[Danni Boatwright]

Welcome back, Legend

Take a look around and soak in this moment. 22 winners have returned to show why they are the ultimate Stranded champion. Over the next few weeks, you will have to fight tooth and nail to emerge victorious in this stacked cast, and to leave $200 richer.

Who do you know out of this group? Do you think these relationships will impact the way you play the game?

Whose legend (if any) are you most threatened by?

Good luck, and have fun. We're all rooting for you

[Joaquin]

VAL I KNOW IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY BUT WHY THE FUCK WON'T YOU SIGN ON I DON'T WANT YOU AS EASY FODDER

[Caryn Groedel]

You’re my winner pick in the draft. Good luck, and don’t let me down. Or there will be consequences.

[Joaquin]

First Impressions:

The Core Alliance

The four of us here have agreed to work together as a core group, and add some people to it to make a majority. Everyone has said they hope there are some easy unanimous votes at first to not draw some lines in the sand early, but we'll see. The way I have things set up, in order to not be in the majority to start off here, this group would have to implode.

Loveita - I did not come into the game wanting to play with her necessarily - we're both pretty active in the Discord and I feel like it would be too obvious a pairing, and she doesn't really add a whole lot connections wise. The beginning of these all star open id games is always just survive till the merge on connections and then everyone flips on each other. But she has seemed really eager to play with me, I do find her an interesting person, and she's a good player. I'm not gonna say no to her wanting to work with me, we'll see where this goes.

Melinda - I loved Andy on AuStranded and was sad when he had to go due to inactivity. But that has set up for a prime reunion here. Melinda has way more connections with the old schoolers than I thought and she's not to be underestimated, but Melinda can also be a huge weapon as an ally in this game. please troll the shit out of this game

Courtney - i remembered courtney as an entertaining, aggressive gamer in Revenge and she did not disappoint here, as she was the one who spearheaded this alliance. Totally someone I can latch onto and use as a shield. she has a history with Melinda that is not to be overlooked, but i think if i can create a strong alliance with her it will be one of the more unlikely alliances to come out of this tribe and i want to keep that

Other people I'm interested in working with

Val - Please be more active, I know it's your birthday but...please. Val is one of the two people in this game I have a relationship with outside of the game (the other being Penner) and after two seasons of deep runs where we would never fucking vote together, I'm fully on board the Val/Joaq train. The hard parts about this will be balancing the other bonds I've made tonight with my relationship with Val (I'm not just gonna spill this four person alliance to her just cuz, I'm not that fucking stupid) but don't want it to feel like I'm keeping a secret. Keeping me and Val's bond a secret will be tough too since we've played together twice.

Russell- Russ and I live like less than ten minutes away from each other lol. Outside of Val, I find him the most interesting and easiest to talk to. He's a rational guy who has a *lot* of experience gaming. I think he can do some serious damage in the game later on. Loveita also really likes him, so I think the ideal plan here would be to pull him into the majority via another suballiance and then keep a solid relationship with him going into a swap / merge.

Mookie - mookie is probably the biggest dingus on this tribe besides me. literally we were talking about blow within five minutes of the game starting. He's easily the most similar to the "bro" alliances I've had in the past (Drew, Dan, etc). I'm not really getting the sense that's he's going to be a driving force of this tribe strategically or socially, but I think the single-esque connections are still valuable for later in the game.

Kim - Kim, again, super easy to talk to. Smart player, someone I can dick around with. she has basically zero connections out here which will be interesting to watch, if she doesn't squeeze in quick here I can see her being an early boot. But if she can survive I could see this being a relationship i go far with

Meh so far

Stephanie - know she's a tremendous player, doesn't have a ton of connections, conversation is pretty awkward so far.

Catalie - this one is complicated because of who she is - she knows fucking everyone here. and I could see her wanting to play with those people. she's also been the least talkative with me so far and so the vibe im getting from her is not great. if there's anyone that could flip this game on my head right now it's her, so i've gotta make some serious inroads here to prevent that

Cristina - she's nice and sweet, but just the most boring person on this tribe so far. and has offered nothing in strategy talk. you can't go fucking on and on about Henry VIII and not want to play the game with me

[Joaquin]

You’re my winner pick in the draft. Good luck, and don’t let me down. Or there will be consequences.

dumb pick

[Joaquin]

im probably throwing this challenge, no need for me to stand out here and if im first boot i fucked up in enough ways that one immunity won't fix

[Joaquin]

Alright that challenge went perfectly. I would have won if I did my original time, waiting the extra 5/6 minutes made me seem competent but not stick out in any way. Did Ziggy really throw the fucking challenge by not doing it? Like, I saw him posting on Discord today, it's not like he didn't have time. I wouldn't put it past him.

So I guess I can break down where I think the votes might be headed and what alliances are shaping up.

Right now, I think the two big candidates for the vote are Mookie and Kim. Both of whom I like and in a perfect world would stick around, but at least the feeling so far is that socially they are just not quite up to par with everyone else. I don't actually think anyone else has told me they like Mookie. At least...Val? or was it Russ. I don't remember. One person said they liked Kim. So I wouldn't be shocked if he's first off here.

In terms of a majority alliance, the four of Joaquin, Courtney, Melinda, and Loveita is sticking right now, and it seems like we've got got our hands in enough pots. Based on how highly Melinda and Courtney have pushed for her, I would not be surprised if they are also in a three-way with Catalie. It's an old schoolers alliance who have all played / hosted together before, it makes sense. I'd rather have Catalie with me than against me but I still haven't gotten a ton out of her.

Adding onto that, I love my #1 Val and have continued to jive with Russ. I think those two are really hitting it off with the other members of the alliance and I think swooping them in to make a seven is where this is headed.

Cristina and Stephanie I both talked to a lot today, but the conversations are still just not at the same level as with some of the others. They're active enough (Cristina) and strong enough in challenges (Stephanie) that I don't think anyone will actively go for them at the beginning here and they'll be looped in, but I don't have a whole ton of long term intentions with them right now.

[Joaquin]

Looks like we are headed for a fairly straightforward Mookie vote here. He hasn't even messaged me in like 24h, homeboy can fuck off

Where it goes after that...will be fascinating. I think Loveita and I are oddly sitting in the best seats right now. She is crushing it, probably even a little bit moreso than me right now, but I'm not totally concerned with that since you can't win the game at F22. My relationship with her right now feels a ton like how I was with Ziggy in Austranded - I consider her pretty close and a confidant, but at the same time have my eye on her and know I'll have to time my move sometime down the line.

A few people, including Loveita, fucking love Cristina for some reason and so I probably can't go after her after. People also have their eyes on Kim, I guess for being less active, but I like Kim and Val&I think she could be a number for us. And I've fucked up in the past playing for a group that has not a ton of interest in me long-term vs vouching for one person who would. So I'd hope not to have to draw a line in the sand for her - hopefully Catalie will just continue to not show up or talk to anyone.

I think of that group of four, the person I like the most right now is Courtney. She's so upfront and I love playing with that kind of upfront, aggressive player. I know she has history with Melinda and a good relationship with Loveita, but Courtney is one I want to invest a lot in and go deeper with.

I've continued to tell Val everything, except that group of four. It's actually working out really well because I can hear more about other people in the game outside that group, and I can be reassuring that the old schoolers arent gunning for her. She is wary of the old schoolers teaming up and wants Catalie out asap, which I think is a mistake on the first vote since it would absolutely draw a line in the sand. Plus I know if she's being propped up by Melinda and Courtney, that she isn't going to be going for me.

[Joaquin]

I'm trying to get really close to Cristina just to spite everyone else. And I downloaded a video game to get closer to Loveita. who the fuck even am i

[Joaquin]

Loveita is starting to get cocky. I asked her if we could discuss what to tell Mookie in case he asks what the vote is.

She says "just say whatever and tell me so I can back it up!" - bitch i am not here to just do your dirty work so you get no blood on your hands