WW XXXIII - Other Minds and Hands

[The Saucepan Man]

A few things from yesterDay.

I think that there may be something in Volo’s case against Aganzir, though he seemed to withdraw from it. She was picked up (by Ang) on the comment about Mithalwen’s concern over becoming a widow, which did not look Wolfish to me at all, merely flippant and humorous. But her attempt to explain it by saying that she would not have posted it were she a Wolf does look Wolfish. Why would she say this if it didn’t look Wolfish in the first place? It just seems the kind of overly defensive explanation which a Wolf might give when under scrutiny. Aganzir also looks bad for her determined attempt to discredit Volo, which could well have been a Wolfish attempt to neutralise a known innocent, subsequently abandoned when it gained no support.

If you want more proof that Legate is a Wolf, look no further than his posts #154, #155 and #162. Volo, in post #122, had raised a doubt about Boro and a few people had expressed some possible suspicions, but nothing firm. Then, in these posts, Legate delivers a withering assessment of Boro, seemingly in a honey-tongued attempt to turn the doubts of others into suspicion and, thus, votes. An endeavour in which he was, alas, successful. I think that we are better of without the Voice of Saruman toDay.

Anguirel’s case against Rune and Brinniel (#168) is an interesting one, since it is predicated entirely on the basis of hindsight. He is saying that, because we now know Volo to be innocent, anyone who was suspicious of Volo prior to his revelation looks suspicious, which does not follow at all. Volo did look pretty suspicious immediately before his revelation. I find Rune and Brinniel suspicious, for other reasons, but Ang’s reasoning here looks Wolfish to me. I wonder, is there any possibility that both Legate and Ang are Wolves, and were playing a very risky game on Day 1? Doubtful, but not beyond the bounds of credibility.

Originally Posted by Rune

It was interesting how Legate found Brinniel's comments suspiciouse when he made something very similar, of course it was connected with her vote and he did retract the suspicion when she had explained her self. OK maybe this was not so interesting after all.

Actually, it is quite interesting. Legate seems to have a habit of finding things suspicious when he himself has done them. He did the same with Ang, on the basis of the early Day 1 banter, yet later withdrew his supicion of Ang too.

Originally Posted by Legate of Ima Wolf

I have checked toDay's vote list, and apart from Shasta, who suddenly&unfortunately chose to vote for me, there are yet two other to vote for me. And these are Boro&SpM. I am fairly convinced at least one of them is a Wolf, and I am probably going to vote one of them.

This is the comment that I mentioned earlier. A classic Wolfish ploy.

Kath's post #177 makes a good case against Rune, and echoes my own thoughts on him. I can see why he attracted so much suspicion yesterDay, and can certainly see him as one of Saruman’s Wolfish cohorts. His Day 2 voting looks bad too. A ‘safe’ vote for Mac (who was under little suspicion at the time), subsequently retracted to condemn an innocent Boro, rather than himself or Legate.

[The Saucepan Man]

So, a quick round-up of my thoughts before I retire for the night.

Volo - The Spirit of Tolkien, Lor’ bless ‘im, but unfortunately beguiled by the silver tongue of his own creation.
Legate of Amon Lanc - A sweet-talking rogue who deserves nothing less than a rapid descent from Orthanc onto a nice bed of spikey wheels.
Macalaure - His vote for Sixth raised a slight question in my mind, but I haven’t seen anything else suspicious about him.
Shastanis Althreduin - Probably innocent for his Day 2 vote for Legate.
The Saucepan Man - A lone voice of reason.
Xyzzy - Who knows?
Brinniel - Some suspicious voting and seems a bit reluctant to commit herself. A possible Wolf.
Anguirel - Surely can’t be a Wolf with Legate. But I have some concerns, based upon the points raised just now.
Kath - Useful, constructive contributions. Day 1 vote was slightly suspicious, but Day 2 vote less so. Thinking her innocent-ish for now.
Gil-Galad - No idea. As usual, could be anything.
Aganzir - Non-committal approach earlier on and the suspicious points that I noted just now. A possible Wolf.
Rune - Looks distinctly Wolfish to me, for his frequent but insubstantive posts and his voting.
Diamond18 - Haven’t a clue, but she’s put in a few seemingly ‘safe’ votes.

Back tomorrow, almost certainly to vote for the Wolf Wizard.