Confessional

So, Moses and Magic (AND MAGIC) don't want to tell Moondoggie/Ainu why Moondoggie was voted out, because they feel they might need Ainu later. What??? It's my one gambit, to get them upset at Ariana (causing her to not flip) and Moondoggie being willing to give the information he has.

Fair, I'm not gonna screw it up for them. But if I make it through this round, I no longer have a problem voting out Magic.

Ugh, she's mad at me now. Honestly, I'm cool with any of them getting further, so I don't want to screw up that play. But it does sound like a play. This is actually the most interesting the game has been! It'll be fun seeing what happens.

This is the scenario I think is happening (we'll see if I'm psychic)...

Let's suppose Ariana, Moses, and Audrey are all working together (they do talk, we know that, and would make sense why Moses didn't bring up voting for her, and gave us each different reasons for not) - all original Gilyak, Tony was on the outs, we know that.

If they brought Moondoggie to the merge, they'd be outnumbered: original Ainu (plus Tony) vs. original Gilyak (minus Tony). However, Moondoggie basically said he was still loyal to Ainu and had been warning them. If they told Moondoggie that's why he was voted off, he would've told Ainu - and Ainu would know that Ariana and Moses threw the challenge to vote him out because of that. Audrey then couldn't take them back because the rest of Ainu wouldn't trust them (too risky). That is the only reason it would be risky to tell Moondoggie - because it would mean Ainu would be upset at Moses and Ariana, and Audrey then couldn't take them back. So, by flipping this vote, they have their original alliance back. By not telling Moondoggie, thus not pissing off Bobby/Tony/Catherine, Ainu would be willing to take Moses and Ariana back without seeing Ariana/Moses/Audrey as an immediate threat.

We'll see what happens. It's a brilliant play if that's what they're doing. To be fair, I think Magic was just being too dumb to see that. But I might be the dumb one. As always... we'll see.

So, that was kind of humbling after my last series of confessionals. I need to start having more faith in the players I'm allied with. It is Survivor, I'm sure some people at least considered their options (which is fair), but the fact that everyone pulled through... Yep, I'm a prick.

Alright, the above scenario could still be a risk, but not a good idea to run around over it. Regardless of anything else, we've all helped each other get this far - so at least some degree of trust is justified.

We'll see how tonight goes - I don't think tonight's vote is any less risky than the last one - after that, it should stabilize a little, until we're (hopefully) to this final 6... then at least everyone can hopefully accept we've all helped each other that far, no other options, etc... Honestly, though being on 2 tribes and working together as 2 tribes made us strong (I think), it also may have completely blurred original tribal lines. So it would be anyone's game - I just hope everyone else sees it that way.

Not much to say beyond that - I'm sure there will be more later.

That was tricky. Took me a few rounds to see everyone was avoiding the first and last names like the plague - too obvious, but so obvious no one picked them. I enjoyed that!

btw, can we give immunity to someone else in this game? If I do that (not saying I am, unless I think there's a good chance Magic is at risk, which I don't think she is - so 99.999999% I'm keeping it), do I still have to keep my reward or is it now gone for good?

No you have won a challenge so you have lifted the penalty votes. If you do decide to give away immunity, you need to post it in the Tribal Council thread. Anyone that has voted would then be able to re-vote, since on the show you have to give the necklace away before the vote.

I wondered if anyone would pick up on your strategy and try to block you from winning.

I wondered that, too. But I figured that would make them lose points, keeping them from winning.

And that's fair, re: giving up immunity. Thank you!

Yes, I knew my comments in the tribal would be risky.  The very fact I brought up the final 6 is because I know no one is gullible, and everyone is probably questioning where they stand (see: the potential for Moses and Ariana to flip and have 4 Gilyak I talked about earlier - which you obviously had to ask about, didn't you?).

That said, I think it's actually true.  Ariana seems to really like Magic and Sweet, I really like Moses and would be happy with him being in at least the final 4 (sort of rooting for him to get immunity to make sure he goes further). and even final 2/winning (if I'm there, too, going against Moses would be awesome), Sweet seems to like Moses, Moses seems wary of Ariana (but he could be pretending), Magic really likes both Ariana and Moses (even if she doesn't trust them).  Jeff might still be the odd one out, sadly, but both Ariana and Moses seem to know that.  Etc...  Yes, there's an old alliance of Magic, Sweet, and me... but I truly don't know if that would hold up come the final 6 (and even if it did, who gets immunity is always a variable).  

Just because I don't entirely trust them doesn't mean I don't like them.  I want to win, I fully admit that, but I'd truly be happy if one of them won (especially Magic, Moses, or Jeff - of all of them, I think Moses has the best chance).   Bobby's right in that 6 strong is the best chance for me to win, but not quite for the reasons he thinks.  I'd be at the bottom of the former Ainu, as would most of us (as would he, probably, if Ariana and Moses joined them), if I voted with them.  A final 6 would truly be chaos (not because I think I'm that secure - I was sure I'd be voted out last tribal), but the chaos in which I'd stand the best chance.  To be fair, Ariana would probably stand a better chance if both she and Moses flipped (and I'm sure she knows that), but Moses would probably stand a better chance if he doesn't (and I'm sure he knows that, which may actually explain his apparent conflict over Ariana).  That said, Ariana is good, and I wouldn't rule her out no matter what happens (I think she's the one who could best adapt).  

And from my perspective, if I do make it to the final 2 - I'd be sure to be up against a strong player.  Sweet instantly took the role of poised leader (she seems to be backing down lately, maybe deliberate), Magic is just really likeable and has a good social game, Ariana is a great strategist and can adapt to anything, Moses is brilliant and thinks every possible scenario through before saying or doing anything... Jeff, oddly, might be the easiest to beat, which makes me reluctant to go to the final 2 with him (but I'd still be happy if he's there, because he's Jeff and I was a prick).  If I win, I want it to be a good battle.

On that last note, last night Magic, when she saw she was in the lead, purposely tried to back out of the challenge/lose points to let me win.  I text-yelled at her to keep playing.  That annoyed me.  It was sweet of her, but yeah... no.  I would've won, anyway, so fine... but no.

Sort of called it. Suspected it, at least.

As always... we'll see what happens.

So, now I'm trying to come up with a way to vote off Ariana and Moses, hopefully with me, Magic, or Jeff winning in the process. It's actually kind of difficult. Clearly at a disadvantage here.

Ariana PM'd me. I responded, nicely with just enough annoyance to not sound like I'm faking the niceness. It's a game, so it's cool - I still like her alright. But if I can figure out how to vote her off, I will - as fast as possible. Obviously at a disadvantage, but... we'll see.

I have a few plans. It's Saturday, want to get my dog out for a hike, so brief for now:

1. Actually go along with Moses and Ariana, try to keep it going with everyone in until we can force a tie. Hidden immunity idols would help - why does this game not have them? You could surely set up a hidden link. That would be one time it would be good for me to win immunity but give it up. If we had an immunity idol, too, we could force it so they'd have to vote me/I'd be playing the tie-breaker. Ugh!

2. See where Bobby stands. If Moses and Ariana vote against Audrey/Tony, that vote would be split. If Bobby votes with us, we'd have the majority - and he'd be guaranteed final 4 (perhaps better than now) - and come the time for a possible tie-breaker, final 3 if his side wins it.

I need to think everything through. I'm trusting Jeff with a lot - I hope it's not misplaced.

PS: How do tie-breakers work in this game? Is it a challenge, past votes, or the internet equivalent of drawing rocks?

Alright, this challenge was difficult without seeing real-time results of how others are picking.  I tried to remember former challenges... With the Russian names, everyone went for the center/least obvious placement, most "random" seeming.  With the word game, I gather most of Ainu went with slightly longer but more "rare" words.  In the movie trivia game, the first couple rounds everyone went with the top Google result, before getting the hang of what you were doing (I was lost in that challenge, so kind of did the same).

Since it's not a game of coming up with your own word (the list is already there), I'm hoping a similar principle to the last challenge holds (but with name recognition rather than just placement on a list).  Richard Hatch, Parvati, Cochran... huge names, they seem obvious.  Aras and JT... very "rare" looking names, they don't look obvious (they look unusual), which I'm hoping will throw people off (though I'm still picking one).  Basically, a few strategies (obvious people, some "common" llooking names, one  "rare" looking names).  

I did confer with Magic (I don't think anyone else would help me, and could use it to get someone to pick the same/block me).  I gave her an incomplete list of the names I'd picked (she knows nothing about Survivor/who any of those people are, so not much help in regards to how most people in this game would see that list).  She then gave me her list, and ignored the names I picked (picked Cochran).  I kind of grumped and said fine (easy enough for me to change it), but she insisted on changing her list.  So then picked Boston Rob (on the list I told her I was using) in the edit, and I grumped again.  I think we have it sorted, though.

Also, live or die... no safety nets. And I'd be willing to bet that if I don't get immunity, I'm gone.

On that note, I don't see why Sandra was cast as a villain.  Yes, abrasive and loud, but also pretty cool and hardly backstabbing for its own sake.  I was SO HAPPY when Coach was on the Villains tribe, though - what a douche.  To be fair, I haven't watched Survivor in ages.  I tried watching One World, but didn't get through much of it (I have no TV, anyway).  All of my Survivor'ing is the first 22-ish seasons, pretty much all while drunk with the aforementioned ex (basically, "the weekend").  So I'm out of the loop on what's changed.  This game has made me want to catch up, though.

When this game ends, you need to sign up for a game on the Games board on imdb, just so I can team up with you in a game. I think we'd get along well as an alliance.

I just might do that, and thank you! You've been awesome though this game. Plus, everyone's whined to administrators so much on the Soapbox that they've now made it so every thread is automatically deleted after 24 hours. So, I need a new place on IMDb, anyway.

I'm not responding in the tribal thread, but here...

Winning individual immunity twice in a row does put the spotlight on me, but it was already on me.  Audrey/Tony/Bobby were already going to vote for me if I didn't win.  I think it's clear that any time I lose, I'm at risk - no matter who's in the game - and any deals I try to make to help get myself, Magic, and Jeff further will be futile.  They could always vote out Magic and Jeff instead, but then I'd become a swing vote, with or without immunity - I don't think they all trust each other enough to let that happen.

Jeff is safe.  If Bobby doesn't go with us, he might not be next round - the one way I could see to keep Ariana and Moses from flipping is to purposely give them the advantage so they don't need to flip.  Before it's tied up, 3 vs 3 (so, after this round) basically sacrifice someone to make flipping moot - to give them the numbers to vote us off (which I think *might* make them want to vote off the other side instead - basically calls their flip).  It would probably be Jeff sacrificed.  I don't want that to happen, but it would be the only possible way (at least that I see now) of saving myself and Magic.

Also, all of that aside... it's funny: Ariana and I would make the most logical final 2 for each other. She's pissed off a lot of people, and I'm sure will continue to piss off more people before this game is over - but she has a great social-strategy game. My social game kind of sucks, most people don't really know me well, but I'd be her best shot of winning that final immunity and being able to pick her. We could both probably win against Jeff, only because he doesn't have a great social or strategic game (ironically, it seems like despite talk of flipping, his ultimate choices are to remain loyal) and hasn't really made any big moves. That would be an option for me, but for Ariana, it would leave too much to chance. Ariana and I would both probably lose the jury vote against most anyone else in the game - but would stand a chance against each other.

I'm not saying I'm considering that - I'm not. It would be the smart thing to do, but that obviously means I won't do it. But in some weird twist, we'd actually be each others' best chance of winning (aside from Jeff).

This tribal has gone CRAZY!  Bobby, Tony, Jeff, and Ariana have all been brought up.  

I tentatively set it up to vote out Ariana (with Jeff and Bobby) with the possibility of using that to split the vote if that seemed like the better option.  And now either that's gone crazy, or this super-alliance has made it seem crazy to throw *someone* (Magic and me, perhaps) off.  I truly have no idea how this vote will go.  I usually at least have an idea, even if it's a bad outcome.  But this one... no idea whatsoever.  I guess the plus side is that if this craziness is real, the spotlight is off us.  And everyone has to know that if they vote out Magic or me, whichever one remains suddenly becomes a swing vote and needs to be kept around.  

If we stuck to the final 6, the next couple rounds would be so easy.  Too easy.  All of this started way too early.  Ariana and Moses made this entire game a huge mess.

Basically, I don't know if everyone else in this game is fucking brilliant or if they're really stupid and just like making everything more complicated than it needs to be (that's entirely possible, given the fact I've won the past couple challenges by picking the most obvious choices - I'm smart, but I'm not a computer that can gauge the human mind's perception of probability in a split second).  And if it's the latter, they may have made this way more difficult for Magic and me, but they've made it far more difficult for themselves, too.  If everyone would've just held still, this would all be really fucking easy and we could all spend our evenings doing something other than conning each other.  And everyone on IMDb thinks Soapboxers are bad... jeez.

On that note, I laughed at Tony's comment.  Way to be passive-aggressive.  Naw bro, all strategy... nothing but strategy.  The only luck was in not being sure if you're misplacing faith in your ability to figure out how other people will pick (which was a gamble and I wasn't at all sure of myself). Not a jab at Tony - he actually seems really cool. I'm just annoyed and this is me right now:

Moses is telling me Bobby. Moses is telling Magic Tony. Ariana is telling Magic Jeff.

I wouldn't be surprised if everyone's voting out Magic.

I don't even know. I voted Bobby, Jeff might be out, or it might be a total blindside.

Everyone does know how to play the game. I just feel like so often, in the show and here, people like the idea of playing the game so much that they make it more complicated than it needs to be, or at least earlier than it needs to (obviously that's easy to say if we're talking about a majority - I can see why a minority would do that). I'm doing the same, I guess. Ha!

I considered voting Jeff, but... it's going to be a mess no matter who I pick, so let's make it a mess and not turn on Jeff. In the wise words of Mr. Oberst, "let's fuck it up, boys - make some noise!"

Honestly, responding to dozens of PMs over a couple hours aside, the game is actually fun. Whenever I may be voted out, I'm glad I played.

At least it was predictable. Now we get to see where the original Gilyak really stands, and where Bobby really stands along with them.

Trivia challenge? I'm screwed.

I need to read these questions better... ugh.

I actually knew the Shakespeare one, too, and I was all excited... then I reread the question.

Wow. I knew (without Googling - though one would've helped if I had Googled and/or read the question fully) only 3 answers in that entire challenge. That was lucky as hell that the last one was one of those and I refreshed the page at the exact moment. That challenge, for me at least - truly was down to luck, nothing else.

So, I talked to Tony for the first time and I like him a lot.  I feel bad for the "naw, bro..." thing a few confessionals earlier (I was just annoyed).  

I'd explain, but it's easier to just my PM to Bobby.  It was a "fuck it" moment, straight to the point.  It started with him saying Magic was on the chopping block, me asking who suggested that, and him answering:

"Fair.

First of all, I know you told Ariana I PM'd you last time.    You're welcome to tell her this, too (the last one was more babysitting Jeff than anything and I figured you'd tell her - I gave her a summary of Jeff babysitting before you did):
Realistically, I'd be willing to go with anyone who votes out Audrey. Ariana and Moses have never even suggested her, and brush it off when anyone else does, which makes me wary. Ideally, I'd like to stick with Ariana and Moses - I like them both a lot, probably the 2 people I talk to most in this game. But the fact that they're so quick to dismiss Audrey as an option, and that it has been 2 of us original Uilta's in a row (and the first was blindsiding us), and that Magic's name is now coming up, and that Audrey seemed very confident in her control in the Final 7 thread, and that Moondoggie said Moses said their plan was to keep flipping between alliances... I'm questioning a bit. If they decide to vote out Audrey, I'll gladly stay with them to the final 4, and realistically I'd probably pick Ariana, but maybe Moses, if I had the choice of the final 2 (realistically, she's pissed off enough people to negate my poor social game) - they're both great, and since the last tribe incarnation, I've wanted to go to the end with them. If they don't and you and Tony will, I'll vote with you. I'd prefer to stay loyal to them, but their reaction is just too weird.

One more spanner in the works: If you guys vote out Magic this time, and I win immunity just one more time, I'm the swing vote (whether I win immunity or not). And if no one's willing to vote out Audrey now, fair (interesting how it's played out that way) - but I'll probably swing toward whomever I know the best (Ariana and Moses). If that happens, someone will get a final 3, but probably Ariana/Moses; right now, there's a firm final 4 either way if anyone's willing to vote out Audrey.

All of that assholishness aside...   ... you seem great from the little we've talked, and Tony just PM'd tonight and he's awesome.""

I really do have a poor social game, don't I?  But it makes sense.  Magic then PM'd them and, since she's likeable, probably smoothed over some edges.  So, hopefully, Audrey's out.  But as always... we'll see how it goes.

And yes, winning challenges is essential. I don't feel secure in any alliance. Tony should be fun. I like the idea of us working together. I think it would be fun to agree to a final 4 challenge... whichever one of us loses accepts defeat/everyone votes for whichever (be it him or me) - but I don't know if he'd go for that... I might suggest it when the time comes. This might excite me more than the jury vote, actually. Is that pathetic?

Magic was very clever last night - for once, the time difference worked to her advantage. We had a funny discussion, basically that this game kind of makes one feel like a shitty person.

The idea is for Magic, Bobby, Tony, and me to vote out Audrey. Whether or not that happens, I do not know. But I think there's a chance. Ariana and Moses NEVER mention Audrey and she's instantly shot down if someone else brings her up. I did bring her up to Ariana last night, just because I didn't want to flip on them if I could reasonably trust they're with us - it was risky putting Audrey's name out there, but I wanted to give Ariana (and Moses, by proxy) the chance. Her responses just convinced me I couldn't trust them. Ariana insisted that Audrey wasn't a threat, that she doesn't even talk to anyone - yet, in the last tribal, Audrey made a point of saying she talks to everyone, and feels it's the most crucial aspect of the game. And I know Ariana herself talks to Audrey. That, along with Audrey's comment in the Final 7 thread (she seemed reasonably confident in her comment), and Audrey's comments in this tribal... I think trying to bring in Tony and Bobby is the safer risk. It is still a risk, though. Either way, it would be either Magic or Bobby voted out this round if not Audrey, and I'm immune, so it's a risk that had to be taken now.

I'm very glad I won last night (and I was sure I wouldn't), but it did cross my mind, if I lost, to pull the "my grandmother died" thing. Obviously as a joke... since if I lost, there wouldn't be much I could do to save myself (3 in a row gave me some leverage with Bobby/Tony).

There are no reward challenges, are there? We need helicopter rides and showers, man.

Ha! I was joking about the reward challenge. I don't know if you were planning it anyway or if I gave you the idea. This should interesting (the reward challenges in this game usually just cause chaos, though).

All planned out before hand. But itIt was funny to see you say it.

I was like 2 away from finishing the entire thing, and Magic posted her Season 2 list first, then she insisted she was right about season one, but she picked "Duty and Honor" and there was no Y in the puzzle, so I had to check HER work instead of doing my own and... fuck.

She told me, "lol, I just rushed it" like 2 minutes after I said asked if she was sure and already confused her list with mine. Ugh, stupid game/annoying Magic.

If I make it through this, which I'm pretty much certain I won't... PLEASE no more team challenges. I could've won that stupid thing on my own, but not on a team (unless maybe I was teamed up with Tony).

I hate this stupid game.

So, here's the current conundrum, surely belonging in a Dostoevsky novel...

No matter what, there's a good chance I'm gone.  But if I'm not, it's a mind game... Bobby and Tony disappeared for a long time after the challenge - they responded, in quick succession, right after my tribal comment.  Both of them, and Ariana, were online every time I checked.  That immediately made me question them.  However, there's a chance they were entertaining the idea of me being voted off, but decided against it.  Ariana seemed a little nervous, trying to suss out my alliance with them - but that could have also been her planning to vote me.  I PM'd Moses, no response... Ariana PM'd him, and he was back, saying we should vote Bobby (finally), that Ariana mentioned voting me (he knows I don't entirely trust Ariana), and that we could force a tie (at worst) and get Bobby out (if Ariana votes with us, either in the first vote or revote).

I don't think Ariana would suggest voting me out, rather than trying to get me to vote with her, if she didn't think she had the majority.  But at the same time, I don't think Moses would be so insistent on voting Bobby, even if it's a tie (after Ariana PM'd him), if they actually thought Bobby and Tony would vote me out.  And Moses is the one who said Ariana was suggesting me - not Ariana - in a way that made it seem like she had a majority (and it was my only option).  Moses' risk could very well be to keep Ariana in the game, and Ariana could have very well been trying to sway Bobby and Tony to vote me out instead.  But that doesn't necessarily mean Bobby and Tony wouldn't vote for me.  Bobby and Ariana clearly share some information, but Ariana - at least - isn't opposed to voting out Bobby.

I made a deal with Bobby and Tony, and I'd like to keep it.  Unless they're trying to vote me out.  Had they not disappeared for an hour+, I wouldn't be too concerned.  But I wonder *why* Ariana was PMing them (it wouldn't take an hour to say "Ekki?" "Yeah, Ekki"), and WHY Moses proposed it as a risk, and WHY Ariana seemed happy about it when I agreed... She and Moses could know for a fact that she's at risk, and were bluffing that voting with them is what would minimize my risk  Otherwise, why not just vote me out?

Magic wants to vote Ariana.  If we vote Bobby, I'm almost certain I'd be safe this round (but WHY am I certain of that?  Ariana must sense she's at risk - they wouldn't put that much effort into blindsiding me, but they also wouldn't put that much effort in if they were sure they had the majority) - but maybe both Magic and I will be in a worse position next round.  If I vote Ariana, I'm more likely to be voted out, but if not - both of us should be in a better position next round.  Tony would be a variable here - if we vote out Bobby, and Bobby didn't vote for me - which side would Tony choose?

The other thing: Moses proposed a final 3 to Magic, and a final 4 to me.  Oddly, that makes me trust him more (an empty promise would be both of us final 3).  That doesn't sound like a ploy/him thinking I'd see it that way...  But the fact remains he didn't respond at all until Ariana PM'd him.  So I'm not sure what to make of it.  Realistically, I think whichever of us doesn't win immunity next round - Tony or me - would be gone (but that might be leverage to get Tony to vote with us even if he's upset/distrustful about Bobby being voted out)

I'd like to keep my promise to Bobby and Tony, but... I need to try to figure out who has the most to lose here, and what's motivating everyone's actions.  If I guess wrong, I'm either out, or truly screwed if I lose immunity next time (Magic might be safe into the final 3 unless Tony wins immunity in the final 4 - which he probably would).  

I need to sleep and think about it tomorrow.  Also, no more team immunity challenges, please.  And definitely not with Magic.  "lol, no, I just rushed it" - after she posted her season 2 list without consulting me, insisting she was right, and confusing my list... just for me to review it and wonder where that "y" came from.  Ugh.  I should've just ignored her and finished my list.

I'm giving Bobby and Tony until 5 PM C to respond to my post in our thread. And then, it depends on how believable their explanations are. If I *reasonably* believe them (ie: they don't just say "I wasn't online"), I'll vote Ariana. If they don't respond or I don't believe them, I'll vote Bobby. I think that's fair. I explained my conversation (up to that point) with Ariana (and the reason for it) when Bobby brought it up - so they can explain their side. I think that's fair.

Ugh!

I feel like I'm falling into the same trap I've complained about for others... overthinking.  If I didn't overthink this and just went with Bobby and Tony, I'd feel a lot better about that vote.  A lot better.  I'm glad I'm still in the game, of course - but I wish it wasn't through the way it happened.  

I immediately PM'd Bobby and Tony apologizing.  It's entirely possible they considered voting me (which is why Ariana did), but they didn't go through with it - which is what counts.  I wanted to trust them, and not break our deal, but through over-thinking it, I broke the deal - which is what counts (in a bad way).

It's a game, but it's also a game involving so much social interaction (and manipulation), that it's tough to not take it a little seriously sometimes.  It's not just a physical/mental competition where you just play by set rules then shake hands after... it's lying and bluffing and whatnot.  Even if you don't personally want to lie and bluff, you need to keep up with everyone else lying and bluffing (thus lying/bluffing yourself) - acknowledging they very well may be doing just that - which is difficult.  And sometimes, you get it wrong and out-lie to someone when they aren't lying to you.  

It's such a multi-faceted game... everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses, but everyone has to adapt to everyone else's strengths.  If you're not social, you have to try to be.  If you don't like the lying/manipulation aspect but everyone else does, you have to try, anyway. Oddly, people rarely see the competitions as such an integral part of the game (I disagree, of course) and don't see the need to try to adapt in that way.  Maybe because of that, I'd really like to go to the final 2 with Tony. I think it would be interesting to have a final 2 with competitors who especially excelled in challenges. Of course, even if I get there, and Magic is still in (if that's the final 3), I need to consider her (rather, I need to consider the possibility of her killing me). If we get there, I might just secretly throw the challenge and hope Tony picks me - but that's sort of sneaky/manipulative, right? Ugh.

On that note, early on you joked about us posting songs in our confessionals.  Here's an apt one:

Re #17: I think everyone deserves to be in the game. Whatever strategy people used to get here, it's worked, and they deserve their spot. #17 was between Magic and Ariana - one who's managed to luck into being here (obviously I don't intend that in a mean way), one who's worked hard but lucky to always not quite be the top target (but always close). Magic makes more sense for #19, so Ariana is #17 by default.

I still need to think of how other people would answer these (because that's the challenge, right?).

Another night without immunity...  I'm glad Magic won, though. She'll be happy that she won when she sees it.

Last tribal I really fucked up and believed the wrong person.  Hopefully Tony is still with us - but if he's not, it's understandable.  

That's about all that's going through my head right now.  Easy night (for now).

Magic's happy she was picked for positive categories. I assumed people would pick her as the most annoying - maybe just because I know her better. Kidding. She's lovely and - especially for someone I've never met in person - one of my best friends, but the textspeak and incomplete sentences/thoughts do get on my nerves at times, and I assumed it would be the same for others (without knowing her beyond that). Funny that my personal pick was actually the correct choice... should've stuck with it.

I went a bit nuts in the game after Sweet was blind-sided (scrambling for position), but I'm mellowing out now (Bobby being voted out was a wake-up call/had to stop my head from spinning too much). I do genuinely like Ariana, but for the purpose of this game... I'm glad she's gone. I truly don't know how the next vote will go - either Moses gone or a tie and... who knows? I don't want to vote out Moses, but options are limited now, and I truly think Tony is more deserving. I'd be happy with Tony beating me (in the final 3 or the jury) - Moses, not so much, though I do like him. But however the vote goes, we've all made it to the final 4 - that's pretty good. When I first started this game I signed on as an alternate and didn't expect to last long. As it's gone on and I've gotten more invested, I definitely want to win... but I'd also be happy to see Magic or Tony win. So, hopefully this next vote makes that possible.

Well, final 3.  Pretty impressive.

My idea of purposely throwing the challenge and letting Tony (most likely) pick... no.  It's a challenge.  The challenges are my favorite part of the game, and Tony's, too.  So, throwing it wouldn't be fair to either of us.  Whoever wins truly wins - and whoever loses gave it their best shot.  Much better that way. We've both won 3 immunity challenges now - so this one determines who was the best competitor in the game. That's a solid challenge in itself.

You realize how difficult 1 syllable was, right?  I couldn't even write their names or write key words like "holiday" or "jury" or even "challenge".  Ugh!  

I'm glad Tony won.  He's done well in this game.  I just wish I would've seen it during the challenge... but trying to post so fast and mine being the most difficult (it totally was and you know it)... ugh.  Tony's was the easiest... just make long posts with enough words and you're bound to get it.  

All the same... it's been an exciting game, and thank you for hosting it.

The rules were randomly assigned.

I know.  It was joke bitterness.  Honestly, this way Magic and I don't have to battle each other before the jury... So I'm actually happy Tony won for that reason (and because he's an awesome player) - whichever of us he picks, we don't need to trash each others' games.

I know you were joking. But I can see where there could be truth to the accusation. Watching it unfold, it did seem his was easiest.

Rereading the thread, hers was so obvious, anyway - I don't see how Tony and I didn't get it immediately.  

I've since realized I could've easily posted "naw, Bro!" and "yeah, Bro!" to everything - simple enough the one syllable rule wouldn't be apparent, but quick and consistent each time/no lag. I wouldn't have really discussed anything, though (so not sure if it would've counted). I'm off lately. I wasn't joking about the broken foot - so I'm claiming that as my excuse!

I am a little shocked Tony picked me, but not complaining. Pretty exciting. This will be interesting...

The final vote is on IMDb and the board becomes public??? Please don't make my confessionals public, at least not to people on IMDb... if Soapbox trolls see it (vicious place), they'll use anything they can.