LJ Idol Presents:

*stands behind podium* as the tribe files into tribal council and takes their seats*

Welcome to your first post merge tribal council.

*introduces the jury as they file into the seats across from the contestants*

The Jury is here to watch and take in information that will eventually help them make their decision. They are not participants. From now on, anyone who is voted out will be joining the jury.

That changes things, because these are the people who will ultimately be deciding who will win and lose this game.




The trick is to get the people who are sitting on this side *indicates the current contestants* over to THAT side *indicates the Jury* in a way that makes them want to vote for you in the end. Because, friendships aside, only one person is going to be named the winner.

bsgsix - You dominated this game pre-merge. You were a big part of the Asaga victories, and then you went over to Luzon and helped them start winning. Now, you've won the first individual immunity. How important was it to you to come out strong early on?

halfshellvenus - The old Asaga was, at one point, up by 3 members. There was some speculation that it was just going to be a Pagonging, where old Asaga could have easily just picked off old Luzon one by one. Fortunes changed and now the original tribes have come into the first tribal council at 6 each. Do you think there's a chance of a tie-vote, or are their intertribal personal relationships that are going to be coming into play? 

alycewilson - What about for you? Do the old tribes make a difference, or has this already become an individual game? 

murielle - Before the merge, people talked about the need to "keep the tribe strong" with their vote. Now that it's an individual game though - is it better to take out someone who is "weak" in the challenges or should you be getting rid of someone who doesn't fit into your plans?

swirlsofpurple - You spent some time off on Edge of Extinction, having been voted out of your original tribe.  So you know what it feels like to be voted out of this game.  You fought really hard to get another shot.  Now that you are back, how hard are you going to fight to stay in it? 

adoptedwriter  - People made a big deal of "Not talking to Gary/answering questions" in the first half of the game.  But now you're in front of the Jury, who need to know about your thought process to help make their ultimate decision.  How do you think that is going to impact tribal councils going forward? 

lawchicky819 - What do you think is "fair and square" means in the context of Survivor?  Where are the lines, and where should they be when it comes to playing a game like this? 

bleodswean - It's come up at tribal council before that some people are playing Survivor, some are trying to play Idol and that most are trying to come up with a hybrid of those two... how do you negotiate your way through that when there are so many people and none of them are playing the same game? 

wolfden -  If people are "playing Idol" they will be looking to vote out someone with the lowest vote totals.  This week - that could be you.  What do you say to those people who are thinking that way in order to change their mind? 

gunwithoutmusic - On paper, this vote will be a 6-6 tie, if people stick with their original tribes. Is that what is going to happen, or do you think that personal relationships are going to come into play?


flipflop_diva - What is the most difficult part of shifting your thought process out of "Idol mode" and into "Survivor mode"?  Is there a benefit for that, or do you think that keeping in "Idol mode" is good for the short term? 

eeyore_grrl -  How are you going to make the decision for who to vote for - is this something being discussed in smaller groups or is everyone just winging it? 

***
alycewilson -  It's rare when an "I don't know what to write" entry can mess so easily into a "the every day beauty of the world around us" entry.  But I think you managed to pull it off.  Did you have a "rainy day" story that you were considering, or when this occurred to you did it just melt everything else away?

adoptedwriter  -  I would like to pretend that you learned about "taking a bye" from Idol.  :)  Even if that's not true, I will pretend that it is!!    Obviously the situation itself is horrible, but I like what you did with the writing aspect and connecting your mother using the Quiet Game against you.  It can be tough to open up like that in your writing, what was it about the prompt that made you remember that specific incident, or with the holidays, is that just something close to the surface right now? 

halfshellvenus - Eagles fans who make Mary Poppins references.  This may be your greatest bit of fiction yet. ;)   Or maybe it's Altoona Eagles fans in general.    :D Seriously though, this definitely took me back into some "helping friends move" moments of my own.   I was trying to put my finger on what felt different about it. There was a discussion in the comments about the "tone", but to me that doesn't seem right.  You've definitely used that tone before.  Something in the overall structure perhaps?  Or is it just the "bro"ness that was new?   Whatever it is,  it clearly had your cleverness and ear for dialogue embedded in it. It did feel a little "off" from what I expect from you, but not that's always a bad thing. Were there moves of your own that ended up inspiring this (beyond what you said about your Dad) or did the image of the two guys and a orange sofa just appear in your head fully formed? 

wolfden - The overwhelming painful frustration poured off of this, anger flaring at the Facebook comments and crashing back down again into helplessness when you were talking about your family. The news about your Mother that you just mentioned, coming on the heels of this entry just makes it hit that much harder. It's really raw, and far better than the votes would suggest. Was there ever a doubt about what you would write about, or did you always plan on talking about what was happening?

eeyore_grrl  -  I believe in the power of your words.   I love the visual structure of this, how it builds from the light rain at the beginning to a deluge of words hitting harder and harder at the end.   I hate to keep asking this question, but was this subject the only one in your head when you saw this prompt?

lawchicky819 - This went in so many interesting directions. I hope you end up going back to it and developing into a longer piece. Like Seraphina, I feel like it needs to expand it's wingspan.   Did you come up with the dragons in love idea and work backward or was it a princess story that took a turn that you discovered as you went?  

flipflop_diva - I feel that most of the attention you've gotten from this piece has been about the dealing with the weather trauma, that the lead somehow has gotten buried - "as members of the dental press."  Obviously, since this is non-fiction, that was just a detail that you used to help set the stage.  But it was such a specific detail, like the mentions of Hula Hut and Buc-ee's.  They are little, almost throwaway details that help establish a time and place. I always appreciate when I see things like that, at least when they are done well - and those were.   (maybe it's because I've been on that stretch of road between Austin and San Antonio).  I also liked the flashback element.  Was there any thought of either expanding that memory in the piece (flashing to it at various points instead of just once) or even making that accident the main focus? 

bleodswean - You certainly do love swimming in some disturbingly heavy atmosphere. :)  People tend to fall right into the spaces between your words and get lost for a time.  Since I need to ask a question somewhere in this ramble - did you consider a spring transition scene or do you think that the jump from winter to summertime with the mule worked the way you wanted?  I know it would have been a different story, but was there ever the thought of it being Jocker's skull? 

swirlsofpurple - It's amazing what we can condition ourselves to over time. Things that were once terrifying can become ordinary occurrences. Just getting to the point where things are "normal," I think that's something that a lot of people can relate to right now.  There's a tension here that worked really well, as the POV was established. Have you established, in your head canon, who she was talking to and what the backstory was of Below? I like that you kept it vague, so that everyone could fill out their own narrative, while concentrating on the moments that were happening in front of us. But I was just curious about what your process was like in determining how much to show.

murielle  -  I like how the bit from the snow and how "this could get ugly fast" is mirrored by the avalanche of garbage bags pressing the door closed in the end section, with the reveal of them towering over her.  I liked the cadence of the story and how the weight kept pressing down, to be released a little with the hope, only to come back down a little harder.   It had a really good feel to it.   I'm not always a fan of "to be continued" but I am looking forward to seeing what this plan turns out to be. 

gunwithoutmusic  -  I kept reading and listening to this one, trying to think of something that other folx haven't pointed out in the comments section.  What I keep coming back to it is the importance of water in each of these memories.  From being safe from it, to it manifesting the pain inside of you as it streams from your eyes. And then, in the second section it comes back again as big as an ocean, the rain coming down until you literally fall to the ground under the weight.  As powerful as all of that is,  I love what you do with the imagery of getting it back under control.  Putting the lid on it, to let those thoughts be reduced, but not allowing yourself to evaporate.   What made you go with poetry and, since it was brought up in the comments, what was your editing process like? 

bsgsix - You have immunity.  So we don't need to talk about your entry.  Obviously, people liked it.  What was YOUR favorite entry of the week?  
Oh, OK.  Maybe I have a few things to mention with yours as well. If you insist.  :)    I'll admit, your personal stories are always a lot more difficult to talk about - there's the "this is really f-ed up" emotional reaction to what you are saying that can cloud everything else.   But there's also a beauty to your language that transcends the horrible things that happen.  The line "But I had no sense that they were going to mourn me" stood out in particular to me.   Honestly, from a story prospective, that could have been the end right there and it would still have been solid.  Obviously, being non-fiction life didn't stop there and there was more to tell.   Like I said, being horrifying real life events makes it weird to talk about "story elements."   :D     So I'll go with the non-horrifying bits for the questions!  What made you lead off with the Baltimore Sun article, and personally, how important is it for you to share the real life pictures at the end as part of your entry? How much does it add for you? 

***



Rather than ask specific people questions. I'm going to throw out some general questions and some thoughts as follow up. There was a lot of really good discussion already.  I may get into specific items later. 

For now though - 

- Is there anyone in this competition you just can't see yourself voting out? 
- What is your general voting criteria for this first vote of the individual game? 
- There are a lot of different ways someone can be a "strong competitor" - how do you think YOU fit that description? 

bsgsix - You have immunity.  You can choose to give it to someone else, or keep it and be safe from this vote. 


***

If no one has anything else to add?   *waits for a moment*  OK then, it's time to vote.

bsgsix  is wearing the Immunity necklace, so you can't vote for her. 

 How this will work is simple.  You are casting a vote for the person you want to see exit this game.  Send them to me at clauderainsrm@gmail.com  by Thursday, Dec 31st at 5pm ET.  

If you have a hidden immunity idol, and want to play it, that is when you need to let me know.  

One by one, make your way up to the urn and make your decision. 

It's time to vote.