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Estee 22510 desperate attention whore postings DAW Level: "Playboy Centerfold" 10-30-06, 02:27 PM (EST) "Survivor: The Society Islands: Episode #10: Someone Always Gets Burned." LAST EDITED ON 11-12-06 AT 10:13 AM (EST) ----------------------------------------------------------------- After ----------------------------------------------------------------- {Topic Title: Tony on The Early Show.} {Warning: the following thread contains verbiage that may be too depressing for some readers. Viewer discretion is advised.} {*sigh* Christ. Could that have been any more of a downer?} {We usually don't get to spend the segment waiting for the contestant to go for their own throat...} {Transcript isn't up yet. What happened?} {Remember the Walking Dead shot we got from Haraiki on Day Eleven? Tony reprised it, only he's dying from the inside-out. Major organ failure, and it's the fist-sized one that's supposed to spend its time pumping blood and instead winds up regulating matters of love, affection, and wishing you'd never applied for the show long after it was already too late. He actually showed up dressed in mostly-black. Which included a tank top for one of the coldest area falls on record, but that may have just been a really elaborate subconscious means of attempting suicide. Eyes hollow, voice just barely audible most of the time -- this is a man on the downhill slope of complete emotional devastation, and the only thing that's kept him from crashing into the rocks is his family. Julie just had the usual unimaginative questions for him -- but this was the one-in-a-thousand where most of them were about stuff we actually wanted to know. Here's the rough details. While Tony couldn't talk about his jury time, he could say that he believed he and Angela were a couple all the way through it. He now thinks that was just a means to try and control his vote. (Watch for a pairing there at the final Council: odds are however she goes, he goes.) They played around a little more in the mansion and looking back, she did seem like she wasn't into it as much, but Tony figured that was lingering depression over losing the million -- which, by the way, he would have stood aside and handed to her if they were Final Two -- yes, he said that, he would have looked at the jury and basically gone with a speech of 'That's my girl!' for the world's best pre-engagement present, the man was played, boxed, and sold in the Board Games section -- and he just tried to cheer her up as best he could. When they parted, it was with kisses and hugs and 'see you at the Reunion!' Or even sooner, if the rules would let her travel up to see him after his ouster vote. He found out it wasn't going to happen at the same time we did: Angela's speech at the end of Episode #7. Managed to stay in partial denial for about -- well, guess. Right. A week. And then we got the follow-up at the start of #8 -- and that was it. He's tried to call Angela. No response. She has his number blocked. His sister got through dialing on a cell, and as soon as Tony went on the line, Angela hung up. He has not tried to kill himself. He admitted to thinking about it for a few seconds, but then he remembered Alex's speech to Frank and decided Angela would probably enjoy it too much. But he knows he's depressed. He went to a doctor and got a prescription, and it's been helping a little. He went all the way home, and some of his family even flew out to the show with him to make sure he'd be okay in the appearance: they showed a brother and sister waiting backstage. He's getting better, but it's going to be a while before he gets back to normal. Hopefully by spring training. He almost smiled once -- said his mother wanted him to take a vow of celibacy on the first day he went into the minors, and now he's ready to take her up on it. But that was it. Julie actually asked him this ultra-stupid one: 'Do you regret having gone on the show?' Yes. Yes, he does.} {*sigh* Oh, man... you knew this was going to happen to someone eventually after the words 'I love you' became a page in the strategy book, but this is about as bad as it gets. I mean, this is worse than For Love Or Money: at least there, everyone was playing everyone else... I'm glad he had a tank top on: it shows he didn't try to do anything with his wrists.} {Is there any way he could try to sue Angela for emotional distress?} {No. The show's contract is supposed to be pretty comprehensive... anything that happens there is more or less off-limits.} {Kind of makes you wonder if Angela watched the segment, and what she was feeling if she did.} {Two one-word answers: No. And in the unlikely event that 'No' is wrong: Nothing.} {Anything related to future episodes? He was always the one with the greatest chance to let something slip.} {Not really. They showed his vote from last night -- the one where he told Alex she'd been through enough: now it was time to get some rest -- and used it as a lead-in for the Secret Scene, which was an expansion of what we got on Haraiki's conference. We knew Connie led the charge on Alex: what we didn't know until this morning was that she played the 'mercy' card again to get Phillip over. Robin went along reluctantly -- she really wanted Mary-Jane out as the next-best threat. And why Mary-Jane? Because Connie knew Gardener had the idol. She saw him coming back with it in his hand. They were voting around the bounce, and that gave them a choice of two targets. That talk about Gardener came at the very start of the discussion, and there was an edit jump that we missed: Connie telling them don't, we'll doom ourselves if we try it, he knows he's our target and he won't pass it off. Vote for Alex, give her a quiet place to heal -- yes, that's really funny coming from Connie, but she knew what she had to say if she wanted Phillip's assent -- and at worst, they'd be facing a tie where if the Council challenge was something majorly physical, their target would be operating under a handicap. But we all know it didn't work out that way...} {That's another thread. A really, really long thread.} {Okay, that makes sense. Connie wants Alex out more than anyone: if she spotted Gardener with the idol, it was a golden opportunity to go after her. But it really starts bringing up more question marks on that swing vote. Question marks which I will now carry someone else. Sometimes, this whole 'threaded community' thing gets frustrating. Especially the 'community' part.} {Why would Gardener be carrying the idol in the open?} {He might have just gotten it: no chance to secure it yet.} {A few more little bits from the segment. Tony was told by his club that he's got an invite to spring training with the big boys, which is a major reason to pull himself together. He probably won't make it to the show -- major leagues=show, if you don't know baseball slang -- but it's definitely a reason to go on. (And who knows? Someone's got to have a last position on their bench open, somewhere...) He's no longer into tall, slim blondes. "I guess I should have started going for short, brunette, and really busty, but they're smarter than me too." He's gotten about ten thousand E-mails from women who want to put him back together with their gentle healing hands -- and a few from men who hope he's given up on the entire gender as a loss -- but he's just not ready yet. There's been some really good-looking ones, though. He forgives Phillip, who was the most insistent on telling him that if he had a real chance at love on the show, he had to go after it with everything he had. And -- this was the interesting part -- he knows who that swing vote was, but he can't talk about it. And of course he does (unless someone really lied to him again), but it's kind of curious that he mentioned it on his own after the Secret Scene wrapped up.} {I think the last answer was the best. Julie asked him what he'd say to Angela at the Reunion, and he just looked right at her and said -- exact quote here: I recorded it and played this part a few times to make sure I had all the words right -- "There's nothing I can say that she'll care about. She didn't care enough about me as a person to not do what she did. Why would she care how I felt about it after? We've got to sit right next to each other for the whole hour: first on the jury, then in the big grouping after Jeff sits us down. If I yell at her, it just means she's beat me again. The best thing I can do is just sit there, get through it, and go out with the others afterwards. We shouldn't have any problems ditching her -- forever."} {Again, this isn't Bashers, so -- *sigh* Poor, poor Tony. He came out of this with a little more brains than he went in with, but the price he paid for that prize was way too high. Do you think he'll ever hit the dating scene again? And I'm serious: this would be a major hit for anyone if it was done in private, and having it happen on national television in front of that big an audience...} {Given how many women there are looking to show him that the gender is salvageable? (And a few men if he completely gives up?) Eventually. But it'll take a while. We're talking at least two weeks.} {Let's just hope he stays home until the Reunion. His family is the best thing for him right now. I agree completely: poor Tony. What Jeff said about the judge's words do not apply here: he did not deserve what happened to him.} {Can we not get mystical here?} {No, how about we do just for a few seconds? Look at the long-term effects of the show for a few of the people who've been on it. Angela's business has taken a nosedive. Tony may be about to receive something brand-new for his sport: the mercy call-up. Trina has people believing in her abilities and services like never before: she raised her rates twice in the last week and they're still booking with her months in advance. As Jeff would say, actions have consequences. What you do on the show can haunt you for a long time afterwards -- or even help you. Denadi's store is probably getting more business, and Michelle -- remember Michelle? -- just got a commission to do floral designs for a parade. This cast is seeing what they did on Yanini echo out to the present. And to some degree, that's true for every season -- but with the rating so high, with this many people knowing who they are... It's probably not magic. It's just people. But there's times when that's good enough. And maybe there's just a little magic involved, but I'm mostly saying that just to annoy you.} {And you're doing a weaker job of it than you might believe. I do understand the concept of 'karma', thank you. What do you think the afterlife is?} {You all forgot to mention one thing. Tony's sister? Major hottie.} {It runs in the family. Let's just hope the women in the Tirellos got the brains...} ----------------------------------------------------------------- {Topic title: Yanini: Swinger Island.} {Okay. Who? Since EPMB was just barely non-evil enough to show us Tony's vote, we can be pretty sure that M-J didn't swing him into casting one for himself unless the editing finally left the wonderful land of Blatant Distortion and headed directly for Desmond's heaven of Computer-Generated Lies. Assume Turare went as a unit again -- which is a really major assumption right now -- and we're left with three candidates. Robin. Connie. Phillip. One of those is either the greatest deal-maker in series history or a complete idiot. And if we can take a moment to forget how we normally feel about these people and that they're all complete idiots...} {Robin. Come on. They've been hinting at it all season, and her reaction to Alex's little 'fed up with their own group' speech at Council pointed the way. Not to mention the whole thing about how she could be lying. Guess what? She was lying. Someone finally found a deal for Honest Gary to bring her, and Robin bought it hook, line, and dancing shoes. She's got to have her Final Three promise back, and she decided that was good enough to Immunity her way out of. Or she finally got exactly that fed up with the rest of Haraiki and said to herself 'This offer is probably a lie, but you know what? The hell with it.' This may be the most quintessential New Yorker to make the series: cry 'Screw this!' and drive directly into traffic. It's either a collision, gridlock, or a miracle squirt-through. Who cares what the results are, as long as you were finally frustrated enough to make the attempt? At least the people behind you will stop honking.} {I think we now have to consider the possibility of a pre-show alliance between Robin & Alex. We now know that they came out of the same audition pool: the Manhattan open call. One quick talk: that's all it takes. Remember, Robin has been shown to like Alex, and we now know she's tried to move the vote away from her at least once.} {Oh, come on! A few thousand people show up, and the two who talk to each other with something like 'If we both make it, let's run under the radar for a few weeks and then team up' are the ones who actually wind up reaching the island? There isn't a gambler on the planet who'd take those odds!} {But if the casting people saw them talking and started thinking about the long term...} {Then wouldn't they have done it with a pair that didn't include someone who was convinced she was out first? That looks like short-term to me!} {It's only luck that they didn't wind up on the same tribe. It meant they had to wait a little longer. If you examine Robin's actions in the light of a Robin/Alex alliance -- the insults at their first open meeting to throw people off the scent, then Alex doesn't choose her at the wrestling challenge because she doesn't want to hurt her partner... In fact, I think this means Alex is the dumb one, because she gave up their meeting place in front of Connie. Maybe Robin's the one who told her to hand the idol to Gardener.} {Is there any way to lock a subsection of a thread?} {We can't discount Phillip here. Anyone who's been edited to be this steadfast, friendly and loyal just has to backstab someone eventually. Let's say he knows he's voting with Turare: he'll have no problems pretending to go with the 'vote for Alex' trend then.} {That applies to everyone, though.} {Whoever it was, Alex swung them. Remember that confessional?} {Yes, but I also remember the full version. Not your fault: I'm guessing you're not on Survivor Gold. I am, and the complete footage from that one made the site. (LOA: Yes, she spent the whole thing in the bathtub. No, there still isn't so much as a hint of cleavage. Don't make my mistake and give CBS your money out of foolish hope.) She followed up what was actually used on the show with "Unless someone else can do something I can't." Her filmer asked her if she meant Gary, and she replied with "No, but you're close." So let's look at those statements for a while in the light of one very large bulb: who is the one person Alex can't really talk to? Who does she have the worst relationship with? Who would laugh in her face if asked for a vote? (Okay, bad phrasing there: it's probably 'everybody', although Phillip's would be really friendly laughter.) Connie. This is how I think it happened. Gardener and Alex are having one of their hidden alliance conversations. They want to find a way around the tie. They're looking for swing votes. Not a shock: everyone is looking for swing votes. Alex proposes Connie. Connie is not loved by her own tribe: we know that. At least, she's not loved by Robin, and Tony isn't exactly thrilled with her -- remember, he was willing to swap Connie for Alex, which tells us something about his position there. Alex just got that piece of information, and it's a helpful one. They may suspect Connie & Phillip as alliance partners, but even if they do, what they don't know is that Connie got really fed up with Phillip over his helping Alex -- or maybe Gardener saw the disgusted look followed by her storming out of camp: Alex wasn't exactly in a position to watch. Connie's vulnerable within her own tribe. And -- this is the piece of information they only had after the Reward -- Connie will work with someone she hates if it's in her own best game-interests. As someone we know said, Connie is not an unintelligent player. But she still hates Alex, and Alex knows it. Maybe Alex could have make the approach herself -- but it was probably best for someone else to, just to get Connie to take it more seriously. Gardener's out getting the idol. Connie leaves camp, spots him coming back with it. But Gardener sees her, too. Conference time! Look, you know I'm safe. We're not going for you tonight. That gives you a choice of Mary-Jane or Alex to vote for, and how confident are you in your team's ability to beat a tiebreaker -- plus I could decide to start passing this thing around again. Now that you know the idol is on our side, I could fake Haraiki out and bounce out whoever I feel like. But I don't want to take the chance. I want you. Connie knows she's weak in the challenges, not exactly loved, and her alliance partner has a huge target on his broad back. Maybe it's time to think about a flip. Work with your enemies as long as it gets you further in the game: that's the smart thing to do, and Connie isn't dumb. She thinks about it, maybe even shakes the hand of the semi-heretic, and ta-da! Just like that, we've got a fifth vote -- and the Pagonging starts again. If this is what happened, though, we're facing the same series of questions we'd face for a Robin or Phillip flip. What were they offered to switch? Not fifth place: if that's the best you can get, take your chances with the tie. Fourth is too shaky a position: you need two miracle Immunities instead of one to reach the Final Two, and Connie's challenge-weak. Robin might have taken that deal -- she's got the ego for it -- and maybe Phillip would have prayed on strength and gone for it. With Connie, I think we have to be looking at Final Three. And that means someone in Turare is on the outs -- unless Gardener & Alex were lying to Connie (or who-have-you), and she fell for it. If so, the next vote is -- well, probably not Connie, unless they're shoving it in her face. And that's a bad idea when it comes to her jury ballot: this one will vote her revenge. But... I really think Connie, despite all prior editing, honored the most recent revelations regarding her character and swung last night. But for what? And how solid is it?} {I'm going to take that seriously for a few seconds just as an intellectual exercise. Do you think Connie's really that weak in her own group? She's certainly someone you might want to haul along because she's challenge-weak and might look good sitting in front of the jury with you. Unless she's playing the bitch factor as a character to make people take her along.} {Um... maybe you should subscribe to SG after all. Alex actually had a few words on the subject.} {Robin plays emotion over reason at least part of the time. She'd probably slap down the Keith card: 'The important thing is that Connie doesn't get a million dollars'. She wouldn't take Phillip, though: seven-zero, remember? Robin probably wanted to take Tony. Phillip would take Connie (and beat her), but Phillip's such a target, there's almost no way he could have made Final Two... Tony is a 'who knows?', but given that flip offer to Alex, it's hard to see him doing it, because he wouldn't think of Connie as a F2 partner. Not if he was willing to switch her out.} {I have a hard time seeing Connie as taking an approach from Gardener seriously. Don't you remember the little speech he made on Day Thirteen? Alex is her least favorite person on Turare, but Gardener's got to be a close second. I do think we're looking at a Connie flip, but I also think Alex doesn't know everything going on in her own tribe. This was Gary. The two Christians just got together and they're about to lay a crusade down on Amanu's collective rear.} {Agree. Gary & Connie: The Knights Templar. We've been waiting for Gary to link up with someone since Day One. I know some of you think he was playing Alex for a while, but she's clearly got her own deal with Gardener and he's figured that out. He and Connie have a Bible in common: that was all it took.} {All right. Let's say it was Connie who flipped. And yes, she's not stupid. You can make an argument for arrogant and bigoted, but not stupid. And yeah, she was probably offered at least Final Three, lie or not. But here's another possibility, and it's the most fun if you see Gardener & Alex as working this out beforehand. What can they offer Connie to switch? Alex can offer herself. Think about it. From everything we've seen, what Connie would almost have to want more than anything else short of a win would simply be this: Alex goes out before her. Preferably draped in humiliation: shoulders curled in, head down, tears dripping from her eyes all the way up to Jeff. What if Alex told Gardener 'Tell her she goes after I do. Tell her I'm the one who gets cut out of the Final Four. Tell her you hate me, you've been looking to get me out ever since we first hit the beach, you only made that speech to her because I asked you to, you're sick of me and you're ready to make the move that'll get rid of me once and for all...' The sooner Alex goes, the better that offer looks. Alex may have even told Gardener to promise her as the next boot -- counting on getting the idol and bouncing Connie. (Or the one after the next, because 'next' with an idol play from Phillip or Robin would put them at three-three for the original tribes, and Connie could go trolling for forgiveness.) If Alex threw herself onto the sacrificial altar and made Connie -- through Gardener -- fall for it, then that's one of the greatest moves of all time.} {Or -- Gardener swung Connie, made that exact offer, and Alex doesn't know about it. In which case, Gardener made that great move -- and Alex is the second-biggest victim of the game, right after Tony.} {Possible. Definitely possible -- on both sides. But it would have to wait at least one vote, just to solidify majority. I think Alex has to be safe this week.} {It was easier when we were dealing with idiots, wasn't it?} {'The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits.' No, it was still pretty hard to call what complete morons would pull off, because they were pretty much capable of doing anything. But this isn't that much easier. Someone is being played here. Either Alex knows what Gardener's up to or she doesn't. Or Gary's finally made his power move, and the game is going to be taken apart from the inside out. Or Phillip is about to unleash an evil laugh and destroy his edit in a way never seen before. We can speculate all we like, but we're all doing the same thing: waiting on Thursday, and possibly beyond. Because EPMB can't conceal this vote forever. At some point, we are going to get confirmation of exactly who stands where, and who's standing next to them. I'm just afraid it's going to be a thousandth of a second after we see the last jury vote.} {Where's a damn order-sorting challenge when you really need it?} ----------------------------------------------------------------- I'd never really seen Officer Ramirez in an amused mood before. The time I'd spent in her office -- taken across my entire life, it had to add up to at least a couple of weeks -- had been spent basking in her open frustration, barely-concealed misery, and the dim, flickering light of Policy, which also disguised itself as sanctimony or anything else that could be trotted out as an automatic excuse. It was easier than trying to do things that might work. Things that might work were generally against the law, and the ones that weren't were always against Policy. She'd been smiling a lot today. I wasn't comfortable with it. "A telephone restraining order against one of the richest men in America," Or maybe this one was a little bit more of a smirk. "No, Alex, I don't think that one's going to be so easy to get. Maybe you should just cave in and go to a party. I'm pretty sure he can afford to keep throwing them until you show up." "It's not even me he really wants." And now we're switching roles: I get to be frustrated. Although she's not exactly going for my usual resignation... "It's the eventual publicity. This is just for the show. He can schedule another party Reward any time he likes for his own crew, and Burnett will encourage it for as long as it takes to get one of us on the dance floor." And now for the one I tried to convince his assistant of during the last fake-cough-ridden phone call. "He could at least go for Robin. She'd be pretty good there." Yes, this one was definitely a smirk. "Do you owe someone five million dollars right now that I don't know about?" I liked her better when she was constantly walking along the absolute edge of barely-repressed ineffectual misery. And I hated her then. "I'm talking about someone else's show. This is so obvious! Burnett wants some of the ratings to carry across! I thought about it: he can't get two or more of us in there until after the Reunion because of the post-filming contract clauses, so they had to pick one." This one may have come out as being just a little bit bitter. "Probably drew my ball out of the old bag. And he won't back off! Fine, I'm sick, I can come to the next party. How about I have dinner with his latest winning team and give them some strategy tips there? Why don't I just show up and help out on a task? This is getting ridiculous! Why doesn't he just move me into the Tower and get it over with?" I was breathing much too quickly for my own comfort. I tried to calm down, tried hard -- but this had been going on for five days now, and I'd long since passed the point of being merely sick of it. The jerk wouldn't even take the dress back. We sat in near-silence for a few seconds, listening to the underpowered radiator trying to warm the cold office and raising the temperature within six inches of itself by at least half a degree. Officer Ramirez used the time to carefully wipe the smile from her face. She did a lousy job of it: there was still some elevation around the corners. "Inviting you to parties, dinners, and future episodes does not constitute harassment. He's been having his secretary make one call a day, so it's not as if there's been twenty-four hour pressure on you. And everything you've told me about what you said did not include the word 'no.'" A pause which was probably meant to let that sink in. It didn't work. I knew what I'd said in every one of those brief conversations and just how much good it had done. "You have the right to refuse, Alex. You've been making excuses instead. Maybe you should try a good, honest 'I don't want to go' and see what that does." A mirthful sigh: I don't know what's wrong with you here, but I'm going to enjoy it as I (very badly) pretend to look exasperated. "Although I still have no idea why you wouldn't want to go..." Have you ever tried saying 'no' to someone that rich? I was betting the word either wouldn't get through or would go right through, take your pick: enter ear, take tunnel directly through brain, exit other ear. "Fine. I'll just stall until his filming ends. It can't be that long now." The assistant had said they were down to four on one team. Three weeks, tops. She didn't mention my continued reluctance to use the 'no' option. We had other things to go over. "On similar notes --" she made a show out of glancing down at the notes she'd been scribbling earlier "-- I can't stop people from approaching you and asking for autographs. Asking to see the scars does not constitute entrapment by trying to make you violate indecent exposure laws. I guess I could make an allowance for trying to get you to hurt yourself if the request comes outdoors and the temperature drops a little more..." She spotted the glare. "All right: I know you didn't ask about that last one. But I thought I was saving time. Alex, except for your ever-dropping ratio of death threats --" another look down "-- and I notice that the rapists are, at least for this DVD, completely off the map -- you're basically asking me to find you legal avenues which say anyone who treats you like a celebrity can be stopped. There aren't any. You are a celebrity -- or didn't you notice the sign?" I sighed. Yes, I had. I'd taken an early-morning walk past the college on my way to the supermarket, moving under cover of darkness: the end of Daylight Savings Time had its compensations. But there was more than enough light being cast by the streetlamps to spot the city border sign, which for years had read 'Now leaving Haledon' and a notice that you also happened to be departing the original home of Bruce Baumgartner, two-time Olympic gold medalist in freestyle wrestling (and four medals overall). And despite possessing that information, you were still leaving it -- although you'd probably have to come back to it later, lucky you. But you were now also leaving Haledon at a time when it happened to be the residence of Alex Cole, reality show contestant. Not that Bruce had been forgotten: the new sign had an 'and', with my name and considerably more dubious achievement on the lower half. I didn't get top billing for those entering the city, either. Although that might not be long in coming: she took my sigh as a notice that I had seen it, and moved on. "Do you know what's going on right now? This place isn't just watching, it's getting ready to legislate. There's people who want to throw a street fair for the whole Sunday if you make Final Four: invite vendors, get some moon walk booths, then close down the town when the episode starts and get everyone into the bars for the 'hometown watching' shots. A full-fledged Alex Cole Day. It may be on a small scale, but right now, you are putting this place on the map again. We're not just the road bump between the college and Paterson: we're the home of the only woman on the planet known to have killed a jaguar by hand." A small head shake followed that one. She'd seen it. She believed it. But it had taken a while. "Alex, that means something to this burg..." "It used to mean target practice," I harshly shot back. "It can start meaning that again any second. All celebrity means is an open invitation for more people to go after me -- or haven't you seen a single semi-news show for movie stars activity in the last two decades? The more popular you are, the more people look for excuses to tear you down!" The last three words echoed for a while. She stared at me, eyes wide. The whites seemed to have a tinge of yellow around the edges. "Where did you get that idea from?" "A friend." Sort of a friend. A demi-hemi-semi friend. Well, not an enemy, anyway. Not a major enemy... Which got a snort. It didn't come anywhere close to Gardener's standards, possibly because it lost momentum in getting through all the tar. "She's made a friend. I'd rejoice, but I think you'd take it the wrong way. Well, Alex, that idea is wrong. The only people in this country who wouldn't give anything for your 'problems' right now are the ones who already have them." She closed the folder, looking satisfied with herself. What did it take to make people see things clearly? Other than miracles which never came? "Maybe because they're the ones who know what it's really like." That got a cough, but it wasn't dismissal: it was the opening shot on a twenty-second mini-fit. She reached for a Halls. "And enjoy it. Now, about the other thing -- we don't know about any new gangs in the area. They may be very local still, and worried about pushing out for territory: all of those double-S sigils are within a few blocks of your place." She shrugged. "Which is odd in itself -- we both know that's claimed territory -- but from what we're hearing, the local ganglord hasn't been pushing anyone out. There's a chance that this new group is announcing their upcoming presence with the signs, and they'll be moving in later. Trying to designate their landing point and daring the locals to stop them. Which they are ready for..." A long sigh. "That's part of why the politicians want to focus on you, Alex. It takes people's minds off things like that." So apparently my new purpose in existence was to take people's mind off real news. Hooray. Plus I got to be in the middle of Gang War Central: there was a celebrity perk no one had ever thought of. Maybe they'd stop shooting at each other long enough to ask me for autographs. "We're keeping our eyes open, we'll try to stop it -- but so far, nothing's happening. And for all we know, this is a graffiti artist with a very boring tag." Or as long as she's wishing, an illiterate neo-Nazi who can't keep both letters on the right angles or going the right way. "I guess there's not much to do, then." I stood up. "I'll just get back to my apartment and try to put a dent in the commission flood." The strip now had a new threat to its existence: either I found a way to get through the virtual mountain of art requests and still leave some time for drawing new daily material, or I was actually going to have to tap into the reserve backlog for the first time since I'd gone to Yanini. Of course, right now, that was nine weeks' worth of strips, so it wasn't a major threat just yet... She nodded. "And place your next Amazon order?" Honestly curious. "Maybe." The rollover had covered the months between my winning the Reward and the date the footage had aired. I had even less of an idea on what to do with all that virtual money than I had with the original thousand. It was getting to the point where it was too much to have a real grasp on. I probably should have waited to order the new monitor through them, but the idea of electronics being shipped included another possible excuse for an autograph request from my overly-dedicated UPS attendee, who had not delivered Phillip's necklace. (That would probably have to wait for the Reunion, or at least just before it.) And I'd gotten a really good warranty through the store. For free. "The Reward doesn't expire -- I've got time." I headed for the door. "Alex?" Okay, this is becoming very annoying... I paused with my hand on the doorknob, turned to look back at her -- and she was blushing. Not much, no stoplight red about to flash warning signs into the streets while contrasting horribly with the ugly curtains, but enough to show that whatever she was going to say next was awkward at best, with an outside chance of heart-stopping humiliation. I waited. She didn't say anything else. Waiting on my cue. Fine. "What?" This couldn't possibly be a request for an autograph. She had my signature on hundreds of forms. Some of the recent ones had even been processed. Slowly, very carefully, tiptoeing on each syllable as if waiting for it to go off, "Can I see the scars?" I looked at the words, let them hang in the air between us, drift back towards her until she started to see just what they really looked like... "You've seen me beaten." Very soft: not a whisper, but no tones, nothing that would take it past the softest pitch possible. "You've seen me bruised, and you've seen me bleeding. You've never been able to do anything about any of it. If you just wanted to complete the set, fine. But it just goes with your normal routine. You never stopped any of the others: you just got to look at their after-effects. You had no way of stopping this one, either. I'm just sick of displaying the results on your request. Nothing ever came of obeying that order and nothing's going to happen now. No, you can't see them." Turning back towards the door, "You never saw much of anything." Immediately and as harshly as she could force it to emerge, "I tried, Alex. I always tried to help you --" and another coughing fit. And the parting shot that had no answer possible: "You always failed." I left. Not a word, Jeff. Not a goddamned word. He didn't say anything. Neither did she. But the echo of her coughing followed me all the way down the hallway, out to the stairs, and several blocks down the street... ----------------------------------------------------------------- Before ----------------------------------------------------------------- {Welcome to Week #10, which is going to be a normal week. On a normal season. For our normal show. Because eventually, one of them has to be, and this one's going to be it! Right? Right? Anyone? Please...?} {I know what you mean. This is like what we had after Frank: all the intensity has been interesting and at least no one's dead, but my thread-locking finger is developing a serious cramp. One semi-ordinary episode couldn't hurt -- and if the Pagonging is set to go, then our normal yawning attacks may come as the most relaxation we've had since Alex first whipped the cross out and stabbed the format in the eye with it. But if the idol comes into play again, we could be looking at three-three in a hurry -- or at least four-two, if the flipper remains solid. And I really want to know who our flipper was.} {...a dolphin, right?} {Ha. Ha. Ha.} {Gotta agree with the swinger thread: it'll come out this week, and probably pretty early. Burnett's had his fun and we've had our special sponsor drop by with six truckloads of no-right-key locks, much like the ones Robin was trying to work last week, and she's still my favorite possibility. Our loudest bird finally got sick of her former perch and flew off to join a new flock.} {Can we not start this again? That thread is up to -- let me see -- good lord. Three hundred and seven posts. Most of which are actually on the original topic, although I see one of our newbies had a birthday. I just want to settle this tonight so I can see that thing die a fast, painful, non-Phillip-induced death. Which does not mean he's my pick, okay? Connie's my pick. We established that -- this is starting all over again, isn't it? Can we get to the episode, please?} {It's your own fault for starting the update thread early.} {I have power, and I'm five seconds away from being willing to abuse it...} {We broke the Borneo ratings record last week. It's in EPMB's best interests to keep the weird going.} {Sure, but he didn't know that at the time.} {Maybe he can edit it in at the last minute. Ghosts, anyone? It's about time the F/X department got some work done.} {Barring idol plays -- and I see the voting thread was cowered into near-submission by the mere possibility -- at least we've got an obvious boot this week.} {Something obvious? Let's check our records there. Elmore was sort of obvious -- oops. Then we got Trina, and I guess Elmore going next was pretty much due, but then -- okay, Frank was a problem, and then we did sort of call Denadi as Haraiki's next vote victim. Everything after that has existed solely to drive our batting average somewhere below Tony's.} {In the unlikely event that he's lurking here tonight: hi, Tony! I'm not tall, I'm not blonde, I'm your age, and lantern jaws are a turn-on. Write me!} {There's a question I'd love to have answered: who is here from the show? No one's posting, I know that -- but at this point, I'm convinced Gardener's in hiding, looking for trainees he can punish. And probably having a good laugh at all of us.} {How about Alex? She knows the show well enough...} {Connie?} {If so, I don't think she's going to like her latest and most active thread. We almost found out too much for her own good. As in 'anything'.} {Damn you, Internet posters! Damn you all to Hell!} {Normally I'd complain, but that kind of was the perfect setup for a 'Be The' post.} {Okay. Fine. Hello. I'm here. And with my contract, that's almost all I can say -- except that I haven't taken any of it personally. Not even the summaries.} {...that can't be real, can it?} {I think we've got a pretty good chance. Who on Earth would register as Elmore?} {Dude, are you even allowed to post on the Internet?} {I'd better be: it makes it hard to coordinate with the rest of my game design team if I'm not. I think the long-timers know the rules I have to operate under. I couldn't discuss the show before I was voted out, then I could only talk about it in the media rotation, and even now, there's things I can't say. Like practically everything. But I went out on Day Nine: everything that happened afterwards is a mystery to me. That means I've been following it with -- and through -- the rest of you. Got to say, it's been kind of fun watching you people work. And before anyone says anything, I'm losing weight, okay? You'll see that in a few weeks. The show really inspired me to work on myself. I can't provide much insight without costing myself a lot of money, but I'm happy to watch with the group.} {You weren't offended by my summary? How much do I have to do to get someone mad at me? I thought the beached whale line was perfect for earning a shot to the jaw!} {Heard worse, mostly from Angela. You'll have to try harder.} {Heh. Okay, that's no reason for me to be convinced of your reality, but I'm gonna run with it anyway -- especially since your login is screaming 'Seattle!' and going back to what I know is your game company, so if you not be he, you're either a hell of a hacker or you work with he. Which isn't necessarily mutually exclusive. Welcome, Elmore. What brings you here tonight?} {I've been here every night. I just finally decided to say something. Mind if I join in on the update thread? I really can't join the speculation too much because I might trip over my own contract, but I can sure comment on events as they 'happen' with the rest of you.} {Well, you might have to see some joke revivals -- but if you can take it, sure, pitch in!} {Not even the 'bloated carcass of failed Warcraft wanna-bes?' line?} {Nope.} {Damn it!} {I'm sorry, Elmore, you are not the Biggest Loser. Hello!} {One quick question which I think you can answer. Connie said Haraiki spoke about going out for the show on the first night, and everyone applied. You're allowed to confirm stuff like that, I think. You did apply, right? Any time you can't answer a question because of your contract, type CA:C and I'll understand. And explain it to the rest of these geniuses.} {Will do, thanks! And yes, everyone said they applied. Robin even mentioned that she went through open auditions on the first night. So did Tony, only he came in through the Denver session. Connie, Angela, Phillip, Denadi, Michelle and I sent in tapes.} {Huh. So that's three in through open casting without knowing the results for the rest of Turare. Maybe it's worth getting in line after all.} {Recrap! With everyone still trying to figure out their next move after Angela finally reaped the consequences of her last one -- yes, I said 'reaped', I'm a Tarot believer, and the whole season is the Death card! -- we got to see a lot of attempts at finding a fifth vote. Which was kind of silly, because no one's ever going to switch and we all know it. But still, there goes Gary after Robin! There goes Connie after Gary! Gee, Gary's popular all of a sudden: I guess people finally realized he was actually in the game and got to cast his very own special vote... But before we can confirm that no one's crazy enough to switch, we have to go through the Reward challenge, where we have teams of Loud & Near-Silent, Horny & Ula! Wow-Wow-Wowie!, Barnum & Bailey -- and, just because Jeff can feel the names on the balls and sets things up to suit his purposes, Evil Pagan Mistress Of The Hidden Idol & Holy Patron Saint Of Weaverianity. That last team should lose. That last team has to lose. But nothing's been normal this year, so Connie got all the makeup she could apply with a trowel and Alex got to show us what an Amazon she really is, despite being at least one foot short on the primary requirement and one secondary sexual characteristic over the limit on the other. So let's all go to the mansion, and grab ourselves a -- secret door. Seriously? Okay, what's down there? Really? Okay, can we come back up for air? As in now? Sure we can, just in time for Gary to win Immunity! (Remember Gary? I mentioned him a few sentences ago. He's playing the game. Honest.) And it looks like no one's lined up that fifth vote, so let's go to TC, where Tony is once again the Dish Of The Day, ready to serve up something off his left hip for our pleasure, and in a stunning move that we've never seen before, Alex is going to be targeted because people are afraid of brains! And they want to invoke mercy again! Oh, and there's probably the 'she could kill any one of us' thing. So it's Athlete vs. Cartoonist, and we're finally going to see the tiebreaker after three false alarms -- wait. Is that a vote I see before me? And it says 'Tony'? And there's a little #5 in one corner? And is that a Pagong I hear desperately trying to go off in the background? Mother of mercy votes, could this be the end of Haraiki? Please say yes. And with that, we bring you to tonight's opening credits and wait to head back into the jungle, where it should stop raining any cut scene now. Too bad. Five more minutes and they could swim back. Of course, that would probably wind up giving us Alex fighting off a shark. And Richard's already depressed enough about this season. First the matches got topped, and it's been all downhill for him from there. (Plus the reception in his cell just utterly sucks.)} {Hey, Elmore! How much fun was it seeing Angela bounced out?} {CA:C -- nah. Very.}   Alert Edit | Reply | Reply With Quote | Top

Subject     Author     Message Date     ID    Someone Always Gets Burned: ... Estee 11-06-06 1    RE: Someone Always Gets Burn... AyaK 11-08-06 2  Someone Always Gets Burned: ... Estee 11-12-06 3  Someone Always Gets Burned: ... Estee 11-17-06 4    RE: Someone Always Gets Burn... Colonel Zoidberg 11-17-06 5        RE: Someone Always Gets Burn... Estee 11-17-06 6            RE: Someone Always Gets Burn... Colonel Zoidberg 11-20-06 9    RE: Someone Always Gets Burn... cahaya 11-17-06 7  RE: Survivor: The Society Islands:... xwraith27 11-18-06 8

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Estee 22510 desperate attention whore postings DAW Level: "Playboy Centerfold" 11-06-06, 06:12 PM (EST) 1. "Someone Always Gets Burned: Part II" LAST EDITED ON 11-09-06 AT 02:14 PM (EST) ----------------------------------------------------------------- The experiments in parrot transportation last just long enough for Amanu to start drying out, which is actually bad news: the more comfortable we become, the worst it's going to be when we have to head outside again. Azure will not stay on someone else's arm (or shoulder). She'll reluctantly transfer on my suggestion (light pushing) and stay in one place until the moment I move away from her -- at which point, she flies back to me, frequently followed by a 'don't do that again' headbutt. There doesn't seem to be anything anyone can do about this (including the headbutt part) and the production staff is very reluctant to try leashing her to a hired wrist, so she's stuck with me for the duration And the storm won't stop... Eventually, we wind up with Yanini Striptease, Part II: Gardener and Phillip take off their shirts, wring them out, and hold the results high over two torches. The impromptu umbrellas let us keep our flames lit all the way through the valley, right up until the point where we enter the jungle trail -- which is when we get the first major wind gust. The rain moves horizontally, and the drenching downpour (combined with the pool which chooses that exact moment to tumble off a broad leaf) takes out Gary's torch. Robin's is extinguished six steps later -- and the unshielded ones started going out ten paces after we left the Council set. Mine didn't even make eighteen. We move very slowly down the trail: there's no point in rushing for camp when we really can't see where we're going -- too many clouds blocking the moonlight, too few lightning flashes to show the way -- and we're soaked already: there's nothing to save through hurrying. Azure keeps squawking her misery into my ear as we threaten to break Guatemala's no-speed record, but there's nothing we can do about it. With the torchlight gone, Phillip does his best to shield her, but the wind is still too large a factor, and his attempts mostly end in splashbacks into his own face as the soaked fabric whips about in his grip. He's limping a little: nothing broken, as far as he can tell, but his toe is still very sore. I want to make a run for it. The rain is almost deafening as it pounds against the trees, the thunder seems far too close, and some of the lightning is striking within a few hundred feet. The next bolt could orient on the trail. Lightning may not strike twice in the same place -- at least, not for a while -- but all it has to do is strike once in the place I'm currently walking through. And given the way my luck has run on the island, that will also be at the time I'm walking through there. Inching through the darkness. This is the worst weather we've had since we reached the island, and it won't stop. Robin's muttered curses either run out or get lost in the storm. (I think it's the later: it's hard to imagine Robin running out of curses. although she can get to the point where she starts repeating herself.) Every so often, shadows move around and past me: Gardener trying to scout the path ahead, Mary-Jane making sure we're all on track, Connie stopping under a tree for a few seconds until Phillip warns her away from it, camera operators in their ponchos and umbrella hats trying to get away from our hatred. One lightning flash puts Trooper ten feet ahead, bent down as if checking out something in the middle of the path -- but it's just some blowing branches casting shadows, the darkness given extra density by the storm. Too much noise, not enough light, and far too much wet. I don't know how long it's taking us to get down the trail. I don't know when the storm is going to stop. I'm starting to wonder if it can stop. The wind howls, Azure shivers on my shoulder, I want to cover my ears but she's too close to my head, I want to get back to camp, I want to sleep -- -- I want to put this day behind me -- -- and I really want to not think about what Connie's swing vote ultimately means... My wants are not a concern for the island tonight. We eventually rejoin the beach trail, and we can move faster from there: it doesn't seem to take very long before we reach camp -- at least, a lot less time than it took for the Council trail. But when we do, we find the inside of our shelter is wet, to the point where the shelter itself may have to be redescribed as 'semi-indoor swimming pool'. It's not Desmond's fault: the tarps have held, the shelter has not been damaged by the winds. But we were told to leave one side open -- and the wind is more than strong enough and moving in exactly the wrong direction. Blankets, ground pads, left-behind items -- everything is soaked through. Only the things in the storage shack and bathroom have survived the drenching, and those will be at risk once we open a door. We can light torches in those areas, and possibly even keep them shielded long enough to bring them into the shelter -- but they won't last long after that. The shack and bathroom won't take all of us: maybe four altogether if we crowd. We can't take the tarps off the shelter to use as tents, not in this wind: one good gust and we'll never see them again. And there's no way to rotate the shelter. Gardener makes a sound that's at least half growl, which makes everyone on the camera and production staffs back up a minimum of two paces. They know whose fault this is and who we're about to blame for it. If Desmond had been allowed to install his hinge and swing-down final wall, we'd be okay... Another flash, more thunder, still far too close -- and then we wait for the next burst of light so we can see the plastic-coated cards Gary's just dealt out. Phillip and Mary-Jane wind up with the storage shack, and retire into it to try and find some rest. (The camera operators have either forgotten Turare's promise to only enter one at a time or realized that it really isn't a good time to argue with us. Besides, Phillip never said it.) Gardener gets the bathroom -- as does Robin, and in the fraction of a second of a second where I can see his face, he doesn't seem to be even remotely comfortable with it. Gary, Connie and I wind up in the shelter. There's some discussion of taking shifts, but since no one can tell when they'll be up anyway, it gets rejected -- plus some of the ones lucky enough to get shelter aren't particularly eager to give it up. I just manage to coax Azure into the storage shack: Phillip promises to let her out if she makes too much of a fuss about it. We sit: there's no point to lying down, as it just squishes out extra water from the pads. There's no conversation: we could barely make ourselves heard during the card draw -- and this isn't exactly the best possible debating group to begin with. Secret ally and new voting partner. They'd presumably have a lot to talk about, but I wouldn't want to hear most of it -- and anything going on more than four feet away is out of audible reach. The sounds I'm listening most closely for wouldn't be alliance discussions from the dry areas, anyway. I'm listening for coughs. Sneezes. Especially mine. Someone's going to get sick from this, and my system is the most stressed of anyone's. One good case of walking pneumonia and I'll be taken out of the game. If the storm breaks, I can change clothing -- my bag is waterproof, the sketchbook safe -- and try to get some rest, find a chance for my body to heal some more. But it's not even slowing down. When the shadows fall just right in the lightning flashes, I can see Connie looking at me. Sometimes it looks like Desmond is sitting next to her. Sometimes it's Trina. I have two people in the shelter with me, then seven, then none: branches swaying, the sudden assaults of light turning every movement into a shadow theater. The wind is moving through the gaps in the fire pit. It no longer sounds the least bit musical. It sounds like the island is screaming. ----------------------------------------------------------------- {Oh, if only every night was like this...} {Elmore, how does this compare to the first storm?} {It doesn't. The one I was there for was a lot weaker. I've got to give Desmond credit: that shelter isn't collapsing. But that's misery in there. The worst part for me was that you didn't know how long you were waiting for. You knew sunrise was coming, so at least you'd have light. But there was no way to tell how far off it was. Not having watches was one of the worst parts of being on the island. Like having insomnia or being really sick and trying to get some sleep: you swear that when you finally manage to drop off, it'll be for hours -- and then you open your eyes, and it's been three minutes. My time sense was one of the first things to go. When you're waiting like this, every second is forever. I could never find anything to measure against.} {That's how I felt when I was watching you trying to get through the challenges.} {Well, we know Gary isn't dealing off the bottom of his own deck -- literally. The shelter is the worst of the three places to be right now.} {I'd be most worried about Phillip & Mary-Jane right now -- that's pretty much absolute privacy. They could be up to anything in there. And I mean alliances, thank you very much.} {Phillip? Uh-huh. Wrong contestant for that game show, and a little late to the podium...} {Finally, time-lapse -- sunrise, it's still coming down. Looks like sleep was pretty much a complete loss across the board. The lucky four emerge drier than they went in, but they get wet again immediately. Morning tasks still have to get done -- Gardener and Phillip go out for water. Lots of staggering around, red eyes, and half-speech as people try to marshal words together. No one's in good shape right now.} {I hope someone got a capture on Gardener's face as he exited. Gotta wonder what was going on in there all night. Bet Robin was trying to get him to play heat engine for her. And failing.} {Alex trying to get a very small fire going behind the shelter, hoping to find a spot that's shielded enough from the wind and rain to at least boil the water. Sparks, and they protected enough wood to give her dry materials to work with, but anything that catches goes out.} {Where's our information? Where's a confessional? Why won't someone tell us something we can use?} {The confessional areas are probably flooded...} {More time-lapse, and the rain finally stops. Tree Mail arrives: Mary-Jane goes out to get it, and we get the following, in my paraphrase: 'We can't take a chance on having all of you falling asleep in Phillip's arms, plus the challenge equipment probably needs some time to dry out. Go to bed. Reward has been rescheduled for later.' Everyone wringing out blankets and camping pads, Gardener finally gets a fire started, and Amanu collectively passes out.} ----------------------------------------------------------------- The breathing is more of a test than anything else: any liquid in there? Both nostrils functioning properly? Does the air want to exit a lot faster than it went in? But so far, my body feels normal. Damp, but normal. Maybe somewhere past 'damp': I feel like I've been on the receiving end for Niagara Falls, and everyone else just looks it. I'm glad we don't have a mirror in camp: I really don't want to see what my face looks like after spending the entire night awake and most of the morning in a self-induced coma to rival Frank's artificial one -- although at least I don't have to worry about sporting the arsenal of colors Mary-Jane, Connie, and Robin were displaying. Their makeup from the previous night not only ran, it tried to hide, generally attempting to flee down the neck and making its way into whatever protective crevices it could find from there. Mary-Jane's already wiped the slate clean and started over. Connie's just about done. We're all very patiently waiting for Robin to realize the sides of her nose have turned black from wayward mascara. No one's been able to bring it up yet, although Mary-Jane did realize she was giggling every time she glanced that way and stopped well before Robin could figure out just what was being laughed at. Early afternoon on Day Twenty-Eight, and it's the first chance anyone's had to take open stock of the last Tribal Council -- at least that I know of. There could have been any amount of talking in the bathroom and storage shack, although I don't think much went on between Gardener and Robin: he practically sprinted out at daybreak, leaving her looking exceptionally frustrated in the doorway. I don't know what happened there: no torches in the bathroom, so it's not as if he was stuck staring at the stripes for hours... Phillip and Mary-Jane emerged looking weary, but happy to be in some degree of sunlight again. Connie never said a word the whole night, and Gary tried to talk, but got drowned out by the wind every time. Amanu has started off our dry period by eating, drinking, and watching everyone listening for coughs from everyone else. So far, we all seem to be okay, which is more of a pity in some cases than others. Of course, 'okay' is a really relative thing. "Final Three, right?" Phillip, who's wringing out socks in front of the fire. His bare feet have their share of white spots -- everyone's do -- and the big toe on his left foot is a little swollen. He glances up at Robin, who was in the middle of warming her hands: she stares down at his seated form with open disbelief. It's not enough to make Phillip interrupt his thought, much less stop smiling. "I'm not upset or nothing. If you found a good deal, that was your call. I just hope the deal is good." He shrugs. "Kind of let down that you didn't think we could beat the tie, but -- that's the game." I don't know how he's managing to keep a real smile up through this. If Gardener was in the same position, he'd probably be talking about throwing something by now. Or someone. "Can't fault you for playing it." Robin groans. "It wasn't me!" It's very heartfelt. It also has a bit of a familiar echo to it. "I'm going to be Pagonged out just like you! I was waiting for the damn tie last night. Everything I've been waiting for in this game, I don't get..." She sighs, abruptly steps back from the fire. "Screw it. I'll explain it to you when we're both in the mansion." Phillip gently shakes his head. "I told you, I'm not upset. You don't have to lie to me. You can't take things personally out here. You saw your chance and you went for it. Like I said -- just hope you get what they offered you." "Yeah," Robin shoots back. "Fifth place is a lock." And storms away from the fire, heading for the water trail. I don't know why she'd want to go there. We've all had more than enough of water lately. Gardener's snort reaches us before he does: he's bringing fresh wood in to dry out. "I know you've got a competitive bone in your body, Phillip, but there's days when I think you're waiting for another America's Council vote to hit and you're just building up for that million." He sets the wood down: close enough for the fire to help it dry out, far enough away so it won't catch from stray sparks. "But you're smart enough to realize that's never going to happen again, so this is probably actually you. God help your poor kids -- you're giving them one hell of an example to live up to." Phillip laughs. "I try." A glance at me: I'm wringing out towels. "But yeah, they're never doing that again -- and if they did, Alex would get it." His eyes twinkle. "What's the bounty on one jaguar, anyway?" Don't ask me: I don't even know what the show wanted the skin for. I have some theories, but... "Probably a few years in jail for killing a member of an endangered species, but as everyone keeps reminding us, we're outside the normal law zones." Good thing, too, because it would have been a short trial. Yes, I killed it. I still say I was just trying to defend myself. I don't see anything wrong with my actions. Sure, six years in solitary will be fine: at least it'll be quiet. "But Gardener's right -- I can't see them ever doing that again, unless they had a second All-Star run." Two camera operators shudder. Mary-Jane sees the reaction and giggles. "I think that's a no. Or maybe an 'Oh God, not again...'" She's trying to get her halter top dried out. Given the amount of fabric that needs drying, it should take something under fifty heartbeats. "Think any of us would make it?" Gardener actually seems to be taking that one seriously. "Depends on how many they decided to bring from our season, and where the cut-off line was for the gathering process, period. They shouldn't take anyone from Pearl Islands on back -- keep that group retired. Say two more seasons after us, and they gave us three slots..." Visibly thinking now. "Maybe they'd put it in Columbia and give Frank a second chance, just to see what he'd do." Mary-Jane's expression is rapidly moving away from happiness. "Three people -- I'd sure as hell like to think that I'd make it. Probably not Angela..." That one brings out a virtual tooth point or two. "If it's Africa again, Alex, you're a lock: they'll want to see what else you can kill." Azure, who's napping on her perch, doesn't react to the word. She probably wouldn't react unless I said it, and I'd need another big animal to test that with. It's not an experiment I want to try. "Aspen, and they couldn't get Connie in there fast enough -- at least until she realized the challenges didn't come with lift tickets." She's on the beach with one of the fishing lines, working under Gary's careful supervision: Phillip's comment about her being the only one who hadn't brought in any real food may have gotten to her. Or she's just trying to find another angle she could potentially play for the jury. Or it could just be another chance for a private conference with Gary. Great: I've found a new annoying word. "I don't think they'll ever do it again." The point is moot. Besides, two slots will probably go to Stephenie and Bobby Jon, just so they can set new records for Tribal Councils Attended. And there's things I want to talk Gardener about more than this -- but it's not as if we have any sort of signal arranged... "And if they did, what I'd want to see would need a few more seasons." They wait for it. "All winners. Do three tribes again to start, but do it as the nineteenth season. Bring back everyone who finished in first place: no one else. That way, there wouldn't be any jealousy against people who'd already gotten the million, and you'd have a chance of seeing it play out as the best against the best." Which presumes the winner of each season is automatically the best in that group, but... Gardener's first reaction is predictable. "Sure: that should give Richard just enough time to get out of jail. I'm not sure if he could travel out of the country if he was still on parole..." Mary-Jane casts her vote at the theoretical Council. "Vecepia goes first." Phillip looks thoughtful. "No, Brian -- no one's gonna want him hanging around long enough to start making deals, even if no one trusts them in the first place..." They're kidding, right? "They still have to think physical in the early votes -- so long, Tina." Twice. And before anyone can try and debate that, the camera operators register an opinion: it's time to end this discussion before they get any sicker than they already look. Tree Mail calls. Namely, it's calling me -- a quick point, then the finger moves on -- and Gardener? Two to read on an individual Challenge? A quick glance at his face shows he's as surprised as I am, but the command has been given: we both get up and head down the trail. Besides, this is practically a bonus Reward. As soon as we're out of sight, "When?" He doesn't exactly have to guess what I'm talking about. "A little while after I got the idol. It didn't take long." I'm expecting a grin. I get a shrug. "Once she realized I was serious and it was in her own best interests, she swung." He looks down at me, and it feels like his height is the most minor contributing factor in that position. "I told you not to worry. I'm guessing that didn't work." "I would have worried a lot more if you'd told me it was Connie," I admit. Even though I've been waiting a couple of weeks for you to try it. "What was the deal?" And that's when I get the predatory grin. "Would you believe anything I told you about that?" Probably not. "Try me." He shakes his head. "All you need to know is that she's with us -- and you're still Final Four." More seriously, "I swore on Audrey that I was going to get you there, come hell and high water -- both of which we've pretty much already had -- and I'm going to keep that promise. I didn't bump you to get her and I didn't promise that you'd go out early just to make her happy. Okay?" No. Because I already have a pretty good idea what he promised -- two pretty good ideas, actually. One involves his breaking his so-called promise to me in less than a heartbeat or in something under one Council, and the other means he kept that word while he was in the middle of saying two others -- -- and apparently there's actually enough doubt for him to pick up on it. Very annoying. "Alex -- unless something goes weird on the bounce, you are Final Four. Which means we've got to take the idol damn seriously from now on -- I don't want her in a position where she might have the chance to swing back." What's visible of his eyes is going very dark. "I found something to swear on that I can't go back on, and I've got to keep that promise if it kills me. And there's been days in this game where you've come damn close to doing it... Come on. We can't stall too long here." He heads for the quiver. I stay where I am. It's very hard to take him seriously, because everything has gone bad for promises in the game. He can swear on his ex-wife, his trainees, his career, and his remove-in-case-of-lie liver, and I'd still have trouble believing him. But if he's serious, and he's going to try and keep me around all the way to the Final Four, then what it really means is that one of us -- the Turare 'us' -- is out. Because I think I know what he would have had to promise Connie, and high on the list was not dropping her before then. Higher on the list is the real truth -- but that's a subsection of it. If Connie is in the Final Four, and so am I, Gardener's there as well -- then someone else is out. And if he's lying, that someone else is very probably me. Of course, it could be Connie who gets her promise broken -- no, I don't have that kind of luck -- and Gardener's taking the tie off the scroll. The camera operators immediately get involved with whispered instructions: apparently we're going to play a duet on this one. Which can't be a lead-in for the challenge, because there's no way to divide us into even teams from a pool of seven... Gardener, looking exceptionally disgruntled over the whole thing, gets to take the first line. "'Load that barge, tote that bale.'" Of course, that extra irritation may be because he got to see the entire poem before reading it aloud. At least he got the good line. "'We'll find out who's hearty and hale.'" Or maybe I did. "'Harder than climbing over hill and dale.'" No, it was definitely him. "'To gain a reward that's beyond the pale.' Do they even read these things before they send them to us?" "I don't think so. Hell, I'm not even sure anyone actually writes them. Maybe they just throw darts at a really bad dictionary." He reads the scroll again, and it's possible to tell what word he's on just by how hard the wince is. "Sounds like I'm finally getting one -- loading things is right up my alley." A snort. "Tony would say 'wheelhouse', but he can just whisper it from the jury... Don't ask me what the hell we're playing for, though. All I've got so far is a lifetime pass to a tanning saloon." The others don't have much of a clue either. "It's got to be a topper," Gary proposes after he and Connie have been reeled into camp. (Gary, two catches, Connie, zero. Apparently she made one attempt, caught the back of her blouse on the cast, put a two-inch rip in it, and stopped right there.) "The Rewards have been getting better with every individual challenge. Mary-Jane's television, Gardener's KFC card, and then Alex's Amazon pass. Figure we've got two left between now and the car -- if they keep getting more expensive, then this one is somewhere past what Alex won, at least for immediate value." Connie's concentrating on the challenge more than the Reward. "I'm not sure pale has a double meaning here. But this has to be strength. We're overdue." Phillip can get behind that. With a big grin, "Looks like it's finally you and me again, Gardener." He picks at a patch of dead skin before pulling his right sock on. "And I owe you one for the last time, so I hope you're bringing your best game." For some reason, Gardener doesn't look as happy as he did when he first (possibly) figured out the poem. "Looking forward to it," but his face gives that a partial lie. His voice doesn't explain it. "But if it's percentage of body weight again..." A glance at me. I shake my head. "Both of you can probably press more than your own weight. I can't." Gardener nods. No, he's not worried about me. What he's probably concerned about is time: they were both a lot fresher on Day Seven. It's been three weeks since their last head-to-head, and neither of them has gotten back to their normal diet. They're still the strongest among us, but they're weaker than they've been in years. It's just a question of who's lost the most -- and who had more to begin with. "A lot's going to depend on how it's rigged," Robin decides. "If it's leg strength..." Add that to the percentage factor and Robin has a chance, especially if it's leg endurance on top of it. Phillip's still eager to go. "I'll take that chance. Now that I'm on the bad side of the vote, I really want to win something before I go. Not much time left to do it in." And he's still smiling. Which may frustrate Robin more than anything else. "I told you..." Why hasn't Phillip considered Connie? Maybe because all the discontent Robin showed me on the day of the merge wasn't as hidden as she might have thought: viewed that way (and keeping her sarcastic Council speech in mind), she is the first and best suspect in any flip. But it seems as if he should have given some thought to Connie by now -- -- although she's doing her best to keep his mind on other subjects. With the help of someone else's timing. "They're signaling us. Let's go -- I'm curious to hear this one." The smile is almost completely faked. "Besides, I'm on a streak." Yeah -- a streak of one. If it's arm strength, then Connie is out. Leg strength, also out. Ego power, she could hang in there for a while... Azure's still asleep, which gives me the option to leave her behind -- but then I consider what might happen if she wakes up to find everyone gone, picture her wandering into the jungle again on a renewed hunt, and rouse her long enough to get her onto my right arm, avoiding the recently-changed bandage. She almost nods off six times before we crest the Cliffs. My bloodstain has been washed away: the grass is clean again. The grass has long-since straightened out. It's as if I was never there. As if nothing ever happened. We'll leave -- all of us will leave eventually -- and our camp will be burned down, the staff will move out of the mansion, the island's ecology will start to collapse and no heir will want to stay here then -- maybe one of them would try to save it, but it would cost so much money, and it probably wouldn't be their devotion... Day Twenty-Eight. The end of my fourth week on the island. I will see Day Thirty-Nine now, from one side or the other: that was locked in once Trooper's vote was over, and again after Medical cleared me to continue in the game. Something over a month spent here, and then all traces of my presence will be taken away. A few months after that, people will see the episodes, and almost immediately after they view them, they'll start to forget... Why did we come here? For some, it was a chance at a million dollars. But for at least a few of the others, the real reason for applying was immortality. Robin tapped into that: have yourself captured on camera, forever a given age on the DVD set, eternally repeating moves, confessionals, mistakes. A permanent record: I was here, I did something that someone thought was important enough to show a few million people. Maybe you'll remember that. Maybe you'll see me going down the street in a few years and wonder if you know me from somewhere. Maybe you'll recognize me and say a few words... I think that's the real reason Mary-Jane is here. She wants more work, I'm sure of that, and if that comes to her because of the show, she may even be happy with it. But she knows she can't fight time. Only so many years to be pretty -- but every picture taken is a record of the ones when she was. Every day she lasts out here presents an image of a Mary-Jane that will take a longer time to fade from the collective memory. Being on the island may buy her years -- and, far in the future, a chance to say 'Remember when...?' Not true immortality, not where your work is remembered and discussed for generations after you're gone. But at least it's something. We are bit players on a very small stage -- but at least we're being watched. Mary-Jane is here to live for what she can see as her forever. I don't think it's why I applied. I wonder that sometimes, question what I'm doing here, what forced the decision when I was looking at the ad in the paper, why I got off the subway that day and went to find the line. It wasn't for immortality, I'm sure of that. There are times when I think I almost have the reason -- but it flees, gets away from me before the concept can crystallize. I find myself thinking about other things, anything, just long enough for the idea to slip away. It makes me wonder what I'm hiding from myself -- -- this view of the spray coming up the Cliffs is still beautiful. I should really try to sketch it. ----------------------------------------------------------------- {Good morning, Amanu!: Take #2. A little more staggering around, but they're feeling well enough to start delivering confessionals. Robin starts us off -- and this isn't a first, but it's close: she's taking her frustration out on the fourth wall, and the thing is thisclose to collapsing. As best I can render it, "It wasn't me, okay? I don't know what they're showing you people, but that was not me! I couldn't make a deal and no one gave me one I was comfortable with, so I was actually hoping on (bleeped) Tony to beat the (bleeped) tie so I could get farther in the (bleeped) game, and now I'm (bleeped)! I didn't fall for any lines, I didn't bite on any lies, and I'm still screwed!" Brace yourself: "And when did the hell did I get to completely stop having sex?" Breathing very hard here. "Shii Ann, listen closely. 'Stupid game. Stupid, stupid game!' Try that one on for an episode title!" Wow, MB was feeling really good about himself this week. Looks like the larger bird in Amanu is about to fly away, with the flight plan departing from the end of the handle...} {I'm still going with my vote: Phillip either has Immunity, the idol, or the third seat on the jury.} {Looks like Robin had a really, really long night. Approach Gardener, get rejected, retreat, approach Gardener, get rejected, retreat -- and that's not a very big bathroom, so the retreat room is limited. Can we assume that he finally decided to end the issue by stuffing her down the toilet?} {Elmore, how could you guys have possibly missed Robin's confessionals? She must have been audible for a couple of hundred yards, minimum.} {CA:C.} {Well, that's a weird place to see that crop up...} {Phillip's turn. Naturally, he's taking it well. He figures he's next, he promises to go with no regrets, and guess what? He thinks it was Robin. And that leaves --} {Son of a bitch!} {For those of you looking for a little more detail: EPMB decided a week of water cooler speculation was, in fact, enough. Here's Connie's confessional. "So this is what it's like being in the majority. I have to admit, I like the view." (If you're reading this after the episode, be glad. You didn't have to see her smile there.) "I'm not entirely happy about how I got here, but now that I have something I can have a little confidence in, I can relax and see what happens when the others start to figure things out. Especially Alex. She'll probably go up to Robin and congratulate her, get denied, then she'll try Phillip, spend a few seconds wondering if Tony somehow voted for himself, and after that -- well, that's what cameras are for..."} {Not sure when that was filmed... nothing in the background is particularly damp, so that may have been taken on Day Twenty-Seven. Burnett and his lovely out-of-order clippings strike again.} {Okay, fine. My Phillip-as-Judas thread is crap. Happy now?} {Not very. This could guarantee us Connie for a few more episodes.} {All the more time for me to research. Maybe Cole's early life is a closed book, but I don't think Connie's is.} {You're putting a near-heroic effort in on that thread. It's scaring me.} {Shall we say I think I may have to be the spearpoint for a collective revenge?} {The Bible allows revenge?} {So we switch to 'What was she promised, and how much did Gardener mean it?' Because it's obvious Alex didn't make the approach.} {It still could have been Gary.} {You know, Mary-Jane is in this tribe.} {'Hi. I'm a Jew. You're a Christian. Don't you think it's about time we got past this whole lord-killing thing and teamed up?' No.} {A quick comedy moment -- Gary is trying to teach Connie how to fish. It doesn't last long. Neither does Connie, who once again comes very close to taking herself out. This is very probably not foreshadowing.} {To Tree Mail we go with Gardener and Alex -- oh. Oh, damn.} {Apparently this is a majorly Christian episode, because this is Confirmation Day! Alex confirms with Gardener on just when he flipped Connie, and Gardener reminds Alex that he promised her Final Four -- swearing on Audrey to do it -- and he hasn't switched her out! They are aligned! Alex won't go out early just to make Connie happy -- what the hell was in that promise? Sounds like the spool of lies is out and Gardener can sew better than anyone!} {I'll take it: close the G/A thread. Please close the G/A thread...} {Wait -- if Gardener & Alex are aligned, then why is it a Final Four promise? There's only four Turare left. Wouldn't it be Final Two for partners?} {He was probably just reassuring her. Everyone's got reason to be paranoid after a vote flip -- new player in a smaller game. And that probably means Connie is out in fifth place.} {But then why would she switch?} {Elmore, if you'd done this much thinking while you were still there, you'd still be there.} {If I'd made it that far, the jaguar probably would have gone after me. I'm better off.} {Poem. Is. Suck.} {No one's sure what this is for, but everyone believes it's strength -- looks like we're finally due for Phillip Vs. Gardener, The Sequel, and may the best muscle mass win. Off they go -- commercials? Already? Wow. The storm footage really did take a while.} {Okay, this is an official moderator request/order. Let's not turn this thread into fifteen hundred 'Connie & Alex, sitting in a tree' posts with due speculation on who can get the noose around the other's neck first before pushing them off. We already had that joke and we're not about to start that thread in the middle of this one. There's a lot to talk about there and some of it might even develop in-episode tonight, but let's try to keep this down to active events. And I'm only saying that because I've never locked an update thread before and I really don't want this one to be the first. Last week was just a little bit out of control. You have been warned. And one warning is all you get.} {Jawohl. So in that case -- Elmore, what did you think of Turare? You didn't really talk about them during your Early Show segment.} {I only saw them five times, and I was blindfolded for most of the second one and half-asleep for part of the last. We talked a lot about them in camp. We were trying to figure out who they were, what they could do. But we didn't have much to go on. Angela guessed Trooper was a police officer right off, but we all thought it was a nickname, so it wasn't like she didn't have a lot to work with. Everyone followed Robin's lead on Alex, so everyone screwed up. I personally thought Gardener was an ***: seen too many of his type before, and I could hear everything he was saying while I was stuck. Denadi thought she had a handle on Trina after the first challenge. But for the most part, it was five challenges and goodbye. I didn't see them enough to know them.} {And any of the rest for your show time would be CA:C?} {Right.} {Okay. But what do you think of the ones who are left now, after having seen their future activities in the episodes?} {Gardener's still an ***, but he's a smarter one than I thought: I'm convinced he's playing Alex. Gary is just -- there. He's a nice enough guy, but he's kind of a weaker version of Phillip: who's going to want him next to them at Final Two? Mary-Jane doesn't have the brains to play her looks like Angela did, but she doesn't have the heart, either. I guess she's the best of the four: if one of them was going to win, I'd rather give it to her. Alex frankly creeps me the hell out. When I first saw her, I thought she was going to be the one who really played the sex card, and I got that wrong. Everything I've seen since is just disturbing. There are times when she's too smart, and it's like the only thing operational is the brains. I'm with the guy who said she was damaged. Elevator goes to the top floor, but it skips a lot on the way.} {Gee, someone isn't the least bit bitter. Or are you just upset that Alex beat your idol-finding record?} {He's just afraid she would have kicked his idol-finding butt if they'd made the merge together. And if it came down to a race? Forget it.} {I'm a girl, okay? A girl. I'd say 'woman', but you'd probably ask me out. Anyone who thinks Alex was going to play a 'sex card' -- no wonder you were the third one off. And almost the first. Yeesh. You want to think you're smart, fine, but you're sure as hell not observant.} {Actually, he's just upset because she's the one least likely to play his games.} {Please don't let that be code for anything...} -----------------------------------------------------------------   Remove | Alert Edit | Reply | Reply With Quote | Top

AyaK 3603 desperate attention whore postings DAW Level: "Thong Contest Judge" 11-08-06, 09:33 PM (EST) 2. "RE: Someone Always Gets Burned: Part II" {Gardener playing Alex? Have we seen any evidence of Alex getting played? I mean, Alex hasn't made it this far on the strength of her alliances or her success in winning immunity. And Alex doesn't seem like the most trusting person in the world, so it's hard for me to believe that she could be put in a situation where she was played by ANYONE, secret ally or no secret ally.} {Sounds like someone's been watching too much 24.} {Maybe so, but I think anyone normal playing Survivor has to be prepared for the possibility that he or she may be bamboozled at any moment.} {So why only a Final Four promise?} (Maybe each of them wanted to stay open to the possibility of a side deal. Or maybe one of them already had a side deal that the other one doesn't know about. Remember Survivor rule #1: secret alliances that are revealed rarely succeed.) {Which means what?} {We know Gardener now has a side deal with Connie. It's got to be at least final 3 to get Connie to bite, because she could've gotten final 4 with her old tribe. Maybe Gardener has another final-3 side deal. Or even a final-2 one. Or maybe Alex does.} (But we know neither of them have deals with M-J, or she wouldn't have agreed to flip. That leaves Gary.} {Or it could have been Trooper, but he's now gone. And G&A didn't have any reason to renegotiate, because they were on the wrong side of the majority when Trooper left until the bounce -- at which time Gardener saw his opportunity with Connie and didn't want to renegotiate. After all, if Colby had taken Keith to the final two instead of Tina ... but he had a final-two deal with Tina and didn't want to go back on it.}   Remove | Alert Edit | Reply | Reply With Quote | Top

Estee 22510 desperate attention whore postings DAW Level: "Playboy Centerfold" 11-12-06, 09:49 PM (EST) 3. "Someone Always Gets Burned: Part III" LAST EDITED ON 11-20-06 AT 01:44 PM (EST) It's the first time in a while where we've been stopped at the entrance to Challenge Beach: apparently things aren't quite ready yet. Part of the challenge equipment is visible from our vantage point: a thick steel pole rising about forty feet into the air. It's topped with a wide, notched disc -- maybe ten feet across -- and each notch has a chain descending from it, for a total of twenty-eight metal dreadlocks. It's not exactly helpful, and it's not enough to keep us occupied, either. What is interesting would be the argument. I can't make out words -- they're doing their best to keep it fairly low -- but Jeff is definitely involved in it. Maybe there's been a last-second challenge revisal that he hasn't memorized a speech for, or an exploitable hole in the challenge itself and he can't get them to close it. I'm hoping on the later. Gary frowns. "That was definitely 'jerk'..." He may have the best ears. "'Leave them...'" Two production staff members are glaring at him, but there's nothing they can really do about this. "He's not happy about this." Mary-Jane shades her eyes and takes another look. "It's kind of like a little version of those swing carousels..." Oh, great. Motorized challenge: get all the contestants chained up, make them run in time with the rotation of the disc. As soon as you trip, you're out. If you throw up, you may be out, and the person directly in front of you may be really unhappy either way. But -- -- Phillip's counting chains. "Four for each of us." Which would be a lot of chains to manage if you were running: you could trip over a loop. And it would mean arms and legs cuffed. So we're probably not looking at fast movement. Robin groans. "Ropes, chains... welcome to Fetish Island." A camera operator grins: Robin probably isn't the first person to have said that. "What's next, ball gags?" Or that. Connie looks vaguely bemused. "I normally don't support that sort of thing, but I suppose as long as we all get one and yours is fastened the tightest..." Robin takes a very deep breath -- and gets interrupted before she can even start. "Come on in, guys!" Jeff still sounds a little disgruntled and Robin looks as frustrated as I've ever seen her, but this one will have to wait for a while. So we have been ordered, so we have to do: in we go. It's pretty much the same order as previous times: Turare on the left, Haraiki on the right. Connie is standing at the far end, right against the edge of the suddenly-smaller mat. She probably knows the Tina theory... We have a very clear look at the setup: the chains dangle down to ground level, and there's a padded cuff at the end of each one. We've already been assigned starting positions: there's a ring of seven colored wooden planks with our names on them spaced equidistant around the pole at the fifteen-foot radius -- and another ring at the forty-foot mark. The base of the pole holds seven stacks of black steel weights, also with our names at the top of each rack. There's a different amount of weight in each vertical pile: Gardener's is considerably larger than mine. There's also some electronics involved here: wires run around the base of the pole, and a power cord dips under the sand before emerging again at the entrance to Haraiki's former trail, presumably heading off to a dedicated generator somewhere out of hearing range. Jeff gives us all a few seconds to consider what all of this means before starting off the latest round of (almost) self-inflicted torture. "Robin?" She looks up, visibly surprised to hear her name called. "You might want to take care of your nose." Robin blinks, now visibly confused. Jeff points to the right side of his nose. Robin carefully. almost timidly reaches up to her own nose, runs a finger across it as if feeling for breaks -- and the finger comes away black. Her groan hits two heartbeats after Mary-Jane starts giggling again, and Robin retreats to the ocean's edge for a salt water scrub. It doesn't take long before she's back in place and glaring up and down the line at everyone. "Thanks a lot, you jerks..." With a special stare for her own camera operator. "You could have said something, damn it. If I'd just reached the lake..." Jeff looks like he really, really wants to grin, but Connie's doing enough of that for everyone. Besides, there's still some lingering anger in his eyes. It doesn't seem to be directed towards us, though. "It looks like everyone had a rough night." Which is not the best thing he could have said. You could have just let us sleep in the Council set, damn it... Varying levels of open unhappiness at Jeff's non-question, with Robin at the 'I could reach you before anyone could stop me' far end of the curve. Phillip nods. "They don't come much harder than that -- and I didn't even get the worst of it. Connie, Alex, and Gary got stuck in the shelter with the wind and rain blowing in -- the rest of us won the right to get under better cover." Which is when it hits me: Phillip and Connie are aligned! That's why he's not considering her as the flip vote! He thinks she was just as loyal to him as he's been to her, and that leaves Robin as his only possible candidate... But it's past-tense. Unless Connie has an incredible move waiting to come out, she just moved away from him -- and Phillip doesn't know it yet. Maybe Phillip should be told about this. Maybe he's wide open -- -- because if I can get him, get Gary and Mary-Jane to work with me -- or even just Gary and Robin, or any two out of three -- we can get majority and vote her out! Gardener won't do it: he can't do it, not if I've got his play worked out right. But all it needs is any four votes. In fact, if I could get that group together -- -- it would put me in control of the game. Of course, it's not like Jeff wants me to be thinking about strategy right now. "Which is why we wanted you rested for this one. The challenges are best when everyone can give us their best effort -- and we've already had one fiasco this season." Robin tries not to wince and fails -- which was apparently the cue for Jeff's 'On The Air' voice to come out. "Take a look at the pole." We all take a second one for the benefit of the cameras, and then a third when it turns out Mary-Jane was examining a colorful bird perched high in a tree on the Haraiki side, followed by a fourth after everyone else goes hunting for the bird. "Each of you will be attached to the pole by four chains, cuffed at your wrists and ankles. You will then walk out to the starting position." This turns out to be the forty-foot bar. "We'll start you off with twenty percent of your body weight attached to the other end of the chains. Every three minutes, we'll add another five percent. Your job is to stay between the bars. As we add weight, you may wind up being dragged backwards. If any part of your body touches the second bar, you're out of the challenge. You may drop to all fours if you feel it'll give you a better chance of taking the weight, but you must start the challenge on your feet, and you can't purposely lie down in the sand: if you fall over, you have to get back up to at least a crawl position. You may not go beyond the front plank and you can't use it for a grip. The last person who can take their burden wins Reward." Another survey of the line. Gardener and Phillip are perfectly okay with this: it's right up their alley -- or in their respective wheelhouses. Robin doesn't mind either: percentage of weight levels the field to some degree, and she has to feel she can hold out for a while. Mary-Jane looks a little dubious, Gary's not exactly thrilled, Connie has her classic 'I'm out' expression on full display, and I think I'm going to be out well before the end. Fourth place, maybe. I'm healthier than I've been since the attack -- much to my surprise: there still hasn't been a single cough or sniffle -- but I can't press more than my body weight, at least not that I know of. Gardener and Phillip may be able to. This is going to come down to the stallions again: it just won't be to see who stays in the herd. "Want to know what you're playing for?" We do, and we do in one take. "You've all gotten at least a little bit used to island living by now, and some of you will probably even miss it when you get home." Phillip's eyes go wide: he thinks he's got this -- and he's right. "So you're playing for the chance to taste a little of it whenever you like. The winner of this challenge will receive an American Airlines access card good for up to thirty thousand miles of first-class travel, divisible between any number of people. So you can take solo flights for the full distance and go around the world, or bring a friend and island-hop, carry your entire family and all of your friends with you to go cross-country. And you can do that every year for ten years, courtesy of American Airlines, who will give you the world -- one destination at a time." And is there a little hint of a rivalry with a certain other reality series lurking around the edges? No, of course there isn't. What rivalry? It's the first time I've ever seen Phillip's eyes go even remotely hard. He currently seems to believe he's out in two days. Travel and experiences is why he came here -- and he wanted to win a Reward before he went out. This is all the travel he could ever ask for, right in front of him -- Jeff just held up the card -- and to get it, all he has to do is outlast the rest of us. Phillip is about to try and win one for his father... For my part, I'm wondering what the taxes are on this one. Not that I'm going to wind up paying them. There is now officially no way I'm going to win this Reward: Phillip will die before he breaks. Gardener may have even realized it: there's a hint of resignation playing around the corner of his eyes -- and then it's replaced by the usual determination. If Phillip wants this one, he'll have to go through Gardener to get it. Gardener just has a very good idea what he's up against. "Are there any questions about the challenge?" And the hint of anger is still in Jeff's eyes. I don't know why. So far, it doesn't seem to be the challenge setup, and it can't be the Reward. Is Jeff seeing a loophole that I'm missing? Phillip, immediately: "Any rollover on those miles?" Jeff nods. "Unused miles carry over to the next year. But the card does expire after a decade, so don't save them all up and try to get through them in the final year of the card: you'll wind up living in the airport." A quick flash of a grin. "And that's the other show, which is probably going to be incredibly unhappy with us when this Reward hits the airwaves." No, really: what rivalry? "And obviously that's American Airlines destinations only, which still gives you one incredible selection. Anyone else?" No, we're done. "Everyone take your positions, and we'll get started." I hand over Azure, and then stand very still in front of my purple bar (which is now apparently my official color) while I'm cuffed in. The interiors are padded enough to be something less than completely uncomfortable, and the protection overlaps the outer edge: no metal against my wrists and ankles. But they're fairly tight -- practically a custom fit. When they took all my measurements in case they needed to make custom challenge clothing, I really didn't think this was what they meant... We're allowed to walk up and down the twenty-five feet of safety zone after being cuffed so we'll get used to moving in the chains: three minutes of practice, called off by a member of the challenge staff, and then back to start. The alert comes soon after. "All right -- we're attaching the weights." The sound of gears moving -- and then there's a twenty-percent drag on my limbs. But it's not very much weight at all, especially not when it's distributed like this. The challenge staff may have started us off too low. Is that what Jeff was angry about? "Challenge starts -- now." And we wait. I'm facing the ocean for this one, watching the waves. I can check those next to me fairly easily -- Robin's on my right, Phillip on my left -- but examining more of the circle means turning my body, and that means fooling around with the chains. It's easier to stay in one place and use Jeff for the updates. Except that he doesn't have any just yet. Get Phillip, maybe get Robin too, Gary's my ally, Mary-Jane keeps saying she is and it's about time she did something to prove it -- that could be five votes to get rid of Connie right there, and she hasn't been a threat in any idol hunt. Gardener and Connie would vote for Phillip or Robin, so the bounce couldn't hurt me even if it did come into play. Of course, after it happened, Gardener would know I'd played him, but I could always try to reform the alliance with him inside it, go back to the Pagonging with Connie gone and Turare with the majority. 'Sorry, Gardener: it was a great move you made and I'm happy it worked out for us, but I can't stand Connie, she can't stand me, and now we get to spend that much less time with each other. You're still in this and Phillip's next out. It's just a game, right?' Or I could keep that four -- or five -- and ride it all the way to Day Thirty-Seven... 'In control of the game' is always the wrong phrase. You're never in complete control of the game. But it would give me more long-term influence than the idol -- or even Immunity -- could ever buy me. If Connie doesn't win Immunity -- -- right. Connie winning a challenge. That's going to happen. In fact, it's going to happen just because I thought about it. Maybe I have to wait and see just where the necklace lands: Phillip may be less receptive to offers if he's safe and Connie can pretend she's with him for another three days: in that scenario, Robin goes out. Probably. If I got the idol, could I pass it to Phillip as a 'trust me' move and nail Connie on the bounce? Say four votes for Phillip, he and I vote for Connie, Robin might even do that just as a protest vote without my asking her, he's got the idol, and Connie's gone. All I have to do is convince Phillip of what's happened -- or just Robin, added to Turare minus Gardener -- there's so many ways this can work, and even more that would see it fail... "Three minutes," Jeff announces. "We will now add another five percent." A subtle increase in tension across all four chains. I'm still not feeling any real drag backwards, and apparently no one else is under any strain just yet. "Everyone holding position. It will get harder from here." And just to keep our minds occupied, "From what Phillip said, he, Robin, Gardener, and Mary-Jane were in the better shelters last night. Who went where?" Mary-Jane takes that. "I was in the storage shack with Phillip. Gardener got the bathroom with Robin." Presumably Jeff nods: I can't see him right now. "Did you get any sleep in there?" "No," Mary-Jane admits. "The storm was too loud. Every time I started to drop off, we got another crack of thunder, and that was it. Phillip and I talked a little." A pause, probably being used for smiling. "Religion, mostly. He doesn't see a lot of mine in his area." Phillip laughs. "Common origins, common ground," he tells Jeff. "It's like some of the Middle Eastern groups say: people of the book." I wonder what Connie's expression is right now. "And we talked about modeling versus farming -- sounds like some of her hours are as bad as mine." "At least you don't have to convince your crops to let you grow them on a weekly basis," Mary-Jane sighs. "There's that to be said for getting your hands dirty." And somehow, that leads Jeff to me. "Alex, you're arguably the only one who's working right now." I wait for him to explain that. "Your site is still updating." Thank you, Jeff. Functional program equals lack of screaming when I get back, at least for the people who bothered to read the notices... "I had to put all art commissions and book sales on hold while I was gone." Presumably CafePress is still printing T-shirts. "And if there's any orders accumulating anyway, I can't do anything about them until I get back." And I'd said I was going on vacation, any shipments were going to take longer than four to six weeks... "I guess my banner income is still coming in." For the very little that's worth. "But it's putting a serious strain on my reserve strip supply." No matter what happened, Sequesterville or beyond, I was going to be away from the computer for the entire filming period. Jeff walks into my field of vision from the left edge. "Which would really confuse Angela." Probably. "How was it in the shelter?" "Miserable." He should really drop this. "But it's better than being in the mansion." He knows what I mean by that: a nod, and he moves on. "Mary-Jane and Phillip talked -- Robin, what did you do?" Because for once, he really doesn't know: anything that took place in those hours was actually sort of private, at least as far as hourly footage reviews went. Shooting through the little cutout in the bathroom door during that storm -- just about impossible. And here's where all the frustration gets a chance to come out in one shot: "Tried to get Gardener's pants off." Jeff stumbles as he exits my sight range, Mary-Jane gasps, Connie's "What?" goes into chorus with Gary's, Phillip swallows loudly enough to hear, and Gardener's curse isn't quite soft enough to be inaudible. She did what? I'd told her Gardener and Audrey were just separated... Forget frustration: Robin's decided anger will empty the tank faster. "Or at least, that's what he thought. You'd think there wouldn't be enough room to run away in that bathroom, but he managed it. I was cold, I was wet, he's big and warm and he would make one hell of a comforter for a rainy night. Just being practical. But can I snuggle against him? No. Can I get close? Yeah, sure, it's a small bathroom -- so small that I almost had to be touching him, except he couldn't take that... You know what gets me, Jeff? Do you know what really --" Azure squawks "-- gets me? He's got wandering eyes. He's a girl watcher, and he loves getting full views. Checked me out the first time we were across from each other. Checked out Connie. I've even caught him checking out the crew when someone new comes into the challenge rotation. But can he take five seconds of physical contact? No!" And now she's at full-fledged rage. "I know gay men who're better at cuddling up with a woman that you are! Cold and wet and rejected all over -- yeah, you've got my jury vote!" There's only one thing Jeff can possibly do with that, and he does it. "Gardener?" Who groans. "What she's not saying is that she made it clear she was interested in me before last night. We had a little talk on the beach. And apparently she didn't believe much of what I said then, because while she wasn't exactly trying to tug on my waistband, her butt --" Robin's not going to let him finish that. "Did you see the size of that bathroom? I practically had to be in his lap anyway!" Just a little bit softer, "Damn it, I know I've lost weight, but I didn't suddenly go butterface..." This groan is a lot louder. "I told you. I have a wife waiting for me at home." Which strikes me as an interesting way to put it. "Okay: I look. I'll even admit that I like looking. I'm a man. And there's nothing wrong with the way you look. This was a hell of an attractive group on the female side this year... even Denadi looked good for her age. But looking is all I do." And that sounds oddly like a vow. "I'm not doing anything here that I can't explain to Audrey when I get back. I'm going to have a hard enough time explaining why I didn't dump Alex at the first vote." Which gets a laugh from Connie. "Good luck..." Robin manages a passable Gardener-snort. "Stupid cards... anyone else and it would have been a hell of a lot warmer in there..." Jeff decides not to chance any more revelations on that scale and lets things quiet down -- at least until we've had another five percent added. "Connie, you've described yourself as a housewife --" Connie laughs. "I'm not a postal worker or a professor, if that helps." Yes, she's in a good mood today. And why not? She thinks she has me right where she wants me. "-- would you be curious to try the profession of anyone else here?" Jeff will not have his train of thought derailed that easily. She thinks it over. "I can't even keep houseplants alive, so I can't do Phillip's work. And I ask other people to do my accounting for me, so not Gary's..." A long pause. "Gardener's, I suppose. I only know a little about body training, and that's just from what I've been taught -- but it would be enough to start with." "It's harder than you think," Gardener calls over. "Even with wanna-be professional athletes, you have to keep the discipline on and make sure they show up. Too many distractions in college -- and some of them even try to file their classes under 'distraction' and ignore them in favor of everything that takes place after class..." Jeff forces the light conversation to continue through two more increases, trying to put some discussion distance between us and Robin's showmance problems. We're up to forty percent, and I'm starting to feel the pull now. It's like having a small child tugging on my legs. And arms. And for some reason, the middle of my back. The challenge may be harder than it first appeared: if your arms go backwards, then you might windmill, go off your feet, and while you're okay until you touch the second bar, a heavy pull added to your own momentum could send you slipping across the sand, possibly all the way back to the bar. At seventy percent and up, it might turn into a giant jump backwards. Anything over a hundred percent and the weight will be dragging you backwards at all times: slip, and you're going to fly... Chains are rattling on my right: I turn to see Phillip pacing back and forth in a small area, testing to see how quickly the links play in and out with the weights attached. He doesn't seem to be in any trouble yet. Meanwhile, Jeff's decided to start some. "Gary, were you surprised by the vote last night?" "No," Gary honestly admits. "I'd been told we had a fifth vote, so I was just waiting to see if it played out. I did have some doubts -- as you've said, until the votes are read, everything is up in the air -- but when that last piece of parchment was turned around, it was a confirmation more than a surprise." His voice is a little strained, but that could just be a cold coming on. "Alex." Sure, right back to me. Didn't he have enough fun learning I couldn't dance? "You got the minority of votes last night -- did you know you were safe?" Now, how much of this do I bring out into the open? Phillip didn't take Robin's open denial as anything beyond a gameplay cover-up, so maybe I'm better off saving it for a later conversation. Especially one where I won't be getting conflicting lies from at least one angle. Probably two. "No. It's the 'until the votes are read' thing again. And it's never comforting to see your name on that parchment. I could have been looking at a tie, an ouster, or what actually happened." For some reason, this puts Jeff in a teasing mood. "Never comforting? How about at Final Two?" "We're still at seven," I point out. "Any two people here could be sitting in front of the jury -- and any five could be sitting on it." "That still leaves you as a possibility," Jeff replies. I just shrug, which takes some effort: this isn't just weight, it's endurance, and I've got ten percent of my body mass pulling backwards on each arm. Or maybe it's not working that way. Do the chains deliver forty percent to every limb? No, that can't be it -- there's only so much drag at the other end. Physics was never my best subject, and this gets into pulley systems, engineering, torque, and all sorts of other things that I only check on if they're going to become an element in the strip. "Is anyone here confident enough to say they'll make Final Two?" Three guesses, and I don't even get enough time to reach the second one. "Sure, I'll say it," Gardener answers. "But I've been saying that since I got the call. Picture the goal, dedicate yourself to the goal, work for the goal, and reach the goal. I know the last one isn't automatic -- I've come close to going out three times." When I had the option to bounce him, at the first tie before winning Immunity, and when I gave him the idol. "But I'm still here, and I'm still fighting." Jeff asks him to explain the three times, and he confirms my guess to absolutely no shockwave ripple from Haraiki: Mary-Jane told me she'd let Phillip know about the idol play while I was in the mansion after the attack. She'd thought I was out of the game: what harm could she do? Apparently Phillip told Connie and Robin. Eventually. Angela may have been out of the most immediate loop. Or in it and choosing to disregard anything that game through it. Someone might have even told Tony, although they might have had to do it three times... "So that's one time where Alex had the option to get rid of you and didn't take it -- and one more where she directly saved you. To me, Gardener, it sounds like you owe your life in this game to her. Twice. And yet you wanted to get rid of her first." Gardener's silent for a long moment -- then a very neutral "Right." It doesn't sound like it cost him anything to admit that: it just took a while to find the word. With the same even tone. "She's elected to keep my ass once and saved it once. That's two." "And what does that tell you?" Because Jeff really wants to know. An even longer silence -- long enough for the weight to increase again. "That you can't predict how this game is going to play out." A snort. "Not exactly news." "It came as news to the Haraiki group last night," Jeff points out. Well, at least he recognizes that we really never became Amanu. Not that we had any real chance to begin with. "Does everyone in the Turare alliance know who switched last night?" We do -- which includes Mary-Jane -- although no one gives the name with their assent. We can confirm or deny after the initial fireworks show wraps up. And Mary-Jane might be guessing. "Does Haraiki?" Phillip laughs. "Robin. I already forgave her and she's still denying it." So apparently he's not as good at picking up truth on the wind. Robin isn't exactly ready to take this well just yet. "I said it wasn't me. I know it wasn't you. Guess who that leaves?" Connie has a response ready for that one. "It still leaves you." Jeff may be wondering if he's better off saving some of this for the next Council. "Obviously it was one of you --" and I hear shifting chains. "Mary-Jane, what's going on?" "Leg cramp," she announces in a somewhat pained voice. "Just walking it off." More metal rattling. Gary sighs. "That is not a good sound. This is twice you've had me in these things, Jeff." This may not be a joke. "I'm trying not to take it personally, but if you ever theme a season around slavers, I'm going to be the first person on the protest line." This probably is. "I may even hire Angela to arrange it." Jeff assures Gary that he'll consider himself warned -- twice -- and I listen as Mary-Jane continues to pace. Jeff's more circular route starts to bring him in front of me. "Almost got it," she announces. "It's easing --" ----------------------------------------------------------------- {-- whoa!} {Mary-Jane stepped on the back bar while she was pacing, and she just shot straight up out of frame! The chains went taunt, and --} {Helpful hint for West Coast viewers: turn your sound down. She's one awesome screamer.} {And there she is, hanging from the top disc: arms behind her, legs behind her -- damn, they could have dislocated something with that stunt -- shots of the others in shock on the ground, craning their necks to see what happened --} -------------------------------------------------------- -- and this scream is carrying words. "Getmedowngetmedowngetmedown!" I stare up. The position looks horribly uncomfortable: she's hanging down like -- -- a deer strung to a pole by its limbs, dead eyes gazing in silent accusation, unspoken words that no one wants to hear -- -- and it can't feel good. Plus -- I avert my eyes, but at least two cameras are getting the soon-to-be-blurred shot: her breasts came out of her freshly-dried halter top. Still no tan lines. (Presumably Gardener's getting a full I-only-look view.) Turning away lets me see Jeff, and that lets me discover what that residual anger might be about. Four weeks ago, he had us dropped over the side of a boat with no vocal regrets. Apparently he's less comfortable with the idea of our being yanked forty feet into the air. Or he's just worried about injured shoulders and hips, losing everyone to Medical -- maybe the jaguar brought the reality of pain and injury home to him at last -- -- no, that can't be it, he's practically paid not to care during the challenges -- -- but if it somehow is, then he's not the only one. "Are you serious?" Gardener yells. "We hit the plank, and we get to hang there for the rest of the challenge?" Mary-Jane wants us to concentrate on the main issue. "Get -- me -- down!" It sounds like someone's instinctively trying to get their cuffs off -- no, a couple of someone's -- Robin is definitely going for hers, and the direction of the other sounds mean Connie may be desperately trying to manipulate the sealed locks. Phillip's still staring up at Mary-Jane, and I don't think it's for the free view: when his focus changes, it's probably going to be on the challenge staff, and everyone may finally see what it's like when he gets upset. I'm going to have a front-row seat. In fact, I might wind up with an overhead view. If I slip up... I've been healing, but that's a fall straight up. One strained muscle, one dislocated joint... And now there's multiple screams and yells as the rest of a suddenly-united Amanu sees a five-in-six chance of a very nasty future waiting for them and we don't want this, the Reward isn't worth torn muscles and wrenched bones -- "-- everyone, stop!" So Jeff has spoken, so we have to do. But it's a mark of how we really feel about this one that he has to say it three times, with the last shouted straight up until it finally gets through to Mary-Jane. "We tested this. It's rough down here and it's uncomfortable up there. But we didn't have any injuries when we tried it with the challenge staff, and none of you are going to get hurt from this." I wonder if he believes what he's saying. It sounds like he has some faith in it, but there's still traces of something else lurking in his eyes. I don't understand it. Sure, there's the Medical factor, plus maybe there's a jaguar factor, and the show would hate to lose someone on a challenge this late in the game -- but he didn't have an audible problem with the chance of someone getting hurt in the fall from the ship (I couldn't see his face then), the blindfolds came and the bruises came with them, we wrestled, fell off beams -- and that's just us. People have been in front of him before us, and some of them got hurt. One left in a helicopter, his hands burned... Honestly, why would Jeff even remotely care if someone got hurt now? It doesn't make any sense. Mary-Jane thinks we're losing track of the most important aspect. "I want down!" "No one comes down until the challenge is over." The I-will-take-no-contradictions voice. "The way you get down is for five other people to come up." "I want out!" Connie half-yells. The other half is a yelp. "I'm quitting! Someone get these cuffs off me! I knew I couldn't win the Reward going into it and I played anyway -- but this is too much!" Jeff looks in her direction. Harshly, "One more time, Connie. Is this an official quit on the challenge?" It is. "All right. Get her uncuffed. Robin?" Who's stopped pulling at her cuffs, but is still breathing hard enough for me to hear every effort. "Are you in this or not?" Robin's response is just barely large enough to contain all the anger. "I want the damn Reward, Jeff, and I think I've got a chance to win it -- but that thing is a hip injury waiting to happen. If I hurt something there, I could lose my whole --" and there goes Mary-Jane's bird "-- career. Just because you haven't had anyone get hurt in the trial runs doesn't mean someone can't be. I don't have a shot at the million any more -- why the hell would I want to risk my work life just for some stupid trips?" Which may have just hit part of what Jeff was worried about. He hates quitters, always has, probably always will -- but Robin may have a legitimate point. Not that he's ready to credit her with all of it just yet. "You're still in the game. That means you're still in the running for the million dollars." His voice is softer, though. "I'm on the wrong side of the majority!" Robin instantly shoots back. "No matter what anyone wants to believe." The angry gaze goes right through me and hits Phillip -- who's just now starting to focus on Jeff. And yes, Phillip is not happy about this, probably because he's thinking along Robin's lines and believing her, at least for the career-threatening injury part of the speech. "Sure, fine, one day, I'm gonna get old. I'll lose flexibility. I'll be one of the thousands trying to either open a studio or praying I've managed to set up another career before it happens. But I'm not giving up the years I've got left to this stupid game!" And once again, Jeff looks like he wants to sigh, really badly -- but he doesn't look like he wants to argue. "All right. For the record: are you quitting on the challenge?" She is. "Take her out of the cuffs." Two members of the challenge staff move in, and I can hear the gears moving as Robin's weight stack resets to zero. From overhead, "Can I quit now?" "No." Jeff doesn't even glance up before delivering it. "Anyone else?" Gardener's answer is just as direct as I've come to expect: "I'm in." Phillip nods. "I'm playing. But I don't like this any more than Robin does. That was a nasty one to pull out on us from nowhere, Jeff. Maybe it makes great TV, but it's a lousy surprise." And his eyes are angry. It's the first time, and it feels like a shock to see it at all -- but it was expected and justified. Phillip cares about Robin, doesn't want to see anyone hurt, and he's clearly agreeing with her: this could be an injury waiting to happen. His eyes are the only things registering that emotion -- voice even, hands open -- but it's there. Phillip will rise to defend her decision, and anyone who tries to argue with it is in trouble. Gary groans. "I should quit, but I'll stay in. Maybe I'll be able to see the mansion." Well, he is at the back of the circle... I don't even give Jeff the chance to turn towards me. "I'm in, too." No, I can't win unless something goes incredibly wrong for Gardener and Phillip alike, but it's a good Reward, I don't think my odds have hit zero just yet -- realistically, that happened once Phillip heard what the Reward was, but maybe they could both have trouble with the sand -- and I'm going to trust the challenge staff a little more than the others. They had to have tested this a hundred different ways, right? Maybe Jeff was angry about realizing that someone might quit once they saw the results of going out -- 'jerk' could have meant the pull going up... Jeff nods. "All right. Four in, two quit, and one out. The challenge continues." Mary-Jane sighs. "Hey, Jeff? I can see your house from here." With resigned frustration, "I could probably spit on your hat, too, but that might put me out of the game..." Jeff looks up. He keeps looking for a while. "...probably..." ----------------------------------------------------------------- {As Osten Syndrome finally sets in.} {Not surprised by Connie going out. A little with Robin, but she's not exactly completely in the wrong. M-J's blur wasn't big enough to cover her hips: that's not a good angle. I don't think Robin would take an injury, but it won't be easy to hold that position long-term. She had a reason to be paranoid, if not a real one to worry.} {I can pretty much guarantee you the show doesn't care. It's not as if she could sue if anything did happen.} {Hey, you don't want your precious nose body to get hurt, you don't come on the show. Right, Osten Robin?} {You know they tested it, though -- it's like Fear Factor: beat up and bruised, but no one really gets hurt...} {Tell that to Frank and Alex.} {Okay, Elmore, this is not a weight joke. You had to know you were going to be among the worst at the physical challenges in your pool, unless they managed to find a sequel to Scout and Jan -- and Denadi wasn't anywhere near that bad. Why go for the show at all when you knew you'd be the weak link and vulnerable? No one knew about the one-episode idol before things started, right?} {No: we didn't know. I personally thought we'd see the idol again, but I thought it would be one for the whole game. But basically, I thought being a challenge threat is the worst thing to be. Nothing puts a target on your back in the late game like physical talent. If I was weak, I wasn't a threat, and if I wasn't a threat, I wouldn't get votes. Get an alliance early, then coast.} {Which puts you through the 'Oh God, we have to beat this as a group or we're dead?' tribal stage exactly how? Go ahead: put a 'CA:C' on that. I dare you.} {Like I said -- alliances. I wasn't figuring on a gender-imbalanced tribe initially voting along those lines.} {Oh, sure. And you were just so good at the social game...} {No real chatter now: everyone's concentrating on the challenge. (Plus no one's in the mood to talk to Jeff any more.) Connie and Robin sitting on the sidelines, Robin looking sullen. And angry. Mostly angry.} {And in order to avoid invoking the wrath of the FCC any more than was already done, we will minimize the M-J shots for a while.} {Time-lapse -- more weight being added -- Gary's the first one to go to all fours, and the first to start seriously slipping in the sand. Gardener and Phillip are statues. Alex starting to have some trouble: you can see the strain in her shoulders.} {And here I thought it would help her to have as much weight dragging her back as she has dragging her forward.} {Elmore? You are the last person who should be making weight jokes. Percentages of weight -- I'd put you up there at thirty-five percent, and your arms would come right out of your sockets.} {And there goes Gary! He slipped in the sand, tried to get up and recover his footing, but he was too close to the bar and when he went backwards during his attempts, his right foot made contact.} {Oof! The camera followed him all the way up -- there's a little braking towards the end, but it's still a pretty hard stop. He's shaken, but he's adjusting fast -- asks M-J how she's doing while averting his eyes, and then starts commenting on the landscape. M-J still considering whether it's worth taking a shot at Jeff's hat.} {More time-lapse -- Alex goes a few feet backwards, then stabilizes -- really sweating now. Gardener and Phillip still holding position near the first bar. Why doesn't she just go out? She has to realize she can't beat them.} {Ahem. 'Jaguar'. 'Alex' and 'quit' are not words that naturally go together.} {I'll give you that -- but this time, Cole is up against two elephants...} ----------------------------------------------------------------- ...and there goes the right shoulder: the flames are officially on both sides. Which is good news, because it means they're drowning out my ankles. I've lost ten feet from my original position: it's not worth the effort to get them back. As long as I stay in front of the second plank, I'm okay. Even if my ankles hurt. And my shoulders. Also the small of my back, my biceps because I'm trying to keep my arms partially flexed so they won't go backwards, and pretty much everything else. Plus my blouse may catch fire. Phillip's noticed. "Alex, you don't look so good..." Honest concern in his voice. It should be annoying, but I don't have the strength to spare for that. Or maybe I can spare it for Connie: "I offered to help her with the makeup." Score that one as a four. I risk a glance at him. He still hasn't shifted so much as an inch since he finished testing the chains. That's annoying. I know he's stronger than me overall, I know he's proportionally more powerful. He could at least sweat a little. "I'm fine." Gardener's probably shaking his head. "Give up, Phillip. She's really good at saying that. Besides, she's probably holding out for a temptation." From overhead, "Whatever it is, I'll take it first." Because they'd have to free Mary-Jane so she could get it. "Would the three of you work out a deal, please? Being up here this long really sucks..." Jeff circles past me. "No temptations," and gone again. "But if you want to work out deals, go ahead." Phillip nods. "Okay... I can split the miles, take people with me. How about you both go along for the occasional ride? Gardener, it would let us get to a game together, right? Alex, I could come out and see you, you could ride back and see what farm life is like, get some home cooking -- you can work from anywhere, so it's not like I'm taking you away from your paycheck." Well, I can draw anywhere. Getting books printed in different locations isn't a problem as long as I have the master composition program and someone who can run it. And Phillip would probably honor his deal -- -- but Gardener's another story. "I could make the same offer," he points out. "Not for you, Alex: I don't do much cooking when I'm not on an island and I really don't think you're going to like Ann Arbor." He snorts. "Plus I think you're going pretty soon, so I don't have to bargain with you to get you out. I just have to wait." And if that's a double meaning... "Phillip, here's one to consider: you step out and you don't go out at the next Council. Three more days -- that's a pretty good offer right there, and it means we get to compete against each other three more times." Now there's an interesting offer. Under the situation as I think/hope I understand things, it would put Robin out -- and she knows it: I just heard the groan -- unless she had Immunity, maybe Phillip has the idol, and then -- -- well, then it would get complicated. But maybe Connie could go out... ...except that Phillip doesn't believe it. "I know you like the battles, Gardener," he calls back. "But you like winning them even more. You've gotta get me out, and I know it." He grins. "Not that I'm calling you a liar or nothing -- just don't want you to make that promise and then find out the hard way." Gardener laughs. "Okay, big man -- I would have believed it coming from you, but yeah, we're on death ground here -- and on death ground, we fight." Why does he have to sound like he's enjoying himself so much? And more to the point, why isn't there any strain in his voice when he speaks, period? Phillip shrugs. He has all that weight dragging on his arms and he can still shrug. I really, really wish I could hate him. "Got it." Still joyful, still happy. Maybe I can hate him for that. Anger might give me more strength, and then I could ignore the drag on my limbs -- -- one person to each, pulling me backwards, laughing at my struggles, talking about what they'd hit first and how long it would go on for, the first was usually the truth and the second was always a lie -- -- long ago and far away. I can get out of this any time I want to. I couldn't then. There were no pleas, no begging or vows that I could make to stop those beatings. Any sounds I made existed only to be laughed at, so I stopped making them: what was the point? If they want to hear you scream, they'll hit you until you do, then keep hitting you. If you don't scream, then they'll keep hitting you until they're sure you won't, then keep hitting you. Either way, you get hit, so what's the point of screaming at all? If it's what they want to hear, it won't be enough, and no one ever hears who might do something to stop it... But I can stop this. All I have to do is quit. Say the word, and Jeff will have me freed: taken out of a challenge that I couldn't possibly win anyway. The men aren't slipping. No mistakes, no muscle cramps -- nothing. Certainly no miracles. They might be able to keep this up all the way to the top of their stacks, and then it would turn into a straight endurance contest. I can't get that far. My legs are being pulled backwards, and I will not drop, I won't, not when it won't do any good anyway... I can't quit. You don't quit. Sometimes you're sat out, and there's circumstances where you might sit out on your own, but you don't quit. Deal-making is another story. And if Phillip actually somehow thinks I'm a threat -- "Trooper already invited me to dinner." Not that the others knew that before now. It probably makes him look even more like my third vote at the pre-merge Council. "I can't get to him, either. You're offering to fly me out?" Phillip frowns -- but he's just thinking it over. "Not sure how the splits work -- I probably have to come to New Jersey, pick you up, fly back with you -- maybe you could show me around your state." I shake my head. "I don't have a car. I can show you everything within walking distance. That doesn't have much worth seeing." There is no chain attached to my upper spine. I wish someone would convince my upper spine of that. And I just let Connie know I didn't have a car: she'll be gloating for days. Assuming Gary didn't let that slip already. Or Mary-Jane, she might be really good at that sort of thing... Gardener will not stay out of this. "Phillip, you don't have to make a deal -- she sounds like she's ready to break." Is my voice that strained? I can't tell past the roaring in my ears. "She's still healing from the jaguar and the fall: the woman does not have a lot left." Well, at least I'm a woman now -- no more Wonder Girl -- and Phillip grins. "So maybe I want to see her after." So it's official: he's just being polite. Or delusional. And he's not sweating enough for delusional. "Besides, I want her to meet Gillie. And Alex, you've never been on a farm -- you'd probably like seeing the animals." "I've done enough with the clawed ones..." My left foot starts to slip, and I can't pull it forward. I can take a full step back and plant it more firmly in the sand, and I do -- but it just cost me an extra step, and Jeff just announced another weight increase. I can't hold out like this, and it's not for Immunity... The freedom to travel. The ability to see the world. I don't want to quit. I just don't see how I can win. "Alex." The tone is softer, which makes the location -- somewhere behind me -- into a major surprise. "I know you don't have it. Not for this one. If Phillip's offering you something to go out, take it." "I can do one more." One more weight increase, one more minute (however long that is), one more Council... "You've got to be feeling this too." "Sure I am," Gardener admits. "But I'm not the one who took a fall off the Cliffs. This is muscle mass: I've got more than you. So does Phillip. You're strong for your size, and you're stubborn as hell -- but in this challenge, that's only going to take you so far. I'm not going to give you a deal: I'm just giving you advice. Go out." "And then if you win," I point out, "I get nothing." Some smirks are audible. "That's the chance you'll have to take." There are times when hating Gardener is easy. It just doesn't seem to be giving me any extra strength. "You could at least lie to me..." If nothing else, it gives him the chance to practice. Phillip laughs. Gardener just groans. "Fine, whatever. I win and I'll give you a tour of Ann Arbor's many fine art museums." And was that ever sarcastic. "I may even be able to get you onto the sidelines for a game. Hell, promise me you'll go through a defense the way you go through fur and I might be able to get you into a game. How's that for a lie?" It's probably not the one he wanted to get away with -- and I'm jerked two large steps back before I can recover. The dead stop feels like it almost took my right hip out of its socket. Shoulders burning -- almost out of room... I try leaning forward, and the weight is to the point where it's pulling me back, it doesn't have to try, it's steady and constant and isn't sentient and can't be reasoned with -- it really has a lot in common with Cyndi's old clique... Phillip looks very concerned. Good for Phillip. "Alex, you can't keep this up. We can. Take the deal." You don't quit. You just don't. "Don't shave your head any time soon, Phillip..." Which gets a laugh. "If you win -- what happens with the urn?" He doesn't even have to think it over. "Same as I asked everyone for -- I'm just going to take a few ashes out first. I still want you guys to scatter them. He'll go to more places than I could ever see. But he'll be with me here --" he taps his chest, he actually has the strength to still reach up and tap his chest -- "and even a little here." Another tap, this time at the base of his neck. "Maybe I can get something made up." There's probably already a market for it. And with that 'you guys', I know Phillip has given up on winning the game, if he ever really believed he could in the first place. And that may mean I have a chance. "Okay -- I just wanted to make sure." He nods, smiling. "I --" My left foot slips again. I feel it touch wood. And then it isn't touching anything. ----------------------------------------------------------------- {And to the Official Catalog Of Alex's Semi-Expressions, we can now add total humiliation.} {That's a really interesting position for her. Bet that's going to inspire some more fan art.} {She should have just taken the deal. She had to know she couldn't win -- just take what you can get and get out while you still can.} {Elmore, some of us have been trying to apply that to her gameplay since Day One...} {At least we've got the Riddlemaster's clue for the week: 'Chain of fools'. I hope. I wouldn't put a double meaning past the jerk.} {Voiceover confessional from Alex -- "So that's what it's like to fly. For some reason, I thought it would hurt a lot less."} {Closeup on the weight rack, showing what percentage she went out at -- damn...} {'Weight rack'? I'm totally stealing that for the summary. And misusing it. Maybe she'll even take offense!} {Hmph. Yeah, lucky you if she does. I can't even get a rise out of people by referencing sponges on sticks in conjunction with their name.} {Gardener vs. Phillip now -- more time-lapse -- weight indicator getting near the top of the racks -- both men finally starting to go backwards a little -- fighting for every inch...} {Mary-Jane pleading with them to just pick a winner so she can get down already.} {We have passed joking attempts to bargain and entered The Grunt Zone. Not an audible word in the last ten percent.} {This is a lot of time, even at three minutes per five percent...} {Well, there's an audible word of sorts: Gardener cursing to himself.} {Phillip just pushed forward a foot.} {If this goes on much longer, we're going to get commercials in the middle of a challenge. One of them has to slip.} {Maybe it's SuperChallenge! To be continued in the next episode!} {Don't. Even. Joke.} {We're safe! It's over!} {Just didn't get his heel planted right after that last slip...} {Would anyone other than Phillip have asked Jeff to get everyone down before accepting his Reward?} {Phillip waiting -- everyone back on the ground -- Mary-Jane trying to work out some cramps by hugging him.} {Jeff gives him the Reward, tells him to enjoy it, and Phillip says he can't think of a way where he won't. Leaves as happy as we've ever seen him in the triumphant hero slow-motion shot -- commercials.} {The silver platter is being served again, isn't it? Phillip wanted a Reward before he went -- he's a threat for some of the challenges and the last person you want sitting next to you in front of the jury -- he's got to be out tonight.} {And then Burnett brings him back in the next season. Get ready for All-Stars #2! Or Guatemala Losers: Phillip Is The Biggest Tool.} {Elmore, any opinions on Phillip?} {I'm happy to see him get one. Better him than Gardener. Besides, I just happen to like the man.} {I'm shocked, I'm tell you. Shocked.} {You've got the summary? How are you going to bash Phillip?} {...I don't know. I just don't know... nah. Start with the haircut and move on from there.} -----------------------------------------------------------------   Remove | Alert Edit | Reply | Reply With Quote | Top

Estee 22510 desperate attention whore postings DAW Level: "Playboy Centerfold" 11-17-06, 03:24 PM (EST) 4. "Someone Always Gets Burned: Conclusion." LAST EDITED ON 11-23-06 AT 11:21 AM (EST) Before ----------------------------------------------------------------- {Topic Title: Connie Lastings-Adams: The Woman, The Myth, The Legend --} {-- the who? At this point in the game, a number of questions have arisen about our favorite fake blonde, mostly centered around exactly what she's been practicing versus the words she loves to preach. It's the consensus of the board (or at least of the moderators -- okay, me) that we have to find out more about her than what she's been willing to tell us in her CBS site data sheet. As such -- Internet researchers, do your stuff. Let's see if we can discover exactly what 'soulless' means. And where she learned to say it. And why. Connie's life, background, and blood type: go!} {Just to get things started, this is her official CBS data sheet. 'Age: Forty-two. Marital status: Married, twenty-two years, Dr. Edward Lastings. Occupation: Housewife. Hometown: Westhampton, NY. Favorites: Color: Gold Scent: Yellow rose Flower: Yellow rose Board Game: Life Video Game: None Sports to Play: Tennis Sports Teams: None Outdoor Activities: Jogging TV Shows: Survivor, The O'Reilly Factor, Top Chef Movie: Gone With The Wind Actor: Russell Crowe Actress: Currently none Music: The Beatles Magazine: Vanity Fair Books/Author: The Bible, God (Oh, that's cute.) Cereal: Fiber X Fruit: Cherries Snack Food: Chex mix Cookie: White chocolate chip with macadamia nuts Candy Bar: Ghiradelli dark chocolate square with mint filling Alcoholic Drink: Sam Adams seasonal flavors Non-Alcoholic: Fresh-squeezed orange juice Connie Lastings-Adams describes herself as "an active housewife and faithful Christian -- usually not in that order", maintaining her residence on Long Island while "keeping my husband happy" and staying involved in her community. She is a member of several non-profit groups and sits on the boards of a number of local organizations, along with keeping herself involved in fundraising work. Connie has been a fan of Survivor since its original airing and is thrilled to have made the cut for this season's cast. Her reason for coming on the show is "To set a good example for the viewers, have some fun in the tropics, and get paid for it. Hopefully a lot." Her birthdate is December 26th.' And now, we Google.} {I think we just explained a lot about her personality right there. How much does it suck to have your birthday be the day after Christmas?} {Darn. She just missed being the Second Coming.} {Maybe we should research the opening credits again. After all, EPMB did give us the damn jaguar on Day One...} {Born in Vermont... age is actually right, but she had to figure CBS would check. Moved to Long Island when she was fifteen. High school graduate. Did go to college -- Long Island again -- but dropped out when she got married to the future Dr. Lastings, who is six years older than she is: essentially, she married an intern. Took her chance early and missed the snake eyes or true love: take your pick. Grades were steady but not spectacular.} {Only child. Mother was a former Miss Vermont: father was the state legislature representative for their district. Connie was born late in the marriage: her father retired when she was fifteen.} {Wait -- that means they moved right after he retired. Change of scenery, or staying ahead of the lynch mob?} {Newspaper archives make it sound like an honorable finish, but yeah, they left in a hurry. Maybe there was a scandal that would have broken if he hadn't gotten out of the area. But we're really speculating here} {Well, Alex nailed it: flat-chested until about fifteen years back. Take a look at these two pictures... before and after. Not that we didn't know before we got the Official Cartoonist's Word on the subject, but now we've got it in newspaper black and white. She can stop denying the surgery now. I hope.} {What's wrong with the surgery?} {Frequently nothing, especially when it's reconstructive. It's the denial that's been annoying the hell out of me.} {Huh. Well, she hasn't changed her looks that drastically, at least facially: a little off here, a little on there. It's just a lot of procedures overall, and it looks like she's mostly fighting off time. Not an unattractive teenager.} {But when your mother is a literal beauty queen...} {Both parents now deceased.} {Kept her original last name at the far end of the hyphen because she's in the direct bloodline of presidents. Right. Those Adams. The list of organizations she belongs to includes the Daughters Of The American Revolution.} {According to this newspaper article, her worship site (other than her bathroom mirror) is the Church Of Christ, Risen: she's listed among the members present at a fundraising dinner. Lutheran style on the building: took over after someone else had their lease expire or a Lutheran sub-branch? No website... not many mentions except for when they're fundraising or community-active... not much of anything. They exist and we can presume they cheerfully accept donations. Not exactly helpful.} {I've found something. Or two things. Guess who's a member of both the AFA and the PTC?} {Son of a *****...} {Remember the suspicious speed with which those protest forms appeared? What if they had advance warning and got them ready to go three months beforehand?} {I don't think Connie would be stupid enough to violate her contract, and those people are really good at getting their so-called forces into the bulk Email programs in a hurry. All they would have needed was about twenty minutes to adjust the names on the generic forms.} {This doesn't exactly come as a shock, but it's still an interesting thing to know. She may not be telling them exactly what's going to happen five minutes before it does, but she had to know they would come down on Alex. Maybe she even asked them to do it five minutes after it happened...} {We're speculating a lot here and yes, it's not a surprise that someone with Connie's stated values would be a member/supporter of both organizations. But again -- things that make you go hmmm...} {Here's her house. Westhampton isn't what people think of when they picture the Hamptons: it's not a playground for the ultra-rich and famous. But it's still eastern Long Island, and you have to be fairly well-off just to live on the outskirts. Her husband's a full surgeon these days, so he must be pulling in a decent amount of money.} {Plastic surgeon?} {You'd think that, but no: heart.} {Maybe he can install one in his spouse.} {Online article from six years back, she was interviewed at another fundraiser. Lots here on her political positions, as that's what they were raising money for. Basically breaks down to 'far-right Republican with strong elements of the Religious Reich.' In other words, she's been having a good time for the last few years, plus Connie and Gardener don't have as many points in common as you might think on first glance. But again, that's just a confirmation of what we've already seen.} {Another one of her memberships: strongly pro-censorship in video games, was in an organized protest in front of a local shop because she insisted that they take ID before selling anything to anyone. In case you're curious, Angela's name appears nowhere in that article.} {I got copies of her college's yearbooks -- if it had 'Christian' in it, she was a member. But she quit a lot of them in her sophomore year. Strange...} {How'd you pull that off?} {Dude, I go there.} {So far, the PTC/AFA information is the most interesting, but it's still not exactly a surprise. We don't have a smoking gun yet. Although I may have a lawsuit on my hands for using that phrase off their site.} {I know what you mean. This doesn't give us insight into her core religious beliefs, and I really want to know about the 'soulless' label she's applied to Cole twice. I feel like I'm failing here.} {You got the organization connection -- that's pretty good, right? Relax: the rest will come out.} {I hope so -- because she said she wanted to set a good example for the viewers and so far, all I see her setting is a disturbing one.} ----------------------------------------------------------------- During ----------------------------------------------------------------- Mary-Jane stays angry with Jeff until we get off the beach, and then she gives it all up in one breath: a locked spine would make it hard to slump against the nearest tree. "Ow..." She takes a weary glance back at Robin. "Good call. If I'd known that was coming, I would have quit too... my hips hurt..." Gary groans. "Tell me about it. I wasn't up there half as long and I feel like I've been stretched out on a rack." With a glance back at me, "Do I look taller to you?" "Just your hair." I don't feel any taller and when you're five-foot-two, it's easy to pick up on even the slightest difference. What I feel like is an extremely abused rubber band, five seconds after bouncing off the back of someone's skull. I'm limping a little, and so is everyone else who took the ride on the Yanini Express Elevator. Even Gardener, who was the last one taken down -- for some reason, they lowered us one at a time -- and got to spend five guessed minutes waiting for the slow crank to finishing returning the rest of us to the ground. "We should all be okay after a night's sleep." Of course, if I'm wrong and Immunity is largely physical, we now have four people with lingering injuries to play against three healthy ones. Phillip's still grinning. "Anyone want a piggyback ride back to camp?" Gardener suggests that the challenge staff save that one for a future run and make sure Robin has to carry one of the men: if she's that desperate for physical contact, that'll give it to her. (And she nearly gets some in on the spot: I can see her restraining herself, but she's very quick to make a fist.) Mary-Jane takes Phillip up on the offer and gets the high view a few heartbeats later, easily swung up onto his broad shoulders in a single motion, giggling most of the way. Her refreshed good mood is having trouble staying intact, though. "Where's the massage reward?" she sighs after Phillip's right foot makes a hard impact on the downhill. "Why haven't we gotten to lie down on padded tables and have experts work over our muscles? That's a natural association with billionaires and the rich life -- plus they do it almost every season..." Another, deeper sigh. "If I'm on the jury and one of you is Final Two and invited me along, that's probably my vote right there..." Apparently she's too sore to spend energy worrying about curses -- although she still has some to spare on speculation. "Gardener, you're a trainer... you've got to know something about massage, right?" Gardener abruptly stops in the middle of the trail: Connie passes him before he gets moving again. "Something, yeah. Something like how not to give them. Sorry, Mary-Jane -- work out your own kinks: I've got enough problems of my own." Robin's apparently decided to take over the snorting duties for the day. "Yeah. Like being down one vote. Better give Mary-Jane at least a shoulder rub -- maybe that'll be enough to buy hers." Connie's picking up her pace -- partially because she can, and partially because she really wants to catch up to Gary. "You should have quit, you know. There was no need to put all that strain on your body once you saw what the price of failure was." Gary sighs. "I know. I just hate the thought. Quitting can be as strategic as anything else, but it's hard to talk yourself into." Connie smiles. "Not as hard as you'd think. It's more important to save strength for Immunity anyway." Because she needs it, really she does. And so does Gary. And so do I, because the blindside is not off the board -- no, just think about getting Robin and Phillip... But I can't make my move yet. I need to see who winds up with the necklace before seriously trying an approach: if Phillip has it, then he might be less susceptible to a bargain. The idol's location is also a major factor, especially if I get it. (Which probably means there won't be one, just because I'm making too many plans around the possibility of finding it.) And the earlier I start to work, the more time it is for someone to sell me out... The remainder of Day Twenty-Eight passes in a haze of lingering aches: most of the tribe moans, groans, and slowly picks their way around the camp. Gardener even seems to be having some trouble swimming -- maybe he did pull something on the way up: there was a lot of weight dragging on the chains -- and doesn't do that well fishing, either: we divide up two small catches and fill the rest in with rice and fruit. Phillip winds up doing most of the daily work, partially because he enjoys it and he's still determined to do his share plus a half-share from everyone else, but mostly because he still can. He is showing signs of the effort he made, but they're minimal: a quick nap after bringing firewood in, the first one I've seen him take, and a soak in the lake to ease tired muscles. (Mary-Jane and Gardener are with him there, taking one of their own, so there goes the possibility of that early conference.) I don't join them: I just tape my confessional and go. Ideal case: win Immunity, find the idol. Be protected myself and able to pass the idol off with absolutely no risk. Get Robin, get Phillip, get everyone I think I can get, it's five-two at the vote with no bounce possible... I'm still not very good at hope. But it's starting to feel like I'm not bad at scheming. Making it work -- to be determined. We are five. They are two. Last night's thought sounds a lot better from that angle. ----------------------------------------------------------------- {Day Twenty-Nine, and Amanu's moving a lot better than they were on Day Twenty-Eight. Mary-Jane's having the most lingering trouble, but she was up there the longest.} {Comedy scene -- Mary-Jane corners Alex while carrying pretty much all of what Alex retrieved from the mansion in the way of makeup. Alex is going to be worked on. Now. Because why did she bring all this stuff back if she has no intention of ever using it? And now we watch Alex in her quiet, deadpan, semi-dignified scramble as she tries to look for an excuse M-J will believe. What's the point of wearing makeup out here? It just wears off with rain, effort, and the island works -- look at what happened during the last storm. You're supposed to smuggle things and she was just being true to show tradition. She thought she could use some of the colors as paints in her sketchbook, since the supplies the show provided for the tribe flag weren't exactly extensive. She thought someone else could use the supplies. Etc. Mary-Jane is buying none of this. She wants to see Alex in full colors. Not that she thinks Alex is unattractive without them and she's sure Alex does a decent job by herself at home, but she knows more about professional makeup than anyone short of the publicity shot people, and she thinks it's time to see what comes out under highlights. Alex still trying to protest her way out of this, but she's starting to repeat herself: it might rain, they could have a water challenge, what's the point? Mary-Jane starting to look a little suspicious for the first time in forever -- then goes gentle all at once, asks Alex if she even knows how to put on makeup, and if she's ever worn it at all. Alex gets as close to openly exasperated as we've seen her since calling out Gardener at the beams, and tells Mary-Jane that next time there's something to smuggle for the tribe, she'll think twice before bringing it back, then ends the conversation by walking out. Mary-Jane steps into confessional. "On the record: it's blush. Not acid. Blush." And more will be available in Survivor Gold tomorrow.} {I think we just hit Alex's economic status again. Rent, food, utilities, clothing. If soda is an unpurchased luxury item, then makeup isn't exactly going to be one of the necessities of life.} {Of course, in Elmore's case, that list starts out 'Food, food, food...'} {Actually, the first item on the list is 'upgrades'. Gotta stay current.} {So you're going to buy a new body? Connie is so gonna sue!} {Comedy scene #2: Phillip is going to try a dive off the top of the waterfall if it kills him. Also if it kills the person he lands on, because we have a very rare thing in this shot: all of Amanu gathered at the lake. Nearly everyone's swimming this morning -- looks like another heat wave coming in, as Alex's sleeves are starting to inch up her arms again. Gary in full voice, calling off Phillip's approach to the top like an Olympic announcer, making up dives Phillip may try: there's the Farmer Freefall, the Hog Half-Twist, and the Cornbread Catastrophe. Robin gives Phillip a drumbeat by slapping her shoes on M-J's confessional boulder, and he does -- a cannonball. No one gets away unsplashed. Even Alex, gathering fruit about twenty-five feet away from his landing point, gets a complete soak-down. Lots of laughter from most of Amanu, with only Alex and Connie staying out of it. Connie looks pretty frustrated with Phillip. Alex just ducks behind the boulder before anyone can notice just how wet she is.} {Without violating our mod's rules -- can we assume Connie has been frustrated with Phillip since the jaguar attack? He thinks they're still aligned, she's moved away from him, and you can bet the last page in your Bible that she hasn't told him...} {Agreed on that last: Phillip's not exactly loaded with mad acting skillz. He really thinks this was Robin.} {Elmore, did you ever catch Phillip in a lie while you were on the island?} {Phillip? Lying? Umm... guys, what you're seeing edited into the show is what we got. He is who the cameras say he is. Nothing more, nothing less.} {Well, he sure isn't an expert poem reader, but he doesn't exactly have great material to work with. Although Disney might have one amazing lawsuit to bring forward. And I very unfortunately quote: 'Zippedeedodah, zippedeeay! Immunity might be coming your way! Ride the right lines, and you'll have three more days! Zippedeedodah -- zippedeeay!' I would rather be hung out to dry in Mary-Jane's posture, equally topless, in the middle of Times Square on New Year's Eve, than have to hear that again.} {Gee. Look at all the confused Amanu faces. Can they possibly work this out? Are they up to the intellectual challenge? How many thousands of IQ points do they need to collectively solve this riddle? And yes, I am lying through my many keys. Everyone knows what this is. Even Tony. And he never heard it.} {To the challenge we go, but not to Challenge Beach: Jeff meets them there and takes them down the left-side hunt trail. We wind up at a part of the island we haven't visited before: another one of the waterfall lakes, larger than Amanu's, with Asian plants surrounding it. Lots of high poles and platforms set up in the water, with zip lines and flying fox grips going all over the place. The Immunity necklace is sitting on a small platform in the exact center of the lake: the players start from individual platforms around the lake shore.} {Anyone else seeing touches of root rot and leaf discoloration at this lake?} {No, just you, Botany Boy.} {I see something... truly, M-J's set rocks. And read that however you like.} {I'm willing to believe you saw one of those, but so did the entire East Coast.} {Yeah. They forgot to blur the shot of the TV.} {This is kind of like the old rope spiderweb token maze, but you have to navigate down the zip lines and find which trail leads to Immunity. Jeff tells them that everyone has a path which will work at top speed, and everyone has paths that will get them lost. This is an absolute forest of lines, and most of the platforms seem to exist just to give people a chance to move to the wrong place. If you lose too much height, you can't zip, and you'll have to get to a pole with a ladder attached and lose time getting altitude back. Six lines lead to the shore -- touch it, and you're out. Drop into the water, and you're out. If no one reaches the necklace, then no one gets Immunity. Even if they wind up with just one player still hanging around, that player still has to get to the finish.} {Lots of line crossover points. Robin asks what'll happen if two or more people ram into each other. Jeff just looks at her and says "You'll really wish you hadn't."} {This is a puzzle of sorts -- is Alex going to take this one?} {She was examining the lines while Jeff was talking -- I think she was trying to get a jump on her trail.} ----------------------------------------------------------------- ...and that one gets closer, but -- no, I've got two choices: one heads closer to the ground and the other one goes to an elevation pole... but maybe you have to dip, then climb back up, and that's the shortest route... This is insane. How many lines are there, a couple of hundred? More? I'm trying to find the path through the maze, but it's starting to feel like the challenge is half luck and half the ability to hang onto the fox grip and not fall into the water: strategy not required or even remotely helpful. Strength something of a requirement, but -- -- actually, Gardener and Phillip, with more weight to support than anyone, are going to have the most trouble staying in should this challenge stretch out. (Then again, they're going to be moving the fastest on the lines -- although Phillip is giving his first one a dubious look. He may be wondering just how they tested it for weight capacity. And 'if'.) So far, no one seems very happy about this one. The lightest among us might have an advantage in staying up, but arm strength is still a factor, endurance is going to kick in eventually... if there's a single person with an advantage here, I can't spot who it is. I just know it's not me. I glance down at Azure, whose perch is right next to Jeff today. She doesn't understand what all the fuss is about. Humans trying to fly? Don't we know we're better off leaving that up to her? And we probably are, but today, we're either going to figure it out in a hurry, or we're going to master the only form of flying the species ever got a grip on: straight down, distance variable -- "-- go!!" The left line looked like my best initial choice of the three: I grab it and -- -- flying, I'm really flying, the cape is streaming out behind me in the wind, if I could just put my arms out in front of me and let go -- -- which would be a classic (and last) mistake, Next platform -- and the fox grip is pulled back up the line as soon as I let go of it, reset in case someone manages to reach my starting platform. Which is probably impossible, because Jeff said we couldn't go hand over hand up the lines: grips only -- but it shows the system is working. All around me, there's yells and cries of delight as people make their way down the first part of their trails -- then sudden silences as the platforms are reached, the branching options scouted. No more fears of heights coming into play (although Frank would have had a nightmare with this one: we started from thirty-five feet up): the platforms are large enough to stand on and we have safety lines playing out from the grid of metal placed carefully above us, well out of camera shot -- although some of the shadows are visible on the lake. There's some very complicated activity going on up there: they're trying to keep us from getting tangled up with each other, and it seems as if a giant seven-way knot has to develop eventually -- but the challenge staff is moving in the rigging, switching from primary safety here to secondary there, making sure everyone retains independence. It's an individual challenge, after all -- -- and we're down one individual. "Gary's out!" Jeff announces. Two heartbeats later, I hear the splash. If you lose your grip on the fox, then the safety lines lowers you to within twenty feet of the water -- and lets go. It sounds like Gary slipped going down his second line. I'm not moving just yet: I'm trying to work this out from a new perspective, and it looks like the right side is the best choice this time -- but all around me, people have already played guess-and-go, and luck will let them pick up speed -- ----------------------------------------------------------------- {-- Connie's really motoring here, but she seems to be guessing more than planning: aiming for whatever looks like it's going away from the shore, then hoping to find something from there. Visible strain on her face: she's having trouble supporting her own weight.} {Hah!} {And an Emmy nomination to whoever got the lock on Gardener's expression at the moment he realized he'd picked the wrong one... hello, shoreline! He just came down right at Jeff's feet, cursed, and Azure looked at him and said "Watch your language, buster!" Driven insane by Robin for a whole night, lost a strength challenge, had to admit Alex was the surgeon who removed the line from his ass, and gets chewed out by a parrot. Gardener is not having a good episode.} {Alex seems to be working her way in, but she may be taking too long on those platforms.} {Connie lost too much height -- trying to get to a ladder.} {Robin playing slow and steady. Looks like she's hoping everyone else falls off before her.} {Mary-Jane trying to backtrack -- whoa! Missed Phillip by inches! And Phillip was so shocked, he let go of his grip! Three out, and the cannonball turns out to be foreshadowing -- there's no way we're seeing anyone except Phillip going out tonight. He tumbles into the water to amuse the others, and now he goes in to give the Turare+ alliance their free vote...} {We're down to the four women. Anyone want to tell Desmond? It's a conspiracy, I tell you. A conspiracy!} {Robin closing in on the center -- no. This platform has only two lines, and both of them lead away from Immunity. Alex just got closer going by on another line.} {Connie dropped! Just couldn't keep her grip any longer!} {Mary-Jane catches a jaguar by its toe, finds it hollers, lets it go, and takes the line her father picked as the very best one.} {Robin getting frustrated -- she can get close to the center, but she's not reaching it.} {Alex's plotting seems to be working -- camera focus on her examining lines, looks like she's got something...} {Mary-Jane closes her eyes and points.} {This may be it! Shots of both women moving down their lines --} {-- and only the blonde survive!} {Mary-Jane's gonna accessorize!} {Survey shot of the field, camera quickly tracking the lines. Looks like Alex was two moves away -- second time she's missed Immunity by a few seconds, not counting Tony's amazing idol step-and-go. Not even bothering to show Robin's distance out.} {Alex sitting on the edge of her platform -- and that's as close as she ever gets to dejection, out in the semi-open again. She wanted this one, but M-J Tonyed her -- luck beat out skill.} {Mary-Jane accepts the necklace with a big smile, hugs Jeff -- who just barely manages to keep a straight face through it, but will have to do a lot of explaining to Julie when he gets home, maybe he and Gardener can form a support group -- and commercials. So far, we're on track for a long idol hunt and a normal Council.} {I'll admit it: I couldn't have done that one. I might have been off on the first line.} {Nah. You would have passed out during the climb up to the starting platform.} {Steady, normal episode... nothing weird yet... if I hold my breath any longer, I'm going to pass out...} {And we're back, with Mary-Jane reading the idol clue. 'The darkest places, which no light can touch, hold salvation's light, which no dark can reach.' Connie just rolls her eyes.} {Lots of confusion, which Gardener sums up in confessional. "You can't see the thing in the dark and now it's been put somewhere with no light. Or we're supposed to hunt at night. Or it's been jammed up someone's ass and we have to guess whose before extracting it. Well, you had to figure Jake would still be good for something this season..."} {We go to Day Thirty, and the hunts begin -- people looking for the shady areas, under rocks -- anywhere there's darkness in the daytime.} {Alex in confessional -- uh-oh. "This is it. I wish I knew who had the idol -- I wish I had the idol -- but Phillip doesn't have Immunity, and that means he might be open to the idea of a mini-twist. I can't lose anything by asking. Except Connie. Which is a chance I'm willing to take." Alex knows what's going on with that vote switch, and it sounds like she's about to make a power play.} {What the hell is she up to this time? She hasn't shown much love of the well-placed backstab before this...} {She just wants Connie out. The swing vote has done her job, and now it's time to have her swing one more time, from the nearest noose. Um... was that line a locking offense?} {Following Alex -- she's got to be looking for Phillip -- yep: just asked Azure to find him. Azure didn't move. Alex shrugs, says "I wanted to try that just once" and keeps hunting.} {There he is! Follow the biggest footprints on the island and you'll get there.} {All right, Cole -- now what are you up to?} ----------------------------------------------------------------- There are times when I could really start to get fed up with Gary. The morning of Day Thirty qualified for one of them. I let him know what I was trying to do. Of course I let him know. He's supposed to be my ally, right? We share information and there's no way this piece of it could possibly hurt his position in the game, plus there's the small matter of needing his vote to line up with mine -- so I signaled him, went to the starfruit patch, and gave him the rundown. The short version: I grab Phillip, you grab Robin, someone talks to Mary-Jane, and Connie gets back to the mansion for all the breakfasts she could possibly want. And Gary's response? "No." I'd stared at him for a few heartbeats. That didn't seem to do anything, so I'd done it for a few more. He'd told me that he had a promise with Gardener: he wouldn't take Connie out at this vote. Connie wouldn't have flipped if she'd thought there would be immediate reprisal for it, so a promise from him had been necessary to secure the new ally. He'd made that promise and he wasn't going to break it. He understood how I felt, and he was still my ally, really he was, but this didn't conflict with our alliance. No vote for Connie from Gary at this Council. He wouldn't tell Gardener about my plan and he certainly wasn't going to tell Connie, but he wouldn't be a part of it, either. Three cheers for good old promise-keeping Gary. Again. Any more of this and I'll have to copyright that thought. Fine. Whatever. I don't need Gary for this one. Five votes would have been nice, but I can do it with four. It just means getting Robin, Phillip, and Mary-Jane. Gary may want to project an image of absolute trustworthiness, but I think Mary-Jane will be okay with breaking a promise to Connie that I'm not sure she ever made in the first place. Robin should be happy to vote for anyone who isn't her, so that conversation will probably be really short. Mary-Jane's, even shorter, mostly on purpose: the less time we talk, the less chance there is for things to come around to cosmetics again. Right now, I need to find Phillip. And you'd think someone that big wouldn't exactly be easy to miss, but it's not a small island and I can't go around asking people if they've seen Phillip, because then they'll realize that I'm looking for Phillip and start to wonder why... It feels like it takes a couple of hours before I catch up with him. But I do, finally spotting his footprints on the beach and following the trail from there. By the time I spot him, he's heading back towards me. Naturally, his first reaction upon spotting me is a grin. "Heya, Alex! Hi, Azure!" (She squawks back.) A pause -- and then a fast, friendly shrug. "If you're trying for the little cave, don't bother -- I just checked it." There really is a cave? I'd thought I'd seen an entrance, but there was every chance I'd hallucinated that part... "When did you find that?" Phillip points. There's the entrance, about eighty feet away. "While you were out cold -- followed your trail back to see if I could work out the rest of what happened before Jeff told us. Been in there yet?" I shake my head. "It's just a little hollow. Doesn't go more than thirty feet back, and there's some water pipes coming out of the rock in there -- big ones. Gotta be part of the island's recycling system." Which makes sense -- the outlets go somewhere. Presumably there's an underground water treatment facility running on automatic, probably beneath the mansion. Under a different part of the mansion. With normal access. Unless the billionaire had an aquarium area and was working up to hunting sharks. "So you don't have the idol?" Phillip doesn't seem to lie... A bigger grin, but it's a little sheepish around the corners. "Nope -- sorry. I thought I'd look just because, just to see if I could get one, but -- no luck. I haven't gotten one of these things yet, and I was sort of hoping to do it on my last shot." Very open, very relaxed: no resignation here, just acceptance. "Even if I had it, you wouldn't have to worry about the bounce or nothing: I would have gone for Gardener. If I didn't have it, I was gonna vote for Gary. Mostly just to see his face, because he hasn't gotten one yet and maybe he should, just to keep him humble." I picture Gary's face when that vote comes up. It's an interesting image. And after the flip proposal rejection, it's almost a little too attractive. "Do you have a minute? I really came out looking for you." His response is an immediate rear-first plop onto the hot sand. "Starting the goodbyes early, huh?" He motions me over. I approach the rest of the way and sit down, both of us facing the ocean, getting the benefit of the cool salt breeze. "It's been fun, Alex. Really -- wouldn't trade the last month for the world. Got the jury, get to see how this all wraps up -- and if you were wondering, I really do want to get you to the farm. You should meet Gillie. And maybe shave a sheep -- I keep a few for the wool." Which explains some of the nighttime homespun: Phillip's the only one who brought pajamas... Time to be direct. "It doesn't have to be over." He glances at me. "I can save you tonight. All you have to do is let me." A very brief frown. "You've got the idol?" Carefully, "Alex, I know you're tight with Turare -- why would you want me in there? Like I said before, you've got Gardener: you don't need two big guys." This may be harder than I'd thought. "You know Connie swung, right?" He blinks hard -- then sighs. "No. Honest? I thought it was Robin. I really thought she was just looking for any way out -- and she's got so much confidence in herself, she must have thought she could win the last few Immunities and work her way out of any promise. But coming from you, I'll believe it." Which is a compliment I wasn't expecting -- -- and maybe this can be easy after all. Carefully, "You had an alliance with Connie?" Azure gets down: she's probably on a bathroom break. And completely safe from the cameras. There are days when I have serious parrot envy, and that's after taking out the whole flight thing. Phillip nods. "Right from the beginning." He goes back to facing the ocean. Low tide: there's plenty of beach to gaze across, some fresh shells. The waves aren't very high today, and there aren't many clouds: just little white puffs thousands of feet overhead. Some of them even look like sheep, but any cloud can do that if your mind was already going in that direction. "Came up to me really early, asked for protection. We worked out some of our votes in advance. It was supposed to be a Final Two thing, but I never figured I'd get there -- just thought I could keep her safe as long as I could before I went out. Guess it sort of worked out -- she's safe with you guys." "Why did you align with her?" Because really, this is an odd couple: the one who seems to love the world and the one who wants it changed to suit her purposes. He shrugs. "She asked. First one to ask." Which is way too close to how Gary and I got together. "And we've got a faith in common -- at least, I thought we did. Lately..." The trail-off is slow and uncertain, the brief silence awkward. "I still like you just fine, Alex. No matter what she says." And he'll probably never tell me what she was saying. "Phillip, you don't have to go." Quickly, "I don't have the idol, but we might not need it. Connie's no real shot to find it, she won't get it unless Gary or Gardener have it and decide to protect her -- and I think they're both having trouble with this clue." Rocks being turned over is a sign of either desperation or bad acting. I'm thinking desperation. "All we need is majority. I want to keep you for at least three days and get Connie out. You, me, Mary-Jane, and Robin. That puts Connie out, moves you up at least one place in the ranks, you might be able to do a lot from there --" Is this working at all? "You love being here -- stay." Did that? Quiet for a long moment, thinking it over -- and then, softly, "Alex, I can do the math. Haraiki's still out. There's four of you now to three of us, and you guys are tight. You're not gonna make me a Final Four promise because you can't keep it, and I appreciate that." Math? Sixth place is better than seventh! How's that for math? And he doesn't have an 'us' any more! "I just want you around longer than Connie. You deserve to be here more than Connie. And who says it's not a Final Four group? We could work with that -- it's majority, that's all we need..." This laugh is far too merry for my taste. "You're not the worst liar in the world, but you don't get much practice." He pulls his legs partway up to his broad chest as he leans back to gaze at the sky: echoes of Mary-Jane on the diving rock... "I believe you, at least that you want Connie out and me here for the extra three. But I promised Connie I wouldn't vote for her -- not unless she was in the Final Two. And there's the Haraiki thing -- gotta honor that if she's there alone, gotta keep the first promise if she's there against Robin. I've got to keep to keep my word. But -- thanks. I know how you must have been thinking about me to want me around -- it's a real compliment." Is he insane? "Phillip, I'm trying to save you!" This probably is the time to sound desperate. "Connie broke her word to you the instant she switched! You can't be bound by your promise any more! Someone always gets burned -- let it be Connie!" More slowly, "It's not just one extra place in the standings, it's three more days to look for a miracle. As long as your flame is still lit, you've got a chance." And now the one I don't believe, but it's the ultimate argument -- "You could still win!" This time, when he turns to look at me, only the right side of his mouth has twitched up. "No. I can't." He raises a hand, cutting me off before I can start and triggering still more echoes. Only a month, and already everything reminds me of everything else. "Because I know who I am -- knew it when I came in here, and didn't play anything any different. I'm the guy no one wants to take to Final Two. I wasn't gonna change and be a jerk just so someone would haul me along. My only hope would be winning pure -- take every last necklace until the end. And I can't, because you've got that one." A single-finger point with a full grin providing propulsion power. "And I'm the guy who keeps his word. I said I'd be loyal to Haraiki until the end -- and this is my end, Alex. I'm going out tonight. I got a month. That's more than most people ever get -- and you know it, because you thought you had three days. And I've got nine more to just look at the stars..." Friendly, sincere, open, and idiotic... "I think you've got thirty-seven days. Minimum. And I'm not gonna tell anyone about this, so you don't have to worry about going earlier." Why doesn't anyone ever listen to me? I'm trying to keep him here! How can he fight that? He wants to talk math? "Thirty-three days, Phillip... even if you think you can't win, it's a little more time here --" or maybe this is the ultimate argument "-- for your father!" Silence. I either went just far enough or too far... ...and he smiles again. "Let me talk a minute, okay?" Okay, fine. I'll listen to every word and think of a counterpoint to shoot back when he's done. "The day I got the call, I knew I'd only win by winning pure -- and no one's ever won pure. I never thought I'd get the million. Never really even daydreamed about it. Carry my group through Tribal, and after that -- gone as soon as the chance came up. It didn't come for twelve days. I wanted the jury and seeing the end: I got that. Even said it to my confessional guy one day. You had to see the look on his face..." He stretches his legs out on the sand: shorts today, and the exposed skin is deeply tanned. More small scars dot his kneecaps. "I came to play, but I played clean. I can't win dirty. I can't win clean, either. I can't win. But I could have a great time -- and I did. I did that for my dad, and I did it for me, and I got everything I wanted and then some." And with complete sincerity, "I think I even got some friends out of it. Alex, I'm going out tonight the way I came in: Phillip Geegaw, decent guy. Came in clean, went out clean. But --" and he looks directly at me "-- I understand a little dirt here and there. I've watched enough of this to know what you have to do to win. I couldn't do it. Connie could." Yes, he's insane. That's the only possible explanation. He's completely out of his mind, there isn't enough electricity on the entire island to shock him out of it -- and the words just slip out, a desperate whisper that can't fix anything. "Why won't you let me help you?" Softly, "Why don't you ever free yourself?" Silence again. I have absolutely no idea what he means, much less why he said it. Maybe he meant to say 'help' and had a mental hiccup. I am trying to help myself. I'm getting majority and (im)possible control of the game. How is that not -- -- and he won't even let me finish that train of thought. "I got to watch you close-up once I came here, got to see you a bunch of times while I was still on the other side of the beach. There's something I haven't seen, Alex. I've never seen you smile. Not once. No matter what happens in the challenges, in camp, no matter how many jokes get told or how many chances come up to celebrate -- you don't. I know you can tell when something's funny -- you've got this little nod that comes out, real quick, like you're hoping no one's gonna catch it. And sometimes you try to make a joke. Mary-Jane told me about your running around when you had the idol, asking people for mandatory last-minute conferences..." A quick laugh. "Must have been something to see. I hope they show some of it. But you don't smile. Ever. And if you did, if you laughed, just once --" -- and I'm on my feet. "I get it, okay? You won't vote for Connie. You won't save yourself. Fine. Maybe I'll vote for Connie anyway. I owe her a message vote. I owe her three. It'll give you a chance to change your mind." Not that I care if he goes out tonight any more, because he clearly doesn't. Walking away, moving too fast again but I'm nearly healed now, getting away from Phillip -- -- who's following me, and catches up at the same moment Azure returns. She squawks another greeting at him, but Phillip doesn't notice: he's got other things on his mind. "I didn't mean to upset you or nothing -- when Mary-Jane got depressed after the bad flip, I told her to go get her smile back. You've just got to do the same thing." "Whatever." Let that be harsh. He'll probably just ignore it. "I'm not upset about anything except having Connie around for three extra days." He sighs. "Alex, look --" What part of 'whatever' does he not understand? For that matter, what part of 'three extra days' is he so afraid of having for himself? He doesn't have to destroy his entire self-image of who he is! He has to cast one vote! Doesn't the man know how to change his handwriting? No, wait -- he probably ranks that under 'lying'... "I tried to make a move. It didn't work. It's over. I guess finding the idol would have been staying clean, right? You'd better go back to looking for it." Damn it, damn it, damn it -- does this island drive people insane, or was he this way before he ever got here? Probably both. "Yeah, but I don't think I'm going to find it." Another, deeper sigh. "I don't want you upset with me. Not today." He won't vote to save himself, he won't vote for a Turare unless there's a pair of them at Final Two, he will vote for any Haraiki and that includes Connie no matter what she did to him -- people are supposed to vote their hate: it looks like Phillip was just disqualified from the human race for lack of shoving, because he's going to vote his word... "It's over. I made an offer, you said no." Because he's insane. "Let it go." "I will," he says, and I want to believe him, because Phillip doesn't lie. But he never said when he would let it go... I hate this stupid game. ----------------------------------------------------------------- {...I don't get it. I just don't get it. I would have taken that offer in a second. He had to know Alex meant it. Swap him for Connie in the boot order: Turare can always pick up right where they left off afterwards. Alex goes behind Gardener's back for one vote, then rejoins him having taken away some of his secondary options and continues the game. Or even runs her new Final Four all the way to Final Four. That offer was good. What's wrong with Phillip? You don't turn that down!} {Elmore, you don't. He did. I won't pretend to understand why, either -- unless, for a very rare once, it's exactly what the contestant said. Because that's not him. He's playing as himself all the way to the end -- and this is his end. Phillip went through the five stages of being voted out by skipping over the first four. He's at acceptance, and he's staying there.} {Stupid, stupid, stupid!} {Although we're going to get some disagreement on his motives.} {Oh, God -- I can see the locked threads now...} {Did anyone notice EPMB is now starting to present the 'Alex is damaged' theory for the masses? Phillip noticed the no-smiling thing -- perfect opportunity to bring it in.} {Yeah, and we've got more time to explore it if all this means Alex really is F4. I think she's almost got to be at this point.} {Unless Gardener gets wind of what she just tried to do and decides she committed an unforgivable sin.} {He just did. About two minutes ago. And it's a little late now. Besides, as said, Alex could just swap the boot order and then continue from there with Turare. All she might get with Connie out is a little personal revenge. But under that offer, she definitely would have gotten that.} {Could this be misdirection? Phillip changes his mind at Council and votes to go with Alex's protest vote? If Robin and Mary-Jane vote that way just in case, then...} {I think it's misdirection that you're posting that. Any help?} {Fine. You caught me. I'm an EPMB plant. Happy?} {No, that's Elmore. He's about that mobile.} {I don't do much swaying in the breeze. But I do get the rain. Of course, I'm in Seattle...} {I think this is Phillip's twenty-one gun salute. Like he said: came in clean, went out clean. Very few players ever pulled that off.} {But the last time MB delivered something that looked like one of those, the person stayed...} {Wait -- we could be looking at the tiebreaker. Phillip votes Gary. Gardener, Gary, and Connie vote Phillip. Alex, Robin, and Mary-Jane vote Connie. Think about it.} {*blink* Could be... all it takes is Mary-Jane's vote. If Phillip is serious about that throwaway, then maybe Alex can save him in spite of himself....} {And we're back, with more idol hunting. Everyone seems to be coming up empty. Robin is the most desperate here -- in confessional, she says she'd thought about passing it to Phillip and bouncing the vote, but she can't find the damn thing. This probably doesn't mean she has it. Probably. But it does open her up to Alex's approach -- which we are apparently not going to see: cutting to Gary turning over yet another rock. Oh, look. Bugs.} {Phillip saying his goodbyes around camp. Gets a hug from M-J and Robin, shakes hands with Gary and Gardener. Very quick with Connie, and for Phillip, really to the point. "I know what you did. I figure I'll understand it eventually." For her part, she just looks at him and tells him she expects him to keep his promise. And he nods. Geez...} {So that makes it official: the Final Two are both Turare.} {Torches being lit: off to Council.} {Front row, left to right: Alex, Mary-Jane, Robin, Phillip. Back row: Gardener, Gary, Connie.} {Bringing in the jury -- Angela still dressing for (lack of) success, Tony in a clean tank top and his major league club's cap. They sit right next to each other, with Tony on the extreme edge of his seat so he can be all the closer. Dreamer. And that's just for the headgear.} {Somewhere in Idaho, Tony is having real trouble looking at that shot.} {Pretty casual conversation -- what does Phillip intend to do with the miles? Says he's going to keep his promises to Gardener and Alex, then get some traveling in: he just has to wait for winter because he's the least active then anyway, and see who wants to go with him. Sounds like he wants to give his kid sister the grand tour.} {Connie still denying being the one who flipped, Jeff not buying this for a second... and Gardener puts an end to it by telling everyone it was Connie, just because he wants to get past the subject already. And as he puts it, it would be clear in another vote anyway.} {Robin asks Connie what the hell she was promised in order to switch, and Connie just says "More than you," with a really obnoxious smirk. Shot of Alex there, looking very quiet -- yes, ever more so than usual. It is possible.} {What's the minority vote tonight? Robin is going to vote for Connie, just because she can -- and did it once before, so she's got the habit down. Connie just found out where that old message vote came from, but it didn't surprise her or bring her down at all -- which makes Robin look extra-frustrated. If this is anyone's misery episode, it's hers. No showmance, no cuddling, not a challenge has she won to date, and no Final Four, Three, Two, etc. Phillip gets the gong, but Robin can hear the echoes.} {Who's the majority vote? Phillip. Of course it's Phillip. Do we even have to ask? And how does he feel? Looks right at Jeff, smiles, and says "I'm ready for it. This is my time -- I'm not gonna raise a fuss. Torch up, torch out, and I'll see everyone in three days. The last month was one of the best times of my life -- no ending it on a low note, okay, guys?" Gardener grins and promises to applaud him all the way out. Some chorusing on that all around. And we have Alex and Connie in a rare moment of unity -- they're both sort of disgusted. More subtle on Alex and for a completely different reason, but there's a resemblance.} {Maybe they are related.} {Um... have you looked at them lately? Anyway, the timeline doesn't work. Connie's college yearbook has pictures from the entire year. Remember, we've got Alex's birthdate. Connie would have had to be pregnant right on full public display, and she dropped out after the latest possible date where she wouldn't have been showing. Thin the whole time.} {Not much Jeff can say to Phillip's statement -- time to vote.} {Alex out first, Azure coming along. Vote not shown. Didn't look thrilled about it. Like that's much help.} {Connie next and shown -- votes for Phillip with the following comment: "I wouldn't have done it unless you'd earned it first. You did." Gary's a mystery, Robin -- shown: votes for Connie and in lieu of comment, spits on one corner of the parchment -- Phillip, Mary-Jane, and Gardener not shown.} {Jeff doing the tallying -- let's see -- first vote Phillip, second vote Connie -- that looks like Robin's handwriting, not to mention her watermark -- third vote Gary! Phillip said he was going to do it, and he did it! So much for keeping the suspense going over who's got the idol. Gary's staring at it, Phillip turns and gives him the biggest stage wink ever, and Gary starts laughing.} {And then Phillip, Phillip, and Phillip. Hooray for suspense, period.} {*sigh* So much for the tie. Looks like Alex gave up.} {Maybe not. See the Secret Scene blurb there? She may have kept trying, but ran into one last roadblock.} {Wrong show. But Phillip Yielded. That was a vote-quit. He hasn't exactly lost my respect (because I don't respect any of these people) -- he made a decision and he followed it through -- but he's not a player. He never was. He was here for the experience -- and if that's what you came for, that's what you get. And now he's had the experience of being voted out. Hooray.} {Phillip standing, going to get his torch --} ----------------------------------------------------------------- -- and Gardener starts applauding. It's slow, rhythmic: what I've seen on television as a get-the-crowd-going clap. Robin's quick to join in, and the rest of Amanu soon follows. I even get in on it, but it's mostly to make sure there's no gaps in the sound. Connie is doing it, but her eyes are elsewhere. There had been no point. I couldn't save him. He didn't want to be saved. If I'd forced the tie, he probably would have just thrown the competition, whatever it would have been, and walked out. Or just said he chose to go at that time, forget the tie, and walked out. No matter what happened, no matter what I did, he was going to walk out. Phillip made it very clear that there was no point in even trying -- -- plus I hadn't been so sure I'd wanted to save him any more, not when the man couldn't be bothered to cooperate in his own rescue. But I'd had to think about the game. I couldn't let it be personal. I couldn't. So I'd gone to Mary-Jane, made the conversation casual, asked her what she thought about keeping Phillip instead of Connie, purely rhetorical question -- and she'd said "If worst came to worst, any of us could beat Connie in a jury vote. None of us could beat Phillip." She was wrong on the first statement. And she was probably right on the second. And she wasn't going to change her vote. There had been no point. I'd voted for Phillip. It was practically what he'd wanted. Idiot... He goes, Connie stays, and there is no justice, not ever... Phillip approaches Jeff, not basking in what's becoming a storm of applause -- some of the camera people have started to join in -- just acknowledging it with a quiet nod. Jeff nods back to him. "Phillip, the tribe has spoken. It's time for you to go." Out comes the snuffer, it clamps onto the top of the torch, comes off -- -- and just for a heartbeat, there's still a little flame: a touch of reddish-yellow at the very top. But it's just for a heartbeat -- and then it's gone. Phillip grins at his stubborn torch. "Thirty great days..." And back to Jeff, offering his hand. Jeff hesitates for a second -- then shakes it. Three pumps, and then Phillip turns back to face us. "I left the urn under my pallet, guys -- didn't want to chance something happening if I tossed it over." One last big smile. "Have fun. Play as nice as you can -- but play hard. And remember -- you've got three of us watching you now..." Through the door, humming to himself. Knowing who's been bad or good, so we'd be better be good for goodness' sake... ...gone. Jeff looks us over as the applause dies away -- then brings his hands together. One clap, no more. And then "The idol was never found. Anyone want to know where it was?" Which probably means he's not going to tell us, but sure, we want to know. "Strapped deep down in the toilet bowl -- within reach, but out of sight." Groans, mostly from Gardener and Mary-Jane, who promptly announces that she's not looking for the idol again unless someone tells her it's been boiled within an inch of its life. Another survey from our host, this one stretching out for a longer time. Softly, "Some people need to reach beyond who they are in this game, change themselves enough to win. Phillip couldn't. And for him, there was no shame in it -- because to him, who he was had a value of much more than a million dollars." The pause seems to go on forever. "Some of you are changing on this island, whether you realize it or not. Some of you are staying true to yourselves. You'll have to figure out which one can work for you -- and which one is happening at all." I really wish he'd stop looking at me. "Go get some rest. Tonight was an easy one -- but the hardest part is coming." We stand, get our torches, and head back out into the warm night. I stare up at the stars as we clear the immediate glow of the set. Bright tonight, a million twinkling messages from infinity that Phillip will spend nine days trying to understand. He got exactly what he wanted. I just don't understand why he didn't want more. We are five. Robin is one. I don't want to be five. I want to be four. And even then, there's something potentially horribly wrong with my math, something I'm going to have to face very soon... ----------------------------------------------------------------- After ----------------------------------------------------------------- Let it not be me. I'd been very frustrated with the editing on the last episode. Burnett had made it look like I'd been the one who'd swung Connie. I hadn't. I'd just stood aside and let it happen. But that wasn't what the editing had shown. Footage from the stupid bathtub confessional, a trail-off that was exactly as leading as he wanted it to be, and then guess what? Connie's with Turare! And does anyone else think that Alex did it? Surprised? You should be -- because it wasn't what had happened. I wanted him to clear this up within the first five minutes. I wanted it on the permanent record with my name cleared. I did not swing Connie. Gardener brought her over. Not me. Him. For that much, at least, I was completely innocent and absolved of all blame. But just for that much. 'The hardest part is coming.' Jeff had been looking directly at me when he'd said that. He'd known. There was no way he couldn't have known. Not what had happened -- I don't think he'd ever even remotely considered that -- but what was coming? Yes, that he'd been fully aware of. The hardest part. The personal vote. The nightmare. The Moon. The Tower. ----------------------------------------------------------------- During ----------------------------------------------------------------- {Well, Elmore, exactly like your time with your tribe, you contributed exactly nothing to tonight's thread. But thanks for showing up anyway. You may want to go back to lurking for a while, though -- apparently some of our newbies don't speak CA:C.} {We'll see. This was an interesting ride.} {Okay, Gardener, I know you're lurking. Come out here and tell Elmore he's over the weight limit on the ride! Gardener? ...Gardener? Damn it, it's not like you didn't leave evidence when that poor UMich kid never came back...} {Guys? Guess what? We just had a normal Pagonging episode? Sure, Alex tried to switch it up, but we usually see some sort of vote swing failure during the inevitable cutdown. This was ordinary. Let's hear it for our week off from the weird!} {And Phillip would have said something if he'd run into a ghost in that cave, right?} {So next week, Robin goes out. And after that, Connie should get to turn around and look at the hilt of an exceptionally sharp cross protruding from her spine. And after that...} {After that, we all start thinking about next season. Any spoilers yet?} {Um... what about the winner of this one?} {Gardener. Duh. Someone finally said 'Final Two' and made it there. The old linebreaker is our new cursebreaker!} {Previews --} {-- and one week off is all we're going to get, isn't it?} {Now what? From the sound of it, that was worse than the jaguar! But they didn't post a warning: just an open shot of the jungle...} {Okay, preview analysts. You have exactly one question to answer in the next seven days. I hope you can find one, because that was not a good sound to hear.} {...who screamed?} {Yeah. That question.} ----------------------------------------------------------------- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (End of Episode #10)   Remove | Alert Edit | Reply | Reply With Quote | Top

Colonel Zoidberg 1435 desperate attention whore postings DAW Level: "Beef Jerky Spokesperson" 11-17-06, 04:02 PM (EST) 5. "RE: Someone Always Gets Burned: Conclusion." And with that, we're down to six. I always wonder with this...and it always comes out of nowhere. Connie's the cockroach that won't die. M-J is actually earning her keep now that she won an immunity challenge. So now she has one under her belt, along with Gardener, Gary, and...blast, who won it in the eighth week...Tony, I think. Alex seems pretty safe for the next couple of votes...it's hard to gauge what everyone thinks of her. Yes, she's a dark character who seems to be completely anhedonic, but that doesn't entirely seem to be a bad thing.   Remove | Alert Edit | Reply | Reply With Quote | Top

Estee 22510 desperate attention whore postings DAW Level: "Playboy Centerfold" 11-17-06, 07:48 PM (EST) 6. "RE: Someone Always Gets Burned: Conclusion." anhedonic I had to look that up. I probably don't want to know if/why you didn't.   Remove | Alert Edit | Reply | Reply With Quote | Top

Colonel Zoidberg 1435 desperate attention whore postings DAW Level: "Beef Jerky Spokesperson" 11-20-06, 09:08 AM (EST) 9. "RE: Someone Always Gets Burned: Conclusion." >I had to look that up. > I probably don't want >to know if/why you didn't. No, it's actually very simple. "Hedon" comes from, I think it's Greek, for pleasure, hence "hedonist." "Anhedonic" is merely the antonym. But if you had to look it up, I guess that's not what you had in mind.   Remove | Alert Edit | Reply | Reply With Quote | Top

cahaya 7447 desperate attention whore postings DAW Level: "Playboy Centerfold" 11-17-06, 11:22 PM (EST) 7. "RE: Someone Always Gets Burned: Conclusion." {PTC/AFA} {For yours truly, from the PTC: The Cleanest TV Shows for Children are Reality Shows?} A colorful multicultural creation by tribephyl. {Does that incluce fanfic, too?}   Remove | Alert Edit | Reply | Reply With Quote | Top

xwraith27 1015 desperate attention whore postings DAW Level: "Politically Incorrect Guest" 11-18-06, 03:59 AM (EST) 8. "RE: Survivor: The Society Islands: Episode #10: Someone Always Gets Burned." LAST EDITED ON 11-18-06 AT 04:01 AM (EST) {Ugh. NOW I can see how Connie can win this thing... If my hunch is right, then Gardener has promised Connie at least F3, with Alex going in F4. At F3, presumably with Gary and Gardener, she has a lot of options to get to F2. First, of course, is winning immunity, which I think she has a good shot of if she's up against the two people I just mentioned if the final IC's a balance challenge. Second, if Gary wins immunity, there's no way in hell that he'll take Gardener with him to F2 unless he wants to lose. Third, if Gardener wins immunity, he's probably already promised Connie an F2 spot! I mean, how can Connie afford to be THIS confident about her game standing if she doesn't have F2 in plain sight? Now, IF Connie is at F2 at the final TC against Gary or Gardener(or any Turare for that matter), she'll probably have at least three votes for her by default: Tony, Angela, and Phillip. Robin's the only wildcard in that vote, and she's probably not going to vote for Gardener.}   Remove | Alert Edit | Reply | Reply With Quote | Top

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