Mafia 5: Matters of Family And Honor (the game thread)

[amlthrawn]

"I have seen many a man in their worse states, men that were seemingly good but would do...terrible things... in the name of self preservation."

As Elhan spoke the words, Eddie turned his head toward Vinnie, twirling his pen in his hands.

I suppose you're right on that point right there, Elhan.

[mikehendo]

ooc: Sorry, this should have been in direct response to Ragnarock's first post, but I went out to dinner, and asked the gf to marry me I am now engaged w00t!.. Anyways, back to the game.. I know this is long, but I put a lot of time into it, explaining some stuff.. You all wanted explanation, so here it goes. Remember, you all brough this upon yourselves..
IC:
Agapito turns to face Elhan, after his accusation.
"You know Elhan it is odd that you would come out so quickly to condemn me, are my fears of a linkage between you and Vinnie being proven true? If they are that is a matter to be dealt with at another time. You continue to claim that I am making accusations against an innocent man, but take this into account before you attempt to play the high ground. YOU ARE ALSO WILLING TO ACCUSE ME BASED ON SIMPLE ASSUMPTIONS! You have no moral superiority in this matter, you are merely reacting as one would expect a person in your situation to reacte.

Part of what you said is true, Elhan, I would like to fancy myself an instrument of God, but there is a considerable difference between the acts that have occurred in this family's past and those that have occurred on this very boat. As Sal has said numerous times, my uncle brought us all on this boat so that the traitors to this family might be brought to justice. It is unknown to what lengths he would have punished these traitors, but one of them saw fit to assassinate him before he was able to make his announcement, and I believe that I am close to fingering the guilty party, but for now some doubt remains.

Do I believe that the man on trial here and now killed my Uncle, that I cannot say with absolute certainty, however I do believe that he was brought into a group, against his will perhaps, although that matters little now. He was brought into a group, not fully understanding what he was about to get himself into, he had ties with the family lawyer, and believe me, those were of great help in keeping this group hidden. Just because said individual did not, I believe, murder my uncle that does not mean that he should not be held accountable for the attempted murder of our American friend.

Seeing as how I am being called to piece it together, I should start with what is already a given. Someone has been attempting to frame Punch, as Vinnie rightly pointed out. However, in pointing out the scheme that he was so quick to cover, Vinnie must have believed that he was putting himself in the clear. What better way to look innocent than point out and condemn the actions of the traitors, of which he is undoubtedly, I believe a part of. However, prior to that announcement, yet another act was carried out in an attempt to frame Punch, the attempted assassination of the American. Here we have the American sitting alive, so the traitor who was sent to finish him off is left high and dry. The smartest thing that said individual could do would be to return to his room as though nothing had happened, however he would need to sneak back in without waking his sleeping partner. Was Sarah awake because of the noise of Parker in the hall? That could be the case as has been claimed this entire time. However, it is feasibly that Vinnie was able to sneak out of bed, without Sarah’s knowledge. After all he has been known to do so in the past. And then, following his failed assassination attempt, he was able to sneak back into the room and sneak back under the covers, until Parker created such a ruckus, which quite possibly awoke our dear Sarah. So, Vinnie being the caring man that he is offered to see what the trouble was, in an attempt to keep Sarah uninvolved.

Upon checking the ruckus, and observing Parker enter into Punch’s room the plan to frame Punch for the murders had to be abandoned. So, the next morning my cousin Vinnie sees fit to mention the plan that he most likely had a part in creating, thus attempting to make himself innocent in the eyes of everyone here.

That brings us to the issue of Sarah. Can Sarah be faulted for defending Vinnie, I believe not. She was merely reacting as a woman in love. It is no secret that both she and Vinnie have something special. It is because of the bond that the two share that I deeply regret the fact that I would take him away from her for the sake of this family. However, in such matters, the wellbeing of this family takes precedent over the happiness of two people. It is for the sake of this family then that I must insist that Vinnie is brought to justice for the attempted assassination, which he carried out upon our dear American friend.

I call out to each of you, family and friend of the family to recognize the grave threat that Vinnie poses to our safety. To those who would think of accusing me of these egregious acts, I wish to apologize for anything which I may have said or done that would lead any among you to suspect me. I would also thank Vinnie for his assertion of my innocence, given the weight of the charges that I am bringing to bear against him. So I commend him on his unwillingness to make another innocent pay the price for his sins. However Vinnie, you knew this entire speech was leading up to one definite point. I wish that I could extend to you the same pardon that you extend to me. However, I believe in your guilt in these matters Vinnie and no amount of double talk on your part is going to convince me otherwise.”

[Grumlen]

"Then I am sorry to have told the truth, for I now see that men will always see what they want to see rather than what the truth may be. I never attempted an assassination of any sort, yet you insist that I have. In support of your arguement, you claim that I lack the intelligence to 'cover up my tracks.' I see this as being a case just like what happened with Slim: accused for no other reason than saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. Funny how in both cases, that mistake was made in conversation with you. It could be said of any here, with only 2 notable exceptions, that they attempted the assassination and then fled the crime scene. Perhaps everyone can learn a lesson from this: The truth will never set you free. Not as long as there is doubt in men's hearts and hatred in their souls. Until men can trust another once again, none in this family shall ever be safe. You think I fear for my life? I would have been dead years ago if not for the man you accuse me of taking part in the death of. And now that he has died, you seem eager to make up for lost time. Perhaps you feel that a soul has escaped death and should be sent to it's proper place."

Vinnie looks at those gathered.

"I would suggest none of you ever try to defend yourself against this priest, for he is the harbinger of death and whoever he says shall die, will."

[amlthrawn]

Eddies' voice slightly grows louder (a raised voice, rather than a yell)- which is very uncharacteristic of this usually reserved man

End your libacious accusations this instant, Vinnie! You know just as well as I do that the priest is innocent of any crime. If you are unwilling to confess at least have the common decency to not bring on the death of more innocents!

[mikehendo]

OOC: I am guessing you meant libacious.. libation = alcoholic drink.
IC:
"Vinnie, my dear cousin. Please dont make this any harder than it is. Nariko may have been a traitor, but at least she had the common decency to not throw around useless, half accusations after her time had come. Maybe you should follow her lead on that like you have followed her lead in acting against this family for so long."

[amlthrawn]

OCC: Yup, that's what I meant.

[Tomahawk]

Scar, who has been leaning against a wall watching the conversation with ever-rising amazement, pushes himself up from the wall and walks a bit closer to where the conversation is taking place.

"That's funny, Eddie... how are you so sure the priest is innocent? Just because he has a cross and considers everyone who does not agree with his visions "Satan" and can hurl bible texts along, does that mean a priest cannot take part in a murder scheme? I'm having my doubts about you, Agapito... just this instant, you accuse Elhan of accusing you based on assumptions. What do you have, besides assumptions? NOTHING!"

Scar yelled out that last word, after which there was a deafening silence... he then continued.

"Of course, you being a priest means you're handy with working a crowd. If you can get people to believe in your God, I'm sure making some people believe Vinnie is a murderer is not much of a difference. All you have is speculations, and if someone dares to question your speculations you just yell them louder to try to bludgeon your point into the other's head. You tried putting pressure on Sarah to make her buy your shit, and discarded it as 'O well, just trying to protect her boyfriend' when she disagreed. I'm with Elhan on this one... if there's anyone here trying to tear the family apart, it is you."

Scar points at Agapito, his face unusually grim.


(OOC: Vote for Agapito / mikehendo.)

[amlthrawn]

Eddie, unflinching, draws close to Scar as if to say something... but holds his tonuge.

[StruckingFuggle]

OOC: Technically, a "libation" is the pouring of an alcoholic beverage, like wine, as a religious offering... "we offer libations to thee, Dionyssus", and all that stuff. Actually being just "booze" is an informal idiom. And "libicious" just plain isn't a word.

Libelous, however, is a word - but seeing as how libel is printed, it's really "slanderous".

/me continues to watch...

IC:
...And Sal continues to watch and listen.

[amlthrawn]

OC: For the love of God, Eddie's not a walking dictionary. He's a simple Italian number runner with a caffeine problem.

[StruckingFuggle]

OOC: Yeah, yeah, I know. I just couldn't resist. I thought the ":P" and all would convey that. Ah well.

[Ragnarok7331]

“A linkage between Vinnie and I? There is none. Although I cannot definitively prove it, neither could you disprove the link between you and Eddie that I see. Isn’t it interesting that you two have consistently voted together from the beginning, yet Vinnie and I haven’t voted together ever? Yes, I am making some assumptions here, but at least I try to back my assumptions with my observations.

Yes, there is a difference between the acts of the past and the actions on this boat, but none of them could be considered “good” in any way, shape, or form. Murder, in almost all of its forms, is an evil act. Period. You have not ever tried to bring this family to God’s side; you have accepted the lot of us as unredeemable sinners. Those are not the actions of a true holy man.

Vinnie, you have it right. You are being accused for simply saying the wrong thing at the wrong time, and that is an interesting point that both incidents are related to Agapito, furthering my theory of him being the traitor.

Scar, you make a very interesting point. A priest like Agapito is good with people, and could easily abuse religion to control others. It has been done in the past many times, who’s to say Agapito is not doing so?

Vito, Parker, Tommy, Sarah. I implore you. Reconcider your decision. Agapito is trying to destroy this family by abusing God's word. Salvatore, please do not execute Vinnie before these people have confirmed their decision, for the life of an innocent hangs in the balance."

[mikehendo]

OOC: Rag, you do know that Agapito was a fully functioning priest before this boat trip right? You seem to continually forget that.
IC:
Agapito is shocked by Scar's words, of all the people who could turn against him, Scar did. Looking back on his past, he couldnt think of a single time when he could have made Scar feel as though he were betrated, by himself or the church.

"Scar, I regret that any actions that I may have taken would lead you to believe that. I can assure you, whether you woudl believe it or not, that I am working to keep this family together. A priest, at least a good one should not seperate himself off from the sinners. How, if he removes himself from them can they be saved. I have sat patiently and listened to the confessions of just about everyone in this room right now. I have prayed for the forgiveness of all your sins. Most of you have accepted the Lord and Savior into your lives.. I am confused by your accusations, however I maintain my conviction of your innocence. I only pray that you will see the truth in my claims, while there is still a family to save.

Elhan, there is a link between you and Vinnie, I am sure of it. You have shown yourself to be just as crooked as he whom you would now protect.

If those of you gathered at this table want to know what I regret most, it is not being able to protect Endre when he needed it. Although, I was able to help capture his killer, so I hope that he can forgive me."

[Grumlen]

"So, the first time I start throwing around titles I am condemning the innocent, yet Agapitio can call anyone whatever he pleases and it is considered righteous proclimation? As far as I have seen, the traitors on this boat are responsible for 2 deaths, and the attempt of a 3rd. Thus far, I have also seen Agapitio be instrumental in 2 deaths and is attempting a 3rd. Whether he is innocent or not is beyond my ability to determine, but I do believe he deserves to die. The traitors may be evil men, but Agapitio uses God to justify the deaths he causes."

Vote: Agapitio

[mikehendo]

"You words, my poor cousin seem little more than the last desperate cries of a man who would wish to bring someone else down with him. I find it strange that you were so convinced of my innocence in these matters, yet turn on me now."