Board Thread:Season 46 - Kariba/@comment-3418419-20180417212836/@comment-33060993-20180417234718

Okay, before I start this - I just want to say the biggest thank you to my faves Louise, Drew, Becky/Jordan, and Jack… I am insanely grateful for your votes and to the other jurors, thank you for considering me!

Vincent… I would say it’s been forever but we just talked an hour ago about how crazy and tragic it would be if this happened. We’ve been through how down you are about all of this, but I just want to say one last time that ily fave and while this wasn’t your best showing, you’re still an amazing player and deserving of another chance. also dsjkhfhjksfd shade me dad on my essays of FTC responses - but I’ll keep it concise just for you fave!!

For your questions,

What was the absolute best aspect of the other finalist's game?

The best aspect of Roisin’s game would have to be her receiving no votes. It’s a difficult statistic to pull off and shows her ability to navigate the target on her back. Between linguistic manipulation and idol clownery, she did that. She never led because she really didn’t need to to get to the end, and that’s perfectly okay!

Compare yourself and the other finalist to a real Survivor player.

JAKE: Todd Herzog (aka what I said in my contestant bio) Not only because I really emotionally identify with the first gay Sole Survivor that hasn’t been convicted for tax evasion, but because I’m not afraid to manipulate or lie to advance, but I won’t do it excessively. I did manipulate a perception of me as doing the least for quite a bit of this game (one that was less developed with you because our relationship was v honest) and also manipulated and worked several outcomes to my desire or to my advantage (Dan/Jack/Matthias/Ben/Hals), while also facing those (e.g. Giving James the idol or Drew/Louise) that weren’t my set idea for the game. Like Todd taking out James, a huge threat, I took out Jack. I also think I can build critical bonds that carry me far into games and have a v developed strategic mindset. In the same manner that Todd really worked his relationship with Jean-Robert, Amanda, James, Courtney, Denise, and others - I accomplished that with almost all of the castaways, allowing myself to overcome adversity through a mix of a social and strategic game that was overall adaptive! The only discrepancy is ironic - Todd saw Zhan Hu picked off one by one, and by the same measure, I survived Zambezi being picked off one by one by building new bonds!

(Also as someone who detests Ryan, I take offense and don’t really see our arcs as that similar, because my merge was just as strong as my pre-merge, aside from a vote or two and I correctly played my idol to make a huge move.)

ROISIN: You know I love doing meshes, because we are all our own individuals - so I’d call Roisin a mix between Natalie White and Sugar Kiper. I’d call her Natalie White because she was a lot more knowledgeable about the game than she ever let on and was perceived as something she was not for a good portion of the game and Sugar Kiper because both of them never received votes. Neither were truly leaders or trailblazers within the games they played, but still managed to pull off FTC by avoiding a target on their back! Sugar also did find herself in the middle of alliances for reasons she could not foretell (for Sugar, it was her times exiled and for Roisin, it was her weak pre-merge position that led to the belief she was a number) but used it.

Compare me to a Survivor contestant.

VINCENT: Yesss! I’ve seen you play twice… across the entire merge here, and for a tribal or two in Upolu, so I think I know what you can bring to the table!! I think I’d still peg you as Tyler Frederickson from Worlds Apart, but now with an added element of Adam Klein - with Tyler, you did play a low profile game, but I don’t think that stopped you from being savvy and in-tune strategically - you were only blindsided on one outcome throughout this game, which ultimately shows an awareness of what was going on that I don’t think was recognized by the jury at all. Touchy Subjects, a social win, the Bullseye immunity, and you successfully eliminating Louise, your target, proves that there was more to your game than what was noted. I’d add the element of Adam Klein because I think something I experienced with you this season was your passion and knowledge for the game. I can see it because I have it too. You’re well-versed in the game, hence why you literally destroyed everyone in the trivia challenge, and part of me really wishes your arc could have ended like Adam’s did. It could have been as simple as ending up next to the right finalists because you tried an UTR strategy that just didn’t work out for you compared to aggressive games. For that final reason, I’d compare you to Jeremy Collins, because he had a second chance and KILLED IT and I hope you have the opportunity to do the same one day on this org - for your passion and prowess alike.

Overall, I just want to thank you for the opportunity for your game-deciding vote but more importantly, for being my ride or die (even when we played double agent) in the merge and someone I could trust. I’m so sorry it had to be in such a tragic way - You wanted this just as bad as I still do, and I really hope you can cast your vote for me. When we met, we were both extremely new to all of this - bright-eyed, bushy-tailed, and with something to prove. Kariba means a lot to both of us - I hope with literally so much that I’m kinda in tears right now that it can end with a win. Ily and I really hope to earn your vote. See you soon <3