Disclaimer: I do not own Total Drama, Eurovision, or anything that is referenced throughout this fic
So, it's been a long time. Over six months, in fact. I just lost interest in Total Drama and fanfiction for a while, and free-time is limited at the moment with state exams coming up.
But I'm back. I can't promise regular updates so...let's just take things one chapter at a time :)
For those of you who are new, this is season 3 of my Total Drama fanfiction series, Euro Drama, a Total Drama spin-off where different European broadcasters select teens to represent their country in hopes of winning one million euro and hosting rights for their country the following year.
This fic will contain spoilers for the first two seasons, but as a whole it's designed to be read without having to read them first. And I was 13 when I started writing season 1, so you can imagine there's been change in quality over the last five years
As a reminder, this series does not affect the canon timeline and the personalities of the contestants do not reflect my views of their respective countries. This fic is set in the summer after the 2016 Eurovision in Stockholm.
One more thing - for those of you who have been following my other fic 'Total Rewind Island' - I haven't forgotten about it. Chapter 6 is still in progress - please be patient :)
Euro-Drama Scholarised - Episode 1, Part 1 - The Spider Girls
Two identical girls stood in the foyer of a large room lined with large windows. They both had long reddish-brown hair. One wore a white t-shirt under a grey cardigan with skinny jeans, while the other wore a loose-fitting, sleeveless pink shirt and black leggings
"Hello, bonjour and wilkommen!" the girl with the cardigan greeted. "I'm Carla Geels."
"And I'm her twin, Hanne," the other girl added. "Those who grew up in Benelux may remember us from such great shows as 'De Spinnermeisjes' and 'Dubbele Tijd'. Good times."
"I hear you," Carla sighed, giving her sister a nudge. "For the past two seasons of Euro-Drama, teens from all across Europe battled it out for the grand prize of one million euro!"
"Well, the series continues. This time 22 newbies will take part, including three debuting nations," Hanne said. "But don't worry, the veterans are also back to help out this season! You didn't really think we'd be able to do this season all on our own, did ya?"
"Just so it's clear, it's only the veterans whose countries are taking part this time," Carla clarified. "The others couldn't come due to contract reasons that I couldn't get in to if I tried."
"I miss Marios already," Hanna sighed, snivelling a couple of times. "We'll be right back on Euro…Drama…Scholarised!"
"Is that even a word?" Carla asked as the camera dimmed, and they both burst out laughing in unison.
[Theme song]
"So, you're probably wondering where we are," Carla said to the camera. "Well, we're coming to you pre-recorded from St Joseph's College in Leuven, just outside of Brussels, Belgium."
"They were so kind as to let us use their school to record our show," Hanne stated. "For a fee of course."
"Well, gang, it is now 2pm Central Eastern Time and our first bus should be arriving," Carla said, adding in a lower tone, "We couldn't get everyone here at the same time due to flight schedules."
"Our first contestant is from a new country, Australia!" Hanne announced. "Please welcome Brook!"
A teenager ran in excitedly dragging along a pink suitcase, with long sky-blue hair, a plaid indigo shirt, blue capris and purple lipstick.
"Hello! Hello!" Brook greeted, hugging Carla and Hanne. "It's so nice to be here. I love this show!"
"Thanks," Hanne giggled.
"I use they/them pronouns," Brook added in a more serious tone. "Just so you know what to use for the recaps."
"We know. We saw your audition tape," Hanne said flatly.
"Welcome, Brook," Carla greeted. "You're fine to take a seat. Or not, if you don't want."
"Right. Of course," Brook chuckled, and they sat down.
"Next up, it's our Russian contestant, Taras!" Hanne announced.
A guy walked in. He wore a green beanie, blue-tinted glasses, a grey hoodie, darker grey sweatpants and he had a head-mic around his ear. His face was covered with dark blonde facial hair.
"What's up?" he greeted, bumping fists with both hosts. "It's Taras, soon to super-star DJ at Euro-Drama! Give me your best shot."
"Hey," Carla giggled. "You seem determined."
"Yeah, not really. Money would be awesome, but I'm here to party first, da," he said.
"Nice," Hanne nodded.
Taras swaggered over to the table and slipped in beside Brook. "Hey, what is your name?"
"Brook," Brook replied. "So, you're Russian?"
"That is right."
"You're not one of those homophobics are you?"
"Oh no, no," Taras chuckled, shaking his head. "Love who you want. It's none of my business."
"So you're saying you don't want to know?"
"Pardon?"
Before Brook could respond, Hanne announced the next contestant, "Now we have Vendredi for France."
An girl of Arabic descent moped her way in. She had long dark-brown hair that went over her face, a navy pullover, black trousers and black boots.
"Bonjour! It's so nice to see you!" Carla greeted, holding out her arms for a hug. Vendredi sighed as she walked past her, sitting down at a table on the far end of the room.
"Bonne chance?" she added uncertainly.
"Vendredi? Isn't that the French word for Friday?" Brook asked aloud.
Vendredi let out a grunt and put her head down.
"Next is our Danish contestant for this year. Lord knows he has a hard act to follow…it's Soren!"
An average sized yet scrawny boy walked in through the door. He had curly blonde hair, a blue rolled-up shirt over a light-red t-shirt, and grey cargo shorts.
"Hello," he greeted.
"None taken," he shrugged. "After all, there is one step above making the finale twice!"
The girls had their mouths wide open.
"Sanna is not going to like that," Hanne snorted.
"I'm only joking. All in good fun," Soren chuckled, going to sit down. "Hi. What are your names?"
"I'm Brook, I'm from Australia."
"And I'm Taras. I'm Russian."
"I'm from Freetown Christiania," Soren stated.
"Never heard of it," Taras said.
"I know it!" Brook said excitedly. "It's that little community in Denmark that declared independence."
"That's the one," Soren nodded curtly.
"Do you know Lukas Graham?" Brook asked.
"Hm? Oh, you mean Lukas Forchhammer. I've never met him but I've heard lots of stories about him," Soren replied.
"He's one of my favourite singers of all time," Brook squealed, though it could more accurately be described as 'voice cracked."
"Mine too," Soren agreed. "His songs basically describe my life."
"Same," Brook said. Soren sent them a look of concern, before the shot moved back to the hosts.
"Our fifth contestant is from Azerbaijan - please welcome Haleme!"
"Woo!" Taras began to clap, and Soren and Brook unquestioningly joined in.
Haleme squealed as she ran in. She had a pink head-bandana covering her short brown hair, and also wore a light-olive sweater and black leggings. In her hands she held three plastic oranges.
"Ooh, it's so amazing to actually be here. I never expected to make it on this show, and now it's actually happening," she squealed as she began the juggle the oranges. "This will be the best summer ever!"
"She seems happy," Carla commented, and Hanne nodded and sighed. "It's time to introduce the brand new Dutch contestant, Kees!"
A six foot three giant marched in, carrying a large camping backpack. He had long golden brown hair that was dyed blue at the tips, and a golden-brown beard. Above his right eyebrow were two silver piercings. He wore a white t-shirt under an open blue marching jacket, camo trousers and black hiking boots.
"Katrina and Marina! The Spider Girls! It's an honour to meet you!" he exclaimed, shaking Carla's hand.
"Oh, stop it," Carla giggled, blushing a little.
"Don't be so modest. You two were my childhood," Kees said, moving on to Hanne.
"Thanks for recognising us," she grinned. "That's…great."
She briefly had a troubled look on her face before they both turned to the camera.
"So, that's it for this lot!" Carla announced. "Leave your suitcases under the stairs over there and make yourselves at home. There's board games and cards. Lunch is at 15."
"I hope the Chef is actually good this year," Taras said to the others.
"Also, the toilets are down that corridor," Eloise added. "Boys on the left, girls on the right, confessional in the disabled."
"Begs first!" Haleme exclaimed, raising her hand before running off.
[Confessional: My soul is transferrable, mostly because it's projection from the author
Haleme (Azerbaijan): First confession of the season [squeals]. I'm so excited for this.
I hope to have a good time and be a good influence on my team. Basically everything that evil Sveda wasn't. Who knows where she is now?
Brook (Australia): I'll be using this toilet all the time since there's no gender-neutral facilities in this place. I'll be standin' up so you pervs can't look at my junk.
[chuckles slightly] I like it here so far. Everyone's so nice, even the Russian guy surprisingly. That French girl kind of creeps me out though.
Eh, I'm sure she'll open up once she's, like, settled in and all that.
Vendredi (France): [sighs] I've only been here ten minutes and I'm already fed up.
If you're wondering about my name, my parents had just moved from Morocco when I was born, so they didn't understand how…[groans]…stupid it was.
I can already tell this is going to suck. That money better be worth it.
Soren (Denmark): The place where I live is pretty…crazy, and I want to prove that I'm better than that.
I'm sorry to my family, but this is something I have to do.]
Soren and Taras sat at the table playing a game of Connect 4, while Brook, Haleme and Kees sat on either side.
"So what made you try out for the show, huh?" Brook asked the others.
"The challenges – I bet they'll be good for my military training," Kees replied. "And I wanted to represent my country. The Netherlands deserves to win."
"Alright mate," Brook nodded, visibly amused. They turned to Taras. "You?"
"Me? I'm here for a good time, da," Taras replied. "And I…net! Net!"
As he shouted, his right hand slapped a game piece out of his left hand.
"Are you alright?" Haleme asked.
"Yes, yes," Taras replied. "I have alien hand syndrome you see."
"What's that?"
"Basically, the left and right sides of my brain aren't connected, so it's like they're two different people," Taras explained. "The right brain controls the left side, and the left brain controls the right side."
"Woah, how do we know who's talking?" Kees asked.
"It's just me, the left side. The right side can't talk," Taras said. "He can do some hand gestures though."
His left hand demonstrated by making a pixelated sign.
"No, no! We make a good impression. Anyway, where was I? Oh yea…"
He placed a game piece in a slot and made four in a row diagonally
"Damn," Soren sighed.
"Who's next?" Taras asked smugly.
[Confessional: Remember, Vojvodina was part of Hungary for 400 years
Taras (Russia): Don't mean to brag but I sweeped the floor with that one [folds one arm, the same arm grabs the other to make the same gesture]
Haleme (Azerbaijan): The first hour was just us playing board games together but that's always fun. Then the twins came over and told us lunch was ready]
The six contestants lined up in the school's cafeteria. It had beige walls and a wooden floor. Despite being reasonably large, there were only two tables. They each held a tray and some cutlery.
"I'm starving!" Haleme exclaimed. "I've had nothing but aeroplane flood today. Yuck."
"I had a pretty nice meal on my flight, though it was expensive as hell," Kees said. "That's the thing about Ryanair."
"Salut, mes amis!" an enthusiastic French voice announced. "Your food is here."
It came from a guy a year or two younger that the contestants with a white shirt and jacket. He carried along a wheeled tray with plates of mashed potato, carrots, peas and beef.
"Je m'appelle Axel," he said as he handed a plate to the first person in line, Soren. "I will be your chef for this season. Or to be precise, I defrost whatever's in the freezer."
"Three weeks of microwave meals. It could be worse," Brook commented as they followed Soren to one of the tables.
"I take it they couldn't get Aleksander back," Soren responded.
[Confessional: There is one bicycle for every two people in Beijing
Kees (Netherlands): [scratches his neck] I dunno about the food situation. I like to keep healthy and…yeah…all those preservatives can really f**k you up
[folds his arms triumphantly]
For the million though? Worth it.]
"Hmm…favourite condiment?" Brook asked the other contestants.
"Hollandaise. It's Dutch, so you know it's awesome!" Kees replied.
"I've never heard of that word. Condo...what do you call it?" Taras said, folding his arms.
"It's something you put on food. A sauce?" Brook explained.
"Oh yes, sauce. Um…" Taras let out some awkward laughter. "Mayonnaise I don't know…"
"It's almost 5. The next lot should be here soon," Soren told them.
"Ooh, I'm so excited!" Haleme squealed, still juggling her oranges. "So many more faces!"
As if on cue (though not really because the next five minutes were edited out), Carolyn rushed in with Finn right behind.
"They're coming! They're coming!" Carolyn exclaimed, slightly out of breath.
"Oh, nice. You have them in order and everything?" Hanne inquired.
"Yes," Finn nodded.
"Wow, it must be awkward for you two working together," Soren smirked. "What with Brexit and all."
Finn snorted at this, while Carolyn scoffed and rolled her eyes.
"Nah, it's all good," Finn assured him. "Sure, their economy is f**ked, but we'll always be there for our Proddy brothers and sisters."
"Piss off!" Carolyn exclaimed, giving Finn a shove.
"Well, while this bitch fight continues, it's time to introduce our next contest. Ilana from Israel!" Carla announced.
A girl with long black hair entered the hall. She wore a black tank-tap and light grey shorts. She also had rather large breasts.
As she walked in, Soren let out a wolf-whistle.
"Dude," Kees hissed, giving him a light nudge.
"Ilana, how are you doing?" Carla greeted.
"Me, I'm fine. Over the moon," Ilana giggled. "I want to give a shout-out to my four besties – Adva, Shamira, Dar and Geula. I'm winning this for you!"
"Ah, that's cute," Carla smiled. "Take a seat."
"Yes," Ilana replied, going over to the table where most of them sat. "Can I sit next to you?"
"Sure," Soren replied. "There's plenty of space so you didn't need to ask."
"I know, sorry," Ilana giggled nervously.
"Moving on to our Italian contestant – Os!" Hanne exclaimed.
Os was a rather bulky guy with shaved brown hair, a silver earring, a navy leather jacket, black trousers and black boots.
"Hey," he said simply.
"Oh good," Hanne giggled. "I love your accent."
"Grazie," Os smiled slightly, before sitting down next to Ilana.
"Hello, you are my competition?" he greeted.
"You got it. I'm Kees from the Netherlands," Kees replied. "You got something on your face."
He pointed to the right of his own mouth.
"Oh, si," Os nodded, wipping a red stain off his mouth. "It was a smoothie. I…uh…had one on my way here."
"It looked bright," Kees commented. "It can't have been very healthy."
"N-no," Os agreed, stuttering a little.
"Up next, it's Raquel-Maria from Portugal!" Carla announced.
A thin girl with curly brown hair, tanned skin, a lavender tank top and white shorts was next to arrive.
Yes, it's so awesome to be here!" she cheered, pumping her fist. "So, you're the new hosts?"
"Yes, I'm Carla and she's my sister, Hanne," Carla said. "Other contestants are over there."
"Cool!" Raquel-Maria nodded. "Hi. I love mangoes and music from the 80's."
"Yes, mangoes are the second best fruit. After oranges of course," Haleme replied.
"Nice. I like you already."
"I like you too. I'm Haleme from Azerbaijan."
"I've seen your audition tape," Brook said. "It had me laughing like a hyena for weeks."
"Aw thanks," Raquel-Maria beamed. "I put no effort into that but it brought me here so…I assume you're Australian."
"Yes, I'm Brook. They/them pronouns," Brook replied.
"Uh-huh, nice to meet you," Raquel-Maria nodded, sounding a little uncertain.
"Our, ninth contestant – Calvin from the UK."
"Aye, not for long," said a boy with a Scottish accent as he entered the automatic doors. He had greasy black hair, sunglasses, a light beard, a grey t-shirt, black basketball shorts and flip flops. "The Scots are fuckin' off soon thanks to those Brexiteers."
"I heard that!" shouted Carolyn's voice from outside.
Calvin approached the two hosts.
"How are ya? Nice to be a part of one of the good shows left now-days."
"Thanks," Hanne said. "Do you want to take a seat?"
"Aye," Calvin nodded, sitting alone at the middle table. A couple of the others gave him weird looks. "What? I ain't sitting there. I've got fucking claustrophobia. You're all free to join."
"Yeah, why not?" Os shrugged, getting up and sitting at the other side of Calvin's table.
Ilana also got up, but sat back down a couple of seconds later.
"Time for our 10th player – Lidika from Poland."
A very short girl arrived. She had long black hair, a denim jacket, a white t-shirt with grey pinstripes, and green skinny jeans.
"Nice of you to make it," Hanne greeted.
"Thank you," Lidika curtseyed. "It's my pleasure."
She sat down with Calvin and Os.
"Cześć," Calvin greeted.
"Oh, you speak Polish?" Lidika asked.
"A wee bit. My ex was Polish so I picked up a bit from him."
"Pardon? I'm sorry, your accent is really thick," Lidika said, amused.
"Fuck it," Calvin shrugged.
"And what's your name?" Lidika asked Os.
"Os. I'm from Italy," Os replied.
"I like your jacket," Lidika said.
[Confessional: Can you keep track so far?
Calvin (United Kingdom): I'm not gon' lie. When Lidika came in I thought she was a wee 12-year-old or somethin']
The next boy to arrive had short, blonde hair with a grey and red sweatband. He wore a teal sweater with a grey turtle-neck under a mint-green duffel coat. He also wore black skinny jeans and matching suede shoes.
"Isak from Sweden!" Carla introduced.
Isak walked in slowly, inhaling as he took in his surroundings. Ilana extended her neck, looking rather confused.
"This is a nice set," he finally commented.
"It's not a set. It's an actual school," Hanne informed him.
"Of course," he laughed nervously. "I'm a big movie fan. It's how I think, haha."
Hanne gave him a raised eyebrow as he sat at the middle table.
"Hello, what are your names?" he greeted.
"Calvin."
"Os."
"Lidika. You sound like Pewdiepie," she commented.
"Who?"
Calvin gasped, while Os looked surprised.
"He's a YouTuber. The most subscribed of all time?" Lidika said.
"Oh, I don't use YouTube too much. Just for trailers or the odd documentary."
"Um…alright."
"Maeve from Ireland, everybody!"
A girl ran in the door, followed by a pirouette and a jump. She laughed and sighed as she walked up to the hosts.
She had chin-length brown hair, a pink v-neck t-shirt, a red cardigan, black leggings and pumps.
"Nice moves," Carla commented.
"Haha, thank you," Maeve giggled. "Are you the new hosts?"
"Yes, Hanne and Carla," Hanne said, pointing at herself, then her twin.
"Nice to meet you," she smiled, before going to find a seat.
"Hey, I'm Calvin, from Scotland," Calvin greeted as she sat down.
"Hi, Calvin. Nice to have a fellow Celt here," Maeve said.
"Yeah very," Calvin nodded, and the two shared a handshake.
"Now for the last of this second lot – Ximo from Sp…" Carla announced only to get interrupted by Hanne, "slash Catalonia."
"Oh my God, sorry! I came in too soon," Hanne blushed, laughing nervously.
"You're fired," Carla giggled, giving her a light whack with her notecard.
A boy arrived in on a skateboard. He had reddish-brown hair and a bushy beard. He wore a blue and white knitted sweater, denim jeans and white trainers.
"Will I win? Will I lose? Who knows?" Ximo muttered, halting his board and aiming it into his hand. "It is not for me to say."
"Have you considered excelling in challenges and building up social connections?" Carla suggested.
"Haha, haven't we all?" Ximo responded with a small smirk, proceeding to sit down between Os and Maeve.
"And that is it for now!" Hanne announced. "The final set will arrive at 8."
The two girls walked off, leaving the 14 teens to continue to converse amongst themselves.
"So what now?" Calvin asked. "We spend the next three fucking hours playing shitty board games?"
"Looks like it," Maeve giggled. "We begs checkers."
A few of the contestants from the left table had gathered around the shelves of games, only for Maeve to sprint over and leap to the top shelf for her desired game.
"Damn," Soren commented as he gazed back at her.
[Confessional: Don't you mean 4teens?
Ilana (Israel): Ooh, I'm so excited to be here.. And also kind of nervous. I might throw up! [clenches her eyes] Doing it for them. Doing it for them.
Os (Italy): [sighs as he places a glove over the confession camera/ not realising there's another smaller one behind him]
[From behind, he can be seen taking out a tube of blue acrylic paint out of his jacket pocket, and sighing in delight as he squirts it into his mouth]
Raquel Maria (Portugal): My goal here is to not try. My audition tape was me singing 'Mamma Mia' in a frog costume – you never know what will get you far in these games.
Calvin (United Kingdom): Not a bad set of fuckers so far, I must say that Swedish guy is quite the lovely [sighs in delight]
But whatever, they'll all turn out to be a bunch of pricks in the end.
Lidika (Poland): Things are going fine so far. I can definitely see some potential allies in this lot – they'll be haggling to work with me
Isak (Sweden): What a nice opening to the season. A few hours to chill together before the drama begins.
Maeve (Ireland): I can already tell this will be a great summer. It's about time Ireland got another win at Eurovision!
My main goal was to beat Britain, but since their contestant is Scottish I wouldn't mind as much, hahaha!
Ximo (Spain/Catalonia): Reality TV.
Product of society's moral decay
I will enjoy every minute]
The left table was in the middle of a game of snakes and ladders.
"Sorry, if you don't mind me asking, who's that girl on her own?" Ilana whispered to the others.
"Who? Oh, that's Vendredi. She hasn't said a word since she got here," Brook told her.
"Vendredi? Isn't that French for Friday?" Ilana giggled loud enough for the whole room to hear. The middle table gave her odd stares but Vendredi herself didn't react at all.
"Haha, not so loud," Kees said as he rolled the dice. "One…two…three…four…five…damn it!"
He landed on a snake and slithered from 37 to 19.
"Haha, damn," Haleme giggled.
"What?"
"Dam? 'Cause you're from Holland."
Kees gave her a cynical look.
"My turn!" Ilana exclaimed.
[Confessional: Bestem is a dyke
Kees (Netherlands): I am from Zeeland thank you very much! My country is called the Netherlands and nothing else.
[smirks a little] That pun was kind of funny though
Ilana (Israel): That poor girl. She needs someone to talk to. But I'm not sure if I should bring it up. The others might not agree and I can't isolate myself this early in the game]
A checkerboard lay upside down on the ground with pieces scattered around, before the camera panned to the middle table playing a card game of 'Bullshit'.
"Three sevens," Lidika said, her lips curled.
"Bullshit!" Maeve exclaimed.
"No," Lidika giggled, showing the pile indeed had three sevens on top. "That works every time."
"Feck," Maeve groaned, dragging the pile towards her.
"Did you all get here safely?" Isak asked in an unusally loud tone.
"Huh?" Calvin said.
"Because it could have gone better for me. This kid kept kicking my seat, and I…uh…well, yeah."
The rest of the table looked at him in awkward silence.
"Haha, that's not so bad," Calvin chuckled. "Was sitting next to this old man on my trip went on about how he was visiting his brother, and he went into great detail about all the hills he'd visit. I'm like, 'K, that's nice grandpa. Let me get back to my Enya CD'."
Most of the table laughed. A couple like Lidika and Os still had trouble understanding his fast tone and thick accent.
"Do you like Enya?" Maeve asked.
"Yea, got a whole collection of CD's. Brought a couple for my Walkman."
[Confessional: Echoes in rain…Gene Kelly's experiencing audio feedback
Isak (Sweden): [sighs] I suck at talking to new people. I speak in these long sentences and never get to the end. That was so awkward
Calvin (United Kingdom): I made most of that up. There was an old man next to me and I was afraid he'd try to talk, so I ended up imagining a conversation in my head
You know that feeling when you're angry at someone and you think about the argument you'll have? Kind of like that
Maeve (Ireland): Hahaha, who the heck still uses CD's?]
A time lapse of the sun setting in the sky followed by Carla and Hanne standing in
front of the contestants. They had just come back from dinner so there had been some shuffling between tables.
"It's 8pm!" Hanne announced. "Which means it's time to introduce the last eight contestants. First up, we have Stefanija from Croatia!"
The girl who walked in had brown hair tied into a ponytail, a green belly-top, grey sweatpants and dark blue trainers.
"Hi," she greeted.
"Hello, how are you doing?" Carla greeted, shaking Stefanija's hand. Hanne did the same thing.
"I'm so excited to be here. I'm a little worried since there's only two South Slavs this year, but I'll overcome it," she said.
"Good luck with that," Hanne said uncertainly. "Anyway, welcome, take a seat while we introduce the next contestant."
Stefanija sat down next to Taras at the left table.
"Hello, Stefanija, I'm Taras," he greeted.
Stefanija's mouth went wide.
"Are you…Russian?" she asked.
"Yes."
"Okay, okay," she nodded slowly, clearly anxious.
A scrawny boy walked through the automatic doors. He had tanned skin, dark-brown hair styled into a cowlick, and stubble. He wore a teal t-shirt, a red hoody, black skinny sweatpants and red and white trainers.
"Robert from Romania!"
"I may live in Romania, but I am Hungarian by blood," he said. His voice sounded strangely twangy, like he was attempting an American accent. "The tabloids sure did throw a fit when I won the selection, hahaha."
Carla sported a raised eyebrow as she watched Robert sit down at Table 2.
"Hey," he greeted. "Let's just get this out of the way. My parents are dead. Just so I don't shock everyone by revealing it in a week."
Nobody responded to that, and everyone did their best not to react.
"Eh, you'll thank me later," he shrugged.
"The next contestant could be a threat to your lives…but probably not. Sandrine from Switzerland!" Hanne announced.
"What does she mean by…" Isak asked as the next girl walked in.
She had messy auburn hair, and wore a light-red t-shirt, a greyish-green jacket, and blue capris. She was carrying a rather lumpy backpack.
She went past the hosts without saying a word, and sat down at the left table between Stefanija and Brook.
"Hey, girl, what's in the bag?" Brook asked.
"All will be revealed later," Sandrine assured her.
"Next up, hoping to defend our title, it's Samson!" Carla announced.
The next contestant had short brown hair that was shaved at the sides, a grey sweater under a green leather jacket, and denim skinny jeans. He had a very forced smile on his face.
"Hello, Carla and Hanne Geels," he said. "Les Filles Araignées. It's so good to meet you! I grew up with your show."
"I take it you watched the French dub," Carla giggled.
"Well, yes, I'm from Wallonia," Samson replied. "My favourite episode was when your webs wouldn't work so you used silly string."
He let out a forced laugh, which caused Carla and Hanne to glance at each other.
"Thanks," Hanne said through gritted teeth. "It's good to have you, Samson. Good luck in the rest of the contest."
Samson walked confidently over to the left table.
"Is there any room?" she asked.
"Sorry, we're full," Soren said. "But there's room over there."
He pointed at the table where Vendredi was sitting.
Samson froze at that, before reluctantly making his way over to her.
"You can sit here, hen. I'll move over there," Calvin offered, getting up and sitting opposite Vendredi. Vendredi took one look at Calvin and let out a groan.
"Hey, I'm no fan of people either but it's a million euros, love," Calvin said. "At least fuckin' try."
"Fuck off," Vendredi hissed at him.
"Hi, I'm Samson. How are you guys?" Samson greeted.
"I'm Kees, from the Netherlands," Kees greeted.
"Hello, neighbour," Samson giggled, shaking his hand.
"Hey, girlfriend, I'm Maeve. I'm Irish," Maeve greeted.
"I'm sort of a…trans male," Samson said nervously. "But use whatever pronouns you want. I don't care."
"Alright then. I'll call you one of the lads," Maeve said, and the two of them shared a fistbump.
"Are you alright?" Raquel-Maria asked Isak. He was staring at Samson with a weird squint.
"Huh? Oh, I'm good," Isak laughed nervously. "Hi, Samson, I'm Isak, from Sweden."
"Thanks…I mean, nice to meet you, Isak. I like your headband," Samson said.
"Thanks – it's part of my style," Isak said, brushing at it with his index finger. He then proceeded to look away from Samson, which made the Belgian bite his lip.
"Time for the other South Slav – it's Yoana from Bulgaria!" Hanne announced.
A girl walked in with long brown hair, and a green t-shirt tucked into light blue jeans. Along with her luggage, she carried a violin case.
"Yoana, nice of you to make it," Carla said, her hands behind her back.
"Yeah, not really," Yoana said, rolling her eyes.
"Touchy," Carla remarked as she sat down between Calvin and Vendredi.
"Hey, love, you a fan of the classics?" Calvin asked.
"Sort of, but I much prefer the pop songs," Yoana replied.
"Eh, that's cool, love," Calvin nodded slowly. "Very."
"Are you trying to flirt with me, 'cus you're totally not my type," she said, narrowing her eyes.
"Girl, you got me all wrong. I'm gay, like," Calvin replied, putting his hands up in surrender.
"Oh, cool," Yoana said, before giving Vendredi a couple of nudges. "Hey, who's this?"
"Vendredi. She doesn't talk much – told me to fuck off a minute ago."
"She did? I like her already," Yoana smiled. Vendredi just shook her head and sighed.
"Classy bitch you are," Calvin scowled.
"And now welcome to our Icelandic contestant – Henrik!" Carla exclaimed.
A guy walked in, back stretched and his hands behind his back. He had spiky dark-blonde hair, a blue t-shirt, an olive-green bomber jacket and navy waterproof trousers.
"Greetings," he said, pointing a finger pistol. "Lara and Adrijana."
"No, we're Carla and Hanne," Carla giggled. "I assume you haven't seen the show."
"No, I don't use technology very much. It rots the brain," Henrik said, before walking over to the table on the right.
Calvin licked his lips as he approached them.
"Hi, Henrik. Calvin," Calvin greeted.
"Nice to meet you. It's a pleasure," Henrik said. "Are you Irish?"
"No. Scottish," Calvin chuckled. "The f**kers in Belfast sound similar though."
"I see. Would you mind not swearing? It makes me uncomfortable," Henrik requested.
"It's sorta what I do," Calvin protested. "But…I could tone it down if you like.
"Thanks," Henrik smiled.
Yoana looked at Calvin with a raised eyebrow.
[Confessional: NoahCarnes sent me a message pretending to be a civil servant. Bless him xD
Calvin (United Kingdom): [scratches his neck] Isak and Henrik are f**king baes. I might have a thing for blondes
Not really into that Danish guy though. He's a bit weedy for my tastes.]
"And now it's time to introduce another contestant from a debuting country – Ebba from Germany."
Ebba was a short, curvy girl with dark skin and short, curly, black hair. She wore a black khaki shirt and camo skinny jeans.
"Hi," she greeted timidly, one hand behind her back.
"Nice to meet you," Hanne said. "How does it feel to be the first German contestant?"
"Good. I'm making history, am I not?" she giggled. "I can't wait to get started."
She made her way over to the right table. Yoana scooted as far away from Calvin as possible to make room. She smirked as she patted the round bench.
"We just met!" Calvin protested.
"Danke," Ebba said. "What's your name?"
"I'm Yoana, from Bulgaria," Yoana greeted, pointing at the others. "Vendredi, Henrik, and that thing."
"Name is Calvin," Calvin smirked, adjust his sunglasses. "From Scotland."
"Oh, is Scotland competing on its own this year?" Ebba asked.
"Yeah. One step closer to gettin' the f**k out," Calvin grinned.
"No, he represents the UK. Dream on," Yoana remarked.
"Guys, calm down!" Henrik exclaimed. "You don't want to kicked out early, right?"
"You think that'll make a difference?" Calvin remarked. Before anyone could reply, Carla made an announcement.
"It's time to meet the last contestant – yet another debuting country, it's Tomas representing Lithuania!"
He had short blonde hair, a dark red sweatshirt, light-grey skinny sweatpants, and a blue baseball cap.
"Hey y'all," he greeted as he dragged along his suitcase.
"Ladies," he added, shooting a finger pistol at Carla and Hanne. Carla giggled and blushed while Hanne just looked confused.
"You're the other players, right?" he said as he said at the right table. "Are y'all psyched or what?"
"You pulling our legs?" Calvin remarked.
"Pardon me?"
"Lithuanian, my arse. I know that accent from anywhere," Calvin said.
"Well, I'm actually from Georgia. My dad's side is all Lithuanian though – I grew up with the two languages and everythin'."
"Uh-huh," Calvin nodded.
"I assume you mean the US state," Ebba said.
"What?"
"You're from the US state Georgia, right?"
"Yeah, m'lady. Is there some other Georgia?"
"Yes. There's the country."
"There's a country called Georgia? I ain't never heard of it," Tomas shrugged.
"So that's everyone!" Carla announced. "We'll be back in a few minutes – just need to deal with some things. Feel free to chat until then."
With that, the twin hosts walked off.
[Confessional: Five years later, still no port-a-potty to call mine
Stefanija (Croatia): It's so exciting to meet people from different countries. I know there's a couple I need to be wary of like Russia and Israel, and of course I'll need to stick with my Bulgarian girl, but other than that…it should all be good
Robert (Romania): So, the only reason I'm here is because of my 'tragic' backstory. When I was a baby, my house got set on fire and while me and my brothers got out alive…[draws a finger across his neck]
I've been in and out of foster homes and orphanages my whole life. It's all I've known so whatever
Sandrine (Switzerland): I'm looking forward to this summer. It's going to be explosive! Your hearts are going to melt in my presence.
Samson (Belgium): [groans] I've only been here for half-an-hour and I already feel exhausted
I can't stand being around people for too long, but being social is a big part of these games, so I'm going to have to try.
Henrik (Iceland): I like to think I have a good chance here. I'm very in touch with the stuff that matters. Young people these days are way too invested in their phones and computers and I wish it would change.
Ebba (Germany): [laughs] Nobody suspects a thing
I'm not putting on an act or anything – I really am pretty reserved, but my strategy is to blend in and spy on people unnoticed. This game will be mine
Tomas (Lithuania): I don't know what to say so far. It's my first time outside America – had to get a passport especially for it.
I know those Europeans ain't quite like us but they seem nice so far. A bit concerned about that cross-dresser on the far side though – I won't ask what Kool-Aid he's been drinking.]
The 22 contestants were still murmuring amongst themselves when Carla and Hanne arrived.
"Attention, contestants!" Carla announced. "Stay where you are – this moment is crucial."
Footsteps could be hard stomping down the nearby stairs and a couple of the contestants froze, when they saw Jessie carrying a roll of duct tape.
"You heard what they said. No sudden movements!" she barked as she tore off a piece of tape and used it to stick the end of the roll to the wall.
She tore across the hall and jumped on top of the left table. The contestants on either side moved back, except Ilana whose arm got stuck to the sticky side.
Jessie nodded to herself and jumped off, moving on to table number 2. As with the first table, the eight of them huddled to opposite sides. Maeve let out a sneeze, and Jessie glared at her and lunged forward, causing her to 'eep'.
Finally she made her way to the third table, which had six contestants now grouped into threes. Yoana took a sigh of relief when she noticed Calvin was on the other side.
"Ok, everyone, get up! Out of your seats, and line up at the wall nearest to you. Anyone who switches sides will be spanked publicly!" Jessie continued to shout.
Everyone scrambled to their feet and rushed to walls on either side. With each table being cut in half evenly, both lines had 11 contestants.
"Thank you, Jessie," Carla nodded curtly.
"It's a pleasure," Jessie grinned, before dashing back up the stairs.
"As you may have figured out by now, the people standing with you will be your teammates. They might be your friends, your lovers, maybe even your backstabbers. Who can say for now?" Carla monologue.
"Those of you on the north side," Hanne said, pointing at them one by one. "Brook, Haleme, Stefanija, Sandrine, Kees, Samson, Ximo, Robert, Vendredi, Yoana and Henrik – you will be Team Flanders."
"Nice!" Brook cheered, pumping their fist.
"Ironic, since I'm from Wallonia," Samson said. Kees beside him smiled and shrugged.
"The rest of you – Ilana…"
The Israeli girl sighed as she rubbed the red mark the duct-tape put on her arm.
"…Lidika, Soren, Taras, Maeve, Os, Isak, Raquel-Maria, Ebba, Calvin and Tomas."
The Lithuanian-American tipped his hat as his name was called out.
"You eleven are Team Wallonia."
"I call team captain!" Maeve exclaimed, raising her hand.
"Isn't it a bit soon?" Soren asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I'll second that," Calvin said, holding up his index finger.
Soren rolled his eyes and stood back against the wall.
"You guys have half-an-hour to check out your sleeping arrangement. Flanders sleeps on the left side, Walloons on the right, boys upstairs and girls downstairs. Got it?"
"Which side do I sleep in?" Brook asked, raising their hand.
"I don't know. Wherever you like," Carla shrugged.
"Thank you," Brook nodded.
"When you're done, come back down for your first challenge. Your time starts now."
The 22 teens all formed a clump as they tried to grab their suitcases and move on.
[Confessional: I should be studying but then again I'm being overworked
Tomas (Lithuania): [groans] Great, we're only here a few hours and the Tumblrite is already demanding extra rights. Are y'all blind – he's pretty clearly a boy!]
(Team Flanders – Girls)
The five and a half girls began to unpack. Each room had six beds, wooden flooring, whitewashed walls, and a bathroom with three toilets and a shower.
Yoana unzipped her bag and started to place clothes on the wooden shelves.
"Hello," Stefanija greeted, standing behind her.
Yoana jumped in shock, before turning her head slowly.
"Can I help you?" she asked dryly.
"Don't be like that. I'm a South Slav like you."
"Uh-huh."
"I'm Stefanija by the way. From Croatia."
"Yoana. Bul…"
"Bulgaria, I know," Stefanija said. "I've been paying attention."
"Great. Do you want something from me?"
"I just want to get to know you. We are going to be working together in this game."
"Are we?"
"Yeah. We're the only two South Slavs this year. It only makes sense."
"Hmm…no."
"What?"
"I'm not going to be your friend just because we share DNA or whatever. I only respect those who've earned it."
"But…"
"Out of my personal space! Go on!"
Stefanija sighed as she stomped to her bed. "You're making a huge mistake!"
"Story of my life."
[Confessional: Bulgaria, more like Vul…[removed by request of whatever studio made that movie]
Yoana (Bulgaria): What? I may be a bitch, but I'm in no way fake. Sure, I could string Stefi here along for an extra vote, but I don't roll like that.
Stefanija (Croatia): [shrugs] She's probably playing hard-to-get. Oh well, I can extend a hand at any time.]
Haleme placed six plastic oranges in her bedside drawers, only to notice Sandrine taking a blow-torch out of her bag.
"Uh…what you got there?" Haleme asked in concern.
"Oh, I use this to melt stuff. It's kind of my thing," Sandrine replied brightly.
"Okay…how did you get it through security?"
"I couldn't. I bought this one when I got there," Sandrine answered. "But I did get these past the guards."
She rummaged through her suitcase and pulled out several small jars of orange liquid.
"You better not set those off in here!" Yoana said sternly when she noticed what Sandrine was doing.
"Oh, I don't use these for pranks," Sandrine said. "I just like seeing the reactions."
"Very…well?" Yoana responded in confusion.
[Confessional: Hollandaise was most likely French but whatever
Yoana (Bulgaria): I'm not getting any sleep for the next three weeks, am I?]
(Team Flanders – Boys)
Henrik whistled to himself as he took some t-shirts and jackets out of his suitcase and hung them on clothes hangers.
"So, you're from Iceland?" Samson asked, unzipping his own bag.
"Yes," Henrik nodded.
"I'd really like to visit there one day. Visit all the geysers and the hot springs. It looks like a beautiful country."
"It really is," Henrik confirmed. "I like to go hiking up there in my spare time and go for a swim. Sadly, so many of them have been have been into spas and commercialised."
"I know. Capitalism can be a bitch sometimes," Samson sighed, unbuttoning his leather jacket.
"Woah, I'm not anti-capitalist or anything," Henrik said, putting up his palms. "I just think it's wrong to put a price on nature."
"Yeah, I'm down with that," Samson said. "I'm really into hiking. Of course, it's a lot flatter here in Belgium, but there's some nice scenery."
[Confessional: Every day I feel like I could be your bad boy
Samson (Belgium): Wow, I actually kind of enjoyed that. It felt forced at first, but Henrik seems pretty cool. I can see myself getting along with him. I hope I didn't sound desperate or anything…I mean, I totally am, but they can't know that.
Henrik (Iceland): I'm enjoying myself so far. My roommates are all pretty chill – the Romanian guy is kind of creepy but other than that.]
Kees groaned as he sat on his saggy mattress.
"Damn, these beds are s**t," he said. "I suppose I better get used to this quality."
"It could be worse," Ximo, who was standing on his bedside table, shrugged. "In season 1 they didn't get beds at all – I heard some of them went for showers in petrol stations."
"Yeah, some stuff about that first season was really sketchy," Kees agreed. "I think they made it safer on purpose to make up for the low budget."
"Who knows?" Ximo shrugged. The two of them froze when they saw Robert approaching them.
"Hi, fellas," Robert greeted with a toothy grin.
"Um…hello," Kees said uncertainly.
"I just want to say I'm sorry about freaking you out earlier," he said. "I just thought it was important to get stuff out in the open, you know?"
"Okay," Kees nodded slowly.
"I can agree with that," Ximo said. "I'm the oldest out of five, and privacy is hard to come by. Sometimes it's best just to be honest."
"I know. There were fifteen kids in my first foster home," Robert said, putting his hands in his hoody pockets. "My brothers taught me Hungarian so we could have our own secret code."
"Yeah, having your own language is cool," Ximo agreed. "My three are English, Spanish and Catalan, and I also picked up some Basque from my grandmother, may God rest her soul."
"I only have English and Dutch myself," Kees said, counting with his fingers. "I also did French for a couple of years but I was never really fluent."
The three of them paused and faced left as they noticed loud footsteps coming up the stairs.
"Hi boys," Brook greeted as they ran in with a wheelie-bag. "I've decided to alternate between rooms, so I'm going to keep some clothes in each dorm."
"Cool," Kees nodded. "Welcome to the boys' side."
"Hi, Kees. I've talked to you already," Brook said, shooting him a finger pistol. "But I don't believe we've spoken yet."
They slipped their way over to Ximo.
"No, we haven't," Ximo smiled. "I'm Ximo, from Spain."
"Brook, from Australia. Though you could probably tell by the accent," Brook giggled. "I love your hair. Is that your natural colour?"
"Yes it is."
"And your beard. That must have taken forever to grow out."
"Thank you," Ximo grinned. "It didn't really. I'm sort of just naturally hairy."
"I see," Brook nodded. "What were you guys talking about before I showed up?"
"We were just talking about languages," Kees told them.
"Cool. I'm learning Japanese in school. I'm not fluent or anything, but I've gotten pretty good."
"I said I just have the two, English and Dutch, and Robert…wait, where is Robert?" Kees asked.
He and Ximo both turned their heads to see Robert talking to Henrik and Samson.
"Huh," Kees shrugged, before carrying on with the conversation.
[Confessional: Remember when we had incestuous side-characters? Good times
Robert (Romania): Uh…is that guy for real? Samson I can understand – transgenderism is a real thing. But this idea that you can go back and forth between different genders is just some bullshit trend invented by the west. He's probably just doing it to get a 1-up on his social game.
Brook (Australia): I think I'm going to make lots of friends in this game. Downstairs I've got my gal-pals, and upstairs I can just hang with the boys. It's the best of both worlds]
(Team Wallonia – Girls)
Maeve hummed to herself as she placed her clothes in her wardrobe in neat, folded piles. This was in contrast to Ilana who was flinging her clothes onto her bed. Maeve hadn't really noticed until one of her bras fell on the ground.
The Irish girl let out another squeak as it brushed against her leg.
"Do you mind?" she frowned, kicking the bra away from her.
"Oh no, I'm sorry!" Ilana gasped, running to pick it up. "I'm such a mess. Here, I'll fold all my clothes now."
"It's okay, there's no need," Maeve assured her. "Just keep everything on your side."
"Got it."
While Maeve was facing away from her bed, she noticed Raquel-Maria sitting on top of her wardrobe was her bare feet dangling about.
"What in Lord's name are you doing?" Maeve asked, her hands on her hips.
"Just hanging around, because I can," Raquel-Maria shrugged.
"Let me try!" Ilana exclaimed, stepping onto the first shelf of her own wardrobe. Unfortunately, she'd stuffed too many of her clothes onto the top shelves so by the time she got to rung number two, she'd lost her balance and fallen off, with the shelf landing on top of her.
"Oh my God, are you okay!?" Maeve gasped, running over and picking up the shelf. She was surprisingly strong for her size, and picked up Ilana with one arm.
"I'm alright. I have a great pain tolerance," Ilana giggled. Maeve raised an eyebrow at this but carried on with unpacking.
[Confessional: I think I know what cushioned your fall
Maeve (Ireland): It looks like this team is going to be a handful, but I'll straighten them out no problem. I taught a one-legged girl how to do a backflip. Shout-out to Brianne. I miss you already!]
Ebba kept to herself putting away her clothes when she was approached by Lidika.
"Hello," the Polish girl greeted. "Your name is Ebba, right?"
"Yeah," Ebba replied, turning to face her.
"I'm Lidika, from Poland. It's really nice to meet you," Lidika said, sitting on Ebba's bed
"Thanks. You too," Ebba smiled.
"Why did you come on this show?" Lidika asked.
"Oh, you know, I thought it'd be something fun to do for a few weeks. Maybe make a few friends, get out of my shell," Ebba shrugged. "What about you?"
"Same, I think it will be a good experience," Lidika said. "And the money would be great – I could pay for college, buy a new house, all the good stuff."
"I'm not too bothered about winning, myself," Ebba said. "This is Germany's first year so it's not like I have an act to follow."
Lidika giggled at this.
[Confessional: Is learning Norwegian a good investment?
Lidika (Poland): I think I'm already making some good progress. Ebba seems like someone I can keep under my wing – she's clearly shy. I'm pretty sure I'm the only person she's talked to since we got here, so I can easily get her vote.
Ebba (Germany): [snorts] Lidika is so fake you can smell it from a mile away. But making myself look like a follower has its advantages.]
The six boys of Team Wallonia arrived upstairs one by one.
Almost immediately, Tomas burst through the door, and ran for the fourth bed to the left, only to let out a girly scream as he landed.
"Aw, f**king s**t," he groaned, sitting up and adjusting his face. "These beds are worse than Bible camp."
The rest of the them followed after, each one plopping their suitcase down on a bed and claiming it for their own.
Isak took the bed on the far-left, and Calvin looked up in delight when he realised he'd taken the bed next to him.
He observed with fascination as he watched the Swedish guy sit faced away on the bed, and start running his finger across the wall.
"What are you at there?" Calvin asked, walking to over to stand behind them.
"Whuh!" Isak exclaimed, turning around with a shocked look on his face.
"Oh fuck, I didn't mean to scare you. You were in your own world, I get that," Calvin nodded.
"Don't worry about it. I'm was looking at the walls – they're all dusty and the paint is peeling off," Isak noted. "This place hasn't been cleaned in years."
"I hope nobody has asthma," Calvin commented.
"I'm safe as far as I know," Isak said. "I just hope I'm nowhere near peanuts. I have the worst peanut allergy."
"F**king hell," Calvin said. "I don't have any allgeries myself. I have Tourette's Syndrome though."
"That would explain all the swearing," Soren commented, having taken the bed on the other side.
"Nah, that's just a force of habit," Calvin clarified, looking to Soren and taking off his sunglasses. His eyes were hazel coloured and blinked independently of one another in an uncontrollable pattern. "I've had eye tics since I was 10."
"Can I see?" Isak asked as he fixed his headband. "Woah, it's like that Groovenians cartoon."
"The what?" Soren asked.
"Oh my God, do you know that?" Calvin asked, his mouth open. "I've seen internet reviews of it. The people who made that were high as all fuck."
"I've done some crazy stuff while high," Soren sighed. "Once there were five of us doing skunk in the back of this hardware store, and we made an Eiffel Tower out of wrenches and hammers."
"No way, man!" Calvin exclaimed, sitting down on his bed.
"Should you be talking about this out loud?" Isak asked in concern.
"Nah, there's no crime against talking about it," Soren shrugged. "I'm trying to move on from it though – the place where I live is pretty well known for its drug trade."
"Yeah, not quite sure Denmark is up there with Colombia and The Netherlands," Calvin commented.
"I mean Freetown Christiania. It's this tiny nation inside Denmark."
"I haven't heard of it," Isak said, folding his arms.
"You mean a micronation?" Calvin clarified. "There's one of those off the coast of England. It's called Sealand – some people found this old naval base and made it a country."
"Yeah, it's like Sealand," Soren said. "It's a bit bigger though – there's about a thousand of us."
"The world is a fascinating place," Isak stated as he unzipped his bag.
[Confessional: By 11 smoking herb and drinking burning liquor
Soren (Denmark): [leans his arms against the wall] At the moment, I'm going to just relax and get to know everyone. It's too soon to start strategizing without seeming suspicious.
Isak and Calvin were fun to talk to, even if they seem a bit weird. Taras is also pretty cool, though Os keeps to himself and doesn't really say anything.
That guy Tomas though? It's like the game handed him to me on a silver platter – a simpleton redneck like him would be the perfect ally.
Calvin (United Kingdom): [shaking with excitement] Imagine my luck. Isak is the most adorable thing ever. With his blonde hair, and his headband, and his coat and his shoes…
I'm going to enjoy this summer.
Isak (Sweden): So far things have been good. My roommates are all pretty cool. I've been talking to Calvin a lot. He's really funny – he'd be the perfect character for a comedy film or something.
[takes out a notebook] I'm bursting with ideas at the moment.]
And that's the first chapter. Hope everyone enjoyed, whether you've been here a few years or you've only come across this series now.
Please fav and follow if you like what you see, and review whatever your opinion. Pictures of the contestants can be found on a promo I posted on my DeviantArt (insertnamehere41)
Here's a run down of everyone's labels and the teams
Brook - Australia - The Kind-Hearted SJW
Calvin - United Kingdom - The Scottish Hipster
Ebba - Germany - The Chameleon
Haleme - Azerbaijan - The Orange Girl
Henrik - Iceland - The Preachy Naturalist
Ilana - Israel - The Upbeat Pushover
Isak - Sweden - The Quirky Screenplay
Kees - The Netherlands - The Military Rocker
Lidika - Poland - The Car Dealership Heiress
Maeve - Ireland - The Nutty Dancer
Os - Italy - The Biker Who Eats Paint
Raquel Maria - Portugal - The Pisstake
Róbert - Romania - The Smiley Fire Survivor
Samson - Belgium - The Tryhard Trans-man
Sandrine - Switzerland - The Sweetie Destructionist
Soren - Denmark - The Micronation Defector
Stefanija - Croatia - The Obliviously Racist Athlete
Taras - Russia - The Split-Brain DJ
Tomas - Lithuania - The Almost American
Vendredi - France - The Wallflower Escapologist
Ximo - Spain (Catalonia) - The Poetic Skater
Yoana - Bulgaria - The Cynical Violinist
Team Flanders - Brook, Haleme, Henrik, Kees, Robert, Samson, Sandrine, Stefanija, Vendredi, Ximo, Yoana
Team Wallonia - Calvin, Ebba, Ilana, Isak, Lidika, Maeve, Os, Raquel-Maria, Soren, Taras, Tomas
