Susie Smith" wrote: ↑Tue Mar 22, 2022 10:53:09 pm
Congratulations on making the... merge!!! In celebration of this being Poody's 40th season hosting Stranded, we are so thrilled that you are all participating in the party with us!
What better way to celebrate than by getting to watch all 40 of you (yes, lurkers are watching!) play and now move on to this completely new part of the game.
At your soonest opportunity, please answer these questions, or do a video or a voice recording to share your thoughts!
1- You clicked on the link. What was your first thought?
2- Are you excited about the rest of the game, or is it daunting knowing that there are another 12 people you need to beat?
3- What do you think about your new tribe? Are you in a good position? Anyone you're excited to be with? Not be with?
Enjoy the ride!
1- You clicked on the link. What was your first thought?
My first thought was, where am I going to? What am I about to walk into? Am I getting some kind of advantage opportunity? Like a risk your vote kind of thing? I didn't wait too long to click, though where I landed had me confused to say the least. All I saw were a million faces. WHO ARE ALL THESE PEOPLE?!?
My first instinct was to write down what I was looking at so I quickly jotted down all the names and faces and what tribes they were on. I thought maybe this might be a *preview* of things to come and I would be going back to my merged Rhodes tribe with a stunning vision of a future I did not yet understand.
It was about this time that Genie started messaging me and I forget what exactly we said to each other but I believe it was something along the lines of "holy shit omg wtf is happening who are these people holy shit omg this is insane like wtf is happening"
It took me probably the longest to actually notice the treemail thread so I suppose all my questions would have been answered there if I had seen it but by the time I did like *everyone* in the game was starting to comment and it took me actually *reading* the treemail to realize that *I* was one of the people transferring to this nebulous new mixy-matchy tribe now called Gyaros.
Oh.
k.
cool cool cool.
...
!!!
2- Are you excited about the rest of the game, or is it daunting knowing that there are another 12 people you need to beat?
Yeah I'm super jazzed man! Honestly, the fact that there are 40 of us has me jazzed in a long story kind of way...
Soo in my application I mentioned that I am an old school ORGer who used to play and host online Survivor and Big Brother games (etc.) all the time back in the day. I got hooked stumbling onto a Survivor game in a Google search, just like I discovered Stranded like, wow, 20 years ago, and for almost a decade I swear I obsessed over the community we had at the message board my best friend Amanda ran and operated. Amanda and I actually hosted most if not all of our games together and we were a cute little duo. I basically came up with the ideas and challenges and game plan and did the graphic parts and she would help me manage the technical aspects of the board and set up the different admin groups and teach me how to post fucking images when I knew zero html. I am old enough now to look back on that time with nostalgia and I think that is why I signed up for Stranded because a part of me was just feeling bored at 41 and working from home and living at home and I just kinda need something to obsess over again. At some point in my late 20s I eventually sort of gave up ORGing and I drifted away from Amanda's board and eventually she closed it and she and I drifted apart as well. I can't even remember why exactly. Perhaps playing so much and losing so much, often to people much younger than myself, eventually lost its appeal. This is actually why hosting is so appealing. Especially if you've got some kind of fun, funky twist you are cooking up in your brain, like a secret 40-person game... If I've said it once, I'll say it again, Poody I don't know HOW you found 40 active players to make this game a reality but you and your team have something really special here. I think you know that.
The point in mentioning all of this is that I wanted to establish that I have an actual past in online Survivor. This is not my first rodeo and I often downplay my ability to do just about anything on the board--not that I am not legitimately nervous to fuck up a whisper--That's new. But I think it is easy for people to give me an out if I need or want it when it comes to technology and I am going to keep preaching this message like every old person should! Like why not? Nobody expects Mr. Old Face to be good at technology or be quick at posting. Not that I am some kind of superstar either don't get me wrong. So far the board has actually been easier to use than it used to be so yay for that.
I have completely lost track of how many online survivor games I have played OR hosted. It's been a lot, of both. The most important fact to highlight though is that in that decade of playing countless Survivor games, I literally never won any of them--except one. And I am proud of this game because it, too, began with 40 people. The format was a little different. We were aware of the 40 from the start and began on 4 tribes of 10 with 2 tribes attending council each round until we got to a similar point in the game that we are at now--merging with like 20 people left. It was honestly probably the best game I ever played, and yes, I am biased. But the sheer *challenge*, the sheer *impossibility* of it made me sooo fucking dedicated. I literally treated everyone like I was their best friend and somehow, 1 by 1 I managed to outlast them all. And the jury was like 15 people or something? All wanting answers. And I gave each an every one of them the time and dedication that I give to these Stranded confessionals. All of them. I don't know why the only game I have ever won is also probably the hardest game I ever played, but it is a feather in my hair that I think Coach would be jealous of.
So yeah to basically take the long way to get to your question yeah I'm excited AF. It is daunting AF but it means twice the bragging rights if you succeed and I am here to be a dedicated player. Even if I may be a boring player :P
I have already been doing my best to play a similar game to what I played in that glory game of yesteryear. All I can try to do is keep up that same level of dedication, and stick to what I think has so far been a winning strategy--get to know everyone, figure out who you can trust, and play each stage of the game in anticipation of the next.
3- What do you think about your new tribe? Are you in a good position? Anyone you're excited to be with? Not be with?
I'm not gonna lie, I think i would have been better off if I had not gone on this little adventure... I would have been great with Shirin and Will, and Ricard as well, and we probably could have strung along Lindsey and Hali while we were there and stayed Mausolus strong to pick off Erika, & JD & at some point, Rodney. How is Rodney still in this game?!?
But nooo I decided to go for an adventure and now I don't know where I stand, For now, some first impressions:
Genie - I mean, at this point Genie might be my ultimate ride or die in this game. We've gotten so close so quickly I don't know how I would choose between him and Shirin and Will if it ever came down to it (gosh could you imagine *that* final 4?). I just feel so glad that I have been investing so much in Genie because I trust Genie more than just about anybody at this point. If I couldn't be here with Shirin or Will, I am glad I am here with Genie. Jesus, what if Lindsey was here instead of Genie? Or Rodney? Or just about any OG Kameiros? I would be feeling a *lot* differently right now I think. For now though, I am feeling optimistic. And that is because I trust and believe that I can count on Genie as a vote with me. 2/8 votes is a start.
Carolyn - Well, I know what I have said about Carolyn in the past and it wasn't like any of it wasn't true, but it *is* kind of crazy how Carolyn manages to show up at just the right moments sometimes. I had no idea she was such a quick draw McGraw though. We were talking seconds before we both made the *winning* posts to land on Gyaros and I told her to be quick but I didn't even realize she was paying enough attention last night to see Lindsey make her immunity claim post right on the nose. Even I was ONE SECOND into the required time, as opposed to the 3 others who nailed it on the nose and those 3 were Genie, Carolyn and Brad. I expected Genie to nail it. I did not expect Carolyn or Brad and I honestly didn't expect me either. I decided to try for this opportunity on a whim and a general feeling of FOMO. But getting back to the point, Carolyn showed up tonight, nailed the post, and then ghosted once again into the background like usual. At least we were able to bond over a mutual interest in getting high! Hahaha. She seems like a special stoner. The thing is I think Carolyn *might* actually trust me more than anybody else in this game. I know she liked Nina and all I have heard from anyone is that Nina liked and trusted me and thus Carolyn and I trusted each other. Maybe I am wrong but she has always made me feel like she trusts and likes me when she is online. She is just online so rarely it is impossible for me to really think of her as somebody that I trust. Obviously on this tribe at this point that is a different story. Carolyn and I need each other more than ever on this tribe. Honestly I think she will do whatever I want to do and I think whatever I want to do will be what Genie wants to do, so the likelihood of the 3 of us working together on this tribe are *highly* likely. Hehehe. See what I did there? So let's assume 3/8 votes on this tribe I can count on...
Domenick - Sooo of everyone I met for the first time tonight, I definitely liked Dom the most, and I told him so too. He basically returned the favor but in a very non-commital way if I recall. It's ok though. He said he was open to working together and I feel like I will get Dom locked down in the near future... Assuming that is the case, 4/8 of the votes on this tribe is a promising start! Half the votes *is* relative safety.
Rachel - I have only barely met Rachel but she was just funny. The way she talks and describes herself makes me laugh and I told her I liked her energy tonight. That's the truth. It sounded like she was relatively disconnected from the people on this tribe but I am still trying to understand all the tribe history stories that each new person shared. It was kind of interesting how easy it was to be relatively forthright with people about what has happened in the game so far. I spilled everything to Rachel more or less and she was like - Oh cool! I don't know what any of this means but thanks! Look, I think that my opinion of Rachel could easily go up or down from here but for now, I like Rachel, and I can be a very good friend if you need one! ;)
Jacob - Ok so Jacob wasn't my favorite person I met tonight. But, conversation did take place and what started as short one word answers eventually turned into him trying to explain his former tribes to me. Like with Rachel, it was challenging to try to understand what happened with his former tribes, but he was admittedly forthright about it. I know he mentioned that a lot of how he felt about the game moving forward would depend on what happens at the next Crete vote. I am going to keep talking to Jacob like I am going to keep talking with everyone, so maybe this relationship will grow. Who knows?
Wendell - lives in Israel and that's about all I know about him at this point. I'm not sure If I am ever going to see this person online, but I am definitely not counting them out because they have gotten this far, and yeah, likely won a quickest poster challenge to get here, on this tribe. He said it was 4:00 am his time. That's some serious dedication, dude. He's either no threat at all or like a really big threat and I'm not sure which yet. Probably the latter...
Brad - does he really live in Australia? Tonight Brad was actually fairly nice and open. My impression of Brad prior to this massive game twist was that he was a total troll. Will whispered to me about not trusting him and even Genie said he was messy. But I tried to be as open and honest with Brad about whatever we were talking about tonight as I possibly could because if I have a choice between having Brad as a friend or an enemy, I'd prefer friend. I just don't think this is a person I am going to be able to trust long term. Maybe for a vote or two. But not long term. I am interested, in this moment, in getting rid of Brad as soon as possible.
Ok, it is super late. I hope I dream in Stranded tonight.
.
