Dorothy's Journal - Episode Four (The Ghost Tribe Haunts)

[Dorothy Hui]

Sorry I haven't had a whole lot to say lately in this journal. Honestly, I haven't had very many new observations to make.

For a tribe that has not actually gone to tribal council at all, I have to say this is probably the most quiet, borderline inactive tribe I've ever been a member of. Even the members I talk with the most aren't on at the same time I am, and when we get the chance to talk it's always so quick.

Is this my problem? Is my work schedule what's causing me to miss out on talks with my tribe? Or am I really on a tribe full of a ghosts?

I feel confident that I have solid personal and strategic relationships with Burnie, Julia and Carrie, and I get along well with Steuart when he's around. And that whole "when he's around" thing can be a qualifier I give to the rest of my tribe unless I'm grading on a curve.

I haven't talked to Burnie in two days because I don't think we've been on AIM at the same time. Julia has been vacationing around some awesome Wisconsin water parks, so she has been hard to sit down and have any long conversations with. Carrie's father is feeling better, thank goodness, but our chats have always been quick and cursory. Steuart is always busy with work or with other things that I haven't been able to have a shred of game talk with him, which makes me nervous for a swap scenario because I don't want him to realize he was my number four compared to the ones I'm closer with.

Shelli has nieces over now, so personal chats with her have been limited. I'm beginning to just straight up not like interacting with Ricky because OMG SPORTS TALK ALL DAY EVERY DAY, so even though he's around more than Shelli is and I've talked with him more, he's higher on my boot list than she is. And Mackenzie is completely MIA in every sense of the word - I haven't seen him log on AIM in over a week, and I don't know why he still checks the boards if he doesn't want to bother talking to his tribe.

I hop onto AIM daily and say hello only to see between 6-7 gray dots staring back at me. This is so bizarre to me. How did we get to this point of complacency? I'm here and ready to make some active relationships, even though my work schedule keeps me from interacting on AIM until the evenings most nights, but even though I would think most people would have more availability in the evenings, no one is here? It's so crazy.

I'd be more worried about it if we didn't have such a simple boot option on this tribe in the form of Mackenzie, but like, are we even playing Survivor right now? I feel as if I've been spinning my wheels for four rounds without a whole lot of action, and without even the social interaction aspect, what is this tribe even doing with itself?

I'll keep saying hello in the tribe chat. I think I'll keep getting dust and echoes, but I'll still be there. At least Hostess Nikki still says hello.

---

Tree Mail saying there's no need for sit outs on this next competition implies one of two things.

1. We're swapping. With 21 players left, we split into three tribes of seven, and we go immunity to a new tribal immunity challenge. If this happens, I hope I get swapped with someone from Bruxelles I've actually made some kind of positive relationship with over the last couple of weeks and not someone like Ricky, Shelli or Mackenzie. I'd rather not end up getting targeted because we've somehow avoided losing the most people so far, so even if I'd throw the less active members of my tribe under the bus if I had to, that's inviting the old Amsterdam and Luxembourg members to team up and mess me up. Ugh.

OR

2. All three tribes are going to Tribal Council, and it's an individual immunity challenge. I truly hope that this is the case, because I feel confident I would survive the round here with Mackenzie already one foot out of the door. It gives me more time to look for the idol with the help of Burnie's clues, and it eliminates a player who I wouldn't be able to count on in a swap at all.

Whichever the case, I'm ready to either meet new people or get rid of someone I have no connection with. That probably sounds gamebotty, but this tribe is seriously boring me right now. I'm anxious for new horizons and a new situation. I'm ready for the game to truly be afoot.

---

Speaking of this idol password, I don't think I'm making any progress on it at all, and it's bringing great shame to my rep.

Like, is this word physical? Is it a tangible object? Is it a concept? It's something that could be alive or dead, but it says nothing about it being literal. We all have this. And then something to do with Hooked on Phonics? Talks of tongues? Is it implying language or speech or something? I've tried terms like that and I'm getting nowhere.

I swear, this is staring me right in the face, and I just can't find the track that pushes it over the edge. I'm running out of time... 

[Dorothy Hui]

^We don't actually suck, I swear! But now that I've found myself in a pair of group chats with Julia/Burnie and Julia/Carrie, I figured adding another RvB picture for the journal with Tucker was called for.

For all I wrote about us being quiet and ghostlike on the last page, the looming threat of Tribal Council finally spurred some action to really nail down the alliances that were on the tip of the tongues of everyone involved. Burnie was getting antsy about not having a clear, set alliance between us and Julia in the form of a group chat, so we finally put one together: Triple Helix! Which, on top of a badass sounding name, is a trio featuring my two closest allies, which is all aces for me.

Then, as we were nearing the end of this individual challenge (which I was totally right about), Carrie formed a group chat with Julia and I so we could coordinate the final posts and confirm our own trio. We all wanted to post at the same time so we could make sure someone we trusted would go to Exile Island and earn that fancy "Tribe Captain" title.

So yeah, it's not the foursome I really wanted, at least not yet, but double dipping into trios with Julia isn't too bad. At any rate, all the players I trust most now have official reason to trust me in return. I'm good with that.

---

A big part of me really wanted to be the one to win this challenge and go to Exile. If this power really is choosing who is going to be on your tribe, I can't think of a better way to promise the safety of my closest allies and me. Burnie was telling me earlier today that he really hit it off with Tim while he was on Exile, and that could have totally been an in - getting me, Burnie, Tim and one of Tim's favorite Amsterdam tribemates together to successfully pagong whichever unlucky players from Luxembourg joined us. Not a bad plan at all, right?

Carrie going to Exile for the third time...it's not the absolute worst thing that could have happened, but it's not exactly my favorite thing either. Sure, it makes Carrie a much larger target than I would be, but if Carrie's choosing who joins her on the swapped tribe, I'm not totally sure she would pick me first over Julia. I think those two are comparatively closer, and if we're really going into three tribes of six, there's probably only going to be so much room to work with as far as choices. I may find myself separate from both Julia AND Burnie, which is absolutely not what I want at all.

If I end up with any of Ricky, Shelli or Steuart at a swap and it's looking like we're getting targeted, I'm going to do everything I can to make friends with the new people and save myself. If I can weasel my way into the good graces of one of those OG tribal lines, I can hopefully stay in the majority at the swap and survive to regroup with my friends at the merge.

As for now, Mackenzie is the clear boot to go here on Bruxelles. He hasn't been around in over a week, and I think everyone on this tribe is smart enough to know he's a danger to our games if we end up swapped with him. It's a shame, because before he disappeared I really did like talking with Mackenzie more than I ever have talking to Ricky or Shelli, but I'm happy to roll with the easy boot for some tribal unity going into a swap.

[Dorothy Hui]

We're a couple of hours out from Mackenzie's probable ouster. Julia, Burnie, Shelli and Steuart have all told me they were voting Mackenzie, who apparently still checks the boards but hasn't been on AIM in about 10 days - judging from his post count, I think he's confessed like...once or twice if at all, since 10 of his 16 posts are from the first challenge, at least one is from check-ins, and one or two of them are from the pre-game meet and greet thread. If Mackenzie doesn't get voted out this round, I'm going to be astonished.

I'm also going to be astonished if we don't end up swapping next round. An Episode Five swap with 18 players still in the game feels natural to me, and with Carrie, Glyn and Simon taking the roles of "Tribe Captains" thanks to their challenge wins, I imagine we're going to end up with them choosing three tribes of six players each, with them taking the reins of their original colors. If it's NOT a swap, the only other thing that makes sense is that they are the ones choosing the sitouts and roles for whatever the next tribal challenge will be, but I really doubt we're staying on these tribes for any longer.

I don't know if this is how it will go for sure, but if Carrie, Glyn and Simon are choosing the tribes, I have a feeling production is still going to have them divide the original tribes as evenly as possible as far as distribution goes. Assuming no randomness, here is what I think the divisions will be like for the swap regarding the originals:

Bruxelles: 7 players divided 3-2-2
Amsterdam: 6 players divided 2-2-2
Luxembourg: 5 players divided 2-2-1

Which means we might see divisions like so:

NuBruxelles (Carrie): 3 Bruxelles, 2 Amsterdam, 1 Luxembourg
NuAmsterdam (Simon): 2 Bruxelles, 2 Amsterdam, 2 Luxembourg
NuLuxembourg (Glyn): 2 Bruxelles, 2 Amsterdam, 2 Luxembourg

(That might be TOTALLY off base, but this is my journal, so I'm totally allowed to be off base. Dorothy didn't figure out the mole right away!)

I don't know how the tribes will be chosen - is there a specific drafting order? Will one tribe be drafted first, then the next, then the last one, or is it all the players at once? There's too much uncertainty to know for sure where I'll end up, or with whom.

I think Carrie is closer to Julia than she is to me, so if Carrie gets first pick of an old Bruxelles, she'll go with her. And if Carrie gets first pick overall, then I might get snapped up by Simon or Glyn and get separated from two of my closest allies for sure. I'm sure they'll know from my post count and my public challenge results that I'm active, so I might be an attractive choice for early drafting compared to some of the less active players on Bruxelles - even if I'm not, I think I'd be ahead of Ricky or Shelli in the draft.

That said, I think Burnie and Julia have put themselves out there more than I have publicly, so they're more visible picks. I'm worried I'll end up in what will certainly be my least ideal scenario: stuck on a tribe with one other OG Bruxelles player that I did not have a set agreement with.

---

I don't know who I'll end up with on the swap for sure, but I know exactly who I hope I would. There's a ranking of people I would be most comfortable with to least comfortable:

1. Burnie. I'm more involved with Julia as far as multiple alliances go, but I think I'm closest personally with Burnie. He put a lot of faith in me in sharing his clues with me, and has told me that I'm his rock. Truthfully, he's mine as well. My talks with him come easiest, flowing naturally overall, and we've got a lot in common as far as interests and senses of humor. I think Burnie is well mannered enough and funny enough to make friends easily with anyone new we come across, and I'm hoping if we end up together, we can pivot that into a majority with a couple of other players. I think he's a bigger target because of the possibility of an idol, which would either cover me from the first vote if we're targeted together or make me the target if I get thrown under the bus.

2. Julia. I trust Julia the next most, and I'm thinking she'll have a lot of the same advantages Burnie would, except she is somewhat less active on AIM. I think her target compared to Burnie's is a bit smaller because she hasn't been to Exile, but her sociability still might make her more of an outright social threat than I would be. This could backfire too, meaning people are more apt to keep her than me, but I'm hoping that wouldn't be the case.

3. Carrie. Easily one of the most visible players thanks to three Exile visits AND her ability to possibly choose these tribes, Carrie is going to be targeted at the swap. It's what I would do if I were outside OG Bruxelles - I'd have to believe three visits to Exile would mean something good for her, and she would have to get going. Her spotty AIM conversations and activity make things worse. BUT...Carrie does trust me, and I helped her win the challenge to get her in this position. She said she would share whatever clues she gets from Exile if she successfully gets something this time. She'll be in trouble the first vote, not me - but I don't like the possibility of getting shafted completely by a possible Amsterdam + Luxembourg partnership. Tribal lines are scary, but very possible.

4. Steuart. We get along, but have no firm partnership, and he's not around nearly enough for him to be an effective social partner compared to Burnie or Julia. His increased activity compared to Ricky and Shelli is a plus in his favor, and I don't think he would actively try to throw me under the bus.

5. Shelli. Rarely around. Unless there's a more obvious inactive player on whatever tribe she ends up on, I think she'll be in trouble as a perceived inactive Bruxelles. I think she's alright when she's around, but she's not long for this game.

6. Ricky. I'm sure Ricky is a nice enough guy in real life, but in this game, I really can't stand the thought of having to sit through more sports talk or one word answers from this guy. He doesn't care to know anything about me. I ask him questions about the him, about the things he likes, only to get nothing in return. I spend my work days interviewing people, and I have no desire to do so on my off time. If I get paired with Ricky, I'm throwing him under the bus. I don't want to work with him, I don't see how he benefits my game in any way, and ending up with him on a new tribe is my absolutely worst case scenario...which probably means it will happen.

---

Regardless, having the highest OG tribe numbers going into a swap is bad news, because it gives the other two tribes an excuse to come after us. I'd much rather this didn't happen, and I'd say the possibility of swap fuckery is very, very real. But I have to have faith I can forge strong connections with the new people just like I've been able to do with my original tribe. I think I shine best in the social game, and it's time to see if I can ride that to safety for the next few rounds. MERGE OR BUST!