Ayla Aponte

== Summary ==
Ayla Aponte is a contestant from Dynamic Duos. She was the duo of Lady Madonna McCarthy. She is also Gauntlet's official Christmas Queen, having won the 2023 Christmas Special. 
== Gameplay ==
=== Dynamic Duos ===
Ayla began her journey on the Pussy Tribe, opposite of her partner Lady. She became a member of the Redemption Arc alliance on the very first day, allowing for protection across both tribes. She performed decent in most of the challenges, but unfortunately made no significant impact when helping her tribe. Through cross alliances overlapping between both tribes, she was able to stay on top of things strategically and socially. No one had a problem with Ayla and there was no strong motivation to eliminate her at any time. She had to face two tribal councils before the merge, both being a breeze given the cooperation of her tribe mates as both Regan and Melindah were easy votes. A member of Redemption Arc, Max, was lost right before the merge. Still, she went into the merge with her primary alliance consisting of five people. After the easy 11-1 vote of Maheen, Ayla and her allies were in a great position.
The opposing alliance, Insomniacs, set their sights on Ayla as a target to test the waters of where everyone stands. She was picked due to low activity compared to other contestants. Kailani was the only person solo, and their allegiance was too risky to consider. The alliance agreed to target Allyson as her name has been floating around ever since the Music Mania challenge. However, Stella and Kathlyn had their own idea. In order to maintain alliances with the others and not show their true position, they joined the other side with Ailish and voted for Ayla on the tenth night. Lady was completely blindsided as Ayla became the first juror by a 9-2 vote. She later voted for Lady to win.
=== All Stars 2 ===
==== Redemption (Sort of...) ====
To the surprise of some, Ayla returned to All Stars 2 after a nonchalant performance on her debut season. However, Ayla proved that she was worthy of being an all-star. Placed on The Hills, she got aligned with her former #1, Lady, as well as notable figure Corri Crissinger. At the same time, Shameless Party was formed with Stella Evans, and TZ was also established with Ailish to keep her in check after her move last season. For the most part, The Hills did very well in challenges, and Ayla's contributions were a big part of that. From Entanglement to Supersona, she did not fall short when it came to aiding her tribe. The tribe as a whole were only subjected to tribal council on Day 3, where they lost the Scavenger Hunt by 3 points. They would've tied for second if it weren't for Corri's rash actions in ignoring communication. Despite her being at fault, both Ayla and Lady would be happy to protect her. Working with Josh Campoverde, they set their target on Emilee. However, after Josh's riskiness was brought up, the trio recruited Emilee herself and tried to target Josh instead. However, Emilee and Josh were close allies, and the plan got leaked. Josh played The Hills idol to save himself, and Corri ended up going home that night by a 3*-3 vote. Ayla was glad she remained with Lady, but they were in the minority on their tribe. Fortunately, the grind never stopped and their tribe survived every challenge up until the tribe swap on Day 14.
==== Grind Never Stops ====
Even though she did great on The Hills, after swapping to Hollywood, Ayla thrived in the challenges, being worthy of an icon label. The first immunity challenge was Celebrity Recognition, where jumped in at perfect moments to score a point for the tribe. Her excellent communication and agility helped the tribe win immunity with 15 points! The next day, Life Research took place, and Ayla only thrived even more. At night, the tribe worked collectively, and Ayla was a huge help in discussing and watching South Park. However, Ayla totally led the challenge in the daytime, eventually clearing it with the key word "again." This challenge had never been completed before, as the only other time it was played, it ended in a forfeit. Ayla ended up making Gauntlet history as a result. On Day 16, she merged onto the Angeles Tribe.
==== Fighter ====
At the merge, she was in a great spot strategically and socially. She was allied with half the game when it came to TZ as well as Ashlee Canfield. At the first tribal council, things became easy for them as both Josh and Emilee wanted to get Colin McKenna out as soon as possible. The entire alliance jumped on the plan, and Colin was sent home that night. In the auction, Ayla won a minor advantage in the next immunity challenge. Unfortunately, it did not help as Josh ended up being the victor. She became a member of the KYS alliance, which she would stick with on the side, but not to the end game. Ayla was also pleased to know that her two closest allies, Lady and Stella, both had hidden immunity idols. At tribal council, it seemed like an easy vote for Kat was at their hands, but they were so wrong. Every single member of KYS betrayed Ayla and voted for Lady. This includes Ailish, who was in TZ since the beginning. The villain reverted back to her old habits. Lady was gone, and so was The Hills' idol. If things could not get worse, Ayla felt a grumbling pain in her stomach the very next day. She ordered a drink at Cove Cafe, and after consuming only a little bit, she had to use the bathroom as soon as possible. Anyone with half a brain knows to never use the school bathroom, so she fought and fought until she made it home and was finally able to Pearl Harbor her toilet. On Day 19, Ailish was officially against them, and the six enemies split votes between her and Stella while they voted for Josh. Stella played her idol on Ayla, saving her from stress. Stella was still in a tough position, however. It seemed obvious that she would be going home, but Ailish flipped back last minute and voted to keep Stella on the revote. When it came to the deadlock, Ailish was taken out by drawing the foul rock. As a whole, Shameless Party could not tell if it was a loss or a win. Ayla's friends were ruthlessly murdered on the following two days, as Ashlee and Stella were taken out one after another by the new opposing alliance, Karma. By the dawn of Day 22, Ayla was completely alone and against an alliance of five. The next immunity challenge, Color Your World, came up on Day 23. Ayla pushed through and ended up winning by beating Josh by a single point! Not only was she guaranteed a spot in final four, but she held power as people tried to persuade her to vote with them. She made her own decision and did what she wanted a long time ago, and successfully voted Josh out of the game. At final four, Ayla had a great chance of winning if she could push through to the end. However, Emilee won the final immunity challenge. At first, it appeared that Ayla might make it as Emilee was having doubts about the jury and where their votes may lie, but she ultimately did the smart thing, voting Ayla out. She became the final member of the jury and later voted for Emilee to win. Still, her amazing challenge performance and survival shall not go unnoticed. She received the season's Hero Award for her amazing efforts.
==== Still a Fighter! ====
In only two seasons, Ayla made herself one of the greatest and most memorable players. She had a socially amazing game, being the first alongside Emilee to receive a video diary "best moments" compilation on YouTube. To this day, she is still fighting demons, mainly due to the real antagonist of her previous season, Cove Cafe. On September 21, 2023, Ayla got her first Cove Cafe beverage of the school year. Unfortunately, her stomach started aching only a single period after. Ayla herself states, "I haven't had to shit in school for weeks / I EVEN GAVE HALF OF IT AWAY / it's too much." It is all of our moral responsibilities to respect Ayla for the fearless and resilient fighter she is. Cove Cafe is not for the weak.
== Personality Assessment ==
==== Dynamic Duos ====
* Favorite Color: Yellow
* Favorite Day: Friday
==== All Stars 2 ====
* Favorite Beverage: Iced Tea
* Favorite Show: South Park
== Trivia ==
* No relation to Natalie Aponte.
* She was the first to apply for Dynamic Duos.
* Ayla had horrible diarrhea as a result of a Cove Cafe drink.
* Ayla's supersona was Laya, named after herself as the letters were rearranged.
* She knows.
Category:Hero (Award)