I fully believe that if there’s anyone that deserves the hero of the season (other than myself) it’s you. I want you to tell me a time you manipulated someone into doing something you wanted to do. Also please tell me your dream elimination order from the final 10 to the final 3 if you had it your way. - @Virgo {S9; S10}
i'll go with this specific example at the final 6... riley, i love you, i am sorry.
mateo going was absolutely a method of positioning myself in the best possible manner. it put a move, a spark, and a narrative to my name coupled with optimization (shit dude, i'm able to say i can compare myself to
cirie fucking fields.) mateo being out of the game at 6 specifically wasn't in riley's best interest at all. i'd heard rumblings of mateo not wanting to make final tribal council, and i will say once again, mateo going for me was set in stone long before mateo expressed to me specifically that he wanted to go. if katie were to go at final 6 with no idol play, riley's got an idol at 5. if soul won that challenge and riley played an idol, i go. if riley won that challenge anyways, soul goes. soul not being there would put riley in a huge position to win final immunity, but whether it's myself or soul present at 4, mateo asks to leave there, putting riley in the final 3 (which is even more guaranteed if soul goes at 5 which he would've). i'd either get fifth place or lose easily to riley at this very stage if riley's original target of katie is out at 6.
i sold the mateo snipe to riley under the guise of guaranteeing that one of us wins and that one of us was the final juror. in the back of my mind, this solidified that i would be the one (contending to) win, and that riley got fourth. mateo specifically going was
not in riley's best interest, and it was solely in mine (and lezaria's). i essentially got riley to dig herself in a hole to be gone at either 4 or 5 without a "goat" who wanted out before final tribal. she sits here and i either don't sit here or i look like a goat if i don't convince her to put the target on mateo.
riley, i do apologize on a human level for being manipulative towards you regarding all this. while i think you could infer i wanted you gone at four, i do need to admit that i didn't really intend on ever letting you get past that, and i didn't want to make fire against you. i had to lie to you and backstab you all over again, because in the game of survivor it's what i need to do to be sitting here. i apologize to riley the person, but from a gameplay pov i have zero regrets as to how i played that final 6 round at all.
i could also say i manipulated mateo into staying on katie there to "avoid rocks" when i orchestrated a 3-2-1 on him. i'd known that entire day i was writing his name down, with riley doing so too and lezaria keeping soul and katie at bay. him saying he wanted to go only changed what i wrote on my parchment.
10) soul
9) katie
6-8) mateo/riley/virgo (it would come down to circumstance for the specific order)
5) faye
4) dino (firemaking showdown)
finalists) corny/lezaria/me