LJ Idol Presents:

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

Come on in guys! 

Asaga, getting your first official look at Luzon.  Swirlsofpurple voted out in the last tribal council. 

Before we get to the next immunity challenge  https://therealljidol.dreamwidth.org/1076033.html, I just wanted to check in with you for a minute and get the lay of the land. 

Bsgsix  - You had a big reaction to seeing who went home.  Were you surprised at their choice?  

Murielle -  Now that you’ve experienced tribal council first hand, how important is it to you for Luzon to win this time? 

Gunwithoutmusic  - On the other hand, you got to experience not having to go to tribal council. You got to watch to see what Luzon was going to do.  Does having that mental break give you the advantage coming into this challenge? 

Uselesstinrelic  - Last challenge came down to an one-on-one dual with the fate of both tribes on the line.  Is that how these next few weeks are going to play out, down to the wire battles that go back and forth, or do you think Luzon can start a winning streak? 

Eeyore_grrl  - You’ve seen the new challenge - Smash and Grab. Anything come to mind immediately when you saw those words? 

Alycewilson - What about you?  How do you make your interpretation different enough to stand out in this crowded field of talent? 

Halfshellvenus  - A lot of you have friends over on the other side.  What’s it like watching them go through tribal council?  Is it rough, or are you just feeling relief that it’s not you sitting there? 

Bleodswean  - You’re now down a member going into this challenge.  You’re stinging from that loss, but having to ramp up and get back into competition mode.  Do you go right at the new prompt, or do you use a few extra days to get yourself back into that creative space? 

Megatronix - We’ve talked a lot about Luzon’s process of deciding on who to send to that Champion’s Match Point battle. But there hasn’t been as much discussion of Asaga’s inner process.  How did the group reach that decision to send bsgsix into the fray?  Did you agree with it? 

Bittyjane  -  Where is your head at right now - with the topic, with the game, really anything you want to reveal.  :) 

N3m3sis43  -   Smash!  Grab!  Those are very aggressive words with violent connotations.  When you see something like that, are you more likely to lean into it or purposefully try to find a way to pull the prompt in another direction?

Lawchicky819 -   With two tribes living on one beach, there seems to be a sense of “we are all in this together,” which isn’t entirely true.  This is Survivor, at the end of the day, everyone is going to be out to advance themselves in the game.  How much of that attitude do you think is a genuine throwback to the supportive nature of Idol,  and how much do you think is actually gameplay, with people “being nice” to avoid being a target?

Flipflop_diva -   Last question is for you.  What advice do you have for Luzon going into this challenge?  Is there anything you want Asaga to know?