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Disclaimer: This recap reflects the slant and bias of the host, who held an omniscent view of the game; what is said is what happened, but be aware that some stuff said are the opinions of the host. You should be able to figure out what's what, though. Last time, on Circles of Trust, the game began! People met, alliances were forged, and inactives came to light. Jason M. and James worried about Jason Carver, while Yves freaked out and tried to make �friendships� with everyone. During the first Center Challenge, Andy came out on top, disappointing some including Andy who didn�t want to win. But he still had a choice to make between Ben, Brandon, and Tyler. Shockingly enough (not really), he chose Tyler, the intentional inactive who had been hiding under an away message to avoid playing the game in an effort to �float.� But thanks to Andy, he sunk, and now 13 people remain�who will be the next eliminated on Circles of Trust? Find out, tonight! **************************** The 13 remaining players attempted to recover from the sad loss of Tyler, most of whom had never even met him. However, Stacey had been BFFs (Belligerent Floaters For-life) with him, and therefore felt somewhat emotionally affected. Stacey: Tyler being the first removed from the circle sucks. I know he has been busy so he didnt have time to go on the computer so I expected him leaving. Its just if he stayed longer it would have helped me because I know for sure that I would always be in his circle � I much would rather have Ben or Brandon leave, I wouldnt even care which one. Andy had some whole reason for eliminating Tyler that apparently was more than just eliminating an inactive. Y�all try to figure out what he�s saying here, because I sure as hell can�t� Andy: I eliminated Tyler for a few reasons, one was that Ben hadnt posted at the time, so I thought, if I get rid of Tyler, maybe Ben would go to as he broke the rules, but obviously not. Another factor was that I dont know Tyler, but I think I know of him, and if thats the case, well lets just say its better he is gone now, because he knows quite a few people�Im happy with my decision. Note to readers: Ben HAD posted on the forums at this point in the game...albeit not a ton, but a fair amount. So I really don�t know what Andy was talking about. Despite this, it was no secret that Ben had been �laying low� in the first round of the game. But after being one of the three nominees, he decided to change his strategy a bit. Ben: My strategy is being low key. I overdid that last round and was seen as UTR, antisocial, and a wallflower. Now I will make conversations and try to connect to players. Ben began his new plan by approaching Andy and thanking him for saving him. Ben: thanks for not eliminating me lol Andy: lol dont worry, you didnt deserve to go plus I know you and I dont know the others Ben: lol its always good to be known as the person everyone knows (and hates) Andy: people hate you?? Ben: i have a past history with most of them actually lol Andy: o ok, thats a bummer Ben: yea. im basically permanominated >< Andy: sorry my vocabulary is...limited what does that mean? Ben: im probably going to be nominated every round :-p Andy: o ok Ben was not the only person attempting to be more social and active. Erin was stepping up her game, too. Erin: I learned from talking to several people that talking is the key thing to this game, if you don't talk to them, then they DO NOT put you on their list and you need and want to be on their lists so I am going to try to talk to as many people as possible!!! On the other hand, James felt he had already secured himself in a safe position socially. He had developed a circle of people he felt close with and maintained close ties to both of the Jasons. James: To be honest, though, my strategy is to be good friends with everyone inside of my group, and I really don't socialize with too many people outside of it, simply because I don't want to be seen as that social butterfly, as that guy who uses everyone to win�The person I�m closest with is probably a tie between Carver and Marshall. I view Carver as a partner, as an ally. That could very well be my downfall, though, so my ace up the sleeve is Marshall. I've hosted him in two games and I know how he plays. I don't think he'll ever turn on me, I think I'm safe with him into the finals. The only thing to worry about is that he usually lasts longer than the people he's alligned with, so that could be a bad thing. But I have confidence that I know how to work with him. And he is a good partner, he can keep up the strategy end and he reports back to you pretty faithfully. So Carver and Marshall. Yes, James was pretty secure. And some people expressed some trust in James during confessionals� Holly: I would say i'm the closest to james. Only because he ims me the most instead of me having to im him, and we usually have good convos. Not that we really talk about the game, but i think it's a plus that we talk a lot. It hopefully makes him trust me, and i trust him for now. Paul: If I had to pick someone [that I trusted the most], I'd say James, simply because he's the person I've spoken with the most. Yves is up there as well. Jason M.: I am closest to James, because he has been my host in several games. I think Ican trust him. The only think that when the time comes, James might loose his aligence to me. I really hope I am wrong about this. I have just heard he is a sneaky player. �so James did have some close relationships going on. But the real Godfather of the game was, of course, Jason Carver. Not only did he have deals going with James and Jason M., but he had allies who would be loyal to the grave and even after that. Ben: [The person I trust the most is] Jason C. The reason is that we're in like 3 games together so we need to keep a good face for each other's protection. But this won't be apparent to the other players as I don't want them to know I'm associated with the devil's spawn. Emma: I'm definitely closest to Jason Carver. We have a pre-game relationship. I would never backstab him ever, it just wouldn't be worth it. And thus, the stage was set: friendships and alliances were largely structured around two head honchos, James and Jason C. Who would come out on top? Only time would tell� For now, it was time for the second Center Challenge! The players were to face a tough one. Devon: �This week�s challenge is called �Music Makes Me Happy.� As you can see, I have created 30 forums with passwords. Each forum�s description has a bunch of anagrammed words. These words, when unscrambled, form a song lyric. The password to the forum is the name of the artist who sang that song, all lowercase with no spaces. Once inside the forum, you�ll then find a sound clip taken from the instrumental portion of a song. You must identify the artist who performs the song from which the clip was taken, as well as the song�s title. You get 1 point for each correctly identified artist, and 1 point for each correctly identified title. The music chosen has been selected from all types of genres and eras, though I will admit that they are mostly modern. The winner will be the person who, after 24 hours, has the most points�and the one who clearly is made happy by music most easily.� Devon: �Also, do remember that karma is the tiebreaker starting this round�so be sure to raise and lower other players� karma counts by exalting and smiting them!� And so the challenge began! Last round, the players had felt the challenge was too random and too simple. This round, however, people clearly felt the exact opposite, leaving some players to feel discouraged and even give up! Holly: hey, how's the challenge going? Jason M.: ugh�figuring out the passwords is fine, but some of these songs�where the hell did he find them? and it's like, he picked the worst part of the song to use Holly: haha i hate the pw part too...idk, i figured one song out so far, because it's easy, but like just music or something...it's impossible Jason M.: yah Ben: The forums took my over an hour and a half to unlock. The clips were extremely difficult without lyrics and that's the only way I remember anything. Paul: Ok, I've officially decided I don't care about this challenge�I'm not going to frustrate myself over something I don't want to win anyway. I've been frustrated enough as is the past few days with school. If I felt I needed to win the Center possition, I'd try harder to identify these songs. But right now, I don't feel I do, so I'll let someone else take it. Emma: I loved the concept of this challenge. However, I did find it very difficult. Due to Canada's culture laws, these songs are not played on the radio here nearly as often as in the States... excuses, i know;) Awww yes, poor Emma and Stacey suffered through this challenge due to Canada�s culture laws, which limit the amount of non-Canadian music broadcast on certain stations. Brandon probably would have had trouble because of this too if he had attempted the challenge. But he didn�t, so he received a penalty. Because this challenge was so much more complicated and tough, more deals began to surface in the game. Ben: my goodness this challenge is difficult Holly: i know, it's very tedious too...finding all the bands for the mixed up words. i'm going backwards...and i'm only at 26..haven't even started listening to the clips yet Ben: ive opened an listened from 1 to 14 and ive been doing this for almost two hours Holly: yeah i started about half an hour ago, are the clips easy? Ben: not at all, i only know 2 for sure lol :\ Holly: if you want to give me the pws for 1-5 i'll give you 26-30? and we can help each other figure out the clips? Ben: sure. Holly: ok cool! thanks! Holly: google is telling me third eye blind for #1 but it's not working Erin: It said that and creed for me but they didnt work Holly: i'm so confused...i'm going to try another one lol Erin: I have 2 unsrambled Holly: i have i is who girl that see�or something�#11 is christinaaguilera Erin: Whoo hoo 11!!! Jason C.: hay gimme ur answers:-) Ben: ive got none and im on 18 :| Jason C.: i need like 6 more but my karma sucks Ben: YAY I GOT 18! Jason C.: i need 8, 15, 17, 24, 26, 30 Ben: I got 15 Ben: Lmao and 8 Jason C.: i'll trade you Ben: k Jason C.: which 2 do you want Ben: 20 and 10 Jason C.: i think 20 is Canon in D Major by Pachelbel, at least that's what I put and 10 isss Outkast but i dunno the song Ben: 15 is pussycat dolls and stickwithu, beatles and norveigan wood is 8 Jason C.: so it's all one word "stickwithu" Ben: yes Jason C.: alright thx Some of these so-called �deals�, however, ended up being a bit more one-sided than expected� Jason C.: i need 10, 17, 24, 26, and 30:-( Holly: let me see if i have them�number 10 is outkast, idk the song. 30 i am told is white zombie more human than human Jason C.: did you get them all Holly: no of course not, if it were just me, i never would have got any Jason C.: oh Holly: you wanna give me the pws for the ones i don't have, so i can try? and is 28 rage against the machine? Jason C.: no it's the breeders, cannonball Holly: thanks! Jason C.: if jason m tries to trade you and tells you that 17 is nick lachey, he's lying Holly: 17 is tim mcgraw Jason C.: lmao, tim mcgraw. what song? Holly: live like you were dying Holly: i kinda feel like an idiot, i forgot he asked me for #17 and when he said something about jason m trying to tell me it was nick lachey i came right out and told him it was tim mcgraw. I did give him other answers too i think, but it pissed me off because he wouldn't help me. Jason C.: btw if you wanna help me win, go smite jason m's karma:-) and i'll give you an answer Holly: ok lol brb Jason C.: #7: ARTIST: Martika, SONG: Toy Soldiers Jason C.: and if you show me ur boobies i'll give you 3 more;-) Holly: i have that one lol i figured that one out, but if you don't believe me it's ok, i'll still smite him, i had the song and wasn't sure of the artist Holly: k i smited him Jason C.: oh, #15: ARTIST: Pussycat Dolls SONG: Stickwithu Holly: yeah I figured out 15-19 but that's it Jason C.: ok stfu why are you asking me for shit if you don't need it lol Finally, time ran out, and Devon announced the Challenge results. Devon: �The difference between winner and second place was 4 points. The winner got 49 out of 60, the second place finisher got 45 out of 60. Scores were all over the place. The average score was 18.4, though, so more scores were on the lower end... Now, without further ado, the winner was� �JASON CARVER!� Yes, Jason Carver had won, giving him even more influence and power in the game! What he didn�t know, though, was that Holly had been the second-place finisher who was only 4 points away. Regardless, Jason C. was satisfied with his win. Jason C: This was the best challenge I've done in a long time. I actually put my knowledge of music to good use! I'm kind of glad that I won. I have the worst karma of anyone in the cast, and I'm pretty sure there's at least a couple of people out to get me. With that being sad, I'm kinda bummed that I won, because now I'm an even bigger target than I was coming into the game. Some were quite happy to see Jason Carver win the challenge, including, surprisingly enough, James! James: I thought the challenge this round was perfect. I sucked at it, but through my decent anagramming skills and Google-expertise, I managed to help quite a few people out. Marshall [Note: That�s Jason M.] thinks I tried to help him win, Holly thinks that I tried to help her win, and I DID help Carver win. I even gave some answers to Stacey, just so she wouldn't turn in a blank page and look really dumb�I'm thrilled that Carver won it. I helped him get it, after all. Jason is a strategic player and he won't just remove some dumb newbie from play... he'll go after a threat. Granted, it could be me, but I don't expect to be nominated. I hope not, at least. That, plus we're supposed to be alligned, so I don't know if he'd remove me from a game just yet. We're aiming our collective guns, though... and we'll see what happens. Emma: I'm SO proud of Jason! I love that kid�.I'm definitely closest to Jason Carver. We have a pre-game relationship. I would never backstab him ever, it just wouldn't be worth it. But as expected, a lot of people were not so happy that he won the Center. Even though he was the Godfather, tension and worry seemed to be building. Let the venting of frustrations begin� Jason M.: Jason winning? I don't like it at all. He's a snake and he has it out for me. Andy: Urgh, the one person you dont want as center is Jason. Heres why. He is not the smartest player in this game. In fact, I wouldnt rate him in the top 50%. Reason? He believes himself to be much better then he is. He is known to backstab, but look at him recently, he takes it to heart and now backstabs for the sake of doing it. So I dont think he will make the right decision when it comes to his choice of elimination, and you dont know where you stand with him as a result. Nikki: Personally, I don't care that he won�My only concern is if I'm nominated... i'm not sure where his alliances lie. Yves: [I don�t feel] too confident, to be honest, although I think [Jason C.] and I have got on alright. He's just too tricky a player. He's unpredictable, which makes him dangerous. And while Yves was not too confident yet still oblivious to any tension between him and Jason C., James approached Jason C. to discuss who to try and get eliminated next round� James: so who are we thinking about eliminating? Jason C.: good question. we need to keep Ben in the game as a shield James: and we need to keep my Jason as a pawn Jason C.: we could take out Yves James: i would love to�seriously Jason C.: ok make it happen James: we just need to make sure he doesn't reach any lists. who are you tight with? Jason C.: you emma holly James: we can easily get holly to not put him on. can you get emma? Jason C.: yes James: then i can get jason Jason C.: is he the one we definitely want? best strategic move? James: i don't trust him with his-- Jason C.: he tells everyone the same thing James: and his-- Jason C.: who knows what he's really up to James: "well, if we get people to put each other on the lists, we can all stay safe but have no official alliances"�which is backwards talk for "i'll turn on anyone" Jason C.: lmao yep James: oh, i can get erin too Jason C.: nice James: so that's james, jason, erin, holly, emma�he can't do himself, so he's off AT LEAST 6 lists Thus, the megateam of Jason C. and James decided to put their plan into action! One by one, they each began to approach people and ask about trying to get Yves eliminated. Jason C.: do you want yves out Emma: god yes Jason C.: ok Emma: congratz on wiinning btw lolz<3 Jason C.: i'm so glad i know music lol:-) James: have you done your list yet? Holly: yeah, but i cannnn change it! what did you have in mind? James: well, i was wondering if you had Yves on it Holly: i think i do, do you not like him? James: i don't trust him. he's going around telling everyone "if we all do this, we can stick together but have no official alliances,� which is really just doubletalk for "i'll backstab any one of you" Holly: true� i could take him off, there's a few people that i really like in this game, so as long as they stay i don't mind lol James: so i talked to jason and i think i convinced him to vote out Yves if he's nominated. what do you think? Holly: ohhhh goood!!...in that case i'm going to take him off my list, and just have 6 people James: i totally don't want to seem like the evil manipulator, but i don't want him winning Circle, because someone who should be here might not be then, you know? because i'd rather just have a straight out alliance, than be all shady about it. Holly: yeah well i trust you more than anyone lol With James and Jason Carver�s plan in action, Yves was suddenly put in jeopardy, and he didn�t even know it! But was he REALLY at risk of getting nominated? While some were taking part in the plan to get rid of Yves, more still seemed inclined to stick to their own, personal strategies when making their lists. In general, these strategies could be grouped into two categories: �minimalist� (putting as few people in your CoT as possible) and �extremist� (putting everyone and their mother in your CoT in hopes that you�ll be added to their CoTs in return). However, different people had their own, unique twists to both strategies. Paul: My current (and probably official) Circle consists of Ben, Erin, Emma, Holly, James, Jason M., and Yves. They all are either people I like, people I talk to frequently, or people I find non-threatening. Or some combination of the three. Yves: I'm simply letting people know that I'm putting the maximum number of people into my circle of trust each time. I'm hoping that they realise that they've got a better chance of getting votes with me than they have with someone who only ever puts one person into their CoT, or doesn't say. As for who I'm voting for - people I want to be in the game along with myself, simple as that. It's no fun if you only vote for the people you think you can beat, you get stuck with the assholes at the end. Not that I think anybody I haven't voted for is an asshole! Emma: I'm putting James only, because Jason's the center. James: My Circle of Trust this round includes everyone who I believe will add me to their list. I think that I need a vote of their good faith for right now, so I can use them in future rounds, plus, if I do happen to be nominated, I feel somewhat secure with my position in the game. Andy: My CoT will have just one person on it. It will have who I believe to be the most popular person in the game on it. As the CoT are not revealed, I can get away with doing this. If anyone else is smart at all, they will do the same as me. And others were smart: Andy, Ben, and Emma all put one person in their CoT�s. But some of them forgot something important�you HAVE to make sure you are in other peoples� CoT�s too. And this, as we are about to see, became a problem for Emma and Ben. The Circles of Trusts were broken down as follows: ANDY: Holly BEN: Andy BRANDON: Andy, Erin, James, Paul, Yves EMMA: James ERIN: NONE, and received a penalty. HOLLY: Andy, Ben, Erin, James, Jason M. JAMES: Erin, Holly, Jason M., Paul, Stacey JASON M.: Holly, James, Stacey NIKKI: Jason M, Stacey, Yves PAUL: Ben, Erin, Emma, Holly, James, Jason M., Yves STACEY: Emma, Holly, James, Jason M. YVES: Andy, Erin, Holly, James, Jason M., Paul, Stacey Surprisingly enough, Brandon had actually posted a Circle of Trust this round. It would be the last time he posted one in the game. Even more surprising was that Erin DID NOT post a CoT, despite saying that she wanted to be more active. Erin had the following explanation: Erin: �I'm so sorry!!! These past 2 days have been crazy. I was babysitting Friday and the people were supposed to be home at 4pm and the mom went out of town and didn't come back till after 12am in the morning. Then Saturday I was babysitting till 3:30am. I haven't even had time to get online and check anything because I have been so crazy babysitting. I'm not normally like this.� Would there be better luck for Erin next round, perhaps? We shall see, but for now, she would receive two penalties: one for posting confessionals late and one for not doing a Circle of Trust. Meanwhile, Andy�s penalty from his late confessionals last round carried over to this round, while Brandon would also receive a penalty for failing to complete confessionals this round. Unlike Erin, Brandon was not on any CoTs, leaving him screwed. With the Circles of Trust in, it was time to tally the totals and see who was on how many lists. The final results, with penalties included, were as follows: James: 7 Holly: 6 Jason M.: 6 Stacey: 4 Andy: 4-1=3 Erin: 5-2= 3 Paul: 3 Yves: 3 Ben: 2 Emma: 2 Nikki: 0 Brandon: 0-1= -1 And for the first time ever, there was a tie for who was in the bottom 3. The tiebreaker, as always, was karma�but both Emma and Ben had karmas of 1. So I then had to turn to my backup double tiebreaker: Before the game started, contestants were asked to guess what they thought the mean age of the cast was. The correct answer was 19.4. Both of them made guesses, but one was slightly closer than the other�closer by a difference of 1, in fact! And so, shockingly enough, Emma ended up nominated. The nominees were Emma, Nikki, and Brandon. James and Jason C. were disappointed to see Yves had escaped nomination and had to come up with an alternative person to eliminate. In a text message, Jason C. asked James whether or not he should eliminate Nikki. James responded in an AIM conversation: James: yeah, that's who i was gonna say Jason C.: yea cause brandon doesn't do shit right James: so are you gonna get rid of Brandon instead? Jason C.: no, i'm saying if he doesn't do anything, he's dead weight for us to work with James: but a) he's not putting people we don't want on his list and b) he'll get kicked out on his own Note from the host: Ironically, neither of these statements were true. Brandon had put Yves in his Circle of Trust that round, and that prevented Yves from entering a three-way tie between Ben and Emma�which he would have lost for he had a karma in the negatives at that point. Furthermore, I wasn�t intending to �kick him out on his own.� I wanted to see how this whole be-a-rock strategy would work out! To be fair to their logic, though, Nikki had also put Yves in her CoT, but they also didn�t know this at the time. Anyway, back to their conversation. Jason C.: so take out Nikki�i have the perfect reason too because i asked her to put me on her list in the beginning and she's like WELLL I DUNNO LOLZ and acting very shady, so i have reason to take her out James: plus she seems like... more of... a... i dunno, gamer. and you have emma, so we don't want to take her out Jason C.: yea i'm fine with Nikki leaving. you really need to win the next thing though, and we need Yves out James: i know! i'm mad that he wasn't nominated. we'll get it next time. It was then that Nikki decided to approach Jason and make a last minute, desperate effort to try and save herself. Nikki: hey Jason C.: hey Nikki: so I was just wondering if you were thinking of eliminating me Jason C.: yes lol Nikki: I like the honesty Jason C.: no problem, it's nothing personal Nikki: I just wanted to let you know that I'm sorry I haven't been around... I actually had my graduation ceremony today and I had to entertain the parents Jason C.: it's ok, congrads lololol Nikki: lol, thanks... either way, just wanted to let you know that.. and I understand, no hard feelings however you vote Jason C.: you're a very sweet girl Nikki: aww thanks...but you don't know me ALL the time, lol Jason C.: lolll Nikki: Although, Jason, I think you and I would make a great team Jason C.: o rly Nikki: yeah, I think i'm a strong player... I would have kicked ass on the last challenge if I was able to do it Jason C.: yea i've heard you can be dangerous Nikki: haha, from who? i've heard the same about you, btw Jason C.: yea i know lololol�i'm so notorious it's ridiculous Nikki: haha... I know... I was kind of scared to even talk to you at first, especially after the whole VE thing, but i'm over it. Either way, think about my offer, and do what you have to do... i'm going to take a nap before my all-nighter Jason C.: ok i will def think on it, thx for the chat Nikki: bye Jason Jason C.: byyye Jason did spend a little bit of time thinking about his decision, and after some thought, he finally made up his mind and announced who was eliminated. Jason C.: �I appreciate everyone that came to me with an offer if I were to keep them in the game. I've thought everything over and decided that it's in my best interest to eliminate NIKKI from the game. It's nothing personal sweetheart, it's just strategy.� And so, Nikki became the second eliminated from the game. Was this the best choice? Perhaps, since she was a threat, and not trusted by many�as the Circles of Trusts show�but at the same time, it would have been nice to see Brandon leave. Soon after, Nikki posted her final words: Nikki: �I think it's kind of sad. I really wish I could have been more involved, and actually made it past the second elimination. I really feel that I wasn't even a part of this game, but I did enjoy those who I've gotten to meet. Thanks and good luck.� The second round was over. 12 players remained. Only one of them would end up becoming the winner�who would it be? Stay tuned, and find out! NEXT TIME ON CIRCLES OF TRUST: *The Center challenge ends with a shocking and unexpected winner that alters one player�s strategy into a suck-up extravaganza! *The battle to eliminate Yves continues, as he continues to remain oblivious to what�s going on. *And at elimination, a third person is eliminated from the game�will it be Brandon, finally? Find out, on the third recap of Circles of Trust! |