WOW, WOW, WOW! Thank you all so much for one of the most challenging, most shocking, and most dynamic Survivor Group Games I have ever been a part of. You all represent the best of the best and it showed here on this battle ground. I would be honored if you all would hear my case on why I think I should win the title of Soul Survivor. Wholeheartedly, I think this is one of the strongest final three there is, and it is going to be an interesting debate. We all played very different and unique games. I believe I played the best game because I played with loyalty, I kept myself safe by pushing big targets into oncoming buses, and I navigated a strong social game which lowered my threat level. I am going to take my speech, phase by phase of the game and recap my various moves and actions.
[First Four Votes Off]
I will be honest here; I was a total mess at the beginning of this game. As a newbie entering this game, I had NONE of the social capital that any of the returning players had. Not only did they all know each other, they all wanted each other’s name written in blood. I felt like I was thrown into a box and shook around until I could not even focus anymore. LITERAL CHAOS. Here, I followed a lot of support from Ikah, Ethan, and Hufus. We established a solid four from day 1 and took out Andy with the idols all around. Even though I was struggling to find my way in the early game, I laid some of the foundation for good connections with people like Kellen who I felt close to. But honestly, this beginning of the game, I was a hot mess. I think even the production like, WHO IS THIS RANDO? Haha But I felt like the next phase of the game is where I really picked it up.
[Swap to Melip with Patrick]
When the tribe swapped happen, Patrick and I were the only two from the minority tribe to join a tribe full of strategic players all part of the original tribe. They threw TWO challenges in this phase and had their eyes set on Nathan the entire time. Luckily, Nathan reached out to me right away and asked for my help, the answer was a resounding YES. He was the first person on the new tribe to talk to me and I knew he would be a great meat shield for me as long as I could keep him. I pulled Patrick and Mac (WHO I LOVE) into a 4-4 split against the other side of the tribe.
I was fully prepared to go rocks in that vote when SUDDENLY, Yung approached me asking to make a move on his former alliance. I was shocked and I knew we could use this to make a 4-3-1 spilt vote and save Nathan. I quickly worked with Yung to make a side chat and let him think he had the votes when really he was the target. I felt bad for taking out Yung here, but I needed to be put in the majority no matter what. The result as you all saw was a perfect, 4-3-1 vote saving Nathan and flushing an idol.
The next vote off was very important as well. I really had my eyes set on Colin leaving this game because I never talked to him and I knew he was close with Ikah. Even though I had made a F3 with Ikah and Hufus, I had my doubts on Ikah so I wanted to cut him off from every option I could while he was not in tribal. I took out Colin because I knew Ikah liked him and that Ikah did not like Nathan. Here I relied on my group of Patrick, Nathan, and Mac to get it done. I wanted to ensure Ikah had fewer options so he would feel like he needed me more and more.
[Merge: Phase 1]
When we merged, our group of four from Melip realized all of our partners were still in the game, Hufus, Noelle, and Conrad and we formed our group of 7. I was SO committed to this group and I was willing to take us as long as we possibly could. I was there. I also formed a close bond with Noelle in this process in my effort to make myself a low-level threat with as many people as I could. I also felt like Noelle and I made a real connection which was good. We successfully retained the numbers and sent out Syd.
The next vote off was where we got a little messy. Conrad flipped in order to get rid of Nathan. To this day, I don’t understand exactly WHY he did that and why Patrick also wasn’t a part of that. But at the end of the day, I didn’t want to risk mine, Hufus’, or Ikah’s safety so I agreed to vote out Nathan. Mac and Hufus deserve a lot of credit here for helping talk me into the vote. I also gained some points with the other side in this process, lowering my threat level again. The next tribal X left, and I was happy about that. I never saw us working together and he used me for a number above all else. Strangely, our 7 minus Nathan came back together on that vote. Haha So I thought our group of 6 had a second wind on them.
Mac and Noelle were the next two to go and it devastated me. I adored both of them and the Mac vote, I was especially left out of. Hufus even left me out of this one. But rather than have a public melt down about not getting my way (not naming names), I stuck to my guns and rebuilt relationships. I apologized to Lake for voting him and I had to vote Noelle not to stick out like a target.
For the Patrick vote, I was on a date and it was horrible time for me to be focused on something else. Haha I literally had no word on this vote, so I was like, welp I guess I’ll vote Brittany since no one talking to me. I was SHOCKED when the vote tied! My DMs were BLOWING UP. This was one of my biggest moves was born, I guess expect the unexpected. I SO did not want to work Brittany/Lake/Kellen but I had this extreme paranoia of Conrad/Patrick. I felt like Hufus was close to them, but I never was close at all, neither of them really talked to me all game. I knew this would be a good moment to make a move and keep my options open IF Ikah/Hufus ever sunk to the ground and were eliminated. I bought some time with Brittany/Lake/Kellen by voting with them. I knew where they stood but I never knew where Patrick stood and I made the decision to flip and to boot him. This also was a little payback to Hufus for voting out Mac. Sorry babe, still love you both!
[Merge: Phase 2]
The Brittany vote literally defined what the rest of this game looked like for me. I KNEW Kellen/Lake/Brittany were vying for F3 and I knew that was in direct competition with my F3. This was the vote we needed to make a move. For this vote, I really put a lot of faith in Ikah to use his advantage and for Conrad to vote Brittany. Long story short, the plan went SWIMMINGLY. I was able to keep Hufus safe and almost ensure our path to final three. While I didn’t have an advantage of my own here, I played the role of oblivious player. I made a chat with Lake/Kellen/Hufus, selling the idea I wanted us four to go to the end. And after the vote, I spun the idea that Conrad voted for Kellen. I think it worked perfectly because those boys were still scratching their heads for a while after the vote and my number one ally, Hufus, was still by my side.
[Finale, Baby]
Wow! This was SHOOKENING. As much as I loved Ikah and Hufus, I knew it would be foolish of me not to keep my options open. My plan was to play cool and wait for the finale to see if any big moves needed to be made. But before we got there, Lake and Kellen SELF-DESTRUCTED and LAMBASTED ME for my gameplay, my strategy, and well everything about me. It was insane. They then were in my DMs telling me I needed to work with them if I wanted to win. It was just…so…not good gameplay in my opinion. I totally get that their backs were against the wall and they were trying everything, but it just came off as so unsportsmanlike. I truly wanted to see where their heads were at but after that whole mess, I knew I had no choice, there was no way I could work with either of them. I am sorry if you all were disappointed by the finale, but trust me, I was a little too. I’m obviously super proud of my F3 and I am so lucky to work with them but I mean, Lake and Kellen made it impossible to make a move.
[Conclusion]
WOW! I said so much and I am so sorry. I am very proud of the game I played. I worked hard, I played a smart social game, and I never ever gave up. This game was a total whirlwind for me, but I took the craziness and the madness to make something out of nothing. Hufus and Ikah, there was no way I could have done it without you, so I thank you both for an incredible ride. To the jurors, thank you for challenging me and helping me become a better player. When you reach that urn, I humbly ask you to consider writing down, Ozzy Oswald!
[TL;DR]
-First four vote offs of this game I was bewildered and no idea what I was doing
-Kept Nathan safe and got rid of Yung and Colin, people Ikah wanted to work with
-Voted out Patrick to ensure I had stronger loyalty with Hufus
-Stayed loyal to my Final 3
-Gave it all in every challenge (100% attendance)! I am still a flop in some challenges though
-I am the only player to make it finale night without a single vote
-Part of the last pair still in the game (Daddy Hufus, the greatest partner ever)
-Stayed loyal to people as much as I could and only voted out my friends when I had to, made deals with my foes when I had to
-Socially connected with the right people to ensure my name was not floating around
-Played dumb in many instances when I knew exactly what was going on
-I was messy at times, stressed at others, but still having fun and making the best I could out of this crazy adventure!
-Please vote Ozzy!