beWilder’s Wildest 2023/24: Round 2. Ready, Set!

A hey-ya and hoorah to you all! This one is a quick hi and bye from us here on the team in this post, as we’re entering spectator mode ourselves and handing our page over to our hostess with the mostest wild job we know, wrangling our bWW! contest with all its personalities. Yes, we’ll be working on AoH all the while, as Caroline takes the reins and plays out the game for us. Take it away, sweetheart! We’re all abuzz waiting, but best you get the hype-wave washing over us all!

Hello again, everybody! Glad to be back with you all. It feels so long and yet it was barely a month ago, wasn’t it? Once you get a little taste of being in front of the camera, it’s a hard withdrawal I’ll tell you… Phew. Oh, but enough about me, today is my chance to get you all a titter about the first half of the second half of the contest ahead. As if that’s needed, right? You’ve seen the first 50% and it only gets… “Better” is one word for it and that’s on the list of things we’re allowed to broadcast unincumbered by the censors, so I will go with that!

Yes, Round 2 will be taking place shortly, and this here post is our recap for those who are joining us halfway, and all due jazz for the women who’ve won themselves a match already. No small feat! So let’s get to it.

The Matches!

For those that missed Round 1 in its entirety or even part thereof, we started with a field of 16, 7 women from each game’s branch and a pair of wildcards in the mix as well. Drawn like lots into 8 matches by fans on Discord (not knowing that’s what they were doing) and we had ourselves the opening Round of 8 Match ups. We said goodbye to Kelsey, Raven, Beth, Mystique, Kriem, Kate, Alice and Natasha all, and set each of them in the ranks of 9th through 16th. Some surprises in there already, huh? I think so, anyway.

The 8 women we have left are each aiming to at least become Semi-Finalists, to leave the contest with a winning record, if they are made to leave at all, and even hoping to grab a few prizes along the way I dare say. The order of things to come as we sail our way towards the Grand Finale are thus and in order:

Opening Match: Lara Croft vs Selina “Catwoman” Kyle.

Match #2: Gwen “Spider Gwen” Stacey vs Asana Khar.

Match #3: Dyana “Hotstuff” Carson vs Francesca “Frankie” Moreau.

Round Finale: Quiet vs Noemi “Noe” Bellocchio.

There’s been no tinkering with the brackets or the battles after the Round 1 results. It’s as it said it would be from the opening bell. 4 pairs, 4 matches, 4 winners to pick. So who’s got your support this time around?

Lara Croft vs  Selina “Catwoman” Kyle

As the reigning champ still, Lara gets the honour of the opening match once again, and as the remaining roster is skewed 5-3 to AoH faces, it’s the only match up in the Round that’s Heels-on-Heels. First up, you fans will decide if the current Queen of the beWilderverse will make the top of the table again, or will we see our first Queen Slayer in action and be certain to crown a new woman of wildness as the fans’ favourite later this year?

Lara: With the crown on her head, her good name unsullied and her ever popular appeal both front and back, you’ve got to think she’s coming into this match with the expected edge, don’t you? Added to that, she’s fresh out of the highest turnout match of the tournament thus far and she won it by a tied highest personal best margin of 6 votes at that, beating Kelsey 22-16. Co-holding (with Noemi) the most match experience thus far with this being her 5th bWW! battle coming up, she’s the only one who can say she’s still undefeated at that length of a record too.

On the flip side, it could be said her popularity is somewhat skin deep… Her biggest wins ever being by only by 6, other girls have blasted out their competition with much bigger booms than that. In the highest turnout bout of this contest held at this point, she still only topped her opposition by half a dozen, and Kelsey ended up being the most voted for of all 8 losers too, making Lara the most voted against winner by the same token. More than that, it’s been a long time since we’ve seen her get any content to help build her hype either. Though the wind may be in her sails, she’s far from the safest bet on the board. It could be that we see an upset for the history books yet!

Selina/Catwoman: Already riding high and coming off a big upset of win, Cat’s already got herself recognition in this contest and her run isn’t over yet. Sending Raven home way earlier than the boys here figures with a 20-13 beating, she’s got momentum for days. The question is, can she keep the good times rolling? It may feel like she’s fighting uphill here, but the critical eye will tell you it’s a shallow enough slope. Only 2 votes behind Lara’s totals so far, and that’s in a match that was nearly 10% less votes cast in total too, pound for voting pound she’s already ahead of the game. In terms of content, we’ve seen her do a fair amount since the last bWW! including gaining a new suit that riled the boyfolk up a tonne. Maybe the best indicator in her favour though? She’s the only woman to have beaten the only woman to have beaten Lara already, and it wasn’t even that close. By the transitive property, she might actually be the favourite here come to think? Too bad bouts aren’t won by transitive properties, they are won by fan votes!

Working against her is Lara’s unblemished record, her well-known position in our fans and even in some of the team’s hearts, and the established tastes beWilder’s been come to be known for. She’s beaten those odds once, but can she do it twice? The fact that if she lost here we’d call it gains for her overall and if Lara were to lose we’d be wide eyed saying “what an upset!” tells us all what’s in the air around this match-up. Does that translate to inevitability? No… But it’s sure hard to overcome expectations. We’ll all just have to see.

Gwen “Spider Gwen” Stacey vs Asana Khar

A match up worth keeping our eyes peeled on, and one I certainly will be watching close. Gwen represents the AoH side as the non-game wildcard, the only one left at that, as tournament veteran Asana makes the first appearance for NTR. On the one had we have a big name with virtually no screentime before this trying her luck at an even bigger breakout into the beWilderverse’s fun content. On the other, Asana and all her sweetheartedness, she’ll be the first test of the NTR side’s hopes at turning only 3 wins in the opening round into an incredible but still possible podium sweep by the end of things.

Gwen: A name popular in the culture at large currently, and a face that has at least garnered a lot of votes thus far in her opening match, Gwen is certainly the darkest horse left in this race. Her true potential has yet to be decerned, but if you ask whether she could have it in her to make the finals, I’d have to say “she might just”, so the final 4 isn’t out of the question at all. As the highest vote earner in the contest so far (second most in history), with 25 votes, she seems to be formidable despite her rare appearances.

Then again, we’re measuring her with the longest yardstick, as it were. Her result, singular, thus far was posted against Beth, the decidedly lowest girl on the ladder of 16. That’s for certain. Was it Gwen who won big, or Beth who lost big? We don’t yet know. Beth isn’t hated, much, but she’s not even a power girl in her own game by design. Up against a more established woman, will Gwen be able to hold her heap of votes together or will trickle-outs and switched appeals chip off the seemingly raging support and stabilize her out? Match #10 will tell us something about that!

Asana: A highlight of the last contest, Asana earned her name in bWW!18, literally. Her surname “Khar”. Though it was admittedly early days back then for all the NTR girls, Asana surprised the boys upstairs by becoming the #3 Seed on that side and making the Round of 8, getting a surname earlier than ever planned as she rose in important. BTW, “Khar” is Indian for “Mule” as far as I’ve been told… Or “Ass”, if you will. Get it? Important to today though, Asana’s got ass and she’s not shy about wagging it. She’s got form all over her body, she’s got a uniquely positive outlook, an exotic erotic history and appeal unlike any other woman in the roster. She’s even especially beloved by the female beWildernauts, which there are indeed some. So far in her time with us she’s been consistently liked as a character, especially as her content grew since the last contest, so she’ll be a tough nut to crack. To top it all off, if anyone at all can be said to have “homefield advantage” on a sandy, sunny island, it’s Asana.

To her detriment, her airy-fairy personality and her loves so much she loves everyone nature doesn’t appeal to everyone back her way. Though a consistent middle tier vote getter in most things, Asana has yet to fully crack into a top tier performance. Her last bout against Mystique saw her win it 2-to-1 at a score of 16-8, but 16 is far less than her opponents 25 a week earlier, isn’t it? That’s been her best result to date too, so it might yet be an uphill climb akin to Kilauea if Gwen’s not all flash in the pan. She’s beaten one “big name but little face time” woman so far, but to do it twice in a row? Only time and votes will tell.

Dyana “Hotstuff” Carson vs Francesca “Frankie” Moreau

Another curiosity for the calendar to watch as it’ll almost be like looking in a mirror to bizzarro world. Tell me I’m wrong. Once again Dyana, the arson, Carson, a one-shot supervillainess and fellow Ivyspawn daughter of a more established threat has made a turn up for the books and won a spot on in the last 8 standing. This time she even won a straight up match and not a free-for-all for it too. She’s the woman who won’t stay dead as the fans seem to like something about her. Meanwhile, Frankie is on her first jag of her own at last, finally able to put a measure to her popularity amongst the beWildernauts, so far going well. It’s not lost on her either than a win here might just vindicate the Little Toscana girls some too, as revenge for the fallen Kriem will be a dish best severed with the most votes.

Dyana: The woman who keeps on coming back for more, Dyana can never be counted out it seems. She does have certain appealing assets to her side, with a pretty face, exotic skin, and a wildfire personality that’s hot-hot-hot! Even her belted up heat-resistant dress has its share of fans by now. When you look at her objectively, standing toe-to-toe with the other girls on the roster, it isn’t all that hard to see why she’s still in this contest. If looks could kill… Right?

That said, it’s got to be believed Dyana’s on the thinnest ice in this contest come Round 2. That’s what the prevailing winds would have you think anyway. Always a vote getter, but yet to crack solidly into a second dozen count of them so far, this will be a tough match for her and her 13 votes. Pair up first time against Kriem, by chance, she managed to beat the other aggressive, punky, darker-skinned competitor in the opening line up with her more mature look and feel… Can she do the same against another opponent who shares similar facial features, hair and figure this time…? Then again, perhaps a hot-to-trot, super-bold version of Frankie would be the real appeal winner in front of fans?

Frankie: One of the beWilder women to watch, as her star is seemingly always on the rise, even outside of bWW!. One of the top 3 vote getters of the contest so far with 23, a woman with a clear love or two on Discord we know well enough by now, and quite frankly, quite the looker despite her lower sense of self-esteem… Frankie’s got potential, that’s for certain. As the only minted Mom in the beWilderverse thus far, she’s got the whole niche of MI-LF to herself to boost her charms, and now with Raven sitting on the rowboat back home, she’s the clear biggest chest of the rest to boot. Going to be hard for anyone to overcome all those hurdles.

Then again, “potential”, doesn’t mean a thing if it’s not lived up to, and we’ve all been fooled by vocal minorities before, I’m sure. There’s a reason Dyana keeps turning up in these contest matches and that’s because we keep underestimating her. With looks a lot like Frankie’s, the playing field may just be more level than we consider as we hold our finger in the air. Although it’s been speculated that the clear edge goes to the girl who brings the biggest bust to the battle, that’s been critically wrong at least once already when the smallest there ever was beat out the biggest we’ve got and then some. Don’t be fooled, personality plays a lot in these things and Dyana’s the clearly more decisive and less shy of her body in this one. Nothing is over until the votes are counted.

Quiet vs Noemi “Noe” Bellocchio

The capstone of the contest’s second round, and a clash of powerful characters to once again see the curtain fall. The silent sniper who’s captured fans hearts and loins without a word (just a slick knotted bikini and torn tights to do the job), up against the only woman yet to have a full beWilderverse game titled after herself. Either way it goes, the contest will lose a big name and some big game, which has almost become a running theme for the last match of the round for these fun and games we play in bWW!, hasn’t it? It’s one head-to-head I’m particularly on the edge of my seat to see, even if having to host one of these girls right after a loss in their postgame might be tricky…

Quiet: A stunning parody replica added to our roster, one who I’ll say on behalf of the boys hasn’t gotten near as much use as she should’ve, if only there were more time for extra curriculars these days, huh? It only took a short time paired up against Lara for her to earn a place in our tastes and a spot in the contest, which has now gotten her to the Top 8 too. Good for her! Maybe there’s hope for all us one-time girls…? With a unique and iconic personality to build on, stunning Norther European looks to add to the mix, not just a want but a need to be half naked at all times and the name ID of a AAA grade game behind her all, Quiet is the closest thing to a Bond Girl we’ll see here and that’s not nothing. With a sizable chest to help negate any perceived bust bias out there, legs just built for a tights fetishist’s dream and the danger factor of the AoH branch girls to add spicy to her whole aura… It’s hard to not want what Quiet’s got going into any match.

Quiet has got a whole lot of positives and not much to set against her other than perhaps not being able to make direct verbal appeals to on the fence fans… But saying all that, it’s still hard to think she’s a shoo-in as objective facts might suggest, given her opponent. Her biggest drawback isn’t her own, it’s the power of the personality she’s up against. Adding to the fact that Quiet is one up from the bottom of those still in play when counting votes earned in Round 1 with 15 total… She might need the elephant tranqs for this one to if she hopes to take down her quarry and live into the Semifinals.

Noemi: The reigning 3rd place player in this game and previously having personally scalped the once (and still for now) number 2 in Round 1, Noe has already made her indelible mark on bWW!23/24, and to hear her talk, she’s not done yet. You’ve got to be thinking at this point she’s a strong contender to take the crown come the end of all things. She’ll have to win here first though. Only the 3rd most popular in the tourney thus far with 22 votes, those came at the expense of Natasha, the other leading protagonista, who she whopped at more than 3-to-1 (at times it looked like 5-to-1, can you believe?), making them worth more than their apparent weight numerically… Against anyone else whose to say how high her tally would be right now? Even casting that aside, I don’t think I need to list the marks in her favour here, do I? We all know her by now… Beautiful, smart (if still influenceable), hot and she knows it, too competitive to go down without a fight, even got a little bit of spice to her with Italiana pride, a nose piercing and a tattoo too. Can she really be all things to all people?

Honestly, Noemi will be tough to beat for anyone, but as we’ve seen by her own hand, protagonists can fall no matter how much they “express themselves” in their games, how long they they’ve been before us or how much they throttle their content. Of the remaining contestants, the one she’s up against is unique in her ability to have stood toe-to-toe with a leading lady and even out shone her in some respects, so we might just see our second surprise exit in the round finale in a row yet. Maybe. She’s got the feel of the upper hand, but until the votes are cast, and there only needs to be a few AoH fans out for revenge to spoil her day, things are never set for sure.

Round 2: New Round, New Theme

Those there are the match ups and the fates facing each of the ladies still in with a chance and hopes at the title, plus all the goodies too, don’t forget. I do hope you’ve got some added fervour to your forward looking thanks to my hostessing by now, though if you still need a little extra, I might just have a little something more to help with that too. I can be a tricky girl myself you know!

In the first round we tested our women’s island living skills in each match, from food gathering to fishing, exploring and camp security, even hygiene (because Sal wanted some maid outfits).In contrast, for this one coming we’re playing nicer I’m told with the now 1-time winner’s bunch. Instead of theming it all on “Survival”, these contestants have all survived already and so it’s time to let them enjoy themselves for their troubles and hard-won victories. Round 2 is the “Leisure” round instead, so prepare for more prancing, sunning and sweet smiles over getting stuck in the mud, though that’s not saying the competition won’t be fierce still! They all will desperately want a place on de-err… Woops! Almost spoiled the surprise for the next set of winners, didn’t I?

Let’s Play Already!

That’s about all the hyping I can do for us, all that’s left is to let you at the ladies and pick the Top 4 we’ve got, yes? Of course, I’ll still be around to play hostess and console the losers… And fulfil my contractual “challenges” as they come too… Gulp…

… We’ll start where we always start, with Lara Croft vs Seline “Catwoman” Kyle, come Sunday April 7th…

… Until then, be sure to take part in the predictions game, which is half the fun of it all, either here or on Discord’s dedicated space for beWildernauts. I’ll tell you, I predicted my own set of brackets from the start and I only got 6 of 8 in the opening round right, how about you? Did you do better? Who do you have as your odds-on winner, and top 3, at this point? I’d love to hear it, while we all…

Be ready for the Second Round Bell and beWilder!”