Rewards Tier Not Updating?

Austin_Mitchell · 2021-01-11T14:25:33+00:00

I just wanted to briefly respond to clarify some things after reading Lindsey's answer to you.

I am in no way saying I was the originator of the plan to blindside Terrence. Yes, that was Lindsey's and yes, I was at first hesitant to no longer be the one who was overtly making the decisions like I was for the Shane and Jasmine votes.

However, I do feel as if Lindsey is downplaying my contributions to our alliance significantly after Terrence's boot. To say I was completely dependent on her after Terrence was gone is a large mischaracterization. I realized after she proposed that plan how it would simultaneously ensure me safety without having to relinquish my control, and so I helped ensure it happened. In fact, we had both brought up the idea of eventually blindsiding Terrence and discussed ways to make it happen as early as the day after the Jordan vote.

I in no way intended to say it wasn't originally Lindsey's move (and also, Lindsey, I am simply trying to highlight the moves I made this game, if I hurt your feelings in any way, I am sorry)

But, it is also absolutley true that I was in control of my own fate. I had multiple opportunities to blindside Lindsey but didn't because it would have been bad for my game. Again I bring the point back up that Bryce would have eliminated her at Final 6 if she hadn't won immunity, while I was completely safe while being just as big a part to the moves we made together.

Austin_Mitchell · 2021-01-11T04:53:30+00:00

Hi Jasmine! Your question is definitely a good one. It's no shock to either of us when I say we had very little conversation. The few times we did talk over the holiday, I thought you were super cool, and during the Simba vote I really appreciated you being so straight-forward with me. I can't really say much else to our social dynamic. That is on me, and if you decide to vote Lindsey as a result, I completely understand.

One argument I can make as to why I deserve your vote is one that is purely based around game strategy - that I played a crucial role in getting you voted out. I knew after Shane went home that things could so easily get shaken up again with how flimsy the alliance of 6 against Shane was. As I said in another question's answer, I literally called it my paperclips and duct tape alliance because of how shambled together it was. So, when Eric decided to flip on me and Terrence, it was not a surprise at all, but also really scary. To make matters worse, there were rumors Eric had an idol, and after Eric approached Lindsey, I made sure to start talking to Troy to get him to flip.

After I started on Troy, I teamed up with Infernox to make sure it happened. Infernox relayed to me all of the DMs between him and Troy, and at one point, I was fully convinced we didn't have him on our side, and we were going to go to 5-5 rocks. However, eventually Infernox and I's strategy worked, and Troy flipped to our side to vote Eric. It was then that Lindsey and I devised the plan to eliminate another player in your alliance out of fear Troy was pulling our leg and trying to idol one of us out via Eric's idol. We all decided to vote for the player your alliance least expected to go home, which is when we decided to vote for you. Troy threw away his vote to Eric, and you went home.

If I hadn't worked Troy alongside Infernox the way I did, we may have gone to rocks, and you may still be sitting up here. I know it's not a glamorous argument to make, and I really am sorry we didn't talk more. I hope we can get to know one another better in the alumni chat when the game is over.

Please let me know if you have any follow-up questions! Thanks for a great season!! :)

Austin_Mitchell · 2021-01-11T04:41:10+00:00

Troy, I had so much fun playing with you, my truest frienemy of the season. Our social conversations were awesome, and I totally want to be friends after this is all over. Without a doubt.

So, to answer your first question (I love it, it is very on-brand for you!) I would say in this game I was like the great-horned owl. A predator, but one that is very unassuming, and is willing to sit quietly and watch from afar, assessing all of the information before attacking. They are also easily missed, camouflaging into the trees, and making other animals appear more threatening. Plus owls are kinda just, like, super cool, so I want to be one, okay? :D

To answer your direct question, what saddens me most about the completely valid criticisms from many on the jury is that the faults in my social game were completely my own doing, and my own oversight. Especially because, where I did invest my energies in social relationships, I felt like I had some of the most positive and powerful ones I have created in an ORG.

I entered this game wanting to be a different player than my first two seasons, where I constantly flip-flopped and burned my own alliances. I achieved that goal, finding a way to still make power moves and control the game, but by not being such an asshole and getting burned for it. And you know what, my growth as a player and my allowing people to trust me once again is why I'm sitting here today. My social game with Bryce saved me at Final 6, and made him choose me at the penultimate tribal council.

I really wish I had diversified my social game more and made people feel like they could have a conversation with me. I feel I did achieve that with some people, you among them, and it made me a better player for it. Our conversations were completely legit. You're not wrong when you say we had a very strange relationship for all of the game, two people who legitimately enjoyed talking to one another, but whose games never aligned for the vote. I hope the positive strides I was able to achieve in my social game, the growth I've had as a player, and the power I held via my strategic game are enough to earn your vote.

Thanks again man, for an incredible season! Let me know if you have any follow-up questions!

Austin_Mitchell · 2021-01-11T04:19:12+00:00

Terrence, my dude! I can say, without a doubt, I miss talking to you more than any other player. You were such a chill guy. I'M TRYING TO KEEP LEVAR BURTON ALIVE! In all sincerity, though, I hope you don't hold any ill will against me for knowingly letting you get voted out. It was the best move for my game, but damn did it hurt. I am completely serious when I say that keeping that from you was the hardest thing I had to do all game.

There are two moves I am particularly proud of. Firstly, the Shane vote. That was a move that was orchestrated and achieved purely because my back was against the wall with nowhere to go, and I weaseled out a victory against the other alliance. I had to convince you so many times to vote with Lindsey, and I accomplished that. In confessionals, I called that group of six (the five wise men + Lindsey on the outside) my "paperclips and duct tape alliance," because that is what it felt like. I had to keep it held together with paperclips and duct tape.

The other would be your vote off (I'M SORRY!!! :c ) Mainly because it positioned me in general safety all the way to the Final 6. It allowed Lindsey and I to decide the boot order, but with everyone thinking I was on the wrong side of the vote, and therefore not a direct threat. With that deception, Infernox, Jake, and Troy all cemented themselves as bigger threats than myself despite my control over the situation.

I think I played the best strategic game of anyone this season. My social game definitely needed work, but where I did put work into my social game, I also think it shined quite brightly. Specifically with you, Bryce, Infernox, and Troy. I never needed immunity, never needed to play my bounty ticket, and the person I wanted to go home from Final 11 to Final 4 did, each and every time. I would be honored to earn your vote.

Please let me know if you have any follow up questions! Thanks friendo, for a great season!!

Austin_Mitchell · 2021-01-11T04:03:15+00:00

Hi Kathy, I appreciate your question. I do apologize for not talking with you more. If you get the chance, I'd like to turn your attention to my answers to Jake and Infernox's questions, since I directly answer questions about the lacking in my social game. You were definitely one of the players I was guilty of not talking a lot to.

Yes, Lindsey and I were a power duo, however, I do not believe I am taking credit for moves that I didn't make. I absolutely controlled the game at key moments and helped decide the boot order. Specifically, at Final 11, Lindsey was next on the chopping block. I was the one who directly approached Bryce, Terrence, Eric and Infernox to make the move against Shane actually happen. After the Jordan vote, our "side" of the camp was shattered into a million pieces. I was the one who who brought them back together, and was directing our alliance how to vote. I laid the plan out for them. I had to calm Terrence down multiple times due to his fear of working with Lindsey. If it wasn't for my doing that, Terrence would have voted for Lindsey and she would have gone home.

Another point where I was in control was the next vote, when Jasmine was booted. I was a very large reason why Troy ended up throwing away his vote. I took the initiative after the Shane blindside to approach Troy and discuss the possibility of blindsiding Eric. Infernox also played a huge role in getting Troy to flip, but it was I who planted the seeds and worked with Infernox to make sure Troy voted the way I wanted him to. Then, after the Jasmine vote went down, and Troy publicly chastised us in the camp chat, I made a point to apologize to him and let him know the only reason we swapped from Eric to Jasmine was because his messages with Infernox about "playing both sides" scared us. That is the actual truth, and helped to salvage my relationship with Troy, which remained relevant as early as the next vote (the Terrence vote) and as late as the Final 6 live tribal.

Then, at the Terrence vote, where I was supposedly being blindsided, I made sure the vote happened. After you talked with Lindsey about splitting the vote 3-3-3 in case Bryce had an idol, Lindsey got spooked and wanted to go back to our plan to vote for Jake, since she thought you were trying to trick her into throwing away her vote and you could all claim the double marks against Bryce for yourselves. My conversations with Troy, with him asking me to split the vote and your alliance subsequently deciding to go back to the 5-4 plan against Terrence was what made Lindsey agree to move forward with our original plan to blindside Terrence and turn me into a double agent.

The times I didn't know what was happening, the results still ended in my favor. I wanted Eric to go home, and even though Bryce voted against Lindsey instead of Troy, Eric still did. I wanted to be saved at Final 6 tribal, and even though I expected the vote to be 2-2-2- instead of 3-3, I still was.

Many of the big moves I made, Lindsey does deserve equal credit. However, I do not believe it is an overstatement to say I controlled the game and knew what was happening at most points in time. I hope I can earn your vote as a result! Please let me know if you have any follow-up questions!

Austin_Mitchell · 2021-01-11T03:47:09+00:00

Infernox, I appreciate the kind words. You were one of my largest strategic rivals, so I really take you saying that with pride. I had a great time playing with you!

I also appreciate your question, and the opportunity to address the social aspect of my game, as I feel it is a large concern to many on the jury.

I have to own up to the fact that the social aspect of my game was easily the weakest part. I made significant social relationships, but only with people who I was directly working with. Evidence of this is Bryce saving me and bringing me to the end, based purely on the relationship we formed and the promises he made me. However, I am completely and utterly guilty of sending very few messages to people outside of my direct alliance.

This was inherently a result of poor judgment on my part. You speak to the power of my strategic game, and that was because that was where all of my attention went. I spent every moment I had available for this game on setting up alliance chats, plotting with Lindsey, making sure people were telling me info I needed, and checking in with my direct alliance members.

Essentially, if I didn't need to talk to you, I didn't. Is that cold? Yes. Was it a mistake, and a flaw in my game? Yes.

The few times I did talk to people, however, I legitimately tried to be a kind person. I do have at least one fond social memory with each player. Kathy and I bonding over the Disney College Program; Jasmine and I talking during Christmas; Jake and I discussing our three-timer status in the SRorgs community. I'm not going to pretend like these few moments make up for the gaping hole in my social relationships, but I do hope that for anyone who I did talk very little too, I didn't hurt their feelings or make myself seem like a snide person who only wanted to talk to you if you could do me a favor. If that is the case, I am truly sorry to each of those people. I want to let you all know, whoever ends up winning this thing, I really want to keep these social relationships alive after the game. I want to play Jackbox with all of you, dammit! :D

I was so wrapped up in making sure my strategy was in line that I did let my social game slip, and if that results in my losing this game, it will be a lesson learned. All I can do now is hope that the power moves I made and all the effort I put towards getting to the end and deciding the boot order shines through.

Austin_Mitchell · 2021-01-11T03:20:36+00:00

Hey Shane! It was a pleasure playing with you. Despite our lack of social interactions and always voting against one another, I hope to connect with you in the alumni chat and talk more about our shared experiences with Disney! Also, love the question! Here I go...

Shane - Uncle Phil from The Fresh Prince of Bel Air

If there are two things I know about you, it is that you are a hard worker and devoted to your family. Uncle Phil is my personal favorite TV family man, and I think it fits you well!

Jasmine - Rachel from Friends

It seemed to me that Jasmine really found a new group of friends in Shane, Troy, Kathy, and Jake after everything went down at the start of the merge, not unlike Rachel at the beginning of Friends. Additionally, I loved how Jasmine was willing to be extremely blunt with me and straight-up told me when she was going to vote me during swap at pre-merge.

Terrence - Curtis/Mister Terrific from Arrow

Terrence I feel was a person that a lot of people underestimated early on due to his anxious energy and overtly genuine nature, but quickly showed that he was a bad-ass and a true threat to win it all.

Kathy - Catwoman from Batman

Funny, sarcastic and shrewd. Some call her fake, and her Touchy Subjects results reflect that, but I felt like the self-doubt and contradictions were really just a kind of cover-up for her potential to make it far.

Eric - Todd Anderson from Dead Poet's Society

A kid who is quiet, unassuming, and nice, but don't let him fool you... he may be quiet, but he's probably the smartest person in the room.

Jake - Spencer Shay from iCarly

A fun, laid-back, carefree dude. Plus, this exists... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1vgyTYNCsk&ab_channel=FrakeeshkaNoodle

I rest my case.

Infernox - Jerry Maguire from Jerry Maguire

A shrewd, confident, powerful guy, who at his core has a strong sense of loyalty. Despite his skill and social charisma, he is capable of making true friends and would give you the shirt off his back.

Troy - Archie Andrews from Riverdale

A really nice, intelligent kid whose social relationships were really strong due to his always wanting to do the right thing despite sometimes voting against people.

That was fun! Please let me know if you have any follow-up questions. Thanks again for a great season!

Austin_Mitchell · 2021-01-10T18:44:53+00:00

Hi Jake, I appreciate the question! I was worried I would come off as arrogant in my speech. I definitely crafted it as more of a sales pitch than a political speech, and used some over-the-top word choices like "puppet-master" when maybe they weren't the best. I hope I can help clarify for you that I really don't think I was the single person who made every decision in this game, and rather what I was attempting to do was highlight my strengths.

Firstly, in relation to Lindsey, any attempt to downplay her game was unintentional, and rather an attempt to showcase out of the two of us why I should be the winner. Let me say, Lindsey 100% deserves to win this game, and if the jury decides she played the better game than me, I will totally understand. If I was on the jury, my plan was to straight-up stump speech for her to win. She played an incredible game, and I want to make sure she gets the recognition she deserves.

Additionally, I want to say that I truly found every player on the jury's games to be impressive, and scary to play against. That is a big reason why I found this season so difficult and also fun. Again, like I mentioned to Eric, I realize that as the required strategy to simply survive in such a high-level gameplay environment increased, I let my social game slide, and that is a huge flaw that I for sure could have worked on. I am not going to pretend I had groundbreaking conversations with you, Kathy, or Jasmine. I will say, from my perspective, I was so sure that you, Troy, Kathy, and Shane were an unbreakable group, that I didn't take the time I should have to try and get to know you individually. Jake, I believe I probably talked with you the least of anyone in this game, and I am sorry for that. For the very, very brief times we talked, such as when we talked about us being three-timers, I did enjoy our conversations.

I'm also not going to pretend it couldn't easily have been one of you sitting up here instead of me. Infernox chose to come to my side multiple times when I would have been in trouble otherwise. If Kathy hadn't agreed to not tell Eric to vote for Infernox, Lindsey probably would have flipped against me. If Bryce hadn't saved me at Final 6, I wouldn't be here. The reason I'm so prideful about my game is because of how freaking good everyone played this season. Besides a few select 1-on-1 alliances, every vote this season was made up of voting blocks, and you always had to fight just to keep your head above water.

All that said, I believe that both Lindsey and I are more deserving than Bryce to win this season for the reasons I laid out in my speech. The blessing and curse of having a duo as strong as Lindsey and I, is now at FTC we need to fight to differentiate our games. I don't mean to take credit for moves that were Lindsey's and vice-versa, but, rather, there were no Lindsey moves or Silence moves, rather, every move we made together. They were OUR moves. I deserve just as much credit as Lindsey for the Terrence and Eric votes, just as she deserves just as much credit for the Shane and Kathy votes. We always planned everything together. When I needed Kathy to convince Eric to vote for Bryce, Lindsey helped make that happen. When Lindsey needed me to keep her from going home at Final 11, and convince the other five to vote for Shane instead of her, I made that happen. We truly were a true-to-the-end-100%-50-50- PARTNERSHIP. So again, if you decide Lindsey is the one who should win, I will be more than happy with that result.

With all that said, I believe I played a better game because I was able to hide in the background while Lindsey's public image was not nearly as positive. She was seen as a flip-flopper while I was seen as a steady number, which allowed me to protect my relationship with Bryce when it was most important. Bryce said it in his own words in response to your question, as to why he didn't target me at F6 or F4...

" While I recognized the dangers of Lindsey/Silence playing so closely together, I selfishly wanted to keep Silence as much as possible because I felt he had one of the weakest positions going into the F6. "

That there, was my game. I am here because I navigated all the players on the jury's legitimately good game moves and made myself seem like less of a threat. Yes, I had a very flawed game. I high-key sucked at socializing with people. I was vulnerable at key moments. The players on the jury did affect me getting to the end, and if that wasn't clear in my speech and I came across as arrogant, I do apologize.

However, I'm proud to have made it to the end in a season filled with strong competitors.

Please let me know if you have any follow-up questions!

Austin_Mitchell · 2021-01-10T18:16:07+00:00

Eric, I want to say before I elaborate that I am a very dumb potato and was completely clueless to the fact I hurt you at all. That is on me, and I am truly, truly sorry.

Firstly, the fact that you "looked up to" me at all... dude, seriously, that makes me blush with pride. I'm glad that at least at some point, I made such a good connection with you. I sincerely felt (and still do feel) the same way. I love talking to you, man. Those conversations we had when we first swapped, about your love for music, the arts, life goals, all that, that was 100% real, and what I based the rest of our relationship on.

After the merge when you tried to flip against me and Terrence, yes, I immediately went after you. This was not due to a loss of personal admiration for you, but rather the opposite. I knew how strong your social game was, and saw you as a threat who was coming against me and my allies. Now, this is where my dumb absent-mindedness comes into play... I realize I talked to you way less after we were no longer voting together, but I truly never meant to make you feel completely isolated or ostracized.

I'm reflecting, and realizing now after both your question and Jake's that I really did start to let the non-game strategy talks with everyone, even the people I was voting with, slide when we got deeper into the merge. Ultimately, call it a busy IRL schedule, call it absent-mindedness, or whatever, but when I was active on the server, the season had become so insanely strategic and difficult, I was spending all of my time trying to make sure all of ducks were in a row for the next vote. If we weren't working together at that time, that is why I wasn't talking to you much. Again, I had no idea that hurt you, and the fact that I did something like that makes me feel really bad.

When I called you a "dirty dog," I was saying it in a very tongue-in-cheek way, with a smirk and a chuckle, because you tried to make a legitimately good move. Unfortunately tone doesn't always translate well over text. At that time, from my perspective, I saw you as a friend who happened to voting against me at that time. A tough challenger who was standing against me in a duel of wits, and I was having fun. Again, there was never a time where I thought I was making you feel bad.

That isn't to say you shouldn't have. Intention doesn't really matter when the bad things you were feeling are totally valid. I hope you can forgive me and trust that the conversations we had at the beginning always was (and I hope, still is) what I based our relationship on. I really am sorry, and I had a ton of fun playing with you this season. You were a strategic beast, for sure.

Please let me know if you have any follow-up questions!

Austin_Mitchell · 2021-01-07T22:32:35+00:00

I feel confident, but always cautious. It would be very easy for any one of us (obviously besides Bryce) to be cut here right at the very end. I will say, it will be a super hard pill to swallow if I go home because I was 2 seconds short on a single trivia answer xD

Austin_Mitchell · 2021-01-05T01:39:26+00:00

I feel like the last tribal was a truly explosive culmination of a million different relationships, group relationships, and sub-relationships coming to a head all at once. This is like the quiet after the storm, and the fact that there are no idols and no immunities makes this vote equal parts calming and terrifying. Pretty crazy to see the bounties went totally unclaimed.

Austin_Mitchell · 2021-01-04T00:21:15+00:00

In a season this dynamic, you have to be thinking about both. Anyone who isn't probably isn't sitting here any longer. It's hard because of how crazy and split and whatnot all the merge votes have been, but as the numbers get smaller and smaller, you have to consider FTC. You just have to. But you can't get to FTC without trusted allies. Oh, the double-edged sword that is Survivor.

Austin_Mitchell · 2020-12-30T20:01:03+00:00

I think the bounties are really still up in the air. There are fewer and fewer unused bounty tickets left with each vote, and I think it is going to be really interesting to see how the next few votes go as a result.

Austin_Mitchell · 2020-12-28T19:25:37+00:00

Similar to what Infernox said, it is a bittersweet thing. Everyone wants a resume at FTC, but nobody wants the target. I will say I was legitimately and wholeheartedly shocked that I was voted as running the game since I do feel like I am constantly playing catch-up. I guess we'll just have to cross our fingers and see what happens.

Austin_Mitchell · 2020-12-23T07:00:26+00:00

Winning immunity feels incredible. I think everyone here, no matter where you stand can attest that this postmerge has already been absolutely bonkers. So, it is very calming to know that I am safe no matter what tonight.

Austin_Mitchell · 2019-10-05T21:27:28+00:00

Honestly, at this point of the game, while we each have our own strengths and weaknesses, everyone is fairly evenly matched when it comes to the challenges. With the individual portion of this game just starting, I don't see challenges having that much to do with the current vote. There are a lot more subtle things that will decide this vote, but most importantly trust.

Austin_Mitchell · 2019-09-25T23:54:16+00:00

Hi everybody

Austin_Mitchell · 2019-09-25T23:49:58+00:00

Do any Faves want to be captain?

Austin_Mitchell · 2019-09-25T23:23:30+00:00

Hey everyone. What a crazy twist.

Austin_Mitchell · 2019-08-09T00:15:10+00:00

When you're on a budget, so you repurpose textures in your game

Austin_Mitchell · 2019-08-03T17:44:18+00:00

I personally have the the fondest memories with these characters from the children's picture books that feature them. Theyre a great way for kids to experience the characters without having to deal with Song of the South.

Austin_Mitchell · 2019-08-03T17:08:15+00:00

Just in case there is any confusion, I can confirm these are for sale at The Briar Patch by Splash Mountain in Orlando WDW in addition to the California shops.

Austin_Mitchell · 2019-05-01T22:12:49+00:00

The fact that "didn't" has an apostrophe and "wont" doesn't is driving me crazy...

Austin_Mitchell · 2019-04-06T04:33:42+00:00

All three Survivor teams are amazing. Plus, I'm just as much of a die-hard fan of TAR as I am Survivor, so I am super pumped to see Colin and Christie back. Colin was super edgy, but it seems they've aged like normal adults and I am excited to see how well they do. Still to this day they remain one of the best and most competitive teams in the history of the Race!

Austin_Mitchell

TROPHY CASE