Board Thread:Season 36 - Tikal/@comment-4373775-20161015232246/@comment-28511285-20161016235525

Hey John!! Good to talk to you again!

Now, before your questions there is something I very much feel the need to adress. A heavily assumed thing by this jury seems to be that I got on a "Lucky immunity run". This couldn't be further from the truth. After you're vote out it wasn't some completely random chance thing at all that I won these immunities. I knew full well that once you were gone I had a  very good chance at winning these comps since you were physically my only competitor. I think my scores should prove this. At final 6 I had never played this flash game in my life, and it wasn't even one I was naturally good at. However, I figured "look, it's final 6, I can probably win out, I know I can beat Marie, Joanna, Claire and Michael at almost any challenge, and Christine I can beat in most comps". So I put in a shitload of time and effort, and it paid off because no one even came close to my score in that comp. I got over 100k, the next highest was Christine at 65k, I feel it should also be mentioned that for this particular comp it got harder as your score got higher, basically meaning to improve your score even slightly took a lot of work. For example, in my first two hours of playing I hit 83k. by the end though I had logged a good 5 or 6 hours, and although I was significant;y better at the game, my score only went up by 20k. This should just go to show how once your score gets high enough every point is harder and  harder to achieve,  and despite it only looking like I had a 33% better score than Christine, I would say the skill put into my highscore run was actually at about 3-4 times the level of play (Again, not because  I was naturally better than Christine at the game, but because I worked my ass off). And I worked this hard for it even when I felt I would be safe that tribal since Claire and Christine were wanting to make a move hardcore. Compare this to Joanna who claims to have been playing this game super hard and to win, but couldn't even be bothered to submit any score for this comp (And many other comps). Joanna has admitted to me she wishes  I weren't sitting at the end next to her since she thinks I've played a very strong game, and you know what, maybe if she put in more effort that  could have happened. Although final 5 was closer, I still worked my ass off, I had a friend play mastermind with me repeatedly until I started being able to cut down my time and guesses. The same general idea goes for the final immunity, that had 0 to do with luck. I voted out the only person who could possibly beat me in a comp the round before, and after that I had a 99% chance of winning that final immunity, and again my scores and effort prove that. First off, Maya Ball. This one is self explainatory. I got over 29k and literally beat the game. Everyone else got 7k. That means I more than quadrupled their score. Again, this is because I put in time to ensure my safety and guarentee I could be sitting next to the people I had the best shot of beating at the end. In the flag making, well this is a funny story. I forsaw a flag making comp coming, so weeks ago I prepped for it. I asked people I knew who were good  at making flags how they did it, and have spent the past few weeks learning Picmonkey inside out so that I, as a naturally unartistic person could win. (Keep in mind Joanna didn't even submit for the flag making, despite wanting to vote me out. Maybe if she were here to win she would have submitted SOMETHING and hoped for the best). Next off, puzzle. I did it multiple times to cut time, and ended up with a score that was 13 minutes faster than the next fasted person. Finally, hands on the idol. Oh god this one I think shows more than any of the others that I was playing to win harder than anyone else and that is what let me go on an immunity run, not just dumb luck as some would claim. Im hands on the idol, Claire had 3 posts, Marie and 2, and Joanna had 1 (Meaning that despite her wanting me gone, her endurance run literally had her post it to start her time and then just not post again after). I on the other hand got 18, a score literally 6 times higher than the next highest person. I went  from when I woke up to when I went to sleep (Which was late late that night because I thought any little bit I could improve my score was worth it because I am super competitive and  invested in the game). I'm sorry I went on this tangent, but I want people to know that the physical game is a major aspect of survivor, and because of mine (Which had 0 to do with luck and all to do with me working my ass off), I was able to get here with 0 votes against, and no matter how bad Joanna and Marie wanted me gone they couldn't bothered to try and win even one of these comps. As such, I got here with one person who the jury doesn't have much respect for, and another who, although smart, was inactive and didn't submit for half of the freaking challenges, as opposed to my opponents who got here with someone they both feared they couldn't beat.

Ok phew, I got that off my chest, and I hope every juror will read this speech haha. Anyways, onto your official questions.

I'll go with the easier one first.

''Were you on board with that F7 plan? Did you truly try your hardest to rope Claire into voting for Michael?'' Yes, I really did try on this one to an extent. The initial plan was to force an idol and or dark pearl out of Marie since claire said she was going to tell Marie "Use the dark pearl then I flip back on the revote". Now, I was  going to try to convince Claire to get Marie to use the dark pearl, and then vote Marie out anyways on the revote, but there was a miscommunication I guess when Claire and I sent our votes in, since Claire cut a deal with Christine to vote out Michael or Marie the next round so she went with that. As  for if I tried my absolute 100% hardest, well, probably not. As much as you know I love you as a person, no matter who went  that round it was of benefit to me. If Marie goes, suddenly Im in the majority and that's cool. As I said earlier though, as soon as you were gone I was fairly confident that that I could win out since you and Christine were my only real physical threats (Not win out by luck, but by effort!). So although I did try and get Claire in, the main reason for which is that I didn't want you to go on a personal level because I really liked you, when I found out Claire had already  sent in her vote for you I can't say it made me completely pissed, and I knew my best move was to go along with it and play it up to Claire like I was fine with you going from the start. In a way it was strategic for me to get to final 6 with people I knew I could beat in comps if you will. ''had you lost all of the F6, F5, and F4 immunities, what would have been your path to the end? How would you have made FTC relying only on social and strategic game? Would you have made FTC? ''Ok, the  slightly harder question now, but I'd just like to preface this with there  was no way in hell I was losing all of these comps and I knew that full well when final 6 hit. In the hypothetical though at 6 there is a decent chance I'm safe. For one Marie and  Claire were already in a huge flamewar, and had I note been immune I would have stoked the coals of that as hard as I possibly could to ensure the vote was off me. Christine had already told me the round before she wanted to go against Marie as she was worried of looking like a follower, and if Im not winning comps Im seen as less of a threat so Joanna sees me still as an extra number for her, while Claire has no value to her cause. Michael likely still leaves this round.Final 5. Im not winning immunities in this hypothetical, so instead Christine is seen as the challenge/social threat. The fight between Christine and Marie still happens and they hate each other (temporarily, I do genuinly hope you two are back to being friends now :D ) so if she loses immunity I play  up to Joanna that I'm still her extra vote, play up to Claire that I'm hers. Christine sees me  as less threatening to her game than Marie. Marie goes home in a 3-2 blindside after I promise Joanna Im voting with her and Marie.Final 4. Well, this one depends now on if Claire is as loyal to me as she claims she was, at worst it's going to fire making. If  Christine wins  immunity I think it's either a 2-2 tie between Joanna and I, then I most likely win the firemaking. Alternatively Joanna now sees Claire as a big  social threat, Christine still sees me as the threat, Claire and  I vote together and it's a 2-1-1 against Joanna. If Christine doesn't win immunity, Claire, Joanna and I likely all vote Christine. Now, obviously this is  all  a hypothetical. Is there a chance I don't make final tribal? Of course there is! Maybe Claire wasn't as loyal to me as she claims she was and was just playing me, maybe I'm seen as a threat even without being a comp beast. I just can't say with 100% certanty because survivor is a game with too many variables and as this new hypothetical game progresses maybe I make different moves if people start seeming sketchy or whatever. There are a million scenario's where I make ftc, but there are also a ton where I don't. I believe though I had a real chance to make it here even without my run, but my work in immunities allowed me to get here with 100% certainty, and be here with a weaker final 3 than if I was here with Claire and Christine.