Day 32 - Final Tribal Council

[Chris]

Well spoken Tina, although I wasn't intending for my question to be a "butter me with compliments" kinda thing. Also, when I mentioned the driver's seat thing- I meant you, not Kimmi.

[Jeff Probst]

Alright, Chris... satisfied?

[Jeff]

I would've swooned if Chris had responded with something along the lines of "ya can't bullshit a bullshitter".

like hard swoon.

[Jeff Probst]

Alright, everyone's favorite Fat... Richard!

[Stacey]

Alright, everyone's favorite Fat... Richard!

HE'S OBESE AND HAS LONG, VOLUMOUS lashes.

[Tina]

@Chris

Oh, I was in the drivers seat as much as I needed to be, and even when I wasnt, like at F6, with Carter pushing for Debb, I knew my name had also been shopped around, so I had to align with Carter and yourself, if for no other reason than to ensure I was not the eventua target. That was one of the few times I was not in the driver's seat, but voted as much out of self presevation, because as it turned out, only Debb or I could have gone that round and I sure as hell did not want it to be me.

An example of me taking the driver's wheel was with the Richard vote. You and Kimmi pretty much had checked out for the weekend and prevoted, I kno=ew you were pissed at Angie and vice versa, but it was in my best interests alone to keep you both in the game, and take Richard out. I risked pissing off a lot of allies with that move, yet was still able to do it and a lot more besides.

Hope that helps.

[Richard]

Tina: Congrats Tina! Congrats on playing one of the worst games I’ve ever seen. For starters, you cast several “Coach” votes, (like when Hayden was voted out) which I absolutely despise. Your strategic game was irrational and illogical, and the only reason you’re sitting where you are is because you are so god damned terrible at the game! You also were embarrassingly bad at challenges. Most of all, our conversations were PAINFULLY fake. You are one of the only people I have ever met who can ramble on for 3-4 paragraphs and say absolutely nothing. Three words: clear and concise. Overall, all you were trying to do was butter me up so I would vote for you. Please write a haiku about the salem witch trials.

Kimmi: Other people seem to THINK you played a strong game, but you never really showed it. You talk a lot about your “social game”, and yet, like Ramona, I know almost nothing about you. Please derive the formula for finding the maximum or minimum value of a parabola using calculus.

Jeff: You bothered me a bit because, like Tina, I felt you talked way more than I appreciated. Again, I wish you had been more clear and concise. How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

My vote is still undecided. Your answers tonight are the sole determining factor. Please keep it clear and concise, and answer as promptly as possible. If you are too slow, you WILL lose my vote.

[Stacey]

Hi Ashley Underwood!

[Jeff]

An example of me taking the driver's wheel was with the Richard vote. You and Kimmi pretty much had checked out for the weekend and prevoted, I kno=ew you were pissed at Angie and vice versa, but it was in my best interests alone to keep you both in the game, and take Richard out. I risked pissing off a lot of allies with that move, yet was still able to do it and a lot more besides.

Personally I was going to vote Richard that vote anyway and you gave me a convenient reason to explain my vote. You can ask Angie/Carter about that one ;)

[Kimmi]

Kimmi: Other people seem to THINK you played a strong game, but you never really showed it. You talk a lot about your “social game”, and yet, like Ramona, I know almost nothing about you. Please derive the formula for finding the maximum or minimum value of a parabola using calculus.

I don't think this is entirely fair. I tried to get to know you, but you never reciprocated. I have several pms in my inbox with me trying to start a conversation with you and you read them and said nothing in return. I can only talk to myself for so long.

y = ax2 + bx + c,

[Jeff]

Jeff: You bothered me a bit because, like Tina, I felt you talked way more than I appreciated. Again, I wish you had been more clear and concise. How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

It's funny you say that because one of the reasons I struggled talking to you was because I felt like you never gave me much. I guess it's just preference. I'm a blabbermouth especially when I feel like I had a lot to say. After we worked on the idol clue for like an hour or two back in nuKirati, I was in your corner and thought you and I were going to do a little bit of damage and I wanted you to be the person that helped me take over this game. Unfortunately, once you voted Hayden, I feel like it was pretty clear that neither of us were going to work with each other but neither of us wanted to say anything so we did a whole lot of "keeping touch" which resulted in nothing but talking.

[Jeff]

the reason I included that bit about us working together is that, because I had a lot of game talk to do with you, it resulted in a lot of talking to you.

[Ramona]

Jeff: You bothered me a bit because, like Tina, I felt you talked way more than I appreciated. Again, I wish you had been more clear and concise. How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

It's funny you say that because one of the reasons I struggled talking to you was because I felt like you never gave me much. I guess it's just preference. I'm a blabbermouth especially when I feel like I had a lot to say. After we worked on the idol clue for like an hour or two back in nuKirati, I was in your corner and thought you and I were going to do a little bit of damage and I wanted you to be the person that helped me take over this game. Unfortunately, once you voted Hayden, I feel like it was pretty clear that neither of us were going to work with each other but neither of us wanted to say anything so we did a whole lot of "keeping touch" which resulted in nothing but talking.

[Jeff]

Jeff: You bothered me a bit because, like Tina, I felt you talked way more than I appreciated. Again, I wish you had been more clear and concise. How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

It's funny you say that because one of the reasons I struggled talking to you was because I felt like you never gave me much. I guess it's just preference. I'm a blabbermouth especially when I feel like I had a lot to say. After we worked on the idol clue for like an hour or two back in nuKirati, I was in your corner and thought you and I were going to do a little bit of damage and I wanted you to be the person that helped me take over this game. Unfortunately, once you voted Hayden, I feel like it was pretty clear that neither of us were going to work with each other but neither of us wanted to say anything so we did a whole lot of "keeping touch" which resulted in nothing but talking.

Oh thanks, forgot that bit.

A woodchuck would chuck so much wood he wouldn't know how much wood he chucked.

[Jeff Probst]

Okay thank you, Richard!

Next Up, Denise has left a statement for you all:

My sincere congratulations on beating the odds and making it a Madhesi Final 3! You guys clearly did a great job to have gotten here, and it was really fun playing with each of you.

Personally, the strategic aspect of gameplay (aka "moves") is what I respect the most and will therefore hold the most weight in my decision. However, I absolutely do recognize that social game and challenge performance are hugely integral to a great game as well.

Thus, what I would like each of you to do is to decide which ONE aspect of your gameplay will best convince me that you played a great game, then explain to me in some detail why exactly you were so good in that area. Just because I prefer strategic gameplay does not mean that is the best route for you--if you sucked, you sucked. However, my vote is not set in stone, so persuade me!

[Tina]

Tina: Congrats Tina! Congrats on playing one of the worst games I’ve ever seen. For starters, you cast several “Coach” votes, (like when Hayden was voted out) which I absolutely despise. Your strategic game was irrational and illogical, and the only reason you’re sitting where you are is because you are so god damned terrible at the game! You also were embarrassingly bad at challenges. Most of all, our conversations were PAINFULLY fake. You are one of the only people I have ever met who can ramble on for 3-4 paragraphs and say absolutely nothing. Three words: clear and concise. Overall, all you were trying to do was butter me up so I would vote for you. Please write a haiku about the salem witch trials.

Wow, I actually respected your game quite a lot, if you read my opening post and other refernces, but your opinion is your own and you are fully entitled to it. As far as the challenges go, again, I mentioned that was intentional strategy on my part. Check the opening post. My strategy was a sound one - keep my options open - minimize them for everyone else, so they could not move without involving me.

A for the messages, there was a reason why I was very coy about talking with you because I could not get a fix on you, so I did what I did so you could not get a fix on me either. It went entirely both ways here Richard, TBH. The one thing it wasnt was trying to butter you up for the vote more than it was trying to avoid give you room to pull a fast one on me as you had on Jeff and Debb a few rounds before. Simple as that. And my msgs to Jeff, Debb and Kimmi going into ther Hayden vote did mention my reservations as I could not get a fix on you an did not want to put my game in the hands of someone I had no connection with and didn't know how you would react. And my instinct was spot on.

Dance with the devil
Voices shriek and fingers point
Proctor gallows swing

[Ramona]

Dance with the devil
Voices shriek and fingers point
Proctor gallows swing

[Jeff]

I think my social game was my best skill, particularly to those who I was interested in talking to.

I think I was able to form pretty tight alliances with people that didn't try to vote me out, or at least were never successful. I managed to make it through the entire game without a single person deciding to vote against me and that's including Ramona who I'm sure would love to go back in time and write a very angry and mean vote about me.

Back in Madhesi, I formed bonds with pretty much everyone, a little lesser Keith than the others. After we lost our first challenge, Papa Bear was trying to get me out. I was told by other every person in the tribe (including Keith) that Papa Bear was coming after me and that they wouldn't vote me off. I learned at that moment that it is significant and valuable to have good ties with as many people as I could, which would have come up huge if anyone had tried to make a move on me at nuKirati or post-merge with my idol. This continued through the merge, with a few people telling me that my name popped up so I knew where I needed to focus my attention. Ultimately no plans against me ever came to fruition.

I also think my social game benefited from being adaptable and being in the know as I outlined in my opening speech. It allowed me to get info from "the other side" while at the same time appearing like I was open and willing to work with them, when I was only willing if it was advantageous to me.

PS - my physical/competition game totally sucked and yet I still managed to bumblefuck my way to 2 wins (+ the word search but nobody counts that, right?).

[Tina]

My sincere congratulations on beating the odds and making it a Madhesi Final 3! You guys clearly did a great job to have gotten here, and it was really fun playing with each of you.

Personally, the strategic aspect of gameplay (aka "moves") is what I respect the most and will therefore hold the most weight in my decision. However, I absolutely do recognize that social game and challenge performance are hugely integral to a great game as well.

Thus, what I would like each of you to do is to decide which ONE aspect of your gameplay will best convince me that you played a great game, then explain to me in some detail why exactly you were so good in that area. Just because I prefer strategic gameplay does not mean that is the best route for you--if you sucked, you sucked. However, my vote is not set in stone, so persuade me!

Hi Denise.

By far, I think it goes without saying that my strategic game is undisputedly the best. This actually does incorporate how I approached challenges and my social game served to make sure I was always in the know, always in the right position, and always knew what everyone was thinking when it came time for the vote, and I could do what I needed and wanted to. Noone else made any moves in this game after F9, apart from me. Everyone else just picked a side and stuck to it, whilst I was able to play the middle ground and go back and forth as it suited me. And if that meant potentially taking out allies if that was in my best interest, then thst was precisely what Ii did. But my social game was designed always to set me up to play a strategic game.

My strategy was always to maximize my own options, while ensuring others had fewer options, and those that they did, pretty much HAD to involve me. That was the reason you were targeted when Chris joined Madhesi's voting block, because it would allow for me to potentially still have an in with Angie and Carter to reconnect with, as opposed to if I had allowed Madhesi and Chris to target Angie instead. I was very selfish at times, and made moves that served my interests - not the interests of Madhesi or nuMadhesi or anyone or anything else. Because although this is a numbers game, only 1 person can win, and only 1 person played with anything like an independent strategy, while everyone else was just too busy being all buddy buddy . Someone had to be fearless enough to get their hands dirty, and I have as much blood on my hands of friends and allies as I have of those I was in direct opposition with. And that is a fact.

[Kimmi]

Well this should be an easy choice for me.

The social game was easily my strongest of the 3. The one downside of it is it makes me seem like a self-absorbed bitch when I talk about it, but here goes. I was quickly accepted by pretty much everyone I came into contact with. Even to the point of convincing people I didn't particularly like (Papa Bear) that I was likable and liked them. There were a few holes, admittedly. As I told Ramona, I think I got to know her the least. I never said my game was perfect. But for everyone else, I think I can name at least one thing that I learned about them, and I think pretty much everyone can say the same about me. And I used those real life conversations to grow closer to people and to get them to trust, and in some cases but not all, respect me.

As I said in my opening statement, when I came into the merge I had social connections all over the place through the Madhesi, the Kirati, and Stacey, giving me literally any potential option I wanted in terms of who to work with. I could have sided with anyone I wanted, and in the end I chose Madhesi partially because I felt the strongest connection with them and felt as though they trusted me the most after the time we spent together.

And I had a hand in voting out almost every person on the jury, a lot of whom I am still on good terms with socially, whether they consider me to be deserving of their vote or not, which definitely speaks for the strength of my social game.