Hello everyone. 23 real life days ago we started this game, and we've finally reached the brink of its conclusion, and sitting in the end are two underdogs that many people may not have seen being here.

Before I get to my game, can we just talk about how iconic this cast is for a second? We have Gaiaphageee and TheSexiestDude, both people who are just known on this site primarily for being group game hosts/beasts, brandonrichie and Booyah who are also known for group game finesse, as well as other players who definitely made this a big-name cast from the get-go.

Coming into this, I knew there would be big moves made and people wanting to take out the strong players. Laying low was definitely going to be the key to going deep into this game. Early on, I just laid low and voted with the majority, until I saw an opportunity to take out a big player that was going to be a threat later, Brandon. I threw the coordinates challenge to the other tribe so that I could use the last opportunity I had to take him out.

Moving into the merge, after Jon's medivac, I knew the cards needed to be reshuffled. Stoner was someone who I knew to be very intelligent in this game, but he was also close with Dylan, someone who I knew I wanted to work to the end with in this game. After he was out, I switched it up again to get rid of Andy, someone who I came into the merge thinking we could go deep, but after learning of his ties with some members of the other side, knew that it would be foolish to think he would stick with me over some of his other allies.

The turning point for me in this game, was the 10th immunity challenge, with the series of questions and answers. Being voted as the most likeable, most trustworthy, and as one of the top social threats in the game, I knew being an out-there player was definitely gonna be my downfall, and that I needed to hold back. From there, I continued to play a low-key game where instead of pushing votes every single time, I went up to individuals and just made sure there was a plan in place of what to push for come tribal council time, so they would be the ones campaigning and so I could just lay back and not get too big a target on my back after that, nor have anyone running around talking about how much of a threat I would be.

I'm not the most comp-capable survivor, and I'm not exactly the best at telling lies, but building relationships with people to insure my safety is something I was very good at and I knew to use that to my advantage, and by simply always employing this strategy was how was I able to get to this point.

Obviously open to whatever questions the jurors may have about anything specific in my game.

First of all, congrats on Final 2! This game was pretty difficult and, as Patrick said, was full of huge names, so getting here was no small feat. I actually have no idea who I'm voting for so...

Patrick: I predicted you making it here ages ago tbh. I know from experience even the more UTR players can be the biggest of threats. My questions to you:
- We all saw how throwing that challenge affected the game in the grand scheme of things, but how did that controversial moment affect your personal game in the long term?
- Also, what else would be on your resume (in the context of this game) besides that one moment?

Mel: I also saw you making it here, I know from experience you're one of the best social players there is when you really try. My question to you:
- I felt Patrick's game was a bit more out there than yours, so what would you say you brought to the table that Patrick did not, and why should we vote for you over him?

Question for both of you:
- If you had to replace both of the F2 with anyone in the game, who would it be and why?

If you have anything else to add, go right ahead. Congrats again!

"knew that it would be foolish to think he would stick with me over some of his other allies."

Except I literally said you were part of my intended F4 :x

Anyways I'll wait until Mel posts a speech, but my main question(s) is the same as it's always been when I'm a juror: why should I vote you over the other person, and what was your biggest move in the game?

Hi guys, so I was a last minute addition to the cast and tbh when I saw the cast reveal way back on day 1 I literally figured there was no point in unpacking my bags. The cast was hot and I was on a tribe of guys who I was sure would make sure I was first boot. My first confessional pretty much said “well it was fun!” Most of the players know me, know of me or know how I play. I also had the advantage of inside knowledge – in the sense that I already knew a lot of the connections between players.

Pre-merge:

When I made it past tribal 1 I decided that I would jump in at the deep end and see what happened. I contacted most of my tribe to see where they all stood (sorry Brandon I have you filtered).

Jon said and did all the politically correct things, while dropping information without realising it so I knew straight off the bat that he was just keeping tabs on me. Andy on the other hand was more willing to work with me. I knew he and Julian would be close so thought I would just stick with him as he had ties to both sides. Billy was funny – he basically told me he was going to “sheep” me and let me carry him as far as possible. Ummm – OK – NO! I knew he was also talking to others. The key to staying alive – good social connections – with the right people!

The addition of Jassos was a worry, as I knew her game play so she was pegged as a threat from the start. Early on – Andy told me that there was a “boys alliance” between him, Patrick, Brandon and Jon. I put my trust in Andy who seemed happy to share information which allowed me to vote with the majority and stay safe. This is how our tribe managed to vote unanimously for the first 3 of 4 tribals. The fact that we lost four challenges in a row enabled us to vote out players who were inactive, unreliable or threats to our game.

Pre-merge Patrick seemed to be awol , we never actually spoke until after the challenge that “the boys alliance” threw. The boys kept me out of the loop for this one, but I knew! Both Andy and Patrick denied throwing the challenge – but come on – there is no way that anyone can get 5 in a row within 3 hours without hitting a dummy flag. I may be blonde but I am not stupid.

It was at this point that the game changed. We decided that this was the key moment to flip this game in our favour. We had to get Brandon out. Apparently that was the plan all along – but no one bothered to tell me. This was also the point in the game that changed our alliance dynamics. With Brandon gone and Jon inact Andy, Patrick and I went into merge in the minority.

Merge:

Going into merge Gaia came to us with a plan to vote out Julian – his downfall – he included Andy in the plan. As soon as I saw the message I knew there was no way Andy would vote against Julian as they were a solid f2 from the start. The good news – two of the Yaro tribe were going after each other so it was a win/win for the minority. Meli was inact off and on during this period so the vote was going to be close. I tried to convince Patrick to keep Gaia over Julian, but at the end of the day the numbers were not there, and with Gaia gone he knew he could get Dylan on our side. What I didn’t count on was Meli being willing to flip as well. Gaia confided that Andy was the one who leaked the coordinates for the flag competition at this point, I am not sure if this was to gain my trust or to make me trust Andy less. Either way – it ended with them both leaving back to back. They were both big players who would have gone all the way if they had stayed.

That left us with a 4/4 situation – and we knew that if we didn’t convince one of theirs to flip the numbers would then shift in their favour. Blu was a hard nut to crack, but eventually he realised that we had nothing to lose, we would have gone to rocks (as any good survivor player would ) and in the end he flipped . On a personal level – if I had known that Andy was not responsible for leaking the coordinates I probably would have voted differently here – but at this point in the game I knew he and Julian were tight and no one would break those two apart if they were to continue in the game.

At this point we had turned our minority into a majority with both Dylan and Meli firmly on board with us to take on Julian Will and Blu. It was at this point that Patrick confessed to throwing the challenge – luckily for him – the perfect time as Julian messaged me a few hours later to tell me that It was in fact Patrick all along. This was the point in the game that I had to make a decision and decided to trust Patrick at his word and work together to make it to the end. I knew this was the make or break moment and from this point on we pretty much discussed every move and every possible outcome. I felt confident that I knew enough about each of the players and their loyalties to navigate my way through the challenges and tribals. 

Blu – you were pushing me to make statements – but I knew you were running back to Julian and Will and telling them everything. On one level I can understand your loyalty to them – on the other – you were playing for 4th. The advantage I had was knowing that Julian was 100% with Andy and at one point Andy said that both Patrick and I were along for the ride so doing the maths would have meant you were literally playing for 5th or 6th depending on how the votes fell. The moment you started calling me manipulative was the moment I cut all ties with you. I gave you options, and at one point I even said – it is up to you what you decide to do. Not once did I ever force your hand or threaten you in any way. It was disappointing to see you then attack my character for just “playing the game”

At this point I reached out to Will, not with any intent or to manipulate him, but to see where his head was at. I respected his game play and knew he was a formidable opponent. Will was probably our biggest threat left in the game, and I know I for one found him to be a very strong player worthy of making it to the end.

At the end of the day it came down to one challenge – the endurance! That was probably the most iconic challenge of this season and I had to “dig deep” to win that. I knew it was going to be close and tbh the only thing standing in our way of finale was Will. If he had won he could have gone all the way.

Meli – you were a great ally and I enjoyed getting to know you, but at the end of the day, Patrick had earnt my respect and trust the hard way, with days and days of collaboration, strategizing and hard effort. Dylan was also a loyal ally from merge, always with us 100%. It is a shame he couldn’t make it to the finale to fight it out.

Pretty much every player to make merge would have been worthy winners of this game in my opinion, but I have to thank Patrick for showing me that my trust in him was not misplaced.

#Julian

Mel: I also saw you making it here, I know from experience you're one of the best social players there is when you really try.
My question to you:
- I felt Patrick's game was a bit more out there than yours, so what would you say you brought to the table that Patrick did not, and why should we vote for you over him?

Not sure what you mean by "out there" tbh but I actually started out as the "underdog" on my tribe as the outcast - so I just chipped away at the game, trying to help my tribe win challenges to keep myself safe. I actually started out trusting Andy the most and we actually worked well as a team (or so I thought) for the whole of the pre-merge. Without him I might not have made it to merge tbh. I know Andy got a bit paranoid once he realised that I was talking to Patrick as well, which is where our Pre merge 3 came into play. I do think that my game was solid behind the scenes, as you know, making sure I was safe every tribal, and also making sure I was always in the loop and able to make decisions that were best for my game in the long run. I will be the first to put my hand up and say "I knew nothing about those guys throwing that challenge" - and was really pissed off cause I spent hours looking for your flags! but at the end of the day - it ultimately benefitted me. Andy knew I wanted Brandon out so it was a win/win in the end.

Why you should vote for me. I think - even though Patrick called his game UTR - I worked my butt off from the day I walked into this game, I was the underdog of my tribe and I had to work hard to build solid relationships to get me to merge, whereas Patrick was in the "boys alliance" and quite honestly in the majority for most of the pre-merge game.

At merge I knew we had to try and get Meli, and Blu onside to have any chance of changing this game up. Patrick already knew that Dylan would work with us as they are friends. I talked to both Meli and Blu, and tried to convince them that their chances with us were much higher than if they stayed with you. Blue wavered - as we all saw - and tbh I can understand that because I am big on loyalty as well so admire his conviction, but ultimately that is what cost him his place as he found himself in the middle and having to constantly flip backwards and forwards to keep himself safe.

I think the one thing I had this game - was conviction. Once I decided to trust Patrick it was all in. I was willing to go to rocks, I was willing to sit next to someone who played this game "with" me all the way, and I am willing to win or lose sitting next to him, knowing we both played the best game we could. If I had won the f3 challenge, I would have still been sitting here next to him.

Question for both of you:

- If you had to replace both of the F2 with anyone in the game, who would it be and why?

TBH - I would say Will is the standout for me. He definitely gave me a run for my money and if circumstances had been different (eg - I knew him better and trusted him at his word when he said he would take me to f2 if he won) then he would definitely be sitting here today. As for the second person - I would say Andy. I have never played with him as an ally before, but pre-merge we made a great team. Tbh I still don't know if he was genuinely working with me or just playing me but I have seen him play on many occasions, and he would be my pick this game.

So, as I came into this game, I decided to just be lowkey pre-merge, just shut up and show up for challenges and not tie myself down by making final 2 deals with people I didn't know. However, I did make an alliance with Gaia <333I thought I could trust Will and Julian, but when they decided to get Gaia out (a plan that I was not let in on) I saw that original Yaro was clearly not sticking together.

At this point, I decided to jump ship and play the game before the game played me, and I got Blu to flip (with Mel and Patrick's help) which was probably my biggest move. Getting Andy and Julian out was a very important task we ruthlessly carried out. It was smooth sailing to the final 4, which was where I intended to unleash my inner challenge beast by shocking everyone and winning the last two immunities. I knew Patrick and Mel would take each other, so I tried to win, but couldn't </333

In the end, I enjoyed playing with both of you and I hope to stay friends :)

Meli you played a great merge game, and I applaud your conviction in standing by your decision to flip. I know I for one (I won't talk for Patrick but we have discussed this at some length) saw that as a positive and were very reluctant to cut you at f4 - but we knew that you hold the potential to win either challenge - as does anyone who makes it this far in the game. The biggest hurdle is turning up - and anything can happen from there. I value the friendship we built over the final weeks of this game, and definitely would love to remain friends. Just so you know - your loyalty and commitment to our final 4 alliance was not unplaced. We had your back as well.

I think the biggest moves in this game really revolved around the trio of tribal councils were Gaia, Andy and Julian went home. This was really a result of opportunity and social connections, being able to sway the votes, especially the tribal where Gaia left as the votes were either going to send home him or Julian -- which was a win/win for us in the long run. I think If Julian had gone instead of Gaia this game would have played out a lot differently in terms of alliances and the f4

The move that really cemented this f2 was when I won the endurance challenge. If Will won he potentially had the opportunity to flip the vote on me. I knew that in order to make it to the end I had to make sure he was gone. Sorry Will, if we had started out on the same tribe I so could have seen us working together as you were definitely one of the players that caught my attention early on.

- We all saw how throwing that challenge affected the game in the grand scheme of things, but how did that controversial moment affect your personal game in the long term?

As Mel mentioned, this was something that made me really need to work on holding up my social game, specifically with Mel! I knew from talks with her that Mel made/based most of her decisions/loyalties in this game based off of emotions/trust, so deciding WHEN to tell her was going to be a difficult decision. I couldn't tell her right away, simply because we hadn't talked prior to me throwing the challenge, so she wouldn't have trusted me, but I needed to tell her soon, simply because some people who may ultimately not work with me may use this information against me (the only people I told about me throwing the challenge prior to Mel was Julian/Will). So me throwing that challenge and needing to continue working my social game with Mel is what actually ultimately led us to being the final two.

- Also, what else would be on your resume (in the context of this game) besides that one moment?

I was an expert bullet dodger. With a merge with original tribe lines blurred probably moreso than I've ever played myself, I knew that all it took was for someone to say, "Hey, this person is the biggest [social/strategic/comp] threat", and that person would be targeted just because they were an easy one. So early merge, I never showed up to challenges (first individual I played was Immunity #10) simply because I didn't need to. I made sure I wasn't ever an immunity threat, unlike Andy/Will. Once the challenge came out about me being a social threat, most trustworthy, etc., that's when I started pushing for Julian as the largest social threat, bringing up ties he had with other players, and his obvious finesse in this game. I almost never was a ringleader for votes in the early rounds, running to everyone to get them to flip, instead planting seeds in the more social of players, Mel/Meli, so they would try and get the people to flip so I would never be targeted as a strategic threat.

- If you had to replace both of the F2 with anyone in the game, who would it be and why?

If this were done personally, the two I would select would be Dylan and Julian. I came into this game at least having heard of most people, but these two were people I considered close/trustworthy, even if we didn't talk much, simply because of our history.

Players that most deserving of F2 other than me? I'd have to give that up to Will/Blujay. These two never stopped fighting for their chance to continue playing this game, and I have mad respect for that. They weren't too social in votes prior to the ones where they were voted off, but in their last hours they both fought to the bitter end, and I always appreciate that.

- Why should I vote you over the other person, and what was your biggest move in the game?

Every move I made, be it throwing a challenge, flipping alliances early merge, or maybe even deciding to not make a big move at all that round, was with the conscious understanding that I could do no wrong in this game to get to the end. I really had decent relationships with most players to say the least, and rock solid ones with Dylan/Mel, so there wasn't a way for me to mess up getting to the final two, safe for maybe making large, unnecessary moves, but that isn't to say I didn't make big moves. Close to late-merge, I was secure enough in my F2 seat that I did work on jurors on their way out. I knew it was important to hold relationships with people, so I did let people know the majority was on lock to get them out, and I really tried to bond with people on their way out. I honestly played such a cerebral game in the end that was simply build up after being able to make such close bonds with players, after all, why would you vote off the player you are talking to the most? Why would you not want to vote out the person who is targeting your close ally?

Obviously, throwing the challenge premerge was a strong move, but it wasn't my only. Making sure I was on lock with Julian on the first merge vote to get rid of Stoner was smart. He was the person who I viewed as the biggest threat for two reasons to me in this game. 1) He is obviously fantastic as a player/host, and was even in this game with a player or two he's hosted before, so he'd understand how they work and how to manipulate that. and 2) Was also a close ally with Dylan who I needed on my side 100%. I wasn't planning on taking any risks.

Getting the vote on Andy was also a big move, and sticking with that and not being afraid to draw rocks, was also a big move. You can never show fear in this game by flipping so you don't have to draw rocks. You just need to find the players that ARE and find a way to use that.

Sticking with the final four that I did was also a pretty smart move for me. I felt that I would be in a decent spot to win most any comp I went up against them in, and I did. I won the last two challenges going up against those four, but honestly, I didn't even need to. More than likely, the last two votes would have gone the same way regardless of whether I won or Mel did.

Flashy, big moves to point to aren't always my thing. But rather, slow, calculated plays that draw out over time are usually more risk-averse, and a better way to insure to get to the end. And obviously these worked. :)

Thank you both for the answers. I still haven't made up my mind (both of you gave fantastic answers) so I'll be paying close attention to what else is said here.