Noah, January 12th
Today was, quite frankly, a BAD day for my game, I do not have as much control in this game as I thought I did.  I got outplayed by Harry (acceptable) and FUCKING LAKE.  LAKE.  I guess it was naive of me to think I could burn a million bridges last season, and be running this one, but I had that thought.  I have no problem admitting that I got outplayed today.

When I woke up this morning, I had a conversation with Christian, where he revealed he wanted to partner up with me.  Now, I know what he wants to do obviously, temporarily go with me, so Ty can go get his skull without risk to him, then take him back.  It’s clear, but the mandate is obvious.

Christian wants it, and he’s going to go in. At this point, Alan has already backed out, and although I belive Christian wants to grab me, I want Alan in the game.  For one, the partnership with Christian is likely only temporary.  And I can end up with Alan again most likely, so the goal, KEEP ALAN IN THE GAME.

Here’s the problem, unbeknownst to me at the time, Harry and Lake (Well I knew about Lake) were PUSHING for Alan to go in.  Both were saying they wanted to help Alan get his skull and make it so Christian wouldn’t come down, but I felt that was NOT happening.  And when Chandler decided he didn’t want to go in, I think that ended the chances to have him sent in.

So, Alan & I get sent in, but Christian ACTUALLY comes down.  I am in a PANIC.  This is not good for me.  Alan goes home, and suddenly, I now feel alone, and isolated in this game.  That being said, I do think I at the very least stretched my relationship with Christian this round, he takes me, which was assumed, and I luckily don’t get Lake, the crazy mfer.

Now, I’m just like SURVIVE SURVIVE SURVIVE.  The main strategy for me right now, is shoot down ANYTHING with anyone with skulls going in.  These people are being messy, and what I want is to get more skulls handed out, to make the target on my back smaller and smaller.  But anything that keeps me out of elimination, I WILL TAKE.

This round, Harry wants in and I JUMPED ON THAT.  Saying oh yeah, Harry and Joey volunteered, meanwhile I know Joey in his right mind would NEVER consent to face Tylor, but I don’t give a shit, Harry is pulling a power move, and I’m going with it.  And if those teams face off in the double, I’ll likely end with a partner who has a skull, that’s NOT temporary.

The only issue is everything is working out for Christian and Tylor like PERFECTLY, and it just irks me, they’ll be back together at the end of this, both having skulls, and skipping to the final.  But I can amend that, I have a deal there, this round made us closer, and I’m ready to just Survive Survive Survive.

Also, people are joking about targeting me and sending me back in, like FUCK OFF with that shit, it’s annoying, like oh “it’d be funny” says Summer.  Yeah Summer, yeah Lake, fuck off with both of you.

Like I might actually be a target because of that shit.  Luckily, this double helps me a lot if i can avoid elimination.  But, I’m not sure who I’ll end up with at the end of the round,That being said, my confidence has been shot for sure.

James, January 12th
So this is a weird spot now. Will wants to volunteer with Jay. Honestly Like I love Will and would gladly run a final with him, but Lake voted Nelson and Jay round 1 when I wanted to get a skull versus Jay and Will did not. In retrospect I mean I GET IT I wouldn't vote Nelson either that's literally the best person in the game.

But it means yeah I don't want to risk screwing Lake right now and I don't want Bamold to get an easy skull vs Jay, in theory at least, so I'm gonna keep my vote that way, if Will goes in that's fine, I'd hope Lake maybe wouldn't volunteer then, and yeah we'll go from there!

David, January 13
Britt I think we need to either push for John & Mike or William and Jay

Chandler/Nick is a team that we can literally beat because Chandler isn't good and Nick hasn't even shown up to anything.

So, I'm thinking that we need to make sure that Chandler/Nick don't get votes or anything

Britt, January 13
James elim me early in the last challenge kinda upset me, as I do feel it was kinda against David, David wasn’t there and I feel like james knew that. He said he didn’t.

As far as the game goes, I think I’m doing okay, I’ve come so close to winning a couple times, this last challenge I literally had no chance anyway because I didn’t even know those players.

I think David is a good partner for me, we seem to have different loyalties in the game, and neither of those sides had really went against us, although people volunteering have helped that too.

I’m hoping that in the next couple days, to try and get put in with someone that will be a good match for me, but not someone who can completely slaughter me as I am kinda new to group games lol.

I’m glad darrius got out early too, he’s treated me really badly in the past.

Noah, January 13th
So earlier, I said something to Christian, that I was just trying to make the final, and I wasn't going to gamebot super hard, merely I would just try to stay safe.



Yeah, I'm full of shit, it's time to bring on full scale messy Noah.  I now have a social partner, who's also decent at comps, and a little more sane than myself to ground me.  And one of us has controlled every single vote thus far.  I believe with combined strength, we can strategically maneuver through the game.

The plan right now, TAKE CARE OF THE GAMEBOTS.

The gamebots we're worried about right now are:
Christian
Tylor
Max
Ashley
James

Our goal right now is divide and conquer.  Essentially what that means is to use them to send each other home in eliminations, and then have them split up so they're not together.

If we could theoretically send say Max/Ashley/James home and make sure like Christian is partners with Nathan and Summer with Tylor or some shit, we don't need to take those 2 out, simply put, we just need to make sure we're collectively stronger than any other pair.

That being said, if I see a last minute opportunity to make Christian my partner for the final, I'll obviously fucking take it, but that's too far ahead.

Right now, we're looking at a few scenarios.  A Christian/Tylor vs Max/Ashley double elim would be glorious if we could set it up.

And then we have an ideal scenario to split them up this round as well.

Right now, what we're looking to do is send Will/Jay vs Nathan/Summer.  If it's Will vs. Summer, Will will absolutely eat her alive, then Will gets a skull, and we can form a collective plan with Franz/Gabriel for Will to take Franz.  That way, Gabriel can have a partner he doesn't have to worry about sending in to go get his skull, Will has a partner with a skull, and hopefully we're in the good graces of all 3.

If it's Jay vs Nathan, ideally Nathan wins, and we can convince him to grab Christian to split up Tylor/Christian.  Tylor likely takes Will in that case (so he'd have another chance the next round) and Summer is the rouge agent.

These are ideal scenarios, because right now, until we see an opportunity to send a gamebot home, the goal is to get skulls in the hands of people we're comfortable with possessing them.  Will is one of those people, and so is Nathan (and let's face it he can't take like anyone except Jay) so that's a great matchup for this round if we see a chance to set it up.

James, January 13th
So I like REALLY annoyed Noah this round kinda unintentionally. I annoyed so many people. Britt was annoyed despite me stating it was me coming for her PARTNER, not her. But I used the excuse I was taking out a duo whom both had skulls, and did Noah and Harry. I THEN didn't touch Christian and Bamold.

Because like Christian Gabriel Will and I are in a chat together like with a couple others out of game, and I was like "Ok Christian I'm gonna do you" then Will was like "You guys need to be the last left to ensure one of you wins" so I SWITCHED that up, and then just looked fake to Noah.

The thing is, I kinda have loyalty to Noah and in a way even... Ben surprisingly, and that's my main brawn loyalty. Brain I have Christian, Gabriel and Will outstanding, Nelson obviously, then like a LOT, so in a way I was playing to protect them too, and ah it was just a clustermess. I probably hurt my own game more than anything, but I guess we'll see how that goes.

If Will goes in tomorrow I NEED him to win as numbers are slim and that's a vote to send me in when I want, so yeah. I also told Nelson I'm happy to run the final with him. I really don't even think I'll MAKE the final at this rate, I feel getting an elim that isn't for me and pushed out is in my future, but yeah.

I also unfortunately think there's a good chance someone could take Nelson/I splitting our duo up. I have a few others I'd like to run it with too, but I mean it's still FAR away, just something I feel this season you kinda always have to consider.

Unsure who Nelson/I will send as I don't see it being a volunteer unless something crazy happens, but that's a tomorrow issue.

Noah, January 14th
Ok, so this round is really complicated.

Right now, the general consensus or at least what I’ve heard, is James ISN’T going in.

There are 3 teams trying to go in right now.  Will/Jay, John/Mike, and Chandler/Nicky.

Now, I WAS going to vote for Will, but here’s the issue.  James and I (After fling our issues playing Among us) had a talk and he says this is a good opportunity to potentially match up John/Will.

Here’s the issue with that, I consider John/Will both friends that I want to protect, and sure one gets a skull, but the other is out, while if Chandler goes in, John or Will would likely commit murder and get a skull, and I keep another friend in the game.

James has told me that if it’s Chandler, he’d probbly give it to Will since they’ve been closer.  So, I can keep everyone happy.  I’m going with the plan John is pushing right now, while maneuvering in a way that gets Will an easier opponent by not voting for him, so I can justify this to Will AFTER elimination, but I’m not going to leak James’ shit right now because he’s a Double Agent, and you don’t piss off the Double Agents.

That’s why I’m compromising Chandler/Nicky.

Noah, January 14th
James TOLD John he would be the double agents vote, which is why John is spreading Chandler hoping to get an easier opponent.  Unbeknownst to him, James would give it to Will in that scenario.  (James told me this).

I'm pretty sure I'm the only one besides James who knows where everyone's at right now, and for now I'm keeping my cards close, and I'm casting a vote to protect my fiends, but I'm saving my campaigning for another day.  I don't need people getting Noah fatigue by me telling them what to do every vote.  So essentially I'm banking political capital by doing nothing.  I want to protect John/Will, but not ENOUGH to the point where I'd spend political capital.

Jay, January 14th
well... Here I go, walking out the door with 11th place. Mike is a beast frfr. I prayed and prayed but it just didn’t work out for me. And I’m sad because I feel like I didn’t even try my best. I failed my self and my friends that were rooting for me. But thanks to the hosts for giving me this opportunity once again. And hopefully I can come back to another season where you don’t have to get a skull. But for now... King Jay is out.

Franzella, January 14th
So… I have literally gotten zero screen time this season, minus like 2 episodes, and I thought I should at least submit 1 more confessional to give THEE Franzella a better overall storyline and potentially better brand deals. With that being said… I literally have ZERO idea what I’m doing. I’ve watched The Challenge before, but I am not caught up on the current season at all and am still a little confused about the format? Having researched the past players, I decided to pair up with Gabriel at the beginning of the game, because I saw he has a good Challenge record and that his relationships with other veteran players would only benefit me in the long run (which so far it definitely has). He has great social game and is a worthy partner and I really rely on him to do most of the talking for us. Since my last confessional, I also beat Kat in an elimination round, which made me so happy. I knew I needed to compete for a gold skull anyway, so winning that made me really happy and gave me an overall greater morale boost. I am definitely one of the weaker players with a skull right now, but I think the other skulls will want to keep me in for an easier win at the finale (which I am banking on). Tylor needs to GO. He has proven himself time and time again to be one of the brawn’s better players and that makes me extremely nervous moving forward. Out of all of the players currently in the game, my tightest allegiances are with Summer and Layla (2 players who competed with me in C&A Survivor) and of course, Gabriel, my partner. Noah and I have talked to each other somewhat, but he’s messy and I don’t want anything to do with that relationship unless it benefits me. I’m not sure what the game is going to look like moving forward. If I make it to final 10, will it still be Brawn vs Brawn/Brain vs Brain or will we start to switch it up a little? Unfortunately, I can’t be paired with Tylor otherwise I think that he would be my best shot at winning this game (assuming we will still be in duos at the finale). Gabriel wants to volunteer so badly tomorrow, but how can we guarantee that tomorrow will be a Brain vs Brain day when there are literally no rogue agents? I def don’t want to compete again until I absolutely have to, but if we are able to go against another easy team, I will gladly volunteer to prove myself worthy in this game.

Franzella, January 14th
I forgot to mention this in my last confessional and wanted to add it real quick, but it frustrates me a little bit that we have been throwing the last couple of challenges. I am naturally a very competitive person and I want to win as many challenges as possible, but in order for Gabriel and I to continue our social game, losing these challenges has been our best option so far. I've never been nervous about being throw into an elimination by the Double Agents and have never worried about being voted in by the house. While I hate losing, this "playing it safe" strategy is definitely going to prolong our games and get me closer to the final. Hopefully we can win this challenge though, volunteer to go in and Gabriel can get his gold skull finally so I can stop worrying about it.

Franzella, January 15th
Being paired with Gabe right now is soooo annoying. He could have already gotten his skull had he not been such a baby the first 12 opportunities and gone against Will or something. I pray to God Summer beats his ass tomorrow, because there is no way in hell Gabe is going to advance in this game and I'm not. It's frustrating to have to sacrifice myself for a partner who doesn't really care whether I stay in the game or not. Like I've already had to throw like 2 challenges because of him and now I'm being forced into an elimination I probs won't be able to be present for, because he's been a coward all game. It's fine. I'm already in a bad mood tonight, which is probably why I'm being so obnoxious about this LOL. I will probably be fine tomorrow. But right now, I'm very annoyed and frustrated. I've also never seen the appeal of Will and why everyone is up his ass all the time, so the fact that he is sending me into this elimination makes this 10x worse. Fuck Gabe. Fuck Will. And fuck whoever Will's partner is. Fingers crossed I win tomorrow night <3 (watch me not even be sent in LMFAO)

Noah, January 16
Here we are, episode 8.  And on pretty much the verge of reaching top 9 (for Brawn) with it looking EXTREMELY likely I'll make it there.

By most metrics, this is easily the best season I've had so far.  And I'm halfway there, but the game is about to get harder, and I'm scared.  Scared because, I genuinely want to win this season more than anyone else here, maybe not combined, but if you rank everyone on the cast in desire to win, I'm pretty much at the top by far, and yet, I can't help but feel like people who don't give a shit are going to beat me out in this.  It's frustrating. 

I haven't won a group game in just 2 weeks shy of 2.5 years.  July 29, 2019 was the last time I won a gg, and this will be the last game I play until school out of session.

And even though this is my best performance on a season yet, job's not done.  That being said, I need to remember to play it smart, there's too many factors to control, so just focus on survival, and strategize round by round.  Luckily for me, the current plan seems to involve Franzella going back in.  This is GOOD for me, it means that there will only be 4 Brawn skulls won, meaning I'll likely be safe for another Brawn day, putting me 2/3 Brawn eliminations from the final, rather than 3/4.

I'm SO CLOSE, I can taste it, and I badly want to get away with not defending my skull, and to at the very least, have a CHANCE to run a challenge final. But, I have to fight for it on a social level, and that means, time to cult up with the skull holders.  If I have to fuck friends over, so be it, it'll blow over by the time I play games again ;).

But, I think it says a lot that I'm having my best season, on what is easily the most active/competitive season, I FEEL like this is my season.  Not my season in that I'm for sure winning it, but it's like mine to do well.  For example, Fresh Meat was NOT IT.  But I'm glad that at least this season, I've lasted longer than either of my other ones and won an elimination against no slouch of a competitor, and I'll take that away at the very least.

Summer, January 16th
What a fun game! I'm sad I couldn't win my elimination but I know I killed it at the puzzle, so I am proud! Gabe just did a bit better. I'm rooting for Franz though so hope she can take it all the way <3

Franzella, January 16th
franzella being the 1st player this season to win a gold skull twice