Make a Move or Stop Talking/Confessionals

Day 6
"monoceros"

- Double Tribal. FUN. Not gonna lie, it kinda scares me. You can't rely on your tribemates anymore, because you're all on your own for a bit. Immunity would be very nice here, but I never want my game to rely on a challenge win. I've been talking to Natalie, I've been talking to Caeb, I've been talking to CJ, I've been talking to the Lithuanians. I've been talking to Loren and Catnip, even if they don't say much back. I'm gonna do my best to make sure that people WANT to keep me so that my social bonds *become* my immunity. It's eat or be eaten in this game, and when you have a lot of friends, the latter becomes less and less likely.

"monoceros"

- AT tells me he got 18K. I can't get past 12K. AT was probably the easy target once we get to tribal, but if he gets immunity (and he might - I've reached only 12K for now, and I can't get past it), we'll need another target. I assume AJ could become one, which is not great for me, but also I don't want to scramble early either, I want/need to just go with the flow and such.

"vulpecula"

- my ideal strategy in this pre-swap was to let things come to me and I think that was what everyone was thinking as well. Nobody wanted to say anything when it came to the vote, so realizing this I thought my best play was to solidify something solid with Hickman and Nicole naming it the Tetris Trio so that I would have 2 people who would for sure push off my name in addition to having Nemo also hanging around. The odds that my name would be able to be thrown out without it getting shut down by one of Nemo, Hickman, or Nicole were pretty low. the tetris trio's original plan was for us to push Gevonte but when I woke up the day of tribal it was clear there was enough push back on the Gevonte plan that it was now gonna be Byron. I was fine with this I didn't really care about either player that much. Going forward I think I'm in a really solid spot within this tribe. I have my Tetris trio which feels very solid and I think are going to be very influential in this tribe going forward. I still have Nemo as a tight ally and am building solid relationships with people like matty and Isaiah. there is potential to build something with Conch as well. I think I am pretty well insulated for the rest of my time on this tribe. My strategy for the next few rounds is to continue to build solid enough relationships so that if I swap with somebody I feel confident that we can really build something. For example if I swapped with Matty tomorrow I feel confident that we would probably get pretty tight and form a final 2. Whereas if I swapped with Gevonte I could see him flipping pretty easily so that's somebody I got to put in some work with. This game can switch on a dime but for now I feel pretty decent about my position.

"monoceros"

- Because we cannot simply have nice things, we've been thrown into a double tribal for this round with individual immunity up for grabs. I honestly was planning on throwing any and every challenge that's like this in the early game so that I don't end up doing what I did in Mount Vesuvius in being the far and away greatest challenge threat above the entire cast come merge, because it meant that I had to tank challenges hard once the merge did hit, and it put me in that anxious stage of figuring out when it was time to stop throwing and start winning again, which I'm always too late to pull the trigger on. If I just perform a notch below the best this time around, I won't have to worry about that. Already came second in the opening challenge, and so if I can shoot for a similar place in this challenge, I'm going to do just that. As of now, I've been speaking to Loren and I know he's at 35k, so I'd realistically want to get exactly 34k to know that at the absolute most I place second, but no matter what happens I have people ahead of me on their challenge performance. I actually don't think that I need to really even try to throw this challenge, because it's one of the rare challenges that I'm not particularly good at in the first place, anyway. Will it be a little daunting going to tribal without protection? Maybe, but I really shouldn't be in any sort of danger right now given how the tribe is set up and how I did really well on building early connections but then took my foot right off the accelerator last round while we were immune, so I couldn't have possibly talked myself into any trouble. People like me, but I'm not at the forefront of anything since my activity slowed down considerably, so I'm just now in the perfect middleground where I can rely on those connections when I need to, but I'm not looking like I'm playing the field and talking to everyone, because I'm really not talking to everyone at once now. All in all, I'm pretty content on losing this immunity challenge, because I know I'll win the vote that comes after it.

"vulpecula"

- I was really excited for the challenge today....until a freaking meteor came in with the double tribal. The last tribal council I was very much trying to figure out the vibe and it came down to someone who went too hard too fast. But in my opinion, it wasn't even that fast. It was so slow but he was the first person to say a name. And say a well known name at that. But now I am stressed as hell for this tribal.

"vulpecula"

- Wow the Saga of Matty sucks at challenges continues. Will I be prentending I was super busy this weekend and didn't have a ton of time to put 100% into it? ABSOLUTELY. Did I actually just lay in my bed all day? Duh.

Day 7
"vulpecula"

- Following the immunity challenge, I think I am ready to be a lot more patient. Last time I was hoping for a lot more of the strategy on the front in. But in order for me to continue on, I need to realize that the strategy is on the back half of the day. I feel really good about Okie, so I would want to work with him. Gev and Hickman seem to trust me quite a bit so I wouldn't want to see them go. Nemo and I appear to be working together but I am still skeptical of him in some regard. I really like Nathaniel, Nicole, and Isaiah, which only really leaves Conch and Martynas. We will see if I can get my way.

"vulpecula"

- My brother has been visiting this weekend, and I’ve been spending the last few days skiing, going to concerts, exploring Boston, catching up with family, and expending considerably less brainpower on this game than I normally would. I think that time away has been both a blessing and a curse.

On one hand, I’ve been feeling very out of the loop. I’m in zero alliances, which I don’t think has ever been the case for me a full week into a game. But my name didn’t come up at all last vote, even with my lower than usual activity levels. I have a few really strong individual bonds, particularly with Nicole, Nathaniel, and Nemo. All the N names. Nathaniel and Nemo seem to be working together a bit, but it seems like Nicole isn’t working with either of them. Which means I might potentially have to make hard, awkward choices down the road, but it also hopefully means that I have people who will keep my name off the block on multiple sides of this tribe.

My comparatively under the radar status is a new thing for me - I’m used to being pegged as a huge threat right out of the gate. And as long as I can avoid getting targeted for activity levels this round, I could be in a really good spot and have a lot more freedom to really play this game than I have in games where all eyes have been on me at all times. But for now the plan is to keep calm, lay low, and shut up.

"monoceros"

- So my social game just did a 180. According to AJ, Catnip pregame'd with Pendant and Samb, and they've got a little axis of evil trying to get numbers on the tribe. I don't think I can take a swing at them this round without getting voted out, and I'm definitely expecting a swap soon, so I can't risk pissing them off. Which leads me to Devin, who all of the sudden cannot say "I am not voting you out," which makes me think he's voting me out. That sucks, because I really meant it when I said he was one of my guys out here. AJ's gonna put out some feelers, and should people be up for it, I might have to take this shot.

"monoceros"

- I don't believe I really needed to win immunity, but I'm so glad that I have it. I feel that it opens doors and allows me to more comfortably strategize without the constant paranoia that it could be me as a result. Also it's somewhat redeeming considering my entire arc in 703 Survivor has related to me SUCKING at challenges, but not anymore!

Unnatural ascendance. I've attained it.

Jokes aside, the vote tonight appears to be rather clear cut in nature. AT immediately threw out Devin's name as a vote and painted it as a 'this is what the group wants,' but little does he know I have my hand in several honey jars rn. I genuinely believe that AT is a bit out of his depth, I heard from AJ that he was talking about voting out Catnip last tribal too.. like wtf.

You don't just start throwing out names to everyone, that's not how you play Survivor, no matter what Josephine says. Perhaps he let her warnings get a bit too close to his heart, idk, but he's really dug himself into a serious grave.

At this point I'm presented with several options, but I think right now I'd rather go with the path of least resistance. I've already planted the seeds for a Samb blindside should we go to tribal again or decide to go for it right now. Most people are aware of the Lithuania 3 due to me sort of.. spreading rumors, even if they are true. I don't think those three are aware of them, nor that it originates from me, and I don't think they will find out either.

In past ORGs I've always played the best when I pit people against each other, which to an extent I'm sort of doing here, but it's far more toned down. I like playing the middle game, I like dictating votes and arranging blindsides, but I have to balance out the risk and reward as well.

At this time? The risk outweighs the reward, and unless that changes AT will likely be going home tonight.

"monoceros"

- Updated Favorability Rankings as of Episode 3.

1. C.J.: I feel that CJ is someone that will continue to have my back throughout the game, and I'll have his as well.

2. A.J.: God AJ has taken a big jump, but he's someone I've suddenly began to vibe with very well. I trusted him with quite a bit, so we will see if it pays off or if he stabs me in the back. He seems down for blindsiding Catnip, which would be a great move objectively I think.

3. Devin: Devin is someone who I trust and he's one of my closer allies. HOWEVER, I am wary of him. I think out of my close circle he's of the best players, someone who could potentially make a move against me in the future. Going to try and keep him close.

4. Caeb: Love Caeb, he's such a mess, but a lovable mess. I want to work with him moving forward.

5. Pendant: He's fallen for me in the last few days. I do believe there's potential to work with him, but I just don't vibe with him that well. He's far too shifty for me to wholeheartedly put all of my trust in.

6. Natalie: Natalie is pretty middle of the road for me at current. I do like her, I do trust her, but our bond isn't as solid as many of the others on the tribe by far.

7. Samb: I'm neutral on him, he's not someone I speak with a whole lot.

8. Catnip: I think that Catnip is very sweet, but far too dangerous to take deep into this game. She'd definitely on the list of someone I wish to blindside, perhaps even as soon as this tribal. AJ and I intend to broach the topic tomorrow with CJ and then I'll bring it up to Natalie. All we need is five votes. AT made it clear he's voting for Devin.

9. AT: AT is honestly SUCH a mess, but I trust him the least by far.

"monoceros"

- last tribal people wanted to talk game/vote with me immediately and I even found some DMs regarding it when I woke up the next day. this time, I went to bed before the results were revealed, but when I woke up, barely any DMs overall, not to mention they weren't really about the vote. so I was quite worried this meant people are conspiring against me cause idol shit. so I was determined to play it, just to have the target off my back.

but then AT did come to me, wanting to vote Devin. I more or less agreed with it, of course, but it also meant that if some other people wanted to get me, I would have a good counteroffer for that majority alliance, cause now AT has throw 2 of their names in. plus, I already was planning to vote for AT, so.

I think considering AT so directly approached me about Devin, and that both Pendant and Loren came to me about it, it's most likely the real plan. I really don't think Pendant would betray me this early, so if I'm really that lame target for the idol thing, he wouldn't have betrayed me. so I'm gonna take a risk here. again. I feel like I'm also more paranoid because at the very start people told me I would be a target for it, and it got to my head. and it's quite frustrating to be in that mental state.

"vulpecula"

- I'm in a really weird spot right now. I think it's a good spot, but it's a spot I'm not used to. Half the tribe thinks of me as their dumb little pet, and after playing several orgs in a row where I've immediately been labeled as one of the biggest threats in the game, this early goat status is refreshing. Do my horns look cute? I think they suit me. I can bleat and eat trash if you'd like, just don't target me please.

I've had a power duo with Nicole since day 1, and today she told me that when she asked Nathaniel if anyone was off limits for the vote in his eyes, the only person he named is me. So I guess I'm the person Nathaniel feels best about, or at least who he feels like he can admit publicly (I don't like the public part as much, since I'm trying to hide out in the shadows, but the not voting me part is music to my ears!).

Nicole tells me that she sees our tribe divided into 2 groups - okie and hickman, vs nathaniel and martynas and matty, with her more on team okie and hickman, and Isaiah, Nemo, and I somewhere in the middle. Nemo is almost definitely with the Nathaniel group, while Isaiah may be a true wild card. It seems unlikely to me that okie and hickman are going to have numbers, and I think Nicole realizes this too, because she's told me she doesn't mind either of them going here. Our gameplan here is to just try and continue acquiring as much info as possible, me from Nathaniel and Nemo, her from Okie and Hickman, and then we'll figure out what to do from there. I still haven't heard any names, or been added to any alliances yet, which is strange and scary. But if my partnerships with Nathaniel and Nicole are as strong as I think they are, I should be alright anyway.

"vulpecula"

- Here is the REAL GAG - everyone is playing scared, which makes me play scare, which makes me nervous because I think I'm the vote but in reality NO ONE IS TALKING. If the wool is being pulled over my eyes, then I definitely am impressed and do not deserve to be on this season. Like I am absolutely terrified of what is going to happen in like FOUR HOURS. typing in www.wheeldecide.com if I can't figure this out.

"monoceros"

- I have a lot to say so I'm gonna make a video later

"vulpecula"

- It's seriously getting to the point where I think I'm going home. No one is talking, it seems like everyone is just tip toeing around each other and I just feel like I have no answers. Crossing my fingers my instincts are incorrect. But I just have a super bad feeling....

"monoceros"

- Someone leaked the vote to Mr. Funeral Director Devin. Shocker of the century. I wouldn't really care if it didn't mean that they're all probably voting for me now. If I go tonight, that'd make me the fourth boot again, and I cannot even put into words how gut-wrenching that would be. ...Actually, I can: It would be like playing a 50-turn game of Mario Party and having a three-star lead, only to lose everything in "chance time" on the last turn. Regardless of the results, I'm pretty confident in saying that only one Povelgian will be here tomorrow.

"vulpecula"

- Well 2 and half hours before the vote, we FINALLY have some rumblings. It seems that Gev was a little to antsy and now Conch is freaking out. Which gives me a lot more confidence. I am still skeptical, but I would much rather see Conch go at this point. They just really don't give me much in terms of strategy. Unfortunately, it seems like Gev is more of the consensus. But Hickman is really the one I'm eyeing. This dude is GOOOOOOOD. Let's see what happens. But I am so excited we are finally playing Survivor. Y'know, 7 days in....

"vulpecula"

- I may genuinely be one of the worst players in 703 history. Based.

"vulpecula"

- There is someone in this game who is much better at controlling a vote than I am. The scary thing is, I don't know who it is, and it might be the end of me tonight.

"vulpecula"

- it's 3:40am, and i am feeling exhausted, but this needs to be reviewed. so apologies if some mistypes happens due to exhaustion.

So: - 4 hours left till the deadline. still no clear names. Gevonte comes online. - tells me and Nathaniel that he had a draft of "who to not vote" with Hickman, and Nemo with Conch were left undrafted. - 30 mins passes. Hickman came online 10mins ago. Conch tells me that he heard that Gevonte is targeting them! - Nathaniel says that Hickman told him that Gevonte is going to create an alliance against Conch - me, Gevonte and Nathaniel realize that Hickman is throwing Gevonte under the bus. i tell Conch everything i know. Conch talks with Gevonte and they both agree that Hickman is playing them. We 4 agree to target Hickman. - 30 mins left to the tribal! we still have only 4 votes locked, Nicole is still offline, i am talking with Matt, Okie, Isaiah 1 on 1. Okie is locked to vote with Hickman and says that they have a majority. Matt and Isaiah are still thinking

-Nicole comes online when there's 15mins left. i am talking with Matt, Isaiah and Nicole. now telling them each that "we have 5 votes locked Hickman and 2 are still thinking" (while in reality it's still 4 locked votes) -Matt swung, Isaiah swung, Nicole swung.... Nathaniel was talking with Nemo, he joined the majority too.

damn, i know in such situations everyone feels like a hero, but damn it - i feel super proud keep thinking that it's my move again. call me cocky if you want. taking out a super sneaky challenge beast just before the swap? what can be better? i might lose all my hair, but i had so much fun! these 4 hours alone were worth to comeback here, and all these amazing conversations i am having with people is amaaaazing bonus to that! it will be sad when i am blindsided. will talk about tribe swap tomorrow!

"monoceros"

- I'm not sure what to make of AT sometimes. AT is pitching to me that we vote out Catnip, which is a decently solid plan since she has two idols, but he's doing it in all the wrong ways. Firstly, he's doing it PRIOR to the deadline for her Guatemala idol, so if she gets wind of it she can immediately become immune and the plan is out the window. Worse than that, though, is the fact that he's doing it and telling me he'll put it together BY ASKING SAMB AND PENDANT TO VOTE FOR HER. My brother in Christ, that's her people. You can't ask Catnip's people to blindside Catnip. If you're not aware that they're a thing, you've got your head in the dirt. This is exactly why AT is ending up a target again, and I love the guy so I want to save him, but if he actually goes through on targeting Catnip, it's not going to pan out well, so I'm going to need to get him targeting literally anyone else, and I'm going to need to do it as soon as possible.

"monoceros"

- Everything has gone to shit and everything is shit and it all sucks. AT is no longer targeting Catnip thankfully, and I instead got him to go all in on targeting Devin which I'm very glad about because I have bad vibes associated with Devin and I really don't think I can or want to trust him at all. Unfortunately, when I made my stance pretty clear with other people that I'd rather Devin go than AT, I was pretty much alone in that thought, and it's not really happening. The ironic thing that happened next, though, was that a plan started to form around getting Catnip out. You know, the person AT was literally willing to go after in the first place? Make that make sense. It actually first started as Loren wanting people to go after Samb, but I shut that down pretty quickly because fuck off you're not first targeting one of my closest allies in AT then switching it to target another one of my closest allies in Samb. That's just not going to fly and I'm not nearly spineless enough to let you trod over me like that. Anyway, I'm writing this in post because that's where things were at when I went to bed. It was a clear vote for Catnip and Loren was going to go pitch it to people. When I woke up though, it completely shifted back to AT, because Loren just ??? forgot to ask anyone? So he sets up this whole move for no reason and then just backs out before it even begins just to lead me on and give me hope about AT staying? Fuck that and fuck him. If I get the chance, I'm going to make sure he goes home as soon as possible, because if he's going to make AT be fourth boot again when he's already insecure about his own repeat 17th placement curse or whatever it is, you better fucken believe that karma's going to be a bitch and I'm going to do whatever I can to put you in that exact same situation of disappointment that you're putting AT in. Some ally you turned out to be, so willing to be accomidating to what I want.

"vulpecula"

- Hello! It has been a hot minute since I gave one of these! I had a busy weekend visiting my boyfriend, but now that I am back I have the chance to give my thoughts again. The Hickman tribal was the most stressed I've been in a long time in an ORG. He initiated the group of Me/Him/Nemo/Nicole/Okie which I was so happy to be in. I felt close to them all and was hoping something like that would form. I also made a deal with Martynas and Nathaniel that if they kept me safe while I was traveling for the weekend, I would keep them same the next chance I got. With both of these in place, I felt extremely comfortable this tribal.

That was until Hickman came to us and said Gevonte threw out my name and Nemo's, along with Conch. This immediately worried be as I thought me and Gevonte were good, and I felt that him betraying me so easily made it very justifiable to vote him out. The group of us 5 decided to target Gevonte, and I felt happy to go along.

Nicole later dmd me and told me she felt very nervous about Nemo and that if anyone would flip on us, it would be him. I knew Nemo has a lot of connections, but I reassured her that we should lay low and let the vote fall as it may, which calmed her a bit and let us vibe for the night.

I then talked to Gevonte, and things began to get suspicious. From what I heard originally, Hickman framed it as Gevonte wanted to target me Nemo and Conch, but it seemed that it really ended up being a mutual agreement between them that us 3 were the most vulnerable and targetable. I became VERY worried that Hickman didn't actually have my best interest, and Nemo felt the same way.

Sides began to form, with Hickman and Okie ready to vote out Gevonte, and Gev/Martynas/Nathaniel ready to vote out Hickman (though they originally were thinking Conch IIRC). The plan was leaked to Conch to try to get a majority, but it just pushed Conch more towards Gevonte's group. Nicole was grouped into Hickman's side, but her being asleep til 30 minutes before the vote made her more of a swing in my mind.

I started to get worried, with a swap looming I began to fear that I would be making the same mistakes as Mount Vesuvius. Keeping Hickman would keep the people I got along with the most together, but I would be burning half the tribe by voting out Gevonte. I knew that I couldn't do it again, and that I wouldn't screw myself out of gaining everyone's trust for a second time.

I dmd Nemo and decided that an alliance of the 4 swing votes so we could actually hash this out would be for the best, Me Nemo Matty and Conch. The 4 of us spoke and while tying the vote seemed like a good idea at first so it would give us more time, it would cause too much paranoia, and even if we voted out Hickman I would still be straining my trust with Gev's side. So I quickly came to the conclusion that even though I got along great with Hickman, killing him would leave the least amount of blood on my hands moving forward and would keep me open to the possibility of more allies in the future, which is the opposite of what I did in MV.

Nemo and I spoke and even though Okie knew that Hickman set up all of this drama on purpose, Okie still wanted to keep Hickman. We deciding together than leaving him out on purpose would be for the best, and that he would likely understand after the vote. Nicole hopped on right before the vote, and I filled her in on the plan bc I didn't want her to be left out. Nicole is my closest ally, and I needed her to stick with me moving forward. She seemed overwhelmed, but agreed that killing Hickman was the best idea.

In the end, Hickman was blindsided. And initially I felt bad, but I feel SO satisfied with my decision. Taking him out pleased most of the tribe, and left me with allies rather than enemies moving into the swap.

Making a decision like this proves to myself that I have grown since Mount Vesuvius. I let my brain drive my decision rather than my heart. I did what was best for ME, not for anyone else. I feel that my handling of this tribal proves that I can fix my mistakes from the past, and I am so proud of myself.

"monoceros"

- I was hoping personally for a little more time away from voting out my fellow teammates, but this double Tribal clearly doesn't care about MY needs. In general though, this round was mostly straightforward--everyone was feeling the least connected to AT, and Loren was wanting him out at the previous vote for supposedly throwing his name out. So in terms of organizing a plan, it was practically immediate. However, shortly before the vote reveal AT decides put on the chaos crown and call out almost the entire tribe. I feel like the contents of AT's words were about.. 50% correct. Is there an alliance consisting of the Lithuania reps? Unquestionably. But is Loren running the game? Eh... it's a hard sell given he could have easily been the first person out if not for Emma's lack of socializing. And then you have his remarks about Caeb, Natalie, and I being at the bottom of Monoceros, and I'm having a hard time determining if he said this to insult us or to look out for us. Either way, I'd like to believe I'm fairly well-connected on this tribe that I have longevity with or without Caeb and Natalie on my side.