And my first Survivor experience is over. :( But it's been a great ride, and even though I wanted to stick around I'm proud to have made it through two merges on my first try at the game.
My first tribe was a great group. We only lost 3 times and came into the merge 7-3. I do remember our second vote though, having to say goodbye to Kirby, being very difficult. She was such a sweet girl, but in the end, her scores just weren't strong enough. :-\ I quickly realized there'd be a lot of difficult decisions ahead if I was going to stick around through multiple merges. But we had an alliance that had kept us safe in our first tribe, and I hoped that alliance would survive through the merges.
Then came our merge, with three new members joining our tribe, all of whom were black levels. I was shocked that a tribe with a lot of orange and greens managed to dominate over this other group who had so much more experience. But this time around, our competition was a lot stronger. :(
We lost the fist three challenges in a row, and when people got desperate, I saw them do some crazy things. :-\ First, Genevere ate all our food and drank all our water as a ploy to get us to keep her to avoid starving. Didn't work though. After that, I saw Chris99x seem to attempt a suicide when it was clear he was outnumbered... And then after winning two individual immunities, we booted rippyroo when he finally lost, and it was down to our original 7.
And the drama wasn't just on our tribe either! We saw Uskyld suicide, and as a result, Maggie, who was on like the 19th merge, went home. :-\ I didn't even know what to think, I'd never seen a Survivor suicide play out before and someone who I'd noted from the Hall of Fame got shockingly ousted... wow.
But then it was more losses for my group. :( We just couldn't compete with the stellar Match 3 and Numbers scores of our opponents... ridiculously amazing. And then the fear of merging in a minority made us all turn on each other. :-\
Then we voted out Corey, and that was soooooo hard. He was an awesome guy an we'd been working with him from the beginning, but we just worried with how much we were losing, we needed to keep the strongest competitors. And then after Corey left, we felt we had to boot his close ally, Akron. Akron was awesome, and so helpful at rallying us together, but once we'd taken out Corey, we didn't know where we stood with him anymore.
And so we just kept losing, and at this point, we ddn't really expect to merge with any form of numbers... It was just about everyone fighting to get themselves there. After finally losing individual immunity, we decided to vote out rfsose. He'd won like the past 3 in a row. We were all thinking only two of us would have the opportunity to merge, and if we didn't vote him out then, he'd win the rest of the immunity challenges and occupy one of those spots we all so desperately wanted.
We lost again, but then... HOPE! We got amazing on DOND, and heard the other tribe hadn't done so well. :) Frozen knew he was going home... and started acting up. He even had a friend of his send us all messages, trying to confuse us... But we weren't going for it. Dragon, JD, and I had stuck together since the beginning, and with this win, we would have the chance to continue into the merge together.
But we didn't anticipate Frozen's wrath... as an act of revenge, he decided to suicide. All 3 of us stayed strong with our votes to Frozen, knowing that he likely was down to 0/0 and would be taking one us out with him. JD had won immunity, so I knew that between dragon and me, I had a 50/50 chance of going home. :(
But he didn't vote for me, and I was able to continue on to the merge with JD. I felt so bad for dragon, she really deserved to be there with us. :-\ But I had to keep my head in the game, and fight my heart out on this new tribe.
But as I'd noticed when competing against them, these new tribe mates of mine were all star competitors. My Match 3 and Numbers scores turned out to be some of the worst in the bunch. :( When we first lost at DOND, JD and I lucked out as our tribemate David's enormous blunder cost him the game. But when we lost again at WoF, I knew it'd likely be JD or me going home. JD won individual immunity, and in the end, I was the won to go. :(
I tried my best to figure out the hiearchy of the tribe and make a move, but wasn't able to pull it off. I gave it my all though, and I'm not sure if there anything else I could've done other than beat JD's immunity score. :-P
As much as I would've loved to continue for more and more merges, I'm proud of how far I came in my first go at the game. I definitely wanna work to improve my challenge scores even more so I can be an asset to any future tribe I'm on.
No ill feelings toward my tribe, I completely understand the decision. Best of luck to all of you.
Ktberio, I didn't get to know you all that well, but I'm sure you're a real cool guy. Sorry for voting you at tribal council. :(
vatcheabs, sucks that you got a red nose. :-\ I enjoyed talking to you though and wish we could've worked something out. I would've been all kinds of loyal. :-P
BlueStar, you're definitely a strong player. Great at challenges, and you're playing a great strategic game. I wish I was in your position lol. Hope to play with you again as allies perhaps, I know you've got what it takes to dominate. :-D
Kmyster, the tribe's really lucky to have you. You bring an awesome energy and you're a really strong competitor. Plus you're always one of the first to hunt or collect water which is awesome. You've already made it through a ton of merges, and I'm sure you'll be making it through many more in the future. :)
Phenomanimal, you rock! :-D I'm glad we had a chance to talk a bit at the end, I only wish I could've gotten to know you better. I have only good things to say about you, and hope to play with you again someday.
Umaw, you're another fierce competitor, and I think you're a lot more powerful strategically than some people realize. I expect you to go a long ways with you challenge skill and the relationships you've developed. I thank you for helping me stay at our first tribal council, and good luck.
AlanaDee, I'm very glad I had the opportunity to play with you again. I know you were weary of me when you first saw I was on the other tribe, and I was worried after I took part in your eviction from our casting that you'd have me voted out immediately. But you gave me a chance, and that meant so much to me. :) I know we'll play together again someday and it will be amazing. But until then, know I'll be watching this Survivor, rooting for you. <3
JD, you're the last one standing from the group of 20 in our original game. I guess that makes you the Sole Survivor. :) I really hope you can find a way to stick around, you've been a great ally. We've been through so much in this game, and you have the opportunity to experience so much more and make it through these merges. You're the only one of our original tribe that could've performed at the level of these guys in the challenges, so it's only fitting that you be the last one standing. May you thrive with this group, and grow closer with them through your countless victories to come. You know I'll be watching from the sidelines, cheering you on.
Well, that's about all I have to say. Have a good one guys! It's been wonderful.
oh and we didn't get amazing on dond, I got amazing on dond, again,
and sorry for the not so cheery comments, but some one I know's being irritating (not you just to make that clear)
And i had no clue 2 people would be evicted, if there is a suicide... (that's why i didn't get it how Uskyld suicided and Maggie got evicted with him)
Oh well, we learn everyday.
;)
And my first Survivor experience is over. :( But it's been a great ride, and even though I wanted to stick around I'm proud to have made it through two merges on my first try at the game.