[Val]

- Sat May 14, 2016 10:30:28 am #7453 Gonna start setting up, I guess. I have no idea how long it should be, but I figured it should be rather concise. Anyway, it's a start:

…I apologize in advance for using the following trite yet accurate phrase. But, in this game, perception is key. If I left you with the perception that I was likable, and that I was flexible, and that, in the end, I was a threat, then that’s something that I created. If the other two left you with less than positive attributes, whether it be that they were combative or a non-factor at times, then that’s on them. We had to live with those perceptions we created in the game and for me, sometimes it made me a huge target, which may not be great, but I worked through it and got to the end with that. Even if you didn’t see me as any of those things, I was still targeted at many key points in this game. Against those odds of being voted out on numerous occasions, I always managed to work it out by opening myself to old alliances, repairing relations with those who voted against me, and, in clinch positions I straight out won myself immunity. I had to be self-reliant in this game and I think the amount of agency I had for myself...

[Val]

- Sat May 14, 2016 11:58:44 am #7455 Draft 2

Hey everybody, it's your girl Val and I'm going to convince you that I am THE one deserving of your vote for sole survivor. But, I have apologize in advance for using the following trite yet accurate phrase; perception is key. In this game, that's almost all we have to go on. So, if I left you with the perception that I was likable, that I was flexible, and that, in the end, I was a threat, then that’s something that I created. If the other two left you with less than positive attributes, whether it be that they were combative or a non-factor at times, then that’s on them. We had to live with those perceptions we created in the game and, for me, it was the reason I was targeted, which may not be great, but I worked through it and got to the end with that typically game-ending onus.

Even if you didn’t see me as any of those aforementioned things (likable, flexible, a threat), I was still targeted at many key points in this game. Against those odds of being voted out on numerous occasions, I always managed to work it out by opening myself to old alliances, repairing relations with those who voted against me, and, in clinch positions I straight out won myself immunity. I had to be self-reliant in this game and I think the amount of agency I had for myself, which I don't think can be said for the other two sitting next to me, at least not on my level...

[Val]

- Sat May 14, 2016 1:37:48 pm #7460 Draft 3

Hey everybody, it's your girl Val and I'm going to convince you that I am THE one deserving of your vote for sole survivor. But, I have apologize in advance for using the following trite yet accurate phrase; perception is key. In this game, that's almost all we have to go on. So, if I left you with the perception that I was likable, that I was flexible, and that, in the end, I was a threat, then that’s something that I created. If the other two left you with less than positive attributes, whether it be that they were combative or a non-factor at times, then that’s on them. We had to live with those perceptions we created in the game and, for me, it was the reason I was targeted, which may not be great, but I worked through it and got to the end with that typically game-ending onus.

Even if you didn’t see me as any of those aforementioned things (likable, flexible, a threat), I was still targeted at many key points in this game. Against those odds of being voted out on numerous occasions, I always managed to work it out by opening myself to old alliances, repairing relations with those who voted against me, and, in clinch positions I straight out won myself immunity. I had to be self-reliant in this game and I think the amount of agency I had for myself, which I don't think can be said for the other two sitting next to me, at least not on my level.

That's the last piece I want to discuss, agency of the self. Here it's going to get a little specific. I had to be self-reliant, especially by final 7. At that point in the game, even my closest allies, Jac and Nadiya, wanted to get me out. With a pretty bad lie to those two about having the HII, I at least read the room right. I knew something was off. I had nobody to rely on but myself, so what I did then was win immunity and give myself an extra week to wait and see if there was another avenue. I found it in Joaquin's admission of the conspiracy against me, and again I was willing to work with someone who I may not have always been on the best of terms with. But he wanted me to keep quiet about it, and I did, until I felt it wasn't good for MY game. This was after Nadiya won Individual immunity at final 6. I needed to control the flow of information for my game and Nadiya being the challenge beast she was, I wasn't about to let me be on her bad side. Joan's outed then he's ousted and then Nad gets another immunity win. I'm still on her side, even with Dale confirming what Joaquin said, I knew I had to bite my tongue.

Final 5 is where my two fellow finalist make there biggest mistakes. Yes, they still make it, but out of a "folie à deux." Dale, lying, says he will never vote out Nad. This lie is terrible because, one he does it under the false notion that he will be voted out in a final 4 of him/Jac/So/me, which was laughable, and two this makes me want to vote him out so much more. Unfortunately (or fortunately for him), Jac is so consumed with the thought that everybody will vote So at the end that she fails to see that Dale being unwilling to vote for Nadiya at final 4 will result with an automatic loss for anybody but Nadiya. What could I do. I tried to make the logical decision to eliminate someone who had a huge potential to destroy my game, but I had two people who were willing to let Nadiya take them to the end. Maybe Dale recanted by F4, but still at that point he had no control...

[Val]

- Sat May 14, 2016 3:50:16 pm #7463 Final Draft?

Hey everybody, it's your girl Val and I'm going to convince you that I am THE one deserving of your vote for sole survivor. But, I have apologize in advance for using the following trite yet accurate phrase; perception is key. In this game, that's almost all we have to go on. So, if I left you with the perception that I was likable, that I was flexible, and that, in the end, I was a threat, then that’s something that I created. If the other two left you with less than positive attributes, whether it be that they were combative or a non-factor at times, then that’s on them. We had to live with those perceptions we created in the game and, for me, it was the reason I was targeted, which may not be great, but I worked through it and got to the end with that typically game-ending onus.

Even if you didn’t see me as any of those aforementioned things (likable, flexible, a threat), I was still targeted at many key points in this game. Against those odds of being voted out on numerous occasions, I always managed to work it out by opening myself to old alliances, repairing relations with those who voted against me, and, in clinch positions I straight out won myself immunity. I had to be self-reliant in this game and I think the amount of agency I had for myself, which I don't think can be said for the other two sitting next to me, at least not on my level.

That's the last piece I want to discuss, agency of the self. Here it's going to get a little specific. I had to be self-reliant, especially by final 7. At that point in the game, even my closest allies, Jac and Nadiya, wanted to get me out. With a pretty bad lie to those two about having the HII, I at least read the room right. I knew something was off. I had nobody to rely on but myself, so what I did then was win immunity and give myself an extra week to wait and see if there was another avenue. I found it in Joaquin's admission of the conspiracy against me, and again I was willing to work with someone who I may not have always been on the best of terms with. But he wanted me to keep quiet about it, and I did, until I felt it wasn't good for MY game. This was after Nadiya won Individual immunity at final 6. I needed to control the flow of information for my game and Nadiya being the challenge beast she was, I wasn't about to let me be on her bad side. Joan's outed then he's ousted and then Nad gets another immunity win. I'm still on her side, even with Dale confirming what Joaquin said, I knew I had to bite my tongue.

Final 5 is where my two fellow finalist make there biggest mistakes. Yes, they still make it, but out of a "folie à deux." Dale, lying, says he will never vote out Nad. This lie is terrible because, one he does it under the false notion that he will be voted out in a final 4 of him/Jac/So/me, which was laughable, and two this makes me want to vote him out so much more. Unfortunately (or fortunately for him), Jac is so consumed with the thought that everybody will vote So at the end that she fails to see that Dale being unwilling to vote for Nadiya at final 4 will result with an automatic loss for anybody but Nadiya. What could I do. I tried to make the logical decision to eliminate someone who had a huge potential to destroy my game, but I had two people who were willing to let Nadiya take them to the end. Maybe Dale recanted by F4, but still at that point he had not only no control over his own game, but none over his mouth.

This is where this point of self-reliance lands. It's the final four and the only MAYBE chance either Dale or Jaclyn have at a decent FTC performance without being blown out of the water is by not letting Nadiya get to the end. This is the bold-point epitome of why my game is so much more deserving of a vote for the win. Literally, because of how we played, this game was down to a vote between me or Nadiya getting ousted, specifically because I was Dale's vote had Nadiya not won and those other two were completely useless at the FIC. They relied on either of us to win to decide their FTC standoff and that says volumes about how they played versus how I played. I worked my ass off and never gave up in that challenge and throughout this whole game, without the help of my allies. They sat there complaining about how tough the challenge was, while Nad and I worked our asses off because we KNEW nobody would carry us to the end. But I came out on top and won that FIC and saved not only my butt, but also allowed them to think they had a chance in this game.

Getting back to my starting point, I am hopefully leaving you with this perception that I am the winner of this season because I worked my ass off and made it here against the most odds. I feel like I never really had to betray any of you, save maybe one or two (this does not count the people who betrayed me first), and my connections with you were all pretty damn civil. I'm the whole package and I'm ready for any specific questions because I accidentally made an even longer essay as to why I am deserving. I know my game and I'm ready to tell you what you need to hear.

[Val]

- Sun May 15, 2016 4:00:43 pm #7492 Final Draft

Hey everybody, it's your girl Val and I'm going to convince you that I am THE one deserving of your vote for the winner of Stranded in Indonesia.

To start, though, I have apologize in advance for using the following trite yet accurate phrase; perception is key. In this game, that's almost all we have to go on. So, if I left you with the perception that I was likable, that I was flexible, and that, in the end, I was a threat, then that’s something that I created. If the other two left you with less than positive attributes, whether it be that they were combative or a non-factor at times, then that’s on them. We had to live with those perceptions we created in the game and, for me, it was the reason I was targeted, which may not be great, but I worked through it and got to the end even with that typically game-ending onus.

Even if you didn’t see me as any of those aforementioned things (likable, flexible, a threat), I was still targeted at many key points in this game. Against those odds of being voted out on numerous occasions, I always managed to work it out by opening myself to old alliances, repairing relations with those who voted against me, and, in clinch positions I straight out won myself immunity. I had to be self-reliant in this game and I think the amount of agency I had for myself, which I don't think can be said for the other two sitting next to me, at least not on my level.

The second half of what I want to discuss is that agency of the self. Here it's going to get a little specific. I had to be self-reliant, especially by final 7. At that point in the game, even my closest allies, Jac and Nadiya, wanted to get me out. I made a (pretty bad, if I'm being honest) lie to those two about having the HII. With this, I at least read the room right. I knew something was off and that I had nobody to rely on but myself. What I did then was win immunity and give myself an extra week to wait and see if there was another avenue.

I found that avenue in Joaquin's admission of the conspiracy against me, and, not for the first time, I was willing to work with someone who I may not have always been on the best of terms with. But he wanted me to keep quiet about it, and I did, until I felt it wasn't good for MY game. This was after Nadiya won Individual immunity at final 6. I needed to control the flow of information and Nadiya being the challenge beast she was, I wasn't about to allow myself to be on her bad side by not revealing a truth she probably already heard from Dale. After Joaq's outed he's then ousted and Nad gets another immunity win. I'm still on her side. Even with Dale confirming that she had been planning to vote for me, I knew I had to bite my tongue.

Final 5 is where my two fellow finalist make there biggest mistakes and I'm fighting for my own game the hardest. Yes, they still make it to the end like me, but out of a "folie à deux." The story goes:

Dale, lying, says he will never vote out Nad. This lie is terrible because, one he does it under the false notion that he will be voted out in a final 4 of him/Jac/So/me, and two this just makes me want to vote him out so much more. Unfortunately (or fortunately for him), Jac is so consumed with the thought that everybody will vote So at the end that she fails to see that Dale being unwilling to vote out Nadiya at final 4 will result with an automatic loss for anybody but Nadiya. What could I do. I tried to make the logical decision to eliminate someone who had a huge potential to destroy my game, but I had two people who were willing to let Nadiya take them to the end. Maybe Dale recanted by F4, but still at that point he had not only no control over his own game, but none over his mouth.

This is where this point of self-reliance lands hard. It's the final four and the only maybe chance either Dale or Jaclyn have at a decent FTC performance without being blown out of the water is by not letting Nadiya get to the end. This is the bold-point epitome of why my game is so much more deserving of a vote for the win. Literally, because of how we played, this game was down to a vote between me or Nadiya getting ousted, specifically because I was Dale's vote had Nadiya won Individual Immunity and those other two were essentially non-factors at the FIC.

These two relied on either of us to win to decide their FTC standoff and that says volumes about how they played versus how I played. I worked my ass off and never gave up in that challenge and throughout this whole game, all without the assured help of my allies from which Dale and Jaclyn benefited. They sat there complaining about how tough the challenge was, while Nad and I battled it out because we knew nobody would carry us to the end. But I came out on top and won that FIC and saved not only my butt, but also allowed them to think they had a chance in this game. Quoting Jeff from the end of the challenge hopefully demonstrates this simply:

Hard fought challenge, probably the closest one of these we have done so kudos to you guys... mainly Nads and Val tbh.

I'm the whole package and I'm ready for any specific questions because I accidentally made an even longer essay as to why I am deserving. I know my game and I'm ready to tell you what you need to hear.

[Val]

- Sun May 15, 2016 6:52:01 pm #7499 "Final Draft" (this is getting stupid)

Hey everybody, it's your girl Val and I'm going to convince you that I am THE one deserving of your vote for the winner of Stranded in Indonesia.

Perception is key. This phrased might sound tired, especially in this context, but that's because in this game, that's almost all we have to go on. So, if I left you with the perception that I was likable, that I was flexible, and that, in the end, I was a threat, then that’s something that I created. If the other two left you with less than positive attributes, whether it be that they were combative, carried, rude or just a plain non-factor at times, then that’s on them. We had to live with those perceptions we created in the game. For me, this perception was the reason I was targeted. This may not be great, but I worked through it. I'm here specifically with that typically game-ending onus.

Even if you didn’t see me as any of those aforementioned things (likable, flexible, a threat), I was still targeted at many key points in this game. That's something that is concrete and against these odds of being voted out on numerous occasions, I always managed to save my self. I succeeded in this by opening myself to any possible alliances, repairing relations with those who voted against me, and, in clinch positions I flat out won immunity for myself. I had to be self-reliant in this game and I think the amount of agency I had for myself is something I don't think the other two can say for themselves, at least not on my level.

This agency is the other important part of what I want to discuss. This is also where I'm going to start getting pretty specific. I absolutely had to be self-reliant, especially by final 7. At that point in the game, even my closest allies, Jac and Nadiya, wanted to get me out. I didn't know for sure at the time, but I decided I needed to lie to those two about having the HII. I felt alone and it turned out, as it was confirmed later on, that I was right for being worried. I had to win immunity that week, I felt. I did and I allowed myself time to find other other options in this very new game of one. I may not have been obviously on my own, but Nadiya leaving me out of the loop on the Joaquin vote eventually made it all too clear.

Speaking on the time around the F6, I found a new avenue in this game in Joaquin's admission of the conspiracy against me. Here, not for the first time, I was willing to work with someone with whom I may not have always been on the best of terms, voting-wise. In all this, he wanted me to keep quiet about it. I was quiet, until I felt it wasn't good for my game. Aside from that, I couldn't let him have that dangling over me so I took back control. After Nadiya won Individual immunity at final 6, I let it all out. I needed to control the flow of information and Nadiya being the challenge beast she was, I wasn't about to allow myself to be on her bad side by not revealing a truth she probably already heard from Dale. Working against Nad was not something I could do, yet I wanted to confront her. I did it relatively civilly, but I was firm. It allowed us to be able to work together again, for at least another vote. I also had to account for the fact that Nadiya was most likely going to win another challenge, not that I wasn't going to put up a fight. I made sure my back was covered for a second time and Joaquin was gone.

Final 5 is where my two fellow finalist made their biggest mistakes and where was fighting for my own game the hardest. Yes, they still make it to the end like me, but out of a "folie à deux." The story goes:

Dale, lying, says he will never vote out Nad. This by itself isn't bad, as it spares him the worry that Nadiya will win another challenge and he is the victim of her vengeance (which is what I am doing at that moment), but he's touting this declaration in private messages wherein Nadiya isn't even involved. This lie is terrible because, for one, he does it under the false notion that he will be voted out in a F4 of him/Jac/So/me, and also it just makes me want to vote him out so much more. Unfortunately (or fortunately for him), Jac is so consumed with the thought that everybody will vote So at the end that she fails to see that Dale being unwilling to vote out Nadiya at final 4 will result with an automatic loss for anybody but Nadiya. What could I do? I try to make the logical decision to eliminate someone who had a huge potential to destroy my game, but I had these two people who were willing to let Nadiya take them to the end.

Maybe Dale recanted by F4, but still at that point he had not only no control over his own game, but none over his mouth. He stated this at the last TC to Nadiya:

Thanks and I was honestly hoping you'd win immunity. :/

This shows that this was not his game being played, but that of those around him. And this is where this point of self-reliance lands hard. It's the final four and the only maybe chance either Dale or Jaclyn have at a decent FTC performance without being blown out of the water is by not letting Nadiya get to the end. This is the bold-point epitome of why my game is so much more deserving of a vote for the win. Literally, because of how we played, this game was came down to an option of me or Nadiya getting ousted next, specifically because I was Dale's vote had Nadiya won Individual Immunity and those other two were essentially non-factors at the Final Immunity Challenge.

These two having relied on either Nadiya or me winning to decide their Final Tribal Council standoff says volumes about how they played versus how I played. I worked my ass off and never gave up in the challenge specifically and the game on the whole. This is all without the assuredhelp of allies, something from which both Dale and Jaclyn benefited. They sat there complaining about how tough the challenge was, while Nad and I battled it out because we knew nobody would carry us to the end. But I came out on top and won that FIC and saved not only my butt, but also allowed them to think they had a chance in this game. Quoting Jeff from the end of the challenge hopefully demonstrates this simply:

Hard fought challenge, probably the closest one of these we have done so kudos to you guys... mainly Nads and Val tbh.

I'm the whole package and I'm ready for any specific questions because I accidentally made an even longer essay as to why I am deserving. I know my game and I'm ready to tell you what you need to hear.

[Val]

- Sun May 15, 2016 7:03:12 pm #7500 Whatever Draft

Hey everybody, it's your girl Val and I'm going to convince you that I am THE one deserving of your vote for the winner of Stranded in Indonesia.

Perception is key. This phrased might sound tired, especially in this context, but that's because in this game, that's almost all we have to go on. So, if I left you with the perception that I was likable, that I was flexible, and that, in the end, I was a threat, then that’s something that I created. If the other two left you with less than positive attributes, whether it be that they were combative, carried, rude or just a plain non-factor at times, then that’s on them. We had to live with those perceptions we created in the game. For me, this perception was the reason I was targeted. This may not be great, but I worked through it. I'm here specifically with that typically game-ending onus.

Even if you didn’t see me as any of those aforementioned things (likable, flexible, a threat), I was still targeted at many key points in this game. That's something that is concrete and against these odds of being voted out on numerous occasions, I always managed to save my self. I succeeded in this by opening myself to any possible alliances, repairing relations with those who voted against me, and, in clinch positions I flat out won immunity for myself. I had to be self-reliant in this game and I think the amount of agency I had for myself is something I don't think the other two can say for themselves, at least not on my level.

This agency is the other important part of what I want to discuss. This is also where I'm going to start getting pretty specific. I absolutely had to be self-reliant, especially by Final 7. At that point in the game, even my closest allies, Jac and Nadiya, wanted to get me out. I didn't know for sure at the time, but I decided I needed to lie to those two about having the HII. I felt alone and it turned out, as it was confirmed later on, that I was right for being worried. I had to win immunity that week, I felt. I did and I allowed myself time to find other other options in this very new game of one. I may not have been obviously on my own, but Nadiya leaving me out of the loop on the Joaquin vote eventually made it all too clear.

Speaking on the time around the F6, I found a new avenue in this game in Joaquin's admission of the conspiracy against me. Here, not for the first time, I was willing to work with someone with whom I may not have always been on the best of terms, voting-wise. In all this, he wanted me to keep quiet about it. I was quiet, until I felt it wasn't good for my game. Aside from that, I couldn't let him have that dangling over me so I took back control. After Nadiya won Individual immunity at Final 6, I let it all out. I needed to control the flow of information and Nadiya being the challenge beast she was, I wasn't about to allow myself to be on her bad side by not revealing a truth she'd probably already heard from Dale. Working against Nad was not something I could do, yet I wanted to confront her. I did it relatively civilly, but I was firm. It allowed us to be able to work together again, for at least another vote. I also had to account for the fact that Nadiya was most likely going to win another challenge, not that I wasn't going to put up a fight. I made sure my back was covered for a second time and Joaquin was gone.

Final 5 is where my two fellow finalist made their biggest mistakes and where was fighting for my own game the hardest. Yes, they still make it to the end like me, but out of a "folie à deux." The story goes:

Dale, lying, says he will never vote out Nad. This by itself isn't bad, as it spares him the worry that Nadiya will win another challenge and he is the victim of her vengeance (which is what I am doing at that moment), but he's touting this declaration in private messages wherein Nadiya isn't even involved. This lie is terrible because, for one, he does it under the false notion that he will be voted out in a Final 4 of him/Jac/So/me, and also it just makes me want to vote him out so much more. Unfortunately (or fortunately for him), Jac is so consumed with the thought that everybody will vote So at the end that she fails to see that Dale being unwilling to vote out Nadiya at Final 4 will result with an automatic loss for anybody but Nadiya. What could I do? I try to make the logical decision to eliminate someone who had a huge potential to destroy my game, but I had these two people who were willing to let Nadiya take them to the end.

Maybe Dale recanted by Final 4, but still at that point he had not only no control over his own game, but none over his mouth. He stated this at the last TC to Nadiya:

Thanks and I was honestly hoping you'd win immunity. :/

This shows that this was not his game being played, but that of those around him. And this is where this point of self-reliance lands hard. It's the final four and the only maybe chance either Dale or Jaclyn have at a decent FTC performance without being blown out of the water is by not letting Nadiya get to the end. This is the bold-point epitome of why my game is so much more deserving of a vote for the win. Literally, because of how we played, this game was came down to an option of me or Nadiya getting ousted next, specifically because I was Dale's vote had Nadiya won Individual Immunity and those other two were essentially non-factors at the Final Immunity Challenge.

These two having relied on either Nadiya or me winning to decide their Final Tribal Council standoff says volumes about how they played versus how I played. I worked my ass off and never gave up in the challenge specifically and the game on the whole. This is all without the assured help of allies, something from which both Dale and Jaclyn benefited. They sat there complaining about how tough the challenge was, while Nad and I battled it out because we knew nobody would carry us to the end. But I came out on top and won that FIC and saved not only my butt, but also allowed them to think they had a chance in this game. Quoting Jeff from the end of the challenge hopefully demonstrates this simply:

Hard fought challenge, probably the closest one of these we have done so kudos to you guys... mainly Nads and Val tbh.

I'm the whole package and I'm ready for any specific questions because I accidentally made an even longer essay as to why I am deserving. I know my game and I'm ready to tell you what you need to hear.

[Val]

- Sun May 15, 2016 7:30:02 pm #7506 Hey everybody, it's your girl Val and I'm going to convince you that I am THE one deserving of your vote for the winner of Stranded in Indonesia.

Perception is key. This phrased might sound tired, especially in this context, but that's because in this game that's almost all we have to go on. So, if I left you with the perception that I was likable, that I was flexible, and that, in the end, I was a threat, then that’s something that I created. If the other two left you with less than positive attributes, whether it be that they were combative, carried, rude or just a plain non-factor at times, then that’s on them. We had to live with those perceptions we created in the game. For me, this perception was the reason I was targeted. This may not have been a great position, but I worked through it. I'm here specifically with that typically game-ending onus.

Even if you didn’t see me as any of those aforementioned things (likable, flexible, a threat), I was still targeted at many key points in this game. That's something that is concrete and against these odds of being voted out on numerous occasions, I always managed to save my self. I succeeded in this by opening myself to any possible alliances, repairing relations with those who voted against me, and, in clinch positions I flat out won immunity for myself. I had to be self-reliant in this game and I think the amount of agency I had for myself is something I don't think the other two can say for themselves, at least not on my level.

This agency is the other important part of what I want to discuss. This is also where I'm going to start getting pretty specific. I absolutely had to be self-reliant, especially by Final 7. At that point in the game, even my closest allies, Jac and Nadiya, wanted to get me out. I didn't know for sure at the time, but I decided I needed to lie to those two about having the HII. I felt alone and it turned out, as it was confirmed later on, that I was right for being worried. I had to win immunity that week, I felt. I did and I allowed myself time to find other other options in this very new game of one. I may not have been obviously on my own, but Nadiya leaving me out of the loop on the Joaquin vote eventually made it all too clear.

Speaking on the time around the F6, I found a new avenue in this game in Joaquin's admission of the conspiracy against me. Here, not for the first time, I was willing to work with someone with whom I may not have always been on the best of terms, voting-wise. In all this, he wanted me to keep quiet about it. I was quiet, until I felt it wasn't good for my game. Aside from that, I couldn't let him have that dangling over me so I took back control. After Nadiya won Individual immunity at Final 6, I let it all out. I needed to control the flow of information and Nadiya being the challenge beast she was, I wasn't about to allow myself to be on her bad side by not revealing a truth she'd probably already heard from Dale. Working against Nad was not something I could do, yet I wanted to confront her. I did it relatively civilly, but I was firm. It allowed us to be able to work together again, for at least another vote. I also had to account for the fact that Nadiya was most likely going to win another challenge, not that I wasn't going to put up a fight. I made sure my back was covered for a second time and Joaquin was gone.

Final 5 is where my two fellow finalist made their biggest mistakes and where was fighting for my own game the hardest. Yes, they still make it to the end like me, but out of a "folie à deux." The story goes:

Dale, lying, says he will never vote out Nad. This by itself isn't bad, as it spares him the worry that Nadiya will win another challenge and he is the victim of her vengeance (which is what I am doing at that moment), but he's touting this declaration in private messages wherein Nadiya isn't even involved. This lie is terrible because, for one, he does it under the false notion that he will be voted out in a Final 4 of him/Jac/So/me, and also it just makes me want to vote him out so much more. Unfortunately (or fortunately for him), Jac is so consumed with the thought that everybody will vote So at the end that she fails to see that Dale being unwilling to vote out Nadiya at Final 4 will result with an automatic loss for anybody but Nadiya. What could I do? I try to make the logical decision to eliminate someone who had a huge potential to destroy my game, but I had these two people who were willing to let Nadiya take them to the end.

Maybe Dale recanted by Final 4, but still at that point he had not only no control over his own game, but none over his mouth. He stated this at the last TC to Nadiya:

Thanks and I was honestly hoping you'd win immunity. :/

This shows that this was not his game being played, but that of those around him. And this is where this point of self-reliance lands hard. It's the final four and the only maybe chance either Dale or Jaclyn have at a decent FTC performance without being blown out of the water is by not letting Nadiya get to the end. This is the bold-point epitome of why my game is so much more deserving of a vote for the win. Literally, because of how we played, this game was came down to an option of me or Nadiya getting ousted next, specifically because I was Dale's vote had Nadiya won Individual Immunity and those other two were essentially non-factors at the Final Immunity Challenge.

These two having relied on either Nadiya or me winning to decide their Final Tribal Council standoff says volumes about how they played versus how I played. I worked my ass off and never gave up in the challenge specifically and the game on the whole. This is all without the assured help of allies, something from which both Dale and Jaclyn benefited. They sat there complaining about how tough the challenge was, while Nad and I battled it out because we knew nobody would carry us to the end. But I came out on top and won that FIC and saved not only my butt, but also allowed them to think they had a chance in this game. Quoting Jeff from the end of the challenge hopefully demonstrates this simply:

Hard fought challenge, probably the closest one of these we have done so kudos to you guys... mainly Nads and Val tbh.

I'm the whole package and I'm ready for any specific questions because I accidentally made an even longer essay as to why I am deserving. I know my game and I'm ready to tell you what you need to hear.