all caught up. that was a lot of posts.
Despite my previous reads, I'm inclined to vote for faust now. Besides the reasons which have already been mentioned in the thread,
- I think the "let me vote for faust" thing from Joseph looks super staged. I also don't think faust's reaction points towards genuine town, I think scum!faust has just as much reason to be frustrated there
- I don't buy that you're suddenly convinced about ash being scum. I recall you saying that ash's tunneling made him feel townier - what happened to that?
- I don't feel scum!ash anymore. At first I thought his tunneling was staged, but then he started to actually make good points, and... well, basically this:
The scum narrative for me? You have to think I'm the biggest asshole in the world...fake fight, fake quitting, someone got Arch to fake seek a replacement, fake a result....all for what? It's pretty early to be suiciding.
And there's also the thing about how day 2 played out - I mean you did (quick!)hammer town, after all.
Don't get me wrong, I think you played an excellent game, but that's just it, you're an excellent player, you can do this as scum. If it was anyone else, I'd probably say what you're doing (defending Joseph super hard, insisting on claiming last) is too bold for scum, but you're capable of it.
Also this:
Look, the scum narrative for Joseph/Faust is super clear. There have been shit claims (Joseph #1, the backpedal, admitting he targeted XP who died and was the key to our plan, Faust claiming to directly save him); they have been tied together for self-preservation (faust's non-stop, non-sensical defense of Joseph, faust's quick hammer of town, faust claiming a result to save Joseph after he's caught out -- which is why Faust wanted to go last, btw).
Another thing - let's say ash is scum. Would he really try to connect this game to the contest to the Mafia championship thing if he knows you are right? Definitely no. This is more than just staging a fight.
I'm also pretty confident about Joseph being scum now. We all gave him allowances for his screw ups, but man, at some point we have to assume that it's staged, especially if you're partners. and if we are lynching among you two, it seems better to lynch you first.
and lastly, I don't feel very good about your votes on me. I don't remember any game when you tunneled me and we were both town.
so,
vote: faust, L-2