Hay Hay

[rachel]

Hey boysssss first person to pour me three tequila shots gets my vote!

Kidding, I'm not bitter with either of you, but I do have different questions for each of you. I left kind of early, but I didn't pay some attention to voting after I was evicted !

James:

I'd like to first start of by saying evicting me was a good idea for you, it would have put you in a horrible position to keep. I knew that, but I had to try since it was my only option! So here are my questions for you.

1. Why do you feel that you would have lost to/had a harder time against Joe in the F2? (I'm assuming you thought this since you chose to take Dominic instead of Joe)

2. Why did you chose to keep David instead of Drew in the moving from F5 to F4?

3. What did you do in this game besides win competitions and protect your alliance?

Dominic:

I shouldn't have trusted you and normally I wouldn't have.

1. What specific moves did you make in this game to put yourself in a better position and worsen other players' positions in the house? (Since you say that you didn't have much of a physical game, I'm basically asking what stand out social/strategic moves did you make) I have things in mind I'm looking for in this answer.

2. Why did you chose to keep David instead of Drew in the moving from F5 to F4?

3. Do you think you would have had a harder time against Joe in a F2 scenario than against James?

And one question for both you:

1. Do you feel that you would have lost to David if you sat at F2 against him?


Explanations for all answers please! Thanks!

[Dominic Briones]

1. What specific moves did you make in this game to put yourself in a better position and worsen other players' positions in the house? (Since you say that you didn't have much of a physical game, I'm basically asking what stand out social/strategic moves did you make) I have things in mind I'm looking for in this answer.

a) Working with you to get Danielle backdoored was something that I think changed the whole face of the game. She was a wild card, and I didn't feel comfortable with her in the game. I don't think we can truly decide how Danielle's presence would have affected the game, but I was still happy to have been a key player in getting her out.

b) Convincing you to vote out James. We've already been through this, but just to recap, I knew you and Keesha were after Joe the week before. Joe was one of my closest allies at that point. In retrospect, if you're being truthful when you say you would have voted out Keesha with me, had I been honest, then I probably would have done that. Even before the nominees of that round were slated, I had Keesha and Chima on my target for the round. Keesha for her social standing and Chima for her challenge abilities (I was worried she would be tough to take out later). This was the point in the game where I was relying on the Brolliance, so taking out the strong women seemed key in that moment. Also, this move obviously worsened your position, which I genuinely felt bad for. Yes, I didn't have plans to work with you long term, but I wanted to take you farther in case I needed to flip on the boys. I knew you'd be a good option to work with if that was the case.

c) Making f2 deals with David and Joe. While I had connections and deals with others as well (James, Drew, Jason to an extent, & Daniele), I knew that these two were strong allies for the beginning of the game. When they started going against each other in the middle of the game, I was worried I would have to make an obvious move to pick a side, but the way things worked, I was able to stick with them both, which was what saved me the week I was up against Daniele. Unless Joe was playing me, I was very sure that he was completely loyal to me. So I had to pretend when talking to James/David that I was worried Joe wouldn't keep me when I was certain he would.

2. Why did you chose to keep David instead of Drew in the moving from F5 to F4?
This was 100% based on keeping myself safe that next round. I knew David was a much bigger threat in the end, but I knew I had to get to the end first. I predicted that the only way I would be voted out in the final 4 was if James had to choose between me or David. However, since Joe couldn't win HoH, that scenario wasn't an option. I assumed David would keep me over Joe, Joe would keep me over David, James would keep me over Joe, and Joe would keep me over James. Plus, Drew was after me. I didn't want him to be able to cast the sole vote to evict me.

3. Do you think you would have had a harder time against Joe in a F2 scenario than against James?

No. I would have taken Joe to the final 2 for two reasons: to stay loyal to the final 2 I had with him, and because I feel like James hasn't made many enemies and thus will probably get votes based on people not disliking him as much as myself and Joe. I feel like I am probably the most disliked out of the 3 of us though from a jury standpoint. But that's just my perception. Lol.

And one question for both you:
1. Do you feel that you would have lost to David if you sat at F2 against him?
Most likely. I think David played the best social game in the sense that he took the time to really make connections with people. This was always in the back of my mind, but I still don't think that the f5 was the best time for me to have made a move given the circumstances. When I got to the final 4, I knew that I would have to choose between Joe/David if I won PoV since James won HoH. I could have thrown this, feeling pretty safe with both of them, but I didn't. I tried my absolute hardest to win, because I truly did want to be able to rely on my own wins to get farther. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. Which was why I always had a strategy plan A and B whenever I could. I might lose any chance of getting David's vote by saying this, but I was prepared to vote him out in the final 4 if I had won PoV. I knew that going to the f3 with James/David was me playing for third place. Yes, I would have lost a friend and close ally by voting out David, but I also would have lost a friend and close ally by voting out Joe.

SPOILER: Click to show

Round 1
Socially, I made an alliance with David because we connected on a personal level. I also worked with Joe during the HoH and this turned into a deal. I pushed for Chima to leave because I recognized her as a threat. This, however, didn't work in my favor.

Round 2
I feel like I was a main influencer in getting Rachel to backdoor Danielle whom I thought was a possible threat and a wild card that I didn't want messing up my game. I assured Rachel we could get the votes, and worked on doing just that. I also became a part of the "Brolliance" and strengthened my connections around the house.

Round 3
I won PoV and had to make a decision. I wanted Lori to leave, and felt that Joe was safe against her. Ultimately, I wasn't sure if using the PoV would be a risk that would pay off (in trying to prove to Joe that I was loyal to him), but in the end, I think it worked out for my favor to not use the PoV since Joe didn't hold it against me, and I kept Chima appeased (as well as keeping the house happy). Lori ended up leaving, which was what I was hoping for.

Round 4
At this point in the game, I was one of only 4 people to not see the nomination chair (Daniele, David, Dominic, Rachel), which I think spotlights my social game thus far. I had my sights set on Keesha and Chima as the biggest threats to my game, and wanted them out sooner rather than later. This is where I lied to Rachel to get the girls to split their votes between Drew/James so that, even if Jason voted against Drew (which I was worried about), then the votes from me, David, and Joe were enough to take out Keesha. The plan worked, and we didn't end up needing to lie to Rachel. Oops, this is where I made an unnecessary enemy, but it seemed to work out in the end.

Round 5
After James wins HoH, I make sure to secure my place with him. Lucky for me, he nominates the 2 people I would have. The whole week, James was informing me of Rachel's attempt to get him to backdoor me. Even though James swept the week, the best outcome for me was Rachel leaving, so this was definitely a good week for me.
This was also the week that it seemed I had some definite options in the coming weeks, with David and I having 3 different 3-some alliances. Davinic/Joe, Davinic/Drew, Davinic/James.

Round 6
Joe, my new final 2 (well he's tied with David at the moment, but this was the round I really felt we solidified our agreement and I felt I could trust Joe 100%), wins HoH, so I am safe safe safe. I win PoV, which makes me doubly safe. Chima and Dani are the targets, with Chima being the potentially bigger threat. Simple round, not a lot of pizazz. However, this is the round I made James a new target because James is closer to David than me. Need to think end game and keep people around who have me as their number 1 (David and Joe... not James).

Round 7
This is the round Jason left. I didn't really do much strategically, and I felt pretty safe with David in control.

Round 8
This is the round things started to get interesting. I felt I was the only person who wanted Joe to stick around, so I played along with David, James, and Drew, saying that, yes, Joe needed to leave bc he was a challenge threat. Really, I wanted James to leave, with Drew/Dani as possible backup plans. At the point Drew won PoV, I felt Joe was a goner. So when Drew used PoV, things started to shake up. I found out that Drew was after Me/James/David, but what seemed like a shit storm about to start was actually spun in my favor. I relied on my closeness with David and Joe to stay in the eviction vote, and it meant that Joe was still around for me, and I was now playing 2 sides with neither really knowing that I was actually conflicted between Joe/David and after James as my potential target.

Round 9
Joe wins HoH, and I feel this is the PERFECT week to get James out. Then he wins PoV. I am pretty sure Joe won't nominate me. But I pretend to be worried when talking to David/James. I tell Joe to let on as if he was thinking about nominating me. In the end, Drew goes up, and even though Joe probably wants me to vote out David, I need to now swing back and play the other side, voting with James to keep David. This was potentially a dangerous move, knowing that David was a great candidate to win. But I still felt confident that I was David's number 1 (though later found out I probably wasn't). And I also knew Drew was after me. Voting him out seemed logical.

Round 10
I felt about 99% sure I was safe this round. With Joe as outgoing HoH, I knew that an eviction vote would either come down to James having to choose between me and Joe, David having to choose between me or Joe, or Joe having to choose between me or David. (Or me getting to choose, which meant I would stay regardless). In each of those scenarios, I felt I would have the one vote to stay. Naturally, James won HoH, so he was safe (even though I would have loved to have voted him out over Joe if given the chance). That meant either Joe, myself, or David would vote to evict. I felt 100% safe, but knew I sadly needed to get David out, bc at that point, I did NOT want to go into the final 3 with David and James. I still didn't know David had James as his number 1 ally, but I knew they were close, so I figured David would just throw the final HoH if we got f3 together (assuming both James and I would keep him since he was telling us both we were his f2). However, I didn't have to betray David, because Joe wins the final PoV, even though I tried my hardest. I thought I was guaranteed safety. But James/David threw me under the bus. Luckily, I was able to convince Joe that I was 100% on board with our f2 (which, at that point, I was). Joe evicts David, which was the best case scenario since James won HoH.

Round 11
So I'm sitting in the f3 with, arguably, the biggest challenge threats of the season. However, I did have 2 wins under my belt, which, ironically enough, made me the person with the next greatest amount of wins (behind Joe and James having 5 each). Plus, I had finished 2nd place in a few competitions, so I knew I wasn't completely out of the picture for the final HoH, and that I could at least hold my own. I had full intentions of sticking with my f2 with Joe, but also had mad respect for James' game. I wanted to win the endurance badly, but obviously James outlasted me. However, I ended up winning part 2. Then I lose to James by 1 point, and despite him assuring me he was taking me to the end, I was worried that he might bail. I honestly felt that James had a better chance to beat Joe than me, and I figured he might be thinking this too. But up to this point, I felt I did every single thing I could do (short of winning comps that I needed) to get to the end.

[James Rhine]

May 15, 2013 18:13:02 GMT -5 rachel said:

1. Why do you feel that you would have lost to/had a harder time against Joe in the F2? (I'm assuming you thought this since you chose to take Dominic instead of Joe)

Joe won almost as many competitions as I did, so I felt that I would have lost that leverage should I be against Joe. And when it came down to the social/strategic aspects of the game, Joe had evicted my final 2 partner, David, and I think that would have given him alot of favour with the juror as David was likely pegged to win the game. Ultimately, I stayed loyal to Dom which was what I wanted all along, even if he had other plans.

May 15, 2013 18:13:02 GMT -5 rachel said:

2. Why did you chose to keep David instead of Drew in the moving from F5 to F4?

David was always my final 2 so it was essentially a no-brainer to evict Drew over him. I would have been perfectly fine losing to David in the finals. Also, I really wanted Drew out for ruining my plans of taking out Joe the week prior by saving him with the veto. I felt like I had lost a lot of trust in Drew so I kind of wanted to exact my revenge in a way.

May 15, 2013 18:13:02 GMT -5 rachel said:

3. What did you do in this game besides win competitions and protect your alliance?

Well, I, along with David, came up with the Brolliance which essentially dominated the first half of the game. I think I showed that I am possibly the most loyal player as I would always stick with David and Dom despite what their true intentions were. I think I did well in allowing others to think that it was David and Dom who were controlling the game and gathering information from others to use against them. Of course, you know that, as I did it with you and with Drew as well. I think I did well in planting seeds and staying out of trouble, for example when I found out that Chima could possibly nominate me, I made sure that it was Joe who went up and made sure that there was animosity between those two. I think I worked alot harder to get where I am as I was a huge target late in the game. I was good at adapting to situations in the game, such as being nominated week 4. I trusted my alliance and acted dumb with some players in order to ensure that David and Dom would be in the spotlight and not me. Even in the final 3, when I knew that Joe and Dom had a final 2, I did everything possible to play the middle man and gather information from each of them and tell the other to create friction between them. So I think that my strategic decision were alot more under the radar than Dom's and I think that the smarter way to play it as other's don't expect it.

May 15, 2013 18:13:02 GMT -5 rachel said:

Do you feel that you would have lost to David if you sat at F2 against him?

Yes, I do think I would have lost David if I sat next to him in the finals. I know I've said it time and time again, but David played an almost flawless social game and sometimes that's all it takes to win the game. I think alot of the jurors would have felt that he played the better strategic and that he made most of the decision, which isn't true, but because of his impeccable social game, it would have appeared that way. David is a smart guy, he planned on being in the final 3 with Dom and myself knowing very well that both of us would have taken him. So in a way, I'm glad Joe took care of him, because I don't think I would have been able to.


Sorry if it seemed like I was rambling. I'm glad that you don't hold anything against me, Rachel. Thanks for your questions! Hope I get your vote