therealljidol | Sacrifice

clauderainsrm.livejournal.com posting in

"I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain." - The Bene Gesserit Litany Against Fear

There is a contestant only vote going on right now. At this moment some of you are checking over your lists and sending to me, and some of you have already done so and are waiting for me to tell you the results. A little under 24 hours is what is between you and knowing your fate.

Unless I put it in your hands.

***

A little back story. Last season I introduced a new special power called "Sacrifice". It's pretty straight forward. The couple of contestants at top with the most votes and the couple at the bottom with the least votes were given a chance to make Idol history. They could step aside, and give up their spot for someone else.

After all, people are always saying "So and so shouldn't have left!! I want them back in!" So I gave these individuals the chance to do something about it.

Only one of them took me up on it and used the power,

tigrkittn, who in one move went from someone who was well liked to a legend in the game. That one move brought back

abbismom who ended up being in the finals. One little move, that changed the course of the game.

During the deliberations, the one thing I heard over and over again from everyone else was what *they* would do with that power. Some people said there was no way they would ever step down, for anyone. Some said it wasn't a question, they would do it in a heart beat.

So last August/early September, when I was planning out Season 6 I decided 3 things were happening in Week 14. There would be a fake out for intersections. There would be a Contestant Only vote - and there would be one last move before we got to Week 15 - there would be a Sacrifice.

After all, this would be the time in the game when some people would be getting frustrated thinking that they couldn't break through into the top whatever. This would be the time that they would be questioning.

I didn't know how many players would be signing up, or who they would be. But I knew this would most likely be that point, and this was where the Sacrifice would have the most impact as a potential game changer.

***

Not just any Sacrifice though.

I would put it on the table for everyone - Not just certain contestants. Any contestant can choose to use it.

In theory, we could completely knock the board onto the floor and set things up on an entirely new game.

If you think "this is my week to go, there is no way I am surviving this Contestant Only poll", you can use this as a chance to step away on your own terms.

The problem of course is that no one entirely *knows* if they truly are leaving, and if you were slated to go there *still* will be someone else eliminated in your spot.

Regardless of your reason for deciding to use this power, and bringing a player (back) into the Game, you will be giving up your spot. Your votes will still stand (since the new player would not enter officially until Week 15)

This offer is on the table until Saturday Feb 20th at 1pm EST. Between now and the poll it will, of course, be blind. You will have no idea if you are stepping away from first place or last. If you are saving yourself from being eliminated, or giving up the chance to win it all.

Then the poll will close and we will have eliminate the 8 or so contestants. The time between then and the deadline to make a decision will include those eliminated in the contestant only vote.

If you decide to use the power of Sacrifice, you must pick someone to take your place, and they (of course) must accept. It can be a previously eliminated contestant from this season, it can be someone playing the Home Game, it can be a spectator who might not have had the chance to do either *yet*. The only restrictions are: it can not be a previous Season Winner, it can not be anyone who served as a Gate Keeper this season, and of course it can't be anyone who has been banned from the community (for obvious reasons! :D)

Contact me at clauderainsrm@gmail.com or through LJ if you decide to use this power. But think long and hard before pulling this particular trigger.

Everyone wants someone to have a second chance. But what price will they pay to make it happen?

Put your hand inside the box. Let's see what happens.