Yet again we have a somewhat predictable outcome (in that the eventual boot was the most likely boot at the start of the round), but the most absurd and stressful path to wind up there. The cast basically united against Malfoy to end the mess, but couldn't help but perpetuate it anyway. And while I sympathise with them for having to endure the constant chaos... it's actually amazing
![:fan](https://i.imgur.com/074wyXd.gif)
After my last update, Lucius devised a new plan to take out Fleur: sow utter confusion by telling some people (but most critically Yaxley) that Wood had transferred the Item to him - leaving out the detail that he'd transferred it right back, in a 'show of trust' that Wood only fulfilled after consulting with Lily, who told them both in no uncertain terms that anyone who failed to return an Item in such a scenario would quickly become a pariah for the entire game (even more than Lucius already was
![:P](http://images.proboards.com/new/tongue.png)
). Lucius didn't wait for feedback before implementing this, much to the chagrin of Crouch/Lily who worried that uncertainty about who held the Item could lead the other players to target one of them instead. Lucius' goal was to guarantee a split vote between himself and Wood, leaving their foursome with Lily/Crouch to stack votes on Fleur and take her out 4-3-2. This relied on Crouch/Lily getting certain roles in the vote split though, and that was a whole other drama.
Fleur and Diggle both started leading the charge against Lucius and Wood respectively, and Fleur quickly stepped back and let Diggle cop any attention/credit/blame to come from that. But Diggle was afraid to be seen starting a group PM after all the Lucius-related scars the cast had accumulated (to be fair, so was everyone else; they just expected he'd be the one to give in) and nobody was sure whether Regulus was meant to know about the plan, so the group never happened. And the game of broken telephone about who should vote where, who had already pre-voted where, and where people even wanted the votes to land... none of it was properly coordinated. But the worst of the potential strife was avoided because once they found out Lucius could potentially have the Item, there was no longer any tension about who their ultimate target was - if they could't be certain the Item would be removed either way, they might as well vote load more votes onto Lucius like everyone (save Crouch) wanted, or at least depend on whoever actually had the Item to play it and send their partner out. So long as they didn't land in the worst-case scenario of knocking one of the pair out, and leaving the other with the Item
![:ha](http://storage.proboards.com/7158043/images/VOvCOHdjdczxDlacdwiV.png)
Immunity results didn't change much, as everyone had targeted Lucius/Wood/Fleur/Diggle in the War of spells, but still they waited to scramble, despite most of the cast being mostly unavailable at this time, and reminding each other of this all through the day. The final plan spread around (labelled by Fleur as 'Diggle's plan' even though nobody's at all certain who first suggested it) was a split along DE/Order lines, even though it placed the majority upon Lucius - an issue for Lily in particular who knew that Wood had the Item again, and eventually heard from him that he had zero intention of playing the Item.
So, back to the other side. Wood returns and basically sticks his nose up at all the plotting done by Lucius, and all the assurances given by Crouch/Lily, saying that the only person he really wants to vote for is Regulus (fun aside: Wood also told Regulus this directly
![:lol](https://i.imgur.com/X4ixXao.gif)
) After some time away, he'd decided that he couldn't just forget the last MC and move on like Lucius was trying to do, and didn't really mind Lucius being taken out. He knew enough from Lily to anticipate that Lucius would get more votes than he would, and preferred to either fall on his sword if necessary, or ideally rely on Crouch/Lily to get him through the round and allow him to use 'their' Item to protect them all down the line as he'd always hoped to do (recall that Lucius was the last person he met and bonded with over the Item, out of the four). Crouch and Lily had spent the day panicking about whether to exploit the split (to keep the pairs in a majority and potentially remove Fleur while that was possible, more than for love of Lucius/Wood) or abandon ship and throw Lucius to the wolves - but Wood not cooperating made the choice for them...
... Except they'd been deliberating between different allegiances/plans and hadn't discussed the vote split together at all. (For the record, I sense they would have stuck with the four and sniped Fleur had it remained viable.) At the last minute Lily realised they'd be better off voting together for Lucius to gain more House Points and so that they'd still be able to work with Wood when he survived, but Crouch was already committed to voting for Wood like all the good DEs. Meanwhile, Lucius finally cottons on that Fleur won't be leaving (I don't remember who phrased it this way, but it truly seemed like not even Wood was willing to vote for Fleur before Lucius
![:P](http://images.proboards.com/new/tongue.png)
) and badgers Wood into admitting he'd be okay with a Diggle vote. When Lily/Crouch don't seem to bite, he pulls Lily, Crouch and Regulus (who had somehow come across as the most receptive to Lucius all afternoon) into a new group chat) into a new group chat.
Everybody else in the game knew that Regulus was supremely anti-Malfoy (despite them talking up their willingness to throw the other's name out without ever actually pulling the trigger) and thus Lucius' last group PM chain was to be his most awkward. He made a few consecutive posts begging for votes on Diggle while nobody responded, and eventually Wood chimed in with a token yes. Oherwise, crickets. But Wood was loyal enough to put in a vote for Diggle... even as Lucius figured his best chance at surviving was to pull an Alex from Fiji and vote for Wood.
And so MC begins, Lucius bluff an Item which only confirms to everyone else that Wood has it, and Lily/Crouch join the split vote... but Lucius' vote makes it a tie rather than what should have been a plurality to take out Wood, with his Item. Everyone references the plan to remove Wood/Item in such a scenario, but of the Lucius voters Moody is offline, Lily's internet is cutting out (and she still believes she and Crouch are voting together for Wood, who will leave), Fleur is ecstatic at being able to send out Lucius all of a sudden, and so only Diggle actually changes his vote. But good old Regulus also sees the opportunity here! Despite insisting for days that he'd keep offering Lucius up without fully following through, in to keep tormenting the guy, and despite knowing Wood-with-Item surviving isn't a great outcome, Regulus nevertheless feels the power of the moment and once again throws an unexpected vote toward Lucius, completing the circle of their story and in his own words, winning their arc. And because Lucius' own vote for Wood no longer counts on the revote (much like his previous vote for Wood, submitted bare seconds after the deadline on Monday), Lucius finally falls. Even when it wasn't supposed to happen. Even when half the cast blew up their games to ensure he'd stay.
It's honestly the perfect note for Lucius to go out on. Fleur, Regulus and Wood all wrapped up their stories with him with neat bows against their own self-interest, and Crouch/Lily almost avoided sinking alongside him right up until they sunk themselves instead. Lucius got to grandstand at MC one last time, and everyone
else's drama - provoked entirely by weeks of being around Lucius - made a mess of the round for him. He's been the driving force for so much of the season and for so long that it only feels right that he get his comeuppance... but leave behind a cast now fully infected with his tendency toward unforced errors and paranoid scrambling.
Some other tidbits worth noting:
- Fleur wrote a lengthy PM to Lily while offline (presumably in transit) which wasn't entirely relevant once she'd seen Lily's later follow-ups. So Fleur butchered her essay but sent it anyway, followed by a reading guide detailing which paragraphs were required reading before which other paragraphs. Peak Fleur, and quite honestly peak Danielle too
![:<3](http://i.imgur.com/L3NpwEv.gif)
- There was a point where Wood confessed that he doesn't have the time or ability to both work and keep track of Lucius, and man... I love it, but I get it
![:nay](http://i.imgur.com/Amg6kWO.gif)
- There was a moment where Crouch felt compelled to break the news to Lucius that he was actually, finally doomed. And it might have even been touching father than farcical had Crouch not had to preface it with repeated disclaimers that even though he had to tell Lucius something important, Lucius had to promise not to freak out about it and blow up Crouch's game, for Lily's sake. (Which is another thing - Crouch has been all doom and gloom this round, ready to suffer the consequences of loyalty to Lucius so long as Lily escapes them; Harry in Sicily started getting similarly guilt-ridden at around this point and I'm hoping it doesn't stick because his position/potential are still actually great so long as he doesn't throw in the towel.)
- Meanwhile, Moody is proudly going to bed before every blowup, and waking up grateful not to have been there
![:lol](https://i.imgur.com/X4ixXao.gif)
When I predicted he'd slide by unnoticed beneath all the drama I couldn't have possibly imagined the extent to which I'd be proven correct.
- After more than 24 hours without responding to Yaxley, Regulus bumped their PM thread with a simple and critical question: What is Yaxley's favourite colour? They had a surprisingly wholesome discussion about their respective answers, then Yaxley finally mentioned strategy and Regulus promptly logged off.
![(rofl)](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/rofl.png)