13 Remain

[Cindy]

Well another tribal council in the books and Brianna is now gone. Not really sure what the thinking was there, but I can't start stirring the pot right now.

Bobby told me she was getting voted out for being weak at the challenges. Yet, this is what Jim messaged me with:

"here is the best part, you, bobby jon, and I are right in the middle of the vote. Stephanie came to me to vote out Brianna along with Ruthie. Then Brianna came to me to vote out Ruthie with Judd. So right now Bobby Jon and I were thinking lets vote out Brianna since she is a huge threat. Then we will vote out Ruthie or Stephanie next time depending on things."

So Jim was told that Brianna was getting voted out because she was a "huge threat"? I guess maybe she could be seen as a threat in other ways, like alliances with the other tribe and such, but I think there's a few lies going around right now.

Based on what Jim said above the following conclusions can be made:

1) Judd and Brianna were originally going to vote together, and vote for Ruth

2) Steph and Ruth are together.

3) Bobby told Jim that Steph or Ruth will be next

So this is all very interesting because I was under the impression that myself and Bobby were in an alliance with Steph- yet he's talking to Jim about voting her out. So its possible that Bobby is lying to Jim because Jim may be targetted soon.

Its strange that Bobby wouldnt have even mentioned voting for Judd, which makes me wonder if there isnt something set up between those two. Because if there isnt, why not vote out Judd? Why discuss voting out Ruth or Steph? Judd seems like the obvious outcast.

If the alliance with Bobby and Jim is in control of this tribe, then that's great. If its the alliance with B and Steph, then that's great. If there's some other alliance going on that I don't know about.... then that sucks! But I feel that if I'm going to be targetted, Jim will be targetted first. I pull a lot more weight than he does, so he's almost my shield on this tribe. If he gets voted out without me knowing about it, then I'll know that I'm next.

So long as I contribute at the challenges, I dont really care one way or another if we lose or not. By contributing right now, I think that, and my alliances, will keep me safe.

[Cindy]

So here's what's going down:

-There's an alliance of 5 with Bobby, Brandon, Brooke, Jim, and myself. This was formed just before Marg got voted out

-We plan to vote out Steph to break up the Steph-Ruth duo

-We want Judd to think he's in an alliance with Jim and myself so he doesnt know about the alliance of myself, Bobby, and Jim

-Judd won't switch back to his old tribe if he feels secure with us****

-Ruth is next after Steph

**** Okay, to me there is know way of knowing this. You can't expect Judd to just screw over his old tribe. Plus, the only way he knows not to jump ship is if he knows about the alliance with Brooke and Brandon at the merge. I dont hardly know Brooke and expect that she could screw us over as well. So this so-called "flawless plan" put together by Jim and Bobby still has a few holes in it. So its best for me to casually go along with it until I know for sure if it will be enough to get to the end. In the meantime I'll keep my options open.

I'm really happy with my position at this point. I'm in EXACTLY the position I wanted to be. I'm in a big alliance, I have a tiny amount of power, I have tight relationships with several players, I'm strong at the challenges but not a threat, I've been to every tribal council, and I'm still under the radar.

If the alliance with Jim, Bobby, Brandon, and Brooke gets exposed and taken out, it will be Jim, Brandon, and Bobby that get voted out before me for sure, and maybe even Brooke. So that will give me plenty of time to break myself off from the alliance, and find a new route to the end of the game. Everyone is always thinking about getting to the next step, so Pagonging an alliance of 5 will probably stop once they are no longer a threat (ie with 1 or 2 members left).

If our 5 does manage to get to the end, I'm wondering how it will play out. It seems almost too easy for Jim, Brandon, and myself to get to the final 3 as planned. At some point, if not already, Bobby and Brooke are going to start suspecting it. In fact, I would have expected them to think of that before they formed the alliance- I sure would have! Of the 4 of them, I would most like to go to the final 2 with Jim at this point. Brandon and Bobby have been monsters at the challenges, and I think I Puzzle Piece can throw some mud at Jim for not doing much at the challenges, and sling some mud for some other reasons as well. If I get to the final 2, I think I can pull off the win. I know how to play the jury, and what they want to hear. Even though at this point I've been under the radar, I have pulled enough strings that when I tell the jury about them, they will respect me and give me their votes.

So how would I get Jim to the end? Obviously Brandon, Jim, and myself could just head to the final 3 as planned. At that point, depending on what i do between now and then, I could be seen as the best person to take to the final 2 in which case they would both be fighting to take me. But Brandon would be tough to beat at any challenge, and Jim definitely wouldn't be able to do it. So I would have to beat Brandon to get to the final 2 with Jim.

Then I think about taking out Brandon at the final 5 if he doesnt have immunity. Jim wont be too happy about that and probably wouldnt want to take me to the final 2. But Jim's not going to beat me at any challenge so its not really a big deal. The problem would occur at the final 4 TC where Bobby and Brooke would want to vote out Jim, and I would want to take out Bobby or Brooke. So Jim would be forced to vote with me, but it could still end in a tie.

Bobby really thinks he's carrying me through this game and I'm sure he would say that at the final jury if it were myself and him as the final 2. At this point, I would have trouble beating him I think. There's still a lot of game left to play, and I know when the time is right I will make a move. But Bobby would be tough to beat at the final 2.

I'm really going to have to keep my options open right now because I dont want to get myself in a position where I get to the final 2 without any chance of winning. Betraying Brandon and Jim could cost me the game if it costs me their votes.

But like I said the final jury is a long ways off right now, so I can't get myself too worried about it.

Right now I've got to move on to the final 12 and hopefully win a challenge!