LJ Idol Presents:

 

Come on in and have a seat. 

*waits until everyone is seated*

I'll bring in the Jury...   jenwithapen, bittyjane, megatronix, impoetry, n3m3sis43, minikin25, wolfden, lawchicky819, bsgsix, swirlsofpurple, eeyore_grrl, bleodswean, and the newest member, voted out last week, adoptedwriter.

*camera goes from them sitting down to the nervous contestants watching them*


Before we get started,  I just want to address the elephant in the room - last week the vote was 4-1-1, which means that 2 people were on the wrong side of that vote.  Obviously, one of them was adoptedwriter, who was voted out.   I know the answer to this - but the jury might not - does anyone want to own up to being the other one? 

Also - that means that at this point, the 4 of you who voted together are about to have to turn on each other in the next couple of rounds.  Will you be surprised to find out that you were really 4th in the alliance the entire time? 

murielle  - You have that immunity necklace around your neck and have said that you thought your head was on the block this week.  Is this a matter of you NEEDED to win in order to survive?   If you weren't immune this week, do you think you'd be packing your bags right now?   Is your only way to the end winning every immunity, or do you think there's a chance for you to stick around without it? 

gunwithoutmusic  -  You mentioned that you would be upset to go out 4th or 5th... I think though that it needs to be pointed out that you are the only guy left.  Which means either you are Chris Daughtery,  who managed to survive, and win against long odds OR the remaining women just aren't interested in following in the footsteps of Kim Spradlin and Cirie Fields (Parvati usually gets credit for it by the fans, but the players say it was all Cirie) and taking all women to the final four to start off Women's History Month.    Is that something you worry about, or do you think your relationships are stronger than the urge to tick a box off on a "Survivor resume"? 

flipflop_diva -  You played the idol last week, but didn't need to in order to survive. Were you expecting more votes or just feeling nervous?  Given that this is the last week to play a hidden immunity idol, do you wish you had held onto it one more week?  Does playing an idol one week make you even more of a target the following tribal council? 

halfshellvenus  - You've mentioned how tough it is to make a decision on who to eliminate, is this week even harder knowing that whoever finishes in 5th place isn't going to get an Amazon gift card?  Is there anyone here that it would be easier to *not* give that money to...  I know murielle is saying she was nervous that her head was on the block, but if she wasn't immune right now - do you think people would vote her out, under those circumstances? 

alycewilson  -  I know you've mentioned this before, but what would it mean to you, personally, to make it through this vote?  Murielle has immunity and there is at least one hidden immunity out there, and they expire after this week.  Which means, unless someone wants to use it as a coaster back home, it's going get played. So the number of potential targets is really small.   Is there anyone here who you think would be OK if they didn't get to the final 4?  Is there anything someone could say to you right now to that could change the outcome of how you plan on voting?    

Second Round


alycewilson -  I love how specific this is, and the use of poetry as narrative.   With the "first two stanzas" conversation from the comments, I'm in the "keep it" column. 
I've gone back and forth on it.  I can see where it might not fit for some, and how others might think it would work better with a wraparound.  But I think that a frame risks being too heavy handed. 
IF you were going to add something, I'd put it in after the "maiden would finally fall for him" and let the ending stand.  Which brings me to a question that I don't think I've asked anyone yet - when you receive contradictory editing advice, how do you process that?  

flipflop_diva -  This had the feel of a slow moving horror movie.  You knew what was coming, but no matter how loudly you shouted at the screen, you couldn't stop it from coming. 
Speaking of framing, I think you did a good job surrounding the core of the story with the everyday/how things are. The "normal", whatever that means anymore...  when writing non-fiction, how do you pick which details to leave in?  (I've definitely seen people in non-fiction accounts where they throw in the kitchen sink, because it's there and therefore, somehow, relevant... and others were they gloss over the details to get to a more sensational version of the story.)    

gunwithoutmusic -  When I declare an Open Topic, I'm always interested in seeing where people go with it.  You managed to grab the two elements you've been getting comments about over the past couple months, your hiking stories and your relationship stories and make them fit together seamlessly.   It was as if you'd found a way to boil the last few months done into a single entry.  How many other ideas did you toss aside before focusing in on this one, or was it just what came to you when the time was right, and it just worked?     


halfshellvenus -  At this point, retelling myths has become an Idol staple.  I like this twist on it, actually reimaging the story itself.   You've covered a lot of the "whys" for the process in the comment section.  So I'll ask the "how", how did you move forward once you had those opening lines, and understood that it was going to be a poem?    How do you move the narrative through the form?  Is it step by step, finding your footing as you go, or do you have a map of where you want to go and figure out how to fit them into the format?    


murielle -  'Grandpa"... you're leaving us on "Grandpa..."?  Yes, that's my question.  :)     This story has definitely taken some twists and turns along the way.  When you go back and finish it as a single piece, which I'm sure you'll be doing - is there anything from the earlier chapters you will change? Something you wished you'd introduced earlier? 

The last question is for everyone - because for one of you this WILL  be your final chance to plead your case - Why should you be kept in this game?    


***



OK. It's time to vote.  Send the name of who you want to vote out of this game to me at clauderainsrm@gmail.com by tomorrow, Saturday March 6th at 7pm ET.    If you have a hidden immunity idol, and you would like to play it for yourself, or someone else, that would be the time to let me know.   Note:    This is the final chance to play a hidden immunity idol.  After this, they become paperweights. 

A few words from Gary:

So here we are, at the Final 5. Whoever doesn’t make it through this round not only has no shot at winning the game, they are cut-off within arm’s reach of the prizes.

That means winning immunity right now is even more important than it’s even been.

1 of you is about to have a 1 in 4 chance of winning this game, and 4 of you will be sharing in that Amazon gift card pot.

It’s all up to the voters now. Read. Comment and vote for your favorite to win immunity!

The poll closes Monday, March 1st at 7pm ET