Post by Sierra on Jul 21, 2015 2:13:12 GMT
HI GUYS.
I’m so nervous right now. Like Sherri at Caramoan FTC nervous, but not exactly like Sherri because I actually have things to say that aren’t about my fast food restaurant chain. This is my first FTC, so I’d first of all like to thank everyone who was a part of this game (host, PWs, players) for making it the experience it was. It was a RIDE and a half and I’m stoked to be here and have the chance to make a case for myself.
I’m so nervous right now. Like Sherri at Caramoan FTC nervous, but not exactly like Sherri because I actually have things to say that aren’t about my fast food restaurant chain. This is my first FTC, so I’d first of all like to thank everyone who was a part of this game (host, PWs, players) for making it the experience it was. It was a RIDE and a half and I’m stoked to be here and have the chance to make a case for myself.
I know that when I see essay-length opening statements detailing every aspect of a person’s game I tend to skip over a lot of it, because I figure that a lot of that stuff should probably be left for the jury questioning part of the proceedings. For that reason, I’m gonna try to keep this short so that we can hand the floor over to you guys.
I’m not entirely comfortable with talking myself up, so this might be a bit of a struggle, but here we go. I feel like I played the best game of the three sitting here. Physically, Chelsea admittedly has me beat, boasting 4 immunity wins over my 2, but I think I was a formidable challenge competitor in both individual and tribal challenges nonetheless. Socially, I had connections that allowed me to pull myself out of some ugly situations pre-merge and kept me out of danger post-merge, as well as giving me substantial influence at each TC I went to (notably, I only voted “incorrectly” at one of the 13 tribal councils I attended, and the John and Ozzy votes were the only ones I felt had no real control over). Through the connections I made, I believe I was privy to information about almost all of the social bonds in the game, along with a lot of what was going on in each round. I was able to use this information to manipulate the game in my favour. Strategically… well, I definitely made strategic and social blunders throughout the game, but I think this might be my strongest showing in an ORG so far. I have never had such a powerful influence over the direction of not only my own fate, but the game overall. I’d be lying if I said it’s all been fun and games for me, though. I figured quite a while ago that I would probably never make it to the end of an ORG if I didn’t learn to play against my heart sometimes. I had to do just that at many points throughout this game and it honestly SUCKED, but it worked out for me in the end. Whether my strategic play cancelled out my social play remains to be seen, but I am proud of the game I played overall. I’d also like to give a mixed shout out and kick in the fucking shins to the rotating idol twist, which both hindered and helped me along the course of my journey here.
I guess I’ll close this out with a kind of “highlight reel” of my game:
- I made bonds in the original Penedo that set me up in the majority alliance.
- I organized Shane’s blindside after Penedo’s second loss to save Osten and Varner, both of whom I saw as potential long-term allies.
- I made bonds on nuBarra that again saw me set in the majority alliance, and orchestrated the Kimmi vote (sorry 
) after a strategic blunder by Matty saw our original plan to boot Cirie foiled.
- I should have been a victim of the shitty swap that put me on nunuBarra with John, Cirie (who clearly wanted me out), and 3 people that I had never talked to before, but I made it work in my favour. I was forced to let John go, but bounced back and won over Steph & Joaq, who forced a tie for me and then voted Cirie out. At this point, I made an endgame deal with Joaq that arguably was one of the biggest catalysts in getting us both here, and was kept secret from everyone (though I’m sure some people suspected it).
) after a strategic blunder by Matty saw our original plan to boot Cirie foiled. - I should have been a victim of the shitty swap that put me on nunuBarra with John, Cirie (who clearly wanted me out), and 3 people that I had never talked to before, but I made it work in my favour. I was forced to let John go, but bounced back and won over Steph & Joaq, who forced a tie for me and then voted Cirie out. At this point, I made an endgame deal with Joaq that arguably was one of the biggest catalysts in getting us both here, and was kept secret from everyone (though I’m sure some people suspected it).
- The Ozzy vote at merge put me in an ostensibly crappy position, but I managed to play both sides, which brought me and my closest allies back from a 6 - 4 deficit. This resulted in all of my merge alliance sans Ozzy making it to at least F6, putting me in a great place for the endgame.
- I made a deal with Chelsea at around F6 to never write each other’s names down after working closely with her all throughout merge. I think that if this hadn’t happened it’s highly likely I would have been forced to compete in a tiebreaker last round.
I in no way claim absolute responsibility for all of this - I definitely had a lot of help along the way - but I think some of these points are important displays of the impact I had on the game.
This ended up longer than I wanted to. My bad. I welcome any and all questions and call-outs (as I’m fully aware I might be delusional or mistaken on some points). Good luck to Chelsea and Joaquin - you know I love you both <3