Revali

Like if I'm going to be asked about what I'd do, I need to include the scenarios where it goes bad if there is a possibility of them.

I mean my first instinct would be to hold the line and just have our majority of 4, which is definitely better for you. I am however, unsure if it is better for me. Running with that alliance all the way to 4/5 (the issue at either is identical) puts me in a position where I'm likely advocating for voting our Urbosa having always voted with them and with them not having a bunch more immunity wins and items, so I'm unsure that actually happens in either case, I think it's far more likely either I get voted out or you/Mipha goes, is that incorrect? I probably would probe yours and Mipha's thoughts on it though but pure speculation is it wouldn't be easy in this weird no items and immunities scenario.

That would leave voting out someone like Epona/Sidon/Kohga at F7, but then...now I still need to flip on Urbo at F6, where a 3-3 is still decently likely if I'm unable to swing you or Mipha, so it's roughly the same, except now 1 outcome of rocks is I die (if I'm not targeted) and 2 of them are one y'all die, which is...strictly worse.

I get why you think on the surface it's a short sighted first instinct, but it isn't, it's a matter of weighing "if not then, when" and I think that line is the one that has the most success for me.

Does that at least explain my thinking even if you disagree with it.

You're... implying we wanted to take DesignateUrbosa to the end over you. I'm surprised you believe in your UTR game so little to believe that was a thought that ever computed through my circuits.

DesignateRevali. Are you accusing me, the most powerful baking utensil in all of Hyrule, of making decisions based on how I felt? Don't answer that. My hard drive is too busy defragmenting from the horror. To answer the bit about Wisdom alliance though DesignateUrbosa suggested to me DesignateEpona might want that at Final Seven. The possibility of that actually happening died at Tarrey Town when Designates Mipha and Epona refused to sync.

Okay, so I have a question. Like both Sidon and Kass were like "you're clearly Urbosa's right hand man this game you have to change that perception" before I left, but honestly...why was I seen that way. No like actually, I haven't actually rebutted that this entire time and I'm starting to realize that...it's really really weird.

Like at merge start I made plans more with Horse and Epona in mind and Link was one of the names that we specifically discussed as a potential round 1 wagon since Horse wanted it so much. Here's the thing, while they did space out some of the core four, they never actually said that they placed me out of where they wanted me, you know in that F2 slot. Meanwhile my ranking here was...

The next round, I did more organizing with Sidon on the vote than Urbosa and they weren't around for most of my dealing with the Hunnie business, not to mention I left them instructions overnight to consider going for Mipha if it seemed it'd be possible.

Then in the Round where we had to do our lists I was well, honest about my list, and Urbosa copy pasted theirs (and their explanations)

Meanwhile mine went like this:
F6: Prince Sidon
F5: Master Kohga
F4: Urbosa
F3: Royal White Horse
F2: Epona

You might notice, but Urbosa is not in that F3, Epona and horse were my priorities. Now granted we grew quite a bit closer during that round but...Urbosa already had me as their top, I certainly didn't have them as theirs. Now they did do a bit of fanagling here, but regardless, I don't see how we're just a pair with me as the sidepiece, at worst we're just equally sure of the others standing.

Also at F9 the Oaki round, it's not like I was acting on their orders or anything. Oven being around was something that was independently good for my game and I just spent a lot of time defending that and also trying to prevent Oaki from being the vote (guess I messed up on that one), but once again, I fail to see an asymmetry of power. The next round was just a matter of who happened to have immunity, like it's not like voting out Kass is ever something that I needed to be told to do, it was something I always wanted.

And like, the thing Urbosa wanted to do most, target Sidon was something I never seemed interested in, like if I was just their right hand man wouldn't I have...just gone along with that?

Also I get how you were all like "you have to take the lead Revali" and presumably me trying to vote out Urbo is that but....

Urbo had several opportunities to try and vote for me, Urbo had plenty of opportunities to screw me over, they did it over and over again to literally every player in the game...except for me. Like a round would happen and they'd apologize about lying or untruthing or whatever to everyone else but...there was rarely a confrontion about that with me, with me they were always honest. And then even when I was like "so Urbo I am going to kill you if you lose immunity" they were still super devoted to me, even making plans for what to do in a F4 in a way where they were essentially locked in on Kohga the moment I said the word (I think it was independently better for both of us anyway).

Also final 5 they protected me specifically. Like seriously, they didn't know if Epona was voting me or Mipha, but they chose to play the fury on me (something I did not request) but didn't play any item on mipha (or an additional item on Epona) to hedge their bets. I posit this is because while mipha potentially going as a result was potentially bad, they absolutely were not going to risk me going home no matter what.

So like, in a relationship where I clearly had other higher priority allies early on, repeatedly did things with people that Urbo specifically didn't want me to and had them try incredibly hard to save me while I gave them no such guarantee, why am I the right hand man? Like seriously, why? Urbosa was a serious challenge beast with an agenda, a dragon if you will, but given that summary of our relationship, doesn't that make me the dragon rider? At worst we're just partners but still one of us was certainly more loyal to one than the other.

Okay, for Urboa I'd say the worst part of their game is their inability to consider what other people wanted and what may be good for them outside of their own single minded ideas. Like Kass already pointed how them not even considering throwing the challenge damaged that relationship. However, it goes even more than that. Around the game I heard story after story of Urbosa of how Urbosa promised people the moon, only to backstab them hard and apologize and be polite, and sometimes yeah, that is what you do, but what strikes me is that...people seemed to find it false. People didn't expect Urbosa to do anything except look out for Urbosa, and like they had all the connections in the world going into merge, about the same as Kohga who managed them well.

Another example of this single minded-ness is just the entire relationship with Sidon. Like every day I was like "hey maybe consider working with Sidon here he seems to be down for some big moves" and every day "no, Sidon is the worst" and this fixation is part of the reason Oven died, like, there's a reason Mipha and Oven lied about voting Sidon. A quote from Oven.

Also, aside from the sensor +, they rarely revealed their items and bothered to even mention any when they could have been so useful in dealing with the issues of their dwindling support or reforging the relationships they allowed to degrade from this nature. Every single one was either unused or played at the last possible moment it could be and the only time they broke from it was when I might pay the price, and for that, I am grateful, but it doesn't outweigh everything else. If your game is a story theirs ends with them locked in a room with all their treasure with none of their former friends, having betrayed, pushed them  away or walked out on. And frankly that's not the way I think anyone wants the hero to end up. 


Mipha, I'm actually not going to focus on the idol play. Like sure I think they could have easily avoided it by just...walking up to me being like "Robbie is being really rude and smug, are you actually working with them" or "I'm playing my idol" and made it unnecessary to play, but I was sketchy af that round to them, so like it was a fine instinctual play. 

I think Mipha's biggest misstep is how they handled the information they had coming back into the game. It's not that they didn't try to do the right thing I just view their "aggressive play" as...an over-correction. Like I wanted Mipha gone the moment they stepped back into the game and of the returnees, they were my choice over Oaki who literally tried to kill me and had a counter claimed vote on the last tribe for patty. But Mipha really sketched me and well, almost everyone out. Like the first they do is they come back to the game talking about how there are all these big threats to eliminate, which fine, it aligned with what I felt was true, but they did it in such an unstrategic manner that not long after I have Kass coming to ME of all people saying that Mipha has thrown out their name. They also go around saying to some people there are 7 idols in the game and others there are 6, which...people cross referenced and were like "this doesn't add up".

Then immediately after that they suddenly are buddy with Sidon which sketches me out even more about what they're doing (though I guess good play getting Sidon on their side) and then...immediately stonewalls and betrays them when they have immunity, all the while not giving a coherent case for anything to me, a vote they NEED for their plan to work. Like they did all the things people were mad at Oaki for and led them to people feeling Oaki had no shot at FTC, but it kept them alive because Oaki dissapeared that day and after that leaving around the people who were actual threats would have been game suicide.

Like there's a reason over the course of 2 rounds Kass's last words to them were that no one trusted them, because they managed to burn so many bridges that could have been useful within 2 rounds of coming back in the game. They played more aggressively yes, but far more aggressively than they should have. 


For my game, I know a lot of people have been knocking my passivity in the game, but frankly, I don't think it was bad. Like 1. I was often asleep when the main wagon was around and 2. Like yes often other people decided the initial wagon, but if the wagon wasn't to my liking, I'd change it. I worked hard to avoid getting targeted at Tarrey Town 2, I worked hard to push the wagon off of Oven at final 9, when Mipha tried to shift the wagon off of Kass last minute at final 8 I said "no way, I'm not wasting an opportunity to take out Kass" or something to that effect, hell even in the Heart Container tribal, yes Urbosa was the one who brought up robbie telling them they'd kill them, but then I was the one who proposed the swap because I'm not about people doing that to people who aren't me.

I think the most valid criticism of my game is in fact, how aware I was of the goings on. Like I think I knew a far amount about the game, but there was a lot I didn't know. I didn't know the Amibo Reader belonged to Patricia, I didn't know that Royal Horse was actually still on my side and I had no clue that there was a secret alliance back on power tribe and Sidon would often mention things matter of factly that Kass did that I had no idea they did. Furthermore the way people talked about what people were saying to each other (which in some cases was pretty rude) did not match at all what they said to me.  Playing this game I often felt there was just a deeper layer of intrigue and items and secret deals that I was just not privy to, and it seems that that was the case. In survivor often it's not the things you do know that do you in, it's the things you don't and I didn't know a lot, which, had I been less cautious would have done me in. In fact it seems on of the more active things I did, talking to Kohga about threat levels, was something that ended up making Sidon more likely to kill me. 

If I'm to rank these:
I put Urbosa's as the worst of the worst specifically because they had all the potential in the world to do cool shit in this game, but their own play and strategy got in the way of that. Instead of using their immunity and items to strengthen relationships, they atrophied them, they became dependent on something for personal use that thinking more about others would have improved both their standing in the game and just their relationships in general.

Mipha's is second. I think it certainly hurt them and felt more like they were throwing things against the wall to see what sticks (like when they made F3 deals with everyone near the end that everyone just...shared with each other), but at least I get why they overcorrected so much, they could have executed their play better but it was the right sentiment at least, use the information to keep yourself alive and get out the threats. 

Mine is third. I mean of course I'm biased and I do think being unaware of things is bad, but, I specifically tailored my game to deal with the issues of that. Sure I was passive and reactionary, but when you are walking through a minefield that is necesarry. I knew that I couldn't be exactly sure what people would value or why they'd want me around, so I gave people as many reasons for that as possible. I couldn't be sure who might come to my aid or what relationship might be valuable, so even in the face of extreme rage or votes against me, I buried my pride kept talking and asking what they wanted, and when I did mess them up, I was straight up and matter of fact about it, not buried under a million false apologies. None of this is super flashy stuff or even super hard to think of, but it's very effective at covering your weaknesses and a lot of people failed at it this game, both of my colleagues included. 

Yeah, I know I do. I guess I'll try this one:

You just said your game was "passive and reactionary." But I think there's an important difference between those two words, and I'd like to invite you to discuss it as pertains to your game. You sort of did this already at one point, but uh, I guess I want it with that framework.

I haven't been ignoring you, my question just got asked by someone else and I hadn't figured out what to do. I'm honestly still up for grabs, I think. I'm having trouble choosing, which has been a bit of a theme for me this game.