Final Tribal Council


I am writing this post in part to organise my own thoughts as I decide who to vote for. It is a tough decision! But the other part is so that if any of the finalists want to know my thoughts, then they have the opportunity. In particular, Richie seemed to have a particularly strong reaction to my doubts in his... authenticity? (An imperfect word, but probably the least bad one)

Firstly, in regards to Oracle. I think that he has made up a lot of ground with his FTC performance. I don't think it'll be enough for my vote, but there are so many things I appreciate about him! The gif that he chose for me was my probably my favouite part. :P I also really respect the commitment that he has devoted to the FTC (if it were me there is no way I would have managed it).

Gustave has had a refreshingly humble and honest FTC, and against Oracle and Richie that sort of contrasting approach could be quite successful. I must admit, I was hoping that there was slightly more to Gustave's strategic game than what he has said here. He probably was indeed thinking about how he was approaching each situation, but I guess I still don't have a strong sense of the thought that went into Gustave's game. That said, out of all the finalists, Gustave has been the most receptive to criticism or beliefs that contrast with his approach to the game. From him, I truly get the sense that he wants to grow from this experience. I respect it and want to vote for Gustave for it, but is it truly fitting for Gustave to win here when in fact I believe he can build on this to play a more well-rounded game next time?

I am truly sorry to say this, but Richie's closing speech is... not good. After seeing his response to my (admittedly) deliberately provocative question, I thought I would likely vote for him. Even as I have been writing this post I have been going back and forth in my mind. But I don't know if I can!
Richie probably played the best game prior to FTC. If anything, the FTC has revealed that. But at Final Tribal Council, the game is still on. Every finalist has an agenda. Each juror has an agenda. My agenda was to assess Richie's awareness, and in particular, self-awareness, as well as how well he could tolerate being directly challenged.
(My goal with my jury questions was to explicitly target what I saw as the main weakness in each finalist's game)
I don't think that Richie has been playing the FTC-game especially well.

I liked Richie's explanations of why he would lie or withhold information from allies, as well as his clarification that he did not expect complete honesty from his allies. I also liked his answer to my confusing question about "realness". I am someone that has been accused of being "fake", even in real life, and to some extent I agree. I choose how to present myself to other people and the world around me. It is fabricated in the truest sense of the word. I liked that Richie could express that someone can be agenda-driven and real, because I completely agree.
He has this tendency to invalidate feelings and opinions that he does not agree with though. In his reponse to me he said that I was letting myself fall into an emotional trap, which obviously implies that it's my problem, not his.
Richie is right that he should not have taken me to the end of the game and whilst I saw the F3 with Suzy and Oracle as merely a means to survive F5, I can understand that it would have been of concern to him. I can understand that he didn't necessarily have reason to believe that Suzy would take him to the end (although I think that she may have). But why the big fuss? Why does he need to vindicate himself and prove that he did not betray anyone? Why does he need to so passionately defend his loyal game? I'd rather he just said that there were times where he needed to be disloyal for his own survival rather than prove that someone else commit the greater sin first.

Part of me feels uncomfortable voting for Richie because I can't shake this feeling of being strong-armed into it. I imagine Richie teling me that I am falling into an emotional trap right now. However, I am the one here with the decision to make. I can vote for whichever of the three I like and no vote would be wrong. I need to make sure that if I do vote for Richie, it is not a decision I feel coerced into, and if I do feel coerced into it (whether by implication that I would be wrong not to, or that it is based on emotion or misinterpretation that I do not vote for him), then perhaps I absolutely should not vote for him.

It is still something that I am deciding, and not a decision I want to take lightly.

FTC-vote decision aside, however, I think it is important to mention how much I enjoyed this game, and how much I enjoyed playing with each of the three finalists. My opinion on Richie as a winner-candidate is complicated, but he really was a part of what made the game fantastic, and I hope that if there are any misunderstandings, they can be resolved in due course.

I must admit that I am particularly sad to have not made FTC, because I think I had a really good shot at winning this one with my planned FTC approach, but it is a privilege to be able to vote on the winner nonetheless! The reveal is at 10:30am on a Monday for me, so my chances of being there are not looking too good, but I will do my best to at least check in at some point.

AwwooooooOOOoooooOOOOOOOOoooooOoOOOOoooOOOOooooo!

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As you are likely aware, you were a source of such frustration for me at various points of the game, and my confessional is not the most kind. But I think in some ways, that's why it was even more important that we were able to connect properly at Final 6 and actually work with each other... for real. If not for that, then I wouldn't have gotten to fully appreciate who you are! You have a massive heart and I admire your commitment to doing your best by people and doing what feels right to you. If I was feeling run down by the game, you were able to cheer me up in a way that no one else could. And I especially enjoyed our music sharing!

I kind of hope that we are able to get to the end together, mostly so that we can commisserate together whilst getting berated by the jury! That sounds like it could be fun in a dark sort of way.

Most of all, I appreciate that you played along with the ghost thing more than anyone else did, and I didn't even roleplay as a ghost with you!

I asked if there's lyft/uber there, and they all laughed at me.

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As much as I saw you as a rival, a thorn in my side for most of the merge period, I thought it was even more fun to actually properly work with you, even if it was just for one round. You added a real brightness to this game, and I'm sure many others would say the same. You brought a pleasantness to conversations that made them seem comfortable and relaxed, and as a result you were such a well-liked person throughout the game! I still think it was a bit silly and unnecessary the way that Richie went about eliminating you (sorry Richie), but I hope you had FUN in the game. You were awesome, and only JUST missed out on making it to the end (and possibly winning)!

Hmmmm. Perhaps 30 years, plus the offender must request society reentry, and the societal overseers must have due consideration about how the offender can more healthily engage with the community?

*shudder*

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I am so pleased that you replaced into this game and that I had the opportunity to meet and play with you! As I told you before you were voted out, I think that Richie and his darn charismatic slyness made things more complicated between us, but you were always a fantastic friend and ally to me. Your rallying of the Fire Fox troops to defeat Foxy's faction once and for all is probably my favourite moment of the game, and whenever I think of you, I think of that. How determined you were to achieve the outcome that you felt was right! I still think it's an absolute injustice that the world of student politics got the better of you, but who needs them anyway!?

Looks like we have to be friends for a day

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You were a source of much frustration for me and my allies in the early merge period! We kept asking ourselves "why was it so hard to vote you out???". It goes to show how good you were at demonstrating your loyalty to a group of people, such that they were willing to fight for you. And I really think that in a less dynamic and fluid game, you would have deservedly made it further in the game by solidifying yourself within an alliance group.
Even with me, someone who I do not believe you had much intention of working with, you were always kind and respectful. A true class act.

Foxy Fox woof barky bark. 'bark bark bark bark bark bark bark bark bark bark bark bark'.

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I think it would be impossible to talk about you here without reference to our out-of-game identities and our Survivor "careers" I suppose, if you could call them that. I don't think the fact that we clearly knew who each other was influenced the game too much. Indeed, I truly believe we were allies and friends before our PMs to each other consisted of much more than barks and woofs. However, now that we are at this point, I cannot really separate Buckley from the person behind him. This felt to me like a significant game for both of us in the grand scheme of things. We together lamented the fact that we each felt past our prime, and I found it hard to watch you need to play the game in a more understated way than I knew you would have wanted to. Move aside Margot and Richie, it would have been Buckley winning all the challenges if only he had the time to!

Of course, there was that usual easy synergy between us, which I have to admit was a great comfort to me in the uncertain early game. It reminded me that there was a reason why people used to just assume we'd be aligned, way back in the day! I suppose it's testament to how well we get along in-game that we were able to navigate the challenge of Foxy, although I still wonder if there's something I could have done differently to help make that work. Maybe you would have found the energy for the game if Foxy and I weren't at each other's throats for most of it.

Most of all, I enjoyed the excuse this game provided to catch up on where each other was at (I didn't even know you had a second kid!) and I look forward to the opportunity to talk more after the game.

(Also how beautiful and fitting was it that you passed me Foxy's tail? Much like the game that it was in part a throwback to, I am sorry for not being able to use it in a more exciting way, but maybe it works better that way)

Stay off the rails, otherwise you'll get hit by a train ;)

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From your first PM I was smitten
Ooohing and aaahing at what was written
A limerick to me
Wouldn't you agree?
It had me purring like a kitten

everybody's a wee bit of a hypocrite sometimes

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I firmly believe that our relationship in-game was a victim of us being on opposite sides! I truly enjoyed our early conversations. How often do I get to engage in an in-depth conversation with someone about Twilight Struggle?? Never! And especially not being able to debate the merits of playing USA vs. USSR. Why did you have to be so close to Foxy aarrgghh! I am still incredibly impressed by your gaming of the family favourite, Rummikub, certainly my favourite board game conversation of the game.