Episode 10 - THE MERGE

[Stephen]

WOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOO!

Gosh, I sound like Erin from my roast.

[Stephen]

Because I am literally desperate for a break from this night of hell... I am going to write a confessional! Yay! Yeah... I am writing a term paper AND I have hours of studying still for this LAST final of the semester. So, FML. Moving along...

MERGE MERGE MERGE MERGE MERGE! I've said it since I began playing these games... but I have always been a better player at the individual game. The tribal game is fun, but after a few rounds, I'm always ready for this right here. I think it's something about the dwindling numbers on tribes that freaks me out. You're always doing the math in your head. And plus, if your tribe loses, it's rare you ever have an opportunity to ensure your safety. In the individual game, you have your fate in your hands. Just win the immunity challenge, and you're all set for another round! Lose, and no matter how safe you feel, you might be going home.

And don't think I forgot about that little immunity idol fucker that is hiding out there... Haha. Someone out of us 11 may even have possession of it. I am walking on eggshells because I don't want anyone to have a reason to idol my ass out of the game. Especially since I don't know when jury will start, and missing out on that AT LEAST after making it this far would be quite heartbreaking. I think it will be very important to vote strategically until we know all the possible suspects for having it are eliminated.

For example, we may need to figure out a way to split up votes without risking the chance of the villains outnumbering us. Even though it appears Juice, Hooker, and Jeffrey (3/4 villains remaining) are completely planning on sticking with certain heroes, they could be plotting something. They are villains, after all! Let's not forget about that. Right now, the good news is, there are 7 heroes left. Ashley is still a wildcard because as far I know, she hasn't really been talking to anyone, but Bud claimed she was on the "villain's" side. Is there still a villain side? We don't know... but I don't trust her at all, and quite frankly, I want her out before Jeffrey. At least because of Erik, I feel like Jeffrey would be more loyal than Juice, Hooker, or ESPECIALLY RB. It's tricky now because this is the part of the game where something always seems to go wrong. It takes ONE PERSON to let the greed and selfishness overcome them for everything to fall apart. The heroes have all the power in the world right now. With a solid 6 (or 7 if Ashley is onboard), nothing can stop us except ourselves.

For me, as long as the villains are taken out first as planned, I feel very confident about my chances of making it very far. I have managed to play a very quiet first half of the game. I was an asset and a fun companion for my teammates, but strategically, I don't think anyone is that scared of me at the moment. Tucker seems to think I'm his little puppy dog doing whatever he says. Jordan and I have gotten along great since the start, and I also think he trusts me fully, seeing that he told me about receiving the idol, and not Tucker. Tom and Morgan, of course, I still trust all the way, along with Erin. (Btw soooo excited to finally be re-united with all of them! Original Day 1 alliance all making it to this point FTW!) On the villains side, RB thinks I am entertaining the idea of working with him, somehow. Juice and Hooker think we all have something from the past tribe going on. And Jeffrey is just a big bitch, but I fuckin love him to death for some reason. So, in Stephen-land, the sun is shining and it's a nice warm 75 degrees out. Sounds pretty nice!

For this round, my goal is to take out RB. He's been telling Erin about how I want to work with him (which I don't understand because I NEVER committed to him, and of all people, why would you lie to ERIN about me and expect us not to talk?) ... If he's saying that to Erin, I'm worried he may be going around campaigning for allies and throwing my name into the mix as well. I plan on telling Tucker that RB has been talking mad crap about him to really make sure Tucker is fired up about taking him down. If RB somehow has the idol and plays it, I will shit my pants, then probably pray he doesn't write my name down. I'm hoping that really, all 10 of us will be against him. That way, we could be sneaky and have 2 heroes vote against another villain just in case RB plays an idol and throws his vote at one of us. That would protect us and make sure it's one of their asses out. However, I plan on making this happen without anyone knowing me/Erin are the ones pushing for it. That's why I have Tucker here (and Erik was good for this role too). They had/have so much attention and spotlight on them, it's almost unfair how easy it's been for the rest of us to glide under the radar. If I can continue doing what I'm doing, and making sure no one has any reason to write my name down in the near future, I can win this whole thing. Let's go!

[Stephen]

Oh, and I really want to talk to Morgan soon.

I miss her!

[Stephen]

"Snuff Stephen" ... THAT'S WHAT SHE SAID.

I totally missed this challenge thanks to work at the OG, but I did make 65$ on a slow Monday night with a 2-table section in CHIANTI! So HA! It was worth it.

I don't feel the desperate need for immunity, and I'm actually okay that I wasn't around to attack people and risk pissing them off. I'm usually pretty good at that in challenges like this.

[Stephen]

Alright, so a quick recap of what happened today. I wasn't around as much as I'd have liked for the discussion because of work... but I HOPE everything will be okay. It sounds like there was some talk about splittling the votes between RB and Hooker just in case someone were to play the idol. (Most likely someone = RB).

I personally am more worried because there is always that small chance the 4 remaining villains came together and tried to fool us into splitting our votes. That way, they could force a tie or pick one of us off by surprise. My thought is... we need at least 5 hero votes towards RB. That way, regardless of how others vote, RB leaves. It's that simple. But, there's still the risk of RB playing the idol, and the other villains outnumbered the rest of the votes. Either way, something could go wrong. I'm just hoping things happen according to plan at this point. With no one online to talk with, I really just have to cross my fingers and hope for the best. I'll be travelling all day tomorrow, so won't have any chance to get last minute news. I did cast my vote for RB.