Hello guys!
First, I want to thank the hosts for this great experience. This was a really fun ORG, I think we can all agree on that. It was very processed well and I enjoyed my time in Haiti.
Alright, so my speech is long. But please read it all. Thank you!
Anyway, first, I want to make it very clear; I am not going to apologize for any moves I made during the game. I played my heart out, and if I apologized, it would be fake. Final Tribal is all about truth, and thus, I'm going to be 100% honest with my gameplay. And I will answer all the questions with honesty.
First, I'm going to start with a summary of my gameplay. So, I started this game on Esperte tribe, known as Brains. There, I was able to form an alliance with Tyler, Mika, and Jessie. Mika coined the term Sassy Salsas, and I was cool with that name. Jeffy and Fitz were on the outs, and it seemed pretty obvious, at least to Jeffy. After Brains lost the 2nd Immunity challenge, Jeffy had noticed he was on the outs, and threw a fit in chat, and went low to tell Mika to die and other rude stuff. I won't go in to much details on that, but he was diposed of first.
In the alliance, I had met Tyler, and we really connected. We really a great duo and I really did feel comfortable with him. After another loss from Esperte, I was sent to Exile. I had chosen the Social Idol, in hopes to make someone self vote there way out of the game, similar to Riley of Cote on the main wiki. Sadly, I didn't find it, on that trip or my other trips. Jessie was voted off. I believe it was due to Fitz being a much stronger person and Mika not trusting Jessie. Either way, I wasn't there, so I had no involvement that Tribal. Then, me and Tyler noticed something out of the blue; Mika had been calling herself "Malicious Mika". We both were scared of that idea, because we figured if we got to a tribe swap/dissolve, it wouldn't be the best idea to have someone who calls herself maiicious help you. So, we decided to vote her out. I liked her a lot, we were close, but that was too much of a threat. During this time, I was Exiled yet again, but I had not missed Tribal Council. There, I picked the Social Idol clue again, and still didn't find it, much to the dissappointment of myself and Tyler. After Mika was blindsided, Esperte finally won another challenge, thank God. I had tried to talk to Trevor, but he never responded. So, I had no connection with his vote off.
Then, the tribe swap comes at random. Me and Tyler are seperated, and Fitz goes to Exile, awaiting the losing tribe. Here's where things start to pick up for me. I knew that being the only Brain with 2 Brawn (Sharky, Eden) and 3 Beauty (Brian, Jessy, Arina), I was going to be an important vote. So, I decided to start listening to both sides. I realized I didn't want to go to purple rocks, and the plan was 2-2-2 between Sharky and Eden, as I had sided with Beauty. However, I knew if I didn't do something, Eden wouldn't trust me. So, I told Eden he had to vote for Sharky, or he was going to get voted off, which he did. This meant I hadn't betrayed Beauty, as a Brawn did go home and I did vote Eden like I was supposed to, but Eden also got to stay, so I was able to still listen in on stuff.
Now, here's where I have to stop on Haiti. A lot of people noticed I wasn't online, with Brian even commenting in the Passage of Rites. In Florida, we have a thing called a Baker Act. This is where if you're found trying to commit suicide, you go to a hospital, and when you're checked out and physically able to leave, you're transported to a mental facility for help. I had tried to overdose on pills that night. So, from Tuesday night, all the way to the next Tuesday afternoon, I was in a mental facility. I was receiving help and I did get it. So, I really hope those self votes don't affect your decision. I don't regret going there I got the help, I still am. But that's why I had self voted, as I had no connection with the outside world except my mom who came and visited me. So, that's why I was offline.
Anyway, I return to merge at Final 10. Brian had gotten voted off, and I decided to catch up on all the stuff that went down. As Tyler was my closest ally, I went to him first. We decided to talk about options on which side to go too. Now, I knew either side would take us. I knew since we were minorites, and Beauty and Brawn were out for the blood of each other, I decided to take full advantage. With my strategic game and Tyler's nice guy personality, we were able to talk to anyone. There, I was with Beauty, and we were going to split 3-3-3 between Kevin and Eden, with Kevin being the main target. I, however, decided to flip to Eden, because I knew Eden was a likable guy, and I knew I could convince Kevin to trust me by saying I saved him. Do I regret voting off Eden? No, I don't, because it helped my merge game with Brawn and Beauty, as Beauty still trusted me. Now it's Final 9. Cameron is voted off after the girls of Purez vote him off and I join. Thank you Purez girls! Now, at Final 8, Brawn had not trusted me. In an earlier chat, Kevin had told me if I went with Brawn, him, me, and Tyler would be the Final 3. But, I didn't know Kevin would follow through with that deal, and I knew he would become a big threat. So, I go to Koror, and show him the screenshot of Kevin saying he wants Koror out. Well, Koror tells Kevin. So, in my head, I'm freaking out, I'm like, what? But then, I realized if Brawn didn't vote with Brain, thye'd be picked off. So I told them straight up to there faces; they WILL go home if they don't vote with me and vote Jessy off. This seemed to work, as Jessy was voted off. I chose her because she was such an amazing player, and I was threatened by her in-game power.
So now, Beauty doesn't trust me or Tyler, so now we have to start wheeling and dealing again. But it was of no use, as Beauty didn't trust us. So, Arina went home, and was revealed to be Jo in a shocking message. No one expected that, that's for damn sure. So now we're at Final 6, and the end game is near. Me and Fonda start talking. We were in an alliance together, and we started talking about the game. We realized that with the jury adoring Purry (according to Koror), Tyler's strong social game, and Kevin's game in general, we needed to ally. We needed each other because we were on the bottom of the totem pole in terms of jury votes. It was a simple partnership deal. We became really good friends. At Final 6, I decided to target a Brawn, because if Purry had went home, then I felt as though Pouwa would have taken me and Tyler out. So, Purry, who I know was in need of an alliance, and Tyler who was willing to jump ship with me, decided to vote Koror. Kevin and Koror were for sure not expecting it, and Koror was sent to the jury. Final 5 comes around, and now I'm getting ready to achieve me goal; making it to Day 39, which I did indeed do. Kevin wins Immunity. The original target was Purry once again. However, Fonda had told me Kevin and Tyler were working together. And, if we were to vote off Purry, and then it becomes a 2-2 tie at Final 4, I'd lose against Kevin or Tyler no doubt. So, I decided to vote off my closest/main ally Tyler. That was the hardest vote in Haiti I had to do, but I knew it was a serious threat keeping him.
At Final 4, me and Fonda realize we need to vote off Kevin. Sadly, he wins Immunity yet again. Then, Purry is voted off for being a jury threat, but not after a tiebreaker. However, Fonda managed to win that, which meant the Final 3 was me, Fonda, and Kevin. There, Kevin wins Immunity. After a paranoia Tribal Council, he votes off Fonda, which I will admit, I thought he'd vote off me, but I was proved wrong. And now, I'm sitting here tonight, so my plan has worked.
If I had to compare myself to one player, I played like Sandra, and here's why; I knew the Beauty and Brawn would want Brains votes, so I took 100% advantage of that. But I also knew that if I sided with one tribe the whole time, then I would just be picked off after they're done and have majority. I knew I'd be screwed by staying with one tribe. So, I needed to decrease numbers on both sides, so that way, I would be able go to the end, because both Beauty and Brawn would fight over me and Tyler's votes. And if you can betray a tribe, and they still want you, that says something about your social game. I believe that proves you're able to make great social connections and still play the game. And also, flipping meant I was steering the game in my direction, while meeting new people due to going to different sides, meaning I was also making and forming new bonds that will last for a long time after this game is over. All in all, I did betray people, and I did use people, but all I can say is this; I played like Sandra, and I hope my game ends like Sandra's; winning the title of Sole Survivor.
In my eyes, I see my game as very good. I mean, I may have pissed off a few people in voting them out, but I meant it with no personal venegance. It was strictly strategical reasons. And, as I am sitting here, I believe I did great, as I was able to overcome the Esperte trainwreck to the flipping at merge.
Now, did I play a perfect game? Hell no. I won't sit here and say I had 100% control or I played the best game, because I know I didn't play a perfect game. One big fault of mine was voting off Tyler at Final 5, since he had a chance to vote off Kevin at Final 4, and maybe I would be able to vote him off at Final 3. I for sure regret doing that, and I hope that hasn't affected me in a bad way too much. I also had a hard time finding the Social Idol, because the clues were hard. I actually had allies calm me down because I was afraid someone would make me self vote and disqualify me, so thank you allies who calmed me down!
Now, let's take a look at Kevin. I know you're probably think you want him to win, with him finding Idols and winning challenges. But please, I want you all to remember this as you're casting that vote; is that really the game? It's not to discredit him or anything. But, what I want to say is I may not have been as out there as he was, y'know? I didn't find Idols, I didn't win challenges. But I also didn't put myself out there. I stayed more under the radar to avoid being seen as a threat. And I don't think anbody did, which was why I was always a spare vote. Now, do I consider myself a threat? To a certain extent. I didn't play an amazing game, but I played a great game, and sometimes, less is more. Sometimes, playing a great game doesn't require finding Idols or winning challenges. Sometimes, it's just about using your vote and creating great friendships, which I believe I managed to do.
If I voted you out, there was nothing personal at all about it. It was because you were next in my order of elimination. I also was threatened by a lot of you. And I say that as a compliment, and that I respected you, and feared you could beat me. Please don't take anything personal. I won't take votes against me personally either.
I thank you all tonight, for reading this (super) long speech. I ask you to consider me as the winner, and when you vote for a winner, please remember that none of this was personal. When you post your speeches, you can ask me anything, talk to me, challenge me, or just lash out at me. I'm ready for anything really, and I will answer them to the best of my ability.
Once again, thank you hosts for a great experience, and good luck to Kevin.
- Jake R