Hello, final 3!

So, congratulations on making it this far and all that. I'm glad that despite not even reaching the merge I can say that I had some kind of relationship with each of you (not as close as most of the other jurors have, but still). However, my relatively early boot means I don't have a great grasp on what actually happened during the merge, but that's what we're going to find out today!

Let's start with...



James, like everybody said, you were probably the nicest guy in the game, but you know what they say, "nice guys finish last". That doesn't mean you're not getting my or anyone else's vote, of course, but you have an uphill battle, especially when it comes to justifying why it should be you and not Spencer.

Now, you've played a good game. You had a stable, unbreakable alliance with a clear leader in Spencer, and your "being the beta" strategy is one that can work in many situations. The alpha could be a jackass. Or the alpha could not reach the final 3. Unfortunately, neither of those actually happened and you're kind of stuck as the Spencer follower that didn't do enough to secure votes.

So, here are my questions:

1) If I remember correctly, you played a mutiny to escape from a certain doom back at Ki, and chose to join... Ozato. With Caleb, Eliza, Sydney and Kat. Why did you join a tribe where you were again at risk instead of going back to Spencer, Marisa and Jonny in Sakai?

2) We were in an alliance, the legendary and horribly named Kajafra Sydza, the one that epically blindsided Butch. I did appreciate your eagerness to work with us and even let us use your name as a decoy. When the merge came, however, you decided to work again with Ki though. Did you ever consider staying with them?

3) Last one and the most straightforward: why should I vote you instead of Spencer? I don't really want to hear "well, he was kinda the snake calling the shots and I hid behind that" cause I already know, and that doesn't make me want to vote for you more.



I really really really REALLY want to vote for you. For selfish reasons, mostly, cause I do want to see a Sakai win this, and also because I want to have voted against (at my last council) an eventual winner. We were good friends, alliance members, and we had a lot of fun until the awful swap that put us both at the Ki's mercy.

You manoeuvred masterfully through the cracks, surviving every vote, and that means you're kind of the underdog here. However, I don't know how much of that is your fault. So these are my questions:

1) What made you survive the council where I went home? What did you do that I didn't, and what did I do that you didn't?

2) I have the impression that Kat dragged you all the way from F8, but she came up short while you did not. Is that correct? Can you attribute yourself a single post-merge boot in some way?

3) What was your Sakai preferred final 3? What combination of Caleb/Eliza/Jefra/Matty?/Brad????? did you want to go to the end with?



You'd be a deserving winner. I don't think you have it in the bag, but it'd be tough for me not to reward your game. Not just because we're timezone cousins. You were the most obvious threat for the entire game, yet here you are. You led your alliance, and nobody swayed a single bit. That's incredible.

Of course, you had mistakes. Jonny already pointed out that maybe Kat would be a better final 3 rival than Julia. And Marisa's timely idol also gave Kat and Julia a reason to flip. But all in all, you were arguably the best player of the season. I appreciate you telling me you were voting for me, too, knowing how risky that was. Which leads me to...

1) I read my ties with Sydney, Eliza and Kat were the reason I was chosen. Is that correct? Anything else that put Julia over me?

2) So, take your Ki alliance with Jonny, Marisa, James and yourself, and give each of them a percentage that represents the input they had in the decision making. Here's the twist: you can't just say 25%/25%/25%/25%. Each of them must have a different rate of input. In essence, rank the members of your alliance in importance.

3) Being a bloody British you have an awful timezone just like I have. I guess we would agree on the disadvantages of that, but did you find any advantages to it?

Thank you all, and may the best one win!

Thanks Jefra that means a lot. You were the first person I spoke to in this game and I enjoyed all the time we spent playing together from that moment onward. It was also very nice having someone to talk to for the first 4 or 5 hours of the day when everyone else was asleep.

When I felt like I didn't need to lie, I generally didn't and I'm proud that's one thing that isn't tarnishing my game. You deserved to know you were going and I'm glad I manned up and told you.

Your 100% right Marisa Idol did give me breathing room in the game that I desperately needed and I'm very grateful they chose to stick with me during that vote. They could have easily left me by myself. But the main reason we even had the idol to play was because i gave everyone in OG Ki enough BH so they could afford to buy a half piece of the idol. The half idol Marisa bought and combined with Dana's was partly paid for using my BH points.

1) I read my ties with Sydney, Eliza and Kat were the reason I was chosen. Is that correct? Anything else that put Julia over me?


This is correct, my connections with Caleb were diminishing rapidly and I knew if you survived you were perfectly placed to make a very solid 4some with the 3 remaining girls and Caleb as your 5th. I didn't think Julia had your connections to Sydney, Kat or even Eliza. You were also a challenge beast unlike Julia, you proved yourself that in Temple Run and had done excellent in all the puzzle challenges. Both of which stood you as a big threat for individual immunity. Last of all you were also my target so it really was a no-brainer for me.



2) So, take your Ki alliance with Jonny, Marisa, James and yourself, and give each of them a percentage that represents the input they had in the decision making. Here's the twist: you can't just say 25%/25%/25%/25%. Each of them must have a different rate of input. In essence, rank the members of your alliance in importance.

Can i just clarify, do you want me to do just an overall summary? Or do you want me to break it up over the different votes because for the majority of the pre-merge James wasn't on our tribe and JFP went fairly early on in the merge. I'll give it a go but if you wanted something different Just let me know.

Me, Marisa, Jonny, James
50/30/20/10

Ultimately i do think I had the most say in which way our alliance voted in most points of the game, demonstrated most visibly in the Sugar, Sydney + Eliza and Caleb boots. People may be surprised to see I placed Marisa above Jonny but for me, she was the most important member of my alliance. She was involved in both my sub-Ki alliances with James and JFP. I connected with her the most and I trusted her to keep me ground as she was is very level-headed. JFP is next because he's a good strategical player and aside from Sydney/Kat read the game exceptionally well. I knew I could rely on him to build relationships, with Dana, with Gerv (when that was an option) to help cement our alliances. As a number, James was incredibly important to my game and as I said in my FTC speech we talked at length. However, I don't think he presented an idea that I wasn't sure about but then later convinced me around to his way of thinking. He even believed Kat when she said to play the Idol on me instead of Marisa and he believed Dana voted had voted with us at f6.

Overall the Ki alliance was incredibly strong and did respect each of their opinions. I'm thankful to them for getting me this far.

3) Being a bloody British you have an awful timezone just like I have. I guess we would agree on the disadvantages of that, but did you find any advantages to it?

Aye, I'm glad there is someone that can sympathize with me on the Jury. I think accidentally typing in the wrong chat has a lot to do with how tired I was at that point and competing in the challenges difficult, to say the least.

I definitely think there was some advantage too. I gained insight into how people were thinking without my influence in the group chats. I was able to sleep, digest the events of the previous night and then formulate a plan that was ready to put into action as soon people woke up. I was able to talk to pretty much everyone individually as they signed on before presenting my plans to the alliance as whole. This helped me dictate how our strategy went. It also meant I had a good excuse to sit out some of the challenges in the early game :p.

The final advantage is how it demonstrates how dedicated I was to this game and how determined I was to win. I, alongside you, sacrificed a lot of sleep to comepete in this org.

Jefra,

Thank you for your questions. I will try to answer them as simply and honestly as I can.

1) If I remember correctly, you played a mutiny to escape from a certain doom back at Ki, and chose to join... Ozato. With Caleb, Eliza, Sydney and Kat. Why did you join a tribe where you were again at risk instead of going back to Spencer, Marisa and Jonny in Sakai?

You’re right. I could have played my mutiny to avoid the almost certain vote against me and rejoined my allies from the Ki tribe. I felt at that point that I had made enough of a bond with Eliza, Sydney, and Kat...and was practically being begged by Caleb, that it was worth the risk. I joined the other tribe because I wanted to continue building relationships with those players. I knew that my place with the Ki’s was secure. I also knew that if I could make it to the merge after spending time on the Ozato tribe, I could be in a much better position in the game. It was worth the risk.

2) We were in an alliance, the legendary and horribly named Kajafra Sydza, the one that epically blindsided Butch. I did appreciate your eagerness to work with us and even let us use your name as a decoy. When the merge came, however, you decided to work again with Ki though. Did you ever consider staying with them?

I very much considered staying and playing with the “Kajafra Sydza” (best name ever!) alliance post-merge. Up until after the Gervase vote, I still thought that I was in the middle and could still pick which side I wanted to go with. In the end I chose to stay with the Ki’s because of the certainty of those numbers. I had Spencer and Marisa, and felt that I was still really close to Jonny. I thought that they had a better shot of pulling Dana over because of my suggestion that we warn her before the Gervase vote, which ended up being correct. On the other side, I had Caleb lying to me about his idol, and both Kat and Sydney telling me that they would be willing to vote for him…to flush the idol or send him home with it. The connections here felt way less secure than the connections on the Ki tribe. It wasn’t a difficult decision, especially after Syd and Kat switched their vote to Jonny, and the Caleb didn’t talk to me for days after. I was good with my decision.

3) Last one and the most straightforward: why should I vote you instead of Spencer? I don't really want to hear "well, he was kinda the snake calling the shots and I hid behind that" cause I already know, and that doesn't make me want to vote for you more.

You should vote for me over Spencer because I played a much better game. In the answers that Spencer gave in his opening statement and to some of the jury questions, he is having a great time explaining how he was behind all these big moves, and that nothing happened in the game that he wasn’t controlling. He would like for you to believe that, but it simply isn’t true.
From the beginning of the game, Spencer came to me for advice before almost every move he made. “Should I do this…” or “What do you think __________ would do if I told him this…” He may have spoken to people and made bonds with people without help…but I cannot think of any moves that he made, particularly after the merge, on his own without my help or guidance. Everyone called him a snake from very early on…and he has really embraced the title. To be honest, I fail to see how being a public snake makes you a great Survivor player. If everyone sees how sneaky and snake-like you’re being, then that means that you are not being very sneaky and sly. It means that you are a shitty snake.
And being a shitty snake is someone that I would like to sit next to at the end of the game. Spencer did not control this game and he is not deserving of the all the praise of how good of a game he played. Spencer is a good player and a loyal partner, who was brought to the end by me…the one person who saw his game the best, from beginning to end. Spencer is taking credit for moves that we either decided to make together, or that I convinced him to make. If the choice is between us two…then I feel that I absolutely have played the better game and I deserve your vote.

Thanks! :)

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I really really really REALLY want to vote for you. For selfish reasons, mostly, cause I do want to see a Sakai win this, and also because I want to have voted against (at my last council) an eventual winner. We were good friends, alliance members, and we had a lot of fun until the awful swap that put us both at the Ki's mercy.

Jefra! :heart:

Gosh, I missed you so much when you left. I loved talking to you and bothering you about how jealous I was of where you're from ;) and talking game with you and Eliza and the 3 Girls chat was the best part of pre-merge to me. I was so psyched that we got put on Sakai still, but it was completely ruined once Spencer came along and we were immediately outnumbered.

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You maneuvered masterfully through the cracks, surviving every vote, and that means you're kind of the underdog here. However, I don't know how much of that is your fault. So these are my questions: 1) What made you survive the council where I went home? What did you do that I didn't, and what did I do that you didn't?

A lot of different awkward variables lined up with this. I felt fine through the whole game and this tribe was horrible because I was aligned with everyone on it. Had we not lost you that round and we won and Ozato went to Tribal Council? You would've made merge with Eliza, Caleb and I and James would've went home and who would've known how this game would've played out. However, we did lose and I knew we didn't have the votes. My pre-existing relationships with Spencer, Marisa and JFP are the reasons why I stayed over you. I ~felt like I was more comfortably aligned with them and they saw me as someone who was less of a threat down the road than you were.

This is about the time I started getting increasingly close to JFP and I had already been in a long term alliance with Spencer at that point. I knew that you and Spencer had a tight bond, but Marisa and JFP has assured me rounds earlier I would've been safe had we lost.

I don't really think there was anything you should do that I did. Me surviving over you was laying ground work and building up these alliances and relationships with other people that I was able to use to get to the next stage of the game. I guess I would just suggest is play a round ahead of yourself.

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2) I have the impression that Kat dragged you all the way from F8, but she came up short while you did not. Is that correct? Can you attribute yourself a single post-merge boot in some way?

I'm glad you asked this Jefra! I've been waiting for a question that could elaborate my game from Kat's game.

Alright, so Kat and I didn't exactly start off on the greatest terms. I was insanely suspicious of her pre-merge because I saw her as the wedge between Caleb and I. I really thought she was just trying to meddle in things and flip stuff around and Caleb blindly believing every word she said just never sat well with me. The first round of the merge Caleb insisted that we talk to Kat because she has information she wanted to share. She tells me about Spencer trying to flip the game and take out the Sakai members. I really couldn't believe it because I had thought Spencer and I were going far together in this game. Granted it was only "Caleb and Eliza" but that's 2/3 Sakai members what do you want from me. Totally warranted paranoia.

She was leaking all this information from Dana through Spencer and I went and told Spencer as if it was all a lie. Essentially, everybody got pissed at me because word got out, but I guess in the long run it really helped because it really showed ME where every single person stood in this game. Kat got called out and I'm assuming the plan got shut down because that's when Gervase was voted out in a landslide.

After the truth came out and Ki was totally not with me I was kinda lost. I reached out to Kat and apologized and everything, but it still felt rocky. The round continues and Kat and Sydney this time try to help Sakai out. Like I said in my OS, I just was in shock Ki was trying the same plan....again. That's when Jonny got sent out because I just didn't want any part of them. After Caleb left was when Kat and I clicked. Individually, we were tight with Caleb so naturally we stayed together after he left. To be fair, Kat was the one who asked if we should flip on Sydney and Eliza to survive while I still had my regards, but if she was doing it anyways there was no point in being in the minority. Final 6 I thought I was doomed, but her pulling in Dana to vote with us and her idol really helped us out.

By Final 5 and 4 I made moves that I thought would help me win the game. I told both James/Spencer and Dana/Kat I was keeping the other because I didn't want them to talk to each other and compare notes. So after Dana left I made sure that James and Spencer saw Kat as this golden girl and me as someone easier to beat. Tying the vote on top of that and attempting to bring Kat to the end over James was what I thought the best scenario to be able to win in.

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3) What was your Sakai preferred final 3? What combination of Caleb/Eliza/Jefra/Matty?/Brad????? did you want to go to the end with?

Sakai is love :heart: I loved our tribe so much and it's not lost on me that I stayed on Sakai beach through the whole thing. ;) I had a Final 3 with you and Eliza, a Final 4 that was with Caleb and when the swap happened, Caleb and I created a Final 3 alliance with Matty, I adored Matty and everything, but that was just security during the swap. The superior INV Sakai member went home that round. :(

I really wanted this to be the end game because I adored all of you so much. My ideal Final 3? It would have been you, me and Caleb because I think Eliza would've won this whole game if she made it to the end.

Love you girl! And good luck with your vote!

Those are perfectly good answers, thanks :)

Lastly, a pro tip for James and Spencer: you keep trying to claim the same moves and fighting, so that means one of you is lying. I'm no clairvoyant so I can't really tell who is saying the truth, which is why I'd appreciate honesty if you don't want me to just vote for Julia by default.

Jefra Bland @ 6/5/2016 22:03

Those are perfectly good answers, thanks :) Lastly, a pro tip for James and Spencer: you keep trying to claim the same moves and fighting, so that means one of you is lying. I'm no clairvoyant so I can't really tell who is saying the truth, which is why I'd appreciate honesty if you don't want me to just vote for Julia by default.

I don't want to devovle FTC into an argument but seen as you've presented the opportunity to do so I'll take it. In a lot of these questions, I went first and answered the questions honestly. We were in the same alliance for most of the game so there are no other moves for James to claim but mine. I don't mind him trying to do so but to argue he simultaneously played an under the radar game and manipulated every big move is disingenuous. They are in direct conflict with each other and even insiders in the Alliance such as Jonny and Dana have not credited him with these moves. I understand what he's trying to do because playing an UTR game but failing to vote off the guy whose coattails you rid before the end doesn't leave him with very much room to manavouer in these questions. He has to answer them somehow.

Jefra Bland @ 6/5/2016 17:03

Those are perfectly good answers, thanks :) Lastly, a pro tip for James and Spencer: you keep trying to claim the same moves and fighting, so that means one of you is lying. I'm no clairvoyant so I can't really tell who is saying the truth, which is why I'd appreciate honesty if you don't want me to just vote for Julia by default.

True, it would appear that Spencer beat me to the punch on many of the questions so far today. I'm not interested in an argument either, but I do feel like I have to defend my game to a greater degree than he does. I don't think that Spencer is lying. I think that he genuinely believes that these huge moves were his, and his alone.
But, let me ask a question then…why would I want go to the end with Spencer? How does that make sense strategically? If I am nothing but a follower, why would I want to go to the end with someone who is seen by pretty much everyone as the sure bet to win the game? I may be a lot of things, but I am not stupid. The reason is…Spencer is not the amazing player that he thinks he is. He was safe for the entire first half of the game, except when he put the target on his own back by being a sloppy social player, and then he worked with me for much of the second half of the game. There is almost nothing that he did post-merge that was on his own and that he can take sole credit for. Along with myself, you all can claim to be part of many of the moves that he brags that he made on his own. I was there for it all. I helped him come to decisions and get things done. He loved being the visible power player, and so I let him be that. He was good at it.
And all the while I made sure that he did what I wanted him to do, and I made sure that he felt like I was the weaker player and there was no way that I could beat him in the end. But if he truly looks back at his game and the moves that he is claiming, there is no way that he could honestly say that he made any of those moves without my help. For him to say that you can't play under the radar and be manipulative at the same time is ridiculous. There are plenty of players who have shown that you can be smart, control bigger players, and make moves while avoiding attention, who have done quite well. It's that style of gameplay that I chose to emulate.

I understand your predicament. I sympathize, but there is nothing that I can offer other than an argument for my game, just like Spencer and just like Julia. To be honest, I'm not very familiar with the things that Julia did in this game (because I was barely around her, and we didn't get to speak very much (my fault completely)), so she very well could have played better than both of us. If you feel that's the case, then please, vote for her. But I'd like to make it clear that I do not feel that Spencer deserves your vote, or any other votes over me based on social and strategic gameplay.

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He loved being the visible power player, and so I let him be that.

I wouldn't say I loved being a visible power. I did like having control over my fate in the game. However, you don't really have much choice when your two closest allies refuse to act. It's fine taking a back seat if you have someone to do the work for you. If you and Marisa were capable of doing it then you were certainly not willing to do so.

What did you do to stop Dana from flipping at f6 if I was the meatshield goat you were hiding behind?

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There are plenty of players who have shown that you can be smart, control bigger players, and make moves while avoiding attention, who have done quite well. It's that style of gameplay that I chose to emulate.

This is true, but they have to actually do something out of the public spotlight to manipulate the game. I honestly don't believe you did that once. If you can point out somewhere you manipulated me I'd happily give you credit for it but if the only move was convincing me that you weren't a threat then I don't think that's much of a move. The choice at f4 was between you Kat and Julia, you were the last person I'd vote out.

I'd also like to reiterate I never said I made those moves without your help. You were a vote Afterall and as I said in my FTC i wouldn't have made it here without that vote.

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I wouldn't say I loved being a visible power. I did like having control over my fate in the game. However, you don't really have much choice when your two closest allies refuse to act. It's fine taking a back seat if you have someone to do the work for you. If you and Marisa were capable of doing it then you were certainly not willing to do so.

I disagree man... from what I saw, you absolutely loved being in visible power. From bragging about who you were getting info from in chat to public borderline arrogant messages, you clearly knew and enjoyed how people viewed you. I don't want to speak for Marisa, but you hit the nail on the head for my gameplan. Why would I need to publicly make the moves when I had you to make the moves for me.

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What did you do to stop Dana from flipping at f6 if I was the meatshield goat you were hiding behind?

Was there anything that anyone could have done to keep Dana from flipping at f6? She was playing her own game and saw the opportunity to make a move to improve her game. I don't think that having you as the "meatshield goat" applies to this example.

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This is true, but they have to actually do something out of the public spotlight to manipulate the game. I honestly don't believe you did that once. If you can point out somewhere you manipulated me I'd happily give you credit for it but if the only move was convincing me that you weren't a threat then I don't think that's much of a move. The choice at f4 was between you Kat and Julia, you were the last person I'd vote out.

You are correct about one thing. The public spotlight was your game, not mine. I didn't have to when I had you doing it for me. Most of our game together involved you coming to me with ideas or information and me ensuring that our plan was really my plan, but you thought it was yours. When I speak of manipulation, I mean that I was able to make suggestions that influenced what you wanted to do. You say that the Caleb vote happened because you pushed for it, and I am saying that you are wrong. You are saying that you pushed to have the votes put on Eliza and Sydney, and I'm saying that you are wrong. You are saying that you were able to make moves all on your own, and I am saying that is absolutely not true. There is nothing that you did post-merge aside from the use if items, that you did without my or someone else's assistance, advice, or help.

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I'd also like to reiterate I never said I made those moves without your help. You were a vote Afterall and as I said in my FTC i wouldn't have made it here without that vote.

Along with my vote, you also wouldn't have made it here without my guidance or advice, aside from the one immunity that you were able to win, and even that I'd raise one lonely eyebrow at.

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To be honest, I'm not very familiar with the things that Julia did in this game (because I was barely around her, and we didn't get to speak very much (my fault completely)), so she very well could have played better than both of us.But I'd like to make it clear that I do not feel that Spencer deserves your vote, or any other votes over me

Man, your playing to beat Julia as well not just me and I think this indicative of your whole game.

Last point i promise, I know this is just making us both look petty. Maybe you are right and I have been completely delusional. I honestly thought we were friends but to know that I was coming across as a cocky arrogant asshole to you has shocked me. I genuinely believed, outside of Sydney, most people at least didn't mind my company this game. I don't know how you survived socially bonding and talking every single day with someone you compare to Phillip Sheppard. For over 39 days! If that's the case you deserve to win, that's dedication and I'll seriously consider making some changes.

My last point as well. and then I will move on. Slowly. Looking back.

I would not describe you as a person as a "cocky arrogant asshole." I don't think that you are, and while I don't know who you are, I think that I've talked to you enough to know the type of person that you actually are. I am saying that I believe that you played a game where you wanted to be visibly powerful, and you enjoyed being in that position. I am also saying that the moves that you made in this game were not yours to claim as being only yours, and that I had influence over the things that you did. You cannot deny that to be true.
I greatly enjoyed playing the game with you, but I'm not going to pretend that having you as an ally did not benefit me in the game, just as you shouldn't be saying that being in an alliance with me did not benefit you (more than just being a vote.)
The Phillip Sheppard comparison is a poor attempt at humor. If it upset you, I'm really sorry.
I truly do see you as a friend and I am excited to see you after this whole crazy thing is over. I talked to you the most in this game...seriously, daily since Day 1. I know you are a rad dude. I'm sorry if I gave the impression that I think otherwise. But while it is going on, I will defend my game and not stop challenging statements that you make that I know are at the very least, partially false.