REMINDER for closing speech (and drafts)

[M. Gustave]

DO NOT FORGET to answer Royal and Writer's questions. Closing speech will also be drafted here.

[M. Gustave]

For self reference, Royal's question:

Hey there! For full disclosure, I'm asking this to everyone, and I'd say my vote is still modestly up in the air, so I'd appreciate a thoughtful response to this question. I haven't yet had a chance to read all the other jurors' questions of everyone, so if you feel you've answered this set of questions elsewhere, feel free to direct me to where I should go.

I'd like you to tell me two things--first, of your other two finalists, which one should I definitively NOT vote for, and why? Second, between yourself and the finalist who remains, why did you definitively play a better game that would make me personally vote for you?

and Writer's:

Okay last post of mine, also going to all three of you. Just go through the jurors AND your fellow finalists, and give a compliment to each. Also please try to not be too generic or use something you've already said about that person at this FTC.

[M. Gustave]

First, answering Writer's question, here I go.
-Peter: too often people can be a little scared to make splashy moves; people like you who are willing to take risks keep these games from getting stale or same-y. Maybe more people should be members of Team Chaos.
-Buckley: I can tell from your questions and from the fact that everyone liked you that you were a great person; you having to leave is one of the saddest things to happen in this game.
-Writer: you were a really smart player and were the main reason Ivanhoe went into the merge up in numbers. In most other timelines, you would have placed much higher than you did here.
-Herman: I wish that I'd been logged on at the same time as you more, because the few times we did overlap I got to see that you were really chill and friendly! You were poised to have a great UTR social game.
-Duke: the way you were able to call me on my bullshit / bad moves while still being my ally and friend was so refreshing, and is something I really needed (and still need).
-Royal: your ability to see right to the heart of everything convinces me that you're probably the smartest player here. Your post announcing limited availability in particular just nailed everything.
-Margot: for the longest time I believed that you would just win everything and hands-down sweep the final tribal. Absolute triple threat, and not even smug about it!
-Suzy: social goddess, and so damn nice. I don't think anyone could ever be upset with you for long, because reading your posts the feels are just so real and powerful. If Richie hadn't been miffed about the Margot vote, you'd be here in my place, and I'd seriously be thinking of voting for you.
-Madame: my playstyle reminds me of yours but with more mistakes. You're another player it's impossible to hate, and your candidness really impressed me.
-Richie: above all else, you had passion and tenacity. In every situation, you were playing hard and looking to get whatever edge you could, and it was clear that you deeply cared about this game.
-Oracle: my best friend, we supported each other through thick and thin, both in-game and in RL struggles. At the risk of sounding ridiculously cheesy, gaining you as a friend is worth way more than winning a hundred of these to me.

And now Royal's question:
This is very hard to answer, because I have a lot of respect for both Richie and Oracle's games, and I think all three of us would be worthy winners. But for the sake of argument, ... [UNFINISHED]

[M. Gustave]

Ugh, Royal's question makes me sad. Like, I don't think there IS someone you absolutely shouldn't vote no matter who you are, because... jurors are all different people. Different people have different opinions, and that's what it comes down to because nobody's game was objectively the best here. Even if there was a 'best' game, there's zero guarantee that people will vote for it instead of voting a friend or someone who didn't screw them.

I have half a mind to just come out and say "I'm not going to throw anyone under the bus." I worry that it might be seen as self-righteous posturing or w/e, but really I just... don't want to talk shit about either of these guys. Giving that defiant answer will probably cost me some votes, but I don't want to make myself feel ugly to increase my winning chances by 0.01%.

[M. Gustave]

And now Royal's question:
I don't actually feel that there is somebody that you absolutely shouldn't vote for, because you can base your vote on whatever metric you want and it's all equally valid. All three finalists here would be worthy winners, so just vote for who you think deserves it the most, whoever that may be and however you determine that.

[M. Gustave]

We're finally here at the end of this month-plus game, and I'm so glad I signed up for it. I met some great people, and hopefully made some lasting friendships to boot. Now it's all down to you, on the jury. I think that I played a good game, but so did Oracle and Richie. I'd be thrilled to get your votes, but I can accept losing, especially to one of them. Consider everything and make your picks, and I'll see you on Sunday!

[NOTE: next post is my submission]

[M. Gustave]

First, answering Writer's question, here I go.
-Peter: too often people can be a little scared to make splashy moves; people like you who are willing to take risks keep these games from getting stale or same-y. Maybe more people should be members of Team Chaos.
-Buckley: I can tell from your questions and from the fact that everyone liked you that you were a great person; you having to leave is one of the saddest things to happen in this game.
-Writer: you were a really smart player and were the main reason Ivanhoe went into the merge up in numbers. In most other timelines, you would have placed much higher than you did here.
-Herman: I wish that I'd been logged on at the same time as you more, because the few times we did overlap I got to see that you were really chill and friendly! You were poised to have a great UTR social game.
-Duke: the way you were able to call me on my bullshit / bad moves while still being my ally and friend was so refreshing, and is something I really needed (and still need).
-Royal: your ability to see right to the heart of everything convinces me that you're probably the smartest player here. Your post announcing limited availability in particular just nailed everything.
-Margot: for the longest time I believed that you would just win everything and hands-down sweep the final tribal. Absolute triple threat, and not even smug about it!
-Suzy: social goddess, and so damn nice. I don't think anyone could ever be upset with you for long, because reading your posts the feels are just so real and powerful. If Richie hadn't been miffed about the Margot vote, you'd be here in my place, and I'd seriously be thinking of voting for you.
-Madame: my playstyle reminds me of yours but with more mistakes. You're another player it's impossible to hate, and your candidness really impressed me.
-Richie: above all else, you had passion and tenacity. In every situation, you were playing hard and looking to get whatever edge you could, and it was clear that you deeply cared about this game.
-Oracle: my best friend, we supported each other through thick and thin, both in-game and in RL struggles. At the risk of sounding ridiculously cheesy, gaining you as a friend is worth way more than winning a hundred of these to me.

And now Royal's question:
I don't actually feel that there is somebody that you absolutely shouldn't vote for, because you can base your vote on whatever metric you want and it's all equally valid. All three finalists here would be worthy winners, so just vote for who you think deserves it the most, whoever that may be and however you determine that.

We're finally here at the end of this month-plus game, and I'm so glad I signed up for it. I met some great people, and hopefully made some lasting friendships to boot. Now it's all down to you, on the jury. I think that I played a good game, but so did Oracle and Richie. I'd be thrilled to get your votes, but I can accept losing, especially to one of them. Consider everything and make your picks, and I'll see you on Sunday!