Confessional Round 8: "The Lone Survivor"

[Natalie Anderson]

So right before the last tribal, Austin messaged Cody and I and was basically like vote me out.  I don't have time and you both deserve it more.  Which is fine because we were going to do that anyway (at least I'm pretty sure Cody was).

We went to tribal and Austin voted for Cody, which is good because it means that I am the only one on NuAmsterdam to not recieve a vote.  I got one from Glyn's random vote but that doesn't count.  But I am proud of that, which means I dominated the post-swap portion of the game with my social game and was able to make sure I knew where people were voting and that I wouldn't be getting votes.

We thought we were good until tree mail revealed that there would be another tribal challenge....UGH.  So close yet so far!  Not only that, but it was the challenge to end all challenges...A POSTING CHALLENGE!

Jasmine like disappeared and didn't communicate at all so neither Cody or I had any idea what she was capable of doing.  She has a big mouth and talks about how great she is, so I figured she would post a lot.

Cody and I were motivating each other and talking to each other throughout the whole thing and becoming closer as friends.  I went to bed and left him posting and I figured he would post for a while.  I was kind of resigned to leaving as I figured he would do more than me.  However, the next morning I woke up and just started posting and I got on aim and chatted with Cody and he mentioned he got to 360 steps and went back down.

I was like WHHHAAAA?  I figured he would be at more than that and when he told me that I was at 340ish and still going up.  I was actually planning to got to a few more than 360 anyway but I was getting nervous that I was cutting it close, so I was debating whether or not to stop before 360.  I feel bad, but that was Cody's fatal flaw and it motivated me to push past 360.  I knew I didn't want to stop right at 360 as I figured people would stop at a round 0 or 5 number so I wanted to do a little more in case it gave me an edge over anyone else.

Challenge results posted and...

We lost, haha not actually shocking.

I was pissed because as expected Dorothy did the best and then me and then Cody, follwed by Ian.  Julia did ok.  Jasmine did horribly.   All Jasmine had to do was post a little bit more and we would have won.  And she cost Cody the game, which sucks and is so unfair.  Bitch please.


Cody, I loved you so much.  I know I had some doubts along the way if we were strategically aligned, but I never doubted our friendship and that is something positive I will take away from this game.


Now I am all alone and sad and off to exile

[Natalie Anderson]

Ok so here are my thoughts about exile:

I got the tribe clue which sucks, because I already knew the clue and already knew it was gone :/.  The one positive though is that I know Dustin told me the correct clue and didn't lie to me.  So that makes me feel a little better seeing him again in the merge.

I like Dorothy enough. Typical good person to talk to and she obviously strong in challenges.

I didn't want to be too eager and be like "TELL ME EVERYTHING AND THE TRIBE DYNAMICS SO I KNOW HOW TO EXCEL IN THE GAME" that could come across as too strategic and game-bot like and could put a target on me.

Instead I asked her to tell me about the people I don't know so I wasn't too overwhelemd and I could at least get some idea before going into this merge with a huge hurdle.

Her response was "Don't you want to be surprised" so hmmm, she doesn't want to give too much away so it doesn't hurt anything. So instead I told her to compare each person to a food.

So below in blue is what Dorothy told me each person is like, and in red is my interpretation of what Dorothy said about them:

Burnie:

Really good steamed rice. He's the kind of food that goes well with a lot of other foods. And he's dependable! It's hard to mess up rice

So Burnie is someone who is probably a great social player. I assume he has a lot of close connections, and odds of him putting me over others is not high. If this is coming from Dorothy it is possible that they are tight. Threat Status: High


Carrie:

Mint candy. She's got a very sharp taste, but it's refreshing. You get it in small doses, but after you have one your breath smells awesome for a while

Carrie seems like a dominating personality that could come off abrasive, but once you get to know her you see her for what she's worth. My guess is her and Dorothy have some type of deal/agreement but probably will go after each other at some point down the line. Threat Status: Medium


Dustin:

Buttered croissant. Very smooth, and more of an early riser since he works in the afternoons and evenings a lot

Not much to go on here, but I know Dustin the best out of everyone. He was most active on my tribe, but it seems that maybe he got busier. Since I don't know anyone really, he is automatically my number one at this point, but I still had doubts about him before for his lack of communication and demanding of things. I feel like him and Dorothy are on different wave lengths and schedules, so I don't think they are that close. I also had suspicions that Dustin and Carrie were close from exile round 1, which would align with my assessment of Dorothy and Carrie's relationship. Threat Status: Medium


Ian:

Cotton Candy. He comes in a variety of styles and looks kinda goofy, and it's like pure sugar. He's always joking, and I'm pretty sure he has nicknames for everyone. If he was answering this question he would probably be more clever than I'm being right now.

Ian seems like a positive person that people like to have around. Dorothy seems to know him pretty well, so he must be active. I can see him getting along with Burnie so I can see a Dorothy, Burnie, Ian group forming. Threat Status: Medium


Jaclyn:

Jaw Breaker. Because whenever she responds to messages she likes big huge walls of text. So it really fills up your mouth and gives you a lot to work on.

Jaclyn appears to not be a great social player. Also maybe abrasive or difficult to talk to. Jasmine also told me that she was a bitch so these 2 statements seem to coincide. Don't think she made any new alliances on this tribe. Threat Status: Low


Julia:

S'mores. She's a treat with a lot of layers.

Not a lot of depth, but very positive. It appears she is a sweet person with more than meets the eye. I think maybe Dorothy was trying to paint her in a good light without revealing too much, so they could be close. Ricky told me that she was good at puzzles. Threat Status: High


Kathy:

Cheesecake. And I only say that because the only conversation I've had with Kathy since being on the tribe is about cheesecake.

Nothing really about Kathy. This also coincides with what Dustin told me about her that she was boring on exile round 1. She seems like just a vote that shows up and votes how she is told. Threat Status: Low


Tim:

Steak. Like a medium-rare steak. Which is the best kind of steak.

Not much about Tim, but he was on exile a lot. I know Tim anyway and he is good. Seemed nice and loyal and not too threating. Probably clinging to Dustin. Threat Status: Low


Dorothy:

Nice to talk to, good at challenges, probably smart. Ricky, Steuart, and Shelli all told me she was basically the leader of old Bruxelles and I am assuming she has a pulse on things. Threat Status: High


So my guess is that Dorothy, Burnie, Julia, Ian are tight and the other side is Carrie, Dustin, and Tim. With Jaclyn and Kathy as outsiders. I would want to try to exploit the relationships and break people up and find a crack to sneak into. I obviously haven't met most of these people so I could be dead wrong, but figure I would go in with some expectation and plan. I would want to target the Dorothy, Burnie, Julia, Ian cult and maybe target Julia or Burnie first. I would want to try to get Kathy and Jaclyn on my side and reconnect with Dustin and Tim and see what happens!