#all I wanted was to see a cactus wren okay

[good-night-space-kid]

Upon reviewing my photos I can finally confirm that I did in fact see a cactus wren 😭🫶

I took a camera that I had never used on this trip and omggggg guess whose photos didn’t all turn out to be total shit!!

[survivorwildwest]

Episode 2 - Kissing’s Cool

After Tribal Council, everyone at the Suhtai camp is calm because they didn’t go home, but surprised that Taylor would just announce the target like that. Hannah pulls Taylor to a small hill nearby for some privacy, “Tails, you can’t do that!”

“What did I dooo?” Taylor asks, not understanding the attempt at a private conversation.

“You can’t just ANNOUNCE who you’re voting for at tribal council in front of everyone!”

“What does it matter? He went home anyway.”

“That’s not the point.”

“What is the point?”

“You could have screwed up a big plan. Everyone just voted for Cao Boi to avoid making enemies. We couldn’t take Jerri out because of you, Taylor.”

“Well, sorry man! I thought Cao Boi was the better move!”

“Okay, fine. We’ll just… get Jerri next time.”

“There. Good. No problem then.”

Hannah stares at him in disbelief then gets up and walks back to the tent.

Somewhere in the Mojave Desert, a swarm of bats flies through the night sky.

The next morning, at the Tsitsistas camp, the tribe gets tree mail for the next challenge. Colby reads it in front of everyone:

“Dart,” Brandon guesses.

“Is anyone good at darts?”

“I’m decent,” Bi says.

“We’re gonna be looking at you then, missy,” Lisa says with love.

Somewhere in the Mojave Desert, a cactus wren lands on a cactus and cleans under its wings.

The two tribes meet in the old saloon in town where Jeff explains the rules of challenge. “Each tribe will put one person up to throw three darts. Whoever scores higher for their tribe, wins. Want to know what you’re playing for?”

Everyone claps and tells Jeff, “yeah.”

“Now, I’m sure desert nights are pretty rough in those tents. The winning tribe will receive wood and tools to build a shelter.” Everyone lets out an exalted sigh. Suhtai nominates Russell. He and Brandon exchange a grin. Tsitsistas nominates Bi. Jeff hands each of them a dart and has them take position. Russell throws first. His teal dart lands in the circle just outside the bullseye, at two o’clock on the face of a clock. Bi takes her first shot and mirrors Russell’s placement exactly at eight o’clock. She flashes him a quick grin as he steps up for his second throw. With almost the exact same technique, Russell’s dart hits just above and to the left of his first, still a hair from the bullseye. Bi mirrors him again. With his third and final dart, Russell takes a deep breath, pulls his hand back and tosses the dart through the air with such precision that it lands directly inside the bullseye ring.

“Try to mirror that, sweetheart.”

“Oh, I don’t know if I can, Russel,” Bi says, feigning concern.

Bi pulls back just as she had in her previous two throws and, with her eye directly on the center of the bullseye, tosses the dart directly in the center of the bullseye.

“This ain’t your game anymore, old man,” Bi taunts as Tsitsistas cheers.

Somewhere in the Mojave Desert, a scorpion sits atop a rock and takes in the sun.

Back at the Tsitsistas Camp, Ken, Colby and Ben get started on building their new shelter. As Ken saws some wood, he catches Lauren’s eye as she walks past.

“Ken is,” she says in a talking head, “a very good-looking man. Uhh…” She trails off with a distracted smile.

“Can I help with anything, Ken,” she asks.

“Uh, yeah, could you grab me some more,” he looks in his hand to see a fistful of nails, “uh, nails.”

“Sure,” she says as they stare into one another’s eyes for far longer than necessary.

“Lauren’s…”Ken says in a talking head, “I really like Lauren, man. When I was working on the shelter, she came up to me, unprompted, and asked how she could help. She didn’t need to do that but I’m glad she did.”

Somewhere in the Mojave Desert, a cottontail rabbit hops along.

Over at Suhtai, Todd approaches Carl to discuss the previous tribal council. “So,” he starts, “What do we think of Taylor?”

Carl tilts his head slightly and says only with his eyes, “This dude cannot be real.”

“Okay, I’m glad I’m not the only one.”

“No, man. Everyone is with you. We gotta take him out next chance we get. We’re lucky it was early. He coulda screwed a lot of things up.”

“Right?! Like, I don’t want to take the risk of that happening again.”

“I’m with ya, man.”

Somewhere in the Mojave Desert, common goldenweeds grow bright.

Wendy and Hannah are hiking through the nearby hills. Once she feels they are far enough away from everyone else, Wendy asks Hannah, “Can I trust you?”

“Yes, of course!”

“You can’t tell Wardog, or Tails!”

“What is it??”

“And especially not Russell!!”

“I won’t tell Russell!”

Wendy pulls her satchel around front, opens it, and pulls out her nugget of gold.

“Is that an idol?!”

Wendy smiles real big and nods her head.

Somewhere in the Mojave Desert, a rosy boa curls up under a rock.

That night, at the Tsitsistas Camp, while everyone makes their way to bed, Lisa sits around the fire alone. Eventually, Lauren gets up and makes her way to the fire.

“Hey Lisa,” Lauren says.

“Sit, sista.”

“Ha,” Lauren laughs briefly, “Like the tribe name.”

“Exactly. What’s got you up?”

“I just can’t sleep.”

“I’m right there with ya. I couldn’t sleep a wink my first time either. How do people sleep during this?”

“Why’s it so hard to go to sleep?”

As the two women talk, Lisa notices Ben get up and leave camp.

“I couldn’t help but notice you looking at Ken.”

“Haha, I mean sure. Who’s not looking at Ken?”

“He’s looking at you too, sweetie. You two would be cute together.”

“Oh my goooood, Lisa.”

“You’d make adorable kids.”

“Lisa! Stop,” Lauren giggled.

Ben has found his way to the hills. In a talking head, he explains, “There’s nowhere else an idol could POSSIBLY be hidden at camp.”

As he feels around all the rocks by moonlight, he comes across one with a different texture. He wraps his fingers around it and pulls. As luck would have it, Ben Driebergen finds an idol. He quickly stuffs it in his pocket. When he returns to camp, he notices Lisa still sitting at the fire. She notices him too. They do not acknowledge each other but he instinctively grabs his pocket as he heads to bed. After a few moments of sitting alone in silence, Lisa sees Bi. 

“I need to tell you something,” Lisa whispers.

Bi takes a seat next to her and asks, “What’s up?”

“I think Ben has an idol. I noticed him leave camp a few hours ago and he just came back with something in his pocket and he was trying to cover it with his hand when I saw him come back.

Somewhere in the desert, a desert iguana scurries into the shade when the sun comes up.

The next morning, Ben finds Brandon and says “Look, I’m not saying anything bad about Lisa. I’m just worried she’s going to hold us back in challenges.”

“Yeah, Ben. That makes sense. Hopefully we don’t have to worry about that.”

“Right. Right. But, we might.”

“The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty.”

“Is that from the bible?”

“Psalms 21:5”

“Yeah, well, just keep it in mind.”

“Sure thing.”

Somewhere in the Mojave Desert, a kangaroo rat hops like a kangaroo across the American desert.

The tribes receive another piece of tree mail, instructing them to be prepared to get wet. At high noon, they meet Jeff for their immunity challenge. “For today’s immunity challenge, each tribe will take a canoe across Lake Mead. First tribe to reach the finish line wins immunity. Tsitsistas you’ve got one extra member, you gotta sit someone out.” Without hesitation, Kass raises her hand.

Jerri takes the role of the Canoe Captain. She looks over her canoe to see Russell and Wardog taking up the helm with everyone else assorted throughout the canoe with their paddles. She looks over to the other canoe to see Colby standing in the same position, looking over his canoe where Ben and Ken take the helm. Jerri and Colby make eye contact and laugh before the challenge gets under way.

Suhtai seems to have established a rhythm early, forcing Tsitsistas to work from behind. Ben notices Lisa not stroking as hard as him. No one was rowing as hard as him, but he knows that blowing up would only draw more ire his way, so he keeps his mouth shut. Meanwhile, Suhtai crosses the finish line with no trouble. Jeff calls “Suhtai wins immuinty!”

Somewhere in the Mojave Desert, a desert iguana looks out over the desert, searching for food.

Back at the Tsitsistas camp, Ben is fuming but refuses to talk to anyone. He stares into the fire, muttering to himself. Brandon takes a seat next to him. “I told you,” Ben says.

“I know, man. I’m with you.”

“Who else?”

“Bi? Michaela? Colby?”

“That would be five.”

“Do you want me to talk to them?”

“Yes, Brandon. Please do that.”

So, Brandon gets up from the fire to find Colby first. He’s helping Ken build a table in their new shelter, which is slowly starting to look like a small house. 

“Hey, Brandon,” Colby says with his signature smile, “Ken thought it would be a good idea to build a table, so that when we win any rewards, we can put them up here on a table indoors, rather than outside in the sand.”

“That’s a great idea. So, what do you think of Lisa tonight?”

“Lisa,” Ken asks, “You want to vote for her?”

“Yeah.”

“Well,” Colby says, “it would definitely make the tribe stronger.”

“But at the same time,” Ken argues, “Like you were saying earlier, how many tribals can we go to with Ben before he pulls out an idol. It might just be a good idea to get rid of him as soon as possible.”

“We gotta stay strong right now,” Brandon says.

“Right. I’ll talk to Michaela about it,” Colby says, “I know she wanted Ben first, but I can probably convince her.”

“I’ll talk to Lauren about it,” Ken says.

“Hey, yeah, Ken,” Colby excitedly says, “I saw you two hittin it off earlier.”

“Yeah, Lauren’s cool.”

“She’s cool,” Brandon guffaws, “you’re so clearly into her.”

“Oh, I-- I don’t know about that. She’s quite young.”

“You’re both adults,” Colby assures him, “There’s nothing wrong with some innocent flirting on Survivor.”

“You would know,” Brandon jokes.

“What if it goes beyond just innocent flirting?”

“Well, I wouldn’t know anything about that,” Colby says suddenly looking back to the table.

“You’re telling me,” Brandon pokes, “that in your four seasons together, you and Jerri have never gotten it on?”

“No, we-- I-- I don’t like to call it ‘gettin it on.’”

Ken chuckles quietly to himself.

“What do you call it then,” Brandon asks.

“Just… sex. I just call it sex!”

“Whoa-ho-ho, playboy Colby over here,” Brandon laughs.

Ken chuckles again.

“So, you and Jerri never had sex?”

Colby looks up from the table at Brandon and says with a clear voice, intentionally avoiding anger, “No, Brandon, Jerri Manthey and I have never had sex. We’ve never gotten it on. We’ve never even kissed.”

“Kissing’s cool, man,” Ken explains, “You should try it.”

Colby looks at the two men he feels are taunting him, then gets back to work on the table.

Ken puts down his tools and makes his way back to the fire pit where he sees Lauren sitting with Lisa. “Hey ladies,” he says as he joins them.

Lisa grins really big while staring at Lauren, then at Ken, instructing Lauren to talk to him.

“Uh, what’s going on, Ken,” Lauren asks.

“Well, I was just wondering who you guys were voting for.”

“I think the plan is Ben, right?”

“Ben, okay. That works.”

“Who have you heard,” Lisa asks.

“Uh… I haven’t really heard anything. I was just building a table inside.”

“Yeah,” Lauren asks involuntarily.

“Yeah,” he replies with the same absent-mindedness.

At the well, Michaela, Kass, Bi and Kimmi are collecting water for everyone. 

“What are you guys thinking,” Michaela asks.

“I think everyone’s kind of on the same page,” Kimmi says.

“Ben?” Bi presumes.

“That’s who I wanted.”

“Works for me,” Kimmi says.

“What if he has an idol already?” Bi asks.

“If he plays an idol tonight, we’ll just make sure he doesn’t get the next one,” Kimmi says. Neither of the other women seem convinced.

“He doesn’t have an idol,” Kimmi assures them, “Have you seen him since the challenge? He’s been so on edge.”

The Tsitsistas Tribe treks to Tribal Council. They are welcomed by Jeff and his light-polluting smile. They all take a seat in the circle around the campfire Jeff made. “Welcome back, all of you, to tribal council. I’m sure you’re all happy to be here.”

“Nope!” Brandon shouts, “I am never happy to be at Tribal Council, but hey, here we are so what can you do?”

“What do you want to do with this vote, Brandon,” Jeff asks.

“I want to keep our tribe strong. So many people play the individual game so early these days. We’re still a team, y’all! And teamwork makes the dream work!”

“Colby, do you agree? Do you think your tribe needs to work better together as a team?”

“Well, sure, Jeff. But not everyone’s definition of strength is the same. What’s strong to me isn’t necessarily the same thing as strength for someone like Ben.”

“Ben, what is strength to you?”

“Well, Jeff, I was in the marines. So, I think strength is being forced into mental and physical exhaustion and still being able to perform. Isn’t that what Survivor’s all about?”

“If you say so. It is time to vote. Bi, you’re up first.”

Bi gets up and writes Ben’s name. Ben writes Lisa’s name and holds it up to the camera with an unenthusiastic and apologetic shrug. When Ken makes his way to the voting booth, he takes a long time to decide how to vote. When he finally returns, Jeff says “I’ll go tally the votes.”

When Jeff returns with the votes, he says “If anyone has the hidden immunity idol and you’d like to play it, now would be the time to do so.” Ben looks around at the rest of his tribe, stands up and pulls the small nugget of gold from his pocket. “Should I bite it to make sure it’s real,” he jokes as he walks up Jeff’s lectern.

“That won’t be necessary,” Jeff tells him, holding his hand out.

He takes the gold, holds it up to the tribe and says, “This IS a hidden immunity idol. Any votes cast for Ben will not count.” Jeff reaches in the urn and begins reading the votes. “Ben, does not count.”

“Ben does not count, Ben does not count, Ben does not count, Ben does not count, Ben does not count, Ben does not count, Lisa, Second Person voted out of the Wild West, Lisa.”

Everyone voted for Ben except Ben, Brandon and Colby.

Read Episode 3 here

[soul-music-is-life]

Thoughts While Watching PLL “The Jenna Thing”

1) Hanna’s “medicinal” booze. I love her.

2) Emily getting all jealous when she finds out Ali had a secret boo: And Emison fans have arisen.

3) “Ali was seeing an older boy…” Inner Aria: “Me, too!” Me: *squirms uncomfortably*

4) Spencer, Hanna, and Aria like “I miss our friendship” and meanwhile Emily is sittin in her chair having fantasies about the immortal Ali.

5) I don’t know what makes the girls flinch more: their phones going off or Jenna’s stick.

6) Ashley: “Try to remember Alison as the beautiful girl you knew.” Inner Hanna: “She was the most horrible human being on the planet, but okay…”

7) Ashley thinking the thing with Wilden is over is adorable.

8) Ah, yes. I remember when Aria called her mom Ella. It was weird then. It’s weird now.

9) Pam inviting Maya to stay with Emily. Ain’t no regular sleepover, Mama Fields.

10) Hahahaha, Maya calling Spencer “intense”. Girlfriend, you’ve got no idea.

11) I forgot how moody Ezria was in the beginning. Everything was always drama, man.

12) Calling Wilden a prick doesn’t do justice to how much I hate him. He’s the whole damn cactus.

13) Jenna is savage. “You used to be the fun table.” ROFLMAO

14) Me watching this second episode looking for Mona cuz…reasons.

15) Go away Sean. You’re not Caleb.

16) When Emily was like “Spencer needs to win” all I could do was picture, “ALL I DO IS WIN, WIN, WIN NO MATTER WHAT!!!” playing while Spencer enters the room.

17) Emily to Maya: “You seem like a person who wouldn’t run from anyone.” Me: *sobbing hysterically*

18) Fun Emily Fields facts: She likes to sleep in the middle of the bed.

19) I remember when I was young and naïve and shipped Spencer with Wren. God, I was a dumbass.

20) Ezra/Aria/Ella and the most awkward movie date ever. Bahahahahaha.

21) Emily’s “there’s something wrong with me” kills me. I want to curl up into a burrito and cry myself to sleep now.

22) Bursa Sac. Lol.

23) Wren about to be a doctor and he don’t know Latin. Like bitch…medical terms are literally Latin.

24) Ezra basically: “Get in the car, Aria. I’m not a stranger and I have candy. Muhahaha.”

25) I remember when the show was so simple that I thought Jenna was A. Good times.