THESE PEOPLE ARE INSANE.

So, I had this pretty cool plan hashed out last night. I have immunity, and the AWESOME thing about immunity is, it allows you to make bold moves without the fear of instant repercussion. Give people some time to think about what you did, and odds go down that they're gonna vote you - it's the ol' rationality vs. emotion dichtomy.

So I go to Rudy, talking to him about the vote and stuff, and just start THROWING Caleb under the bus. I like Caleb, but like, I want Rudy's loyalty over him - and by the sounds of the people in the Contra Hillside chat Rudy's on a bit of a tear about it. I told him that Caleb went and told the minority about Sue's idol, yada yada yada, which bought me some trust. Hell, I even point blank asked him if he had the idol, he admitted he did, and I told him I figured out cause of the whole "unanimous Jefra" thing. (Worried he could see me as a threat because of that, but I needed SOME reasoning.) I feel like my stock with Rudy has rose quite a bit this round, at the low low cost of Rudy and Caleb's partnership. What a bargain!

The best part of all of this is, I managed to convince Rudy to LET ME VOTE SUE, and have Sue idol. This takes out Kelly, who's been slowly catching on to me I feel like, preserves my relationship with the minority, AND defangs Sue. (somewhat, she's STILL Sue.) And on top of it, I've confirmed the Rudy idol information, and my idol is still a relative unknown - the only person I see figuring it out is Rudy, if he starts putting pieces together.

However, remember that aforementioned tear Rudy's on? YEAH, ITS A THING. My ideal plan could go up in smoke, because Hillside is discussing voting Sekour or even Caleb. Like, FUCK. Gonna see what I can do, but I want Kelly this round, ideally without having to vote her. The trick to playing the middle is making yourself invaluable to both sides - people get too caught up in the whole "big movez" aspect to realize, you need to make your target irrelevant. If you are a CRUCIAL vote to both sides, it doesn't matter if your Spradlin herself - odds are, so long as the sides aren't talking to each other too much (and inactives in ORGs make this a bunch easier) you'll have quite a bit of power, with the proper finese.

SORRY I had a super long confessional planned, with a lot more of my reasoning, but just ask me anything you want clarity on and I'll answer later because I need to go focus on this vote.

Totally posted that in Tribal Council, thank God I noticed.

So:

- Rob included Rudy in a new five person chat
- Rob started accusing me of shit cause I gave Caleb some information, which kinda pissed me off
- The vote has shifted to a Caleb/Sue/Sekou split (3-3-2)
- I am NOT thrilled with this turn of events
- I'm just gonna vote Sue and hope she doesn't idol
- SERIOUSLY WHY ARE WE WORKING THIS CLOSELY WITH MYERS?

FINAL 7

I’m still like, vaguely in shock that I’m still here. (We’ll ignore that I had immunity and an idol, OK?) That last TC was fuckin’ anarchy, and to be utterly honest, the outcome that happened was not the ideal one - yeah, Sue’s idol was flushed, awesome, but CALEB ended up getting the short end of the ol’ split vote. Which was...prooobably my fault, in retrospect.

See, I think I earned Rudy’s trust last round. I don’t think he wants to take me out until at least, say, Final 5, Final 4. Hell he may even be completely legitimate in his finals deal - given that he has made zero attempt to hide his alias, I do know that he has a tendency to stay loyal to one person the majority of the game. Whether that’s me or Sue? Remaaaaaains to be seen. Anyway though, the path to that trust was, well, pinning everything on Caleb - this would spare me the wrath of Rudy, and had he kept his mouth shut, the ol’ Kelly idol blindside would have worked without a hitch.

Here’s the issue though, and one I considered when I made the move. If Rudy’s operating under the assumption that I’m loyal to him, but is also smart (which he is) then his best move would be to pile the votes on Caleb. The trick to moving in the middle is doing it with a partner, and by eliminating the Caleb variable, Rudy reduces my options, on top of getting the guy who he’s royally pissed off out of the game.

I just didn’t expect Rudy to approach Myers so boldly, asking to come in on the plan - it was his best move, but I thought relations were more strained than that between them, and that even if he tried, they wouldn’t seriously count on his vote. But NOPE, they did, and I wasn’t gonna spend the social capital to save Caleb when it seemed pretty clear the majority wanted his head on the platter.

And I mean, I pride myself on my adaptability. I feel like I can swing where the tides are turning, and roll with basically any punch. I lose to Caleb in the finale, or at the very least it’s a close match - letting someone else handle that, so he isn’t overly bitter at me specifically, isn’t horrible. Additionally, Sue’s idol was flushed, which weakens Rudy’s position - it also gives me a clear shot at her come Final 6, which is great. So, while this isn’t exactly what I was planning, it works out well enough for me. I’m sad Caleb’s gone from a personal standpoint, he was a good guy and Rob’s vote was a bit fuckin’ much, but the game isn’t over now that he’s out.

Speaking of Rob, my plan at the moment is to drag him (most likely kicking and screaming) to the end. Yes, he has a good chance at Myers votes - Jonas and Stacey are improbable to vote for me, and Kelly and Jaclyn have a decent shot of not doing so either. But, the issue with Final 3’s, is that it’s hard to drag two out and out goat’s to the end if your a mover and shaker in the game - come Final 4, if the other winner candidate wins immunity, or if the goats decide they have a better shot against them, then it’s game over. So, my strategy, is get one of Sekou/Sue (preferably Sekou for reasons I’ll explain later) and Rob in the end with me.

“Now Matty,” you say, a quizzical expression on your face. “Rob and Sekou are on DIFFERENT sides of the game, trying to force them to work together is getting too gamebotty! You need to understand that these are their own people with their own motivations, or you’ll lose!”

And it’s a valid concern, and one I’ve worried about. The idea of people teaming up to get me out, especially once I start trying to shake things up, has certainly crossed my mind I could be a target this round, for all I know - but that’s why I’ve been working so. fucking. hard. on getting myself the ideal positioning in the game, understanding how player X would react to a flip at Z time. I need to cushion the flips to happen at the exact right time, so it doesn’t come off as unnecessary, and I also need to time it with strategic going on’s that my vote isn’t expendable to the angry party the next vote.

Thankfully, now that we’re getting into the lower numbers, the timing’s getting easier. Right now, I don’t think I’m in anyone’s crosshairs, because both sides are pretty polarized except for Rudy, who’s a bit more free floating like myself - luckily I have his trust, as far as I know. So like, it really doesn’t make strategic sense for me to be a target this round, unless certain info has been traded around, because both sides want some security moving forward, and not a 3-3 deadlock. ANYWAY, what this all boils down to is that, right now, I have two options:

Option A, I stick with Jaclyn, Kelly, and Rob from the last vote, do everything in my power to flush Rob’s nullifier and make sure Rudy doesn’t idol. Sekou goes. Next round, I go to Rudy explaining that I have an idol, so no matter what we’re golden for the F6 vote - if they vote one of us, they go out on the initial vote. If they vote Sue, we just keep our votes the same, and we’re not eligible for rocks.

There’s always the worry about hidden double votes, and while this option seems a bit more flashy, I think it hurts more than it helps. I’ve put some effort into getting Sue and Sekou (I even PM’ed Sekou, per Caleb’s suggestions for the longest time, and he did seem super responsive) for this vote, and IMMEDIATELY burning them...not great for those jury votes I’m, y’know, SOMEWHAT hoping to get.

Option B, on the other hand (and the one I’m probably gonna go with since the groundwork is already laid for it) is going with Sue, Rudy, and Sekou to oust one of the girls - Kelly. Kelly is a super shrewd gameplayer, and Sekou isn’t wrong that if one of them get’/s to the end, they’re a fucking tough opponent. Break up that Final 3 alliance, go to Rob and Jaclyn saying that I knew I wasn’t in their Final 3, but reveal the idol to solidify that Final 3 again. Flip to take out Sue or Sekou (along with Rudy, apparently) and we’re in the same Final 5 as the other plan. I think this route burns less bridges, and carries less risk - there’s a bit less pizazz to it, the other Final 6 sounds like a fun time, but it’s how it works.

What’s absolutely critical here is the idol. So long as I survive this round, the idol is gonna both serve as my automatic ticket to the Final 5, and like last round I can’t stress how much having an obligatory period of safety helps with one’s longevity in the game, AS WELL as work as a bargaining chip to move forward strategically. Final 5 will either be Jaclyn or Rudy - Jaclyn, most likely, because I’d rather not burn Rudy before the final 4, bur immunity could fuck that up. There’s a ton of risk that I could go out here, but I’m hoping the relationships I’ve built with Rudy and Rob, on top of Sekou and Sue’s hatred of Myers, will carry the day. If Sekou or Sue start getting active, then I need to reevaluate how to approach that stage of the game, but right now I think this is the best route.

This would leave a Final 4 of myself, Rob, Rudy, and either Sekou or Sue. See, the reason why I want Sekou here, and not Sue, is that I’m still not certain if Sue’s playing to win - I could be eliminating Rudy swelly 3-1 with Sekou there, but Sue? She could force the tie for all I know, on a whim, even if I’m immune. Sekou is less likely to do that, in my estimation.

I’ve left myself some wiggle room, relationship wise, moving forward, if the wrong person wins immunity, and I think relative to my threat level I have a decent shot moving forward - my biggest worry, however, is Rudy. If I lose this game, whether it’s this round, as the final juror, or even at FTC (either against him outright or having him poison the jury) Rudy will be the cause of it. Getting Rudy out is like defusing a bomb - you slowly gotta hit all the switches first, and one wrong move and BOOM. Everything’s blown up, and you’re the one getting the boot.

Yeah lots of super strategic stuff here, hope you enjoyed it. If you didn’t, so sad. Here, have a neat anime gif if my ramblings ain't amusing enough for ya'.



Man Shiro Bako is fucking legit. (She's trying to learn how to properly draw cat movements, because its an anime about people making anime and that is fucking awesome.) ANYWAY, quick ideal boot order summary (which I’ll put in my bootlist) for the people who can’t be bothered to read all this shit:

7: Kelly
6: Sue
5: Jaclyn
4: Rudy

Final 3: Matty, Rob, and Sekou

Rob might be a tricky opponent, but I think I have some decent ammunition against him. Keeping Rudy til Final 4 is tricky, because it’s basically giving me a 1/4 shot of having to face the chalk pick at FTC, if I even make it there, but I’m confident in my endurance abilities. If nothing else, I could give Malcolm a run for his money.

I’m gonna go try and work on finals or sleep or SOMETHING not related to this game. Peace.

FINAL 6

Aaaaaaand get ready for the Boom.



Pictured Above: Rob Mariano

Glad I'm guranteed F5 tho. ;)

“Now Matty,” you say, a quizzical expression on your face. “Rob and Sekou are on DIFFERENT sides of the game, trying to force them to work together is getting too gamebotty! You need to understand that these are their own people with their own motivations, or you’ll lose!”

omg how did u know??

I honestly don't have a ton to say right now - we've hit the point in the game that, now that the numbers are settling down, there's not a ton of leeway for moves. Especially with the jury on everyone's minds. My general plan hasn't changed much, those reasons are STILL very much present - so here's what I'm doing in response to them:

First, I very quickly reeled Jaclyn and Rob back in. It was surprisingly easy - again, timing, the critical element. The numbers have hit the point where they need me, even if they don't like it, and the idol secures my positioning for the moment. Rob isn't gonna be around, but he told me he nullified Sue and voted for her, which is exactly what I wanted. Jaclyn seems 100% on board to do likewise, and there doesn't seem to be a ton of reasons not to do so.

Rudy's under the impression that it's gotta be Sekou, but like - no, I'm not letting you and Sue progress further in this game. You're friggin' unbreakable. But, provided I keep selling him that line, he should just idol himself and vote Sekou. Sue will probs do likewise, but her vote LITERALLY does not matter because of Rob - at best, she could find information and relay it to Rudy.

I'm talking to Sekou, and I hope I fucking got through to him. Like, Rudy IS gunning for him, so Sue IS our best option. He agreed to it, but if he randomly votes Rob, he could end up fucking himself AND my plans.

Because, right now, it actually makes sense for me, Rob, and Jaclyn to throw a vote on Rudy - that way, if he idols Sue, we can still keep Rob/Sekou in. (Which is ideal given their my Final 3.) If Rudy idols himself, no harm no foul. If he idols Sue, then it'll be three canceled votes for Sue, one vote Sekou, and whoever Sekou votes for. And if he votes Rob, I'm kicking Sekou to the curb - they're both goats and unless Rob is around to chat.

Actually, thinking about this:

If Sekou votes Rob and Rudy idols Sue, it'd be 1-1. If it then goes 2-2, we'd go to rocks, and the only eligible person would be Rudy. So, if I could force the tie in that scenario, and correctly guess where Rudy and Sue would vote, I could eliminate Rudy. FUCK that'd be intense. Hope he DOESN'T do that so I don't have to manage with that, haha.

But yeah, that's the way the vote is shaping up to be. If there's like a double vote or something out there, a lot of this math gets fucked up. But that's how it currently is - knowing Rudy and Sekou, its ENTIRELY possible this all gets thrown out the window.

Y'know, I can't put my finger on why exactly, but I get the distinct feeling that I may have upset some people.

FINAL 5

*Le sigh*

First time I've been on the wrong side of a vote all game folks. On the plus side, if I can get to the end now, I have the two biggest goats on earth. On the down side, HOW THE HELL AM I GONNA GET THERE.

Use your WHITS

im making your font bigger
i cant see in my old age

I don't even know. I'm pitching my ass off - who fucking knows.

Sooooooooo, because we've all been campaigning damn hard to stay (we being myself, Rudy, and Jaclyn) Sekou seems to be considering pulling the ol' Janu. I'm not sure how to feel about it - yeah, it probably saves my game, and I get that no one wants to go to Final Tribal Council to get stomped 9-0-0, but it just feels...off. If he does do it though (have us all vote for him) my respect for the guy is gonna go up a few notches - realizing you can't win and playing for your own amusement does have more honor to it than just being an unknowing goat, y'know? It's sort of like the ~ Jenn Brown Experience ~ to coin a term a friend of mine used, and I do have respect for that.

FINAL 4

I'm here. I'm one immunity away from the FTC and...wow. If Jaclyn doesn't win immunity, I honestly think I have an awesome shot to take this whole shebang. I never thought I'd be seeing this after last night's immunity challenge.



Pictured above: Sekou

Let's fucking roll, people.