Stranded in Namibia

Re: Matt being inactive: Poody I TOLD you not to cast him. If he continues to not show up I will have a hard time not rubbing this in your face.

I hope there are people on deck to fill in because having 4 inactives is gonna suck ass.

I have failed so hard this opening weekend and I won't be around tomorrow or Monday night. :(

If I am going to jump back into this, I am going to need some good info on the players left in the game. Poody your writeups are great, but I really need help getting to know who these players actually ARE you know? Like, their allies, long-term plan, etc.

Also, can anyone tell me the specifics behind each player's boot?

Okay. I'm currently reading everything. Confessionals, Ponderosa, Tribals, etc. I'll even dip into PMs a bit if I have time.

I want to get a ranking and some thoughts on all the players left by tonight. I'll make it happen.

Okay okay okay. Time to actually post something in here. I feel awful that I haven't done any blogging yet because I love this series and it sucks that I haven't been around as much I was for Patagonia or Venezuela, but whatevs. I'm busy lols.

Anyways, I am known for being a notoriously bitchy blogger, and while I refuse to change that about myself, I will strive to offer more ADVICE instead of COMPLAINTS. So with that, I will offer an "ORG Lesson" to every player that needs one in each critique. So let's get started.

HIMBA - Final 9

Ashley: Love her. She's great. I feel like she's the voice of reason and she's really really playing her heart out. I love that about her. I think she's probably one of the most aware(?) players in the game (among Sophie) about where exactly people stand and what exactly it is that she needs to do to get to the end and win. Like, right now, she's playing HARD trying to keep Sophie in the game and do something wonky with the idol so she can take credit? Idk if it will work, but she had me fanning at "I'd rather go out at the F9/F8 than go to the F4/F3 and be a goat." THAT is the attitude to have and that's what makes for a great game. GJ Ashley. She's got a rocky road ahead of her, but she has the makings of a great player and I really really adore her. ORG lesson? Keep doing what you're doing, but don't get cocky with it. Play for fun.

David: Ugh. This fucking guy. First off, I know that he can't see anyone else's confessional, but when the FUCKING HOST OF THE ENTIRE SERIES contantly comes in there and is like "guy, why the fuck do you think you're going to win this way? you're acting like the redempshit island zombies holy fuck step up your game!!!!!", you DON'T fucking ignore that. Instead he's like "oh well the Alliance of 4 is my best option and I can really sell my performance at the FTC." LOL NOPE. God is he dense. He just might be worse than Gabriel was in Venezuela? Like, I want to see him get to the end and have his dreams crushed because that would be hilarious and I LOVE when people learn the hard way, but I also don't want to see this season go to shit and David sure is steering it hard in that direction. ORG lesson: You can never sell yourself at the end by playing it safe. Never. Never. Never. Never. Fucking never. And the fact that every player in the game has outlines that you are NOT in control of that alliance? Wake the fuck up. I do not like this guy. Where did you cast him from? Reddit? He seems like one of the shitty redditors who thinks they are strategic god when they just kind of flop around like this in an actual game. Ugh. (Disclaimer: most redditors aren't this bad. In fact, they're all pretty great, but some, like David, are shit. Utter shit.)

Grant: Hmmmm.... Grant... What is it about him that I don't like? Two things. He's not having fun and he's entitled. There is nothing wrong with thinking that a game is yours to win, but to expect that you shouldn't have to work for it? Please. He reeks of the same arrogance that Clarence now possesses, only, lucky for him, it's not as grating. Like, if Grant would just try to enjoy the experience more and have fun with it, he would be loveable and I would totally root for him. Like, he's playing well, but he's also kind of starting to fuck up. People are going to turn on them, and a ~true~ leader would know to cut off some of the middle and let some of the bottom stick around a little longer to immobilize and uprising. Grant is probably not going to win this game. ORG lesson: Don't be entitled. Be humble. Pagongings are SHIT and there are always other alternatives. Do you really want to win by claiming a pagonging to your name? Probably not.

Julie: UGHHHHH. Julie is such a fun person outside of this game and she has wanted to play SO badly that she's been working to build a rep for herself. She's succeeded in doing that, but completely at the cost of not having the time or energy to show up and do well here. I'm so annoyed with her. It seemed like after her last game ended she would start working harder, but she isn't. Definite fodder. She blew her chances of success in this series and I doubt she'll ever be asked back. What a shame. ORG lesson: GIVE STRANDED YOUR ALL. It's worth it. Don't triple dip or whatever. This all sucks because she JUST was the start of another Survivor ORG... only, it wasn't Stranded and yeah. What a shame. She blew it.

Kristina: I really enjoy Kristina, and a lot of that has to do with the fact that she's really trying to enjoy this experience. She's soaking it all in. She's also playing VERY hard and VERY well, but she has a few obstacles that will need to be overcome if she wants the win. I love her proposed F3 because it's hot and exciting, and she definitely has the most interesting approach to the rest of the game. She doesn't want this to be boring like some of the others. Idk, she's just grand and I really have no lesson to offer her other than to continue to enjoy it and soak it all in because it'll all be over very soon. Good luck girl.

Mike: I also don't overly care for him because he's just kind of there? Like, he was all for that boring Final 4 Ovambo alliance, and he still sort of half-assed is, but lately he knows that he definitely won't be winning in that scenario, so he's like, "Yeah, I need to do something, but I'm going to wait." LISTEN TO YOURSELF. If you realize that you need to make a move for yourself, sure, you can wait a BIT, but don't wait "a few boots down the line" or whatever. He's like a less intense version of David, which probably means he'll have even more heartache when he loses this shit. ORG lesson: See David's. I'm not typing that shit out again. It took a lot out of me.

Sophie: Holy shit is she fierce. Like damn I did not know she had this in her pre-game. I am so impressed. She is so righteous and bitter and cunty and it's great. Like this season NEEDED Sophie. her clawing her way through these first few merge rounds is amazing. It sucks that she was on Nama and that they always lost because this would have been a completely different game if she had the majority at the merge. The majority of the Ovambo players are boring and Sophie is having NONE. OF. THAT. and I love it. Her friendshit with Ashley is cool too and I really don't know what else to say about her aside from the fact that I hope she hangs on. She's a great player that I don't think I can offer any meaningful advice to, either! Luh u gurl.

Stephanie: God I love this chick. She was my main bitch in Australian Stranded 11: The Caribbean. She was fierce and righteous, but she was never going to win that game, and after a string of bad luck resulting in poor finishes in other games, I think she has the right combo here. Is she the most exciting player in this game? Hell nah. But she is far from the bottom shit of the bucket (*cough* David *cough* Mike *cough*) and I think that she is really doing what is best for her. Sure everyone knows she's a huge threat, but I think that she's working to make sure that she can stick around? I really want to see her NOT work with Grant/Mike/David and as far as I can tell, that's what she's doing. It sucked seeing her not give us much effort at the merge, but she stepped it up a lot. She can definitely win this if she chooses the right path. ORG lesson? I also don't think she needs one. She's had plenty of downfalls in other games to know what works and what doesn't.

Whitney: As much as I want to like her, she's just not cut out for this, and she is clearly not active enough. Pure fodder.

Imma let you finish, but stephanie is the most boring player in Stranded in Namibia right now #justsaying.

Gabe from Stranded in Venezuela, Season 19, 3rd Place finisher at the FTC with one vote. This was taken from like the Final 6 I believe?

Gabe wrote:Okay, well, I plan on beating the best by allowing people to see that I've lied and made people think that I was with them the ENTIRE game even though I was secretly behind everybody's exits. I've been under the radar, yes, but I don't think it's a bad position to be in, because no one sees me as the threat to win even though I am. Considering that people see that Patricia is going to win, or is the threat to win, then that might incline me to stick with her more, OR it might make me want to take her out more. I think that I can do each of them easily, it's just a matter of reading her judgement and not being naive enough to think she's going to take me to the finals or vice versa, even though she's known for a while that she was going to take me out the final _.

David, from Stranded in Namibia, Season 21, Future Non-Winner and Few-to-no vote-getter if he makes the FTC. Compare:

David wrote:I guess what makes me think I have a shot to win with my alliance is the fact that I just don't know why I couldn't? I feel like I've been playing just as hard as anyone. Sure, Grant has won a lot of immunities, but we are playing different games. The way that I'm playing doesn't require me to have to play immunities. I'm playing the game really hard, and I'm confident in my ability to communicate that to the jury at the end.

Ralph leaving was my second choice to go. Even though Sophie is annoying, she's is really smart and good at this game. On top of that, she has an idol, which scares me. I wanted her to go, but my alliance was kind of wary. We knew some other people were voting Ralph, so we just decided to keep it safe. The only thing that concerns me is a potential alliance between Kristina and Sophie. I feel like Sophie doesn't trust me as much as she used to, so I need to watch for that.

Jeff Probst wrote:Imma let you finish, but stephanie is the most boring player in Stranded in Namibia right now #justsaying.

Playing it pretty damn safe I'll give you that, but not boring. Clearly you and I have different opinions though because you seemed to cream over Papa Bear and Ralph. I'll do a writeup on them soon. (Papa Bear >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Ralph though. And I guess the Baboon thing was okay? idk.)

Look at him. He's a fucking deadringer for Gabe. Idk how he can be so dense but wow. How can you say that you hated Redemption Island and play like this?

David wrote:I always hear people say that I need to play my game and to not play for anyone else. I think that goes for the active players still here and for the jury as well. I can't predict what they are going to say at the FTC. I just have to play the game under the assumption that I could still win. I was never malicious towards anyone on the jury (to their face) so it's not like they can say much about my character to discredit me. Also, I feel like I've played this game really hard and semi-decently, so they can't discredit my game too much. So I still feel like I have a legitimate chance. I'm not really playing to build a resume for the jury, I'm playing to win. I'm not going to make big moves because they look good. It's hard for me to even think about what I would say to the jury because I don't want to get ahead of myself.

I HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE when things to go rocks, especially early at the F8, and it's one very solid side vs. another side that JUST barely formed out of necessity. THe side that comes together out of necessity NEVER sticks together but for some reason the solid side always thinks that it's a big move to go to rocks and stay safe. WRONG. This is one of those situations where they should all be creaming to take each other out and then turn the game on the new alliance of 4 at the Final 7. It could definitely happen but not if they're all dense enough to go to rocks.

Mike is proposing a Final 3 of himself, David, and Julie, rightfully pegging Julie/David as goats. Only he's forgetting that he's just as bad. I'm fucking done if that F3 happens.

Steph, this is the perfect time to flip on those borewhores. You're better than this, do something crazy like I know you can.

At this point I kind of think that only Sophie and Ashley are the only ones that are EXTREMELY compelling.

David is a flop and is stupid. Like he's just terrible. Mike is the same way. They're brainwashed by Grant. Kristina is annoying now thinking she's in control and the SECOND she realizes that she isn't, she goes all narrow minded and doesn't think about all the possibilities before her. Stephanie is playing well but things are starting to close in on her. Julie and Whitney are Julie and Whitney (although Julie is HOPEFULLY stepping it up more so we'll see.

Ashley and Sophie are really making this game into the story they want told and I really love that. This is not just a game, this is an experience and I think that in the future, this should be pushed more in casting.

Moreover, I hate that players like Mike, David, and Kristina are taking this HUGE turning point in the game, getting scared by it, and retracting back into the safe route. It shows signs of being a weak and inexperienced player. This happened a LOT at the Final 8 of Crashcourse Qatar. Ian/James/Steph are literally the same type of people as Mike/David/Kristina. And most likely none of them will win for it.

OH MY GOD GRANT NEEDS TO SHUT THE FUCK UP IN HIS CONFESSIONAL AND IN PONDEROSA. THIS GUY IS LITERALLY WORSE THAN GATEGOD/CLARENCE. LIKE HOLY SHIT LET IT FUCKING GO.

I will not co-host if you let him co-host, Poody. Like I will literally not. No fucking way. He is actually probably borderline insane. I'm scared of him, literally. Like fuck.

Updated my blog title.

From Frank's recent ranking in his blog:

Frank wrote:2. SOPHIE



Ok so I actually think she messed up last night. She should have just gotten rid of Whitney and saved the idol for a better time. Grant was one of the people that was being a bigger threat than her and she voted him out, while wasting the idol, and now she's threat #1. She is trying to make this situation work, I still have hope she'll outplay and fool these people somehow into not voting her out, which is why I'm still giving her the #2 spot of confidence.

I half disagree with this. Having that idol for tonight would have been GREAT, but if she holds on to that thing too long, she's suddenly WAY to big of a threat for Ashley to work with. It was better for her to get rid of it sooner rather than later.