Congratulations on reaching the Final Four!  We will now celebrate this momentous occasion in two ways.

The first: A torchwalk for your fallen comrades.  Speak some words, mostly kind I hope, in your private subforum here about each player you were able to meet on your journey to this point.

Second, it's time for a big step in the production of your movie!  We ask you at this time to post in your Status thread the premise of your film, and also a title.  See if you can come up with something fitting and clever, like the Midnight Coterie of Sinister Intruders, or just something personal to you.

Thank you for playing, and I hope you're having fun!

Before the Suzy/Madame/Richie F3 started solidifying, I'd thought Richie would need to win immunity at 4 to make FTC.  Now I feel like, he's got the idol this round, and if he can keep Madame to F4 then she's the one that needs to win there.  Madame will have a tough road to get there.  This was extremely good for Oracle and Gustave... they'll have a much better chance of making/winning at F3 now.

This next examination will test the same senses, perceptions, and skills as the previous one we did with Dudley, but this time, we're removing sound to find out how being without your sense of hearing affects your performance.  In Dudley's case, this would completely collapse his results, as in the above image where his task was to make his blocks like like Dr. St. Clair's. 

For our challenge, we'll be dealing with something slightly different than the above image.  Our challenge will look like this:



Looking at the above board, you'll see there are three components to each card: Shape, Shape color, Background color

Your task is to find acceptable sets of three cards.  For a set to be acceptable, each of the three components listed above must be either a) all identical, or b) all different.  You can mix and match, or in other words, the shape colors can all be identical, and the shapes themselves be all different, and you are still on track for a valid set. 

What you can not have in your set of three cards is two of any component.  Continuing our example of identical shape colors for three different shapes, if the background colors are all the same, we successfully have made a set.  If the background colors are all different, we also successfully have made a set.  However, if there are two of the same color, the set is invalid.  Similarly, if a set has two of the same shape or two of the same shape color, it is invalid.

Three same: yes
Three different: yes
Two: no!

In the sample image above:
Cards 2, 4, and 6 make a successful set, because all three components are different in each.
Cards 2, 5, and 7 make a successful set, because the background colors are all identical, while the shapes are all different, as are the shape colors.
Cards 1, 3, and 8 make a successful set, because the shapes are all identical, as are the shape colors, while the background colors are all different.

When you start this challenge, you will be shown an image like the one above.  Identify the sets you find by using the card numbering shown above.  To submit cards 2, 4, and 6 as a set, you will type 246.  642 would also have the same meaning since it identifies the same three cards.

There will be five separate rounds to play.

Correct sets will earn you 1 point.  Incorrect sets will lose 1 point. 
The player who successfully submits all the available sets in a given round in the least time also earns 2 points.

This means you are incentivized to work quickly to score the 2 bonus points, but if you work too quickly and do not find all the sets present, you will not be eligible for the 2 points.  Submitting an incorrect set will not make you ineligible for the 2 points, so long as you successfully find all the sets on the board.

To begin this challenge, you will click this link and fill out a form.  When you submit this form, your time will start immediately and you will be provided a link to a new form with the first game board.  When you submit your answers for that form, your time for the first board will conclude, and your time for the second round will immediately begin, with a new link to the next board being provided.  This process will continue until all five rounds are completed.  You will have one hour total to complete the entirety of the challenge.  Answers submitted after one hour has elapsed will not count.

The player with the most points at the end of the challenge wins immunity.  You cannot talk to your fellow tribemates about this challenge.

Previously, on Survivor... a tense tie vote between Royal Tenenbaum and M. Gustave was set to resolve in Royal's favor, with Suzy flipping and voting out Gustave.  An 11th hour medivac of Duke prevented that, saving Gustave and keeping Suzy's flip from being revealed.

Heading into last episode's tie vote, the sides had been...

However, in pulling over Suzy Bishop, a new alliance was formed...


...potentially leaving 4vanhoe as just 3vanhoe.

In the midst of his maneuvering, Richie also had an ongoing struggle with interpreting the Binoculars.  The Binoculars were in fact a round one item that revealed the timing of the pirates, the swap, and the merge, as Sam Shakusky had correctly deduced.  But receiving them after the merge had already begun, Richie was stumped. (Uncharitable dodo music begins playing.)

If I'm very lucky next round will be some manner of train track challenge that I'll have an advantage on from the Binocular item description.  I'm certainly not going to roll over and give up, but this is going to be a long and grueling run the rest of the way.

What the hell man when do the binoculars come into play?

Early in the round, Royal Tenenbaum made a grand announcement.

Hey, y’all.

What a wild ride it’s been thus far. I’m so excited I’ve gotten to know everyone here, and I’ve really enjoyed the stellar gameplay that’s been on display, as well as the inevitable ups and downs that this game has brought.

If that sounds a little bit like an opening to a goodbye message, that’s because it is, to an extent. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s reset to the beginning—the very beginning.

I didn’t sign up for this game at the onset. I had a busy semester ahead, and in particular, I had a combination medical conference/scenic road trip with some friends planned for the end of September. Some of you see where I’m heading here already.

The game begins, and from all accounts, it’s going swimmingly. But then, something pretty normal in these games happens—someone needs to replace out. Francis replaces out, and Royal takes Francis’s place. However, what most of you likely don’t know is that, a few hours after Francis replaced out, the new player in Royal’s slot…also replaced out, for reasons that are unclear/unknown to me at this time. This left the mods in a bind, as (I can only assume) they had already given any other replacements, if they existed, spectator access, and were just fresh out of people who could replace in. They reached out to me through some mutual acquaintances, and I agreed to come into the game somewhat reluctantly, but told the mods that I would have a hard out at the end of September for my trip, which they agreed to.

So, I start playing the game, and I understand that, barring any bizarre complications, this game isn’t gonna end by the time my trip comes. So I play more carefreely than I usually do, and frankly, I’ve had an absolute blast. You, and everyone here, has made this such a fun experience, one of my favorite games I’ve been able to play online. However, one way or another, it’s coming to an end.

When I started, I was planning on just quitting in the round where I was going to leave for the trip. Clean, simple, easy. But after Buckley left the game, things changed for me. The biggest thing is that any quit robs the mods and players of one round of the game they’ve planned (I am NOT trying to blame Buckley for this, I’m speaking of quits/medevacs in general—I’m really excited for Buckley and hope he’s doing well). Buckley’s quit was one round down in the merge, and my leaving would be two, and that felt unfair to the mods.

So, I’ve decided on an imperfect solution. I leave early tomorrow morning, and I’ll be free to message folks until then. Once I leave, though, I’m not going to be able to let this game take over the trip. Here’s what that means for me. After we depart, I won’t be responding to anyone’s pms. I’ll be on my phone (won’t have my laptop with me to start with), and if I let myself respond to pms, I’ll respond to some people and not others inevitably. I’ve already felt how that feels from some players…including some still in the game. :P I won’t be doing that to others. I will, however, read pms I’m sent as I’m able to, Internet and time permitting. I also intend to continue to vote. I’ll be leaving some contingent votes for the next few rounds (three, by my count, since I’ll be gone through Sunday), though it’s entirely possible that only one of them will need to come into play. :D Finally, I’ll be nominally participating in challenges, enough so to not get an activity strike, but…you’ve seen my challenge performance thus far, not much is changing in that regard, I’m not particularly an immunity threat.

With that said, I’m happy to firm up plans with y’all tonight and over the next 8-12 hours, but I’m equally going to understand if you choose to just take me out unanimously immediately at the conclusion of this round. Let me quickly present a case on both sides of that. In favor of taking me out here—it would be an easy vote, and those have been few and far between in this merge, and even in this game. It gets all six of you forward to the Final Six, guaranteed, and that’s a powerful thing in this game. On the other side of the argument, I’d like you to consider whose game it benefits to take me out immediately, and not next round or the round after. Remember, we’re coming off of two consecutive tied votes in the even-numbered rounds. Given that you know I was on one side of the last tied vote and Duke was on the other, are you going into the Final Six intending to tie the vote? Which “side” wins out in that event?  Regardless of what you collectively decide, know that there’s no hard feelings from my perspective, and I fully expect to leave in the vote coming up. I truly do appreciate each and every one of you.

To demonstrate my appreciation, I have some unsolicited advice and comments for all of you. Feel free to ignore this, these are just a few of my thoughts on the game as we go into the Final Seven round for each of you (in alphabetical order).

M. Gustave—I really enjoyed getting to know you early on, and I think you’re one of the most interesting people here, if I look at your voting record. You’re solidly aligned with a lot of different people. I do worry about your messaging habits, and how it might impact the way the jury might perceive you. With me, for example (and I’ve heard this from others), you might wait 1, 2, even 3 days between responding to messages, and that leaves a bitter taste in people’s mouths, particularly when they’re headed out the door. Look, I’m not the paragon of message-sending in this game. I do my best, but particularly in the last week, school has gotten the better of me (not to mention my coming absence). Just consider this some friendly advice to step it up, if you can, as you get to the endgame.

Madame D.—We have had so much fun in this game, from my perspective. You’ve been incredibly loyal to the players you’ve been working with, and I really sense from you a desire to treat people humanely in this game, which I appreciate a lot. You’ve been able to weather a lot of votes coming your way, and have a lot of staying power. The biggest thing I’m concerned about with you is that everyone knows you have a solid resume—an idol, surviving all these votes, and some of the best connections with people in the game. Unless something changes, they’re sure to turn on you eventually.

Margot Tenenbaum—Margot, what can I say except that you’re an absolute powerhouse. You always have such a fun attitude, everyone who talks to you loves you, and you have such a solid strategic base on these votes. You’re just a truly impressive player. Similar to Madame, though, it’s tough to imagine the next several rounds progressing with everyone wanting to sit next to you in the end. I think the coalitions you’ve built will continue to serve you well for the moment, and, frankly, your challenge strength might push you through to the end alone, in which case you’re set up rather well. The reality is, with almost everyone in this game being a serious endgame threat…a serious endgame threat (and maybe several) WILL make it to the end.

Oracle—We’ve had such an intriguing relationship. I really really enjoyed you when we first started talking, and since then, things have devolved. Let me explain—from my perspective, we go through a vote, we come out of a vote with you telling me you want us to be more transparent with one another…and then when I try to make a gesture of good faith to take that relationship forward, you come at me or outright lie to me, increasingly more directly. Then you start the next round the exact same way—halfhearted apologies, saying you want to improve the relationship, and starting the cycle over. I need you to know this—I haven’t been coming after you. When folks have mentioned your name, even in the last round, I’ve deflected off of you largely because of the goodwill we had at the beginning of our time together. Yet, based on nothing at all that I know of, you’ve persisted in targeting me—citing an assumption that I’m targeting you, yet foregoing the open honesty that you claim to want us to have. You say (over and over and over again) that you value transparency, yet when you behave this way, especially consistently, it just comes off as patronizing. I’m not trying to be rude here, but you’re not nearly as slick as you imagine yourself to be, and I am certain I’m not alone in this—people see through your antics. If you’re treating other people like this, especially as they’re heading out the door, it’s difficult, at best, for me to imagine a scenario where you could win, even though on paper you have a solid game you could defend. The good news for you is that it’s that lack of jury management…of people management…that might let you continue to move forward in the game.

Richie Tenenbaum—You were the only person who knew that this situation was going to happen, that I was going to be taking a leave of absence from the game. That’s because, after Buckley left, I decided I was going to leave in this manner, but I still wanted to try to have an impact on the game. So I chose to do my best to propel you forward. It worked out well at first, from my perspective, but you quickly became pretty chaotic. While you never betrayed me or voted directly for me, to my knowledge, you made moves that you didn’t discuss with me, or possibly lied to me about. That really frustrated me, to the point where I almost regretted giving you the Team Zissou rings I got in the first tribe auction, as well as an idol clue. The Team Zissou rings, for those not in the loop, allow the holder to give one of the rings to someone else—if they accept the ring, neither of you are allowed to vote for the other player through the Final Five. I trust that you were able to use the rings to cement goodwill with someone going forward, but that alone might not be enough to get you to the end, particularly as I’m likely out the door next. I’m continuing to root for you, Richie, and I truly hope you continue to make the most of this experience.

Suzy Bishop—Suzy, we’ve been on different sides of a lot of votes, but I truly haven’t met a more kind person in this game. Your love for the game—every single part of it—is apparent through the way you discuss strategy and the challenges, and it’s honestly been incredibly refreshing to get to play with you. Here’s my concern for you—I think if you’re sitting in the end alongside people who made the same moves you did, you win without question. You’re indisputably the architect of a lot of difficult decisions this game, and you’ve played very humanely with folks. However, if you’re sitting next to people who can more readily contrast their game with yours, who have different moves to claim or a better resume in general, I think the outcome is slightly more up in the air. I look forward, with great interest, to seeing how you navigate the final few rounds as we approach the Final Three.

I’ve been yammering on too much already, but let me know (and quickly) if you have any questions. Again, I don’t expect to survive past this next round, but it’s been such a joy doing this game with you—I wish I didn’t have to leave so I could see what a “clean” finish to this might look like.

Lovingly yours,
Royal Tenenbaum

With Royal ready to go dark, his erstwhile allies prepared to let him go and pivot to the new Khaki Scouts alliance.

The new alliance is called the Khaki Scouts, another wonderful Wes Anderson themed group name.  Suzy started the group chat, I helped her brainstorm the name.  It is Suzy, Madame D., Margot and myself.  This is a balanced alliance for myself and Madame D. as we both have long term original tribe allies with us.  It is a balanced alliance for Suzy and myself as I have the closer relationship with Madame D. while she is closer to Margot.  It is even fairly well balanced for Margot and myself, and I think (hope?) it's the best that Margot can expect to find to get her close to the end from here...
My ideal final three is Madame D. and Suzy.  That is honoring the loyalty I promised to both of them.  It will be very competitive and in all likelihood a fully live tribal with many jury votes open to win.

But some players were beginning to entertain other ideas.


Oracle: "what if the entire game seems like it’s voting royal, and then you/me/gustave vote for someone else? Royal in theory isn’t self voting hopefully. Therefore even if the vote ties on the revote you me and gustave have majority?"
A wild plan I just proposed to Suzy.


Madame D.: It will likely be a Royal vote this round, with everyone saying that to me, even though I have told both Suzy and Margot that I'm worried about Richie (even after them knowing about the rings) and even after having hinted to Oracle and Gustave that I could at some point be down for a move.
... But, if I somehow were able to use Gustave and Oracle to eliminate Margot and Richie whilst also making it to the end myself, now that would be flash, I think. But can I do that? How do I do that?
Hmmmmmmmmmmmm

After Margot was a-maze-ing in the immunity challenge, those who weren't immune began to feel the paranoia of a too-quiet round dawn on them.

I’m getting weird vibes. Maybe my time is up?

I hope I’m just freaking out because I’m tired and feeling insecure but it’s so hard to know what to do because I don’t even know if there’s a move against me here.

Sure hope I'm not getting voted out by Oracle, Suzy, Margot and Gustave rn

My gut is telling me I am the vote
It is screaming it at me
But like if I am what the actual hell can I even do here?

oracle is worried/paranoid that he's going out this tribal. hopefully he's wrong, because talking to him is great. but it wouldn't be a bad move from the rushmores + richie to knock us down to 2, so i won't be surprised if he's gone (or me/suzy for that matter).

Was there a stealth plan in the works, lining up a massive blindside?  Find out at Tribal Council.

For this challenge, we're going to need you to all load up into the Belafonte, because it's time to once and for all hunt down our white whale, or, more accurately, the elusive jaguar shark.

To begin this challenge, you will click this link and fill out a form, after which your time will start and the game will begin.  One by one, you will be given several places to search for the jaguar shark, along with a submission field.  An example might be "Check the third bulleted name in the Welcome thread."  In that case, you would enter "Jeff Goldblum" and then click to receive your next search coordinate until the form concludes.

When you finish submitting your answers, you will find the jaguar shark and must post it in your confessional.

The player who correctly searches the most assigned search locations in the shortest amount of time will win immunity.  You have 20 minutes from the time you start this challenge to post the jaguar shark and conclude your run.