Board Thread:Season 46 - Kariba/@comment-29651946-20180414121944/@comment-34704154-20180416174005

I agree that the disputing reflects badly on both of us; but you criticise me when I point out flaws in your game (but do the same yourself) but also criticise me when I try and justify the flaws you in see in my game (which you also do yourself).

We've laid our games out on the table now, so I'm going to end this by focussing solely on the strengths of my own game, because whilst I cannot withstand inaccurate attacks on my own game, I think that our own strengths, rather than the weaknesses of our opponent, will make or break this.

Right from the start I was playing this game hard by creating a perception of me that wasn't true through the language I used and the interactions I made. Despite this belief that I was a dumb goat, I was always in absolute control of my own safety and never had to rely on anyone else, as demonstrated by my 3 individual challenge wins and idol. Yet, I could use the relationships I did forge to always put myself in the majority, causing me to know where every single vote fell throughout the entirety of the game and not be the victim of blindsides, whilst also taking out major threats along the way. This allowed me to use the target system advantageously in both a social and strategic way; social = gaining Jack and Becky's trust by telling them I had them as my targets, and strategic = gaining advantages, which could also be used in the same way. Whilst I admittedly had social drawbacks, I was never alienated from the tribe and always included in everyone's plans, demonstrating how people trusted me. This was even the case after I had blindsided people e.g. in the aftermath of the Becky vote, exemplifying that there were some strengths to my social game, even if my jury management was not up to scratch. Despite this, I hope that only those I hurt will let that affect their vote; obviously people like Louise feel I damaged them, but I hope those I stuck with to the end don't let this affect their vote too! Whilst my game was harsh at times, I felt I did what I had to do to be here today; rather than let myself be on the bottom of an alliance, I adapted to the ever-changing social currents of the game, demonstrating my awareness of what was going on. I feel like this is best epitomised in the vote tally against me, which was due to a combination of: being perceived as a goat (which I hope my change in language at final tribal council shows was a permanent strategy), my immunity wins (particularly at final 4), the finding of my idol (which involved my tactic to put others off the scent and making it last two tribals through taking the initiative to bluff), and always manoeuvring myself into the majority, even if this meant siding with the previous opposition a number of times.

I hope this can show that I was always in control of my own game, whether that be for strategic, physical or social reasons, and that I am also aware of my shortcomings. I really hope the jury can appreciate the game I played because I feel like I was definitely playing right from the start and even when I became a target, people like Jake (who had me as their target in the merge) and Vincent (who we know targeted me) I escaped unharmed; they both sit with me here today, which was not their wish. Thank you jury for the time you have given us I appreciate it <3 xx