Are You The One?

Episode 17 - The Explanation.

A little about me:

Hi there! I'm Toby (toe-bee), as of writing this i'm 19 years old. I'm a third year student in University, majoring in Electrical Engineering.

I decided to write this fic because i really enjoyed the show & wanted to do a fun & jokey piece just to fall into the pattern of writing in order to come out with better fics in the future. I also wanted to do something different where you guys help me with how the story plays on so you feel like you're writing the story with me.

I really hope you enjoyed the fic, i love you all so much 💙  Now for the Q&A!

1 - What made you go with these couples?

- Like in the tv show, the contestants go through an intense interviewing process before filming and i wanted to stay true to the show. I carefully studied each of the girls' personalities (as much for it to be borderline creepy) and saw which ones have the most potential to be compatible. Then i consulted my group of friends who gave me the green light for these PM's.

You will notice that each couple balances out. Also, in the show at the end, when you find out the PM's, you don't always agree with some of the pairings. Sometimes you even think to yourself "how the fuck did they think they'd be good together?" So putting in a few bad seeds was always a goal because i needed to portray the show correctly.

2 - Why did you not make preath & krashlyn a match?

- This was the most asked question ( i don't blame you. ) When i started thinking about making this fic, my main priority was to not make it easy for you guys to figure it out, it would've been so boring if you figured it out from the get go. Let me convince you - if i made the decision to go with the obvious and most popular ships we'd have : preath, krashlyn and kellex and soran PM's that means you only have 4 other PM's to figure out, where's the fun in that?

Also, i didn't want this fic to get influenced by real life. After all, this is a fictional story where they are normal people on a reality show and their perfect matches are judged by other people and it has nothing to do with real life connections. It just seemed fitting to not go with the obvious ships.

3 - Why was tobin a massive jerk?

I don't have an excuse for Tobin 😂 If you're familiar with the show, every season there is a villain. At first i made a whole spider diagram for each person and who i wanted them to date at one point of the show. Tobin had the most links (Alex, Christen, Lindsey, Abby & kelley [PM]). What's AYTO without drama?

I think at first she was an asshole, then she was actually playing the game, then she grew up and realized her wrongs. Moral point of the story is to cherish someone if they put in the effort to be with you or you'll regret it.

4 - Has anyone guessed all the matches correctly?

Yes! toughchoices on Ao3 got it right at Episode 13! There have been about 3 other people to guess them right as well!

5 - Did you ever want to change a perfect match?

Yes & no. Personally, i hated Alex & Ali being a perfect match 😂 That was my WORST. but i really tried to understand it's the potential & not real life. They're my bad seed, who's yours?

Funny story:

The first draft i wrote, the perfect matches were:

Ashlyn and Mal
Tierna and Kelley
Abby and Tobin

i'm so glad i came to my senses & switched the three around, now that i think about it. Mal and Ashlyn i would've puked while writing that.

6 - Was it weird to write about people you don't ship?

This is also yes & no. For me, just because they're a perfect match does not mean it has to be romantic. I had to look at the bigger picture sometimes but talex was a pain in the ass to write, not gonna lie.

7 - When's the reunion?

I want to release it on the 2nd of October, however, i do have a small surgical procedure i have to do on that day. Hopefully, i will get it ready beforehand.

8 - Who's hosting the reunion?

You know her, You love her.

ITS KATIE NOLAN!

I did want a player to host it first, but opted against it because if you follow me on twitter you'll know i'm a Katie Nolan mega fan 😂 Also, since her job is kind of similar, you can definitely envision her hosting.

9 - Were the truth booths rigged?

This is a question i added myself.

The answer is NO!

Ashlyn + Abby : Week 1
Julie + Crystal : Week 4
Alyssa + Christen : Week 6
Tierna + Mal : Week 7

technically you guys could've gotten 4 perfect matches.

10 - Do all the perfect matches have to end up together?

Definitely not, just because they're PM's does NOT mean they'll be dating just because they are. There is still hope for your ships.

11 - Which perfect matches ended up as just friends or still in a relationship?

Unfortunately, you have to wait for the reunion to find out!

12 - What can we expect from the reunion?

- All the crazy shit that happened in the after party.
- It is set 4 months after winning so you will find out who's dating who
- Any secret hookups?
- Drama? Love triangle?
- Deep conversations about things that happened in the villa
- The fivesome discussion

All of these topics & more will be discussed - all i can say is: GET EXCITED.

13 - How come christen ended up with Alyssa?

I've gotten a lot of schtick for this pairing, which i honestly don't understand! They have such an underrated friendship in real life, i mean do you remember those chicago red stars days? Also, their personalities are so mellow & chill, i think they'd work great together on paper.

14 - What's next for you?

This is exclusive content, I have two very exciting projects coming up.

A - I will be making a woso journal where me & a few of my friends will write articles about woso. It should be out mid October! (If you're interestedly joining this project, contact me!)

e.g: NWSL/FAWSL match reviews, players to watch out for, interviews & more!

B - I will be releasing a new fic hopefully mid or end of october! It's a kellex fic, it's honestly a bit on the dark side so here is a paragraph to get you excited! :

"Hiraeth. It's welsh. It means the feeling of being homesick for a home that you can't return to, or that never was. In my case, the home i'm referring to is a person. And her name is Kelley O'hara."

Again thank you all for making this possible! stay tuned for the reunion!

Also, go on my insta story & send in questions you want answers to in the reunion!