Brenda's Lowe-Down

First one of the Season

From Jane
To Jane

Did you get this?

I'm so proud

k, so now I've picked through all the new players PMs, so I can actually give a decent round up. The difference between the tribes right now is that the Atacama are stars as individuals - Palena really only get really interesting because of their dynamics. So when talking about the nooblets, I think a rundown per person is a better bet.

Don't think there's no groupings over there yet, there is of course the Dan/Jill/Holly/Tyrone foursome (henceforth The Playground Bullies), but so far that's just a little dull because there's not really anything outside of it except for one-to-ones here and there. When that will get fun is now that they're coming to the "who is our fifth & sixth here?" stage, because there are some opposing opinions within that. When Yve came fishing to Holly, she threw out an off-the-cuff MILF alliance (their words not mine :P ) of Holly/Yve/Jill and kinda ran with it while Jill wasn't even there. But since Jill and Yve are getting along very well, this can become a reality very quickly. In fact, that three becoming the real core of that five is no great stretch of the imagination. Watch for Tyrone and Dan's fates to depend on how the shuffle goes down. If not for that impending shuffle I could see that threesome pushing Dan out in front as a figurehead to be booted later, while Tyrone sinks to the bottom of the five. As it stands, they could stay very important and never get in trouble in the first place.

The problem is Dan is onto Yve's game, and is wary of her 'wackiness' covering up a more canny game. He is actually spot on, but the others don't see it. who the sixth would be is up for debate. If Dan & Yve talked honestly with each other and became closer, it might actually be JJ. This is unlikely though. More likely Marty - since he and Yve are really starting to get on, or maybe WendyJo - but she needs to start talking to more people for that to happen. Jane is the least likely of anyone here :/

All that^ is moot though, since we know there is a shuffle coming and who knows what way that'll break down.

So like I said, a rankdown is the easiest round-up for this lot;

#10 Jimmy T - that warning had the desired effect, and he's no longer being written off as an inactiveboot. Can't rank him any higher till he gets here though.

#9 - Wendy Jo - She's not been here enough to make much of an impression. She is starting to make a few inroads though at least, and I have faith that with a little more time put in over the weekend, WJ can climb that social ladder with ease. As of right now though, has anyone even considered her as an ally yet? idts

#8 - Marty - I'm afraid Marty is tripping into the same old noob pitfalls. He needs to be PMing everybody, and putting spark into them all - not just the ones with the people that interest him. eg. these two back to back PMs. One to Yve, who is engaging him and playteasing him, one to Wendy Jo, his opening PM to her that isn't gonna endear her to him with that lack of oomph.

OH PLEASE, my avatar is a respectable, handsome and well-groomed gentleman

And nice to meet you too. This is totally gonna be the start of a beautiful relationship.

Hi.

You look lovely.

I'm Marty, nice to meet you.

The worst bit is, Wendy Jo is an absolute sucker for flattery and playfulness. Had he sent something like his reply to Yve as an opening PM to WJ, he'd have won her over as a die-hard loyal Marty fan already.

#7 - JimmyJ - It's... a fucking weird gambit but it's also kind of working?? Two of the most importantly placed players on the tribe in Dan & Yve like him for it - if he could get HoHo onboard he could actually go far with this. The trouble is, it's turning others off, and if he doesn't get at least one of those two fans on his new tribe he'll be in deep trouble fast. I'd like to see how Jake reacts to it if they meet

#6 - Jane - NGL, Jane is pretty terribly positioned right now, but she's terribly entertaining so far too Strategically, she's only really gone any kind of deep with Holly. And Hollys no fan. She needs to get pally with someone who appreciates her. I was kinda hoping pre-Season that her and Tyrone would click but he is no Jane fan either. A pity, since they are similar and her anti-vet plan should be music to his ears, but his mind seems made up on not liking her no matter what. But pfft to strategy, entertainment-wise she is top dog.
She maybe needs the shuffle the most of anyone - but she's pushed the anti-vet mentality so hard that I don't think she'll take advantage of it. *fingers crossed* that she can get over that hump and her & Erica hook up somehow. She needs something to help her last a while here so we can have more of this, to Dan;

You and Holly are my faves and j need to speak with the others still to get a good feel. I like you guys because i
Feel we think a like which I think works well as a group and possibly an alliance or romance. I am single and shingle free

***

#5 - Tyrone - This marks the point at which the players would be safe if they had to vote right now, and Tyrone kinda is a little lucky to be in the right half. It was more a case of him being on and chatting at the right time (unlike Marty/WJ/JT) than any great connection or strategical nous - when people got antsy & eager for something right nao, he was there. But, I'm glad he was. The safer Tyrone can get no matter how he gets it, the longer he's gonna last and the more impact he can have here, which is what I'm hoping for from him here. I talked about his puling teeth style of messages already, and that's gonna hurt him long term - but he has struck a chord with at least Dan for now. His is gonna be a very interesting partnership to watch no matter who lands him.

#4 - Dan - Dan is overplaying hard. He'll be okay for now but it's still too much too soon imo. He thinks he pawned off responsibility for that alliance on others but he's most definitely the instigator of it, and if and when it comes to light he'll be first against the wall for it. Don't get me wrong, I love that he's playing hard and early - I'd probably do the exact same - but gamewise it's a little sloppier than the three above him. Keep up at this pace and he'll get caught on the hop sooner rather than later. Thanks be to fuck he didn't push that hitman schtick any further than he did too.

#3 - Jill - Are we sure she's a noob?? She done everything right so far. Making all the right connections and everyone loves her. She maybe a little too visibly loved and that'll trigger some flags for others further down the road, but for now it's just perfect. No doubt when more alliances start springing up over there she'll be first on the invite list too. She only slips below the other two because she missed a chunk of the evening and thereby missed out on making any great connection with the later arrivals in Marty/WJ/Jane. Plenty of time to remedy that over the weekend though.

#2 - Holly - My only complaint - and it's a tiny one - is that her Mama HoHo persona doesn't seem to suit. I think that's only because I know the player behind her, I don't think any of the other players have an inkling, but from where I'm sitting, it's just a little off. Everything else so far has been great, she's been open, talkative, quick to not just make connections but build on them too. I really could see her/Jill/Yve becoming the trio to watch - if the shuffle wasn't incoming. However she's made enough other connections to be safely in the majority of the noobs no matter who she ends up with. Moreso than Jill, but not quite as much as Yve.

#1 - Yve - Derp.
She may not be in that foursome (yet) but she is the most well-connected player on the tribe. And all her connections bar Dan are strong ones too. Holly loves her, Jill & she have a great rapport, she is one of the few working through Tyrone's wall, she may be Marty's only real bond as of yet, WJ likes her, she's the biggest Jimmy bond. I mean, minus JT, Dan & Jane she is potentially everyone else's favourite. Her PMs started off a little kooky, but she's slowly tailoring each to suit the person she's chatting with. They don't all love her for nothing you know, and I'm apppreciating the same qualities.

Superbly positioned + genuinely fun = #1 for me.

So Jimmy & Erica are obviously the hottest secret group right now, but I have high-ass hopes for Chase & Yve too.

You know what I'm looking forward to most? When the shuffle kicks in - and so long as we don't reveal exactly how we did it (I presume we're not gonna?) - when every single partnership cries out in unison "aww damn, I was hoping we'd end up together.."

I looked into why Russell would tell Jake that he had Wendy Jo, and it seems like it was just a mix-up. Russell had yet to actually receive his partner and assumed for w/e reason that the app that talked about being an 'old hag' was Wendys.

That's like, the least entertaining outcome of that investigation possible :/ Still, not all that surprised that Jake was involved in a simple mix-up that could lead to long-term trust issues icon_ha

lol, this challenge. Whoever teamworks the best wins this (barring Holly winning it on her own ), which makes Erica & Fabio the star players right now.

But now, Ted has an interview, Jill isn't here, Jane was waiting at the other board, JT doesn't know there is another board, WendyJo's power just went out, I haven't seen Brook at all...

Looks like Costa Rica's opening challenge wasn't so bad now, was it?

Jane waiting on the tribe board

ugh, I gotta go to work. I'm sure I'll catch the end of this in 8 hours.

omg
Jane & Russell's group thread has overtaken JJ & Erica's as my favourite. lololol

Actually I quite like the way a few of these pairings are working out.

Jill & Ted have a c00t "Hey, let ol' Ted take you under my wing, and protect you while I show you the ropes" vibe going on.
HoHo & JoJo has developed into.. something I think Jo is putting a lot more faith into it than Ho but there's room for it to become something legit yet. And it's gotten past the dullness of before. Jolanda stepping up her game all over the place :o
Wendy & Jake seem to fluctuate wildly. Yesterday Jake was a snake in her confessional, and he was admitting to feeding her BS in his. But today they are constructing a cross-tribal? I think we're beginning to see the old Jake more and more as the game goes on. I would like to see these two get closer but idk if it won't all just blow up before it has a chance.

Bedtime, quick wrap up :D Y&C continue to be the partnership with the most potential. D&F still not vibing well. E&JJ still love <3

I knew Jane only giving him part of the clue would come back and bite her

I'm gonna take my own advice and drop some short & punchy commenting as it occurs to me over today and tomorrow, rather than trying to write a thesis here.

Mama HoHo - earlier I said I just didn't think she was wearing this rep well - and I was kinda fearing her inner bitch would break out. But she's actually really growing on me. Duck playing into the character is actually bringing his softer more nurturing side out and it is pleasant to watch that - there is still an undercurrent of an impending bitchout - but that's tempered into something softer too. Like you just know you do not want to get on her bad side, but if you did, worst case scenario she sends you to tidy your room :D

I told you so on casting Jolanda, gotta trust the bossman's instincts brendadoll.

Ikr? She knocked it outta the park srsly.

I'm so disappointed in Jimmy J too. I know you weren't feeling him and I kinda twisted your arm. Curse my gut :/ I mean he wasn't a total wash, but yeah.

Erica and JJ for TAR23!

I really abandoned this blog.

So here's a shocking controversial opinion to spice it up. The story of the Season - how Probst's rampant racism brought Ted & Jolanda together, and resulted in our most wtf winner in Tyrone. Even Ibrehem is lobbying hard for Tyrone at this point.

If Tyrone wins this, I will die.

I kind of see Tyrone as the perceived-out-of-bitterness lesser-of-the-evils Alina that people will come to their senses and not vote for eventually...

I kind of see Tyrone as the perceived-out-of-bitterness lesser-of-the-evils Alina that people will come to their senses and not vote for eventually...

Yeah, hopefully they come to their senses.

He wouldn't be that awful a winner.

As with Lisa last Season, what's so wrong with playing a loyal game? His goals are to get to the end with people he can trust. He's been entertaining too. Maybe not the most strategical in the world but has Ken been or Dan? He has had a strategy, it's just not been as high-faluting as the typical ORGer.

I wouldn't hate to see him win. It would be a little wtf though.