Episode 2: Perfect Game Tarnished

Metlan

Anyway time to give fleshed out thoughts on my fellow tribemates and how much I want to work with them/see them placing:

Hoopa: So Hoopa is my number one in this game, not only do I have the most PMs with them, but they are the easiest to talk to in long blocks of text by far. We have similar movie tastes, I have them watching Mob Psycho 100. However, they are most likely very VERY much the reason that Deox was taken off the hook and Jirachi was. It's good to have a strong social ally (I've done well before with them) but similarly this raises the question of how far I can actually go with them. After all...I refuse to walk to FTC and know it will just be a coronation for one of my opponents. However, if we are able to balance the moves that we make or at least make me a little more visible as a player, I might just go to the end with them (though I think taking 2 weaker ones is a better plan than a relly strong player, I would still feel worse with the former).

Cobalion: So Coba is very much in my "flex" position. They clearly have a grasp on the game and are not like...just stupid or anything. I have a general liking with them but there's isn't say a moment that I can point to and say "that's why I love them". Still they clearly do care about me and were not going to vote me off. I might cut them at merge or if they get problematic, but I see them making it near merge if not at merge. I do think they could easily become very close with me during a swap.

Celebi: Celebi has been doing this thing that I don't like. They've been making me like them. Like the other day they were probably the lowest of the "clearly experienced" players for me. But through a series of me sending them cute cats, and us TALKING IN ALL CAPS ABOUT HOW MUCH WE LIKE TEAM MYSTIC AND HOW WE ARE MYSTIC STRONG, I'm beginning to like them more and more. They also seem to be so eager and affectionate. Now they very clearly know how to good at PMing and the like, but they like Hoopa a good amount and tipped me off about the "wagon" against me second. In a swap they could definitely become a number 1, but I definitely feel at some point I'll have to take them out.

PoiPile: LOVES Reply All and is just in general cool and into cool stuff. They were less around today but I'm still very commited to them and while they seem to know what to do game wise, they feel very....I dunno, beatable long term. Like they don't give me the "OMG KILL THIS" vibe that I get from Cel, Hoopa and Coba. Granted this may change but overall they are good, though they did not tip me off to the wagon so...eh.

Articuno: Artie is okay, they clearly are not from exactly the same world as me (they are not a weeb) but Hoopa and I are working on making them watch One Punch Man and if that works out then we will be fast friends. For now we are definitely gucci, but I need to improve my press with them. I also may need them dead at some point though ,simply because I need to remove challenge threats before there are too many.

Deoxys: Deox wants to connect more with me, and that's been difficult. I think we just need to find the right topic because they are very glad that I told them that they were being targetted and why, and apparently they want to get to know me better. They definitely seem to be someone I want to have around for now.

Meltan: UGH! I wanted to like Meltan so much. I tried to gimmick their gimmick back to them. Hell they confided in me that they were nervous they'd be second boot if Jirachi went (which was simply not true, Artie vs Them or Them vs Deox would likely result in them living anyway and they put in a lot of work into the challenge). But their paranoia and a vote for me do not mix well and while I am committed to trying to fix that relationship....it may be tough.


But yeah I still see a world of possibilities but my "Fab Five" right now would be Me/Hoopa/Celebi/PoiPile and one of Coba/Artie/Deox. This could easily change however as I've yet to be part of any official group (Much to my chagrin) and I may be closer to the bottom than I am comfortable with.

To be honest...I think I'm in about the same boat. I'd say I'm probably about in the middle on popularity and in challenges so far on this tribe, and Jira was someone I might have tried to work with if we survived, but was cut in order to be extra safe.

Though I am trying to patch things up with Meltan and actually connect with them as a person instead of that gimmick because well...I want to pull some stuff off and they need friends.

....Sigh...this is bad. This is very bad. I HAD IT! WE WERE SO CLOSE! Hell...they somehow missed the assassin with HERDING. UGH COME ON! Maybe I could just Matsing this and navigate a field of n00bs in the future. Anyway...I just need to get to the swap. I'm pretty sure I'm 6 - 0 on challenges with my first swap tribe.

I'm terrified of being seen as expendable though...ugh.

I am kept awake tonight (after being woken up to be fair) but an unsettling reality about this game. For in my heart I know something very true and it hurts. The interests of me personally and the interests of the tribe are in conflict, but not in the way that I think I will be going.

For I know what the right boot for the tribe is in this situation, it is someone who has not performed well in challenges and who will be a threat to let make the swap. Someone who could make the game go poorly and beat us in the end if not contained. And while I can try and lie to the others as to who fits that role best, I refuse to lie to myself. It's Hoopa.

In the first challenge, Hoopa barely got 70% of their assigned answers, it was in fact on of their un answered questions, 39, that we all missed. It was because they couldn't get 48 that Coba tried and failed to get it. Meanwhile in this challenge I think that when it comes to our loss...the blame lies a lot more with them than with me. Sure...I could maybe have gotten Slide with Back...but a better clue to get Slip and Back, would probably be Fall, Slip & Fall, Fall Back. Perhaps this may cause me to guess Maple...but that would be a neutral, not an opposing word. Also Hat...was supposed to mix with Box...that's not a great hint. Like...I get risks must be taken but there was little chance of me not going for cat. If they said Hat for 1, we would have been fine. And in the end...Red was too risky a play. What they should have done and trusted I'd get Apple or pray I did, and give a Hint like Front 1, then I'd know that the last word was back, and guess for the very last word given the hint. Like in my mind...those plays cost us the victory and I hate to admit it.

But here's the thing, there's no chance that I vote for Hoopa, they're my friend, my Final 2, I don't just go back on shit like that. They're also the only person on this tribe I trust fully to have me no matter what, so I don't think I last long. Even if the tribe turns on them, I will stick with them, even if it's only as a protest vote, I won't let them go out unanimously, that would be the task of a coward.

But then...what do I do. No matter what I betray. I want to kill Coba, but now is not the time, I know we do not click but they seem to be perfectly killable later on and not a serious threat to me at the moment. I just made up with Meltan, in a long post and promised to work with them if they listen to me, and it's a great opportunity...but is that enough. Deox is too good at challenges even though it'd hurt me the least to see them go, I'm better off saving them as a swap boot or a merge shield, they can't hold out forever, can they? So, who do I betray, well...if you look at my post counts..there is an answer. Articuno, which is a compromise between all the painful things. I geuinely like Articuno, they tried hard but in the end...there's a case for them to go.

One they were the clue giver a hard job, but the more important one, I didn't quite follow their strategy in their game but like...I'm not sure that's enough. Given the boards were flipped and we won the first game, a loss in the second was expected. In the first challenge, it was their lack of perception that led to us submitting early instead of double checking, after all correctness was more important. These are..small imperfections but they matter a bit, these challenges are coming down to the details, not in large gaps. And like...I can let them go, I will have to let them go, everyone else has big promises of what I can do with them or a lot of discussion that I enjoy, and Arti doesn't do that as much. And I will likely talk to them about this, not because it is smart, but because I can not find it in my heart to blindside them. I can say it's to get information and make the best call, but I already know that I've decided to vote out Arti in my heart, so it is just to make me feel a little bit better about it.

Hopefully typing this can bring my mind peace but I don't think it will, but at least you know the conflict in my mind. Whether I kill Arti, get killed myself or something else, this will be unpleasant, but survivor is a game of much unpleasantness. The very things that improve your chances of winning a jury, are also the very thing that make decisions hard for you.

So the push towards Artie seems to be taking which is...fine I guess. If this ends up with artie dead in a 7-1 it will be the most boring tribal to ever have tribaled

Me today: v.redd.it/q5liltdg3af21

Now I get to see if ANYONE WILL TELL ME ANYTHING ABOUT IT

I legit have no idea whether I'm sort of dead, very dead or not that dead.