Stranded in Suriname

Excited y'all!

This should be titled "Stephannie's Favorable Opinions"

We have standards here, Steph.

<3

Going through cast surveys!
First few for now

YAU MAN
I really don't think he's going to last very long.
The "be a goat and then say it was intentional all along" strategy doesn't work, so he's going to have to adapt quickly.

I think that since he has more time for the game, he'll hopefully adapt and learn the ropes instead of thinking that he can get away with what he's planning on doing now.

He's going to really have to build those connections up, because if he doesn't improve his PM'ing from last time he'll be prime 1st boot material.

I'm excited to see him play though, because he's proven to be a fun risk-taker and lulzy presence.
I guess we'll see!

Liliana
I wouldn't be surprised to see a lot of growth from her.
I'm reading her survey and really liking some of her answers. She seems to understand why she lost last time, and is willing to put in the effort to improve her game.

When I played with her I always found her a little hard to fully trust, so hopefully she finds a good group that she can go far with.

David
Hm... I'm not getting much of a read from his answers.
I've never played with him or seen him play, so I don't know what to say of his gameplay... but if he replied to PM's in a game with me like he answered the survey I wouldn't align with him.

Though he hints that he might be a trainwreck?
That'll be fun, y'all!! <3


Gabriel
My first thought is that it's likely best to "be who you are" in social games like this, so when he says that he wants to "Be the Patricia" I don't know if I see that happening.
If he isn't a natural HBIC/OTTN type of player, it's probably not going to work if he tries to force that role.

I think if he's laid-back and fun in his PM's he'll go far.
I don't know about winner chances though, I haven't seen him play.

Rupert
"I've watched more reality tv shows so I think I have a better understanding of the game than I used to."

but anyway from his responses I think he's someone who is going to be a bigger player.

John
He seems a little too laid-back about getting into an alliance. I feel like especially since people are returning there'll probably be a ton of stuff going on, and if he takes the "Wait for people to come to me" game he might find himself as the easy "consensus boot" to start things off.

"I know how to delicatly deal with people better, but I also know how to stab people in the front and keep them smiling.
Girl you just said you weren't as cocky as you were the last time and then you said this.

I don't know about this one.
I don't think I have high stock in him winning, but he might be a fun character along the way.

Ozzy
"I think I'm going to play more under the radar, puppet-master type of game."
This is a lot harder than people think!

Also would it be a good idea to start off the game MOR like he says he wants to? I feel like it may be a bad idea to leave a "bland" impression to people early on - especially in a returning player season.

First impressions are huge, and getting tight allies right away is important if you want a high chance of making it past the early couple of rounds. If you just show up and are MOR people are going to see you as the easy consensus-boot option.

There's definitely a lot of potential here. I think if he really puts the time&effort in, he might do well.
I'm worried he may have a bit of a rough start, but we'll see.

Shane
lol. Whoever this is, they're a good Shane rep.
Not a lot to go on from the responses though.

I feel like he'll do well though.

Sandra
"I am going to try and play up that it's been so long since my last season, I'm not really aware of how the game has changed"
I feel like people would see right through that.

Other than that she seems really likable. I hope she does well <3

Kelly
She gave short answers but I'm getting great vibes from her.
I think she's definitely someone to watch and someone who could go far/win.

Diane
Not a lot for me to go on because I've never seen her season and her answers seemed rushed. Not sure what to say.

Jenna L
omg who is this?
Fun personality, puts effort into responses...

idk this definitely strikes me as the type of person to make it far and be a big player, maybe win. I get the sense that she might have a public outburst or something and wind up making it far but not winning

Either way seems like a fun character, looking forward to her!

Sugar
Seems fun, but I haven't seen her play so I don't know what else to say.
One of the people I'm going to just have to wait & see.

getting late,
will have to do the rest tomorrow.

quick ranking while we get closer to the merge
(feel like this may accidentally differ from my cast ranking in the official voting)

It was hard to rank because I actually do like everyone left.

1. Sugar - <3 Fun, lulzy, always seems to be enjoying what's going on even if she's saying she hates the tribe, etc. <3 Love her and hope she goes far
2. Flicka - <333 Love seeing Flicka in this, LOVE the voice confessionals. Hopefully she's in this for the long haul too.
3. Liliana - OMG fun hilarious trainwreck wreaking havoc on both tribes at the same time <333 Finding the idol <3333 She came to PLAY and is doing great.
4. Kelly - YES! Fun, trainwreck, enjoying the game, being positive presence. She is everything!! <3 Hope to see her defy the odds and go far
5. Jenna - Fun, excited, etc. Though I haven't paid much attention to her tribe lately, so I haven't seen much
6. Marissa - Still love her, she was my #1 for a while but she seems to have had a quiet couple of rounds. I bet she'll be a fun HBIC at the merge <3
7. Shane - Great! Really funny, solid strategy, very likable. I hope to see him go far in the game.
8. David - Haven't paid attention to him much but I know he'll be a fun presence in this game <3
9. Gabriel - I need to pay more attention to him because he seems really funny, but I haven't been digging through his confessionals/PM's/etc.
10. Sophie - Fun HBIC <333 I do love her, but she isn't making me ~love~ her like the people above on the list. I really hope she makes the merge <33
11. Ozzy - Apparently in a really good position, haven't been following his PM chains though. I think he's set up to do well! We'll see.
12. Mookie - Another person I haven't been paying super close attention to, though I can say the tribe divisions weren't the best
13. Kimmi - Hm... everyone loves her and wanted to align with her right away, but she has seemed pretty low-activity especially in the beginning.
14. Artis - just seems like a follower so far, I haven't paid much attention to him either. He still has time to step things up.

writeups... all but f3 done. I may not have time to do f3, just a heads up but 20-4 are done.


Sandra - Ugh, I was really sad to see you go so early!! Robbed!
You really dominated in those challenges, but the way the numbers worked out it just didn't pan well for you.
You weren't afraid to be a player in the game, and you were off to a good start. Sucks to end up on the wrong side of the numbers in a swap, but that's how things go sometimes :(

Diane - Another person I wish had lasted longer! You were likable from start to finish, but things just didn't work out.

Kristina - You were an instant favorite of mine, and someone I had pegged to go far. I saw in you the potential to be a huge player and make big waves in the game.
Unfortunately it felt like you kind of dropped off in activity after the first little bit of the game, and then the next thing I knew you were gone.

Sean - Ugh I remember a lot of us weren't happy to see you go this early, but with the way things were divided on each of the tribes, things often felt set in stone.

Kim - MY WINNER PICK!!!
From seeing the action go down on the first day, I saw you as someone who would do really well in a game like this. You were able to snuggle up REALLY well to all the HBIC's of the game, and I had a feeling that you would be an UTR sidekick to someone like Sophie or Marissa, and then emerge in the second half of the game and WIN.
And honestly I think with the type of relationships you built and the types of PM's you sent... I think you really could have gone far if you kept your activity up.
I kept checking in on you throughout the pre-merge, and it looked like your activity kept dipping lower and lower until you were voted out. I don't know where you were, maybe you were busy in real life... but I definitely stand by my thoughts that if your activity had stayed consistent throughout the game, you definitely could have been one of the main power players this season. <3

Rupert - OMG!!! I didn't ~appreciate~ you as much in the early days because there were so many people in the game, but you were a STAR.
You were so fun, a little kooky, and always paranoid <3
When it started approaching the late pre-merge, I was enjoying you more and more, and you never failed to make me laugh <3
It's unfortunate you had to go the way you did, but that's life I guess - happens to all of us at one point or another.
Hope all is well with you!

Ozzy - You came in with a point to prove, and you definitely did just that!
Not going to lie, I didn't have the highest expectations for you/Yau just because of activity levels last time... and while Yau proved to just repeat the same history, you defied all of my expectations and played an amazing game!
Ultimately it was great to see someone who legitimately didn't have time the first go-around to come back and do so well. Your name was frequently tossed around as someone the hosts thought would win.
It sucks to go out one TC short of the merge, but you have absolutely nothing to be ashamed of. You were great in this.


David - I got good vibes from you on a personal level, but I can't remember much from you in this. I ranked you relatively high on my ranking list throughout the season, but I hadn't paid much attention to your game yet, and then before I got the chance you had been voted out.
No knock on you, though. You obviously played a good enough game to make it to the jury. Congrats on that, and represent for the 1st juror club <333

Liliana - omg I don't even know where to begin, haha.
Well I have to say... there was a bit of talk about whether or not your game in Faroe Islands was enough to warrant a return... and you proved everyone wrong! You may have been disappointed with playing a "boring" game last time, but in this season you never stopped entertaining.
You were the player to watch in the pre-merge. Running the show, causing chaos, and finding the idol all by yourself. You had an amazing run. You really were super entertaining - flipping over to a tribe, making everyone panic and change the vote, and then leaving the next round anyway. It was hilarious <3 I think the term "trainwreck" is a great way to describe a lot of the antics that went down <3
And from a crazy ride pre-merge, you morphed into an OTTNN5 force that everyone was desperate to get rid of <3 Such a fun journey.
And don't be disappointed about your placement. You may have placed lower than last time around, but you delivered so much more. Definitely one of the biggest characters this season.
Moving on to Ponderosa... and all I can say is that I'm glad you stole that "annoying at Ponderosa" title away from me. <3 It seemed that you wanted to start a fight with almost everyone who was coming out of the game.
All that said, you went from "does-she-really-deserve-to-be-back?" status to _ALL STAR_ status, and that is absolutely nothing to be ashamed of.

Marissa - You were another early favorite of mine, and I was expecting you to be a HBIC force destined to dominate the game.
A little bit into the game I go the sense that you didn't have a ton of time, but you were still doing well for yourself.
I think if you had a consistent level of activity from beginning to end, you would have been a huge player and massive threat to win.
I was sad to see you go out when you did, and you were consistently near the top of my cast rankings <3

Artis - I feel like you've been getting so much flak from the jury... and will probably get flak from the hosts as well. You were fairly UTR so, like David, I can't think of _much_ to say about your game... but I did have one thought.
It kind of felt like you were the Christina Cha of your alliance - you knew that you were the backup "expendable" person in case an idol would be played, and you seemed totally okay with it. You didn't seem to mind that you were kind of the: "if he has to go, he has to go," person, and I think that's where people's frustrations are coming from.
That said, your placement is nothing to be ashamed of at all! Especially in a returnee season.

Kelly - OMG!!! You were a favorite of mine in this <3 At the beginning it was starting to look like you'd over-play and be a train-wreck early boot, but you proved everyone wrong and dominated the game!
You played a great game on all counts, in my opinion. You were definitely one of the main shining stars of this season, and I was upset to see you leave.
You may not have won, but your performance here was amazing <3333

Kimmi - Hm..... I'm not entire sure here. You seemed to emerge very early on as someone everyone wanted to work with, and someone who was perceived as a big "power player" in the game, but it always felt like you had low activity levels in that pre-merge.
Maybe it was good strategy for you to kind of sit back and let things happen, but for a long time for me it just felt like you weren't doing a ton in the game. And I think that may have stemmed from everyone wanting to work with you and the "leader" title kind of being thrust onto you. At the first swap, you were one of the most popular players people wanted to work with. You public "big player"/threat status seemed a little incompatible with your UTR game, or at least that's what a few of the hosts would say when we talked about the game.

That being said, you were definitely a positive force on a personal level.

Gabriel - You played well, but I was never as _invested_ in your game as some of the other players. You were definitely a fun, positive presence and I'm sure you brought a lot of smiles to your fellow players.
It was great that you lasted so long and were able to bring that level of positivity to everyone left in the game.

Sugar - OMG!!! I mean... I feel like you'll be getting a ton of "<3"s here, so I'm not going to pile onto that _too_ much more... but <33333333
You were amazing in this! My comments about the game as a whole get less and less pertinent as we move towards the end, because I didn't have a lot of time to follow all the strategy, but I loved tuning into your confessionals to get an update on what was going on with you and your game.
Idk you were just.... pretty much everything there could be packed into a likable, fun, great player <3
I was devastated to see you go out when you did, but thankfully you lasted almost the entire season, which is great!
<3

Flicka - FLICKA!!! <3 Ugh, I loved getting an update on your confessionals every round, and I loved how hard you played and how dedicated you were to doing well in this game.
Don't be ashamed of your placement at all! 5th place is AMAZING, especially in a 24-person season, and especially in a returning-player season.
What an evolution... from the person who annoyed people by sending too-short PM's round 1 of Faroe Islands to a 5th placer who was voted out for being too much of a threat to win the game <333
Great game.
As my closest ally last season, I am so happy to see you come back and do so well <3
Ya, it sucks you didn't get to the end and win... but 5th place is still amazing, and you played a great game to get there.

Jenna - OMG when the cast bios came out I liked yours the most instantly. So much energy, fun, etc. And I KNEW you would deliver.
I was initially going to pick you for my winner pick, but I got the sense that you weren't going to have a lot of time for the game so I went with someone else instead... jeeze I should have followed my first instincts! <3
Ugh, I loved you in this. Great, fun presence from the very first round.
A lot of the pre-merge I was worried that you were going to be voted out... but you defied those odds and made it all the way to 4th place! Such a great showing <3
As much as I was rooting for you to survive one last round and go on to win... I'm still happy with your performance in this <33

Shane

Mookie
Sophie