"Survivor: The Society Islands: Episode #5: Why Are You Carrying A Gun?" - Reality TV World Message Board Forums - "Survivor: The Society Islands: Episode #5: Why Are You Carrying A Gun?"

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"Survivor: The Society Islands: Episode #5: Why Are You Carrying A Gun?"

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Estee 44384 desperate attention whore postings DAW Level: "Playboy Centerfold"	08-03-06, 05:08 PM (EST)
"Survivor: The Society Islands: Episode #5: Why Are You Carrying A Gun?"
LAST EDITED ON 08-10-06 AT 02:10 PM (EST) ------------------------------------------------------------ After ------------------------------------------------------------ I was woken up by the sound of an argument. Someone had made the mistake of disturbing Mr. Brooks while he was in the middle of his Friday morning hangover, and he was letting the offending party know exactly what they'd done, with his breath undoubtedly telling them just why he was so upset about it. No, they had no right to bother him. Yes, they had the wrong apartment. No, they should have known regardless of the lack of door numbers, he didn't care if they were new on the route because the regular guy was on vacation. Yes, if they did this again, he might get his shotgun, except that he didn't have one and if he did, the safest place to stand would be wherever he was aiming... This went on for a while before it was finally ended by a door easing shut -- a slam, while a nice touch, would have done nasty things to the hangover -- followed by a very timid knock on my door. I checked the lens view -- early morning UPS delivery, complete with computerized clipboard -- before opening it. "Yes?" "Package for you, Miss..." and the trail-off that came from unexpected recognition. "Cole? From the show?" I nodded. This was a very young deliveryman, likely just out of high school, possibly one of the college freshmen putting in some part-time hours before afternoon classes started. "This is so cool -- it's just your first initial on here! And it's a package from Los Angeles -- this is something related to the show, isn't it?" I didn't know. The sending city made it likely, but... "Look, I know this is a little unusual, but -- can I get your autograph?" I blinked. Twice. "I don't think it'll be worth much on the open market." I was a contestant on a reality show: if that wasn't Z-list, nothing was. The alphabet might need an extra letter just to create a celebrity status low enough. He laughed. "No, just for me! I collect them! I've got Hatch, that's really hard to do now that he's in prison, and Hawk, and Boneham, oh, and I got Kevin and Drew, just saw them walking down the street one day, plus I'm going to a convention in a few months --" There is such a thing as a reality fanboy. I could have gone my whole life without knowing this. But -- well, I guessed I didn't mind. "Sure -- if it's just for a collection..." Come to think of it, I would have loved to run into Kevin & Drew myself. "I'll get some paper." He was actually wriggling with anticipation. "Cool! I know I can't ask you about the show or anything, we all know the rules there, but this is just going to be so cool... Could you make it out to Brian, please?" I did: *To Brian: The first and probably last show-related autograph I'll ever sign. Sincerely, Alex Cole.* I even put a little #1 in a corner and dated it. "Wow! There's so much I want to ask you, but I know... um..." He stopped, stared at the top of the door frame for a few seconds, visibly working up nerve. "Uh... are you -- doing anything for dinner on --?" Instant answer: "I'm not seeing anyone while the show's still on the air. It's just too awkward." Easy excuse. "Plus I'm not exactly America's favorite person right now -- I don't want to put anyone else in the target zone. But -- thank you anyway." Had that sounded sincere? I thought it sounded sincere. Apparently it had. "Oh -- yeah, I understand. Cool. Just sign here, please?" For the package: I took the little pen and scribbled onto the clipboard's window. "So you've been getting threats and stuff?" He glances down at the package. "Maybe I should have this checked out." "No need: I recognize the address." I had: it was from CBS. "Thank you." "S'okay. Hey --" and an awkward grin "-- maybe after the show, huh?" No, not really... Now how on Earth am I supposed to respond to that? Answer: by not hearing it. "I'd better open this in private -- it probably is show-related. Thanks again." "Oh -- yeah." He could live with that for now. Besides, maybe he'd get to deliver another package! "See you!" And he was gone. I closed the door -- then waited a few seconds, listening. Sure enough: soft footsteps coming back up the stairs, which stopped at the door. I shook my head, then swung the little piece of tin back into place at my end, blocking the lens. A small sigh of disappointment rewarded my efforts, and the footsteps slumped back down the stairs again. Yes, you probably did* just blow your chances.* Not that he'd really had any... I ran the box through my own safety procedures as a just-in-case, then opened it to discover three huge towels, which had just been given the shaking of their lives. Well... what do you know? They were mine, after all -- but as with all prizes that might carry over after the show, I hadn't been allowed to receive them at home until after I'd officially won them on camera. It wasn't as if there might have been an incredible breach in security or a revelation of future events by sending them to me early -- Cole's got towels: that clearly means she won some sort of spa trip which refreshed her enough to make the jury! -- but that was the rule, and the production staff followed it to the letter. I had the towels on screen, so now I had the towels in my apartment -- along with a shower that generated just enough water pressure to get my skin mildly damp after twenty minutes of continuous exposure. I carefully picked up the powder-blue one and rubbed it against my face. Still amazingly soft, and it was almost as if a little bit of the island's scents were still clinging to the loops. Fresh air, the delicate mix of the flowers, the rich soil around the lake, salt from the ocean... I could easily breathe it in for hours, even if it was just memory contributing to illusion. Yes, it was nice to have them back again: the first material reward I'd personally received in the game, and one I'd kept all the way through. It felt oddly -- special. They were just towels, yes. Incredibly expensive towels, ridiculously luxurious towels, but -- I didn't have a lot of luxury in my life. These were hundred-dollar towels in a pennyworth apartment. Getting the towels back reminded me that there was more available in life than day-to-day scrounging for existence and a continuous battle against bills -- and not just on the other side of the hill. There was a touch of it here with me right now. The towels had been a piece of civilization in the middle of the game. To dry off without rendering more clothing temporarily unusable, feeling something soft against my skin, the sun's warmth captured in the rich threads -- it had been a reminder that there were better things there, too, no matter how bad it got. That if nothing else, I always had one small luxury that remained my own. Drying off, such a little thing, but -- it had helped. A lot. Silly to feel so nostalgic about a trio of towels, but in this case, Ford Prefect had been partially right: everything wasn't okay as long as you knew where your towels were, but they were at least mildly improved. In fact -- sure, why not? I was going to take a shower right now. I usually had one in the mornings anyway before the days got too cold to allow it -- I didn't have a hair drier, and if I had to go outside right after a shower, I was begging for a cold or worse -- and it would let me get reacquainted with an old companion. I unfolded the light purple one and took it into the mini-bathroom with me, looking it over as I went. Then again, maybe they sent it to me too early. We never did* get all the blood out...* ---------------------------------------------------------------- *{Topic Title: Frank On The Early Show}* {If you didn't catch it and you're not willing to wait for CBS to put a transcript up, here's the highlights. First, he's looking a lot better, although he still hasn't shaved the sideburns. He knew about the grass before he reached the island: he wasn't specifically looking for it, but he figured it had a good chance to be there. He did occasionally use drugs before he got on the show, but he swears it was just the soft stuff and he never took anything from his pharmacy, so basically, he's probably still working on at least one of those steps. But he admitted that he was deep enough into what Jeff called the subculture to know it, spot it, and yes, gee, he thought they were just overstating the build-up effects. He's still in counseling. He lost his job at the pharmacy -- they didn't know what happened on the show, but he spent too much time in rehab and they had to let him go. He found other work, which he didn't specify, and he's getting by. Frank realized Mary-Jane was just playing him, but he was having too much fun with it to stop, and doesn't that sound familiar, so yes, he forgave her, nothing to forgive. He doesn't remember anything from after his collapse until the time he woke up in the hospital, and last night was the first time he'd seen his evacuation footage, which disturbed him to watch. One interesting quote: "As much as anyone else, I owe my life to Azure. If I hadn't been spooked by her, Alex wouldn't have followed that trail. If Alex didn't follow the trail before I went down, they couldn't have reached me as fast. I owe that parrot a big-time treat if I ever see her again." He'll turn his life around, really he will, in fact it's turned around right now and eventually someone will see it. Personally, I'm predicting a relapse within three months.} {Well, he could have been telling the truth. Maybe he's just not one of those users who ***** where he eats. But at least now we know that he recognized the grass and knew what it could do to him -- the so-called 'positive' stuff, at least. Overstating... geez.} {Did he let anything slip about future episodes and boots?} {No. He wasn't in the island hospital for all that long -- they flew him out to Hawaii two days after he woke up. So if anyone else was medivaced, he never heard about it. He wouldn't have even gotten to see who else was in Sequesterville, because he never reached Sequesterville. His ability to gather information was kind of limited, especially while he was in that simulated coma.} {He's openly looking for a new girlfriend, though. And he hopes there's a pharmacy that'll take a chance on him again...} {Yeah, let's get the addict working around his substances of choice as a test of his character. Is he carrying around a lucky blade of grass in his shirt pocket? -- oh, wait. That only works on sitcoms.} {He did say he intends to be at the Reunion, and he's really curious to see who made the Final Two. Because he wasn't there and saw nothing from after, they felt free to ask him for a prediction. He thinks it'll be Gardener and Desmond.} {And we now know there's no way it's going to be Gardener or Desmond...} {Well, at least he's okay.} {For three months or less.} {Want to get a betting pool going on just when he relapses?} {Personally, I think he'll sort of keep his promise -- as in 'He'll go back to pot, but he won't risk anything else'. I'd hire him, unless my pharmacy dealt in medical marijuana, and in that case, forget it.} {We'll see. I'd kind of like to hope so, but for all we know, he's shooting for an appearance on Cold Turkey.} {Or shooting up for one.} {Heh. Coming soon to MTV...} -------------------------------------------------------------- {Topic Title: I met Alex today!} {...I scanned the autograph: here's the picture. I knew she lived in my area -- I go to WPC, which is just up the hill from her -- but I never thought I'd get to meet her!} {I cannot believe you asked her out. Sheesh...} {What's her place like?} {Really small in a kind of nasty neighborhood. It's this tiny apartment on the fifth floor of a really sucky building: graffiti everywhere, and no one's cleaned the stairwells. She's got a bed, a computer on a desk, this tiny little kitchen with a miniature fridge and this ancient gas stove, and her TV's actually got an antenna: she doesn't even have cable. Honestly, she's got less than most of the people in the dorms. If she's got any nice things, she's keeping them under the bed. And that's probably where her clothes are, because I didn't see any drawers.} {Well, we always figured she was probably the poorest of the contestants -- her job can't pay much.} {Man, she's got tiny handwriting.} {Anything interesting about the package?} {Just fairly light.} {Maybe it's her instructions for reporting to the Early Show next Thursday -- this could mean she's next boot!} {Sent UPS? In a box?} {Security. Who would look there?} {Oh, for...} {Almost forgot! There was a stack of Tarot card decks on the floor next to the desk -- and a stack of Bibles right next to it!} {???} {...okay... that's kind of weird...} {Maybe she's trying to work out the reading on her own?} {Or maybe she's studying to join a church, and people are just sending her the decks... Now I wish I could talk to Cole. I'd be interested to see what kind of choice she's making. Self-education is always risky.} {'Target zone'. That is a weird choice of words. I know she's been getting a lot of hate mail -- her forum traffic keeps dropping, but she's got some real loyalists among the despisers -- but has something else happened that we don't know about?} {Maybe if she gets another package, I can ask her.} {You could just drop by her apartment. Bring flowers. Candy. Fresh paint.} {Don't embarrass the kid... anything else you remember? Hell, might as well try to work out all the clues we can.} {That's pretty much it. She's a little bit shorter than I thought she was, she was wearing a floor-length long-sleeve nightgown that covered everything, and I don't want to say anything else about how she looked because -- well, you know, it just hit me that she might read this...} {Heh. What, the computer gave you a clue? Yeah, she might be lurking. It wouldn't be the first time. Forget it, lover boy: I don't think she's interested. At least, not for the duration of the show. Plus she's older than you.} {Just five years. May-late May. They can make it work!} {Okay, stop teasing the kid. I kind of like how she made out the autograph. She's clearly not taking any 'fame' too seriously. But -- 'target zone'... She's been reading her own forum, she's probably gotten some interesting mail -- which might include the Bibles, too -- yeah, it's an interesting choice of words. The DAW life hasn't exactly been completely kind to her.} {It was her choice to go on the show. That makes it her choice to take the consequences.} {And you know something? Offer most of us the same chance, and we'd take it in a heartbeat, even knowing that the rest of the site would spend a few months mocking every action we took. As much as we make fun of it, we'd love the chance to be out there ourselves. Some of the sarcasm is justified laughter at contestant stupidity -- in fact, that's most of it -- but you can't tell me some of it isn't jealousy.} {And you know something? You said that just in case she sees it and decides to go out with you after all...} --------------------------------------------------------- Before --------------------------------------------------------- {And we've reached Week #5, where -- oh, hell. I'm not even going to try and guess any more. Maybe I should just go with the UFO theory. Maybe if we're really lucky, it'll take Connie back to her home planet.} {Maybe this is the week we finally see a switch? I'm surprised the tribes have stayed stable this long.} {It would have to be after the challenges -- the previews were showing footage from two of them this time, so we know we've got a full show in that department -- and everyone's in the right buffs. Personally, I can't wait for the Reward challenge. I think we've got more comedy coming, and I could really use some after last week's ending. And if we haven't seen a switch yet, I don't think we're going to see one. Maybe one of the twists this year is that everything stays intact for a change. We haven't done that in a while.} {Yeah, if we're really lucky, this is a full-fledged return to normal. Two challenges, one boot, no weirdness. It was the most normal set of preview commercials we've had in a few weeks, at least -- I think we've got to have a break in the weird.} {You mean an episode of this series that feels like an episode of this series? Heaven forbid!} {Well, let's check with our resident expert. Is Heaven forbidding?} {I wouldn't know. I've been too busy praying to learn which editions of the Bible Cole has been studying. No answer. I guess the line's busy.} {...okay, I know that was a joke, and I have to tell you, it's not making me feel the least bit comfortable...} {Riddle! Last week's worked out -- 'Rx: harm thyself' -- but I don't think we've got the time to puzzle this one out. 'Just because it's on the mantle in the first act, it doesn't mean anyone's going to use it in the second...' I know I'm lost.} {We're still waiting on the first one. This could be another long-termer.} {Personally, I think this is the hidden idol. Someone finds it, but doesn't play it.} {I know the source. It's a theatrical reference. It usually refers to guns -- if you see one, then someone has to fire it before the final curtain. This guy's saying it ain't necessarily so.} {Okay... I believe you on the source, but I still think it's the idol.} {Could be. We'll know pretty soon.} {Recap: let's all have a laugh! Funny parrot! Funny meal at Haraiki! Funny parrot wants to come to the funny challenge, and listen to what she says to Connie: isn't it funny! Let's all laugh at people throwing up! Let's all laugh at Tony's attempts to fish, plus he seems to be trying to think in confessional, wow, my ribs can't take much more of this! Let's have a giggle because Frank is late and everyone's bored -- oh. Well, I guess we can stop laughing now. And on that note, we enter the opening credits, which still feature one extra member, and wait to find out what happens next on what the FORT is now starting to call Survivor: The Twilight Zone. Any chance of getting a full episode in black and white?} --------------------------------------------------------------- During --------------------------------------------------------------- This time, I really am the first one up. Frank isn't out on his trail getting his blades of grass any more. Frank will never do that again... I slowly shake my head -- it's over, he'll be okay, there's no point in letting this continue to cycle around my mind -- and pick my way out of the shelter. I actually managed to sleep through the night this time, although getting two in a row in might be impossible: the humidity is coming back into the air, and what I can see of the sky through the canopy is heavily overcast. We're definitely going to have another storm: the only question is when. This probably means an early challenge, as they won't want to run it in the rain. The good news there is that we should be pretty safe in the shelter, with the tarps and Desmond's reinforcements working together -- plus we now have a storage shack for the less fragile items. (Since we only had enough tarps to cover our sleeping space, anything truly water-vulnerable has to stay with us -- but we can keep a few other items in the shack, in the name of saving room. And more tarps might arrive with the merge, if Haraiki comes here and gets to pack...) Production was not happy about the shack, especially after Desmond built a primitive door-and-hinge for it. We had to swear we'd only enter it one at a time and wouldn't use it for private off-camera conferences before they'd let him finish mounting it into the frame. Mary-Jane got especially huffy, asking them if they thought we'd switched to being on Big Brother overnight and adding "Anything I'd want to do in there, you'd be too scared to film." I have a pretty good idea what she means by that, but I really don't want to think about it. Desmond was thankfully clueless, and I think Gary did know, but didn't want to let himself know: it wasn't really that hard to pick out the blush. Gardener and Trooper got it, and they were both more embarrassed than amused. At least, Trooper was: it's hard to tell with Gardener. The next project (which we probably won't have time for today) is a bathroom. Gardener's less than enchanted with the E-tool: as he puts it, it's fine for covering his own tracks, but getting a full-fledged pit going may be out of the question. There are spots where he can dig down for as much as two feet without hitting significant root systems, but they're few and far between -- plus digging anything deeper with the E-tool is the potential work of days. I took a turn with the little folding shovel after we got back from Council, and it wasn't exactly easy to use. There's very little leverage to work with, and the bending gets awkward fast. As much as Desmond wants a formal outhouse to work with, we may be stuck waiting on a Reward: getting one made for us or getting better tools to build one ourselves. Or we may just wind up using the jungle for the rest of our respective stays. We're not exactly stinking up the place -- we're doing a good job of scattering and burying -- and we could keep it up for the duration, but an outhouse would be nice. Production can't complain about that moment of privacy, not when the camera crews have been so carefully not shooting us at those times... Even without a toilet area, the camp is really coming along. With our shelter, table, and storage shack, we're a match for a lot of other seasons in accomplishments and comfort, with most of the ones that surpass us having received a lot of assistance along the way. (After a lot of debate, the hammock finally wound up on the treeline at the beach, to the right of our entrance trail.) Azure's perch adds a nice touch, as does Azure -- she's asleep on it right now. We're the first tribe to have a pet: howler monkeys and chickens don't count. Gardener even admitted Azure has a function in the group. "I can tell her things I don't want going on the air later. It's a lot more private than confessional." He'd shrugged. "I just have to hope she doesn't learn phrases on the first hearing, because if she repeats any of it to the rest of you..." He's joking, of course: I haven't seen him talking to Azure once, and since she's usually near me, I have a lot of chances to catch him at it. But at least he's not complaining about her any more, especially since she's been quiet at night and good about getting her own food. And like all of us, he watches her in the quiet moments, and there's been times I've almost caught him in what could have been a smile at her antics, but that's probably just my bad timing and him with a stomach cramp from a slightly undercooked piece of fish. What Azure gives all of us is someone who doesn't care less about the game, who isn't even aware there is a game. Someone we can just watch and try to take a little delight in. She's clearly having so much fun being around people again -- -- and I wonder what'll happen when we're gone. When I'm gone after the next vote, unless I can somehow find a way to save myself. Will she imprint on someone else? Will she allow production to catch her and take her somewhere? I really don't think they're going to let me take her to Sequesterville, and -- well, she's definitely not coming with me beyond that. A tropical bird in New Jersey? I can't believe people keep them in Gardener's colder hometown. It would be warm enough indoors if you kept the heat turned up, but -- -- that's indoors. Azure's with us by choice. Even if I was somehow allowed to bring her, I'm not going to imprison her within four walls, barely any space to fly, nothing to explore... I hope they don't send her to a zoo: walls with a little more space, but -- well, she'd have the company of other parrots, I guess, and people would visit her... I know she can want things. I wonder what she would want there. It's not as if I can ask her. Maybe Jeff can keep her. Why not? The show always films in warm zones because they want to get the precious swimsuit shots in. Azure could be part of the first Reward forever after. You get Immunity, flint, and a parrot to talk to. A brand-new series tradition! Azure will get to see hundreds of people, dozens of locations -- -- two times a year, for thirty-nine days, with that amount of time guaranteed because she'll make every merge. I glance back at her and sigh, very softly. What is going to happen to her after we're gone? I make a vow to ask Jeff when I go. Maybe I'll even ask him to take care of her if she doesn't want to stay with the tribe any more. Or maybe she belongs with the island... A camera operator signals me and points down the Tree Mail path. Okay, we're having this very early, and since I'm the only one who's up, I get to read this one off. I head for the quiver, staying in the center of the path -- most of the stickers have been broken off over repeated passages, but there's still danger zones -- and retrieve the scroll from the quiver. A careful removal of the tie, and "'Stilled movement, changed with a letter --' This is the same as last time." Figures. They had that challenge ready, and we're going to run it come hell, high water, or medivacs. And the middle one is a strong possibility today. Connie may guarantee the first, and I don't want to think about the third. "Well, at least it's an extra piece of yarn." The camera operator seems satisfied with this, and I'm allowed to go back to the shelter. Which brings me to the hard part. "Wake up, guys." No response. "We've got a challenge -- come on, up!" I clap my hands twice, cupping them to get maximum sound. This gets a mutter from Gardener, and he slowly starts to sit up. It also wakes up Azure, who makes a displeased noise regarding all the racket, and flies over to my shoulder so she can complain about it close up. "Sorry, Azure, but we still need to play..." "You're Sorry!" Azure responds, but doesn't add any details. Her declaration gets Mary-Jane yawning, and Trooper is right behind her. Gardener rubs his eyes. "Damn it... okay, I assume there's a reason for this..." "We've got a challenge," I tell him. "Probably within an hour. It's threatening rain -- I think they want to get it in before we get soaked." I step back to let Gardener exit the shelter, and he yawns hugely as he passes me, heading for the fire pit. "Fair enough." Gardener decides. He glances back at me. "We've still got water to boil from yesterday, right?" I nod. "Good. Saves us making a trip. I'll get the fire going... you get the others up and put someone on fruit: there isn't much in the cooler bag, and we'd better eat before we leave." At this point, the others are mostly getting themselves up: Gary's stirring, and Mary-Jane, who's just barely alert enough to get the general idea of what might be going on, is waking Desmond. "What's today's stupid poem?" "Tell you in a minute -- I want the others to know, too." Gardener nods at that, then pulls the flint out of his pocket. "Come on, guys -- challenge, we probably don't have a lot of time to eat..." This gets through Desmond's repeated attempts to turn away from Mary-Jane, and after a few guessed minutes, everyone's out of the shelter and sitting at the table, with our morning drink boiling behind us. "It's the same poem as last time. 'Stilled movement, changed with a letter, better hope that you're the better.' I think it'll be for Reward this time -- it would be weird to have Immunity today, unless we've got a combination challenge and a one-day cycle." It's Gary's turn to yawn. "No, it's probably Reward -- a one-day cycle wouldn't give us enough time for a hunt..." Desmond looks confused. "One-day cycle?" Mary-Jane's just awake enough to take it. "One challenge, always Immunity, might have a Reward attached, might be individual Immunity inside the challenge instead of Tribal, and both tribes go to Council. But that would put us at ten -- and that probably means the merge, so no, no way..." "Oh," Desmond says. He may have understood it. Being fair, it would have been a little hard for someone who hadn't followed the show closely to work through Mary-Jane's sleepy phrasing, but... "That wasn't in the stuff I watched." This is probably the time to ask. "How much of the show had you seen before you applied?" Desmond considers. "Probably about fourteen hours' worth. After my men --" the construction team he supervises "-- told me I'd be a good choice, I borrowed some tapes and DVDs, watched the first episodes of a bunch of seasons so I'd know how things worked and what people had tried to build for their first shelters. I figured that was enough to get the idea. Also a couple of last episodes, for the jury stuff. And I read part of the book about the first season, but it was a really slow read." And now we're all very awake, and Desmond has our full attention. Trooper hasn't blinked since Desmond finished the third sentence. "And -- that's it? That's all you've seen?" "Well -- yeah," Desmond admits. "I never watched it before they talked me into applying. It never seemed all that interesting. I admit it's a lot more involved, being out here, but all the basics I saw still apply. Hasn't exactly hurt -- I'm getting the rest of it from you guys." Which explains -- well, just about everything. He knew what typical supplies looked like for a starting tribe, he probably concentrated all his pre-show efforts on figuring out how to get a shelter up with the most likely available materials, and he came in knowing exactly what he was going to do for the first three days to get himself established. After that, he had the basics, so -- why worry? Desmond shrugs, then confirms a little more. "I decided the best thing to do was get us all under cover, and the rest would take care of itself. Did any of you study up on shelter building?" Trooper makes the first admission. "Some. Hell, I almost thought about bringing another giant flag and trying to make a tepee out of it, but I'd get laughed out of my own house." A very small, wry smile. "We do cliffside dwellings, traditionally. I would not have had a good time after I got back." Gary chuckles. "And you probably just killed that trick forever for the next groups, too... I did some reading." "Me too," I admit. "I was afraid of being stuck on a tribe like Exile Island's -- three people in my own age group who had no interest in anything but dead turtles and working on their tan on the beach." I glance at Mary-Jane. "No offense meant. Anyway, I tried putting some lean-tos together in the woods around my city, just so I knew I could do something." Early results had not been encouraging. Later ones had at least held together for a while, and my last try might still be standing. It had been sort of authentic, too: I'd only used what I could find in the woods -- six-pack rings exempted. Which was a pity of sorts, as they would have been a decent substitute for vines, which had not been available. Mary-Jane manages a smile. Maybe the waterfall issue is over. "None taken. I know you didn't mean me just because we're close in age -- and players like that are offensive to anyone in our age group. I did some reading for the same reason, but I didn't practice." "I did," Gardener tells us. "Lean-tos, in case I got stuck in exile for a night, and some more complex stuff in my backyard." He snorts. "Hell, after that cross, I shouldn't be surprised... We're a pretty well-prepped bunch." Desmond does not look happy about this. I know he did a better job directing us with his professional experience than we ever could have done working together without him -- but he's starting to have doubts. "So you were all ready to build?" Open subtext: 'Have I been expendable since Day One?' Trooper treats it lightly. "Well, we had no way of knowing we were going to get you to make it all a moot point..." A quick laugh. "Besides, there's nothing like a professional union job. Ask anyone." Desmond's visibly trying to accept that and doing very well. Flattery will get you everywhere, especially when it sooths doubt. "Thanks." His chest puffs out a little. "Yeah, she's a honey." We're given enough time to have a drink and get some fruit into our system before the camera operators point us down the trail, and for most of it, Desmond is content. But there are moments when I catch him looking at the shelter again, or at us with his eyebrows slightly drawn together, and I know that while the thought has dropped to the subconscious level, it's merrily humming along there, and it's not going to leave any time soon... --------------------------------------------------------------- {Morning at Haraiki, and Robin's up early. She wants to try her luck with the T-shirt net, and she spends about an edited minute having none of it. In confessional, she says that she's getting a little tired of the Tony & Angela show, but she wants to make sure she can eat if Tony goes out. I thought she wanted Connie out first?} {I think Robin's got the perfect winner's attitude. She wants everybody out first.} {A little bit of nausea inducement as Angony cuddle together on the shelter floor, overplayed by Robin's further confessional -- "They keep each other warm at night and keep me hot with being pissed. If I have anything to say about it, we are not going to have another couple win" -- and over to Turare.} {Alex is also up early -- let's see what the editing thread makes of that one: future partners?} {Nice poem reading there. Yeah, it's an extra piece of yarn.} {And this is downright precious: 'Hi, Desmond! Yes, you've been useless ever since you got here! We could have gotten rid of you at any time! Any! Time!' Only watched first episodes and a couple of last ones -- good lord, we knew some rookies snuck through here and there, but that's one of the most amazing admissions I've ever heard. Kudos to the rest of Turare for not laughing in his face right there.} {Wonder how they're going to work the arrivals? Turare won the last challenge, so they should get to come in first -- but Jeff may want Haraiki to see them enter so they can check the group as they work through.} {Connie's going to be incredibly disappointed either way.} {Bet: Phillip is the first person to ask what happened to Frank, and it'll be because he really cares.} {No bet. Can't get opposition to a sure thing.} -------------------------------------------------------------- We're held up at the entrance to Challenge Beach, which is mostly blocked off from sight again: I can see one bit of what has to be part of the challenge above production crew heads, and it looks like nothing so much as a hangman's gallows for a doll: about ten feet high with a tiny noose dangling from the end, currently empty. We've been told not to talk, so we can't discuss what it might mean. I think we all have a pretty good idea why we're waiting, beyond a slow opposing tribe. Despite our having the last victory, Haraiki is going to be admitted first today. Someone on the production staff wants the 'Who's missing?' shot. Eventually, we hear Jeff, and sure enough, "Come on in, Haraiki!" I can't make out any words as they enter, although there's definitely surprise in their tones: no one there was expecting to enter first. For all they know, everyone in Turare was removed for a medical emergency, and the first three boots will be brought in to fill out the jury... But Jeff gets to dash any of those hopes with "Turare, come in!" and we walk onto the beach, single-file, Desmond with our flag again (which he was extra-insistent on taking), Azure on my shoulder, and a deliberate gap in our line between Trooper and Mary-Jane. There's no point in making them work for it. As I expected, the first expression I see on Connie's face is severe letdown -- but it quickly switches to confusion, echoed on Tony, Robin, and Angela. Phillip looks worried, and Denadi gasps softly as she sees our empty space. Jeff says it for everyone, keeping his tone muted. "Haraiki getting their first look at the new Turare," with no excitement or declarative state. Just the facts as he's choosing to let us present them. "Frank was medivaced out on Day Eleven, and will not be returning to the game." Phillip immediately breaks every rule of challenge protocol, calling out across the gap. "What happened? Is he gonna be okay?" Gardener nods. "He'll be fine -- he just won't be fine in time to come back in." Very neutral: if Jeff was just the facts, then Gardener is the facts under cross-examination on the witness stand. Denadi: "Was it -- fire?" Tony looks worried about that one: it's not an image anyone's comfortable with. "No," Mary-Jane softly replies. "Not fire." Jeff cuts in. "Turare, it's up to you." His focus is on Gardener here. Gardener nods, then looks directly at Angela: going straight for the presumed leader. "It was an injury. He'll heal, but he's not up to the game until it does -- and it won't finish healing until after we're done. He'll be fine." Daring her to ask for details. Angela stares at him -- then declines. "All right. We just didn't want anyone getting hurt." "I doubt that," Gardener shoots back. "You've still got the Wicked Witch of the West on your team." And nods to Connie, just in case there was any doubt about who he was talking about. Which immediately gets Connie's attention. "What?!?" Gardener snorts. "You heard me. I've seen what you are twice, lady -- the parrot figured it out in under ten seconds -- and that's just the challenges. It's four if I count the times you've made serious attempts to get one of mine out of this game, five when I add the half-assed one during the obstacle course. Throw in the near-drowning for the ocean and it's six." Her eyes are blazing. "Yeah, I saw that. You nearly pulled Alex under, then you just went along for the ride and wiped her out until you decided to be anywhere but where she was, and thank you very much for that, because it's so much more peaceful having you on that tribe than on mine." The laugh is short and harsh. "That's someone who likes seeing people get hurt, Haraiki -- and when we walked onto this beach, she had exactly two regrets: that it wasn't Alex, and that the victim wasn't dead." The last word is spat: the glob lands three feet in front of our mat. "The rest of you, I believe -- but as long as she's there, you don't have a 'we' on that sentence." Eyes narrowed at Connie. "Now come after me the next time we get one of those beams. I bet I can top the last throw by ten feet." The rest of Haraiki is paralyzed. Robin looks like she enjoyed every word of that, but she still can't believe Gardener said it. Angela's jaw has actually dropped, and I thought that only happened in the movies. Phillip looks like he's just had some private code of honor offended -- but he also looks like he's not ready to argue about it, either. On our side, Mary-Jane is starting to applaud, Gary's being quiet, Gardener's standing with spine and gaze locked, not backing down from anyone... I can't believe he said that. I really can't believe he said it in defense of me... Connie immediately goes for her first resort: the rulebook. "Jeff -- that was a threat!" "Connie," Jeff slowly replies, "that was discussion of past events and a reference to a challenge that we're probably not going to repeat. All of it falls into the trash talk category." She takes a deep breath, getting ready to scream. Jeff doesn't let her get that far. "Whether Gardener's interpretation of those events is accurate depends on your viewpoint. If it's just trash talk, then it probably wasn't." He indulges in a slow inhale for himself. "However -- this isn't the time for it. I let you communicate before the challenge because I knew Haraiki wanted to find out what happened. Gardener's speech does not fall into that category -- so Gardener, enough. Take it out during the challenges." Gardener nods, just once. Connie briefly stares at him -- then switches to me. I'm guessing she thinks I told him to say that, of course I must have told him to say that, he never would have done that on his own, much less felt it, and even if it hadn't been possible for her to hate me any more, she just managed to break through her own limits... "We're done?" Jeff asks, looking at all sides. Twelve nods, some tighter than others. "Glad to hear it. Obviously this would be one hell of a time to declare a tribal switch --" several deep inhales of shock from both mats "-- so I'm not going to do it." Slow releases. Jeff pulls together a wry grin that feels just a little bit forced. "Far be it from me to break up such interesting groups before you formally get the chance to tear each other apart..." I can't be sure, but I think Jeff just gave something away again: there won't be any switching up this time around, just a straight, steady cutdown until we reach the merge. Or maybe that's just hope. I do not want to be on the same tribe as Connie for so much as a day. But I'd still love to make the merge -- if we win two Immunities in a row, maybe they'll be forced to vote her out... Jeff's voice drops into private mode. "Always nice when we have a rivalry..." And back to the cameras. "Today's challenge is for Reward. Since you've been so focused on each other since you arrived, take a moment to look around the beach now." We do, knowing the camera will use that opportunity for a course-tracking shot. There's still more of those gallows arranged around the beach in staggered, curving lines: twenty-four of them altogether, two lines of twelve, banded in orange or purple, that cross over at the center. They vary in height from eight to twelve feet, all with those empty mini-nooses in place at the top. "Height is a major advantage in hunting; the higher up you are, the more you can survey. That's why deer blinds tend to be elevated. And every warrior knows about the advantage of holding the high ground." Okay, but so far, I don't understand what we're doing. Climbing the gallows poles to retrieve something from the nooses? I'm really not looking forward to a wrap-and-shimmy. We're given several breaths to think things over before Jeff takes the grenade off his belt. "Of course, having the high ground and holding it are two completely different challenges -- and today, you're going to be concentrating on the second. We are going to hang tokens from each of those loops. Each member of the tribe must retrieve two of them and clip them on their belts, which will be given to you. If you drop one, you have to stay where you are for thirty seconds, which we'll count off -- and then you can take another. Each loop can be used only once, and the tribe must hit all twelve poles. You can each only send one person onto the course at a time, and there's no matchups here: send them when you want to -- but each person can only go once. The first tribe to get all twelve tokens back on the mat wins Reward. Want to know what you're playing for?" I still want to know how we're retrieving the tokens. 'Stilled movement...' The poem is making less sense than -- oh, no... Eleven people chorus on "Yes, Jeff!" I don't join in. I'm frozen with horror. Not that. I'd rather squash-and-shimmy and look stupid. Please, Jeff can't be going there... Jeff either hasn't noticed my holding back or thinks it'll make a great shot: he continues. "Well, once again, I'm not going to tell you." Another fox grin. "This time, the Reward will be waiting for the winning tribe back at their camp. But trust me -- it's the biggest one yet." Some mild frustration at the mystery, but everyone's really curious now. Everyone except me. I'm having trouble caring about the Reward, because I'm waiting... and here goes the pin. "Want to know what you're playing on?" The others freeze. I sigh. I know what's coming next. "You'll be moving around the course," Jeff informs us, "on stilts." Boom. "They'll be of various heights, which should factor into who gets which tokens. Your tribemates can help you get onto the stilts, and if you fall over, they can come onto the course to help you get back up, or you can return to the mat with the stilts: whichever's easier for you." I look at the course. The poles, while staggered, seem to average ten feet apart. So that's two hundred and forty feet round trip to the last one if... "You must follow the line of your poles while working around the course." Bingo. And the heights were placed so that the shortest ones were not next to each other, plus the second one is pretty far down the course. Jeff is enjoying this far too much, and the viewers at home are probably going to be gasping for breath in a few minutes. "And now a forecast from the Society Islands Weather Service," Jeff tells us. "Yes, we've got a storm coming, but it shouldn't hit for a few hours -- assuming the forecast is accurate, which is never completely safe. I'm telling you this because the other day, we were going to give you each an hour to practice on the stilts before we ran the challenge: there just isn't enough head room in either camp to try it, your beaches are both more irregular than this one, and the sand has more give than the ground. With the weather as it is, the most we can offer is thirty minutes. We'll bring the stilts in shortly. You can practice -- in front of each other -- and decide who's doing which poles. And because of the storm, there's a potential time limit: we'll keep going for rain, but if we see lightning, whichever tribe was ahead when it started wins. We think we've got the window, though -- that's a just-in-case measure." Deep breath. "Does everyone understand the challenge?" Understand, yes. Want to do, no. If Frank hadn't left, this would have been Immunity, we would have been up one member, I could have sat out -- and I would have sat out. Balance jokes and lines about not being able to see my feet don't matter to me: I've got a very good kinesthetic sense. I may not always know where the rest of the world is, especially after blindfolds are factored in -- but I always know where my own body is and the position it's occupying. But the bottom of a stilt is not the bottom of my foot, and all the practice in the world won't make it so. I can't sense where it is. But I'll probably have an easy time picking up on the sand rushing towards my face... I hate this. Some of the others don't seem to be looking forward to it either. At least Connie doesn't look comfortable with the idea, although Robin has no trouble with the concept, is wishing every challenge was like this, completely open on her face without caring who picks up on it. Somehow, this one's in her field, and she couldn't be happier about it. Contrast that with Phillip who, while he's as game for this as he is for everything else, recognizes that he's probably going down a few times... No one has any questions. Jeff signals, and the stilts -- which are from three to six feet tall -- are brought in and carried to the far left and right edges of the beach, so we can practice without crashing into the other tribe -- although spying will be easy for anyone who isn't up at the time. Two small staircases are also added, one each, to help in the initial ascent onto the stilts. "Thirty minutes, guys -- go practice." Mary-Jane glances at me as we head for our right-side area. "Are you okay?" "I'm fine." Automatic response, beating down the sigh I want to release. Stupid stilts... "No, you're not," she replies. "Because that's the first time I've seen you looking something other than 'Oh, so?' when we're at one of these things. You were actually reacting." A faint smile. "I can't quite figure out what the reaction was, but just getting one can't be good." Very funny. Ha. Ha. "I'm just not looking forward to this," I admit. "I would have sat this one out if I could." If I made the merge and this one showed up there -- doomed. I'll try, but I'd better start telling myself how much I secretly like the taste of sand. Gardener turns when he hears that. "Not comfortable on stilts?" Eyes directly to torso, then up again. Not a surprise. I do sigh. "Haven't done them since seventh-grade gym class, and I wasn't that good at them then. I think I have to be on the shortest pair and the smallest poles just to have a chance." "Not a problem there," Gardener says. "That's what I was figuring on for you anyway. But can you stay up long enough to reach them?" Another sigh, softer this time. "We'll find out." "Yeah, we will," he tells me -- but then "It's just Reward. It's not the end of the world if we lose this one." Mandatory snort. "Hell, if Frank was still here, this would have been two days ago and you could have sat it out. Sit-outs are as much a part of strategy as anything else... blame him for messing this one up if you want to." "Pass." Mary-Jane looked a little upset by that statement, and I don't want to blame Frank any more. "Gardener?" He looks over again. "About what you said back there --" He cuts me off. "You're still not my favorite person. If we lose, you're still gone next." Mary-Jane blinks: she wasn't around for that part. Gardener glances at Haraiki. "But I'd rather have five of you on this tribe than one of her. Someone had to say it, someone said it, and I don't think she's going to say anything to me for a while. If I'm wrong, she's got more guts than I'm giving her credit for." A long pause. "If her tribe somehow didn't know what she is, they do now." And stops there. Okay... "All right, but..." Which gets his attention again. "About the 'five of you' thing --" pause, brace, brace harder "-- thanks." Gardener shakes his head. "Never thank me for the truth." And speeds up, getting ahead of us. Mary-Jane glances down at me. I look up at her. And Gary catches up out of nowhere and says "Told you," before moving on. Well, that's* annoying.* Sighs seem to be my main vocalization today -- and just to make it worse, right after I do, Azure does, making Mary-Jane giggle. "You're teaching her..." "Yeah." I look ahead to where Trooper, first to the pile, is evaluating stilts. "Maybe she can teach me how to fly." ---------------------------------------------------------------
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Table of Contents

  Subject     Author     Message Date     ID

RE: Survivor: The Society Islands:... azkate 08-04-06 1

   RE: Survivor: The Society Islands:... cahaya 08-05-06 2

Why Are You Carrying A Gun? Part I... Estee 08-07-06 3

Why Are You Carrying A Gun?: Part ... Estee 08-10-06 4

Why Are You Carrying A Gun?: Concl... Estee 08-10-06 5

   RE: Why Are You Carrying A Gun?: C... Belle Book 01-07-09 11

RE: Survivor: The Society Islands:... vince3 08-13-06 6

Conversation in the RTVW-like Chat ... vince3 08-13-06 7

   RE: Conversation in the RTVW-like C... michel 08-14-06 8

       RE: Conversation in the RTVW-like C... Belle Book 02-06-10 12

RE: Survivor: The Society Islands:... cahaya 08-15-06 9

   RE: Survivor: The Society Islands:... rasslinmomma 08-16-06 10

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azkate 239 desperate attention whore postings
DAW Level: "Network TV Show Guest Star"
08-04-06, 02:01 PM (EST)

1. "RE: Survivor: The Society Islands: Episode #5: Why Are You Carrying A Gun?"

Woo and hoo!
Before the weekend we get a teaser.....you better be writing a lot, Estee. Seriously, I can't wait for the challenge!!!! And I am going away this weekend sans computer. What torture!
Is there a twelve-step program in RTVW?
As usual, superb ;)
See ya on Monday,
Kate
another tribe work of art

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cahaya 14104 desperate attention whore postings
DAW Level: "Playboy Centerfold"
08-05-06, 04:01 AM (EST)

2. "RE: Survivor: The Society Islands: Episode #5: Why Are You Carrying A Gun?"

Good to see you post here, Azkate. Glad to know you're enjoying this story as much as quite a few others of us are. I can't ever imagine the day Estee stops writing, as prolific as she is, and not just here.
Have a good weekend, and that's step #1 in the 12-step program. "1. Enjoy your weekends,"!

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Estee 44384 desperate attention whore postings
DAW Level: "Playboy Centerfold"
08-07-06, 03:50 PM (EST)

3. "Why Are You Carrying A Gun? Part II"

LAST EDITED ON 08-07-06 AT 04:12 PM (EST)
{Yep -- Phillip. Well, there's a handshake he's going to miss out on.}
{Gardener's picked Angela out as their leader. Angela doesn't ask Turare to spin the wheel and get another leader. Let's face it: Desmond's gone to the background right now. Gardener runs the tribe. And nobody say how good that is for Alex as his secret alliance partner, okay? That ship has sailed.}
{...right into dock.}
{Greatest. Pre-Jury. Speech. Ever.}
{For those of you trying to catalog the minor facial movements that pass for Alex's expressions, make a note: that's what it looks like when she's surprised.}
{And Connie -- ignores staring at Gardener to go after Alex, somehow convinced she's running the tribe...}
{I don't believe they even aired that! Anyone on Long Island? Can you hear Connie screaming from where you are?}
{Sorry... West Islip reports silence. It just didn't carry this far. The honking from the latest LIE tie-up drowned it out.}
{Stilts? Welcome to the CBS comedy hour.}
{And that's what it looks like when Alex is busy wishing she was dead.}
{It's one thing to be that top-heavy when you're close to the ground, but when you're that far off it...}
{Whatever this Reward is, it isn't a commercial. Not unless Jeff's waiting in the winning camp with a full fleet of cue cards. Weird having the tribes playing for a complete unknown. This had better be a good one.}
{Tony's got too long a shot there. Confident and cocky and sure his skills will beat this -- unless his minor-league teams did stilt races, he may be in deep trouble. That was a set-up angle.}
{Quick conversation between Gardener and Alex -- no, really, we're not secret alliance partners, really we're not! For all that he openly tries to shove her out of the tribe at every vocal opportunity, he's got her back any time someone else comes after her. Those two are joined, and Connie's picked up on it.}
{And -- commercials before the challenge. So while we've got a minute, does anyone else think Gardener's assessment was accurate?}
{I know some people are defending Connie, but most of them were defending Linda Weaver a while back. There's similarities -- they're both fairly religious, profess to it, look for it in others, and can be found paging through a Bible in quiet moments -- plus they both hate everyone around them for not being just like them. But Gardener's overstating the case. For the most part, Connie's worked into her own tribe -- sort of. She's not their favorite person, and her work ethic could use some existence, but at least she competes during the challenges and gives them a workable chance in the ones she's run so far. If Gardener was trying to make them turn her into their next boot so they would keep Denadi, who's weaker...}
{Interesting idea. Yeah, that might be his strategy. Make Connie look extra-bad, hope she explodes back at camp, then if they lose Immunity... I can see that. He's trying to increase the target size on her back. Clever.}
{If that's what he's doing and not just defending his secret alliance partner. Of course, it could be both.}
{Okay, okay... *sigh* Hell, I'll start the official 'Gardener & Alex: hidden team?' thread tomorrow. Happy?}
{Very. Just give me the credit under your sigpic.}
{I think those of you who insist on seeing Cole as a strategist who will fight for any advantage she can find within the scope of the rulebook should view Connie the same way. Getting the other tribe cut down on a bit of legal procedure and eliminating the need to run a challenge -- with all the inherent risks -- is certainly a sound strategy play.}
{You know something? I'm going to concede that one. If Connie's just working every angle to save Haraiki a run, then yes, it's a decent strategy. It has the penalties of annoying Turare -- which can hurt her when she makes the merge -- and irritating Jeff, but he's neutral, really, would he lie to you? But so far, it's not working.}
{Hey -- I've got a theory! What if Alex and Connie talked in the water? Agreed to have a fake rivalry, go to different tribes, make it clear how much they hated each other -- and then, if they made the merge, team up out of nowhere and take everyone down? Doesn't that make sense? Who could see them working together right now? Nobody! They're the perfect stealth alliance!}
{...g'night, everybody!}
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Gardener makes it official before we start the practice session: I'll be on the shortest stilts, moving for the smallest poles. No one in the tribe is very happy about this challenge. Mary-Jane doesn't think runway walking is going to translate over all that well, while Desmond actually mutters something about being too old for kid stuff, and Trooper just sighs and makes it clear that no police training course includes this. Gardener's probably the best on stilts -- or was roughly twenty years ago, the last time he tried it out. Gary shrugs and half-jokingly says "Goodbye, streak..."
"Not so fast," Gardener tells him. "I don't think they've got a bunch of long-time Mardi Gras giants off-shift over there, either."
"Maybe one," I let the others know. "Robin looked pretty pleased about this one -- I think she must have used them a lot before, or done something really similar."
Trooper shakes his head. "Tony looked just like he pretty much always does: like he's got it won and the actual challenge is just a formality. Same face I see on every hundred-per speeder in the desert. And we know what his record is. Maybe he's just rubbing off on Robin."
Mary-Jane laughs. "If Tony's rubbing anyone, it's Angela." We all turn to her. "You guys didn't spot that?"
A little... I'd thought there was something between them, but I'd never formally placed it into the 'dating/fooling around/showmance' category. "You think so?"
Another laugh. "It's obvious as anything. Every time Tony looks at me or you, Angela reacts like he'd just hooked her up to a taser. She's playing him -- or he's playing her -- or maybe they actually think they're working each other -- and she doesn't like that he's still looking." And Mary-Jane would know, having just been in a similar position. "Or maybe it's an actual romance, but what are the odds of that happening twice?"
"Low," Gardener says. "But not as low our time's going to run -- let's practice and discuss any implications back at camp."
We practice. The stilts are not kind to us. They're very primitive, looking like exceptionally straight branches cut from the local trees (right down to the bark and miniature knotholes), with small platforms on the inner surfaces for our feet and a slightly narrow bit near the top for grips. The bottoms widen somewhat where they touch the ground, and the amount depends on the height of the stilt -- but no one's got more than a five-inch circle to center their weight on, and the smaller ones have less. We're getting on by having two people hold the stilts against the side of the staircase section, followed by the designated walker stepping onto them, getting comfortable, taking a few careful steps forward -- and going right into the sand. Trooper is the first up, and Trooper is the first down: fifteen feet, twist, stagger, and jump off before hitting. Gardener has decent coordination, but he's having trouble balancing his weight: moving the stilts is easy, planting them gets him in trouble. Gary has some trouble at the start, but seems to find a rhythm after a few tries. The bad news is that it's a slow waltz: by taking tiny steps and carefully adjusting his position after every one, he can stay up -- and move at about a half-mile per hour. Desmond nearly falls backwards onto the staircase. Mary-Jane is the best of us, getting the pace down on her second try and setting the highest speed. (Maybe runway walking does translate: she's really working her hips.)
As for me -- Production provides a perch with attached snack dishes, which lures Azure over for a quick meal and frees me from the extra weight. This lets me get in six attempts, during which I wind up jumping off four times before I get twenty feet or wind up with a lungful of sand. The third gives me a tiny amount of false hope -- which is quickly dashed by the fourth and fifth. My final try lets me stagger around for thirty feet without ever quite going down -- but that's when practice time runs out, and the challenge staff moves all the pieces to our starting mats.
Haraiki doesn't look too happy. I was watching some of their practice session, just like they were watching bits of ours. Robin is a natural on stilts: she could arguably run the entire course twice before any of us could reach the crossover point. (I think they're going to run her in the first position, just to get a lead. Gardener agreed, so we're countering with Mary-Jane and hoping they don't get too far ahead.) The others are on our scale: either a disaster waiting to happen or a disaster in the middle of happening. I got to see Connie go over twice, although she never reached the ground: Phillip caught her, and also saved everyone else before they could get a face full of silica, walking backwards in front of them as they practiced. Angela's a little below Mary-Jane's level, Denadi is under mine, Tony seemed okay for basics but kept trying harder stuff that put him down, and Phillip -- well, Phillip couldn't catch himself, and no one else could take the brunt of his weight. He's already got his first sand scrape on his right forearm, but he's willing to go again.
Jeff looks us over. "Trust me," he grins. "For the winning tribe, it'll be worth it. Who's up first?" We let him know, then accept our belts from the challenge staff and put them on. "Okay -- mount your stilts, and move on my mark." Robin and Mary-Jane climb the stairs and step on, waiting while Phillip and Gardener brace them. "Survivors ready --"
-- to be humiliated --
-- "go!"
And they're off. They're both on the tallest pairs available: since they're the best at keeping their balance, it makes sense for them to go for the highest tokens. It may make a little more sense for Mary-Jane, who's taller -- but the nooses are still more of a 'reach forward' proposition for everyone than they are a 'reach up'. The problem for me is going to be the word 'reach', which is going to be preceded by 'take one hand off the stilt...'
It's not going to be a problem for Robin, who's practically off and running across the sand, going for the pole at the intersection. Mary-Jane is moving pretty steadily, with only the occasional rock from side to side as she plants a little too deep into the sand, but there's no way she'll be able to keep up. Just thinking about keeping up is getting her into trouble: every time she starts to accelerate, she loses the rhythm that's letting her move at all -- and then the swaying begins in earnest. The first fall comes three poles into the course, just as Robin's clipping the first token onto her belt. Mary-Jane jumps clear before the poles hit the sand, sending Gardener and Trooper out onto the course to help her back up. I keep watching Robin, who's motoring to the second pole, all the way at the end of the track. I'm hoping I can learn something from observing her. So far, all I've picked up is 'try to be built like a dancer and then move like one', one of which just isn't going to happen. The second might be possible, but I don't think it would give me time to jump clear when the inevitable fall started. And if anything can be done to help my chances, I'd better figure it out fast, because I'm next.
Robin reaches her second pole a few seconds before Mary-Jane starts the final approach to her first. There's no more falls for our side -- Mary-Jane's still trying to push her speed a little, but she's stopping short of the drop point, because getting back up costs more time than a slower pace. But it doesn't matter much for our total time: Robin gets back to her mat while Mary-Jane's still lining up on the second pole, and this challenge would feel like a Haraiki lock -- except that none of the others are as good as Robin is. And if it turns out that a few of them, put under pressure, are worse than me...
Mary-Jane collects her second token as Angela goes out, with her making better time back to the mat than Angela does in reaching the first target gallows. Angela was actually better during the practice, when she could just wander around and turn any abrupt swing to the side into a step in that direction. Now she's trying to follow the gallows line as closely as possible -- and losing speed in the process. Course corrections are being made by stopping, replanting the swinging stilt, and starting over. It would be faster just to step away from the line, then step back -- but she's staying as close to the poles as she can, and it's costing her. Mary-Jane is getting close to our mat: I head up the stairs as Gardener braces my stilts against the side, try to get ready for something I don't even remotely want to do --
-- Mary-Jane jumps off the stilts and onto the mat. I get on, grip the wood firmly enough to emboss fingerprints into the bark, and try a step forward. "Alex on the course, going for Turare's third token!" Jeff calls out, and my response couldn't be more automatic: shut up, Jeff. I need to concentrate. That step didn't send me into the beach. Maybe I can try another one.
Connie's response is even more automatic. "Don't look down!" she yells. "Oh, wait -- there's no point!" I try to imagine the bottom of the stilts as my feet, hoping there's some sort of kinesthetic field that can expand to cover the wood. It doesn't help. I imagine slipping, falling, and accidentally throwing one of the stilts onto Haraiki's mat, where it just as accidentally gives Connie a concussion that takes her out of the game. It helps, but not with the movement. Another step -- I don't like how much I'm swaying out here, my feet are insisting they're against wood and I can't get a feel for the sand through the poles at all...
...but at least Angela's having a similar problem. "Angela doesn't get clear!" Jeff announces a split-second after the whoosh of air escaping from lungs tells me Angela just took a face-first header into the black sand. I'm not looking. I'm staring at my first pole, the fourth one in the line. Just ten feet between poles, ten feet from the mat to the first one. A few steps on ground level. About a light-year at three feet up, and possibly increasing. I wish I could enjoy being up here. It would be nice just to look down at people for a change, stop having to tilt my head back on virtually every standing conversation, maybe even pretend I was a giantess for a few seconds. But I can't get the fantasy going. I can barely get the stilts going. Step, step... Angela's back up, Jeff just said so, they got her up faster that Trooper and Gardener restored Mary-Jane...
"Alex not making good time out there!" Jeff lets the world know, and of course I'm not, a good time was Robin's rate and no one is going to match that. I'm picking my way along, I know it, and the silence from my own mat is either a total lack of confidence or an attempt to let me concentrate. So far, I'm not swaying, I haven't been at risk of going over. But I'm not covering much ground in a hurry, either, and I can't look at Angela to see where she is. All I can do is concentrate on my own pole, staying locked in on the goal. A step, and a step, and a step --
-- and the whir of wings, weight hitting my left shoulder in mid-stride --
-- I overbalance, tip too far forward, the rear stilt starts to come out of the sand, Azure screeches in surprise as her favorite perch changes positions too fast and flies away --
-- no time to jump, no time to twist. I barely get my arms out and slightly bent, and it's not fast enough to find the position which will absorb the impact. Instead, I just barely manage to keep my face out of the sand, spare my eyes and mouth from the grains -- but my knees hit hard and my breasts feel like they've hit harder, an explosion of pain that echoes to the bottom of my spine and out through my fingertips, into the head, towards the mouth and don't scream, don't scream bouncing back to the source...
Ow. Oh, ow. I try to pick myself off the sand. I think I'm going to be looking at some bruising at the waterfall. I know Connie's going to be sleeping well tonight, because all the laughter is going to wear her out. My position as I get up lets me see the second phase of her first explosion, the one where she's actively gasping for air, and that hurts more than the impact did: to have failed so badly in front of her... At least the others aren't falling all over their mat with mirth. Denadi actually looks sort of sympathetic, Robin is wincing, Tony doesn't seem to have noticed -- he's staring after Angela -- and Phillip is actually horror-struck.
Azure lands next to me. "Man Down! Man Down!" Which turns Robin's wince into laughter in a hurry.
"Damn it, Azure..." She just looks at me, uncomprehending. Gardener wishes he could eat her? I wish I could tie her to something. Upside-down. Maybe dangling off the Cliffs so she could enjoy the salt-water spray as it climbed up the rocks.
And the expected country heard from: Trooper runs up, with Gardener right behind him. Trooper doesn't say a word, just goes for the stilts to get them back into position. Gardener kneels down into the sand next to me, so fast it might almost be a fall. "Are you okay?"
"I can keep going..." I tell him. The smallest man on the challenge staff runs up, holding a treat. This gets Azure's attention, and she wanders towards him.
"Goddamn parrot," he tells me -- and then gets his hands under my arms and lifts me. There's no time to protest, no chance for shock. One moment I'm close to being prone, and the next, I'm vertical and in the air, a couple of inches above the sand. Gardener is showing no effort on his face. "I swear, Alex..." And then he puts me down -- but only so he can reposition his grip. Before I can say anything, without a second for reaction, his hands go around my waist, and he lifts me again, arms going up to full extension. "Curl your legs up and put your feet back -- the rests are right behind you --" and then he sees my face, which has finally had time to show something. I'm trying to keep my hands open, I want them to be ready for a grip, I don't want to make fists right now and I'm trying so hard not to kick him, but he's lifting me...
I shudder -- I know it, we can both feel it, a sudden vibration from the massive effort required to push it all back inside. The fastest way to end this is to do what he wants. I push my feet back, nearly kick the stilts out of Trooper's grasp, find my footing, and Gardener brings me back enough to let my hands find the grips. Trooper executes a small tilt, and I'm up again. Gardener steps back, getting clear of my path -- and just for a moment, our eyes meet.
He has brown eyes, a very dark shade for the color, almost a match for my hair. I saw that on the first day, but it's not something I've seen very often: he usually keeps his eyes narrow in something close to a perpetual squint, making it hard to see their shade. At times, I've wondered if he left glasses behind, and at others, thought he might have been created by C.C. Beck on a slow day. My first impression of him on the raft was that he had hawk eyes: narrowed just before swooping in for the kill. They're now as open as I've ever seen them. The usual near-anger on his face about something not quite going his way and especially about Azure's interference, but the eyes don't match the rest of it. Not even the words, which are "I knew taking that bird in was going to cost us -- stay up, damn it, we'll try to keep her distracted..." Connie's still laughing --
-- and Jeff ruins her whole day. "Time credit to Turare!"
Connie can't choke back the last exhale in time: she just chokes. Angela has to register the protest from her stilts, and from the sound of it, doing so sends her swaying. "Say what -- whoa!" No impact, but I can hear some of the sand being skimmed aside.
"Azure is our responsibility during the challenges!" Jeff calls back. "Next time, we're using an ankle leash. This won't happen again -- and as a one-time event, it's being discounted. Spectator interference, people -- ground rules have been called. Back to the challenge!"
Gardener looks up at me again as his eyelids move back to their usual positions, then nods once and clears out. I can hear Trooper moving away behind me. Fine. Back to the challenge. Except that Azure isn't secured yet, so this could happen again any second, and I am not feeling very well right now... It doesn't matter. If she hits me again, I'll get another time credit, and now I know what to listen for. What matters is focusing past the pain and getting back on the move. A step. And a step, and a step...
First pole. I carefully reach out, detach the token, get it onto the belt. The waves of pain are starting to localize. Yes, definitely bruising. Getting undressed at the waterfall is going to be a more unpleasant experience than usual, and who thought that was possible? Keep moving, just keep moving, I have to reach the tenth pole...
Angela has right of way at the intersection: I stop to let her go by. She has both of her tokens and is heading back to the starting line. This is the closest we've ever been, and I use the moment to get a better look at her, pausing on the thin scar lines that run up onto the sides of her fingers on her right hand, only visible at this distance as they go white from her grip strength. There's a deep intensity in her eyes, and she doesn't acknowledge me as she passes. Onwards. More steps, getting steadier, I still can't sense the bottom of the poles but I'm starting to get more of an idea of how they shouldn't go, avoidance learning under basic training conditions, pick it up in a hurry or get hurt --
-- and the sound of wings again. Immediately, I yell "Azure, down!" and she changes course in confusion, coming to a stop on the gallows I'm passing, eighth in the line. She looks at me, seemingly offended by my timing -- then glides down to the sand. More footsteps behind me: the challenge staff coming out to lure her a second time. Maybe they can make it stick for a while. A step, and a step...
...second token. The U-turn is the hardest part of the process: I wind up doing it in four quarter-stages. "Tony on the course!" Jeff lets me know, and I get to see his first efforts. Tony is basically trying to move at something above normal walking speed, and when that works out for him, he goes for a small run as he passes the third pole, which -- "And Tony's off!" He spotted the overbalance, jumped off in time to avoid the faceplant. Phillip and Angela come out to get him up, which basically means Angela braces the stilts and Phillip gets to handle Tony as if he was two years old. It's probably how I looked, at least for position, when Gardener was tossing me around...
...don't think about it. Step, and step...
Finally, the mat -- Tony gets a token while I'm passing his position -- and I'm down, sending Trooper onto the course. Gardener's waiting for me and glaring, so apparently he's fully recovered. "You got lucky," he tells me. "I never thought Jeff would give us a time credit for that, and now at least we know the Azure problem is solved for anything else you last through..." An angry head shake. "Damn it, Alex, you have got to find a way to leave her back at camp --"
"Gardener?" He pauses, waiting. "Shut. Up." Very passive, almost matter-of-fact, which shuts him up out of sheer surprise. I sit on the edge of the stairs. Keeping the same tone, "It's over. I did my best, I only went down once, but I wasn't very fast and I lost some time. Okay? I know I blew it. I would have blown it whether Azure had hit me or not. It sucks. I sucked. I know I sucked. And you're still voting me out next. Can we assume I know all that and back off?"
Desmond is staring at me, and he's not happy: women who talk back may have come around in his generation, but it doesn't mean he ever got used to it. Mary-Jane is oddly distant on this one, seemingly waiting for something. Gary's staying out of it. Gardener just snorts. "No. Not until I find out how hurt you are."
"Piss off," and it's still completely detached. "I am not showing you that injury."
The shrug comes off at gunfire rate. "Whatever: I didn't ask. Will you be up for Immunity tomorrow?"
"I'll be ready." The sun will be up, the water will be boiled, the bruises will have a fascinating shade of yellow around the outer edges, I will be ready for the challenge.
"That's all I wanted to hear," he tells me, and turns back to watch Trooper's progress. I don't look. I close my eyes and take slow breaths, trying to will the pain anyway. It's not working. It never has, it never will, but I keep thinking there has to be a time when I'll find the right pacing and it'll kick in... Of course, it doesn't exactly help when you're getting fresh reminders from the injured area every time you breathe, period.
Someone sits down next to me. "As soon as we get back, you go in the lake." Gary.
"Pass." I am not changing any more times than absolutely necessary. "Maybe I'll just stand in the rain for a while." I open my eyes. The sky is getting darker. "We need one of them to start stumbling, and fast." Tony just got his second token: he tries for a one-pole spin to turn around -- and falls. "That'll help." Trooper's a lot steadier than we'd seen during practice. I think at least part of it is having Tony on the course with him: he will not be shown up by this one.
"And hope the lightning holds off," Mary-Jane joins in. "If we see a bolt now, they win..."
"Maybe we can catch up once Denadi's on the course," Desmond proposes. "She's got to be their weakest there."
It's an interesting theory, but as someone once said, so is time travel. In fact, Denadi is their weakest, sent out to get the tokens from the shortest poles. But she winds up on the course at the time we provide a battle of tribe seniors, very slowly racing against Desmond -- who's worse than she is. Denadi does go down three times, once so close to her own mat that Phillip's able to get in front of her while she's still teetering and catches her before she hits the sand. But Desmond falls over six times -- twice going backwards -- and takes a while to find his balance once he's back up again. Desmond does not have any lingering high-beam skills from skyscraper jobs, because Desmond supervises on private houses, with the occasional small office building thrown in. This puts us a lap and a half behind, which lets Connie take her sweet time, moving as slowly as she wants to with no fears because Desmond's still on the course. Once that finally ends, Gardener once again tries to balance his greater weight on the narrow platforms during the plants -- and still doesn't do all that well with it. When he falls the first time, he's right next to a pole, and can climb up it to get back on the stilts. The second one, which happens between gallows, requires a tremendous effort from Trooper and Gary to bring him up to the right level, and Gary winces all the way back to the mat. Phillip has the same problem at a higher degree -- no combination effort from his tribe can get him far enough off the ground -- but all of his three falls, all of which happen on the way back to his mat, take place right next to poles, and he just copies Gardener --
-- "Haraiki! Wins their first Reward!"
Gardener is in the middle of making his U-turn when the announcement is made. He doesn't jump down on the spot. He just slowly makes his way in until he falls off for the third time, and then he stays on the sand the rest of the way. A jubilant Haraiki gathers in front of Jeff, who tells them their Reward will be waiting at their camp -- and then, in private mode, that it'll take about an hour to set up, so they'll have to hang out on the beach until then. I hope it starts raining while they're waiting. Lots of lightning. With Connie given a metal umbrella to hold. The pain has faded into a deep ache, and the ache has settled in for at least an overnight stay.
We wait a few seconds, just in case there's a twist announcement, maybe our diplomacy will be returned in full -- but Jeff has nothing for us. We can head back to camp, and he'll see us at Immunity tomorrow. I recover Azure, glaring at her, and she's aware she's done something wrong: after a few uncomfortable moments, she decides to ride on the challenge flag. Our streak is over. Gary didn't even get on the course.
One challenge left to start a new streak, or one of us will be going home. Or rather, one of me...
----------------------------------------------------------------

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Estee 44384 desperate attention whore postings
DAW Level: "Playboy Centerfold"
08-10-06, 03:17 PM (EST)

4. "Why Are You Carrying A Gun?: Part III"

LAST EDITED ON 08-11-06 AT 06:09 PM (EST)
{No practice sessions -- we're moving directly into the challenge. Looks like hidden talents will stay that way until Jeff gives the word.}
{Look at Robin go!}
{Look at Robin's resume' on the CBS website. She tried to get into a Lion King production as a giraffe. Think that would have involved practicing on stilts? Broadway brings many skills. Just wait until they run the speed autograph signing. She's been getting ready for that one all her life.}
{Mary-Jane's not bad, but this is a lost cause...}
{And down goes Mary-Jane. In slow motion. Listen closely and you can hear the campus ratings spike.}
{Robin in, Angela out...}
{Notice the shape of the tokens? Little animal heads. We will have a hunting theme this season if it kills somebody!}
{Angela and the drunkard's walk. Am I going this way? Really? Are you sure? Straight down into the sand? Okay! Ouch... she's shaking it off, but you can tell that one hurt.}
{Alex is not having a good time with this. Not that you could normally tell, but it clearly isn't her challenge. She's really just picking her way along. Slow but steady will not win this race.}
{WATCH OUT FOR THAT -- parrot...}
{Oof!}
{Not shaking it off as quickly as Angela, but I think she hit harder.}
{I've done that from a normal height. It hurt muchly. This is going to be worse.}
{Azure bringing on the comedy, Connie enjoying it, Jeff casting The Vote. Okay, that's sort of fair -- if Turare can't keep Azure under control, Production will have to. It could be an advantage for Turare if they manage to create a trained attack parrot.}
{Alex does not like having Gardener lift her -- put that in your secret alliance theory and see how it fits.}
{Public acting.}
{Public overacting.}
{Anger. And lots of it. This is the second time we've seen someone on Turare in close contact with Alex, and it's the second time she's looked like she was on the verge of pounding them. Or in this case, kicking Gardener in the chin.}
{Well, he should have said something before he picked her up -- he was tossing her around like a sack of rice.}
{Angela heading in, strange intersection shot...}
{WATCH OUT FOR THAT -- oh, good. You heard me.}
{Tony trying to do too much too soon with too large a lead, all for the sake of looking like the strongest person there. Tony shows off, Tony falls off, repeat...}
{Trooper gaining some ground, but it's not going to be enough.}
{There's still Denadi to come.}
{There's still Desmond to go. Down. Again.}
{He don't stay up very well, do he?}
{Okay, so maybe slow and steady will win the race, as long as it gets to follow fast and sure.}
{Yes, Gardener, being a big guy can be a problem. Yes, Phillip, you weigh a lot. Yes, Gary, your back is going to hurt all night.}
{And Haraiki wins a Reward. They don't know what it is, they're a little bit banged up again, and Connie's ribs may ache for days even on the aborted attempt to laugh herself to death -- if only -- but they've won a Reward. They're so happy! If only they knew what they were happy about!}
{Turare slumps off the beach, Azure realizing she's been a Very Bad Girl, and we go to commercial.}
{Back, with Haraiki -- and right next to The Shelter That Still Pretty Much Sucks, we have something we've never seen before on this show. Not the outhouse: we've seen that. Not the attached shower: we've seen that, too. Plumbing. Gardener's dreams of tapping into the water system have been done for him at the other camp: we have running water. The shower isn't solar -- it's just the temperature of the local water -- but there's some actual water pressure there. When did they set this up? There's even a small sink...}
{Hard to tell with the sun so obscured, but I'm guessing they had to wait a while so everyone could dig down. The camp sites were chosen with a reason -- they knew someone would be getting this Reward, and if they switch sites at the merge...}
{Strange that Gardener was thinking about the plumbing a few episodes back. Maybe he heard the camera crew talking?}
{Haraiki starts to enjoy their Reward, declaring it's the best one ever -- Angela gets a wink-wink-nudge-nudge in confessional by saying the shower's just barely big enough for two, and 'barely' is the best word -- but they don't get much of a chance. Before they can do much more than deplete the toilet paper supply a little, the storm hits, hard. Haraiki gets into their shelter, finds out that the waterproofing works just well enough to create a few dry spots -- they don't have enough overlap at the ends because they were measuring exactly to the tarps, so some of the water is dripping off the edges and running inside -- then splits up, four in the dry spots, Angela & Tony in the toilet, which is waterproof except for the little moon cut out of the door. The camera people shoot through that, and isn't it fun to watch young lovers in love? No. Right. We'd rather get the depression shots.}
{Connie talking to Phillip in the shelter -- saying that Jeff is clearly biased against Haraiki, and that's why they've won so little. The producers want Turare to win, specifically so Alex can stay around. Phillip doesn't believe it. In his own words, "They've got a pretty good mix of strength, speed, and brains on their side. I think they've been winning because they've been winning. That's all." Connie doesn't believe that, and bets Phillip they'll see an Immunity challenge which will favor Turare in some way. Phillip asks her if this last one favored Haraiki. Connie thinks maybe -- the producers couldn't throw them all to the other tribe. And then -- this is interesting!}
{Connie and Phillip are aligned! First sign we've seen of it. In confessional, Phillip tells us that Connie came up to him late on Day One and asked for his protection. Since she was the first person to do so and she asked politely, he agreed and they've been working together ever since, discussing who to vote for and when. They haven't had much chance to play it, especially since the people who've gone are ones Connie wanted gone anyway, even with the early bounce, but when the time comes...}
{Alliances revealed ~~never~~ seldom succeed, remember?}
{Even so -- there's got to be a reason this is coming out now. And this could always be the exception.}
{This is a real odd couple. The one who likes everybody versus -- well, the one who doesn't like one person, I guess. Connie's not in love with everyone on her own tribe, but Alex is the only one she openly despises on the other.}
{Although she's not too fond of Gardener now. More shelter conversation -- she thinks Alex put him up to that speech because she was too much of a coward to say it herself, and Connie even thinks they're aligned. Robin feels that if Alex wanted to say something, she would have, and Connie shouldn't come to conclusions so quickly. That gets her a glare. Robin drops into confessional and wonders if Connie's figured out just who that vote came from yet.}
{Angony doesn't know about this -- it could throw a real twist in their plans post-merge...}
{Assuming we get that far with this alliance. Showing it now might mean Connie or Phillip goes out tonight.}
{Phillip? No one's voting him out yet -- they need him too badly. Play 'eat the strong' after one loss and you might guarantee two. Hit the merge six-four -- good night, Haraiki.}
{Maybe Connie, then.}
{Meanwhile, over at Turare -- hey! Who ordered the post-loss misery? Sextuple dose, right here! Hey, is anyone gonna give me a tip?}
{Almost the same as the last storm: they're clustered in the shelter, but with no torches this time. No leaks here: warm and dry as long as they stay away from the front edge, where there's some water blowing in. Speculating on what the Reward might have been, going over their performance. Mary-Jane tells Gardener he'd better not blame Alex for this one. Gardener replies he's not blaming Alex, and he's not even blaming Azure because they got the time credit and it won't be a problem again, one way or another. Desmond looks really uncomfortable, like he's about to be blamed.}
{Mary-Jane challenges Gardener on Alex going next. Gardener asks her if she'd rather take Alex's place. Mary-Jane tells him there's weaker links to dispose of first.}
{And now Desmond would really rather be outside...}
{Gardener tells Mary-Jane she wasn't there when he and Alex first had the discussion. Alex knows she's going next, she's accepted that her only chance is to make the merge, and Mary-Jane can ask her when she gets back -- wait a minute...}
{Oooh... good camera work with those fast switches and angles. Where is Alex?}
{As long as we asked...}
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It's the second challenge we've lost, and it's the second one where the camp goes quiet. We all do little things, gathering firewood before the storm gets a chance to soak it, trying to get one quick fishing session in before lightning starts striking the sea, heading off to find new bathroom spots, picking fruit. I don't want to be in the middle of all this quiet. I can't find the blame in myself for this one: if anything, losing this challenge was a combination of group effort and raw luck. If we'd had Robin, we might have won. They did, and they did. We've won challenges before this because we had just the right person at the right time: look at Gardener and that tremendous effort on the kayak. It was Haraiki's turn. That's all. And if anything -- I hate myself for thinking this, but I can't stop the thought from coming -- Frank's exit might have saved me twice. That would have been the Immunity challenge, and even with me sitting it out, we still would have lost. I would be on my way to Sequesterville right now.
I don't want to break the quiet by saying this to anyone. I don't want to be the one who starts what's probably the inevitable arguments, and I don't want to look that selfish. Instead, I put up with the silence for as long as I can make myself stand it, then take one empty water container and head for the lake. No matter what happens, we still have to drink.
Azure follows me. Not on my shoulder this time: on foot, hopping along behind me with short bursts of flight whenever I get too far ahead. Even with the deep ache that moves back into pain every time I do something stupid -- like move -- I'm still faster on foot than she is, and she has to take to the air pretty often, sometimes coming down in front of me and watching me pass her. She knows she's done something wrong, all right: that's why she's not trying for a ride. But she doesn't understand what, and she keeps making sounds at me that feel like questions...
I reach the bank, kneel down, and lower the container into the lake, letting the water bubble into it. Azure walks right up to me and gently knocks her beak against my right calf. I look down and sigh. "I know it's stupid to be mad at you, okay?" She looks up at me, looking as if she's glad to hear my voice directed at her again. "I know you don't understand..."
Another headbutt.
Okay, okay... "Azure -- shoulder." She flies up immediately, lands carefully, nuzzles her head against my hair. "Fine, you're forgiven. But when they put the cuffs on you to stop you from doing it again, do not blame me. What is with you, anyway?" Man down? It's almost funny in retrospect, but... "Your teacher had a weird sense of humor," I tell her. "There wasn't a key word anywhere in there. How did he teach you to respond to situations?" No response. Naturally. "Maybe if I assumed a -- begging..." It doesn't trigger her. "...position instead of saying the word --"
-- and I see the first drop hit the lake before I feel the next one go into the back of my neck. The rest follow in a hurry. "-- damn!" Can I run for camp? No, there's no point. I'm not a distance runner by any stretch of the imagination, I'm hurting as-is, and bringing the water would let me manage a fast shuffle at best. Plus this is an absolute downpour: by the time I finish considering the option, it's too late to save any dry spots. The surface of my outer clothing is soaked, the inner items are following in a hurry, and the moisture will be wicking in to my skin within seconds. No thunder so far, no lightning, my camera operator does not look happy because even if her rig is mostly plastics, it's got more metal than anything else available -- except maybe the pipe covers in the lake: can't wait it out in there if lightning does strike...
I head for my grove. Might as well go for partial shelter. Azure stays with me, making noises of discomfort as the hard rain soaks her feathers.
She could just fly away and take her own partial shelter in a tree. I wonder why she hasn't.
"You are a mystery, Azure..." I mutter.
Azure spreads her wings a little and looks around at the lake, but says nothing.
----------------------------------------------------------
After
----------------------------------------------------------
(From the CBS website, Survivor Gold section: Alex's eighth confessional, unedited for premium subscribers.)

{ALEX enters at a surprisingly slow pace, given the pounding rain outside. The storm is getting into the grove, but the overhead leaves are blocking some of it, downgrading the amount of accumulation from torrent to heavy fall. There may be little need to rush for protection because her clothing is completely soaked through and plastered against her skin. She checks her usual sitting place -- soaked, but thanks to all the ground leaves, not muddy -- then orders AZURE down and takes her place. AZURE immediately flies to the most protected branch available.}
"You can leave if you want to. There's no reason both of us should have to be out in this."
{Off-camera voice prompt, female. 'You know I can't leave you here.'}
"Yeah. I might do something strategic." {looks slightly exasperated} "How's your lens?"
{'Shielded enough. They can take off some of the water spatters by computer if they have to.'}
"Let's hear it for technology. Just please shoot me from the shoulders up..." {sighs, leans back against the tree} "I'll probably get stains from the bark, but I want the back support..."
{'I'll narrow the view. How's your injury?' (The camera continues to operate in the standard full-body capture mode of confessionals.)}
"I haven't looked." {somewhat rueful} "I don't want to look. Maybe if the rain stops." {shrugs} "I guess it can heal in Sequesterville."
{'We do ask you not to talk about that...'}
"And I know you can edit it out." {sighs} "It's part of the game. Everyone knows it's part of the game. I'm not sure who you think you're fooling at this point."
{'There's different levels of fans.'}
"And players. Look at Desmond."
{'What do you think of his admission?}
"About the episodes he'd watched and where they were in the season?" {vaguely bemused} "Well, one school of thought says that being totally naive can be an advantage out here. You don't have any preconceived notions, so you're not thrown when things don't go as expected because you weren't expecting anything. And the other says you should study everything you can, so you at least have some idea of what might happen and can expect the unexpected -- which you guys will mess up whenever possible anyway. I think Desmond found the worst possible compromise."
{'You're obviously in the second school of thought.'}
{shrugs} "I've pretty much been watching since the first season. So I've seen just about everyone come and go -- mostly go."
{'And if Gardener's to be believed, you'll be watching yourself go after the next tribal loss.'}
"I believe him."
{'So why aren't you doing more to save yourself?'}
"You want me to fight the numbers?" {sardonic} "The game is designed around the numbers. I think all the hidden idol games were created just so that the minority alliances -- or person -- had a tiny chance to last a little longer and make the game not work entirely around numbers, at least for a few seconds at a time. Look -- right now, as I understand my own alliances, we have -- me. We may have Mary-Jane with me, but she's subject to pressure. At least, she didn't throw a protest vote for Trina's sake -- she went with the 'unified tribe' look. I had my own reasons there, but..." {shrugs} "You filmed that one, so you know. Gary is supposedly with me, but that hasn't been tested. If it comes down to Gardener saying 'Alex is out', both of them will probably just say 'Yeah, Alex is out' and presto -- unified tribe!"
{'So you're not going to fight to save yourself at all? You don't have a plan?'}
"Oh, I'll fight." {used in episode} "I've got a plan to save myself. It's a secret plan. It's so secret that I don't even know what it is. I hope I tell myself about it soon -- I really think I'm in a need-to-know situation, but for some reason, I don't think I need to know yet... Sometimes, my secrecy towards myself really annoys me." {end episode-used exert} "When the time comes, I'll do everything I can -- but in some ways, acting too early can be a bad plan. It's all the more time for people to change their minds." {shrugs} "Now I know why I always saw so much last-minute scrambling at home. If I go around now, it's extra hours for people to say 'What can I sell this information for?' Strike fast, don't give them a chance to change their minds..."
{'And you won't say anything about this plan?'}
"Sure I will. I'll give you the first part of it." {looks directly at camera} "Win tomorrow."
{'I've heard worse plans.'}
"I believe it. But the execution still needs some serious work..."
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{No lightning this time, but this storm is another festival of soak from the afternoon on. No one can get a fire going in this, and there's no point in trying to catch fish when you can't cook them and no one in either tribe knows how to prepare sushi. Both Turare and Haraiki are shown sending people out to get fruit: Turare makes it low draw from the deck of cards, which puts a grumbling Desmond on dinner duty: Phillip just volunteers for Haraiki.}
{Card games are the order of the day at Turare -- Gary keeps the deck out and shows everyone how to play Texas Hold-'Em. 'Everyone' being Alex, who's the only person with no idea how the game works. Penalty of not having cable, I guess... She gets up to speed pretty quickly, and they play using the fresh raspberries Desmond got from the lake as chips. Just some light, fun stuff, which ends when Trooper takes his full house into the maw of a four-of-a-kind that Mary-Jane was patiently not revealing, mostly because she caught her last card on the river. Cute bit. Wonder what TallPhil and LoudPhil would have thought of that play?}
{Haraiki does a little work in the rain, shifting their tarps slightly to get some overlap and cover their leaks. This isn't the best idea with slick hands, and Denadi's grip goes wrong at exactly the worst possible time. One of the larger tarps now has a three-foot tear in it where she snagged it on an edge. Lots of glares at Denadi. Phillip thinks he can sew it together -- Phillip can sew? -- and more or less does so, using the tip of the machete to poke tiny holes in the tarp, and the yarn from the poem scrolls to sew it. Not a bad job, and the overlap he put in minimizes the problem area.}
{Finally, sometime after sunset, the rain lets up. Alex gets the fire going at Turare, and they have some late rice to supplement their diet. More challenge talk -- Gary's wondering what's going to happen if the stilts come back as part of a season-in-review obstacle course. Gardener says "Easy. It'll be for the car. Robin will blow by all of us, get her traffic chew-toy, and be out the same night." They then spend a minute explaining the curse of the car to Desmond, who doesn't believe them. What, every time?}
{Haraiki doesn't have any rice left to cook, but they also get a fire going -- there was a little dry wood stored in the outhouse, so they figured that out in a hurry -- just to try and dry out some of their clothes. They're also talking about the challenge, hoping this last one lets them get a winning streak going. Lots of numbers discussion. Angela feels the best thing that can happen is to sweep the last two Immunities before the guessed merge time, come in at 6-4, and then take Turare out. And -- this is a first! Someone just used our word! Go, Angela! "A little Pagonging may not be what everyone wants for excitement, but it's what I want for tranquility. Let's get rid of them before we even have to remotely consider dealing with each other. Twelve days where we know exactly how things are going to go, not to mention who -- and none of them are going to be Terry." She thinks they have to target Trooper first, as the most balanced athletic threat. Tony thinks it's Gardener. Connie -- well, normally, you could probably guess, but you'd be wrong. Her vote is for Gardener, but it's because he won't be able to protect Alex any more. Interesting... first time she's even partially put rivalry aside for strategy, or at least, 'I don't want Alex dead right that second: I want to torment her first', my reading of the situation for those of you who have no idea what paraphrase is. Nothing else shown.}
{Commercials, and since we have invoked the curse, we will now get another look at the car. Just to remind you what you probably shouldn't be playing for.}
{And welcome back to Night Thirteen at Haraiki, which fell asleep while leaving their fire going -- and their clothing close to the fire so it could keep drying out. Unfortunately, some of it was little too close, and all of the ones that were belong to Angela. Or used to. As we can see in the night vision shot, she can take back custody of the ashes any time she wants, although it would leave her a little more covered than Mary-Jane. This makes the morning wake-up call into a very mild lover's spat, because guess who placed the laundry? Tony. At least, it would have been a spat if Angela hadn't choked it all down and forgiven him on the spot because they were all tired and he had no way to know any sparks were going to fly that far. She just saves the rest of it for confessional, where she says she's trying very hard with him, she doesn't want to fight, but she's on limited clothing out here, she's down one outfit now, and it's so hard not to be mad... Most of that emerged from between clenched teeth.}
{Phillip reads the poem. 'Spot the signs, read the clues, take it all in stride. Find your foes and make the match -- in three more days, take pride.' Oh, great. I can figure this one out, even if he can't. Denadi gets it, and this is the first time that's happened -- she thinks it's another 'what do they have in the box?' challenge. Connie gets bleeped here. For those of you with 'delicate sensibilities', it was something about male genitalia belonging to the show's producers and a part of Alex's anatomy that, in very rude slang, could be referred to by a 'box' designation. Robin snickers a little -- first thing she's agreed with Connie on in a while, or she just thought it was a really good line. Phillip's blushing, and Angela just rolls her eyes.}
{Over to Turare, where we have an interesting little teaser of a scenelet with Alex at the center of it. Then they're on their way to the challenge, and -- well, there's our riddle...}
{That's it? That was worth a post by the Sucks source? Man, did he just earn his board's name.}
{Why was this important enough to refer to? Couldn't he have done something about attack parrots?}
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Estee 44384 desperate attention whore postings
DAW Level: "Playboy Centerfold"
08-10-06, 10:22 PM (EST)

5. "Why Are You Carrying A Gun?: Conclusion."

LAST EDITED ON 08-14-06 AT 07:55 PM (EST)
Mary-Jane's day to read our poem, and in the race to realize what we're doing this time, first place is a five-way tie. It doesn't take long to explain to Desmond, either. "So basically, we're playing Concentration with island objects."
Trooper nods. "One of those challenges that keeps coming back to haunt successive seasons. The most two important things to do are keeping track of who asks for what and shielding the sides of your box so no one can get a good look inside."
I've seen the previous versions of this challenge, and there's a theory I've been wondering about. But unlike most of my ideas, this one is going to require a team effort. And as such -- "Guys -- I have an idea." They look over to me. "I want to try lying on the first grab."
Gary looks confused. "We can't lie about what's in our boxes -- if someone asks for it, we have to give it up."
I nod, but... "We can't lie when we're asked for it. We can lie when we're doing the asking." And now Gardener actually looks intrigued. Maybe he's starting to work it out. "It's the smallest possible edge, but if we can get even one match up at the start, and then use the long-term effects..."
Yes, Gardener is intrigued. "Okay -- tell us about this plan. I like having an edge."
I know you do. "It all depends on whether we get to go first or not -- at least, it works best that way. If we do..."
We talk it over until everyone's got the plan memorized and then head out to Challenge Beach, with our camera operators ahead, alongside, and behind. I don't like my personal company today. This is the camera operator who took major objection to my cross on Day One, the one who said they'd have to use a spectroscope from now on. I've seen him occasionally at the challenges, but he hasn't really been in camp. There's some rotation in the personnel, moving from camp life to mood shot gathering to challenge filming. The last time I spotted this one, he was following Haraiki in from their trail entrance on Day Ten. Now he's back with us again, walking right alongside me, and I do not like where his lens is pointing. He's not even pretending to be going for the travel shots. He's contributing to someone's personal collection, and he's probably doing it because he figured it would annoy me. "Do you mind?" No answer from him. Naturally.
Mary-Jane's just ahead of me. "Alex?" She probably thinks I'm mad at her again.
"Trust me," I tell the camera operator through gritted teeth. "You are not about to get a confessional there." It would be pretty boring, too. We hurt. We think you know that. Now would you please look up already? This is embarrassing.
Mary-Jane looks back at that one and sees where the camera is pointed. Her eyes narrow. The camera operator still isn't saying anything. Mary-Jane does. With an odd tension in her voice and a slight flourish of the Immunity Spear -- maybe she's finally starting to realize that not everyone has her built-in desire for display -- she says "That's a really weird choice for a mood shot." He couldn't even get a better one off her: it's an exceptionally cool morning, and Mary-Jane's actually in long sleeves and pants today. No cleavage, no artful flashes of leg, no nothing: traditional series fashion has finally taken a back seat to comfort. I'm in my sweater, and most of the crew is wearing show production jackets.
And still no reaction, still no change in angle... I look the man up and down. "Fine, you don't like me. I realized that on Day One. If this is the best revenge you can come up with, maybe you need some more time in Haraiki's camp to make another plan --" and stop. Focus. Right under the left arm, that bulge... "Why are you carrying a gun?"
It was sort of loud. The line freezes.
Trooper's the first to move: he runs back from his position right behind Desmond, who nearly crashes the challenge flag into a tree. (Azure, who was riding on top, squawks in anger and comes down in a hurry.) Those are words Trooper is trained to respond to, and he's not about to fail in his duty. "Alex, what the hell...?"
I point at the camera operator. "He's carrying a gun in an underarm holster. See the bulge?"
Trooper's eyes focus immediately -- but his body is slower to react, mainly because it's fighting itself. His training says that when you spot someone carrying a concealed weapon, you ask to see the permit, you try to take the weapon away before it's used, you do something. Trooper can't physically confront anyone on the staff: it's a one-way ticket out of the game. He wants to, I can see the massive shiver that comes from all of the impulses being compressed inwards -- but he can't. All he can use is words. "Yeah, I see it, and it couldn't be anything else." The rest of the tribe is starting to move towards us, and the other camera operators are closing in. "That was a damn good question. Why are you carrying a gun?" No response, just a cool silence from behind heavy sunglasses.
One of the camera operators speaks up. This is Cameron, the one who was with Frank when he fell. "Guys -- we've got to get you to the challenge..."
"It's not like Jeff won't wait," Gary says: he's just caught up. "I want an answer to this one myself." He doesn't get one either.
Cameron keeps trying. "You are not supposed to be interacting with us, remember? What's happened before this was a series of one-time events. The best thing for everyone is if we all keep going right now --"
Gardener does what he does second-best after snorting: cuts someone else off. "You know, I never saw the point of a sit-in strike until right this minute. I don't like the idea of someone carrying a gun around us for no good reason -- and all the good reasons I can think of are stuff we should really know about. So unless you're willing to give up the goods --" this to my camera operator "-- or someone else gives them up for him --" that to Cameron "-- I think we can just stay right here." Going to his real strength: a snort. "Hell, if Jeff declares forfeit on us, we were just going to dump Alex anyway..." Apparently Gardener is absolutely determined to make sure that for every moment when I want to support him, there's six where I want to kill him.
The camera operator doesn't say a word -- but he takes a few steps back. He does not like having Gardener in his face: word of how the camp crew suddenly decided their best interest was in filming our search attempt has probably gotten around. Gardener might just dump his game on the floor for the sake of making a point. He probably won't -- he almost assuredly won't -- there's no real way anyone would -- but if this was going to be the first exception in series history, does this guy want to be on the receiving end of it? No.
Cameron sighs. "It's a tranquilizer gun. Jake, take it out, okay?" The newly-identified Jake seems to glare at him through the sunglasses -- but then slowly reaches under the jacket and brings out the gun. I've never seen one like it before. Strange barrel, odd bore, ammo chamber distorted... "It's nothing to worry about. If it went off and hit one of you, the worst that would happen would be a tetanus shot and six hours of unexpected sleep."
Trooper's looking it over very carefully. Slowly, "I recognize the model. He's right: if it's using the standard ammunition and drug mix, it's harmless except for one hell of a headache when you wake up. But it doesn't answer the question of why Jake is carrying it."
Jake still isn't saying a word. Cameron is. "Because it's his option. Look -- most of you saw Africa, right?" Everyone nods -- including Desmond, who at least caught the first hour or so. "We had them there, too. Some of us even carried mercy bullets. You saw the wildlife -- we were in the middle of safari-quality plains. Lots of big predators around. The local government did not want us killing off any of their tourist attractions. So we carried guns that wouldn't kill. That way, if any animals charged us or the contestants, we had some protection. Virtually nothing's a man-eater unless it's desperate or angry or gets the taste somehow, but the last thing we wanted to do was star in Survivor: The Ghost And The Darkness. We were allowed to carry, so we carried. It's been an option on every season ever since."
Gary nods. "I can understand that -- but what's to protect yourself from out here?"
Cameron sighs. "Nothing. We've been finding the same things you guys have -- bits of small mammal corpses -- but that's just the local predators having lunch. Nothing worse than the pool of blood Alex stepped in." Instant focus on me from the rest of Turare. I have not told them about that. "A really desperate or angry small predator might try to take a bite out of a human, but they'd have to feel cornered most of the time: think of a rat. It's not going to happen -- and if it did happen to one of you, we'd get you medical attention: you know that. But we have the right to carry the guns -- and some people --" and he glares at Jake "-- feel more comfortable with them. He's been toting one for at least the last five days. Haraiki never said anything."
Translation: Jake feels like more of a man because he's got a weapon. Or to put it in a much shorter way, Jerk. Trooper looks incredibly disgusted, and the others aren't far behind him. In fact, Trooper's right in line with my thinking. "Oh, right -- got to have protection from those vicious tropical squirrels." He shakes his head. "Has anyone even seen one of the native mammals?"
Head shakes all around, and another camera operator says "Not a living one," earning him a glare from Jake.
"Right," Trooper says. "They're scared to death of us. There's been times I've heard them moving through the plants, but that's it. Any time I get close to one, it runs like hell. We're the biggest predators they've seen in years -- of course they're frightened. The oldest ones probably even remember what gunfire sounds like, and they've linked it with footsteps." He stares through Jake's dark lenses. "This one just likes carrying a gun in the open because it's just so hard to remember how to keep his fly unzipped and parade around showing off his --"
Cameron's desperation to stop that sentence isn't even remotely concealed. In a rush of words, "So now you know! Little show secret. Everyone's cool, right?" Slow nods all around the tribe. Yes, we're cool. We don't have to like it, but as said, even if the thing goes off, no one's going to get hurt. "Okay!" Far too much relief. He clearly thinks we were about six seconds away from a fight, and he doesn't want to find out if he was right or not. "So let's go -- can't keep Jeff waiting!"
We get moving again. Jake, who clearly doesn't care what anyone thinks, moves back in and points the camera right back where it was when we started -- until Gary comes between us. "Oops," Gary tells him casually. "I guess the single file thing just isn't for me..." Jake gives him a dirty look, checks the area, finds he doesn't have enough room to film from the other side, and disgustedly moves up to shoot Desmond and Azure, who's just gone back to the high view. "Better?" This to me, fairly quietly.
"Much." I sigh a little. Matching Gary's volume, "Thanks. Residue from Day One..." Briefly, I wonder if anyone back in the States is going to be just as mad at me after the show airs. Very briefly, because it's not something I want to think about right now. "It's starting to feel a little like there's three tribes."
Gary can agree with that. "Turare, Haraiki, and the crew... Yeah, but it's just a few people who don't like you, and they can't do anything about it. No one's going to redesign a challenge just to discomfort you."
"No." Although I don't entirely believe that. "They've already got ones set up that do the trick." The bruises do in fact have a fascinating fringe of sickly yellow around the edges. "I know he's just trying to make me uncomfortable and he can't make them use any of the footage. But it's still annoying."
"It won't be for long," Gary points out. "He'll get rotated back to Haraiki -- we can probably even complain and ask for him to be moved back."
No, because I don't want Jake to think he's getting to me that badly, plus the production staff will probably just grin and say 'Conflict is good, and shooting tense people means ratings...' "Maybe." We're almost at our entrance. "Right now, I'd rather concentrate on the challenge. This one's too crucial. This is the one that makes it impossible to be down six to four at the merge. If we win this, the worst that can happen is a tie."
"And you still care even if you're gone? Because a tie situation means we lose the next one, and..." Gardener may be close enough to hear us if he's making a really strong effort to pay attention. At least, I hope that's why Gary's saying it.
I shrug. "I'd rather it was one of you than one of them. 'One of them' includes a chance at Connie. The thought of her winning the million..." Yuck. That's almost like having the sweetbreads back with a side order of fafaru.
Gary chuckles. "I see your point." We're signaled to hold up. "Okay. Let's see if this works."
"If it even has a chance to work," I remind him. "We really need the first pick..."
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{Okay, while we're in another weirdly-timed commercial break, let's think like editors. Why were we shown that scene?}
{First guesses: we're being reminded that Alex pays attention to what's going on around her. There's a conflict coming up between Alex and the crew. Alex and this Jake guy. Turare and the crew. Anyone and the crew. This is more than we've seen of the crew since the show began -- I think we're going to see Gardener's threatened sit-down strike at some point.}
{It solves the riddle, though: that's a definite. We've seen the gun, but it will never be fired. This isn't about a sudden attempt to tranquilize someone in the middle of a challenge, because that thing is destined not to go off.}
{Agreed, and good call. This is all about conflict. Whose conflict is still in question, but we know the crew -- possibly this 'Jake' guy -- I can't get used to naming them either -- will be involved in it. Probably Alex, possibly Trooper or Gardener, likely someone on Turare, even if it's after the merge. Otherwise, there's no point using up screen time for it.}
{Sort of glad to hear the gun won't be used... I understand the rationale, and we just got a show secret, goodie for us! But it's unnerving to think about some of those crew people carrying them. I mean, we're talking about a group that can't even figure out how to close the loopholes in a challenge. Do we really want those people to be handling weapons? I don't even want them handling toenail clippers.}
{Speaking of loopholes -- what do you think Alex figured out? Because at this point, I'm convinced that if they're showing that teaser scene, she has thought of something. It might not work, but she's at least got an idea.}
{I'm curious myself. I don't necessarily like the little bends Cole has been finding in the twists and turns of this unseen rulebook, but I'll admit to wondering what this next one could be. And while I understand the necessity of a gun in the African season -- which I did not see, but I got the idea from Cameron's words -- there's certainly no need for it here. People who carry weapons for no reason other than to feel powerful are no good to anyone.}
{That's kind of odd to hear coming from someone who carries a Bible just to hit people with it.}
{'Lying on the first grab...' Oh, I get it! That's borderline brilliant! If Jeff doesn't declare foul... like she said, it's the smallest possible edge, but...}
{Okay, you've got it. Mind explaining it to the rest of us?}
{No problem. It would go like this...}
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"Come on in, Turare!"
Haraiki got to enter first, and they're arranged on their mat, waiting for us with the smugness that can only come from having won one in a row. Like us, they're wearing their heaviest clothing, although it's starting to look like Tony didn't bring anything except tank tops. I drop back to single file as I head for the mat -- but a member of the challenge staff signals me, and I head over to the waiting perch. Okay -- let's see if this works. "Azure, here." Done. I manage to get her transfered to the perch, where she immediately starts taking interest in the treats. She's eating better than any of us -- and the food distracts her long enough for the staff member to get the leash around her ankle. Azure looks down at the strap with vague interest, then goes back to eating. All right: operation conducted with a minimum of trauma. I nod, start to walk away --
-- and Azure lands on my shoulder.
I blink, look to the side -- parrot, on the left, as expected -- glance back at the staff member -- no response, also as expected -- then go to Jeff, who's got one of those faint fox grins on display. "Azure can't interfere in this challenge, Alex -- not given the nature of this particular game. Given that, we'd rather have the shots of the two of you together. We just wanted to make sure the securing process would work."
I sigh. Azure sighs. Right, the whole 'girl with parrot' thing. Onto the mat and into position. The beach is empty of challenge paraphernalia today: it's just us and Jeff -- but if we have this one correctly identified, and I'm sure we do, setup will take something under a minute.
Jeff waits for a few heartbeats, then starts. "Mary-Jane, hand it over." She gives Jeff the spear, and I watch it go with some regret. I want to see it in our camp again, really soon... "Immunity -- back up for grabs. We're going to keep you guys hunting today, on a smaller scale than before. Each of you will have a box with six objects in it, randomly selected from a total of eighteen objects -- two pairs of each between all possible boxes." The math works out, and it's a larger selection than any of us have seen before. "The objects are as follows." He lists them. Most of them have something to do with hunting, and a couple, given the confrontation on the trail, are just a little bit disturbing. I can see Angela's brow furrowing with concentration as she tries to memorize the list. "We'll go in turns. Each player will call out to someone on the other tribe, attempting to find out what one of the objects in their box is. If they get a match, that pair is removed from the boxes and the identifying tribe scores a point. When a box is empty, that player is out of the game. The tribe that's ahead on points when all of a tribe's boxes are completely empty wins Immunity." An artful pause. "Effectively, it's best of thirty-six, but we're going to play to completion for the camera's sake." Despair shots are fun, at least when you're not the one in them. "We do have a tiebreaker if it somehow comes up -- memorization." Now, what were those eighteen objects again? "Does everyone understand the challenge?"
Phillip -- and it's clear that he's joking. "You're sure Alex isn't going to make Azure scout over our boxes and report back?"
Gary laughs. I shake my head. "I don't know how to get her to do the fly-over, and the reporting back thing is going to be a problem..."
Jeff grins. "I think we're all safe from aerial scouting missions. Anyone else?"
Trooper: "That's a lot more objects than there's been in some seasons. Any reason?"
That gets a nod from Jeff. "Because the viewers at home lose track of who's got what, and we can rig it to come out any way we like." Robin's eyes can't get any wider. "It's a joke, people... we just wanted it to be a little more difficult this year." I don't mind. It actually makes my plan more sensible. "Next?" No one else has any questions. "Okay. We'll flip for who goes first. Both tribes, send someone out." Angela immediately steps forward for Haraiki.
"You go." Gardener, in a whisper. I glance over to him. Even more softly, tone neutral, "It's your plan -- go." A small nod, and I join Angela at Jeff's mat.
Face to face at last on a mutual angle -- at least after I tilt my head back. She's very tall. Mary-Jane is just under six feet: Angela is just over it. The sharp angles of her face are even more visible from this position. I want to draw her. I've been doing renditions of Haraiki members, but it's all been from memory, and while I have one of Angela that isn't that bad, I'd really like to work from a live model. But that means both of us making the merge... and she notices my survey. "And what are you looking at?" It's not angry yet, but the question is a little too harsh to be casual.
My bad: I freely admit it. I don't like being stared at, and I shouldn't do it to anyone else. "I was just thinking about drawing you back at camp, and this is the closest look I've had at your face..." Just a little abashed, "Sorry."
She blinks. "You draw?" There's some similar interest starting behind her. Even Connie's listening, although she looks somewhat upset. Maybe she thinks I've been doing cruel portraits of her in my spare time.
I nod. "I'm a cartoonist." Quickly, "But I can draw straight and I've been doing everything on the island as it really is. No caricatures." Imagine someone opening the sketchbook while I was away from camp and finding out how I'd lampooned them. Instant vote-out. Not going to happen. Even Connie's image has been rendered normally, if only for the sake of accuracy.
Very curious -- and for some reason, a little worried, "That's your job? You draw for a living?" Jeff, who seems amused, is letting this proceed without interruption. (Maybe it'll lead to someone boasting about just what the Reward was. We're all very curious and so far, bragging opportunities have been limited.)
One day, my profession will not come as a surprise to someone. Probably after the show, when everyone who watched will know it already... "Yeah. It's an Internet strip -- I'm not syndicated -- but that's my job."
"Oh." Angela's having trouble with the concept, but given absolutely no evidence of anything else... "Okay. Sure, you can draw me. I'd like to see it when we merge." When: Angela apparently has no doubts about reaching that stage. She also seems to think I might make it. She's probably half right. And this is only the second time I've heard her abashed, with the first coming after Robin's collision in the second challenge. "We had you pegged all wrong." And now Connie is really upset...
"Oh?" This I've got to hear. "What did you think I did?"
Angela's starting to blush. "Stripper."
I'm not sure Angela can hear me over the sound of Mary-Jane's raucous laughter. "...what?"
No, she can. And this is the first time I've seen her embarrassed. When she's fully awake and aware, Angela usually gives off an air of confidence: I'm here, I'm going to make this work, when do we start? Now she's awkward, stammering a little, all that gazelle-grace height has suddenly turned into a colt struggling to its feet for the first time, and the blush has gone deep red. "Well -- umm... Connie thought that, well, you know -- with the..." She can't finish the sentence. She just glances down and nods once, very quickly. "And the rest of us -- kind of -- agreed... especially Robin..."
I close my eyes. Slowly, very carefully, "Do you want me to give you my site's URL? They'll edit it out of the show because I'm not allowed to do self-promotion, but I'm still allowed to tell you -- and you can look it up when you get home." Was that sound behind me Mary-Jane collapsing onto the mat again?
Just as slowly, "Sure..." I spell it out. "Yeah -- I'll look that up..." Then, carefully, "I know that -- well, strippers are just so demeaning towards women, and it was wrong of me to assume that you might --"
"Jeff?" I have absolutely no problems with cutting her off.
Jeff, who could not be enjoying the conversation more unless he was Mary-Jane, looks a little reluctant to end what's probably going to be another prime comedy moment for the eventual episode -- but he's willing to respond. "Yes?"
"Can we do the flip, please?" Before Mary-Jane passes out?
He nods, then reaches into a pocket and pulls out a very large gold coin. Angela and I both stare at it. "Gold eagle," he tells us. "I found it behind the bed in the mansion room I'm using. It'll go right back there when we're done, too... there's all sorts of legal arguments between possible heirs -- and people who want to pretend they might be -- about who gets what, and one of the conditions for our using the place was to remove as little as possible. And there's actually still stuff to remove beyond his idea of loose change -- we thought the place was going to be completely stripped, but there's a lot intact." He grins. "No bearer bonds, though. No hidden safes that we've found... furniture, but no jewelry... We think the servants made off with most of the portable stuff, but there's things they missed. The mansion shows signs of having been cleaned out in a hurry, but anything heavy or even mildly inconvenient to move is still there." He displays both sides of the coin. "Alex, you call it."
Now I'm really becoming curious for a look inside the place. If they use it as a Reward -- and I somehow get that far... "Tails."
Jeff flips it, catches it in his right hand, slaps it onto his left arm, lifts his hand away. "Tails it is. Turare, you've got first call -- and Alex, you'll make the first pick."
Well, what do you know? The fickle tide of luck is temporarily flowing in our direction today. I turn and head back to our mat without saying another word to Angela. My own tribe, however... "Mary-Jane, would you get up already?"
"S-s-s-stripper!" she chokes out through a storm of giggles. "Stripper!"
Yeah, well, they probably decided you're a porn star. I sigh and take my place, waiting for the challenge setup. It doesn't take long. The boxes -- beautiful cherrywood with brass handles, possibly also from the mansion -- are brought out on folding trays and arranged in a half-circle, with the stations two feet apart and the arc of the curve pointed towards the treeline: we get to face the ocean on varying angles. My tribe winds up on the right side of the circle, with Haraiki on the left and Jeff standing on what would be the radius point of a full enclosure.
"Go ahead and open your boxes," Jeff tells us. "Take a minute to see what you've got." I open mine -- and watch as the rich velvet fabric unfolds at the sides. You can't see into this box on a glance over: it's shielded! Not I have to worry -- I'm at the far edge of the curve: it's Trooper who would have to worry about Denadi peering in on him, and vice-versa -- but this means no one's getting any kind of view of the interior except for me and the camera operator directly behind me. I've got a shotgun shell, skinning knife, compass, first aid kit, animal claw, and shark's tooth. Good enough. I close the box and wait on Jeff and the others. It doesn't take long. "Okay, Alex -- make your first attempt."
I nod. "Connie --" because she's going to scream anyway if it works out "-- do you have a gun?"
She seems surprised that I'd choose her. Speak to her. Speak to her without getting trash talk involved. But there's rules here... "No." Very satisfied. "I don't have a gun. I do, however, have a toilet and a shower." Well, there we go, from the most likely source. I'm not surprised on the Reward front -- Turare had collectively thought the toilet was a strong possibility, although the shower is a small surprise -- and as far the item goes, there was only a one in three chance that she would have one, given the scattering of objects. However...
...Tony's next. "Hey, Alex!" he calls out enthusiastically. "Do you have a gun?"
I shake my head. "No. I don't have one."
It's Jeff's turn to blink. "Alex --"
"I don't." I open the box and glance over my unoccupied shoulder at the camera operator, who is not Jake -- he's covering Angela. "See?" The camera operator, looking a little stunned, looks -- and films -- the interior, then looks up at Jeff and shakes his head. No, I don't have a gun.
Which is when Jeff catches on -- and there's a moment when I think I can almost see his eyes twinkle. "Sorry, Tony. Alex doesn't have a gun. Gardener, you're up."
And before Connie or anyone else can protest, Gardener gets a chance to make the camera hunt for the points on his teeth again. "Say, Tony -- one gun. Now."
Naturally, this is when the cry of the semi-domesticated trophy wife rings out across the landscape. "Jeff!"
Jeff just grins. "It's about finding out what other people have -- not about giving away what you have. Sorry, Connie -- all that did was end a few seasons of waiting on my end. Tony, take out the gun: one point to Turare."
Tony, not knowing how he's been tricked but certain that he has been -- and with no idea what he can do about it -- takes the antique Colt out of his box, points it at Gardener for a second, pretends to pull the trigger, actually says "Bang!" in frustration, and drops it in the sand. Angela's slowly shaking her head, and Connie's just shaking with rage. We had a one in three chance of making a match on our first try through random choice -- and if we didn't, as soon as we'd asked for an item, the other tribe would pretty much have an automatic point --
-- as long as we'd asked for something we had.
Give up a chance at the first match for a certainty on the first match. Fair trade. And now Haraiki can't be certain if we're telling the truth on our requests or not. There's looks of doubt on every opposing face, even if I have to hunt for Connie's within her rage. Of course, we're not going to lie from this point on. This is Prisoners' Dilemma, modified: only the first person to lie gets the maximum benefit. From this point on, it's in our best interests to hunt for their pieces with our own items as guides, especially as the matches thin down and we start hunting for the last pieces. The key is that Haraiki believes we may lie on any request. Now when we ask for objects, they'll be afraid to turn right around and hit the asker for a match, because they'll just be giving away what they have. But they still need a way to discover what we're holding, and without that reliable tactic, which they can't find a substitute for... And now the looks of doubt are changing to worry, and some of that worry is heading into desperation.
We've got them. The thought is unexpected, but it may be accurate. Haraiki is shaken. They can't figure out how to counter this twist. 'Lie ourselves' hasn't occurred to anyone on their side. Turare and I discussed it, got ready for it -- but Haraiki didn't know this was coming. They were ready for the old familiar matching game, and now that it's been turned on its ear, they have no idea what to do -- and everyone on Turare can see it.
Trooper's first chance comes after a total miss from Denadi on an item he personally doesn't possess. His grin is just a little bit vicious as he lets a wild guess fly at a very vulnerable target. "Hey, Tony -- got a dagger?"
And in fact, Tony does have a dagger. He looks like he wants to plunge it into his own heart.
--------------------------------------------------------------
{Yeah, it's the old memory game. Everyone got it right. So let's see how this plays out. If you're right about Alex's newest twist...}
{Cute question from Phillip. You'd swear he's ready to adopt this bird.}
{And apparently Azure will remain loose in non-physical challenges. They just wanted to show us that they were doing something.}
{Alex, meet Angela. Angela, start to get angry with Alex. Alex, explain yourself to Angela. Angela, get completely and utterly taken out of your paradigm. Angela, explain what you thought reality actually was. Mary-Jane, try to remember how to inhale.}
{Alex just gives her the site's address -- which got edited out, of course -- and we find out that Angela's one of those people who thinks the existence of pornography which shows females is proof of a male plot to dominate women forever. Pornography for women is all good and right and on the side of the true, of course, but women on the other side of the camera? Wrong.}
{Presuming... she may hate any kind of pornography. They are out there. Most of them are on our side.}
{No, I'm pretty sure she's ready to practice the old double standard. Look what she's romancing. Meat without a mind. Well, at least we know Angela's Playboy shoot won't be any time soon. And yet -- she's wearing a revealing swimsuit while appearing on television, and using her body to get herself ahead in the game by seducing a partner. Gee, Angela, I think that in some circles, they call that 'prostitution'.}
{She could be really attracted to Tony. If men can want women without brains, why can't the equation be turned around?}
{Oh, believe me, I've seen it happen. I'm just curious as you are to see whether it's real.}
{Okay -- game time. Let's see what Alex has up her sweater's sleeve.}
{...I want a vidcap on that wide shot of Haraiki, and I want it on the front page of this site as soon as the West Coast clears spoiler time.}
{You'll have it. Here's the vidcap.}
{Ohmigawd, that's actually better than the four-in-a-taxi shot! Six-in-shock!}
{Evil! Evil! I love the Alex evil!}
{Look at them! She just took them completely out of their game! They have no idea what to do next!}
{Haraiki tripping all over itself, not doing so well at keeping track of Turare's items, because they can never be sure if a Turare person has the item they just looked for a match on...}
{Ladies and gentlemen, we officially have a fiasco.}
{And Turare hasn't lied once since the first time! But Haraiki's going insane because they keep waiting for the next one -- did I say borderline brilliant before? This is great! John Nash, eat your equations out!}
{If this is so wrong, why does it feel so right?}
{Hey, why is no one yelling at us for honoring evil?}
{I think the way you people say it is *sigh* I understand what Cole was attempting. Despite the way I feel about her, I'm willing to call this one strategy. And I am embarrassed by Haraiki's inability to adjust.}
{And finally, we all agree with you about something. Want a crapbasket?}
{They're speeding up the time-lapse -- Burnett knows this has turned into the classic fait accompli. Haraiki is dead. The only question is how humiliating the final score is.}
{Twenty-five to eleven. On the humiliation scale, I think that counts as 'pretty damn'}
{Jeff asks who's getting the spear, and the rest of Turare takes one step back and leaves Alex out front. Very cute.}
{Alex takes the spear, Connie looks as if she wishes all four guns were loaded and in her hands, Turare leaves in triumph, Haraiki leaves to (Denadi) figure out (Denadi) who's going home (Denadi) -- commercials.}
{Any chance those guns are the answer to the Sucks riddle?}
{No.}
{Did anyone else notice that we practically have a normal episode on our hands?}
{Except for that weird crew confrontation scene.}
{Given this season so far, I'm willing to file that under 'normal'.}
{We're back! And here's Haraiki's clue: 'Can you catch it?'}
{Lots of confusion. Is the hidden idol in the trees, waiting to be knocked down by a rock? Is it floating in the river this time, like a fish swimming along? Is it going to be dropped from a plane? Everyone scatters -- and welcome to Day Fifteen.}
{People talking... Angela wants Tony to vote for Denadi. As she puts it, "We're down to five. We have to win the next one, or we're the ones who're going to be hearing the Pagong. If anything about the next Immunity challenge is physical -- and I think it will be after a mental one -- we've got to dump the weakest link." Tony can at least understand weakness because he's got one for curveballs, so he's on board for this.}
{Denadi knows she's in trouble. Weakest physical player left on the tribe, tore the tarp earlier, quit on a challenge a while back... she's hunting for the idol and hunting hard, starting at the shoreline. In confessional, she says that after a night's sleep, she decided it was somewhere in the little tangle of rocks on the left side of their beach, where small fish might become trapped after high tide recedes. But she couldn't find it there, and now she's stumped. She'll keep looking -- camera shots of her looking some more, naturally -- but right now, she's lost.}
{Robin's put aside her dislike of Connie for a while -- she can see the benefit of dumping Denadi. Not much mystery about this boot. No one can play the deceit card and say 'Oh, we should use this chance to get rid of Phillip before he goes on an individual Immunity run... right now, they need Phillip. Like Angela said, if this is anything physical and they get rid of anyone except Denadi, they're in deep trouble. And it's almost got to be physical.}
{So the big question here is, who's got the idol? If the confessionals were meant to mislead us and Denadi pulls it out of nowhere, then this is all coming down to Denadi's vote...}
{Tribal Council. Angela asks Jeff about the placement of Frank's torch, and Jeff tells them Turare requested that it not be mounted, as Frank was never voted or bounced out within the normal structure of the game. Angela then asks Jeff for more details about the medical emergency, and he tells her that's Turare's call. He's not saying anything more.}
{Review of the challenge. 'Why didn't you just start lying right back? Why didn't you pick up on their going back to the truth after the first time? It was Prisoners' Dilemma: after the first strike, they were only going to lie if you lied!' Angela looks really embarrassed: she clearly thinks she should have figured that out. Tony has no idea what the PD problem is. No one's ready to explain it to him, at least not on camera.}
{How's life in camp? Denadi ripping the tarp comes up. Tony talks about burning the clothing, apologizes to Angela again, says he'll make it up to her when they get back to the States. Jeff has an opportunity to explore the romance there, but passes it up in favor of switching to discussion of the upcoming vote. What does this tribe need right now? Strength. What are they going to do about it? Get rid of the weak. And who's that? Denadi thinks it's her. Did they tell her? No, but she's just had that feeling all day, which was compounded because no one approached her to discuss the vote. So she's not exactly being blindsided, but she would have a lot more respect for her group if they'd just told her what was going on. Robin: well, we can't tell someone they're targeted: what if they put more effort into looking for the hidden idol? I suppose it sounded good in her head before it actually reached her mouth...}
{And now is the time on Survivor when we vote! Only two votes shown, which is the first sign of a 5-1 here -- Angela votes Denadi and wishes her well, but says they can't afford to drag her along any more. Denadi votes Tony. No reason given. Just shakes her head, places the vote, and walks away.}
{Weird one if she's got the idol -- getting rid of the best overall athlete when they're so afraid of a physical challenge is almost a screw-you move. Connie would have been the next best choice for tribe strengthening.}
{Jeff reads the votes. Denadi -- Tony, and you have to see his face -- Denadi -- Denadi -- Denadi. Four votes -- so who's got the idol?}
{It's not Denadi. She goes up, has her torch snuffed, stops in the doorway, turns to Haraiki, says "It was interesting", and leaves.}
{And we're not done, because Jeff just said he knows the idol was found, and since it wasn't used, it has to be turned in, right in front of the rest of Haraiki, God, and everybody...}
{...Tony? How can Tony have it?!?}
{Jeff asks him where it was, and guess what? It was right where Denadi thought it was! When did he get it? About two hours after they read the clue. And how? Well, Jeff doesn't ask him that part, but Tony, because he's dumb -- fun to look at, but dumb -- damn dumb -- volunteers the information. Angela told him to look there, because that's where she thought it was and she wanted to avoid the bounce. And just like a good dog, he went out and played fetch. Jeff can't say anything to that sort of revelation, so he just tells Haraiki how crucial the next Immunity is going to be -- we're merging at ten, people! -- and sends them out.}
{Denadi's final words -- it was an experience, it's not one she would care to repeat, and if no one minds, she's just going to go back to her life now and never come near fafaru again -- awww, I guess she's not interested in coming back for next season -- previews which will be analyzed to death in a few hours, and we're done. Semi-normal episode. See you next week.}
{Is it just me, or were they implying something for Turare there?}
{No, they're implying. And probably misdirecting. And maybe even outright lying...}
{Does anyone else feel like we're back on the map now?}
{I think we're skirting along the border of explored territory. I'm just not sure which way we're going next.}
-------------------------------------------------------------
I spend most of the walk back to camp listening to laughter. Everyone's having a good time rehashing the challenge, talking about the various expressions on Haraiki faces, the degrees of confusion, the transition from desperation to panic to despair... Most of it is behind me. I'm in back of Desmond (who has the challenge flag as always), listening to it, not acknowledging the majority of it. There's no point to boasting: you never know when someone is going to drop into petty jealousy for no real reason and switch from the ever-popular 'eat the strong' to the seldom-seem 'eat the smart'. Azure nuzzles me a few times, and I absently reach up to stroke her back, which she seems to like. Three times along the way, Mary-Jane says "Stripper!" and starts giggling again.
The best part, though -- that comes after an early dinner. I come back from the jungle after a bathroom stop and go up to Gardener, returning his E-tool. He takes it -- then says "You earned those three days." And walks away, heading into the green to do some digging of his own.
I don't like Gardener. He doesn't like me. But it feels oddly good to receive a compliment from him. I don't need his respect, I don't have a particular want for it -- but having it, even just for a few seconds, is sort of nice. And in a way, I feel like I just paid him back. He's defended me against Connie several times now, and none more strongly than at the last Reward. He put his personal feelings aside and did it because I'm a member of his tribe -- or, as he might think of it, of his team. Not that his speech will get Connie voted out. Dinner discussion came to a very quick consensus: everyone thinks it'll be Denadi, because they'll be thinking that the last pre-merge Immunity challenge -- as always, assuming that we come together at ten -- will be physical instead of mental. Denadi's their vulnerability there, so Denadi will go home unless she finds the idol. No doubt in our minds.
No, I'll have to face Connie at least two more times. Gardener can call her out, but until and unless she reaches us, he can't get rid of her.
And that's when the thought comes.
I blink once, very hard, then repeat it with a little less force and keep my eyes closed, examining the idea in a private dark. It makes just as much possible sense there as it did in the fading glow of sunset. It isn't necessarily true. It may not even be all that likely. But it's a possibility, and as such, I file it away and vow to revisit it now and again, just to see if it applies to what I'm seeing. If I get the chance to see.
I sleep on it, examine it again in daylight, and then move on.
On Day Fifteen, the game is on hold again. Trooper decides it's time to teach me how to fish, and I spend the morning practicing with one of the hook and line arrangements, desperately hoping not to lose any hooks. My casting needs some work, but Trooper gives me instructions, telling me about the time he spent fishing as a boy when his family went into Minnesota to visit relatives, all the fun he had on the lakes, and eventually, I get the motions down. And shortly after that, I start bringing the fish in. They're small, but I get a few of them -- after some addition, Frank's abandoned scale tells me I wound up with a total of six pounds -- and after cleaning, scaling, and organ removal, that's our lunch. Trooper smiles at me and tells me that if we do lose in two days, if I do go home, he wanted me to have that experience. "You've given a lot to this tribe, Alex. The least I can do is give you a new skill. Besides, you told me you've got that river near your hometown -- maybe you can pull dinner out of it some summer day." He tilts his head slightly, reminding me of Azure. "Don't think this means you can swing my vote. I'm with Gardener, Gary, and Desmond. You know that. But it doesn't mean I don't respect your contributions -- and if you're ever in my area and you decide to speed on through, I'll make sure you get off." A grin. "I wouldn't mind if you stopped in for dinner, though. I wouldn't mind at all."
I tell him I wouldn't mind visiting. And it's funny -- but I wouldn't. I don't see how I would ever find myself down there -- no money for a car, no money for flights, no reason to go beyond that visit. But if somehow, I was ever in Mosquero -- yes, I'd drop by. The strangeness of the thought keeps me occupied for a while as I wander out along Frank's trail, sketching the things I see there, getting the blood-pool flowers properly captured in the sketchbook so they'll stop haunting my dreams. I even go into Azure's grove and manage to coax her back onto the branch I found her on, so I can draw her as I first saw her -- although getting her to hold still long enough for a pose is a lost cause. The red puddle has long since soaked in. The bits of fur remain. I don't sketch them.
By nightfall, I've found all the visions I want to keep along that path, and start thinking about where to go next. Up the Cliffs, maybe -- I haven't done anything with the challenge trail -- or out past the waterfall, or maybe even try for the long route, making an attempt on the mansion. If we win on Day Seventeen, I'll have time to do it. If not -- then Day Eighteen may still have a few hours for a drawing or six. But they'll be the last ones.
I eat dinner with the tribe, join the conversation about what we might be facing in the next two challenges, manage not to sigh when Mary-Jane has a "Stripper!" giggle relapse just before bedtime, and choose not to turn in with the others. Instead, I light my torch and take it to the beach, sketching the view of the star-filled sky by personal firelight.
"If her tribe somehow didn't know what she is, they do now."
It makes sense under starlight, too.
-------------------------------------------------------------
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(End of Episode #5)

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Belle Book 1925 desperate attention whore postings
DAW Level: "Herbal Healing Drugs Endorser"
01-07-09, 07:21 PM (EST)

11. "RE: Why Are You Carrying A Gun?: Conclusion."

This was a rather funny episode -- especially the Immunity Challenge, with the joke being on Hariki in general and Connie in particular.
Anyway, here's my love list for this episode:
1. Alex -- as far as the Reward Challenge goes -- ouch. I felt for you there. But you were pure genius when tricking Hariki at the Immunity Challenge. I too love the Alex evil!
2. Gary -- nice job reassuring Alex that Gardner was still going to look out for her. Too bad I didn't get to see you during the Reward Challenge, however.
3. Phillip -- you did a decent job in the Reward Challenge, but not such a good job with Immunity. Then again, no one from Hariki did a great job with it!
4. Trooper -- nice job with the Reward Challenge, and a great job of getting Tony to give up that dagger at Immunity! You're really a nice guy too, what with helping Alex learn how to fish.
5. Robin -- great job with the Reward Challenge! Since you're a dancer, naturally you'd be great at this type of challenge! Too bad you weren't so good with Immunity.
6. Mary-Jane -- I can't blame you for laughing your head off when Angela thought Alex was a stripper. At least you did the best job of Turare with the Reward Challenge.
7. Gardner -- way to go with what you said to Connie! She is the Wicked Witch of the West! Although if you had some kind of ulterior motive -- Alex may have figured it out.
8. Tony -- eek. Being tricked by Alex into revealing what you had -- that had to sting. And then you had to give up that dagger! It was funny for me, but I felt for you a little.
9. Angela -- I think I'm seeing the first signs of a potential problem for you. Anything that comes in that's outside of your preconceptions, you can't adapt to. Inflexibility will hurt you.
10. Connie -- it was worth it for me to see you get called out by Gardner, and then to have to contribute to your tribe being tricked like that! The look on your face -- !
A couple of others before getting to the latest victim:
1. Jake -- so this is the guy who really took exception to Alex's use of the cross in the first episode. I don't like you.
2. Cameron -- hopefully, you managed to recover from seeing Frank collapse like that.
3. Azure -- well, at least we now know that you should be secured whenever possible. But I still like you.
Out: Denadi. You were just the weakest link -- good-bye.
Belle Book

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vince3 15726 desperate attention whore postings
DAW Level: "Playboy Centerfold"
08-13-06, 07:29 PM (EST)

6. "RE: Survivor: The Society Islands: Episode #5: Why Are You Carrying A Gun?"

I'm glad you finally got this done, would have replied earlier, but my weekend started bad, got worse, and hasn't been much better since then........
I'm happy that Alex's Prisoner Dilemna, modified worked, but I'm curious as to what would've happened had Connie had a gun?
It's nice to see Gardner continue to stand up for Alex, even though he "wants her out next." It's also interesting to see the downward spiral of Desmond's leadership to an outright crumble with his admission of watching only 14 hours, approximately of the series, yeesh!
I'm curious as to the mention that "they really didn't get all of the blood" out of the purple towel refers to. Maybe our true Death Card sighting?
I also do like the multiple references to some of the other shows that are your favorites: Celebrity Poker Showdown and Big Brother both come to mind immediately.....
I do agree with Alex that it is beginning to seem like 3 tribes, but with the merge coming up, that will become the merged tribe, the crew against her, and the crew that are indifferent/supports her (like Cameron, who is probably thankful for her leading the troops to save Frank)

A gift from Cygnus!

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vince3 15726 desperate attention whore postings
DAW Level: "Playboy Centerfold"
08-13-06, 07:38 PM (EST)

7. "Conversation in the RTVW-like Chat room, post Ep. 5"

{Did you see how catty Robin and Connie are getting about Alex?}
{Yeah, it reminds me of the girls vs. Janelle in BBastards....}
{It seems like anything that Alex does, is okay with the crew, in the eyes of Connie, even if that is something that is "against the rules," or at least her interpetration of them that is}
{The only thing is, she's not alone in her distaste for Alex's first stunt, the cross. Did you see what "Jake" was up to, filming her boobs? Not that I wouldn't mind doing that myself, but it was very unprofessional of him, and the tranquilizer gun hidden in his under-jacket holster where there is no proven threat, just to be an intimidating jerk, *blech*!}
{Was he filming her boobs? I didn't catch that, only the confrontation.....}
{I think that's what I saw, and I agree with the ECUpdaters that this was shown for a reason and we will see a clash between somebody on the crew with a Survivor. Best odds for that are Alex and "Jake" currently in the betting pool, although Gardner and Gary with Jake are not far behind.....}

Because 3 Vinces are better than one.

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michel 6689 desperate attention whore postings
DAW Level: "Playboy Centerfold"
08-14-06, 05:47 PM (EST)

8. "RE: Conversation in the RTVW-like Chat room, post Ep. 5"

{We’ve had important confessionals. First, Angela, “A little Pagonging…it's what I want for tranquility. Let's get rid of them before…dealing with each other.” All editors love irony and Haraiki looks like the tribe to be pagonged!}
{Speaking of irony, how about Connie the witch (!): “I don't want Alex dead right that second: I want to torment her first.” That makes me think she’s the one that will be tormented.}
{Gardener saying, "It'll be for the car. Robin will blow by all of us." Robin’s alone between Haraiki’s 2 couples and now even Turare has her in their sights!}
{About Gardener, he protects his tribe. What happens if they pagong Haraiki and the protection becomes a moot point? Will someone protect him?}
{Alex is shown as a smart player in a desperate position. Speaking about her own secret plan, she said, “ I don't think I need to know yet…” It may have been put in to make the viewers think she was going that night but to me it reinforces that she isn’t going anywhere. When she needs it, she’ll find a way.}
{ Mary-Jane is the fun loving castaway. Has anyone ever had more fun than her? She reminds me of Greg Buis, Gabriel and Ian. None of those players had a happy ending. Mary-Jane has already forgotten about Frank and she simply enjoys the fun part of the game. It could be painful in the end.}

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Belle Book 1925 desperate attention whore postings
DAW Level: "Herbal Healing Drugs Endorser"
02-06-10, 12:50 PM (EST)

12. "RE: Conversation in the RTVW-like Chat room, post Ep. 5"

*{Speaking of irony, how about Connie the witch (!): “I don't want Alex dead right that second: I want to torment her first.” That makes me think she’s the one that will be tormented.}*
Yeah, especially since Connie's previous efforts to take Alex out or to bully her didn't really work out as planned -- Alex didn't take the bait with the bullying, Gardner's warning saved Alex in the blindfold challenge and Alex sent Connie flying -- and screaming -- into the water in the third Reward Challenge! Not a good track record for Connie.
Belle Book

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cahaya 14104 desperate attention whore postings
DAW Level: "Playboy Centerfold"
08-15-06, 10:35 AM (EST)

9. "RE: Survivor: The Society Islands: Episode #5: Why Are You Carrying A Gun?"

Here's a collection of antique Colts...
With 11 survivors remaining, match the gun that best suits the personality of survivor. Note that there are only 9 guns, so the 2 remaining survivors would be the ones who'd never carry one.
I'll start.
Trooper: #1. For the serious shooter, heavyweight, long-barreled accuracy, wicked caliber designed to stop anything short of an elephant in its tracks. Not for the amateur.
Robin: No gun. Can weave her way around a dozen trashcans in a dark New York alley faster than than the average draw.

Foo dogs by Tribe

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rasslinmomma 925 desperate attention whore postings
DAW Level: "Fitness Correspondent"
08-16-06, 06:55 PM (EST)

10. "RE: Survivor: The Society Islands: Episode #5: Why Are You Carrying A Gun?"

Mary Jane - #8 - Just because it's so cute. It's the perfect accessory item!

Slice & Dice Chop Shop 2004

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