Tribal Council - 3 Luzon

[clauderainsrm]

 

Welcome back to Tribal Council, Luzon.

After your previous experience, I know this is the last place you wanted to be.  But here you are.  Again. 

Before we get into the specific questions, there’s something that I want to put out there to the group... To anyone who feels like answering. 

There was a rumor going around that one was upset enough last week to send a note to an Asaga member, questioning the vote, and not believing that they should have won. 

Anyone want to own up to being the one who did that?  After your second loss in a row, is there anyone here who still feels that way?

Let's start digging into what's going on with this tribe...

First round of questions.

N3m3sis43 -  Does the tribe have a leader?  Is there anyone who has stepped up to the plate to bring you together?  Or is it more than one person calling the shots?

Flipflop_diva -  Last tribal council, the votes were all over the place.  Is that indicative of deep divides behind the scenes or was it a random “anybody but me, and let the chips fall where they may?” 

Bleodswean -   You’ve lost 2 of the last 3 challenges.  What can Luzon be doing better?

Uselesstinrelic  -  What is Luzon’s pre-challenge process like this week?  More importantly, what do you think needs to change going into the next challenge?

Alycewilson -   You came really close to being voted out last time.  Why do you think you were targeted, and are you afraid that you might be next on the chopping block?

Adoptedwriter -   Not long before she was voted out, swirlsofpurple said about the prospect of  being down 1 person “It may even be advantageous in some ways.”   You are about to be down 2 people going into the next challenge.  Do you think it might be advantageous?

Murielle -    How much of what is being asked here ends up being discussed in the privacy of your camp first?  For all of the talk about everyone being friends regardless of tribes, both Luzon and Asaga broke off into their own private spaces pretty quickly.  Why do you think that is?  Is that something that is helpful or do you think that keeping things private could end up hardening that divide?

Bittyjane -   Last time you said that “I can only do what I can do, though, and see what happens from there.”  Is there a different plan coming into this vote?  Or do you think you’ve been doing enough to walk out of here with your torch lit for another week?

2 round of questions

Murielle -   You wrote about the literal smashing of your own head.  How are you feeling today?  Are my questions too much emotional heavy lifting? Is that why you avoid them?  What’s worse - the pain from the concussion or sitting here at tribal council, knowing that you are about to sacrifice one of your own?

Bittyjane -   What made you decide to go with the “Survivor themed” story?  Do you think production just left because they weren’t answering questions at tribal council?  Or is it more likely that they are filming them with stealth drones? 

If you could raid anything from Asaga, what would it be?

Flipflop_diva -   “The first thing I thought of when I read the prompt was "Smash the patriarchy, grab your dreams" but it took a little bit longer for me to realize I had the perfect story for that in my own family.”  What was it that finally clicked in your head that you had the perfect story to tell right in front of you the entire time?  How did you decide on the format of the story, switching perspectives as you switched generations?   And, of course, how did Aline’s children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren continue that legacy of independence?   From a game perspective, the women far outnumber the men and non-binary contestants.  Does that make them easier to “smash”?

Alycewilson -  On the surface, you went literal with the smash and grab, which I found interesting.  Quite frankly, I was expecting a lot more people to go that route.  If they had, maybe yours wouldn’t have stood out as much.  But there is a different smashing going on as well,  the smashing of perceptions, thanks to the guidance of Miss Diaz.   I like how what seems straight forward ends up working on multiple levels.   Will this be your “this is how I learned how to survive tribal council” moment, and who do you think is going to be the member of your tribe that helps you the most in figuring out the next right move?


Uselesstinrelic-   Your comedic, narrative voice in this is strong.  What made you decide to break the fourth wall with that aside to the reader?  There’s one obvious one, but they are actually peppered through the piece at several points. Sort of a Bugs Bunny breaking from the action to look at the camera moment, which fit in well with the style.  But I’m curious about the mental process to get there.   Also, you correctly point out that you posted your entry late, which had I put the poll up right away instead of being distracted by life, would have put your tribe in a big hole.  You did well in the vote, but is that “you got lucky” deadline moment enough that you should be considered for elimination?  Or do you think your challenge performance up until this point has been enough that you should survive another week?

N3m3sis43 -  Over the years, I’ve seen a lot of entries about the trouble people are having writing their entries.  This certainly did that, but with the backdrop of the ADHD/PTSD.  I think the pacing of this was good, with the timestamps detailing where time was being stolen.  Were these the actual (estimated) time stamps of the real events or did you fictionalize the process?  You certainly did well with it with the voters, but do you think that it was as strong of a piece as it could have been? If you got those moments back, how would you make it better?

Bleodswean -  From the iconic first line, I knew that you were retelling Snow White.  But I didn’t know it would be from the Huntsman’s POV or where you were going with it.  My own mind kept thinking of this as a twist on the “Tell-Tale Heart”, with him tormented by the still-beating heart that “should have” been in the box, and a need to make it right.  Is this something you plan on revisiting, the “what happens next” or it is just a “Weekend at Bernies” situation until the Prince eventually catches up to them?   :)   What do you think are the important elements in a successful fairy tale/myth retelling?

Adoptedwriter -  What was it about the real life story of the field trip that made you combine it with the Survivor elements for this entry?   Do you think that you, and your friends, are

going to be able to unlock the mystery of how to not come back to tribal council next week?

Due to everything else happening right now ,  instead of a third round of questions for you to ignore, I’m going to ask this to everyone: 

What is your criteria for who should be going home this week? 

Is it someone who you think has the chance to not write as good of a piece next week, and thus hurt you in the challenges? 

Is it someone who you aren’t sure where their loyalties lie, in the long term? 

Will this vote just be completely random? 

Will it be who you think is in league with trained monkeys who may or may not be infiltrating the island? 

Will it be whoever wrote that note that got Asaga fired up, and that no one seems to want to acknowledge? 

Just as important - why should the tribe keep YOU?  What are you bringing to Luzon that can help them? 

Several of you have pointed out that the loss wasn’t by much. . .  But “not by much” is still a loss, and it still leads you to tribal council, where you have to vote someone out of this game. 

With that, it’s time to vote. 

Please send me an email (to clauderainsrm@gmail.com)  letting me know who you would like to vote out of the tribe.   If you have a hidden immunity idol, or any other special power, and would like to use it, that would also be the time to tell me.    The deadline to get me your vote is tomorrow, Saturday Nov 21st at 7pm ET

Comments

[alycewilson]

You came really close to being voted out last time. Why do you think you were targeted, and are you afraid that you might be next on the chopping block?

Maybe it's because I've been swimming alone rather than hanging out in the sand, building shelters or whatever they were doing yesterday? I don't know. I'm trying to help. Just yesterday, I brought some eggs back to camp. Not my fault they hatched before anyone could eat them. Or that they were baby alligators.

My Question TC 3

[murielle]

"How much of what is being asked here ends up being discussed in the privacy of your camp first? For all of the talk about everyone being friends regardless of tribes, both Luzon and Asaga broke off into their own private spaces pretty quickly. Why do you think that is? Is that something that is helpful or do you think that keeping things private could end up hardening that divide?"

No comment. ;-)

[adoptedwriter]

Adoptedwriter - Not long before she was voted out, swirlsofpurple said about the prospect of being down 1 person “It may even be advantageous in some ways.” You are about to be down 2 people going into the next challenge. Do you think it might be advantageous?

I have absolutely no idea. I’m just focused on keeping positive.

[bleodswean]

You’ve lost 2 of the last 3 challenges. What can Luzon be doing better?

BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

Last night's loss was so negligible to not even be considered a loss. I'm very proud of this tribe, their entries and the votes garnered!

[bittyjane]

“Last time you said that “I can only do what I can do, though, and see what happens from there.” Is there a different plan coming into this vote? Or do you think you’ve been doing enough to walk out of here with your torch lit for another week?”

Plan remains the same, Gary. I’m a “keep on keepin’ on” kinda gal. ;)

[flipflop_diva]

Last tribal council, the votes were all over the place. Is that indicative of deep divides behind the scenes or was it a random “anybody but me, and let the chips fall where they may?”

I think it's more that it was our first tribal and no one wanted to vote anyone off and people are still figuring out what they are going to use for their personal criteria for voting. It's a lot harder voting out your friends than strangers you just met a couple days ago, so I think the votes being everywhere sort of shows how strong this tribe is. There isn't a clear weak person. It would have been a lot easier if there was.

[bittyjane]

"What made you decide to go with the “Survivor themed” story? Do you think production just left because they weren’t answering questions at tribal council? Or is it more likely that they are filming them with stealth drones?

If you could raid anything from Asaga, what would it be?"

The "Survivor Themed" story just seemed like something that fit this week. The production crew left initially because of a potential global threat that the poor contestants on the island know nothing about. They stayed gone when they realized that they could get a more "authentic" survivor show by just filming remotely. The season is still being broadcast, though ratings are starting to drop because there's not enough action. Not enough "surviving."

Does Asaga have food for Ali (my new pet alligator). Because I'd like to avoid digging into our own food stores for her. ;)

[uselesstinrelic]

What is Luzon’s pre-challenge process like this week? More importantly, what do you think needs to change going into the next challenge?

Oh geez, I'm the wrong one to ask! I was sleeping under a palm tree most the week! (Don't worry, I already got a talking to on my island about being a lazybones.)

Hm, what can we do to prepare? I don't know, I'd say we all seem to be writing some pretty stellar work each week, and that's the best thing you can hope for!

[n3m3sis43]

Does the tribe have a leader? Is there anyone who has stepped up to the plate to bring you together? Or is it more than one person calling the shots?

I mean, bleodswean was the first person able to make fire and murielle is always here for hugs. Some of us worked really hard to find food and set up our shelter, so I'd say we're all leaders in our own way, wouldn't you?

Question Number--Whatever!

[murielle]

"You wrote about the literal smashing of your own head. How are you feeling today? Are my questions too much emotional heavy lifting? Is that why you avoid them? What’s worse - the pain from the concussion or sitting here at tribal council, knowing that you are about to sacrifice one of your own?"

That is so sweet of you to ask! Thank you! While I'm not in as much pain there are other effects of the concussion. Let me share:

I banged my head over a month ago, during the past month I've been trying to get into our Zoom Bible Study meetings on Wednesday evenings to no avail. My frustration has been so acute that I accused my pastor of "accidentally" blocking me. I even got my uncle to zoom with me to prove that the problem was N O T on my end of the internet. This evening it occurred to me that our meetings start at 7:00 PM. I've been trying to log in at 6:00. So that's my concussion for you.

Now the lifting you mention, that's a back issue and you know we can never be too careful with our backs...I'm sorry the remainder of this message is redacted due to bad, bad, bad, language!

[alycewilson]

Alycewilson - On the surface, you went literal with the smash and grab, which I found interesting. Quite frankly, I was expecting a lot more people to go that route. If they had, maybe yours wouldn’t have stood out as much. But there is a different smashing going on as well, the smashing of perceptions, thanks to the guidance of Miss Diaz. I like how what seems straight forward ends up working on multiple levels. Will this be your “this is how I learned how to survive tribal council” moment, and who do you think is going to be the member of your tribe that helps you the most in figuring out the next right move?

Thanks for the observations about the multiple levels! I'm never really sure what comes across in a straightforward story, so it's nice to hear when it clicks. As far as who helps me the most, I really look up to our leader, bleodswean, both as a writer and a human being. She's been a rock for all of us. But ultimately, I think we all have each other's backs. It's a rough decision, to be honest.

[adoptedwriter]

#1: I figured it would be fun.
#2: Were working on that.

Criteria: see #2

[bleodswean]

What is your criteria for who should be going home this week?

We’ve decided to have our team members plead their case. That’s the criteria, apparently.

Is it someone who you think has the chance to not write as good of a piece next week, and thus hurt you in the challenges?

No one seems concerned about the quality of the craft. And that discernment is or can be so totally subjective. I don't think Idol, at large, typically reflects this as a criteria either. It can be a bit of a popularity show, eh?

It’s about who garners the most votes consistently. And who stumps for votes the most effectively.

We simply don't see an objective way to do this, other than averaging out vote tallies.

Is it someone who you aren’t sure where their loyalties lie, in the long term?

Doesn’t seem to be a concern.

Will this vote just be completely random?

Nope, that was last week. And it hurt.

Will it be who you think is in league with trained monkeys who may or may not be infiltrating the island?

No idea what this means. LOL.

Will it be whoever wrote that note that got Asaga fired up, and that no one seems to want to acknowledge?

It’s been acknowledged. The person outed themselves. Again, no one seemed bothered. (But I think some are.)

Just as important - why should the tribe keep YOU? What are you bringing to Luzon that can help them?

We’ve done this privately. Not sure folks want to do it publicly. Ultimately, as you can imagine, it’s cut and paste – I love Idol, I love writing, I love all of you, I will ask those I love to vote for those I love, I love sabotaging the other tribe, I love being here.

Several of you have pointed out that the loss wasn’t by much. . . But “not by much” is still a loss, and it still leads you to tribal council, where you have to vote someone out of this game.

I’m not sure there is much that we can do – as a tribe – about votes that are as close as these have been. If you have suggestions – we are all ears!

[flipflop_diva]

“The first thing I thought of when I read the prompt was "Smash the patriarchy, grab your dreams" but it took a little bit longer for me to realize I had the perfect story for that in my own family.” What was it that finally clicked in your head that you had the perfect story to tell right in front of you the entire time? How did you decide on the format of the story, switching perspectives as you switched generations? And, of course, how did Aline’s children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren continue that legacy of independence? From a game perspective, the women far outnumber the men and non-binary contestants. Does that make them easier to “smash”?

I'm not actually sure what it was that made me realize I had the perfect story. I was doing dishes, and it just popped into my head out of nowhere. I must have been thinking about something that led me there, but I honestly cannot tell you what. We're just going to say maybe that is when my muse just finally woke up :)

And I actually decided on the format when I was writing up my idea to run it by a couple of my tribemates. Originally I was just going to write my great-grandmother's story but when I was describing it, I realized my grandmother's was just as powerful (maybe even more so) in her own way, and to do them both justice, they both needed to be told from their own perspective.

As for how it's continuing, I like to think my sister and I (and our cousins) are all very strong, independent women. None of us have had to make the kinds of choices our grandmother and great-grandmother had to make, but my grandmother raised my dad and her other kids to be respectful and hard-working and, in turn, my parents raised my sister and me to believe that we didn't need anyone else to take care of us and that we could stand on our own two feet and be confident in our own decisions and who we are. And I hope that is what we're teaching our kids, especially my daughter and my niece. Ellie is only 2 and Caitlin is 8, so they aren't quite ready to go out and rule the world, but someday they will be, and I believe they will be awesome at it!

And, Gary, I'm pretty sure we don't have men in here who are trying to hold us all back with their superiority over us, so there really is no reason to smash them, is there? We can just work and play together and be supportive no matter one's gender.


What is your criteria for who should be going home this week? Gary!! There are other people listening! I'm not going to tell you that!! And Luzon already knows why I think they should keep me. Will they listen? I super super hope so but I don't know.

My Thousand Questions!

[murielle]

"What is your criteria for who should be going home this week?"

Don't have one. Do you have any suggestions?

"Is it someone who you think has the chance to not write as good of a piece next week, and thus hurt you in the challenges?"

No. Everyone on Luzon is a fantastic writer. (That didn't help at all, Gary!)

"Is it someone who you aren’t sure where their loyalties lie, in the long term?"

I am a very loyal person who takes loyalty very seriously, so if I thought someone was disloyal I would not trust them, and Luzon is all about trust and loyalty. So, what's your point?

"Will this vote just be completely random?"

Huh?

"Will it be who you think is in league with trained monkeys who may or may not be infiltrating the island?"

Monkeys? There were Monkeys? Where are the Monkeys? I love Monkeys! Here, monkey, monkey, monkey!

"Will it be whoever wrote that note that got Asaga fired up, and that no one seems to want to acknowledge?"

Note? What note? You mean the grocery lists we've been giving to the crew?

"Just as important - why should the tribe keep YOU? What are you bringing to Luzon that can help them?"

Because I'm so good at answering questions. (Thrrrrrpt!)



Several of you have pointed out that the loss wasn’t by much. . . But “not by much” is still a loss, and it still leads you to tribal council, where you have to vote someone out of this game.

Loss? What loss?

Can we vote you out?

[bleodswean]

From the iconic first line, I knew that you were retelling Snow White. But I didn’t know it would be from the Huntsman’s POV or where you were going with it. My own mind kept thinking of this as a twist on the “Tell-Tale Heart”, with him tormented by the still-beating heart that “should have” been in the box, and a need to make it right. Is this something you plan on revisiting, the “what happens next” or it is just a “Weekend at Bernies” situation until the Prince eventually catches up to them? :) What do you think are the important elements in a successful fairy tale/myth retelling?

Oh, wow, G!!!! YOU should write that tell-tale heart version – that’s freaking AMAZING!!!!! I’m crazy with envy now! My main focus was that without true love’s kiss, she isn’t going to wake up. A bit done, but the smash and grab gave it more specific uniqueness.

I don’t often lengthen my Idol pieces with the exception of my Persephone/Hades ‘verse. Those I work on a lot. I would love to pen a novella about the destined lovers. But I do agree that this one has potential to be teased out longer! I may just do that….

Derivative work is usually a delicious and incredibly comforting treat, even when its dark or ends badly. We love to play in universes that are familiar, we love to embark on new adventures with characters we feel an affinity toward. The universal unconscious plays such a big part in the retold fable, myth and fairy tale that most retellings are soul food. I think the success in derivative work is finding a new interpretation that is ENTIRELY plausible within the original material. Especially retold fairy tales. Readers often enjoy the recasting of a villainous figure as sympathetic, more so when a backstory is created to garner that sympathy. However, unless one is Gregory Maguire, one must be cautious about the crutch that derivative writing can sometimes become. But with that being said, even in derivative, there is so much room for originality!

Question #2

[n3m3sis43]

Over the years, I’ve seen a lot of entries about the trouble people are having writing their entries. This certainly did that, but with the backdrop of the ADHD/PTSD. I think the pacing of this was good, with the timestamps detailing where time was being stolen. Were these the actual (estimated) time stamps of the real events or did you fictionalize the process? You certainly did well with it with the voters, but do you think that it was as strong of a piece as it could have been? If you got those moments back, how would you make it better?

Those were real timestamps, for the most part. I was messaging a friend of mine the entire morning about my process, so I was able to go through our chat log and figure out the timing of events. In a couple of cases, I did have to guess but it was easy to extrapolate.

Hm, I think any piece could always be stronger, especially one written to a tight deadline. And I wonder if the original piece I'd intended to write would have been stronger. What I liked about my piece was the balance of humor and vulnerability, and I think it was relatable. One way I might have made it stronger might be to go a little deeper with the vulnerable bits? But that also might have run the risk of derailing the piece or making it kind of whiny/maudlin. It's a delicate balance.

[alycewilson]

What is your criteria for who should be going home this week?

It may or may not be related to any number of factors, but will most certainly not be determined by trained monkeys.

Just as important - why should the tribe keep YOU? What are you bringing to Luzon that can help them?

I am definitely not in league with trained monkeys.

[uselesstinrelic]

Your comedic, narrative voice in this is strong. What made you decide to break the fourth wall with that aside to the reader? There’s one obvious one, but they are actually peppered through the piece at several points. Sort of a Bugs Bunny breaking from the action to look at the camera moment, which fit in well with the style. But I’m curious about the mental process to get there. Also, you correctly point out that you posted your entry late, which had I put the poll up right away instead of being distracted by life, would have put your tribe in a big hole. You did well in the vote, but is that “you got lucky” deadline moment enough that you should be considered for elimination? Or do you think your challenge performance up until this point has been enough that you should survive another week?


Thx :> I guess the decision wasn't super-duper intentional. I kind of just try to go with the flow of what seems right. Though, in retrospect, I probably leaned that way because I wanted people to feel in on the joke -with- me, rather than have a story in which I was the object on which events were unfolded. That wasn't something I felt I could help when the birth experience was unfolding, but certainly I can make the choice about how I retell the events.

I don't think my 'in a little late' moment risks my standing with my team. Why would they want to vote me out for being late? As you say, it would have left a hole. Maybe if you hadn't taken pity, it might have been a different story? haha As it stands, I imagine Asaga would have more to be annoyed with than Luzon. Maybe the question should be if I feel grateful Asaga can't vote for me ;>









What is your criteria for who should be going home this week?
I voted based on who I thought indicated they'd be the least bummed out if they had to go. We've all had pretty consistent and solid showings in terms of pieces and scores, so there are no especially weak points. And we are all enjoying one anothers' company and working well together so there really isn't any clear easy choice.


Is it someone who you think has the chance to not write as good of a piece next week, and thus hurt you in the challenges?
Sure, each week there always has to be a "lowest score" of the bunch just by nature of that's how numbers literally work. But even our low scores this week were respectable, solid showings. Everyone can have a bad week or have a story not be received the way they thought it might be, but there's nobody who's not pulling their weight who would be an easy vote target.



Is it someone who you aren’t sure where their loyalties lie, in the long term?
I think everyone has a lot of loyalty.



Will this vote just be completely random?

I'm glad you asked me this. See, I can read the future so I'm the one for this job! Let me just get my crystal ball and OH CRAP.
Dangit, a dolphin stole it.

Sorry.





Will it be who you think is in league with trained monkeys who may or may not be infiltrating the island?

Well, I may, or may not have heard things about trained monkeys... but it wasn't to do with infiltrating the island... ; > That's all I'm going to say about that! This is a mixed audience, you know.



Will it be whoever wrote that note that got Asaga fired up, and that no one seems to want to acknowledge?

I think, when it comes to this mysterious note, we can guess about who wrote it or whether or not it's genuine-- but suffice it to say, Luzon is a group of fun and creative people who have been in overall good spirits who have been focused on doing their best to write well and have fun!



Just as important - why should the tribe keep YOU? What are you bringing to Luzon that can help them?
Well, you know, what are we expecting here? We sometimes decide as a team. But, if we weren't deciding as a team then people will no doubt already have opinions about what I bring and what I don't. Maybe they'll feel like what I bring is valuable and maybe they won't, but that'll be up to them.