Episode 11

[Holly Hoffman]

Congratulations on making the merge! Quite an amazing achievement.

Did you expect to make it this far or has this been a shock?

How is the merge going to change your gameplan?

Do you feel more of less vulnerable now with more people around?

Is there anyone you are happy to be reunited with? Any you are not too pleased to see?

We lost John and Ami just before this merge. What do you make of those two All Stars leaving the game?

Are you glad I didn't also include the other seven confessional questions I had written down?

[Rudy]

~~~~~~~~~~SPARKNOTES~
~Gregg is really hard to communicate with. Eager to target pairs. Eager to have a boot target. So ambitious. How ironic that this is the same asshat that was threatening to quit in our partners forum 2 hours ago. I don't understand him. I want him out after we get our necklaces.
~Naonka offered original Turuwaka alliance to Paloma.
~Paloma wants Teresa out.
~Teresa/Naonka/Taj/Me reunited.
~NuNuTu tribal alliance wanting to stay united.
~Willard and I aren't pming each other. I refuse to pm him first. I'd rather go home.
~I'm working OVERTIME to get this partners alliance together. It's hard considering Gregg/Teresa seem to want none of it, and Brenda is such a huge target.
~Gina offered Paloma an alliance of Paloma/Gregg/Cirie/Frank/Gina/Me....that doesn't include Teresa/Taj/Brenda/Naonka/Willard/Sarah.
~Everyone wants me in an alliance at this point.

Established/Potential alliances:
1) Rudy/Taj/Naonka/Teresa
2) Original Turuwaka (5)
3) NuNuTu (7)
4) Rudy/Gina/Frank/Gregg/Paloma/Cirie
5) Partners Alliance (6)

So basically:

[Rudy]

~~~~~~~~~~The Treaty of Daquwaqa 2013~
Things are definitely heating up, and I'm sensing that this merge vote is going to be a hot hot mess. The battle of Daquwaqa aka Brenda vs Teresa is on the verge of exploding any second right now, and I'm doing everything in my power to prevent it. Both sides have thrown grenades at the other in the form of targeting each other for the first merge vote. It's definitely in my best interest to prevent this war from breaking out just yet. Why? Because I'm heavily connected to both of their camps. Teresa has Taj/Naonka. Brenda has Paloma. I'm heavily conflicted on which side to go with right now, which is why I want to maintain both of those relationships to the utmost of my ability until I'm ready to make that decision.

Gregg is somewhere in between both of these camps. He expressed a desire to take Brenda out, yet he is heavily aligned with Paloma. At the same time, his position on who to vote out appears to be malleable. I've come up with the perfect way to keep the warring sides in check while getting rid of some the miscellaneous players whom I have no strong working relationship with: a partners alliance.

If Brenda or Teresa are booted tomorrow night, it puts the spotlight on my partnership and the last remaining partnership. The idea of gaining a powerful immunity necklace would immediately weigh on both partnership's minds. Not only this, but everyone else would then start campaigning on which partnership they want to receive the necklaces. This all would become a political battle similar to Romney v Obama, and I have no desire to take part in such a race anytime soon.

My strategy is to solidify this partners alliance so that it keeps the majority of my stronger allies out of danger. This includes Brenda, Taj, Teresa and Gregg. Additionally, it cements yet another alliance in this game that excludes people like Cirie/Willard/Frank/Gina, all people whom I haven't had the chance to really build a strong working relationship with. If I could get rid of a couple of them first, it gives me ample time to really be able to choose a side in impending The Battle of Daquwaqa. For now, I simply want to keep the lid on this boiling pot of soup. When the pressure is too much, I'll be the only one prepared to handle it.

[Rudy]

Did you expect to make it this far or has this been a shock?

I didn't really expect to make it this far to be honest. I don't play ORGs often anymore and I really don't stick out in the community. All Star games are an entirely different beast, so I was thinking I was toast right from the get go. Well, I WAS voted off first, but I've been graced with the opportunity to get back in this game, and I've really made the best of it. I got back in and charmed my way into the core of Turuwaka. I then proceeded to rule NuDegei with an iron fist. Then I was pushed back into the minority of NuNuTu, but again ingratiated myself using my charm and disarming abilities. I think it speaks volumes of my gameplay thus far that I've been able to survive in various positions. I'm proud of my game and how I've gotten here.

How is the merge going to change your gameplan?

The merge is not changing my gameplan. On NuNuTu, I was playing very conservatively. Right now, I'm doing the same thing but I'm a bit more covert and deceptive in my motivations. I'm trying to keep the warring sides after each other while taking out miscellaneous players who have no value to me. I have Willard's head on a platter. He will wish he never crossed King Rudy.

Do you feel more of less vulnerable now with more people around?

I feel less vulnerable with more people around, because with the exit of two ferocious enemies in mutineers Mia/Patricia, I have a lot less enemies bringing my name up in a negative fashion. I think I've been very good at keeping a low profile while still maintaining influence on my allies. Not only this, but there are way bigger targets out there than myself. People like Teresa/Brenda and their close allies will start to be targeted rapidly once The Battle of Daquwaqa ensues.

Is there anyone you are happy to be reunited with? Any you are not too pleased to see?

Happy to be reunited with the likes of Teresa and Nay Nay. I'm very displeased to see Willard here. We will never have a working relationship, because his self-esteem is nonexistent.

[Rudy]

The amount of group pms I'm involved in is staggering!

I started the "partners treaty" group pm. I'm just waiting for cosigners now.