#idk may have also been annoying as hell to me to have the only south asian character killed off

[entropy-sea-system]

spoilers for pacific rim: uprising, character death mentions

I feel like the two major deaths were rather unnecessary.. Mako Mori dies so early on that we hardly know anything abt her??? And Cadet Suresh (like.. the cadets are older teenagers at most too..) too??

[galactichoneybee92]

The Problem With Spinning Out and Zero Chill

Okay so spoilers. All the spoilers. Go into this at your own risk because every possible spoiler for both shows. Also: I will be speaking about these two shows with the assumption that readers have seen both and as such, will not need a summary of either. Okay, still here? Cool. 

I have no big hot take, just some observations that I would like to put out into the universe in regards to Netflix’s two most recent ice skating shows. Because I have a lot of thoughts, and also one big question for anyone who can maybe help me? 

For starters, Spinning Out and Zero Chill are both Netflix originals that premiered around approximately the same time, both of which feature figure skating as a backdrop for a lot of interpersonal drama surrounding the characters. It’s wonderful, because while I’m not very invested in sports I adore figure skating- It’s beautiful and fun to watch even if you don’t know a lot of the technical aspects or the names of the moves. However, for centering around the same sport the two shows are very different. Also, Spinning Out has already been confirmed to have been cancelled after the first season, while the future of Zero Chill is still up in the air.

In regards to personal preference, I liked Spinning Out a lot more than Zero Chill. It had a love story for me to invest myself in, as well as some messy, dramatic family dynamics, and overall the show was a lot more mature. I suspect that this may have actually been to the show’s detriment but that’s for later. In contrast, I found Zero Chill to be fluffy to the point of an ABC Family special. 

Do you remember those? Shows like Switched at Birth or Secret Life of the American Teenager, that tried to tackle big mature topics while keeping things family friendly? Do you remember how the writing was usually pretty sub par and the drama all seemed super contrived because there was only so much they could actually do within their given boundaries, so they made a much bigger deal out of small issues than they deserved? Yeah. Zero Chill felt like that. For example, the “hazing” from the hockey team was to...put balloons in his locker? And that was a...major diss? Worth getting super pissed? Idk. It’s just that, without the confines of being family-friendly day time programing, I have come to expect more from Netflix original programming. 

Alternatively, Spinning Out may have veered too far into the dark and gritty spectrum. If I had to guess where it failed, I would say that it introduced A LOT of drama, all within the first season and at times felt, overwrought. I think Spinning Out could have done with slowing down and taking a breath. Draw things out. Have the mother slowly escalate her abuse, stop and start with her medication, stretch out the love triangle between Kat, Justin, and Marcus. When I first started watching I thought that maybe Marcus would be Kat’s Luke Danes. Like throughout the show she dates other people, but eventually she realizes that she loves him and they end up together but...nope. The show established pretty early on that we were not going to have an epic, interracial friends to lovers romance. And I loved the enemies to lovers romance we got between her a Justin (Though I really think it should have taken longer. I liked that they hooked up before and that he was kinda low key pining but stretch it out. Sloooooooow buuuuuuuurn. Make it goooood. I want to feel the pining.) but it did feel like the cop out answer. And then they immediately introduce a black female character because apparently in the year 2021 we still have shows with exactly 2 black characters that are there to date each other. Like fuck, even South Park has made fun of that trope, it’s time to move past it. 

Secondly I think that it’s super out of character for Kat to ever go off her medicine, even if it is to help her skating. It’s the same way I felt when they introduced Ian’s mental Illness in Shameless. Like, maybe it’s a thing that people do and if you’ve known people that act this was in these scenarios than sure, maybe I’m wrong. But it just feels like they go to so much effort to show the effect that their parent’s mental illness has on them and their life when left untreated, they establish the characters as grown up too quickly, forced to mature due to their parent’s poor choices, and then just decide to have them follow in their mother’s footsteps when the plot demands more drama. I hated that as a choice for Ian and I hated it for Kat. Partly because I feel like it’s very out of character and cop-out writing, and also because I feel like if they had to do it at all it should have been later on in the series. 

One advantage that Zero Chill had for me over Spinning Out is that at least the characters were consistent. In this case I’m speaking mostly about Kayla, but also some of the others. Sure, I found Kayla’s impulsivity annoying instead of charming like I feel was the intent, but I liked her friendship with Skye arguably more than Kat’s friendship with Jenn. Mostly because Skye was pretty chill throughout the entirely of the show while Jenn would go from hot to cold and back. Do I think it’s stupid that Kayla and Skyle’s big storyline was “I want to skate with my BFF but regulations don’t allow it?” Yes. You’ve already established that Kayla doesnt care about competitions. The only time she ever did was because she wanted to skate with her OTHER BFF. So like....just skate now? You have Skye’s mom’s approval at this point, it doesn’t have to go anywhere. But at least the two seemed to genuinely be friends. Kat and Jenn started off with potential but then turned fairly toxic. Kat was never that supportive of Jenn, always wrapped up in her own stuff and Jenn just got crazy at the end there. I understand her being upset about Justin but then she learns that Kat is bipolar, you think theyre cool, and then she immediately throws that back in Kat’s face at the first inconvenient moment. 

Can I just say though, how much more interested I was when I thought the secret figure skater was someone on Mac’s hockey team? I was trying to guess which boy it secretly was and I thought that there would be a subplot about her trying to convince him to figure skate with her, but he would feel pressured by his parents to play hockey instead. And that would work as a foil to Ava, who wanted to play hockey but was instead forced to figure skate. And there would be an eventual romance because what can I say, I’m here for the romance. But no...it was Skye and then there was just that subplot about Mac wanting to date his sister’s only friend. And like, when I was trying to guess who it was I thought it might be Bear and that would be her romantic interest but....no. Bear just, also likes Skye. 

Also, is it some unwritten rule that for every white girl figure skater with brown hair, there must be an Asian best friend? This isnt a complaint, just an observation. 

And clearly I don’t ONLY have complaints. I thought that both shows ahd a promising premise, and I loved the relationship on Spinning Out. When Zero Chill actually bothered with real issues instead of contrived nothing issues, I think it did it pretty well. I liked the friendships and family dynamic better in Zero Chill, but wished that it would have been a little more mature like Spinning Out. I liked that the characters in Spinning Out were mostly adults and that it had a more adult tone, but I wish that they had dialed the melodrama back just a bit. What I really want, I supposed, is a combination of the two shows which leads nicely into my question for you all: 

I remember browsing Netflix months ago and seeing a figure skating show advertised, however it wasn’t either of these shows. It feels like these two shows were once one, and then got split up into two because I am completely unable to find the show I originally saw a commercial for. 

In that original ad there was a brother and sister, one who played hockey and one who figure skated. But the hockey brother was jealous of the sister because he felt like their parents prioritized her figure skating. So one day, before a big performance of hers, he met her right before the performance and yelled at her about how unfair everything was and it shook her up and when she went out on the ice she wasn’t focused. She slipped and fell, split her head open on the ice, and her confidence was shaken. 

But like...that wasn’t either of these shows so what the hell was it??? Were they once one? Was there some other show that hasn’t been released yet? Did I see it in a dream???? 

[vagrantblvrd]

waywrdvagabond replied to your post “mavinwood with werecat michael would be love”

I would enjoy more of this if that’s ok with anyone lmao

XDDDDD

I can’t seem to smush enough brain cells together to Officially Fic recently, but not!fic is super fun until I can.

And these werecat AUs are complete self-indulgent shenanigans so I hope you know the above XDDDDD was in no way exaggerated when I saw this?

Because, like.

It’s been rainy and gray where I live the past few days and that just makes me think of these three dorks, right?

The three of them curled up all nice and cozy on their couch while the rain patters down outside. Some dumb movie on the television and Michael settled between Ryan and Gavin - human or cat form - and content as anything after they get their shit together and feel comfortable enough about their relationship to move in together.

Realize it’s more ~cost effective than renting out three separate apartments/whatevers across the city. (Security reasons too, sure.)

(Really, though, their old apartments were too small and didn’t have room for them to spread out on the days they need a little more space or whatever. They still have their rooms at the penthouse if they need more space, or various safe houses or other places to go if they need so the whole living together thing’s not as daunting as it seemed in the beginning, what with various issues and hang-ups they all have.)

Anyway, that’s another tangent because this new place is pretty nice, you know?

Old building, yeah, but it’s in a quiet (discreet) neighborhood and the three of them are pretty well liked by their neighbors, what with them dealing with some ~undesirables causing trouble and harassing the people living there and the like when they were first checking the area out?

Also, Gavin and Matt may have done some Sekrit Hacker stuff along with the smart investments Gavin and the other two have been making with their ill-gotten gains - all carefully sorted out so the cops or feds or whoever won’t get wind of it.

ANYWAY.

It’s all taken care of so they don’t have to worry about it and monitored closely just in case by trusted parties and as ANOTHER anyway, these three idiots may or may not actually own the building they live in? (Part and parcel of dealing with those ~undesirables causing trouble and harassing the people living there.

Hush-hush only a select few know - certainly no one else in their building and such suspect and they’re not too fussed about letting them know? (If they find out, eh, whatever.)

Until then they keep the rent low because they don’t actually need the money, and also they’ve got nice neighbors, you know?

Sweet little old ladies and young couples struggling to get by. Some college students - dumb kids doing their best - and so on and so on and so on.

Set someone up as an absentee landlord to keep the whole ridiculous business going as long as they can. (Trevor or Alfredo, maybe, before their faces end up on the news right alongside theirs and they get these little sideways looks from their “tenants” when they happen by, and then that role gets passed on to, idk, Fiona or some such until their faces get too recognizable and so on.)

BUT.

Anyway.

They’ve got this nice little place in a quiet (discreet) neighborhood. Have a decent sized lot next door that they may or may not acquire on the down low the same way they got the building and it gets turned into a community garden project kind of thing?

First it’s Ryan and some of the plants he had in his old place that have gotten a little too big to be inside. Then it’s this little old lady on the third floor who used to have a garden way back when, before moving to Los Santos for whatever reason and oh, does he think anyone would mind if she planted a few things herself?

Ryan’s just ??? “I don’t see why not,” because what does he care, right?

And then a few weeks later he goes to check on his plants and sees her in this section she’s clearing weeds and debris and whatnot from for these honeysuckle plants she got somewhere and Ryan is like, oh, because growing up in the south and the ~memories and it’s like.

Well, alright then, for him because he goes over and asks if she’d like some help and she gives him this look, right?

Because she’s old but she’s not an invalid, please to remember that, but also it would be lovely to have someone to talk to while she works. (And maybe she relents an hour or so in, having underestimated how stubborn some of the weeds are, how deep their roots go, and Ryan is just “Yes ma’am,” and trying not to smile while she pretends to scowl at him.)

From there the lot gets more visitors or whatever you want to call them.

Kids from the building (and the neighborhood) who are Curious and growing plants is always pretty cool at first and there are some you can eat?

So a little section gets turned into a little science-y corner where bean plants and whatever else kind of things will hold a kid’s interest long enough to see their growth cycle through get planted.

ANd then their parents or others come to see what’s going on here - if it’s a scam or what because Los Santos and suspicious shit - and it’s.

Well.

They don’t know what it is, just that there are a lot of plants and such being grown. Some kids listening intently to whatever Ryan or Penlope of the honeysuckle plants and other such things have to tell them about nurturing the plants and whatnot the kids are growing.

And, look, okay.

Money’s tight for everyone there (aside from our three dorks, but no one knows, so shhh on that front) but maybe they can take some of that burden off themselves if they put a little work into growing their own food?

So then you have the rest of the lot sectioned out for fruits and veggies and whatever else and a whole slew of people learning to cultivate them and it’s.

Weird.

It’s really, really, weird.

Gavin goes down there some days when Ryan’s dealing with his plants or helping the neighbors with problems they might be having. No real interest in growing anything himself, but he’ll bring a little blanket and sit under one of the scraggly little trees growing along the edge of the lot while Ryan does whatever it is he does there and spend a quiet afternoon decompressing from a project or other or healing up after a heist or job or Incident where things didn’t exactly go as smoothly as hoped for.

He does, however, take a special interest in this little plant one of the kids gives him. A cutting or whatever else from one of their favorite plants and a gift after Gavin helped them with their homework or other school project and stop looking so damned pleased with yourself, Ryan, of course Gavin would want to make sure the plant is looked after.

And Michael, okay.

Always a soft touch for kids even if acts like he isn’t. Plays with the quieter ones as a cat because animals are almost always easier than people, you know? No expectations or judgement and cats have that lovely little purr.

Sometimes he’ll chase after a little red dot from a laser pointer to make one of them laugh and so on, but more often than not he ends up curled up in a kid’s lap or tucked up against their side. Little hands petting him because soft fur and rumbling purr and some of them might pet a little too hard, but cats are resilient fuckers and Michael can handle it.

Other times he’ll wander around the garden lot, nap in the shade of one of the honesuckle plants or steal some low-hanging fruit or vegging to nibble on.

Gets annoyed as hell when Gavin brings in the catnip plants along the fence because that’s fucking playing dirty and see if Michael doesn’t scratch up his favorite shirt next time he sees it, asshole.

Also, also I realize less cat!Michael shenanigans this time around? But imagine him running around playing with the kids and other neighbors while Ryan’s tending to his plants and Gavin’s gently heckling Ryan.

Ryan flubbing something he’s telling the kids and Gavin pouncing on it with glee. The kids laughing and Ryan rolling his eyes and them ~bickering until Gavin flubs something and it’s Ryan’s turn to give him shit and just.

Yes.

Also, also.

Human!Michael not really having any interest in growing plants either? But the kids freaking love him and his bluntness and the way he listens when they chatter on about something. (He’ll tease them about it, sure, but he listens and a lot of them don’t have people who care enough to do that and just. Yes.)

ALSO. Cat!Michael who the kids - and some of the adults - tell shit to they can’t/won’t with anyone else.

Anything from trouble with homework (and whichever one of them best suited to help may or may not find a way to offer up some tips for the kid at some point?) to some creep or whatever they saw around the schoolyard/their work and so on.

(And wouldn’t you know it if something Happened to said creep or whatever not too long afterwards. Weird, right?)

And like, yes. /o\

[squishyunho]

✨🌙🌒questions tag!!!🌒🌙✨

rules: answer the questions and tag 10 people

tagged by: @celestial-yunho uwu

how tall are you?

156cm uwu im a tiny child

what colour and style is your hair?

my hair is naturally brown hdfjdg which is kinda weird for an asian but yea and it almost reaches my shoulders now!

what colour are your eyes?

theyre brown jskfkjdf just the simple brown yknow

do you wear glasses?

yea jkshfj bad eyesight runs in the family but im not /blind/ without them everything is just blurry

do you have braces?

i used to wear them like last year? i never needed them tho cuz my teeth would’ve been alright without them,,, i just wanted to fix the tiny flaws thats all

what’s your fashion sense?

honestly depends on my mood? you’ll almost always see me with a jacket tho (either wearing it or on my waist) it just feels empty without one ghsjdhd

full name?

fghkfhf i dont feel all that comfortable revealing my real name just yet but!! i will say im named after a famous actress (and my real first name does NOT fit me at all even tho it fits the actress herself perfectly) and my chinese name is 王丽煌 hfgjhshd

when were you born?

november 16 2001 uwu ><

where are you from and where do you live?

the philippines hihi tho im chinese by ethnicity

what school(s) do you go to?

i go to,,, let’s just say it’s a really big university here and im taking up their high school program for arts,,, before that, i went to a chinese school that was really heavy on science and math so DJHGJDS

what kind of student are you?

uhhhh depends tbh i need to vibe with the teacher/subject to participate but my grades are actually pretty great (not in asian standards tho hgjdhg) and i can either be really hyper or really sleepy

do you like school?

i used to HGFJD but idk the education system in general drains your life energy so no not really

fav subject?

literature was fun, and i also really enjoy the art classes,,, and dismissal

fav tv shows?

there’s honestly a lot of good shows that i love but maybeeee rn it’s the avatar series (both ofc cuz theyre both good)

fav books?

i cant choose jfhdgkdg there’s too many good ones,,, 

fav pastimes?

drawing, sleeping, reading, daydreaming, having an existential crisis, giving my dog the love she deserves, listening to music, obsessing over everything to the point it annoys my friends,,, the good stuff yknow

do you have any regrets?

hfkdsf i still cry over 10-year-old events ofc i do

dream job?

tbh idk?? maybe working for a video game or animated film would be cool,,, as long as im happy and earn enough to feed an army of pets 

would you ever like to be married?

well my parents would rip me to shreds if i dont + im a massive hopeless romantic so yes

would you like to have children?

i would lowkey love to but also i dont think ill ever be ready to take care of a small clone of myself

if so, how many?

gdjfdj why are you asking a 17 year old child who has never had a love life this question

do you like shopping?

oh hell yes if you lose me in a bookstore or art store or a clothing store that suits my tastes you may never find me again (until i get tired and want a milk tea break hdfjd)

what countries have you visited?

theres a lot jfgsjf south korea, japan, china, singapore, malaysia, thailand, usa, canada, netherlands, belgium, russia, estonia, sweden, finland, denmark, france, uae, uhhhh thats all i can remember off the top of my head

scariest nightmare you’ve ever had?

im fortunate enough to only remember good dreams hfjsdg but im scared of everything which is why i cant even watch a horror movie or play a phoenix wright game at night or i might get nightmares jsfhf

any enemies?

not,,, really? im scared of arguments so that might be why

do you have a significant other?

nope and have never had one yet shfgjsdf is anyone willing to volunteer?

do you get along with your family?

i doooo uwu im really close to my brothers especially gjfdsd the only disagreements ive had with my parents are conflicting beliefs (theyre more conservative and im more liberal)

do you believe in miracles?

yea uwu

how are you?

alive sdjsdhfs thanks for asking

im too shy to tag anyone (once again hfdgsjdf i need to talk to ppl more)

[jadejedi]

Bitty in the Juniors au

           So the fact that Bitty went from a no contact co ed high school team to the first line of an NCAA team is amazing. Like, despite his checking fear, Bitty must be good. So like, how good would he be if he went through the system rather than figure skating? Mostly this is my really complicated au to get Bitty to the NHL. Also I love the idea that Bitty is just really good at hockey, okay?

 -

Okay so after pewee football didn’t work out, in say third grade, Bitty decides he wants to do figure skating. But Coach is hesitant. Like really hesitant. So he encourages him to join a mite hockey team (8 and under), because it doesn’t allow checking, unlike pewee football, which allows tackling by the third grade in the South, in my experience. Eric tries it out, and it’s certainly not figure skating, it is a lot better than football, and when he tells Coach, he is practically thrilled.

But obviously, Eric is pretty good. By the next year, when he gets to ages 9-10, he plays at level AAA. He’s fast, he’s good with the puck, and good at reading the other players on his team. He’s very popular. They call him Bitty, because, honestly, it’s a pretty obvious nickname, and I imagine that Eric’s always been on the small side. He bakes pies for the team with his mom and everything’s pretty good.  He doesn’t have figure skating to express himself like he did in canon, and obviously hockey is very hyper-masculine, even at a young age I’d imagine, so that’s hard for him.

As he gets older, he gets teased a little bit, both on the team and in school, about his size, about his baking, etc., but he has enough friends on the team that it doesn’t become a huge issue, and after all, he is a really good hockey player. He never gets locked in a closet. Coach does catch some boys from his team calling him a f*g, and that is what sparks the move to Madison. He knows his boy is pretty damn good at hockey, and if Junior wants to really get somewhere, gay rumors aren’t going to help. Plus, he’d gotten a really great job offer there, so it’s a win-win.

Bitty finds a new hockey team and things are good. Pretty great, honestly. He loves hockey, surprisingly enough, even though the fact that there is checking now makes him seriously uncomfortable. Fortunately, he’s fast enough that it doesn’t happen often. The first time it happens, though, he passes out. It happens again the second time. The third time, his parents get into a huge fight about it, but his mother wins and she takes him to therapy, where he is diagnosed with PTSD. His therapist and his coaches help him a lot, and he learns to deal with the checking. He is also diagnosed with ADHD, which neither his mother nor Coach really understand, but his medication does seem to help him a lot, especially in school, so they are okay with it, even if they don’t talk about it.

After Bitty is comfortable with his therapist, he admits that his thinks he is gay, and to his relief, she is very understanding, and helps him through it. He doesn’t get drafted in the USHL’s draft in the May after his sixteenth birthday, and he is heartbroken (I know that his birthday is the fifth and the draft is on the first week, but maybe it works. Idk pretend it does lol.)

He steps up his practicing, working harder than ever that year as captain of his team. When the junior year roles around, he is drafted by the Chicago Steel. He is thrilled. And terrified. Bitty has never, ever been that far from home. His mama tries to talk him out of leaving. “Dicky, why can’t you just wait a year for college if you are so eager to leave?” But this is his chance. His chance to leave Georgia, maybe find somewhere more accepting, get a hockey scholarship (because that was the deal he made with his parents, going into Juniors means he has to go to college for at least four years before going into the NHL), play in the NCAA, and then maybe even the NHL. Which at this point, it was pretty obvious he was at least going to make the AHL, even if he never cracked the NHL roster. (ok so bear with me. I’ve done some reading on the USHL and the NCAA, but tbh I still am not sure exactly how it works, so I’m playing fast and loose with the rules here.)

Ok so Bitty starts playing with as a Steel in the fall of his senior year. He gets scouted by a bunch of NCAA teams, as well as a few NHL teams. Eric eventually decides on Samwell (pretty quickly actually), because they have Jack Zimmermann, 1 in 4, the amazing scholarship, and the fact that Samwell is significantly closer to Georgia than Chicago. So flash forward the rest of that season/school year to his first day as a Samwell Wellie.

So like, as far as we know according to canon, no one in Bitty’s year was scouted from a USHL or a Canadian Juniors team, so rather than being the small underdog third-liner he is in canon, Bitty is probably a pretty big deal. After all, the only other two people on the SMH who played Junior Hockey is Jack and Holster, and both are two of the SMH’s best players.

Okay, so Bitty knows he’s good. Obviously, he does. But know, for some reason, he is still really nervous about coming to play for Samwell. Jack Zimmermann’s team, lord. And this isn’t just his team, this is his school and he really wants to fit in, darn it. But he’s not too worried. He’s had plenty of practice bro-ing it up over the years. And hey, bringing, like, one pecan pie to the first skate isn’t trying too hard is it? (He doesn’t do his vlog like in canon, but he is pretty well known on Twitter for both hockey and baking.)

He totally thought he would be prepared for this. For goodness sakes, he’s been around hockey bros since he was eight! But good lord, this is a whole new level of weird! First of all, what kind of nickname is ‘Shitty’? And for heaven’s sake, how dare Jack tell him to ‘eat more protein.’? He has been playing hockey and cooking long enough to know how to feed himself, thank you very much, Mr. Zimmermann. And the things they did to his pie, good lord.

Bitty starts preseason practices playing on the first line with Jack, and it honestly the most fun he’s ever had in his life. Playing with Jack is absolutely amazing, despite the fact that he seems to annoy the heck out of Jack.

Okay, so even though Bitty isn’t scared of checking like he is in canon, he still gets on Jack’s nerves. Mostly because, at first, Bitty reminds him of Parse. And it’s not just that they’re both small, fast, blonde skaters; it’s the fact that Bitty is the probably the only other player on the SMH team that has a chance at making it big in the NHL, and being on his line, just reminds him of being on a line with Parse and his endless ambition.

But. Then he gets to know Bitty. He realizes that Bitty is nothing like Parse. Parse has always been the only other person Jack’s ever met who is as driven as himself, and Bitty is different. It’s not that Bitty isn’t driven. They practice together twice a week at five in the morning, in fact, by Bitty’s request. But he is kinder, warmer, and far more compassionate then Parse ever was. And he doesn’t seem to think of Jack as competition, but just as a friend and teammate.

Alright, so most of the rest of this first year is the same as in canon. Bitty doesn’t come out to his friends until the end of fall semester, and of course, it goes fine. Then comes Yale. Bitty gets a concussion, and while he was expected to be drafted high in the first round of the 2016 draft, the concussion, however minor, throws a wrench into those plans. He ends up going 56th over all to the Providence Falconers. Which is actually pretty great, because it’s even closer to Georgia than Samwell, but still far enough north that, well, he won’t have to go back down south after graduation. Plus, their AHL team (which I am 100% making up and I know nothing about the east coast so, sorry) is the Hartford Eagles, so that’s not far either.

After that, I have no idea. Does Bitty ever play for Team USA in the World Juniors? I don’t know; you tell me lol. I guess for the most part everything happens the same way. Jack signs to the Falconers next year (which yeah, starts some rumors, but that’s a fic for another time. I could have saved the angst and have Bitty been drafted by the Bruins, but like, hell no.) Jack and Bitty get together at the end of Bitty’s sophomore year, and pretty much everything follows canon until Bitty graduates, at which point he ends up in Hartford for a couple years, which is hard for him and Jack being and hour and a half away, but they are honestly both so busy that the extra distance doesn’t effect them that much.

By the start of the 2019-2020 season, Bitty is on the Falconers 3rd line. By the end of the season, he and Jack are on the first line together, leading the Falconers to their second Stanley Cup Championship. They come out as a couple together, shortly after that. And yeah, there is a lot of shit to put up with from the media, the fans, and other players, but there is also a lot of support. And they have each other. The both play for the Falconers for the entirety of their careers and live happily ever after with their Cup rings, a dog, and maybe even a kid once they retire. The end. Please someone write an actual fic of this lol. Like seriously. I would love to see someone explore how this would effect Bitty emotionally. Also World Juniors. Like. C’mon.

[keep-calm-and-trust-carter]

The Sound of Music

Summary: http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sound_of_Music_(film)#Plot 

Thoughts: 

Before we start, this is the first time I’ve watched this since Charmian Carr’s death, so:

Rest in peace Charmian Carr. You were a wonderful Liesl. 

While I admit it's pretty, the beginning of this movie has always bored me.

I wonder how I would react to this movie if it was the first time I was seeing it.

So I got curious as to what order the nuns belong to, so I looked up Nonnberg Abbey. Apparently they're Benedictine.

"Some people would call that honesty." I love the Reverend Mother.

I'm with Maria. Seven children is a lot. Not Duggar-levels of crazy by any means, but damn.

"I have always longed for adventure" Then WHY THE FUCK are you trying to become a nun?

Before I understood how musicals worked, I always thought of how annoying it must be to be on a bus with someone who was singing. Loudly.

You know, I never thought about it, but what does Captain von Trapp do all day when he’s not off in Vienna?

If the children have had twelve governesses in a few years (since Gretl’s only 5) that means that something’s wrong with the children, dude. Like, for instance, they’re little hellbeasts.

I didn’t realise when I was younger how much of a little shit Maria is. And I love her for it.

Well she just showed her soft underbelly…

I will never stop wondering how the fuck that frog got into her pocket without her noticing until then. Or how one of the children managed to keep a frog a secret during the introductions 

Liesl, you are so not subtle. Why do you think your father had them lock the doors earlier than usual?

I don’t know if there was ever a time I was ever anything but meh about this scene. Maria/Georg was always my ship of choice.

I just realized that we do not see Frau Schmidt at all after this scene in Maria’s bedroom.

Okay, I could understand Gretl, Marta, and maybe Brigitta (and that one’s a stretch) being scared of the thunderstorm. But Kurt, Friedrich, and Louisa? Not a chance. Louisa and Friedrich are teenagers, and Kurt, even if he were scared, wouldn’t want to show it.

I get that it was a plot device. That doesn’t mean it wasn’t a stupid one.

I love how they had Marta and Gretl – the former in particular – rush to make sure they were close to Maria. They’re the ones least likely to remember anything about their mother, plus they’re rather young, so they’d be the ones to latch on to the first person to show them affection.

This song, like “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious,” just makes me smile.

“Only during thunderstorms, sir.” I love Maria.

I wonder how long it took to sew those clothes, and what Maria and the children did in the meantime. It also does suggest a long absence on the Captain’s part.

With their father being gone all the time and them going through governesses like tissue paper, I’d imagine that Liesl was a second mother to Marta and Gretl.

I’ve noticed that in the Do Re Mi number Gretl’s constantly trying to catch up to the other children. The poor kid has such short legs a lot of times she can’t even get somewhere to do the choreography before she has to go somewhere else.

I’m glad they had the older children (Liesl-Kurt) do most of the jumping up/down stairs. They’d be more likely to keep their balance.

I think they do set up pretty well that, at least before he reconnects with his children, Georg and Elsa are pretty well suited for each other.

When I was little, I didn’t know why Georg and Elsa needed a chaperone, since they were adults. I get it now.

Rolfe’s kind of an idiot. Oh, just gonna ride up and start throwing pebbles at the window, not even check to see if there’s anyone there. Which there very clearly was.

Oh that was about the worst person you could have said “Heil Hitler” to

“What’s going to happen’s going to happen. Just make sure it doesn’t happen to you.” That makes me cringe more than it used to. For...reasons. 

The Baroness looks more amused than annoyed at the children talking over one another after they fall in the lake. While I don’t appreciate her boarding school comment later in the film, she at least doesn’t have the “new stepmother hating the children” cliché.

Say what you will about the Baroness, she knows how to pick up on social cues and get the hell out of there before the yelling starts

“Mmhmm, and having a marvelous time.” I love this little shit.

“The little ones just want to be loved.” That is just sad. And it explains how quickly and fiercely they took to Maria.

I do not like the puppet scene. I’m not exactly sure why.

The VHS version I grew up with was full screen, so when Maria first tries to hand Georg the guitar I only saw her arms. They’re nice arms and everything, but still. 

I love this song. It’s one of my favorite songs in the movie. It helps that the Captain and Maria are making goo-goo eyes at each other.

I could play the Landler dance over and over

I don’t really like the Baroness’s dress. It’s the color. And how fucking shiny it is.

I like how they kept the “Brigitta notices everything” thing. Like it wasn’t just a one-off comment. She’s the one who comments on Maria’s blushing, and you can see her watching the interactions between Maria, the Captain, and the Baroness.

Apparently Nicholas Hammond had to go through numerous painful dye jobs to get the blond hair Friedrich has. And I will never stop wondering why. Liesl, Brigitta and Marta all have dark hair. Hell, the Captain has dark hair. The gene for dark hair is dominant. He could have kept his brown hair and no one would have cared.

“If the Nazis take over Austria, I have no doubt, Herr Zeller, that you will be the entire trumpet section.” It took me a while to understand that particular insult.

“How clumsy of me. I meant to accuse you.” Herr Zeller’s gonna need a lot of ice after that one.

I used to really hate the Baroness for interfering with the Captain and Maria. Now, I realize that she probably cares a great deal for the Captain, and may even love him. The Captain called her his savior. She brought meaning back into his life. That’s a big thing. And then a younger woman comes in and starts to ruin it. Like I still don’t like her much, but I kind of understand where she’s coming from. It’s mean and underhanded, but not crazy or supervillainy

You know, Maria might have just gone back to the Abbey in September without the Baroness saying anything. I think she was in denial about being in love with the Captain, and probably would have stayed that way. The Reverend Mother notices something because A) Maria came back early, B) she’s in seclusion and C) the von Trapp children clearly adore her. Now maybe she would have noticed something anyway, but the Baroness pushed things along. Whoops.

“He’ll get over it soon enough I should think. Men do, you know.” Yep, didn’t get this one as a child either.

Yeah this was a really shitty thing to do. She probably didn’t want anyone trying/probably succeeding in getting her to stay, but still, shitty thing to do. The poor kids.

I give the Baroness a bit of credit for at least trying to bond with the children.

Yeah the boarding school thing is where she loses major points. And I’m a bit peeved that Max is cool about it.

And this will be imitated by all catty – usually blonde – future stepmothers and their (usually stereotypically) gay best friend. And it will never be done as well. Because the Baroness is not a terrible person. She cares about Georg and at least tries to bond with the children. And seven children is a lot, even Maria said so. And she bows out gracefully when it’s clear she’s lost. Most of her imitators don’t seem to have any of that going for them.

Yeah idk if Max is or was even coded to be gay. But it wouldn’t surprise me.

And that’s probably why the boarding school thing bugs me so much. Because it’s usually gold-digging, conniving, horrible women who don’t actually care about their fiancé or the children (and usually have to deal with fewer anyway) who say it.

I’ve read the Captain’s nonchalance as put on, given how he reacts when Maria comes back.

I wonder how long it’s been since Maria left. Probably not more than a few days. Yeah, Georg proposed rather…quickly then.

OMG MAX’S FACE when all the children are kissing the Baroness.

The Reverend mother was about to straight up cut a bitch when she though the von Trapps were unkind to Maria

I fucking love the Reverend Mother.

“It’s been so cold lately they turned blue.” What the fuck, Friedrich?

I’m pretty sure he knows exactly where they were.

Yeah, a villa in the south of France would not do well in a couple of years. Vichy France and all.

Well at least he’s being honest and ending it before it gets too far gone.

Yeah even when I was a kid I was like why are you singing, you could be doing better things.  

Okay, I can understand Georg and the pinecone thing, but Maria and the whistle is bullshit.

That veil is long.

Holy tonal shift. But yeah, I get kinda bored after the Nazis show up. I did not come here for Nazis.

I kind of love that Frau Schmidt was like “fuck you” to the Nazis. Not directly, but still.

Yeah, a month is a really long honeymoon. They’ve got to be getting a bit sore by now…

And I want you to know that I felt very weird typing that about a movie I first saw when I was like five

“Maybe the flag with the black spider on it makes people nervous.” The flag with the black spider on it makes people very nervous.

It will never not bug me that they got Brigitta’s and Kurt’s names switched on the program, order-wise.

“We make it our business to know everything about everyone.” That’s…horrifying.

YAS CAPTAIN VON TRAPP RIPPING THE NAZI FLAG.

"And you belong to him…” I know this is the 1960s being the 1930s, but…yuck.

I’m kinda wondering how Georg and Maria managed to learn their festival singing parts so quickly.

I’d say it was stupid for them to go to the Abbey, as that’s the first place the Nazis would look, but they didn’t really have anywhere else to go.

"It’s you we want, not them.” Bullshit. You don’t think the Nazis would hold his family hostage to make sure he did what he was told?

“You’ll never be one of them.” So not the right thing to say.

“Reverend Mother, I have sinned.” “I too, Reverend Mother.” I love this part.

Somehow, I think this is a sin that God could live with.  

Fun fact: the real von Trapps escaped via train to Italy, then London, then got to the US. I think they settled in Vermont. Walking over the Alps would most likely get them to Germany, not Switzerland. 

Fun Stuff:

Should I Actually Watch This? (especially for movies that are considered “Classics”)

I recommend it. I mean, if you don’t like movie musicals, you probably won’t like it, because there’s a metric shit ton of songs, and it is a bit sweet and sentimental, so there’s that. But it’s a damn good movie. 

Biggest Plot Contrivance: 

 The thunderstorm. They aren’t gonna convince me that all of the older children are scared of thunderstorms. 

Biggest WTF Adaptation Change: 

Having them escape via train and ship would have been plenty dramatic and wouldn’t have ended them up in Germany. 

Favorite Character: 

Maria. She’s compassionate and kind but not afraid to call people on their BS. 

Biggest Shithead: 

Herr Zeller. Rolf is a very close second. 

Favorite Song: 

“My Favorite Things.” “Edelweiss” is a close second.  

Least Favorite Song:

The Lonely Goatherd. No question. That scene is just not one of my favorites. 

[survivorinternational]

Episode 4 - "We get to form the narrative" - Patrick

I lost my two closest allies I am pissed. Vilma come home (Ginger too I guess). I do NOT trust Clash and Allan those people will backstab at moment's notice I am FUCKED

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So tribe split is 3-2-2. Logically if the 2 other tribes will work together and uh take us out. And uhh I have def been the biggest impression person. And uhh merge is decently soon so maybe they use that as a reason. My predictions have been correct so far but how about not this time? :) 

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Goal is to beat Vilma in the scavenger hunt

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hosts' mean making me doubt my life 

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I really want to make merge so I'll actually get my game on I guess. I'll throw Allan and Clash under the bus if I must. I'll do my best to befriend these people as part of my game because all other friendships are fake as we know. So far I'm trying to get with the aussie gang. Yanks will burn 

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I am slightly less mad about the swap now. But it's for personal reasons. Here are the power rankings of my new tribemates: - SluggyG - Stephen - Pat - Randy. Randy and I don't seem to click sadly.

Just like our tribe predicted there was a tribe swap and i ended up being in a tribe of 7 with 2 people from my previous tribe - Stephen and me. Having Stephen here is honestly great because although we didn't look like we were a pair in the old ala mai, we actually were and made a solid 2 man alliance before tribal council. I also told him about how Jacob and Michael were playing in the middle to gain some trust and so I believe we're tight. Every step from here on out is crucial to our game. We need to take out faatasi, there's two ala mai and two salaotoga (however u spell it), we just need to make sure we are together as a 4. 

I hate swaps, when zwooper did its first 40 person swap survival game, my social and strategic game at the first stage was perfect. I was aligned with everyone. Once the swap came all of my allies disappeared to the other tribe and I flopped BADLY ! 

FINALLY WAS PUT ON A TRIBE WITH VILMA! I HAVE BEEN BLESSED BY THE SURVIVOR GODS! hehe. anyway. for real though, love this new tribe. my analysis of each person: liana: of all my old tribe mates, I wanted to be with her the least. but it's fine I guess. she's nice, I'm just not close with her. if the tribe wants to vote her out I'd do it. vilma: amazing active queen goddess mOM she told me she's heard good things about me and was saying in her host chat that she wanted to be on a tribe with me this whole time and GIRL me too!!!!!!!! I want her to be my closest ally I adore her. she's also a great challenge help! I truly don't think we'll lose this scavenger hunt because we have some hard workers on our tribe like her ginger: very sweet!! I love her. I think we'll align. she mentioned how she liked how many girls were on this tribe and to that I say hell yeah - we love some girl power! she's somewhat of a weird texture but like a lot of emotion gets lost when typing? lots of people sound bland to me? but she's cute and been talking to me a lot today! I appreciate her tyler: I'm like low key scared of him for some reason I remember watching him in a game a while while back and he was like so mean?? so I'm hoping he's not mean anymore? or if he is mean that he isn't mean to ME like pls like me? but also he kinda gives off a I am scared of women and only like men vibe......... uh idk? jacob: okay I love him he's so sweet! interesting that he got the 1 vote from the ala mai tribal - kind of shows he's more or less in the bottom of the ala mai bunch so maybe I can infiltrate that and make him a good ally for me going forward! he said tribal was hard because everyone was pretty active and got along. so it seems he thinks the tribe is all big and happy - maybe he's not in any alliances? who knows michael: barely talked to him tbh. but idk how much I really like him? seemed really good in the w4 c9 challenge so ???? maybe he'll be good challenge help and someone to look out for at merge. I also feel like he and tyler would be good allies together. so yeah. that's just a hunch based off of their personalities overall: I have hope that my tribe won't flop and HOPEFULLY we will win these upcoming challenges!! and I'm going to pull my mother fucking weight so they know I'm good in challenges and that they should keep me if they don't want to go to tribal! I really really really do not think randy will do anything in the scavenger hunt LMAO like no tea no shade I don't think I remember him doing anything in mongolia and he's in four fucking games. also never goes out of his house. so it's like we're a tribe of seven vs a tribe of six? lmao let's hope!! 

God I am really not photogenetic, really don't like how I come off in videos but oh well what can you do. I used to struggle with my looks but honestly I really like how I look nowadays. Issue now is manerisms :/ Slowly but surely. Hope you enjoyed this deep dive into the psyche of Veni 

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I am going out with friends today to go all over town in search of hopefully doing really well in the scavenger hunt. I can do almost everything, the ones that are doubtful are all the DVDs, the book, the airplane and the sandcastle. I might build a sandcastle. I wanna build a sandcastle. 

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Man I really miss Vilma the more days pass. Some people are just a drag to talk to and now I can't share my determination for the challenge with anyone. It is disheartening 

Tribe Swap: Well It was bound to happen, at least I got swapped into a tribe with possibly my 2 closest allies in Tyler and Jacob. Vilma is also on this tribe, I'm thinking we might be able to use her as a target due to how strong she is in challenges and that we wouldn't want to take her to merge. I have spent some time cultivating new relations with Emily and Vilma, Chatted a little with Ginger and now trying to chat with Liana. Need to find out where votes are going. Immunity Challenge: Why are the big challenges like this when Im at work for most of the time. I can get most of these selfies and videos, unfortunately I wont be able to get to a Zoo, Beach or Airport for some of these points :( Flags apparently don't exist in South Australia either... WTF?!?! A bit concerned with amount of black spaces in out hunt, hopefully during the night it will pick up again. Time zones are making it difficult to chat with people, but I will continue to try :D 

So you would be thinking that with a tribe swap you'd have a breath of fresh air meeting new people and having challenges in a new environment, it's actually quite the opposite. In this challenge so far only 3 out of 7 people have pulled their weight which is why we're likely to head to tribal sooner than we think. Having NA people on your tribe is so different because I'm 12 hours ahead of them, I sleep when they wake up, they sleep when I wake up. 

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I must move forward with some sort of plan even though I'm trying to take it round at a time, Stephen and I aren't going anywhere. Originally I wanted Veni gone seeing he's a threat and could go back to OG Faatasi at the merge. But after thinking about it, he's a THREAT. He's the meat shield that I need to get further in this game - if I work with him, even at the merge, the target will be on him and all the heat will be of me (unless he wins immunity). EITHER WAY (dnnyys says that a lot) there are more pros keeping Veni around till merge - doing well in challenges, having someone to talk to, plus veni is also part of the old community Michael, Jacob and I are in so if we all make it to merge something may happen? That's a maybe but the idea is keep Veni and gain his trust and his loyalty. He seems fine taking out anyone who isn't contributing so we'll just do that for the timebeing.

I am really sweating right now hopefully my tribemates actually post points. If not hopefully they don't vote me out as a challenge threat and keep me around. 

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Pat is rising in my power rankigs. Seems like a really chill dude with a heart for trying stuff. 

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Allan and Clash are being kinda bad at talking to me. I want to stick with them but bleh. I don't know.. 

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Pat is my #1 in the power rankings

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Well I can't blame anyone specifically. And I got beat by 1 point by 2 differnet people. This is rather depressing.

This tribe is so much more inactive than Ala Mai... also we’re gonna lose this challenge. Sluggy says he wants to work with the US guys to take out the EU guys, but I’m thinking the opposite, for several reasons. First is the europeans timezone is closer to ours, so we have more time to talk. Another is the europeans are more active and social in general, and better in challenges. Finally.... I just don’t trust Sluggy, hes hard to read, he seems to be hard to work with cause he won’t let go of ideas :/ For now I’m gonna bide my time, see what develops, but if the opportunity to work with the europeans comes up Im definitely gonna consider it.

Um so this vote is gonna be real messy trust me I want to do sluggy but it might be Veni or randy and I honestly don’t know... I just hope whatever is done is done for the best and I stay safe 

Winning the challenge is great, but the lack of communication coming from Ginger and Liana is a little annoying. They seem to be very inactive, whereas Emily and Vilma are amazing. I actually like this tribe more than the original Ala Mai. I feel like Vilma and Emily were a good trade for Stephen and Sluggy. Sluggy and Stephen were great and reliable, but Vilma and Emily are more active and seem to have a much more bubbly personality. 

Things are looking alright this vote. I will have to betray someone either way so that sucks. I am bad @ Randy though for the 6 points. 

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I believe the current plan is, EU and AUS/Sluggy unite against Pat and Randy. In case of idol we split the votes 3-2-2. 3 being on Randy. 

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I wanna make merge I wanna make merge I wanna make merge I wanna make merge I wanna make merge I wanna make merge I wanna make merge I wanna make merge

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So like genuinely I really like Pat Sluggy and Stephen more than the rest of tribe in terms of working together and such but like, the OG tribe lines are really bugging me. If I at some point vote out Allan or Clash then I lose potential trust from Ginger and Vilma maybe and definitely from Allan/Clash depending whoever goes. I want to tell Pat the alleged plan so I really hope it does not backfire. I am uncertain yet. 

So we expectedly lost the challenge and now we have to go to tribal. Stephen and I are in the middle of the OG Faatasi and OG Salotaoga (is that how you spell it?). Anyways my original plan was to go for the europeans because if we get small in numbers the europeans can as a force of 3 pick us off, but now because of what happened in the challenge and Randy's performance people like Stephen and Veni wanna vote Randy off. I've made my case to Stephen and it really comes to a cost benefit analysis for him and I and I'm honestly looking at it from a long term point of view, hope it pays off.

Getting bad vibes from the vote. I mean honestly as long as it's not me go nuts

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I am really struggling with what information to give to people

today i went to counseling then ate a biscuit for lunch. and i want to host a bachelorette org. nothing is happening in the game tho because guess what MY TRIBE WONNNNNNNN THE CHALLLLLLENGGGGEEEEEEEEEE HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA i love this tribe because we can actually win things and people actually talk to me :-) also i shared my idol guesses with vilma & liana and they shared back. either way i think it’s already found. i just wanna find the spot that it’s at ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ just so i know know know for sure

This week has been very interesting. Coming with randy was exactly what I wanted so that I know I could trust my old tribemate and he’ll vote with me no problem. I just hosted a game with clash in it and we clicked instantly and both had the same excited energy when coming into this tribe and seeing each other. Me him and randy have all formed an alliance and then also have another alliance including Allan, whom I enjoy a lot, we’re planning an attack on veni/sluggy tonight because Veni is playing to hard too fast and it’s super obvious. He’s also super close with vilma (who I already perceived as a massive threat) and ginger. So voting out veni prevents Veni from going back to those two and telling them everything that happened. We get to form the narrative 

Okay so I have a lot to talk about and very little time to do so, let's get into it: So at the start of this week (after immunity) Us Europeans decided it would be a good idea to team up with the Australians and get Randy out. However, my first issue came up with Sluggy said he had to "check with Veni and Stephen". That immediately set off alarm bells with me because why would Sluggy have to check with Veni?? Then, Veni brings up some plan to split the votes in case of an idol. Splitting the votes seemed like the dumbest idea I'd heard of and everything started to sound suspicious af so Clash and I got together and decided to work with the Americans to make sure we would be safe. While we're doing all this, Veni makes about 4 alliances (All without me) promising final 2's and stuff. I'm honestly so done with him so we've all (hopefully) decided to vote him out. If I'm wrong then I guess my game is tanked but right now I feel good. 

So the name of this round is “Is Veni a Snakey-Snake?” The answer is yes. Clash tells me he has alliances with everyone, so we’re gonna vote him out. Gonna double check my facts first tho 

Hello this stupid european freak thinks he can outplay the greatest america player in history aka me so im just j chilling in this tribe when we swapped. and like this aussie sluggy rat comes to me and is like "american and aussies work together" and i said ok cool. and then i went on inactive mode because i didnt want to talk to anybody. then we had an immunity challenge and i didnt compete at all for it practically because i hated the challenge! but nobody else did stellar so it didnt matter. so we lost immunity, i get told real quick by pat and clash that the europeans want 3 votes on me while aussies do 2 votes on pat. we wanted to mix that up so originally we were going to vote together as 3 and just take Slugg out. But then we added Allan so we had four votes Then veni decides to heat up  his fucking crack pipe and take 4 hits before messaging me. Telling me things like "pats getting out, fix it" and "hey  i really trust you! hopefully you make merge". like stupid shady shit that doesnt look good so i g o to the alliance and i said vote veni out now we're about to go to tribal and we're going to see if the american brat gets his way. wish me luck

For those who think I wasted an idol I technically did but remember I just woke up to hear my name that Veni, my second closest ally in the tribe wants me gone and is rallying others to vote me off, so if Veni had Pat and Randy and got one more to flip I would have definitely gone home. It was definitely scary and I'm not afraid to admit I was scared and shaking in front of my computer, but I made up my mind about playing it since half an hour before tribal so. I guess now is the real test to see if I can make it further in the game without any sort of extra protection on my back, but Veni was a sneaky guy despite being not fluent in his speaking.

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Veni a huge threat is gone when I wanted to take him to the merge to use as a shield but that didn't work. That goes to show how important it is to make sure you're not playing hard in the first few parts of the game, but timing is really key in this game, and i gotta pick the right timing to strike and when to back off.

Woooohoo! We wonn!! I'm so happy to have a night off. I am loving this tribe switch and have liked everyone I have talked to so far. I think we just got the power tribe both with challenges and socially. Emily actually shared where she has searched for an idol with me so we could cover more ground. It makes me sus of maybe her and someone else working together on Saratoga. (although maybe they were all just social flops) I'm still really happy I found an idol on the first try because I feel like I look semi inactive (always working) so no one would suspect it would be me who has the idol. My plan is to maybe blame Ruthie? Idk i haven't thought it through yet, but she definitely seems like someone who would find an idol first. Anyway my lying has already started because I told Emily how frustrating it is to have so many combinations to make it seem like I don't have it.

Uhhhhh so we swapped. Immediately I was excited to be on a tribe with Emily, because I've heard she's super nice and people were absolutely right she really is!!!! I like everyone on my new tribe to be fair, but I'm kinda spooked because Ginger is the only og Faatasi who swapped with me and I've been performing fairly well in challenges so I'm scared I will be targeted fast if I end up going to tribal with these guys. I'm glad Ginger and I have a good relationship though, plus he is super social (unlike me) so hopefully he can help me in that regard and use his social skills to build new bonds. Obviously I'm trying my best to do that too but I'm not too convinced in my ability to succeed at that. It's just a lot. I'm too introverted all I wanna do is keep to myself and hide in my cave even though I know that's not smart. I've chatted some with everyone though and they all seem nice.... But yeah I could definitely step up my social game some. Emily and I have been sharing our idol guesses and Ginger told me he is becoming close with Tyler and Emily... We'll see how things develop from here. Personally I've enjoyed talking to Emily and Michael the most. Plus Michael seems to be quite a challenge threat as well, I'm hoping he would like to keep me in as his shield. That's what I'm gonna try to pitch for at least, if we ever end up in tribal. We won the scavenger hunt challenge which was neat because I love scavenger hunts. I went all out in the challenge ONCE AGAIN and tbh we need to talk about my threat level in a bit but first let's have a Moment of Silence for my NUMBER ONE ALLY VENI WHO GOT VOTED OUT ON FAATASI AND I'M VERY UPSETTI SPAHGETTI. :'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''( VENI ROBBED HE DESERVED SO MUCH BETTER THAN THAT. I'm so shocked even Clash and Allan turned on him and I NEED SOME EXPLANATIONS. I'm dying to know what happened there. I really wonder if Faatasi threw the challenge to get rid of him, but Sluggy played his idol though, so he must have thought for real there was a chance he was going home tonight?? That's what confuses me. But it's cool to know he had the og Ala Mai idol and it confirmed my suspicions that it had already been claimed thanks to all the reward challenge clues they got. I wonder if it will be rehidden now though... Doesn't hurt to try and search anyway, I guess? But yeah let's talk about the fact how screwed I am if I ever go to tribal with this tribe. Veni going was definitely a reality check for me, and now I feel super uncertain about my own position in the game. For some reason everyone and their mother seems to think I'm a big threat and I guess it's mostly due to me performing well in challenges and that SUCKS. Because music videos and scavenger hunts happen to be my two favorite challenges and I simply don't know how to hold myself back when it comes to them. Dennis asking me the threat question at first tribal plus the judges hyping me up in the music video challenge definitely didn't help my case either ugh ily guys but I'm in TROUBLE. KAJSHDKAHF. But to be fair I've always done middle tier / poorly in flash game challenges, I feel like my challenge threat status isn't completely accurate. Most of the immunity challenges so far have been those kind where those who put in the most effort have been rewarded (Music videos, The 24 hour challenge, Scavenger hunt). I've done well in those because 1. I happen to love 66% of those challenges and 2. I have no life. But if we had skill- or luck-based challenges like flash games or puzzles I don't think I'd perform very well at those at all. Even Ginger told me I need to stop performing so well in challenges and I agree with him. But I'm just scared it might already be too late now. Also challenges are genuinely the part I enjoy the most in orgs, I hate the backstabbing and socializing, so it feels stupid to restrict myself from enjoying the game just to do better at it... Ugh. What an internal struggle. I hope the next challenge will be something I naturally suck at so I don't even have to think about it.