The video started up in a rather spartan looking recording studio, the only things present being a large metal table, a video screen, and two people sitting at opposite ends of the table, large microphones on stands set up in front of them. The walls of the room were covered in noise-canceling foam, and the entire room was lit up with subtle wall lights blue.
“Hey everyone,” a familiar looking brunette with a side-cut and slightly purple highlights said into her microphone, “This is Elise Rodriguez, and welcome back to the Everyday Magic Podcast, episode forty five. With me in the studio, as always, is my amazing cohost Cody Ramone.”
The camera angle changed to show a rather dorky looking man with short cut brown hair and a thinly trimmed goatee staring at a duel screen monitor layout, giving a little wave at the camera and saying, “Hello!”
The camera then cut back to Elise, who continued, “And our special guest for the week, here to discuss all things season three of America’s Next Great Assistant, and how the contestants have been doing now that the show has been over for a bit, none other than celebrity host and producer, Drake Bordignon,” Elise and Cody clapped as the camera cut angles again to show Drake sitting in the seat opposite of Elise.
Drake seemed significantly more laid back than he did in most press appearances, wearing a rather plain looking black polo, leaning back in his chair slightly as he smiled and said, “Hey everyone. And thanks for having me Elise.”
“He he. Thank you for coming, Drake! It’s great to finally work with you again!” Elise beamed.
“Now, firstly, I just want to say, Congratulations on the engagement,” Elise smiled.
“Thanks,” Drake blushed in return.
“Have you two already figured out a time and a place yet?” Elise grinned, eagerly pressing the topic further.
Drake continued to blush, “N-Not yet… We’re still trying to work out the details right now. Jake’s interested in making it one of the biggest events Mageria’s ever seen, but honestly I think I’d be more comfortable with having just a small private event for friends and family. And then there’s the wedding presents he wants to get us- Well, really it’s mostly the stuff involving me that really has me worried… So that’s been a bit of a sticking point too in our discussions.”
Elise nodded along, smiling knowingly, “He definitely seems the sort who would really be into the pageantry and tradition of marriage.”
“Tell me about it,” Drake sighed, before smiling.
Elise smiled along with him, “So, has that been all you’ve been doing since season three ended? Wedding Prep?”
“Oh no,” Drake waved his hand dismissively, “Honestly, that’s mostly just been this last week. Everything else has really basically just been taking a vacation with the woman I love. Although I don’t know if it was much of a vacation for her since we mostly just hung around Mageria,” Drake grinned.
“Oh, I’m sure you were treated like a prince there,” Elise grinned, “I’ve heard Mageria’s lovely this time of year.”
“Well according to Genie, it’s lovely all year long,” Drake chuckled, “But yeah. It’s absolutely gorgeous. It’s practically always sunny, and the sunset~. You should see their beaches though. White sand as far as the eye can see.”
“Hehe. There’s a break coming up on the schedule, maybe Cody and I should see about scheduling a vacation there instead of the Bahamas,” Elise giggled.
The camera cut to a view of Cody, who was blushing slightly, “Shame those tickets are non-refundable though…”
Elise just laughed, “I’m sure Jake would be willing to recoup the cost though…”
After a round of laughter, Elise got back on topic, “So Drake, I’m assuming you’ve been in regular contact with the new girls this season as much as you were with us?”
“As I’ve been with all of the previous contestants,” Drake smiled.
“Great,” Elise smiled, “Because really, the whole reason for having you on was so that we could discuss what everyone’s been up to the last month. And again, we know you’re a very selective guy, so thank you so much for coming on.”
Drake waved his hand, “Please,” he grinned, “I much prefer doing these small scale events than the big paparazzi press shows. Reminds me of my own days starting out. Plus, as a former contestant, I know that you have these girls’ best interests in mind.”
“Of course!” Elise nodded her head, “We’ve already had practically every season two contestant on except for Patricia…”
Drake nodded, “She seems to have completely flown off the radar on our end too. Hopefully wherever she is, she’s alright.”
Elise smiled nervously, "Hopefully she’s just busy with research… In any case though, with your help, we were able to track down and get all of the former contestants on… Save for Paxton unfortunately, who’s going to be doing one of her first shows with Martin in…” Elise lifted up her watch, checking what time it was, “Eight minutes?”
Drake nodded his head, looking up as though to remember something, “Their… third show together, I believe?”
Elise nodded in response, “Yep! But thankfully, they did give us some exclusive promo footage from their first performance together, so we have that to look forwards to later! And sorry for all of you audio-only listeners out there, but the clip’s going to be exclusive to the live show only, so make sure you subscribe so you can keep up with all the exclusive YouTube content.”
Drake grinned, chuckling a little, “Plus, how else will you get to see me in as close to a t-shirt as I’m willing to wear?”
After another round of laughter, Elise pushed the show back on track yet again, “So the season three contestants!”
Drake calmed down a little, composing himself, “Yep!”
“Any thoughts on them before we begin?” Elise raised a single eyebrow.
Drake just smiled, “Now Elise. What sort of answer are you looking from me? I’m just going to say the same thing of every season. The contestants did a fantastic job, and I’m honored that I got to work once again with so many talented individuals.”
“So… No favorites then?” Elise continued to push, an impish grin on her face
Drake just shakes his head, a smile plastered across his face, “None whatsoever.”
“Not even last season?” Elise grinned.
Drake sighed, his smile still not going away, “You know. Did you want to talk about Season three contestants or not?”
“That’s not an answer!” Elise giggled.
Drake rolled his eyes, “I go into the season’s completely impartial, Elise. I’m the host. I can’t be rooting for one contestant over the others. I think all of the contestants do an amazing job, and if things are going to continue the way they have been, I’m sure they’ll be equally as amazing in the future.”
“Mhm,” Elise raised a single eyebrow again, seemingly unconvinced, “I”m sure you do… In any case though. We really should start talking about the contestants before the live audience starts sending angry messages.”
The camera cut to Cody, who gave a meek smile, “Too late. They’re already demanding you talk about Kacie.”
“Well, we’ll get to her,” Elise stuck her tongue out at the camera, “We’re going in order though! So keep your boots on!”
“So Rachel then?” Drake smiled, clearly happy to get the subject off of him.
“Yes! Rachel!” Elise smiled, the graphic on the TV monitor set up in between the two of them changing to a headshot of the daredevil. “The first contestant voted off. What did you first think of her Drake? Any personal anecdotes?”
Drake smiled, clearly squinting his eyes and trying to remember events that had happened nearly three months ago at this point, “Well… If I remember correctly, I was worried when Martin that she didn’t particularly have a great reason for wanting to be on the show…”
“Oh yeah,” Elise nodded along, “It seemed like she saw being an Assistant more as another adventure to go on, and less of a serious career which people have put their hearts and souls behind.”
Drake nodded, “But, coming up on the end of her short two weeks with us, it really seemed like she sort of realized the commitment and seriousness everyone else was putting into the competition, and started pushing herself appropriately.”
“Evidently, it wasn’t enough of a change for the audience,” Elise shrugged, “Because I’m pretty sure her vote was the only one this season where the results weren’t even close to each other.”
A brief flash of pain flashed across Drake’s head, as he nervously said, “Y-Yeah… In many ways I feel bad for her about that. She evidently was well out of her depth on this one…”
Elise shrugs again, “Sometimes that’s just how the cookie crumbles though. Not every contestant can be the next Jill or Annette or Paxton.”
Drake nodded along, pausing for a moment before continuing, clearly deep in thought, “As for personal anecdotes… Well, I didn’t really have much time to spend with the contestants in those first weeks… Especially after Martin left,” Drake shudders from the thought of that nightmare week for him. “But there was one incident that I thought was pretty funny involving her that I don’t think made it into the final episode…”
“Ooh! Dish!” Elise grinned, leaning in slightly.
“Well…” Drake grinned, “It happened when the girls went to Luna Park… Apparently Rachel had went on a rollercoaster with Kacie… And I really don’t know why she did it… but she had the bright idea to try stretching out her arms way higher than you’re supposed to… and, well, you can probably guess what happened,” Drake rolled his hand around.
Elise’s eyes lit up wide, “Did she hit the track!?”
Drake laughed, “Yep. Nearly gave the group sitting behind her a heart attack as her arms instinctively liquified and drenched them.”
Elise couldn’t help herself from laughing, “Oh! I bet! I’m pretty sure something like that would freak anyone out.”
Drake nodded, “Yep. And the magic charms we gave the girls only work up to a point. So we had to cut out a scene where Rachel basically had a mini fan meet-up in Luna Park as she tried to reconstitute her arms.”
Cody gave a signal, and Elise moved on to the next segment, “Well, thanks for that little story Drake, but it seems like we have Rachel live from the Congo! How are you Rachel?”
The little screen cut to live footage of Rachel. On screen, she seemed to be sitting in what appeared to be a large black cauldron of a bathtub in a pink bikini. Her lower half had completely melted away, giving the water a pinkish hue to it, and evidently her upper half was well on the way to melting aways as well, but for right now the flow of melting was mostly concentrated on her waist stump slightly below her belly button.
“Oh! Hi Elise!” Rachel practically screamed, her concentration slipping away slightly, causing her to sink slightly lower into the water before grabbing at the rim of the pot again, raising herself back up and revealing that now the melting had reached to above her bellybutton.
“Hi Rachel! It’s great to talk with you!” Elise smiled, “How have you been enjoying your personal ‘world tour’?”
“Oh! It’s been wonderful!” Rachel smiled, fondly remembering her vacation, “You know, it’s been such a long time since I’ve traveled the world, and the ANGA team really knows how to pick fun things to do!”
“Thanks. We pride ourselves on our consolation prizes,” Drake grins.
“Oh! Drake’s there too! Hi Drake!” Rachel smiled giving a small wave, slipping slightly deeper into the water, her body continuing to melt away.
“Hey Rachel,” Drake waved back, “I’m trying to remember what you should have already done on your trip… Um… Oh! How did you like The Running of the Minotaurs?”
Rachel giggled, “Oh it was a lot of fun! I ended up getting trampled flat pretty early on though… One of the minotaurs was kind enough to impale me on his horns though! Which was a really fun experience!”
Elise laughed, “That sounds awesome! So, what have you got going on right now?”
Rachel grinned, “Well, I’m taking part in a rejuvenation ceremony here in the Congo checking out the rainforest. Actually, the guy leading it is a huge fan of yours Elise!” Rachel turned in the tub, looking at someone off camera, “Hey! Pierre! I’m speaking with Elise! Come say Hi!”
From the side of the screen, a large African man walked in. He was wearing a red t-shirt and cargo shorts. As he walked in frame, he bowed his head slightly, blushing and speaking with a thick accent, “Ah! Elise! Very nice to meet you!”
Elise smiled, “Nice to meet you too Pierre. Sorry for interrupting your ceremony.”
“It’s no problem,” Pierre blushed further, “The ceremony’s tomorrow. This is just a dress rehearsal.”
Rachel grinned, “Yep! They’re going to melt me down and then drink me all up!” She giggled slightly, “It’s going to be so much fun!”
Elise grinned, “It does sound like a lot of fun. And sounds exactly like something you’d love to do.”
Pierre dipped his finger in the water, keeping his form easily as he licked to get a taste, nodding his head as he walked away. Rachel beamed, “Oh yeah! And then next week I’m heading off South Africa to go cliff diving off the Amphitheatre.”
Elise nods, “Definitely sounds like a lot of fun!” Elise grins, “Now… I hope you don’t mind me asking, but have you put in any thoughts into your magic career after your big sight seeing tour?”
Rachel blushes, as she sinks slightly lower in the water, the liquid now eating away just below her breasts. “Well… Honestly, I’m not sure if being an assistant is right for me… I mean, I had a ton of fun performing with Martin! But I’m not sure I could tie myself down to the routine and constant practices and sticking to a routine…”
Drake managed to butt in before Elise could speak, “And you know Rachel, that’s perfectly fine. ANGA helps encourage others to become magician’s assistants, but it’s definitely a tough job, and not everyone is cut out for it. I mean, look at Leela and Ophelia from season one, or Maya and Patricia from season two. If you don’t think the assistant life is right for you, you should be free to live it how you want to.”
Rachel smiled warmly at the camera, although now that the water had completely dissolved her breasts and chest, leaving her as essentially just a pair of arms, head, and shoulders, it was difficult to tell if her rosy cheeks were from her feelings or the boiling heat, “Thanks Drake. I just hope everyone else isn’t too mad at me.”
Elise confidently spoke out, “Well, if they had a problem with it, hopefully Drake’s message will encourage their way of thinking… But I think we’re going to have to move on now Rachel. Any parting words you’d like to pass on?”
“Yes!” Rachel grinned, lowering her arms into he water, the rest of her abbreviated body melting away as she said her final message, “Remember to let yourself have fun occasionally and often as you can! Life should be enjoyab-*gurgle*” Rachel’s mouth melted away, as she gave a small wink, the rest of her head dispersing throughout the water, as the small monitor cut back to the Everyday Magic logo.
“Well, that was Rachel,” Elise smiled, “Next up on the chopping block, the internet’s new favorite Mom: Olive!”
Drake clapped slightly, as the monitor changed to display her headshot, her crow’s feet framing a pair of loving, elder eyes. Drake chuckled, “Did you know, Olive’s been sending me a care packet of her homemade cookies every single week since she’s gotten back home?”
Elise’s eyes lit up, “Oh my God! Really? That’s beyond adorable!”
Drake nodded his head, continuing to chuckle, “I’ve messaged her multiple times that she really doesn’t have to, especially since apparently she had to bribe the Cruise Ship’s chefs to let her cook them, but she just won’t listen to reason.”
Elise giggled, “Man. I really wish that I had a Mom as cool and sweet as Olive.”
Drake chuckled, “You really should have seen her some of the things she’d do behind the scenes. I swear within the first three days she knew the entire production team by name, and she was constantly babying the PA’s and asking them if they had drank enough water or needed any help moving things.”
Elise blushed, “Oh my God! She sounds like the most precious sweetheart imaginable~”
Drake nodded, “Oh. She was a wonder to have on set. And her performances always had a really great Jill quality to them, fitting in flattening in such interesting and different ways. I really wonder what sort of performance she would have given if she had managed to make it to the finals.”
Elise nodded along, “Oh yeah! I agree completely. I think that really speaks to just how strong the cast performances across the board though were this season, when Olive, who performed so wonderfully, was just the second elimination.”
Drake looked like he was about to speak, before catching himself, “Yes,” he grinned, “The performances were just as excellent as they’ve been in years prior.”
Elise rolled her eyes, “Oh come on Drake. I was on one of those previous seasons. Seriously, the stuff this year blew our shows out of the water. You don’t have to sugar coat it.”
Drake was about to respond to those accusations, when Cody jumped in, “Hey, Olive’s managed to connect, do you want me to patch her through?”
Elise smiled, looking over to Cody, as Drake gave her a look that clearly meant he was not finished talking about the subject. “Go ahead Cody.”
The monitor changed once more from a head shot to live footage. This time, it was of Olive, who was evidently way too close to the camera of her phone, as the only thing visible was her eye and nose. Unfortunately, the video was also filmed vertically, meaning that Cody had to work quickly to fill in the black void on either side with some Everyday Magic branding. “H-Hello?” Olive asked uncertainly, and quite loudly.
“Yes! Olive! We can see and hear you. Would you mind backing up a little bit?” Elise asked politely.
Olive extended her phone outwards, revealing that she was in some sort of ship cabin resembling an overly cramped hotel room. She had evidently transformed herself, resembling her half height form from her audition tape, her assets exaggerated slightly from all of the excess mass that had been migrated to them during her compression. As she caught site of the feed of the podcast on her phone Olive seemed to clam down slightly, “Uff da! Sorry, dear! Technology’s really not my strong suit!” Olive was practically shouting into her phone, peaking the audio a little bit.
“It’s okay Olive,” Elise said understandingly, “Also, you don’t have to shout, we can hear you just fine.”
“Sorry!” she said, her volume lowering slightly from a shout, but still not her normal audio level, forcing Cody to normalize her audio slightly, the chat responding with how loud she was in comparison to everyone else.
“So Olive,” Elise asked, “You’re finally on the ‘Magic Across the Seven Seas’ cruise?”
“Yep!” Olive beamed, “and Henry’s came along for the ride too! Say ‘Hi!’ to everyone dear!” Olive turned the phone, showing the rather grumpy looking older man. He had on a plain white polo, board shorts, a white bucket hat and glasses.
He seemed relaxed, but still rather annoyed, “Dear, they didn’t tune in to see me.”
“Just say ‘hi’, dear,” Olive repeated, whispering it with a bit of force.
Henry sighed, giving his best smile with a slightly crooked smile, “Hello.”
The camera swiveled back around to show Olive’s smiling face, “I’m so happy to see him out of the house again~”
Elise nodded, “So, how long have you two been on the cruise?”
Olive looked up contemplatively, “It should be about… three weeks now, dear?” She turned to Henry off screen, evidently, he must have nodded, because she nodded her own head, saying, “Yeah. About three weeks now.”
“And have you gotten to perform with Davy Jones yet?” Elise asked.
“Oh, Davy and I are having a wonderful time!” Olive beamed, “We’ve still got about a week of practicing left, but next week we start our weekly show!” Olive started tearing up a little bit, “It’s going to be so good to get to perform in front of an audience again. I- It really means so much to me~”
Drake smiled, saying, “That’s great to hear Olive. I’m really glad that you’re enjoying the opportunity.”
Olive sniffled her eyes still tearing up a little as she said, “Ah Drake, Love. You’re there too? Thank you so much. Have you been getting my cookies?”
Drake laughed, “Yes Olive. And you really don’t have to send me any-“
“It’s the least I can do, Dearie,” Olive interrupted, “You and Martin have given me such a wonderful opportunity. Baking cookies is my small way of showing thanks.” Drake evidently didn’t have the heart to correct her.
Elise was still curious though, so she asked, “Any hints to what your show’s going to be about?”
Olive grinned, “Unfortunately no. The cruise is apparently rather secretive about their shows to help encourage more ticket sales. But I can confirm there’s quite a bit of compression and stretching in it,” Olive winked.
Elise giggled, “Well, at least you’re doing what you love.”
“Oh yah!” Olive nodded, “It’s absolutely magical.”
Cody gave Elise a signal, which Elise nodded in response to. “Alright Olive. I’m afraid that’s all we’ve got time for. Any final words?”
“Yes! Mason! If you’re watching, Dear! Momma hopes you’re having a great time at college! We’ll miss you at Christmas time dear, but I’m sure we’ll figure something out. And Hannah! Thank you so much for housesitting while we’re away, sweetie. Just try not to destroy the place!” Olive giggled.
“Thanks Olive!” Elise smiled.
“You’re welcome dear,” Olive smiled back, before looking confused at her phone again, “Now… How do I turn this off?”
Thankfully, Cody cut the feed, the monitor once again returning to the Everyday Magic logo as Elise and Drake shifted to look at each other again. “So… the resident historian, Natalie is next,” Elise grinned, as her headshot popped up on the little view monitor. “Now… From what we saw, it didn’t really seem like you liked her all that much Drake.”
“Now, that’s unfair,” Drake said defensively, sticking out his hand in an exasperated manner “I liked Natalie a lot. She just tended to have a habit of getting sidetracked, and then going on long ramblings about said side topic. ANGA’s a tightly scheduled show, and as host it’s my responsibility to make sure that things run smoothly, and that includes cutting off an hour long lecture on every single magician who’s ever performed at a specific theater before it begins.”
“Sure,” Elise said sarcastically, raising a single eyebrow, “You were just doing it ‘for the show’.”
“I was!” Drake laughed, “Look, if I didn’t like Natalie, why would I willingly talk to her practically everyday since ANGA’s ended to help answer her production related questions for her historical blog?”
“Guilt?” Elise joked. Eliciting a laugh from everyone present.
“No, you have it all wrong,” Drake was still laughing, “Guilt was what made me help her get the last couple of signatures from the weeks she was kicked out for her autograph book.” More laughs around the studio.
Elise calmed down slightly, “But no, I’ve got to say, I absolutely loved the nerdy energy she brought to the show. In many ways, she reminded me of my time on the show,” Elise smiled warmly.
Drake nodded his head, “Oh, when I first met her in person, you were the first person that came to my mind funnily enough. Although I will say you were much more restrained in your fanning than she was.”
Elise smiled, “Well, I had also been doing my channel for a bit, and interacted with many famous people before hand. By the end of her time on the show, she seemed much more calm and collected.”
“Well, she was able to talk to Peter and Lisa, which is more than what I think first week Natalie could have done,” Drake chuckled, “Although behind the scenes she still was a bit of a mess when just introduced to a new person of any magical merit. Did I ever tell you of the crazy thing that happened in Europe?"
“No! What?!” Elise asked excitedly.
“It happened… I think either on Tuesday after we were heading home from the midweek challenge, or sometime on Thursday?” Drake looked up in contemplation for a moment, before shaking his head, “It doesn’t really matter when. Anyways, Natalie was walking alone in Brussels, and managed to walk into some elderly man that she apparently recognized? We have some unused footage of it, but apparently this gentleman was a really famous magician back in the day that had retired from the public eye like… thirty years ago? And Natalie had managed to recognize him from old photos.”
“Dang!” Elise’s eyebrows raised up in surprise.
“No kidding!” Drake chuckled, “the guy was as equally as shocked as we were.”
“So, what did he do?” Elise asked.
“Oh, you know. Said thanks for being a fan, gave her an autograph, they talked for about a half hour about his glory days on a park bench, but that all got cut from the episode for time,” Drake waved his hand, “Still such a crazy coincidence.”
“I’ll say,” Elise nodded.
Cody gave the signal they had Natalie on the phone. “Alright! And it seems Natalie’s on the line now, so we’ll go ahead and ask her a few questions. How are you Natalie?” Elise asked.
Natalie was sitting against a large stone that was jutting out from a stone wall. To her left there was a fenced in graveyard with really old looking stone headstones, and in front and to the right of her was a small park like patch of grass with a few large trees. “Eeeee! Elise! I’m so excited to be on your show!” Natalie squealed, “I’ve been dreaming of this moment practically since it was announced I was going to be on ANGA!”
Elise blushed, “Haha. Well It’s great to have you on! Where are you?”
“Oh!” Natalie blushed, smiling, “I’m in Salem Massachusetts. It’s part of my Magic Heritage Spots tour. I mean, I practically know everything there is to know about the Salem Witch Trials, but actually being here… It’s definitely really different… It was such a waste of life…”
Elise shook her head, “It truly was.”
Natalie perked up, “But really, this tour has been amazing! I’ve been learning so much! And we haven’t even left North America yet! I’m sure I’m going to learn even more when the tour starts going abroad!”
Drake grinned, “Well, I’m glad to hear that. Frankly, I’m shocked there’s still things you don’t know about magic history.”
Natalie smirked, “Oh come on, Drake. That’s unfair. There’s still plenty I don’t know about magic history.”
Drake chuckled, “I know. But all the same, if I ever had a question relating to it, I’d probably go to you first before a real magic historian.”
Natalie blushes, “Aw… Thanks Drake! But you really should probably talk to a trusted source before going to me…”
Elise giggles at this response, before asking, “So Natalie… It’s been on my mind ever since they announced it. But, let’s assume you had made it to the next round. What would you have done for the ‘no props allowed’ task?”
Natalie grinned, “Ooh! That’s a good question…” Natalie seemed lost in thought for a moment, before smiling, “Well… Martin and I had practiced a little bit that first week without any boxes. Maybe we would have mimed out some of the famous tricks and pretended that the props were all invisible?”
Elise smiled, closing her eyes and nodding along, “You know. That sounds like a pretty fun idea actually.”
Natalie blushes, “Although, it probably would have gotten me eliminated anyways, because it sounds pretty close to what Dahlia ended up doing…”
Drake interjected, “I’m sure you would’ve done enough to make it your own trick though. You and Dahlia have very… distinct styles compared to one another,” he laughed.
Natalie nodded, “Oh sure! But this is just a hypothetical anyways, so who know what really would have happened if I made it to the next round,” Natalie giggled.
Elise smiled, “So, have any plans after your world tour finishes?”
Natalie grinned, “Well, right now I’ve been checking out the ISAG archives online to watch some of their archived performances, which has been a ton of fun! But I really want to get out there and start doing my own performances! Maybe see if I can get myself assigned to a magician and really kick off my career! Because as much as I love history, ANGA was really a life changing experience for me.”
Elise nodded along, “It usually is.” Cody gave Elise the ‘wrap it up’ signal, “Natalie, it’s been great talking to you, and I’m sure you’re going to find yourself an amazing magician. Is there any final words you’d like to say about your time on the season?”
“It was an absolute honor to be on ANGA, and I’m glad that I could help spread my love of magic history just that little bit farther by being on it!” Natalie made a little heart sign with her hands, before the video cut out, returning to the Everyday Magic logo.
Drake took a drink from his water bottle. “Man,” he said, “It really is nice to see that everyone’s been having a great time since ANGA finished.”
“Oh yeah,” Elise smiled, “You really run a great show Drake. I can’t think of anyone who’s life got worse from being on the show.”
Drake smiled, “Well, that’s sort of the whole purpose of it. We want to show that anyone has the capacity of being a great assistant, and help encourage more people to take part in the larger magical world as a whole. I get messages all the time about how ANGA’s helped change their lives.”
“Do you find it a little crazy?” Elise grinned.
“A little bit, honestly,” Drake laughed, “I mean. At the end of the day, it’s Reality TV. Not some sort of high art form, you know.”
Elise giggled, “Trust me. I make a YouTube show. I’m well aware of how weird it can be to get comments from people saying your stuff really touched them and changed their lives. It’s just one of those things you get used to.”
“I’m pretty sure as the person working in Television, I’m supposed to be giving you that advice,” Drake laughed.
Elise giggled, “Maybe! But anyway, how about Dahl- I mean Dawn and Julia? I bet that was pretty shocking to find out.” The monitor updated once again, showing a screen shot of each of the three girls.
Drake nodded, becoming more serious for a second, “Oh trust me. It was absolutely terrifying.”
Elise’s tone shifted away from joking, “Oh?”
“Yeah,” Drake continued, turning towards the camera, “Seriously people. Do not do what Dawn and Julia did. I know the edit didn’t focus on it much, but that seriously almost got us kicked off the air and sending the production team to jail!”
“Oh dang!” Elise said genuinely shocked.
Drake nodded, “Yeah. We’ve already had to implement some changes on our ends to appease the WMO and ISAG. For instance, we’ve had to add even more background checking on our search process now. And unfortunately add even more stipulations to the contestant contracts that means lying in order to seem more favorable as a contestant on the show could result in a loss of magical ability.”
“Oh wow!” Elise seemed really upset, “So does that mean we’ll never see a contestant twist like Cammie or Dahlia again?”
Drake shook his head, grinning a little, “I never said that. Because even the producers acknowledge that those sort of twists are always exciting, especially when pulled off as artfully as Dahlia managed to. It just means that if you’re interested in doing something like that, you’re going to need to specify it with the producers beforehand.”
“So… Are auditions going back to being privatized then like in the first season?” Elise asked.
“…We’re honestly not sure right now,” Drake sighed, “Obviously, whatever we end up doing, the audition process is going to be open to everyone. It’d be unfair to suddenly remove that feature. Just… We’re not sure if they’re going to be public to everyone, or if there’s going to be some sort of screening process before hand.”
Elise nodded along, “Well, I think the audition tapes are a fun way to immediately connect with the contestants and get a feel for them before the season starts, and it’s fun to look at them and guess, but ultimately, I can see how legal issues might make it difficult.”
“Yeah…” Drake sighed, before perking up slightly, “On the plus side, I imagine that Dawn and Julia are probably ready to chat?” He looked over to Cody, who gave a thumbs up.
“Hey Dawn and Julia!” Elise smiled brightly, as a live feed showing off the two girls came into view on the monitor. Both of the girls appeared to be fully human, and they were sitting next to each other on a park bench, the Berlin Cathedral barely visible in the background, they had their inner hand intertwined with each other, staring at each other lovingly before Elise’s voice brought their attention back to the phone. “I hope Andrea hasn’t been working you two too hard now!”
“Hey!” A voice was heard, the phone rotating to show a grinning Andrea staring at the phone screen, “I’m working them just the right amount! These two have made excellent progress since they’ve started working with me.”
“Eep! Sorry Andrea,” Elise giggled, “Just a little joke, I knew you were probably doing a great job with them. Just wanted to see if they would have spoken up for you behind your back.”
“Of course we would!” The voice of Dawn was heard, Andrea spinning the camera back around to focus on the two assistants. “Andrea’s been doing a fantastic job training us.”
“Yeah!” Julia smiled, managing to speak with a slight confidence behind her weak voice, “We’re still not at the same level Dahlia is, obviously, but we’re quickly catching up with where she was at the start of the show.”
Dawn nodded in agreement, “And hopefully by the time our short vacation in Europe is completed, we’ll be just as good as where she ended up.”
Elise giggled, “Well, if there’s two girls who I think could do it, it’d be you two!”
Drake nodded in agreement, “Yeah. When I think about what you two had to do this season just to compete… Well, I definitely couldn’t do it.”
Dawn smiled, “Well, we wouldn’t have been allowed to compete at all if it wasn’t for all that hard work you did on our behalf Drake.”
Drake blushed, “Trust me, most of that was Martin-"
Julia interjected, “Please Drake! Martin may be a good magician, but if there’s anyone who really showed they knew the ins and outs of the proceedings, it was you.”
Drake blushed further, Elise butting in to take relieve him from the focus point, “So, I noticed you two are missing your missing halves… Does that mean that Dahlia-“
“Well,” Dawn looked lovingly at Julia, “We stayed that way for… About three weeks?” Julia nodded her head, Dawn looking back at the camera, “But unfortunately, for the show Andrea wants to do, we kind of had to be ourselves again, and that meant saying goodbye to Dahlia for a bit. Especially since none of us are strong enough to really achieve the same effect.”
“But!” Julia smiled, “Dawn and I have been practicing really hard to get the same effect going… And we’ve made some progress~” Julia smiled, as both she and Dawn held up their left hands, revealing that in place of their ring fingers, Julia had a blue, glass replica, and Dawn had a red gemstone approximation.
From the upper edge of the camera, Dahlia’s face poked upside down, the focus of the camera being completely out of whack for a second, before adjusting to it. “Hello everyone~” She absolutely beamed. “We’re a bit smaller than normal… But we’re getting there!”
The face slid upwards, and the camera focused back on Dawn and Julia, Andrea walking over and placing the much shrunken Dahlia in Dawn’s outstretched hand. She must have only been about two inches tall, but it was unmistakably Dahlia who hugged tightly to Dawn’s thumb. Elise squealed in delight, “Oh my God! That’s so adorable!”
Julia smiled, “It turns out maintaining a partial merge like this is a lot harder than maintaining a full merge… So we have to reabsorb her when we’re performing.”
“But anywhere else~…” Dawn grinned, turning and giving Julia a kiss on her lips, the petite redhead blushing profusely and becoming a stuttering mess, as Dawn continued, “It’s been an absolute blast to finally be together with her. Obviously she’s been a big part of our lives, so actually getting to talk and interact with her, even in such a limited capacity is a real gift.”
Elise squealed again, “Absolutely adorable! I’d love to keep talking with you two forever about this, but it seems like Cody’s giving me the wrap it up signal… So, any last sort of sendoff you’d like to give?”
“Yes!” Dawn smiled, Julia still being a bit of a stuttering mess from their earlier kiss, her cheeks still rosy red. “Make sure you check out our performance with Andrea! We’ve all worked really hard on it, and it’s sure to be a great time!” From behind the camera, Andrea’s giggling could be heard, the German girl certainly blushing at the little advertisement.
“Oh, Cody and I already have plans booked to see you in France!” Elise giggled along with her, before the camera feed cut away, leaving them alone in the studio once more.
“We’re getting close to the end here now,” Drake smiled, clearly growing a little more weary the longer the podcast dragged on.
“Yep! Just Kacie to go, and then that exclusive clip of Martin and Paxton’s new show, and that’ll be it for the night,” Elise smiled.
Drake nodded his head, “You know, speaking of Kacie, there’s a girl who did much better than I expected her to do.” The monitor updated once more to a headshot of Kacie.
“Really now?” Elise asked intrigued.
“Well yeah,” Drake shrugged, before correcting himself, “It’s not that I didn’t think she had it in her to win. I still thought any one of the six girls could have made it to the end and won. It’s just that Kacie seemed to enter the competition more so interested in using this as an excuse to advertise her music and herself, and really didn’t seem to come around to the idea of being a magician’s assistant until much later.”
“Well, maybe it was her built in fanbase from her DJ days?” Elise offered.
Drake shook his head, “I don’t think so? I mean, that might have played into it a tiny bit, but then how would you explain situations with Holli… or even you I suppose? Both of you had rather large fanbases already, and yet you got voted out in the second round, and Holli got eliminated in her first. I’d like to think that ANGA fans vote a little bit more impartially than just recognition.”
Elise shrugged, “Then I guess it’s because Kacie just had really solid performances the whole way through?”
Drake nodded, “Yeah. It still just shocks me. I mean, a DJ and a magician’s assistant seem rather far apart from each other on the job list…”
“Well, so are beast tamer and magician’s assistant and look at Annette and Rocky,” Elise giggled.
“You’ve got a fair point,” Drake chuckled.
Cody gave the ready signal, and Elise pushed forwards once more, “Well, regardless of the case, Kacie still managed to make a fantastic finalist, and her trick is sure to go down in ANGA history for being the first to feature an original song in it. So Kacie, how are you?”
Kacie appeared on the monitor. She was currently in a music studio, a pile of papers cluttered on top of a piano, a microphone set up nearby with a large pitcher of water. Kacie looked downright exhausted, sitting slightly forwards in her chair as she gave a week smile to the camera, “Oh you know… A little stressed out, but otherwise been doing fine.”
Elise smiled warmly, “Oh yeah! You’re hard at work on that big solo album, right?”
Kacie sighed, nodding and closing her eyes as she answered, “Yeah… ANGA really helped inspire a bunch of songs, so I’ve been hard at work trying to extract them from my head, but it’s definitely not as speedy a process as I would hope.”
Drake grinned, “Well, take your time Kacie. Remember, it’s not a smart idea to rush perfection.”
Kacie rolled her eyes, sarcastically responding “Yeah, well if perfection would be a little quicker to come around, my life would definitely be a whole lot easier.”
Elise giggled, before a slightly worried expression came across her face, “So… You’ve been focusing on just your music then… Did you end up giving up on becoming an assistant?”
Kacie sat up more in her seat, “Are you kidding me? No! It’s been absolute madness this past month!” Kacie sighed, sitting back in her chair and looking up at the ceiling, “It’s taken me nearly a month just to go through all the contracts and narrow it down to a field of ten. Even with help from the ISAG! It’s been absolutely crazy Elise! And that’s all on top of trying to get this solo album up and started…”
Elise held her hands up defensively, “S-Sorry! I had no idea you were so busy! Thanks so much for taking the time to talk with us!”
Kacie sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose, “No… I’m sorry for snapping. It’s just been really slow going. Sometimes I wish that things moved as fast as they seemed to when I was back on ANGA.”
Drake chuckled, “Oh yeah, ANGA’s process is heavily expedited. Sometimes to a detrimental level for all those involved…”
Kacie nodded along, “Yeah, with how heavily everything’s scheduled, it makes it really easy to just focus solely on the performance and making sure it turns out good. I wish I could go back to it sometimes,” Kacie laughed.
Elise nodded, “I know exactly what you mean. It really felt like my videos took forever to get done after getting back from how fast paced ANGA is. It’s like trying to return to a light jog after having ran a full sprint and coughing up a lung.”
“Exactly!” Kacie nodded along excitedly, “That’s the perfect analogy actually.”
Elise smiled, “Thanks!… So you’ve narrowed down the list to only ten though? Anyone exciting included there?”
Kacie blushed, looking at the stack of papers on the piano, “I mean… David and Phian are still in the running if you mean like people who’ve been featured on ANGA. Otherwise, yes the other eight also seem rather exciting and famous as well… It’s just so hard to pick. And it’s especially tough, because I really think I still do want to return to Martin in a year- If he’ll have me obviously!” Kacie’s blush deepened.
Elise laughed, “Oh! I’m sure he would, you two had great chemistry on stage. And I think that a musical touch could totally enhance his act. I think the only deciding factor would be whether you and Paxton could perform well together, and I haven’t really seen anything to the contrary yet.”
Kacie nodded, “Well, hopefully we’ll get the chance to perform together before then so we can find out! Maybe I’ll invite her as a guest to one of my concerts…”
Cody gave the wrap it up signal, Elise sighing, “Kacie, it’s been great talking to you, but I really don’t want to eat up any more of your time with how busy you seem. Any parting words you want to leave your fans?”
Kacie grinned, “I hope you look forwards to both the magic and the music! It may be slow going, but hopefully it’ll turn out great!”
With everyone talked about, Elise let out another excited squeal, “Well everyone! If you’re listening into the live podcast, this is when you’re going to want to get your butts into the YouTube stream, because next up, we’re going to play an exclusive snippet from Martin and Paxton’s first show!” The screen in the back transitioned to show the poster used for Paxton and Martin’s show. It was the same picture of a globe that ANGA used in all of their promotional material, except instead of having the ANGA logo across it, it instead advertised Martin Horn’s ‘Victory Lap’. A second world tour heavily featuring his new assistant, Paxton Brooks.
“I’m still honestly so shocked with how quickly they got a show together,” Drake grinned, “Usually it takes at least a month to get through all the training, rehearsals, and practices.”
“Well, I don’t know if getting a show running four days quicker than David or Howard is much of an accomplishment… Although I will say it’s rather rude to schedule a show on the exact same day, at the exact same time you know that one of the former contestants will be hosting their big, epic, season wrap up podcast!” Elise giggled.
Drake grinned, chuckling as he said “I’m sure Martin didn’t do it on purpose.”
“He better not have,” Elise fake pouted, “Especially since it means I miss out on the chance to give Paxton an exit interview!”
“I’m sure if you asked her, Paxton would love to do an exclusive one-on-one interview with you. Heck, she’d probably be able to rope Martin along for it,” Drake smiled.
“I know," Elise smiled back, “But it definitely means that all of the Paxton fans are going to be mad that the best I’ve got is this pre-recorded footage.”
“Speaking of which, how about we watch it?” Drake grinned, signaling to Cody, who started the video up, the feed of the podcast switching directly to it so that the live audience could get a better view.
The video started up with Paxton and Martin out on stage. Paxton was wearing a silver leotard, while Martin was in his normal performance outfit. Apparently introductions had already been done, as Martin was explaining, “For our first trick this evening, we’ve hopefully got something that’s going to revolutionize the way multi-assistant tricks are going to work. Paxton, if you’d please,” he made a slight bow.
“With pleasure,” Paxton said, snapping her fingers and conjuring up a rather plain looking prop box in a puff of smoke. The only two distinctive features of the box were that the front door of it was a whiteboard, and on top of it, there was a rather large, pronounced red button.
“This beauty,” Martin grinned, running his hand over the top of the box, “Is the Assitant-o-matic, the world’s first assistant vending machine, and it works a bit like your standard vanishing/redrawing trick. All you need is one assistant as the base,” Martin held the door open, Paxton giving a small wave to the crowd as she hopped on into the cabinet. Martin closed the whiteboard/door, and the whiteboard magically changed, a black marker outline of Paxton appearing on it.
“Then, when you’ve got the template as you want it, you go ahead and press this button…” Martin grinned, caressing the button once before pressing down on it. The side of the cabinet opened up like a door, smoke billowing out of it, as out stepped Paxton, completely in tact, and seemingly completely normal. “Out comes a brand new assistant!”
“You mean a copy of your old assistant,” the new Paxton onstage grinned, walking over and opening the door of the box open, revealing a still standing Paxton, who waved as the audience let out a small cheer.
“Semantics,” Martin grinned, as he walked around closing the door yet again. From his pocket, he pulled out a black marker. “And of course, if you find the original model too plain, you can always gussy it up a little bit…” Martin got to work with the marker, drawing two antennae at the top of the drawing before pulling out a blue marker, coloring the entire image save for the leotard blue.
This time, when he pressed the button, out popped a blue skinned Paxton from the side cabinet. She almost immediately reached up feeling her antennae, wincing slightly as she tried to pull them off her head. The regular clone of Paxton grinned, “You know, that look will be great if we ever actually did anything related to Sci Fi in the future.”
“Oh sure,” Martin agreed, opening and closing the door to reset the drawing on the front, this time drawing two extra sets of arms onto the Paxton silhouette, pressing the large red button. Out from the side a six armed Paxton tumbled out, very quickly becoming accustomed to her extra limbs.
This went on for quite a bit, Martin summoning a variety of different Paxtons. Some of them were simple clones with either some extras, or pieces missing. Others were more intricate or strange. At one point, a two headed Orcish figure crawled out of the side of the box, nearly 1.5 times the height of all the other Paxtons on stage. Another time, a massive dragon managed to impossibly slink through, the box looking like it was about to explode as more and more of this hulking beast managed to slide out. The silver scales glistening against the stage lights, the dragon let out a roar, before blowing bubbles out over the crowd.
“Okay Martin… I think this is more than enough!” Paxton said the next time the door was opened, holding it and stepping out. The stage was absolutely jam-packed with copies of herself. She looked shocked as she saw them all. “What sort of act would even make sense for so many assistants?”
Martin looked over the crowded stage, practically every clone of Paxton giving him the same death stare. He blushed, “Uh… To be honest… I mostly just wanted to see how many we could fit on the stage…”
Paxton rolled her eyes, “Alright, well it’s going to be difficult to do the story based magic we’re known for with all of these copies in the way,” Paxton closed her eyes in thought, before a lightbulb manifested over her head. “You’re really lucky that these are all basically just conjurations of me.”
Paxton addressed the large crowd of herself, “Okay! Listen up! Right half, go stand over there!” She pointed towards the edge of the stage, “Left half! Over there,” she pointed towards the back wall, specifically pointing out the dragon, “Except for you.”
The Paxtons did as they were told, taking a seat along the edge of the stage and the outer wall. With a look of concentration, Paxton began pointing her hands at each copy of herself. As she did so, the copy would slowly morph into a rock formation of some kind. Most of the ones along the stage edge turned into stalagmites of varying shapes and sizes, while others in the back had their rocky forms climb along the back wall and turn into stalactites or just general rocky outcroppings.
“Okay,” Paxton took some deep breaths, “That should do it!”
“Wait!” The one other remaining Paxton (besides the Dragon) spoke up. She had somehow missed being transformed, although her transformation was much more subtle than the other Paxton’s as it seemed like she was just taller and had elf ears. “This is clearly a fantasy inspired scene. I should be the Paxton to get to perform with Martin!”
Paxton looked to Martin, who shrugged, smiling nervously “I mean… She does already have the vibe going for her…”
Paxton sighed, grinning back, “Alright. But you don’t get to have too much fun now.” Paxton walked over to the large silver dragon that was another copy of herself. She gave it a hug, before her body toppled over, disintegrating into a large pile of golden coins for the dragon to rest on…
The feed cut back to the studio, where Elise was practically squealing, “Oh my God! That was so wonderful! I can’t wait to see what happens next!”
“It was certainly a interesting set up,” Drake grinned, “It definitely leaves the audience wanting more.”
“Yep! But unfortunately, the end of that teaser also means that it’s the end of the show,” Elise let out a sigh. “Drake, it’s been an absolute pleasure having you on.”
“The pleasure’s all mine Elise,” Drake grinned.
“We really should try to have you on more often,” Elise giggled, before the camera angle cut to a forward facing view of Elise.
“That’s it for the show though! I hope you enjoyed it! Stay tuned, because while we may be finished with Season three, there’ll be more stuff on the way! Thanks for watching!”
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& END OF SEASON 3 &
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