At the start of this game, I was an immediate target, and I would have been voted out first if it weren't for Ikah playing his idol on me. However, before the first immunity challenge even began, I created a final 2 deal with my good friend and awesome player, IcyPenguin. And we both promised each other to take each other to the end. After the first tribal council, I realized I was on the bottom of the Fuerza totem pole, and from that point on until the tribe swap, I was jost focused on the game of survival. I didn't have the opportunities to make moves or plan for the future game. It was all about right here, right now, and I was barely hanging on by a thread. Because of this, I used what little social connections I had to try to slip through the Fuerza massacre. I had Ikah, who was also on the bottom with me due to his idol play, my final 2 Penguin, and Logan H, who risked his own game for me and Ikah. Unfortunately, Logan H's game ended suddenly do to a flip from Penguin and Bob, who I had trusted to keep me at the time. So that was one less ally I had to lean on. The next tribal, somehow, Penguin and Bob felt bad enough about the blindside to flip again and vote out my target, chillum. And that is where my game really began.
When we swapped tribes, I immediately knew I would have a break from the pain of barely surviving tribals as I had people like Liam and Grace who I got along with. And I was able to use those pregame connections to keep my name out of people's mouths, and I was able to slide to the tribe mutiny.
Unfortunately, at the beginning of merge, I did not have much knowledge of what was happening in the game. There was the Wade/Nopalito dynamic which I was caught in the middle of, as they both warned me about Jimmy throwing my name out. However, my connections I made with Ikah and Logan H proved to be beneficial as Jimmy literally came to me and apologized about throwing my name out. And thus, Hoop's Army was formed.
Hoop's Army was an alliance consisting of Jimmy, Grace, Ikah, and myself. While I did not see much benefit with the alliance when it came to collecting numbers for votes, it did help keep my name out of people's mouths once again. At this point I was just coasting in the game and I was sitting in Ikah's shadow. After Azri got voted off, however, I knew I had to make a move to better my position in the game.
After Azri got voted out, the double tribal twist was revealed, and I figured this would be the perfect time to better my position in the game. While Wade was trying to lead the charge into voting out Bob and Josh, I went back to Penguin, who I had not talked to in quite a few rounds, and I was able to rekindle our trust with each other, as well as Bob's trust. We ended up devising a plan to try to get Wade and Josh out, but because of Grace leaking the plan to Jimmy, Penguin and I only reaped half the reward, where Wade and Bob got voted out.
At this point it was final 6, and I had gained an idol after surviving the double tribal, and I had planned on using this idol to force Ikah to go against his best wishes and vote Jimmy, but somehow, I managed to convince Josh, whom I had previously targeted, to form a final 3 deal with me and Penguin. And I was also able to convince Grace and Ikah to vote Jimmy as well, making it a 5-1 vote with Jimmy sent packing.
In the finale, the final 5 tribal council was probably the one that put myself in the most danger. I collected info from Ikah about wanting Penguin out, and I planned on using my idol on Penguin just to cancel a vote. However, this idol seemed to do more than just that, as Ikah also played an idol on himself, making Penguin the one that shouldve went. But since I played the idol on her, no votes were cast, and it came down to a revote between me and Josh. This was the moment I was at risk, and this was the only time I received a vote in all of merge. Penguin and Grace ended up wanting to keep me and not Josh, and I was sent to the final 4, where I won the final immunity, and I was finally able to take out Ikah, the person who had guided me throughout most of the game. But like every baby bird, It was my time to fly.
I tried to play this game with as much loyalty as I could, and yes, even though I ended up betraying people like Wade, Jimmy, and Ikah, it was not to just follow in someone else's footsteps. Instead it got rid of the bigger threats in the game who were guaranteed to win the whole thing had I just played the follower. I received a total of 2 legitimate votes, and I was at risk of elimination in all but 2 tribal councils. The only time I needed an idol, Ikah played it on me. I never even needed to use my own idol for safety. It was used to protect the final 2 I had made on Day 1 with the intent of staying true to my word with her and proving I can be a loyal player.