Austin has his say

[Austin Carty-Gonzalez-Angarita]

I don't really have much to say here. I kinda lost my spirit for the game when I got voted out mainly because it was such a b.s. round that there was no reason for me to be leaving at all. I was probably the 3rd option to leave at the beginning of that round, and cus of stuff that was out of my control, I ended up leaving. Who knows if I would've survived the next vote or make it to the final 2. Regardless I think this game deserves a HUGE asterisk next to it because this was nobody's best effort. Not to rain on the final two's parade, but this wouldn't be my most satisfying win if I had taken home the crown.

But none of this is about me, it's about you guys. Well done on making it this far, and I hope the best person truly wins. I don't have any specific questions, but if you guys have anything you'd like to directly say to me to help your cause this would be place to do so. I could be about the round I left, how we were involved together in the game, or anything else. Look forward to hearing the answers!

[Pimpthony Robinson]

Hey Austin, I definitely understand how you feel about your elimination from the game, it sucked. The game had not been the greatest up to then, but that round in particular was just very frustrating and disappointing. I'm still not even sure what happened since I've heard a couple of different stories and it was too much bs to even make sense. I really wish that round would have gone differently, and I'm not saying this to suck up to you but I honestly and truly wanted you to be here in the end with me. I had given you my word on that Final 3, and I was going to stick to it. I must admit that at the time we made that deal, I also had strong ties with Brenda and Chelsea, so in a way that conversation did put me in a difficult position. I was definitely planning on staying loyal to you as long as I could though and you became one of my most valuable allies together with Yau. I think our alliance was definitely an unexpected one, and before the game I never really expected us to work together since we didn't have the best history from AS2 (that is, I had a hand in blindsiding you, you hated my bowing out). I really enjoyed working with you and I liked your optimism and how you encouraged me at times like with the storyteller challenge. That did help me a lot, so thanks a lot for that.

What you should know, or may have figured out by now, is that at times I was put in a difficult position being in between you and Yau. Like, I knew Yau was closer to Heidi and Tracy than to you, and I tried to subtly tell you; I couldn't flat out throw him under the bus though and couldn't be a 100% open to you about that because I wanted to protect both of you. It's likely that you would have been the target at the Final 6 had you survived that first vote, and I'm not sure if we could have pulled something off there. I had told Yau repeatedly that I didn't want to vote you out, but he didn't feel like voting Heidi. I was going to try my very best to keep you safe nonetheless, but I couldn't really tell you what I knew at the time the vote was between DD and Yau, because that would have put Yau in jeopardy as well. You might have survived that round, I really don't know. It would have been very difficult also given the fact that Heidi had that idol. Anyway, yeah, I have been in a difficult position at times where I felt like I couldn't be fully open without throwing Yau under the bus; I never intended on hurting your chances while doing so though (and I don't think I did), because I was going to stick to my word. Not sure if this helps my cause, but I just wanted you to know this.

Finally, I agree that this game will have a giant asterisk, or even multiple asterisks next to it. Having played these games for one and a half years, I must say though that this series overall has been the best that I have participated in. People dropping out and quitting, and some of the bs that happened might make this feel less satisfying perhaps, but winning a game in the series that I enjoyed the most would still mean a lot to me.

If you have any follow ups let me know, and good luck deciding on your vote!

[DD]

Hey Austin, you know I feel badly about how the game ended for you. We talked about it shortly thereafter, and it was nothing short of shitty. I'm not really sure what happened that night; I don't think anyone does. All I know is that you didn't deserve to go that round. I have a lot of respect for you in this game, as weaving through the ups and downs of AS1 tribe was no easy task, and I think you played a great game. It was a pleasure working with you here, and I would be honored to receive your vote.

Keep in touch bud <3