoulders and the mafia crowded around him once more. The voice whispered dangerously low; Pinual felt hot breath on his face.

“Wrong. Answer.”


I think that this may be referring to Dan (Dantes Jean-Paul Valentino Villanova), because of the whole choose the correct answer and the implications an answer to his own question in his character bio.

The day of the last exam, Dan was sure he was sunk, and going back home to the ghetto. The examiner came in holding the last exam in his had. “Are you ready for the final?”
“Yes.”
The examiner put the test in front of Dan. There was only one question on the paper.
Do the ends justify the means?
a.) Yes.
b.) No.
c.) Only if the ends are justifiable.
d.) Only if the means are justifiable.
e.) Only if both the ends and the means are justifiable.
Dan looked at the examiner a little concerned. “Just one question?”
“Yes.”
“And this determines if I go on to school, or go home?”
“Yes.”
Without further hesitation Dan marked the answer his pen had been hovering over and handed the exam back to the man standing in front of him.
“That was quick,” the man said looking down at the exam. “Are you sure of your answer?”
“Yes.”
pharren 17 years ago
some things that stuck in my mind as potential clues after the 1st read:

(i dont have time to read through bios atm, so i cant name any names yet)


“So what do we know about these other guys? Anyone?”

might just be a figure of speech. im sure any female in battle school is a tomboy. or... it might be a clue! perhaps all (insert number) of our mafia members are male.


“You see his standings? Little weirdo spends all his time playing the mind game, can’t shoot to save his life.”

the comment about pinual not being able to shoot. thats not the only skill valued in a battle school soldier, so why would they act like it is? perhaps the speaker is an expert marksman, and looks down on anybody with inferior skill. what marksmen are there?


The second email he’d found waiting for him in his inbox was worse. “I know. See me in the gym, 23:00.” Signed Sheppard, another pseudonym.

this is very likely to be a clue. it might not be related to their country of origin or anything like that, but a part of their delusion, which is still a pretty big clue. who would feel a nurturing, protecting sort of role is appropriate for them, maybe even required of them? or, who is from a country where people raise sheep? :P


With a final glare, they did just that, walking single file and, he noticed, in sync. Marching.

are they very much into the military? or perhaps just their leader? are they very structured? very organized? or is it an intimidation thing? it might be nothing, since, after all, ALL the kids have been totally immersed in a military life style since entering battle school (maybe earlier, dependiing on their history). BUT IT MIGHT BE SOMETHING, TOO!#$!!!!


i dont have time to look for more stuff tonight, since i am raiding in EQ and need to log immediately after, but i will give it another run through tomorrow on my lunch break or after work.

remember: clues arent only found in what the mafia/SK do or say, but also in the setting, and in seemingly unrelated things said or thought by the victim.
MEC 17 years ago
“So what do we know about these other guys? Anyone?”


I didn't think of this one at first, although now that you mention it, it may refer to launchies.

Suddenly the space around him cleared as the group took a step back. The voice took the tone of a kindergarten teacher rather than an angry bully, causing Pinual to look up in wary confusion.


This part really seemed like a clue to me, particularly the part about the kindergarten teacher tone. Although I'm not sure how to link it to anyone in particular right now.

Edit to add: I did look through the profiles and noticed Jacob mentioned being in kindergarten, but it seems rather weak to me.
Den 17 years ago
pharren;86196
what marksmen are there?


Three bios mention guns - I'm not saying this means anything, but ifs the first thing I could focus on. I'll reread everything again tomorrow, and see what else I can come up with too.

Zenan is also a great marksmen

Emilio Salvaggio Specialty: sharpshooting. -- Emilio, the best shot in his toon

Gwendal "Ducky" Ulrich Specialty: gunnery

One other character referenced paint ball, which is played with a gun, but I didn't include it since I figured that was a bit of a stretch.
Den 17 years ago
MEC;86205

This part really seemed like a clue to me, particularly the part about the kindergarten teacher tone. Although I'm not sure how to link it to anyone in particular right now.

Edit to add: I did look through the profiles and noticed Jacob mentioned being in kindergarten, but it seems rather weak to me.


There was one mention of kindergarten that I read in bios...let me find it.


Jacob When he entered kindergarten ...
Den 17 years ago
Alright, this is what else I found.

A lot of 'fantasy' references = Eduardo Perceptibule Jones
When under pressure he retreats into his own fantasy world ...
If Eduardo should ever be dragged forcefully out of his fantasy world ...


and


Standing references ...You see his standings?
They wanted to discuss his standings in past armies = Splazmonnotroid "Sporkmundoframp" Gralanglioprelammbiac
Specialty: standing _very very_ still indeed.
Also his formative experiences of immitating a man, who was imitating a rubbish gold statue, has instilled within Splazmonnotroid the uncanny abilty to stand _very very_ still indeed.


Thats all I've got for now.
The Azig 17 years ago
I have to say I'm flattered to be a suspect right out of the gates...

You want to dig for clues? Where'd all the socks come from?

As for the kindergarten teacher tone, we're all young here, what's being evidenced there is confidence I think. Either by age, or experience. Experience could be either from a history in battle school, or perhaps life outside/before battle school. Who here has the confidence to do something so cold, calculated, and terrible? All the while thinking it's a fix or cure for Pinual? A "way out."

While I can rationalize a strong-arming of the poor guy to slap him in shape for the good of the team, I certainly can't see any end that isn't accomplished easier, cleaner, and with less effort and trouble than murder. Murder has opened an entire can of worms here, and was a poor, emotional, impractical, and most likely irrational decision - which is not my style.

And don't forget we're trying to get into three different psyche's here. The person who killed him, the person who bullied him, and the mob that follows the bully.
CaptainBinky 17 years ago
So the serial killer likes to go by the handle "Sheppard" then? As in shepherd?

Zenan X Clark
Zenan comes from Montana, USA


Teresa Sol
Place of Origin: Wellington, New Zealand


Both fairly well known areas for their agricultural - and specifically - sheep industries, don't you think?

edit: ah, I see you've already alluded to that, pharren
lemmy101 17 years ago
Grenn Rosby
He and his mother then moved from the east coast to the farming heartland of the country.
Just to point out that the whole farmlands thing applies to quite a few people.

Also:
With a fixed smile, the figure tonelessly replied, “I think you have a problem. Don’t you?”

Willie "Pinky" Cleene is an albino with pale white skin... could be said his skin was toneless...

Dunno need to spend more time looking at the clues. Noticed the fantasy thing but that was mentioned in both the SK bit and mafia bit, and doubt Eduardo is both... as much as I dislike to say it since I'm in the list of potentials, the Shepperd one seems like the more obvious clue than that one due to this.

Most of these clues seem to be about the SK too, anybody notice any more for the Mafia side?
Are the different nicknames and plays on Pinual's name of any relevance?

Eduardo Perceptibule Jones lives on Wellstaple on the Water.

Then...

The Battle School Mafia trickled into the room

Am I clutching at straws? Never been a great clue spotter
CaptainBinky 17 years ago
I think the SK has to be either Dantes Jean-Paul Valentino Villanova, ABAY, Ezekial Rainsfeld, Emilio Salvaggio, or Armando Salvaggio who are all 13.

23:00 hours is way past everyone else's bedtime - hee hee!
Mike 17 years ago
OK maybe I'm just still sleepy (it is 6AM you know) but did any one else notice a lot of talk about feet? "shuffling feet" "marching in step" and a rope made out of socks? Any one here with a foot fettish?
SnowDragon 17 years ago

Quote from Domo's profile:

I have lost all hope in your humanity. Hate is the only emotion I feel. Its touch is southing, its infection keep me sane. There is one last bastion of purity and happiness left to the universe leading to an early death yet I have no fear. My sanctuary of peace is to be my tomb. I have seen worse fates than dying among the last reminants of true life. I will not be understood by most of those to come. This brings great sadness to the remaining pieces of my soul yet even a small child know the universe gives nothing for greatness or the attainment of perfection. Today marks the leaving of mortality from this body. Ironically the power vested in me is given by the darkness that as taken residence among mortal souls. I drink greedily from the goblet of man's pride. Women and children will be slaughtered; Men will fight on stepping silently into Hell but I shall live on as the Shepard of death until my lost love is returned to me through last breaths. My vengeance is insatiable as hate forever burns; I deserve the fate which lies at the end of my long path. Consumed by the thoughts of betrayal, I am nothing but an empty shell covered by a destructive longingness. The silent darkness of space was my only answer and for that i have gained power unimaginable but alas lost everything I ever loved." A black rose held high in an immortal hand, a deadly beauty.

This stuck out to me don't know if it means anything. Especially since Sheppard was the last person to see Pinual alive. Still reading through profiles but so far that has stuck out to me.
pharren 17 years ago
Also his formative experiences of immitating a man, who was imitating a rubbish gold statue, has instilled within Splazmonnotroid the uncanny abilty to stand _very very_ still indeed.

this to me points more to him being the SK, who was able to hide from the mafia until they passed without noticing him

Are the different nicknames and plays on Pinual's name of any relevance?

i wondered the same thing. i couldnt make any connections though.

also, lemmy's water clue sounds good to me, about the mafia trickling in. i need to reread and search deeper for themes like that, since the clues i was looking for on the first time around were the superficial ones that jumped right out at me

i dismissed the kindergarten teacher reference the first time around, but now i think that was me just getting ahead of myself (sort of). the teacher-ish tone implies that 1.) the speaker is older than pinual, 2.) the speaker sees him/herself as superior to pinual (already established). in addition to those obvious things, i agree that it may just be a reference to the speaker being in kindergarten or just mentioning it somewhere in their bio.

there are also quite a few "breath" references, but like the "pinhead" comments, i havent made a connection yet. mainly because i havent re-read the bios
pooka 17 years ago
Pharren/Andrews' profile contains:
The only sounds on the trip back to the barracks were the dejected shuffling of feet

and
The momentary silence that followed was broken when somebody dropped a shoe.
.

Of course, the food fetish you referred to was probably on the part of the mods, since the foot clues are distributed between the kills.
Blackrabbit 17 years ago
Don't forget this was a combo SK/mafia hit.

The shuffling feet and marching references are mafia clues.

The rope of socks is an SK clue, as is the pseudonym "Sheppard," which I also find interesting. Particularly as it is spelled incorrectly if meant to be someone who herds others. That would be "Shepherd." I don't know if the typo was intentional or if it was meant to reference the name "Sheppard," which isn't uncommon.

However, someone does mention this in their bio. Domo's (very incredibly long) bio reads:
Men will fight on stepping silently into Hell but I shall live on as the Shepard of death


Which is interesting, as it is the same sort of mis-spelling. In addition, Domo seems to radiate the same sort of contempt for adults' treatment of children (or at least the way children are treated) that the SK intimates in the hit. In addition, it could be surmised that a shepherd is generally a helpful figure, and the SK clearly believes they are being helpful.

Course, I'm not pointing fingers. Just saying there are some hints right there. The first hit sucks... from my point of view, I am almost guaranteed to have it wrong. That's just what I get so far from looking at the SK portion of the hit.



On the Mafia side of things, I have to agree that right off the bat there's strong reason to suspect Dantes. He's tall for his age, and it does sound like the speaker to Pinual is taller. His bio places a lot of importance on winning (paintball tournament victory), and of course the "Wrong. Answer." thing, which does seem sorta fishy, but imo that's almost -too- much for one hit, if you ask me. So, looking at other stuff:

Lots of foot-shuffling references, marching references, etc. This could potentially point to Michael Andrews (Pharren)... whose bio uses the following references:

The only sounds on the trip back to the barracks were the dejected shuffling of feet, the sound of flash suits as they walked...


The next logical step in Andrews' military career ...


as he strode to the back of the barracks...


The momentary silence that followed was broken when somebody dropped a shoe.


Of course these are all kinda direct references, not requiring too much inference. So once again I'm probably way off base. There are plenty of others to consider, myself included, but I just didn't really think there was enough there for me to write a coherent argument on any of them. I also think the kindergarten thing is telling, but I'm just not sure how to interpret it yet.

As for the "pinhead, pinprink," references, those are all used in the books; however, I don't think I ever read "safety pin" at all... so I am wondering if that one in particular is a clue, or if that's just artistic mod license.
lemmy101 17 years ago
That Sheperd stuff, well very interesting. Seems pretty solid to me, though I'd probably be surprised if there were any words that *weren't* in that bio also seems a rather obvious clue for revealing the one and only SK not sure the mods would be that obvious on the opening night's SK...

Also, I do like the age angle CaptainBinky mentioned, I see Dantes name coming up a lot too...
MEC 17 years ago
The second email he’d found waiting for him in his inbox was worse. “I know. See me in the gym, 23:00.” Signed Sheppard, another pseudonym.


I do think this is going somewhere, although I must add that I feel the origin of the name applies as well. It comes from the areas of England and Scotland, as do these characters:

Stormie-Ireland
Talia-Scotland
Eduardo-England
Edit to add:
Micheal-UK

Sorry, I missed one.

There's a couple more from Europe that I didn't include.
pooka 17 years ago
Well, I'm not a fan of hunting the SK right off, but I will point out that 23:00 = 11. What was the clue earlier about 13 year olds? Is anyone 11?

Oh, right. Same clue just not on the right track. That would be Xenan, Najda, and Eduardo.

But really, given that they have a kill every day, we are probably not going to get good clues on the SK for a while. A theme will build, the way these games have gone in the past.
CaptainBinky 17 years ago
Also, if maybe the shepherd / agriculture thing is a bit too obvious for day one, perhaps it's shepherd in a more religious sense - Jesus Christ, the good shepherd, etc.

Splazmonnotroid was found abandoned as a baby on Christamas morn, in a small paddle boat, adrift the lake in Retiro Park


The 23:00 = 11pm thing had occurred to me but thought that'd be a bit on the obvious side. Also, I seem to be the only 11 year old.

edit: Oop, no Zenan is 11 as well. I don't feels so bad about that theory now
lemmy101 17 years ago
I kinda figured it would be age related to it being late, not 11pm specifically, and not exclusive of 13... maybe 11-12-13... just an indication that the 6 year olds out there are probably not the SK, as pooka says all sounds too specific for day one clues to me...