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Owlot

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So um...

1 min read

...knock knock? ๐Ÿ‘€


Just a little journal to say hello. I've still been working full-time at my day job while simultaneously leading a team of artists, musicians, animators, and devs for a game we're creating on the side and haven't had much time to do much else.


HOWEVER, I went back to my VGW 9 drafts. Should I? Should I?


I guess a better question would be: Is anyone still here who's read previous seasons? ๐Ÿ˜‚

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So I actually loved this season? Haven't done a ranking in a long time because there's really been no point. Since I have time thanks to a long break, I figured I'd give y'all a journal entry after about two years of not writing anything. lol Oops.

I need to preface this by saying that I didn't hate anyone from this cast, but I didn't love them all either. I think the story was a bit obvious because I know production would've had a very hard time producing a narrative in which a Goliath won, BUT it was still compelling to watch thanks to the excellent cast. Besides the top 6, these rankings can be interchangeable.

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20. Jeremy - Not sure why he had to go after Natalie the way he did. He was a messy player who I was happy to see leave when he did. I feel like had he lasted longer, he would've gotten annoying, but we'll always remember that his skin is gorgeous, darling.

19. Jessica - I remember liking her and wanting her to make it far, especially after she cried over Pat's medical evacuation, but then I completely forgot about her. I think the only reason she sort of stuck in my brain later on was because I was randomly like, "Wasn't there another blonde?" at some point after the merge. She was Carl's biggest story, and she left episode two.

18. Bi - I thought it was cute how she preached about pushing through and coming out on top just like in the biblical story, and then she quit. Albeit, I think her quit was warranted because her career could've potentially been ruined had she injured her leg further, but it was an interesting way to edit her. She was mostly absent, but I don't think she looked terrible for a quitter.

17. Kara - She was sweet, but besides her relationship with Dan, I don't remember her doing anything exciting. I know she has a pretty big fan base, so I know this is an unpopular opinion. I didn't totally get the hype. She did help me remember that Jessica existed though.

16. John - He was always just there for me. His blindside was pretty great, but I don't think he was big enough of a character to have been blindsided the way he was -- though I know it was a shot at Dan, which I get. He was a nice guy, though. I was excited when he said he wanted to work with Natalie, but um...that went nowhere. Disappointing.

15. Carl - He was just someone who lasted deep into the game that I knew very little about. He had a nice opening with some personal content. After that, his advantage and "godfather" plot wasn't that interesting. For someone who was tied so closely to the winner, he was left out. I loved his father/son relationship with Davie in Ponderosa, but I can't count that.

14. Alec - I was never totally on the Alec train. He pulled some exciting moves, and the endurance battle against Christian was great. I just wasn't a solid supporter of his. I preferred Natalia, but I guess I do appreciate Alec for keeping two of my favorite Davids safe?

13. Nick - When I watched the finale, I wanted Nick to win (only because I knew Angelina wouldn't). Looking back, I think I've changed my mind. He pulled off some amazing plays, but I'm just not a fan of immunity run winners. However, I didn't mind his "sob story", though I know people give him and everyone else who've done it a hard time. It's why he played, and it's the jury who ultimately rewarded him the million.

12. Mike - I wish drunk Mike was around all season because that was the funniest dose of sass I'd seen. He did have some great one-liners, but an actor would. I don't know. I guess after looking back, I think he should've won over Nick, but he's already rich, and he didn't really break out until Christian's boot. I don't know.

11. Lyrsa - She was okay. She was kind of fiery. I remember wanting Mike to go over her or Angelina, but the longer the season went on, the less I remembered her. However, while I'm being forced to think about her, I remember her being pretty fun with an "oh, no they didn't" attitude.

10. Natalia - I actually didn't know who she was until episode 2. Whoops. She picked up steam quickly, though, and her boot is one of the more memorable for calling out Alec's smug ass. I didn't miss her as the season went on, though, and I think that says more about the cast as a whole than just her.

09. Pat - I felt so bad for him. I don't know what others thought of him, but I hated to see him go out the way he did. If he and Kourtney Moon returned for another season so that they can actually experience Survivor, I would be so down for it. I think he was a large personality and had a very dramatic single-episode arc. I remembered him throughout the season, and someone who makes that big of an impact after being a first one to go needs to be ranked high.

08. Alison - I didn't think much of her early on, but as the season progressed, I found myself rooting for her? She survived so many votes, and I liked her hand signals to Alec on the jury. The only thing that was frustrating was that she was always talking about making big moves, but never really followed through -- much like Laurel before her. I didn't like that. It's not her fault for considering her options, but that edit of her got a bit stale.

07. Christian - I think there are a handful in the running for production's pet, but I think Christian is the leading man. I'm SO glad he didn't win because that would've been more dissatisfying than anything. I can appreciate Christian more because he didn't win. I don't think he led much of anything and was left in the dark for a lot of the decisions. His relationship with Gabby was endearing, and it was interesting to watch when they ultimately turned on each other. He wasn't my favorite, but he also wasn't forced like Spencer. I think Christian's true personality was conveyed on-screen, and I can't fault him for being himself.

06. Elizabeth - I'm not sure if this is an unpopular opinion or not, but I loved Elizabeth? I thought she was one of the most unique characters on the show. She was a bit unstable, but endearingly so. I don't recall anyone, especially in modern seasons, quite like her. Even though Angelina was amazing (we'll get to her later), I still appreciated Elizabeth for calling her out and stirring up such a mess at the tribal council where she was booted. I don't know. I thought she was a pleasant surprise because I thought nothing of her before the season started.

05. Dan - This is a weird one. I loved to hate Dan. I like watching players like this because I know they won't win, and Dan was never the primary reason why my faves were eliminated. He created some chaos, and he was called out every single time. His cockiness that caused his team to lose that one reward was hilarious. Him running off to fuss at people for mentioning his name was hilarious. His idol being nullified was HILARIOUS! What a mess! I thoroughly enjoyed rooting against him.

04. Gabby - As a fellow technical writer, of course I was rooting for Gabby from episode 1 and felt she had a great shot at winning. Her relationship with Christian was sweet, but what puts her miles above Christian is because she went after him first. It was funny how they kind of portrayed Christian and Gabby sort of as a couple even though Christian had a girlfriend, and I think it's funny that what pushed Gabby to take Christian out was SEEING his girlfriend. I think she had a crush on him and was over it once she saw Emily.

03. Davie - What a sweetheart. I was rooting for him so hard even though the edit ignored him for a number of episodes. I think it speaks volumes about you as a person when you can go into a cutthroat situation and play it out with a positive attitude from beginning to end. You can really tell that he enjoyed his experience and soaked in every opportunity he could. Just like his mama said, he was VERY lovable and was one of my favorites, both with his compelling personality and his compelling gameplay (and his compelling drunkenness).

02. Natalie - I hate that she hated how she was portrayed because I thought she was amazing. I think she pulled the negativity out of her edit and how others perceived her, but she didn't pull out the fact that she was a powerful person who just happened to let everyone know it. Her own elimination and the one she drove (Jeremy's) were two of the most memorable this season. She had a big personality, GREAT for television. I'd love to see her return, but I don't think production likes that she said she didn't like her edit. :( Amazing pre-merge boot. Wish she would've lasted longer, but since she didn't... Natalie, can I have your jacket? Natalie...? Natalie........?

01. Angelina - This was the season of Angelina. For someone to have received as much screentime as she did and not get boring is an amazing feat. From jacketgate to telling Elizabeth that she was going home to the rice negotiation to climbing "50 ft" for a HII, Angelina was pure gold. She has to return. She doesn't really need anymore explanation as to why she's number one, but I'm sure she'd happily tell you herself why she's so amazing anyway.
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VGW Season 9...

1 min read
The story's coming along slowly but surely. Haven't written any actual episodes yet. Still just planning, but I will tell you the cast will be BIGGER this time around (unless I totally decide to change everything =P).
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www.surveymonkey.com/r/3CLNX37

There's the link to the poll! I almost forgot about it. There are only five options this time instead of 10.

Don't forget to read my cast opinions, and if you want to rank the cast yourself along with a write-up, feel free to do so! I enjoy reading those. :D
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Instead of ranking my cast from worst to first, I'm just going to talk about each one and how I felt about them as I considered where their stories should go. The theme this time was unintentionally about proving others wrong, and the winner this time around did that and then some.

I'm surprised at how well this season was taken. I figured with the more serious plots and less comic relief, people wouldn't enjoy Season 8 as much, especially after Season 7 was seemingly such a hit. Every single character, from Cyrus to Sarah in order of final placement, shifted around so many times.

I'm pretty sure everyone that's been reading this season has already read the finale, but spoiler alert for those who haven't.

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Lao - To start, I didn't hate writing for anyone. Every single character had a purpose like last season, including Lao. Lao was always going to be first boot because I just couldn't think of a story that could push him further. I did feel the story of acceptance was a little rushed, but somebody had to go first, and I knew I didn't have anything for Lao beyond that point. He had to go.

Nana - Really, the only comic relief in the whole season, Nana's time was cut short. I'm not sure how it would've worked out had she lasted longer. Either she'd lighten the season up a bit, or her antics would clash with the others. Either way, she was never going to make it far. I don't even think I had her set for any placement higher than 15th at any point.

Carl - Trying to make someone who attacked another contestant sympathetic was tough. He was one of the first clues to a Kendl win because he easily could've been portrayed as stupid and wrong for hitting Jecht, but Carl needed to be as positive and endearing as I could possibly make him while also making him a typical GTA cast member to help drive Kendl's motivation. He was an early boot, but he got the ball rolling. I loved writing for him and softening him up for his sister.

Tidus - For a pivotal boot, Tidus was tough to write for. He ended up looking better to people than I expected because I wanted to get the message across that he was wimpy. Of all the people that proved people wrong, I wanted Tidus to be one that didn't. What made him tough to write for was the fact that I wanted him to look like a wuss without making the other "kids", especially Kendl, look bad around the time of his boot. I was happy to let him go. Any further, and he would've gone invisible.

Sam - Probably a surprise positive/crybaby. If Sam was on any other season, he wouldn't have gotten the edit he got. Sarah's really the only thing in the whole world, I think, that can soften him up. I didn't know how I wanted him to go. I tossed around the idea of him facing Sarah and losing on purpose (leaving in 13th place), but I think there was more of an impact with him quitting so that she could stay. There was even ONE draft that had him move further instead of Sarah where he and Kendl shared the same motivation and moved forward as an odd duo. It was a good idea, but it turned out too aggressive.

Reese - For the record, neither Reese nor Cyrus are faves of mine in the Animal Crossing universe, but unlike Cyrus, I don't loathe Reese. She's part of the reason why I've earned so many bells after all. In VGW, I wanted her to be someone to root for but not long-term. I juggled with whether or not to let her beat Cyrus, but every time, I settled on her losing. I still wanted to empower her, so I chose to let HER make the call on what she wanted to do. She would've been happy without Cyrus whether she stayed or she left in that moment, so it was a good way to make her strong without needing to beat him. She won in another way by finally standing up to him.

Cyrus - Cyrus is my least favorite Animal Crossing NPC. If you couldn't tell by how I portrayed him, you know now. I don't like how possessive he is of Reese, and it irritated me to have to wait for his lazy ass to make my furniture pretty in the game. Unlike Sable, he doesn't have any endearing commentary either. He just sleeps, so yeah, I hate him. Of course I wanted his sleeping to be part of his character as well as part of his ultimate downfall. I didn't know how far I wanted to take him. He made the jury in most drafts simply because the others wanted to respect Reese's wishes to not see him again for awhile, but I ultimately settled on Newton making the jury instead since he had a better reason for wanting to crown a winner.

Ribeena - From a least favorite to a favorite. I've always wanted to include both Ribeena and Henry into a VGW season, and with the family twist, this was the best excuse to bring them both. I wanted people to expect her to be a snob who didn't really want to be there (e.g. Karin). She was yet another character that fit the "prove people wrong" theme and was a great support to Reese during her lowest low. I was originally going to let Kendl be Reese's biggest defender, but Kendl was already doing too much. Plus, what better support could there be for a wife than another wife? Ribeena ultimately encouraged Reese to let go, and that was more or less where Ribeena's story ended. I would've loved to have sent her further, but she wouldn't have had as much of an impact later.

Newton - His story was practically nonexistent. He was just a blind whipping boy who thought he was doing the right thing with the right group just to find out none of them appreciated him. I was happy to finally develop his story with the Jin and Kendl interaction just to wrap it up soon after. I think that's because I like invisible characters who finally show up and give their "ah-ha" moments. Newton admittedly wasn't as rootable as Purna, as endearing as Sigourney, or as mysterious as Dagran, but I had fun with him during his short bursts nonetheless.

Nina - I thought about turning Nina into a huge flirt with Jecht, but I didn't want to go overboard with her personality. Instead, I just made her hateful all around. She was the sneaky character that thought she could get away with whatever she wanted. Dina was originally taking the blame for Nina's misbehavior, but the tides slowly but surely shifted against the one who really stirred the pot. There was a long time where she and Dina made the final four holding true to the four girls' day one promise. There was even a time where she and Dina alternated as the runner-up. While I'm sure people would've LOVED for Nina to get blasted by a jury, it just didn't fit the story and would've made Kendl an even more obvious winner.

Dina - Another "proving people wrong" story, Dina's has been building up since Season 1. She was probably the character I had the most fun writing for even though, at times, I felt as though I was beating a dead horse with her and Nina. Dina would always consider other options but would almost always stick with her sister, and I didn't know if that would be frustrating to viewers or not. Luckily, she turned out to be frustrating in a good way because I think people did want to root for her, but part of that was rooting for her to detach herself from her sister, which she never did. Dina's biggest plot device was about misplaced blame. Once Nina was rightfully taking all of the blame for stirring the pot, Dina's story was finished. In fact, her jury question was geared towards that as well, and once Kendl said she didn't blame Dina for anything, Kendl got her vote. There was a time where she was the runner-up, but based on her runner-up story, Dina would've been the more logical and satisfying as the winner since her runner-up story included FINALLY voting Nina out. That story probably sounds great, but I wanted Kendl to win.

Henry - Ribeena had more of a story than Henry. Henry was always up for the adventure and was a good right-hand man for his wife. Once she was gone, I didn't know what to do with him. He just turned into a generic character, although he did stir up quite a bit as a last hurrah. Luckily, only lasting two episodes after his wife seemed to save him from falling too far. He was always going to last longer than Ribeena. I played with the idea of him making the final three for a second, but the thought lasted less than five minutes. I wanted his boot to be up in the air, and I wasn't sure how I was going to go about it until I finally came up with the "negative Jin" story. Then voila. Henry had another short-lived purpose.

Jecht - When it came to Tidus, I didn't know how to have Jecht respond. Unlike others that ran out of material after their loved ones were taken out, Jecht was one that had options. He had a rivaling alliance, he was Cyrus's only buddy, he had Nina constantly on his case, he went rogue, he teamed up with his rivals, etc. He was multifaceted, and I had A LOT of fun with him. I felt he got more interesting after Cyrus was booted because that started the more strategic, less offensive "rogue" phase. After Tidus said he hated his father, I didn't know whether or not to let it affect Jecht or let it slide. Jecht mentioned it once but said in his boot episode that he did love his son in an unconventional way. While it wasn't his main plot device (he had plenty), it was still important enough for me to address in passing. In most drafts, Jecht was sixth place, but I enjoyed writing for him so much, I wanted to place him higher. One of the better villains in the series, in my opinion.

Jin - Hoo boy. I had a tough time with Jin. I was struggling to come up with a story for him outside of being the twins' replacement, and after "the three" comments started, I knew I wanted him, Sarah, and Kendl to be the FINAL three. I just didn't know how to get Jin there. Admittedly, his turn into a villain was inspired by comments by TinyHammer where he asked about Jin's purpose. Jin had no direction for end-game. He was a player that I just couldn't find a good way to get rid of, so once I started seeing those comments, I had an ah-ha moment and wrote it in. I felt it improved the story as a whole and gave the four remaining characters more to work with, ESPECIALLY after Jin's talk with Kendl about Mortal Kombat characters always becoming villains. It just fit, so thanks to TinyHammer for that last minute bit of inspiration because Jin was honestly going nowhere.

Sarah - Daddy's girl. Sarah was one of the primary narrators for the majority of the season. If something was happening, she was going to be the one to let you know about it. I wanted her to have enough visibility and enough importance to cast doubt on a Kendl win. I finally settled on her being the runner-up after Nina would make a Kendl win too obvious and Dina would be more logically suited as a winner. All three ladies were runners-up in multiple drafts and were really the only choices I had except for one that involved Cyrus. Could you imagine? In spite of Sam falling on the sword for Sarah, she played a great social game that earned her votes from Henry and Ribeena. She also earned a bitter vote from Nina which I was hoping would stir things up a bit at the finale since it all relied on Jin who, thanks to his villain arc, wanted desperately to sit next to Sarah to stick it to Nina. I wanted people to think he could sway either way, but Kendl was the better player. She deserved it far more.

Kendl - Here's our winner! She already had enough motivation to win and was proving people wrong left and right (except for bitter Nina). Carl's expulsion was the first motivator. I wanted that to trigger something in Kendl that made her want to set herself apart from all past GTA contestants. Maude and Tommy were awful, and with Carl lashing out like he did, that was yet another for the record. That was enough motivation for her to want to prove people wrong and take the win, so when I mentioned her race, I was iffy. I was worried that people would focus way too much on that and overlook everything she did throughout the season. Her interactions with Jecht and Nina pushed the race plot forward, though, and I wanted those two in particular to want to be wrong about Kendl. Jecht saw the error of his assumptions. Nina, sadly, did not, and Nina got the worse edit of the two! With a season that already put a spotlight on domestic abuse and homophobia, this season was starting to become a bit political. I was worried about introducing racism into that mix, but I bit the bullet and did it. The victims of those actions came out on top in every case, and I hope that Kendl came across as genuine and real enough to deliver her message in particular.
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