AUTHOR'S NOTES
A note about the soundtracks I use in my fic.
[Soundtrack 1] = the music that plays when the campers walk to the elimination ceremony (Reboot 23 and Rematch 24)
[Soundtrack 2] = the music that plays when Bowie dances on the tiles (Choosin' for a Bruisin')
[Soundtrack 3] = the tense elimination ceremony music in TDI 2007 when there are two campers and one marshmallow left (Courtney-Ezekiel, Heather-Beth)
[Soundtrack 4] = romance music in TDI 2007 (Leshawna running to Harold on the dock Episode 13, Gwen and Trent about to kiss at the end of Episode 16)
REVIEWS
PeregrineBinghamtonstein: Thx for the review! 170 was the original plan because each chapter was supposed to be really short but I got many people on AO3 telling me that this would not be a good idea. So instead they suggested I just combine my small chapters into a big chapter and release every few days (I am doing 2x a week currently. Every Wed and Sat 10AM MST). TBH, there's probably like 45-50 chapters now. Happy reading!
"MK's biggest fear is… uhhh… that's awkward. How are we gonna do this?" Chris scratched his head, chuckling. "Fear of…. nudity."
"Oh… you have Gymnophobia?" Priya asked kindly, as she turned to MK. She did not want to judge MK and make her feel worse.
"I heard there's two types. Fear of seeing naked people and fear of being naked yourself," Raj piped up.
"Well… I have both," MK sighed. "Duh. Look at my clothes." There was a reason she wore the large coat, desperately covering every inch of herself. The most she would tolerate were swimsuits. Any more revealing and she got extremely uncomfortable. MK would rather not tell the others about her body dysmorphia. Being small and meek her entire life did not give her much confidence.
Priya nodded compassionately. Though she was not a big fan of MK's dry humour and rustic sarcasm, she did not feel it was appropriate to make fun of this unique phobia.
"Now, we have to keep this kid-friendly-ish, so…. your task is to strip this dummy of a British Royal Guard all the way down to his boxers. Keep the boxers on though please. We don't want to get sued…" Chris chuckled. Indeed, this was the same Royal Guard dummy they had used in London all those years back.
MK confessional: Watch this. *winks*
MK nodded and got down on her knees.
"What are you doing?" Emma shrieked.
"I'm gonna strip this dummy with my teeth," she replied, casually shrugging.
Priya blinked at this odd remark. "Who do you think you are? TYLER?!" she hissed.
"I think I'm gonna pass out," Damien mumbled.
MK ignored Priya, proceeded to get on her knees and started removing the guard's socks with her teeth. With one swift sideways motion of her head, she ripped the socks off. Damien stared, flabbergasted. This was the oddest thing he had seen all day.
MK continued to work on the guard, removing his red coat, his top hat and finally… his boxers?
"WAIT! WAIT!" Chris interrupted, in a panicky voice on the loudspeaker. "OK! THAT'S GOOD ENOUGH!"
MK stood up satisfied. Her teammates looked at her dumbfounded.
"Wow, that was fast. How'd you do that?" Caleb chuckled nervously. MK winked from the corner of her eye.
Priya confessional: WOW! She actually handled her fear really well! Especially considering how… awkward it was. Good for her! *claps*
Chris frowned. Where was the screaming? The pain? Like the others? Every other single contestant had shown signs of struggle, of not wanting to do it, but MK had just breezed through it like it was nothing. How disappointing…
The Orangutans resumed running. By now everyone had completed their fear challenge successfully which meant only one thing. It was time to find the exit.
The Panthers continued to run to their final checkpoint which lay just a few feet ahead.
"Alright Ripper it's just your fear and then we're done!" Julia called back from the front. "You'd better not make us wait 30 minutes!"
Ripper, who had brought up the rear, carelessly said, "Yeah, yeah. Relax, I got this!" Ripper was ecstatic. Although the producers had gotten everyone else's fear spot on, Ripper knew there was no way they could possibly know his fear. It was literally impossible unless they had somehow analyzed the deepest, darkest depths of his brain where he kept things locked, a black abyss of painful memories. Things he didn't want anyone to know or find out, things which could come back to haunt him…
Ripper confessional: There's no way they know my biggest fear. The chances of them guessing correctly are close to none. Zero! So I'll just face it head-on and finish this thing strong!
Julia's feet skidded to a halt and shortly after the others did the same. They had finally reached the final checkpoint, the last hurdle before the exit to the maze. Victory was so close. Chase and Wayne fell to the ground holding each other around the shoulder, giving Ripper an encouraging thumbs-up.
Ripper wrestled his fingers nervously. His palms were sweaty and trembling slightly (What if they really did guess his fear correctly?) but regardless he mustered up the courage to press the button. Chris' face appeared on the screen and he smiled.
"Ripper's biggest fear… let's see… some chocolate… flowers…"
Ripper's eyes began to widen and he expressed total shock. No way he told himself.
"Oh I know! It's… Kelsey!" Chris laughed. Ripper had become ten times more alert at the mention of Kelsey's name, the name which had haunted his memories, and the name best associated with his fear.
"KELSEY?" Ripper cried incredulously. "KELSEY MACINTOSH?"
The hole beneath the ground began to open and out protruded a platform which was slowly raising itself. Smoke was majestically clouding a slender figure and then… WHOOSH, the big reveal and sitting in front of them was a thin, golden-brown haired girl with a mousey face and doe-shaped eyes. Though she was beautiful, boys around her age would most likely have deemed her to be 'cute' instead as she had a childlike aura to her. Small, pretty and elegant.
"Dude, your biggest fear is… a chick?" Chase asked confused. Though he tried not to judge his fellow alpha male's fear, Chase couldn't help but chuckle a bit at how unexpected and slightly underwhelming it was. Weren't girls awesome?
Kelsey raised her eyes from her phone and looked straight into the Panthers' faces. She did not seem to be particularly interested in this group of kids. They all looked like rejects to her. As usual, wherever she went, Kelsey felt she was the most popular out of everyone and that others were beneath her.
There was the military girl who Kelsey guessed was a fraud who dressed tougher than what she actually was, the guy who obviously put more effort into his hair than his wardrobe which consisted of a red hoodie and yellow pants, the guy who repped his hockey jersey everywhere even in the middle of a scorching-hot summer, and the basic Starbucks VSCO girl with the beige crop top and jean short-shorts. Kelsey was already tired of looking at them. A bunch of mindless NPCs they were.
And then there was –
"Ugh, it's you," she said scrunching up her face, soaking in Ripper's appearance.
Ripper guessed her acknowledgment of his existence was his cue to talk. "Oh… hey Kelsey! Long time, no talk I guess…" he said awkwardly.
The Panthers couldn't help but notice Ripper had turned red and that his hand had gone up behind his head where he was anxiously scratching his hair and that his feet kept bouncing. The self-proclaimed alpha was losing his composure.
Kelsey didn't say anything else after this small interaction. For a few minutes, Chris let them sit in silence just to let the awkwardness ramp up.
Finally, unable to handle it any longer, Chase broke the silence. "What? Is she your ex or somethi – ?"
Upon hearing the word 'ex', Kelsey's face shrivelled up in horror and her eyes became so round she lost her charming, mousey look and looked almost demented. She began to laugh maniacally and pointed at Ripper.
"EX?! HA! HE WISHES! AS IF I WOULD EVER DATE HIS FAT, UGLY, DISGUSTING BUTT," she cackled. Everyone stared at Ripper. They were slowly beginning to piece together the history between him and Kelsey. Ripper's eyes were staring hard at the ground, avoiding Kelsey's triumphant gaze. Chase however, seemed oblivious to the situation.
"Sorry, so what's the big deal? You don't like him…OK. Who cares? Why would you be his biggest fear? You don't look so scary to me," Chase said dumbfounded.
Kelsey snorted. Yellow Pants really did not have common sense.
"He's scared of me because of what I did to him and how much of an idiot he was. Four years ago, Rico," – she pointed to Ripper – "by the way that's his real name, Ripper's just a stupid nickname his friends made for him. Anyways, Rico asked me out to our semiformal dance. He really thought I would say yes to the big loser he was. Well spoilers… I didn't. I said no back then and I would still say no to this day. You know why? Because he's still a giant loser. Always was and always will be. I still don't know why I'm here to be honest. Now I have to look at his 300-pound face again. At least they promised me lots of cash."
Ripper's face had reddened deeply but he couldn't take it any longer. He wasn't going to back down now, not when they were so close.
"What am I supposed to do?" Ripper snorted as he tossed his hands in the air frustratingly. "Sit through her rant? Is that the challenge? This is easy. Because I don't even like her anymore. In fact, I hate everything about her!" Ripper said disgusted, locking eyes with Kelsey. She mouthed the word 'cope' to Ripper's angry face.
Finally, Chris spoke. He had seen enough bickering between the two and was getting slightly bored. He wanted to make the drama more intense.
Once again, almost as if he had anticipated this question, the screen-Chris replied. "OK Ripper! Glad you asked! The challenge... is to re-enact the entire proposal again, word for word. We've provided you with all the necessary equipment you'll need" – he pointed to a bouquet of pink and white orchids and a tin of biscuits laying on the table next to Kelsey – "You'll also want to dress for the occasion!" Chris said gleefully, pressing on and making Ripper feel worse. "So here's that wacky purple suit you tried to pick her up with. Get changed and start whenever you feel like it Ripper. Good luck!"
The screen turned off and the last thing Ripper saw was Chris' happy and smiling face.
"I love it when kids need to face their past don't you Em?" Chris chortled, helping himself to a biscuit which looked oddly like the same brand Ripper had bought for Kelsey. He was enjoying himself greatly torturing the kids mentally and physically like this.
Emily bent over and kneeled next to her father. She kept flicking her eyes to the screen. "Dad, don't you think this is too much?" she said so softly Chris had to lean in closer to hear her. She did not know why he was finding joy in exploiting peoples' past when he had a few skeletons in his closet himself.
"Too much?!" Chris asked stunned. "Emi, you're getting soft! This is supposed to be hard! I'd say we're going easy on him!"
Emily pursed her lips, still staring intently at the screen.
Ripper confessional: *sits with defeated body language* Talk about difficult. I never bought a single flower for anyone ever again after that incident! Who knew flowers and biscuits could be so spooky?!
Kelsey continued to laugh like an out-of-control banshee. Her shrill laugh sliced through the air, sending shivers down Ripper's spine. To shut her up sooner rather than later, Ripper began to walk stiffly towards the table where his purple suit lay gleaming in the sun.
Oh man… I hope they actually washed it unlike fourteen year old me, Ripper thought pleadingly. He inhaled and took a long sniff. They had not. So they were really going for authenticity.
"Wait!" Kelsey raised her hand sassily. Ripper turned. Kelsey had one leg crossed over the other and was sitting like a eager princess with her head held jauntily high. She smirked arrogantly.
"Did you hear what he wanted Rico? Chris said he wanted the proposal WORD. FOR. WORD. SO" – she reached into her pocket and Ripper's eyes flashed – "Do you still remember that adorable little cringe fest of a speech you gave me? Major throwback! If not, why don't I… remind you?" She whipped out her phone and began shaking it sassily in front of her, clearly threatening to press play.
Wayne confessional: *blinks in shock* This girl is cruel! I feel horrible for Ripper. Wonder if I can try and convince the team for him to just take the 30-minute penalty.
"Panthers, HUDDLE!" Wayne called. Julia, Axel, and Chase gathered around Wayne, wondering what his gameplan was this time.
"Fellas, are we really going to let him go through this?" Wayne asked to the group. "Because this one is really tough eh?"
"Yeah… even I feel bad for him," Axel conceded nodding her head and closing her eyes. All of a sudden, she had developed an empathy for Ripper which was not there previously. Julia also shifted slightly, nervous at the fact that she had forewarned Ripper to not take the penalty no matter what. Even Chase squinted his eyes concernedly, recognizing the gravity of the situation and that this was no time to make jokes.
"Maybe we should…" Chase said slowly. "The Orangutans haven't made it out of the maze yet either. Maybe they're taking a penalty right now too!"
"But we can't be sure of that!" Julia hissed. Though she too felt slightly awful for Ripper, she wasn't prepared to lose three challenges in a row, especially when the boys outnumbered the girls 3-2. She was willing to send Ripper in to do his dare if it meant they got the win. That was most important to her.
"OY!" Kelsey called, disgusted at the others ignoring her. They all turned their heads. "I want a full audience! P-p-p-play it!" Her fingers inched closer towards the play button. Ripper tried futilely to get her to stop.
"NO, NO, NO! DON'T!" He waved his hands in such panic and disarray he looked like a fish which had flopped out of water. Kelsey laughed and tossed back her hair in the wind. "Enjoy guys! Pay attention Rico so that I won't have to replay it!"
Ripper felt everything was slowing down and that the world was ending.
*FLASHBACK*
Jan 14 2020
3:18 pm
"You got this Ripper!" a small Kenyan boy with an afro said encouragingly.
"What's the worst she can say?" another Bangladeshi boy added, patting Ripper on the back. Ripper grinned. He was grateful for Charlie and Sharone, his two best buddies. The three of them were hanging near the dance hall lockers of Maple Ridge High, Newfoundland as though waiting for something. Ripper kept anxiously checking his phone for the time. The halls were crowded everywhere they went but they were always especially crowded around the dance hall and gymnasium where all the cool kids hung out.
"How am I supposed to find her when there's this many people? If I recall, she's like 5'4" so that doesn't help either," Ripper grumbled, craning his neck over a sea of students. He gave his tie a random adjustment.
"Relax!" Charlie the Kenyan said. "We got her locker number so we just wait here and she'll come! Sharky and I made sure this was the one, we saw her coming here and using it every day for the past week."
"Stalkers," Ripper joked but he couldn't suppress a smile. Charlie and Sharone had done everything they could to help Ripper out. Now it was his turn to execute.
"Are you nervous?" Sharone teased.
"Nah," Ripper lied, clutching his pearl necklace nervously.
All of a sudden, a big, blocky and loud group emerged. Oh great, jocks… Ripper's heart sunk. Do they always hang out with the dancers?
And then behind them… a small girl with wavy shoulder-length golden-brown hair, doe-shaped eyes and a mousey face popped out so suddenly Ripper had barely noticed her. She began to open her locker, surrounded by five other girls.
"Seriously?" Ripper grunted. "They go everywhere together."
"Push em away," Charlie said. "That's your shordy." He thumped Ripper on the back encouragingly.
Ripper bumbled his way over to Kelsey and accidentally bumped one of Kelsey's friends' shoulder with his large arm. She turned around offended. Ripper didn't care. He had eyes for Kelsey and Kelsey only. He gave his dress shirt one final adjustment as his large stomach had begun to protrude slightly. Why this happened, he did not know since he had not eaten for six hours!
Finally –
"Kelsey?" Ripper asked sweetly, placing his shoulder next to her locker and leaning on one leg coolly like he had seen the jocks do. Only he didn't look nearly as impressive. Kelsey seemed to think this as she eyed Ripper up and down slowly. Finally, she locked eyes with Ripper and stared into his face unimpressed. She raised an eyebrow as her forehead wrinkled slightly.
Gosh, that's hot Ripper thought excitedly. Those eyes never failed to capture his attention. He had always wanted her to look at him like that, even if it was a little condescending. Exceptions could be made for alfalfa females.
"Hey, I'm Rico," Ripper introduced himself and extended a hand. She took it nervously. "We're in the same gym class. Even though we don't talk much cuz boys and girls are separated y'know… " He laughed awkwardly.
Kelsey didn't laugh but continued to stare at him without saying a word.
"Damn it, she's not making this easy," Sharone whispered furiously into Charlie's ear.
"She's not into him," Charlie whispered back.
"Anyways," Ripper continued on, ignoring Kelsey's cold, blank stare, "Everytime I see you, you're just dominating the game like an alfalfa female. You spike the fart out of everyone in volleyball, smash your opponents in badminton and you've got powerful soccer legs that never seem to get tired even with all that running you do out there!" Ripper pointed at her legs as if he wanted to emphasize this point greatly. I wish you could choke me with them he thought but luckily he did not say this out loud.
Kelsey's eye twitched.
"But my favourite sport to watch you play? Baseball! Because you've got a crazy strong arm. You're like one of the greatest pitchers I ever done seen in my life. The best part? You always look incredible while doing it. Like even if you get dirt on your face or a scratch on your knee, you still look cool while playing sports. And you can dance too, like that's some talent you got!"
Kelsey continued to look at him blankly but her face was starting to redden with rage. How could this guy… this guy of all people hit on her like this in front of everyone? Nobody even knew who he was! Oh, the shame to be seen interacting with this reject!
Awww she's blushing! Ripper thought proudly. It was time to continue his speech.
Kelsey's brow furrowed.
"A – anyways, I heard you're a pretty good dancer," Ripper stuttered, slightly taken aback by her expression but determined to power through nonetheless. "You took 2nd in the Canadian woman's dance competition right? I know. I can't believe I actually watched it either. Well…I'm not really into dancing that much but I've been practicing a few moves for our semi-formal dance. And so… I was just wondering…"
By this point, Kelsey had resorted to repulsed body language and there was no mistaking she was not enjoying this conversation.
"If… uh… you wanted to go together? And who knows? If you really like how things go with me, maybe we can go a step further and start dating! I was thinking maybe a nice picnic to start. Near the beach? I made you some cookies. See?" – he pulled out a tin of biscuits and waved it around in her face – "Maybe we can eat them together and chat about life and stuff!" Ripper smiled widely, displaying all of his teeth. Indeed, he was excited. He had been working on this speech for several weeks and now… it was time for her to say yes! 2020 was going to be the best year of his life!
Kelsey closed her eyes, put both hands over them, gagged and shook her head disapprovingly. "Are you saying you like me? Please don't say you like me!" Kelsey whispered horrified, tearing up a little.
Ripper's heart sunk and he begun to panic. Why was she crying? Was this all an act? Alfalfa females weren't supposed to break down just because somebody they didn't like asked them out.
Ripper blinked. "WHAT?! Yeah, obviously! I thought I made it pretty clear," he roared.
"And did you really think I would like you back?" she stared pitifully at what she considered a big, blundering baby.
Ripper blinked once more. Why was she asking such stupid questions?
"I mean… yeah! That's how I had the scene play in my head. Fun fact. This is the part where you're supposed to say, 'Of course Rizzlord Rico! I'll go out with you!' " Ripper put his hands in a romantic gesture next to his ear and gave himself teary, grateful eyes.
THUMP!
Kelsey stomped her foot on the ground and raised her voice to a shrill. "UGH!"
Ripper flinched.
"You are SO delusional!" she shrieked as her chest heaved up and down with pure rage. She turned her head. "EVERYONE GATHER AROUND. THIS FAT, UGLY DISGUSTING LOSER REALLY THOUGHT HE HAD A CHANCE WITH ME."
Heads turned at every corner and by now Kelsey's friends and those jocks Ripper despised so much were eyeing him hungrily, knowing Kelsey was about to finish him off. Charlie and Sharone looked at him panicked, not knowing what to do or how to get their boy out of this. Fine, if his best friends wouldn't stand up for him, he would have to do it himself… as usual.
"What…? Are you talking about ME?" Ripper pointed at himself innocently. Had she really called him a loser? The alpha male would not tolerate fake news!
It was Kelsey's turn to blink.
"DUH! Who else?" she yelled. "And I think I actually might know who you are unfortunately. You're the larger-than-life piano player aren't you? You get your three minutes of fame playing lame pieces at school concerts and then after that, you just go back to being a nobody! You hang around the music hall all day because no one else wants to be with you. You stink up the place. They call you Ripper. Imagine having a nickname because you're so gassy! You and your two other loser friends are the three least popular kids who ever walked through these halls. SO – "
THWAP!
Kelsey smacked the flowers and cookies out of Ripper's hand. "Let me explain in simple terms for you weirdo why I will NEVER EVER go out with you." She flipped her hair before continuing the relentless attack.
"There's hierarchies in this school and life in general. I'm up here, you're down there." She raised one hand and lowered the other, putting them at a great distance so that one hand was stretched as far up to the ceiling and the other was all the way down to the ground.
"Funny. I thought usually the guy would be on top… That's how my parents did it…" Ripper muttered, staring confused at Kelsey's hands. Kelsey ignored this remark and continued on with her verbal barrage.
"In other words I'm popular. You're a loser. Bottom of the barrel. Invisible. Do you see why we don't work? Imagine what people would think if I went out with someone like you. My social status in this school goes down the drain.
"So you can TAKE – your – stupid – flowers – and – biscuits – and trudge off to the dumpster where you belong Ripper!" she shrieked, throwing petals at Ripper's hurt face between each word. Every throw she made was like a knife in Ripper's heart. And then something he was not prepared for –
WHAM!
"MY NETHER REGIONS!"
Ripper roared with pain and massaged his coconuts where she had kicked him hardly. His eyes began to water as he collapsed to his knees.
"L! L! L!"
Kelsey's friends began to chant in unison, throwing up L signs on their forehead and edging closer to Ripper and Kelsey. She had her hands on her hips and was sneering down at him. Like a group of vicious hyenas, they were circling in on their victim.
Ripper had keeled over and was clutching his chest. He buried his face, attempting to hide it from view. Phones were whipped out and recordings were started, the jocks already uploading to their MySelfieGram stories, zooming in on Ripper's blubbering face.
"L! L! L!"
The words rang in Ripper's ears so loudly he felt they were about to bleed. He looked around sweating profusely, upper lip shaking and eyes teary. How did this happen to him? Why did it happen to him? He did not know. All he knew was that he needed to get out of here as fast as possible so he got up and sprinted to the nearest staircase, stumbling twice as he tried to wipe away the falling tears, the sneers and jeers still echoing across his brain.
This was the real Ripper.
*Present day*
Finally, the video stopped and the Panthers' stunned faces were seen reflected on Kelsey's screen. Ripper felt that had lasted too long.
What a bitch Axel and Wayne thought furiously.
She's not all that. She's so mid! Chase thought grumpily.
I would so eat her alive if we went to the same school Julia laughed in her head.
Kelsey pointed to her toes and snapped her fingers impatiently. "Come on Rico," she said tauntingly. "You heard him. Re-enact that while it's still fresh in your memory. I'm waiting."
Ripper's shoulders were shaking from sobbing too much. He felt he had just relived his worst nightmare.
Wayne + Chase confessional (Chase): This is one cruel challenge… My boy just got his heart broken and now he has to do it again?
Wayne + Chase confessional (Wayne): NO kidding eh? The way she rejected him. Harder than any foul you can get in hockey. And screw those jocks! Talk about a disgrace to sports! No sportsmanship! *raises fist angrily*
Julia hesitated. She really wanted to win this challenge but the other team hadn't finished the maze yet either. Perhaps they could afford to let Ripper sit this one out…
As Ripper stepped forward, Axel yelled out, "RIPPER! YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO IT. JUST TAKE THE PENALTY."
"WHAT?!" Chase cried out in surprise. "But it's 30 minutes, we might lose!"
Axel scoffed. Hadn't Chase been singing a different tune a few minutes ago?
"And then we'll probably blame you and boot your coward butt out of here. You seriously couldn't do your own challenge, look at what Ripper has to do! Anyways, we can't give her the satisfaction!" she pointed menacingly at Kelsey's smug face where a slight frown had appeared.
"OK, that's true…" Chase conceded, though feeling slightly wary since if they lost he knew he was definitely getting the boot.
Kelsey looked like Christmas had been cancelled and dramatically dropped her jaw. "Just WHO do you think you are?" she said disbelievingly at Axel, scrunching up her nose in disgust.
"Who do you think YOU are? Rejecting somebody like that?" Axel shot back. Even though she didn't like Ripper much, she couldn't help but feel slightly sorry for him and felt the need to defend him.
Ripper smiled at Axel. They had had history together and were rivals in their debut season, but at this moment they were united against Kelsey the midget bully.
Kelsey gave a small fake laugh, waved Axel off and turned her head to Julia, her fellow queen bee. "Be honest, you would say no to him too right?" she cackled.
"Yup," Julia admitted bluntly, shrugging her shoulders since it was true. She would 100% reject Ripper if he came up to her too but not the way Kelsey did it. "But I wouldn't embarrass him in front of everyone else. I would break his heart over text and then ghost him instead you know? Like a normal person?" Julia spat.
Kelsey was not listening. She didn't care and she couldn't understand why someone like Julia, someone who she was getting similar vibes from, would stand up for a twerp like Ripper.
"Why not? It's fun seeing guys with unrealistic expectations get a dose of reality right in front of their ugly, deformed faces. It's our duty as hot queens to remind them constantly that they shouldn't even try! I thought you of all people would understand where I'm coming from…" Kelsey shook her head slightly disappointed that Julia had failed to grasp this simple concept.
This was too much for Julia. To be put in the same league as this average midget? Julia took great offense to that.
"You really think you're hot stuff huh?" Julia sneered as her forehead wrinkled in disgust. "Look…you may have been a big deal in small town Newfoundland but this is the big leagues honey OK?"
Kelsey looked like something heavy had just struck the side of her face. So Julia thought she couldn't be popular in places that weren't her hometown? Such a bitch!
Wayne and Ripper were staring frightened. Julia was going off! Chase, being his usual self, felt the need to give his input. "OOOO We got a catfight," he purred mockingly. "Everyone evacuate because no one is safe!"
"Shut up Chase," Julia and Kelsey said in unison, continuing to exchange cold glares with each other. The annoying Chase promptly put his hand over his mouth.
Julia confessional: *rolls eyes and crosses arms* Ugh, I know it looks like I'm "sticking up" for Ripper but it's more like I can't stand to see cheap knock-offs act like they're the real deal when they're clearly… NOT. *laughs*
Kelsey narrowed her eyes at Julia. "Take. It. Back." she demanded as Julia yawned, unafraid.
"Don't dish it if you can't take it," Julia drawled.
Kelsey's jaw dropped. "Do you even know who I am?" she shrieked. "I won prom queen at my high school! I'm ROYALTY!"
Julia gave a fake laugh. Julia scanned Kelsey from head to toe and sneered. There was not much going on. Julia was not impressed and questioned how this fraud had ever won. "You won prom queen? Yikes… might wanna ask your girls if they rigged the votes for you."
"I could say the same to your basic-looking ass," Kelsey shot back. "You have the beige crop top and jean short-shorts? Please, the only thing missing is a pumpkin spiced latte in your hand and then you'd be the – "
Julia cut her off. "Yeah well, what can I say? Basic outfit, extraordinary personality," she shrugged, unbothered. "Can't say the same for you though. That necklace looks like a cheap knock-off just like you."
Kelsey's face began to redden with rage just like it had done when Ripper had asked her out, only this time… she did not have her army of jocks and fellow dancers to back her up. Kelsey stood up and went over to Julia until she was right in front of her face. Breathing heavily, she looked up maniacally while Julia narrowed her eyes and coolly stared down at what she perceived to be an angry chihuahua. It looked rather comedic as Julia had a good 5 inches over Kelsey. They continued to glare at each other for another minute.
"Did you just call me a knock-off?" she shrieked.
Julia raised an eyebrow as she scoffed. "Yup. Knock-offs get knocked off. It's the law of fashion – and the jungle. Speaking of, if we were in the animal kingdom, I would've totally eaten you by now," she said maliciously.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Kelsey screamed and raised her hand to slap Julia across her face but Chase and Wayne interfered. Chase stopped Kelsey's hand mid-air from hitting Julia while Wayne grabbed Julia around her waist and held her back.
For a few seconds, Chase and Wayne struggled as Kelsey and Julia tried their hardest to break free and run to each other to fight. Kelsey's face had filled with a tomato-red colour and her breathing was loud and irregular.
Julia brought her thumb and index finger together and made a TOO SMALL! hand gesture. Kelsey's eye twitched.
All of a sudden –
"EVERYONE SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Ripper exploded. "I'm doing it!"
"You sure buddy?" Wayne asked Ripper empathetically. " Don't do it you don't want to. We won't vote you off because of that."
"I'm not taking a penalty. We already lost twice in a row, we can't lose again!" Ripper responded angrily.
"Dad stop it. Just get her out of here," Emily said pleadingly to an amused Chris. Her voice had become rather hoarse. Both of them were watching the scene with glued eyes, not paying attention to the other team.
"Why? This is fun," Chris said casually while twiddling his thumbs.
Emily's brain exploded. Fun?! Well she would have to take matters into her own hands.
"Give me that!" she ordered, snatching the microphone away from Chris who was shocked she would even do such a thing. Emily turned on the microphone which connected to the loudspeaker in the Panthers' section of the maze.
"RIPPER! DON'T DO IT. WE CAN GIVE YOU A PASS. WE'LL LET YOU THROUGH WITHOUT A PENALTY," she yelled.
At these words, Chris fumed. What he was hearing was nonsense! He shoved Emily to the side and reclaimed his microphone.
"NO WE CAN'T! WHAT IS SHE EVEN SAYING? THAT'S LITERALLY ILLEGAL!"
The Panthers stared up at the microphone envisioning a shouting match between father and daughter on the other end. Ripper couldn't help but feel slightly better. It looked like Emily had been willing to give him a pass without her father's consent. This thought cheered him up considerably and it must have shown because he was aware he had a stupid-looking grin on his face and quickly tried to make it vanish.
The argument was not over yet as they heard the next few exchanges through the loudspeaker which had not been disconnected.
"What – Are – You – Doing?" Chris hissed, huffing and puffing, furious of the fact that he had to get up from his comfortable chair to try and retrieve his precious microphone. "You don't do your dare, it's a 30-minute penalty. NO EXCEPTIONS!" he bellowed into Emily's face. How could she do this to him? How could she even think of going against his wishes to have an entertaining game? Why was she ruining everything?
"Rules are meant to be broken," Emily shrugged matter-of-factly, giving the answer her father always had on hand whenever he was breaking rules himself.
"Yes that's true but not MY rules. MY rules stay UNBROKEN!" Chris spat.
Emily had enough. Between the control panel and herself was Chris and she was going to get there no matter what. She had to press the button and open that door.
Using her elbow, she shoved her father out of the way with slight force. Perhaps it was the momentary shock that Emily would do such a thing, but Chris did not resist. Instead, he fell over to the side. That was the final straw.
"Ripper, I'm opening the door. SO SPRINT BEFORE IT CLOSES!" Emily yelled to the Panthers. "ALL OF YOU!"
Chris had recovered and gotten back up to his feet.
"NO!" Chris roared and he shoved Emily out of the way with much more force than she had used on him. The megalomaniac host would not tolerate anybody, even his own daughter, going against him. He closed the door again.
Emily slapped Chris' hand out of the way and opened the door once more. For a minute, there was a back and forth and the Panthers did not know what to do since all they saw was their exit door opening and closing, opening and closing, opening and closing…
Wayne tried to stick his hand in but quickly pulled it out each time. It was almost as futile as turning off the refrigerator light at the last second.
Finally, with all his might Chris used both hands to shove Emily hardly to the ground. She gave a small scream as she fell.
"WHY are you doing this?" Chris asked hurt, his voice cracking. "You were totally fine with Chase getting a penalty. Why shouldn't Ripper get the same?"
Emily got up and pushed her hair out of her eyes. "You know the difference between their fears. Chase hates being unpopular, that's shallow so he deserves a penalty. Ripper hates rejection and you're making him relive his worst memory. How could you even think of giving him that?"
Chris' last blood vessel had just popped. Questioning my orders?!
"THAT'S IT MCLEAN. YOU'RE FIRED," Chris bellowed, acting as if he had just dropped the hammer.
"You can't fire me, I'll burn all your hair gel," she retorted.
Damn it that's true Chris reasoned. Chris kicked his chair in frustration at having been checkmated like that so easily.
BOOM!
Orange firecrackers suddenly lit up the sky. The Orangutans had just completed the maze. Their good mood vastly contrasted the Panthers' dire one. Emma and Priya were hugging each other, Damien was pumping his fist hyped and Caleb and Raj embraced each other. MK was throwing up the horns.
"It's… over," Axel said to her team in a quiet tone. The orange sparks littered the sky with a bang and made the Panthers' mood even worse. Julia hung her head.
"There. They lost, are you happy?" Emily asked her father in a glum and defeated tone.
Chris sneered. "Well I mean if the guy can't even face his past, maybe he doesn't even deserve three million big ones," he said coldly. "Hey! Where are you going?" he asked to her retreating back as she zoomed out of the control room speedily, not looking back once. She did not respond.
Kelsey clapped her hands slowly and obnoxiously loud in their faces. Axel started to move forwards but an alert Wayne quickly held her back. He wrapped his arm around her waist but the advancing Axel was still getting a few steps, inching her way closer and closer to Kelsey.
"Way to go losers. Tubby McMuffin couldn't do it and you guys lost. Way. to. go. That was brilliant. I may not have gotten that proposal again but this was totally worth it." She pointed her chin up and decided to leave them with one final message before she left. She would never be seeing these losers again so she wanted to give them one final jab, just so that the memory burned.
"By the way, let me tell you all just how down bad Rico is. He STILL follows me on MySelfieGram. Even after that incident. He likes all of my posts too. Don't believe me? Check for yourself," she smirked.
Chase shook his head violently from side to side. "NO WAY!" he said, genuinely bamboozled. This could not be true. "Hang on… let me see…" He pulled out his red iPhone 14 Pro Max and opened his MySelfieGram app.
"This you?" Chase asked, pulling up an account: kelseymacintosh.
"Yup," Kelsey said proudly, leaning in to Chase's shoulder. "You should follow me," she cooed in Chase's ear. She had noticed his account yoboyChase had 3.7M followers and all of a sudden took a great interest in him.
Kelsey clicked her tongue in admiration as she saw Chase's MySelfieGram account which consisted of many photos of expensive cars, extreme stunts, pants?, giant parties with him being the clear center of attention and more. Clearly he was a high-quality man who treated his girlfriends well! Maybe she would ask him out? –
"I'm not gonna do that," Chase replied swiftly, not even looking at her.
Kelsey's mouth fell. Whatever, she thought angrily. He's just a dumb prankster. I don't even know him.
"Followers, followers…" Chase muttered. Indeed, Chase verified that 48steamboatRipper was still following Kelsey.
Chase frowned. "OK… rather disappointing…" he mumbled.
Chase switched over to Kelsey's 'following' page. "Following, following…" Chase continued, worried of what he might find.
"48ste – " he began to type but there was no need to continue. The 'no users found' message had displayed itself instantly and at this moment Chase and Wayne smacked themselves on the face. Kelsey smirked.
"DUDE! What are you doing?!" Chase yelled. Wayne looked at Ripper, absolutely traumatized. How down bad was he to still follow the girl who had rejected him so brutally? Ripper had turned scarlet red and nervously gave a little laugh.
"OK, can we like get out of this maze? It's sooo stuffy," Julia complained, fanning herself. At this, the exit door opened and Emily came out.
"EMILY?!" everyone said in unison.
"Is everything OK with you and Chri –" Axel began but she was cut short. Emily walked straight past her, not even glancing at the Panthers once. She only had eyes for one troublemaker. Emily stopped right in front of Kelsey who was sitting down scrolling through her phone. Kelsey looked up bored.
"What?" she sneered.
Emily did not respond and only glared at Kelsey.
Kelsey rolled her eyes and was about to go back to her phone but Emily viciously smacked it away so that it fell to the ground.
SMACK!
Kelsey barely had time to register what had happened because Emily kicked the leg of the chair she was sitting on and she crashed to the ground, landing on her behind.
CRASH!
"OW!" Kelsey shrieked, rubbing her bottom and closing her eyes. Ugh! The nerve of this woman!
Kelsey scrambled back up to her feet, gritting her teeth. "WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? YOU THINK YOU CAN JUST HIT MY PHONE AND GET AWAY WITH IT?" she yelled furiously.
Emily flipped her hair sassily. "I just did. I'll do it again too." In one swift motion, she stomped on Kelsey's phone and the screen shattered.
CRACK!
Kelsey gave a cry and desperately tried to turn her phone on which it of course did not.
Kelsey pointed threateningly at Emily. "YOU ARE SO DEAD! Buy me a new phone right now! I have 3000 followers so do as I say!"
"Awww 3000. That's cute…" Julia laughed in the background. Kelsey did her best to ignore this remark but it was rather difficult. She turned angrily to Julia until Emily opened her mouth.
"Big deal. 3000 follow you and 2999 probably hate you. That's everyone except for the WelcomeToMySelfieGram bot account," Emily shot back coolly.
Kelsey's jaw fell to the floor. "DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?" Kelsey shrieked once more.
"How many times is she going to say that?" Axel muttered, annoyed. "She's acting like she's the real deal…"
"No, not really. But I know enough of you to decide I don't like you and I don't think you're all that," Emily scoffed.
"I'M POPULAR!" Kelsey spat.
"I'm popular," Julia corrected Kelsey, fanning herself pretentiously.
Kelsey looked up at Emily. "You got a black spot on your face. Might wanna wipe that off," she sneered, pointing to Emily's beauty mark just above her mouth.
"After I'm finished with you the only thing that's going to get wiped off is that annoying little smirk of yours you fucking chalk chihuahua," Emily whispered, raising a fist to Kelsey's face.
"CAT FIGHT! CAT FIGHT! MEOW! MEOW!" Chase guffawed in the background.
"Shut up Chase," Kelsey and Emily snarled. Chase gulped.
"Whatever, I only came here for the money and Rico," Kelsey cackled. "So you can all kiss my a – "
The announcement speakers turned on. Everyone looked up. "Panthers. Please meet me at the elimination ceremony. It's time to send another player home… again…" Chris interrupted.
The floor beneath Kelsey's feet opened and she was slowly being lowered away. As her legs and chest disappeared from view, and all that could be seen was her shoulders and face, she stuck her tongue out mockingly. She was leaving, leaving…
WHAM!
"OW!" Kelsey yelped as Emily's fist collided with her cheek. Emily made to jump down with Kelsey but Wayne, for the third time today, had to hold a girl back. Had it been worth it? Though Emily was satisfied seeing Kelsey tearing up, she wanted more. Just one more punch… She continued to struggle with Wayne until Kelsey disappeared completely from sight. Finally, Wayne let go of her and she collapsed to the floor, shaking and sobbing.
9:13 pm
[Soundtrack 1]
The Panthers walked glumly to the stumps by the campfire. This place was starting to feel a little too familiar for them. Julia and Axel took seats by the front while Wayne, Ripper and Chase stayed at the back.
Wayne and Chase gave Ripper small smiles. He smiled back weakly.
"Good evening everyone," Chef said in a low voice. "Didn't expect to see y'all here for the third time in a row but here we are."
The Panthers all nodded their heads in shame, all refusing to look at each other for the stakes were extremely high. Each felt they had a good chance of going home at this point.
"As you can… uh… see… we have a bit of… uh … family tension… going on right now," Chef continued, casting anxious looks at Chris to his left and Emily to his right, both of whom were standing still as a statue, looking straight ahead and not saying a word. "They had a bit of a fiasco but I'm sure they'll be fine soon because they love each other don't they?" Chef nudged Chris.
"I don't know," Chris said sarcastically. "I didn't really do anything wrong today… Unlike SOMEONE who thought they could go behind my back and bend the rules, I play fair." He stuck his nose into the air pretentiously. Emily snorted.
Chef shook his head. He had tried his best to get them to make up but it looked like it would be an overnight feud.
"Anyways, I'll get to the usual business," Chef said, clearing his throat. "Time to point out today's failures…
"Chase, you were one of the only ones who didn't face his fear and cost your team a 30-minute penalty at the beginning. Your coward butt couldn't handle the thought of being unpopular for five minutes. Shameful, clout-chasing roach you are… "
Chase nodded and gulped. He was mentally preparing himself to walk down the Dock of Shame.
"Julia, you could be on the chopping block for making Ripper feel like he had to do his dare. Putting unnecessary pressure on him when you didn't even know his villain origin backstory. How inconsiderate…"
Julia's eyebrows raised. She did not expect to be one of the names called out during this routine.
Julia confessional: *blinks dumbfounded* WHAT?! I – I – I – ?!
"And Ripper. Failing to complete your dare, you cost your team the win though it wasn't nearly as disappointing as Chase's. Sorry you went through all o' that brother…"
Ripper looked down and swayed his feet backwards and forwards.
"OK, this one is interesting," Chris said mysteriously. "The marshmallows go to…
…Axel…
…Wayne…
…Julia…
"Ripper and Chase, it pains me to say this but I can only send one of you home. The final marshmallow goes to…"
Ripper and Chase exchanged anxious looks. It seemed the second member of the legendary Trout Trio would be leaving tonight. Chase's heart was thumping against his chest erratically. He already knew what the outcome was going to be.
"Ri – "
"WAIT! Stop!" Ripper's voice cut Chris off sharply.
Chris blinked dumbfounded. "Sorry?" He was not the only one not understanding Ripper. Every other Panther was looking at Ripper incredulously.
Ripper got up from his stump. "I don't wanna be here anymore," he said loudly. "Now that the whole world knows about how much of a loser I am, I don't see any reason to continue – "
"Ripper!" Emily yelled in a panicky voice. What was he doing? Was his ego seriously this fragile? Since when did he care what others thought of him? It was not making any sense to her. "You're safe! Chase is going ho – "
"No Emily," Ripper said, now looking at her directly. "Chase is staying because I'm quitting."
"WHAT?!" everybody said in unison.
Chase's jaw dropped as he turned to Ripper. He didn't know how to react. Should he be grateful Ripper was sacrificing himself for him? But, then… why did it feel so bad?
"Dude, seriously?" Chase mumbled.
"WHOA! THIS IS INTERESTING NOW!" Chris gasped. A last-minute switch? And what appeared to be the first self-elimination of the season…
Emily stomped her foot on the ground infuriated. Why was he being so stubborn? She would not accept these terms and conditions. "Ripper! Just – just take the dumb marshmallow!" she cried desperately as she chucked the fluffy white treat at his head.
Ripper easily caught his marshmallow and tossed it to Chase. Emily's heart sunk. She stood still as a statue as Ripper gave her a cheeky smile.
"Thanks dude!" Chase said as he happily feasted on his undeserved marshmallow.
Ripper chortled and began following Chris to the dock. He brushed by Emily without saying a word but he was not worried. He knew they would say their good-byes at the dock because she would come running to him. He was sure of it.
"I'll win it for Trout Trio! I promise!" Chase bawled, as he gave Ripper a heartfelt salute. "Say hi to Zee at Playa Des for me, OK?"
"Take care bro," Wayne said solemnly as he embraced Ripper like a fellow Snow Owl.
"Sorry Ripper," Julia said in a low voice as she hugged him. "Axel and I voted for Chase but… " she broke off. Ripper nodded and chuckled as Chase frowned behind Julia.
"See you around," Axel whispered in his ear as they exchanged a long hug. Ripper stared at Axel perplexed. From mortal enemies to somehow tolerating each other's presence, they had certainly come a long way.
Ripper threw his bag on the Boat of Losers and turned around. "Later dudes!" he waved at his team. And then he turned to the person who he was going to miss most. Though she was hanging around at the back of his farewell group, he could still make out her solemn expression in the moonlight. Ripper cleared his throat.
"Bye Emily! Thanks for… erm… everything. It's been fun playing ball with ya!" he grinned widely.
Emily nodded but did not say a word because she knew how this guy liked to joke around. Ripper was going to pretend to board the boat but then at the last second, announce that this was his grand idea of a prank and kick Chase's butt to the Boat of Losers. All for laughs and giggles. She was sure of it. But when she saw him turn away from her with vigor, she felt a lump in her throat because she finally realized he really was going and that this not a joke. He was really leaving.
RIPPER! WAI – " she cried out, making a run for him. Suddenly Chris snatched her arm, preventing his daughter from running to Ripper.
Emily squirmed as she struggled to be free of her father's tight grip.
"Alright since it's a half hour show we need to go now. Bye Ripper! Playa Des Losers awaits! What the – "
Chris spun around as Chef snatched his arm.
"Chris, let her say goodbye man," Chef said in a low voice. Chris and Chef exchanged a silent look of understanding. Maybe he really was being a jerk for no reason at this time.
Chris faltered and during this moment of hesitation, Emily tore her arm away from his grip and took off.
[Soundtrack 4]
Emily ran with outstretched arms to Ripper, her burgundy hair flowing elegantly behind her. She jumped into his arms and wrapped her hands around his neck, staring down at him sadly, while Ripper held her up by her legs and looked up with a cheeky grin.
The two baseball lovers stared at each other and cry-laughed. They would really be separated after everything they had been through.
"Yerrrrrrr out," Emily choked as Ripper laughed. She wiped away her tears.
Suddenly, Emily closed her eyes, puckered her lips and moved slowly towards Ripper. His heart lightened. He knew what he had to do. He had been dreaming of this moment for the longest time ever. So he was going to do it like he had seen in the movies, only this time it was his turn. It would be his first time doing this so hopefully he would not mess up.
Emily and Ripper pressed their lips against each other's. Ripper was surprised at how good it felt. Warm and soft. He had never felt his happy. For some reason, he could've sworn he felt something get dropped into his pocket but that may have just been Emily's hand brushing up against his hair.
As Emily wrapped her arms around his thick neck, he found he did not want to let go. Finally, he had no choice. There was too much saliva in his throat now. Ripper gave Emily one final look before turning around and boarding the Boat of Losers with a goofy expression of satisfaction.
As the Boat of Losers carried Ripper away from the island, he stared glassy-eyed at the moon which was shining extra bright tonight. Absent-mindedly, he shuffled his pockets around but… there was something inside! He knew he hadn't imagined it. What was it?
Ripper gaped at the piece of paper he had just pulled out. He looked at it, shook his head and looked at it once more to make sure he had read that correctly. And then he threw his head into the air and laughed. It was the first time a girl had ever given him –
212 – 807 – 163 :)
"Nice!" Ripper smiled as he held the paper tightly between his fingertips.
9:52 pm
KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!
Emily opened the door to her room but for some reason she pointed an umbrella sharply at her visitor. Who was coming to see her at this time? She did not want any visitors when she had just had the most emotional goodbye of her life. She looked horrible!
"Sheesh! I DON'T HAVE A BOMB ON ME RELAX!" Chase yelped, eyeing the umbrella apprehensively as he slowly tiptoed inside.
Emily let him enter and closed the door with her feet. Chase whistled to himself as he paced around the large space Emily resided in. Certainly much better living standards than their cabins. Finally, deciding he had done enough sightseeing of her room, Chase turned to her.
"Hey Emily…" he began awkwardly but quickly paused. Chase had just registered her grieving face. Her tears had run through her makeup and splotches of opera mauve covered her entire face. It was like an art project gone bad.
Emily did not respond and only glared silently at him. She was seething and distressed.
Chase sighed. He knew what this was about. "I hope you're not mad at me for taking Ripper's place. He was supposed to be here instead of me to be honest…" Chase ruffled his hair.
Emily snorted and shook her head in disbelief. This did not make her feel better in the slightest.
Chase reached into his pocket nervously. "Anyways…. He left you this. Asked me to give it to you a few days ago cuz he didn't know if you were still mad at him. Uh… I guess I give it now?" Chase held up a metallic CD. As promised to his best friend, he had not played this CD as it was obviously personal between Ripper and Emily. He was just the delivery man.
"Thanks," Emily said quietly. Chase gave a little nod before awkwardly leaving. Once the door closed shut, Emily ran breathlessly to her CD player and inserted the disk. She put on her headphones and turned the volume up, surprised to hear the familiar booming voice of Ripper.
"TESTING! TESTING! I'D LIKE TO READ AN ORIGINAL POEM OF LOVE TO ONE LUCKY LADY! BEEN WORKING ON IT FOR THE PAST TWO WEEKS! I CALL IT MON CHER EMI"
Emily closed her eyes and laughed to the ceiling. This guy! She couldn't believe what she was hearing but she listened carefully nonetheless. It was time to see what he had come up with.
WHEN WE FIRST MET ON THAT LOVELY, SUNNY DAY
SHE STRUCK MY HEART OUT IN ONE SMOOTH PLAY
WITH DELICIOUS PINK PARTY TO THE FACE
AND SILLY NICKNAMES, NOW WE'RE ON FIRST BASE
EVEN CHEEKS SQUEEZED TIGHT COULD NOT CONTAIN
THE SWEET SMELL OF LOVE, MY HEART'S METHANE
SO I ASK YOU, EMILY MCLEAN
HONEST TRUE AND PLAIN
CAN I TAKE YOU OUT
TO A FRIDAY NIGHT GAME?
By the end of the poem, Emily's entire face was wet with her own tears. She had never heard anything so awfully beautiful. This moment felt bittersweet.
"Thanks Rico," Emily whispered as she cough-laughed. She was going to listen to this all night – anything to hear his familiar voice for just a few more hours. She had already pressed replay.
THE END
AUTHOR'S NOTES
And just like that the pre-merge is done! Episode 8 is when we merge. (I wanted to keep the merge number the same as the first season. I always found 11 to be a weird number to merge at).
VOTES
Chase: Julia, Axel, Wayne (DON'T COUNT)br /
Ripper: Ripper (SELF-ELIM)br /
Julia: Chase
Explanations:
Julia, Axel and Wayne voted for Chase for taking a stupid penalty at the start.
Chase voted for Julia because he knows she is targeting him for taking a penalty.
This concludes Ripper's story. I felt 7 episodes was more than enough for his arc and it can't drag out any longer.
I gave him the classic emotional anime backstory. Hope you enjoyed Rimily while it lasted. I also hope you see why it was super important to have Ripper fall in love with an intern instead of a competitor. This way, he plays hard every day to ensure he stays as long as he can. He is not reduced to one-half of a constantly kissing couple and still plays really hard. He is also the same humorous, yet toned-down (especially the farting) Season 1 self. And he actually has a proper elimination here with a memorable last moment.
His arc was simple: smooth sailing at first, bump on the road in the middle, resolution. It took Emily ignoring him for him to reflect on his poor decisions and make him a better person.
Ripper's past is foreshadowed in Episode 4 when Emily asks him about the music he wrote. Ripper wrote the piece "Crying" after the rejection and played it to himself at home while everyone else was out at semi-formal. The key is E minor.
This event is also foreshadowed in Episode 1 when he gathers up the courage to go up and talk to Emily after the challenge.
( "Ripper took a deep breath as he shuffled his feet awkwardly towards Emily. His heart was beating slightly faster than usual. The last time he had done something similar to this, it had not ended well…" )
Notice how Ripper did not write down "Rico" in the court case challenge and made a big fuss about writing down their full name because he does not want anyone digging in to his past.
Ripper was definitely one of the characters I had to work on the most because when I saw the canon Season 2, I was just in awe at what they did with him (and not in a good way). He started off OK and I liked the direction they were going for, but when he just kissed Axel 24/7 it became unbearable. Also, one of the worst eliminations in the history of TD.
Kelsey is based off of Amy from Pakhitew. Think of her like a Gen Z Amy. She is meant to be cartoonishly bitchy.
As seen in the flashback, when Ripper congratulates Kelsey for her dance competition performance, it shows his comment during the TikTok challenge about "guys not caring for dance competitions" was a total lie.
I am not going to lie and say Ripper did a good job trying to pick up his crush. IMO, he did too much – too many compliments and rushing to date and hang out. It was excessive but Kelsey's rejection is also too much. Both of their approaches had flaws.
This is also not anti-jock propaganda when I chose the jocks to laugh at Ripper. It was just to make a point of how there are also good jocks like Wayne, in comparison.
Julia is going easy on Kelsey. Remember, Julia is also feeling a little emotional because of her talk with the tennis rivals. Kelsey got lucky it was not a normal day for Julia!
Chris… Yeah. He's pretty punchable here but now we have drama among the hosts as well!
Changing the poem to fit baseball instead of zombies was a little hard but I hope it came out OK. A little cringe but whatever. This was one of the hardest chapters to write because it's hard to write romance without sounding corny. I hope it was OK though.
CONFESSIONAL TOTAL
Who will have the most confessionals in the end?...
Julia: 39
Raj: 26
MK: 25
Bowie: 25
Emma: 24
Wayne: 23
Damien: 23
Caleb: 23
Ripper: 20
Chase: 20
Axel: 20
Priya: 19
Nichelle: 12
Zee: 12
Millie: 5
Scary Girl: 2
Emily: 3
Chef: 2
Chris: 2
Courtney: 1
Gerry: 1
Pete: 1
Shark: 1
ELIMINATION ORDER:
1. NO ELIMINATION (Reward challenge)
2. Lauryn "Scary Girl" Marinus (16th)
3. Millie Williams (15th)
4. Bowie Lupaul (14th)
5. Nichelle Ladonna (13th)
6. Hezekias "Zee" Pancho (12th)
7. Rico "Ripper" Ruffalo (11th)
MERGE