Survivor: Myanmar

Shin Maw • Day 4

"This game just made me hate rain on a whole other level," John exclaimed.

Just like on Pyin Sa, the Shin Maw Tribe experienced the rain as well. And it was a universally miserable experience; nobody in the game had experienced rain in the first three days, so this was new for everyone.

"It should be illegal to rain like that," Lauren said. "Like... that sucked."

"I don't really mind the rain, honestly," Alex interjected. "Like, to me, it's just water. It's not really a big deal."

"I'll believe it's 'just water' when it doesn't sting my skin and make me shiver," Lauren jabbed.

Lauren (Shin Maw Tribe): For whatever reason, I feel like Alex always has to brag about something. Like, you made fire in five minutes? He's made it in two minutes before. You collected three bundles of firewood? He's collected six, and he'll tell you.

"I don't know," Alex said. "It didn't really make me that cold."

"You have a hoodie on," Jonah mentioned.

"I don't get cold very easily," exclaimed Alex, ignoring what Jonah said completely and wiping water off his glasses with his damp sleeve. "Either that, or I get extremely cold. It's one or the other." Alex laughed.

Lauren (Shin Maw Tribe/continued): Like... please. Stop.

"Do you think we'll be able to make fire right now?" Victoria asked.

Liam picked up one of the pieces of firewood that was laying to the side of the shelter. As he picked it up, droplets of water quickly started to slide off and drip onto the ground. "I'm gonna make an educated guess here and say we might wanna wait," he exclaimed. A few people laughed.

"I'd be shocked if there was one single ember there right now," Kalyani said.

"You could check," Brianna suggested.

"If there was an ember at any point today, it's definitely gone now," Emmanuel exclaimed. "After all that rain? There's no chance."

"Does anybody have lint or something?" Shiloh asked. "Like, in their pocket or something?" 

Kalyani, who had jeans on, immediately shoved her hands into both her pockets. After a couple seconds of searching, she pulled out small balls of grey lint from both pockets. "I've got this," Kalyani said. "It could work."

"We can try it," Shiloh exclaimed, already holding the machete and flint.

Emmanuel (Shin Maw Tribe): So... we're trying to figure out the fire situation, since it decided to rain like hell on us for three hours... and some people decide it would be a good idea to use pocket lint. So Kalyani pulls out these stupid tiny little balls of cotton from the lining of her jeans or whatever...

Kalyani placed the lint on a leaf in front of Shiloh, who started haphazardly whacking the flint with the machete. She was sending sparks, but nothing else. "I can't get it," Shiloh said.

"You're holding it really weirdly," Kalyani noticed. "Place your hand further down."

"Oh, sorry," Shiloh apologized. She readjusted her grip on the flint, and started striking again.

"You got this, Shiloh," Alex exclaimed encouragingly.

Emmanuel (Shin Maw Tribe/continued): ...like, you can try that, but I really doubt it's gonna go anywhere (laughing).

Some of the sparks caught on to the lint, and suddenly, a small flame formed, which Shiloh blew on to keep it alive. "You're getting it," John said.

"You can do it," Jonah said very quietly.

But the flame went out. "Ugh," Shiloh said. "I'm sorry."

Shiloh (Shin Maw Tribe): This rain is the worst. Like, I bet everybody says this, but I swear to god the rain is so different when you're out here on Survivor than it is when you're at home. I think a part of it is that we're already starting to get tired and hungry, and all the elements are just kind of getting to me. 

Shiloh sat back down in the shelter. "Don't worry about it much," Brianna consoled. "It just rained."

"Yeah, I know," Shiloh replied. "I'll try again tomorrow."

"That's how you do it," John exclaimed proudly.

Shiloh (Shin Maw Tribe/continued): But no matter what, I'm gonna push through. I came out here for a reason, and I'm not gonna give up.

-

Brianna and Kalyani were walking down the shore together, after the rain had cleared and the sun began to poke out once more. "We need to rope someone in if we want Liam out," Brianna said.

"That's a good idea," Kalyani agreed. "Who are you thinking?"

"I think we really need to pull in Jonah and Lauren, and keep them away from the other four," Brianna suggested. "Because if they flip over to their side, we're screwed."

"And those are the best two people to flip over to our side," Kalyani said.

"Yeah, exactly," Brianna agreed. "We need to act fast, or it's not gonna happen."

"Well, you can go talk to Lauren about it right now if you want," Kalyani exclaimed. "The longer we wait, the sooner one of them is gonna get to her."

"Right," Brianna agreed.

Brianna (Shin Maw Tribe): Right now, I think there are very clear lines being drawn in the sand. One side has Shiloh, Liam, John, and Emmanuel, and the other side has myself, Kalyani, Alex, and Victoria. And right in the middle, there's Lauren and Jonah. 

"I think me, you, and Jonah should work together," Brianna suggested, as she and Lauren were out walking down the tribe's firewood path. "Everyone knows you and Jonah are in the middle, so you gotta pick a side."

"Yeah," Lauren agreed. "It's just a lot to think about."

"Oh, for sure," Brianna exclaimed. "But trust me. You have the opportunity to do something big for yourself here."

"I know," Lauren replied. "That's exactly why I need to actually think about my decision."

Brianna (Shin Maw Tribe/continued): The issue is... Lauren is very firm. She's not really very easy for me to sway over to my side. It's very possible that Lauren's already made her decision, and there's no point in me even talking to her, but why not try?

"Take your time," Brianna said encouragingly. "Just remember, Kalyani and I have your back. I want it to be us three in the end, and that's it."

"I'd like that too," Lauren lied.

Brianna smiled and walked away, leaving Lauren to dramatically roll her eyes at the situation.

Lauren (Shin Maw Tribe): I honestly hate my position on this tribe. I did not come into this game to immediately be put in the middle of the tribe. It's like there's a constant war going on for my attention or something, which would be fantastic in some circumstances, but not this one. Brianna is head over heels about the idea of working with me, and I like her offer, but I feel like it would be flat-out stupid to betray the majority alliance that was made a couple of days ago. It's just a lot for me to think about.