Final 19: Fucking Fiasco of Frustration

I am beyond pissed right now. OK, Spencer, I’ll trust you - you think the other side is communicating, they’re gonna play an idol. Fine. Whatever. You wanna vote off one of the likable people in the minority, because they’re a threat and not likely to be idol’d. Sure.

Votes come in. They were going with the plan we told them. Wait, what’s this...

Sash self-voted.

Overplaying fucked Sugar over. I feel fucking awful for her, because she didn’t do anything wrong. Well, ok yes, she did - being too OTT and sending WAY too many messages. But these aren’t what sent her home. What sent her home was needless paranoia from just about EVERYONE in my alliance. And that’s not fair to her, and it’s such a sucky situation.

A fucking self-voter is still here, and I was the only person who wanted him gone. Why? Why is this a thing? Like, is good sportsmanship not a thing? And beyond that, is thinking more than two seconds ahead not a concern?

And yes, I totally told Sugar after the deadline that she was leaving. Because I’m not an asshole. Spencer lied to her AFTER it - like, dude, c’mon. That’s just a dick move. Sugar actually sent me a really sweet message because I did this, and I think it’s gonna be helpful in determining my next move.



Anyway, a major issue I have with players in this postmodern era is this need to 100% ascertain your safety in a given round. Yeah, voting out Sugar, blindsiding her - odds are we won’t go home this particular vote if we do it. But what about the social capital this burns? We’ve made the Mountain alliance needlessly apparent, and guess what - on the other side, the numbers aren’t as even. Coast could gain traction there. And guess what? They’re not gonna be happy with us, if they ever get in a situation where they have leverage. LIKE, PERHAPS A SWAP.

A swap? In Twisted? CRAZY TALK I KNOW.

Like everyone feels like because we’re in power right now, we’ll always be in power. This overdog effect is so dumb, I find it hard to comprehend. Not looking two steps ahead just seems...idiotic? Like, my core three has been discussing Caleb, and how he’s an overplaying mess - and that’d be dumb to deal with this round, be thinking TOO far ahead and ignoring a current problem, on top of his immunity. But keeping someone like Sugar around means that, when we do have to duke it out (and it WON’T be before Final 11) we have someone we can use for our side.

I regret not pushing harder for Sash to go. My read was that the minority wasn’t working together, Sugar mentioned once that she wasn’t into Debbie’s plans to unite the minority, at least for the time being. My read was she was being honest. But the others refused to bend, to consider - the minority HAD to be working together. Our side is, and we HAVE to read things from the same viewpoint, dontcha know? We CAN’T risk an idol play - no matter the long-term benefits.

It’s just...it’s so frustrating. And right now, what am I gonna do? Sticking with them is absolutely my best move for the foreseeable future. But I can see where a dying loyalty will end up - these people are cutthroat as fuck, and more importantly don’t see the benefits in actives and people that seem like a threat. If this continues, I’ll be swiftly cut down when my turn is up - in the current scheme of things, I’m not the person in charge.

Which, long-term is nice, provided I take the necessary steps. My strength as a player, comparatively anyway, will be reaching out to the vilified minority. "Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,” That’s gotta be my motto. Talk to everyone, because clearly, this majority isn’t doing it.

I heard on RHAP once, that the winner is the perfect winner for that cast. They do something better than anyone else on that cast, and that’s what led to their win. Jeremy offering a semblance of trust in a cutthroat game led to his success, for example. Maybe mine is reading the writing on the wall, and talking to the people no one else is willing to. Which seems so odd, a glaring oversight, but I gotta TRY and milk it - extend my talks with the people in the minority, no matter how boring or hard to talk to a given member may be.

Because if I don’t, my neck is apt to get cut.

What a treasure, man. Atohi's adorable.

I'll have an actual confessional soon, but this convo was amazing:

I started talking to Sydney, since I've been mulling over the idea of a Ki/Ozato alliance. My relationships with Dana and Kat are pretty solid, so i figure I should at least TALK to third. And within a few minutes of conversation my FAVORITE topic comes up:



Now you have some intel from the "other side" so to speak...

Would you have any damn idea who's been messing with my karma score? lol



Your karma score?



Reputation



OH

What has it been fucky?




Well people keep negging me

And I've had to do unsavory acts to get people to plus me up :(

I thought I was a sweet girl idk what im doing that somebody doesnt like!



Idk, maybe some of the prejurors?

Like did they want you out?

And then they went

How long has it been going on lol?



Since about post-challenge round 2 i think

IDK tough to remember

I've been all the way down to -5



JEEZ

I can ask around



Thats with ppl having help me climb up



Well I'll plus you right now

I gotchu fam



What an angel

O:-)



It's true i am literally the best






Pictured: An angel.

I don't even care if she realized it's me and is just trying to screw with me, this is amazing. I AM JONNY FAIRPLAY, WREAKER OF HAVOC AND DESTRUCTION. NYEK NYEK NYEK.

So, I should probably discuss what’s been happening - I IM’ed Danny a bunch of this stuff and the hosts are in all of my alliance chats, but there’s a ton I should probably elaborate on.

OK, so as Sugar is leaving, she sent out a bunch of messages and there was a bit of “Oh what did Sugar send you?” going around. Marisa comes to me and is like “omg Sugar’s been sending everyone messages” which, well, I knew - I already posted mine here, but Sugar had tons of good thing to say in her about me. (<3 that girl) Marisa got a single line that was basically “oh you’re nice hope you do well” which we both took to mean she was basically indifferent on her. Which, y’know, makes sense - as much as I adore Marisa, to the VAST MAJORITY of people, she’s nice but relatively inactive.

Anyway, Marisa tells me that Julia had brought this up with her, hence her asking me about it. I was like “wtf she didn’t show me” so Marisa decided to SHOW me Julia’s because she is literally bae incarnate. Anyway, it turns out to be this SUPER LONG multi paragraph thing detailing why Sugar was upset with Julia, how she ignored her, etcetera.

Two things to take away from that. First of all, Marisa is leaking stuff Juilia sends her to me. Like, talking to Marisa she makes no secret that they’re pretty close, but she was still willing to give me that. And it’s entirely possible she’s doing likewise from me to Julia, but I really don’t think Marisa is THAT schemey - I think her alliance pecking order is fairly linear. Me -> Spencer -> Julia -> the rest. Maybe flop me and Spencer,, although I’d HOPE not. At any rate, I feel like it was a good move to trust Marisa as much as I have, on top of having fun times talking to her.

Second thing - Julia VERY quickly was talking to Marisa about this stuff, and sharing pertinent details. She actually did hit me up a little while later, and shared it with me as well - but I have this feeling that I’m an afterthought in Julia’s mind. Like, on occasion we have good conversations, and I actually do like her - but I get this vibe that I’m a precautionary measure in her mind. Thinking like Jonny is smart, he’s active (he’s humble) - let’s talk sometimes, so he doesn’t flip on me. But she doesn’t feel super invested, at least to me - Marisa and Spencer both seem to have better relationships with her, really the tribe on the whole, which is worrying to me. I don’t wanna be her LJ, you know? (No offense to the lovely PW LJ)

Like, it almost feels like there’s a tug on the other side of my allies from Julia. Spencer and I don’t talk as much as we used to, and they’re in agreement for the alliances plans. (See: the Sugar vote) If that’s a working relationship they have, I worry that I’m not essential to their long-term plans. They could be plotting - say Julia offers Caleb to be picked off, Spencer offers me, and they chip away at either side of their alliance when the time comes for their future benefit. That’s not to say this plan is currently in place - but it could very well be a natural extension moving forward, and I need to anticipate where their mindset will be at X point in time.

Going BACK from that tangent, I did return the favor to both Marisa and Julia, but I HEAVILY edited it. Like, I only took the last line and even edited that a bit, haha. Even that might be a bit telling, since it’s like “I hope you win the game” and whatnot, but inventing wholecloth is always risky. Seems like a safe middle ground to me.

Something Sugar referenced in both mine and Julia’s messages was “Kat sits on Ki all day, just waiting to be messaged.” Thinking about it, it’s PROBABLY an attempt to help out one of her allies, like get people to scoop up the free agent that Kat is - it probably seems more off-handed without comparing. Or maybe she was just making a point - Sugar DOES love theatrics, if her post-vote tour is any indication.

Mulling over this, the crystallization of an idea began to form in my mind. I’m not THRILLED with the Mountain alliance - I like my Ki people quite a bit, but I don’t trust Sakai long-term. Right now it’s all happy, but I’m sure Caleb’s itching to pull the trigger on us, Julia’s leashing him to get the timing right, and Matty’s chilling as their extra vote until he tries (and likely fails) to make a major move post-merge. (Matty is totally Chris by the way, dude is pretty bad at aliasing - only uses phone, writes long posts in the general section of the board, etcetera.) This? No bueno for Fairplay.

As a whole, Aso doesn’t fill me with confidence either. Debbie and Sash (as I’ve probably said an ABUNDANCE of times) cannot hold a conversation to save their lives. (Quite literally, ina game sense.) Like Debbie’s a bit better and occasionally shows glimpses of personality - but mostly it’s all to fill a schtick which, while seemingly decent, doesn’t have the enthusiasm to really work, for me at least.

I got around to messaging Gervase last night, and he’s like - OK, I guess? The conversation was short, and it was basically a straight man and wise guy act. Haven’t talked to Reynold,. Need to work on that, and I’ve actually heard nothing but good things about Butch, but we haven’t chatted yet for whatever reason.

The last three members of Ozato, however, all seem like solid options, to varying degrees anyway.

Dana and I had a good chat the night before Sugar left, and I knew I needed to talk to her after Sugar left. I explained to her how the vote went down, why Sugar was targeted, but reiterated that I wanted to work together and I’m NOT thrilled with the Mountain Alliance. I gave her a bit of info on the inner workings, like SOLID info, and even mentioned Spencer discussing her idol information. I think my earnestness really came through because, guess what?

She has the idol.



Well, not at the time I was talking to her, but she was buying the second half. So long as it’s not bought, she should be good. Which, considering how this vote is likely to go down, IS VERY VERY GOOD FOR HER. (More on that in a bit.) Ultimately, I told her I wanna work with her and Kat moving forward - Aso is basically doing nothing, and Sakai is this LOOMING threat we need to deal with.

I also hit up Kat on the other side, per Sugar’s suggestion. She seemed a bit down about what went down with Sugar, and was like - she was my only real ally, so I’m kinda just aimlessly floating at the moment. I explained how it went down, gave her similar to info to what I gave Dana, and this really seemed to perk her up - she even outright mentioned how she doesn’t like Sakai, but all the Ki members (minus poor Marisa - girl go TALK to people) have made good impressions on her.

I talked with Sydney and...nothing of substance, gamewise, REALLY happened, but honestly it was mostly to break the ice. AND I got a really funny moment out of it, which really - what more do I need?

If Ki and Ozato band together in the future, we’d have eight (seven now, poor Michele - hope the best for her family) which can defeat Sakai and be a formidable block in its own right. I gotta time it right - go too early, I’m gonna get chopped myself. Go too late, they will get exasperated with my words not aligning with my actions, a la a Sierra in Worlds Apart.

That’s the long-term plan, for me anyway. I need to start planting seeds with Ki about Sakai, especially Caleb who is just sketchball extraordinaire. Take out a few Aso’s, keep a few around that we think we could get to join us, and strike at Sakai in either a merge or swap situation. Gonna start putting in the legwork for that - but for this round, it PROBABLY doesn’t have a ton of bearing.

I made a pretty good run in the challenge - I WANTED to do well, but I wasn’t going full “I need to win this mode.” Like I wasn’t in DESPERATION mode, I just wanted to prevent Debbie or Sash from winning, because the threat of picking tribes a la a Hayden was very pressing, in my mind. That could be dangerous for me - but doing MASSIVELY well is just begging for a target. Anyway. I managed to eke out a win over Debbie, which made me a bit of the alliance hero. AND Jefra had a ridiculous time, which lowered the heat on me a bit - Caleb’s reaction was a worry for me. He’s really good in challenges, generally, and beating him could make him want me out - like I would NOT put it past him. My prize didn’t really matter, but hey, having immunity is nice regardless.

I actually wasn’t around when results went up. I was up from 4pm Saturday to 1 pm on Sunday, which is just ridiculous, ESPECIALLY for me. When I did get around, like at 9 or 930, the decision seemed to be - we split the vote, 3 on Debbie, 3 on Dana. If it goes to a re-vote, Dana goes - ideally, Debbie and Sash vote for Dana so we don’t have to do that.

...



YEAH, not THRILLED with this plan - I was kinda hoping to be able to use Dana’s idol down the line. But, it seemed fairly settled, and since Dana has it she may as well use it - Debbie going out that way is one less headache for me. An Aso out, Sakai is still a looming threat.

Part of me is toying with the idea of getting Caleb out - if Dana can get Sash and Debbie, it’d be a 4-3-2 blindside. (Thank God for immunity - if someone else tries this, Spencer is probably the one going instead of moi.) Like, I KNOW Caleb is gonna upset the apple cart down the line, and dealing with him pre-merge, when there’s time to recover, is probably my best move. But leading the charge is just more helpful to my allies games than it is mine - going rogue is super dangerous for my individual game.

If SOMEONE else did it with me, or brought up the idea - hell yeah I’d do it. But I’m not gonna Kamikaze on Caleb, no matter how much I’m tempted. (He lowkey called me out in the alliance chat for not sharing my time - DUDE WHAT? No I’m not gonna tell you how well I did, I’d like immunity please and thank you.)

So there's a decent chance the vote might change. Basically: either Debbie or Sash is gonna go. Not that literally anyone else sees it that way.

Jefra spied on Dana, confirming that she had an idol to everyone else. Spencer, similar to why he wanted Sugar out last round, decided the only logical thing to do with this was to split the vote between Debbie and Sash. After all, Dana was informed when she was spied on, she knows we know she has the idol - why WOULDN'T she play it? Given that another idol is missing, there is a chance Debbie could have it, so Spencer wants to be safe and change the split. Pretty much expected of him.

Spencer talks about Jefra buying the spy in the alliance chat, and proposes the change. He also explained that Dana is going to be voting for Sash, per what he told her. (Dana confirmed she's gonna just do that to appear as a pawn to him in a private chat I had with her, so I'm fairly confident in this.) So, if the vote were to change, it would be a 4-3-2 for Sash to leave over Debbie, with Sash and Debbie voting for Dana.

The alliance as a whole, however, has not bought into this, and with four hours til the vote I HONESTLY do not know how the split's gonna go. Caleb is very against it, and is haranguing people (again, not me really - go me) about keeping the split on Debbie-Dana. And I would PROBABLY agree with his sentiment if I wasn't working with Dana. Playing with the thought of two idols is kinda dumb and will quickly get messy, as far as I'm concerned. As it is, the majority of the alliance wants this, so he kinda needs to JUST GO WITH IT ALREADY.

In theory, Dana could be getting five votes tonight. But she's gonna stay regardless of whether she gets votes or not. I'm gonna tip her off if she doesn't need to idol 15 minutes before deadline - that way, she stays with an idol in her pocket. If the vote do fall in her, she idols. It's basically the difference between Sash going in a regular vote, or Debbie getting idol'd out. And while I'm not THRILLED with the idea of Debbie staying, since she can do more damage than Sash, I don't have a good relationship with her, AND I'll have just voted for her - Dana keeping her idol is also pretty awesome.

I'm pushing for what will ultimately be a Sash boot with Spencer because if I can keep Dana around WITH her idol, that's great for me. I have access to that idol, and there are a TON of uses for a known idol, especially with the spy mechanic in this game. Regardless of how this happens though, I'm getting someone out who isn't loyal to me AND building bonds with the people I need to - everything coming up Milhouse Fairplay baby.

So we lost the idol AND Debbie's still here. THIS IS WHAT I GET FOR EVOKING THE NAME OF MILHOUSE. BEING MILHOUSE IS SUFFERING.

Final 17: Time Bomb

Y’all ever hear about this game, Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes? Wait, YES? FUCK. Well, I’m gonna explain it regardless, because I think you are all philistines who don’t follow weird niche games.

Anyway, basically it’s a VR game where one player is tasked with defusing a bomb, while another goes through a printed manual explaining how to go about a variety of tasks to defuse it within the five minute allotment. Without clear and precise communication, patience, and a bunch of time, the bomb can’t be defused. A certain synchronicity needs to be reached, an understanding of how to approach the situation.

So, why am I going into this random diatribe? Well, it’s quite simple.

Caleb has an idol.

(For the few people not stalking my every action, I took a solid minute long pause to think of the sheer destruction this could cause.)

Idols are an incredibly powerful tool - not necessarily in their powers, but also in the THREAT of their powers. Telling Spencer (who told me and Marisa, thanks a mil Spence) about the idol is actually a calculated move - thoughts of eliminating Caleb for his frequent “alliance terrorism” (I’m not sure how the phrase came about, but it’s apt and popular now so) are now muddled with idol concerns. For players who play incredibly fast and loose like Caleb, having knowledge of his idol out there is incredibly beneficial.

You wanna know what’s NOT beneficial for me? Caleb having power in this game.

I’m not close with Caleb. He drops conversations with me at the drop of a hat. HE’s talking game with people NOT named me. He has a side alliance without me - now it’s not real, but clearly I’m NOT seen as one of his options. Reading Caleb is a terrifying prospect, because I just...I can’t. The only known about Caleb is that he’s an unknown. Which is better than NOT knowing he’s unpredictable, but not a ton to go off of.

So, how do I defuse this Caleb bomb? I was thinking about this quite a bit actually. Would it be smart to take him out? Moreover, would my allies be down for it? Everyone knows he has to go at SOME point in the near future, or at least I’d hope so - but the disagreements on when could prove fatal.

I will say, however - now is NOT the time to make the move. And we had the opportunity - Debbie came to Ki members trying to cut that exact deal. And it’s not like Spencer, Marisa, and I don’t want Caleb out. It’d be thrilling to blindside him right now, honestly - I’d feel a bit bad for Atohi, but less bad because he’s shown a willingness to do exactly the same thing.

But, if we’re thinking about long-term positioning - there is a very good chance we swap at 16. If all six Sakai, even defected Brad included, are around at that point, the target is squarely on Sakai. The implication at that point would be that surviving that phase would mean your at merge - and while Sakai wouldn’t have an outright majority at that point (most likely, since the merge is usually 13 or 12) if a few people to defect to them, they hold way too much power. Ki can fade into the background, let Sakai take the bullets or even send them ourselves - and Caleb is the biggest meatshield of them all.

So, I’m gonna stay loyal. I’m HOPING Caleb/Julia/Matty/Eliza don’t flip on me, it’d piss me off for sure if they went against us. I know this isn’t what the PW lounge wants to hear - they want to hear that I’m gonna flip, make a monstrous move, the works. And it’s certainly cool when that happens - but the wounds from the fate of Sean 2.0 are still very fresh, y’all. Playing to win is boring, but hey - as the inevitable winner of this season, I’ll take the boring route. Disarm the bomb with patience, skill, and a hint of duplicity.

Oh, and in other news the other side is a complete mess. Brad defected, but Eliza/Jefra/James think they have Syd/Kat, so who the fuck knows what’s happening over there. James having a bond with Syd and Kat is good to hear tho, especially since I’ve had like, OFFICIAL talks with Spencer and Marisa about going with Ozato. That’s progressing very nicely - so long as I get through THIS round, I’ll feel comfortable. And let’s be real, my charm is gonna carry the day. 0.0000 % chance I’m going this round.

Final 16: Call the Presses, We Won!

I’m honestly just really, really happy I get a tribal off. I have some stuff to say, but I’m not sure how long it’s gonna be. So, I figured I’d give you my latest #SydneyUpdate.

During the challenge, I saw her thing when she made some comment or other and was like “oh yeah I can neg that” so I did. So she decided to publicly say “WOW I GOT NEGGED BUT NOW I KNOWWWWWWW.” Well, not as exclaim-y as that, but you get the gist.

Figuring I’d just own up to it and play it off like the joke it is, I messaged Sydney. And like...I’m not actually sure she realizes it's me?




OOH who's the mystery negger?



Watch your mouth!:

No hard R's in my chat :p



Hahaha



Well I'm not going to tell you who I think it is, but I would say you are safe ;)



Lmao I love the intrigue

I saw my rep go down

SO NOW MY INTEREST IS PIQUED



Lol well don't worry hun not from me

I'm not in that business



This is such an amusing subplot tbh

How have things been btw?



So like, either she wants to try and get revenge in some form and is trying to convince me she doesn’t suspect me so I don’t see it coming. Or, she is COMPLETELY oblivious to me, is bluffing, and doesn’t suspect the guy that messaged her shortly after she publicly mentioned that of being the negger.

I’ve actually been actively working with Ozato and doing stuff this round, but I’m not gonna lie - if something as stupid as this blew it all up, that would be HILARIOUS. I’d be kicking myself down the line, but c’mon - you can’t write this shit.

Round 15: VIN-DA-FUCKING-CACTION BABY!

OK NOT MAKING A PROPER HEADER BUT I TOTALLY CALLED THIS SWAP TO THREE TRIBES.

I REALIZE I DIDN'T SAY THIS IN MY CONFESSIONAL.

BUT LIKE I TOTALLY TOLD OTHER PLAYERS. I SWEAR.

But yeah, I'm obviously not THRILLED with the concept of a random swap - no one wants to be the Silas, the Anna, y'know?

Lady Luck shining bright today, after that clusterfuck I had back in T5. THANK YOU SURVIVOR GODS! And funny thing is, if I'd actually gotten to pick my usual buff, I might be in a somewhat dicey position.

Four's my lucky number, I always go four with these things - Caleb beat me to it here, however. Because while I was waiting I decided to load up this game Spencer recommended to me, One Finger Death Punch, and it was actually super fun. It distracted me with its fun...ness(?) so it was kinda late when I decided to tab out. My usual number was gone, so I went with ten places higher - exactly where I needed to be. When I win this game, gonna need to thank Spencer for that inadvertent save. Five dollar steam games saving my (Survivor) life, y'all.

Oh and barring a returning player I have also OFFICIALLY beat my Alex placement. So THAT'S rad - feel on top of the world. Not exactly sure WHERE the top of the world is, but dammit I'm there.

So, figured I’d do a quick multi-tribe assessment real quick. Just my thoughts on what would happen if they went to Tribal, how this particular collection of individuals being together impacts my game - pretty basic shit, really. This has been a PRETTY quiet round for me, and a big reason for that is...well...

SAKAI



I think I would have been hard pressed to have drafted a better tribe for myself. My core three is here, which means that, barring an idol play or a flip that would COMPLETELY blindside me, I’m not going anywhere anytime soon. On top of that, I’ve been bonding with Julia a bunch more lately (which also helped me realize it’s Zack - on top of him being thirsty af for JT while aliasing as a lesbian) and she has been repeatedly stating that she’s loyal to Nusakai, and doesn’t really chat with her old tribemates.

There has been some talk of “oh God what if we go to Tribal” in the public chat, because on the surface we’re aligned with Jefra. OH NO WHO IS GOING. But let’s be real. Jefra SHOULD be an easy boot if we go to TC, since she is an immunity threat a lot of people are worried about. I think she’d target myself or Marisa, I think she (and a lot of other people, really) has a solid relationship with Spencer, and will try to use the “OG Sakai bond” pitch with Julia. I’d be surprised if Julia went for it - maybe if Jefra targets Marisa, but Spencer and I would, both shoot that down pretty dang quickly.

There is a bit of a worry about an idol, since I think she’s gone a few times (a bit lazy to check HOW many exactly) but other than that, I like to think it’d be pretty easy. This was a super lucky draw for me, but honestly like, baseline I was gonna be OK - as long as I didn’t get an outright BAD draw, y’know?

As it stands? I’m untouchable. There is no way yo’ boy Jonny’ won’t survive this phase of the game. Hopefully we merge at 12 or 13, and I can start to make my damage there.

KI



This tribe is...I honestly don’t think there’s an apt title? This is one of the most oddball tribes I’ve ever seen, and their success in the challenge surprised me a bit.

My first impulse is that Dana is gonna be a swing between James/Matty and Brad/Gervase, and some cursory talks with her seem to indicate that. I’m actually worried which side she’ll go with, however - Brad has some charisma. James is the epitome of niceness, but he’s definitely not the most active by any imagination. Gervase is probably of no consequence, and my first impulse is to say the same of Matty.

But honestly? I wouldn’t be shocked if Matty tried to use this tribe to take a shot at James and Original Ki. Work with Brad/Gervase for a round, make a “big move” as he’s wont to do, and try to slide back under the radar. It’d be a dumb move, in my opinion - but it’d also hurt my game a TON. I’m grooming James for his showing at Goat Expo 2016, and this would hurt some of my more long-term plans.

Ideally this tribe doesn’t lose, if only because James would be at risk. Dana will be fine, which is nice, but the risk of the other three is a concern.

And finally, for the tribe ACTUALLY going to Tribal...

OZATO



I actually don’t have a ton of information on how this Tribal Council is gonna go. Sydney irritates me every time I try to talk game with her - I’m trying to keep the relationship open, but I don’t wanna come across sketch to someone who I don’t get awesome vibes from.

I do talk to Kat a decent amount, and I do like where that relationship is at the moment - but telling her I wanna work with her, then having no real moment (or reason, really) to have my actions corroborate with my words worries me. I don’t wanna come across like I’m prying too much, like I’m just using her as an informational tool. I have the same worry with Dana a bit actually, but I’m a bit more willing to push the envelope there, since we do have the past tribe connection.

This tribe SHOULD be an easy boot for Reynold, given his apparent general inactivity, but Caleb seems concerned after his challenge performance. (Caleb’s general response to performing so badly in an intelligence-y based task is also very amused - he’s all like NO I’M SMART I SWEAR THIS ISN’T ME. He is SUCH an adorable human being, insecurities and all.) I’m sure that part of it also that he’s worried about word of his idol spreading (rightly so lol) and it being flushed.

If they flipped on Caleb, I’d be A-OK with it. Double so if he idol’d, and just went full damage control mode. (I.E. PANICCCCC) This would take out Reynold, get rid of Caleb’s idol, and if they threw the next challenge ALSO take out Caleb. I am A-OK with this sequence of events.

FUTURE PLANS

I figured I’d talk about what I’ve been working on this round - well,.the bits that I actually did anyway.

First of all, after making sure Spencer was OK with me telling him, I told James about Caleb’s idol. Spencer told me to tell him Jefra just told us, which makes sense to me. And I DID say that - although I did lowkey through Spencer under the bus, saying Jefra told him and he told me, haha. Just to undermine him a LITTLE - love the guy, but his position? Not thrilled.

And why, exactly, did I even feel compelled to tell James this bit of info at all? Well, because I need him to trust me, and this is a great way to solidify that. James is a very valuable ally in the sense that:

A. He doesn’t seem likely to flip

B. He’s very fun to chat with when he’s around since he’s SO genuine

And

C. I can beat him in the end, but - and this is the critical part - he doesn’t come across as a HUGE Goat. I think a lot of people like James, which might worry some people with regards to FTC, but I also think they want to RESPECT whoever they vote for. I think if I was able to get James to the end, on the surface it might look tougher than it’d actually be.

The ideal scenario, as of the moment, is to get a F3 with Marisa and James. I adore Marisa, and I HOPE she’s as loyal as she seems to be. She doesn’t talk to many people, and while people who talk to her LIKE her, I think she faces a similar issue that James does in having respect from a jury. If I can keep them both in line and acting with me, that would be perfect.

Of course, I use the word ideal for a reason. It’s a pipe dream - trying to act with the intent of getting a specific F3 to the end when there are 12 more eliminations that need to occur has to be a tertiary goal. I’m gonna do what I can to make it happen, but acting with ONLY that in mind removes a critical thesis point from my overall strategy - remaining adaptable.

Having it in my pocket is nice, and if it becomes more feasible as the game progresses I’ll put more eggs in the basket. In the meantime? Keeping OG Ki relations is always a good thing, but I’m always gonna keep my options open.

Honestly speaking, I do feel a bit like I’m overstrategizing. I think part of it is the situation I’ve been put in - being the overdog, we want to make a ton of preparations for the inevitable flip that’ll happen. And when I’m talking, I try to be conzignant of strong-arming or coming off as too shady or whatever.

Another part of it is a personal flaw - I do like to feel in control. Being a free agent is nice, but as the game progresses, paranoia rises and rises - and taking measures to secure it is my natural reaction. And that’s fine, but I NEED to keep the reasons I’m doing what I am in mind - to remain safe. I can’t let HOW I approach security hurt my game, because then why am I even doing it?

For the moment, I’m trying to keep up my work, but not seem like a sketchball, which is a bit tricky given the flow of the game at the time. Merge can’t come soon enough, honestly - I can make my swing, plant my flag, and build some more trust.

Til then, smartly doing prep work is all I got - let’s just hope my puzzle skills ain’t indicative of my gameplay intelligence. THAT WILL END BADLY - I swear I went through like three podcasts retying that goddamn puzzle. THAT’S LIKE FIVE HOURS FOR CHRIST’S SAKE. DO I SUCK THAT BAD?