[Nate Gonzalez]

Hey!

Congratulations for making the Final 17! This is a huge accomplishment in Stranded, and particularly in an All-Winners season every day is an accomplishment!

1. Tribe Dynamics – the core to the game you are playing. How are you getting along with everybody so far? Who do you think is a threat? Do you have any plans for the present? Plans for the future? Plans for the past????

2. Challenges – how do you think that challenge went? How do you think the upcoming challenge will go? If you've done the challenge already, how did it go?

3. Hidden Immunity Idols and Secret Advantages – can’t live with them, can’t live without them. Do you think any are in the game? Do you know who has them? How’s the hunt going?

4. “You better get ready? It’s coming for you. The fire is burning and when this is through – one sole will survive. Winners at War.” What lyrics or song is playing as you pull off a badass move that affirms your badassery as a winner? (pls, I'm making a Spotify playlist)

[Jeff]

I r8 that title an 8 out of... 10.

1. Tribe Dynamics – the core to the game you are playing. How are you getting along with everybody so far? Who do you think is a threat? Do you have any plans for the present? Plans for the future? Plans for the past????

hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

I think I'm getting along with everyone so far. I think everyone is super stoked on me and I'm everyone's favorite person. In reality however I think I am doing enough on the social game to be okay with everyone. Is being okay with everyone enough? I dunno.

On the last tribe, I kept it cool with people and kept all of my options open which was my goal going into a swap. I wanted friends and allies coming with me and I hope that Cochran, Yve, and Tammy will turn out to be friends and allies that came with me.

And that is my strategy yet again. I'm trying to become better friends with Tammy here because I realize her position here with her connections, and I'm trying to befriend Joaquin because I think he is someone that is going to A) be beneficial to be on his side and not against him, and B) difficult to get rid of.

2. Challenges – how do you think that challenge went? How do you think the upcoming challenge will go? If you've done the challenge already, how did it go?

I am quite bad in challenges so to complete a challenge like that in 3 minutes seemed like we were on cheat-mode, and then the other tribes finished roughly as quick. I absolutely loved today's events from the purple tribe. I was dying laughing thinking that they were poorly performing in the public challenge thread, and then to find out it was all a hoax. I was highly entertained, love it.

Challenges scare me because they are rude to me and I am very fragile so I don't want to touch the new one yet.

3. Hidden Immunity Idols and Secret Advantages – can’t live with them, can’t live without them. Do you think any are in the game? Do you know who has them? How’s the hunt going?

Almost assuredly people already have them. Joaq probably has 2. He's good at challenges and he is allegedly very good at finding idols, so I'm sure he scooped the new one up soon after it went live. He's probably got all sorts of advantages and is Joaqed-and-loaded and ready to gun us down. I just need to not be the one he points his gun at after he ducks our bullet.

I wish that I had an idol but I don't have the mental facilities to be able to decipher clues to find them without people sending me the wikipedia page with the answer on it, and I don't think anyone will do that this season.

4. “You better get ready? It’s coming for you. The fire is burning and when this is through – one sole will survive. Winners at War.” What lyrics or song is playing as you pull off a badass move that affirms your badassery as a winner? (pls, I'm making a Spotify playlist)

I've been listening to Sia's greatest hit compilations almost exclusively while playing stranded. I'd list my favorites but I have trouble narrowing it down to less than top-100, let alone one to send you.

[Jeff]

Tbh I'm really frustrated because the site crashed and wouldn't load as I was trying to get to my confessional to post the puzzle.

I am sure Joaquin got it faster than I did, I took 5 minutes to get onto the board, he probably got it in like 2 minutes. Not that I would've beaten him anyway, it is just frustrating that I couldn't be as fast as I could.

My first instinct was "JOAQUIN OR RUSSELL IS TAKING IT SO I HAVE TO TAKE IT FASTER THAN THEM SO THAT THEY CANNOT BE IMMUNE" and so I yolo'd it. The second I saw the name, I knew I was taking it.

And if I get it, which I'm sure I won't, I'll be immune again so whatever. I'll see y'all at tribal tomorrow night, where in which Joaquin will be immune, GUARANTEED.

[Danni Boatwright]

Joaqed-and-loaded

I wish you could have hear the guttural groan I made when I read this

[Jeff]

Joaqed-and-loaded

I wish you could have hear the guttural groan I made when I read this

I'm really at a loss as to what to do here. Normally I have some idea, some gut instinct, some indication of where I want to go and what I need to do to get there. I have absolutely nothing in the tank here.

I am operating under the assumption that Joaquin took immunity in the challenge. He had to have because he knows he's a big threat who is at a 2-4 numbers minority, and I know he did that puzzle fast because he's great at challenges. Is he willing to lose Russell? I doubt it. Is he willing to use an idol on Russell? I am not sure.

I do see a lot of value in working with Joaquin. The problem is wondering if he sees any value in working with me. And I'm not sure I am a very valuable ally for him: I don't offer him connections, I don't offer him built trust, I don't offer him very much. So why would he want to continue to work with me moving forward over people he built trust with on previous tribes, or over the course of full-seasons otherwise?

I'm also just kinda bored with status quo. I'm bored of the Yves and the Aubrys being relatively inactive and just waiting for us to tell them what to do. First of all, that's a recipe for disaster because we'll grow to accept that they'll do what we tell them, and then we continue to tell them plans, and they use that info to flip on us. It's boring AND threatening and I like neither of those things. I also don't love that people can go further in the game being relatively inactive and I am in a pickle for being active.

I want to keep Joaquin. I prefer to lose Russell. Whether I can justify that to myself and to my tribemates, I don't know. I may even prefer to keep Joaquin over Yve. If Joaquin takes immunity and we split between Yve and Russ, that may be best case scenario for me. However that leaves Tammy the opportunity to bounce Cochran out. I don't think she'd bounce me out.


Also I'm almost 100% Russell is bluffing an idol. He did this in our season too. I'm resigned to going to tribal tonight and I'm just hoping I'm here to fight another day tomorrow to worry about who is on my tribe with me later. As long as it ain't me.

[Jeff]

I'm a little bit irritated here by my tribe. Tammy is totally M.I.A. and even she is around, she doesn't really offer me much. Yve similarly is not on for most of the day and doesn't offer me much in terms of, like, gameplay chatter despite my efforts. Cochran's timezone has him totally gone for most of the day also, and he didn't know what to do. I don't believe I have the agency here to make a big call (and I don't think there IS a big call to make), and I don't want to be seen as the plan-master anyway so I'm TRYING to push a Russell boot to anyone who will listen BUT NO ONE IS HERE TO LISTEN TO ME.

And if I wanted to flip, which I'm at least considering, I'm voting into a 3-3 split SO I'M JUST STUCK.

I'M STUCK. I FEEL LIKE I HAVE NO OPTION BUT TO VOTE WITH THE FORMER ORANGE INTO WHAT WILL PROBABLY BE AN IMMUNE JOAQUIN AND AN IDOL ON RUSSELL.

If Joaquin is immune, we split 2-2 on Russell and Yve and Yve gets mad if she stays bu at least Russell will be gone

If we split 2-2 on Russell and Yve, Russell and Joaquin can vote Yve and then Russell and Joaquin are safe.

If we go 4 on Russell, and Joaq plays an idol on him, whoever they want to go, goes.

THERE IS NO GOOD OPTION HERE! I'M STUCK!

I could try to make a "fake" deal with Joaquin and Russell but I doubt they'd accept and believe that and I feel it'd make me an even larger threat as being a "PLAYER".

My only prayer is to have beaten Joaquin to the puzzle (LOL, AS IF) or that they choose to vote for Cochran over me.

I think I'm going home tonight. I'm going to get my first votes against me EVER and I'm going to be sent home.

[Jeff]

Lmao. I hope you guys enjoyed that mad scramble. It took 5 years off my life. I’m literally shaking as I type this, coming off of that.

I didn’t want to vote Joaquin. I didn’t want to vote one of my allies. I tried and sought shit out with Tammy and Yve. I pitched Tammy to Yve and Yve to Tammy. They should’ve compared notes and voted me. I deserve to go here, for my double dealings within my own alliance. Whether they realize that or not, I don’t know.

Maybe I just didn’t have it this season.