1. So let's start with what happened before that tribal council! What was everyone saying to you about the vote? What were you trying to push? How do you feel like you did?
Well, we had the whole weekend to chat and it just felt like the general consensus was that there wasn't a ton of chatting going on. I'm sure there was but I wasn't a part of most of it, I was out partying and doing hoodlum things, so I am a bit afraid that maybe something is in the works that I'm not a part of. Whenever it came down to tribal, I think that I inadvertently Jericho to leave by being vocal about his absence this weekend. I was especially excited about this last challenge because I'm great at posting so it was something that actually played to my strengths for once and I got stuck with a dud. I don't think that it was totally his fault, it sounds like he was on some kind of family vacation or something but he was able to access his phone there and stuff so I really feel like if he was actually really trying to stay there would have been more communication than just the few words we exchanged. So it seemed like most people were either already annoyed with Jericho based on previous encounters or that his absence sent him over the edge, which meant it was a relatively easy majority vote. There were two Baden votes, I'm not sure where the 2nd one come from, but according to Mat, he thinks it was Ben. This would make sense because I heard that Ben and Jericho are close. I felt like I did relatively okay. I didn't necessarily want Jericho out but I was willing to let it happen because I didn't really want to push to keep him just to get Ben out, which would have also caused some problems with my secret closest ally Michelle.
Also, Jericho leaving meant I got the mystery box, which I can't lie that I was pretty excited about it, but now that I have it and I know what I know, it's a bit stressful and I'm afraid it's going to be my demise if I don't handle it correctly. So, no pressure or anything.
2. So much whispering at tribal! How much do you look into what other people are whispering? Is watching those whispers something that you're keeping track of?
The whispering definitely gets my brain moving a mile a minute. I'm paying attention to who's whispering to who and constantly thinking based on who's talking what might be happening. Twice now I've turned to Tegan to see if anything is up because she's been whispered by people. I think Tegan has her roots really deeply embedded into this game and she won't be going anywhere any time soon, and I'm trying my best to stay as close to her as possible. I'd heard that Papunya did a lot of whispering in one of their tribal councils already though from David so I wasn't exactly super surprised. I think it could be a recurring theme.
3. Jericho was voted off tonight and two idols were played! 
Do you have any thoughts on the outcome? What have you learned from this tribal?
I'm glad that the Jericho plan went through, and also that I know at this point that all 4 of the original premerge idols are no longer a factor. That makes idol paranoia not as big of a deal, especially this vote. It might be a good chance to try to take someone out before someone else gets to the mystery boxes. I wouldn't doubt if the most expensive one is a hidden immunity idol because I would expect there to be one in one of the boxes. I feel like I didn't learn too much. I learned that perhaps Papunya isn't as close as thought because if the tribal lines are a thing then they just gave us majority by voting for Jericho. But with how easy it was for him to be voted out, I don't think that the tribal lines of Arumbera3 and Papunya3 are going to make much of an impact going into these next rounds.
4. Let's talk about your partner/bounty. Jericho is out and you received the mystery box! What do you think about your prize and what are you going to do with it? Does being the only person with a mastery box put any more of a target on yourself?
Well, I have like so many mixed feelings and emotions about all of this. It's honestly stressing me the fuck out and was one of the last things I thought about last night and one of the first things I thought about today. Because now that I know this, it is very valuable, but it's also something that people could use against me and use as a way of elevating me to the level of being a threat. The knowledge that there is no newbie and no special power means that I can navigate in a much more educated and informed way, a way that's not riddled by the murky waters that are paranoia and skepticism. So far, I've told Kylie, Mat, and Michelle. Michelle was actually the first person I told. I really do get the feeling that she trusts me and sees me as her secret partner and she is that to me as well. That's a duo that I really doubt anyone at all will sus out and I think that's excellent for us. Only thing is, either Michelle isn't gaming very hard or doesn't really have any side things going on or is still just in go-with-the-flow mode, because I don't really get any kind of gaming info from her, but I think it's just because she doesn't have any that I don't also have.
I'm going to tell all of the Bananas here in just a little bit. We've been sending paragraph PMs to each other and I love it because that's how I played my original first two seasons and it's giving me some kind of throwback sensation. I want to tell them all at once, even though I've already told Mat and Kylie, so I can get some genuine brainstorming from everyone on what the best way to go about using it is. There's a part of me that just wants to break down and tell everyone to be kind of a hero but I'm just not sure if that's a wise move, because I could definitely use this as leverage to get someone out that I wanted or perhaps to protect one of my allies if need be. I'm just so scared!!! I kind of really want to tell everyone just to get the cat out of the bag and then hopefully it just fizzles out and diffuses enough that I no longer have a target, if I have one at all now. Hopefully I don't. UGH I JUST DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO
5. Have you been surprised with any other players since the merge? Or are people reacting the way you expect them to?
Honestly, Baden is a lot more aggressive than I thought. I was hoping Nova would be more pleasant but she's kind of boring to talk to. Sharn got started off weird to me but now we're getting along. I want to get along better with Tessa but it's not really happening although I think Tegan wants to make a group with me, Tessa, and Baden. But I also know that Baden was trying to get that KyMatTeg thing going so something is definitely up with them. Feeling a bit threatened by Baden honestly because he was so blunt and forward about wanting to know what my power was. I told him that I had gotten the power of knowledge. And the knowledge was that there was no one in the game that had correctly guessed the newbie yet. I thought about saying that a couple of people have but that could be disproven if people started comparing notes. I feel like, eventually, the cat's gonna HAVE to come out of the bag and everyone is going to have to know there isn't a newbie, but for now, it might be best for people to speculate and have sense of fear.
How's it going? How is the game comparing to your previous outings in Stranded?
This Stranded feels sooooooo different than other times. It's my first time playing with the chat system which definitely changes the game for me in big ways. I'd say it's actually easier for me to IM with someone than send out messages like we've had to do in the past, but sometimes I do miss that classic feel. I've really been enjoying it! I think there's a shit ton of strong players though so I definitely think this is going to shape out to be a very difficult game, but I'm bound and determined to make it to the end so that I can plead my case.
