Hello Jurors,
I am honored to be here after a really long journey. Along the way, I met great competitors and this was the most difficult game I have ever been part of. I learned a lot about myself, each of you, and what I am truly capable of doing and adapting to.
I'd like to start off addressing each of you which I hope provides insight into how I reached my voting conclusions:
To Peter:
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You scared me the most because you had no problem shaking things up, and going against more social people; as evidenced by Foxy's vote and how you approached the mutiny round. However, I liked how forward you were and enjoyed that you came in to break things up. It's how I would've played that situation, and I admire that fighting spirit. It was inspirational.
For this round, I attempted to bury the hatchet, however two groups I was part of (Richie/Suzy/Writer/Herman and Duke/Margot/Madame) all decided that you were the best option. I think the mutiny played a big part in how this vote shook out. We had a crazy time and it's sad we didn't get a chance to explore what could've been.
To Buckley:
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I had so much fun with you in the Doggo PM. One of my goals was to bark at each other in PMs and it tickled me pink. I was devastated when you left because you would've been an incredible person for me to work with long term. I very much enjoyed the dog spirit we embraced in our many barking PMs. The fact that you entertained my little bit of roleplaying this game was fantastic and in the words of Marie Kondo, "sparked joy."
You sent me a really sad PM before you left and I wish I'd had time to respond, so I'm going to do that now. I know what it's like to have to prioritize real life and you should 100% take care of yourself. You matter. I hope you got what you needed from leaving the game, and I can't wait to bark with you again!
To Young Writer:
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Of everyone here, I did you the most dirty. I had a number of frustrations with you and decided I wanted to play my own game rather than be forced into a situation where I likely get picked off over your other friends. However, I blindsided you the worst because I didn't tell you how I was feeling.
You asked me to watch a video that I ran out of time to. Now that I've watched, it let's chat more about it later, though I can tell you I snorted at, "My Andelite don't want none unless you got bun-zuh."
A number of things came up this round. You said things that concerned me, including not wanting to pagong when Royal was brought up, but when Madame came up it was fine? In addition, I didn't understand what we were doing in Society of the Crossed Keys if not a pseudo South Pacific style pagong. I didn't think I could keep walking on eggshells, figuring out how to make this game work for both of us. That didn't mean I enjoyed voting you out, but I had to make a choice. I didn't see a better path to continue where we didn't arrive at a crossroads.
To Herman:
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You are a loyal guy. Although we had communication issues, you were all in on 5vanhoe, after the breakdown of Society of the Crossed Keys, and I think your ability to trust is admirable. I enjoyed the talks we had and you likely would be here if you survived this vote. Unfortunate circumstances lead to your demise and it wasn't something I intended to do, but there wasn't another option I felt I could scramble together in 30 minutes with Suzy gone.
This round was ruff for me. Ideally 5vanhoe worked out and became majority after. However multiple leaks happened and spooked Duke which in turn meant we had to save face because we were also in an alliance with Margot and Madame. This was problematic because everything got back to them. Even if I had stayed on Madame that round, her idol would have negated the votes. You weren't the intended vote and I'm sorry it was you.
To Duke:
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You were my rock this game. You kept me together in times I wasn't confident. You supported me and I never doubted your intentions. I hated seeing you go out this way because I just like you dude. There's a bond between you and I that I still can't explain. You just get me. I hope to be lifelong friends with you after. You have a big heart.
I was ready to go to rocks that round with the newly formed 4vanhoe. It felt like a very do or die moment. With both Madame and Margot available as options to be rocked out, I felt like our odds were pretty good. If you had told me to go Gustave I would have gone with it, but the fire and passion convinced me to stick to my guns, caused the tie and likely go to rocks. Thank you for the dog flu serum, that solidified a lot of trust with me.
To Royal:
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I owe you an apology. You saw what I was doing and to a certain degree I wanted to be seen that way. After I sobbed from Duke quitting, I came to you with a genuine apology. But then you posted and it was clear my attempt was seen as another half-hearted cover up. This game didn't do us many favors by keeping us apart and I saw you as a rival for my position in the game. From a game perspective, anyone who is well protected is a major threat. However on a personal level, I really just fucked up whatever relationship we could've had. I'm not saying I'm the only person to blame, however I didn't help anything. For my part in this, I am truly sorry. You don't have to believe me, but I don't have anything to hide.
Because you made a speech, you highlighted what I was trying to do to lessen my threat level, and in the weirdest way telling me that you couldn't see me winning gave me the tools I needed to progress forward. I took the advice you gave me to heart, and tried to rectify some of the things you said I was doing poorly. Thank you for the reality check, I needed the reminder. I hope you had a great trip and got what you needed from it.
To Margot:
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You are an incredible challenge performer and an open book. We had incredible discussions of keeping a balance of threats and non threats. For a few rounds that is how things worked out. I wish we'd done more "non game" talk as you expressed you wanted, in the final rounds we spent together. I think we both would've liked that. Your openness and challenge prowess was what drew me to you, and eventually made you too big of a threat. I hope you can see that your vote was strictly business.
Once you lost f6, I didn't want to take a chance that you would win the rest of the immunities. I've been in games where this has happened to me and I was laughed at for not taking the stab when I should've. This was the round I was most proud of because the work Suzy and I did talking Madame into a final 3 with us is what saved me from going home! I think we did our best to put the knives away for awhile, but we both had to do what we thought was best.
To Suzy:
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I adored you this game. After our initial hesitation, we broke down barriers and formed a tight pairing. Together we moved mountains when we thought they wouldn't move. Sam warned everyone you and I would be a dangerous pair at merge and we decided to prove him right. I had so much fun talking to you and weighing options round to round. I would have been honored to sit next to you and I think you played incredibly. Thank you for being my partner in crime.
I had nothing to do with your elimination and with Madame, you and Richie all telling me Gustave, I thought this was a done deal. I appreciate you talking with me through this round and coming to a mutual decision on how to get farther. I nearly shit myself when I saw Richie play that idol, because it could've been either of us. A robbed queen.
To Madame:
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AwoooOOOooOoOOoOOOoo. I loved sharing music with you. You picked me up during a really dark time post Duke. I know you went to bat for me. I hated voting you at f4 and it was the toughest decision I made all game. Even though my head knew it was right, my heart hated it. There were things we did for each other to sacrifice our own protections and as we joked about, "there are too many debts to repay" which we had to end in a wash. I appreciated you and I feel like our relationship was born of our mutual respect for one another. I'm glad we met.
If Richie hadn't won immunity or Gustave had gone the round prior, you know I would have had other thoughts. But with Richie immune and being out of beneficial options, I had to finally put my heart aside and go with my head on this vote. This game was hard for me and you know that better than anyone, but I had to make the move that made sense here, and this was it. I am sorry if by voting you out I caused you any personal hurt. This game can really take a toll on people.
Closing thoughts:
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This game was one of the toughest things I went through. I have never felt more and less competent at the same time. There were things I actively did to lessen my threat level at the merge where I could have been a Madame at f4 or a Suzy a f5 and taken out because I was too popular, or too likable, or not willing to make enemies (as was told to me). I gathered information to play this game actively, never locking myself into one specific path. If I felt like someone else took me for granted or I felt like I was playing someone else's game, I went against the grind and did something else. I never stopped fighting to be here because deep down, despite two people quitting who I wanted to work with (I joke that I got the Aubrey Bracco experience I never wanted in my confessional), despite losing challenges by an agonizing one point or even a few minutes, and despite many setbacks, I did what I had to do to be here. If I have hurt any of you on a personal level, I am truly sorry. At the end of the day, I had to make choices and those choices lead me here. I turn the floor over to you and will do my best to answer any concerns or questions you have with me. I trust you are all smart enough to make the correct choice here and I hope you have come with an open mind. Thank you for taking time to read this.
PS:
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My original unedited speech was 7800 words long, please give the mods some thanks for forcing me to reduce this 2000 words or less haha. Bark bark!
Topic: Opening Speech - Final Draft (Read 143 times)
