Post by Natalie White on Nov 19, 2009 18:20:47 GMT -5
Hello Jury,
I have played this game hard from day one and I think I am deserving to be sitting here at the end. I had to burn some deals and lie at times but ultimately I did it for my own survival so I apologize if I hurt any feelings along the way. This is a game, and I can not stop you from holding it against me in the game, but I hope you don't take it personally outside. At the start I formed a final 2 deal with Mick, and joined an all female alliance proposed by Ashley. Ashley brought in Marisa and I told Betsy. I was set up very well in my original Foa Foa tribe. Mick and Ashley were also getting close so it was perfect when Ashley wanted to bring in Mick into our all female alliance. However, as extra precaution I started to talk to Jaison to make sure I'd be covered on all bases. When he proposed an alliance I couldn't deny it and took it as extra safety. Mick and Russell were also close from a previous game and ultimately it resulted in Mick and myself being between two sides. We had an alliance with Ashley/Marisa/Betsy on one side and on the other we had an alliance with Russell/Jaison. This left Mike as our only expendible person. [After Liz left] Because Ashley did not like Jaison and because Russell didn't trust Jaison, he would of ultimately been our next Foa Foa boot had we lost another challenge. So I felt very safe on the Foa Foa tribe.
When we swapped, I got put on a tribe with Mick, Betsy, Jaison, Erik, Kelly, and Laura. I was put on a tribe with the two Foa Foa's I had least trust in: Jaison & Betsy. I felt much closer to Ashley and Marisa but the chips didn't fall in my favor. That is when I started to talk to some of the Galu. The first person I wanted to get to know was Laura because I selected her in the swap. I made sure that Mick picked Kelly, so Kelly could pick me, and then I could pick Laura. (Kelly is the only Galu I had talked to prior) I started to talk to Laura and eventually we ended up aligning. As for Kelly, she was on the outs of the original Galu tribe and it was perfect to see that Galu was such a divided tribe. Foa Foa was pretty unified for the most part so I pulled Kelly into an alliance to help take out some original Galu. (Erik,John,Brett eventually) I knew everyone hated Kelly and I made a side final 2 with her, like Mick. I figured she would be targeted before me.
Our tribe dominated and I asked Mick to send me to observe the other tribe. I knew this would help give me an idol. This is when I ended up getting tokens to give out as well. I got a Hidden Immunity Idol with enough tokens and nearly got a second one. When I observed the other tribes I had to give tokens to some of the new Galu. My strategy was to give some to Ashley and Marisa to help show that I still trusted them and wanted to be with them at the merge. I think the feeling was mutual. (Of course this was long before I became a challenge threat) The fact that Ashley was able to swing the votes showed me she had a lot of connections and I wanted her to know I still would be with her at the merge by giving her enough tokens for an idol. So basically for strategic purposes, I tried to keep my alliances alive on my new tribe and cross tribal.
When we merged, I wanted John and Brett out. I was very suspicious of Ashley and Marisa's relationship with them because they had survived together on the new Galu. I knew they had to have talked and likely there would be some deal made between them. Mick and I agreed that John was the biggest challenge threat. Using the excuse that he was "original Galu" aided me in targeting him. With the Foa Foa votes he was taken out. After he left Brett was starting to step it up in the challenges and I knew Marisa liked him. It was important to get the original Galu [sans Kelly/Laura] that I had not made relationships with out first. I believe I had a lot of say in the early merge Tribal Councils because it would of been better for Ashley/Marisa/Russell if Laura/Kelly were booted first. I kept the Galu people I had made bonds with in the game and eliminated the few I had never been on a tribe with.
When I won my third immunity at the merge, I knew I was already locked in as a competition threat, But my strategy isn't to throw comps, it is to do my best and try my hardest at every competition. I think I showed my desire to win by trying hard and winning all of the challenges. I know some say that "winning competitions" is not a strategy, but if I am unstoppable in them than nobody can take me out. So I did my best to win them all and I definitely feel that is a big reason I should be crowned the Sole Survivor, along with my other strategy.
Then it came to a point where I wanted Laura/Kelly to stay and an original Foa Foa like Jaison/Betsy/Russell to go. Because Mick was close to Russell, it ruled him out. So I started to talk with Russell a lot more and to help make our alliance seem more real. The second he threw out Betsy as an option I did not hesitate because it would spare the Galu girls. I acted on it and I talked to my alliances and we all agreed to vote Betsy.
I did talk to Jaison each round a lot about the vote, but I knew barely anyone trusted him. Mick had told me early on that Russell didn't trust him. Russell proposed a final 5 of myself,him,Mick,Ashley, and Marisa. Naturally I agreed. [What else?] But before results were up for the immunity challenge, Mick and Kelly informed me that Russell through out my name. I expected someone to target me, because of my winnings, but it made me want him out. So that is the round where lines were drawn. Myself/Laura/Mick/Kelly voted for Jaison and Russell. I voted for Jaison for two reasons: 1. I didn't trust him [he threw out Kelly/Ashley/Marisa's names and I didn't want any of them to leave that round]/ 2. I knew he'd be getting a lot of votes and I assumed Ashley still wanted him out. So he was the safest bet if I wanted Kelly to stay over him. I expected Kelly to possibly leave but I was surprised at how Mick's friends turned on him. When I logged on one morning Mick came to me asking for my idol. He told me that Ashley said he'd need my idol. This upset me, because I saw what they were trying to do: flush my idol. They were obviously concerned about it. I knew that Ashley had an idol, so why wouldn't she give him hers if she really wanted to protect him? I knew Mick would be safe regardless because we had 4 locked votes. [And he had no past votes] So I told him he didn't need it, and he didn't.
Final 6 I won immunity again and I debated giving my idol to Laura or Mick. But I thought I should protect myself before my allies and kept it. I told Mick to tell Ashley that I was targeting her so she would use her idol. [and we could flush it] Instead, Laura, myself, and Mick voted out Russell. It took A LOT of energy to get Mick to vote Russell both rounds. The first round Mick had been fooled by the opposite side and he didn't want to vote Russell because they were "friends." I convinced him that if he did not vote Russell he could of been voted out with Kelly. [So he he ultimately voted Russell] I consider that a strong move of mine to get Mick's vote to stay for Russell each round. Jaison could be in over Mick [depending how he voted] and the journey to the final 2 would of been much more difficult. Also at final 6, I had to convince him one more time to vote for Russell or Laura would go. The mistake Laura and I made was we thought she only had 3 past votes. There was nothing I could of done about that, but if she had 3 instead of 4, Russell would of been booted. But because Ashley's idol was flushed, it worked out pretty nice in the end. Getting Ashley to flush her idol without a single vote against her helped me alot.
I was sad to see Laura go because of the past vote thing, and then Mick decided to quit and I was left alone in the game. I was now with 3 of my former allies turned enemies. Marisa and I had been close the whole game but I knew I couldn't trust her after her two lies. But, I knew she would be easier to beat than Ashley/Russell in competitions. At final 4 I opted not to do the challenge so I could use my idol. I was very happy when Russell won as I told him I wanted to break up Marisa and Ashley because it was obvious they had a final 2. I told Russell we needed to vote Ashley because she was a bigger comp and jury threat. He agreed and we voted her out. However, I could not predict Marisa sacrificing herself for Ashley. This told me a lot about Ashley as a player and that she was so close to Marisa that Marisa would be willing to sacrifice herself for her. This ultimately helped to make my final decision to bring Russell with me. Ashley played a much more clean game, didn't piss anyone off, and was the biggest Jury threat left. I spent hours and hours working for the final immunity and I told Russell I'd take him, so he opted out of the challenge.
In the end I think I played a very strategic game with all the alliances that I made, I played very aggressively and hard winning all the immunities I could, and I do think I deserve to be the Sole Survivor. Congrats Russell on final 2.
I hope some of you could evaluate my game, disregarding ill personal feelings some of you may have towards me lol. I'll answer everything honestly, thanks.
-Natalie
I have played this game hard from day one and I think I am deserving to be sitting here at the end. I had to burn some deals and lie at times but ultimately I did it for my own survival so I apologize if I hurt any feelings along the way. This is a game, and I can not stop you from holding it against me in the game, but I hope you don't take it personally outside. At the start I formed a final 2 deal with Mick, and joined an all female alliance proposed by Ashley. Ashley brought in Marisa and I told Betsy. I was set up very well in my original Foa Foa tribe. Mick and Ashley were also getting close so it was perfect when Ashley wanted to bring in Mick into our all female alliance. However, as extra precaution I started to talk to Jaison to make sure I'd be covered on all bases. When he proposed an alliance I couldn't deny it and took it as extra safety. Mick and Russell were also close from a previous game and ultimately it resulted in Mick and myself being between two sides. We had an alliance with Ashley/Marisa/Betsy on one side and on the other we had an alliance with Russell/Jaison. This left Mike as our only expendible person. [After Liz left] Because Ashley did not like Jaison and because Russell didn't trust Jaison, he would of ultimately been our next Foa Foa boot had we lost another challenge. So I felt very safe on the Foa Foa tribe.
When we swapped, I got put on a tribe with Mick, Betsy, Jaison, Erik, Kelly, and Laura. I was put on a tribe with the two Foa Foa's I had least trust in: Jaison & Betsy. I felt much closer to Ashley and Marisa but the chips didn't fall in my favor. That is when I started to talk to some of the Galu. The first person I wanted to get to know was Laura because I selected her in the swap. I made sure that Mick picked Kelly, so Kelly could pick me, and then I could pick Laura. (Kelly is the only Galu I had talked to prior) I started to talk to Laura and eventually we ended up aligning. As for Kelly, she was on the outs of the original Galu tribe and it was perfect to see that Galu was such a divided tribe. Foa Foa was pretty unified for the most part so I pulled Kelly into an alliance to help take out some original Galu. (Erik,John,Brett eventually) I knew everyone hated Kelly and I made a side final 2 with her, like Mick. I figured she would be targeted before me.
Our tribe dominated and I asked Mick to send me to observe the other tribe. I knew this would help give me an idol. This is when I ended up getting tokens to give out as well. I got a Hidden Immunity Idol with enough tokens and nearly got a second one. When I observed the other tribes I had to give tokens to some of the new Galu. My strategy was to give some to Ashley and Marisa to help show that I still trusted them and wanted to be with them at the merge. I think the feeling was mutual. (Of course this was long before I became a challenge threat) The fact that Ashley was able to swing the votes showed me she had a lot of connections and I wanted her to know I still would be with her at the merge by giving her enough tokens for an idol. So basically for strategic purposes, I tried to keep my alliances alive on my new tribe and cross tribal.
When we merged, I wanted John and Brett out. I was very suspicious of Ashley and Marisa's relationship with them because they had survived together on the new Galu. I knew they had to have talked and likely there would be some deal made between them. Mick and I agreed that John was the biggest challenge threat. Using the excuse that he was "original Galu" aided me in targeting him. With the Foa Foa votes he was taken out. After he left Brett was starting to step it up in the challenges and I knew Marisa liked him. It was important to get the original Galu [sans Kelly/Laura] that I had not made relationships with out first. I believe I had a lot of say in the early merge Tribal Councils because it would of been better for Ashley/Marisa/Russell if Laura/Kelly were booted first. I kept the Galu people I had made bonds with in the game and eliminated the few I had never been on a tribe with.
When I won my third immunity at the merge, I knew I was already locked in as a competition threat, But my strategy isn't to throw comps, it is to do my best and try my hardest at every competition. I think I showed my desire to win by trying hard and winning all of the challenges. I know some say that "winning competitions" is not a strategy, but if I am unstoppable in them than nobody can take me out. So I did my best to win them all and I definitely feel that is a big reason I should be crowned the Sole Survivor, along with my other strategy.
Then it came to a point where I wanted Laura/Kelly to stay and an original Foa Foa like Jaison/Betsy/Russell to go. Because Mick was close to Russell, it ruled him out. So I started to talk with Russell a lot more and to help make our alliance seem more real. The second he threw out Betsy as an option I did not hesitate because it would spare the Galu girls. I acted on it and I talked to my alliances and we all agreed to vote Betsy.
I did talk to Jaison each round a lot about the vote, but I knew barely anyone trusted him. Mick had told me early on that Russell didn't trust him. Russell proposed a final 5 of myself,him,Mick,Ashley, and Marisa. Naturally I agreed. [What else?] But before results were up for the immunity challenge, Mick and Kelly informed me that Russell through out my name. I expected someone to target me, because of my winnings, but it made me want him out. So that is the round where lines were drawn. Myself/Laura/Mick/Kelly voted for Jaison and Russell. I voted for Jaison for two reasons: 1. I didn't trust him [he threw out Kelly/Ashley/Marisa's names and I didn't want any of them to leave that round]/ 2. I knew he'd be getting a lot of votes and I assumed Ashley still wanted him out. So he was the safest bet if I wanted Kelly to stay over him. I expected Kelly to possibly leave but I was surprised at how Mick's friends turned on him. When I logged on one morning Mick came to me asking for my idol. He told me that Ashley said he'd need my idol. This upset me, because I saw what they were trying to do: flush my idol. They were obviously concerned about it. I knew that Ashley had an idol, so why wouldn't she give him hers if she really wanted to protect him? I knew Mick would be safe regardless because we had 4 locked votes. [And he had no past votes] So I told him he didn't need it, and he didn't.
Final 6 I won immunity again and I debated giving my idol to Laura or Mick. But I thought I should protect myself before my allies and kept it. I told Mick to tell Ashley that I was targeting her so she would use her idol. [and we could flush it] Instead, Laura, myself, and Mick voted out Russell. It took A LOT of energy to get Mick to vote Russell both rounds. The first round Mick had been fooled by the opposite side and he didn't want to vote Russell because they were "friends." I convinced him that if he did not vote Russell he could of been voted out with Kelly. [So he he ultimately voted Russell] I consider that a strong move of mine to get Mick's vote to stay for Russell each round. Jaison could be in over Mick [depending how he voted] and the journey to the final 2 would of been much more difficult. Also at final 6, I had to convince him one more time to vote for Russell or Laura would go. The mistake Laura and I made was we thought she only had 3 past votes. There was nothing I could of done about that, but if she had 3 instead of 4, Russell would of been booted. But because Ashley's idol was flushed, it worked out pretty nice in the end. Getting Ashley to flush her idol without a single vote against her helped me alot.
I was sad to see Laura go because of the past vote thing, and then Mick decided to quit and I was left alone in the game. I was now with 3 of my former allies turned enemies. Marisa and I had been close the whole game but I knew I couldn't trust her after her two lies. But, I knew she would be easier to beat than Ashley/Russell in competitions. At final 4 I opted not to do the challenge so I could use my idol. I was very happy when Russell won as I told him I wanted to break up Marisa and Ashley because it was obvious they had a final 2. I told Russell we needed to vote Ashley because she was a bigger comp and jury threat. He agreed and we voted her out. However, I could not predict Marisa sacrificing herself for Ashley. This told me a lot about Ashley as a player and that she was so close to Marisa that Marisa would be willing to sacrifice herself for her. This ultimately helped to make my final decision to bring Russell with me. Ashley played a much more clean game, didn't piss anyone off, and was the biggest Jury threat left. I spent hours and hours working for the final immunity and I told Russell I'd take him, so he opted out of the challenge.
In the end I think I played a very strategic game with all the alliances that I made, I played very aggressively and hard winning all the immunities I could, and I do think I deserve to be the Sole Survivor. Congrats Russell on final 2.
I hope some of you could evaluate my game, disregarding ill personal feelings some of you may have towards me lol. I'll answer everything honestly, thanks.
-Natalie
