therealljidol | Survivor: LJ Idol Reunion Part 4

For other people, we've already had their worst stretch of the game. But for me, this is the bad part.

I came in knowing that there were people who were going to play Survivor, and people who were going to "play Idol", and figured that the majority would probably end up somewhere in between. I was probably naive in thinking that if people were willing to sign up, after my constant warnings (to the point that I felt like I was actively discouraging people to sign up! A first for me!) that even the reluctant ones would, at some point come around.

What I didn't predict was how real life was going to become a player of it's own, from the very first vote, and end up stretching on throughout the pre-merge.

Where was MY head at? There had been an unplanned double elimination, one of those contestants (someone that I was a big fan of their writing) had left the competition entirely and wouldn't be on the Jury... which was doubly disappointing in that it meant they weren't going to be on the Jury - and I thought they would ask some potentially great questions... and the numbers were going to be even for the potential Jury members. Which meant, despite my commitment to an old fashioned final two, there was suddenly a chance that it *could* end in a tie.

I had gone into that last tribal council thinking that whoever survived the vote would make things interesting for the tribal shakeup. I was looking forward to seeing how that was going to play out.... so of course neither one of them ended up moving forward! :O

Going into the mix, I was excited about the possibilities. Especially since the numbers were so uneven. If I hadn't switched things up, I think there was a good chance we would have seen Asaga continue to dominate... but then again, maybe the smaller Luzon would have been a tighter unit... we will never know. Which is why it's fun for me to play it out in my head.

Who would end up in the new tribes? What new combinations and friendships would come out of it??? Of course, we know how it played out. But what was I thinking going into that process and where was I coming out of it?

I had decided that whoever was the "Captain" was going to remain with their original tribe. Survivor has swaps a variety of ways, but there have been quite a few where one (or more) people automatically stay in the same place for continuity. So I decided to go with that.

Everyone else would be put in that random name generator. I'd hit submit and then take that person out of the mix, hit submit again... filling one spot on each tribe at a time...

halfshellvenus stayed with Asaga. At that point in the game I was thinking "merge boot". The well liked Captain of the dominant tribe, a talented writer... why would anyone possibly keep her around? I was looking at her as maybe the worst person to sit next to at the end. But didn't think anyone would actually do it. :)

bleodswean stayed at Luzon. I saw her as the "winner" of the recent power struggle. Had the tribe remained intact, as far as I was concerned. Again, well liked and a fantastic writer... her future post-swap would depend entirely on who ended up in the tribe. But again, no one could possibly want to sit next to her at the end.

The first random selection was for the leader of LaMina. Which I thought was an interesting touch. The other two were "the most popular" contestants at the start of the game. How would someone react to the idea of being "Captain" being randomly thrust on them? How would other people react to them? The fact that it was eeyore_grrl made me even more curious. She was coming from the dominant Asaga (not a surprise) but, as usual, seemed to be doing her own thing in the game. It was a huge mystery to me how that was going to play out.

The next pick was going to go to Asaga... it was adoptedwriter. OK. A former Luzon. But still good news for halfshellvenus. Solid. Loyal. Unlikely to want to shake things up too much.

Next pick went to Luzon... and it was bsgsix. That was a game-changer. I know there had been tension between Luzon and her in the past. But a lot had changed in the past week. She was also one of the biggest consistent vote-getters. I was thinking this might shift the balance of power...

LaMina's next pick was flipflop_diva, which I thought was great news for her. After the last tribal council, I thought she was a goner the next time Luzon had to vote.

Back to Asaga, and they got megatronix. I was thinking this was good for her. She had already been a part of that tribe, and seemed to have a good relationship with halfshellvenus. Now that the person that I saw her as natural ally was gone from the game, she would need friends... and depending on how things shook out, she had at least one already. In a regular Survivor game, she was the perfect "extra vote" to bring into the fold.

Luzon got n3m3sis43. Weird... another contestant staying with the same tribe. I guess that's not completely unexpected. But definitely good for her. She was well situated in a tribe of "bigger targets", and seemed to be picking up on playing the game. (I didn't know about the alliance with flipflop_diva. But I was getting the feeling from just watching her in the game that there was more going on than was being said.) She was one of those people that if she got to the merge there would be clear sailing for quite some time. (Unless the other side stayed completely "Asaga Strong", and even then she wouldn't have been the first target)

minikin25 went to LaMina. I was really worried about her in that spot. She hadn't come in with a lot of the same relationships as the other people. But then again, so far that seemed to be a potential bonding point for the tribe. Maybe they could become friends with each other and ride out the game! Or maybe not,.. and if it was "not", I thought minikin25 might have ended up on the wrong side of that vote. Especially if word from the former Asaga got out that she had already tried to sacrifice.

Next selection for Asaga was lawchicky. *hits the side of the random generator* Is thing working??? ;) She had the old Asaga numbers on her side and an "easy vote" for at least one former Luzon. The side of me that wanted to see the Survivor fans in action had wanted her on the tribe with the other Survivor fans. But she seemed to be in a decent position, so I wasn't all that worried.

Next member of Luzon... WTH... seriously... was alycewilson. At this point I think I was probably swearing at this random generator. Still, this was great news for alycewilson. As long as her tribe didn't completely implode - and there was no reason to think it would - she was golden to the merge and from there it looked like a pretty easy path to the end of the game. I didn't get the sense that people saw her as anywhere near as dangerous of a social player as she actually is, or realize just how determined she can be... this is the person who in her first season played right up until she gave birth, and was prepared to play from the hospital if she had to... you never, ever, ever, underestimate alycewilson or take your eye off her as an opponent. Just saying. :)

LaMina's penultimate member was impoetry. He had been so excited when he signed up, and designed the season's logo. He was just going to be playing all out and erratic... and it was just going to be "good TV"... and it just never happened due to Real Life. It was making me sad (because it's all about me, and MY needs!!! :D) .. BUT he was now on a tribe with flipfliop_diva, maybe they could talk Survivor and bond! Perhaps that would help him get his head back into the game.

The final member of Asaga was wolfden. Yes, this thing definitely had to be broken or something. :) But I felt good for her. She had been the last member to join the team the first time, and was the last one to join this time, HOWEVER she was now in the majority. There was absolutely no reason for her to be the first boot from the tribe. If she had the chance to get to the merge she was definitely a contender to get deep into the game.

The final member of Luzon was... *holds breath*... of course, murielle. She had strong relationships with the rest of the tribe, and what was viewed as an unbreakable bond with bleodswean... and a MUCH better head for the game than I think anyone realized. She was still not happy voting for people... but I started noticing that slowly she was starting to have a better time. If she ever got "into it"... people were in a LOT of trouble.

Which meant that gunwithoutmusic was going to LaMina... there were *3* of the 4 major Survivor fans on the same tribe! This was either a recipe for greatness, or they were about to tear each other apart. flipflop_diva was the only original Luzon member though, so if they voted down former tribal lines, she was done... BUT I didn't think that was gunwithoutmusic's game. If there was going to be anyone running LaMina's voting strategy, I thought he was the most likely to pull a group together.

Ultimately, it was the worst tribe swap since Survivor: All Stars when everyone but Amber stayed with their old tribe! But, maybe, like that situation, there could be something big that could happen...
***
Looking through the entries, this was also the point in the game where it became apparent that there were people outside the game who WANTED to talk about it, and I needed to give them a space to do so. Which is when the first Watch Party started to attempt to keep things from *completely* spinning out of control. :D

They never took off the way I wanted, but I definitely know there were some people very much following and commenting *to me at least* about all the twists/turns and surprises. We had comments earlier about how it "didn't work" for some of the audience. For others - this was the time that I started hearing that it did... *shrug* different people have different opinions. Go figure. :)

****

I recall getting a LOT of questions about how the tribes were picked at this time. I was posting as I was using the random name generator. So the tension of the tribe reveal was as real for me as it was anyone else! I think some people thought maybe I had done it and was just showing one name at a time... nope. It was a "live" moment. My shock at how they shook out was as genuine as anyone else's. In that moment, I wish I could have redone it - but as I said before, that was the hand I had dealt before the game started about how a tribe shuffle would work, and those were the results!

I do recall thinking that one of the former Asaga-heavy tribes might actually throw a challenge just to save bsgsix. (who was the only former Asaga member on that tribe, and thus the "obvious boot" when it came to Survivor-moves, if they ended up going to tribal council.) That way you protect your old friend while getting rid of a member of your former rival. Given how many people I saw still "in Idol mode", I didn't see it happening. But in thinking about it this morning, that thought definitely did cross my mind.

(more conversation to come)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

bsgsix

Next pick went to Luzon... and it was bsgsix. That was a game-changer. I know there had been tension between Luzon and her in the past. But a lot had changed in the past week. She was also one of the biggest consistent vote-getters. I was thinking this might shift the balance of power...

I want to make this very clear, and immediately so: I had NO tension with Luzon as a tribe. Never. There was tension with one member who was also stirring the pot with some other members of Luzon, as several members there can attest to if they desire (though I swear this all keeps coming up despite me trying to drop it?).

But I, personally, was friendly with the other members on that tribe. One person's awful actions did not create tension between myself and the entire tribe, and Luzon welcomed me kindly, warmly, and with open arms. I was worried when the teams switched since I was the only one from Asaga to go, but everyone was so kind when I went to Luzon, and I had ties with both (technically, all three) tribes. So going to Luzon was not a bad thing (except for missing my former teammates!).

So no - there was no tension with Luzon as a tribe. Just with the one person, and well, that ended. And that's all I really need to say to fully clarify that statement.

From:

jake67jake

I think Gary is just staying in the moment of when the randomizer was spitting out names, not that he is trying to rehash was has been discussed in the previous posts/comments.

From:

bsgsix

Sorry that I don't recognize your username, so if I know you and am not catching on... please let me know.

And yes, I understand that. It's not a personal attack, and I never stated it was. But the phrase was "there had been tension between Luzon and her in the past," and that statement is not true. The tension was between myself and one - only one - other person who was on Luzon at the time, and who called me a shitty writer and a terrible person via DM. It was a discussion we decided to ALL drop - based upon what Gary decided as well - a few Survivor posts ago. But it keeps reentering the picture. I'm simply tired of rehashing what doesn't need to be rehashed.

So I understand that he's going step-by-step, perhaps to clue everyone in here, and I understand that. But when he told me we were going to drop the issue, statements like "there had been tension between Luzon and her in the past" just brings it back up. If he wants to avoid it, if I'd like to avoid it - I think phrases like what were written need to be clarified. So I simply clarified.

Gary, I don't want to rehash drama. Please know that. So I had to write what I wrote because it was the MOST accurate statement.

From:

alycewilson

We were so lucky to have you join us rather time. I think we were all feeling a bit beat down, and your positivity helped.

From:

bsgsix

Thank you so much! There was SO much drama from that prior week, and I was feeling awful. I know Luzon couldn't have been happy about it, either, so while I was sad to leave Asaga, I felt so invited with all of you on Luzon. Seriously, there was no animosity or anything other than, "Let's write well, and let's do this!" I'm so glad you think that I was able to help. That means a lot to me. <3

From:

clauderainsrm

"Sorry that I don't recognize your username, so if I know you and am not catching on... please let me know."

I just went to the master spreadsheet and apparently the two of you have never participated during the same seasons.

It's always weird when I realize all the different pockets of Idol that haven't met each other! I guess that's what happens when you've been going for (almost) 15 years!

From:

bsgsix

15 years - and I know I began in 2009, so I've been around for about 12 of them. That is SO WEIRD that I haven't crossed paths with everyone by this point, but - there have been many seasons where I 1)just didn't have LJ or DW (I had left LJ and hadn't put anything up on DW, I should say), 2)was too sick to participate, or 3)didn't even notice sign-ups until it was too late.

But yeah, that's so weird to me! Maybe my first username of oneonthefence is more recognizable, but it's been 4 years since I've used that. :)

From:

jake67jake

I've actually only joined one... Back in the fall of 2016, and lost my Dad that Christmas so I wound up dropping. But I've been an active reader (and a shitty commenter) for a year or 2 before that. I never use DreamWidth and I haven't posted in years in LJ, but I read my friend's posts daily and often comment on them.

And yes, I read thru all the comments from the prior posts which is why I commented back to you ... I understood it hit a nerve and I was just pointing out that he was reliving his reactions at the time and that it wasn't to bring it back up.

Personally, as someone on the outside of the drama it sounds like you took the high road and that is to be commended. Anyone who attacks someone else either out of jealousy or spite (which again is my outside observation) doesn't deserve to be part of Idol at all, in my not-so-humble opinion. Of course that's not my call.

But as a lot of us as readers are discovering favored authors have such diametrically opposing beliefs from us/me, the reader, we have to decide if purchasing their books is within our own tolerances. Just like buying chicken sandwiches from a certain place or craft products from this place can still be allowed when knowing their efforts are so wrong in your eyes. Would I be able to appreciate this person's stories knowing the personality behind them? Probably not.

Sorry... *steps down from the soapbox*... anyway, no offense was meant and if I sounded dismissive of condescending, I apologize!

I will go back to my normal lurking now.

Edited (Because auto correct is on crack!) Date: 2021-05-13 03:12 am (UTC)

From:

bsgsix

I didn't play in 2016, so I guess we never really came in contact in any kind of way. I'm so sorry to hear about your dad, though. And dropping due to real life is totally understandable. I had to drop from Survivor because I was in a coma and spent some time in the ICU, so - I honestly didn't know a game was going on for close to a week!

Sorry if my reply to you sounded snarky - I didn't mean for that, and I think that sometimes, it's really hard to translate tone via text (and I forget that). The issue simply was, for me, that something was being rehashed that I was sworn was dropped. I fully understand needing to go back through the history of each week, but the way that one sentence was worded brought up some unnecessary drama/memories of that drama. It's okay - I'm not angry at anyone. It's over. I was just - surprised to see how that was worded.

Thank you so much for saying that. Drama seems to happen in every season, but there was a fair amount of it in this Survivor version of Idol, and it grew worse when this one person did privately message me to call me bad names and tell me I was a terrible writer. Sadly, I think Gary is a fan of this person, so... nothing I can do there. It's over, and I hope no one would think the things that this person said about me are true. But I didn't drop names, and I didn't want to carry anything on. Was this person jealous? Maybe so. Was this person spiteful? Maybe. I don't think I'll ever know, but if it's over, I'm okay with that. I don't need to be in contact with this person. Hopefully, this person does NOT return to Idol. If so, it's doubtful I would feel any desire to play.

What you're saying makes sense: this is a time when favored authors have diametrically opposing beliefs and views, and those were people we felt some... ability to trust, in a way. Can I purchase a book by someone who, for instance, is biphobic when I'm bisexual? Can I read something written by a known racist? Can we separate the author from their views? I, personally, cannot - but I also can't tell people whom to like/read/etc. But this does come into play with Idol. Can I read/comment on/even write with a person who was so blatantly mean - approach those stories with an unbiased eye? As you said, probably not.

Thank you for this conversation. I took no offense at all! :)

From:

clauderainsrm

"Sadly, I think Gary is a fan of this person"

If I had to put a number to it, I'd say that I was a fan of 99.9% of the writers who have ever come through Idol. Everyone has something about their work that I can appreciate, and seeing them continue to improve on those aspects is always nice.

The joke, of course is that I'm a fan of 0% of the actual people. :D But it's higher than that. Maybe a .01%. ;)

OK, I'll admit, it's only murielle. The rest of you people... *sighs and shakes head*. :D

From:

clauderainsrm

Which of course, for those who need clarification, is a joke...

everyone knows murielle is a complete monster. ;)

From:

swirlsofpurple

LOLOLOLOL.

Oh, that was a good laugh, I almost fell off my chair.

From:

bsgsix

I know. I actually *did* LOL. :)

From:

murielle

Oh no! I hope you didn't hurt yourself. (Gently puts you back on chair.)

LOL! Yeah, I'm a total monster!

From:

murielle

LOL! Me too!

From:

murielle

Seriously! Love it! :-)

From:

murielle

*Headdesk*

LOL!

From:

bsgsix

And I mean - fair enough on your end, of course. I'm not going to sit here and tell you to like or not like someone just because this person was horrible to me. Plus, maybe this person will let it go and it will pass. I guess I'll have to see and judge carefully for the next go-round.

But really, being a fan of 0% of the people makes sense. We're all just hippies, G. Just dirty hippies. Life is so much easier when you remember that. (Murielle can be the exception. She really is a sweet, genuine person. The rest of us? Just dirty hippies, lol.) ;)

From:

murielle

You're so sweet. And I'm so glad you saw Gary's next comment. I wouldn't want anyone to think I'm teacher's pet or anything. LOL!

From:

jake67jake

Murielle is the bestest! The rest of us... well at least me... are very pale in comparison..

From:

murielle

You are so sweet! :-)

But I think you missed his next comment:

"Which of course, for those who need clarification, is a joke...

everyone knows murielle is a complete monster. ;)"

LOL!

From:

bleodswean

It's interesting to me how many players default to the idea of being picked last. Are the majority of us Idolars the old high school misfits?? LOL!

So, the tribe switch WAS a relief, came at the right time, and certainly re-sparked those of us whose fires had been nearly put out by Teh Drama. But, it also became apparent that the original alliances were unbreakable, so even though there were Tribes, the alliances superseded that.

Also, I would LOVE to hear from the audience! I didn't see an audience reflected in comments on entries.

From:

gunwithoutmusic

Yeah, alliances were one thing that was definitely a double-edged sword with this game. Normally, you'd expect a tribe switch to result in alliances dropping and new ones forming, because there's no way to keep in contact. Had there somehow been a way to enforce no contact between tribes, the whole game might have gone very differently.

From:

swirlsofpurple

Lol. I was very much of the picked last in school variety.

From:

halfshellvenus

Hey, I was totally one of those misfits in grade school & high school. Maybe that experience was why so many of us turned to writing!

From:

jake67jake

Not only did I get picked last, it was with disgust that the team was stuck with me.

From:

halfshellvenus

Awww... I eventually crept up a little higher than that, but I remember it too well. And how much it makes a painful situation even worse. :(

I'm sorry.

From:

murielle

I've talked about this before, but I had a very brief period when I wasn't picked last when they actually wanted me. Other than that, I was always the absolute last one picked. In fact, one time, the team captain who realized he'd be stuck with me started to cry and shout that he didn't want me and that they would be better off without me. It was quite the show. I turned to the gym teacher and said, "I'd be happy to sit on the bleachers."

His response what that I'd play. That was more than fifty years ago and I still remember it.

From:

halfshellvenus

Oh, M, that is so awful! I just ache for little you, going through that--and it IS something you carry with you forever.

I'm not sure that your gym teacher made the right choice. It's so hard to know. Your instinct was to protect yourself by making it be "over," and while he wanted to teach that bratty kid a lesson... it still came at your expense. :(

*hugs*

From:

murielle

Hugs

Thank you.

I was actually okay with sitting on the bleachers--better than okay. I hated gym, sports. I wasn't any good at any of them and I would much rather have sat on the sidelines reading or writing. I think this was middle school, so we weren't that young. The kid was a weenie. :-D

Again, thank you! <3

From:

gunwithoutmusic

halfshellvenus stayed with Asaga. At that point in the game I was thinking "merge boot". The well liked Captain of the dominant tribe, a talented writer... why would anyone possibly keep her around? I was looking at her as maybe the worst person to sit next to at the end. But didn't think anyone would actually do it. :)

Nothing against halfshell, because I love her to death, especially after playing this game with her, but going all the way to the end with her was never in my plan specifically because of this reason. My hope had been to have her settle nicely into fourth place because I was counting on a final three and I didn't want to sit next to her in the end! I mean, I think that was probably sound logic, considering that she did win the whole thing. But circumstances later in the game ended up basically forcing my hand there, because there was no way I was going to be able to get to the top without her after a certain point, and once I hit that point, my strategy changed to, "Okay, well I'm going to have to go up against her, so how can I beat her in the end?"

I'm happy with the way things shook out ultimately, because I really enjoyed working with her for the majority of the game even though I was worrying about her the whole time.

Which meant that gunwithoutmusic was going to LaMina... there were *3* of the 4 major Survivor fans on the same tribe! This was either a recipe for greatness, or they were about to tear each other apart. flipflop_diva was the only original Luzon member though, so if they voted down former tribal lines, she was done... BUT I didn't think that was gunwithoutmusic's game. If there was going to be anyone running LaMina's voting strategy, I thought he was the most likely to pull a group together.

Yep, that was exactly my plan - when I saw that I had impoetry still with me, and that we were a tribe of five (four Asaga and one Luzon), I knew that I needed to secure a third vote in the event we went to Tribal Council. I knew that flipflop was a Survivor fan, and I knew that she was in a vulnerable position, so I just messaged her and said, "If we end up having to go to Tribal Council, I'd rather not vote you out." She went along with it and it was the start of a beautiful endgame alliance. :)

Next pick went to Luzon... and it was bsgsix. That was a game-changer. I know there had been tension between Luzon and her in the past. But a lot had changed in the past week. She was also one of the biggest consistent vote-getters. I was thinking this might shift the balance of power...

I wasn't worried about bsgsix at all, especially after I reached out to bleodswean and said Luzon had better treat her right! :) bleodswean of course let me know that bsgsix was her girl and that there was nothing to worry about, so her ending up on a different tribe than me wasn't the end of the world. At this point, my official alliance was with bsgsix and impoetry, and bsgsix and I expected the three of us to be completely split up, or at the very least for one of us to be split up from the other two. The beauty of this version of the competition is that I didn't "lose" bsgsix to Luzon; we were still able to communicate and talk strategy. So in some ways, it was actually beneficial for the two of us to be split up, because we could work on gathering numbers separately.

From:

bsgsix

I wasn't worried about bsgsix at all, especially after I reached out to bleodswean and said Luzon had better treat her right! :) bleodswean of course let me know that bsgsix was her girl and that there was nothing to worry about, so her ending up on a different tribe than me wasn't the end of the world. At this point, my official alliance was with bsgsix and impoetry, and bsgsix and I expected the three of us to be completely split up, or at the very least for one of us to be split up from the other two. The beauty of this version of the competition is that I didn't "lose" bsgsix to Luzon; we were still able to communicate and talk strategy. So in some ways, it was actually beneficial for the two of us to be split up, because we could work on gathering numbers separately.

I'm glad you knew (and by then, I had no doubt!) not to be worried about me. But I didn't know you'd reached out to E, which is incredibly kind of you, and I appreciate that! <3 E was awesome, and honestly, my time with Luzon before we were all on our own (alliances aside, which we never betrayed) was not negative in the slightest. I missed my Asaga teammates, sure, and had a moment of sadness when I couldn't stay with you and B, or with K, but I felt really secure and comfortable with E and the rest of Luzon. But I really appreciate that you reached out like that - we told each other so much, and that was one thing I never knew. <3

When the tribes were split up, you mentioned that we had the benefit of saving more people despite being on different teams, and I agreed - and in the end, I think we *did* do that. We stayed true to the alliance we formed, kept communicating and strategizing, and, while not in FORMAL alliances with some people, were able to save people who may have gone too soon. That is the beauty of it - the alliance held, and slowly, we both were able to keep others in the running. I miss the strategic talks we had about all this. Bizarrely, I remember sitting in a Dunkin' Donuts parking lot (I was driving my mom there, lol - I live in the middle of nowhere, so it's 35 minutes away), and while she placed her order, I was messaging you back and forth about tribe switches and how we could now save more people (this must have been when the 4th vote was taking place?). And before B dropped, and then I went out to the ICU, it was so positive and airtight and - fun. THAT was the fun part.

That's what I miss, to be honest - the fact that we didn't try to hurt anyone or pit people/tribes against one another, but worked to save as many people as we could while writing pieces that meant something to us. I have a TON of regrets within this game, but our strategies and alliance? Not even close to regret. Not at all. <3

From:

gunwithoutmusic

Haha, yeah, I was concerned for a second when you ended up being the only Asaga on the new Luzon, but bleodswean definitely made me feel more sure that I didn't have to be concerned about you being a target of any sort. I reached out to her not only because you were my alliance partner and I didn't want anything to happen to you in the game, but also because I knew that there was some Luzon drama and I didn't know exactly who all was involved and I wanted to make sure that you didn't find yourself embroiled in anything crazy when you weren't right by my side, figuratively speaking. :)

I came into this game thinking that I wouldn't be above backstabbing or lying to get ahead, and I sort of surprised myself with how well I was able to navigate things without getting caught up in that negative kind of stuff. Sure, there were times when I might not have told someone else everything that I knew, but I didn't outright lie to people and I didn't try to pull focus away from my alliances by stirring the pot around other people. I just stayed focused on keeping myself in and on doing what I could to make sure that people I thought I could trust stayed in the game, so I'm pretty proud of the way I played the game.

It's funny that you mention that Dunkin Donuts story - I have several memories of sitting in my car in the driveway talking strategy with you because in the early stages of the game, my husband was so jealous that I dare spend time talking with people about Survivor instead of giving him all the attention, lol. So I'd see a message from you and be like, "Okay, gotta respond real quick before I leave my car." Thankfully, he got over that more as I got closer to the end. :D

From:

bsgsix

I figured that Luzon - the Luzon it was when I joined, maybe not the Luzon it was beginning on Day 1 - would be okay with me there. And literally no one was upset that I had been moved to their team, which was very reassuring. I still had the target on my back from That Drama (tm), but Luzon could relate to that, and I had a target from getting high vote counts... but again, I never felt like I was being excluded. And that was nice. But I really, really appreciate my alliance partner reaching out, because that's incredibly awesome of you. As much as I really missed being on the same tribe, nothing ever changed between us, which was also awesome. :)

And I hear what you're saying. I didn't backstab or lie at any point in time, either, but sometimes, I just - snaked around, hearing what people were up to, and then moving on. I didn't do or say anything about it (actually, once, - and I think I can safely say this now - before I joined Luzon, they had left their team journal on open access, and the information about what they planned to do was right there. I *could* have read it - and instead, I didn't. I messaged E - or, if it wasn't E, it was the person who wrote the entry - and went on my way. I didn't want to play THAT kind of dirty). There was no way I *could* tell everyone everything I knew, even if I wanted to, but I stayed true to my writing, my alliances, and to my teams, and as you said - I'm pretty proud of the way I played the game, too. I WISH I could have been near or at the finals, but Real Life is a thing, I don't know if I could have written while unconscious (maybe? If it happens again, I'll have Toby prop my laptop up in the hospital bed and throw my hands on the keyboard to see what comes out, lol), and with a target on my back as a vote-getter/immunity winner down the line, I would have been someone to pick off. However, most - actually, ALL - my alliance members were there near the end, so I would have made it to at least fourth. But again, Real Life, and I hold no grudges about what happened at the end. I was happy for the three of you!

And YES. Oh my gods, the number of times I emailed or DM'd you in my car, or (I have to admit) while I was teaching my kid during this weird pandemic year, lol... we probably wrote a novella! I really dislike the whole notion of a "work husband" or "work wife," but we were the Idol equivalents of the "work spouse" notion until I got sick. My husband was never jealous (but different circumstances at the time, I know), but he was always like, "Are you talking to Sean AGAIN?" And then, 90% of the time, I'd say "yep, we have plans," and we'd laugh. From the moment you contacted me, you were my closest ally, and as I said, I loved that and regret nothing. :)

From:

alycewilson

you never, ever, ever, underestimate alycewilson or take your eye off her as an opponent

Shhhhh! You let the secret out!

But yes, I tend to be one determined individual, unless something happens in real life that forces me to take my eye off the prize.

From:

gunwithoutmusic

That was definitely one thing about you in this game - I was glad you were on my side but I always had my eye on you, thinking, 'Okay, gotta watch out for this one.' You were pretty good about not 100% letting on what you were gonna do, and I thought a lot about how most of my game hinged on HOPING you were doing what I thought you were!

I think I may have underestimated you a little in the beginning as not being much of "Survivor" threat (although I did consider you an "Idol" threat), but after you and flipflop started working together, I really changed my thoughts about that!

From:

halfshellvenus

this is the person who in her first season played right up until she gave birth, and was prepared to play from the hospital if she had to

Wow, I had NO IDEA!

And yet... I would probably do exactly the same thing. :O

Sometimes, it's really hard to find the line between persistence and stubbornness. Most of the time, I just don't even try, because persistence is AWESOME! And stubbornness is... well, if I'm not standing in the snow in a bikini, I'm probably good, right?

From:

alycewilson

I believe it was actually the second or third season that I played, when I was using an alt called rivermirage, but yes, I did write up a tie-breaker entry ahead of going into the hospital to deliver my son, when it looked like the lowest spot would end up in a tie! As it turned out, however, I was eliminated, which ended up being the best thing possible for me at the time.

Last season, when I somehow missed a deadline for the first time ever and was eliminated, you might remember that I fought my way back into the competition through Second Chance Idol.

I think I'd draw the line at standing in the snow in a bikini, though!

From:

halfshellvenus

you might remember that I fought my way back into the competition through Second Chance Idol.
I do!

That's one of the nice things about Second Chance. Sometimes, life (or the prompt) gets away from you at exactly the wrong time. It's great to be able to have a chance to try to return again. :)

From:

halfshellvenus

That WAS the least-random random-generator ever! Possibly a little buggy. :O

Names in a hat, you rarely go wrong with that one. I once fixed a bug in our code for a randomizer that didn't...

From:

clauderainsrm

Afterward I ran it a couple more times, using the same methodology. Tribes were all over the place. I think there might have been two people (other than the existing Captains) on the same tribe.

Sometimes you just get a really bad bounce. Or in this case, series of bounces.

From:

halfshellvenus

Yes, and I vaguely remember the Amber situation you mentioned. It's _unlikely_, but that isn't the same as impossible. It has the same odds of happening as any other result!