megatronix

I've been listening to people's comments and I asked the Wheel about an adjustment. There was a BIG item that is on the Wheel that I asked if I could just go ahead and bring it out now. The Wheel said no. Which, is probably smart. Let the Wheel have it's time to bring about the chaos on it's own schedule.

The other idea was approved though.

So the antidote is going to be working a little differently. Rather than it staying in the hands of one person, STARTING NOW, that decision is going to be made by the group.

Now you all have a stake in who lives and who dies. It's not just the actions of the killer(s), you will be able to predict their next move and get ahead of them, or fail to protect the next victim!
This will take place before the entry deadline, at the same time you are submitting accusations! So you could actually stop the next death - if you guess the target right!

Just add it to your accusation email (clauderainsrm@gmail.com). Just make sure to let me know which choice is for which thing. :D

***

Everyone comes out to Idol for something different. I think that's one of the biggest concepts for people to try to get their heads around. A lot of them fail to do it, because it's easier to assume that everyone is here for the same reason you are. Just like it's easier to think that everyone agrees on what is a good entry/who is the best/who "deserves" what.... these competing believes are at the center of Idol. It's part of what makes me love what has been created here over the last nearly two decades.

I've been thinking a lot lately about why this special event is all twists... part of it was the one just before had hardly any - so it seemed like the next natural step. People complained about the lack of twists. Be there are people who don't like that there are so many. :D Again, it's because people are here for different reasons...

But all of you end up accomplishing the same thing - you write absolutely brilliant entries. Some is fiction. Some non-fiction or poetry... over the years pretty much anything you could think of to create in this space has been created!

The twists were put in place early on for a couple big reasons - (1) to keep things interesting, not only for the contestants to keep you invested, but also the audience who wasn't playing. Also for me! (2) to keep things fair. Especially early on in Idol there were people with massive, active friends groups. There were also people who came in knowing no one. What was to keep someone coming in and just dominating the entire time with no hope for anyone else? Twists. It keeps people on their toes and in a lot of cases it doesn't mean that it's the end of the road for anyone with a more supportive base. It just means that the majority of other contestants need to be OK with their winning. :) Which is it's own secret sauce!

This time was different than most in that I didn't try to make things as fair as possible. I put everything on the Wheel to make it as chaotic as possible, as interesting as possible! It's the one time when even I don't know what's going to happen next!!

I came up with a bunch of ideas, and had the Wheel decide which ones were going forward and which were not. There are some on the scrap heap that I loved and some that got through that I didn't. But that's part of why I kept saying from the moment I came up with the idea, to every single step of the way before sign ups and again over the first couple weeks that this was going to be the Idol version of Calvinball!!!

Honestly, we might end up with predictable winners. Or we might not! My only real hope when it comes to that is that people keep using it as an excuse to write some fantastic entries, to create! Because that's the one thing that everyone can agreed on, that when you show up here you are going to be doing a hell of a lot of writing!!! :)

clauderainsrm posting in

therealljidol

After a dramatic elimination therealljidol.dreamwidth.org/1202102.html

There is a new twist therealljidol.dreamwidth.org/1202303.html and a new prompt! https://therealljidol.dreamwidth.org/1202480.html

***

How are you going to be celebrating my birthday weekend?

clauderainsrm posting in

therealljidol

The prompt for this week is

Tiger Team

The deadline to link your entry back to this thread is Tuesday, September 30th at 7pm ET.

Have fun!

clauderainsrm posting in

therealljidol

*spins the wheel*

It's another twist!

But which twist shall it be? Only one way to find out!
*spins the wheel again*

~~Bye Necklace~~

Whoever receives the lowest amount of votes without getting eliminated, in Week 11, will receive 2 extra byes - TO GIVE TO OTHER PEOPLE!! It's a great way to make new friends. :)

clauderainsrm posting in

therealljidol

It took me 3 extra buses and an Uber to get home. But I'm here now! (2 buses broke down, and then the 3rd one was the "regularly scheduled" so it wasn't going to leave the transfer center until 8:20. Note: I left work at 4:15)

But that's not what anyone is here to listen to. You want results!

You want THE URN.

*brings out the urn with the Survivor style votes from behind the podium*

This week was a little different. Most weeks in Idol you are all wonderfully supportive of each other. This time, you voted to eliminate one of your fellow contestants. There were 17 eligible voters this time, and 15 votes in this urn. Which, is actually better than I feared it could go.

So, let's just get to it... oh, what's that on the floor... another empty vial. Why do you litter bugs keep dropping these around? First in the castle and now out here at tribal council!!

Pick up after yourself you heathens!!

Anyway, as I was saying, let's get to the votes.

*opens the urn and pulls out the first vote*

fausts_dream

Next vote is for

marjorica

That's 1 vote Faust's dream and 1 vote majorica.

Next vote is...

flipflop_diva

That's 1 vote Faust's dream, 1 vote majorica and 1 vote flipflop_diva

Next vote

xeena

That's 1 vote Faust's dream, 1 vote majorica, 1 vote flipflop_diva, 1 vote xeena

*pulls out another vote*

xeena

That's 1 vote Faust's dream, 1 vote majorica, 1 vote flipflop_diva, 2 votes xeena

*pulls out another vote*

xeena

1 vote Faust's dream, 1 vote majorica, 1 vote flipflop_diva, 3 votes xeena

*pulls out another vote*

muchtooarrogant

1 vote Faust's dream, 1 vote majorica, 1 vote flipflop_diva, 3 votes xeena, 1 vote muchtooarrogant

*reaches into the urn*

muchtooarrogant

1 vote Faust's dream, 1 vote majorica, 1 vote flipflop_diva, 3 votes xeena 2 votes muchtooarrogant

*pulls out another vote*

muchtooarrogant

1 vote Faust's dream, 1 vote majorica, 1 vote flipflop_diva, 3 votes xeena 3 votes muchtooarrogant We are tied.

Next vote:

xeena

1 vote Faust's dream, 1 vote majorica, 1 vote flipflop_diva, 4 votes xeena 3 votes muchtooarrogant

Next vote:

xeena

1 vote Faust's dream, 1 vote majorica, 1 vote flipflop_diva, 5 votes xeena 3 votes muchtooarrogant

*reaches into urn again*

muchtooarrogant

1 vote Faust's dream, 1 vote majorica, 1 vote flipflop_diva, 5 votes xeena 4 votes muchtooarrogant

*reaches into urn again*

muchtooarrogant

1 vote Faust's dream, 1 vote majorica, 1 vote flipflop_diva, 5 votes xeena 5 votes muchtooarrogant We are tied again. 2 votes left.

*pauses before slowly pulling out the ballot*

xeena

1 vote Faust's dream, 1 vote majorica, 1 vote flipflop_diva, 6 votes xeena 5 votes muchtooarrogant

Final vote:

xeena

1 vote Faust's dream, 1 vote majorica, 1 vote flipflop_diva, 5 votes muchtooarrogant 7 votes xeena

xeena - the tribe has spoken. *snuffs her torch*

You have been eliminated.

halfshellvenus

Somebody, and by that I mean someone furry, started scratching the side of his head two weeks ago, and got a deep sore going before we could get him to the vet to be coned. :(

I bought a cone a couple of years back, but I never took it out of the packaging, and it turned out to basically be labrador-sized. No good for a medium-sized house cat! Our vet was closed the day we wanted to take our cat in, and when they re-opened we discovered they couldn't see him for 4 days. Yikes. I took him to Banfield Pet Hospital (inside PetSmart) to be coned and given antibiotics, because that was the urgent issue. He got the cone off within 5 minutes of being home. HalfshellHusband took him back, and he got the cone off before even leaving the store. So the vet made a soft harness out of some stretchy cloth, and that did the trick.

We took him to our own vet on Monday, for a more thorough examination. They found no underlying cause for his original scratching other than that he gets itchy during the change of seasons, so that was good. But they undid the harness, which means the cat got the cone off again later that night. Holy moly! They gave instructions to burrito him (Hah!) to subdue him, as if they didn't routinely tranq him on office visits (including that very day). By then, a soft cone had come from Amazon that was easier to get on-- this outer-space-themed flower-type thing:

Not our cat

He is able to eat and drink with the soft cone, but also has gotten out of it three times and is sometimes able to still get one of his hind feet into scratching position! I have another, bigger soft cone to try the next time he escapes the current one, but what a headache this all is. He has no idea that he'll be wearing that cone for another 2-4 weeks, which will be fun for all of us. \o?

In Idol news, I was able to come back in (at least for now) due to a lucky spin of the Wheel of Chaos. But

rayaso got poisoned, so he's out. That's disappointing. :( There is also no poll this week, so no one seems to be reading or commenting on the entries. Mine is here, if you'd like to take a look. I went with humor, which has been the case for most of this season. Not last week, though! This entry was a pain to format, too, and the HTML that used to let you change font so easily doesn't seem to work anymore. Nor does CSS. I gave up on shifting the typeface styles, but that was after I'd wasted a good 60+ minutes on it.

I WILL get around to TV recs at some point, but let me quickly say that Amazon's The Devil's Hour is really intriguing, and you should give it a try!

clauderainsrm posting in

therealljidol

Welcome to those returning to the fray! I did forget to mention that if you are new this round, you are coming in with 1 bye that is good between now and the Top 10. So, just keep that in mind!

This week is going to be different than any week in Idol. Because it's a Survivor style vote!

Which goes against every core value of actual Idol and dives right into the whole reality show aspect.

What this means is that (1) It's a contestant only vote. You have to be signed up as a current contestant to cast a vote.
(2) All votes are by email.. You send your vote to clauderainsrm@gmail.com
(3) Yes, I said VOTE. This time around you are voting for 1 person. The person you want to eliminate from the competition!

The deadline to vote is Thursday Sept 25th at 7pm ET. Everyone's entries are at: https://therealljidol.dreamwidth.org/1201147.html

Good luck to everyone!

clauderainsrm posting in

therealljidol

We've gathered in this sacred space, deep in the bowels of the castle, to carry out a solemn duty.

For those of you joining this game, already in progress, what you need to know is that there is/are Killer(s) among you! They are hunting you down, one by one, using vile poison to eliminate all that stand in the way of their total victory!

Unless you stop them first! Part of how you accomplish that is by whoever has the most votes each week can give the antidote to any contestant. So, in theory, as long as you stay one step ahead of the Killer(s) no one needs to die. But if you don't....

There is also the Accusation. The group votes on who they think is a Killer and once exposed, they are restored to their former self, without that blood lust...

After missing their mark for several weeks, the group was finally able to nail down two Killers!! But how many more are out there, and where are they planning on striking next?

Only one way to find out!!

***
I've compiled the votes - and the group accuses

hafnia of being a Killer!!!

There is a long pause, followed by an evil cackle that shakes the room... Oh sorry, that was just me. Hafnia isn't a Killer. ;)

***

OK, it's time to get on to this week's poll, where... *thud*

Oh no. Not again. Who was it this tim... *swears* *swears again, only this time a little louder*

rayaso is gone. :(

halfshellvenus

A New Man
Idol Wheel of Chaos | Week 10 | 2440 words
Intrigant (one who intrigues or is involved in intrigue)

x-x-x-x-x

Winslow Johnson was a middle-aged man in a Midwestern city who suffered from being constantly overlooked. Even his name, which should have been interesting, somehow wasn't. People noticed it for half a second, and then slid right off into "Eh…" It was unusual, but somehow also blah, like Winslow himself.

Sometimes, Winslow wondered if he was invisible.

He worked as a shoe salesman at J. C. Penney, a job that was even less exciting than it sounded. Penney's specialized in 'sensible' and 'matronly,' with a large overlap between the two. Winslow had also never cared for feet, which only made the job more unpleasant. He had tried feigning enthusiasm for them before, but found that it only made him seem weirder.

What he needed, Winslow thought, was a personality transplant.

At office parties and in the breakroom at work, he never seemed to have anything to talk about. He had hobbies, and they weren't anything desperate like collecting string. But when he mentioned his tiny herb garden or he invited someone to spend the day watching trains with him, he got nothing but blank stares in return. Why couldn't he be like Dave from Home and Garden, who was a sports nut and knew how to make people laugh? Or like Janet from Housewares, who was always up-to-date on new movies and the popular TV shows?

Winslow had no idea how to solve his problem. There were no classes for that sort of thing, no magic potions that could make a difference. The only thing he could think of was to go to the bookstore and consult the self-help section. The quantity of selections was overwhelming:

"The You You Are," by Dr. Ricken Lazlo Hale.

What? Winslow thought.

"You Are Special, Yes You Are!" by Bitsy McLintock.

Winslow cringed, and kept surveying the shelves.

"Why You Suck, And How To Stop," by Chad Barton.

Huh. The title was kind of harsh, but didn't it basically describe his problem? And if anyone would know how to be cool, it would be someone named Chad. Winslow picked the book up and started leafing through it.

Chapter 1
Why You Suck and Nobody Likes You

You're creepy. You're boring. You smell bad. Do any of these sound familiar? The suckee is always the last to know.

Oh, no! Winslow thought. Could one of those be his problem? Or worse, all of them?

( Read more... )

There's no poll this week, as it's a contestant-only vote.

bleodswean

For three days he had scoured the forest, seeking the cottage. He had been told that’s where she resided and his need of her satisfied once he found her. Directions had been both vague and specific and the scrap of paper with the scribbled map which at first had seemed so straightforward a way was now crumpled and wearing thin and read more akin to a map drawn by a madman than the woman he had paid to sketch it out for him.

He had met that woman in a darkened corner of a pub in a nearby village, a place he had never frequented before and couldn’t find again when he tried to return to ask more questions. His palm still itched where she had fished the silver out of it. His first sight of her had his pulse racing, comely and he had thoughts of seduction. But she paid him no mind in matters of lust and when she excused herself and never returned, she had appeared quite ugly to him.

All of this had taken place over the past nine days, starting the night of the moon high in the night sky and waxing gibbous. Soon the moon would hang low and full as though it could be plucked out of its heavens like an unearthly fruit.

His grudge was a piece of fruit grown mealy, kept too long.

The grudge he’d kept with him for over half a year, through the winter, spring and summer. He had harvested it the autumn before when she’d married another.

He loathed both of them, but it was for her he most especially wished injury.

And he would have it done, not by his hand because he couldn’t risk harm to his reputation and during his more honest moments he could admit that he was frightened of her husband.

He last saw her on market day the month before and she was gone heavy with child. And that decided it for him. He would do her harm.

It was no easy task to find the witch. The search occupied his every waking hour and most of those asleep, dark dreams filled with blood and the sound of breaking bones. He could feel something turning inside of him, bowing his shoulders and creaking his spine and yet he pressed on. In corners of foul-smelling public houses, in alleys so narrow one had to enter sideways, behind trees ancient and hollowed and scratched with symbols that made his eyes narrow. But he would have what he would have and gathering information led him to the woman who drew the map.

Finally, he stumbled upon the place. Down twisted pathways, over a poisoned creek, beneath a split hanging tree, past the shadows of night animals stilled by his passing by, he smelled the woodsmoke and spied the candle guttering on the sill. He knocked and the door swung open. A hunched figure in a chair rocking beside a massive hearth with soup cauldron bubbling.

Come closer, the ragged voice instructed him, and he drew closer. Leaving the door open to the sounds of creatures hunting and the hunted crying out.

Terrible things took place. She pricked him and he bled. She bid him drink and he vomited. His head swam but his heart stayed the course, and he made his case as though she were the magistrate.

When they were done, it’s done, she told him. In the corner, rose a shadow, up and out of the dirt floor, curling out of a pile of fetid matter, spine straightening, shoulders settling, head rising. A thing that seemed to shudder and tremble but not from fear but because it was fear.

What’s that, he asked, his voice a strangled whisper.

That’s your desire.

Not my desire!

No? she asked him, cocking her head the way a bird of prey will do.

I have no desire that is embodied so. This horrid creature. He was flailing. You’ve called it forth.

Payment of your own blood and bile would suggest otherwise, my boy. You asked of me to spell a weapon, to cast it out into the world, its target a girl, we let it loose together. You and me. She lowered herself into the rocking chair pulling a briar wood pipe out of the pocket of her skirt, leaning forward to light it with a punk from the fire. She blew out two streams of gray smoke from her nostrils and looked up at him. Your desire manifested, became corporeal.

No! He said putting both hands out in front of him. Why does it approach me? The timber of his voice rising, shrill.

It’s ready to accompany you, my son.

I’m not your son, you wicked hag.

You weren’t born of my body, but you are now my child, child. Go from here and never return, ungrateful man. She bent her body away from him, toward the flickering light of the fire and in that illumination she looked different.

He blanched. Then turned and made quickly for the door, slamming it closed behind him, panting on the stone stoop. Above him, the moon was rising full. He began to run down the cobbled path, through the opened gate, into the menacing woods, behind him he could hear the beating of leathered wings.

eeyore_grrl




		Intrigant

i want
a doctor who sees my body with intrigue
a case to be solved
not just a fat body to lose weight
i want someone who sees the whole
and wonders how it is connected
and notices that my hip bone is
         in fact
         connected to my knee bone
through tendons and tears and tears alike

i want
		apparently too much
	a sleuth to look at me with intrigue
		not just a woman with “womanly” problems
				to be
					
			ignored

why is that so much to ask

yeah
	i’m fat
yeah
	i’m woman
but my pain is real 
	and i want it solved
so my tears and tears 
	aren’t mine and mine alone

					any more

Watch on YouTube

clauderainsrm posting in

therealljidol

Hope your week has been going well.

Just a reminder the deadline is tomorrow for:

The Prompt therealljidol.dreamwidth.org/1201147.html

Anyone who wants to get into the game! therealljidol.dreamwidth.org/1200777.html

and of course, submitting your accusations on the identity of a Killer!

Last week that deadline was very dramatic. Will it be as much of a shock, or just another random week? The only way to find out is getting to tomorrow!

***

Got a free trial of HBO Max this week and was finally able to watch Superman again, this time with Cynthia and Foxy. They both loved it, but I think it may be Foxy's new favorite movie. She was watching the screen the entire time and went crazy whenever she saw Krypto! <3

***

What have you been up to?

clauderainsrm posting in

therealljidol

This isn't the original prompt. But when I googled the one selected it turns out there is an offensive regional definition to the one I was going to use, so I scrapped it and had the wheel spin again.

Which is why you ended up with

Intrigant

The deadline to link your entry back to this thread is Sunday Sept 21st at 8pm ET.

Have fun!

clauderainsrm posting in

therealljidol

The Wheel is all knowing and all powerful.

All hail the mighty wheel as it spins and determines our fates!

*spins*

Oh. TRIPLE TWIST!!!!

So not just one thing from the wheel, 3 of them!!!

This is going to be interesting.

Oh great wheel, tell us what is to come this week!!

- Survivor Vote. This week contestants will be casting a vote to remove someone from the competition!

- Immunity for the person with the fewest votes last week who was not eliminated. Which is *looks at list*

legalpad819 - congratulations. You now have an immunity idol!

and CASTING CALL!!! Not only is everyone previously eliminated eligible to be back in the competition, ANYONE who wants in is invited to sign up and join in on the fun!!! Oh this is going to be an interesting week. I will provide a thread below for people to sign back up in the competition! (this is an opt in as opposed to other "back in the game" where people are just automatically back in)

clauderainsrm posting in

therealljidol

Here we are again, this time it's not just this poll though, its the totals from ALL the polls that are coming into factoring in who stays and who is leaving.

Which has led us to a "first", or at least the first since the creation of the byes, where someone taking a bye results in elimination.

I don't think anyone will be surprised that the top number of votes, who will be receiving the antidote - the power of life or death in this game - is

xeena . Congratulations!

The two lowest over all aren't the two lowest in this particular poll. This week the cruel hand of fate lands on

marjorica and

serpentinejacaranda (who, in a twist of fate, had submitted an entry before removing it. Had it stayed up, and gotten around the same number of votes as the past few weeks, or better, would be staying. :( )

Thank you both for coming out for this utterly insane ride, and I hope that you stick around to see what is happening next, and will jump back in when the Wheel gives you a shot at redemption!

halfshellvenus

I got booted out of Idol: Wheel of Chaos last week, by the "poisoning" twist that's part of the game (and the chaos) this season. Very sad about that. :( I'd rather get voted out than be murdered sideways, and I know the other Poisonees must feel the same. :( I wrote a good story for a hard prompt, too, so I would have expected to survive another week based on it! ETA: Wait. Back IN the game again, thanks to another spin of the Chaos wheel! WUT.

That was also the same day my Hawaii sunburn started to peel, but I've still got some of those vacation feelings going. What a wonderful, relaxing time. We stayed at the Waikoloa Village Hilton, with a room overlooking the bay, the lagoon, and the (surprise!) dolphin area. Just sitting out there and watching everything was fun, and it also helped me get a sense of what was happening with the tides (which sometimes made the chairs and umbrellas by the lagoon inaccessible). I snorkled in the lagoon quite a few times, and saw lots of Moorish idols and parrot fish and yellow tangs, and even a spotted ray and a trumpet fish! Mostly, I read and people-watched and listened to the waterfall across the way. Lovely. I spent a LOT of time by the lagoon overall, and that's how I got sunburned three different times. I'm pretty sure I've managed to avoid sunburn in Hawaii entirely as an adult, up until now. Because it's always burning, never tanning...

My sister recommended that resort (she and her husband stay there often), and it was truly gorgeous. Possibly too big for HalfshellHusband, though? He struggles to walk long distances (foot pain and an arthritic back), so that was way more walking than he would have liked. If you started from our hotel, and walked the long way across the bay to the other side of the resort, I think it would be a distance of about 6-8 blocks. At least the Kona airport was small, compared to the ginormous one in Hololulu that he struggled to get through last year. It's not just the distance or the pain, either—the combination of heat and humidity in Hawaii make it hard for him to breathe. Still, he soldiered on as he always does.

With all of that reading, I have some books to recommend:
Blob (A Love Story), by Maggie Su - A feckless young women encounters a gelatinous blob in an alleyway behind a bar, and takes it home. Soon, she is attempting to mold it into the perfect boyfriend.
The Shamshine Blind, by Paz Pardo - Only the second sci-fi novel I've ever read that has the physical effects of color as its main theme (the other is Jasper Fforde's "Shades of Grey"). This book has a noir feel to it, with the main character hunting down fake pigment distributors and illegal uses of color in a dystopian world under Argentinian dominion. (!)
Secret Dead Men, by Duane Swierczynski - Del Farmer, a reporter-turned PI, tries to solve the mystery of his own murder with the help of the souls of the dead he has collected (and now houses in the Brain Hotel inside his head).
Gone, Baby, Gone and Prayers For Rain, by Dennis Lehane - This entire detective series is good, but these two books are both extremely well-written. It would be hard to say which is better, though I'll give the nod to the second one.

Soon to come: TV recs. But in the meantime, how have you all been?

Week 11 - Updates

The Wheelhouse - Week 11

Prompt - Week 11

Twist Reveal - Week 11

Results - Week 10

Drama/Trauma in the Laundry Room

Vote - Week 10

Week 10 - The Accusation

LJ Idol: Wheel of Chaos: "A New Man"

The Real LJ Idol - Wheel of Chaos - Wk 10 - Intrigant

Intrigant -- week 10 LJ Idol Wheel of Chaos

The Wheelhouse - Week 10

Prompt - Week 10

Week 10 - Twist Reveal

Results - Week 9

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