Board Thread:Season 35 - Sri Lanka/@comment-24535117-20160917232124

Hey everyone! I'm going to go through my whole game to show why I'm the most adaptable, well-rounded and ultimately most deserving of sole survivor!

So coming into the game I knew that first impressions are basically vital to the game and not only did I need to make good first impressions with at least almost all of the tribe, but that I get a solid read on everyone else to see where they would fit into tribe dynamics. After doing a little talking and looking around, I knew that some things were clear. Among them was that not only did Chris and I kind of get along very well, but I could also tell that he wanted to play the game very strategically. I knew that sticking with him, would be my best option at the moment. So I made an alliance with him and wanted to expand it with more people to get numbers. During this time I realized I clicked really strongly with Ari and Andy so Chris and I pulled them into an alliance and called it the DIVAS. While this was going on I also started talking to Allison a lot more and she offered a two person alliance with me, and I excepted it (Having as many options and connections at that point was vital).

So the Allie vote off rolls around and at the time it seemed like everyone was voting Allie, so I went ahead and threw a vote at Nate (who I had no real connection to) in the off chance that Allie had an idol. It ended up being this wild vote because two people voted for themselves and someone voted for me. I wasn’t entirely sure who it was but I definitely had a suspicion that it was Connor. Connor and I had talked some but I was never able to really get a solid read on him. Out of everyone he was the most suspect, so I knew from that point on I needed to be wary of him. But overall, throughout the pre-swap I was more focused on my social game then my strategic gameplay. My solid alliance was able to protect me for the vote, so I spent my time trying to get to know people and forming bonds that could help me out later in the game.

After the first swap I was still in a good position, and again I decided to focus more on getting a feel for people than planning any big moves or whatever. I was still with all my alliance members, Chris, Ari, Andy (after he mutinied to us <3) and at that point Ari and I were becoming even closer allies so we went ahead and made a final two deal to operate within the DIVA alliance. The new people I got to meet were of course Cosmo, Conor and Michael. Again, first impressions here were vital and I honestly think I got a good read of them right away. Cosmo seemed like he could not fucking be trusted, and that he wouldn’t be against pulling some shady shit (this was quickly confirmed after he promptly threw his allies under the bus to me but was also trying to flip Chris to them, lmao). Despite the fact that Conor and Cosmo were dragging Michael I got more of a feeling that Michael was more chill than that. Finally, out of the three of them I definitely got along with Conor the best and Ari liked him to so we decided to make a side three-person alliance with him. At that point in time all the old Bundalas were seriously irked by Cosmo and we had planned on voting his ass out if we lost a challenge (Despite the fact that we were hinting that it would be Michael).

The second swap comes along and while I’m separated from my close allies Chris, Allison and Conor, I’ve still got Ari and Andy which still left me in a tie with the old Amparas over Liam, Michael and Asa. The vibes I got from them was that they appeared to be super tight and that they would not be willing to flip so it would probably go to rocks if we lost a challenge. So during that time I was more focused on talking to Ari and Andy and continuing building up those bonds, not only because it would help me in the game but because they’re fun to be around and talk to.

Forrest This is the pre-merge hald let me send the second half
 * half

Forrest So luckily that second swap tribe never loses a challenge and we hit the merge. At this point a lot of crazy shit is about to go down before the first vote so it’s going to take a long fucking time to sort through that because there are a lot of pieces to the fucking puzzle. The first day there are two things that noticed right away, the first was that Connor suddenly started approaching me to talk instead of vice versa, and that something had happened with Chris, Cosmo and Conor. For the latter I had an inkling something was up but I honestly had no idea how big it was and how much damage it was about to inflict on my game. So Connor approaches me and brings up this idea of a power alliance between me, him, Chris and Andy. I was honestly, truly open to the idea at the time so we formed it (but of course I filled Ari in on the development because my 100% true loyalties were still with her).

Another big component to that first tribal was what was happening with Liam. Ari is the first to tell me about this fucking “revenge bus alliance” to steamroll Cosmo out of the game, and at the time I’m thinking “Fuck yeah, but this sounds too good to be true.” So, I went and tried to continue to build up my relationship with Liam to get to the bottom of what the fuck was going on. Liam seemed really nice and genuine with me, so I figured maybe it was a good idea to get on this bus and turn the snake into fucking roadkill. We’re talking about non-game stuff at first and eventually shift the topic about how I don’t know what the fuck im doing (lie), that I have no alliances (lie) and that I’m kinda just wanting to float through the game (another fucking lie). Liam tells me about the revenge bus and I act surprised and shook but really I know exactly what the fuck he’s talking about already. I’m getting excited but then it just kind of goes really downhill really fast. When Liam offers me a spot in the alliance he makes a big mistake that really concerned me. First he said something along the lines of “want to be the the fifth member of my four person alliance to get Cosmo out?”, which implies I’m going to be cut at fifth. And then he starts getting brave and declaring to the group that maybe we should get Conor (an ally), Chris (another fucking ally) or maybe even Andy (again, an ally) out before Cosmo to make the revenge sweeter or something like that. This made me and Ari like super nervous because we were aligned with all those people and if they’re Liam’s targets then we can’t let him take any control. At that point we relay this new info to the DIVAs, I talk to Allison and Cosmo about it and before you know it Liam is out of the game with his only ally left being Connor.

The reason I didn’t tell Connor about the flip was simple, he was in an alliance with me, Andy and Chris and decided to not tell us about revenge bus nor was he upset or talking to me about Liam’s interest in getting rid of Chris and Andy. At that point I knew I couldn’t trust him.

Going into the next vote my ONLY fucking target was still Cosmo (despite what also lies people have been told) but unfortunately he went fucking apeshit in the flashgame but w/e. By this point I had noticed that little bits of info that I told Cosmo would suddenly be known by other people or people would ask me if I told him and it was at this time that I knew that anything I talked to Cosmo about needed to be fucking irrelevant or just some made up bullshit that would really have no use in the game to make him stop pestering me for info. So before the vote since Cosmo had won immunity I was like “whatever I don’t want to like try and control this vote or push any agenda, Connor going home is fine so I’m just going to roll with it”. Despite me telling the DIVAS that maybe it was smarter to let Connor go, Michael is chill we don’t need to vote him out, Chris went to Cosmo to try and convince him to vote Michael out. I don’t know the exact details of this fight but apparently it ended with Cosmo calling Chris an idiot and telling him he couldn’t read. Chris was so upset and like shook by this that it increased my suspicions about their relationship even more, like why did Chris think he could influence Cosmo’s vote unless they talked strategy together??? Another end result of this is that somehow Chris had made Cosmo think that Ari, Andy and I had a final 3 (we were in a four person alliance, but I had no final three so yes this was a lie) and Cosmo decides to confront me about it lol. So at this point Ari and I are kind of peeved at Chris for not listening to my advice but we’re thinking “whatever” and vote out Connor.

Now we hit the Ari vote out, which was the build up of all the shit that had been growing behind my back. I had noticed the stench, but by the time I looked around and saw it, it was too fucking late. Again, going into this week my only fucking target was Cosmo, but for some reason Chris and Ari were both against it (I trusted Ari, but again the shady feelings I was getting from Chris were growing!) and were just fine with voting Michael because they ~thought~ that’s what everyone wanted. I talk to Allison about it and she tells me to vote Michael so again I’m like “whatever” because at that point I hadn’t being working with Michael strategically so it would be no loss to my game. After a brief conversation with Cosmo in which he basically says “I just want to go with the flow” and I’m kind of wondering that something weird is going on because Cosmo is usually overplaying af. However I had been worried that after what happened last week that if I sniffed around it would look like I was overplaying myself so I just voted Michael and went on with my day. But then, Conor flips out in the group chat screaming about snakes and rats and shit but when I ask him about it he won’t tell me who or what’s going on. This raised a red flag but usually Conor, Ari and I could talk freely about the game. My worries are continuing to grow but again, I leave it alone (at this point college has started and this bitch is busy).

Finally, out of fucking nowhere Conor tells me that it’s 5-4 and not only is Ari going home, but Chris fucking knew about it but he already voted so he was just going to pretend like he didn’t to stay on Andy and I’s good graces. I quickly do to Allison because frankly I’m shook that she would betray me like that and she tells me it’s bc I’m gunning for her and Asa and that I have a final three with andy and Ari. NEITHER OF THESE THINGS WERE TRUE. I also quickly learn that Cosmo is behind this bullshit and I’m pissed. A while back Chris tells ME that Asa and Allison are too close and eventually need to be split so I just agree bc I’m not going to disagree and possibly piss him off, I had zero intentions of voting either of them out like I said my only target was Cosmo. Then apparently Chris goes to Cosmo and tells him that Ari and I want to do it to gain votes. Then, Cosmo decides to go to everyone and tell them this like it’s fact instead of just verifying it with me first like a fucking idiot. The end result of this is that he wants to target Ari, which was stupid because she was against voting him out when I was absolutely for it. At this point I want everyone in the tribe to know that I know what’s going on and that it’s a load of crap. I call Cosmo’s ass out in the tribe chat, fucking go off. It’s important to note that I knew everyone voted already so I could say whatever I wanted and I really had nothing to lose. For some reason Chris thought I was talking about him, which honestly sealed his fate with me. Why would he think I was talking about him unless he was at least partially responsible??

Ari goes and this has a huge effect on my game. I’ve lost my ride or die and now my only loyal ally is Andy. Three people are officially on my not to be trusted list. Cosmo, for being a prick. Chris, for constantly reassuring me that no one trusts Cosmo and that he can’t do shit. And finally, shockingly, Conor. I saw right through what Conor was up to. If Conor was really looking out for the alliance with Ari and I, he would have flipped right then and there and we could’ve saved Ari. Instead, he waits till later to tell me when it’s too late so he can not only get Ari out of the way to try and force me to be closer to him, but so he can appear as a good guy at the same time. I love you Conor, but I saw right through that messy behavior. But the biggest effect by far is that I’m no longer worried about playing hard and being a target, because just being social and laidback has gotten me nowhere. I’ve got nothing to lose so I might as well go the fuck off.

The next day Andy and I go off. I literally cut off all communication with Cosmo and call him out on his shit in front of the tribe (again, damaging his reputation) while Andy stirs up shit to try and split up their votes. The two of us realize we’re loyal as fuck to each other and that the other alliance hates both of us so we might as well go final 2 (It’s kind of funny, Cosmo’s paranoia about Andy and I wanting to go to the end together causes a self-fulfilling prophecy LMAO). Then, Conor expresses his interest to flip and I’m like whatever I’ll go to rocks I’ve got nothing to lose. I still don’t trust Chris and Conor but I know I have to work with them until another option comes up (at this point Allison was acting distant towards me so I knew our duo was officially dead ); ). I had a feeling however, Allison would be petty and throw a vote at Andy like she did last time so I was trying to push for a Cosmo vote, the others thought it was too risky so we voted Asa out. Ultimately I was correct, we didn’t go to rocks and said bye bye to Asa. Her leaving was beneficial to my game because it made Allison open to working with me again so ge could save herself and it put me in the majority again.

The next week only has some minor developments up until my f2 is voted out (again). Allison suddenly wants to repair our bond, which I viewed as half-genuine, half-game so I just went with it. He was talking to me again and that was good. Ultimately the vote was botched because everyone wanted to be the nice guy and tell Michael he was going, and despite my efforts to throw them off it was tew much and Cosmo played the idol on Michael so Andy went home! That really sucked because he was really the only one I trusted 100% (My trust in Conor and Chris was starting to recover but it was still not enough) and he was fucking hilarious and we would fake fights with each other in the tribe chat just for fun. So yeah it really sucked ass to see Andy go. However, this is when I actually decided to start making a series of moves and working the vote to get what I wanted, not what everyone else did. Everyone was always saying how rude Cosmo was and how much they hated him and how he talked down to everyone and I was lowkey starting to think “Damn, he’s only getting to the end because he has immunity, and even when he’s there hardly anyone likes him” so I was starting to think it was smart to stop going after him. Secondly, Allison and Michael were ultimately playing weaker games than Chris and Conor who had been making moves and trying to control the vote. Michael did have a great social game but ultimately I thought Chris/Conor had good strategic games and Chris had a great social game as well while Conor had a good enough one to still beat me. Michael, was not really doing anything besides allowing Cosmo to protect him so I figured in the end Chris and Conor were more well-balanced and for sure winners. I knew I needed to start (unfortunately) making Cosmo think that I really really was over him being a dickwad to make this happen. At that point I wanted final 3 with Cosmo and Allison. In order to talk to Cosmo again however I needed insurance so I told my former voting-bloc that it was to make him lower his guard.

Originally I wanted Chris gone next because I thought he was the best player left in the game, but shortly before the vote Allison started acting strangely towards me again. I learned he was talking up Chris and Conor, repeating things I told him to them and Cosmo which was not fucking good at all. I really did want to work with him but something was getting fucking fishy and I had to stop him from endangering my game. Conor and Chris thought I was still in their bloc and wanted Michael gone but I knew I could push the Allison vote. It basically summed up to this, I dropped somewhat subtle hints to Chris that if we didn’t vote Allison together he might go home, which really gave the two of them no other option. Ultimately I pulled off the 3-2-1 and sent Allison home. I didn’t foresee myself making that move but sadly he posed a threat to me making it to the end so I knew it needed to happen.

The next week I decide to start opening communication with Michael again, he’s very receptive and even offers me a final 2 deal. I honestly only take this with a grain of salt but the fact that he was talking game with me and revealing his opinions about the other players showed that he did at least want to work with me temporarily. Ultimately though, Chris was going unless he won immunity, which he didn’t. Fortunately Cosmo and Michael both wanted Chris gone over Conor too so no convincing was needed and I officially made the flip. It did stink a little to see Chris go because we did get along on a personal level and he was fun to talk to but I knew I needed to make the strategic move to better position myself.

The final immunity challenge rolls around and I’m deadset on getting Conor out. I considered him a friend and like Chris I really did love talking to him about non-strategic things like Big Brother and shit but really he was the biggest threat left to win. Like I said earlier his balance between strategic and social was stronger between Cosmo’s ok strategic game and shitty social game/Michael’s good social game and his very very weak strategic game (I wasn’t going to say anything negative about Michael but since he came for me all bets are off). Cosmo wins immunity and I vote Conor. It was honestly I really tough decision at that point because the emotional part of my brain really did want to go to the end with him over Michael because I had a much stronger relationship with him. However, I thought of what I said earlier and the final nail in the coffin was how he handled the Ari vote with me. It sucked but he needed to go.

Now I’m here and honestly I almost can’t believe it! I had so many fucking ups and downs it was insane but it was a lot of fun. You guys all had to do with me getting here so thank you for that. Ultimately, I think I’m the best candidate for sole survivor because I am the most balanced social and strategic player left. I did build bonds with people but I also wasn’t afraid to make sure I could get to the end next to the people I had a better chance of winning. Cosmo and Michael stuck to Asa and maybe Allison (although Cosmo found out I flipped the vote on him and both Cosmo and Michael thought I made the right choice so how loyal were they to him.) while I was adaptable and used different avenues and voting blocs to get the end. I was able to readjust both times my number 1 allies were voted out and that basically got me here. Some might say I’m only here over Chris and Conor because I was less of a threat than them to beat Cosmo/Michael but ultimately my decision to flip on them to improve my own standings was why they’re not here and I am. I’m ready to answer any questions you have or if you want to just fucking roast me that’s cool too lol! 