Shawna will treat you gingerly...or will she?

[Shawna Mitchell]

Congratulations to all three of you! This has definitely been one of the best and toughest ORGs I've ever played and you all did a great job in order to be sitting here at the end. There have been some preconceived notions, rumors and ideas floating around among the jury but I want you to know I am coming into this with as much of an open mind as possible. Obviously I have some idea of who I might vote for, since I don't live in a bubble, but I'm not going to make a final decision until all the questions have been answered.

I have some individual statements/questions for each of you and then a few questions for all three of you. (PS Semhar, the limit was two comparison questions, not two questions period....just in case you're wondering about mine, lol.)


*****************************

Individual Questions

Sydney

Sydney, this:

...was something that irked me heading out of the game. Even if it were true, I didn't understand why you never saw me online because I was online a lot during the game. I have no idea how meebo works but I was told later by Chelsea that she had the wrong screen name for me. I did post it wrong initially but corrected it before the game started; however, I can see someone copying it wrong initially and never seeing it was incorrect. I would like to point out a nice feature of Proboards called "PM" which is kind of cool, though.

Anyway, I did actually click on your sn on aim to talk to you once. I was all ready to start a conversation with you but then I just thought...what am I going to say? At this point it's obvious I'm on the outside, I'll be the next to go once I don't have immunity, and why would anyone trust me now when we haven't talked all game and they already have bonds with other people? Besides that, I wasn't going to beg people not to vote me out when I knew it wasn't going to help. Yes, pride = my worst enemy sometimes. So, yes, I recognize my own failings in this game but that doesn't mean you're completely off the hook since I'm on this side trying to decide who to vote and you're on that side trying to convince people to vote for you.

So, while I don't take it personally, I do want to know why it was necessary for you to post that particular message on the parchment and if you thought it would help you get my vote? I personally never understand why people use rude parchments, especially at the jury stage of the game, so I'm just curious about your thought process.



Chelsea

Chelsea, you mentioned Bobby Jon in your opening statement and, while I don't really want to give attention to someone who quit the game, I'm wondering how you feel about people who quit games in general? Especially people who quit when things aren't going their way. Would that cloud your opinion of them in future games at all? If so, do you think it's fair to judge anyone based on another game where they quit and exhibited bad behavior as a sore loser? Why or why not?

Also, a lot has been mentioned by Sydney about how she took away your power and how she controlled the game going into the last few votes. This may be true but she still took you to the end knowing you were such a favorite to win the game. Whether or not she believed she could beat you, it was obvious that you were seen as a threat by many. In the round Sekou was voted off I refused to vote him and wrote your name down instead knowing you wouldn't be leaving but wanting to make a statement that I was voting for the person I saw as the biggest threat - to me and others - at that point in the game. Do you think it was a good move for Sydney to take you to the end? Why or why not? Would you have taken you if you were her?



Tom

You said "NO, I don't actually think I deserve to be winning this game." in response to Stephanie so I just want to clarify if this is what you meant to say? If so, no need to read on and answer anything else. If that was not what you meant to say, can you please restate?

I noted you said you "had a good relationship with Chase, Semhar, Shawna" once you landed on NuSalchicha. I think we talked a few times on AIM but they were very short conversations. I'm surprised you thought we had a "good relationship" but at least we talked. If I was going to be bitter and vote based on who did or didn't talk to me, I would have to vote you since I never talked to Sydney or Chelsea, but I'm not voting based on bitterness. I'm going to vote for who I think played the best game.

During the last TC, you pointed out how you weren't a threat because of your karma and why you would be a good person to take to the end. You also gave a very defensive opening statement and have received a lot of negative comments from the jury so far. I really don't have anything personal against you and I planned to be open to hearing why you think you should win the game. That being said, I'd like to hear your explanation of why you think some people have such a low opinion of you and ask you what you can say now to try to explain or change those opinions without being defensive.


*****************************

Group Questions - For all three of you to answer

Jury Management

How you've all played the game is definitely important and a big part of any game is making sure you get the votes to win once you reach the end. So, I want to know how much thought each of you put into the jury before and after each jury member was voted out. Maybe you were always thinking about jury votes or maybe you just figured you'd deal with the jury if and when you reached the Final Three. I'd like each of you to list each jury member and explain what you did, if anything, to try to secure that person's vote (directly or indirectly) before and/or after they left the game.


Pre-Existing Relationships/Pre-Game Alliances

Okay, so I thought I might ask you all to divulge any pre-existing relationships/pre-game friendships but you decided to do it on your own in your opening statements. I guess it was obvious to everyone that this would be on people's minds. So, since you've already confirmed that these relationships helped you in the game I'd like to take it a step further:

Do you think, since it's fair to use these pre-existing relationships to help your game, it's also fair for the jurors to judge you based on them? For example, knowledge people have about your gameplay in other games is going to be in people's heads. So, if you judged players based on pre-existing relationships, pre-game knowledge, etc....can players judge you as a finalist because of pre-existing relationships, pre-game knowlege, etc? Is it fair to use that to help make a decision on who we vote? Why or why not?

All of you talked about pre-existing relationships whether you planned on using them before the game started or decided after. I would like to know from each of you, if you had to get to know two or three new people (besides anyone who was in your end-game plans) and form an end-game alliance with them, who would you pick and why?

You have all talked about people you knew and outing your aliases, etc. I don't believe I know any of you personally outside this game, although I have played so many ORGs I could have just forgotten. I have heard things from other people about all of you, though. Please tell me if you learned anything about me outside of this game, what it was and who you heard it from.


The Captain's Challenge

This was a very large game and the initial three tribes were decided as a result of the Captain's Challenge. I know there were deals among the captains so they could each try to put together the best tribes possible and, as we all know, Salchicha was by far the most dominating tribe in challenges. I'm still very partial to my own original tribe of Chorizo, as well as its captain and his motivational messages to his tribe, though. <3

If you were the host of the game and had the knowledge you have now about each player, including any pre-existing friendships or pre-game alliances, how would you have divided the cast into three tribes? Keep in mind your goal is to make the three tribes as balanced and "fair" as possible. Please pick a captain for each tribe based on leadership abilities, assign each tribe an original name and a color, and explain why you assembled the three tribes the way you did and why it accomplishes the intended goal. Lastly, please post a captain's speech 1.0 to the tribe, conveying what each of the captains would probably say to this particular group of people in order to inspire and motivate them.


Thank you and good luck to you all!

[Chase Rice]

Those last 2 paragraphs are particularly amazing! Lmao

[Tom Westman]

Shawna, I'll only answer the questions you addressed to me personally. Let me restate my statement, "I don't think I deserve to win this game over Sydney or Chelsea. It's CLEAR as day even they keep bashing me about it. I don't have a shot if I'm up against people like them. Does anyone in the jury think so? I doubt it. But if you take my game separately and not compare it to what they have done. Then YES, I would say I deserve a shot at winning this game. I may be the pawn but I was the pawn Sydney used that she didn't throw. Everyone else could have been her pawn. She is that good of a player that she can take anyone she wants but she chose me and I am forever thankful for that. My bond with her surpasses this game so that did become a factor as to why she got rid of everyone else. Chelsea lost control when she lost Matt, she has been strung along for the ride because Sydney wants that. But to call my game non existent would be saying I wasn't part of the voting block. Heck I could have gone the power rangers way but I went for the majority. You guys also sought out Stephanie and Andrew. They both came to me to ASK me which way was better for us. I suggested going with the Salchicha was the better route rather than join you guys. I don't know if Chelsea already offered them safety but they were as much asking for my opinion to consider which way to go. I don't even know if Stephanie knew that I was more secure going with Salchicha than she was but she agreed with my opinion, whether that weighed in on her decision or not I could not know but she can tell you that she did ask me that question because she seemed like she also wanted a Bayonaca final 3. So yes, I chose to side with the Salchicha because I knew that was what was gonna take me to the end. You, Chase, Semhar were a solid 3. Why the hell would I go with you guys? You didn't offer me anything solid than 4? Am i just gonna accept that fate over a final 3? Anyone who would want that is crazy.

I did think with the little time we talked during the Captain's Challenge on the challenge that I felt you were a person I would get along with. I never said base that for your vote though.

Well Chase said he didn't like that I chose Sandra over him because Sandra was bullying people. I'm sorry if he feels that way but Sandra did not show that side of her to me. She was the nicest person to me and I will forever scream that here. We spent hours and hours of talking about personal stuff that none of you guys would ever have had with me. You people don't even consider me a human being anymore because of your spite for me. But I can talk to Sandra and not care about what is going on in the game because that was how close we got here. I know some of you don't like the idea of being personal in a game because that just makes things more complicated. But that's how I play. I seek out people I wanna be close to and bond with them and talk to them about life, about stuff, about things not related to the game. If they can carry on a conversation with me like that then I'm sold, I'll forever be with you till the end. If you just give me a half wit convo and not really care about life because you care too much about the game. Then I don't have time talking to you because that tells me you don't care about me but only my vote.

[Sydney Wheeler]

May 9, 2012 22:49:24 GMT -5 Shawna Mitchell said:

Congratulations to all three of you! This has definitely been one of the best and toughest ORGs I've ever played and you all did a great job in order to be sitting here at the end. There have been some preconceived notions, rumors and ideas floating around among the jury but I want you to know I am coming into this with as much of an open mind as possible. Obviously I have some idea of who I might vote for, since I don't live in a bubble, but I'm not going to make a final decision until all the questions have been answered.

I have some individual statements/questions for each of you and then a few questions for all three of you. (PS Semhar, the limit was two comparison questions, not two questions period....just in case you're wondering about mine, lol.)


*****************************

Individual Questions

Sydney

Sydney, this:

...was something that irked me heading out of the game. Even if it were true, I didn't understand why you never saw me online because I was online a lot during the game. I have no idea how meebo works but I was told later by Chelsea that she had the wrong screen name for me. I did post it wrong initially but corrected it before the game started; however, I can see someone copying it wrong initially and never seeing it was incorrect. I would like to point out a nice feature of Proboards called "PM" which is kind of cool, though.

Anyway, I did actually click on your sn on aim to talk to you once. I was all ready to start a conversation with you but then I just thought...what am I going to say? At this point it's obvious I'm on the outside, I'll be the next to go once I don't have immunity, and why would anyone trust me now when we haven't talked all game and they already have bonds with other people? Besides that, I wasn't going to beg people not to vote me out when I knew it wasn't going to help. Yes, pride = my worst enemy sometimes. So, yes, I recognize my own failings in this game but that doesn't mean you're completely off the hook since I'm on this side trying to decide who to vote and you're on that side trying to convince people to vote for you.

So, while I don't take it personally, I do want to know why it was necessary for you to post that particular message on the parchment and if you thought it would help you get my vote? I personally never understand why people use rude parchments, especially at the jury stage of the game, so I'm just curious about your thought process.

Thank you for the congratulations, Shawna.

Looking back at that vote and looking at it from your perspective, I see how off putting it sounds. It honestly wasn't my intention at all, and in fact, it was the opposite of how I wanted it to sound. So my bad, obviously, and I apologize for that. The reason for the comment at all: I wanted to leave SOME remark on the parchment because I thought...geez she is likely leaving this game without us ever speaking. I thought that was just bad on me for never chatting with you so I wanted to put a snippet of something along the lines of "it's nothing personal." Which would have sounded much better looking back. In fact, this is what I wrote when casting my vote for you: "Socially, we never got to know one another so there is no love lost with whatever you do with your vote at TC tonight." And you did end up voting me and I wasn't upset at all about it, for obvious reasons. I just thought you would hopefully feel the same way about my vote, and not hold me voting against you, against me. So by leaving the comment that we never talked on the parchment, I was just trying to express I'm sorry it is this way as we've never spoken and I said it all wrong.

I don't remember if I added your screen-name wrong or if it was just simply the period, but the reason why I never PM'ed you, as you mentioned PMs, is the same as your rationale for not messaging me either.
You stated, "Anyway, I did actually click on your sn on aim to talk to you once. I was all ready to start a conversation with you but then I just thought...what am I going to say? At this point it's obvious I'm on the outside, I'll be the next to go once I don't have immunity, and why would anyone trust me now when we haven't talked all game and they already have bonds with other people?"
I thought the same thing, like, what am I going to say to her? Give her false hope? Look fake and try and get a Jury vote out of her? I really thought that would just look more negative on me than anything.

So again I am sorry, as I never intended to come off rude. I felt bad for you since your position for immunity was so dire. I was delighted with how "not-personal" of a game it was turning out to be for me, so the last thing I wanted to do was upset anyone for no reason.

Group Questions - For all three of you to answer


Jury Management

How you've all played the game is definitely important and a big part of any game is making sure you get the votes to win once you reach the end. So, I want to know how much thought each of you put into the jury before and after each jury member was voted out. Maybe you were always thinking about jury votes or maybe you just figured you'd deal with the jury if and when you reached the Final Three. I'd like each of you to list each jury member and explain what you did, if anything, to try to secure that person's vote (directly or indirectly) before and/or after they left the game.

I think I handled Jury managment very well with a large portion of the Jury - because I feel like I don't have any enemies. I've stated this in another question, and although someone may not like me or not know me that well, the game never turned personal for me. I never got into any fights (which I see happen a lot in games nowadays) and was friendly with all those who spoke to me.

Chase: I didn't do anything to secure Chase's vote for me. It was final 14 and I really wasn't expecting him to be on it. I thought I'd be able to get him out of this game before it got to that point. I knew it'd be a bad thing for me if he was on the Jury due to never being on a tribe until his last few days in the game. He didn't know anything about me. My only hope and still only hope with him is if he comes to see and like my game best from this Final Tribal Council. And considering he didn't know Chelsea's game well despite a few conversations, I figured it wasn't hopeless anyways so long as I got the chance to explain!

Semhar: She and I got to speaking and, I believe, grew a respect for the other in the game. As she stated in her questioning, she came into this Final Tribal Council with a liking of me based off those exchanges we had. All she wanted to see here was a deeper explanation to whom "Sydney" was and what I did that she had yet to learn. So hitting up Semhar was me creating a foundation for either an option if I wanted to make a game move, or a hopeful Jury tie. Me messaging her was a smart thing in terms of a potential Jury vote.

Sekou: Sekou was never on much and I actually anticipated him to come into this Tribal Council and vote at random. Of all finalists, I actually think I spoke to him the more so. We had a little pokemon conversation on AIM that is hard to forget. Because he was off the boards for like two weeks, there was nothing to be done regardless.

Shawna: Alongside Chase, you were the only other Juror I had very little contact with. We never spoke, but I also believed nobody else in my end game plans spoke to you very much either. So I was under the impression you would come into this Final Tribal Council and vote based off what we said here. I never figured you to be largely leaning one way or the other. I think your statement of having an open mind best fits what I expected coming into this.

Jay: I know Jay appreciates big moves and wants the person who executed those moves to be rewarded, so I let him know of my involvement in his elimination. In addition to that, I knew he would see me taking out Matt as a smart decision. So when executing my moves and building up my end game, I believed I was doing the right thing, especially when it came to Jay's Jury vote. I know he likes to be unpredictable, but that was my mind set in regards to him!

Stephanie: I was up front with her about booting her and gave her the reasons why. I know Stephanie fought hard and had done a great deal to just hold on to life in this game. She joined our side and was at the bottom of it, so I wanted her to hold her head up high as she left the game. I figured giving her the respect she deserved for fighting hard could perhaps give me respect when it came to Jury voting.

Andrew: I told him the vote was either Mike or him, which it was. Obviously I was closer to Mike in the game than Andrew. I never gave him false hope or promised anything I couldn't promise. So with Jury management, I felt that was the best I could do when I knew I had to vote him out.

Mike: I helped Mike to become the last surviving member of his alliance. So if that didn't score any Jury points, than I don't know what else I could have done. I always clued in Mike to the vote without giving him a definite idea, so I had full control, but I left him "unblindsided" in ways. When it came time to vote him off, I didn't beat around the bush when he signed on to ask.

Matt: I have never worried about his Jury vote. I have and still will write him off as a Jury vote. He is without a doubt in Chelsea's corner as they joined and intended to make the end together. His vote will be for her which I was okay with as there was no preventing that when I intended to bring her to the end.

Sandra: I admit I could have handled Sandra's elimination better, as I found it hard to tell it to her face. But I did keep her in the game longer than she was slated with our alliance. I think she has a good understanding of my game and I've had conversations with her about it where I made some rebuttals to arguments she brought up. I feel good about the way I handled it.

Mick: He was very loyal to me, and I figured if he landed on the Jury, that is at least 1 vote for me. Because he was so busy playing this game that it made him just vote whatever, he was okay with leaving and taking that opportunity to not have a bitter ally at me on the Jury was good for his Jury vote.

Pre-Existing Relationships/Pre-Game Alliances

Okay, so I thought I might ask you all to divulge any pre-existing relationships/pre-game friendships but you decided to do it on your own in your opening statements. I guess it was obvious to everyone that this would be on people's minds. So, since you've already confirmed that these relationships helped you in the game I'd like to take it a step further:

Do you think, since it's fair to use these pre-existing relationships to help your game, it's also fair for the jurors to judge you based on them? For example, knowledge people have about your gameplay in other games is going to be in people's heads. So, if you judged players based on pre-existing relationships, pre-game knowledge, etc....can players judge you as a finalist because of pre-existing relationships, pre-game knowlege, etc? Is it fair to use that to help make a decision on who we vote? Why or why not?

All of you talked about pre-existing relationships whether you planned on using them before the game started or decided after. I would like to know from each of you, if you had to get to know two or three new people (besides anyone who was in your end-game plans) and form an end-game alliance with them, who would you pick and why?

You have all talked about people you knew and outing your aliases, etc. I don't believe I know any of you personally outside this game, although I have played so many ORGs I could have just forgotten. I have heard things from other people about all of you, though. Please tell me if you learned anything about me outside of this game, what it was and who you heard it from.

I think Pre-existing relations are at a point in Online Reality Games where they are inevitable. I think it sucks, but I feel like 90% of the cast works with someone they knew and are friends with outside the game. For that reason I think people should be less criticized. I think the criticism is warranted, but it should mostly be given by those who have used none. I think there is a huge difference in joining a game with a bunch of people opposed to finding a bunch of people you like after you sign up. Both are bad, but the first is far worse.

I do not agree that it is fair for a Juror to judge a finalist based on a different game. Every game is different and the situations in different games are well...different. Any perceived idea of who that person was in another game did not effect how they handled and played this game. People can carry themselves in a different manner and play a completely unique game to the other one where a Juror may have seen them play. In addition to that, the way the game is hosted and whose in the cast can change how someone plays. If I was a Juror in this game, I'd disregard other games and focus on Sausage alone.

Had I played this game without my end-game alliance, I think I would have probably liked to work with yourself and Semhar. I have an idea of who Semhar is, but I don't consider she and I to know eachother all that well outside the game. She is a master alias and can adapt to any personality or play style well. I think it would of been fun to work with you two if I started on the same tribe. I think of you guys to be very loyal and that came off. I think we also have a lot in common from what I hear. I'm sure I would have felt safe in an alliance with you two.

Lastly, and for the reason why I think I have things in common with you, is that I'm a huge Buffy fan. For the stuff I heard about you is you were rumored to be aligned with Amber in a pre-existing relationship and that you were known as Buffy. I do forget where I heard that from - either Chelsea or Sandra I'd wager. It could have been Bobby Jon who knew and told one of them. I don't know you well but I assume you like Buffy well too, and I just love to talk about the show. So I think we would have had fun being in an alliance if that's all true. If it's not all true...then I'm wrong about that rumor. But that was my perception and rationale behind selecting you as one of the two players I'd like to get to know better.

The Captain's Challenge

This was a very large game and the initial three tribes were decided as a result of the Captain's Challenge. I know there were deals among the captains so they could each try to put together the best tribes possible and, as we all know, Salchicha was by far the most dominating tribe in challenges. I'm still very partial to my own original tribe of Chorizo, as well as its captain and his motivational messages to his tribe, though. <3

If you were the host of the game and had the knowledge you have now about each player, including any pre-existing friendships or pre-game alliances, how would you have divided the cast into three tribes? Keep in mind your goal is to make the three tribes as balanced and "fair" as possible. Please pick a captain for each tribe based on leadership abilities, assign each tribe an original name and a color, and explain why you assembled the three tribes the way you did and why it accomplishes the intended goal. Lastly, please post a captain's speech 1.0 to the tribe, conveying what each of the captains would probably say to this particular group of people in order to inspire and motivate them.


Thank you and good luck to you all!

Love the sorting tribes question, it will be fun to answer.

I am picking the tribes based on types of sausages. The colors of each tribe are the types of colors you see in sausages. And yes, there was a green type looking sausage I saw. ew.

ANDOUILLE
Matt
Mick
Sandra
Misty
Semhar
Penner
Bobby Jon
Stephanie
Matty

CHORIZO
Chase
Chelsea
Tom
Cochran
Sophie
Savage
Sekou
Amber
Amanda

KIELBASA
Aras
Sydney
Mike
Shawna
Tammy
Gregg
Jay
Stephenie
Brenda

I sorted these tribes by trying to divide a lot of people who were friends as I saw. I kept myself away from Chelsea/Tom. This was technically Mick and I's first game as allies, but I put him on a different tribe regardless. I kept Bobby Jon/Matt/Sandra/Steph/Me away from Chelsea. I kept Amber/Shawna apart. Amber is away from Bobby Jon too just because I heard they were close. I kept Chase/Mike apart (presumed they knew eachother somewhat) I kept Penner and Steph L apart. I kept Tom away from Sandra and Matty too.

I feel that is a pretty good division. If anyone knows another person, it's not a dominant group. As for the captains, I selected Matt, Chase, and Aras. I feel like I would be a good leader, as I do tend to step into that spot a lot of the times, but I didn't want the attention and focus the captain's got in this game.

Matt was super social and strong in the first challenge. Leaders are typically strong and approachable. Since Matt fit the bill, it's fitting he stay as a leader in this what-if.

I think Chase was made to be a leader, as even though we never spoke much, it just seemed like a lot of people liked him and he was in control of his tribe. His presence was felt.

Aras would have probably led a tribe that didn't know eachother so well. He came off very strongly, which is what a leader should do. In different circumstances, I see him having some followers.


Now the hard part! Speeches:

Matt would probably have a very short, kind of robotic captain's speech. He'd say something along the lines of "Hey team! Let's win this challenge. I feel like we got a strong group here!" It would be pretty short and lack some flare, but people would feel like he was trustworthy and in the light regardless.

Chase, I can only assume, would try and motivate his tribe as stated. If the chips were down in the first challenge he could say something along the lines of "I couldn't ask for a better team and I'm glad to have picked you guys. They may be winning this challenge right now, but we got all of the fine looking people anyways. Let them tire themselves out with this victory. We'll take the win from them mofos unexpectedly." I feel like his speeches may focus on how the people in his tribe are the best of the rest.

Lastly, Aras. I think he'd be a mix of Matt's robotic generic speech and Chase's very motivational spiel. Such as, "Hey team! I was happy with this tribe and how it ended up. You guys rock! Lets show them what we're made of and win this first challenge."

Okay, they are probably all rolling their eyes at my guessing to their speeches.


Thanks for your consideration and chance at your vote Shawna! I do appreciate you having an open mind.

[Shawna Mitchell]

Thanks Sydney! I appreciate the thoughtful responses.

Ugh, Tom. I feel like I am one of the people who wanted to listen to you and wasn't going to dismiss you as having a shot but your opening statement came off sooo overly hostile. Even so, I still tried to keep an open mind with you but your answers to me seem like you're still hostile, only this time toward me in particular, lol. I never had anything against you but I really disrespect the way you're answering questions and the way you seem to have given up. If it was important enough for you to have wanted to get to the end then it's still important enough for you to try to win. Otherwise, it just leaves a bitter taste in my mouth that someone like Matt, Mike, Chase, Semhar...the list could go on and on...that would have fought for the win didn't make it and you, who are seemingly just trying to help Sydney win as you helped her in the game, did.

[Tom Westman]

It's fine Shawna. I wanted a shot but I would be stupid to think so considering who I'm up against. but thanks for considering me I want to try to win but I keep being bombarded with the negative which makes me fed up about. Either way even if I tried to answer everyone's questions I may just look like I am kissing ass no matter how genuine I think I am with my answers. I would rather avoid more ridicule than is already warranted. Plus some people have already their votes locked in to either Syd or Chelsea. No matter how much I try to fight to win, I would NEVER get those votes anyway so why even try? Taking into account who are undecided it won't be enough to get a win away from either girls.

[Chelsea Meissner]

Chelsea, you mentioned Bobby Jon in your opening statement and, while I don't really want to give attention to someone who quit the game, I'm wondering how you feel about people who quit games in general? Especially people who quit when things aren't going their way. Would that cloud your opinion of them in future games at all? If so, do you think it's fair to judge anyone based on another game where they quit and exhibited bad behavior as a sore loser? Why or why not?

Hey, Shawna! Yeah, I kind of debated even bringing Bobby Jon up in this questioning process, but I thought about it and he really was a big part of my game at the beginning. Not in a good way, but a bad way. He was the obstacle I had to get past at the start and not to mention him would pretty much exclude a big chunk of my game and history this season. What’s actually really funny about this question is that throughout the entire first half of the season, Bobby Jon and I got into the biggest fights, and they would always end with him telling me to quit the game. “Quit the game if you care about me!” “Quit the game, if you don’t want to talk to me!” “Quit the game if you never want to see me again!” It was constant. Every other thing that came out of his mouth, was “quit to show” this or “quit to prove” that. I don’t believe in quitting. Every time he asked me, I would fire back and tell him that I didn’t believe in quitting.

Bobby Jon did eventually leave the game because of his and I awful past relationship, but also because things weren’t going his way. He had ended up on a tribe with three people that we’re going to take him out. He ended up with Sandra, who he had fought with already, and they were already going head to head, there was Mick, who he had attacked for absolutely no reason whatsoever, and then there was me, who had all the reason in the world to vote him out. Obviously, he had a poor social game and it caught up to him at that point. He was going to go. His excuse for quitting was because of us, but I know that it was also mainly because he didn’t want to be voted out .. he wanted to go out on his own accord. In general, I think quitting is a cowards way out. Something’s not going your way? Tough it out. You never know what can happen or change for you down the line. What’s really annoying is if that person has everything made for them all game and then second something doesn’t go their way, the think quitting is the only option. That definitely makes them a poor sport and a coward, in my opinion.

I’ve been in games where I’ve played with people with bad reputations, reputations where they would quit constantly because they didn’t get what they wanted or things didn’t go their way. It’s something that’s actually starting to happen alot these days in games and it’s really annoying. Who wants to play in a game with a quitter? Someone who will quit the second they could be screwed or the tables are turned on them? I do think that when you quit many games, that’s the type of reputation that sticks with you. No one wants to have a quitter in their game and no one wants to play with a quitter. I think that it’s human nature for people to remember people in their past games and the past characters they’ve played, however, while people may not judge them for it, a great majority would. It’s hard not to. You have an idea of the person from another game, and you just know that if anything had gone wrong, they could have, would have quit because of it. If anything this does deem the quitter a sore loser. I think quitters are sore losers, unless there is a valid reason such as big issues in real life, etc. But a majority of the time, that isn’t the case. The quitter usually thinks going out by their own decision makes them look better and saves face, when in reality it just makes them look like a big ol’ wimp.

Also, a lot has been mentioned by Sydney about how she took away your power and how she controlled the game going into the last few votes. This may be true but she still took you to the end knowing you were such a favorite to win the game. Whether or not she believed she could beat you, it was obvious that you were seen as a threat by many. In the round Sekou was voted off I refused to vote him and wrote your name down instead knowing you wouldn't be leaving but wanting to make a statement that I was voting for the person I saw as the biggest threat - to me and others - at that point in the game. Do you think it was a good move for Sydney to take you to the end? Why or why not? Would you have taken you if you were her?

This is a really good question. First off, Sydney did somewhat take my power from me when she took Matt out of the game. She made it so that the only other person I confided in was removed and I was basically forced to just be there by her side; it was a power move. However, the difference between me and the other three who were still left in the game, was that I was going to speak out constantly and tell the utmost truth at every Tribal Council. I voiced my anger about the Matt removal, whether or not I knew Sydney had the power to take me out because of her followers left in the final five. I really didn’t care. Why didn’t I care? Because Sydney played this game based on pre-existing relationships. Everyone in the final five were people that she’s known outside the game. Mick was going to bow out at four, because his only goal in this game was to be a vote for Sydney and help her make the end. And as we can see with Tom right now, it’s like he’s basically doing the same thing. These people played for Sydney. Matt and I? We played for ourselves, but we played together. We protected eachother, but I would never encourage Matt to bow out early or not to keep trying in the finale.

My whole reasoning for wanting myself, Matt, and Sydney in the end was because we deserved it. We played together all game, had different ways in getting here to the end, and it would have been an ultimate battle. Instead of Matt making the end, we had someone basically “quit” at the Final Four and now someone practically giving up right now in the Final Three. It makes me kind of bitter to know that Matt could have been here or someone else who really wanted this spot could have been here trying to vie for votes. Instead we just have a quitter. I honestly don’t know if Sydney just wanted to take me to the end because she thought she could beat me. I think she knows that I’m a challenge in Final Tribal Councils and she has mentioned to me that she wanted to face off against me in the end because she saw me as a good player. However, if she really wanted a challenge, and really wanted to go up against the best of the best, then why isn’t Matt here sitting us? Because the reason she took him out is because she didn’t play for so and so days to let him win the game. I will admit right here and right now that Matt played a great game, and I do agree that he would have had a great shot at winning, but all three of us deserved it. Does Tom deserve to be sitting here with Sydney and I right now? I don’t think so.

When I saw the vote for me that round, I instantly knew it came from you. You were in a position where you had nothing to lose. And to be real with you, I was actually flattered. I had an idea of what that vote meant, but you saying it right here, right now just confirms it. Honestly, I might not have had the countless puppets in this game like Sydney, I might not have had the three lucky Immunity wins like Tom, but I had depth in this game, I had drive, I had loyalty, and I pushed here to the end with the label of being a threat and favorite to win. I made it here. Was it smart for Sydney to take me? That can only really be answered when the finale votes are revealed. If she wins this game, then I guess it was smart for her. She would have kept her word to me that she would never write my name down and she’d still win. However, if I win this game, then her making the promise, could be the promise that costs her this entire thing. If I was her, I would have taken Matt and her regardless. I’d want to face off against the best of the best. No goats, no quitters, no coat-tail riders. Only the strongest.

[Chelsea Meissner]

Jury Management

How you've all played the game is definitely important and a big part of any game is making sure you get the votes to win once you reach the end. So, I want to know how much thought each of you put into the jury before and after each jury member was voted out. Maybe you were always thinking about jury votes or maybe you just figured you'd deal with the jury if and when you reached the Final Three. I'd like each of you to list each jury member and explain what you did, if anything, to try to secure that person's vote (directly or indirectly) before and/or after they left the game.

This may lose me some points, but during the game, I really didn’t work to secure Jury votes? I mean, I knew when we were in the Jury stage, but I honestly don’t think I ever treated anyone poorly enough with the exception of Sandra, but that was because I was just engaging in whatever crap she was spewing at the time, which felt more constant than anything. I felt that I upheld the same respect with everyone in the game, so panhandling for votes or waving bye and giving people a kiss on the cheek as they left wasn’t really my style. I really tried to avoid looking fake in that sense, because that is the type of thing that can really bite you. You and I didn’t talk in the game, Shawna, and I’ve totally owned up to that and would take it back if I could, but even then, with the sides we were both on and the way the game was mapped out at that point, it seemed too late for any kind of interaction. I respect you as a player in this game, but also knew that we weren’t on the same team, so I kept my distance and didn’t want to step on any toes or say anything I didn’t really mean whatsoever [giving you false hope, etc].

Chase ~ With Chase, I felt that I was very cordial with him, even when we were on opposite sides, however that’s because we spoke at the very start of the game even before there were sides or even tribes in the game. Chase and I connected on our character’s country gimmick’s and played around with that. I do think that alot of our talks involved flirting, but it was harmless. There was some motive there, but even then, it was way too early to be thinking about the Jury. I do think that those few conversations could play a role in me securing Chase’s vote here in the finale. It’s those small moments that can sometimes amount to something big.

Semhar ~ Semhar was actually someone who wanted me gone, and even with the knowledge I had of this, I still never went to her and attacked her. Sure, I was pissed about her wanting me out, but at the same time it made sense as to why she did. When we got to the Jury stage, Semhar had come up to me and we spoke about what had happened on NuBayonaca, about her wanting me out and Bobby Jon’s involvement with that whole thing. I felt like this conversation was very honest, straight-forward, and we were both very upfront with one another. I respected her for confirming that she had been coming for me, and for giving her reasoning as to why. Those confrontational moments in games can clear the air, and show sincere respect.

Sekou ~ How could anyone honestly secure Sekou’s Jury vote or even feel like they did? He came around once or twice on AIM at the very start, but was never around at the Jury. There was no way for anyone to try and earn his respect on his way out the door. With him, it’s going to be a complete toss-up and could be based on something entirely random. You never know with Sekou, and I guess that adds to his mystery~ but even then, it just goes to show that he’s a total wild card here in the finale, just like he was in the game. You don’t know where his head’s at and since he was never around, it was impossible to secure anything from him.

Shawna ~ To keep things simple, we never spoke in the game. Alot of that had to do with the whole screenname ordeal, and while there was the PM function, by the time we got to a place where we had a reason to talk to one another, it was when lines were already drawn in the sand and we had no real reason to talk to one another. I don’t think that I ever really gave you a reason to dislike me. I think that both of us being on opposite sides, allowed us to recognize eachother as big opposition. I knew you were a threat to my game, because you had the ability to win competitions. However, after receiving your vote that round, I did take it as a sign of respect because of you knowing of my position in the game. While we didn’t talk to eachother in this game, we never fought while you were still in nor had any in-game conflict either.

Jay ~ In the move of taking out Jay, I had hoped that he would see it as flattering. Taking him out of the game was obviously a good move for me, because he had implied that he wanted to come after big players, but when Matt had gotten down to it further, that person was inevitably me. Jay and I were never enemies in this game, worked together, but there was still that whole bond where it was like, ‘you got me, well done’. There wasn’t really an issue in the aftermath and none of it was personal. My want to take him out stemmed from him wanting me out. It had nothing to do with spite or anger, but because .. why would anyone want to keep someone in the game if that person wanted them out? And if you had the resources to get the job done .. then you needed to go for it. And I did just that with the help of my available allies.

Stephanie ~ If anyone was more informed from outside of the main core of the Capitol, it was Stephanie. Why? Because of me. I can honestly say that I aided her as much as possibly could, with inside information about the ongoings of the bigger alliance, the prizes in which Sydney had collected, and what people were saying. I feel that me opening up to Stephanie and telling her these things, showed her that I trusted her in this game and valued her as a player on my side, otherwise, I wouldn’t have said anything to her. Me telling her these things allowed her knowledge of what was to come, what could happen, what would happen .. and I feel like me doing those things could help secure her vote here in the finale. I helped as much as I could in this game until it got to the point where it personally put me at risk to go home.

Savage ~ I actually had the opportunity to be on the same tribe as Savage before the merge, on NuBayonaca. While he and I were never very close, we still had decent, but small conversations here and there. Savage being able to confide in me and tell him that he was nervous in talking to other people or shy when it came to starting conversations .. I felt that him saying those things showed me that he was atleast opening up to me some. I don’t know if that was ultimately his strategy, but it seemed to play out that way throughout the duration of the game. With Stephanie being his protector in this game, I guess me helping her, also helped him in a way. I fed Stephanie information, and also helped her stick around a round longer than she would have, and thus that extended Savage’s life some in addition aswell.

Mike ~ I know that Mike had a closer relationship with Sydney in this game. When I had been swapped to NuBayonaca, Mike was the only other original Salchicha member that came with me. Mike and I hadn’t spoken much on Salchicha, but being on NuBayonaca, that allowed us to work together to go against the others, since there were only two of us on the tribe. During that period, Mike and I did talk a bit, we strategized, and I felt that we did have eachother’s back. When the Jury came, he had almost basically flipped to the opposite side, so it was kind of like our bond had just evaporated into thin air. Regardless, I still spoke to him about votes, engaged in conversations when we spoke, and I never treated him poorly. When he had come to me about the vote, I actually told him that the vote was more than likely going to be him to not lead him astray. He had wished me luck, and that was it. Mike was a good sport.

Matt ~ Matt was my number one guy in this game. We spoke about countless game topics, discussed votes, went over strategy - everything. If him and I swapped places right now, he would have my vote. Not only because we’re good friends, but because he deserves it. He played the social game, got people to confide in him that shouldn’t have, was good at competitions, maintained Salchicha at the start of the game, and a was a core player during the season. I feel that I have secured Matt’s vote here in the finale, because I was loyal to the idea of having himself, Sydney, and I in the finale. I didn’t lead him astray and I didn’t put false hope into his head about that end-game plan. I was all for it. The Final Four would have included Mick, but after Sydney telling me he was wanting to bow out at that point, then I didn’t see it as a problem to be excited for Matt, Sydney, and I possibly being in the end because of this news.

Sandra ~ Yeah. In no way did I secure her vote and I really don’t think I will get it based off of many of the things I’ve said thus far in my answers to everyone. But you know, that’s the name of the game. You’re going to have some people you dislike and you’re just going to have to recognize that. Based off the conversation that both Sandra and I had on her way out of the game, I would completely understand why I wouldn’t get her vote at the end of this finale. I told her that she didn’t even deserve to make the Final Five and I still stick by that comment. If she is coming into this finale with an open mind, I’d be surprised, but at the same time, I sincerely doubt it; many have seen how uppity Sandra can be about certain things, this is one of them.

Mick ~ No chance I’m getting Mick’s vote, and I’m fine with that. His whole purpose in this game was to carry Sydney’s torch and then lay his own down at the Final Four. He will vote for her to win, and that just goes without saying. I’m fine with that. My working relationship with Mick was standard, but most, if not all, of the information about Mick’s intentions and game came from Sydney herself, because Mick didn’t always make himself available on AIM unless it was for after-challenge vote talk or during a live competition. No hard feelings, but I know that I would never have been getting his vote, so I never really counted him as a possibility.

[Chelsea Meissner]

Pre-Existing Relationships/Pre-Game Alliances

Do you think, since it's fair to use these pre-existing relationships to help your game, it's also fair for the jurors to judge you based on them? For example, knowledge people have about your gameplay in other games is going to be in people's heads. So, if you judged players based on pre-existing relationships, pre-game knowledge, etc....can players judge you as a finalist because of pre-existing relationships, pre-game knowlege, etc? Is it fair to use that to help make a decision on who we vote? Why or why not?

All of you talked about pre-existing relationships whether you planned on using them before the game started or decided after. I would like to know from each of you, if you had to get to know two or three new people (besides anyone who was in your end-game plans) and form an end-game alliance with them, who would you pick and why?

You have all talked about people you knew and outing your aliases, etc. I don't believe I know any of you personally outside this game, although I have played so many ORGs I could have just forgotten. I have heard things from other people about all of you, though. Please tell me if you learned anything about me outside of this game, what it was and who you heard it from.

Pre-game alliances are intentional, and I feel like in a way it could be perceived as an advantage of others in the game. However, there is no rule that you can’t join this game with someone else you know. When it comes to pre-existing relationships, that can sometimes be extremely unavoidable, especially with ORGs seemingly shrinking down in size. Almost everyone knows eachother when it comes to these open ID games, unless you are strictly alias. And even then, as we saw by how this game unfolded, people confided in other people about who they were just to have an advantage because they knew that person. Obviously pre-existing relationships can help your game, but in addition, they can also hurt your game. In my case, two people I know outside of this game, Sandra and Jay, both knew that I was capable of going far in the game and ultimately sitting at the end. Sandra dropped subtly comments about this ending up like a game in the past that I had won, and Jay knew that I had a great shot.

I can see why past-game knowledge, such as winners of certain games could be brought into the mix. Sandra bringing up to people that I won a HvV game a year ago, that many of us played in, was her attempt at trying to sell that I was a threat and that this game could end up exactly the same. I don’t see that as relevant, especially since the game is different, the twists were different, the game played out differently, and the Jurors are different people .. all those factors completely make it null and void for her to say those things as a player. The people she told that to, Sydney being one of them, Sydney agreed with me that this is a completely different game then the game that Sandra had brought up. Now, obviously if you’re a social threat in games in general and are known to be a great player, that is always going to follow you. It’s both a blessing and a curse. You get the respect of being a great player, but get the curse that you’ll be targeted because of it. This is the majority of the reason people play alias.

I think as a finalist, you are welcome to use whatever prior knowledge you have of the person when it comes to voting. The voting process doesn’t tell you not to be bitter, it doesn’t tell you what you need to base your vote on. Everyone on the Jury earned their right to vote for a winner and they can do it by whatever terms they see fit. I don’t think it would be right to tell someone they shouldn’t vote a certain way because of this or that. So yeah, I think it would be fair for the Jury to judge a finalist based on those things, especially if those things were a huge factor in the way the game turned out. And since this entire season was all about pre-existing relationships, then I think the Jury needs to factor that into their vote, whether they are against them because it helped someone get an easy road to the end or if they’re for them because someone played the game well with them. It’s however the vote caster sees it.

If I didn’t have my pre-existing relationships in this game, the three people I would work with would be Chase, who I’ve mentioned a few times already, Semhar, because I do think that we would have the chemistry to work well together if we had started on the same side, and lastly, you, because you were the perfect combination of loyalty and strength. All three of you made up the core of the other alliance, in my opinion, and were the main opposition for myself and my alliance. I respect you all for different reasons. I believe it was either Chase or Jay’s question that I said this, but I said that had I ended up on Chorizo and Chase had picked me to be on his tribe, then this game would have turned out so much more differently, I think, but I still do believe that I would have fared well even without the pre-existing relationships. As for the last question, the only thing I had learned about you is that you were possibly BuffyZanzibar, based on some things you had mentioned about a previous ORG board or website. I actually heard this from Matt when he confirmed it was highly likely it was you.

The Captain's Challenge

This was a very large game and the initial three tribes were decided as a result of the Captain's Challenge. I know there were deals among the captains so they could each try to put together the best tribes possible and, as we all know, Salchicha was by far the most dominating tribe in challenges. I'm still very partial to my own original tribe of Chorizo, as well as its captain and his motivational messages to his tribe, though. <3

If you were the host of the game and had the knowledge you have now about each player, including any pre-existing friendships or pre-game alliances, how would you have divided the cast into three tribes? Keep in mind your goal is to make the three tribes as balanced and "fair" as possible. Please pick a captain for each tribe based on leadership abilities, assign each tribe an original name and a color, and explain why you assembled the three tribes the way you did and why it accomplishes the intended goal. Lastly, please post a captain's speech 1.0 to the tribe, conveying what each of the captains would probably say to this particular group of people in order to inspire and motivate them.

My main goal in all of this was split up the pre-existing relationships as much as I possibly could, but mainly the ones that had a big impact on the game and ultimately made the end what it is right now. I separated myself from Matt, most importantly, as well as Sydney. Oh, and who could forget .. Bobby Jon as well. In addition, I separated Sydney from myself, Misty, Sandra, Tom, Mick, and Jay. Stephanie was separated from other Stephenie, mainly because she had mentioned that she knew Stephenie and both had their F2 deal in making the end of the game. I also tried to split up original Chorizo as much as I could, but kept Shawna and Semhar together, as I don’t believe you two knew eachother prior to the game. Both Tom and Matty were split up, as Tom mentioned in his opening statement that he joined this game with Matty. I was also informed early on in the game that Bobby Jon and Aras were aware of eachother, and they had played in a game prior to this, so they’re apart. Sandra is also separated from Tom and Jay.

CERVELAT –

• Misty
  
• Sandra
  
• Mike
  
• Stephanie [C]
  
• Tammy
  
• Amber
  
• Penner
  
• Brenda
  
• Bobby Jon

The captain that I have chosen for Cervelat is Stephanie. The reason I have chosen Stephanie is because it was known that she was one to take control. It was said that she took some control on original Bayonaca, as well as on NuChorizo when it came to competitions and organization, as well as implementing what strategy she thought was best in helping her tribe succeed. I believe that her speech would be motivational, but also would include her trademark sass. Everyone knew that Stephanie had a strong-willed confidence while in the game, and she showed it often. “Cervelat, we GOT this. They don’t stand a chance tonight against us! If we do everything we’ve agreed on, there is NO way they can beat us tonight. Everyone needs to make sure they do their part and there should be NO excuse for us not winning. All of us just need to stay on top of this challenge and show them who the better tribe is! ^__^ Cervelat FTW!”

SALSICCIA –

• Matty
  
• Sydney
  
• Matt [C]
  
• Semhar
  
• Sekou
  
• Cochran
  
• Shawna
  
• Aras
  
• Sophie

The captain I have chosen for Salsiccia is Matt. The reason I have chosen Matt is because he was actually the captain of Salchicha and I believe that he was a good captain. He picked a winning tribe and was also in the core, having connections to the likes of Cochran, myself, Sydney, and Sandra. He was in control. I feel that even on this imaginary tribe of Salsiccia, he would have made the same critical moves in making sure his tribe was led to victory. Knowing Matt, I know that his speech would be straight-forward and gamebot-esque. “Hey, Salsiccia. Everyone here on this tribe was chosen for a reason. Each of you brings something to the table that another cannot, and for that reason we all compliment eachother as a tribe. I know firsthand that the first challenge is critical in any Survivor game. The objective is to go out there, try our best, collect the victory, and boost our morale. I’m confident that we can do this.”

LINGUICA –

• Tom
  
• Chelsea [C]
  
• Savage
  
• Mick
  
• Chase
  
• Stephenie
  
• Jay
  
• Gregg
  
• Amanda

The captain I have chosen for Linguica is myself. Originally I was going to put Chase down, but I too really wanted to be a captain in this game. The reason I have chose myself is because I believe that I could have put together a good speech in order to motivate my tribe. I think that my social skills are exceptional enough to really inspire and motivate a group of people into doing the best they possibly could even if they were under lot of stress before heading into the first Immunity. “Hey, ya’ll! Tonight is one of the more important nights in the game. When we go to do the competition tonight, know that win or lose, we will bounce back ten times stronger next round. No matter what happens, keep your heads up, and don’t let any of the other tribes get to you. Each of you has the ability to perform above and beyond tonight, and all we need to do is go out there and show that we are goin’ to run this game. Let’s make the Sausage Island series remember the name Linguica~ .. because we are going to be the best tribe ever.”

[Shawna Mitchell]

Thank you, Chelsea. I just wanted to make a couple of comments on your answers. You pretty much answered exactly how I would have on the subject of quitting. There are times when you have to quit for real life personal reasons but I really disrespect someone who quits because things just aren't going their way.

As far as me writing down your name that round...I wasn't sure if you got it at first because of your text on your parchment the round I left where you said something like, you voted for me so I'm voting for you. But, obviously you did get it. It was a respect vote and it wasn't like you were in any danger when I cast it. So, glad to know you did understand where I was coming from. And as far as us not talking, it's basically the same with both you and Sydney. Lines were drawn and I felt anything at that point would have just been fake and futile. My only hope was trying to convince people that you two (and I thought Matt at the time) were going to get to the end and everyone helping you do that were sheep, lol. I guess I have the satisfaction of knowing I was right.

As for the Captain's Challenge, thank you to both of you for doing a great job. I liked the tribe where I was with Semhar and Aras the best, lol. I fell in love with Semhar at first sight in this game not knowing who she was at the time... After I found out, I knew I had good instincts. And Aras...well, he deserved a longer life in this game but what are you gonna do? lol

I really meant for you to also use strength to divide up the tribes but that was my bad for not explaining it.


Anyway, good luck to you both! I would usually never say this at this stage of a finale but Tom has done what I have never seen done before in an ORG. Publicly given up. For that reason, he has no shot at my vote so it's between the two of you. One of you has the edge at this point but I won't vote until the final word is posted. May the best woman win!

[Tom Westman]

Jury Management

Jay - I feel like I had a very strong personal relationship with Jay but I can't really hope he will base his vote on that because I don't see him as such. I however openly told him why he was voted out without giving away anything but that I just wanted to explain to him so that he doesn't feel like I was just using him which I wasn't.

Sandra - I openly told Sandra that no matter how I voted she was still going. So I just voted along with the rest of the 3 to show them that I wanted to be there with them. This was prolly the hardest vote for me and the one person I didn't want to be disappointed with me. Which reminds me I shouldn't be giving up just because she herself didn't give up in her last remaining days on the island.

Semhar - I told her where I stood in the game when merge hit. There was no room for lying at this point with her as I didn't want to further do the damage that I have already done by deceiving her into thinking I was with her when I was with Salchicha all along.

Other than these three I didn't do any jury management, nor was I trying to impress anyone in the jury. And I know the jury votes are what matters in the end but I do feel like I have proved my worth to be here. Because even though I was just a vote, I was that vote that was needed. I could have gone either way but I chose where I felt I should be more comfortable. I was also key to why Stephanie felt more secure going with Chelsea's proposal to stay with Salchicha because she did approach me and asked of my opinion where I told her it was best for her and us (me and andrew) to side with Salchicha and try to do some inner cracks, all the while knowing I have a more secure spot than her. I don't know why she felt secure going with that group but her actions irked people and felt she was trying too hard to secure her place. Remember when you all thought I was the only one who would flip to the Salchicha during merge? I could have told Stephanie to side with the power rangers and I don't know if she really would have weighted my opinion on that matter but she did agree to me that going with Salchicha was best for us in the long run.


Pre-Existing Relationships/Pre-Game Alliances

I don't think it's fair to base your vote on the existing relationships you have with people but otherwise we can't help that fact. People would believe in the people they believe in and align with people they like/believed in or know well. Especially in this game. So it's just natural for people to prolly vote that way.

I would have chosen to go with Chase, Amber, Jay, Mike. I clicked well with Chase in the beginning and even though it seemed at the latter part when people started outing theirself to me. I wanted to keep Chase as farther as I could but when you meet other people and they expect you to do it this way that way you can't help but adhere to that because sometimes there's a lot in line other than just the game but also the existing friendships. It is not easy to be betrayed by a friend you have known long nor is it any good to do the same so I tried to avoid that and did what I felt would allow me to keep those relationships and avoid having bad effects outside of this game but I guess I lost sight of the people I made bonds with here and forgot that they too will get hurt and that they too might have been people I would have wanted a friendship with outside this game. I was presented with a tough decision and I went with my gut, I regret some part of it but what's done is done and I can't change that. Amber was also someone I felt like a good player and would have loved to play with her to the end. Mike was also someone I clicked with here and is one of two people I really dont know because I know Chase and I know Jay to some extent. Jay because I felt he was really genuine with me with the flirting and he's just such a sweetheart to me and had things gone differently I would have wanted to see him with me in the finals.

I am not sure I have heard anything about you too Shawna. But Sandra once told me you play a lot of Big Brother games or was it Amber I am confused lol. She also told me you were a very competitive player and was certainly a threat in games.

[John McBain]

Wow those are such long messages, haha sausage-island2.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=ftc&action=display&thread=3596&page=1

[Sydney Wheeler]

Just a couple comments to this thread: I never made Tom or Mick give up or swayed them to do so, as Chelsea made it sound. Chelsea wanting to take myself and Matt to the end had to do with us being her two best friends of all pre-existing relationships, not because we were the "strongest" which obviously looks like a better explanation.

Also this comment Chelsea: "Why didn’t I care? Because Sydney played this game based on pre-existing relationships." Irks me to no end. I'm sorry, were you not playing this game based on pre-existing relationships? Is your best argument against me the thing you're most guilty of yourself? At least I formed a deal with Mike and branched out. Sorry if that comes off harshly, but I wanted to voice that. I know you want to win, but I want it too - and I didn't think that was a fair argument.

As for the quitting thing Shawna, I think I know what you're referring to. Chelsea fully supported that decision (she agreed that I SHOULD do it), and actually told me NOT to play the game in the first place. (She was an Ex-Co Host of that series) There was a lot of things the PW's in that game didn't know about with what went on in conversations with the Host. I don't think that should come into play here at all since it has nothing to do with Sausage, but I would of course like a chance to explain to you when all is said and done if interested, because no-one likes their rep tarnished. I don't just leave games willy-nilly. But again, not going to talk about a different series right now.

anyways thanks again!

[Tom Westman]

Oh now that I read Chelsea's statement. I want to make the record straight that the reason I felt like I was giving up is because people like you Chelsea takes the dirty road to do whatever it takes to win. Your statements about me are so derogatory that you can't look at how flawed your own game is. I'm not doing this to give Sydney more of a chance to win, in fact this is why I'm starting to answer questions back now because I couldn't stand your incessant picking on me . I don't know if you're doing that on purpose. I get it I SUCK HERE no need to keep repeating it just so you can put yourself in a better light because your spotlight is already so big it can fill up your mouth. But if that's how you want to play and want to win by picking on me go ahead.

I never gave up just so Sydney could have more odds. It may look that way but this wasn't for Sydney this was more for me and about me but thanks to you Chelsea you make it look like I'm helping Sydney win good job spinning things dear. Would you really think i would want you and sydney to win over me? you must be joking right? There is nothing more in this world that would make me happy than winning against you two but that doesnt seem to be happening.

[Chelsea Meissner]

I never made Tom or Mick give up or swayed them to do so, as Chelsea made it sound. Chelsea wanting to take myself and Matt to the end had to do with us being her two best friends of all pre-existing relationships, not because we were the "strongest" which obviously looks like a better explanation.

I think I’ve stated a few times that you two were the people I trusted the most in this game, I’ve stated that both of you were people I knew outside the game, and then I also stated that you both were the strongest people in the game at that later point. Bottom line is, I would have taken you both to the end because we were loyal to eachtoher, we supposedly had an alliance, and you guys were strong; it was respectable. All those reasons contributed to the fact that I wanted us in the end. I’m not twisting anything to make it look like a “better explanation”.

Also this comment Chelsea: "Why didn’t I care? Because Sydney played this game based on pre-existing relationships." Irks me to no end. I'm sorry, were you not playing this game based on pre-existing relationships? Is your best argument against me the thing you're most guilty of yourself? At least I formed a deal with Mike and branched out. Sorry if that comes off harshly, but I wanted to voice that. I know you want to win, but I want it too - and I didn't think that was a fair argument.

I feel like you’re being a little defensive now. I never said that I didn’t play this game without pre-existing relationships in mind. This whole thing was a pre-existing relationships party of sorts. All I was pointing out was that at the end of the game, the majority of people left were your pre-existing relationships and people that wanted to keep you around most: Tom, Mick, and Sandra was then against me, because two of the bonds were unbreakable and loyal until dead. You did form a deal with Mike – kudos – but you weren’t the only one who branched out outside pre-existing relationships socially. I'm not taking it harshly, just trying to clear it up.

Oh now that I read Chelsea's statement. I want to make the record straight that the reason I felt like I was giving up is because people like you Chelsea takes the dirty road to do whatever it takes to win. Your statements about me are so derogatory that you can't look at how flawed your own game is.

I’m taking the “dirty road” to win? Really? I don’t see how. I talk down about your game because it isn’t deserving of a F3 spot. You’re here because Sydney made a deal that she’d bring you here. I’m sorry that you feel like you need to give up because of some of the things I said, but it’s really not my fault that you played the game the way you did. You chose to play that way, and I’m just speaking on how I saw it to be. Sorry that it upsets you at the end of the day. But instead of focusing on the negatives, I did commend you on your consecutive Immunity victories.

I never gave up just so Sydney could have more odds. It may look that way but this wasn't for Sydney this was more for me and about me but thanks to you Chelsea you make it look like I'm helping Sydney win good job spinning things dear.

I don’t think I said you gave up so Sydney could have more odds? I said that in the game Mick basically laid down his torch for her and that you seemingly rolled over here in the finale. I never said that you did it so Sydney had a better chance to win. But the fact that you even brought that up as a reason proves quite interesting. As for the spinning things, I’m not. I’m telling things how I saw them. You’re more than welcome to debate anything you’d like.

Thanks, Sydney and Tom! Thanks again, Shawna!