Board Thread:Survivor 24: Caracol/@comment-30582641-20170606184308

'''Hey everyone! I’m so glad to see you all again. '''



'''Before I begin, I want to thank Nick, Joe, Bryce, and Nuno for organizing this amazing adventure for us, and letting it age like fine wine rather than rush the season. Did you know that Argentina was at F19 when we began? And of course, I want to shoutout to my fellow competitors for being an important part of my life these past two whole months. I've had such a blast and I can't believe it's almost over. '''





'''I want to start by acknowledging that Hunter is an incredible, earnest, radiant human being who only expects the best of everyone and I think it took me way too long to appreciate him fully. ​His biggest fault in this game was that he constructed his alliances upon friendship, and expected everyone else to do the same.  I appreciate his gesture to not campaign negatively against me, but I’m here to demonstrate that I deserve to win, as he should be too, and for us to hold ourselves to that standard doesn’t make sense, because any criticism we dish out of each other is strictly impersonal anyway, and he’ll still be my great friend at the end of the day. I already warned Hunter I’ll be attacking his game, and he says he’ll allow it as long as he can call me out on any bullshit, and he can retaliate during the questioning phase, which is his right. So here are seven reasons why I deserve your vote, featuring Hunter: ​'''

  '''Hunter’s weakness was that he was loyal to the point of fault. He boxed himself in by designating his allies into his Number One (Me), Number Two (Anna), Numbers Three and Four (Zach and Luis in some order), and then his non-allies: everyone else. He held himself to that ranking the entire game, as he said himself in his Rite of Passage for Zach. '''
 * 1) <span style="font-size:18pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;font-weight:700;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;">I played a more flexible game. 

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.7999999999999998;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-indent:36pt;">'''<span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;">Hunter based these rankings on how strong a personal connection he felt with that person, so I'm flattered of course, and I admire the way Hunter values friendship, but in Caracol it wasn't practical and he should have been able to separate personal relationships from the game better. Tthis is how I was able to go behind Hunter's back several times without him doubting me. In fact, this is the first Hunter is hearing of this. <span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;">It also let me guarantee Hunter never went behind mine. '''

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.7999999999999998;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-indent:36pt;">'''<span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;">Meanwhile, I always kept my options open. For example, Hunter and I understood we couldn't let Anna reach the end because of he remarkable gameplay but he was insistent that she reach the Final 3 with us, due to his ally ranking. I wasn't entirely comfortable allowing Anna within one challenge of the win, and it turns out my worries were justified because she nearly won. It's why I wanted Luis, who targeted Anna first and foremost, in the F4, in case I ultimately wanted to eliminate Anna then. It's why I wanted Forrest gone at F5, so Luis could reach the F4. And finally, it's half of why I wanted Lori gone on the F6 revote, so Forrest would hang around and be a bigger target than Luis at F5. '''

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.7999999999999998;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;">'''<span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;">Ultimately I decided blindsiding Anna at F4 was not worth the trouble or risk, and didn't follow through, but at least I had a fallback option always if I felt too threatened.  <p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.7999999999999998;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;">           The day of the Final 9 vote, I had an exam and couldn’t talk to many people. When I finished, I asked Hunter if he’s sure we have all the numbers in place, and if I should talk to Christine, Thiru, Lori etc. He tells me not to worry about it; he had it covered, and I should just vote and be done with it. I had my reservations, but I listened. It was obviously a mistake to trust Hunter’s judgement. I’m not claiming I’d have been able to sniff out the truth, but I absolutely was much more wary than Hunter at that vote, as someone should be at all times. '''
 * 1) <p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.7999999999999998;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:18pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;font-weight:700;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;">I had better judgement. 

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.7999999999999998;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;">'''<span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;">          Then, at the F8 vote, the majority alliance was going to split the votes between be and Hunter. That was their plan, and it’d have worked if they followed through. Hunter and I knew what was coming, and he was still insisting that neither of us play our idols, because Thiru was flipping, while I was telling him we should play our idols, because Thiru wasn’t flipping; he just wanted us to idol Christine out. In hindsight, I made the right call. '''

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.7999999999999998;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;">'''<span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;">           THEN, the majority alliance changed plans and decided to blindside Thiru. This is when I believe Luis started messaging me that he really, really, really, really needs me to trust him now, and that I need to play my idol. I couldn’t know for sure what was going on behind my back, but that was the moment I decided that I should NOT play my idol. And what did Hunter say when I told him what Luis was saying? “Well shit, maybe we should play our idols,” Anna as my witness. So even when neither of us had the full picture, I read the situation much better than Hunter did. For most of the game, I knew when to be skeptical, and when to trust. Hunter did not. '''

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.7999999999999998;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;">  <p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.7999999999999998;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-indent:36pt;">'''<span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;">There’s a reason I let Hunter post his speech first, and that’s because I wanted to let him demonstrate that he’s been playing a loyal game to me this whole time. I, on the other hand, have played this game for myself, and for my allies only by extension, as is the nature of allies. You can see that every decision he made, he put in terms of what was good for the two of us. Every decision I made, I did because it was best for me alone. I know some of you had the perception that I’ve sheeped Hunter to the end, but hopefully this shows that if anything, the opposite is true. Hunter and I split the control and the benefits of Hunter’s moves; only I controlled my own moves. '''
 * 1) <p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.7999999999999998;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:18pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;font-weight:700;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;">I controlled Hunter’s vote. 

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.7999999999999998;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-indent:36pt;">'''<span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;">Here are some specifics. Oftentimes Hunter, Anna and I were all in agreement, and I never felt the need to twist arms to get my way. That changed at the F6 revote, when Forrest was the obvious target, but I wanted Lori gone. So I played up my concerns about Lori and my doubts about Forrest’s threat level. I told Hunter that Anna would be more likely to stick with us if her other options were Forrest and Luis, when really I was never worried about Anna’s loyalty at F5, and neither should Hunter have been. I told Hunter that Forrest absolutely, definitely had the fake idol and would play it at F5, so he’d be vulnerable then, when really, I had serious doubts at that point that Forrest had the fake idol. And Hunter begrudgingly agreed with me. So Lori went. Her exit was not as good for my alliance as Forrest’s would have been, but her exit was best for me (More on that soon). '''

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.7999999999999998;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-indent:36pt;">'''<span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;">Again, Hunter and I butted heads at F5. And again, I got my way. This time, Hunter admitted he only chose to disagree with me and target Luis because he wanted to assert his own authority so he could look good in front of you, the jury. He literally acted against his own interests so he could claim he controlled my vote, but it backfired because I still got my way, so it demonstrates the opposite if anything. '''

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.7999999999999998;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;">     <p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.7999999999999998;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-indent:36pt;">'''<span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;">I think I was brutally honest about the limitations of my social game in my Rites of Passage: I struggled to repair certain relationships. However, my game was strong enough that I could work around Christine and Forrest due to my connections with others and that's what I did. '''
 * 1) <p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.7999999999999998;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:18pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;font-weight:700;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;">I had a stronger social game. 

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.7999999999999998;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-indent:36pt;">'''<span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;">Hunter did have more working relationships among Rosa Mai, it’s true, but I was also hampered by the majority alliance refusing to be open with me in a coordinated effort to flush my idol. And the relationships I had were very, very strong. To start, there was my Outcast bestie Anna. But there was also Kristen, who told me everything she heard, even from her second-closest ally, and blew up her own game and his for my sake (Not that I approve of it, but she had my best intentions at heart). There was Luis, who was my ride-or-die premerge, and then my supposed ride-or-die from the F6 revote until his boot (I know this news to Anna or Hunter, but Luis can confirm). There was Zach, who trusted me just as much as he did Hunter, despite our time apart. I’m even talking Forrest, whom I believe was only interested in me while I was worth his time, but whom nevertheless chose to trust me over Hunter and Zach on Cayo. And of course, Hunter himself, who flattered me on Day 3 when he said a felt a strong connection to me (As I've explained to Hunter, it was one-sided at the time, but I appreciated how much he cared about me and from that our friendship grew). These are all people I found similar interests with and really enjoyed conversing with and perhaps because it felt so natural is why many were so sustaining. '''

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.7999999999999998;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;">'''<span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;">           Of course, not all of these panned out. Kristen quit, Zach was blindsided, and Luis mistakenly believed I’d never trust him again after his first betrayal. Forrest something something fake idol too. But I didn’t need five tight allies. Five would have been nice, but I did just dandy with only two. '''

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.7999999999999998;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-indent:36pt;">'''<span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;">From F8 to F7 Hunter may have had more lines of communication open, but thanks to my strong connections to him and Anna, I was never out of the loop. Everything said to Hunter and Anna was parroted to me. Was everything said to me parroted to Hunter? No. Details further down. '''

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.7999999999999998;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;">  <p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.7999999999999998;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;">'''<span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;">           By the little things, I mean things totally outside the realm of traditional Survivor strategy that only I was looking for ways to exploit. For example, testing trust with fake idols, pretending I couldn't trust people because I had tested them with fake idols to justify blindsides, inventing codes for tribal council posts to communicate across tribe lines, and telling Anna about the code so she could demonstrate to Hunter that I trusted her, and so could he, when we swapped. I also figured out the relationship between tribe colors and idol answers without a clue, and was only a day or so behind Luis for the merge idol. '''
 * 1) <p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.7999999999999998;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:18pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;font-weight:700;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;">I did the little things. 

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.7999999999999998;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;">'''<span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;">           The biggest of the little things (har har) was establishing myself an insurance policy of sorts at F4, when I sent Luis to ask Anna to vote for me (and say that he was voting for me too): Had Anna agreed to Luis, I'd have voted for her along with Luis and eliminated her 2-1-1. Instead, Anna repeated to me that Luis asked her to vote for me, showing me that she really did plan on taking me to the Final 2 over Hunter (Because allowing Luis in the F3 meant Anna likely was expecting Hunter to beat Luis, while I was a slight overdog over Hunter), and therefore I could be more comfortable allowing her into the F3 than I had been. Although Anna taking me to the end was still a bad scenario for me, at least it was better than risking she'd cut me at F3 like I did her, and in my mind it tipped the scales towards not forcing an F4 tie. '''

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.7999999999999998;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;">  <p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.7999999999999998;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;">'''<span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;">           This one is pretty open and shut. I’ve won four challenges, twice as many as anyone else. For most of the premerge and merge, I downplayed my physical potential because I didn’t feel trying my hardest was worth the attention. When we entered the endgame at F5, I really kicked it into high gear, because guaranteeing that I was immune meant guaranteeing my targets were not. This is why I only won one of the first seven individual challenges (Touchy Subjects), but then won three of the last five. Of course, it didn’t hurt that my competition took a big hit when Christine left. '''
 * 1) <p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.7999999999999998;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:18pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;font-weight:700;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;">I’ve played the best physical game. 

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.7999999999999998;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;">'''<span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;">​           Hunter emphasized in his opening statement exactly how much energy he poured into the challenges, and I want to echo that. I'm also a high school senior, graduating in a few days time, and I lost plenty of sleep due to Caracol. The endurance challenge I lasted 26 hours on came right before my final Humanities exam. It's amazing how much we all cared, and really highlights the hosts' efforts to keep us entertained. '''

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.7999999999999998;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;">  <p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.7999999999999998;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-indent:36pt;">'''<span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;">Firstly, I attended three tribal councils premerge, and Hunter attended one.I was never in any danger of going premerge, like most of us who made the merge, to be fair, but I was in the least danger of all. On every single tribe premerge, I believe I’d have been one of the last two standing if that tribe was Ulonged. Anna and Luis can correct me if my understanding is wrong, but if Maya 2.0 had kept losing, the three of us would have been the last standing on that tribe, and if we lost again, I believe I'd have had my pick for who to take with me. The same thing applies to Macal, with me, Luis and Kristen. So no matter how dire my tribe’s situation became premerge, I was always prepared. And not only did I survive, I got my first choice at every council. Of course, Matt and Marie were really the first choices of everyone so I won't take too much credit for their exits, but only I wanted Dwayne gone most at his boot. '''
 * 1) <p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.7999999999999998;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:18pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;font-weight:700;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;">I had more to overcome. 

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.7999999999999998;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-indent:36pt;">'''<span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;">Secondly, Losing Kristen, someone who trusted me absolutely, was a huge blol to my influence at the merge as well. There were so many variables that I can't predict how different the merge would have been, but for starters, our greater alliance wouldn’t have lost the majority when Luis flipped. '''

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.7999999999999998;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-indent:36pt;">'''<span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;">Finally, I had to deal with stigma. Luis, I'm sorry for calling you out because you're my homie, but as my former closest ally I believe a lot of the majority alliance trusted your opinion of me as a player and a person. And since you, as you told me later, decided I was the spazzy BIG MOVEZ type to blindside anyone for Poptart, just because I'm an enthusiastic and booksmart teenage boy, that was the impression that stuck with people, even though it’s not an opinion that you stand by anymore. I understand stereotyping is something we all do, consciously or subconsciously, so I don’t blame you at all, but I have to bring it up because I strongly believe it hurt the willingness of others to work with me. '''

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<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.7999999999999998;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-indent:36pt;">'''<span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;">This is all for my opening statement. There is much more I want to cover, but I don’t want to overload everyone with everything I have to say for now. The topics I cut from here are ones that I expect to I’ll be questioned about, so I’ll address them then. If there’s anything left over, I’ll squeeze it into my closing statement. Ask away! ''' <ac_metadata title="Roodman&#039;s Opening Statement"> </ac_metadata>