The Syndicate

Awesome! I need to take a little break and do some things in real life before joining another game but I'll come back soon!

Thank goodness no one is DEBBIE

Also- I toootally acknowledge that there was luck involved. Even though what I said was true, I still had to frame it as best I could to get votes

Whoa, just read the whole ponderosa thread. All the ladies were so mad at me! I'm sorry that I made you all feel the way I did- this is not at all how I behave in real life. I like to play deception games really hardcore because it's the only time I get to. Honesty and trust are the most important things in my life- I gotta get my deception out somewhere!

Elo- I was actually shocked to see you thought I'd made a pact with you. I was always very careful with my wording and I said the same thing to you that I said to Epi and LC and anyone I talked with that wasn't part of a core alliance. I said things like I wanted to work with you and look out for each other and we could totally make it to the merge and get far... But I never said the words final three for final two or final four or "I'll never vote for you".
And I dont remember exactly what I wrote to you right before end of day but I basically stopped beating around the bush. I wasn't going to tell you any earlier than right before end of day. I mean, in survivor you normally don't tell someone they're going to be voted out because it leaves room for them to play a hidden immunity idol or do something drastic that can threaten your game.

Anyway, Elo lorab svs I hope your feelings toward me don't stretch too far beyond this game. It is just a game, afterall. But I guess not everyone has watched as much survivor as I have either because I expected to be lied to and betrayed all in the spirit of a game.

insertnamehere wrote:

DharmaHelper wrote:My loyalty résumé for Season 2:

INH told me about his role, and I agreed never to tell a soul about it. Despite the ammo that knowing who the poisoner was gave me to blackball INH, I kept my word. I even advised him to come clean to LoRab about it since I figured she would want to hear from the horses mouth and she'd understand it more versus if someone had figured out it was INH and told her.

Then how did Golden immediately know about it when I got BTSC with him?

I actually knew too reasonably early before you were voted out just by process of elimination. I think because so many people talked with Golden and admitted their roles and then he relayed all the same info to me, it didn't take long to figure out who you were. Especially since your role was a dangerous one and you were so hesitant to tell people

Golden wrote:Click User control Panel
Click the profile tag
Say edit signature

In thread, quote scotty's post, and copy and paste the correct link into the signature. Done!

Sweeeet

-starting on day 2, the natural footbridge contained a chicken. If both teams had found the chicken, there would maybe be 2 chicken through merge.

.

Two chickens?!? We could have had a Lucile AND a Doodle!? All that fighting for nothing

Scotty wrote:

Long Con wrote:

Quin wrote:Putting on my self-entitlement hat for a second - I'm actually surprised I only got one jury vote. Who dat

I would have voted you dude. Congrats on Final Three... rumour has it there's a banner involved in that.

True dat.

Some awesome dude named Con Long or something drafted these cool banners to wear proudly in your sigs!





Congrats to everyone that made jury and above! You're all technically winners in my book!

Cool!! ....so I have no idea how to make a signature- anyone able to help me out here?

Golden wrote:

Opt_Outside wrote:Wow, thanks for going to bat for me.

Well, this is why I was genuinely baffled by your reasoning in the moment being that you thought I'd vote for you. I wasn't sure if you were lying or misreading me. There was no scenario in which I was ever voting you out.

Having said that, you shouldn't feel too bad... I was definitely planning on throwing you under the bus as being merely my +1 at final tribal and hoping that I hadn't alienated so many people that I would lose.

You know what I'm really bummed about? ASKING to be allocated the reward on the puzzle challenge at final 6...

Mhm, I envisioned this scenario where we were at final tribal and you laid out this insanely well written speech about how you dragged me along since day one but you were the brains and action behind everything and I would be like ........yeah he's right vote for him

Scotty- this was rad. When you first told me that you were planning this game forever ago I had no idea it would be this cool! Most of those challenges were so well done- that memory one and the idol in the sand and all the puzzles you created... good stuff, man.

Poor speedchuck though- the part of his role that was like "can learn who had btsc"

Quin wrote:What I really didn't expect was Sorsha blindsiding me though. I wasn't really a fan of her mindset towards the end, but I don't blame her for having it.

That surprised me too! It was a great move on her part though, had it worked

Golden wrote:

Quin wrote:

Opt_Outside wrote:

Golden wrote:That's one of the funny things that happened in this game... people thought I had a lot of deals but then I was being told I was in deals that I never was...

Deals I made in the game:

Final three with Quin and SVS pre-game, and a side pact with DH
Final three with Opt and DH at Atamai, final five with LoRab and speedchuck
Final three with Opt and sorsha in the post-swap tribe
Then I gave LoRab a final three deal to slot in to DH's place come merge when he was gone

That was all the deals I made... it's a few, but I heard a lot more that I had apparently made.

Oh interesting- did svs and quin not propose the final four to you that they did to me? That's where my pact with quin came from. Our final four that turned into final three once svs was out.

Initially, it was a 3 between Golden, SVS and myself. But once we got to the merge, Golden insisted we bring you into the fold, so that 3 really became a four. I'm glad it did.

I needed parity. You had two, I needed two.

Anytime I made a deal with anyone, I said 'Opt's with me, she has to be included'.

Wow, thanks for going to bat for me. I'm feeling shittier and shittier about voting for you

Golden wrote:

Opt_Outside wrote:

Golden wrote:That's one of the funny things that happened in this game... people thought I had a lot of deals but then I was being told I was in deals that I never was...

Deals I made in the game:

Final three with Quin and SVS pre-game, and a side pact with DH
Final three with Opt and DH at Atamai, final five with LoRab and speedchuck
Final three with Opt and sorsha in the post-swap tribe
Then I gave LoRab a final three deal to slot in to DH's place come merge when he was gone

That was all the deals I made... it's a few, but I heard a lot more that I had apparently made.

Oh interesting- did svs and quin not propose the final four to you that they did to me? That's where my pact with quin came from. Our final four that turned into final three once svs was out.

Yes, I made that final four deal (and that was my intended real deal - with LoRab fifth), but in my mind that was just combining the deals I'd already made.

Another thing that somehow did the rounds was that I wanted you to win. I was like - hell no, I want ME to win. I just thought you knew you were my ride or die!

I spent the last few days trying to figure out your motivation for voting me... was it that you thought I'd vote you out, or that you thought you'd lose to me, or that you thought I'd sway the jury for you. I never quite got the answer I wanted to that.

It was probably 20% you'd vote me out, 80% I thought I'd lose to you. Then I sold quin and sorsha on whatever I could! But the vote for you came out of a huge place of respect for your game. Maybe the jury wouldn't have voted for you like you say, but I certainly would have! The whole time I could see you setting up and dropping hints on how you had orchestrated the big moves and I was like wow this guy is so good

INH - WHAT HAPPENED ON EXILE?!?

Golden wrote:That's one of the funny things that happened in this game... people thought I had a lot of deals but then I was being told I was in deals that I never was...

Deals I made in the game:

Final three with Quin and SVS pre-game, and a side pact with DH
Final three with Opt and DH at Atamai, final five with LoRab and speedchuck
Final three with Opt and sorsha in the post-swap tribe
Then I gave LoRab a final three deal to slot in to DH's place come merge when he was gone

That was all the deals I made... it's a few, but I heard a lot more that I had apparently made.

Oh interesting- did svs and quin not propose the final four to you that they did to me? That's where my pact with quin came from. Our final four that turned into final three once svs was out.

Quin wrote:Putting on my self-entitlement hat for a second - I'm actually surprised I only got one jury vote. Who dat

Me too dude. I seriously expected to lose to you lol

Golden wrote:Congrats Opt! You did so well. I'm really pleased you won.

That's no knock against Quin or Sorsha at all. I really thought Quin was going to win that jury vote, so I wanted to push Opt into gear early.

PS Quin - I genuinely had your back entirely and intended to betray LoRab not you (unless she won at final four, then you would have been gone), but I don't blame you at all for not trusting me and voting me out. Not only that, you had me completely fooled (although I should've paid more attention to how relaxed you were when I kept saying 'I'm not sure if Opt will be up for taking you to final three instead of LoRab'... the signs were there).

I really thought that Opt made the wrong choice taking me out... I felt like I was your ticket to win Opt! You were going to beat me, I swear. And if Quin hadn't found that idol at 5 and opt hadn't won the challenge I think Eloh/LoRab/Sorsha would have been the final three... but you guys found your own way anyway and that was equally impressive.

I didn't get to see much of sorsha's game, so it's a shame there wasn't enough time for her to answer my question.

Phew, you had me going! Thank you. I felt you would have taken me to the end, but I would have gotten there riding your coat tails. I would have been disappointed in myself for not blazing my own trail on my one shot at Survivor. And if I'd been a jury member witnessing that, my vote would have gone to you. Next time we'll go all the way as a team

WHOA! Wasn't expecting that! Thanks, guys!! Sorsha and Quin- good game.

Just wanna say one thing unrelated to the vote. I've never played an online game like this before. I play a lot of hidden traitor games with my friends in real life and sometimes we end up screaming at each other until we're blue in the face. But after the game ends and our cards are flipped over, it's all laughs. And the fact that someone might have yelled "SHUT UP *****" in my face was all just in-game hilarity. That's the same spirit I tried to bring here. Everything negative or aggressive I've said or done has just been a part of the game. In reality, I've loved getting to know you all and hope to come back and play some more!

Lorab-

This is the final tribal, we're laying it all out completely honestly so I hope you'll trust that what I say here is true.

Okay, I agree. By voting for you and forcing a tie, I chose quin's loyalty over yours. I didn't know who would end up in the final three, but you're right- I chose to be loyal to him. And I 100% made that decision right when I sent Scotty my vote. I'm not kidding. I went back and forth on it all day. In the end, quin told me he wouldn't turn on me and vote me out, but he would understand if I voted for him. It had a reverse effect on me. I was just impressed with him and his game and I decided to pick him. I wasn't any less impressed by yours, but he's who I spent my last 24 hours in this game talking to and I felt like we really connected.

You're only partially right about the plate smashing. Yes, at that point in time it had crossed my mind that I might need to vote out golden. But it was NOT something I intended to do anytime soon. The reasoning I gave you two was mostly true. My ulterior motive was that it also opened the door for anyone who was doubting Golden to approach me. Nothing came of it. But I wasn't trying to stop you from getting immunity so I could vote you out- neither of you got immunity and I could have tried to make a move back then but that wasn't my goal at the time.

But perhaps you're quite right about golden. Maybe it was my fatal mistake.

But truly- it was only golden I planned to turn on. I still planned to go to the end with you all the way until this final four played out. I wish I had some master plan that I could lay out for you right now, but I didn't. I'm not saying that because I think it's what you want to hear. I'm not saying that because I want your vote. I seriously don't expect it at this point. I'm saying that because it's true.

I'm super busy for the next couple hours but I will sneak away to answer ASAP!

Epignosis wrote:Final candidates, I lay before you a task.

Spoiler: show

1. Look at this map.
2. Take these gold doubloons, worth exactly $200.
3. On the map you will see many names, some familiar, others strange and exotic. Each name has been assigned a value and a symbol (PG, SG, SF, PF, C).
4. Choose eight names. You must choose names that match these symbols: PG, SG, G (can be either PG or SG), SF, PF, F (can be either SF or PF), C, and U (universal- you can put any name here). You cannot, for example, choose three names that are C, but you could choose two that are C (one for C and one for U).
5. You must not exceed the value of your gold doubloons ($200).
6. It is presently just after 5pm EST. The first names on your map will do battle at 7pm EST. If the battle has begun, and you have not posted your names, you cannot select names from that battle, and must make do with those from later battles.
7. Post your eight names in the thread for all to see.

What eight names did you choose?

Epi, you crack me up. Wanna bet on march madness too?

SF - Labron $57
C - Al Horford $27
SG - Olidapo $22
PG - Ian Smith $16
PF - Cauley-stein $20
F - Middleton $28
G - C Joseph $14
U - Hood $15

Total: $199

speedchuck wrote:A question for each of you:
If you were ruled out and sent to be on the council with us, which of the remaining two players would you pick to win and why?

Speed-

I would vote for Quin, hands down.

Sorsha's biggest selling point will probably be that she was "honest and loyal". But she wasn't. When it got down to the final five, lorab at least did me the courtesy of saying she was voting a different way than I was. We agreed to disagree. Sorsha lied to me, told me she was voting with me, voted elsewhere, and tried to send Quin home- the person who had just saved her neck. If she had loyalty to anyone, it should have been me and quin. One of the last things she said in the thread was "at this point, don't we have to discard loyalties and do what's best for us to win this game?" And don't forget that even though voting for Golden was my idea, these other two both stood alongside me and blindsided him just as much as I did.

Quin was a great player. He met all three requirements- outwit, outplay, and outlast. His idol move with DH was brilliant. That was the first thing I said to him when we talked. It was ballsy for him to act like a target and then pull out the idol. He spent a lot of time on the bottom but still made it here. He won the second most immunities after me. Also, he's a cool guy.

Quin would have my vote if I were on the jury.

INH-

Great question. Simple answer: Golden. I know quin will say that his play with DH was bigger, but let's face it: DH was a giant public threat and a blindside was going to happen there sooner or later. He was a villain (and a damn good one) and I bet a lot of people wanted to see him go. Golden was the hero. Everybody loved golden. Everybody trusted Golden. Everyone was allied with Golden. Once we merged, the first thing everyone said was, "I want to talk to golden!" Everyone's number one. And I blindsided him. My intent was never to be malicious or backstab, but I know that's how it looks to all of you. Yeah, I lied and I betrayed big time. So I'll own that. I'm the biggest scumbag on the final three. I made choices in the moment as best I could. And I played this how I play card games at home- with my head, not my heart.

notsawyer540 wrote:My first question to everyone:

Who have you voted for since the merger, and why?

Notsawyer-

My votes correspond directly to who was voted out. I was never on the wrong side of the vote so I voted every night for the person that ended up being eliminated.

notsawyer540 - you were the first and only person to gun for me in this game. Literally the only reason I wrote your name down and targeted you. I'm sorry we didn't get to play together.

Epignosis - you're awesome guy. You're also a huge wild card! Which I think is awesome, but it was also threatening. I owe getting through the tribe split to you, but I never promised not to vote for you. Same as how you told me you'd write down my name before Elo and svs. We were honest with each other, but at the same time I had NO idea where your head was at and you could have voted for anyone at any time

insertnamehere - you played a great Sandra game. A very dangerous player because you went the "I'll be anyone's friend to advance" route which is an awesome strategy. But for the same reason, we knew you'd go far and be a threat if you weren't taken out. Also- who knows what you found on exile?!

speedchuck - the first red flag was confronting long con about his plan. It made me so nervous that our blindside wouldn't work out anymore. Then you started to go for golden and although what you said made sense (he had too many alliances and we all knew it) I agreed that voting for you would protect my alliance. But you were the first person to start my concerns about golden and what you said was the spark for what I ended up doing. And well done in the sand digging challenge.

DFaraday - only because you volunteered I'm sorry we didn't get to play longer

S~V~S - you went for lorab. I really wanted to work with you but once a big argument breaks out, one person has to go and I had stronger ties to her and had known her much longer. I can't wait to play again with you.

Golden - the big play. Like I said, no one would have won next to you. Way too good and way too able to deceive.

Elohcin - the only person in the final five I had not pledged myself to. Good game.

LoRab - I voted for you, like I said, because I felt I had to force a tie. Yes, it would have been smartest for me to take out quin. I recognize that I might lose to him now. But I felt that with everything quin did for me in the golden vote, it would cross a loyalty line for me to vote him out cold. I know I've been ripped a new one about my loyalty and I deserve it. But this was the closest compromise I could make when it came down to the two of you. I'm truly sorry that we ended this game on a falling out. It was never my intention.

Question: What percentage of your success was due to skill, and what to luck, and what to a role power? And if any percentage to a role power,what was that power?

Svs-

I was the football player. I had three parts to my role. One, permanent btsc with the cheerleader (boom) if on the same tribe. Two, a strength advantage. Three, I could force someone's day poll vote.

First of all, my in-game ally (boom) was the first voted out of Mana. So that advantage was null and void.

I know someone could argue that the strength advantage helped me get through. The strength advantage helped me win an individual immunity ONCE. All it did was help with the luck in the obstacle course challenge. I was given options that would take less time- I still had to choose what the best options were. The strength advantage didn't help me in the other four that I won.

In the willpower hold-the-pole challenge, I had a willpower advantage from the night poll asking us what our best quality was (perseverance). I never picked a night poll answer without careful analysis of what it meant. The main reason I had enough energy to outlast quin (who had the exact same advantage) was because I saved it and replenished it. Sometimes I replenished energy secretly- which is where my forcing a day poll role was helpful.

In the boggle, plate smashing, and memory challenge I had zero advantage. Other players DID have advantages and I still won all three on my own. That was skill.

Forcing someone's day poll vote allowed me to move my own vote without anyone knowing and secretly search for the idol I found. I was also able to move others away from idol searching or move myself to regain energy. It was a helpful ability, but I had to know how to use it wisely. Someone else could have had the same ability and not know how to use it the way I did. That was a combination of role and skill.

Golden wrote:Hey opt.

You talked at the end about the jury respecting loyalty but you didn't show any, or lorab and I wouldn't be sitting on the jury right now. My question for you is about loyalty and comes in two parts - first, of loyalty is what the jury respects why did you vote out someone who had to betray a lot of people to get to the end? And why should I vote for you if you believe the jury should be respecting loyalty?

To be honest, you're the least likely of the final three to get my vote right now, so I need to hear a really good answer from you to be persuaded that I should vote for you

Golden.

I'm slightly confused by the wording of your first question but I will do my best. I think you're asking why I voted you out?

First of all, I'm truly sorry to hear that's how you felt about your vote. I know you're a big fan of the show and I hoped you would see that from my perspective, I wouldn't have stood a chance at the end against a player like you. I asked myself at the time- if our roles were reversed, would I respect you making the blindside on me? And I decided that I would. You asked sorsha about a move in the game that was uniquely hers. I trust that to mean you value big moves... and you were mine. I'm sure it feels personal, but it wasn't. If you were watching this game on tv, if you saw this situation play out from your couch at home, would you feel any differently about it? (Also, all of these rhetorical questions I'm about to ask are honest and NOT meant to be sassy even if they seem that way!)
I thought Spencer should have won when he played his second time a couple seasons ago. He made a lot of big moves and from my perspective as an outsider, he played a super great game. But he didn't get a single jury vote. Maybe that's the situation I put myself in. Maybe I'm much more naive than I thought I was.

But I think it's harsh to say that I didn't show any loyalty. I don't think I did much worse than you did. You would have had to betray as many loyalties as I did to get to the end with all the alliances you made, which I think you implied in your question. Does that mean you don't agree with your own game? The alliance I made with you and DH I intended to take to the end no exceptions and it turned into one with lorab, which I was equally happy to honor. Then things got complicated. But when you first proposed the alliance with sorsha you said something along the lines of "this is the part of survivor where making multiple deals has to come into play." I think that means you agree that we did what we had to do.
If you were here alongside me... and quin and sorsha were in the jury- they would have the same glares and questions about loyalty for you. Would you have a better answer than I do? They would feel just as betrayed by you as you feel by me. But wouldn't you hope that they would see past that and agree that it was the best move for you to make? Yes, I do think there are many people on the jury who would have been pissed off at you for betraying them, but if we were here together I would have all the same people pissed off at me. And then it would have come down to who played a better game- which in my opinion would have been you. That's why I voted you out. And at the end of the day, with Sorsha and Quin here next to me, I did honor loyalty- it just wasn't the loyalty I had to you. I had to make a choice- I couldn't honor them all.

I made the best moves I could with what I had. And maybe they were the wrong moves. But all I knew when I signed up for this game was that I did not want to look back at the end of it and realize that my journey was boring. I wanted to take all the risks I ache for people to take on the show. I wanted it to be a wild ride. I wanted to play a game that, objectively, I would be impressed by.

I don't know the best formula to succeed in this game. I can see now that I didn't find it. I think it's insanely complicated- the jury wants to feel that you were loyal, but if you're loyal how can you say you made big moves? People love a good survivor blindside- but then they don't want to vote for the person who orchestrated the blindside? How can you be a strategist and say you outwitted and outplayed without pissing off the people who were outwitted and outplayed? I don't have the answers, I wish I did.

Yes, I think loyalty is something the jury should respect. But it's just one aspect of a many layered game. I think pure loyalty is a choice and if that is your personal code and what you value above all else, I can see why that would earn your jury vote. I didn't say the jury *should* vote for loyalty, I said I think they often *do*. But it's not what I would vote for over a strategic game. Maybe I'm an idealist. But the first word in the motto of this game is outwit. Pure loyalty can get you outwitted. With all the alliances we made together, how could I know that you hadn't made three more that didn't include me? I didn't want to be outwitted.

First of all, I'd like to thank everyone for being a part of this game and welcoming me in. It's seriously a dream come true to be pleading my case at a final tribal council of Survivor and I am honored to be sitting here next to two great players. So, here it is:

I came into this game brand new. In an actual game of survivor, we would have all been strangers, but that wasn't the case here. Everyone else got to start with history, friendships, pre-game alliances, and trustworthy connections. They had knowledge of everyone's personalities and tendencies. I had to start from scratch and form bonds with people I've never met. And I'd like to say I succeeded. My name was only written down one time by one person in this entire game.

With all due respect, neither Quin nor Sorsha would still be here without my help. If I had idly stood by, Golden would have blindsided them both out of the game. It would have happened to Sorsha three votes ago if I hadn't changed Quin's mind and proposed a new plan to play the idol on her. That's not to say I don't owe them as well, but it doesn't even come close to the moves I made for them.

Outwit. I made the biggest play of the game in taking out Golden. Let's face it- he was the best player here and would have won hands down. Mad respect to him and his game. No one would have even considered taking him out if I hadn't brought it up. I organized the whole thing and I convinced Quin to use his idol to save Sorsha (who, despite what he did for her, would have happily voted him out of the game last night if I hadn't forced a tie).

As far as big moves the other two made, yes- Quin found idols and used them well. But I also got my hands on an idol and I did it without the built-in idol finding ability that his character had. And I used it to save Lorab. Sorsha did a good job of flying under the radar, but that meant she didn't make any game changing moves either. Nothing wow-ed me. I do congratulate her on this final immunity challenge though.

Socially, I played with an even balance of loyalty and smart moves. I did not blindly trust, nor did I constantly lie and manipulate. I don't think either are winning strategies. Yes, I voted out golden, but the other three people that I gave my word and bond to were sitting there in the final four with me.

Outplay. In challenges, I knew how to fly under the radar and make myself useful in the beginning and then pull out all the stops once it was an individual game. I won five individual immunities in a row. Two or three and someone could argue that it was luck, but five proves that it was the result of strategy and skill. I planned long term for resources and energy. I calculated the odds when dice rolls were involved. I studied everyone's interactions enough to determine what names would be written down in the plate smashing challenge and who it was wisest to target first. I thought hard about what kind of words everyone was likely to choose in the boggle challenge and went in the opposite direction. I paid careful attention to every aspect of the game and it earned me the memory challenge win. And I knew how to play coy the whole time and assure everyone that it was luck.

The combination of everything I've said is why I think I deserve your vote tonight. All three of us outlasted. But when it comes to who outwitted and outplayed, I hope that you'll agree that I earned the trifecta. I can't wait to answer your questions tomorrow. Thank you all for reading this and for your consideration! It has been a pleasure. Good luck everyone

WE DID IT! Congrats all.

Lorab, this was the hardest vote of the game for me. I knew that voting for you would force and tie and allow you both to have an even chance of making it through. I felt I had to do that for quin because without him, the golden idol play would have never been possible and that play was the turning point of my game. Although my strongest tie in this game was to you and I never intended to write your name down, I felt I had to make the fair choice. I would not have faulted you for doing the same in my position, but I understand if it costs me your vote.

I'll write up a final speech and post it ASAP.