Thank you Abi and those sleepy co-hosts for this incredible adventure. I thought last season was one of the most creative online games I ever played, but this has without a doubt topped even that. I know hosting a game this size pretty much solo has to be a bitch to do, and i'm sure everyone really appreciates it!
I entered this game towards the end of the casting part, not really having too many working relationships going in and just hoping to beat my record of 18 last season. There were moments where I wasn't sure if I would!
Life on Jarana was basically like that move "One Flew over the Cuckoo Nest"
Yea that looks ABOUT right. You'd have to see our groupchats to believe it, Dolly with her Iggy Boo, Lindsey constantly fighting with Monica and Shontayla, Zamanda and Dick with constant AIDS jokes and Frankie and I lusting over men on the other teams.
My strategy at this point in the game was to just let the annoying and crazy people put the targets on themselves, while I focused on social relationships. I formed close bonds with EVERYONE on Jarana, including the ones who were voted off and I earned myself an MVP placement for winning the live portion of the first challenge for our team!
After I left Jarana, kind of ironically, the game became a lot CRAZIER for me at least. I had a Final 2 with Julie and Evel Dick, and the chaos from Julie ouster kind of perpetuated throughout the remainder of my game. I tried to save her, I knew Fabio was lying and had no idol, but I couldn't reconsile both Dick and Julie..so I had to make a choice.
It was after that point where I had to adapt my game FAST! Even though I gave Dick HoH in the Blackjack challenge, Sierra with her incredible persuavive ways managed to convince Dick to betray me, even though Dick was on the bottom and next to go in their alliance. This was one of the absolute lowest points in the game for me. My last conversations with Dick were so sorrowful I was nearly cryng..and although he realized he made a huge mistake there simply was no going back.
Expecting to go next and with little hope, I made an effort to bond with Ronnie whom I knew was likely coming back from RI. We spoke for hours about Epic 3 and Fat Free Diarrhea Pringles (Long story!) and he offers me his immunity without hesitation. This round was the end of my relationship with Dick and the beginning of the one with Ronnie, which also had a tragic ending.
From this point on, the game shifted from individual survival to a sort of US vs THEM type of game..with Eric getting a lot of attention after Yul was blindsided, Michelle following right after, and Jeremiah's loyalty in question. I had very little relationships with anyone on this "Pre-Game" side except for Ronnie and Mike and oddly enough, so I ultimately chose to side with the other team, which put me into a terrible position at the Poison challenge.
This was the point in the game where it became apparent that Eric WAS NOT the leader of this alliance, but was the one getting all the blame for it. Instead it was actually Kim, who by far had the best social game and most relationships of ANYONE. Amanda Z and Sierra, which were my new Final 3 partners, had even fallen under her spell, neglecting me and forming a secret alliance with her. My relationship with Mike was the only reason I was privvy to this information.
I spent the several rounds of the game trying DESPERATELY to take the game back under my control, and the only way to do that was to get Kim out. I honestly had no personal gripe with Kim, and tbh everytime we spoke she was really cool, but we had no place for one another in our games. Kim's social game was so strong that I could never get the support, Monica, Mike and Sierra all left in large part because the votes were simply not there for Kim.
But at the Final 7, everything finally came together, and this was the round were I feel I took control of the game BACK! Amazingly, Erik who was Kim's target not once....BUT TWICE and Heather who was my main partner in crime against Kim
BOTH FLAKED OUT on me, and didn't vote Kim. I made a deal with Kamanda this round, here is the PM I sent her:
Was I being truthful here? Honestly yes, I fully intended to honor going to the Final 3 with Kamanda. We had a magical connection during and after that Fanfic challenge and I ultimately decided that I'd rather face Kamanda in a finals and possibly lose then break her heart AGAIN giving her a Final Jury spot in order to win against 2 Goats.
Now, I am by no means saying Kamanda voted off Kim because I made this PM. HOWEVER, there is no doubt in my mind that this had a SIGNIGICANT influence on her decision to ultimately pull the trigger on the move.
From that point on I won every immunity challenge, and no one can take away from my move to get Jeremiah out at the Final 6, which was the scariest thing I have done in this game, giving up both an IDOL and a NECKLACE to pull it off. I feel like Jeremiah at that point was the same as Kim, the player no one was scared of or willing to go against, but someone who would have been a huge contender to win the whole thing.
All this is really just the tip of the iceberg of what I wanted to say, but this is just an opening and I'd like to leave somethings for jury questions and not bore you all! Specific votes like Ronnie, Mike and Shontayla, other moves I made in the game, why do I deserve to win over Kmanda? I also know I have some things to answer for like my huge blow up at Tribal Council and my decision to Exile Zamanda. There is a lot more I'd love to share and I hope you guys give me the chance!
Thanks for reading and I look forward to answering your questions!
