Ready or not, here comes Aftermath#2. Before Cameron and Lightning speak with Eva, Beardo, and Dawn, I'll reply to the reviews posted since my last update.
amit avrashmi: One of today's guests agrees with your hopes for Blaineley getting eliminated next (keep reading to see who wants her out ASAP). Your questions have been implemented, and since they seemed pretty general instead of directed towards individual players (I wasn't initially sure about this until re-reading those), I've used them as joint inquiries for all three of this chapter's guests.
Rockin' D-99: Nice to know somebody enjoys the friendship and alliance that DJ and Trent have. Obstacle courses are fun to come up with, and I can see why you'd enjoy visualizing those. While Sam indeed tends to be a chill dude, I figured he wouldn't take kindly to anybody trashing Dakota, and personally can only see him getting mad enough to attack others over this or mocking his fondness for video games. Chris is someone who would've deserved getting punched anyway, though Chef was able to warn the gamer not to go too far even to defend Ms. Milton (who will definitely keep Dawn's note in mind). The point of that was you don't want to anger Sam by insulting things he loves. Nevertheless, I thought it would be a good change of pace to have contestants just chill out when playing Uno/poker, and am glad you approve of the idea. Dave is indeed becoming more of a team player compared to season 6, and Ella helped bring out that more useful part of him. I've included your interview questions accordingly.
Let us begin the aftermath!
Four giant letters in red flashed onto a screen. The first was a "T", followed by "D", with "G" coming third, and an "S" finishing them off before the word "Aftermath" could briefly be seen. After that, short clips of Eva, Beardo, and Dawn were shown during various parts of challenges they participated in, ranging from the kart race to the glowing target practice. Once those had finished, a curtain pulled back to show Cameron and Lightning sitting on stools. The former opened things up with "Welcome back to the season seven aftermaths! Three more contestants have been eliminated since our last showing, and we're about to speak with each of them."
His co-host subsequently told the audience "Neither of us sha-know all of what they'll say, but that's bound to be of some interest."
Mr. Wilkins' next words were "Let's get right into it. Up first today is somebody who was cut from the first season early only to return at the merge and quickly get voted right back off. This season she managed to do better overall with a few victories under her belt. Please welcome Eva!"
The named contestant walked onto the stage right afterwards and took a seat on the empty stool next to both hosts. Mr. Jackson first asked her "How did it feel to have been blackmailed the way you were? And what do you have to say to the rest of the competitors?"
She responded "It was cruel of Ms. I-used-to-host-Celebrity-Manhunt, and I'd like to retaliate by knocking her teeth out. My message to everyone else is they should get that fucker out ASAP!"
"Assuming they do just that, are you worried by any other threats Blaineley might make?" the bubble boy inquired.
"Not in the slightest. She only had one bit of dirt on me, and that's already been exposed, so I got nothing else to hide." Eva confidently replied.
"Good to know." said Lightning. "Had your team not sha-voted you off by this point, do you think you could've helped them win more after scoring their first victory of the season?"
"Most certainly." she affirmed. "The obstacle course would've been in the bag for us when I'm known to be a fast runner unlike Max, who really slowed them down. Thankfully they still had Jo to help out with speed there."
"Since you bring her up, are you aware that this was who orchestrated your elimination after you cost them the rope swinging challenge?" the other Aftermath host inquired before turning on a TV behind him to show a confessional discussing how she got Sam and Dakota to vote for her instead of the wannabe villain.
Eva's jaw dropped in shock upon watching that before angrily responding with "No, I did not; what a betrayal! That fucker previously seemed like someone I could trust, and damn straight I was voted out prematurely. He should've gone out instead for delaying our progress with the pebbles."
"Now you sha-know what a bitch she is." added sha-jock. "By the way, I could've gone through both of those challenges with ease unlike shrimpy over here."
That prompted Cameron to tell him "You aren't wrong about my physical capabilities, but no need to be so boastful about it! I also agree with the part on Jo."
"You're just envious." sha-jock insisted and turned to ask their interviewee "About your anger: how accomplished do you feel in trying to sha-contain that before Chris pushed you over the edge? It was definitely not as bad as what season one showed."
"Quite honestly, I do feel quite proud of myself for restraining myself for longer than I originally expected to." Eva replied. "It appeared to help me go further in the contest."
"I'm pretty sure that did. Either way, it's easy to see how one would snap at McLean of all people after he deliberately tries to antagonize others and stir up certain reactions from them." Cameron added with empathy before showing audiences a confessional of her from the mountain climbing challenges on trying to contain rage. "You were wise to not just go loose at the first instance you got provoked."
"Glad somebody understands my predicament." the female athlete gratefully stated with a sigh of relief.
"Since we have other guests to speak with, please sha-take a seat over there." the male athlete requested while pointing to a couch on the other side of their stage, and she complied before he continued with "Up next is a dude who home first when initially competing, which was partially due to social anxiety hindering participation. This guy has since begun to sha-come out of his shell and was able to advance further this season. Give it up for Beardo!"
The human soundboard peered his head out a bit, not yet accustomed to these new faces, and nervously gulped at the thought of weirding them out. He didn't feel comfortable enough to go out and sit on the stool until hearing a voice from the audience assure him "It's OK; we know about your sound effects, and nobody here will think less of you for making those."
Beardo took a sigh of relief while walking over to take a seat. Cameron followed that up with "Whoever just said that was right; we're not here to mock or shun you. Now tell us this: how did you feel about your performance/experience this season compared to your last one, overall? And when will you be releasing your next musical project?"
His response was "I feel my second season was far better than my first. Not to brag, but I'm quite glad I won some challenges this time AND didn't finish dead last. As for new music, that'll be some time after the season finale. I plan to write a song based on its events and include that on an upcoming album."
"Sounds intriguing, and we'll probably give it a listen." Lightning replied before asking "During the first episode, Dawn was shown to have read your aura to help explain your noise habits. How sha-helpful was that for you?" as he broadcast a clip of said aura-reading.
"It was one of the best things anybody's done for me!" the sound producer answered excitedly. "Even though we got placed on opposite teams, I couldn't have relaxed or comfortably talked to others as much as I did without such assistance, and otherwise probably would've been booted sooner. She has my eternal gratitude for this! Dawn is also easy for me to get along with when there's no chance of her ever misconstruing my intentions."
Cameron's next question was "Is it safe to say you became friends over the season?"
"Without a doubt, yes!" Beardo enthusiastically confirmed. "In fact, that was the first friend I made on the show. Our time in the third challenge's cave helped us bond while waiting for our respective teams to find where we were. Beats me how much of that footage the cameras showed."
"That's nice to sha-know, and Lightning is glad she could help you open up more. Perhaps it contributed to how Max seemed to have a soft spot of you." Mr. Jackson complimented prior to showing a clip of the aspiring evildoer praise him while insulting Justin's plans and another where he later complained to Jo about Beardo's elimination, which she admitted to taking part in against the wannabe villain's wishes. "Regardless, how long have you been able to replicate noises?"
The human soundboard's answer was "Since I was 12, which means five years so far."
"Just for fun, would you mind discussing the process behind this as you make sounds?" the other co-host asked. "I believe it could help contribute to scientific studies."
Beardo paused for a moment to gather his thoughts. He subsequently replied with "All I really know for sure is that it has to be a sound effect I've previously heard in some point, or I cannot perform an imitation, and that I have to be thinking of said sound while making that. The process takes practice and above all else is an internal and mental thing."
"Let's have a demonstration." suggested Lightning. "Try sha-making the sound of a cow mooing."
The interviewee complied with "OK, cows it is. Just need to think about those." as he took a moment to imagine that noise and replicate it.
"Fascinating to see how that works, and I'm still amazed by how accurately you can recreate sounds!" the bubble boy complimented.
"Thank you very much." Beardo gratefully responded.
"One last thing out of curiosity before you need to join Eva on the couch so we can sha-speak with your pal: what is your formal name?" the other interviewer questioned.
"That would be Derek Westwood. I came up with my current nickname to help distinguish myself from other guys that I went to school with who had the same first name as me." answered the human soundboard, who got up to sit on said couch right afterwards.
Cameron subsequently stated "With that done, we only have one other guest today: she has an uncanny ability to sense truth for sensing truth within others by reading their auras. Here comes Dawn!"
The audience enthusiastically cheered as the aura-whisperer walked on stage and sat on the stool that her predecessors had used. She smiled in gratitude for this while remarking "It's flattering to see how I'm quite popular among viewers."
"You can sha-say that again!" Mr. Jackson added in agreement. "Now here's something we'd like to know: how did you develop your supernatural, aura-reading abilities? And do you realize how these abilities made you a big threat?"
"My powers have been with me since birth, though I didn't really know how to use those until my mother and father started giving me aura lessons when I was a young child. There's a certain gene that I inherited from both parents that allows me to do so. If you aren't born with it, then you sadly will never gain the capability. The best way I can describe it to those without my abilities is they taught me how to closely study body language of others, particularly the eyes. While many folks can potentially pick up on non-verbal cues from someone, only people with my capabilities can glimpse deeper into them with eye contact and learn things that otherwise might not seem so obvious." Dawn explained. "As for me being a threat, yes I could sense how someone would want me out of the game sooner than later when I can uncover their secrets. It's quite an understandable thought."
"Since you mention secrets, were you able to sense any ulterior motives Jo had when convincing Trent to get others to vote you out aside from repaying him for helping calm down Brick while in the dark?" Cameron inquired.
"I did indeed: she wanted to save her beloved from getting eliminated. Trent probably figured that out too when it's highly obvious how Jo and Brick deep down are attracted to each other, no matter how much either of them denies it." the aura-whisperer affirmed.
Mr. Jackson's next words were "Yeah, I sometimes saw them sha-gaze at one another in a certain way during season 4 when they thought nobody else would notice, plus there was a time in between episodes when I overheard that girl express regret over going with my plan to boot him off after realizing he didn't vote for her that night. Chances are she was taking anger out on me by accidentally-on-purpose hitting my face during our next challenge with a sign when we were being held by a giant squid and trying to get free. Either way, when the military boy was your ally and most likely closest pal this season, did you ever get the guy to admit his true feelings off-camera before you left?"
"No; I never bothered with that since I could sense he didn't want to risk anybody else hearing such a confession, even though Brick trusts me enough to not give away his secrets whenever requesting confidentiality. This however was never something I was asked to keep to myself when all the others at least suspected it anyway." Dawn replied. "What I did do was leave a warning not to let her use him. She prioritizes winning the contest and won't let romance get in the way of that. Even though I still can't say for sure yet whether they'll end up together, he deserved some prior notice and I continue to worry for his well-being."
Right after a clip was shown of Brick reading said note, the bubble boy asked "You also left a cautionary note that she could end up betraying Sam and Dakota once the teams dissolve. After the two of them read that, do you think they'll end their deal with Jo prior to the merge?"
She responded with "Probably not any time before that day arrives. I could tell that they liked the extra sense of security that her vote gives. It honestly is an understandable feeling, but neither of them should expect that to be permanent."
"The Lightning hears you there. That sha-traitor really knows how to leave others in the dust." sha-jock added, referring to himself in the third person. "On another note, are you still glad to have gone further in the game this time around than your first season?"
Her answer was "I sure am, plus winning multiple challenges instead of just one was another welcome change. It was nice how I also managed to score a victory for my side before leaving. Reaching the merge would've been nice, but oh well."
Cameron followed that up with "After this question, you'll need to take a seat on the couch: what would you have done with the prize money?"
"Either donate that to animal shelters or use it to fund my own." she said before joining Eva and Beardo.
"Before anything else, let's briefly revisit to the contestants from the previous aftermath and have them answer something: are any of you surprised that today's guests didn't sha-reach the merge?" asked the other co-host.
The camera shifted towards a bench with the first four eliminated competitors of the season. Sugar's response was a mocking "Not at all because they're a bunch of pathetic losers, and I'm glad somebody finally got out the creep who reads auras! I just wish that happened sooner."
Justin replied with "I thought maybe Dawn could've gone further in the game when able to sense what others planned to do, but definitely wasn't expecting Eva to get far with her anger. Not sure what to say about Beardo."
"His thoughts are pretty much the same as mine." added Rodney in agreement.
"Quite honestly, I had no idea what to think since I barely knew any of them." Anne Maria confessed with a shoulder shrug.
As the camera went back to the hosts, Cameron changed the focus with "Very well, now we have some joint questions for each contestant voted off in between our first two aftermaths: firstly, what do you think about the Jo and Brick romance, or how they're trying to avoid admitting their true feelings?"
"Neither of them are fooling anybody, so they may as well play some tonsil hockey and get it out of their systems." Eva replied. "I don't care much about what goes on between them afterwards."
Beardo's answer was "It's beyond me why either feels a need to hide from the obvious, but it would be nice to see their will-they-or-won't-they get some resolution. It'll probably help them focus better without worries about who will discover their not-so-secret affections."
"Above all else, I hope my ally doesn't get exploited by her, and knows what he'd be getting into by pursuing anything romantic or sexual." Dawn stated.
"Sha-thank you for that, now here's the next one: who do you think is the most likely to win and be eliminated next?" inquired Lightning.
"No idea who shall take the crown, but I have a feeling Max is going out next when nobody seems to particularly like him." surmised the hot-headed athlete.
"Maybe Brick will win it with Jo getting the axe before anybody else who's left. He's a strong dude and she's not that well liked among the others." Beardo guessed.
The aura-whisperer's answer was "While it's hard to say for certain when even I don't know what the next challenges are, a gut feeling tells me we could see Leshawna emerge victorious with Blaineley taking the next boot. Don't quote me on that."
Mr. Wilkins subsequently said "Thanks for the responses. Regardless of what follows, what do you think about the new and more caring Chef this season?"
"His changes somewhat surprised me. I respect how the guy tried to make things easier for us than his boss would've. He's nowhere near as bothersome as McLean." Eva responded.
"I echo all of what she just said." added the human soundboard in agreement. "Maybe Hatchet should be the host instead."
"Same with me. Furthermore, I sensed he's starting to run out of patience with Chris, and by no means do I blame him." replied Dawn.
After that, the male jock inquired "This will be our final question before we sha-wrap up for the day: out of those who remain in the contest, who are you rooting for?"
"Whoever gets Blaineley and/or Jo out of the contest, unless of course one of them takes out the other and goes to the finale." the female jock responded.
"I'm hoping it's our military boy. Whenever this guy doesn't get duped or need to deal with the dark, he's quite a force to be reckoned with!" said Beardo.
The one who read auras replied with "As I've already made clear, Brick is also who I'd like to see win. I even left him a note saying so. He kept his word on voting with me for as long as we were both in the contest and truly is a man of honor as well as dignity."
Once she finished speaking, both hosts signed off the episode by telling their audience in unison "Since there's no more time remaining, we conclude another aftermath. Don't forget to watch the next one for more interviews with additional competitors!" before the curtains closed in front of them all.
Two aftermaths are now complete. Even before writing this, I had already decided who will be featured as guests for the third one in Chapter 18. You'll eventually see who they are. In the meantime, 11 players remain, so we're getting closer to the merge now.
Elimination Order:
Sugar (18th place), Justin (17th place), Rodney (16th place), Anne Maria (15th place), Eva (14th place), Beardo (13th place), Dawn (12th place)
Remaining Players:
Howling Coyotes: Blaineley, Dakota, Jo, Max, Sam
Roaring Leopards: Brick, Dave, DJ, Ella, Leshawna, Trent
Chapter posted: August 28, 2021.