here comes the sun

aliye balik. thirty. beach bum.

[aliyebalik]

CONNECTIONS PAGE | MUSE POSTS

&& the basics

full name: aliye nisreem balik

age: thirty-two

gender: cisfemale

birth date: december 8th, 1993

hometown: istanbul, turkey

occupation: lifeguard/surf instructor

sexuality: pansexual

neighborhood: cresthill meadows

&& the breakdown

Aliye was born in Istanbul, Turkey and was raised there for the first seven years of her life. Her dad worked on boats as a deckhand so he was away a lot, leaving her to be raised mostly by her mother.

Her dad had the opportunity to captain his own ship and was moved out to the United States to Kismet Harbor, bringing Aliye and her mother with him.

It took some time to settle into the new country, but Aliye had always been extremely social and charismatic, so she integrated pretty quickly into things as she learned the culture and language.

Got certified and started working as a lifeguard during high school and has been doing that ever since. Aliye never really took to school or anything else, so college was never in the cards for her. Instead, once she graduated high school she started her own company teaching surf lessons out on the coastline.

She's a total waterbug, so you can find her on the beach, out surfing, out on her boat, anywhere near the water basically all the time.

At twenty-three she applied and competed on the show Survivor on a whim, which she ended up winning. She's used that money to buy a small plot of land on the beach that she's slowly working on building her own little beach bungalow home on.

She's since competed on other competitive reality shows, mainly the MTV Challenge. She has a hard time saying no whenever the call comes for her to go back, since she has a huge love for adventure and competition.

Aliye doesn't really put herself out there otherwise when she's at home, preferring the quiet, private life that she lives on the beach doing her own thing. You won't really ever see her on social media or anything like that.

She's very much a you have to go find her to get ahold of her kind of person and checks her phone once a day at best.

Now that she's in her 30s, her parents are trying to get her to find some direction with her life and settle down more. She's toyed with the idea of opening her own surf shack or bait shop in town, but that feels like too much commitment for her.

&& reality tv timeline

2017 - Survivor Season 36

2019 - Survivor Season 40

2021 - The Challenge Season 37

2023 - The Challenge Season 39

2024 - The Challenge Season 40

2025 - The Challenge Season 41

[aliyebalik]

closed starter for @sebastianxthomas at the wonderworld market

Cooking wasn't really Aliye's forte, but with a date coming up that evening that she'd promised to make dinner for, she was putting in all the effort possible to make sure she didn't look completely stupid. She was in the deli aisle looking at the dozens of cheese options to make a charcuterie board with, mind melting at home many choice there were. It was just her luck that she spotted a familiar face walking down the aisle and a hand motioned quickly at Sebastian to come over. "Seb! Sebastian! C'mere, need your advice," she chirped out, holding up two different blocks of cheese. "Cooking for a date later tonight. Which one of these is a fuck me cheese? Or is a charcuterie board so overdone?"

[lancexbrowne]

"Really? Am surprise because you beautiful deserve a lot of flattery," he replied with a wink and smile on his face as he looked at her. Lance honestly believed that and was almost surprise. He did think that Aliye was beautiful and did deserved all the flattery and he thought she would get more of it. "You are now going to make me blush," he chuckled a bright smile on his face. "Thank you, that's good to have some people who agree with me about rules," he joked.

"I recommend it and you should if you have the chance. Museum are one of my weakness and also beaches and national park," he spoke. Lance loved museum and would go any chance he got and also he loved nature too. "Same here, I just finished some errands and free from the rest of the day and since we are both free, do you want to be my partner in crime?" @aliyebalik

[aliyebalik]

"Ah, well, it is still early in the day. Plenty of time left to find people to compliment me more," she pointed out with a bright laugh. Surely if she wanted to go seek out people to sweet talk her all day she could, but Aliye wasn't necessarily someone that felt the need to seek that validation out. Reaching up with a laugh, she pat a hand against Lance's cheek. "It's a good look on you," she teased, turning the tables to send the compliments his way instead.

When she traveled herself, Aliye was open to seeing and doing just about anything. No trip ever looked the same for her and the more she could immerse herself in the world, the happier she was. "No, I love that. I don't know if I have a favorite thing to see when I travel, I kind of just go with the vibe of the city I'm in." It was always a new adventure when she was on a trip and that was what she loved the most about being able to do what she did. "Totally, though. I don't have anywhere specific to be, so I'm down to hang. What do you want to go do?"

@lancexbrowne

[aliyebalik]

closed starter for @corinnebeaumont at access athletics

After a bit of time off to recover after her last cycle of filming, Aliye was right back to her regular routine of working out. Some days it was longer runs and outdoor workouts, but that morning was her day for spin class. As the class was ending, thin sheen of sweat glistening on her skin, Aliye sidled up over towards Corinne, leaning against her cycle as she waited for the other woman to grab her things. "What's up with you, Rin? You seemed in your head more than usual today," she pointed out, broaching the question with a lifted brow. "C'mon, we're going on a post-cycle smoothie date. Not taking no for an answer."

[aliyebalik]

closed starter for @pinarxosman at wingman's pub

Life always had a way of staying busy for Aliye, even in the off season. She wasn't filming, none of her shows were currently on air, but somehow she was still slammed with things to be done and things going on. When she'd finally gotten the free time to set a night out with her cousin, she'd jumped on the opportunity to catch back up. They had their drinks in hand and Aliye was rounding the pool table to line up her first shot of the night. "So, spill everything. How were all your dates at the speed dating thing? Meet anyone worth your time? Should I be finding a maid of honor dress? I promise not to fully outshine you," she teased, eyes glancing up at her cousin for just a moment before she took her shot with the pool cue to set up the game.

[alexandraxrivers]

─── · 。ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

"Honestly that’s the appeal of most small towns I think. Is everyone knows everyone’s business and someone is always up to bullshit.” Alex said with a laugh. At least that’s what she had always heard about small towns, even though she’d never actually lived in one. “Yep everyday like clockwork. He comes in asks me out, then I say no and he has a back up date ready to go. I mean he’s not actually serious about me which is why I’ve never said yes.” That was the thing about her and Knox everything was just in good fun and it was never serious. That was the thing about most men though is they never actually saw the real Alex as a real option. She was fine for a quick fling or a hook up, or when she was playing someone else. Tucking her hair behind her ear as she just shrugged at the nothingness of her words. “That is the dream. Hell they don’t even need to be rich at this point. I would take rich or poor. Just give me a couple where I get to be cute and am adopted as their third. That way I get laid when I want and don’t have to put much into a relationship. although the rich part would be nice. I wouldn’t mind laying out on a beach somewhere while two gorgeous humans fawned over me.” Giving a laugh at Aliye’s words, she nodded before holding out her hand. “I promise I will never leave you hanging. If I meet someone you get full access to all of their friends. Or hey you could be our third, not like we haven’t had sex before. What’s a few more times.” @aliyebalik

[aliyebalik]

"There's some truth to that. It's kind of like living in the Challenge house just on a bigger scale. The messy drama is hard to pass up," she chuckled. She'd never quite made the connection of living in a small town where everyone knew everything to the dynamics she dealt with when filming, but it wasn't entirely dissimilar. Another light round of laughter left her lips as Alex talked about the guy in her life that asked her out regularly. "Keep him waiting, I love it. At least its entertaining," she mused, figuring that it had to be at least somewhat reaffirming to have someone ask you out on a date that regularly. It didn't have to be a yes to be a good time. "Yeah? Is that really what you want?" she asked, head cocked to the side as she posed the question. As much as she joked about it and would certainly be game for that type of situation if it came her way, she knew it wasn't her forever solution in her love life. For now she was still happy to just see where life took her, though. A sly smirk curled across her lips as she leaned over on the table, batting her eyelashes dramatically in Alex's direction. "Hey, you're welcome in my bed any time, babe. Door's always open."

@alexandraxrivers

[hazalxalpman]

starter for @aliyebalik

location: kismet harbor park

Hazal was not typically the adventurous type. She was creative, artistic and preferred to keep both feet on the ground. The most athletic thing she did was partake in surfing. Which, her and Aliye had both done earlier that morning on their day off. However, as they were at the park, eating their lunch, Hazal had heard the faint meow of a cat. In a tree. Now that she was in the tree, holding the cat, she stared down at Aliye. "So I think I really overestimated how tall this tree is." She steadied herself on the branch she was standing on, carefully peering down. "I really should have let you be the one to climb the tree." Considering all Aliye's work in Survivor. "But I clearly was fooled by the sad meows."

[aliyebalik]

If there was one thing Aliye would always stand by it was the fact that she would always support her friends. When Hazal said she wanted to be the one to scale up the tree to get the cat, Aliye had been perfectly happy to support her and was down on the ground watching and helping as best as she could. Craning her neck to look up in the tree, she was doing her best to bite back laughter as Hazal realized just how high up she was. "Hazal, love, I would have done it, but you seemed so confident," she chuckled before moving over to start climbing up the tree herself. It was the exact type of thing that was in her wheelhouse from all the weird things she trained for with the shows she'd been on and she scaled up rather quickly to get near Hazal. "Here, I can take the cat for now, you climb down safely with both hands, yeah?" she offered, holding onto the branch she was sitting on with her legs as she held both hands out to take the cat.

@hazalxalpman

[alexandraxrivers]

Where: The Coffee Carousel

Who: @aliyebalik

While this town hadn't been exactly hopping with options Alex had made due here and there. Mostly just having fun with whoever was down and didn't seem like too much trouble or that they would het attached; which is exactly with Aliye came in. It had been just a quick and easy no strings hook up. Only the chemistry hadn't exactly been there between the two women, they were better off by far as friends. "I swear there's so much always happening in this town and I feel like I can never keep up." She had constantly been overhearing gossip, while she enjoyed it, there was still so many people she was learning to put faces too. "You know I get asked out every Saturday and still haven't said yes." She commented with a laugh. "I'm honestly trying to become a third in someone elses relationship. It feels like far less work that actually putting in time and effort to relationship that will probably end anyways." Knowing her it always ended, usually rather horribly.

[aliyebalik]

"Honestly, though, for a relatively small town, there's always someone up to some bullshit," she agreed with a warm laugh as she sipped at her coffee. It made life in Kismet interesting, at least, to always have some gossip being floated about whenever she was out on the town. "Girl, what? Every Saturday? Why haven't you said yes?" Her brow lifted, shifting forward a bit with an interested tilt to her head. Gossip in general was fun, but gossip that pertained to a friend was even higher on Aliye's list of favorite things. A soft, breathy laugh left her lips, understanding Alex's sentiment completely. It was, perhaps, why they had been better off as friends, the two of them all too similar in a lot of ways. "The dream, honestly. I'm still waiting for a rich couple to adopt me as their third so I can just get swept away on fancy vacations and get gifts." As much as she loved her job, she would love a life of luxury just as much. "If you ever find someone, make sure they have friends you can hook me up with."

@alexandraxrivers

[daehyunxkwon]

Dae-Hyun happened to be browsing through a new collection of polo shirts. Though the weather in this town hadn't been as optimal as he'd liked, it had been years since he'd upgraded his closet, aside from his work suits, and the wear and tear was slowly beginning to show. Luck would have it that Aliye walked in at that moment, figuring that if someone knew what he should go for, it was her. Yet something seemed off, her fast pace not one that was unusual but it was rigid, rushed rather than the usual excited pace. "Hey." He managed to get out before she slung her arms around him in a hug, one which he returned albeit it hesitantly, more so because he was confused about what was going on. That's when she started talking, the note of her voice not one he was a fan of. His eyes trailed behind her, looking for the man of her description when he saw the man walking passed the entrance, their eyes meeting, indicating that the man was keeping tabs on her. "Uhuh." He hummed, then moved back from the hug, his hands on her arms with his lips spread into a smile, pretending as if he wasn't aware of what was going on, in case she did want him to approach the man. "Do you need me to talk to him or walk you the rest of the way?" @aliyebalik

[aliyebalik]

The confirmation from Dae-Hyun that the strange man was, in fact, following into the store brought a feeling of ice up her back, the concern now twisting in her chest. Her eyes closed for a moment, her brain flickering through options of what the best course of action was. "No - no, it could still be nothing," she waved off, not wanting the man to step in just yet and put himself into some potential harm's way. She hoped that just the presence of someone else would be enough to push any ill will from the man out of the picture. "He asked me to sign something earlier, I didn't think much of it. It happens like very rarely, but it happens. I've seen him a few times since, though, and I've just been walking around town running errands." She explained quickly, following suit with Dae-Hyun to try and act casual still. She kept one arm linked with his, turning towards the racks of clothing to pull a shirt off and hold it up. "This one, by the way. You'd look really good in it. Bonus points if you go a size smaller so you look jacked as hell."

@daehyunxkwon

[pinarxosman]

"Other people are not going to know what to do with themselves with both of us there." Pinar returned the sentiment with a grin curling up on her lips. "I'm thinking I'm going to go based on vibes. Honestly, a single opener is not going to work for everyone. If it did, I'd be pretty damn disappointed." Pinar admitted to Aliye. "Like that actually would be boring as fuck. I'm going to go based on vibes but you know me, I have to mix in some chaos as well." @aliyebalik

[aliyebalik]

"Damn right. We're going to run the tables, they won't be able to handle it," she grinned, knowing it was very possible to be the case if they were both let loose on a room full of hot singles. Her head nodded along in agreement, on the same page with her cousin as was often the case. "Vibes all day, baby. It'll be fun. Even if nothing comes of it, we'll meet some new people, have some good stories to tell. Plan for drinks out the day after to download on it?"

@pinarxosman

[scottxmercer]

"Oh no, they got to you too, huh?" Scott let out a singular laugh, fingers interlacing together as he rested them on the table in between them. His dates had been flukes and this had been the last one, thankfully, though he was still going to take it seriously rather than throwing his hat in. "Lets just say that the last one was ...... Enthusiastic but not my vibe at all." flirting intensely right off the bat only deterred him and ironically that date had felt like it took the longest. The moment the bell sounded he was more than relieved. "I'm not one to sign a marriage licence that easily, though." He added, not wanting to set the other on the wrong foot. "So, not quite in hell. Meaning they were either selfish pricks or disgustingly flirtatious with you too?" @aliyebalik

[aliyebalik]

"They got me bad," she agreed with a bright laughter, hands gently tossed into the air. It was all in good fun and even with the couple of bad dates she'd had she was still having a good time, an energy that came across clearly. "Oh, boy, yeah. Some of the people that have come through were...a lot. Like, I'm a lot, don't get me wrong, but I can confidently say that I'm not borderline desperate." Not something she could say the same about with some of the other dates she'd met that evening. "You know, a selfish prick I can still fuck with. But, I had one guy trauma dump on me immediately, which was...an experience I'd rather not repeat. No offense to your trauma, but please keep it to yourself on a first date," she explained with a bemused snort.

@scottxmercer

[lancexbrowne]

"Glad you want me to keep going because, I had no intention of stopping beautiful and plus someone as talented and cool as you deserve all the compliments," he smiled as he looked at her. His eyes bright and his words warm. He loved seeing that sly smile on her lips. Lance did enjoy complimenting people and he did think though that Aliye was indeed beautiful and cool. "Very good point, I wish I have an answer to that. Sometimes rules are meant to be broken I guess?" he added not sure shrugging his shoulders.

"I would say The Galleria degli Uffizi in Florence was my favorite. It was so beautiful and amazing. I keep thinking and dreaming of it. I seriously need to go back again," he answered with a smile. Lance could have spent the whole day there and he wished he did but he did spend a good amount. "Sounds perfect. What are you up to, have any plans?" @aliyebalik

[aliyebalik]

"Truly the most flattery I've gotten all day and I do love it," she grinned back, her eyes lit up with warmth. Aliye didn't need the ego boost, but she would always say yes to it. It was, she supposed, not a surprise at all given that she had spent so much of her life now putting herself out there on television. "And coming from a guy as brilliant and kind as you, it always means more, so for real, thank you." Her head quirked to the side then, another soft laugh leaving her lips. "Truer words have never been spoken. Some rules are most definitely meant to be broken. That's the fun of life." Not that Aliye was necessarily a troublemaker, but she did like to stretch the rules where she could to make life more exciting.

As was usually the case any time she got travel recommendations, she jotted down the name in her phone to look up later. "Hell yeah, I'll have to add it on my list, see if whenever I get out that way. I've never been to that museum before and I do love a new place to go," she mused. It had been a fair bit of time since she'd been to Italy and she was always looking for a new reason to go out and travel. "Me, though, no. Just hanging out today. I'm off work, so I'm taking advantage of the free time. What about you?"

@lancexbrowne

[diegoocastro]

Diego didn't know what he was doing at this speed dating event but he was going to do the best of it. After being pushed to sign up for it by his co-workers, he moved to sit down at another table. "I know this speed dating, but this is a bit wild to me," he chuckled, not enough time for him to barely catch a name, it seemed like. "But my name is Diego, I am a high school teacher, I love snowboarding and... art," he chuckled. @aliyebalik

[aliyebalik]

The quick hits of conversation suited Aliye and she was happy to bounce between tables and people, meeting a lot of new faces and catching back up with some familiar ones. As Diego came over to her table and took a seat, she leaned in forward, letting him get his introduction out. "It's quick, I love it. Meeting people is fun," she hummed back with a grin, giving an appreciative nod as he talked about himself. "Hell yeah, Diego. I'm Aliye. Nice to meet you. I'm a lifeguard at the beaches here and I teach a lot of surf lessons. Snowboarding is kickass, I'm big into a lot of extreme sports. You said this is wild, but what's the wildest thing you've ever done?"

@diegoocastro

[hasadxaslan]

starter for @aliyebalik

location: cedar grill and lounge

Hasad's eyes shifted to the table number that he was supposed to go to. He adjusted the collar on his shirt as he made his way over there. As he did, he spotted someone all too familiar, his lips curling into a smile amusement. "This has to be statistically impossible." Hasad mused, moving to sit down from Aliye. Their friendship had formed, starting after a date they found themselves on quite some time ago now. "Out of everyone that signed up and I've been paired up with someone that I've already taken out on a date. I guess they don't call this place Kismet for no reason." Hasad sat down across from her, his smile softening as he settled in for their quick encounter.

[aliyebalik]

The dates had been flying by and Aliye was taking a quick breather for herself at the table as the next round of people started to move about. When a familiar voice spoke, her eyes flashed up, a bemused smile creeping across her lips. "Did you go switch the numbers around just so you could come see me again?" she teased, leaning in a bit across the table as Hasad sat down. "Sounds like the universe is trying to tell us something, hm?" Aliye had no complaints about seeing Hasad again. Their previous date had been fun and she wasn't opposed to reconnecting in a quick chat at the event.

@hasadxaslan

[louxsheridan]

"Perfect." She smiled as they both started walking towards the restaurant. While Aliye talked about what has been going on in her life, Louisa was quiet and nodded throughout the conversation. "I can understand that. I don't think I could handle it myself. It's why I prefer working behind the camera." She smiled at her before nodding. "Life, sure. Work is more like it. I swear just as I finish one thing, something else pops up." She laughed. "But it's all good. I love working." @aliyebalik

[aliyebalik]

"I just love attention too much to stay behind a camera, I'm afraid," she admitted with a dramatic sigh. It was a lot to handle at times, but for the most part she enjoyed the entire process of filming and watching herself back on television. The bad times with it were few and far between. "That's the answer I was really hoping not to hear. Working is fine, but girl, you need to have fun too. No big trips planned? Hot dates? Juicy gossip to share?" Her brow lifted at the end of her string of questions, hoping that her friend hadn't been so caught up in work that she wasn't also having fun.

@louxsheridan

[aliyebalik]

closed starter for @scottxmercer - speed dating event

With the event winding down towards a close, there was one more round and one more person to meet. As much fun as Aliye was having, even she was starting to get tired. After some highs and lows with the other dates, she was ready to see what the last round had to offer, hoping it would be more of a spark of interest than some of the last couple dates she'd sat through. Sitting up a bit straighter as Scott took a seat at the table, Aliye leaned in forward a bit to offer a hand in greeting. "Alright, Scott. The bar isn't quite in hell yet, but I'll probably be pretty easily impressed after the last guy," she joked. Though, it wasn't entirely a joke considering how odd the last guy had been. "Total bust for you so far today or are you leaving here with a marriage license?"

[aliyebalik]

closed starter for @daehyunxkwon

In the now decade that Aliye had been making appearances on television, she could count on one hand the number of truly bad interactions she'd had because of it. For the most part, she finished filming, did a bit of promotional press for things, and went back about her life aside from the odd moment of being recognized when she was traveling. Every so often, though, someone took things too far. She'd been stopped earlier in the morning by a guy asking her to sign something, which had only stood out to her as a weird thing given that she was in her hometown and it was a rarity to have that happen around town at this point. It was only once she realized a few shopping stops and a few hours later that the guy was trailing behind her, presumably through her entire day, that the alarm bells started to flash. Slipping into the first store she came across, she was met with the immediately comforting sight of the very familiar face of Dae-Hyun. Beelining it towards him, she slipped right in close, arms slinging around him in a hug. "Totally probably just all in my head, but is there a sort of tall guy following me into the store? Grey t-shirt, black pants, red hat. It's like. Probably nothing. I don't know. He may have been following me around for awhile," she explained quickly, an uncharacteristic note of anxiousness in her voice.