**AUSTIN GETS 13TH**

Newz (OldNewz) Confessional EP:11
We had some good laughs about how we're gonna be targeted every vote come merge and thought it would be fun to make a fun prediction on F2/F3 since we'll be sipping on coconuts in Ponderosa.

Dylan:
F2 - Will and Sydney
F3 - Will, Sydney, and David

Newz:
F2 - Jacob and Eric
F3 - Jacob, Eric, and Stoner

Brandon (brandonrichie) Confessional EP:11
Well, here we are at Tribal Council. Again. I was really hoping that the makeup of my team would be strong enough to coast our way to the merge, but... clearly that wasn't the case. So here I am, stuck on a tribe with two people that I really don't trust in Mike and Sydney, and with the extremely unreliable allies of JoJo and Stoner. Sigh. We'll see if I can weave my way through yet another sticky situation.

I'm actually really proud of the way I've played thus far. I've made it to the final twelve of all-winners without receiving a vote, with decent relationships with almost everyone, and lots of  information on the entire cast. Not to mention I was been behind a few of the only big moves of the season in the Eoin and Brandan votes. But none of that is going to matter if I don't make it to the merge. I have to make it there for any of this to feel right. And I'm going to do whatever it takes to get there.

So after I voted for Mike, I knew our relationship would be strained. I mean, I'd be pretty annoyed if someone voted for me behind my back too. I knew that I needed to make a strong social play and try to bury the hatchet with him—with him potentially having an idol and not very many reasons to vote for anyone else, it was imperative that I got his vote off of me. But I knew Mike is a smart player, he wasn't just going to believe that I randomly threw a vote. I was struggling to come up with ideas, but that's when my buddy Eric did he a huge solid. After Austin was voted out, Eric told him that it was because I had told Dylan that Austin and Newz were close. This was absolutely true, but Eric looks like a damn fool for putting someone who is out of the game over one of his allies. My initial reaction was to blow up, but I realized that this was actually something I could use to my advantage.

My conversation with Mike went excellently. I knew going in that he needed a reason to keep me, and there was no better incentive than a weapon to use against Dylan and Lexie. I also knew that if this was going to work, I couldn't just tell a good lie—I had to CONVINCE him. Hell, I needed to be so believable that I could convince myself. We spoke for almost two hours about everything in and outside of the game, and I really feel like we started to get somewhere. I expressed how ANGRY I was with Dylan for tricking me into doing his bidding in yet another season, and that I was finally starting to realize how false his lies were. After all, if Dylan's narrative about Mike and Newz being in control of the game were true, how could he have gotten his way every time and they hadn't? I started producing emotions from Mike, and the more I dragged it out the more invested he got in the conversation. And honestly, I kind of did convince myself. I'm not sure if I want to go to the end with Lexie and Dylan anymore, but what I do know is that I now have options.

As for this vote, I really don't know how it's going to go. In all honesty I could not care less who is voted out as long as it's not me. I've played a moderately low-key game so far, but that's all off if I make it to the merge. I have good relationships, information, and a hunger for the win, and I'm not going to let anybody get in my way of that.

Brandon (brandonrichie) Confessional EP:11
Just when I thought things couldn't get any messier...

I feel like my social play of talking with Mike last night is paying off. He told me that there was an alliance made a while ago between him, Sydney, Stoner, Jacob and Will, and that after we lost it was pretty commonly decided that I was the target. Gross. Mike could definitely be lying and using this to stir up some chaos to get votes off of him (which is honestly what I would do), but if he is telling the truth, then... Chris and Sydney, y'all are officially on my list. CANCELLED.

The confusing thing is that Chris and Sydney both came to me and told me that they want to Jacob. If I had it my way, I'd probably keep Jacob around as a shield and take out Sydney, but at this point I need to do whatever it takes to stay, even if it means snaking someone that I've built up a good rapport with up to this point. Sorry sweetie. But there's still a lot of time until tribal, and I need to make sure that nothing flips back on me. I need to play up the Sydney v. Jacob thing—the more they hear about it, the more it severs the trust between them, and the more it keeps my ass off the chopping block. Mike made an alliance with myself and JoJo, and if things are looking the way that they seem right now, it could be Chris/Sydney v. Will/Jacob with the three of us in the middle deciding. I've been loyal to my allies up to this point, but it's time to start playing selfishly. I'm so close to merge and being reunited with my allies, and if that means I have to stab some people in the back and hope I get left alone... that's just what I'm gonna have to do.

But I'll tell you this much... it really would be a good move for them to all reunite and take me out. This entire situation has lit a fire under my ass, and if I DO make it to the next round, I'm done holding back. The knives are sharpened, my fake smile is on, and I'm ready for war.

Brandon (brandonrichie) Confessional EP:11
Wow.. this really might be the end of the line for me.

v

It's come to my attention that the vote tonight is likely going to be between Jacob and I. If this is where my story ends... I'll obviously be sad, but I am also content with my journey throughout the series. I went from being a horrible, mean, out of control player in Sri Lanka and Second Chances to a thoughtful, refined and dominant player. I wasn't able to recreate the magic in Philippines or China (and maybe not here either), but through my big moves, ability to create "cults" and gif usage, I definitely made a name for myself in a series that I love so much. And, if I do leave tonight, at least I'm leaving knowing that.

I'm not giving up. I never once have, not even in China when I wasn't at all invested in the game, and I won't be doing that now. I still have a chance to stay, but it's going to take some major convincing. I know there was a plan to get me out, and I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that the people originally involved were Jacob, Will, Chris, Sydney and, probably most of all, Mike. At this point I am fairly confident that myself, JoJo and Sydney are voting for Jacob, meaning I need one more vote. I really committed myself to the social move of winning over Mike last night, but I'm not so sure if it was successful at this point. He's telling me that he is with me (he even made a chat with me and JoJo), but I know how fake he is. I'm not counting on his vote. The person I really need to convince, then, is Chris. I've known Chris for a long time and I considered him one of my closest allies up to this point, but the man is so obsessed with "just making it to merge" that I don't know if he's willing to save this relationship if it means going against the pack. I really thought more of him. My fate is in the hands of some pretty unfaithful people, and I think that's why I'm so horrified tonight.

I'm not going to quit. I still have a few more hours until tribal, and every single moment before Ben starts reading those votes is a moment that I can try to dig myself out of this hole. I've got one last shot to work my magic before it's all over for good, and I just have to pray that everything works out. I really need it to.

**BRANDON GETS 12TH**

Dylan (DBWs) Confessional EP:12
Sorry it's like a day late I forgot to upload it, ugh writing is so much easier than having to look at my face

https://youtu.be/FJciI7_HdGQ

David (DavidM7) Confessional EP:12
Confessional
I made the merge in all winners and I just- I’m really stoked!

However, before I celebrate I have to acknowledge what I’ve done to myself.
During the final 14 vote, I decided I wanted to cause some chaos by simply throwing my vote. I initially was going to vote Joey because that is who I would have wanted to leave in case of idol mischief but then I thought to myself “man, it would be more believable if I vote Chris!” — I was WRONG. Turns out Lexie is butt buddies with Joey I guess so voting him and pinning it in Chris would have been more believable THEN Joe told me that I was getting his vote just before votes were due and I stupidly told Lexie and Eric which makes me look suspicious AND THEN someone held the vote which made me look even worse. Basically, it’s super obvious that I was the one who voted Chris but the way to draw that conclusion is not accurate to why I did it. I literally just wanted to spice up the game.

Then we have the Austin vote. I swapped onto a tribe that I thought was good for me but quickly proved me wrong. I am super close to Mike so Newz and I were basically gonna vote together no matter what but Eric made that obsolete. I teamed up with Austin and Newz to vote out Dylan while Dylan, Lexie and Eric tried blindsiding Newz. Little did I know Eric got in Austins ear and turned him against Newz. Meanwhile I tried getting Eric to split our votes (thinking that would lead to  a 3-2-1 with Dylan leaving and Eric wasting his vote) but Eric flipped everything and got the vote on Austin. This means ERIC pulled off the exact 3-2-1 that I was trying but to send Austin home instead of Dylan. Moral of the story is that I did not have as strong of bonds as I thought, I ruined my game AND Eric played the shit out of everyone.

Meanwhile, Mike wastes his idol and Jacob takes out Brandon which I guess is important but all I learned is I really have no one in this game.

Merge is here though and Mike has another idol so MAYBE it’ll actually come into play but my only concern is that I’m an easy vote because I have such weak bonds and people could pile on me. I’m just playing the victim and hoping I land because right now it’s me against the world and the world is kicking my ass.

Stoner (Gaiaphagee) Confessional EP:12
https://youtu.be/VDsOcUcxAWo
https://youtu.be/AvKdTvfDYto

**JOJO GETS 11TH**

EPISODE 13 – NO CONFESSIONALS

**ERIC GETS 10TH + DAVID GETS 9TH**

Dylan (DBWS) Confessional EP:14
So a lot has happened to say the very least. This game suddenly decided to have some life, which I never really expected. I really think taking out Boston Joe Marino was what set this season off in terms of the votes because without someone to tell everyone what to do, what were us sheeple supposed to do? I really wish I was doing a video confessional rn because first, we must cover the demise to BrandonRichie. I need to shed some tears like he did for me all those years ago when I was voted out the vote before the merge... And I really wish I convinced Lexie we could trust him enough to give him the idol. Brandon unfortunately has quite the reputation of someone not to be trusted, and it worried her. I think she has realized since that we honestly shoulda given him the idol for the hell of it. Although who knows what Brandon with an idol would do.

I really do miss Brandon so much, like I was willing to die on the sword for him/Eric and I GUESS Lexie. He was someone I knew was being real with me every convo we had. I told him basically everything, just downplaying how close Eric/I were and didn't tell him about Lexie's idol because that was her choice and I wasn't gonna make her look bad. He ended up going because of some insanity where he convinced Mike he was now against me, and him/Jojo were able to get with Mike/Sydney/Chris to try to take out Jacob. But Chris then told Jacob/Will, and Jacob threw a vote at Sydney in case Brandon had an idol, only for Mike to just play one, which was apparently the Sembawang one given to him by Newz according to him, and Brandon went with Will/Chris's votes. This really was a blow to my game, and my psyche.

It really showed me that Chris is a rat, playing a lot of sides yet again, only to get his best result. A result by which we talked about. I said Brandon/Jacob could be keys for us come merge, and he went out of his way to ensure Brandon's defeat, and left Mike and Sydney in this game. Honestly surprised he didn't just go Joey that vote but he was concerned Brandon was too well connected I think. The only upside to that vote was it secured Jacob against Mike/Sydney, but that was a given, at least with Sydney.

The merge really just became kinda obvious in terms of sides, Eric/Lexie/I were together, I was close to Jacob, Lexie with Chris, Eric with Will, and they all just were together the previous vote! The OG vote was jojo, which I preferred but I understood that Eric/Lexie really wanted to take the shot at Mike while we had it. My gut was telling me he'd play it, but I didn't push it enough which really may be a big mistake of mine in the end. Lexie was freaking out about the whole thing, as Eric's name had been brought up by Newz. I wasn't going to do that obviously, and told Eric right away, to form our 6 to get Mike out. She gave her idol to Eric just in case Mike did in fact play it. I really wanted to throw a vote at Sydney, and once again, I didn't listen to my gut. What could have been a 1-0-0 vote ended up just being a good ol 0-0. Jacob was an early name pushed, but I refused to do that, as Joey was the name pushed by Chris. I told Joey straight up I'd rather do Sydney, but this cast refuses to do so.

Dylan (DBWs) Confessional EP:14
After this, the whole day just gets shitty. Well actually it already was. You see Lexie has a cat named Lady, which is a name that is just god awful for a cat and if it was a computer language it'd be BASIC. However, her roomie needed us to take it to a friend of a friend of her's because it wasn't allowed in the dorm anymore. However, this guy can't get the cat until after 7 pm, and we have to put our lives around the survivor schedule of having to be active from 7-8 pm cuz that's when all the action happens! This is exactly what did end up happening, with everyone scrambling at 7 pm to agree to a name. So we have to take this cat home, but I have a dog named Bella who would kill that bitch if she got the chance. Bella is a bloodthirsty bitch who ain't got time for Lady's meow mix. Basically, we end up splitting them up for 5 hours where Bella went crazy barking and trying to kill Lady, Lady was scared for her life, and Lexie and I were playing online survivor in 2 separate rooms. This is to all set the scene for Lexie's very bad two days.

After the initial votes were read, all 0 of them, and Joey was trying to flip Lexie, she felt god awful. However, there was nothing else we could really do. Newz was immune, Mike was immune obv, Sydney wouldn't get votes from Will/Chris probably, and David was the only other option, who Lexie was even closer to. After Lexie ended up confirming she voted Joey, Joey went on a rampage against Lexie calling her fake and a bunch of other assorted names. Lexie is not used to this level of toxicity, because she isn't an insane person that has been on tengaged for 9 years. Damn 9 years. Lexie ends up crying, feeling horrible and that she is a bad person, and then ofc I spend all my time trying my best to console her while being extremely sad myself. I feel like this is all my fault, I wanted this to be like a honeymoon but it was a nightmare. The entire game went south, with Mike/Joey going @ Lexie and I, Mike was doing more just gameplay shit that I couldn't care less about, while Joey went personal.

Lexie is someone who can't help but be friendly and trusting, great traits for making allies. However, it catches some people off guard probably as they aren't used to it. They think just because Lexie is being nice, she must want something else in return, but she's just genuinely a nice person and seeing her cry over this game almost made me have a breakdown. Despite Joey and Mike's best attempts, I was saved by my allies, and Joey was sent home. The entire next day was even worse.

There being a fast forward, you'd think people would wanna get plans ahead of time, but instead, this cast acted like they like they always do. Reluctant to name names as info gets spread everywhere, it's a mad scramble each vote about an hour before they are do. The entire day felt lifeless, Lexie and I both just felt like shit having to deal with the fallout of the last vote. The game wasn't fun, people were going much too far, and I just didn't want to deal with it anymore. I truly haven’t felt such a lifeless feeling in so long playing these games. Honestly, it made me want to retire, each time I play these games I break relationship after relationship and it’s just toxic and unhealthy. Bringing Lexie into this world is my mistake, and I truly feel like a bad person for doing it, that weight has been over me the entire day. I need to remain strong though, if not for me, for Lexie, because I truly want to make whatever is left of this experience the best she can have.

Dylan (DBWs) Confessional EP:14
It wasn't until an hour before the vote that things started popping. The early names were Mike and Jacob, as Sydney had sent in a vote for Jacob based on a bootlist. However, people were worried Mike would play an idol. Eric/Lexie/myself wanted to just go Mike, and we shoulda just trusted our gut, but once again I didn’t listen. Hindsight is 20/20 is the slogan for me let me this game let me tell ya. Right before the votes are due, David calls Lexie to inform her the vote had been now on her, and they thought they could flip Will if Sydney didn’t self vote. David agreed to throw a vote if it was on her, but he didn’t need to. Lexie had told David the vote was Sydney, which may have caused Mike to know. However, Mike said to David that it was Chris. Meanwhile, it’d make perfect sense for Will who ended up throwing a vote at David because he didn’t wanna do Sydney!

The entire situation was insane and cracked, but we ended up just piling on Sydney. The second Mike drew that third idol from his pocket, I knew we were in for some trouble, as he played it for Sydney, and sent home Eric. This was a major blow to me, even worse than Brandon. Eric was honestly my best friend this entire game, and I feel like we had an unbreakable bond the entire time. We and Lexie discussed EVERYTHING in this game and out of it, and seeing him go completely broke any Icebeast to go on had I left in this game. I mean will, not Icebeast.

After that vote, Lexie and I tried to get something with Jacob to take a shot at someone other than David, who Chris sent his vote for. Sydney sent hers for Jacob then me, and ofc Jacob won immunity because it had to do with speed. Ironically David ended up helping him, and honestly, had he not, Lexie likely woulda voted Jacob over David. However, the vote was between David and I. Someone I always wanted to work with. It was really poetry and it shows our dynamic thru a season of M&N and this of being forced to write the other’s name. I mean I guess he wasn’t the two other times but I still love him nonetheless.

Lexie broke down so much from David and Eric going back to back, that was her ideal final 4 with me. She literally considered voting for me over David during that vote because she was so scared David would be mad at her and didn’t want to do it to either of us. Basically those votes leave Lexie and I in a shitty position. I don’t trust Chris, hardly trust Will, and I do trust Jacob a lot but idk if he is in with Will/Chris and they just have a tight 3some. At this point, working with M&N would be our best option, but I don’t trust Mike to not sell us down the river the first chance he gets. We should get them to try to take a shot at Will, and honestly I think it could work. I feel like it would force Chris to work with Lexie/I more, but he may just be playing with Mike/Newz/Sydney. The issue is Chris is in everywhere, and that stoner is gonna have 100,000 grams of weed by the end of this. Well even more since he’ll probably buy in bulk.

Lexie is all but done with this game, and I feel checked out as well. However, it wouldn’t be like me to stop fighting at final fucking 8. I truly think we both have a good shot to make it to the end, and hey, one of us is guaranteed final 7 at the very least! These last few rounds have really done a blow to our game, and whether Chris/Will/Jacob are trying it or not, they are setting themselves up as the winners of this game, and it’s worrying me. But tbh Lexie is a threat too maybe I should go her.