Survivor PD
General Category => Final Tribal Council => Topic started by: Holly Short on August 10, 2020, 04:36:10 pm
-
A big part of this game is using the right strategy to make it to the end. Sometimes you have to make #BigMoves, or know when the time is right not not make a move. You have to advance your game in a manner that leaves you a path for the future.
This thread is for the jury to ask questions about the strategic decisions you made throughout the game and how they compare to your opponent.
-
Greetings! I should preface this by saying that this is not a bitter Jury in the slightest— all of us are looking to make an unbiased decision to determine the best possible winner of this game, and I think Ponderosa is completely void of any lingering bad feelings whatsoever.
Anyway, here’s my starting question:
Lucifer and Hercule— what’s one strategic move you made that you think played a big (or the biggest part) in helping you reach the end? Not necessarily take control of the game— but why you’re sitting here instead of someone else.
-
Bonsoir M. McGruff. I 'ope zat you 'ave been well.
I think my move at ze final four ees 100% ze raison zat I am sitting in ze F2 instead of someone else. I was truly crushed when I lost zat challenge. I thought zat I would 'ave to make fire.
M. Morningstar 'ad zero intention of taking me to ze end if M. Kennedy was an option, so I 'ad to remove 'im from ze game in order to open up ze possibility of getting taken myself. I knew zat I was not ze strongest in challenges, so I never wanted to 'ave to rely on winning my way zere.
And eet ees far from a guarantee zat I would 'ave won fire against M. Kennedy. I performed worse zan 'im at ze IC zat round. I'm glad zat we will never know, thanks mostly to my strong play.
-
Hercule, from my perspective it seems like there wasn't a single vote that happened which didn't benefit what you wanted to do in some way or another, and that's highly commendable, it truly is. But a lot of those votes were also incredibly close, did you have contingency plans if they didn't work? I want you to tell me about the places where you messed up and should have played better. I want you to own your mistakes too.
Luci, so about that vagueness I talked about over in Social, I think you know you have a very rough path here, yeah? A lot of this jury isn't exactly sure what it is that you did in this game and whether you planned for any of what happened or if perhaps you got lucky. You certainly won immunity when you needed it, which you should be incredibly proud of and that is a point in your favour imo. But, I think for those of us who weren't privy to your thoughts and plans, we would really benefit from hearing what sort of plans you had. When friends and allies of yours went home, how did you regroup and continue forward? And please, be as specific as you can. If you want to win, you need to be.
-
Just here to bump Grouch's question for Lucifer. I want to know what you were thinking going forward in most rounds. What was the larger picture that you were making or were you just playing round by round? Either is fine, I just feel like I didn't get to know which was your mode from your speech and want to give you the opportunity to detail that here.
-
Oh also, Luci, I want more elaboration in why you chose Hercule over Rust in the end here. You touched a bit on it in the TC thread, but I want more than just that. You're not wrong that taking Hercule was a better move for the reasons you stated most likely, and the jury very much liked Rust's game, largely because we knew what he was doing as we'd been part of it at various points. So in what ways did you think you couldn't separate your game from Rust's? Why was having him in the jury the best move for you personally at FTC?
Which, Hercule, brings me to another question, in other places it sounds like you're attributing being at the end being due to things you did and ways you outplayed Lucifer into giving him two not great options. But he could have just as easily sent you home instead of Rust. Why do you think any part of you being here is due to your own strategy and actions? Are you merely here because you knew your game was worse than Rust's and you were an easier battle for Lucifer to try to win? Why is you being here a positive for your game, and not a positive for Lucifer's? Or is it not that cut and dry?
-
Hercule, from my perspective it seems like there wasn't a single vote that happened which didn't benefit what you wanted to do in some way or another, and that's highly commendable, it truly is. But a lot of those votes were also incredibly close, did you have contingency plans if they didn't work? I want you to tell me about the places where you messed up and should have played better. I want you to own your mistakes too.
I disagree zat every single vote zat 'appened benefited me. I don't think zat ze M. Briscoe and M. Peralta votes benefited me, at least not obviously. Maybe ze way I used zose votes to try to reduce my threat level benefited me, but M. Briscoe and M. Peralta were loyal allies. Zere was no reason for me to want zem gone, and zose were both votes I vehemently opposed. I can't express to you 'ow many plans I 'atched to try to save M. Briscoe, and 'ow close I truly came to flipping eet. I honestly believe zat if M. Cohle 'ad not been in ze middle of a road trip and unable to log in, zere ees a chance zat M. Briscoe could 'ave stayed, which would 'ave been an amazing move by me, but eet was not to be.
I definitely 'ad contingency plans for things. I mean in a sense, my entire endgame path was a contingency plan, since M. Briscoe and M. Peralta were people I wanted to take down ze stretch, and I couldn't because zey both were taken out. I 'ave already discussed my misread on Mlle Hopps, but I think ze way I played ze M. Briscoe round in general showed what ees great about me as a player, but also some of my weaknesses. I was trying to save M. Briscoe with such a single-minded focus zat in ze process, I alienated M. Kennedy and really much of ze rest of ze game, but I was able to repair zose relationships. And in ze process I may 'ave accidentally sabotaged M. Briscoe, since I lost M. Kennedy and zen when M. Cohle was willing to consider Mlle Garcia, M. Kennedy's vote was uncertain. I think zat ees a problem with me a lot, where I get a goal in my 'ead and I am so focused on achieving eet zat I lose sight of everything else, but I also think zat being willing to fight for what you want in zis game and not being afraid of ze ramifications ees a generally positive trait. And I was also a capable enough player zat once deadline 'it and ze dust settled, I was on eet doing damage control and making sure zat everything was 'ow I needed eet to be.
-
If you want more specific contigency plans from various points, I can give you zem, but do you 'ave any specific rounds in mind? I 'ave spent a lot of time zis game spinning my wheels thinking about scenarios, most of which never played out, so I probably 'ave thought about most paths I could 'ave gone down, but eet ees difficile for me to isolate zem without more to go on.
-
Which, Hercule, brings me to another question, in other places it sounds like you're attributing being at the end being due to things you did and ways you outplayed Lucifer into giving him two not great options. But he could have just as easily sent you home instead of Rust. Why do you think any part of you being here is due to your own strategy and actions? Are you merely here because you knew your game was worse than Rust's and you were an easier battle for Lucifer to try to win? Why is you being here a positive for your game, and not a positive for Lucifer's? Or is it not that cut and dry?
'E could 'ave done zat, but I 'ad a strong feeling zat 'e wouldn't. My read on M. Morningstar for a while 'as been zat 'e was trying to win ze game and zat 'e recognized ze situation 'e was in and zat I was ze better person to sit next to in ze zan M. Cohle. I didn't think 'e would willingly sit next to M. Cohle in ze end. Really my entire endgame path if I didn't win ze necessary challenges was predicated on eet, but at a certain point you either 'ave to step up and win ze challenge, which I failed to do, or 'ope zat you gave yourself enough space to get taken to ze end.
I do think M. Morningstar taking me over M. Cohle ees a positive for 'is game. Eet was obvious to me zat zat was 'is smarter move, and if 'e wins, eet will be because 'e took me and not M. Cohle. I absolutely give 'im credit for zat. 'E 'as always been a self-aware player. Zat ees one of my favorite things about 'im.
'Owever, I definitely do not think eet ees as simple as my game being worse zan M. Cohle's. I saw 'is choice as choosing between someone who played a drastically different game vs. someone who played a similar game, but better, and I think 'e sees eet ze same way from what 'e 'as said. Even if I was objectively more threatening zan M. Cohle (which I'm not sure zat I was, I definitely didn't feel zat confident in a Jury vote against M. Cohle), I could still be ze smarter person for M. Morningstar to take.
I think I structured ze endgame so zat eet was in M. Morningstar's best interest to take me despite ze fact zat 'e did not feel confident in 'is Jury chances against me, and zat ees my doing. Short of winning ze final Immunity myself, I don't know what more I could 'ave or should 'ave done.
-
For Lucifer, I just wanted to address this part of your speech:
Rounds 15 on were where I think I got more control in the game and put together a better performance. I thought Lennie going home in round 15 was important for me, because I knew we weren't on particularly good terms at the time and it set me up to go deep. The next two rounds the bigger challenge threats went- in particular, the round 16 vote would've been impossible without me beating Judy- I knew it was important to get them out if I was going to win immunity these last few rounds and fully guarantee my spot at the end. Obviously the one blemish here is round 18, but I was still safe during that important vote thanks to my challenge performance. I think during these rounds I exhibited a little bit more control over the game, my status as a low-profile player paid off and my devotion to my allies worked out. I think it shows some dynamism.
The thing is, after I left, I just assumed that it just went without saying that Judy or Penelope would go at 6, and if the remaining member of that pair was vulnerable at 5, they'd be voted out next. So like we've got 2 rounds at 6 and 5 where basically everyone in the game was on roughly the same page other than those being targeted, and then at 4 the one person you didn't want to go home went home. I'm not really seeing how this is particularly dynamic or exhibited more control over the game, aside from having immunity at 4 and 3. I'm not trying to grill you or anything here, but do you have a different view of those rounds?
-
Hard to come up with good questions for either of you seeing as I was very close to both of you.
For Lucifer: Do you think you had control over your fate or were led on to certain points in the game, specifically with regards to myself and Rust? Ultimately you made it to the end where we didn't, but it's more a case of did you control us, or did we control you and were targeted for it?
For Poirot: You talked about long term strategy and that this was a contingency plan. We talked about it a little but I feel like I spent more time explaining my plans for us to make final 3 than you did. At what point was this your trajectory? Of if this is just where chips fell, what was your previous plan and how confident in it were you that it would have worked without intervention (ie. My immunity swivel and the Jake/Lennie votes)?
-
For Poirot: You talked about long term strategy and that this was a contingency plan. We talked about it a little but I feel like I spent more time explaining my plans for us to make final 3 than you did. At what point was this your trajectory? Of if this is just where chips fell, what was your previous plan and how confident in it were you that it would have worked without intervention (ie. My immunity swivel and the Jake/Lennie votes)?
Zis was 100% confirmed as my trajectory after/during ze M. Briscoe vote, but probably after ze M. Peralta vote all of my ideas about ze game started shifting around. One main difference was zat I felt strongly zat I 'ad at least some chance of beating you prior to zose moves, whereas after zem I did not think I 'ad a chance, especially if I elected to take you. If you won your way to ze end and took me, zat was different.
M. Briscoe was a core piece of almost any endgame I was making prior to zat, so a lot of my thinking was trying to find out who to take deep who M. Briscoe would actually 'ave a chance of finding more threatening zan me and cutting at 4, and you were an excellent candidate for zat. I would 'ave been 'appy with both you and M. Briscoe at 4, because zen no matter 'ow Immunity went I felt strongly zat one of you would probably go 'ome. M. Briscoe I knew was especially scared of facing off against you in ze end. I might 'ave 'ad to face to slightly more difficile FTC, but I 'oped zat I would 'ave a chance, and in my position, my priority 'ad to be getting zere. I also was honest when I said zat I wanted to F2 with you, but realistically I didn't think I could get you much further zan 5 or 4 before you 'ad to win your way zere.
I initially was incredibly averse to taking M. Morningstar and M. Kennedy deep, especially not both of zem, and if eet was a F3 I think I 'ad reason to be because everyone and zeir mother wanted to sit next to zem in ze end, and for a player like me, who ees socially threatening but not strong in challenges, zat was 'ighly worrisome. But you taking out M. Briscoe left me really with no other options, because I didn't feel confident zat I could beat you and Mlle Garcia in ze end, and you were both too strong in challenges to take down to four. So I decided to go all-in on M. Morningstar deciding to cut M. Cohle, and pray zat M. Kennedy might be convinced to force firemaking as a last resort.
-
Greetings! I should preface this by saying that this is not a bitter Jury in the slightest— all of us are looking to make an unbiased decision to determine the best possible winner of this game, and I think Ponderosa is completely void of any lingering bad feelings whatsoever.
Anyway, here’s my starting question:
Lucifer and Hercule— what’s one strategic move you made that you think played a big (or the biggest part) in helping you reach the end? Not necessarily take control of the game— but why you’re sitting here instead of someone else.
I think the Strike Team TC was a really important point in my game. Like the vote was shaping up to be between Judy and Nick from my point of view, with my name being pitched to the SVU players by the BAU to try to throw the. It was a really difficult decision for me, because going into that round I had felt fairly close to Hercule and Judy from the original tribe we were on together, but I'd also had an alliance with Nick and Jake going into that tribe as well, so I was put in a difficult spot. But I made the right call- I think it was a critical decision that allowed me to re-establish my relationship with Hercule and Judy and I was able to rebuild my relationship with Penelope and avoid being in a precarious spot.
-
Hercule, from my perspective it seems like there wasn't a single vote that happened which didn't benefit what you wanted to do in some way or another, and that's highly commendable, it truly is. But a lot of those votes were also incredibly close, did you have contingency plans if they didn't work? I want you to tell me about the places where you messed up and should have played better. I want you to own your mistakes too.
Luci, so about that vagueness I talked about over in Social, I think you know you have a very rough path here, yeah? A lot of this jury isn't exactly sure what it is that you did in this game and whether you planned for any of what happened or if perhaps you got lucky. You certainly won immunity when you needed it, which you should be incredibly proud of and that is a point in your favour imo. But, I think for those of us who weren't privy to your thoughts and plans, we would really benefit from hearing what sort of plans you had. When friends and allies of yours went home, how did you regroup and continue forward? And please, be as specific as you can. If you want to win, you need to be.
So I'd say there were three big instances where allies went home- (excluding late merge where I was strategically eliminating allies)
First was Nick going- this was a difficult vote for me, but I think it worked out well. My biggest goal after this vote was to rebuild my relationship with Penelope. I knew that I had kind of ruined my relationship with Jake there, but I felt like I could salvage the other two and that it would be really important to do that. Then following that vote, because I felt like my relationship with Jake was in disrepair- we ended up going after Jake at merge which was something I saw as very beneficial for my game, since he wasn't particularly close with me. Obviously the idol led to that attempt being nullified though and another one of my allies going. After that vote failed and Pikachu went, obviously it put another wrench in my game. It led to the Scruff vote as well, which I thought was really important for me, because it kept the number of 27 players in the game in check because I wasn't on good terms with them and would also be something that most everyone could get behind, because I didn't want to like oppose what Hercule/Judy wanted for another TC in a row, because that could exacerbate our relationship.
Then you went which was also problematic for my game. It was obviously a hiccup, but I was able to stay strong with my my group of allies and work past it and was able to get Jake out of the game which I felt was another success for my game because we'd had a pretty poor relationship since merge started.
-
Just here to bump Grouch's question for Lucifer. I want to know what you were thinking going forward in most rounds. What was the larger picture that you were making or were you just playing round by round? Either is fine, I just feel like I didn't get to know which was your mode from your speech and want to give you the opportunity to detail that here.
I wouldn't say I ever had a concrete larger picture, but I was always considering the long term implications of decisions for sure. I drew up a couple of possible boot lists and while they weren't really accurate- they were helpful in planning and considering possibilities for me.
For my round by round thinking starting from right before merge on:
Strike Team TC:
So for this TC I had a pretty good idea prior to the round that Judy and Nick were likely to be targets. I'd heard from Nick that he didn't care from Judy and the general vibe I got from the SVU players was that Nick wasn't too active. I had also felt, especially based on my conversations with people from the BAU, that this might come down to tribal lines- at least to a degree.
Once the round started my suspicions were confirmed. I was initially undecided going in- but I pretty quickly decided I wanted Nick gone. A large part of that was because I was worried I couldn't trust Jake- mainly because he had hardly been talking to me- and I felt like that ended up being a correct suspicion because later into tribal, I heard that at least some of the BAU people had tried to pitch my name behind my back.
Going into merge, I was initially hesitant because I didn't know what was going to happen. It honestly took a long time for anything to get rolling. I'd heard rumors of Grouch a bit because of the drama on Narcotics, but nobody was really pushing anything. Eventually Pikachu finally reached out and we discussed the vote possibilities before finally settling on Jake. I think it's also worth noting that I did kind of tell people that it was Pikachu's idea and intentionally gave him credit for it- and that was partially intentional. I didn't want my name out there as someone leading the vote early in merge because I didn't want to be seen as threatening and get idoled out.
Then next round Scruff went- I kind of already explained this elsewhere- but to recap: nobody really seemed to want to push Jake and I was hesitant the numbers would be there for it this round. So Scruff went as a bit of a compromise? And I think it was also important for my game that he went over like me or Rust, who were the alternatives I had heard about.
Next is the round Grouch Cop went home- I was obviously misled. I do remember talking with Grouch like fifteen minutes before deadline about how the TC had the feels that something sketchy might be happening and then that happened. The intent was to push Jake there and make that vote happen. But obviously that had to wait until the next round. Getting Jake out was something that I thought benefited me greatly since we had a very rocky relationship for a while now. And I don't necessarily think Grouch going was a major blemish on my game necessarily either- like I've said elsewhere, I think this round highlighted some of the good social connections I did have and I think the perception of me as someone who wasn't threatening and my strong ties to Judy in particular made my survival here no accident. And I also think Grouch going encouraged me to invest a little bit more into my other relationships.
Then the next round after this Lennie went. Going into the round the big focus was on making sure Judy would vote with me/Rust/Penelope and then I also tried to flip Leon to our side as well and work with him. I think this was the point where my vision of the end of the game went from more of a hypothetical to concrete. I started to feel good about my odds of making it there again and I kind of realized who I couldn't be against and who I felt I had more of a chance against.
Then Judy went the next round after she lost the challenge and Penelope afterwards. Those were pretty straightforward rounds, but I will elaborate on them a little more when I answer Leon's question in a little bit.
At F4, I was conflicted, but ultimately felt that I was better off getting Rust out. The catch was that I had known from previous rounds Leon really preferred Hercule going, so I was working hard to convince him, but it didn't work and he misled me about where he was voting. I do think it was really important I won immunity this round, because prior to the tribal occurring I could've easily been targeted had I not.
I'm just going to explain the F3 decision in response to Grouch's question in a second if that's OK.
-
Oh also, Luci, I want more elaboration in why you chose Hercule over Rust in the end here. You touched a bit on it in the TC thread, but I want more than just that. You're not wrong that taking Hercule was a better move for the reasons you stated most likely, and the jury very much liked Rust's game, largely because we knew what he was doing as we'd been part of it at various points. So in what ways did you think you couldn't separate your game from Rust's? Why was having him in the jury the best move for you personally at FTC?
Which, Hercule, brings me to another question, in other places it sounds like you're attributing being at the end being due to things you did and ways you outplayed Lucifer into giving him two not great options. But he could have just as easily sent you home instead of Rust. Why do you think any part of you being here is due to your own strategy and actions? Are you merely here because you knew your game was worse than Rust's and you were an easier battle for Lucifer to try to win? Why is you being here a positive for your game, and not a positive for Lucifer's? Or is it not that cut and dry?
So with Rust- We literally voted the same way every single round of merge except F4 and F3. And the F4 vote went the way he wanted it to. We had been allies with similar people too from merge onward. I felt like we were similar, but like you said- the jury seemed to like him a bit and I'd kind of picked up on that and I felt like I was very much on the bottom perceptually against him in an FTC. So I felt like he had a clear edge. He had also won a lot of challenges too. Like really it felt like the only difference from him in my game was some minor pre-merge issues and besides that he had me dominated. It's hard to know because everyone's different, but I also feel like in general your allies are more likely to vote for you on a jury and I'd worked with Rust all game basically, so I thought there was a slightly higher chance he'd vote for me than Hercule, who I didn't work as much with and that also played a role.
-
For Lucifer, I just wanted to address this part of your speech:
Rounds 15 on were where I think I got more control in the game and put together a better performance. I thought Lennie going home in round 15 was important for me, because I knew we weren't on particularly good terms at the time and it set me up to go deep. The next two rounds the bigger challenge threats went- in particular, the round 16 vote would've been impossible without me beating Judy- I knew it was important to get them out if I was going to win immunity these last few rounds and fully guarantee my spot at the end. Obviously the one blemish here is round 18, but I was still safe during that important vote thanks to my challenge performance. I think during these rounds I exhibited a little bit more control over the game, my status as a low-profile player paid off and my devotion to my allies worked out. I think it shows some dynamism.
The thing is, after I left, I just assumed that it just went without saying that Judy or Penelope would go at 6, and if the remaining member of that pair was vulnerable at 5, they'd be voted out next. So like we've got 2 rounds at 6 and 5 where basically everyone in the game was on roughly the same page other than those being targeted, and then at 4 the one person you didn't want to go home went home. I'm not really seeing how this is particularly dynamic or exhibited more control over the game, aside from having immunity at 4 and 3. I'm not trying to grill you or anything here, but do you have a different view of those rounds?
That's fair- to me I specifically wanted to keep Penelope around over Judy for a few reasons though, but I get why it didn't matter a whole lot in the end. The first part of it was just loyalty to her, but I also thought she was slightly weaker in challenges. She was obviously very good, but I think a significant part of her reputation came from premerge where in my mind the challenges took a different skill set. Like one thing she was great at on the BAU was organizing the tribe and being like a team captain and in merge, like that's not really important when it's one person doing most challenges. So I felt like Judy was slightly better at challenges and I wanted her out first. Furthermore, if Penelope had won the challenge- I felt a little better about the prospects of an F5 vote and then F4 with her around than with Judy- but like obviously that ended up not being a factor, but it was something I considered. So to me, being able to control the way that vote went had some meaning, but I get why it kind of ended up being irrelevant based on what happened.
-
You were always in my final 3 plans my friend. My ideal final 3 was literally you and Poirot.
-
Hard to come up with good questions for either of you seeing as I was very close to both of you.
For Lucifer: Do you think you had control over your fate or were led on to certain points in the game, specifically with regards to myself and Rust? Ultimately you made it to the end where we didn't, but it's more a case of did you control us, or did we control you and were targeted for it?
For Poirot: You talked about long term strategy and that this was a contingency plan. We talked about it a little but I feel like I spent more time explaining my plans for us to make final 3 than you did. At what point was this your trajectory? Of if this is just where chips fell, what was your previous plan and how confident in it were you that it would have worked without intervention (ie. My immunity swivel and the Jake/Lennie votes)?
I don't think I was controlled. Starting with the Jake vote- I had told Grouch Cop like when the tribal started that I wanted Jake out, I just wasn't sure it was really feasible. Then Pikachu was who pitched that and I went along with it, but it was something I had wanted to do and if I recall right- you said you weren't swayed either way, but just voted Jake because the majority was there. Then with the Scruff vote- I think the people I initially talked to about it were Hercule, Lennie and Grouch if I remember right. It was once again something I felt like I went with out of a desire to benefit my game and not because I was being controlled. Honestly the fact that you left me out of the Grouch vote makes me think you probably didn't actually feel like you could control me.
I guess I really don't view the game in terms of one player having control over the other- I feel like there's give and take in the game and all relationships involved a bit of back and forth. But like no, I don't think I was controlled.
-
A bit of a different question for both of you— who was your biggest obstacle to overcome in this game? Which person stood the greatest threat of taking you out, and what specific steps did you take to counteract that?
Also— what was your lowest point in this game strategically? What event(s) happened that made you feel a loss of control over the game or like you were at a disadvantage, and how did you bounce back from them?
-
A bit of a different question for both of you— who was your biggest obstacle to overcome in this game? Which person stood the greatest threat of taking you out, and what specific steps did you take to counteract that?
Also— what was your lowest point in this game strategically? What event(s) happened that made you feel a loss of control over the game or like you were at a disadvantage, and how did you bounce back from them?
Zis ees actually a 'ard question, but I think ze correct answer ees actually you, M. McGruff. When you posted your posts in public, I was incredibly unnerved by zem because although I didn't agree with your reads on everything, the generally gist of what you were saying was definitely ze way zat I saw ze game. I did want SVU to be ze dominant group. I did want to use M. Peralta as a shield. Most of what you were saying was somewhat true. I think zat people should 'ave listened to you and done something to stop me from taking you out, if I'm honest, because without you going, M. Grouch would not 'ave gone ze following round. Although I did appreciate zat you inflated Mlle Hopps' target and reduced mine, merci beaucoup for zat.
You also 'ad close connections to ze people I was close to, M. Briscoe and M. Kennedy especially, and I did not think zat M. Kennedy would ever choose me over you, so in terms of maintaining my power and my control over ze game, you 'ad to go 'ome. You 'ad accurate reads. You 'ad influence. I think removing you when I did ees one of my better moves in ze game, and something zat I was advocating for from ze very start of zat round. You went a bit early in ze merge to be my biggest obstacle, but you were definitely ze person I saw with ze biggest potential to foil my plans.
My lowest point was during ze M. Briscoe round, not even after ze M. Briscoe round but while M. Briscoe was going, and eet felt like everything was falling apart around me. Especially when M. Kennedy was mad at me for 'aving said 'is name, eet felt like such a nightmare, and Mlle Hopps not being Immune and zen suddenly becoming Immune and 'aving to deal with ze consequences of zat was incredibly stressful. Zat round ees also some of ze most fun I 'ad in ze game, because I was fighting so 'ard without feeling like I was ze one in danger and throwing everything and anything at ze wall to see what stuck, but realizing zat I was going to lose my second close ally in a row was just absolutely terrible. Ze M. Peralta round wasn't great either, but losing M. Briscoe was ze moment where I felt ze most powerless in ze entire game.
I recovered almost immediately though. I fixed my relationship with M. Kennedy by 'aving a 'eart to 'eart, to ze point where 'e trusted me enough for F4 to go ze way zat eet did. Mlle Hopps and Mlle Garcia were still in ze game as 'uge targets, so eet was easy for me to reintegrate. I 'ad a strong bond with M. Cohle throughout ze whole ordeal, and M. Morningstar and I 'ad a great talk and worked past our issues with each other from ze previous two rounds, so I was able to plan my new route to ze end. And in a way eet might 'ave actually been a good thing, since M. Briscoe was peut-être a leetle bit of a blindspot zat I 'ad in ze game. Even though I knew 'e wouldn't take me to ze end if eet didn't benefit 'im, I really really wanted to believe and convince myself zat 'e would.
-
What made your #Bigmoves stand out from the others
-
A bit of a different question for both of you— who was your biggest obstacle to overcome in this game? Which person stood the greatest threat of taking you out, and what specific steps did you take to counteract that?
Also— what was your lowest point in this game strategically? What event(s) happened that made you feel a loss of control over the game or like you were at a disadvantage, and how did you bounce back from them?
I felt like Jake was a pretty big threat to me in the game. From my point of view, he was the primary person who wanted me out during the early rounds of merge. I think there were some minor things and a few really important things I did to counteract that. Both the Nick vote and Scruff vote were both crucial ways I tried to counteract his control over the game, because I thought they were both close to him and would help limit and reduce his influence. I also tried really hard to make sure I was on good terms with Judy, because I thought she had an important amount of sway and could prevent Jake from targeting me. I also targeted Jake on multiple occasions to remove him from the game because of the threat he posed and was able to vote him out eventually.
-
What made your #Bigmoves stand out from the others
I think the F8, F7 and F6 votes changed the entire trajectory of the game. The game was largely divided into the SVU+Jake vs the BAU and losing Grouch was a massive blow to us. It put us clearly on the wrong side of the numbers and with a 5-3 majority set the SVU+Jake group up with a pretty easy path to eliminate us. Being able to take out Jake and two SVU members in the following tribal councils really flipped the game on its head. It was a crucial move for me/Rust/Penelope (Judy obviously played a big role too) and without that my path to the end would've been non-existent or at the very least, much more difficult. Without that sequence of votes, I think the game looks entirely different and it's much more likely that Hercule is here with one of Leon/Lennie/Jake like he wanted and I'm on the jury right now.
-
What made your #Bigmoves stand out from the others
My two biggest moves, and in fact ze two biggest moves by anyone zis game à mon avis, were eliminating M. Grouch at F9 and eliminating M. Kennedy at F4.
I think ze M. Grouch vote permanently shaped ze landscape of ze game into one zat was extremely advantageous pour moi. Eet secured my position on a side with people lined up to go 'ome before me. Even though ze next few votes did not go my way, eet literally did not matter for me because ze M. Grouch move was so strong zat eet put me in a position to never receive a vote until ze F5. I think zis was ze defining move of ze season, and I proactively played a 'uge role in making eet 'appen.
Ze M. Kennedy vote ees a 'uge move because I 'ad to convince someone to make a move zat would eliminate zem from ze game, no easy feat eetself, and also prevent M. Morningstar from realizing what was 'appening, also difficile. Without eet, I would not be sitting 'ere maintenant, so eet absolutely was a necessary move, and I pulled eet off successfully.
I think one thing zat really sets my two biggest moves apart from ze rest of ze moves in ze game ees ze fact zat I 'ad a 'uge amount of agency in 'ow zey appened, and I also was ze main person (or with M. Grouch one of ze main people) be'ind both of zem. I also think I was probably ze person who benefited ze most from both of zem.
M. Morningstar's big moves definitely were good for 'im, but I don't think 'e was ze main person be'ind any of zem. Ze F8 and F7 were mostly Mlle Hopps' doing, and ze F6 honestly wasn't a big move, eet was maintaining ze status quo in ze game. Doing anything other zan voting out Mlle Hopps or Mlle Garcia zat round would 'ave been a big move. Zat doesn't mean eet wasn't a good move for 'im to get out Mlle Hopps first, 'owever, and I 'ave already given 'im credit for zat.
-
A question for both finalists.
The ability to manipulate other players is crucial, as alluded to in many answers thus far. Can you identify any moments in the game where you were the manipulated party?
A statement for Hercule Poirot.
A magnificently eloquent speech, as expected. I must correct one assertion. If I won final immunity I would have voted you out with no hesitation.
-
Hahahaha mon ami, I think zat zere ees a chance zat you manipulated me a leetle into thinking zat zere was a chance you might take me if you won! If I 'ad won and 'ad to vote you out, I would 'ave felt legitimately guilty about eet, but realistically, like I said somewhere else, I would 'ave done eet aussi. I never thought zere was a chance at all in any universe prior to being in ze final three with you zat you took me, so I was a bit fou thinking zat things changed for you. But I would 'ave understood, naturellement. I think ze Jury 'as been extremely clear zat you and M. Morningstar sitting in ze end together would 'ave been a guaranteed win for you, so 'ow could you not take zat? Eet was not dans ton caractère. You 'ave played optimally from ze start, and I should 'ave expected no less.
As for other moments of manipulation, I was probably manipulated a bit by M. Briscoe. I was certainly planning to take 'im to F4 at least, and zen from 4 on I think eet becomes an individual game, and you 'ave to expect people to do what ees best for zem. I don't know what M. Briscoe's plans for me were, but if 'e was making explicit F3 deals zat did not include me, zen eet seems like 'e 'ad a more clearly crystallized plan to cut me eventually whereas pour moi, if I 'ad ze choice I knew zat I would always do what I thought was optimal, but emotionally I really wanted to set eet up so zat taking 'im was ze optimal choice. I don't know ze full extent of 'is plans, though. I'll be curious to talk more about eet with 'im after ze game. Similar to you, I knew ze type of person 'e was, and zat 'e would always 'ave to play to win, but I really really wanted us to find a way to make eet regardless.
And lastly, I do think I was manipulated a leetle bit by M. Kennedy, though I'm not sure ze full extent of zis, and I can't say zat I ever 100% trusted 'im. I could definitely feel when we were growing more distant at some points and zen when we would reconnect and get back together, but at ze F4 when 'e told me zat 'e was voting me out, 'e revealed zat at one point 'is plan was to take out all of SVU, which I certainly never thought 'e 'ad as a clearly formed plan. Eet was just so 'ard with M. Kennedy to know where I fell on 'is pecking order, because 'e talked to me like an extremely close ally but I got ze sense zat 'e talked to everyone zat way, but emotionally I wanted to believe eet and sometimes I probably did, in spite of intellectually knowing M. Kennedy's personality and 'ow 'e was playing ze game. I'm still not sure. I think 'e probably actually was loyal to me at points and zen wavered, but je ne sais pas.
Zere ees a recurring theme 'ere. I knew who you all were as people and as players. I should 'ave taken my own advice and used my leetle grey cells instead of my 'eart, but when you are in ze game and you feel zat emotional connection, eet ees difficile.
-
A question for both finalists.
The ability to manipulate other players is crucial, as alluded to in many answers thus far. Can you identify any moments in the game where you were the manipulated party?
A statement for Hercule Poirot.
A magnificently eloquent speech, as expected. I must correct one assertion. If I won final immunity I would have voted you out with no hesitation.
I'd say I was manipulated by Leon at F4. I thought I had more leverage in that situation and could've gotten him to vote with me and instead he flipped.
I also think I was manipulated by Judy at F9. I was pretty hopeful I could count on her to vote Jake out in that situation and instead Grouch went.
-
As for other moments of manipulation, I was probably manipulated a bit by M. Briscoe. I was certainly planning to take 'im to F4 at least, and zen from 4 on I think eet becomes an individual game, and you 'ave to expect people to do what ees best for zem. I don't know what M. Briscoe's plans for me were, but if 'e was making explicit F3 deals zat did not include me, zen eet seems like 'e 'ad a more clearly crystallized plan to cut me eventually whereas pour moi, if I 'ad ze choice I knew zat I would always do what I thought was optimal, but emotionally I really wanted to set eet up so zat taking 'im was ze optimal choice. I don't know ze full extent of 'is plans, though. I'll be curious to talk more about eet with 'im after ze game. Similar to you, I knew ze type of person 'e was, and zat 'e would always 'ave to play to win, but I really really wanted us to find a way to make eet regardless.
FWIW, I definitely wanted to be at F4 with you as well, but it was clear when we talked about those long-term plans that we were both trying to set up a situation where we'd each have the best chances of making it to the end and winning, and frankly I didn't think I could beat you. We played similar games except you played way way better. I knew you were sincere in wanting to sit next to me, but JT is always going to be happy sitting next to Stephen, you know? Anyway, I'm eager to talk about this when all is said and done, it was a real joy playing this game with you.
-
As for other moments of manipulation, I was probably manipulated a bit by M. Briscoe. I was certainly planning to take 'im to F4 at least, and zen from 4 on I think eet becomes an individual game, and you 'ave to expect people to do what ees best for zem. I don't know what M. Briscoe's plans for me were, but if 'e was making explicit F3 deals zat did not include me, zen eet seems like 'e 'ad a more clearly crystallized plan to cut me eventually whereas pour moi, if I 'ad ze choice I knew zat I would always do what I thought was optimal, but emotionally I really wanted to set eet up so zat taking 'im was ze optimal choice. I don't know ze full extent of 'is plans, though. I'll be curious to talk more about eet with 'im after ze game. Similar to you, I knew ze type of person 'e was, and zat 'e would always 'ave to play to win, but I really really wanted us to find a way to make eet regardless.
FWIW, I definitely wanted to be at F4 with you as well, but it was clear when we talked about those long-term plans that we were both trying to set up a situation where we'd each have the best chances of making it to the end and winning, and frankly I didn't think I could beat you. We played similar games except you played way way better. I knew you were sincere in wanting to sit next to me, but JT is always going to be happy sitting next to Stephen, you know? Anyway, I'm eager to talk about this when all is said and done, it was a real joy playing this game with you.
I understand. mon ami. I remember at one point, I might be misremembering, but you said zat you were open to ze idea of you, me, M. Kennedy, and M. Peralta being ze final four and I immediately shot eet down. I wasn't stupide, mon ami. I knew who you would want gone fourth if zat was ze final four. So ze only way I could take you down ze stretch was if I forced zere to be someone zere who you found even more threatening zan me, which maybe I could 'ave accomplished, but with 'indsight, maybe for ze best for my sake zat you got taken out when you did.
Though I will say zat I think you are selling yourself a bit short. I don't think your odds against me were as terrible as you think, but maybe I'm just biased. You've been on ze Jury so you probably 'ave a better read on what ze Jury thought in zat situation zan I do.
-
Haha, for the record, at no point did I ever think you were stupid. Maybe you thought it was a closer race than I did, which I'm flattered by. I don't want to belabor this, though, we'll have plenty of time to talk it out afterwards.
-
Alright, I think I’ll give one final question before I let other jurors do their thing (unless I come up with anything else).
Lucifer and Poirot. Social, Strategic, Structural. Rate yourself in each of these categories on the much more sensible scale of 1-10.
-
Alright, I think I’ll give one final question before I let other jurors do their thing (unless I come up with anything else).
Lucifer and Poirot. Social, Strategic, Structural. Rate yourself in each of these categories on the much more sensible scale of 1-10.
M. McGruff, I do appreciate you using such a normal scale instead of 3-18. Eet makes answering zis much more facile.
For Social, I'm giving myself a 9. I think zis was easily ze category which was my biggest strength in ze game, and I think most players agree with me. Sometimes social play gets overlooked as something zat anyone ees capable of doing or zat ees incredibly easy, but I think what I 'ave pulled off socially zis game ees 'ighly impressive, and ze fact zat I am sitting 'ere at ze end at all after (and partially because of) a social game like zat ees a 'uge accomplishment. My main social failings were probably my 'andling on M. Grouch and M. Kennedy on zeir way out ze door, and zat ees ze raison zat I give myself a 9 and not a 10.
For Strategic, I actually give myself an 8. I think my strategy zis game was actually fantastique. I was consistently able to determine what ze best move for myself was each round and zen more often zan not, I was able to execute eet. I don't think eet ees as strong as my social play, since zere maybe were a few moments where my social connections caused me not to think as clearly strategically, but overall my strategy zis game was 'ighly effective and allowed me to consistently be one of ze best positioned people in ze game.
For Structural, I'm going to give myself a 5. I think my structural play was fine, but nothing particularly exciting or memorable. I think my 'andling of ze tiger idol was good, though Mlle Hopps gets more credit for zat zan I do. I did win one challenge, and because of zat I was able to keep Mlle Garcia safe in a round where I knew she would be a target and get rid of someone I needed eliminated in you. My premerge challenge play was clearly poor, with me attending 6 tribal councils, though I did put a lot of effort into ze Immunity challenges on Strike, particularly ze 20 Questions one, because I knew 'ow crucial 'aving my Strike connections would be for me at merge. I also failed at several crucial challenges towards ze end of ze game. I don't think my structural game particularly stands out, but I definitely did do some things well structurally, and I think my social and strategic games are more zan good enough to make up for eet.
-
Alright, I think I’ll give one final question before I let other jurors do their thing (unless I come up with anything else).
Lucifer and Poirot. Social, Strategic, Structural. Rate yourself in each of these categories on the much more sensible scale of 1-10.
I think I missed this earlier. Assuming 5 is roughly average-
I'd give myself a 6.5 in Social, a 7.5 in Strategy and a 9 in Structural.
I know my social game wasn't perfect, but I think it was solid and I made the connections I needed to in order to make it deep into this game and do well. I think I handled strategy pretty well too- I certainly wasn't the dominant person running the game and handling all the ins and outs marvelously most of the time, but I still positioned myself really well and knew where I stood and what I needed to do to survive some turbulent times. I think I could always improve on structural gameplay too- I could always have won more challenges and found an idol or something, so I'm not giving myself a ten, but I do think I handled it really well. I navigated the swaps pretty well, dodged a couple of dangerous items that were held by others and won big challenges when I needed to most.
-
Hmm. Now that questioning has died down, I think I'm confident in who my vote will be for, but I'm waiting until closing speeches to make any final judgements.
-
I have also been waiting for questioning to die down. In part this is due to my ongoing crazy work schedule, and in part because this is the first jury questioning process I've ever engaged with. Mostly, however, it's because the questions I have for both finalists are potentially incendiary, and I wanted to wait until the positivity train had slowed down before throwing some curveballs.
In some ways, this FTC is a disappointment. I don't know about the other Jurors, but I enjoy FTCs where we can talk about big, exciting moves, betrayals, blindsides, idol plays, well-laid plans executed to perfection, and challenge dominance. Instead, we have a long, brutal slog through a chaotic knife fight with two finalists who never really managed to dominate the game. I don't say this to hurt your feelings, but...come on, guys. You both had some pretty major problems on the way here. To wit:
Monsieur Poirot
Mon ami, I always wanted to see you here. True, I was thinking in the context of a final three, and one in which perhaps you were conveniently disposed of around F4 through means which could not be traced to me, but I digress. I really did want to stand beside you and and go mano a mano.
However, that didn't happen. Your strategy going into the merge was to keep a core of allies around you for as long as possible, and leverage your strong social prowess to dominate the votes. That was, more or less, an abject failure. You failed to protect and reinforce critical allies at least three times by my count, and also missed the opportunistic betrayal of your closest ally, Judy, until it was too late. When you lost me, and then lost Lennie...frankly, your game was kind of done in that moment. It wasn't until everyone else who could possibly be a threat had been eliminated that you started to really have an edge again. I don't think it was a mistake that Lucifer chose to eliminate Rust at F3.
Yes, you managed to recover near the end, but your post-Merge game was characterized by plans laid and plans foiled. So far as I can tell, the best Big Moves you can claim are your part in our plan at the Grouch vote and the elimination of Leon.
So why should I vote for you? Does barely hanging on through the elimination of larger threats really qualify you for the title of Sole Survivor?
Lucifer Morningstar
Luci, Luci, Luci. You've had a hell of a game, haven't you? As I say in my Torchwalk section, if I had to point to a single mistake which irrevocably screwed up my game, it was alienating you. I think I was the only one who really saw you as a threat in the midgame.
Which is really the problem, isn't it? As I alluded to in my opening here, I don't want to vote for people who kind of slouched along, surviving by merit of not attracting attention. There's some merit to staying under the radar, but at some point you've got to make the Big Moves and control the game. Instead...you were just kind of there. I understand there were strategies and alliances I wasn't privy to, but the overriding impression I've gotten is that you were party to those plans, but not their instigator. You got to where you are largely due to the fact that no one really thought you were a threat.
Why should I vote for you? What about playing second fiddle to other players the whole game qualifies you for the title of Sole Survivor?
=================
Please do not mistake the aggressive tone of these questions for bitterness. I quite admire the facility you both showed for making lemonade out of lemons. However, we've largely heard you both endorsing your game rather than defending it. I want you to address your weaknesses directly.
Good luck to you both! As there are <6 hours left, I will take my answers in your final speeches if you can't get to them immediately.
-
Monsieur Poirot
Mon ami, I always wanted to see you here. True, I was thinking in the context of a final three, and one in which perhaps you were conveniently disposed of around F4 through means which could not be traced to me, but I digress. I really did want to stand beside you and and go mano a mano.
However, that didn't happen. Your strategy going into the merge was to keep a core of allies around you for as long as possible, and leverage your strong social prowess to dominate the votes. That was, more or less, an abject failure. You failed to protect and reinforce critical allies at least three times by my count, and also missed the opportunistic betrayal of your closest ally, Judy, until it was too late. When you lost me, and then lost Lennie...frankly, your game was kind of done in that moment. It wasn't until everyone else who could possibly be a threat had been eliminated that you started to really have an edge again. I don't think it was a mistake that Lucifer chose to eliminate Rust at F3.
Yes, you managed to recover near the end, but your post-Merge game was characterized by plans laid and plans foiled. So far as I can tell, the best Big Moves you can claim are your part in our plan at the Grouch vote and the elimination of Leon.
So why should I vote for you? Does barely hanging on through the elimination of larger threats really qualify you for the title of Sole Survivor?
Salut, mon ami. I was wondering if we would get to 'ear from you before TC ended. Eet ees a pleasure to speak with you at last. I know zat you were serious about taking me as deep as you could, and I am so sorry zat we need not manage to pull eet off together.
I do agree with you zat my intial strategy in ze merge was to get myself into a dominant social position and zat I was always trying to dominate ze votes and get what I wanted to 'ave 'appen. And I also agree with you zat your elimination and M. Briscoe's elimination were ze two rounds zat were ze most objectively bad for my game. When M. Grouch said early on in FTC zat every single vote 'ad benefited me in some way or another, I disagreed with eet. Both of your eliminations put me in an extremely vulnerable spot, and zey represented me losing a lot of ze control zat I 'ad built up before zat point. I always knew zat ze M. Grouch vote would be a watershed moment zat changed everything, but I never anticipated zat ze next two rounds would go as poorly for me as zey did. I was ultimately able to worm my way out of zose potentially dangerous spots, but my inability to save you and M. Briscoe ees why zere wasn't an easy path through ze last few rounds of ze game to begin with.
But I will say zat I don't think eet ees a coincidence zat you, M. Briscoe, and Mlle Hopps all were eliminated before me. I chose ze side zat I did partially due my personal relationships on zat side, yes, but also because I knew zat you were all players who were attracting attention, and I needed people like zat surrounding me to survive ze rounds zat I did. My early work in ze merge meant zat even in zis per'aps worst case scenario, I was never going to be ze one going 'ome, and I do think zat ees a strength. If I managed to get to ze end even with so many things going wrong, I think my path to ze end would 'ave been even more clear if more things 'ad gone right. I was ze person who was best positioned to succeed if SVU+you dominated, and I was ze person who was best positioned to succeed even after eet fell apart.
I don't know what you mean by me failing to get Mlle Hopps until eet was too late, though. I did successfully get 'er out, so clearly eet was not too late. And she was Immune at both 8 and 7, and almost certainly would 'ave gone 'ome 7th if she wasn't Immune. Everyone in ze game was voting for 'er in zat hour before she 'ad Immunity, and eet wasn't until ze Immunity results were changed zat things flipped around on M. Briscoe. If she was vulnerable zere, I'm confident zat I would 'ave managed to send 'er 'ome. I don't know when you think I should 'ave gotten 'er out. Clearly we needed 'er vote at 9, plus she was ze person in ze game who I was ze most confident would take me to ze end. I didn't realize 'ow troublesome she would be for my game until 8, which maybe ees my fault, but she was zen Immune at 8 and 7 so I couldn't remove 'er although during both of zose rounds, if she 'ad been an option to save you or M. Briscoe, I absolutely would 'ave taken eet.
I think for me, realistically, most of ze time one person ees not going to control ze game ze entire merge. Sometimes someone gets lucky and manages eet, but zat ees very much ze exception, not ze rule. Zere are always going to be things zat 'appen outside of your control at times. For me, eet was you and M. Briscoe going 'ome. But ze important thing, and something zat I think I lived by zis game, ees zat you always try to anyway. You always fight every single round to get yourself in ze best possible position zat you can, and you take risks and maybe make yourself a bigger target, but you try and give eet everything zat you can. I was never afraid zis game. I always fought for what I believed was best for me, and I didn't give up fighting until ze votes were read.
With you, zere was no 'ope of saving you, but I tried so 'ard anyway. I sent Mlle Hopps information about M. Morningstar to try to flip things around. I went to bed at like 4am zat night because I was trying to talk with Mlle Hopps as much as I could, since I knew zat she wouldn't be around much ze following day. And zen overnight while I was asleep, M. Kennedy flipped and zere was nothing I could do to prevent zat. I was compulsively refreshing ze site ze entire next day to try to convince M. Kennedy and Mlle Hopps if zey came online, but neither of zem did. I spent hours and hours of my life trying to save you, because eet was important to me zat if zat vote wasn't going to go my way, I made eet as difficile as possible for zose who wanted eet. I think many other players in zis situation would 'ave given up long before I did. I played with courage, and I fought 'ard for what I believed in.
And zen with M. Briscoe, if eet ees possible I fought even 'arder. I think I threw literally every person in ze game's name out zat round as a possibility at some point, except maybe M. Cohle. I was working every angle I could, so much so zat I 'ave a difficult time even outlining everything zat I did and tried. And I came within an inch of flipping eet around. M. Kennedy told me zat 'e was going to sleep and voting for M. Briscoe, and I begged 'im not to and to talk to M. Cohle, who 'ad indicated to me zat 'e would vote Mlle Garcia, but 'e was nervous because 'e didn't trust M. Kennedy. And M. Kennedy did stay up and wait, even after knowing zat M. Briscoe and I 'ad targeted 'im zat round, but unfortunately M. Cohle was in ze middle of a long roadtrip and so ze two of zem were not able to get online at ze same time before M. Kennedy fell asleep. But I did not fully accept zat until literally ze moments before ze vote. I was fighting for M. Briscoe from ze moment Mlle Hopps got Immunity until ze moment ze votes were read. I think eet ees incredibly rare in zis game for someone to put in zat kind of effort to save someone other zan zemselves, but I played every round like I was ze one of ze line, every round like eet was ze most important round of ze game.
I know zat saying zat c'est vrai, I failed, but I really really tried not to ees probably not a satisfying answer to you, but I think eet shows a lot about me as a player, and I think my failures also 'elp to explain my successes. I was able to push eliminations zat I did control through because I took zat same attitude and applied eet to zose rounds too. You're never going to 'ave a 100% batting average, at least not without a lot of luck. Things will always go wrong sometimes. But you 'ave to fight as 'ard as you can, and you can't just let ze game be played around you. You 'ave to give and give until you 'ave nothing else left to give, and zen you 'ave to give more. You 'ave to leave eet all out on ze table. I feel zat I did zat during your elimination and M. Briscoe's eliminations, and I think I did so with relatively few serious ramifications for my longterm game despite failing. I can't 'ave regrets about zose rounds. I poured everything zat I could into zem.
You can say zat I barely 'ung on by a thread at ze end of ze game, but I see eet as my position being so good and my tenacity as player being so strong zat even though I was not always able to make everything go exactly 'ow I wanted eet to go, I was still in a strong spot anyway. You should vote for me because I showed my willingness in zose rounds not only to fight, but to adapt. I was both incredibly stubborn as a player, but also incredibly adaptable once things 'ad officially gone through, and I think zat ees a rare and impressive combination. I didn't just let eliminations zat I didn't want to 'ave 'appen, but zen even once zey did, I 'ad such a strong will zat I was able to forge a path forward, even under ze changed circumstances. Often when people talk about being adaptable, zey mean zat zey didn't really fight zat 'ard for anything and just went along with what was already 'appening. I never did zat, but once ze ship was sunk, I did not go down. I was unsinkable. I immediately built a new ship for myself, and I sailed on.
My game was not parfait. I 'ave never claimed zat eet was. I know zat zere were rounds where I did not get my ideal outcomes. But I think zat my successes and my failures both tell you a lot about me as a player and about 'ow much zis game meant to me. I played with courage. I played with strength. I poured myself into ze game. And as a result of zat, yes sometimes I failed, but I also was able to pull off some truly incroyable moves and earn my seat in front of you aujourd'hui. Eet ees not 'appenstance zat I am sitting where I am maintenant. Eet ees ze result of hours and hours of work, sometimes work zat failed, but often work zat succeeded. You can't 'ave one without ze other. Ze important thing ees zat I was willing to take my shots, and I was willing to do what 'ad to be done to get myself in ze best position I could. I feel zat I 'ave played my 'eart out and given zis game everything zat I could. I 'ope zat zat ees enough to earn your vote. Merci for ze 'ard question, mon ami. Eet 'as been a journey to reach zis point, but I am proud of what I 'ave accomplished, and I'm proud of myself for fighting as 'ard as I could every step of ze way.
-
Merci pour la réponse sincère, mon ami.
-
De rien, mon cher. Merci pour ton considération.