Welcome to the swap! And to the weekend, having a good 2 day break. Try not to take too much time off though, talk to your new tribemates as much as you can. Also, be sure to check out the board tomorrow for further news about the individual immunity challenge that is non-live!
Tell us of your first impressions of the new tribe. Who do you hate, who do you like, who do you wish swapped with you, who do you wish didn't swap with you, etc. Give us the lowdown. Do you like this tribe better than the one you were just on, or not? How do you see your position on this new tribe?
This past week, there was a game merge followed by a swap after just two rounds, meeting people you've only just met. With the weekend coming around, do you think things will stabilize in time for Sunday?
To be blunt, what's your new short term and long term strategy?
How did your old tribe do during last challenge? Was there anything you would have done differently?
Jeff revealed that on Sunday, you will start to receive new idol clues for your new tribes. Are you going to jump on that opportunity to search for the idol right away, or not? Would you work on it solo, or do you plan to work on it with anyone else? Are you worried of other idols in play currently?
How do you feel about Sunday being the final double Tribal Council of the season? Is there anyone on your tribe that you'd be okay with voting out?
1. Tell us of your first impressions of the new tribe. Who do you hate, who do you like, who do you wish swapped with you, who do you wish didn't swap with you, etc. Give us the lowdown. Do you like this tribe better than the one you were just on, or not? How do you see your position on this new tribe?
Omg so many good questions here how can this just be question 1?!?
First Impression of my new tribe = Fuck! Who are all these people?!?
I'm like looking over at the other tribe wondering how I got here. Like, I know just about everyone on Mausolus 3. Everyone but Jay and Bradley and I am on good terms with Brad, Domenick, Genie, Rachel, Ricard, Will, and maybe Lindsey? I'm not even on bad terms with Jacob but, like, probably the baddest terms of all the people I know on that tribe. I would have been *great* on this tribe. Perfect. Golden.
But instead I am over here on Zakros where we wear the color of :poo:
And look, my tribe isn't complete :poo: but I will definitely be playing more of the getting-to-know-you game here than I would be over there. And that's just great. I am sure, if I survive this tribe, that it will benefit me to have met all of these people. Like I said, Jay and Bradley are now officially the only two players I have not met yet which is lovely. All of the others have been voted out already. I may finally be able to make that second vision board! :target:
Okay so here's my first impressions:
Shirin = MY GIRL - happy to have at least one person I truly trust on this tribe. This is a start. (1/10 votes)
Carolyn = *sigh* - I know things aren't going super fabulous for me in this game when Carolyn is my second most trusted ally on my tribe. Don't get me wrong I LOVE CAROLYN. I really do. When she shows up she is awesome and lovely and funny, and high as fuck which is even funnier. And I like Carolyn. I really do. She told me I was her #1 again tonight and I told her the same thing of course, even though she is not my #1. But apparently my #2? Yikes you guys.
Hali - yeesh, ok well at least I have a a generally positive connection with Hali. We are OG Mausos and were bonding-ish before I switched to Gyaros. I have no deals or promises with Hali, just a decent track-record...
Wendell - Yiiiikes y'all this is worrisome. Wendell should not be this high on any list of mine because bless his heart, I do not know him! I have had two conversations with him that were fairly surface level. That said, we may have a "Gyaros bond" that I can work with on this tribe. We had no beef on the past tribe and some familiarity on this tribe. What I don't know is how familiar he already is with half of these people...
Taylor - Killed it with his first impression and now I have the Taylor from the show in my mind as who this human is. I can't wait to get to know Taylor more and I suspect he will climb in my trust rankings...
Erika - At first I was quite sus about Erika, and I think I still am, but, as luck would have it, SHE LIVES IN CHICAGO. <--- This where I am *really* from even though I live in California now. I'm not sure why the Chicago bond didn't connect us more significantly honestly. And it didn't. Is she even *FROM* Chicago?? Making a connection with Erika hasn't been easy, but we have had a really long conversation tonight that feels like it is building some trust so who knows. She is one of the few remaining OG Kameiros left in the game, but if what we are *actually* playing is a Rhodes vs Crete game, then she is suddenly a potential ally. Idk if she realizes this yet or if she cares honestly, OR if she'd really like to stick it to the rest of us OG Mausos (me, Shirin, Hali, Carolyn) and vote with the other Cretons. Erika is currently a wildcard.
Bret - I'm not sure what to make of Bret yet. He was almost oddly outgoing, like I think he was offering an alliance or agreement of some kind in like our first couple messages to each other. Asking if I was looking for a friend. Of course I'm looking for a friend. But shouldn't I be suspicious of someone who offers me something like that so quickly? Like I don't even know where you're from, dude. But cool, let's continue getting to know each other.
Stephanie - My first impression of Stephanie was not a bad one...although we ended our conversation with her story of how she called out a family member for cheating lingering in the potential future... I can't help but be curious about the juicy bits--I mean I don't know these people. Everyone is fiction until I hear their voice some day (maybe). I will say that Stephanie's name is a standout as one to watch out for. Jacob, i believe is not a Stephanie fan. But I'm not a huge Jacob fan, so I am not letting his comments influence me too much. I will get to know Stephanie on my own and determine for myself how terrible she is. So far, not terrible. BUT we'll see...
Jessica - I simply haven't met her yet so she could easily go up from here.
2. This past week, there was a game merge followed by a swap after just two rounds, meeting people you've only just met. With the weekend coming around, do you think things will stabilize in time for Sunday?
I think the pressure of Sunday looming and definitely happening is going to turn up the heat on this tribe. And for me. It's hard to believe but Sunday will be my THIRD Tribal council in this game how is that possible? I am truly blessed. I have not voted in over a week and a half--since round 2. THE VISION BOARD IS WORKING!
And in that way things are very stable. Almost too stable. Like I would potentially vote someone out for not attending enough Stranded councils by now. So I can understand why people might hate me. But for the record. CAROLYN HAS THE EXACT SAME RECORD AS ME. Both of us have been on the same tribe for the entire game. HOW WAS IT NOT PLANNED for Tyler to have his Mama C. Always??? It's almost too coincidental.
And you know what? That is a good reason to not get too fucking cocky either because for as far as I have gotten already, it's exactly as far as Carolyn as well, and that is just a humbling thought atm. Again, not hating on Carolyn at all, just acknowledging we have both gotten exactly as far in this game despite drastically different efforts potentially. So what have I done that Carolyn hasn't?
Oh yeah and I forgot to mention that I accidentally messaged Carolyn tonight thinking it was Shirin. Yes, thinking it was Shirin, I sent all my quick thoughts on our previous tribemates to Carolyn, as well as reiterating that Carolyn was the next to go and she made it difficult for me to protect her. AWKWARD! I quickly messaged and said, woops, that was for Shirin, and I might be lucky enough with the relationship I have with Carolyn for this to not be a big deal at all. Because Carolyn and I were allied with Shirin as well at one point (Yay Oddballs!). It shouldn't be weird necessarily for me to be sharing these thoughts with Shirin and I wasn't actually saying anything about Carolyn that I hadn't already said to Carolyn's face (more or less) so I'm really hoping this just blows over like nothing. Pretty embarrassing tho, ngl.
As for Sunday's stability--there is still the question of the individual immunity. Wouldn't mind having that sucker.
3. To be blunt, what's your new short term and long term strategy?
Well, to be blunt, the same as it's always been. Get to know these new people as best I can, try to figure out who I can trust. Try to work my way into a majority, and ride it out until we swap again. The question is, how soon will we swap again? Will it match the format of the first time we..uh...played the game? Double elim first round and then no swap to final 14? Or is that what you *want* us to think???
Long term strategy = Vision board. A new one is coming. Filled with much wow.
4. How did your old tribe do during last challenge? Was there anything you would have done differently?
My old tribe did freakin amazing man! Didn't you see?? Me, Carolyn, Wendell and Genie counted to 100 like crazy and it was the single most terrifying 20ish minutes of my life. Which is how you KNOW I have never been skydiving.
But I was determined man! I was determined to prove to my tribe that I was valuable, and I was really hoping that Carolyn would show up and prove herself to be valuable as well. Which she did!
As for strategy, Jacob was doing something in the tribe chat. I don't know what it was because I had my own method. I had two browser windows open with the challenge thread--one cued up to post the number, the other for refreshing the thread until I saw Carolyn had posted her number. Once I saw Carolyn I was good to post, and sometimes I was the very next poster after her which was great cuz I think it helped us jump ahead. There were times when I almost thought the other 3 were deliberately slowing us down, but ultimately, we kept a solid pace and we got in our groove and it ended up being a highlight of the game for me at this point. Terrifying. Risky. Rewarding. I *hope* it left a good impression with the Gyaros people and honestly now that we are where we are, I'm glad I did take the risk to meet some of them in advance, and basically avoid two more tribal councils too. That was easy! haha
5. Jeff revealed that on Sunday, you will start to receive new idol clues for your new tribes. Are you going to jump on that opportunity to search for the idol right away, or not? Would you work on it solo, or do you plan to work on it with anyone else? Are you worried of other idols in play currently?
All good and fair questions. Sure, I think I will look for the idol on Sunday and maybe you have made a good suggestion in teaming up with someone else to do it. Probably Shirin. It would be *so* awesome to have the idol in this game... I just got goosebumps. I need to make sure I add this idol to my vision board.
Because yeah, if the idol was in *my* possession, and nobody else knew about it, holy wow that would just be so helpful right now. At *least* for right now, but obviously for later too. I am really hoping to avoid being anyone's target on Zakros but I am probably feeling even less secure here than I did on Gyaros so this should be interesting...
Crap, there probably ARE other idols in play. You know what's weird? My intuition just told me that Genie might have an idol already. There is a certain confidence to Genie's gameplay that lines up with her having an idol. That would be amazing if true. But obviously not until I am back on a tribe with Genie, an unfortunate result of the swap. Yeah I mean, I should always be worried about idols I think. I just don't have any power or flexibility on this tribe to think about it or plan for it. Anther good reason to try to find it though...
6. How do you feel about Sunday being the final double Tribal Council of the season? Is there anyone on your tribe that you'd be okay with voting out?
Well, I mentioned already this is only my third time at council so I am stressed in a way that I haven't been in awhile. And I am vulnerable on this new tribe in a way that I have not been in awhile--hell at all in this game so far, so until I can chat up these people more and try to get a foothold, your guess is as good as mine as to who is going home on Sunday. I really don't want it to be me. I think I would just be heartbroken. Honestlly, I think I am going to be heartbroken whenever I leave this game so go ahead and get the crybaby award warmed up for me.
I am ok with voting out anyone on this tribe that isn't me. I would prefer NOT to vote for an OG Mauso though. I need Shirin and Carolyn and Hali period.
Honestly, now I am getting a sinking feeling that I could easily become the target here. I'm not sure if I am perceived as a threat or anything but if the Rhodes people snagged Erika to vote for me it would be over you know? I know Worlds Apart people are somewhat in the spotlight already and Erika has no loyalty to us as a "Rhodes" bunch. Erika might be a critical friend for me to have to survive this swap. One of many but sooo potentially dangerous at the moment. I am liking Erika somewhat so far and I am optimistic about our relationship growing from here but If the vote swung her direction I would not try to stop it. I mean I might to prevent a Crete-dominated experience after her departure, just like my concerns with letting Carolyn go last round. I wasn't comfortable getting aggressive last round and it feels too early to get aggressive now as well HOWEVER, if by some stroke of luck we are able to eliminate a Creton on Sunday, things could be looking much brighter for Tyler moving forward...
But WHICH Creton?
Taylor -- off the table currently because I think we are about to bond tomorrow.
Bret -- probably not but maybe. He seemed open to considering new allegiances.
Wendell -- gosh, I'm hoping I can form a tighter bond with Wendell at the moment.
Stephanie -- I know Jacob would vote for her if he was here, BUT HE'S NOT.
Jessica - haven't met her yet, unfortunately. I hope I *really* like her though.
I guess examining these five, based on first impressions I would hope that we could target Stephanie on Sunday, but I am still trying to gauge the possibility of that...
