LJ Idol Presents:

 Back in 2006, I was a few years into being single, and incredibly bored. Idol was the idea that filled that hole, and definitely made life "not boring"  :) 

Over the years, it stayed that way - through all the changes in my life, as well as the changes to Livejournal itself (that eventually got to the point of needing to leave it) 

It was my passion, and the success of every single person who came through these doors felt like MY accomplishments, that I had played a small part in it. (even if it was only reflected)  It was something that gave me a great deal of satisfaction and pride. 

2023 was rough for me at the end, and got even worse during 2024. My job took up all of my time and energy. Those successes were huge, and the failures were draining. Losing it though, that meant that all of the damage I had done to the rest of my life by allowing my job to become who  was, all of that were just more failures.  

(deleted a lot of DARK, and honest stuff) 

I need you to understand how important Idol is to me. How important all of you are to me. It's not just showing up and participating. Your successes make me feel like I've had a small part in them, which has kept me going through some pretty dark months. 

I saw a comment during the finale about a couple writing communities where people sign up at the start of the year and the writers all motivate each other to meet their word count goals. Obviously it's a great idea.  It feels like those are the people we need to reach, writers who WANT to be motivated to write, who are trying to complete their personal goals. Idol is definitely something that gives people an excuse to write!!  So, if you happen to be a part of those groups, or any other writing activities - PLEASE spread the word about Idol. 

I have two ideas, and neither of them are particularly "new member friendly".  :)  One being the 20 Year Celebration in 2026/All Stars/Legends/your name here which I really hope I can make into a giant homecoming party. 

The other is what I want to do between now and then, which I can only describe as "What if everything that drives you crazy about LJ Idol were on massive amounts of drugs?"  I don't know if that is the Idol I want to introduce newbies to, heck, I don't even know if veterans want to play it once you hear what it's about...  but it's something that is exciting me at the moment. And I NEED something to be excited about. So I really hope you do decide to come out for it, and tell your friends.  I'm still in the planning stages, and have someone working on brand new graphics for it, so that might take a couple months before things are ready to reveal. I WILL tell you the name though... because that tells you everything you need to know:  LJ IDOL: The Wheel of Chaos   I'll let that image haunt your dreams.  :) 

Anyway, this started out as me wanting to thank you and let you know how much it meant to me to have you come out for this particular mini season... so, again, thank you.  I hope you had fun. 

I still have the Patreon. I was using it to make fun of my old high school and college poetry for a few months, but no one seemed interested.  :) It's still there if you're curious.  In theory I'll post more about Idol in the coming months. Mostly it's there because people asked me how they could contribute and said I should have one.  So if you want to, here's the link   www.patreon.com/c/user

I've already had a couple people throw some money into the hat via Paypal today, which was very kind of them and reminded me that I usually end seasons by putting the hat out, again, just in case you feel like it:  Venmo is @Gary-Dreslinski PayPal is @GDreslinski 

Again, for people who are in a place where they feel like they can/want to.  Idol is a passion project for me. I feel like I dropped the ball quite a few times this mini season, and appreciate people sticking with it. It means more to me than I can ever fully express. 

Thank you for being here, and for being you.  I hope to see you when The Wheel of Chaos starts to spin. 

Dreslinski Out. 

I designed this mini season around the idea of a Literary Prize Fight, knowing that the theme could make this the most dramatic and competitive event yet.

It was a risk, bridging that line between blowing things apart with too much drama and just enough to get and keep people's attention.

Instead, almost everything I made available to help spur that potential drama was ignored and we end up with the two finalists agreeing to a tie and walking out pretty much hand in hand.

Damn hippies ruin everything. ;)

I think kathrynrose would be laughing her head off right now.

It's the second time in Idol history where we have ended in a tie, as well as being the second mini season to do that. The first was where it fit the concept. This time it ran contrary, but the voters just couldn't make up their minds! :D (For those interested, the next round in the process is a Community Only vote. As I've said, we went to that in Season 2.) I don't blame them. I would have had a difficult time picking between them as well. Two very different writers who both deserved the win.

***

A special thank you to jenwithapen  who helped me out getting this set up over here in Dreamwidth as well as stepping in to do some punch hitting while I was away.
And of course our two anonymous donors (and all those less anonymous donors over the course of the mini season!) 

And thank you to all of YOU - those who competed as well as those supporting (and voting) from the sidelines. You are what helps make this experience special.

The off season might be restful for you, but it's always pretty busy for me. I mention this because out of sight and out of mind while everyone else is going about their lives, I'm cooking up the next season. :) So if you want to support that work - and are able to do so of course, please consider becoming a Patron Become a Patron!

If you are unable to, or just don't want to - but want to help in other ways, I have a big project coming up this summer in hopes of getting some fresh blood. If you want to take part in that, send me an email at clauderainsrm@gmail.com

I hope to see you all at the Homecoming





Until then, Dreslinski Out.