by Katie » Mon Jun 30, 2014 1:29:40 pm
Holy crap - OK. I fell asleep after going for a walk to get some fresh air once I finished off my blog for AusStranded. The plan was to do this while I watched the Money in the Bank PPV but I didn't even make it through the first match before nodding off and then snapping awake literally a few minutes ago to realise it is quarter to 4 in the gosh darned morning and I have left the stunning Ashley sitting there waiting for an answer to her questions and I simply MUST get this done before the morning as there will probably not be time between then and tribal starting.
So - I can definitely elaborate on my path to the the merge from here - it's not the most exciting run if things go according to plan but currently Rachel has been hard at work locking up a majority alliance of 6. That six is made up of the following individuals:
RACHEL
MARISSA
SHAWN
HAYDEN
VYTAS
KATIE
Leaving the following four on the fringes for now:
LAURA
JOHN
CULPEPPER
CIERA
Now, there is no reason not to just put my head down and keep tight with the plan under the presumption that we go to the merge with no swaps, shuffles or whatnots. However, there is also absolutely no reason to suddenly freeze out the other four and stop communicating with them or making them feel safe - in particular John and Laura, but especially John, who I've grown fond of due to his bashful naivety. So, this morning I plan on just dropping both Laura and John a note to see where there head is at and whether they would be happy to put Ciera's name down at Tribal. This is just your typical first boot due to lack of commitment rather than anything personal or even remotely strategic. I just get the impression that Ciera isn't that enthusiastic about being here and I hate whoever got assigned her rep for making me boot her first because that's just legitimately shit dude or dudette. Ciera is a rep you have to try really hard to tank so gj you.
So, if all things go according to plan I guess it is Ciera tonight. That would put Culpepper in the firing line next before things get tricky at 8. If, at 8, Bracari are forced to visit TC again with our current personnel, I would need to make a decision then about whether Laura and John are better to take to the merge than Marissa and Rachel. Rachel would probably be a much bigger merge target as would Marissa, which would allow me to kind of sit behind them until they are turfed but, depending on the numbers, it might be smarter to take two players who are more likely to be loyal and provide numbers in case some of Limici continue being fractured right up till the merge and want to flip and work with us. We won't have much to offer whoever wants to flip if some of our numbers just negate the move by counter-flipping so having Cochran and Coby continue to tell me what is going on over on the favorites tribe is incredibly important. From the intel I am getting from Coby there is already a split pretty much down the middle of their tribe, which does NOT surprise me in a tribe of open ID returnees so it could be a precarious path to the merge for Coby and Cochran unless they play their cards very well.
In any case, I feel pretty good about my spot at the moment as, along with the alliance of 6, I feel very close to both Vytas and Hayden. Vytas and I established a good friendship pretty much within minutes of me arriving at Bracari and he has, so far, made this experience so much more enjoyable as he has been entertaining as well as willing to talk game without getting too deep or paranoid about anything. I appreciate his attitude as he is not afraid to put himself out there a bit more than most and, granted, if I plan to stick with him as far as you can possibly go in this game I am going to have to make sure I do things in this game that differentiate myself from him, make my own moves and not become his sidekick in the eyes of the others, I see definite long-term potential in Vytas as an ally the way things are going now.
It look like Hayden is starting to open up more and more as well to me which is promising. He came to me today for the first time with game talk and I let him know that we would never be on my radar as I need him to get to the merge as he is partnered with Coby so hopefully he keeps that between us and doesn't sell out his sweet little blonde friend who trusted him with a secret *bats eyelashes*.
Rachel and I get along well socially too despite only having had limited interactions. She's done all the work so I don't have to but she hasn't done enough work socially for this alliance of six to be anything more than an alliance of convenience. Even now, still, I'm certainly not hearing from her despite this being her alliance, should she not be checking in with me now and reassuring me and asking for my input on the vote and making sure I feel comfortable and safe? She's taking the lazy route on this whole alliance and she's still going to reap the benefits but only because she was smart enough to make sure Vytas and I were included in all honesty.
I haven't done one of these yet so I will rank the Bracari tribe in terms of who i like/trust most to least:
1. Vytas
2. Hayden
3. John Cody
4. Shawn
5. Laura
6- Rachel
7. Marissa
8. Culpepper
9. Ciera
