PREVIOUSLY, ON VIZZED SURVIVOR:

The game was just beginning, as three tribes: Harte Arbeit, Narr, and Aufrichtigkeit, made up of four players each, got settled in.

At the immunity challenge, pacman1755 led a glorious charge that saved Narr, and doomed Aufrichtigkeit to Tribal Council.

Patrick Star found a duck, and a deep connection was formed, as starfish and duck have found a way to co-exist in peace.

At Tribal Council, Blubcreator left the door open, as a peace offering to Maguc, but ultimately, the tribe decided that Maguc just didn't respect his tribemates enough, as he was unanimously ousted.

Now, down in the numbers, a tribe of three has to see if they can bounce back. What will happen this time on Vizzed Survivor?

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BWAAANNGGG

AUFRICHTIGKEIT

The players get back to their camp late at night.

"I don't want to go back there too many more times." Ex Palen had to say about the situation. He would find no answers, as both Patrick and Blubcreator had found anything they would say redundant.

Blubcreator found himself wandering off. Palen and Patrick Star both would sit by the campfire, and mull their loss, and wonder how to avoid going back to Tribal Council together, as a pair, but Blubcreator was more focused on being alone.

EX Palen confessional - "Well, Patrick and me ended up in good terms last challenge, but I feel a bit distant with Blubcreator. I tried approaching him, but he seems to be on his own. Not saying I'm surprised, because I somehow expected this in a tribe full of strangers."

Blubcreator was looking around, seemingly more interested in making connections with the dirt than with his tribemates.

Blubcreator confessional - "My logic is if I can just be the best at everything then I won't have to get involved in all this monarchy and backstabbing."

Just wanting to avoid the trouble of being in an alliance, and getting himself voted out via a backstab, he prefers to face challenges head on.

The players would turn in, having little else to gain from depriving themselves of sleep. Finding some abandoned tenting, they decide to sleep in that for the night.

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NARR

The next morning, mlb789 was the first to wake up, as he wanted to see what he could accomplish without the massive personalities around him jockeying for power.

He looks back at his sleeping tribe mates, and decides now is the best time to disappear for the moment. Running into the jungle and following a very specific path, he ends his run at a huge rock.

Next to this huge rock is a small rock garden. Placing this morning's finds next to the rocks, he finds us watching him.

mlb789 confessional - "I'm creating a new rock collection so I can see how many rocks I can collect before I get knocked out. It's a rockin' good time."

A single "bah-dum-tsss" is heard, as he walks away from his rock garden with less haste.

The others back at camp would wake up.

The first thing they all noticed was that mlb789 was missing. And while they were jammering, megamanmaniac also slipped off, needing to take care of some business as it were. Pacman1755 was concerned, but yoshirulez! told him not to be.

yoshirulez! confessional - "I think he (megamanmaniac) has diarrhea or something because he just disappears into the distance when we're trying to do something important. I hope he gets better soon."

We follow megamanmaniac to discover it was not diarrhea that forced his absence, it was engineering.

megamanmaniac confessional - "I'm currently an engineering student, so my college allowed me to come take part in this game, but I still have to complete my college work while competing. As a result, I spend a lot of my time doing engineering work."

He shows us his contraption.

megamanmaniac confessional - "Balancing all this work with living on this island where the weather and predators constantly force me to relocate to a better place to do work makes this even worse, and it's probably not hard to tell why I don't have much free time to do anything."

We leave megamanmaniac and found that pacman1755 has left the camp as well. Rather unconcerned with the disappearances of his other tribemates with his fears assuaged, he chose to go back and get some food.

yoshirulez! confessional - "I'm in the middle of the gosh darned ocean marooned on an island and I'm mates with a multitude of morons. That aside, I'm quite pleased with my tribe. They're all performing well, save for some inactivity on some people's part."

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HARTE ARBEIT

"Let's open the clue!" Surgiac proclaimed. Giddy to see what they won, they opened the clue around the campfire, and gamerforlifeforever would read it.

"He who dares, wins." gamerforlifeforever read.

"What does it mean?" deggle asked, "That's not a very helpful hint."

"Maybe we'll get another clue that helps. Something about daring though." Furret chimed in.

With the stress of finding the idol absolved for another day, the tribe would set about to their daily tasks.

Deggle confessional - "Well today has been pretty laid back and relaxed in my opinion. Today I actually didn't feel stressed or anxious about anything and everyone else on the team seemed to be really chill and lax. Lately we've been prepping ourselves for whatever could come out at us on the island. The unknown specifically is what we're getting ready for. Who knows what could happen in this strange place. So we started taking some of the trees down and using them to make tools and other resources like boats, weapons, better sheltering items, you get the idea."

While they were all preparing for base survival, one player was already in game-mode, and terrified of something completely different than these predators.

gamerforlifeforever confessional - "People are looking at me as a serious challenge threat. My tribemmates appreciate the effort, but there will come a time when they'll want to get the strongest people out, so I have to keep putting up big numbers each week to make sure my tribe doesn't go to tribal council."

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CHALLENGE

"Come on in guys!"

The players would walk in, first Narr, then Harte Arbeit, then...

"Harte Arbeit, Narr, first look at the new Aufrichtigkeit tribe, Maguc voted out at the last tribal council."

Whispers were abound, and some snickering, but mainly, it was just bemusement that he was voted out.

"Ready to get to today's challenge?"

"Yes!" everyone chants.

"Today you'll be playing Dig-dug and shooting for a high score. There's a catch though, Harte Arbeit and Narr both have an extra member. As such, they will be sitting a player out. Players cannot sit out back to back challenges, so even if you sit out a poor challenge performer now, you may have to rely on them later. Who is sitting out?"

"I am." megamanmaniac consented, as he stepped forward.

Everyone on Harte Arbeit couldn't make up their mind, and they exceeded the time limit, with no decision.

"Alright, that's enough. You couldn't make a decision, so we'll have to draw rocks. Person with the purple rock will sit out."

The players on Harte Arbeit draw rocks.

"Reveal."

Three black rocks, and then... a single, glaring purple one. In the hands of Furret.

"Alright, Furret will be sitting out this challenge."

"On your mark."

"Get set..."

...

"GO!"

"Narr out to a quick lead! Aufrichtigkeit isn't far behind either!"

"Surgiac and deggle are costing their team right now!"

After a few minutes pass, they finally get on the board.

"Harte Arbeit has just jumped into the lead, and Aufricgtigkeit is in 2nd, with moments to spare! Looks like Narr will be going to Tribal Coun..."

Then lightning struck twice in the same spot, simultaneously.

"Pacman1755 with ANOTHER HUGE SCORE AT THE LAST MINUTE. THE CHALLENGE IS OVER!"

Looking at the scores...

"Harte Arbeit wins, and Narr gets 2nd! Aufrichtigkeit will join me at Tribal Council again!"

Pacman1755 let out a ferocious yell, and all three members of the losing tribe sighed in disbelief. How were they supposed to contend with the two biggest challenge threats, while being down a man. And now, they were about to be down 2.

"Get your things, head back to camp. Good night."

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NARR

More cheers, Narr was getting used to these dramatic wins.

yoshirulez! confessional - "It's all thanks to Pacman that we're still all here, and for that I'm thankful. It makes me feel really happy to have someone who's always looking out for everyone else."

mlb789 confessional - "I think its a good strategy to be honest, maybe i'll start participating."

The players would celebrate the night away, but do it in a respectful and classy fashion, mostly.

"Any idea who is going home tonight?" asked megamanmaniac.

mlb789 said, "Nah, they're all garbage so it won't matter in the end anyways."

"Not a clue." pacman1755 responded, "They don't really have a weak link this time."

"Nah, I don't." quipped yoshirulez!

yoshirulez! confessional - "Personally I'm hoping EX Palen gets voted off, because I'm pretty sure he has something going on in his life and wants less commitment on Vizzed to give it the attention it needs. Alternatively I wish it were Harte Arbeit being at the tribal council, and I'd love for Gamer to get voted off."

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HARTE ARBEIT

"Let's open the clue!"

"It takes a lot of courage to take a step back, of your own free will." gamer read.

"Hm..."

They would consider this clue the rest of the night, but one player would voice his thoughts.

gamerforlifeforever confessional - "I'm starting to think that in order to get the idol, I'd have to volunteer to sit out of the next challenge. "He who dares wins", and "It takes a lot of courage to take a step back, of your own free will" make me think that sitting out of the challenge is the answer to getting the idol."

Furret wasn't concerning himself as much with the idol, being more concerned with the tangible threat in front of him.

Furret confessional - "Not losing means I don't risk getting voted off but it also means gamer stays in the game and he's scored the most points for two competitions in a row. It's a bit tricky to anticipate a merge when there's only 12 contestants so we should think of getting rid of him within the next two or three challenges."

While there would be talk of throwing challenges to get these big players out, there was a lot of resistance from the tribe in general, calling the plays stupid or wrong.

deggle confessional - "I wouldn't throw a challenge just to vote someone I dislike off, I think that a bit of a backstab and just plain wrong."

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AUFRICHTIGKEIT

"Damn it!" Patrick Star exploded upon getting back to camp, "Can't win!"

The mood around camp, suffice it to say, was not pleasant.

EX Palen confessional - "There's an atmosphere of demotivation running amok. Even if we can fight in equal numbers if people from other tribes sit out, being on the losing spot isn't enjoyable for anyone."

Moves were already being made to keep them safe from harm.

Blubcreator confessional - "Because everyone performed around the same; voting one person out isn't as easy as getting rid of the one with the lowest score. I've had to go against my previous statement and decided to attempt an alliance...with EX Palen."

With every combination of player running back and forth to try and figure out what was going to happen, time just flat ran out, as a chaotic period accomplished very little.

Each player was given one last chance to consider their concerns before leaving.

Blubcreator confessional - "Theres no real reason I want Patrick gone but I gotta keep myself safe."

Patrick Star confessional - "I'm probably going home tonight."

EX Palen confessional - "Voting someone out this time will be very hard. There's no clear member who isn't doing what he should, so discussions are sure to take place between us to decide who will leave."

Blubcreator confessional - "If all goes according to plan tonight, I won't be going home."

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TRIBAL COUNCIL

"You guys are back here again, even though you looked to have it in the bag. What happened this time?"

"We just ran into the pacman1755 truck again, he's a complete beast, and it's difficult to compete with him and gamer at the same time. It's actually just about impossible." Patrick Star replied.

"Yeah, it doesn't really matter how well we perform, because at the end of the day, we're three people, about to be two, going up against at least one really high scorer from each tribe." Blubcreator added.

"Palen, today, you seemed rather frustrated with the timing of pacman's surge. He seemed to be lying in wait, and just stole the win like a vulture."

"Yeah, that's an understatement. I hate to complain, but in Spain, we have a certain kind of ettiquete that these Americans do not seem to have. It's fine, but it's definitely a disadvantage in our favor." EX Palen noted.

"So, Patrick Star, I heard your duck caused quite a commotion. Care to regale me?"

"Basically, we found these neat tents on night 1 and had been enjoying them. But this morning, we awoke, and my duck had eaten clean through the tent, making them highly unusable and unstable. So now it's the base of our fire pit." Patrick Star bemoaned.

"Given any thought to who you will each be voting tonight? Patrick, we'll start with you again."

"Well, I mean, tonight, I have two choices. I can vote out EX Palen, or I can vote out Blubcreator. There's no 'right' answer among those two, and in some ways, I almost wish I was the one being voted out, just to save us this decision. I've made up my mind though and I'm going to see this game through to the end." Patrick Star responded with finality.

"I think we have to take out the person who gives us the lowest chance of winning, because if we don't score big next week, I could be going home anyway. It's not about being the best scorer, but you have to avoid being the worst." Blubcreator added.

"I'll be honest, I'm not sure who I'm voting for tonight. Both sides have clear benefits to working with, and I find myself in a position where I either have to choose, risk drawing rocks, or get voted out myself for inaction in this key moment. It's a stressful situation forced upon us." EX Palen waxed.

"Are you saying you are the swing vote, Palen?"

"Yes. I am the swing vote. Potentially of this whole game." Palen put.

"It is now time to vote. Let's start with Patrick."

The voters walk one by one to vote.

Patrick Star vote - "I would like to vote for blubcreator. I feel he does not have the enthusiasm or determination to win this."

Blubcreator vote - "Voting for Patrick Star because I believe it's the safest route for me."

EX Palen's vote is not revealed yet.

"Once the decision is read, it is final, person voted out will be asked to leave immediately."

"First vote... Blubcreator."

"Second vote... Patrick Star."

Tons of tension. TONS of it. Sweat is pouring down both Patrick and Blub's faces, as they await the final vote. You could hear a pin drop.

"Second person voted out of Survivor: Trolls, Dolls, and Bullet Trains, Blubcreator."

"Blubcreator, bring me your torch."

As Blubcreator hands over his torch, he's kicking himself mentally, not ready to disappear into the black night.

"The tribe has spoken. It's time for you to go."

He leaves and it is sad.

"One thing we have learned tonight, is that there is an alliance. Somewhere. Whether that alliance holds up, who can tell. Grab your things, head back to camp. Goodnight."

The music plays as Blubcreator walks off.

END
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Author's Note - I will not be writing about Redemption Island, I'll merely be telling you that it existed, and that it's means was to keep players from voting out all the super strong and active players early, and to give them a fighting chance to remain in the game. I also used it as a mechanism to squeeze sonicmcmuffin (who applied for the game at the literal last second, after I made tribes) into the game.

Essentially, sonicmcmuffin started on Redemption Island. Maguc, the first voted out, faced him in a challenge. Muffin won. Now Blub will go face Muffin.

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EX Palen's unread vote - "My vote goes to Blubcreator.

It hasn't been an easy decision, but a small detail unbalanced the scale: persistance. I've met Patrick training and I've seen him trying to improve his score as the deadline came by, but Blub seems to post a score rather soon and not try to improve it.

If it's down to one more person besides me, it's natural to want as a tribemate the person who strives for the best score he can pull out through the week and not conform with a single try."

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Unaired confessionals

gamerforlifeforever - "No, I'll never throw a challenge. Throwing a challenge is one of the stupidest things that a tribe can do in the game of Survivor."

Surgiac - "I don't have any specific member from that tribe that I really want off the island. Now from Narr on the other hand.... Pacman must go."

mlb789 :
pacman1755 :
megamanmaniac :
yoshirulez! :
Surgiac :
deggle :
Furret :
gamerforlifeforever :
Blubcreator :
EX Palen :
Patrick Star :

Welp, now I get why some confessionals were better left unaired. I didn't expect people to be this rude, even more when they're totally wrong.

I must admit that yoshirulez! was kind of right. I had something going on, but now that time has passed I can say it was just a failed hope. Also, that confessional is very interesting for what happened later on.

I'm enjoying these episodes even more than the game itself. In a sense they're written like the challenge reports, and we know a bit of them were pure awesomeness. I'm also discovering more of what ran on the background, and now that we're back in civilization I can think more clearly about how these discoveries influenced the following events.

I can't wait for episode 3. The next challenge was one of my favorites, so it's going to be quite an interesting read.

As a side note, I totally loved that link. From the moment I read it I knew the whole post was going to be awesome.

EX Palen :

A lot of what makes the confessionals great is that even if they are wrong, they aren't wrong at the same time. That's not to say they can't be factually wrong. Sometimes, that's the role a character chooses to play, that of a villain, fighting against the grain. That's what's subjective.

Like, all of this is another person's perspective, which is based on the information they are fed, how people are treating them, and the vibe they get from certain people. It also gives us hints as to how someone wins or loses a game, as we get more into the motivations behind the votes and the confessionals.

Curious which one you consider to be rude, because I have so many confessionals stuck in my head, honestly. I have roughly 10 per person left in the game, so I had to choose which of the 110 or so confessionals were worth airing.

The hardest part of writing this is making things interesting. Like, I have to balance what you all said, and try to turn it into a good story, given what I know about you all as people and players. This episode is actually probably one of the most boring ones the entire season, with one exception, if I recall correctly, but I tried my best to make it somewhat compelling, read-worthy, and factual.

legacyme3 : Well, not sure why you would consider this one of the most boring episodes, but you surely have your reasons. You did a great job at making this sound interesting and give readers some kind of hype to read who was the next player voted out.

Which one I consider rude is very easy, given the confessionals you showed us in this episode. But well, I know the fate of such player so no need to go further in this, he played his role just like I played mine and none of us are free of people skeptical about our tactics.

I know it's not easy to make a story out of what we said, but I'm seeing a great job so far. Even I, who was a part of this, am enjoying it as a totally different thing now that I have a global view of what happens. Please keep it up no matter how long it takes you, this story can't be left unfinished for the many things that have yet to happen.

EX Palen : If you're talking about my confessional, I wasn't being rude. A tribe intentionally throwing a challenge to take out a threat is an extremely stupid thing to do. It lowers a tribes numbers, which can come back to bite them in the long run if they start losing a bunch of challenges.