Episode 06 - The Merge!

[Jeff Probst]

Welcome to the merge. Are you excited to be apart of this stage of the game? How will your game shift now as we enter the individual portion? Are you willing to make moves necessary to impress a jury should you make the finals?

What players on the other tribe are you excited to get to know or are you just looking forward to taking them out? Is there an advantage in using the players of the other tribe before your other tribemates?

What do you think of the moles, are there any still in the game and if so who do you think they are?

[Grant]

I feel like I answered all of these questions in my last confessional that is now unavailable to me :(

I'm pretty excited, yeah. The game has always been individual and everything that was team-oriented was grounded by the fact that it will get me further. I will definitely be willing to make the necessary moves. I might not like voting out people I've been working with but I'm certainly willing to. Everyone's fair game - as long as it's not me.

I'm in the unique spot where I am the only one who has played with everyone in the game at one point prior to the merge. Does this give me an advantage or a disadvantage? Probably both. The Nama tribe might feel more comfortable talking to me than any of the new Ovambo and the Ovambo people might trust what I told them regarding the Nama tribe and how it operates.

I think the mole is still in on both sides. I think it's probably Whitney or Sophie over there, while either Julie or Ralph. I'm not sure so we'll have to plan that there are two idols floating about. I guess we'll never know unless they all go home or we see two idols played. I guess we'll find out later.

[Brenda]

Grant! Bby! You made it! <3

Now catch me up because I've half a million confessionals to get through for the last four rounds. Bulletpoints are good.

And I will see what I can do about getting you access back to that confessional. Was it at Ovamba or Nama beach?

[Mia]

Your wishes have been Granted and you made the merge! <3

Anyways, long time no talk! I'm afraid I've missed out on a lot of the game up to this point, but I'm here to get back in the loop! So, do you mind filling me in on EXACTLY who you trust/don't trust, and your take on alliances? Maybe a little blurb on every player and what you think of them at this point? It will help me catch up with what's gone on and it will make for some juicy reading post-game to see where your head was at during this crucial point in the game!

[Grant]

Brenda - I think the one that question was answered in is in the Ovambo one. This whole starting fresh kind of sucks because I think I had about 250 messages sent in Ovambo and close to 50 in my few days in Nama, and just like that they are all gone :( Confessionals were like my notebook that I could go back and re-read if I ever forgot or got too confused. It's not too big of a deal though, no worries.

Mia - I'm a sucker for puns. I've used that pun so often but I don't want to look like a loser typing it like GRANTed every time I use it so people notice me :( (unless that was a generic message sent to everyone in which case disregard this)

I actually planned to write a little something about each person regarding each person so it should appease you both. I'll try to keep it alphabetically by most-recent tribe and put myself at the top of each person's blurb while saving myself for last overall. Let's see here:

I think the vote is going to go by tribal lines (is that surprising?), so I'll write Ovambo if the bolded person thinks the person will be voting Ovambo or Nama if the bolded person thinks that person will be voting Nama. I might write a little more than that but probably not.

David:
Grant - Ovambo
Julie - Ovambo
Kristina - Ovambo
Mike - Ovambo
Ralph - Ovambo
Stephanie - Ovambo
Ashley - Ovambo? (Ashley said she's been telling David she's willing to work with me/us)
Cochran - Nama
Papa Bear - Nama (David said PB messaged him telling him that he sucks)
Sophie - Nama
Whitney - Nama
According to David, the vote will be at least 7-4, and either being 8-4 or 7-5 due to Ashley, not sure yet.

Julie:
Grant - Ovambo
David - Ovambo
Kristina - Ovambo
Mike - Ovambo
Ralph - Ovambo
Stephanie - Ovambo
Ashley - Ovambo (I guess Ashley made Julie pretty confident of this)
Cochran - Nama
Papa Bear - Nama
Sophie - Nama
Whitney - Nama
According to Julie, the vote will be at least 8-4 in favor of Ovambo

Kristina:
Grant - Ovambo
David - Ovambo
Julie - Ovambo
Mike - Ovambo
Ralph - Ovambo, but pretending to be Nama(?)
Stephanie - Ovambo
Ashley - N/A (apparently she is ratting Ashley out to PB, I don't understand why she would do that unless she really is going to flip)
Cochran - Nama
Papa Bear - Nama
Sophie - Nama
Whitney - Nama
I believe that Kristina (and Ralph) will stick with us, and the vote would be 8-4 or 7-5 depending on Ashley. She says she is aware that PB is playing us and is trying to play him back - I suppose. Ashley is telling me that PB is pretty confident in who he swapped, so either they are doing a good job of convincing him or they are switching. The more confident he gets, the more worried I get. I don't think she will vote me out though so I think she will try and deflect the vote off of me and onto Julie to make it more realistic to her flipping.

Mike:
Grant - Ovambo
David - Ovambo
Julie - Ovambo
Kristina - Ovambo
Ralph - Ovambo
Stephanie - Ovambo
Ashley - Ovambo (I think I had him convinced pre-merge that Ashley will flip, but I think he is being quiet about it (thankfully))
Cochran - Nama
Papa Bear - Nama
Sophie - Nama
Whitney - Nama
I haven't heard from Mike much since the merge. I think he thinks it will be 8-4, though. I'd suspect the Namas will be hounding him like crazy since I told them he was probably on the outs. I hope he stays strong and doesn't give up too much info. In fact I will send him a message right now to make sure everything is ok. I think he is pretty solid with the core 4, though.

Ralph:
Grant - Ovambo
David - Ovambo
Julie - Ovambo
Kristina - Ovambo, but pretending to be Nama(?)
Mike - Ovambo
Stephanie - Ovambo
Ashley - Ovambo (I think Ashley told Ralph that she's willing to flip or willing to work with me, he was very sold that we had her)
Cochran - Nama
Papa Bear - Nama
Sophie - Nama
Whitney - Nama
Ralph, like Kristina, is going to "pretend to be on PB's side". I was surprised when he messaged me post-merge with Kristina saying that we are "his two", I didn't realize we were that close. I mean, we're the "hard hittin' duo" from day 1 but I didn't know how real that was. I was throwing him under the bus a little bit for the tribal pre-merge, oops. I guess I could just say I was creating distance so no-one suspected we're working together or something, and he wasn't the real target anyway. I hope he knows what he's doing, though, he seems a little too... I want to say he acts first and thinks later, or maybe he acts without thinking at all. Maybe he thinks about things and thinks they are a good idea and then talks to me and Kristina about what he had done, rather than what he will do. That's a little too loose-cannon-y for me but if he is sappin' intel from the other side then that is good for me. I just hope he doesn't flip. Maybe he just wanted to make me think he and I are close to keep tabs on me or something. Who knows, I guess. I think he thinks it will be 8-4, unless he flips, then I have no idea.

Steph:
Grant - Ovambo
David - Ovambo
Julie - Ovambo
Kristina - Ovambo
Mike - Ovambo
Ralph - Ovambo
Ashley - N/A (I think Steph thinks we can flip Ashley but she is not sold on it (rightly so), so I'll leave it N/A)
Cochran - Nama
Papa Bear - Nama
Sophie - Nama
Whitney - Nama
Steph has been preaching how we all need to stick together and whatnot, so I'd be surprised if she flipped on us. I think she is pretty close to Kristina so she probably knows Kristina's and Ralph's plan to pretend to be Nama but I am not sure of that so I won't list it. I think she thinks it will be 7-5 or 7-4-1 or something.

Ashley:
Grant - Ovambo
David - Ovambo
Julie - Ovambo
Kristina - Nama? (She is pretty suspicious that Kristina is going to flip, but she doesn't know that Kristina is just pretending)
Mike - Ovambo
Ralph - Ovambo?
Stephanie - Ovambo
Cochran - Nama
Papa Bear - Nama
Sophie - Nama
Whitney - Nama
Ashley is a tricky one because she could easily be lying to me but things have been lining up so far. She's coming to the same conclusions that she should, so we'll see I suppose. She could be buttering me up and make me think I'm not the target only to send me packing. Or maybe she's legit. I guess I'll know in a few days. I think she is with me (and therefore with Ovambo) but she might not be. If she flips, it would be 8-4. She thinks Kristina (and maybe Ralph too?) are going to flip, so she might think it's going to be 6-6. I don't know.

Cochran:
Grant - Ovambo (according to Ashley, he thinks I hate him, heh)
David - Ovambo
Julie - Ovambo
Kristina - Nama? (I don't know what he does or doesn't know)
Mike - Ovambo
Ralph - Nama? (I don't know what he does or doesn't know)
Stephanie - Ovambo
Ashley - Nama
Papa Bear - Nama
Sophie - Nama
Whitney - Nama
I asked Cochran if he was just going to sit and be PB's and Sophie's little bitch and he straight up said yes. I don't trust him at all whatsoever, but he tried to tell me he was going home and that I saved him, and that if I needed a favor to ask him. Ashley told me he said he was trying to sell me some BS and I caught on. I was thinking of asking him if he wanted to make a deal where we don't write each other's names down, but I would fully intend to go back on that immediately. He probably thinks it's going to be 7-5 in favor of Nama because I'm not very sure if he has a brain of his own, so he will take everything the hivemind of Sophie and Papa Bear says as infallible.

Papa Bear:
Grant - Ovambo (I don't know what the hell he thinks about me)
David - Ovambo
Julie - Ovambo
Kristina - Nama (I think she sold him)
Mike - Ovambo
Ralph - Nama (I think PB thinks he's got Ralph, too)
Stephanie - Ovambo
Ashley - Nama
Cochran - Nama
Sophie - Nama
Whitney - Nama
I really hope PB is in for a rude awakening come tomorrow. I'm not sure what the hell he is trying to do, bombarding me with messages with no real flowing train of thought. It's like he has tourettes and he knows he wants to send me messages so he's just sending me the first Survivor related message that comes to mind. I don't know what he's trying to do but I think everyone is on to him so I expect him to go pretty soon... Not too soon but soon... I think he thinks he has 1 and also has Ashley, so it'd be 6-6. I think he thinks he has Ralph in his back pocket too, so 7-5 in favor of Nama.

Sophie:
Grant - Ovambo (Ashley told me Sophie hates me - lol)
David - Ovambo
Julie - Ovambo
Kristina - Nama (I think whatever PB thinks, Sophie thinks. I think they share all info so effectively they share a brain)
Mike - Ovambo
Ralph - Nama (see: Sophie: Kristina)
Stephanie - Ovambo
Ashley - Nama
Cochran - Nama
Papa Bear - Nama
Whitney - Nama
Sophie is keeping up appearances with me. She's still responding to my messages much like she did on my first day in Nama. Ashley says she really wants me gone and hates me, which is funny because I've always been nice to her. I mislead her, yes, but what did she expect? I don't know what her plan is but I guess time will tell. I think she like PB think it's 7-5 in favor of Nama

Whitney:
Grant - Ovambo
David - Ovambo
Julie - Ovambo
Kristina - Nama?
Mike - Ovambo
Ralph - Nama?
Stephanie - Ovambo
Ashley - Nama
Cochran - Nama
Papa Bear - Nama
Sophie - Nama
I have no idea if she even logs in. I don't know.

For mine, I'll also include who I trust and how much, I guess:
[b]Grant/b]:
David - Ovambo (7-8/10)
Julie - Ovambo (6/10)
Kristina - Ovambo? (5-6/10)
Mike - Ovambo (7-8/10)
Ralph - Ovambo? (5-6/10)
Stephanie - Ovambo (7-8/10)
Ashley - Ovambo? (7-8/10)
Cochran - Nama (0/10)
Papa Bear - Nama (1/10)
Sophie - Nama (1/10)
Whitney - Nama (0/10)

How's that?

[Jeff Probst]

D:

So any new developments as of late? I've noticed you've grown close to Ashely, is that a relationship you would exploit now in the merge? Are you still remaining loyal to your Ovambo tribemembers or are you looking at other options?

[Mia]

Damn, what a thorough update! Just what we like to see! <3

Okay so yeah, answer Jeff's questions, but what I'm curious about is where YOU stand on it being Nama vs. Ovambo. Nama is in a clear minority, and in your rating you don't seem to have any trust for any previous Nama member. Do you see it staying this way, or do you think things might change later on down the road?

[Grant]

Are other people not giving confessionals as long as mine? I was hoping they did so I could read them after the game :(

Yeah, I fully intend to use Ashley as a resource from here on out. I'm in a tough spot because she's giving me so much info and I'm not really giving her anything back... It's only a matter of time until she catches onto that. I promised her that I will try and give her a good idea of how things are over here after tribal council because I want to make sure people are doing what they're saying they're doing before I tell her, so I don't lead her right into a trap. That's completely reasonable, I think, and I think she thinks that's why I'm doing it but in the back of my mind I am also ensuring that she is going to do what she is telling me she is going to do before I spill any beans. I think it's best for me to be quiet before I accidentally shoot a hole in my boat and start sinking quickly.

I'm remaining loyal to Ovambo this vote, yes. Their target (as far as I know) is Mike and Mike is one of my better allies. I'm obviously not going to vote for Mike to go home and I would really prefer him to stay in the game. As for coming votes, I guess I will have to see as they come along. That's a boring answer but, if I learned anything from Survivor, things can change and they can change fast. Looking too far ahead will cause the carpet to be pulled right out from underneath of me. I'm trying very hard to take it one tribal council at a time, at this point, because there are 11 other people in addition to me. There are (debatebly) 11 different people thinking out their best moves, so that is a lot of variables to try and assume that I know. Until that number shrinks down a bit and people have some evidence (votes) to back up what they're saying, I really can't make any sort of prediction.

If a Nama goes home like I suspect, it should be smooth sailin' for Ovambo. I intend to keep Ashley along for the ride and I can use her as a number to take out any threat to me in Ovambo and then proceed accordingly. I fully anticipate myself striking on people before they strike on me, which would be pretty soon because I think people are going to strike on me soon.

If an Ovambo goes home like I worry, something went wrong. Someone lied to me. I need to keep the amount of people who could lie to me at a minimal so I know who it was (and so they can't blame it on someone else).

I don't think I can trust PB or Sophie at all, whatsoever. If I could update the ratings they'd both be 0s and Cochran upgraded to a 1 just because Ashley told me she might be able to swing him - which is ironic because Cochran is the one who is going home.

Interestingly, Ashley is telling me that Julie is the vote tonight, while Kristina is telling me it is Mike. That is a problem. It obviously can't be both so one of them is lying...

Could PB&S be telling Kristina and Ralph to vote Mike while Ashley (and the rest of them) vote Julie?
That'd be:
Cochran: 5 (Grant, Steph, Mike, David, Julie)
Julie: 5 (PB, Sophie, Cochran, Ashley, Whitney)
Mike: 2 (Kristina, Ralph)

Are they really going to bank on a tie? If K&R don't flip, then it's 7-5 and Cochran goes home in this scenario.

Or could PB&S not trust Ashley and go with Kristina and Ralph?
Cochran: 5 (Grant, Steph, Mike, David, Julie)
Mike: 6 (Kristina, Ralph, PB, Sophie, Cochran, Whitney)
Julie: 1 (Ashley)

This one makes more sense to me because there are suspicions of Ashley and they still have the advantage. Someone is wrong. I'm glad it's not Mike and I would find it pretty ironic and hilarious if it came down to a tie where Julie went home and she didn't pre-vote and misses tribal. Oh, dear...

Anyway to answer all of your questions, I am going to go with whatever I think benefits me the most. Currently that is sticking with Ovambo and Ashley. It could easily change later but as of now, that is what I think is best for me.

[Grant]

I expect the vote to go like this tonight:

PB: Julie
Sophie: Julie
Cochran: Julie
Whitney: Julie
Ashley: Cochran
Kristina: Cochran
Ralph: Cochran
Stephanie: Cochran
David: Cochran
Mike: Cochran
Julie: Cochran (if she is able to pre-vote in time)
Grant: Cochran

As of now, 4 hours before the TC, I expect it to be an 8-4 (or 7-4) in favor of Cochran's departure. Let's see how wrong I am in 4 hours :)

[Grant]

Ahhhhhhhhhh Ashley made me look silly!

I knew it was going to be Mike and she convinced me it would be Julie!