Coco in Canterlot

[Coco Pommel]

First message of the merge!

DJ help I got swapped onto an inactive tribe that was already aligned with each other and now they want me to join their cult

[Coco Pommel]

I don’t think I’m going to be in any sort of danger during this first merge round! The Wonderbolt and Friends Mega-Alliance is going to determine the course of early merge until it gets deconstructed, and I’m not on their radar in the foreseeable future.

With Lede gone (RIP ), this game is much more wide open! I can’t tell what kind of gameplay will set me up to win this. The big question is, are big threats going to continue to drop, with Lede as the first domino in that chain? If so, then I have a few options. I could sink massively under the radar and let myself get carried a bit, but with my social performance on the last tribe I don’t know that I could pull that off. It would likely result in me getting voted out around F7 as a sleeper threat. I could go all-out and declare myself as a threat, and try to unify the big threats! That’s a fun idea, but it’s been done before, and it doesn’t seem like it would work with this particular set of players.

I think what I’m going to do is try and get close with the people pulling the strings on all sides. I think I have the connections I need to play the middle in this merge. I’m in with the Wonderbolt and Friends Mega-Alliance (I’m hoping this catches on!), but I also have every reason to turn on that alliance without receiving too much flak, if I do it tactfully. Additionally, my relationships with Granny, DJ, and FlimFlam are strong, and I think at least one of those people would get me involved in a move against the WaFMA if one sprung up.

[Filthy Rich]

1. What names have you herd so far for the merge vote?
2. What’s your attitude going to be for the first merge vote? As-long-as-it-aint-me, or will you jockey for position?
3. Who is your mane ally?
4. Who is the dark horse to win the game?
5. Who’s somepony that you’re allied with now, but is going to stirrup trouble for you in the long run?
6. Who needs to get off their high horse?
7. How stable is your position?
8. What percent chance do you have of whinnying this game?

[Coco Pommel]

I’ll answer those later, but those puns were filthy rich!

[Flurry Heart]

Congratulations on finding the hidden immunity idol!

[Coco Pommel]

Thank you so much!!! <3

I have my first (real) day at my new job tomorrow, so I won't be super active in here until tomorrow night. Sorry everypony! Things are definitely happening, and the moment I find some free time I'll fill you all in on the sweet, sweet details!

tl;dr: Short-term I think I'm in a fantastic spot, and this idol is just going to secure my position that little bit longer! I feel like I've built excellent rapport with Granny, DJ, Rarity and FlimFlam. I also feel reasonably good about my relationships with Rainbow, Chrysalis, Pear and Pinkie. Soarin is lovely - gamewise we're not all that close at the moment, but I get the sense that that could change easily. The only two people I don't feel so comfortable with atm are Derpy and Starlight, and I'm hoping the first vote here will land on one of them.

[Flurry Heart]

And congratulations on the new job! Hopefully the first (real) day goes well.

[Princess Luna]

Hello Luna has been very sleepy and paid 0 attention, what's going on with the vote and stuff?

[Coco Pommel]

So the game totally blew up today apparently! I got to listen to all of the aftermath, because I was asleep and then at work and then at a social event and then it was three hours to deadline.

You've probably heard much more about the details of this TC from other ponies than you could ever hear from me. So instead I'll show you the bulleted list I sent to Rarity:

So from the collective summaries everypony is giving me, here's what I've put together.

- People wanted Derpy out. That made sense. She's a bit shady and doesn't have many close allies other than Starlight from what I can tell.
- People talked to each other about wanting Derpy out. Reasonable - it's TC time!
- Pinkie has admitted she talked to Derpy about her name being on the chopping block. I don't think there's a very good reason for her to do this. But it also sounds like a very Pinkie thing to do!
- Somehow, the story has become that Pinkie is pitting Derpy and FlimFlam against each other. I don't believe that wholeheartedly, but I do believe there is some truth to it. It's a grey area and we might not ever know exactly how that went down.
- Now Pinkie and FlimFlam are targeting each other! Lots of people in my inbox are currently saying that Pinkie sounds like a good vote.

This is a great summary of everything I care about in regards to whatever happened today between Derpy, Pinkie, and FlimFlam!

There's so much I could talk about regarding tonight. I might just share one PM I've sent to everypony in the game tonight and use that to springboard a discussion of how I feel about them. You know what, I like that idea!

The quote above was to Rarity. I think we have a ton of potential to work together moving forward. She isn't super happy about this Pinkie vote, but I think I'm one of the people she's the least upset with. We've connected well going into merge, and she's shared with me that she would have tried to vote Pinkie over me if we had gone to another TC at Wonderbolt. I consider her one of my closest allies at this point.

[Coco Pommel]

Pinkie Pie

I am extremely far behind having just got back to the forums since last night. >_< I'm hearing Derpy's shady, I'm hearing FlimFlam's shady, and I'm hearing they're both trying to say you're shady! And that's a super general summary of the flooding that has occurred in my inbox!

So yes, I would love to hear the Pinkie Pie Summary of Events!

She had a lot of heat on her by the time I logged onto the forum tonight. Even if I felt like saving her, I felt as though it would have been too much of a move to influence enough people away from voting her. I'm completely fine with a Pinkie vote here though - my shortlist of people I wanted out early yesterday consisted of just Pinkie, Starlight, and Derpy. And tonight has made me reconsider having Derpy on that list.

At the end of the day, I don't trust that Pinkie being around will be good for my game. So I'm fine with this vote. I didn't give her any relevant info she could use to bring me down on her way out. I'm hoping if she has an idol, I'm not her #1 priority target with it!

[Coco Pommel]

Queen Chrysalis

What Pinkie has told me is that she's honest and upfront with her allies. I think the actual truth of whatever happened between Pinkie and Derpy/FlimFlam is... probably in some grey area that we're never going to get to the absolute truth of. This is a lot of people pushing their agenda on this vote using drama and probably a bit of misleading stories on all sides.

Pinkie has PMed me basically saying she can explain whatever happened earlier that people are being dramatic about now. I'll hear her out. But honestly, it's sounding like this vote is less about who lied to whom, and more about what people want to push to further their own games. And the best thing you and I can do in that situation is just watch how people respond, try to get out of this in one piece, and review the situation once it's no longer hot.

Lots of people are floating Pinkie's name to me at this point. Unless there's a huge swing in another direction (or I'm not hearing the juicy details about something else), I'm getting the sense that she might not be salvageable. And considering how willing she was to keep me at the bottom of Wonderbolt from the very start of it, from her own admission... I don't know how far I'm willing to stick my neck out for her. Does that make sense?

Chrysalis is being ridiculously stubborn about saving Pinkie Pie at this vote. I've shown her that Pinkie isn't this beacon of honesty she claims to be, even with Chrysalis, but she's basically ignoring any negative properties Pinkie might have and pretending she can do no wrong.

I am so glad I dodged the second TC at Wonderbolt - if she was going to be like this with Pinkie at that vote, I never would have stood a chance. Chrysalis has dropped massively in my priorities after this round.

[Coco Pommel]

Flim and Flam

I just clicked on our PM conversation to PM you and it gave me an error because you replied :O

Low explanation is totally fine, this TC is insane - I am 100% on your side. The three names people have flooded my inbox with in the last twelve hours are you, Derpy, and Pinkie. You seem to be the vote Pinkie & friends are pushing. And there's a lot of drama and whatnot surrounding whatever happened between you/Pinkie/Derpy but at the moment that doesn't particularly matter. You're one of my favourite people in the game and I'll go where you go on this vote.

Pinkie super put me off at the beginning of Wonderbolts anyway - she acted like she had sole control over Chrysalis and Rarity's votes in a really unnerving way. So I'll totally vote that way with you.

We can get to fluffy chats later but yeah TC takes precedent here and we're on the same page in what we want here!

This PM is 100% true. In fact, most of my PMs tonight were, somehow!

I think I have something really good with FlimFlam at the moment. I enjoy them as people and I think we can help each other massively throughout this merge. It helps that they're an obvious threat and will never stop being an obvious threat until the moment they are voted out. I don't trust everything they tell me, but I do trust that our interests align and will do so for a long time. They're close with DJ and Soarin, two ponies I have a lot of interest in working with moving forward in this game. So the stars are aligning for the two of us to be close allies!

[Coco Pommel]

DJ Pon-3

Oh god I go MIA for half a day and the game absolutely explodes. What the hell are people doing?

I'm gonna be speed-PMing people like nopony's business so walls will have to come later. But from what I've put together, it's probably going to be near-impossible to tell the actual truth of what happened because it's probably some grey blur and people are gonna stick to their stories.

What is the vote that we can pull off that will help us out the most? Before all of this nonsense I was leaning Derpy. I don't think Pinkie is an awful vote if the numbers are there either. Ideally both of them would be gone before too long! If you think Pinkie has the numbers against her and feel strongly about her going, I'm willing to join that. Just keep me updated.

fwiw I haven't heard any names other than Derpy(/Starlight), FlimFlam, and Pinkie.

DJ consistently gets the closest thing to my open and honest thoughts in our PMs. I feel extremely comfortable with him for the time being. We both recognise that we can be a massive positive influence on each other and have just accepted that we're going to be close for a while. We're even on the same page in regards to who to keep around for later on; FlimFlam, Granny and Derpy are all people we want around that will inevitably take a bullet for us at some point in the game. In the end, I'm hoping DJ can take the final bullet for me. <333

[Coco Pommel]

I figured that had a chance of happening. Welp. I don't particularly regret how I played this round! My reasons for voting Pinkie were completely legitimate.

Chrysalis totally knew about that for ages though, and I think she's essentially tanked her game with how heavily she supported Pinkie.

[Coco Pommel]

I'll do the rest of these tomorrow, I think I've had enough of the game for one night!

FlimFlam, the two of you were great fun, and I'm going to be thinking about what could have been for a long time. Thanks for being awesome!

[Coco Pommel]

Aaaaand the random pitches to work with me are starting to flood in! Soarin was first to the gate last night. Derpy is floating the idea that the game is in flux and he's looking to find his footing, which seems to me like a really strong hint that he wants me to take a step towards us working together. Starlight has just explicitly offered me an alliance.

I think I played at just the right level of UTR during that last round that everypony has decided I'm the pony they want in their lives. Except for Pinkie. Pinkie hates me apparently.

I need to tread carefully. It's starting to look like I'll have to betray some people fairly soon. I didn't want this many allies this early, but if I play it right I should be able to manage it!

[Coco Pommel]

I've decided to abandon last night's project to instead answer the initial merge questions!!!

1. What names have you herd so far for the merge vote?

The mane names all night were Derpy and FlimFlam, then Pinkie. And apparently Rarity was out there from FlimFlam for a little bit, but that didn't have any momentum behind it.

2. What’s your attitude going to be for the first merge vote? As-long-as-it-aint-me, or will you jockey for position?

A little of both! I didn't stick my neck out too far, but I also made sure when I got online that the momentum stayed on Pinkie.

3. Who is your mane ally?

Right now if I had to choose one pony as my ride-or-die, I would say DJ. But I have a few very close allies and I'm not putting all of my eggs in one basket!

4. Who is the dark horse to win the game?

Here's somepony I don't think is on anypony's radar right now, but should be: Rarity. I don't think she's in any short-term danger, and she's in prime position to slide through the midgame as well. If she gets to the end with the right people, I think she could take this!

5. Who’s somepony that you’re allied with now, but is going to stirrup trouble for you in the long run?

Soarin. This pony is veeery smart. I think we're playing almost the exact same game. I'm hoping that means he'll want me around for a long time! I need to make sure he doesn't get the upper hand on me, though.

6. Who needs to get off their high horse?

Pinkie. She's got a specific way of looking at the game, and she's giving me the impression that my way of playing is invalid compared to hers.

7. How stable is your position?

I'm worried I will be caught playing a few too many sides soon. But if I can dodge that bullet, I think my position is stable for a long time!

8. What percent chance do you have of whinnying this game?

I honestly couldn't tell you! It's a real horse race!

[Coco Pommel]

Derpy told Chrysalis she was the fourth FlimFlam vote! :O Chrysalis told DJ, who immediately told me.

Derpy is slimy and should go pretty soon!

[Coco Pommel]

Soarin actually seems to have, like, the exact same reads on the other ponies that I do. He told me he:

- likes me/Granny/DJ the most out of everypony (check)
- finds Starlight and Pinkie's actions last night sus (check)
- doesn't have a strong opinion on Chrysalis (kiiinda check? at this point I'd rather her leave the game soon but I could live with her sticking around)
- is 'on fairly good terms' with Pear (check)
- is hesitant to work with Rainbow and Rarity (check on Rainbow, miss on Rarity)

That's 7.5/9. And he gave me his opinions before I told him mine.

He also likes J-Pop, impossibly hard platformers, and DDR.

I'm convinced he's me from a parallel universe!

[Coco Pommel]

There are so many people making so many unnecessary lies in this game! It's starting to get to me. I'm still not enjoying myself very much.

There was a world where I stayed quiet at this TC and still had a very high chance of winning this game. But I've opted for something much more fun! I've started a group chat with DJ, Granny and Soarin. I've given them my honest thoughts. They also all know about my idol.

I don't want any of them out any time soon. They've all been lovely and been a huge influence on my enjoyment of this game. Them and Rarity are my absolute favourites. So I'm not letting anything happen to them.

[Coco Pommel]

I know that was a very tactically questionable decision I made just now. But I haven't been this enthusiastic about anything in a Survivor game in years! I regret nothing!!!

[Coco Pommel]

I'm finally having fun! gosh I've missed this.

[Suri Polomare]

It amuses me that you have made 8 votes in total and four of them have been pinkie related.

[Coco Pommel]

So how can I actually win this game now that I've committed so hard to the three biggest threats in the game? I'd love to believe I can win this through the power of friendship! That probably won't buy me the ability to last all game, sadly.

I guess I'll see how things develop with this new strong alliance! My best bet is probably convincing that four that we all need each other, otherwise we're all going to get taken out by the end.

[Coco Pommel]

Right, I wanna tell both of you exactly what happened from the top of everything

Following on from last tribal, as the only ponies who voted alongside Pinkie last tribal, Pinkie created a group for Me, Queen, Derpy and her, we tried to plan out what would be our steps for this tribal and it was suggested that we get Rarity and Rainbow on board with anything

I start hearing Pinkies name as a vote quite quickly and Derpy tells me in private that maybe we should put out a Coco vote (which I didn't understand because I thought us 2 were close with you 2) but yeah I said to them that it wouldn't be a good idea because I know that Granny wouldn't like it

In the group chat I mentioned about Pinkies name and Derpy then still replied saying to go for the Coco vote that he already mentioned in private and that it wouldn't matter about Granny because we'd have a tight 6 to go through

I say to Queen in private that I don't want that vote and I'd rather something else and I suggest a Soarin vote, she also agreed that she would rather Soarin over Coco because she likes you 2

I knew that Soarin would be an easier push to Rarity and Rainbow due to previous history to do with Fluttershy and Soarin was dead against Rainbow and Rarity, so as a 6 it was decided that the vote was gonna be Soarin and not Coco

I started telling you both about the fact that Coco's name had been thrown out because it had been, but I panicked because the 6 was meant to be a secret and I shouldn't have told you that but I wanted to protect you both

About an hour before tribal Derpy comes to me with a plan that he wants me to be on board with (because he is close to Soarin) he tells me that him, DJ and Soarin are all voting for Coco and he wants me to vote Coco too and that he was working on getting a 5th vote in on the plan

He then tells me that the plan is a go and that there's a 5th mystery person in on this plan of his, I kept asking who the 5th person was but he'd never tell me, I kept my vote on Soarin throughout all of this

This is the point that I was super warning you both about the vote, like at that point I was confident that there still wasn't gonna be enough votes on Coco for anything to happen but I figured that if you both were voting for Soarin then it'd super save Coco from the vote in case there was other flippers I didn't know about

With 10 mins to go Derpy messaged me saying that the vote has been changed due to everything that happened with Pinkie and Pear but he didn't say what the new plan was, he said that Rarity was now voting for Pinkie (I'm assuming that Rarity was the 5th vote)

I'm gonna guess that the 2 votes left on Coco were because the plans changed so quickly last second that not everypony had time to change their votes

But yeah, that's the full story, I'm super worried now because I feel like I'm on the bottom of the tribe and it's really scary

y tho

[Princess Luna]

Which part of that are you specifically asking 'why' about?

[Coco Pommel]

Why does Derpy want me out so much? I guess I just have to assume he's really perceptive and has decided I'm a big threat he wants gone? I've been giving him pretty much exactly what he's been giving me in our PMs - we don't say all that much to each other.

I sent Derpy a frowny face PM and he's playing dumb. If I didn't know Haschel would never cast SensFan, I'd say this was Deoxys. 'Of course I didn't do this thing that I very obviously did!'

[Coco Pommel]

I've played this merge horribly thus far. The next several rounds are just going to be me disappointing people by not working with them and sending them to the jury. And then at around Final Five, I'll be voted out. If I survive to FTC, I'm not even confident that this group of players would consider voting me.

I was on top of the world two days ago! What happened?

[Coco Pommel]

ID spoilers

I think I'm just having less fun with Survivor than I used to. And a lot of that speaks to how much better IRL circumstances have become in the past year. Survivor has always been something I go to as a way of enjoying myself when everything else around me is a bit shit. But now that life is better than it's ever been for me, I'm finding that I would rather be living my life than playing online Survivor.

(In case it still isn't obvious after the insane flash game score and the two idols, I'm Klick)

[close]

[Iron Will]

ID spoilers

I think I'm just having less fun with Survivor than I used to. And a lot of that speaks to how much better IRL circumstances have become in the past year. Survivor has always been something I go to as a way of enjoying myself when everything else around me is a bit shit. But now that life is better than it's ever been for me, I'm finding that I would rather be living my life than playing online Survivor.

(In case it still isn't obvious after the insane flash game score and the two idols, I'm Klick)

[close]

Blasphemy!  Good job on the irl though.

[Coco Pommel]

Thank you!! Everything's going great!

Right! What's happening with this TC? I thiiink this is going to land on Starlight. But with how much literally everypony is beating around the bush in regards to who they're voting, I guess I can't be sure. Starlight isn't Granny's preferred vote, but she doesn't really have a huge problem with it, and she probably realises that she shouldn't control this vote that doesn't matter all that much to her if she wants to avoid painting a big target on her back.

In the past couple of rounds Starlight has tried really hard to connect with me. I appreciate that, and it does make me feel bad about letting her go here. But I don't think I trust her enough to bring her further in the game over anypony else around. A lot of what she says is clearly meant to put herself in the best positive light, in a way that discredits some of what she says.

When you read this after the game Starlight, know that I really enjoyed playing with you and that this vote isn't fun for me. You're a delight

[Princess Luna]

Who would you have fun voting out?

[Coco Pommel]

Voting Derpy out would be a great time!

[Princess Luna]

Imo you should have fun voting out everypony because they're not you and their screams can only feed your endgame

[Coco Pommel]

I don't have high hopes of winning this game with the way this jury is looking! If Pinkie, Starlight, Derpy and Chrysalis all wind up on the jury, I don't think I will get any of those votes. That's alright though, I guess. I don't necessarily know that's what will happen. And if it does, it's not going to affect my enjoyment of this game all that much at the end of the day. I won't regret going far with the people who have given me a fun experience.

[Coco Pommel]

If I bank on winning at least one of the next three immunity challenges, I could literally be immune until Final Five.

This game is silly.

[Coco Pommel]

I feel like I'm getting a cheap ride into endgame. I don't want a cheap ride into endgame! I want an exciting game with twists and turns that I have to fight my way through!

I find myself oddly missing Wonderbolt! Something about being insecure in my position there made the game so much more thrilling, even when nopony was around to talk to me.

[Princess Luna]

Wait until she finds the third idol under her pillow

[Flurry Heart]

Wait, it was supposed to under her pillow?

[Coco Pommel]

A few things have happened today! This will be a rather large update, so I'll update with a few rapid posts!

First of all, what's happening at this TC? I want to take out Derpy. She's the single person left I don't have much of a connection with, and I think there's a decent chance she's holding an idol. This is the perfect time to strike, while I've got immunity.
Granny and I are on the exact same page with this vote. She wants a Derpy vote before worrying about any wackier plays, because Derpy is just that much of a wildcard.

The alternative vote is Grand Pear. He's being pushed by Derpy, DJ, and Soarin. And honestly, I get their reasoning. Pear is not around very much, and he's difficult to get to know. I personally think he's brilliant and a joy! But I get why others are struggling to get a read on him and want him gone.

Rainbow and Rarity are voting Derpy here, but they're hard selling to DJ/Soarin/Derpy that they're voting Pear. They're doing this to the point that DJ and Soarin are totally convinced this vote is going through on Pear even without the help of me and Granny. The four of us chatted it through, realised we all disagreed on the target, yet also realised we didn't mind all that much if the other target got voted out. DJ threw the idea out to me that we could split our votes at this TC, and I jumped at that idea and suggested it to the group at large. It's letting me have the best of both worlds, sticking with my alliance with DJ and Soarin while still voting out their mutual connection in Derpy. How convenient!

[Coco Pommel]

Rarity is such a sweetheart!! I adore her, and I've decided that I want to be at the end of this game with her. I think we stand a decent chance against each other, with a few votes locked for both of us respectively. It would be a close battle, and one I'm confident I would have a chance in! But more importantly, she's one of the most enjoyable people I've had the pleasure of interacting with in this game. If somepony had to win besides me, I would be happy with it being Rarity.
She and I have had a chat. We realise that Rarity is obviously viewed as super tied to Rainbow, and similarly I'm seen as Granny's right-hoof pony. But we also realise that they have a big advantage over us when it comes to actually winning in front of a jury. I'm so glad Rarity realises she will struggle to beat Rainbow and is willing to tell me that - that was my biggest concern moving forward with her, that she would stay unwaveringly loyal to Rainbow and it would be her downfall.

With that out of the way, my new biggest concern with Rarity is squirming my way out of this situation I've gotten myself into where three people in the game other than her know I have an idol that expires in three rounds! That's a tricky one. I could just tell her that I wasn't sure about us early on in merge when Pinkie was still around. Would that be good enough for her? I don't know. It's something I need to think about!

[Coco Pommel]

With that, I believe I'm currently the closest ally of three different people in the game! I've snuck my way into Rarity's #1 spot over Rainbow; I'm still getting clear and detailed updates from Granny indicating she still trusts me more than anypony; and I'm pretty convinced I'm still DJ's top ally, although I might be competing with Soarin for that title.

Fun little experiment - I'm going to take a guess at how everypony would rate their closeness to everypony left, assuming Derpy gets voted out here.

big!

Coco Pommel
1. Rarity
2. Granny Smith
3. DJ Pon-3
4. Grand Pear
5. Queen Chrysalis
6. Soarin
7. Rainbow Dash

Rarity
1. Coco Pommel
2. Rainbow Dash
3. Queen Chrysalis
4. Grand Pear
5. Granny Smith
6. DJ Pon-3
7. Soarin

Granny Smith
1. Coco Pommel
2. DJ Pon-3
3. Soarin
4. Grand Pear
5. Rainbow Dash
6. Rarity
7. Queen Chrysalis

DJ Pon-3
1. Coco Pommel
2. Soarin
3. Granny Smith
4. Queen Chrysalis
5. Rarity
6. Rainbow Dash
7. Grand Pear

Grand Pear
1. Granny Smith
2. Rainbow Dash
3. Coco Pommel
4. Rarity
5. Queen Chrysalis
6. DJ Pon-3
7. Soarin

Queen Chrysalis
1. DJ Pon-3
2. Grand Pear
3. Coco Pommel
4. Rarity
5. Rainbow Dash
6. Soarin
7. Granny Smith

Soarin
1. DJ Pon-3
2. Coco Pommel
3. Granny Smith
4. Queen Chrysalis
5. Rarity
6. Grand Pear
7. Rainbow Dash

Rainbow Dash
1. Rarity
2. Grand Pear
3. Granny Smith
4. Coco Pommel
5. Queen Chrysalis
6. DJ Pon-3
7. Soarin

[close]

[Coco Pommel]

Pear talked to Chrysalis and threw out the idea of a 4 person alliance with him, her, me, and one other pony yet to be determined. Pear says he did it just to secure Chrys' vote last TC... But I actually like the idea! Him, me, Chrys and Rarity could actually team up sometime soon to all of our benefit! Chrys loves the idea, and I think it could work well. But without Pearl's legitimate support, it won't get off the ground.

[Filthy Rich]

Haha, I was thinking about asking everypony what they thought each other ponies ranking was but you already answered that <3

So instead I'll ask how closely your ranking corresponds to your ideal bootlist.

[Coco Pommel]

Great question! I don't think I have an ideal bootlist at this stage. I've done some thinking about how I would like the rest of this game to go, but I can't say I have a particular preferred order for everypony just yet. Considering my position, my gameplay for the next few rounds is going to be rather reactive, making plays based on what others seem to want. I will say that the top and the bottom of my ranking are accurate to a bootlist; I'd like to see Rainbow Dash gone this round if possible, and I want to take Rarity to the end. Everything else is pretty flexible at the moment!

[Coco Pommel]

Earlier in the game, I wanted to go as far as possible with DJ. He's super cool and fun to talk to, and up until recently I've been the most open and honest with him. But I've got to thinking, and I don't think I can let him get much further.

My initial plan was to let him get to Final Five, and then let him get voted out there. That would be great, and it's what I'd do if immunity wasn't a factor... but I've just remembered that he has two challenge advantages he still hasn't used! On top of that, DJ is a challenge threat in his own right. He has performed extremely well in most of the skill-based challenges, and that's something I should be worried about heading into endgame.

This wouldn't be a problem if DJ wasn't also a massive threat to win. He's like Soarin, but without any immediate danger towards him at any point thus far. everypony likes DJ, and nopony has even attempted to vote him out yet. He and Granny are the two biggest threats to win left in the game, and DJ is the one that could more easily make an immunity run. Especially if his challenge advantages are as strong as Derpy's, which was essentially a challenge autowin.

Therefore, I need to make my move on DJ soon. I won't like it, but I think it must be done.

I'm throwing around ideas about how I could take DJ out. My current thought is that I could ride the anti-Rainbow wave into a Rarity vote at Final 7, and then let Rarity play one of my idols while we blindside DJ. That seems like the cleanest way to take him out.

[Coco Pommel]

Granny has brought up concerns with me that Pear might not ever have any intention of splitting from Rainbow and Rarity. She said she's tried to ask him about whether he has any other plans he would like to pursue other than the alliance with those two, and Pear has seemed confused more than anything that Granny would consider not working with the alliance. Considering Pear is part of my endgame plans, this was a bit worrisome to me! If Pear was content with sticking with Rainbow, then it would be very difficult to find a way to get to the end with Pear and Rarity without also risking Rainbow getting that far. I decided I might as well try and see if Pear would play ball with me. I didn't have high hopes hearing how Granny had taken a swing and missed.

So imagine my surprise when I get this PM in my inbox!

Yeah, I hope that's true. I don't want another stressful TC like that I've been thinking the same tbh. I think we might have a hard time convincing the jury to vote for us, but most of it depends on how the jury is going to vote? If they're all salty, then we'll want to take somepony like Dash to the end. If they vote for playing aggressively, they might vote for Dash. I don't think it would be impossible for us to win, but it won't be easy.

However, is there a group that would make it more likely for us to win? Would taking Chrys up our chances? Or does Chrys automatically gets Glimmer and Pinkie's votes?

It's a tough question, tbh. I do think it's important for both of us to stick together. And we'll decide who gets to go with us to the end?

Granny seems to think Pear isn't thinking about what he can actively do in his position. But Pear seems a bit more clever than Granny might have anticipated! This also shows that I may have convinced at least one person that I'm not a big scary threat! Woohoo!!!

[Coco Pommel]

Endgame is starting to look like a Final Four of Rarity, Pear, Chrysalis and myself, just due to all of those people generally wanting the other three at the end with them. Personally, I would prefer having Soarin or even Granny in that Final Four over Chrysalis. I'm going to do what I can to convince Rarity and Pear that Chrys has zero enemies on the jury and can't be allowed to touch FTC.

Also, I've just told Rarity about one of my idols. Fingers crossed that this isn't a huge mistake! I'll find a way to squirm out of the fact that Granny/DJ/Soarin also know about the idol eventually.

[Coco Pommel]

aaaand with DJ playing her first challenge advantage I no longer have motivation to vote her out soon! If you played that early on purpose then that was a really smart play DJ, those items made you a much bigger threat. I didn't want to vote you out just yet <3

Recalculating . . .

I genuinely think the group of DJ, Granny and myself benefit from all three of us being around for at least the next two rounds, if not three. We all have a very tough road to FTC if we part ways and try to go it alone. I think I could pull it off by committing to Rarity and Chrysalis hard, but I much prefer keeping the threats around in this position! Besides, I don't think I trust Chrysalis enough to commit to her. She's trying so hard and being so careful to not upset anypony at all, ever, until she absolutely has to. And when the time comes for her to make a choice, I don't trust that it will be in my favour.

So you know that alliance of five between Rainbow, Granny, Rarity, Pear and myself? Rainbow has just proposed a Final Four to Granny of Rainbow, Granny, Rarity and Pear... I've been booted prematurely from the alliance
I don't blame Rainbow tbh. I'm not good for her game and good on her for recognising that. She misplayed telling Granny though!
Apparently she also made a Super Secret Side Deal with Granny herself, where the two of them would agree to bring each other to FTC if they won the final immunity challenge, and if they broke the deal it would cost them the other's jury vote...? Granny is sketched out by that whole situation. Honestly, Rainbow is probably being super genuine about that deal, but it's pretty obvious to me that Granny wouldn't ever go for a contractual obligation-esque plan like that. It doesn't seem like her style. (I guess it's easy for me to say she wouldn't go along with it, though - she did tell me about it!)

Rainbow is pitching a *vote split* between DJ and Soarin, with everypony else in the game involved! Meanwhile, DJ and Soarin seem to be done with Rainbow and just want her out. everypony else in this vote is a swing vote to some degree - they all have preferences, but I don't think many people are actually fully committed to a side here to the point of getting burned if this vote goes the wrong way for them. Let's have a look at where people are leaning...

Granny wants Rainbow out, but she also sees merit in making a move on DJ and Soarin. She's definitely leaning Rainbow.
Rarity is pushing fairly hard to save Rainbow, and I don't know why I'm surprised >_< I told her about the shady-as-all-get-out deal Rainbow offered Granny and said we might want to just make a play on Rainbow this round, and this is what I got:

I also haven't heard about this F4 deal with Granny and Pear. I'm imagining it is one of those things that Dash is waiting to solidify before bringing it up to me as an idea. I also kinda feel like the two of them are going to hestitate to actually go through with that. This kinda feels like a #bigplayz round. Personally I would prefer to see Dash survive one more round especially since we have the numbers and item backup to take her out whenever. However if you're really worried, I can definitely see speeding it up in a way that makes you feel more secure. Still I'm not going to take you out and I'm certain Chrysalis won't either, so I don't think we need to worry about Dash at any point.

The last part amuses me a bit. 'I won't vote you, and Chrys won't vote you, so you shouldn't be worried about... Rainbow?'

Pear just messaged me saying he realises that Dash is the biggest threat by far, but he also thinks Dash can be voted out whenever. He wants to vote DJ.
And Chrysalis doesn't commit to names. That's not her thing.

I want Rainbow out. I think my position is amazing going into Final 7 with two idols and Granny/DJ both still being around. I can further commit to something like a Chrys vote next round, and then I have a round of buffer to try and stop Rarity from hating my guts! At Final 5 with both Granny and DJ, I think even with two idol plays I might be able to convince whoever's left that I'm not the biggest concern.

[Coco Pommel]

I am a bit worried that something like Rainbow/Rarity/Pear/Chrysalis has formed! That's not a fun thought!

[Coco Pommel]

:OOOOOO

Just fyi, Rainbow's plan at this vote seems to be to have everypony but DJ and Soarin split on DJ and Soarin. The way it was described to me was that everypony is supposed to tell you we're putting majority on DJ, but two people are supposed to split their votes onto Soarin in case they play an idol. She says it's meant to play around the possibility of you flipping to their side.

The situation makes me feel icky, basically!

Oh.. well that's disheartening to hear. Dash is playing chess around me? I'm.. not exactly happy about that at all.

About to do some house chores for about 30-60 minutes or so, but yes, Rainbow is OTTing this round all over again.
Also, Pear doesn't love the idea of voting Rainbow here and Rarity would rather wait to make a move.
I... would honestly love to make a move on Rainbow here. I think I've had enough of her antics. I believe we can pick up the pieces after they fall, but this just feels like the right play at the right time to me.

I don't love it either, but like, if I am actively being left out of her shit for a third goddamn time, no. I'm done. Twice was bad enough, but a third time? Fuck that shit. Don't claim to be my ally and then plan shit around me. If the assumption is I'll flip when I had no intention of doing so and a plan was put in place in case I was going to, then fuck it, I guess I'm going to, huh?

[Coco Pommel]

Why would Rainbow not leak this plan to Chrysalis? I think that was a fatal mistake. Unless Chrys' acting skills are off the charts, she seems to actually be done with Rainbow here.

Score!!!

[Coco Pommel]

Rainbow, you're a rockstar. You played a bit too hard, but I get the impression that you don't regret it and you had fun almost every step of the way. I meant what I said at the end of our last Onitama session - you're amazing, and you should never forget that.

[Coco Pommel]

In other news...

Final Five!!! Woooooohoooooo!!!!!!

[Coco Pommel]

Now the question is, would playing these idols back-to-back in the next two rounds immediately make me an obvious threat who everypony wants gone at Final Five? Probably!
Am I a threat that people would want gone at Final Five anyway? Probably!

[Coco Pommel]

I think my goal is to make Granny and DJ look like excellent players, but also to make sure they don't get eliminated in the next two rounds. With two other giant threats left in the game at Final Five, I might just get away with surviving that round.
DJ in particular is somepony I want to ensure survives to that point because of her strong track record with challenges. Other ponies might just be too scared to take her to Final Four over me. A pony can only hope!

[Coco Pommel]

This put a big smile on my face!!

[Coco Pommel]

All of my closest allies want to kill each other and nopony wants to kill Chrysalis anytime soon.

Rarity is committing more heavily than before to us going to the end together! Unfortunately, we seem to have different ideas of how we'd like to go about getting there. We're concerned about opposite groups of people; Rarity is worried about leaving DJ, Soarin and Granny in the game, while I'm scared that Chrysalis is going to find a way to run off with Rarity and Pear on her own. I'm trying to talk her into the idea of leaving at least one of DJ/Granny alive until Final 5 to make that vote easier on us.

Right now, I'm thinking that it would be ideal if both DJ and Soarin made it to Final 5. In that situation, everypony would be scared to let them get to Final 4 together - they're pretty likely to take each other to FTC if either of them win the final immunity challenge. I would also have the option of just voting with DJ and Soarin in that scenario, if I wanted. All in all, the two of them being at Final 5 significantly ups my chances of making it to the end.

So if I want DJ and Soarin at Final 5, and I want to be at FTC with Rarity... that leaves one more Final 5 slot. I'd rather it not be Chrysalis - I think she's a giant sleeper threat to win with this jury and she could slide her way to the end way too easily. If Granny fills out that Final 5, I don't think I have to worry much about being voted out, but I do have to worry about getting into an FTC that I can win. I'd have to hope for an FTC of me/Rarity/Soarin, or else it would probably be an uphill battle. Pear would work, but how could I arrange a Final 5 of DJ/Soarin/Rarity/Pear/myself? I suppose Granny could get voted out this round, and then I could use my idol(s) to organise a Chrysalis elimination? I don't love that line.

I don't really know what I want yet; these are just ideas floating around in my head!

[Coco Pommel]

DJ wants Pear out this round. DJ has wanted Pear out every round and this is not news to anypony!

Granny is saying she's not 100% sure what she wants yet for this round, but that she's leaning towards wanting to try and get DJ out. I think that would be a mistake, and not just because I would do my best to stop it from happening! Granny's a giant threat and everypony is aware of this. If she drops her cover by gunning for DJ now, all of a sudden she's one of the only threats left of her caliber.

In fact, I know it's a mistake because Rarity and Chrysalis both have said that Granny's an obvious social threat that should be taken out soon!

[Coco Pommel]

I feel like I'm watching Chrysalis win this game and there's not much I can do to stop it without blowing up my own position.

Some seriously wacky ideas are going around in my head. I should step away for a bit before I make any plays I might regret!