[Standard] Survivor: Know Your Enemies (Summer wins!)

tris · Post Post #125 (ISO) » Sat Oct 17, 2020 12:13 pm

thank you. i know i had some strong points in my favor. and thanks for giving me the opportunity to go my own way from summer for as long as that lasted. i am happy that i made it here after having that chance rather than having been dragged here the whole way by summer. i've learned a lot from this game.

tris · Post Post #126 (ISO) » Sat Oct 17, 2020 12:15 pm

oh, i guess i should answer malkon's lighthearted questions. um, later

SummerInWonderland · Post Post #127 (ISO) » Sat Oct 17, 2020 1:13 pm

Hey everyone! Answering these out of order a bit, hopefully that’s cool.

Starting with malkon because it is a big one

Okay I want to start off by saying you were right regarding the line this game meant more to me than I think anyone here realizes. I should have said most, and I did address this in your torch walk that you will see after the game. I was just trying to express with that line that (as you know) I was very reflective this game. Personally I have been going through a lot in my life during this game that I won’t get into but this game probably meant more to me than it should a reasonable person lol (I’m crazy)- that is probably a more accurate sentence lol.
You understand me and my experiences very well. You do know how much this meant to me and I also think DK knows a lot about me as a player and person where I felt like our experiences were quite similar. DK had talked about how these games were about making personal connections and he couldn’t play a gameboty all strategic game anymore, that was another personal struggle where I very much related to a player. I think previously in my org experiences I left wondering “was it worth it?” and that’s because a lot of my game actions had hurt people. Sorry… I am going off on a tangent, but you were right. I didn’t express myself correctly and that was honestly just a wrong statement I wrote. I am a bit dramatic sometimes and like to think no one can understand me, but that just isn’t true lol.
Now to answer your question!

I am someone who thinks very pessimistically when it comes to juries. At this point I generally just assume they aren’t going to want to vote for me. This comes some from pretty bad experiences (malkon ive literally had someone at ftc say the only reason I succeed was because I had a nice rack and a guy liked me for it so jeez I can be lacking SOME confidence) and so I do often have a fear of whether my game will be respected in the end and that plays into my decision making process somewhat. I try to play the best game possible so that when I am in the end I can argue on those merits. I did think I could beat you in the end, but I did feel like you would challenge me for quite a few votes and that you did have a strong case as to why you should beat me and that you very well could have beaten me. You were at the time the biggest threat to my shot to win, so to me obviously I felt like I had to vote for you. I always take the path where I think I have the highest chance to win even if one path is a 80 percent win chance and then other is 65 or whatever. It was about probability and I just can’t help to make what I think is the best move at the time. If some omnipotent being came to me (so Zor) and said “you beat anyone in ftc no matter whaaaaaattt!” at final 4 I would have taken you because I think our journey and story is important. I romanticize a lot lol so I would have loved to have that finish with you. Our relationship is a great story in itself. I think in games too often people get mad at each other and end up not liking people on personal level (even if they say otherwise) we able to learn from each other and that resulted in both of us being better, well rounded players. We also hurt each other in school survivor and were able to repair and make a very genuine strong friendship where out of anyone in this community, you very likely understand me the best. So, malkon I would have loved to end the journey with you if I knew no matter what I was going to beat you but my game mind literally just functions at the level of the greatest threat to me can’t be in the end even if I still might beat them. I hope that answers the question. It probably wasn’t worth it but my mind works a certain way where this was always going to happen.

OKAY ONTO MALKONS FUN QUESTIONS!!

1) What is one thing you have personally overcome to be at this point?
Okay I thought a lot about what I wanted to put here that was completely genuine. Most things that I have overcome personally are not things I talk about with people. I do think there is something that I can touch upon that I do think is somewhat relevant. Also, thank you for sharing your answer this before you left.
I do believe that we can learn a lot from some of the hardest moments in our lives. Growing up I dealt with verbal abuse and its something that greatly impacted me, through a lot of work I overcome a lot and removed myself from the situation. But I have faced a lot where I easily could have lost a lot of my truths and lose who I was. I am a very strong individual and through hardship I learned to trust in what I know to be true, sticking up for myself brought me a lot of confidence where I can say I know who I am, my values, and out of everything in this world I have faith in myself. This strength translates to positive things in my life all the time.
To bring it back to the game, I have had people ask me why am I so confident in my ability or trust that my plans will work out. The thing that allowed me to overcome hardship was learning to trust myself in hard situations and stay true to that. I have confidence in my mind because I needed to. I have very strong will power and that always translates to me as a player because its something that got me through some of my hardest moments in my life.

2) What is your favourite animal, why? and how I embody it?
This is sooooo hard. I love so mannnnyy animals. Honestly this answer changes all the time, I kind of want to say bunny but…
I am going to go with
Fox!
I love love love foxes. This probably goes back to when I would watch the Balto films ALL OF THE TIME. I remember out of all the animals on the totem pole the Fox was the one I liked the most “the cunning trickster”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cPYxzfNdiA

They are probably the animal I most associate myself with. I don’t really see myself as a particularly smart person but I do see myself as perceptive and analytical. I am very good at seeing through deception and getting at the truth. I think I am good at reading situations. I think I am witty and clever but not “smart” if that makes sense. I don’t love saying I am a “trickster” but I am very playful and uhhmm I like to play pranks! So it counts! Mildly tricky…
I am able to do a lot with the tools I have, foxes are very resourceful and so am I!
Also HAVE U EVER HEARD THEM LAUGH? so pure n good hehehe

you want me to go through each juror too, imma do that just in a different post.

tris · Post Post #128 (ISO) » Sat Oct 17, 2020 1:24 pm

you'll never guess my answer to malkon's second question

tris · Post Post #129 (ISO) » Sat Oct 17, 2020 2:12 pm

i like cats because they are so independent yet they can also be so sweet. i like how they don't seem to care what i think. and they're really cute!! i relate to how cats will do weird things.

tris · Post Post #130 (ISO) » Sat Oct 17, 2020 2:17 pm

{{What is one thing you have personally overcome to be at this point?}}

this is an overcoming in progress, but i am getting better at not giving up when things go a little bit badly.

Aristophanes · Post Post #131 (ISO) » Sat Oct 17, 2020 5:46 pm

In post 112, Haschel Cedricson wrote:Congrats, everyone, on making FTC. That is a big accomplishment and you all should be proud.

Making FTC is completely different from WINNING FTC, though, as two of you are about to find out. And more specifically, I mean "as Ari and Tris are about to find out." Normally I would tell you two that you're playing for second, but that would require either of you to peel off a single vote and even that feat is probably going to be an uphill battle.

Thank you Haschel.
As I said, I'm really excited to be here! I think I could have been here in any combination of personages I chose in all honesty, as I was offered it by so many people due to the perception that I would roll over and take it. I think I've shown that is not my intention at all.

I honestly thought this would be a time for me to show off my gameplay ability, but it seems everything I did has been attributed to Summer despite that being simply untrue.
I appreciate that she wove a great story, but she neglected to mention how heavily it relied on my play. And of course she would craft a story where I was dependent upon her, but I never was. I chose to be here with her of my own volition and if that is my downfall, then so be it.

Ari, when I said an FTC of you/me/Tris was the only one that any of us three had a chance of winning, that wasn't part of some scheme. That was the truth. So your speech explains
what
you did but is laughably short on answers for
why
those moves were good ideas that benefited you.

As I mentioned in the speech, I played in order to get myself and my allies to the end. I played to win as a cohesive unit rather than as an individual. I played my own game to get here and my allies were dependent upon me. Had I turned at any moment it would have ended up like the round in which you were eliminated, as I held that power.

I made these plays because I thought that a social game where I created the environment I wanted in each vote was far more impressive than any other. I thought getting my allies here was the best usage of that power. It appears I was mistaken.

Tris, you played a decent game. It was also a flawed game, though, and Jess played the closest thing to a perfect game we've seen in a long time. I'm sorry Ari ruined your chances at having a shot of victory; you didn't deserve that.

I have no questions at this time. Congrats on your victory, Jess.

Tris, I am sorry if you perceive this game as lost and even more sorry if you believe it was at my hand.

I do not see how Summer played a perfect game, however. I was the one who got her here. I was the one who decided she lived. Honestly, and with no ill-feelings in any way, I do not understand how my independent choices to bring an ally to FTC gives them the credit over myself. It simply baffles me that I am seen as a Pawn to Summer's game here. Because I was not by any means her pawn. I showed you the facts of that, however it was not enough. I am unsure how else to show it to you, but I will try.

Aristophanes · Post Post #132 (ISO) » Sat Oct 17, 2020 5:48 pm

In post 116, Awoo wrote:I am!

In post 117, Awoo wrote:Voting for!

In post 118, Awoo wrote:Summer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Awoo be like:

Aristophanes · Post Post #133 (ISO) » Sat Oct 17, 2020 5:52 pm

In post 119, SleepyKrew wrote:I've got a few questions but they're highly unlikely to affect my vote.

As I say, I would love for you to ask them.

If you wait until post-game, I suppose I don't mind.

But Skrew, Summer did not play me in this game and I chose to make every move I made. I was not even consulting Summer for most of them other than to tell her where we were at and what we were doing. She did not control me. She did not control the game. I did.

Aristophanes · Post Post #134 (ISO) » Sat Oct 17, 2020 6:40 pm

In post 120, Malkon05 wrote:https://vocaroo.com/19406hh0jb1E

Listen to the intro, make sure you are in a good headspace before listening to my questions.

Tris' question begins at 00:50 
Ari's questioning begins at 01:58 
Summer's questioning begins at 15:10 

Little Ending that starts at 20:36  Might have used the wrong word. I meant to say that I was going to vote fairly rather than "objectively" I think that's an incorrect use of a word, so this is me correcting that.

Interested to hear your responses.

I've been bracing for this since I decided on the vote, but I don't know if I will ever be ready for it.

Sorry, yes the video was a reading of the speech in case that was an easier option for people in the jury and in order to breathe a little character into my words.
It was probably unnecessary but I hope it increased the availability of my speech for those who might have found it difficult to parse on paper.
I put that into the description of the video, I'm sorry if it was misleading.

Malkon, I absolutely played my game with the goal of having you and Summer at the end with me. I really did want that after the Awoo elimination, and that is why I saved you so many times in this game. But when it got to the final 4 I looked at the numbers and realized that the votes were going to split against me in the case of Ari/Malkon/Summer. You would have taken just about every vote I had a possible chance at winning, with Summer as a likely second, and myself coming in third every time. The only chance was the "floater/unknown" votes, and they were far less floaty than they appeared. I realized I might retain 1-2 votes at most in this split. Tris allows me, or so was the theory, to argue my strengths 1v1 with Summer. It's not that Tris didn't play a good game, but Tris didn't win a game-winning game. I feel like I did, but that the chance would never be able to come to fruition with you here next to me.

I think I did make a misstep here, in that my goals this game were to keep allies and get them to the end and I betrayed that goal by voting you out. I do not think I made a misstep in taking you out at this point however from a gameplay perspective. Perhaps my greatest misstep was not taking the chance to eliminate Summer, but that was done in order to show my strength in play. It was done in order to show my abilities and my dedication to my allies. It was done to further my case. Yet it appears to have somehow destroyed it.

As for not looking at your source materials, I would not have had the time to do that and I told you as much. I trusted what you were saying. I did not dismiss it or dismiss you. I gave it a lot of thought. I believe I made the right choice as I would not have won the split-vote option. I did not believe I was a non-threat. I suppose that also was incorrect.

In F5 I discounted Tris as an option in order to push my agenda. I could have done it sooner, but I did not believe a Tris elimination was the right choice at that time. I had to capitulate eventually. I did consider Summer, by the way. My vote was on her for the majority of that round. But I thought finding a way to keep her was a better play and I made it.

I don't have much to say about the middle portion other than an apology for overstating the significance of the Espeonage vote's effect on our relationship and a thank you for acknowledging that I mas in fact making the calls for a lot of the game.

Jess is a very social player, but it did not give her the power in this game. I should have taken her out, this is obvious.
I thought Summer was voting with me, not vice versa.

But thank you for the kind and critical words.

*breathing intensifies*

FYI I do not think that a Social Game is a "Happy, Nice game."
I thought I played a socially strategic game and I thought I did play it better than either you or Summer.
But as you say, Perception is everything.

I guess my main pitfall was keeping Summer in this game, and if I had eliminated her at F5 perhaps I could have won this game.
I don't know that theoreticals help here though, so thanks for your efforts to make me a better player next time I suppose.

Alright, my jaw is clenched so hard my teeth hurt now.

Aristophanes · Post Post #135 (ISO) » Sat Oct 17, 2020 6:42 pm

By the way, D3f, I have not forgotten or overlooked you, but I need to do some homework in order to answer that and it is almost 2am so it will be tomorrow that I address it.

Aristophanes · Post Post #136 (ISO) » Sat Oct 17, 2020 7:11 pm

In post 121, Malkon05 wrote:https://vocaroo.com/1cBzhwoFX6mh

This is for everyone and it's more meant to be a little personal, less like...negative approach to questioning.

What is something I have overcome to be here?

I honestly don't know what to say here.
I have a lot of trouble with the idea of manipulating friends and it plays into my willingness to commit to an alliance early on and stick with it no matter what. But I guess that is more of an answer as to why Summer is here than for why I am

I suppose a better answer is that I have never in my life had good self esteem. I have had issues with it, mostly due to the fact that I have a cleft lip and was often ostracized as a kid. This has shaped the Aristophanes you know and love, because I now have very different goalposts for positivity and acceptance than a lot of people do.
In this game, I pushed a lot of that aside in order to play what I thought was a fantastically socially manipulative game without worrying about who I would hurt with my play. And that was so tough at so many times. If you look back at my confessionals, you'll see me break down do many times after making these moves. It was so hard for me to be here and to play the way I played and to do what I did to get me to the finale of this game. Finding out that it was all for naught is really tough, and I already considered a small siteflake after this game finishes to run away from it all, regroup, and return to the positive and friendly person I aspire to be. I will not be doing that, but the thought crossed my mind heavily because this game has weighed on my so heavily.

Making the final argument for myself really the finisher of all of this. It took so much for me to make that argument for myself. I undoubtedly overdid it, but I felt like I not only had to explain why I deserved to win, which I was not joking about being extremely uncomfortable with doing, but also had to address everything in order to show why and how it was a game move and not a personal one, because it really weighs on my mind that this game may change relationships I have with people. That it may effect the visage of Aristophanes that I have put so much work into on this site. That it might lose me people or stunt relationships that otherwise could have prospered.

But I did it all and I am here, so yay me amirite!

As for favourite animals, I have had mine shift a lot of late but there is a common theme that runs among them, and that is their ability to survive.

Penguins have been a favourite for years, and they are amazing creatures! They survive in an absolutely extreme environment and thrive there despite the long and arduous journeys they must undertake in order to do so. Their males share the burden of nurturing the eggs and younglings. They give pebbles as tokens of love to their prospective mates. I love all of that!

Tardigrades are absolute beasts when it comes to the Extremophile game and I think they are fantastic! They can survive in temperatures too hot and/or cold for most other creatures. They can be dehydrated and return to life some time later. They can survive the vacuum of space (at least for a short time). These guys will survive anywhere!

Axolotls are the cutest things and they can regenerate parts of their bodies, including their brains! While I make no claims to that sort of thing, their sheer ability to survive despite basically being chopped in half is absolutely astounding!

Also all three of these creatures are adorable <3

Anyway, I relate to them because I will go to any length necessary to adapt to a new situation and to survive it. I will take anything in stride and not let it break me. I can weather just about any storm that comes my way. And I think that is why I love them!

Aristophanes · Post Post #137 (ISO) » Sat Oct 17, 2020 7:16 pm

I have to work in a few hours and got minimal sleep last night so I could do opening statements.

I need to at least get a little more tonight so I can be present for you all at the reveal.

So I know I have outstanding questions from D3f and Haschel and I will address both, and any others that arise while I am away, tomorrow.

I realize there are deadlines at work and will have things in before then.
I accept that this is likely in vain at this point, but I will not give up in giving this my best effort and giving me my best chance.

Sorry my game was played such that you thought I was throwing. I hope I have shown you that it was not the case.

SummerInWonderland · Post Post #138 (ISO) » Sat Oct 17, 2020 8:31 pm

Address all the jury members and how they played into your story
Examples of strong relationships
talk about what I did specifically to enforce the social bonds
About knowing how to play them and at what point at what time.

I do want to say before I get into each person that socially I play looking for certain types of allies. My go to strategic approach to social game is look for: the best friend (strong strategic player) the shield (someone who will be targeted over me) the goons (social based players who are loyal, need at least two) Not everyone falls into these roles but this is my starting point in games.
Also I am going to try to keep this as a more strategic analysis of relationships, fun personal stuff is in torch walks so please keep that in mind as I go through the players and rounds of the game. I put a lot of time and effort into getting to know people and creating bonds, I like finding things in common with people but also appreciate the differences so yeah- this is just some more in depth strategic/social elements.

DK-

Dk is someone who I think personally plays into my story but we did have a very limited game relationship. I had pretty good information that DK viewed me as a threat and we never met up this game until merge. I targeted him because I viewed him as a threat to my personal game. I have a huge amount of respect for him as a player because he is able to make a lot happen within a short amount of time- he is able to take information from others and use it well. I was very wary of him and if anything to my story it shows how when I feel threatened I don’t wait back, I go for the people I view a threat.
On a personal level I mentioned this before is that I do think we have a very good understanding of each other and I think were going through a lot of similar things emotionally and even struggles we had as players in the game. We really didn’t have a strong reason to work with each other but we both took the time to give each other a chance

D3f-

D3f is another person that personally we didn’t have a strong connection, which I think comes from both of us putting stock in other players. Its not smart to be aligned with EVERYONE in the game and we just had different paths. D3f I do want to say is someone that I did see having the ability to take power if given the right opportunities. He wasn’t viewed as a threat before he left but I think being more isolated from the major alliances meant if he was able to get his footing he would have staying power which is particularly dangerous to players like me who often get threat targeted. I couldn’t allow him to be a number eventually to take me out. I think we both did a good job of keeping communications open, I do try my best to hear people to make sure I am not making a mistake in not working with them. I think a lot of people could have used their relationship with d3f but I do not believe I was one of them.

Pine-

Pine is one of my more complicated relationships but ultimately was one of my most useful ones. On our swap tribe I was in a very dangerous position. I had to find an “in” the TCs on this tribe didn’t go my way BUT what I was able to do was get relationships that would be useful to me in the later portion of the game. Now, Malkon was someone who had advised me on building this relationship. I think that is somewhat important to mention, I was trying to work every angle to find a crack but with his help I was able to more easily find an in -pine was my ticket here. I did put a lot of work into the swap tribe to gain him as an ally. I talked about how I felt like everyone wasn’t giving me a chance, how I would be a strong ally to have, I stick by my allies which was proven by me being such a big advocate for Espe. I think I did a pretty good job of making myself seem like a desirable ally. I also told him pieces of information from conversations I had with Espe to solidify me and him could be long term allies. I have much to thank pine for in this game, without him there (and malkon) I would have been in a much worse position.
I was very wary of Pine overall because I viewed him as a very strong strategic player. When we hit merge I knew he had A LOT of options which is why I wanted to work with him for a short time. I think one very important thing was that I made it seem like I was very open to voting Awoo and Skrew when in reality I was encouraging the tension between them. With Pine I pushed the “one more round” we should flip the next round to get Skrew out, or the round after that. This was because I felt like I needed to take away from Pine’s potential ally list and then ultimately cut him so I could stay in control. I think I placated him that he really didn’t know he was in danger from me. Planning the 4-3-2 was personally one of my favorite moves of the game, I knew if he had an idol or if haschel had the idol the other would go home and by voting in the minority I could play it off that I wasn’t the most informed on the round to Malkon and Tris. I put effort into not looking like the ringleader.
This also might sounds like another basic survivor thing but I did this a lot with people, I would say negative or emotionally charged things about people to others and I think that is often a way to foster loyalty, they know I am sharing something because I trust them i.e “espe thinks he is doing all these things and its very frustrating” this is just a general example but I did do that to pine. It easily could have no effect on literally anything, it likely didn’t but I was constantly thinking about what I was saying and how I thought it COULD impact the other player, even if it was small game things.
This might sound bad, but my approach with pine was very much “take what you can, give nothing back” sorry for that lol

Awoo

- Awoo is a huge player in my story and I told Awoo this but Awoo was very much one of the “best friend” types that I talked about. I know awoo is an insanely strong strategic player, I felt like I related more than anyone on a game mind level. The way I approached Awoo and fostered that relationship was based around game. I think we view the game similarly. Starting in the swap all the way to Awoos elimination we talked in detail about what we wanted to do in the future. On Florence we were talking and planning about the merge, when we hit merge we discussed rounds in advance on what our options and plays were. Our last game talk like that was very fabricated unfortunately, I knew I never wanted to go to the end with Awoo but by keeping our bond really strong I had to go through each round to make sure Awoo knew I was with them and we had a plan to get to endgame together. Doing that is a lot of work because I had to think about 1) what awoo would want 2) what reasonable things I would want if I was truly intending to go to the end with awoo and 3) a plan that actually could work.
The Awoo vote is something I do want to touch on here, It doesn’t quite fit in with Malkons questions but I think it is important to go into more detail. Awoos vote timing was a little early, 7 I thought was much better for my game to have Awoo leave at. The idea that I could have Ari at final 7 being against me because I was a factor in taking out his closest ally worried me a lot. A key element in taking out Awoo at 8 instead of 7 was calling ari, telling him about the blindside and then having him agree to not tell Awoo and be okay with it going through. Anyways moving on because I am rambling…..

Espe

- Espe was another HUGE player in my overall story and game. We played a lot of this game together viewed as an unbreakable duo in terms of loyalty. Very early on I realized he would be a great shield to me. He was in danger A LOT this game. On both swap tribes he easily could have been voted out and on florence I was the biggest reason as to why he stayed in the game. I put a lot of work into keeping him in the game, he was always a number with me and I knew the value in fighting to keep that in the game. Strategically I did similarly with him that I did with Awoo, I went through the options of upcoming rounds so I constantly knew where his head was at, a lot of people didn’t have this with espe (due to timezone/activity issues) The relationship began because we personally connected but I fought to keep him and knew his value strategically to me. Similarly to Ari I knew Espe was always going to be loyal to me.

Hashcel-

Haschel is, I know this sounds dramatic but truly the one that got away… We met for the first time at merge and we started off well but I really could have managed this relationship a lot better. I think we did also put stock in different people, I didnt feel like I needed him early on and that was probably a mistake because of how he very realistically could have taken me out and would have given the chance. I think despite being against eachother we both gave eachother a chance (a little too late tho) we have already talked about this but perhaps calling earlier would have gone better for us but it seemed very unlikely strategically I would want to take him far into the game and he was able to peg me as a threat.

Skrew

- I think for most of this game I was able to read people really well. I knew who wanted to work with me and who would work against me. Sleepykrew was by far the person I misread. I did A LOT to foster loyalty. I told him about most things in my game, I was very open with him and I was trying to make him feel like we were ride or dies and we were doing everything together. This was my mistake. Often sharing a lot of info and being open can result in getting good allies who will be loyal, on the other hand you risk exposing too much of your game. I did that, and he felt like I was a threat. I gave him good reason as to why I was loyal to him but not enough as to why he should be loyal to me.
Now I do want to discuss his vote. He was very open with me about targeting me that round at final 5. Going into that round I guess I had everyone wanting to vote me or considering it. There was a good chance it would have been 3-2 (or like ari just said he was considering me that round) 4-1 BUT the vote ended up being 2-1-1-1.
Firstly I made sure Ari was with me and would fight to keep me. I then worked on getting tris to keep me over Malkon. I made a really big pitch to tris that she needed me in the end because Ari and I would split votes meaning she would have a better shot. I also went into detail as how I thought Malkon had the best relationships and social game. I talked about how sleepykrew played the best game on paper. My game had flaws and wouldn’t appeal to the jury. I made a very big (and heavily uhh misconstrued ) story of the game and of the players but ultimately tris agreed to keep me and take out malkon.
At this point I had 2 people confirmed not voting me in Ari and Tris. Ari had a conversation with Malkon which finally meant Malkon was also not voting me. 3 votes not on me. Which meant I had an easy shot at sniping the one person who voted me this game: sleepykrew.
I do think me and him had a great story. We worked well together until HE TURNED ON ME, he took out an ally of mine but was unable to take out the king. IF U TAKE A SWING AT THE KING YA BEST NOT MISS

(I am joking and being draaammatic) but still it's a great and fun story.
Finally

Malkon-

I feel like we talked A LOT about most of this so I am only going to comment on possibly new info of my social game with you? I did put a lot of work into making you think we are a duo this game, and we were for a lot of the game. I vented to you about things, we helped eachother when we were both in possibly dangerous positions. It made sense for us to work together because we were some of the obvious threats coming into the game. I think one of the best decisions I made was at the start of the swap just putting my eggs in your basket. I made it clear I wanted to play with you. I think that openness helped a lot with our relationship. I knew you weren’t someone I could manipulate much but I knew I could offer you a good path and allow you to make those decisions on your own. You didn’t have to save espe and I on that tribe but you saw our value. Sometimes you just have to take a leap of faith and I did that with you and it paid off.

I think there is more I could add, I tried not to ramble too much here but in short... I looked for certain type of players that I knew could be useful to me in this game. I approached people in different ways based on what I thought they valued in the game. I listened when people told me their wants, when they talked about what they valued and I took that into consideration when making game decisions. I didn't do it perfectly, there are a few mismanaged relationships I talked about but I did try my best.

SummerInWonderland · Post Post #139 (ISO) » Sat Oct 17, 2020 9:56 pm

quickly going to add this in there - I also used my idol information to help solidify bonds. This may not have mattered much but I told Espe and Malkon that I had it, and that is a HUGE sign of trust. They also repaid me by not telling anyone (as far as I know). When I swapped I told Ari and Awoo. When I got to merge, I told Skrew. I wanted people to feel like I trusted them so I told them about my advantages. I know most people think idols should be kept a secret but I do see a lot of value in letting your allies know. It was a pretty open secret by the time I played it and I got more use out of it by telling people and strengthening bonds than needing it it at all in the game.

SleepyKrew · Post Post #140 (ISO) » Sat Oct 17, 2020 10:45 pm

Well Ari has asked for questions. Summer and tris, I'll ask you questions as well, but don't feel obligated to answer them. Some of these questions are going to be for the sake of my own ego. Also some of them aren't questions. Some stuff may have been answered already; sorry if that's the case.

Spoiler: Ari

Spoiler: Summer

Spoiler: tris

Aristophanes · Post Post #141 (ISO) » Sun Oct 18, 2020 1:47 am

In post 124, Haschel Cedricson wrote: Ari, saving Jess is only a credit to your game if you explain why it was better than your other options. As it stands, it looks like you saved Jess because she fooled you into thinking that advanced your game and not hers.

I brought Jess to F3 out of loyalty to my allies. I would have brought Awoo here as well if they had made it far enough that I could make that choice. I would have lost to them, as I am losing now, I suppose. I can accept the defeat, I just legitimately thought that my saving an ally despite knowing she was strong, that my honouring an alliance that started in the budding points of the game, that my ability to make this game what *I* wanted it to be rather than relying on others to get here or relying on challenge wins to get here, well I thought that would all speak to my abilities and to a winning strategy in showing how I had outplayed her here. I guess I was wrong.

For the most part the jury is not salty with you at all, Ari. We are
extremely
confused by your play, though. In Ponderosa we had a serious discussion about whether or not you were breaking the second rule of the game by obviously not playing to win yourself but to help a friend win. We had this discussion because
literally none of us thought there was any reasonable way you thought your game was better than Summer's.
When Malkon came and joined us and told us you actually thought this, it kind of broke our brains a little. So I guess my question is, why did you not see what everybody on the jury saw?

I don't exactly know how to answer this. The lead up is disheartening, though it is nice to know there isn't too much salt there. (I'm sure a lot of it is from yourself as you made that evident in your exiting speech.)

It was Socrates who was known for his knowledge theory, not Aristophanes, but I'll give it a go.

I guess the reason I didn't see what you all saw is because I thought the jury would valuen the gameplay aspect of my game and the power I weilded. I had that power separately from Summer and used it to create an endgame I was happy with. I made the choices and the moves at so many points in this game. I overestimated the effect it would have on your votes.

Pine · Post Post #142 (ISO) » Sun Oct 18, 2020 4:17 am

I think other people have covered all of the most important angles. I mostly want to talk to Ari, so I'll get the others out of the way.

Summer

- You are the standout winner here.

Frankly, I think the play of the game might be the one that isn't really being talked about - eliminating SleepyKrew over Malkon at F5. F5 was the last point where you could really guarantee an elimination, as F4 is always dicey - either an immunity win or a single vote throwing you into a firemaking tie could put someone in FTC who you don't want to face. I think it speaks volumes about your strategic thinking that you didn't use the opportunity to eliminate obvious rival Malkon (though you managed it at F4 anyway). Instead, in the last potentially-predictable round, you took out Skrew, who was superficially weaker. I didn't see it at first, and was stunned and confused when you removed him. I thought it was a blunder, an unforced error - surely your partner in crime, the individual with the best resume of moves (aside from yourself) was the threat? I can't find the receipts, so it was likely in voice, but I think it was Haschel who pointed out that in a Summer-Malkon FTC, you would have had the distinct advantage because your games were so similar and intertwined that the discussion would be "who played it best." In that framework, you'd have been fighting from the high ground. In contrast, Skrew would have brought an entirely different strategy, played almost flawlessly, and the "Aggressive Obvious" might actually lose to "Aggressive Subtle". In the end it didn't matter, as you removed both late-game rivals with impunity.

All hail the queen!

Tris

- You seem content and realistic about your role in events and how things played out. You lost here at the Haschel elimination, as he said. If you'd been sitting here with Ari and Haschel, we'd have a fight on our hands. You are exceptionally talented, and I am looking forward to playing with you again as we both learn from our performances here and previous. Let's connect post-game and try to dissect things.

Congrats on the FTC showing!

Aristophanes

- Hey buddy. You know I love you, right? This is going to be more than a little blunt, and I wanted to establish that before I get going.

I have one core question, though with some variety in presentation:

What in the name of all things holy made you think you could beat Summer?

If there is a single argument for why you cannot win Survivor: Know Your Enemy, it is because you

did not know your enemy

. The mere fact that she is sitting next to you here speaks of a catastrophic error in judgment on your part. If you had asked twelve players at merge who the biggest single threat was, I'd bet you nine or ten would have named Summer. By the time I joined the jury, it was unanimous. Going into F6, she was the prohibitive favorite. At F5, when there was no immunity,

not a single jury member

thought it was going to be anyone but Summer going home. She was

that

obvious a threat. To hear that you not only didn't recognize her as a threat but actively worked to bring her to FTC...it's a critical misstep. Everything else you did (and you made a surprisingly comprehensive argument) pales in comparison to that single point of failure. I can get behind standing by allies even as they go down, yes. I can also get behind allies who are on similar footing making a "may the best person win in FTC" agreement. That's what Malkon and I had discussed. If you'd come in here saying that's what you thought was going on, I'd be a lot more sympathetic, but it's not the case.

So here are my questions:

What were Summer's strengths?
What were your strengths?
Where did you think she was weak?
Where you think you were strong?
At which point(s) did you feel she lacked agency?
At which point(s) did you feel you lacked agency?
What efforts did you each take to recover from errors?

I'm asking you these questions not in an effort to decide my vote - that's pretty much a foregone conclusion at this point. What I'm looking for is analysis so we can both improve. You were out of this when you took a pass on Haschel's goat brigade deal. Hell, you might have recovered even then if you'd lead the charge against Summer at 5 and either Malkon or Skrew at 4. Your best chance was indeed an FTC consisting of the goat brigade. You might even have won against Skrew or Malkon with the right late-game moves. I suspect that part of what led you to reject that lifeline was not wanting to be characterized that way. Well...sorry, but it happened.

tris · Post Post #143 (ISO) » Sun Oct 18, 2020 5:48 am

@skrew

i was mostly avoiding talking about pre-merge because that was where i was the messiest. although, i will say that with the dv vote, i decided to go with that option even knowing that dv might not really be against me because i intentionally wanted to take a firm stance, so that i didn't have too many possibilities pulling me in different directions.

as for you it was because you had been on the right side of every vote, and had never been in danger. i saw you as having a strictly better version of my game.

but.. but.. but... haven't i told you i don't play pokemon? i suppose i can go and look at a big list of them

ISO · Post Post #144 (ISO) » Sun Oct 18, 2020 6:44 am

Aristophanes wrote:I brought Jess to F3 out of loyalty to my allies. I would have brought Awoo here as well if they had made it far enough that I could make that choice. I would have lost to them, as I am losing now, I suppose. I can accept the defeat, I just legitimately thought that my saving an ally despite knowing she was strong, that my honouring an alliance that started in the budding points of the game, that my ability to make this game what *I* wanted it to be rather than relying on others to get here or relying on challenge wins to get here, well I thought that would all speak to my abilities and to a winning strategy in showing how I had outplayed her here. I guess I was wrong.

Using my third and final post to reply to this. I want you to know that I understand this thinking and in fact have used it myself in #2016 when I won the FIC and chose to not betray my ally Ted Cruz, bringing him to FTC where he made me look like a chump instead of the game's uber-goat Hillary Clinton. Loyalty IS a valuable part of Survivor, and in fact it often can be a crucial part of jury management. So yeah, I completely understand why this is a frustrating FTC for you because I know how much it sucks when something you planned to be the capstone of your game turns out to be a surprise lodestone around your neck.

LSGs on MS tend to not be the friendliest to new players who don't know the expectations the community has of them; most games have the early boots littered with players who didn't PM enough or thought that "keeping the starting tribe strong" was the most important thing. There have been discussions about how to fix this, but I've concluded that sometimes players need to be kicked in the dick so they can improve next game. I know from first-hand experience that this FTC probably also feels like getting kicked in the dick. It sucks, but take solace in the fact that this is a special dick-kicking that many members of the community - longtime members, even! - never have the chance to experience.

Look at this FTC not as the end of Survivor: Know Your Enemy, but as a waypoint on the evolution of your LSG career. This hurts right now, but I guarantee next time you are within striking distance of FTC this will be an invaluable experience that very well could lead to victory in the future.

That's my time. Love you all (yes, you too, Ari <3) and I'll see you all on the other side of the reveal.

Aristophanes · Post Post #145 (ISO) » Sun Oct 18, 2020 10:32 am

In post 142, Pine wrote:
Summer
- You are the standout winner here.

Frankly, I think the play of the game might be the one that isn't really being talked about - eliminating SleepyKrew over Malkon at F5. F5 was the last point where you could really guarantee an elimination, as F4 is always dicey - either an immunity win or a single vote throwing you into a firemaking tie could put someone in FTC who you don't want to face. I think it speaks volumes about your strategic thinking that you didn't use the opportunity to eliminate obvious rival Malkon (though you managed it at F4 anyway). Instead, in the last potentially-predictable round, you took out Skrew, who was superficially weaker. I didn't see it at first, and was stunned and confused when you removed him. I thought it was a blunder, an unforced error - surely your partner in crime, the individual with the best resume of moves (aside from yourself) was the threat? I can't find the receipts, so it was likely in voice, but I think it was Haschel who pointed out that in a Summer-Malkon FTC, you would have had the distinct advantage because your games were so similar and intertwined that the discussion would be "who played it best." In that framework, you'd have been fighting from the high ground. In contrast, Skrew would have brought an entirely different strategy, played almost flawlessly, and the "Aggressive Obvious" might actually lose to "Aggressive Subtle". In the end it didn't matter, as you removed both late-game rivals with impunity.

All hail the queen!

At the risk of sounding bitter here, I have to point out that this was my move, not Summer's.

Fullstop.

Summer had Malkon targeted and won Tris over, that is true.
Malkon came to me and we decided on Tris, that is also true.
But I was the one who made the play for Skrew. It was my play and my risk, not Summer's.

You can hail the queen all you like. She obviously deserves it. But not for this play.

Aristophanes · Post Post #146 (ISO) » Sun Oct 18, 2020 11:03 am

In post 142, Pine wrote:

Aristophanes
- Hey buddy. You know I love you, right? This is going to be more than a little blunt, and I wanted to establish that before I get going.

Yes, I do.
But thank you for preempting it with this.

I have one core question, though with some variety in presentation:

What in the name of all things holy made you think you could beat Summer?

If there is a single argument for why you cannot win Survivor: Know Your Enemy, it is because you
did not know your enemy
. The mere fact that she is sitting next to you here speaks of a catastrophic error in judgment on your part. If you had asked twelve players at merge who the biggest single threat was, I'd bet you nine or ten would have named Summer. By the time I joined the jury, it was unanimous. Going into F6, she was the prohibitive favorite. At F5, when there was no immunity,
not a single jury member
thought it was going to be anyone but Summer going home. She was
that
obvious a threat. To hear that you not only didn't recognize her as a threat but actively worked to bring her to FTC...it's a critical misstep. Everything else you did (and you made a surprisingly comprehensive argument) pales in comparison to that single point of failure. I can get behind standing by allies even as they go down, yes. I can also get behind allies who are on similar footing making a "may the best person win in FTC" agreement. That's what Malkon and I had discussed. If you'd come in here saying that's what you thought was going on, I'd be a lot more sympathetic, but it's not the case.

I thought Summer and I would be splitting votes here. But coming into FTC and saying "we're both pretty great" isn't how to present oneself and thus I went all in on a strong showing of my abilities.

Thank you for recognizing my arguments. I put a lot of work into that. It's really sad that one misstep can make all of it worthless.

I made my argument and have clarified why I thought I could beat her. I'm not going to reiterate an obviously flawed stance.

So here are my questions:

What were Summer's strengths?

Summer is a Challenge Beast with a strong social game.

What were your strengths?

I used my influence to socially manipulate the game.

Where did you think she was weak?

I believe she was weak whenever there was no challenge protection, so mostly F5.

Where you think you were strong?

I assume that is supposed to be weak in the question.

I was weak in that I underestimated her threat level in this game despite warnings. In the first few days of the game I messaged Tbone to warn him about Summer's social game based on early observations. I saw her survive alone on Delhi, etc. I was just too dumb to take that seriously.

At which point(s) did you feel she lacked agency?

The Espe vote. My gameplay and moves for most of the game. Delhi (but only for a hot second).

At which point(s) did you feel you lacked agency?

El Paso overall, Tbone and Awoo's eliminations. And apparently here.

What efforts did you each take to recover from errors?

i suppose we both turned onto an offensive in order to recover from things. Rather than approaching people feeling weak, I took the vote where I was an outlier and used it to make and strengthen bonds and alliances. Summer made sure to win the challenge that followed.

I'm asking you these questions not in an effort to decide my vote - that's pretty much a foregone conclusion at this point. What I'm looking for is analysis so we can both improve. You were out of this when you took a pass on Haschel's goat brigade deal. Hell, you might have recovered even then if you'd lead the charge against Summer at 5 and either Malkon or Skrew at 4. Your best chance was indeed an FTC consisting of the goat brigade. You might even have won against Skrew or Malkon with the right late-game moves. I suspect that part of what led you to reject that lifeline was not wanting to be characterized that way. Well...sorry, but it happened.

I turned on the goat brigade and kept Jess at F5 because I believed not only that I could win this, but that doing either of these would betray the core strengths of my game.

I don't know if it's worse to be a Goat or to willingly make choices that ended one's chances of winning.
But I don't believe I was a goat, so...awesome.

Aristophanes · Post Post #147 (ISO) » Sun Oct 18, 2020 12:58 pm

In post 114, D3f3nd3r wrote:Hey you three,

While my vote is likely decided coming into FTC, I do have a question I'd like to ask Tris and Ari, who are both in fairly similar positions in terms of their experience playing Survivor on here. And I suppose Jess should probably answer too!

I'm in the unique position of having been involved in all three of your first games. Tris, my vote was all you had against you when I idoled you out in PD. Ari, on the other hand, I was the only person
not
to write your name down at your first and only tribal in Civ. Jess, we played Medevac together but I don't really have any sort of fun anecdote about how you and our tribe voted me out unanimously at our first tribal.

The question is this: What did you do differently between this game and the first game you played? I would ideally like for you to hit on all three sides of Haschel's notorious FTC Triangle: strategic, social, and structural aspects to your game. (Please see the opening post of each thread in this subforum if you're unsure of what exactly these categories mean.)

I strongly suggest that you do not rehash your opening statement. Old Zetaboards forums are still technically accessible (dig through your messages for the forum link, then go to the forum, click Login, then click the orange text for "Proceed to legacy forum account login here", and enter your login information), so you should consider looking at your respective source material before trying to answer!

That is a very cool and unique position to be in, D3f3nd3r!

Let's see how I played differently in the context of this Triangle.
I screwed something up when trying to login as a legacy account and can not see my messages, so I apologize that this will be from memory. I did try to get in and I do acknowledge that my memory is absolute shite. Like by the time we reached F6 I had already forgotten most of the details about the Merge vote on Mist, that's how bad it is. Making a comprehensive Opening Statement was so hard because I literally forgot so much of what happened and had to research my own posts to figure out what I had done and why I had done it. Luckily I logged my intentions rather well throughout the game. #OverlyVerboseAri But yeah, all of this is to say I'll do what I can here and I am very sorry for any inconsistencies.

Strategic wrote:A big part of this game is using the right strategy to make it to the end. Sometimes you have to make #BigMoves, or know when the time is right not not make a move. You have to advance your game in a manner that leaves you a path for the future.

Well, in Civvivor, I was entirely unsure how to make moves. I did not have any awareness of what was going on across the tribe and was therefore unable to see past the few things I did know.

In this game I set myself up to be in the know and to be in control. I argued this heavily in my OS so I am unsure what to add. I honestly believe that I was the puppet master of this game, despite the credit going to Summer here for moves that I was clearly in control of. As Malkon said, perception is everything. I did not garner the perception that I was in control, therefore I guess I wasn't.

Social wrote:Anderson always says that I have the social skills of a Spider. His intelligence entertains me every day, how does he not know that a Spider has amazing social skills.

The real question is how did you spin your web to be connected to all the other players and use your social skills to your advantage?
It's not good enough to be able to get to the end if you've burned all your bridges along the way.

I'll keep the bolded in mind in the future.

I had 0 social game in Civvivor.
Actually, that's not true. I lacked the understanding of what was expected and did not have the time to commit to it. When I did, I focused on few relationships rather than extending my social web and I played to a gimmick, unsure of how to play an anonymous game otherwise.

I was obviously social as hell here and I believe I used that to set the stage for where I'm at now. The props are just all in the wrong spots I suppose.

Structural wrote:It's not enough to say why you deserve to win Survivor; the Jury is deciding who deserves to specifically win Survivor PD. In addition to the 20 other players in this game, each of you had to deal with the structure of the game itself. Challenges, mechanics, swaps, items, pacing, and other factors that did not directly come from the other players all affected your journey here.

I mean, I am not a challenge winner. I am not fast. I am not clever. I am not going to win based on game mechanics and structure. I didn't understand how to play around that issue in Civvivor. I did that here, however. I remained a strong player despite being unable to win immunity. I stayed close to people who could win those things in order to have numbers on my side. I discounted the importance of this aspect of the game, however, as it is one that I have never been good at and never will be.

Sorry that was a bit general, I'm losing a bit of steam in here. Arguing against something that has already been decided is pointless, but I am going to keep it up. It's just a bit more taxing than I had imagined it would be.

Espeonage · Post Post #148 (ISO) » Sun Oct 18, 2020 1:39 pm

@tris and ari: Why was Malkon or Jess not eliminated over Skrew? Bc the moment Skrew went at that TC the game was over for you two.

Like I am only asking a question out of politeness. This vote has been locked since Awoo left the game. The tier list since awoo for ftc has been Jess > Malkon > Me > People who can't win if any of those three make it to ftc. Like if there was an idol play that would be fine. But voting out Skrew was game throwing and game throwing is not voteworthy in FTC.

Aristophanes · Post Post #149 (ISO) » Sun Oct 18, 2020 1:51 pm

In post 140, SleepyKrew wrote:Well Ari has asked for questions. Summer and tris, I'll ask you questions as well, but don't feel obligated to answer them. Some of these questions are going to be for the sake of my own ego. Also some of them aren't questions. Some stuff may have been answered already; sorry if that's the case.

I'd love to hear more about the TC where Cheery Dog went. Did people aside from myself tell you that you were a potential target? What work did you do to make sure Cheery went?

Why did you try to lie to D3f when he got voted out, when everyone else was honest about the vote with him?

I was not aware that D3f knew he was going out until he told me as much. I then apologized and had a real chat with him.
What I don't understand is why everyone told D3f that he was going out. What was gained by that? What did I miss?

For the Pine vote, did you know in advance about the 4-3-2? If so, were you part of the planning for it? How do you think the round would've gone if you didn't make the group with Pine? Do you feel like the 'recruitment' process was botched?

I did indeed know about the 4-3-2 and was a part of the planning process for it.
I think it would have been far tougher to convince people like yourself to vote that way if the group had not formed, and it was a very convenient jump-off point for things with a few players. I think Pine would have been eliminated regardless because I was putting in the legwork to make it happen and we merely would have had to be less fancy with it.
The recruitment process was a smashing success, wasn't it? I did what I wanted to do with it and moved on. I did contemplate working with that group when it was presented, actually. I contemplated not saying Pine and making this an actual working group that could have gone a distance together. It may have been a misplay in hindsight as well, as it would have cut a tie with summer and maybe could have allowed me to wrangle even a single vote off of her here. But instead I siezed the moment and used it to further my goals of having the Trilliums together in FTC.

At the time of the Awoo vote, what was your endgame plan? At what point did you decide you wanted to go to FTC with Summer and Malkon? Why couldn't you tell Awoo about the vote? Why do you think this vote happened outside of your control, and why couldn't you do anything about it?

This is a bit of a complex one and goes back to why I didn't tell D3f, or anyone else for that matter other than Malkon, that they were the vote. I had wanted Summer and Awoo until Awoo was eliminated. Malkon had been my backup since the beginning of Florence and took up that role when we rejoined forces in voting out Espe. Most of these votes I stayed quiet about to the votee because I knew there was a chance of Idols or of callouts or un unpleasant breakdowns in the tribe chat and I wanted to avoid that. It had happened with kdowns. It happened with D3f. This was not the main reason here, however. I was told by one singular player, Summer, that Awoo was going home. I knew Awoo didn't have an idol and that none were floating around to be used on him. I knew it was a done deal. If I told him and it leaked, I feared it would hurt Summer's game, so as an Ally and as a Friend, not as a Goat (despite what I know you all will say), I did not tell Awoo. I tried to push an alternate vote without outing that I was told and it failed. I tried to do everything I could while still protecting the other third of my D1 F3 alliance and was unsuccessful. The pushback was obvious and was strong, so I accepted that I was at the mercy of the tribe and did what I could to plan for the other side a while bracing for the shittiest feeling I had to encounter for the majority of the game.

Why do you think Haschel would've won a you/Haschel/tris FTC? Why couldn't you let Malkon get voted that round?

Haschel had the perception of being the best player at the time in my head. He had clung on despite the deck being stacked against him. He was the founder of the Goats. He would have orchestrated the entire game from then on, taking away my one solid pitch. I knew I could not beat Haschel in this scenario, and neither could Tris. I did not want Malkon to go here because I had the notion that I was keeping him to the end strong in my head still.

Actually, this is a bit of a change of paceon things but Malkon, if you are reading this still, I am very sorry. I told you time after time that I would take you to the end. I honestly meant it. And then when the time came to do so,I turned my back on you.
It was wrong of me. It betrayed my core goal this game. It was a bad play personally and apparently strategically.

I'm sorry.

Why was I such a big threat? How did you convince Summer to vote me? Why did you not include Malkon or tris?

You had played a really good game, Skrew. As I already mentioned, I always felt like you had a motive and a strategy behind everything you did. I always felt like you understood something I didn't. I also looked at the Jury and thought you had a far more likely chance than I to win their favour.
If only I had been this critical of Jess I suppose.
I did not include Malkon or Tris because it really was a last minute realization and vote switch. I could have, they were online, but I always feared getting too many people involved in anything this entire game and thus played it close to my chest.

At what point did you decide to cut Malkon? What made you change your mind?

In the F5?
I had my vote on every single player at various times in that TC. I first had it on Summer as I thought it was a lost cause. I then switched onto Tris when Malkon agreed that it was the vote. I had it on Malkon when I decided not to fight against an ally, Jess, but I was very close to forcing a tie there to keep him. I considered it heavily. I then saw where all the votes were and decided to make the big dumb move that resulted in your boot.
I was so worried about keeping my allies I didn't consider how it could be beneficial to me to do so. I guess I should have left my vote on Jess.

At one point in the game, you told me that you didn't think you could win, and that you were happy going to the end and losing to a friend. Was that bullshit?

Skrew, that was 0% bullshit. I did not think I could win this game at that point. You and Haschel gave me the confidence to consider an FTC where I had a chance at winning, and despite throwing away my best chance at it in disbanding the Goats, I thought I finally had a chance and played a better, harder game from that point on.

And I know that my demeanour here looks like that wasn't a true statement. I get that I am taking this a bit harshly. I was warned this would not be an easy session, and those who told me this were correct. However I am very glad to see that my Ally who I got here is winning the game! I just have to get through the stress and emotion of having the hope I found when I considered victory a possibility pulled out from under me.

Are you willing to go in-depth about how you think a you/Summer/Malkon FTC would break down vs this one?

I can indeed do this for you!

Summer - Espe, Tris, Skrew
Ari - Awoo, DK
Malkon - D3f, Pine, Haschel

vs

Summer - Espe, Skrew, Pine
Ari - Awoo, DK, D3f, Malkon
Tris - Haschel

I would explain more but I am exhausted by these theoreticals that I was both wrong about and will never be able to be tested or really considered as they have already been proven not to be viable.

What's your favorite Pokemon?

I actually went into this a few times in my Confessional!

My favourite evolutionary line is Magikarp -> Gyarados.

I adore the story of the fish that takes a lot of work, so much time and effort, and a real investment of time and caring to become an absolute powerhouse! A beast! And one of the coolest designs among Gen 1. Gyarados has always been my favourite, but the little magikarp is never forgotten, and neither is the time invested in it to pave the way for the impressive creature it becomes.