Entry 5- Control

[Brett Clouser]

So, first, a rundown of the last tribal:

I thought everyone was up for voting Jimmy. I was up for voting Jimmy, 100%. He just simply doesn't DO very much. He's relatively inactive and useless and I wouldn't miss him at all.

Unfortunately, Fabio wasn't willing to blindside the guy, and when Jimmy asked who was gone he told him, and I can't blame him for that. Anyway, Jimmy was not happy just rolling over and dying. I don't blame him.

So, he scrambled to change things, and came to me, and I guess I was sympathetic enough that he wanted to side with me. I don't know why ELSE he would do what he was, but it's possible he was trying to set himself up to be in a powerful position or just ensure that all votes were off him, because he used the plans of Jenna and Heidi and Matty to vote STEPHANIE out instead of him and used it to leverage the votes of my and Stephanie and gears us to his side.

So, anyway... Steph and Jimmy wanted to go for Heidi, but I'd just learned we knew each other and out of the 2 that were pushing for Steph's elimination, I had found Heidi to be more social than Jenna. So... I pushed for Jenna to bite the dust. We got the votes.

But in all that scrambling to save Steph, I did a little work to save her in a different way: Get Heidi et. all to change their vote. A little talking, a little making the case for inactives going out for all our sakes come merge, and a little "hey we were in Egypt together! " and I sold her on a vote for Jimmy.

The reasons for pushing for the vote change from Heidi, even after it looked like we (me, Fabio, and Steph) were probably ok were many:

• Jimmy's playing 2 sides; if he got votes for Jenna and Heidi and then flipped to voting Steph at the last minute just to stir shit in his comfy position as swing vote, he would instead force a tie and be stuck chosing Jenna at re-vote.
  
  
• Testing Heidi and her word
  
  
• Reducing future drama and splits between the members of the Tribe due to people who actually matter voting out other people who actually matter.
  

So, more orchestrating than I ever like to do, but in the end, I saved Jimmy, Heidi and Steph's asses and took out someone I feel was the right person to go.


But now a lot of that seems to have put me in a worse position because it's our most favorite time of year! We dropped Buffs. New Aarde is pretty much the worst thing I could ask for. I know no one from Weerlig. I do not have the greatest amounts of communication with JT or Matty and feel like this is only an alliance in that we call it that. (GET ON AIM MORE, MATTY.) Heidi and I probably aren't too hot due to the events of last Tribal.

I don't trust anyone.

Whatever, I'll do what it takes to survive. I'll patch things with Heidi, bond a bit with JT and Matty, meet and greet my new bestest budds Austin and Darrah and Stephen, and I'll do what it takes to outlast them all and meet up with my friends at Weerlig, the people I really like.

[Brett Clouser]

Oh, and before I forget: I get the impression Steph and Fabio are a pre-game twosome, and I also get the impression they may not trust me all too well. I hope they do. We just haven't CALLED this an alliance yet, but I feel exceptionally protective of them both.

If me, them and Boston Rob could make this a foursome at merge I think we would be unbreakable.

[Brett Clouser]

Aarde's goin' to Tribal!

So, my first reaction was a self-preserving "If it isn't me I don't give two shits who goes" which goes to show how much I care about anyone on this Tribe.... but we lost because JT and Matty didn't do everything. Now, I just looked this second and apparently Matty did say he was going away and wouldn't be able to make the challenge either way... but still. He's done nothing and I bet he didn't even leave a bootlist... and if he DID, then it's not up to date for the new tribe most likely.

Anyway, I feel bad voting out Austin instead of Matty... so I don't think I will. I don't know, I can see a lot of reasons to kick Matty out the door and only maybe enough reasons to vote Austin to count on one finger.

Basically, if we vote for Austin over Matty, Matty will almost definitely self vote out... and when he realizes he was almost eliminated over an inactive he'll flip and we won't get him with us at any point. And if Matty self-votes and doesn't go out the door that's just as much of an issue.

And... let's look at it like this: Matty is almost guaranteed out the door. If Austin stays ONLY because of a Matty self vote, the next time we go to Tribal, shit goes down. It starts 3-3, Darrah, Austin, Stephen vs Me, JT, Heidi. Weerlig, if they are not retarded, kidnap Heidi or JT. Maybe me. The numbers become 3-2, our disadvantage, and they absolutely stick to Tribal Lines, no questions asked.

If we make this about activity now, or we break old party lines, there is more opportunity for that to be returned in kind later.

Aside from all that, though, voting out Austin and hoping Matty shows up or made a bootlist to save himself is just... not fair. Austin shouldn't have to be stuck battling a ghost.

[Brett Clouser]

Oh, and I forgot to mention, but I've been talking with Stephen, and he's not that bad at all. I like him and while I feel like he was laying things on a bit thick to bond with me, I do like the guy and deflected the vote from Stephen to Austin in the first place.

[Brett Clouser]

Well then! Stephen is gone. I didn't think there was any chance that was happening. Im so far out of the loop. It sucks. If Stephen had voted Matty we would have been golde. Oh well..

Im going to have to make some deals and get myself kidnapped. Mattys sitting and we are losing next round.... guarenteed. Just .... fuck this tribe.

[Amanda Kimmel]

It has come to my attention that you have shared your HII clue with people. Please note that you are not allowed to - you MAY tell them that you get a clue, but you cannot say what it is in the clue.

I'll let it slide since I never specified. Just try not to share the content of the clues in the future, okay?

[Brett Clouser]

Oh sorry about that... I didn't know