Psychological Control

If ya didn't read my note at the end of the 11th chap, to sum it up, this is an extra of sum sort. Enjoy?

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Author's Note: The twentieth season of America's Next Top Model, and the first season that allowed male and female models to compete for the title together. In the judges' conference room after a specially filmed re-casting.

......

"That's a good group, I like these two, one male and one female just right." Taylor picked out the two photos with her delicately painted nail polish fingers.

"Ah, I remember them. A girl who got married and divorced at nineteen and a boy who was...sort of an orphan?" Rob nodded in approval as he sat watching.

Norma glanced over and called out the two by name, "Is that Alice and Brian Moss? Those two I approve, what about you Jonathan?"

"Oh, I don't have a problem with that. In fact, I particularly like Brian...he has a talking eye, and a meticulous attitude." Jonathan said with a smile, and held up the picture of the redheaded male model.

"He also has a face that particularly suits the aesthetic of a perfectionist like you, doesn't he?" Taylor teased at the sight. "As well as having an elegant and refined face, he and Alice do a good job of walking the stage."

"So it's settled then, this group takes Alice and Bryan Moss. Six more will be needed to make up the thirty-two contestants who have passed the re-election." Rob barked out a verdict.

......

Behind-the-scenes interviews with the contestants.

Ashton sits in front of a green screen and talks in a measured manner. "I don't think there are many male models that I'm up against because they're just a bunch of muscular guys! But...the group behind me, there's a redhead called Brian who's not bad...but I'm not going to hold back because I feel sorry for him because of what he's been through!"

Alice cried emotionally in front of the camera as the pain of talking about her ex-husband swept through her again. She sobbed and continued, "But I know...I'm not the only poor person in the world...I just don't know people well. So, I won't complain. If that Brian can pull himself together like that, why can't I?"

"I hear we have a high achiever here?" Marvin was excited in front of the camera, "Oh, I'm not exactly academic material! But in this tournament, a high achiever doesn't always have an advantage, does he? I'll give it my best shot!"

......

After the first show in Los Angeles, the thirty-two to sixteen catwalk show hard photo shoot. Still the judges' meeting room.

......

"I have to say that out of so many groups only Alice and Brian's group went off with a bang. The others were all too raw." Norma frowned, picking through the pile of photos.

"We can't be that picky, knowing that all the contestants we allow have to be new to the show who haven't signed with a modeling agency. There are even complete amateurs in the mix." Taylor said with a laugh. "Brian did really surprise me though, he's so unlike a newbie."

"Maybe it has something to do with his experience working in strip clubs?" Jonathan laughed harshly, "When it comes to stage experience, there's no model here who's more professional than him. Apart from Mike, he's now one of my second favourite male models."

"It's just a pity that his style doesn't really suit the likes of me, because although he has a muscular body too, he looks skinny in his clothes." Rob said sadly.

"Oh, come on Rob! It's called looking skinny on and off, and those formal wear brands are the most ha for this one." Tyler rolled his eyes and couldn't help but spit on Rob who looked at him like he was his brother.

......

Behind-the-scenes interviews with the contestants.

......

"Brian chose me," Alice said with a somewhat bad expression but also a somewhat relieved feeling. "He was stronger than I thought he would be, but luckily I didn't do too badly. I shouldn't have been eliminated that way."

Nina stared at the camera with her big eyes, unable to stop herself from blushing with the staff, "Right! And that Brian! He and Chris are both my favourites and Brian's so strong. He usually just stays there and reads when he's backstage and everyone underestimates him. Little did I know that when he got on the catwalk he unleashed all his energy at once! It was so sexy!"

Chris sat stiffly in his chair and watched the large camera filming at him. He coughed a little and said, "Is the male model I'm watching...Brian? ...I don't know why, maybe it was the striptease he did backstage? Ha...and he helped me find my mask, which scared me at the time. Almost got disheartened thinking I was eliminated."

"Eh...maybe the reason is also that he doesn't look down on me like everyone else does? My mother kicked me out on my eighteenth birthday and I became a vagrant living back and forth with friends, then until even they started making all sorts of excuses to put me off borrowing...so I could only feel the kindness of Nina and Brian among these people." There wasn't a smile on Chris's face as he spoke of these things, it looked heavy. It even took on a bit of resentment.

The jury room after the sixteen-in-fourteen wedding photo-themed hard photo shoot.

......

"Alice doesn't seem to be doing as well as she used to at this hard photo shoot." Taylor shook her head and sighed, "Instead, it was Jamie beside her who did a bit better. It's only a hard photo shoot, but unfortunately it seems that the wedding dress is still giving her a mental image."

"I like this one of Brian the best." Jonathan said excitedly, "What you guys didn't know because you weren't there is that he was the one who barely needed any guidance the whole time. After the explanation at the beginning, his performance barely took me much time to get the best shot!"

"I think he could have improved on this picture," Norma said disapprovingly, "It's naturally perfect in terms of the subject. But from his point of view as a model, he should have shown himself as much as possible in front of the camera. But he seems to have gotten so involved that he forgot to show off his strengths. Curling up in the corner is not a pose that gets him extra points."

"I prefer this one of Dan, his muscles and puffed up chest hold up the suit and represent gay pride." Rob still doesn't like Bryan's style, compared to the manly photos like Dan's that got his vote."

......

A small dark room for personal interviews in the supermodel house.

"I can't stand Marvin's bunch of frat boys anymore!" Ashton said indignantly in front of the camera, "Especially Dan, he's the most discriminatory person against us in the LGBT community, yet he was given the gay wedding photo draw! Why? I still think it's an insult to us to let him take such pictures!"

Feeling that this still wasn't enough, Ashton couldn't resist bringing the conversation back to Brian. "On the bus, and I don't know what Brian and Chris pissed them off with, Dan's mouth full of foul and smelly words is disgusting! With...that kind of thing happening, I'd like to think Brian wasn't at fault and should have banned Dan!"

But when the staff asked Ashton what had happened on the bus, Ashton had a sudden wake-up call and shut up.

Alice was the one who sat in front of the green screen after Ashton. She sat there calmly for a while before speaking, "I used to think that Brian was the only one in this group of models who was as mentally mature as me. But, this time he was still impulsive. Although Dan's words did go a bit too far..."

The crew in charge of filming the behind-the-scenes personal interviews found that most of the people in this one mentioned Dan and Brian more or less. Chris and Marvin were among the few who were casually mentioned. But when they tried to ask for more details about what had happened, everyone seemed to keep their mouths shut as if they were wary.

They decided they'd rather be on the bus and with a camera crew.

Between individual interviews, it was Nina's turn. Unlike her original appearance, which hardly offended anyone, this time Nina seemed angry. "Originally I thought that what Chris said about Marvin and the guys was just biased. Now I do know! What Chris said wasn't even a hundredth of what was really going on!"

"Brian was righteous," Nina sighed with her head bowed, "and even though he looked a bit horrible at the time, it's still for Chris when you think about it, so it should all be Dan's fault. I just hope that nothing more serious and nasty happens."

Sitting in front of the camera with a complicated look on his face, Marvin shook his head and said, "I'm not going to comment too much on what happened on the bus this afternoon. While Dan did go a little overboard at the time, Brian's reaction was also too much. Mind you, if we had reported this incident, it could have got him disqualified straight away."

But even as he continued to be pressed by the staff, Marvin would not spill a word.

Finally, one of the parties involved in the incident was approached. Dan declined this personal interview, and only Brian walked in wearing a pair of flat, thick-rimmed glasses. He was carrying a book and was full of quiet bookishness.

As soon as Brian sat down, the staff didn't hesitate to ask questions about the things that had come out of every model's mouth.

A salty smile tugged at the corners of Brian's mouth, "Although it was Dan who did wrong first, perhaps I did act on impulse. Maybe it's because of my previous experiences, I always have some overreactions to these things. I'm really sorry, they don't bring up exactly what happened, I guess to protect us as well."

"I'm really sorry, but I'm sure I won't let this affect my game mentality, instead I'll give it my all because of it."

Brian's words sounded groping, but unwittingly cleared his name and put the fault on Dan, who refused to participate in a personal interview. And Dan's lack of opportunity to stand in front of the camera and speak would have made the TV audience think he acquiesced to those words.

Brian's interview and the others' distant echoes instantly portrayed Dan as a contrarian. The crew found out about this, but weren't about to report it. Because, who told Dan to behave like a lord and refuse their requests for an interview without question? And who thought he was begging for it?

And who would have thought it was Brian's fault that he had a confrontation with Dan, who was dressed like a gangster? Brian is so humble and friendly in person, and so powerful in hard photo shoots and on the catwalk. It should have been Dan's jealousy!

The final interview with Chris was filmed after Brian had comforted him for a long time.

In front of the camera, Chris still couldn't help but get red-eyed. The originally stern brow was softened by guilt. For a moment, the women on the film crew couldn't help but feel sympathy unleashed. He lowered his head and whispered, "Actually, it's all my fault...I was so useless that I let Brian stand up for me...but even so, he still worried about my mental state in turn."

The staff instead took an interest in Chris and Brian's relationship as a result, and they asked the 'why do you cling to Brian all the time?' The question.

Chris stayed in front of the camera for a moment, which was captured in full by the camera. It was probably a scene that wouldn't have been cut by the behind-the-scenes editing either, which made him particularly endearing all of a sudden.

He mumbled for a while before saying, "It's... well... I don't know, but people are herd animals after all... Brian is very nice to people, and I was probably unknowingly attracted to him. In fact, I believe that many people's perception of Brian is more than friendly..."