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trickstersantana · 6 years ago

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[Para] SantanART Contest Duel

Who: Santana, @ellnaturae @shiftingdani Location: Park of Florence Farr School Time: 25 February 2019 Summary: Santana gets Free Art from artist Ell and Dani also monster discussions. Triggers/Notes: Violence, death, corpses, body horror

Santana called Elliott and Dani to hang out next to the park of Florence Farr School of Magical Performing Arts. Because it has Art at the end, wich obviously means it gives strenght to artist to do a better job. It was all well thought. "Well, well, artist. You are here to Battle. With your pencils because the pen is mightier than the sword if the sword is broken and the pen is very pointy. This is..." She makes an illusion of confettig and sounds effect of people cheering and clapping to reveal in floating neon lights. "SantanART CONTEST DUEL: Who is the better artist?" She dissiped the illusion. "So, are you guys ready?"

Dani wasn´t quite sure what exactly they were doing, but she enjoyed the opportunity to get out of her room and away from studying and if that meant she got to spend some time with her friends. What she hadn´t expected, however, was some sort of art duel. "Huh?" Dani couldn´t quite hide the smile on her face as she watched the confetti illusion fall. She was a good artist, but she was definitely a little out of practice. "Okay. But I do have a pretty cool sword," she pointed out with a laugh. "What are we drawing?"

Elliott arrives with his bag full of notebooks and art supplies, if he wasn't wrong Santana wanted him to draw something but he saw Dani was there too and then the confetti. He chuckles "An art competition? Sounds fun" he winks at Dani "What's the prize though?" he teases Santana.

Santana looks at Dani, very interested. "Oh, my my, a sword? Did you studied the blade when everyone was busy being heterosexual?" She joked. "Since when do you have a sword and why I haven't seen it?" Elliott mentioned prizes. "Aw, don't artist want to enjoy art for the art or something like that? What about the pleasure of victory?" She complained. "I have some useful items if you want them, thought. Potions, bear plushies who make you stronger, you know it." She comments. Dani already had 1 point for asking what they should draw instead of the prize. "Anyway. I'll show you an illusion of a woman I saw. I want a realistic portrait of her. I don't have any pictures and I can't share illusions over the internet. I want to find if someone knows her."

Dani put down her bag and pulled out a sketch pad and a couple of pens. "I haven´t had it for very long, St. Pierre gave it to me for apparently not killing anyone with the net gun," she joked and settled down, giving Elliott another smile. She wasn´t going to complain about getting a prize, though Dani really would enjoy spending time with her friends. "Any other special requests? Colored portrait? Charcoal?" It did seem like Santana was definitely up to something, but for now Dani was just going to let it go and focus on the drawing.

Elliott narrows his eyes, even though he isn't really upset, he is serious about what he is going to say "Hey, art is a job like any other, artists should be paid for their work" he says getting his sketchbook out of his bag "but I was joking anyway" he then realizes they are talking about a sword "wait what? really? we are not really fighting are we" he raises his eyebrow looking at Santana.

"Don´t worry. I won´t stab you with a pen." Dani comments with a grin, in case that wasn´t clear.

Elliott blinks and then chuckles "You would be wasting a very nice pen"

Santana says a "Mmmh..." somehow worried. Remembering certain conversations about LN slayers. With the collar on, Dani was basically a common, so, why not, right? "Be careful with what St. Pierre is doing. But, well, enjoy the sword!" Santana also aproved taking advange of whatever if you could. "I want it to be more recognizable than artistic, so, what you think would be better? I guess color would help." Santana also approved asking money for doing things, but not so much when she was the one paying for it. She made an illusion of a woman in front of them. She looked dead. A grotesque, frozen dead woman, with mottled feathers clinging to her. Her eyes are piercing blue, glaring angrily. Her body was transparent, you could see her veins through it. "Can you draw her alive?"

"Yeah...I´m not sure what exactly to make of it, the course I took with him was helpful though and I need a way to defend myself. And you guys," Dani nodded, she didn´t want to go into a detailed conversation now so instead picked out a couple of pens. "Depends on what kind of woman we´re looking at," she picked up a pen and then, for a moment and then waited for the illusion, eyebrows furrowing together. "What the...?" Dani glanced over at Elliott for a moment. "What I wouldn´t give for The Angelator now..." she muttered before looking at the illusion a little more, trying to remember every detail. "You mean...draw her how she´d look as if she was alive? Before she turned into...whatever the hell that is." It wasn´t really a question. Dani outlined the face first before glancing up at Santana. "Where did you see her?"

Elliott listens to Dani's explanation and wonders what St. Pierre is up to, he was glad Dani had something to protect herself anyway, but something about it felt suspicious. He doesn't have time to voice his worry when an illusion of a dead woman appears in front of them, he shares a look with Dani. "Where did you see this woman?" he exclaims too almost at the same time as her. He can't stop looking at the illusion, her piercing blue eyes without any life in them. She vaguely resemblence an immortui but there was something else there. He grabs a normal pen, and a notebook, maybe doing too much would take away from her being recognizable "Are you hoping to find her again?"

Santana laughs at Dani's hilarous joke of her, a normie who couldn't use her magic, protecting someone as fucking strong as her. And Elliott. But specially her. "Oh my, Dani, you're so fucking funny." She keeps laughing for a bit until she notices. "Oh wait, you were serious. Aw, that's adorable." She looked back at her own amazing illusion. "I don't know what the hell an Angelator is." She nods and shakes her head at Elliott asking her if she wants to find her, doubting."I want to know if someone knows her when she was alive. Me and Kittycat saw her at the last field mission. I think she is like the undead monsters we keep encountering. I mean, she is clearly undead, she said it herself." She says, non challant. Illusion still up. "But you know, they are all connected. Probably."

Dani doesn´t even roll her eyes. It´s Santana after all. Instead she laughs, poking her tongue out at the other for a moment. And she doesn´t even explain the Bones reference. Just thinks "Muggles" and looks back at the outline she´s drawn of the woman so far. There´s something...haunting about her eyes. Sometimes that makes her seem alive even though she´s clearly dead. Like she´s ready to stare down into their soul. "The dragon was like...hundreds of years old, maybe she is too?" She then asked, making sure to pay extra attention to the eyes as she keeps drawing before reaching for another pen. "Maybe we´ll find a picture of her in a book..."

Elliott stares at Santana for a while as she laughs, he isn't sure what is so funny, but is sort of contagious and he laughs a bit too. He looks down at the drawing a couple of times, but mostly observes the face of the woman trying to notice whatever detail would be important to represent her as she was. He nods at Dani's suggestion "Maybe that would be a good idea, compare her to old photographs too, look in book, a google search?" he asks making another line to mark where her eyes should be in the face "Are those feathers?" he asks pointing out at the illusion.

@Elliott 😈 Karin:

1d6

= (4) = 4

@Dani Harper 🐈44/44 Fiyero Lv.2:

1d6

= (3) = 3

Santana thinks about it. It made sense. Maybe this bitch was super mega old like the dragon. "Do you think those things were like, alive a super long time ago and now they are back? You are right. Maybe she is soooo old no one knows anything." She shrugs. "It's worth a try, thought. I was planning on putting your drawings on the aethernet and around campus to see if anyone knew anything about her." Santana nods and makes an illusion of a white bird with blue eyes. Matching her. "Yeah! She had feathers. And before we saw this fucking ugly bird." It was important to catch up. "It talked, so at first I though it was some kind of trickster. But she was clearly not, ha..." She laughs, bitterly, glancing at her own illusion of the bitch's corpse.

Dani picks up the blue pen to devote some time to the eyes. Something tells her she has to get them right, whether Santana would be using her drawing or not. This is weird. Somehow. But if it´s going to help stopping those monsters that are trying to kill them then she´s happy to help. Or well. Glad. Maybe happy is the wrong word. "That´s a good idea," she then nods. "Even if she´s old...maybe someone´s heard her story. Knows what kind of myth or legend connects to her,"

Elliott nods giving to his drawing some shadow for the shape of the face "Were there any clues about the dragon.. or the others...?" he asks curious, he then realizes what Santana says, she thought the woman was a trickster, that's something he never thought about before, when these creatures attacked, they all defended themselves, he did too, he remembers New Year and the enormous creature. He gets lost in thought, his pen stops. What were these creatures? He never stopped to think about it, he just reacted, and now it was too late for some of them. Who were they? he corrected himself "Do you think maybe we should draw all of them? Try to find out about... you know, we have seen many now" he looks up at Santana.

Santana thinks abou how cool a name is The Myth Killers when Dani speaks. "We found the bird in the cave. It says it was its home. You know, like the dragon had like, his place. It says it lived there a fucking ton of years, but you know, I assumed it was lying lies... the woman said...something about the life she sewed together." Wich agains, all this sewing metaphors connect to the angel thingie of stitching the world together. In the end it was all about knitting. "You can't kill what's already dead... That's what it says. And that's what all the big monsters had in common! We need a cool name for them. I accept suggestions." She illusions some little monsters in front of them. The first Samhain one, the one she didn't see but Blaine showed her an illusion of. The big thing attacking at New Years. Marley with a tittle of "Picture not avaiable. I didn't see it and everyone saw it differently." The dragon. And the undead woman. "Those are what I know of. "

"Who knows just HOW many are out there." Dani agrees with a nod as she picks up the first pen once more, doing some corrections around the eyes before turning her attention to the feathers. "We should form an investigative group and call it "The Knitting Circle", that way nobody will get suspicious about what we´re actually doing." She puts the pen aside and then smudges the edges of the feathers a little with her fingers. When Elliott speaks up however, Dani gives him a nod. "Yeah, maybe that´s a good idea. I´ve already done a drawing of the dragon the day after the whole encounter. I had a feeling it wasn´t over..."

Elliott frowns confused about those words, they seem like riddles, everything always had to be so vague and mysterious, almost like they were part of a bigger story who needed to be solve and someone could be hitting at it breaking the fourth wall, was this joke even worth it. Either way, he keeps thinking about it "But why do we need to be secreti-" he starts asking "oh yeah memory erasure..." he bites his lower lip "Nice" he looks over at Dani's notebook waiting to see her other drawing "Oh, there is another one" he suddenly remembers "Jules told me about it" he says moving the drawing of the woman aside for a second and on the next blank page he made a quick very simple drawing of a flying creature "though I didn't personally saw this one, but it was the one from the news, in new year, a second creature appeared in Time Squares" he shows the drawing to Santana, then he looks at the line up of illusions "Is that the "mom", why is she Marley?" he deduces by elimination "I didn't really see it very well either" he sighs "I mean it was sort of a blob with faces... kind of super fucked up and creepy."

Santana shrugs. "The investigate group can have many names, but I mean the monsters! What should we call them? The undead big monsters? Is just not catchy." She walks a bit to look how the drawings where going, while still maintaining the illusions. "My my, then you are going to try to draw all of them? Half Dani and half Elliott. It would be really useful. I doubt anyone took pictures, trying not to die and all that." So, the dragon was done already. Perfect. She thumbs up at Dani. "Oh no no, fuck secrets. I'm going to tell everyone about it. They can't erase my memory." She saw the flying creature thing. "Oh, true. There were other monsters at New Year. Added." Santana changed Marley to Shelby, and then to the blob. She remembers she is not supposed to super mock Ryder in case he returns she needs that friendship strong. She grins "I though it would be funny!"

"That and...well we already got strikes, if we get another poking our noses into things that aren´t supposed to be for us," Dani shrugs her shoulders. "I mean I don´t mind poking my nose into it, I just don´t want to get caught doing it. Or have my memory erased." She wipes her fingers on her jeans and puts her notebook down for a moment before pulling another one from her bag and handing it to Elliott. "It´s on the first pages. A close up and some full body sketches," she tells him.]

[THEN THEY KEEP DRAWING AND CHATTING BOOM DARK CURTAIN]

#ellnaturae #para: dani #para: elliott #shiftingdani #chara: elliott #chara: dani

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challengersvschampions · 7 years ago

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Episode 1 — “I’m Not a Patient Person” (Eddie)

Wow, it's like you guys literally tried your hardest to fuck me over.

ok so yall just opened the confessionals up but dont hate me for the book I'm about to write, the confessional is literally my home away from home and the only reason I'm recognizable enough to come back in the first place ajdfs *record scratch* *freeze frame* Yup, that's me. You're probably wondering how I ended up in this situation. And to that I say....GIRL ME TOO TF. I can NOT believe I'm back and playing tumblr survivor again, the last time I played this everyone wanted to attack me, burn me like a witch, you name it. a MESS is what it was. But whatever, I'm an attention seeking drama thirsty whore so I'm back for more. Last time I played this game I think I did play a really good game, I didn't do much, because I didn't have to, and I was never a target, and I only ever got 2 votes cast against me, with only winning individual immunity once. Now back then, I was definitely in over my head and thought I was doing a lot more than that which is one of the several reasons I lost at final tribal. My game then depended a lot on luck and intuition, but this time around I want to prove that I can do more than just rely on the odds. I want to prove that I am a boneified survivor player, because I am one. This time I'm gonna put more effort into having a solid social game and try not to just fade in the background as much, however, since it worked for me before maybe I'll do a little of that too just with more umph. Anyway, as far as this cast goes, I was definitely worried about pre-existing relationships playing a factor in this game....and then I look on my tribe and WHO do i see? JAKE. JAKE JAKE JAKE. AND ON THE OTHER TRIBE??? JESSY. GORL. WE INVENTED PRE-EXISTING RELATIONSHIPS!!!! Not only were they my hosts on egypt, but the only reason im apart of this community and did egypt was because we knew each other way before then. They were some of the first people I ever met on tumblr and talked to and they know exactly what I'm capable based on games we've played in the past together. Which is both good and bad...good because maybe I can try to get them to work with me by just playing up the whole "omg reunited!! yay!!" angle, but bad because they know just how dangerous I am and if they're smart they'll get me out as soon as possible, but honestly, I would love for us to work together and make it to f3, and represent bbmafia an era that's been long forgotten. I've also talked with a lot of the other people on my tribe now too, and I already feel like I'm developing more of a social game now than I did on all of egypt if im spilling tea.

youtube

While this was being uploaded, I MISSED getting an advantage in the rules. I feel like I was the second person because the link still existed when I got there but the image was gone, I'm upset.

I wasn't planning on returning this soon after All-Stars, but here I am, and I'm kinda happy about it? Speaking of All-Stars, why are there SO MANY All-Stars people here!!! Ari, Carson, Jakey, Jenn, Jessy, Kait, Ryan, Simon.......including me, that's nearly half the cast, omg. So obviously this cast is pretty stacked because that season was pretty stacked. I don't know how I feel about it, either. I'm happy to be playing with friends, but I kinda wish most of them weren't here. Tribe rankings so far: 1. Ari aka Riley- One of my favorite people outside of Tumblr Survivor!! I'm thrilled they're playing this with me, and I hope we're able to go far together. There's a lot of people that know how close we are though, so I don't know if we can pull it off. I hope we can, I wanna get them to the Rites of Passage that I robbed them of in Heroes Vs. Villains II 2. Ryan- He's hosted me in nearly every game I've played, so it's kind of refreshing to play alongside him for once. He's a really huge asset because he knows so many people, and I trust that he won't target me anytime soon. Plus I luv him 3. Elliott- We have a connection through The Miranda Wowart of Tumblr Survivor: Olympics and Tumblr Survivor: Egypt fame, and thankfully Miranda has said nice things about me to him. We've agreed to look out for each other, and he seems pretty cool. I want him to teach me some yoga moves 4. Ting Ting- Seems really sweet! We've talked about our pets, and she seems like she has a good sense of humor 5. Callie- Only had a brief conversation with Callie so far, but I like her a lot!! 6. Jakey- Nice person, but he's a bit of a snake, and I don't wanna let him get too far, honestly 7. Alex- Interesting 8. Adam- Stopped talking to me right after saying how he had a bad social game in his first season lol 9. Eddie- He's a Libra

Night 1 - What the fuck am I doing to myself? Ima get voted out real good and early I can just FEEL it. The tribe chat is quiet AS FUCK and it's really awkward to me. Anyways, I have some things to work with at least for the moment. Jakey - we were partners on RRN Fresh Meat and got fucked over together so hopefully I can get that partnership together. Logan - we both have a love for Miranda so that has brought us together pretty quickly. Eddie - we were both in Bangladesh so we have that season connection. I didn't vote for him to win, so hopefully we can play up a feud like I did in Bangladesh with Joe to get myself further. Alex - seems really cool and we've been talking so hopefully that goes somewhere. Ryan - I'm not actually sure where we stand, we haven't ever worked together before, but he might not have many connections in this tribe starting out so hopefully he's more trusting of me, at least early on. Although, he's really the only person here that knows how much of a comp player I can actually be, so that could be a problem. The rest of my tribe I haven't had much conversation with. I was hoping to see certain Champs on the other tribe to make my post-swap life a little easier (Miranda, Gage, Sam G.), but nope. Simon is my best hope. Kait and Lexi and I worked a lot together on RRN Battle Dome, but we were kinda forced to work together so I'm not sure how much I can rely on them. Also, they (hopefully) are very large targets because of how close they are and will be targeted early. Whew, after writing all that down, I might not be in as rough a position as I thought. Idk, we'll see (:

FADE FROM BLACK: Int. of Don Corleone's home office -day BONASERA (seated in front of the Don's desk, facing the camera) I believe in America. America has made my fortune. And I raised my daughter in the American fashion. I gave her freedom, but -- I taught her never to dishonor her family. She found a boyfriend; not an Italian. She went to the movies with him; she stayed out late. I didn't protest. Two months ago, he took her for a drive, with another boyfriend. They made her drink whiskey. And then they tried to take advantage of her. She resisted. She kept her honor. So they beat her, like an animal. When I went to the hospital, her nose was a'broken. Her jaw was a'shattered, held together by wire. She couldn't even weep because of the pain. But I wept. Why did I weep? She was the light of my life -- beautiful girl. Now she will never be beautiful again. [Bonasera breaks down. The Don gestures to Sonny to give Bonasera a drink] Sorry... [Bonasera, taking the drink, sips from the shot glass] I -- I went to the police, like a good American. These two boys were brought to trial. The judge sentenced them to three years in prison -- suspended sentence. Suspended sentence! They went free that very day! I stood in the courtroom like a fool. And those two bastard, they smiled at me. Then I said to my wife, "for justice, we must go to Don Corleone." VITO CORLEONE (sitting behind his desk, petting a cat) Why did you go to the police? Why didn't you come to me first? BONASERA What do you want of me? Tell me anything. But do what I beg you to do. VITO CORLEONE What is that? [Bonasera gets up to whisper his request into Don Corleone's ear] That I cannot do. BONASERA I'll give you anything you ask. VITO CORLEONE We've known each other many years, but this is the first time you came to me for counsel, for help. I can't remember the last time that you invited me to your house for a cup of coffee, even though my wife is godmother to your only child. But let's be frank here: you never wanted my friendship. And uh, you were afraid to be in my debt. BONASERA I didn't want to get into trouble. VITO CORLEONE I understand. You found paradise in America, had a good trade, made a good living. The police protected you; and there were courts of law. And you didn't need a friend of me. But uh, now you come to me and you say -- "Don Corleone give me justice." -- But you don't ask with respect. You don't offer friendship. You don't even think to call me Godfather. Instead, you come into my house on the day my daughter is to be married, and you uh ask me to do murder, for money. BONASERA I ask you for justice. VITO CORLEONE That is not justice; your daughter is still alive. BONASERA Then they can suffer then, as she suffers. (then) How much shall I pay you? VITO CORLEONE (stands, turning his back toward Bonasera) Bonasera... Bonasera... What have I ever done to make you treat me so disrespectfully? Had you come to me in friendship, then this scum that ruined your daughter would be suffering this very day. And that by chance if an honest man such as yourself should make enemies, then they would become my enemies. And then they would fear you. BONASERA Be my friend -- (then, after bowing and the Don shrugs) -- Godfather? VITO CORLEONE (after Bonasera kisses his hand) Good. (then) Some day, and that day may never come, I'll call upon you to do a service for me. But uh, until that day -- accept this justice as a gift on my daughter's wedding day. BONASERA (as he leaves the room) Grazie, Godfather. VITO CORLEONE Prego. (then, to Tom Hagen, after Bonasera leaves the room) Ah, give this to ah, Clemenza. I want reliable people; people that aren't gonna be carried away. I'm mean, we're not murderers, despite of what this undertaker says. CUT TO: Connie's Wedding reception. We hear the music "Connie's Wedding (The Godfather Tarantella)" -day CUT TO: Connie and Carlo at the head table CUT TO: The family gathers for a family portrait VITO CORLEONE (to Sonny) Where's Michael? SONNY CORLEONE Don't worry; it's early. VITO CORLEONE We're not taking the picture without Michael (then, he tells the photographer, in Italian) TOM HAGEN What's the matter, Sonny? SONNY CORLEONE It's Michael CUT TO: The Don meeting some guests outside CUT TO: Mama dancing with Sonny's twin girls CUT TO: Connie and Carlo laughing with guests at head table CUT TO: Long shot of guests dancing CUT TO: FBI arrive at entrance CUT TO: Clemenza dancing with his wife CUT TO: FBI take license plate numbers CUT TO: Tessio sitting at a table with Carmella & twins, tossing himself an orange CUT TO: FBI continuing to take license plate numbers CUT TO: Don Barzini arrives VITO CORLEONE Eh, Don Barzini. (then, Vito introduces Barzini to someone, in Italian) CUT TO: Clemenza is dancing, gets tired, and spins off the dancefloor, laughing. CLEMENZA (after dancing) Hey, Paulie! Let me have some wine. Paulie! More wine... PAULIE (OS to someone) Scusi, please (then, in view, to Clemenza, handing him a pitcher quarter-full of wine) Ah, you look teriff' on the dance floor CLEMENZA Hey, what are you a dance judge or something? Fatt' i cazzi tuoi ["Mind your own damn business"] Go take a walk around the neighborhood -- do your job. CUT TO: Sonny pinches Lucy Mancini's cheek as he walks towards his wife, Sandra SONNY Hey Sandra, do me a favor, huh; watch the kids -- don't let'em run wild, all right? SANDRA Well, you watch yourself, all right? CUT TO: Reception continues with Part 2 of Connie's Wedding Song (The Godfather Mazurka). We first see Tessio dancing with a young girl standing on his feet. OS: Eh Tessio, cosa fai? ["What are you doing?"] CUT TO: Don Corleone dancing with his wife, Carmella (Mama) CUT TO: Connie collecting gifts for her bridal purse. Paulie is watching. PAULIE Twenty- Thirty-grand. In small bills, cash. In that little silk purse. Madon', if this was someone else's wedding, sfortunato ["Oh, how unlucky I am!"]! BUTTONMAN (from afar, tossing him sandwiches) Hey, Paulie! I got two gobbagool... gabagol [cappicola] an' a prosciutto! PAULIE Eh, you stupid jerk! CUT TO: A photographer takes Barzini's picture. Barzini motions to his men to get the camera PHOTOGRAPHER Eh, what's the matter? [The men bring the film to Barzini, who exposes and crumples it] CUT TO: Tom going up to his wife, Theresa, who's sitting at a table at the reception TOM I have to go back to work THERESA Oh, Tom TOM (after he kisses his wife) It's part of the wedding: No Sicilian can refuse any request on his daughter's wedding day. LUCA (rehearsing his lines as Tom passes him) Don Corleone, I am honored and grateful that you have invited me to your home... CUT TO: Sonny goes out into the driveway to see the FBI guys. The Mazurka ends. SONNY Eh -- what's this -- Get outta here; it's a private party, go on! (then, to FBI man in car) What's is it? Hey, it's my sister's wedding (then, he spits after being shown a badge. He turns and walks away) Goddamn FBI don't respect nothing [jazz music begins to play from party] (then, to photographer) Eh, come here; come here; come here; come here, come here; come here; come here... (then smashes camera, which Paulie kicks, and flips cash to him) [music ends] ***Extra dialogue from The SAGA only*** NAZORINE (off screen) He was captured by the American army. Then he was sent to New Jersey, as a prisoner of war... *** CUT TO: Nazorine and Enzo in Don Corleone's office -day NAZORINE (seated in front of the Don't desk) But towards the end, he was uh paroled to help with the American uh war effort. So for the last six months he's been working in my pastry shop. VITO CORLEONE (seated) Nazorine, my friend, what can I do for you? NAZORINE Well now that the war is over, this boy, Enzo -- they want to repatriate him back to Italy. Godfather, I have a daughter. You see, she and Enzo...

I didn't think I'd be playing ORGs again this soon after but.... I'm here! I really love this tribe and I'm gonna try and work my social game because every time I play I just flop with that, but 39 days isn't too long to talk to people daily. It's so weird to be here because I'm such a bad player and I barely know how to play, and I'm playing with people who have all won or played like a million times, and it's just weird? I don't know. Aside from my paranoia of being horrible at the game, I really am going to try to go full throttle this time. Usually when I play, I don't throw out names because I'm scared that I'll be targeted for it, but how else am I going to win with players of this caliber? So, safe to say, that this is a NEW LEAF for me, and I'm playing hard. Socially, strategically, and strengthly (is that even a word?) I will DOMINATE! (hopefully.) Ooh, also, I almost forgot, but this idol thing, body and strength or whatever it is for us, is interesting, but with only 36 spots, and 10 people guessing, I'm assuming whatever was hidden was already found. Also, I found the MAROONING ADVANTAGE, hidden in the rules, but SOMEONE GOT IT BEFORE ME. https://challengersvschampions.tumblr.com/marooningadvantage https://i.gyazo.com/c279e5e96fc79dad7c431905c83878e6.png I took a picture of what it said on the URL because it showed when I posted it in Skype which is like.... so scammer-ish but.. that's me! I'm sooooo mad I didn't get it especially because Connor removed it from the rules after, so I got there like... shortly after the other person. And, I'll give some thoughts on my tribe because the Challengers will lose again so they don't matter. Hanne - love talking to her! shes really sweet and i lowkey wanna align with her. also both our cats are named kiki so..... it's fate! Jenn - have barely talked to her, but i really want to work with her after all stars, but im still cautious. Jessy - yes!!!! im so happy to be playing with her and able to work with her for REAL after all stars, because we met in all stars and like shes became such a close friend of mine and i love talking to her and im so excited to FINALLY be able to work with her and just ahh im excited to have someone i trust around. Kait - same as jenn, but she talked to me a bit more Lexi - we shit talked mj then our conversation just kinda trailed off, but she's nice from the like hour i talked to her! idk if i want to align with her, but im open for anything. Molly - i dont think she likes me! thats all i get from the short time i talked to her is that she doesnt like me. Sam - i talked the most to her about tons of stuff and she's definitely one of my favorites on this tribe and i really want to work with her moving forward. Shareef - same as sam! really like him! Simon - he keeps cutting off our conversations short and isnt like... that fun to talk to? i don't know And, an order of who I would align with: 1. Jessy 2. Sam 3. Shareef 4. Hanne 5. Kait 6. Lexi 7. Jenn 8. Molly 9. Simon And.... That's it! Jessy said she liked Shareef/Simon, but I don't really like Simon, so! I forgot how much I love writing confessionals! Thanks for letting me play, Connor and MJ, and I'm gonna try and win this, or at least make a champion win again. In the spirit of the Olympics.... let the games begin!

The first night was quiet and I hope that doesn't mean that I was put on the outs. I've heard through the grapevine (aka Eddie's been telling me) that Ari/RTP/Logan are pretty close which doesn't look too good for me. But so, with all this Cutthroat controversy/politics going on, it's kinda fun that while that's going on Elliot and I are having a simple conversation about names.

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Okay so the video I submitted was my first impressions on the cast, I thought it might be helpful if I added timestamps so it's easier to navigate! Ryan: 0:44 Callie: 1:08 Simon: 4:04 Sam: 8:01 Molly: 9:57 Hanne: 11:15 Lexi: 12:16 Jessy: 13:30 Jenn: 15:39 Carson: 16:51 Kait: 17:17

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Why does it feel like a lot of the newer players are really bad at carrying on conversations?? It felt that way in All-Stars, and it feels like that now. They just come off as indifferent and like they aren't interested in anything I have to say, which is annoying. And I would think that I'm the problem, but other people like Riley have been saying similar things, kinda squashing that idea. Whatever, I guess. I know a lot of people aren't good at small talk, but how are we supposed to move past the small talk part if you give me literally NOTHING to work off of!? Conversation is a two-way street.

https://prnt.sc/fwjvlq

Me every time my bunny falls in winterbells: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BD_vt-pXs5Q

https://68.media.tumblr.com/fb24a9fe6be206d6b4cc1c4c984e8c0e/tumblr_omig384i7u1teep5ro2_500.gif It's time for my first confessional of the season! I'm really glad y'all bitches cast me again so here it goes... Instantly right off the bat I can tell I'm on a tribe with big players who I know are going to cause some trouble. I see Shareef who straight up DOMINATED two seasons in a row with Jakey on his side for one of them which makes me feel a little more comfortable around him. I see Sam who I just got off a season with so I'm feeling a little nervous about that. Anyway let's get down to the REAL business that y'all are here for. I bond really well with Carson which is good for myself but I'm scared that people might know we're close. I've been trying to downplay it with everyone but I'm not sure if it's working because we both played a season together which I think will be noticable. I need to try to downplay it really well because if I don't it might fuck me over. I also like Shareef because he's really funny and I just like him a lot as a person, but I know he's very smart and will do what is best for his game even if we're friends from a past game. I shared idol guesses with Sam which was really cool because I thought working with her would be really fun this time around! I was thinking of like.. being HVV levels close but I'm not sure. I also talked a lot to Kait so she could just like me, since once again the only thing we have in common is us both being friends with Jake so I'll try to work harder on that. Anyway down to the REAL REAL business! I have a spreadsheet of my own and Shareef told me we should make one for idol guesses but like I don't wanna spill all that earl grey at once... It wouldn't be a good look! He made his own so I was like oh okay that's fine. KLSKLBMASDKL Yeah, I think he wants to make an alliance with Carson and I because we'll gravitate towards him eventually since Carson said the only person he talks game to is Shareef. I'd be fine with that because like... it's an alliance? I'm not gonna say no gal! Speaking of alliances, Kait said she wanted to make one with me and that's fine! That's great! From my last season, I worked with people deemed "non-threatening" so I wanted to work with players that were seen as really good this time around so I could hide behind them and manuever my way around this game. I'm not sure if that'll work because these people are blood thirsty and want to win. The least talkative people on this tribe I think are Lexi and Simon so if I see an opportunity to possibly snatch one of them up.. I will! I think Lexi might be the first boot so I'll try to snatch Simon under my wing and see how that goes. Shareef said he was really smart so I hope I don't turn him off or anything, but like I never saw how good he was in our last season together so idk! I know I just won a season so I shouldn't be like.... this thirsty for another win? But like I wanna win! I remember that I was kind of annoyed that Jenn could've thrown for her friends in All-Stars so I don't wanna do that and make this a season where I didn't try as hard as I could've. https://media.tenor.com/images/1905513144999e9d87a7a6e8b830a65e/tenor.gif So it's Night 2 and Shareef told me he was on a call with Kait and we'd talk soon but SOON turned into like 2 hours so I was like okay there better be some good tea? And there really wasn't any. All he told me to do was to talk to Jenn more often and didn't give a really good explanation as to why. I'm left confused... shook... and tea-less. The tea bags are cold and someone slipped some tiny ice cubes in it. I feel like I'm being paranoid about this but I feel like Shareef could snatch the world from Kait in 2 hours? Also he told me that Sam told Kait about her idol guesses, and then he proceeded to tell me their's so like I'm worried that he knows I've known about the Sam idol guesses.. but I just didn't tell him. So I might own up to that tomorrow because it's snakey but I wanna make it seem okay but that's REALLY hard to do with Shareef. I'm un sure why I did it, but I think it's because I really want to snatch an idol or advantage this time around. But yeah, I think these people are going to underestimate me this game because I don't have Allison or Scott with me this time so I'm going to prepare and cultivate relationships of my own. http://66.media.tumblr.com/459d0878d92171d20f901e84962f3207/tumblr_o9xl1xeEAk1v9bduuo6_r1_400.gif

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Ok so first things first I found the legacy adavantage!!! woho!!!! yea no, it's useless until final four and I'm not a patient person. I would much rather have a double vote our something that would help me out before the final 4, cause who know's if I'll even get there. Alex on call: OMG eddie so there was an advantage on the rules page but i was just seconds to late from getting it Me: Advantage who? What? where? What’s an advantage? https://media.tenor.com/images/fb3f2d1e814190100a4ae401b1660d5b/tenor.gif Alex and I have been getting really close, we called for almost two hours on night one, and we called for about 40 minutes last night. [7/16/17, 4:57:13 AM] Eddie Bracco: I made alex woke to the fact that logan and “riley” were very close in animal crossing, and ryan hosted animal crossing. Also I served him tea about the group chat from almost a year ago and how Ryan has all these connections in the game. If callie will actually work with me i will be so loyal to that girl. There is something about her i just love and i want to run this game with her. She’s sweet and kind, and if i can remember correctly in R&R she was playing the middle and she was taken out because sole was woke to how good of a position she was in? And I got taken out in maldives because sherry was woke to me playing the middle. Then in bangladesh, I found somebody who was just as good as I was at playing the middle aka sam, and we ran circles around that cast. So I’d love to make callie my sam. It’s just about her trusting me and believing me when i say i want to go all the way with her. And it really is in callie’s best interest to work with me. I will be such a big meat shield for her in the merge. I usually like to be the one hiding behind people. But with this cast there’s no way I can hide. There’s people on that champion tribe that will want my head on a silver platter as soon as we’re on the same tribe together. Alex wants jakey, elliott, adam, me, and ting ting but I’m trying to lowkey get callie into it. I told alex that I would rather not be at the forefront of creating this alliance but he said he has no problem creating the alliance and being at the head of it so I’m like ok then bish go right ahead. I’m going to go on call with callie tonight when she gets home and let her know what’s going on and see what she wants to do about it. I think this would be a really good way of building trust with callie and showing her that i really am loyal to her at the moment. Im going to try to get alex to do all the dirty work. He will think that he’s making the decisions and running the show, and it will be apparent to people that he is, but behind the scenes I’m going to be pulling his strings. Also another reason I need to really strengthen my trust with callie is because I need lexi to want to work with me whenever we end up together. Right now I feel like lexi probably wouldn’t really want to work with me because I screwed her over in bora bora so hard. But i know her and callie are best friends, and if i am someone who is good for callies game I can probably avoid her targeting me for a bit, because she wouldn’t want to do anything to harm callie’s game. And if she brings up targeting me to callie I need callie to trust me enough to turn it down and say she doesn’t think it’s a good move right now. And honestly, maybe callie won’t be the one hiding behind me. Maybe i’ll be the one who can exploit her and her friend ship with lexi to the point where people will want them out because of how tight they are, and I can let them take the bullets and allow myself to go under the radar for a few rounds. Not only that, but alex is pretty confident that the champions are going to 100% stick together so he wants a strong group going into the merge. If Alex wants to do that go ahead that’s fine by me. But I know Callie will have an in to the champions side because of lexi which means that Callie and I could easily play the middle come merge. This is all so reliant on callie actually trusting me and wanting to work with me long term though. So Ima need to get to work on that.

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Why is this tribe ASLEEP? I had more thoughts that I should share but I'm sick and just spent 8 hours playing Patience so maybe later

omg you can choose my name. shadyyyyyy. anyways this game is cool. i guess. sideeye at connor and mj. joking. anyways WE WON. US BITCHEZ WON THE FIRST CHALLENGE HAHAHAHAHA WHO'RE THE CHAMPIONS NOW. but honestly we're probably going to get taken out by the real champions. sad. anyways let's do some player first impressions. ok so... adam: hilarious. he love peih-gee. i love peih-gee. match made in heavan. he seems kinda quiet though so i'm hoping i can talk to him more in the pms. alex: oh alex. what a character. seamus knew him and was like omg it's alex he's weird but cool. and i'm like ok. i can see how he's a lil annoying but it's like aw like you would look at a puppy dog. is that demeaning? i don't mean for it to be that way. sorry brochacho. callie: queen. slay. i was like yeah i last played in myanmar. and this is what she said On 7/15/17, at 8:02 PM, Callie ♡ wrote: > omg the game u should have won??… i remember tuning into the final tribal for a few mins while at work i think OMG QUEEN FLATTERED and that 99 bottles girl we slayed connor: nasty. we get it you're australian. you like to say mate a lot. eddie: yas eddie. love. we played in world of survivors tibet and i went out quick but not this time haha. we gon go far. i love eddie he's amazing. elliott: steffen was like if you're going to love anyone in this game it's going to be elliott bc he's the sweetest bean. and i'm like girl i believe it. elliott is so nice and he has 2 cats like me. LOVE. jakey: this bitch i can not. i can't say anything except "iconic...?" joking he's great love him but he burnt bacon and i'm like uh uh no. jenna: actually iconic logan: omg he has so many animal friends and i'm so jealous. as;dkfj i want to be surrounded by animal friends. like disney princesses honestly. logan is hilarious and we slayed 99 bottles together. mj: stop asking us to fight. we are a happy family riley: omg i heard something about riley being a catfish but that's probably not true lol. either way i love them. they're from canada. i love canada and justin trudeau. and they love waffles, the obviously superior breakfast food. #wafflealliance made right there ryan: last but least. jk jk. ryan and i are like already working together to find the idol. lowkey along with jakey but none of them know that the other is working with me. idk how that's gonna turn out. but anyways ryan is fun <3 btw um apparently there was this marooning advantage like right in the very beginning hidden on the rules page. i don't appreciate it. plz don't thx.

hello! so... we lost? i think yeah. im trying to work the sochele game but its not really working because everyone knows each other and i feel like whoever goes im screwed. i guess i shouldve figured that, but i just dont wanna be first boot. thats my only goal. well andmake jury but im fine with accomplishing either. names being thrown around are lexi and hanne, which funnily enough, both were told to me by jessy! because everyone says "oh yeah, ill let you know if i hear any names", and then jessy comes to me and be like oh yeah, the person who said theyd let you know told me they wanted out lexi. its nice having kind of a secret relationship with jessy, but im p sure jenn and kait already know. also, theres a big alliance of molly, sam, shareef, jenn, and kait, from what jessy told me, so she said we should work with lexi and simon and vote out hanne this round. lexi is one of the people i told id want to work with so im good with that, but i also cant help the feeling that im just being jessy's bitch right now, but its early on in the game and id rather let her get her hands dirty while i sit back and stay updated. if she ever goes though, im fucked, because shes the only reason i even know anything and the only one giving me the time of day. shareef says how much he likes me then doesnt tell me jack shit, jenn and kait both say they wanna mend our relationship from all stars then offer alliances to like everyone but me, and im pretty sure molly hates me, plus i gave her 3 of my idol guesses and she just said she guessed one of mine. i feel like im in a horrible spot, and i guess i just have to latch on to the power players until i can find my footing, but i dont wanna just be a floater all of pre-merge because that sucks so much. i dont wanna be a goat and i feel like im already being prepped to be a goat to like... shareef and jessy and jenn and kait. also i just feel like no one trusts me bc no one offers alliances to me, or anything and it just sucks. im trying to be proactive but i dont know the difference between taking control of your own fate and overplaying because ive never actually played before! this is the first time im trying to do a social game or trying to make moves or dictate boots and ive never done it before so i dont know whats good or bad or what i should or shouldnt do so i keep coming back to jessy as a crutch to lie on and UGH it just sucks. Tribe Assessment: Hanne - i love talking to her but i think i have to vote her and that makes me sad i really didnt wanna lose bc i do love this tribe Jessy - i really dont know how to feel. i think im just her goat/extra vote and it sucks, but shes also a really good friend of mine, idk how to feel. Kait - kait's so hard to read i never know what shes thinking so i got no idea Lexi - shes fun to talk to but i think she likes jessy more than me from what jessy told me, dont wanna vote her out but it seems like majority is Molly - she hates me i know it, just from how she talks to me Sam - i like sam but jessy said shes really connected. idk Simon - i have no idea im so mixed on him? like he talks strategy one moment then just leaves me hanging or says something to end the convo idk Shareef - i like him but hes not telling me everything like he is to jessy i hope he does soon bc i do trust him but hes a lso a double winner. Jenn - love jenn and love talking to her, shes such a fun person, but i also know she can stab me in the back with a smile and thats scary Ranking of How Likely I Am To Vote Them: (1.Not Likely - 9. Likely) 1. Jessy 2. Jenn 3. Shareef 4. Kait 5. Sam 6. Simon 7. Molly 8. Lexi 9. Hanne orgs suck

Sooooooooo I’m back after a year for a final appearance. http://68.media.tumblr.com/a86b8dd23287e4e6157e9a29c481a96c/tumblr_omzv6xlMLl1w8v6pno2_400.gif Honestly, I expected the cast to be like full of people I wouldn’t know but I’m just here for fun before I go into the skype community “afterlife”. LKSJHDASK My goal is not to be first boot after that idc ^_^ [2017-07-14, 10:49:58 PM] Callie ♡: me day 2: I KNOW YALL PLOTTING AGAINST ME AND U KNOW WHAT.. WATCH IT CAUSE I GOT SOME TE- remembers there’s only 39 ppl watching me: nvm the cast: [2017-07-14, 10:49:58 PM] Callie ♡: https://68.media.tumblr.com/fae46f8f7edb781a532e43f7259b8b34/tumblr_omxidd8Wek1w7ty5ho1_400.gif [2017-07-14, 10:50:46 PM] connor // cvc host: hvdgsdsd omg putting all this in the cofnessionals already Me just before the cast reveal: [2017-07-15, 4:55:42 PM] Callie ♡: I’M HAVING ANGINAAAAAA. DANIELLE_REYES_IM_OUT.GIF [2017-07-15, 4:55:57 PM] Callie ♡: jk im calm. love depression Then I walk into the tribe area and you know who I see??? 3 people I don’t know and Ryan whom I orchestrated the vote out for in rebels & rogues so like that’s like super awesome and I’m obviously winning. 💯😩😍👌🏼👌🏼😍💯💯 Do you know WHAT he messages me first? [2017-07-15, 5:33:10 PM] Ryan Palmer: OMG QUEEN! I am so fucking excited to play with you [2017-07-15, 5:36:36 PM] Ryan Palmer: and like with you this time [2017-07-15, 5:36:41 PM] Ryan Palmer: don't vote me out at merge again Oopsies! He said merge so there’s a part of me who wants to be chaotic and vote him out premerge kalsjhdgasjkjda but like he’s one of the few people I know here so we will see! Tbh idk if anyone should wanna vote me out when like everyone else is considered like a legend and I’m easier to beat in a final oop! More people get added.. don’t know them! I see Riley… and they have hosted me twice before and I was a little sketchy in those seasons (but like only to protect my closest allies) anywhooooooo! Eddie also was added and idk I feel like I could work with him and I think he’d probably assume the half of the tribe that has connections to the winners tribe is coming after him so I look like a safe bet! I spoke with Jake a bit and he seems iconic and we bonded over being awkward and nervous… you know the usual first day talk. Everything died down and that’s when… my depression faded for a bit and… [2017-07-15, 7:26:39 PM] Callie ♡: im gonna have a meltdown [2017-07-15, 7:26:52 PM] Callie ♡: https://68.media.tumblr.com/4d38b77c271145b7ea77ab2052b4c9de/tumblr_inline_on53iuWbxV1tb0ry4_500.gif [2017-07-15, 7:26:54 PM] connor // cvc host: its day one [2017-07-15, 7:26:58 PM] Callie ♡: I KNOW..... [2017-07-16, 12:40:30 AM] Callie ♡: eddie keeps messaging me about riley and asking if it’s ari like BIH THE WIKI LITERALLY TELLS U I just don’t want to be the one who’s like well duh! Because idk if Ari wants to play the Riley persona and I don’t feel like Eddie going to them and being all “well Callie said…” OPKSDIJHUAGSK Ugh I’m losing it already. [2017-07-16, 12:41:04 AM] Callie ♡: adam and alex give me weird vibes [2017-07-16, 12:41:11 AM] connor // cvc host: inch resting Adam had a conversation with me and then told me I could always talk to him for support and in general but like it came off weird alksjhda but then again that’s literally how I come off to people so moving on laid ease! Alex seems like an aggressive player like he just wants an alliance right away and wants to call everyone but he does seem straightforward more than the rest of these (sneaky) players. [2017-07-16, 12:54:45 AM] Callie ♡: i need an alliance [2017-07-16, 12:54:54 AM] Callie ♡: where’s regan and masen when u need them Legends of making alliance chats out of nowhere [2017-07-16, 2:26:11 AM] Callie ♡: i heard eddie always has like a good social game. and that he does this thing where he tries to connect really well with a certain few ppl before backstabbing them later on but like with that said i sure will work with him i think [2017-07-16, 2:26:45 AM] Callie ♡: im waiting for more offers. like… these ppl… are so rude Sidenote I just drank from my water bottle and forgot I had replaced the water with something else. Day 1 and I already blindsided myself! [2017-07-16, 3:28:22 AM] Eddie Bracco: And I'd really love to work with you too. I was really excited when I saw you were on the cast. I feel like you would be a super good ally and I just want to work with people who are genuinely good people and I enjoy talking to. I don't expect to do that well in this game so I just want to have fun while I'm playing. I also feel like you're really smart and are someone I can rely on. I'm honestly so obsessed with the idea of working with you. [2017-07-16, 3:28:42 AM] Eddie Bracco: I was literally just talking about it in my host chat aisjdnend “obsessed” lets not oversell it [2017-07-16, 3:46:38 AM] mj ultra . _/: On 2017-07-16, at 3:45 AM, Callie ♡ wrote: > and then i sprang out the old “let’s work together omg” NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN [2017-07-16, 3:46:40 AM] mj ultra . _/: JKGDLHG;JSKGSD [2017-07-16, 3:47:08 AM] Callie ♡: im hoping it sounded less mj and more christine if u know what i mean Anyways I think I'm okay with Ryan but he seems to know and talk to a large part of the tribe. Eddie and I are officially working together. I think Elliott and Eddie and friends? Or like worked together in a season. Jake and I are bonding over being awkward. So like I'm hoping jake and Ryan are still close and I think Ryan and Riley are close so I'm hoping they'd all bring me into an alliance. But I don't have any high hopes so I'd settle for ppl liking me enough not to come after me. Also I do a lot better on tribal day by being creative last minute ^_^ Oh and like I think ting ting and jake might be friends? Idk she said something to him in the tribe chat yesterday. Adam seems to be okay with me and said I should come to him any time but like idk he sketches me out for whatever reason. I heard he was an Ika fan so like maybe I'll be petty and target him first for funsies. WHKDLSHSL I don't remember if there's more people here so like anywho. +Logan apparently is veryyyyy close with Riley which I heard from Eddie I’ve been sitting and watching the tribe bond from afar for far too long but then Alex talked about his musical so I did what any sane person would do… told him my sister was in the same one even though she wasn’t and wished him luck! [2017-07-16, 3:09:50 PM] Callie ♡: My sister wasn't in the musical btw [2017-07-16, 3:09:58 PM] Callie ♡: I just wanted to be in the conversation [2017-07-16, 3:10:50 PM] mj ultra . _/: fuck It’s not my fault!!! I never have any of the same interests as these people so I gotta lie! [2017-07-16, 4:19:48 PM] Callie ♡: if they make the tribe chat active again.. im gonna count up who sent the most messages in there and make them my target [2017-07-16, 4:19:50 PM] Callie ♡: https://68.media.tumblr.com/68fff2106e8aba194a0ea5f80a09024f/tumblr_inline_onwrrbYwdh1tseyg2_500.gif I reply to ryan thinking he’s gonna make an alliance with me and you know WHAT he says [2017-07-16, 4:35:10 PM] Ryan Palmer: I'm bored [2017-07-16, 4:35:14 PM] Ryan Palmer: there is nothing to do Not related to my game but couldn’t let this be lost forever. [2017-07-16, 4:55:17 PM] mj ultra . _/: On 2017-07-16, at 4:54 PM, connor // cvc host wrote: > crickey mate it's so hot today mate gotta grab my thongs mate I just had a stroke We worked on the challenge and since we did the 99 bottles, we were on call together and they bonded while I was my awkward self and chimed in every few minutes with a laugh or “yeah”. Call highlights: [2017-07-16, 10:32:18 PM] Callie ♡: “i dont like kait” -alex on call On 2017-07-16, at 12:41 AM, Callie ♡ wrote: > adam and alex give me weird vibes CLOCKT! [2017-07-16, 10:32:32 PM] mj ultra . _/: DUVDOLJKDGFHSJ;FLSDKGHJ;SK' [2017-07-16, 10:41:19 PM] Callie ♡: “who even likes brussels sprouts” [2017-07-16, 10:41:23 PM] Callie ♡: BIH…. I DO?!?!?!? [2017-07-16, 11:00:54 PM] Callie ♡: alex messaged elliott and asked him to pick out what he should wear today…. why u telling us this sis! you didn’t message me all day. WEE WOO.jpeg [2017-07-16, 11:16:19 PM] Callie ♡: “callie have YOU seen moana?” me: yeah! (googles the summary) [2017-07-16, 11:16:39 PM] connor // cvc host: u: yeah I was on that tribe [2017-07-16, 11:17:05 PM] mj ultra . _/: SLDKJGHLG;JSD'KSLS [2017-07-16, 11:17:25 PM] Callie ♡: SHUT THE FUCJAFISOUHYHIA [2017-07-17, 3:10:45 AM] Callie ♡: no goodnight before hanging up? penciling that in between targeting adam for being an ika stan. and alex sending the most tribe chat messages. [2017-07-17, 3:11:22 AM] connor // cvc host: dfshdsfhsdggdshgsdhgdssdghsd [2017-07-17, 3:11:42 AM] mj ultra . _/: On 2017-07-17, at 3:10 AM, Callie ♡ wrote: > no goodnight before hanging up? penciling that in between targeting adam for being an ika stan. and alex sending the most tribe chat messages. JUST SNORTED [2017-07-17, 3:12:19 AM] Callie ♡: forgot to mention ryan asking not to be voted out at merge so ill assume he meant he wanted to be out premerge [2017-07-17, 3:12:35 AM] mj ultra . _/: FUCK [2017-07-17, 3:12:37 AM] mj ultra . _/: SHUT UPDS FLSHLG JSD;GKSD [2017-07-17, 3:12:41 AM] mj ultra . _/: IM LITERALLYLAUGHING https://68.media.tumblr.com/a732f16086fe90340f625f77b5a43b7a/tumblr_onhgcp69FO1v9roxto10_400.gif Eddie and I called and he kept convincing me that him and Elliott aren’t on great terms and that Elliott seems sketchy and I’m not sure if he just wants me to believe if I’m the closest to him or if he actually means it. He said him Alex and Elliott made an alliance chat and then we talked about ALL the connections in the game multiple times and there’s so many more than I thought there were. I think my best bet is to go with his group even though my faves to work with rn besides him are Ryan and Jake but they have too many connections with the winners tribe. I just think if we went to tribal that if I voted with Eddie’s group that the others would be mad at me if they expected me to vote with them which could cause them and their friends on the winners tribe to not want to work with me either. So I want to think it all out more and I also want an alliance chat which I don’t have right now. I feel Ryan/Riley/Logan could be together, Jake/Adam/maybe Ting Ting could be together and I know Alex/Eddie/Elliott are together so that leaves me. KLDJAHFGHSJDKAL Jake is kinda close with Ryan I think and whenever I talk to people they all say “I’ve talked to Jake” and that they like him a lot so I mean! Anyways, either way I’m at the bottom which is like good and bad. Good because why would they target someone by themselves but bad because for that reason I’m easiest to get rid of. Depending on how numbers go and who tries to keep me in the loop and whatnot will probably factor into my decision later. [2017-07-17, 4:18:08 AM] Callie ♡: i feel like we’d win the second part and they’ll win the third part and then itll just come down to the winterbells matchups… which is like such a sad thing to say. [2017-07-17, 4:18:24 AM] mj ultra . _/: (happy) [2017-07-17, 4:18:24 AM] Callie ♡: i feel like i remember kait and jenn saying they were good at patience [2017-07-17, 4:18:46 AM] Callie ♡: also lexi won it in palawan [2017-07-17, 4:18:57 AM] Callie ♡: rip us huh! [2017-07-17, 4:20:01 AM] Callie ♡: i wonder if ill be targeted cause im friends with them. but then again im like just super loyal and like 100% honest that anyone would be lucky to have me in their alliance ^_^ [2017-07-17, 4:20:21 AM] mj ultra . _/: GHFGSHDJFKGLH;U'LJKJLGKH;J'K [2017-07-17, 4:20:25 AM] mj ultra . _/: MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE Soooo I woke up today to a message from Ryan as per usual and I talked to Alex a bit and told him I’d love to work with him which he just agreed but… [2017-07-17, 5:50:09 PM] Alex C.: I want to work with you too, you're a pretty nice person and I think that'd be fantastic. Idk this doesn’t sound convincing, sounds like a brush off to me laid ease! I don’t think he’ll target me but I wanted more of a concrete alliance. Eddie did tell me earlier that Alex wanted to bring me into their group of 3 but idk if that’s true or if he just wants me to vote with them. Zzzz We won the challenge so I’m not first boot and I’ve accomplished my goal... time to get voted out and leave! [2017-07-17, 7:43:28 PM] Callie ♡: Me last night: was bored outta my mind Them: (tumbleweed) Me tonight: is having a depressed episode and doesn't want to talk and has work at 7am Them: omg lets have a bonding session [2017-07-17, 7:45:09 PM] mj ultra . _/: LSJDKSJDDJJDD Jake messages me out of nowhere and then not even a minute later you know who finally replies? Adam. He’s also literally never here. BUT THEN… I asked who he talked to and he said he spoke the most with me Jake and Ting Ting. Ting Ting never speaks to me... so interesting! Jake hosted the season Adam was in so not completely shocking. Also, Eddie and I spoke about that on call the night before. [2017-07-17, 10:59:31 PM] Callie ♡: adam just said he talked to ryan too… [2017-07-17, 10:59:48 PM] Callie ♡: BIH! why’d i have to message u first then after 2 days I’m exhausted trying to find a way into an alliance, when we finally go to tribal and they need a vote? You can count on me to throw my vote laid ease! Also forgot to mention that Ryan asks me my idol guesses and then tells me his even though I know he’s getting other ones but hasn’t mentioned those to me oop! Tonight Adam randomly gave me his guesses and then Jake said he trusts me suddenly and sends his to me too 20 minutes later… sus. Who even knows if they’re being honest about their guesses but I’m sleep. https://68.media.tumblr.com/6478af2827f3c9bece2b82f20bb63e62/tumblr_ogcknzEuCU1v9bduuo1_250.gif

https://youtu.be/Rf1ACJ0yLgw

"Who here has an alliance with Kait?" https://media.giphy.com/media/xT9KVwVraalcvmKBfW/giphy.gif

We won immunity, yay! I would pay to see the drama at the Champions tribe, I bet it's wild. I was hoping to go to tribal though, just so everyone would wake up a little, but it's whatever. I would've been good, I think. I have an alliance with Riley and Ryan, with Jakey being an unofficial fourth member. Then Elliott and I have a deal to look out for one another, so that's half the tribe right there. Speaking of Elliott, I really like him! Like, a lot! He's so sweet. But maybe too sweet... I was asking him who he would wanna be in an alliance with on the tribe, and the conversation kinda went like: Me: Elliott who should we work with? Elliott: I love EVERYONE on this tribe EQUALLY SO that's far from perfect since we all can't make the merge together and the chances there's no swap is pretty slim, lol. C'mon Elliott, c'mon. If we had lost, I think either Adam or Eddie would get the boot? Adam is really quiet. As for Eddie, Jakey was saying he felt Ryan didn't like Eddie. I think maybe Alex could get booted too, but I hope not anytime soon. Alex is like unintentionally hilarious. The two times we've called he goes on these random rants against Kait, so I wanna see Kait and him interact just to see how messy it would be.

Hello, I am back again for what is hopefully my last season of any game ever (I am high key excited about my retirement coming up). I am on the champions side which absolutely scares the hell out of me since its not like these people have just made it far only once, a lot of them have consistently made it far in multiple seasons and that obviously worries me but I made a promise to myself to work on my social game this season and so far it is working kinda. I still have no idea what is really happening but at least I can say I have talked to everyone on this tribe past day 1 which is a major accomplishment for me. With my tribe consists of some really big icons: Carson - I have never spoken to him before this game but he is one of the few people I think I have actually made a connection with so far in the game. We have spoken a lot since the start and we seem to be on the same page about a lot of things going on so I am hoping to be able to work with him a lot in the future! Hanne - Def the person I have talked to the least in this game and I think its mostly due to our schedules clashing. We did talk a lot the first night but its been a few days since then and she is the player that worries me the most because unlike other players, she is a very low key target in this game. In most games she has played in TS, she has made top 5 AT LEAST and thats a good record plus the fact she is most likely close with players like Jessy and Molly is not good for my game Jenn - I played in Bora Bora with her but she did sort of betray me in that game so I am kind of hesitant with her around. I don't really let past games come into other games unless its like a consistant thing so I would be more than happy to work with her if I have the opportunity! Jessy - She is the most recent winner in this cast (literally just won like 10 days ago wow) and I really like her a lot. I think we have a lot in common and we have spoken a lot but like I said before with Hanne, the past connections thing really does worry me so I dont know if she is playing me or truly wants to work together Kait - we have been rocky the past year but I kinda heard she was playing or at least applied so I was ready to either work things out or get my ass beat but THANKKKFULLY we both were sort of on the same page of working things out since it really would benefit us if we do work together cause dead ass no one would expect it. So we called and spoke things out the first night so as far as I am concerned, legend! Molly - I have heard things from her from like MJ and just around the winners chat in general and people say she is iconic but like I am high key bored talking about retail for the past 4 days fjghd Sam - a legend in this part of the woods but again, our schedules have not lined up at all. She is a night owl and I have turned into a day owl (kinda) so its hard to find a time where we both can ya know talk about things besides patio furniture Shareef - a bbtc dad. You would think he would be like my number 1 target cause you know 2 time winner and all that fun stuff but right now.. I need someone to take control of things and thankfully Shareef is one heck of a planner cause our tribe would not have made it anywhere in this challenge without him! We are currently talking and we are on the same boat with a lot of things so I am really hoping to work with him in the future if we both are able to make it past things. HOWEEEVVERR, that is mostly counting on if the challengers do gods work and get jake out cause i saw generations! Simon - literally birthed me into the community 2 years ago which is such a long time. He has seen me flop in so many things but I have also seen him flop in many things so its like fate. He is a lot more extreme than I am in manyyy cases but he has been kind to me so far so I am all for ignoring his messiness if it makes sure we both stick together. In this past challenge, I knew after the first hour or so of figuring things out that we would most likely lose. Everyone wanted to do something and I was just like a sitting duck because I wasn't confident in annny of my abilities. After like hours and hours I ended up on the bottle one and that made me scared af cause my mind cant handle sitting there for over an hour staring at the clock anymore but I somehow got through it and so did my other team mates which makes me happy even tho we lost cause giving up is just annoying and stupid in my opinion. As for tribal, I am lost as hell because no one really has a plan and tribal is currently in 4 hours and no one has anything yet but I am still trying to talk to people and if I do end up going then at least I left ya know trying to have a game. I am currently talking to Shareef and Carson and they are saying they have nothing yet so I hope its not just me who is lost. Here is to praying!!!!!

So I went on call with Callie and basically filled her in on everything. I mean what is there to really fill her in on? This tribe is dead af and there's barely anything going on. But anyway yea tru I told her about the alliance with Elliott and Alex. I made it seem like alex and elliott are playing really hard and are dying for something to get started and like alex approached me with the idea of the alliance and i wasn’t gunna say no. I told her we didn’t have to work with them if she didn’t want to but she like immediately replied no i do want to work with them cause i feel like we don’t have any other options. We both agree that taking ari, logan, ryan teddy palmer, and jakey to merge is like basically asking to be in the minority in the merge because of all the connections they have. We’re both woke to jakey’s social game being on fucking fleek and i want him the fuck out of this game as soon as I can do it. I told her about Alex and Elliott wanting to form a majority and I told her about them bringing up jakey, ting ting, and adam as a majority, and callie maybe as a 7th but i plan to make callie higher then seventh and just exclude jakey from it all together and exclude adam as well. While we were doing our wiki research we realized that jakey hosted adam. Im going to have to go on a call with alex today and explain to him all of this. Jake’s scary alliance with shareef from generations, him hosting jen and adam, him and kait working together prior to this and liking each other, (that alone will get alex to want nothing to do with jake being in the majority because alex wants nOTHING to do with kait) Jake being one of the FIVE okinawa hoes on the cast. Alex brought up the possibility of a tight four with him, Elliott, Callie and I. Now I of course and so fucking down for that and I of course ran to Callie immediately when he said this. So I'm trying to get the ball rolling on this thang and get this game going. It's just scary cause you never wanna be the one doing way too much and I already feel like I'm over playing. I'm talking to a lot of people but so aren't others? I don't know this tribe is so fucking quiet like WHY CANT THESE PEOPLE JUST PLAY THIS GAME FAST?? If I'm going to be in the majorityI wanna know it, if I'm gunna be out of it I want to know it. I don't wanna wait till the day we are actually going to tribal council for people to decide to step up and start playing. Like we're here for a reason, we're "all" some of the best players to never win, and we didn't get that title by sitting on our asses and not doing shit. ANYWAY, my ideal would be for a five person alliance between Ting Ting, Alex, Elliott, Callie and I and for us 5 to push for a unanimous vote the first vote, and then take majority. It's difficult to bring anyone else in to the majority because they would all be connected to somebody in the minority and could easily leak what's going on. So yea, basically my next goal is to make these dead people come alive and get something going. On the to do list: - Get this tight four going with callie, alex, and elliott. - Engage in some game talk with Ting Ting, find out who she likes, who she doesn't like and who she wants to work with and maybe try to steer her in the direction of Callie, Alex, and Elliott. And that's about it???? I do want to try and talk to Jakey just a bit more, even though I'm planning on trying to give him the early boot when the opportunity arises I do want to try and cover my bases with him. That's all I really have to say for now. Till next time.

So it's 50 minutes before Tribal Council but I just have to send in one more confessional! It's really smart to keep Lexi in the game but Simon is being really difficult. He's apparently really close to Kait and thinks we should "bite the bullet". No, if we bite the bullet we're next so! Also, Jenn literally just exposed her alliance that Shareef told me about and everyone in the Big Mix chat is lying about it. I'm literally done with them and now at least I have an excuse for the future if I ever want to pull off an Ashy Idols esque move. https://68.media.tumblr.com/9d58c1c344333c8002b2c7e2f3064320/tumblr_inline_oooim4HcSv1qgwh17_500.gif

https://youtu.be/z0Wy7CFAO6k

So hello... let me skip all the dumb cast assessment stuff and get straight into it. So Kait and I go on call with Shareef and discuss aligning and adding other people. Kait wants to add Jenn and we all agreed on Molly but I want Hanne because we know each other and she doesn’t have any other connections and if they’re gonna use their connections then I want mine too. Shareef was like “I can’t vote out Jessy cause Jakey will kill me” honey he ain’t on our tribe there’s no ned to worry about that rn. So we made a chat with me, Kait, Shareef, Jenn and Molly and were gonna let Molly and Jenn decide between Jessy and Hanne as the 6th. But then Shareef wanted to vote Hanne out.... THEN HE ADDED HER TO THE CHAT!!!! https://68.media.tumblr.com/27db5c009974768d1027972be3327b8f/tumblr_ot9it2RRrf1snwhbeo1_400.jpg Like how does that happen??? So we agreed on Lexi as a boot and then I had to go talk to Hanne and Molly and do damage control over the whole Shareef adding Hanne thing. Then myself, Kait, Jenn and Jessy formed an alliance and we all agreed on Lexi. Lexi going is good for me cause she doesn’t talk and she has Callie on the other tribe. So Jenn, Kait and I called and then I got off to call Molly (look at me social goddess queen of everything) and today Carson called me and wants to make a 4 with Molly, Hanne and I but also didn’t tell me that Lexi threw out Hanne’s name. So right now, the fear is that Lexi has an idol and she wants to vote out Hanne which is bad for me. Originally Kait was scared Lexi would vote her but now that she’s not she really doesn’t give a fuck if Hanne leaves. But I can’t have Hanne leave. So there’s discussion of throwing a vote but we’d have to throw 2 because there aren’t any re-votes. ANYWAYS a better confession will come when I have more than 40 minutes. Hopefully I survive long enough to make another. xoxo

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B8U1xAckrzQWT1IweDkwOXE2eEU

hiiii um typical hanne here doing my confessional 30 min before tribal BUT i forgot to make the video i was gonna make so this will have to suffice ummmmm i think lexi is going home but pretty sure she's voting for me bc of reasons and shareef fucked up yesterday which was rlly funny bc he added me to this alliance chat i wasn't supposed to be in so 👀 someone tell me how he won twice ANDDD i've been playing dumb as per usual to everyone when i know more than i let on :~) we'll see if it works tonight lmao

#ididntconsent #confessionals

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mrmichaelchadler · 7 years ago

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Bright Wall/Dark Room July 2018: A Room with a View

We are pleased to offer an excerpt from the latest edition of the online magazine, Bright Wall/Dark Room. The theme for our July issue is "Heat," and in addition to Fran Hoepfner's piece below about "A Room with a View," they also have new essays on "Miami Blues," "The Lost City of Z," "Thelma & Louise," "Kiss Me Deadly," "Rebecca," "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre," "Fahrenheit 451," "Jezebel," "Rango," Oliver Stone, and a piece exploring how heat functions in the screen adaptations of Tennessee Williams' plays.

You can read previous excerpts from the magazine by clicking here. To subscribe to Bright Wall/Dark Room, or purchase a copy of their current issue, click here.

Summer is restless and stupid and hot. I have written about this before (and before that) and I’ll write about it again. The season itself is bad, I think, and yet, year after year, I cannot help but set wildly high expectations for myself. I’ll go to the beach every weekend. I’ll run 10 miles. I’ll shave my head. I’ll have a passionate, short-lived affair with someone I’ll never see again. What do I expect? It’s always the same, and it’s always lackluster. I get sunburned, I get sick of running, I’m growing out my hair. An old girlfriend peels herself away from me—this is before I got my AC unit and we stuck to each other if we embraced for even a second—“We should really make a summer bucket list,” she suggests. I can’t even make that happen. Anyway: I’m really making the most of my July so far, can’t you tell?

This summer, I’ve already turned down minor league baseball games and park outings and even just going for a walk around the block, in favor of lying on my stomach and curating my FilmStruck watchlist. OK, fine, I’ll stop bragging. What I will say is that I added A Room With a View to my watchlist because I thought, “Is this The Age Of Innocence?” And you know those memes that are like, “EXPECTATIONS VS. REALITY”? One is me running 10 miles; one is me sleeping all hours of the day. One is The Age Of Innocence; one is A Room With a View. The answer, of course, is that it was not The Age Of Innocence. It was A Room With a View. Insert meme here.

ii.

So if A Room With a View is not The Age Of Innocence—and for what it’s worth, when you’re expecting a Scorsese and wind up with an Ivory, that might be one of the only expectation vs. reality situations in which you’re not settling—I will tell you what it is: A 1985 period drama directed by James Ivory, based on a novel of the same name by E. M. Forster. “Ivory?” you might ask, “as in Merchant and?” to which I would say, yes, of course. And maybe, if you are between the ages of 19-22, you might instead ask, “Ivory? As in the guy who wore a Timothée Chalamet dress shirt to the Oscars this year? The screenwriter of Call Me By Your Name?” To which I would say, yes, it’s the same guy. The script, in turn, was written by longtime Merchant/Ivory collaborator Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, who captures, in Helena Bonham Carter’s Lucy Honeychurch, the elegant moodiness and confusion that is often part of being a young woman. Lucy has come to Florence with her cousin and chaperone, Charlotte Bartlett (Maggie Smith), whose first line in the film notably summarizes my entire summer thus far: “This is not at all what we were led to expect.”

iii.

This summer hasn’t even had the decency to have consistently good weather. Rain one day, hot rain the next day; 90 degrees and sweltering the day after, only to be followed by a dip in temperature so baffling I find myself wearing a jacket to take out the trash. I can’t predict it. I can’t control it. So you see, another thing about curating my FilmStruck watchlist: it is perhaps the only thing I have in my life right now that gives me any remote sense of stability. I put what I want on there, and no one can say or do otherwise.

In the past month of my life, I have moved not once but twice, quit my job, endured a breakup, and watched a half-dozen friends move to the opposite side of the country. This is fine; I am fine. I mean, there are 28 films on my watchlist and I occasionally spiral, unsure of what to watch, shut off my laptop in a fit of indecision and stare at the ceiling until 3 in the morning, but again, I am fine. Today, rain; tomorrow, sun. The day after, who has any idea? I brazenly entered my late 20s earlier in the year with the confidence of, I don’t know, two women looking to enjoy a nice vacation to Florence and, say it with me now: “This is not at all what we were led to expect.”

iv.

Charlotte, and in turn Lucy, are not talking about my wayward late 20s, though; they are discussing their room in an Italian pensione (fake word) in Florence. It was meant to have a view, you see. (A room with a—you get it.) A view of the Arno, a river I know about mainly from the daily crossword. But they don’t have a view. Charlotte audibly complains about this at dinner that night, well within earshot of the pensione’s other inhabitants: Eleanor Lavish (Judi Dench), a bawdy female novelist (literally can you imagine); the kind, gossipy spinsters, the Misses Alans (Fabia Drake and Joan Henley); the amiable Reverend Mr. Beebe (Simon Callow—ICONIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!); and the Emersons, an oddball father (Denholm Elliott) and his brooding but hot as hell son, George (Julian Sands).

And here’s where the magic happens: the Emerson boys have a view, and they’re willing to give it up to Charlotte and Lucy––free of charge. What they wanted (which was not what they got) could be what they get, if only they accept a gracious favor. Charlotte, obviously, says no.

Though Charlotte’s reasons to refuse can easily be traced to a British rigidity, there’s an emotional self-punishment here that feels recognizable. When someone does a good thing because you’ve more or less asked for it, it feels correct to say no. To stay the course, keep carrying the burden, and so on and so forth. The face reddens, the jaw clenches. “Women like looking at a view,” Mr. Emerson generalizes, in a way that both offends and humors me, “Men don’t.” To accept feels wrong, it feels like stepping outside of oneself and bridging a gap. Charlotte does not want something owed to two men she has never met. Later, after the dinner, the Reverend Mr. Beebe and Lucy convince her she ought to accept. It’s what they all want, as indelicate as it is. A Miss Alan says: “But things that are indelicate can sometimes be beautiful.” Touché.

Lucy and George make out in a field of barley. This is scandalous, insane, beautiful.

vi.

If there’s one thing that rarely lives up to expectations, it’s the comfort of returning home after a vacation. For Lucy, going home is a punishment. There is no relief in the distance between her and Charlotte, or her and George, for that matter. Not only is it summer in England, the heat pooling in the crevasses of their long-sleeved linen clothing, but at home, there is Cecil Vyse (Daniel Day-Lewis).

Cecil is a nightmare. He’s the worst possible amalgamation of what every person who describes themselves as a nerd on dating apps is like in real life: loud, boastful, pretentious, chaste, rude, and stuffy. He doesn’t like being outside. He hoards Lucy like a possession to be trotted out. He loves to read aloud from a book, the Victorian era version of making someone watch an eight-minute long video. He has never had fun and he’s not interested in the idea of it whatsoever. At one point, he mentions the concept of a joke, and I know he’s never even heard one before.

Cecil is reality to a tee. Nothing you want but everything you deserve. I hate him. He’s my favorite character. In keeping with this month’s theme, it’s funny to think I thought A Room With a View would be a traditional period piece, when in actuality it’s a very dressed up jocks vs. nerds narrative. The more you know, etc.

Because summer is hell, and hell is always finding new ways of making itself worse, Cecil does the worst possible thing imaginable: he invites the Emerson father and son to stay in a home for lease in their village. Why the fuck does he do this? According to Cecil, as a prank (Author’s note: this is not a prank). On who? Uh, the landlord? Rich people should not be allowed to ever think they are funny. This is borderline life-ruining for Lucy, who was hoping she could use the time at home to get over her crush. No such luck! For now she is home for the summer with both a fiancé and a crush and a wayward younger brother, and everyone looking to her to do the right thing. Whatever the hell that’s supposed to be.

Vii.

My worst opinion on A Room With a View is that I wondered for many weeks after seeing it if Helena Bonham Carter was miscast. It’s strange to watch her at only 19, when she has occupied a certain witchy middle age for the entire time I’ve known her on screen. Lucy, to me, was so passive and formal and rigid. “Don’t you know Helena Bonham Carter is a total freak?” I wanted to ask. (Again: “This is not at all what we were led to expect.”) It wasn’t until I started my rewatch that I finally got it. There is a moment in which Lucy excuses herself after an odd conversation with Mr. Emerson, saying Charlotte will want her back. “Poor girl,” he notes. She takes offense. “Poor girl? I think of myself as a very fortunate girl. I’m thoroughly happy and having a splendid time,” she tells him. I’m thoroughly happy, she says, no trace of a smile on her face, and having a splendid time, she adds, every muscle frozen into the utmost perfect posture.

This was not, in my assumption, a passive and formal and rigid girl; this was a weirdo trapped in the social norms of turn of the century England. “Mother doesn’t like me playing Beethoven—she says I’m always peevish afterwards,” Lucy tells Mr. Beebe at one point. Has a more goth sentence ever been uttered? In a documentary produced 30 years after the film’s release, Bonham Carter herself says she imagines she got the part because she came in looking so disinterested, slumped over, and moody. Lucy Honeychurch is a young woman burdened by the rigorous expectations thrust upon her from every side. She ought to marry Cecil. She ought to stay at home. She ought not to travel alone or live in London or be by herself or anything that exerts any type of independent thought. No wonder she’s in a bad fucking mood all the time! Maybe that’s why the Emersons seem so appealing. They answer to no one.

In an act of desperation, she lies. (When a description of a book or a movie tells you it is about repression in society, that is code for lying.) Even in the opening moments, the milliseconds before “This is not at all what we were led to expect,” Lucy opens and closes her mouth. She wants to say something. She wants to express her disappointment. But she shuts it before Charlotte says something. There isn’t supposed to be anything wrong. Everything is precisely as it’s meant to be, even if it’s a lie.

viii.

I did not expect there would be an extended scene of full frontal male nudity but what can you do!

On a warm summer’s afternoon, George, Mr. Beebe, and Lucy’s brother Freddy (Rupert Graves—a crush!) go for a naked swim in what the Honeychurch siblings refer to as their sacred pond. The scene is miraculous: playful and happy and free. It’s everything Lucy isn’t. Earlier in the film, she mentions to Cecil that she used to swim there until she was caught.

I don’t want to go so far as to say that it’s the act of stumbling upon these naked men running around with their flaccid dicks that breaks Lucy, jumpstarting what is essentially a nervous breakdown causing her to lie to everyone she knows including herself about what she wants to do with herself and her life and her engagement and whatever the fuck George wants, but…it certainly doesn’t help.

ix.

Summers end. Heat abides. “Is it even the longest day yet?” is asked quietly on an outing to the beach. No, but it comes quicker than you realize and then it’s cold before you know it. Maybe it’s the not knowing about the weather that’s the only constant we have right now (extremely right now). As the days get darker and colder and windier, Lucy goes to see Mr. Emerson and speaks, almost plainly, about how abominable George has behaved towards her.

“He only tried when he should not have tried,” Mr. Emerson says, sympathetically. George’s sin was acting in his self-interest, and what he believed (correctly) to be the self-interest of Lucy. Isn’t it stupid, doing what you want sometimes? In spite of everything else, including the whole world? Feels like the most summer action you could take. Mr. Emerson goes one step further, and he breaks the news to Lucy: he and George are leaving and heading back to London. And it is only when faced with something truly unexpected—a surprise, a change, an abrupt action for which she is the direct catalyst—that Lucy cries. It’s the storm at the end of a hot summer day. These are not delicate, poised tears streaming one by one down the side of her face. They are heavy, hurtful sobs. She can’t control it. She’s free.

Because none of it is fair. The summer is long and awful. Unfair. She can’t love who she wants to love. Unfair. She’s forced to love someone she can’t stand. Unfair. She has to wear, like, a long-sleeved dress in the summertime! UNFAIR! Summer ought to stand for a specific type of freedom—emotional, physical, let those bellies hang out, etc.—and yet it’s unnaturally burdensome. It’s repressive. It forces us back within ourselves, questioning and nervous and moody as all fuck. And so, to cry—to full-on heave, honestly, at this particular misery, both an over- and an underreaction—is quite possibly the most liberating thing Lucy can do. This is the sacred pond, renewing and refreshing and horrible, baptizing her in something new.

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yahoo-from-the-marbles-blog · 7 years ago

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The 2017 NASCAR playoffs are pivotal for the sport's present and future

yahoo

Are we about to enter the most important 10 weeks in modern NASCAR history?

The fourth year of the Cup Series’ elimination playoff format begins Sunday in Chicago. Noting the playoffs are days away shouldn’t be necessary. But this is no normal time in NASCAR.

Over the past few days the sport has publicly met the potential that its two most recognizable drivers won’t be a part of the sport in 2018, seen its most legendary driver get into a war of words with a pork corporation and cause a mess itself with a disaster of an officiating performance in final race of the regular season.

And all of this is happening while the sport’s popularity continues to wane as the stage-racing format introduced before the 2017 season hasn’t produced immediate results in terms of viewers and fans in the grandstands.

It’s now up for NASCAR to get out of its own way over the next 10 weeks to avoid adding to the morass.

A big step in doing so may be the playoff changes NASCAR added with stage racing. Drivers who performed well during the regular season and earned bonus points for stage and race wins will get to carry those points through the first nine races of the playoffs.

The changes — the fifth different NASCAR playoff format in 14 years — are in the name of fairness. Martin Truex Jr., the regular season champion and by far the best driver over the previous 26 races, has nearly a full race’s worth of bonus points. In three three-race rounds, those points should be enough to get Truex to the championship race at Homestead. Or to the third round at the very least.

Consider his advantage NASCAR’s version of the No. 1 seed and a first-round bye for a 15-1 team in the NFL playoffs. There’s no guarantee of a Super Bowl, but the odds are looking good.

Previously, bonus points only lasted for the first round. The second and third rounds were heads-up battles that led to the surprise eliminations of championship favorites and, in 2014, led to the championship race appearance of a driver without any wins.

Truex would’ve had five more bonus points if it wasn’t for a debatable caution call with three laps to go Saturday night at Richmond. The caution, which came after a yellow for “smoke” earlier in the race and an incident with an ambulance blocking the entrance to pit road that left multiple cars damaged, was for a car 16 laps down brushing the wall.

Truex was leading at the time of the caution. After the caution, his car was in a crumpled, smoldering heap on the final lap.

Monday, a NASCAR executive admitted that it was a “rough night” for its officiating. A week earlier, Truex had hit the wall at Darlington while racing for the lead with Hamlin — the man who sent him to the wall at Richmond. There was no caution at Darlington.

“They deemed it just like what happens when a driver has a bad race – hey, they’re moving on to the next race,” Denny Hamlin said Wednesday. “Short of, like, an NBA ref tripping a player, then that player getting injured, I don’t know how it relates. It was just bizarre to me. I feel like, I don’t know, it’s frustrating because there should be one constant in NASCAR, and that’s how the races are called and officiated.”

The constant with NASCAR officiating, however, has been its inconsistency. With stage racing adding two planned cautions to races, NASCAR has been more hesitant to throw cautions for “debris” in 2017.

But anyone who’s watched NASCAR for an extended period of time knows it’s a matter of time for the next head-scratching officiating decision to happen. The debacle at Richmond came less than two months after NASCAR’s curious officiating at Indianapolis and the subsequent dissolution of the sport’s “Overtime Line.”

NASCAR can’t afford to have shoddy officiating pop up in the playoffs. And guess what? It has over the past two seasons. The Talladega restart calamity of 2015 led to the implementation of the overtime line and the sanctioning body had to rescind inspection penalties after the first race of the playoffs last year after it realized that Truex, the race winner, wouldn’t be affected the say way Jimmie Johnson would.

Can the Cup Series get through 10 weeks where the racing and not the rules or officiating is the dominant topic? The sport’s credibility is at stake.

As an aside to the ambulance that marred Saturday night’s race, drivers remarked Wednesday at playoff media day about the incompetence of ambulance drivers throughout the season. For all the superficial things NASCAR screws up — the championship trophy features incorrect designs for the Cup Series’ two road courses — it’s even more baffling that the biggest racing series in North America isn’t properly training its safety personnel regarding track logistics.

After winning his seventh title in 2016, Johnson is back in the playoffs and aiming to break a tie with Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt for the most titles in NASCAR history. Tuesday, Petty’s team lost longtime sponsor Smithfield and the 200-time winner said the company had backed out of a handshake deal to stay with the team in 2018.

Petty’s frustration was understandable. In an environment where securing sponsorship is harder than figuring out President Trump’s real net worth, Petty knows he won’t be able to find a company to fill the void Smithfield is leaving behind. Smithfield, meanwhile, lambasted Petty’s team’s ability to be competitive over the last few seasons and painted the 80-year-old’s company as one without a clear plan to get better.

Smithfield will be a sponsor at Stewart-Haas Racing next season for a driver and car to be determined. Not long after the company’s arrival was public, Danica Patrick said the Smithfield-SHR deal meant she was leaving the team at the end of the season.

Patrick has said numerous times that she doesn’t want to race to just be a field filler and it’s hard to see where she wouldn’t be one if she found a team and kept driving in 2018. After her Tuesday announcement, it’s easy to see a NASCAR future without both Patrick and Dale Earnhardt Jr., who is retiring at the end of the season.

If Johnson’s the third-most recognizable driver in NASCAR, it’s anyone’s guess who No. 4 is on the list.

“I think obviously you want to see the best-case scenario surround the sport, but I can tell you being in the position that I was in in 2001 with Dale Earnhardt that if something was going to be catastrophic for the sport at that particular point, it could have been catastrophic in a lot of different ways,” Kevin Harvick said Wednesday when asked about a scenario without Earnhardt and Patrick. “It already was catastrophic, and it went through a big transition of what do the Earnhardt fans do? What do they think about the sport? And I don’t think this scenario is as big as that scenario, obviously. Sports in general has a funny way of absorbing everything and moving on.”

But NASCAR was in a far better position when Earnhardt died in 2001 than it is now. Harvick won just weeks after Earnhardt’s death, Earnhardt Jr. was positioned to assume his father’s fans and Jeff Gordon won his fourth (and final) title at the end of the season.

There’s no obvious candidate for Junior’s fans to flock towards. Chase Elliott inheriting both Gordon and Junior’s fans seems a bit much.

Earnhardt’s death in the Daytona 500 came in the first race of a revolutionary television contract with Fox and NBC. The two networks, seeing the popularity growth of NASCAR, invested heavily in the sport and were rewarded with television ratings that continued to grow in the years after the Intimidator died.

The opposite is happening currently. Television ratings for the Sept. 3 race at Darlington were half of what they were just two years ago. Per Sports Media Watch, it was the least-watched race at the track since “at least” 1998.

The core fanbase of the last 20 years is aging and dwindling. An eighth title for Johnson would go a long way to giving NASCAR some short-term mainstream appeal, but he’s over 40 and probably won’t be racing for 10 more years.

While NASCAR needs a short-term boost — or at least a plateau — it’s also in dire need of a long-term vision and maybe even a new title sponsor. Monster’s deal to sponsor the Cup Series is only guaranteed through 2018.

A compelling playoff run that’s all about the characters on the track and not about the ones making and enforcing the rules isn’t going to be a panacea. But it’s sure as hell better than a crescendo that leaves the sport’s remaining fans wondering just how much longer they can put up with the ridiculousness.

– – – – – – –

Nick Bromberg is the editor of Dr. Saturday and From the Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!

Follow @NickBromberg

#nascar #_uuid:ae36db96-adc7-3613-8c54-9fb3f2385d4b #_lmsid:a077000000CFoGyAAL #_author:Nick Bromberg #_revsp:de666450-3434-45fa-ac3d-ea6088f81691

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monkeypretzel · 7 years ago

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A Chat With Joel: On Defending Jokes, Working With Fans, and Finding Meaning in MST3K

(Originally published on MST3K.com April 05, 2017)

by Lesley Kinzel

Lesley: So, to start with, what are you most looking forward to getting feedback on from the new season? What are you really excited to hear people's reactions to?

Joel: Well, as I discussed in the backer update, a big thing is Gypsy. I felt obliged to give a little more attention to Gypsy and to think about her and try to position her so she can grow as a character in the same way that Tom and Crow grew. And so I think that's the one aspect that I'm most interested in. There's a lot of components to it because we brought in Rebecca Hanson to voice her, we did a lot of investing in technical stuff so she can get in a lot more scenes. I'm really anxious about that and how people observe that and feel about it. It's just kind of trying to really develop that character. When I'm looking at it over time, it's not like she's completely finished -- nor is any character on the show completely finished. They're always growing and changing. But that's something that I'm interested in.

The look of the show has also been something we put a lot of attention to, like how are you going to update it and make it work for 2017, while still creating this kind of in-camera miniature-golf aesthetic, or whatever it is that we do. So that's a big thing.

And obviously, just the riffing is always job one. And I want to see what people think of that. I hope they find it interesting and amusing and funny.

L: How would you say riffing has changed over the years?

J: I think it's changed a lot. The thing that changed it the most, in my mind, was us doing those hundred Cinematic Titanic shows. Doing a hundred live shows really puts a really different spin on it. You really have to own it, because the audience is watching, and they're reacting to it in real time.

We're fortunate because we really made Mystery Science Theater in a vacuum, and it worked. People liked it. But doing it live puts a little bit more of a emphasis on the strength of the riffing. I think the difference, from my perspective, comes from my experience with doing those live shows.

And then, of course, another important aspect is the new writers, and the new people filling the show with ideas and riffs, and the performers. So I think from an editorial standpoint, I was bringing my experience of doing those hundred shows on the road, in front of different audiences. And then, you bring that knowledge together with these really great new performers and also really great writing staff, and then you just kind of go from there.

L: What has impressed and surprised you the most about how the backers have responded to this process? Was there anything that happened during the Kickstarter screenings in New York, Chicago and LA that blew you away? You’re in this unique situation with this community of people, many of whom have been longtime fans of this show, and now they’re really throwing their support behind this process where they're not even sure of the outcome. It's just this beautiful sort of trust exercise.

J: Yeah, it's slightly unreal and I get a little self-conscious talking about it because it went so well [laughter]. And so it's a little bit weird because the cynical side of me says, "What's up?" But basically, all these people gave us their hard-earned money to make this show and didn't really attach a lot of strings to it.

And that's really important because I'm just not the kind of person that can defend ideas or defend jokes. I don't like it. I don't like people who want that to happen or want to have those conversations. To me it's just kind of like -- I don't know how to explain it, but I guess I'm not interested in being confident about defending a joke. I don't spend my time figuring out how to defend myself. I just think it's a completely different muscle that creates jokes versus defending them. Somehow the backers just let everything happen, and in my mind it worked.

I mean, the show that you're going to see is exactly the show that I wanted to make. When I say that, it sounds like I knew what it would be and how it would end up, and that's not exactly true. You have a lot of people doing a lot of different things that are helping you care for it. All you can do is move in a direction with a big group like that, and hope that when you get there, everything's still intact and everyone's still happy and content.

I don't know how I would've managed it if I was in a situation like some people are, where they hire executives whose sole purpose is to challenge you and question you to make sure you're doing the very best job. My only responsibility was to the backers, and that I felt completely capable of. You know what I mean? I'm the advocate for them, for the long-time backer and fan.

So it really inverted the model in an incredibly great way, and as it stands, I feel really good about the new episodes. I think they're really funny, and I love the way they look, and I love the performances. In my mind, it was about design. I was trying to design it well so it would be recognizable to the people who love the show, but also work well for people who had never seen the show. So that was kind of my personal journey: making a more idealized version of the show, of the way I wanted it to be, or the way I thought it should be. That was just my responsibility as far as running it goes.

And as far as the work goes, there's so many people that were involved that I have to be really clear that I don't do all of it. I supervise a lot of it, but I don't do it all, and it's not all me, obviously.

L: You mentioned how you didn't want to sound like you knew exactly the way things were going. What, if anything, about this whole process of making the new season surprised you? Was there anything that happened or a direction that it wound up going in that you didn't expect?

J: Yeah. I mean, it happens so much, especially in the performances. Because you really get it to a certain place on the page, and then you give it to these performers who have so much to give that every single one of them made it new. And damn, that was just the crazy part. It's almost like you hire these subcontractors, who then go and completely astonish you. You think you're going to have them do the tile in your bathroom and they do, but it's so far beyond what you're expecting or imagining. And it's incredible. So it's just the force, I think, of having pros, and having pros that care about the show and want to help help me care for it, you know?

L: This is something I’ve thought a lot about throughout the process of the season. So many people who are involved in season 11 have this feeling of stewardship over MST3K -- I feel like that made such a difference. Like talking to the cast, they all took it on with a strong sense of responsibility, of having to do it justice. I mean, obviously, it's comedy and it's funny. But there's a certain gravitas there, when you have people who are dedicated to this process not only because they want to give a good performance, but also because they are personally invested in the show and its history.

J: Yeah, yeah. I think you're right and I felt that a lot. I think of Elliott Kalan, our head writer -- he’s great, he's really a nice guy and he's fun to work with. And I know he cares about it. He was one of those kids, a 13-year old kid, watching it. And he knows that for certain people, if you're in the right mood, the show can really work for you. It can really be this fun experience. We had a lot of people like that. I would say the majority of the people that worked on the show were like that.

That’s kind of like having the wind at your back a little bit when you're a bicyclist. It's like, "Well, I don't have to lift this whole thing. There's a lot of people who want to help and are also really sensitive." So they don't want to scribble on it too hard. But yeah, that was a really unexpected thing. Still, I don't want to put too much on it because at the end of the day, you're riffing on cheesy movies, and you're writing sketches, and you're designing models.

I'm a little concerned when people feel like it's sacred. The most you can get out of this is that maybe you did stuff that was funny. But then to put on it that you're doing more than that -- that’s not your job. People who watch it will find their way -- and this fits into a lot of your thinking, too, about what the viewer brings to it, you know what I mean?

L: Yeah.

J: I'll give you another example, and I can't remember if I told you this. But it was really sobering. I got this coffee table book, it's amazing, about Masters of the Universe. And there's a guy who worked on the Masters of the Universe cartoon and he talked about going to events where people would approach him and say, "You know, your show changed my life. Masters of the Universe kept me on the righteous road,” or whatever. When I read that, I go, "Oh, that's right. You know, it's like there's so many things like that, and you don't know where the audience is."

But it's a slippery slope when you start putting yourself in the role of doing more than creating something. It's a slippery slope when you start to say it's sacred. Or when you start to say it's beyond trying to be funny, that you’re changing people’s lives for the better. So I'm always nervous about that.

L: It's fascinating to me because you come at this from the creator perspective, you have certain goals and certain things that you want to do. And when you look at it from the fan perspective, the material reality is MST3K has changed people's lives, and it has helped people through depression and stuff like that, and it has been this force. But the slippery slope thing is still true. If you're working on it, you can't take it too seriously because it just sucks all the joy out of it. If you're not focused on, first and foremost, we're riffing and we're being funny, then the risk is becoming so self-conscious that you stop being able to do a good job, and at that point, you're not helping anybody. You're not doing any good, because nobody's laughing at your work.

J: You can't control the outcome of how people are going to feel. And I think there's a lot of misunderstanding about that, because when people are really talented and they write a pop song you absolutely love, your impression is they're magical. That's not exactly true.

I was a speech communication major in college, and my thesis was: “People will find meaning in your artistic expression, if they’re familiar with finding meaning in artistic expression” But you can't send a message through your work and make someone feel something in particular. You know what I mean? All you can do is kind of try to fulfill what you've set out to do. And hopefully, you do a good job, and then hopefully people will assign meaning to it. But those people are all ready to assign meaning.

L: They're primed for it, yeah.

J: I feel like your writing and your essay on it was so lucid, and I think you understand it as well as anybody does, how that works. And so, yeah, I mean I'm happy that people like it and they're always super sweet. But I also think that what's great is, it's only been a really humble TV show that's made that possible. And so they kind of go, "Oh, yeah. We get that you made this in a warehouse in Minneapolis." They get it. You know what I mean? People seem to understand that there isn't that kind of celebrity. I don't feel like I have the kind of celebrity that other people do from other shows. And I prefer that. I like that. I like that when I'm meeting people they understand I'm not a celebrity. They don't have to fear me. They don't have to make a big deal about me.

L: It's that accessibility that makes it so appealing to a certain type of person. It feels like something they could do, too.

J: It's almost like the most unglamorous TV show maybe.

L: The most unglamorous TV show ever made.

J: Yeah, that's what I think. That's the secret.

#mst3k #mst3k the return #joel hodgson

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