Round 3

[Stephanie Valencia]

Tingbani is two for two as far as losses go, but who can complain about Danni being voted off, amiright? She came to be before Tribal Council and told me that I basically had total control of her vote. I think she knew that she was being targetted and was trying a last-ditch effort to gain my trust, but it was too little, way too late. Danni was a hindrance to our tribe and I'm glad she's gone, because hopefully, we can start winning some challenges now.

I'm not the greatest at puzzles but I have a good feeling about this Immunity Challenge. We've decided that each of us will practice all five puzzles and keep track of our times, that way we can decide who will submit which puzzle in order to achieve the fastest time possible. I'm really focusing on the fifth puzzle because I want that damn fire crystal. Corinne's been posting some seriously competitive times, which is awesome not only for the team but also for me, because it motivates me to work harder and finish these puzzles faster. Right now, my time for the fifth puzzle is 19:45, which I think is pretty competitive. It's nearly ten minutes shorter than my first attempt, so I think that, with some more practice, I could shave off even more time. We're not going to Tribal Council this round, no matter what! It's time for Nyonni or Saayazu to lose some players while Tingbani sits back and chills for a while.

I fear I'm stretching myself too thin in this game. Of course, I have my final two deal with Rob, which I fully intend to honour. But I've also been putting my allegiances in several other places and I'm just praying that I'm not eventually exposed. But I have to say…I've never proposed a single final two deal. They've all been proposed to me! And what am I supposed to say? No? When someone offers you final two, you're basically obligated to say yes and that just puts you in all kinds of trouble.

I trust Rob fully but I have to admit the personal side of things is overwhelming me. After thinking about it, I'm so grossed out and ashamed by our "date." Why did I think that having a full-on sex chat in an ORG was a good idea? I'm so okay with flirting and making suggestive comments—I'm no prude by any means—but like…this was just on a whole other level and I really hope that he didn't post it. I just have heebie jeebies about the whole thing. Once, when I was nineteen, I got drunk and made out a forty-six-year-old man and I felt like my body was crawling with scabies the next day. Not because the guy was dirty or anything—in fact, he was super nice—but because I felt dirty…emotionally. Everything about this is dirty; I'm not happy about it. In any case, it has no effect on my gameplay. I just need to stay focused on the game itself and not on the showmance aspect of my alliance with Rob.

Brenda offered me a final two deal today. This was reassuring to me because I worried that I had lost her trust after the first Tribal Council. But, actually, she seems really genuine and the two of us get along really well. She's focused and down-to-earth and I fully trust her to have my back. She feels comfortable with Rob and Matt, which was our plan all along, and I started laying the groundwork today for an eventual alliance once we get to the merge. I think that an alliance of four—me, Brenda, Matt, and Rob—would completely dominate this game. And best of all, I think I'm probably the best competitor of the four, so I'll be able to protect myself when it comes down to it. I will go as far as I can with Brenda because I respect her as a player. But in terms of our future alliance, she comes in second to Rob. And, Matt, unfortunately, is at the bottom of the totem pole for me.

Now, here's where things get even more interesting. I've mentioned that Rafe and I have been getting closer. Well, Rafe and I have been getting a lot closer. Don't worry, not Rob vs. Adam close (if that's a love triangle, would adding Rafe make it a…love square?). We just have a lot of fun when we talk to each other and he's really funny, so even the most banal conversations are totally amusing. The thing with Rafe is that he's very in tune with the game. He told me, up front, that he has prior arrangements with other players and he's sure that I do too (which I confirmed); he said we didn't have to tell each other who we're working with but he would really like to get to the end with me, even if he loses to me. (That last part—"Coming in second to you is just as good as winning!"—is the classic caveat of the final two pitch. Show me a final two offer that doesn't include that reassurance in some form or another.) I feel that Rafe is being genuine in his promise to me and I accepted his offer because it's a realistic one. Of course we have prior arrangements with other players; we've been playing the game since the very beginning. But Rafe is interested in using those allegiances to further the two of us as a pair. He didn't pry into my personal strategic business and I didn't pry into his. There's a sense of mutual game respect there that I really appreciate. And I think this is what makes Rafe a little bit different from Adam. Adam and I get along really well and I promised to have his back because there's a personal connection there. But I don't see Adam as a tremendous game threat or a particularly savvy player. For that reason, my allegiance to him will never supersede my allegiance to Rob. But Rafe poses a real threat to Rob's status as my number one ally. I want to keep both of these final two alliances thriving for as long as possible without having them overlap. It's going to take a lot of work but I'm ready to get it done. I know I'm going to the end—that's not in doubt whatsoever—but who will be sitting beside me…that's not nearly as certain.

[Ted Rogers]

That's awesome you have great friendships, well maybe more than friends in some cases with players on the other tribes! Who do you think would leave on Saayazu and Nyonni if they go to tribal council?

[Stephanie Valencia]

Tingbani finally won Immunity!!!
I'm so proud of us. We honestly worked so hard during this Immunity Challenge and, even more importantly, we all worked together. Communication and strategy are key to winning Immunity Challenges and, if we've learned anything from our two previous losses, it's that we definitely needed to improve as a tribe in those departments. It's only a slight bummer that we came in second to Nyonni; we trailed them by less than two minutes and that's definitely nothing to be sad about. I would have liked to win a Fire Crystal but there's always next time. Pete's time was seriously impressive so he absolutely earned it.

Ted, in response to your post, cross-tribal friendships are key for me. I think I've done a good job establishing myself as an important part of Tingbani, both as a strong competitor who is needed by the tribe in order to win challenges and as an ally on a personal level. I say this with as little conceit as possible—because, of course, anything can happen—but I really feel safe in my spot. Even if we were to go to Tribal Council again, I'm confident that I'm not at any risk of being voted out. And so it's important for me to think about my game post-Tingbani. I need to have those relationships with other players if I want to make it to the end of the game. My job now is to start at least befriending some of the players that I've never spoken to: Marcus, Eddie, Natalie, Laura, and Gina. Marcus and Gina, in particular, seem to be very good competitors so they're not people I want on my bad side. Unfortunately, I never see them online so it's hard to reach out and they haven't done so to me.

I'm slightly worried about Saayazu being at Tribal Council. I don't necessarily think that Rob or Matt are at risk of being voted out, but it's still within the realm of possibility. If I had take a guess—and this would be my preference—I'd hope either Shawn or Zane is the one to go. I don't find Zane personable at all and, frankly, I don't want him around. As far as my game goes, however, I'd rather Shawn be voted out because I find him more threatening. I wish I had a coherent reason to explain why I find him a threat but there's nothing really concrete I can say; it's just a feeling that I get. All I can do at this point is hope that Rob and Matt hold enough sway within Saayazu to not only keep each other safe but also send someone packing that might be an eventual threat to our alliance.