E5: A Yiga who blooms in adversity

I wouldn't sell yourself so short! The more notable traits of a Power player may not come to the forefront until the individual challenges, but I also see Power players as those who are strong of will, of perspective, of sense of self -- and all those attributes have incredible value regardless of the environment we find ourselves in.

That actually helps me transition into something I had been hoping to bring up with you sooner rather than later. I don't wish to speak for you (and I apologize if the rest of this message comes across as too forward), but I got the impression you were hesitant to share your feelings about potential tribe pairings -- Medoh in particular. If that is the case, can I also share that I felt the same?

More specifically, I really don't know where I stand with Royal Horse either. Our time together during the Kakariko/Gerudo Tribal Council was amicable, but incredibly brief, and I got the feeling the group of Horse/Kass/Sidon/Epona were quite close. I think this directly affects both of us moving forward, as we are connected to players such as Kass and Epona, but I am not sure where we fit into the larger picture. I don't know about you, but I'm not quite comfortable with the idea of going into a merge relying primarily on connections that go through someone else (that makes sense in my head, but I'm not sure if it does once typed out).

Don't feel obligated or otherwise pressured to say more than makes you comfortable, but if any of the above strikes a chord with you, could I possibly talk to you about some ideas I've been mulling over the past day or so?

Ha, you're not wrong, but those lower-key aspects of the Power idea are the ones where I cease to fit it. Really I'm not well defined by any one of the traits; I picked the best fit I could, but I think I'm more of a jack of all trades, lacking clearly defined strengths. This PM prompted a whole self-reflective diatribe in my confessional actually. I know my weaknesses in this game, and one of them is being too reactive; but I don't know how to overcome that. But one of the skills I do have is to be able to forge new bonds later in the game than most players have already worked out how everyone fits into their long term plans. Perhaps that's what I should be doing at this very moment.

Yeah, you're right. Screw it, let's build some TRUST, girl.
My initial post said that I was willing to vote off Revali, but then I thought about it for a moment and realized that actually I probably shouldn't do that. I don't know where he stands on me these days, but it occurs to me that if I actually intend to win this game, I need to have something going for me, specifically, and not have played someone else's game. I need to be doing things, and not solely riding the coattails of a group which, as you noted, I'm somewhat in but somewhat peripheral to; I have some difficulty seeing that ending well. Revali is someone outside that cluster of people who's a strong player and I think might be more inclined to work with me than some of them. So it started to seem foolish to me to merrily rush to get rid of my own options. Thus, one reason I think maybe throwing isn't good is that I don't want that Medoh/us tribal to happen. If it does, I, and perhaps you as well, will be in a position of having to decide whether it's worth trying to go after Horse, and it's a dangerous game I'd rather just not play.

You're quite right. We are in a similar boat, it sounds like, as it's easy to see a group coming together where we'll be kind of in the group and kind of not. Maybe we can strengthen our bonds the best and be the ones 'chosen' ultimately, but even if we do that, do we not simply lose to those who did the choosing? I do not have a clear plan as to what to do about this, save to start by telling you that your concerns are resonating with me and it would be a good idea for us to develop a strategic relationship.

Anyway, as to those ideas you mentioned, fire away.

Well, I apologize for any existential dread I may have contributed to. I understand how you feel, though, but I think I meet you in the middle from the other side of the spectrum. I've never been confident in my challenge abilities (I fear my contributions to the maze highlight why haha), and I have a tendency to internalize frustrations in the game to the point it becomes crippling sometimes. BUT, I also try my best to keep an open mind so that opportunities for friendships and allies don't pass me by. It sounds like we both have seen players come and go who dig in their heels, develop a tunnel vision to get them to the end, and eventually barrel through potential partners or fall short because they couldn't adapt. I don't want one of those arcs, so it is a relief to hear you feel similarly open to the idea of collaboration.

I am right there with you -- I REALLY tried to come up with a tactful way to avoid throwing Revali's name into the equation, but I wasn't quite sure where you fell on the "Revali must perish" spectrum. Kass and Sidon pushed hard to pair off with Revali in Round 2 specifically to clip his wings, and the plan seemed to develop further once they pulled in Horse to set up future arrangements. I don't know where Epona factored in with those plans -- they didn't ever bring it up. To me, Horse is a keystone player in the game at the moment: The influence of those connections seems to come through him and Sidon, and they don't seem too shy about broadcasting that (maybe to intimidate others into following their plans?). I agree with you, though: I would prefer Revali stay, as he seems to be a great player who also finds himself in a precarious position. It would be wonderful to avoid making that decision.

I appreciate you saying that. I worried the entire time I was writing my earlier message that I was potentially tanking my game on the chance a gut feeling might help us both out. I think information and surprise will be our best weapons moving forward, as I don't think the larger alliances really suspect us to work together in any meaningful way. That may give us the opportunity to pool communication, cross-reference it, and plan any counter moves accordingly.

All that to say my idea for a potential team would involve the two of us, Revali and/or Link (the "and/or
because I don't know how connected you feel to either of them), and potentially another original Wisdom who may feel on the outs. Hunnie may have connections to Kass, which poses a potential concern for leaked information. Pelison was hard for me to read as well, so I don't know which of those players could help us long-term. Patricia is also a big question mark to me, as I've had next to no interaction with her. I suspect she and Mipha may be close, though, because Mipha made a point to talk her up last round.

That's a lot to digest, I know, but I think that's everything I had as a plan foundation.

Hey, at least you did the maze! By the time I got around to it, I didn't want to mess up what we already had. I hope you do mean this bit about open mindedness I'm all about that. I like to think adaptability is one of my strengths; I suppose we'll see whether that's really true before this is all over, since it looks like I may wind up in a position to do just that.

Hmm, neither Kass nor Sidon was especially forthcoming with me about pushing hard for the chance to kill Revali. One place we certainly seem to agree is the apparent significance of Mr. Horse. Not having met him, that doesn't exactly put me at ease. I thought that I was working quite well with Sidon on the last tribe, but he hasn't exactly rushed to show me his game plan like this. Of course, I wind up with a similar worry about getting super into the ~other side~ many of whom I also don't know particularly well. I suppose this puts me in what some might consider an enviable position, but perhaps too early!

Yeah, no worries, this can stay between us. I am not one of those constant leakers this website is so famed for. I'm pretty into the idea of us having a little thing together to help both of us navigate the quarrels both sides will surely be shooting at one another, and we can indeed keep each other apprised of a lot of valuable info.

Link is a possibility; I want to meet him again and feel him out once more. We clicked well while we were together, but I have no way of knowing how significant that was to him. Probably it puts me in a neutral zone similar to the one he occupies in my thoughts. Based on what I've been talking with Kass about, I'm speculating somewhat that his relationship with Hunnie may have cooled off a bit throughout their tribal, though I don't know for sure. I've also met her, which is a plus. Pelison I somewhat anticipate being a consensus boot, although someone could certainly try to grab him for something instead. I know next to nothing about his game. I can more or less confirm that Patricia and Mipha are close, as Patricia seemed a bit overly into the Zora tribe. I'm positive they intended to be a trio and will presumably be a duo now. I also think that Patty may wind up in Revali's corner.

It is indeed a lot. I do, obviously, have the most connections with the Sidon & co. side of the game at present, but as I said, forging something unexpected could really help everyone involved and I'm definitely more than open to it. The way the game plays out from this point forward - how integrated I might feel with this new coalition and so on - will likely have a lot of influence on how I'll suggest we play it when push comes to shove. There's a romantic appeal in trying to play the middle, but that doesn't exactly have a long and storied history of, you know, working, unless it's done quite well and carefully.

I feel relieved to get this sense from you of where the battle lines might form and like we can really help each other. Definitely into that. I do hope it doesn't become Alliance Vs. Alliance all the way through, as it strikes me as somewhat likely we'll just wind up crushed in the middle/picked off by the winning side if that becomes the shape of the game.