Post by porsche on Aug 29, 2017 22:28:47 GMT
Well, here we are. The game that started over two and a half months ago is finally coming to an end. It's been a long and sometimes bumpy ride, but I had a great time. This is a fantastic series, and I want to thank Kat and the other hosts for giving me a chance to play and for making this game a blast. I also want to thank Nicole for delaying the game a day, inadvertently making it easier for me to do endgame challenges when I was out of town 
To the prejurors that have been supporting me, I miss you. I've gotten a warm fuzzy feeling any time one of you liked my posts. Jury, it's been a lot of fun playing with all of you. Whether we were on the same side or not, you guys have made this experience what it was. And finally, Corey, you've been a good friend and a good ally and I wish you luck. I'm glad you're here with me and I'd like to keep in contact outside of the game.
Coming into this game, my work cut out for me. I was up against 19 talented players. The best place to be coming into an All Stars game is to not be seen as a threat. That was never going to work for me. I had won Season 13 while never being nominated. I won the first HOH and to put it nicely, it was a disaster. I based my decisions off the assumption that I could nominate Natalie. I couldn't, and after Sarah's quit ended the week, it was like I had nominated three people without the benefits of being HOH.
I knew that I needed to change my game. In season 13, I had won while never getting nominated, having alliances with everyone, and throwing competitions. My game was a lot different here, and it needed to be. If I tried to play like season 13 Porsche, I would be exposed and sent home. What I did instead was work my social game and try to have solid relationships with everyone. With such a large cast, I didn't need deals with everyone. I just needed was for the person in power to feel like I was good with them, and that others were more threatening.
While this was happening, I let other people make mistakes and put the target on themselves, making week 1 a distant memory. Jen tried and failed to save Tiffany. Alliances were getting exposed left and right, and while people knew who I was close to, I was never the primary target. My main alliance was me, Kelsey, Shelli and Jen and of those four, I was the smallest target. Ally after ally left, but I was never one of them. This was the weakest part of my game and I didn't really have any control, but I survived when after the first week and with my reputation coming in, I really shouldn't have.
I was tired of losing allies and feeling powerless, and once again, something needed to change. Outwardly, I was talking about how alone I felt. But behind the scenes, I was focusing on gathering enough allies to eventually take over the game. Kelsey and Corey were fantastic allies, but I knew I needed more.
Cody and I had nominated each other early on, but after he had put me on the block, I smiled, told him I understood and continued to talk with him. Eventually, he told me that I was one of the people he talked with the most. We made an alliance and he became one of my closest allies.
Me/Kelsey/Shelli and Zach/Natalie had been on opposite sides in the first part of the game, but we talked and made a truce. I wasn't the one driving that truce but I was all for it, and it benefited me. I used the opportunity to finally connect with Natalie, and I discovered that I really liked her.
These two examples highlight what I consider my best quality as a player: I never held grudges. If somebody wronged me, I didn't forget but I forgave. In Big Brother, anyone can get power at any time and I never wanted to totally write someone off. And if I wronged someone, I would apologize and try to win back their trust. When I was nominated at the final 11, two of the votes I had to save were those of Cody and Natalie, and they were two people I had nominated or almost nominated in Week 1.
Sure, you can say I got lucky with this. But what's important is that someone else would use such a strong power to save me. And not only was Kelsey using it on me, she was using it to save me at the final 12, right after she got the power and before jury had even started. She could have easily decided to save it for herself, but I had built such a strong relationship with her that it didn't.
In the Fast Forward round, Kelsey was targeting Cody. Howard told me that Cody had sold out the me/Cody/Kelsey alliance and said we needed to vote him out. I agreed, but things weren't adding up. Howard led with some weak reasons why I shouldn't trust Cody, before dropping the bomb an hour later. He also had to leave for work immediately after I asked for a quote. Sure, maybe he really had work, but it was convenient timing.
When Howard finally showed me his quote, I realized that the timestamps were off, told Howard I knew he was lying and made him admit what had actually happened. This is something I figured out completely by myself.
With this information, I realized that A) while Arlie may be willing to work with me, Cody was the more dependable ally and B) that Arlie going would weaken Howard. I helped flip the votes to keep Cody, and he stayed.
When Natalie won HOH, she nominated me against Cody. Cody was the target, but he won the veto, putting me in danger. Natalie knew about me/Kelsey/Cody and me/Kelsey/Corey, and with Kelsey and Cody after each other, I was the glue. Evicting me would have been a good move.
I talked to Natalie and at 12:10 PM, she told me that she was going to nominate Corey in order to send me home. I asked her who would be the alternative, she said Erika, and I convinced her that Erika was too big of a competition and jury threat to leave in. At 12:39 PM, Natalie said that she was "heavily leaning towards Erika." She followed through, Erika was nominated and sent home unanimously.
At the Final 6, Kelsey nominated Cody and Howard, with Cody as the target. But I thought about it, and concluded that Howard going was better for ME. I hadn't forgotten his lie from two rounds ago, I trusted Cody more, and I was worried about leaving him and Natalie one competition away from the final 4. I talked to Corey about evicting Howard, we flipped the votes and sent Howard home 2-1.
I won the final 5 HOH and everybody was pressuring me to get Kelsey out. But I knew that wasn't what was good for me. I felt like Cody was thinking about cutting me, and he was one of the best competitors left. I decided that my best move was cutting Cody first.
Cody's eviction left me in a very good spot. I couldn't compete for final 4 HOH, but there were very few HOH/POV winner combinations that would put me in danger. Once Natalie won the HOH, I was guaranteed to make the final 3.
I won the final 4 veto and had to make a decision. There was Corey, somebody who was a good ally and was seen as a "goat". There was also Kelsey, who had been my #1 ally for almost the whole game and had kept me safe numerous times. My heart really wanted to stay loyal, but my head knew that Kelsey was a massive threat and that a final 2 with Kelsey would have been an uphill battle at best.
In the end, I chose to play for the win and made the tough decision to cut Kelsey. Kelsey was a huge part of this season, and many, many people had wanted her out. I was the one who finally did it.
There are three parts to playing a great Big Brother game: competitions, strategy and the social game. I won four competitions in a row, earning my spot in the end and getting out the people I needed to get out. My strategic game was great. I knew who I needed to get out each round and once the jury started, I was always able to make it happen. I also had a very strong social game. I had relationships with pretty much everyone, I knew information before it leaked, and I was able to keep myself safe even when people who weren't my allies were HOH.
I played a very well rounded game, and I'm proud of the way I played. I made a lot of moves and never received an eviction vote. I would be honored to join Estelle as the only two time winners, and I hope you guys make that happen.
Thanks once again to the hosts and players for this game. I've had a great time and I'm looking forward to your questions!
To the prejurors that have been supporting me, I miss you. I've gotten a warm fuzzy feeling any time one of you liked my posts. Jury, it's been a lot of fun playing with all of you. Whether we were on the same side or not, you guys have made this experience what it was. And finally, Corey, you've been a good friend and a good ally and I wish you luck. I'm glad you're here with me and I'd like to keep in contact outside of the game.The Beginning
Coming into this game, my work cut out for me. I was up against 19 talented players. The best place to be coming into an All Stars game is to not be seen as a threat. That was never going to work for me. I had won Season 13 while never being nominated. I won the first HOH and to put it nicely, it was a disaster. I based my decisions off the assumption that I could nominate Natalie. I couldn't, and after Sarah's quit ended the week, it was like I had nominated three people without the benefits of being HOH.
I knew that I needed to change my game. In season 13, I had won while never getting nominated, having alliances with everyone, and throwing competitions. My game was a lot different here, and it needed to be. If I tried to play like season 13 Porsche, I would be exposed and sent home. What I did instead was work my social game and try to have solid relationships with everyone. With such a large cast, I didn't need deals with everyone. I just needed was for the person in power to feel like I was good with them, and that others were more threatening.
While this was happening, I let other people make mistakes and put the target on themselves, making week 1 a distant memory. Jen tried and failed to save Tiffany. Alliances were getting exposed left and right, and while people knew who I was close to, I was never the primary target. My main alliance was me, Kelsey, Shelli and Jen and of those four, I was the smallest target. Ally after ally left, but I was never one of them. This was the weakest part of my game and I didn't really have any control, but I survived when after the first week and with my reputation coming in, I really shouldn't have.
The Second Quarter
I was tired of losing allies and feeling powerless, and once again, something needed to change. Outwardly, I was talking about how alone I felt. But behind the scenes, I was focusing on gathering enough allies to eventually take over the game. Kelsey and Corey were fantastic allies, but I knew I needed more.
Cody and I had nominated each other early on, but after he had put me on the block, I smiled, told him I understood and continued to talk with him. Eventually, he told me that I was one of the people he talked with the most. We made an alliance and he became one of my closest allies.
Me/Kelsey/Shelli and Zach/Natalie had been on opposite sides in the first part of the game, but we talked and made a truce. I wasn't the one driving that truce but I was all for it, and it benefited me. I used the opportunity to finally connect with Natalie, and I discovered that I really liked her.
These two examples highlight what I consider my best quality as a player: I never held grudges. If somebody wronged me, I didn't forget but I forgave. In Big Brother, anyone can get power at any time and I never wanted to totally write someone off. And if I wronged someone, I would apologize and try to win back their trust. When I was nominated at the final 11, two of the votes I had to save were those of Cody and Natalie, and they were two people I had nominated or almost nominated in Week 1.
The DPOV
Sure, you can say I got lucky with this. But what's important is that someone else would use such a strong power to save me. And not only was Kelsey using it on me, she was using it to save me at the final 12, right after she got the power and before jury had even started. She could have easily decided to save it for herself, but I had built such a strong relationship with her that it didn't.
Howard's Lie
In the Fast Forward round, Kelsey was targeting Cody. Howard told me that Cody had sold out the me/Cody/Kelsey alliance and said we needed to vote him out. I agreed, but things weren't adding up. Howard led with some weak reasons why I shouldn't trust Cody, before dropping the bomb an hour later. He also had to leave for work immediately after I asked for a quote. Sure, maybe he really had work, but it was convenient timing.
When Howard finally showed me his quote, I realized that the timestamps were off, told Howard I knew he was lying and made him admit what had actually happened. This is something I figured out completely by myself.
With this information, I realized that A) while Arlie may be willing to work with me, Cody was the more dependable ally and B) that Arlie going would weaken Howard. I helped flip the votes to keep Cody, and he stayed.
Natalie's HOH
When Natalie won HOH, she nominated me against Cody. Cody was the target, but he won the veto, putting me in danger. Natalie knew about me/Kelsey/Cody and me/Kelsey/Corey, and with Kelsey and Cody after each other, I was the glue. Evicting me would have been a good move.
I talked to Natalie and at 12:10 PM, she told me that she was going to nominate Corey in order to send me home. I asked her who would be the alternative, she said Erika, and I convinced her that Erika was too big of a competition and jury threat to leave in. At 12:39 PM, Natalie said that she was "heavily leaning towards Erika." She followed through, Erika was nominated and sent home unanimously.
Howard's Eviction
At the Final 6, Kelsey nominated Cody and Howard, with Cody as the target. But I thought about it, and concluded that Howard going was better for ME. I hadn't forgotten his lie from two rounds ago, I trusted Cody more, and I was worried about leaving him and Natalie one competition away from the final 4. I talked to Corey about evicting Howard, we flipped the votes and sent Howard home 2-1.
My HOH
I won the final 5 HOH and everybody was pressuring me to get Kelsey out. But I knew that wasn't what was good for me. I felt like Cody was thinking about cutting me, and he was one of the best competitors left. I decided that my best move was cutting Cody first.
Cody's eviction left me in a very good spot. I couldn't compete for final 4 HOH, but there were very few HOH/POV winner combinations that would put me in danger. Once Natalie won the HOH, I was guaranteed to make the final 3.
Kelsey's Eviction
I won the final 4 veto and had to make a decision. There was Corey, somebody who was a good ally and was seen as a "goat". There was also Kelsey, who had been my #1 ally for almost the whole game and had kept me safe numerous times. My heart really wanted to stay loyal, but my head knew that Kelsey was a massive threat and that a final 2 with Kelsey would have been an uphill battle at best.
In the end, I chose to play for the win and made the tough decision to cut Kelsey. Kelsey was a huge part of this season, and many, many people had wanted her out. I was the one who finally did it.
Summary
There are three parts to playing a great Big Brother game: competitions, strategy and the social game. I won four competitions in a row, earning my spot in the end and getting out the people I needed to get out. My strategic game was great. I knew who I needed to get out each round and once the jury started, I was always able to make it happen. I also had a very strong social game. I had relationships with pretty much everyone, I knew information before it leaked, and I was able to keep myself safe even when people who weren't my allies were HOH.
I played a very well rounded game, and I'm proud of the way I played. I made a lot of moves and never received an eviction vote. I would be honored to join Estelle as the only two time winners, and I hope you guys make that happen.
Thanks once again to the hosts and players for this game. I've had a great time and I'm looking forward to your questions!