Disclaimer: I do not hold responsibility for the author's decision to put off editing this for a few hours to watch Elliott Rodger videos.
So, it's been a month and a half. Give me some credit, it's not as slow as the last few updates. And then last night I drank really strong coffee and somehow managed to write 4,000 words.
But the next chapter is here! And tonight, the final 13 becomes the final 11! Aren't you excited already?
Euro-Drama Farmyard - Episode 23, Part 2 - Finally Swimsuits
The thirteen remaining contestants stood at the top of one of the hills, which had been constructed into a makeshift wooden cliff. They were all either wearing blue swimsuits or black Speedos.
"What's taking them so long?" Katerina sighed.
"Oh yeah, Adrijana said they're being forced to do chores because of their prank war," Emilia told her.
"I still can't believe Adrijana put hair removal cream in Lara's shampoo," Rikard snorted.
"If you think that's bad, once I replaced all the money in brother's wallet with fake bills I printed off the computer. Him and his girlfriend ended up having to wash dishes at that restaurant for four hours," Katerina giggled. "I was 12."
"God, that is awful. Me and my sisters usually just went with putting soap on each others' toothbrushes and switching the bags in cereal boxes," Carolyn sighed.
"If I could get away with stuff like that, I'd do it," Petros sighed, putting his hands in the pockets, only to realize that the togs did not have pockets. "Why did they only give these to us today? I mean, we swam in the lake with all our clothes on until now."
"Does it matter? A little exposure never hurt anyone," Rikard told him, walking around confidently in his bathing suit.
"I can't say I agree," Symon said sourly, his 'S' shaped bump clearly visible.
"I agree with Rikard," Pavils stated. "What is so shameful about showing your body?"
"Yeah, that's easy for you to say," Hadi sighed, referring to Pavils' six-pack.
[Confessional: Socks and the City!
Pavils (Latvia): What? Rikard doesn't have a six-pack and you don't see him complaining!]
Just then, Lara and Adrijana quickly rushed up the hill, both visibly out of breath.
"You're 7 minutes late," Hadi informed them.
"How would you know? You don't have a watch," Lara pointed out, raising an eyebrow.
"I started counting when…"
"Nobody cares!" Lara interrupted. "So, let's get started!"
She took out a notecard and read, "The producers drew lots to decide what order you'd go in and first up is Eloise."
Eloise sighed a little as she crept towards the edge of the cliff.
[Confessional: abcdefghijklgbt
Eloise (France): I'm probably agile enough to hit the safe zone, but still…the fish really scare me. I don't want stings on my body!
But I can't lose immunity!
Lou (Cyprus): Um…what are lots?]
She took deep breaths as she looked down and saw the safe zone, which was a paddling pool held in place by ropes.
"Let us go," she sighed to herself as she dived off the cliff, landing straight in the middle of the safe zone.
"Woo-hoo!" she squealed in excitement as she resurfaced.
"Eloise is through to the next round!" Lara announced as Eloise stepped onto a canoe being rowed by Interns #2 and #3. "Hadi, you're next."
"O…kay," Hadi said uncertainly. "I mean, Eloise dived it, but she's agile…do I really need to…I don't know. And I could be good at the later challenges…"
"Oh my God, just decide!" Lara yelled at him.
Hadi shrugged before jumping off the cliff, waving his arms about before landing in the paddling pool.
"Hadi is also through," Lara added. "Next up is Emilia!"
"Woo-hoo!" Emilia cheered as she was next to jump. Unfortunately for her, she jumped way too far, and ended up right between the paddling pool and the edge of the lake.
"Arrrgh!" she screamed as she splashed through the lake, reaching the edge and pulling herself up after a few seconds.
"Are you alright?" Lou asked in concern.
"I made it!" Emilia cheered as he jumped up and down triumphantly. "Wait, why do I feel…ARRRRGGGGHHHH! It stung my leg! It stung my leg! It burns!"
"Oh no!" Lou exclaimed in shock.
"Gah…no," Emilia sobbed, tears coming out of her eyes.
"It's okay, Emilia, I'm here," Alma told her as she came over from behind the cliff. "At least it was only one bite."
"Do you not know how much they sting!?" Emilia screamed.
"Here," Alma said, taking a bag of hot water out of her first aid kit and strapping it around Emilia's leg. "This could keep the pain at bay."
"Oh…that's…kind of better," Emilia said, still panting a little. "It's hot though."
"It's most effective that way," Alma explained.
"Er…looks like Emilia will stay another round. Congrats to her!" Adrijana announced.
"Yay!" Lou cheered, pumping his fist. "Erm…I think?"
"Carolyn next," Lara said.
"Hmm…" Carolyn pondered. "I don't want to end up like Emilia…but immunity would be great."
"Please hurry up," Lara snapped.
Carolyn nodded before diving straight into the paddling pool.
"Woo-hoo!" she cheered as she emerged.
Rikard was shown next cannonballing into the pool, only to barely make a splash.
Ilene was next, looking surprisingly thrilled as she fell from the cliff
Despite landing right outside the pool, Sveda managed to clamber in just in time and also claim her place in the next round.
Petros found himself mumbling uncertainly.
"Are you jumping or not?" Adrijana asked him.
"Um…uh…oh…I…um…I'm going to pass…" Petros replied, a clear tone of regret.
"And Petros is the first person out of today's challenge!" Lara announced. "Not sure if he'll be missed."
"With that, the next person in the draw is…Lou," Adrijana added. "Good luck, bro."
Lou did the sign of the cross before praying, "Please let me fall in the safe zone. Please, please, cross my heart, hope to die…"
With that, he stood at the edge and leapt off, just managing to tumble inside the pool.
"That was a close one, but Lou is still in the game!" Adrijana announced. "Pavils?"
"Let's do this!" he cheered, bellyflopping off the cliff, landing with a smack about two metres away from the pool. "OH [many, many Latvian swear words.]
[Confessional: Are there even many Latvian swear words?
Carolyn (United Kingdom): [screeches with laughter] He landed right on top of a whole school of them. If that's not karma, what the hell is?
Sanna (Denmark): [winces] Ooh…even Pavils didn't deserve that…that must have stung so hard.]
By the time Pavils had lugged himself back onto dry land, he was covered from head to toe in bumps.
"Ugh…ack…ooo…" he moaned in agony.
"Well, it looks like Pavils will not be continuing," Lara stated.
"What? But I jumped!" Pavils screamed, audibly in constant pain.
"Yeah, but you're gone to need full body treatment as soon as possible. You can stay if you want…" Adrijana shrugged.
"Ugh, fine, get me to the medical tent!" Pavils cried as he got up before Alma lead him off. "Walking is so uncomfortable!"
"And who would be next?" Lara asked as she looked at her notecard…
The screen showed Katerina landing with a splash into the paddling pool, before switching to Symon doing the same thing. Sanna was last to go, ejecting herself from her chair and landing where most of the others did.
The next scene showed the eleven remaining contenders lined up in their farm clothes before the two female hosts.
"So, congrats for making it this far!" Adrijana announced.
"Next up, we have the fear challenge," Lara continued as two interns brought a lie detector next to them. "This time, we shall do things in alphabetical order…"
"Being whipped," sighed Carolyn nervously.
"Polyester," Eloise said anxiously, before being shocked. "Ack…okay, the movie Saw."
She was shocked again.
"Eloise, one more time and you're out of the challenge," Adrijana sighed.
Eloise took a few deep breaths before sighing in defeat, "Getting my head shaved."
"Chocolate Russian Roulette," Emilia admitted. "It's a long story."
"Still being electrocuted," Hadi admitted.
"I've finally faced my fear of performing publicly so…someone rubbing a balloon," Ilene said.
"Still dogs," stated Katerina.
"Lions," Lou said, before getting shocked. "Well, it's going back to Cyprus, but how can I do that?"
"We can arrange something," Adrijana told him.
"Getting hurt," Rikard groaned.
"Still bleach," Sanna moaned.
"Spiders," said Sveda.
"Chocolate cake," shuddered Symon.
"Yeah…we don't believe you," Lara said cynically.
"What? But the detector…" Symon protested.
"Yeah, but you're an actor, and a pretty good one at that, so…you would be able to fool the detector," Adrijana pointed out.
"Fine…hurting another person," Symon sighed.
"You were totally fine with doing it to me last season," Adrijana groaned, adding sarcastically, "And you were mad at me for getting Alma in the eye."
"We're going to put you down as 'taking off your mask,'," Lara stated, which made Symon groan.
"Oh, yeah, he said that he was afraid of himself,"
[Confessional: Whoever reported my Hetalia fic is nothing more than a grade school snitch
Eloise (France): Damn it…I really need immunity, but shaving my head!? [she puts her head in her heads]
Lou (Cyprus): What did Adrijana mean? Is she going to fly me back to Cyprus?
Symon (Ukraine): This will be fun…
Emilia (Netherlands): A few months ago me and my friends got a chocolate Russian roulette set, and I lost and ended up eating this extremely spicy chilli chocolate. I had to drink 10 glasses of milk before the pain went away. It was even worse than getting stung by the weaver.]
"So…" Adrijana cleared her throat as Intern #7 brought over a mirror. "Since you revealed the fears in alphabetical order, you'll face them in reverse. Symon, you're up first. To pass, you must take off your mask, and stare at the mirror for five minutes. You can't look away or close your eyes."
"Mmm…" Symon moaned, before taking a deep breath and pulling off his mask, revealing his deformed mug. "Ugh…uck…"
"While Symon gets his challenge done, the rest of you can follow me for Sveda's challenge," Adrijana told them. She and the remaining contestants walked off while Lara stayed with Symon.
[Confessional: Is this offensive?
Symon (Ukraine): I just can't stand my hideous self. I'm a monster. If I win this show, the first thing I am getting is plastic surgery!
Eloise (France): [shrugs] At least Symon's self-aware.
Pavils (Latvia): [sighs] At least Symon knows that he's a…[slaps himself several times] No! Bad! No!]
Sveda was shown in a glass coffin as Intern #3 stood before her with a giant jar of spiders.
"Sveda, in this jar there are 500 common house spiders. To pass to the next round, you must stay in this coffin for five minutes," Lara explained.
"Ooh…" Sveda said nervously, before the intern started pouring the spider into the coffin and locking it.
Sveda immediately stated screaming her head off as the timer began.
"Aw, it's like a family reunion," Intern #3 cooed.
"Keep an eye on her," Lara told Intern #3. "As I take the rest to see Sanna face her fear once again."
Sanna groaned at this.
[Confessional: Screw you, M. Pokora! For ruining my perfect qualification!
Sanna (Denmark): It wasn't fun when I washed my hair with it, it wasn't fun last year, and it sure won't be fun this time round.
Still, we've seen over the last couple of rounds that nobody is safe. I'll take immunity at any cost
Symon (Ukraine): [sighs] That was awful. But I'm through to the next round! Yes!
Sveda (Azerbaijan): And I'm safe! Not sure how I'll do for the next couple rounds, but for now, I'm untouchable.
Rikard (Finland): Looks like I'm up next. This…won't be fun…]
As Rikard was lead across the grass by Lara, a scream was heard in the distance.
"What was that?" Rikard asked in panic.
"Sounds like Sanna also passed," Lara stated. "As for you, say hello to your challenge."
Rikard gasped in shock as he saw Shay before him, looking pissed as always.
"It's karma time," Shay chuckled.
"Karma for what, exactly?" Rikard asked.
"Getting me voted off, generally being a fag, the list goes on," Shay stated.
"How could I have gotten you voted off? I was already eliminated at that point," Rikard pointed out.
"But you just had to get that fisherman turned on by you, and he just had to throw the challenge and get me voted off!" Shay boomed.
Rikard just raised an eyebrow, before Lara cleared her throat and said, "Rikard, to pass this round, you must allow Shay to punch you in the face."
Rikard gulped at this.
"What's wrong? Is the little pussy scared?" Shay cooed, his hands behind his back.
Rikard did not respond, he just panted.
"You have three attempts," Lara told him, before standing back.
Rikard tried to keep still as Shay rushed over and tried to wallop him, only for him to duck and curl up on the ground.
"Strike 1. Do you want to try again?" Lara asked. Rikard nodded and got himself back up, when Shay threw another punch. Rikard squeaked before falling to the ground once again.
"Strike 2," Lara added.
"You truly are pathetic," Shay chuckled. "Can't even take a little punch. It's sad that people like you exist."
Rikard seemed to get riled up a bit, because he responded, "You know something, Shay? Berto isn't turned on by me, you are."
"What!?" Shay gasped, before clearing his throat, "What? Me, into boys? I would never make a choice like that."
"Choice shmoice, you can keep spewing dogma like that, it doesn't make it any truer," Rikard told him. "But you missed your chance, you know that? Me and Anton – we make each other complete."
"Don't even get me started on Anton…" Shay chuckled.
"I won't!" Rikard snapped. "And Anton's a heck of a lot braver than you. His place isn't much better than Russia when it comes to gay rights, but he doesn't care. You, on the other hand? You cover yourself in a layer of homophobic bulls*** to hide who you really are."
By now, Shay had gone bright red in rage.
"I don't know how you have the balls to say something as…stupid as that!" Shay roared at him. "But you sure will regret it!"
He started to chase after Rikard, who once again screamed and ran off. Shay attempted to pounce on him, only for Rikard to duck. Shay then went head first into the Mantises' cabin, smashing his head through the wooden panelling.
Rikard put his hand over his mouth as he stood back up.
"Oh my God," he said in shock, whilst his pale face went pink from laughing.
"Wow, that was…something…" Lara said, looking just as amused. "But sadly this means that you failed the challenge, and you will not have immunity this evening."
"Worth it," Rikard shrugged, looking as if he could not give a single damn.
[Confessional: I call shotgun! But he sadly is not capable of talking like me :(
Rikard (Finland): [screeches with laughter] Wut? Whaaaat? I was just joking when I started that off. You know, get Shay riled up as a bit of fun. I did not expect him to actually get all defensive like that.
I just…[chuckles again]…I have no words.]
"What am I gonna have to do?" Lou sighed as Adrijana lead him towards the family house. "Put my head in a lion's mouth? Make him do tricks?"
"Just come this way," Adrijana instructed as they got to the back door.
"You got a lion in the house?" Lou asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes, a very convenient area indeed," Adrijana told him sarcastically. "Just come this way."
She took him into the kitchen, where there was a laptop set up.
"What does a…" Lou asked cynically before he saw what was on the laptop. Opened on the table was Skype, with the mouse hovering over Lou's fathers' contact.
"No! Oh, no!" Lou said, shaking his head and waving his hands. "No way am I talking to him again."
"You sure?" Adrijana asked, actually sounding a little concerned.
"Yes," Lou nodded confidently.
"Well, you're out of today's challenge then," Adrijana shrugged, before Lou turned to walk out of the cabin. "So…uh…what are you going to do? I mean, after the finale."
"Er…what do you mean?"
"Lou, don't play dumb! You know exactly what I mean," Adrijana frowned.
"Okay, fine, well…I don't know…I really don't," Lou sighed as he sat down on one of the chairs.
"I think you should hear this, and well, please don't angry, but…you need to go back," Adrijana advised.
Lou did not reply. He just shifted about in the chair, looking very uncomfortable.
"Like you said to Petros, you can't run away from your problems. Imagine how your parents must feel. You really think it's good for Emilia?"
"Emilia never had a problem with it," Lou shrugged as he continued to look away.
"I'm sure she loves having you around but…that's not what I'm talking about. I mean the pressure on her, knowing she's keeping someone away from his parents."
"How is this Emilia's fault that…"
"Never mind. I was just thinking of stuff on the spot," Adrijana sighed. "And I know you've probably heard the same advice from others…well…just don't get mad at me."
"I don't want to," Lou said, folding his arms. "It's never gotten me anywhere. It's the reason I got in so much trouble with my school and my parents. The reason I wasted so much time getting angry at Pavils even though he was sorry. Well, I think he was anyway…does it even matter…"
Adrijana sighed, "Just…never mind…I don't know what to say anymore…make the right decision."
Lou nodded as he got out of the seat and walked out the door.
[Confessional: It's 2am and I am tired but I know it may be a while before I write some more
Adrijana (Slovenia): [shakes her head] I really shouldn't have let my guard down like that. Maybe it's because Lou's my friend and I didn't want to start blaming him for everything. But I think what he's doing is horrible, and I hope everyone agrees that going back is no doubt the right thing.
Katerina (Macedonia): Passing my challenge again wasn't easy, but I did it!
[shakes her shoulders] M-m-macedonia, i-i-I, I'm still in it for you babe.
Ilene is up next though. Power to her, I suppose…]
"Well, since Katerina got hers over with quickly, I guess I'll move onto Ilene's fear," Lara stated, snapping her fingers. An intern rushed over and handed her a CD Walkman.
"No need to be so rude," Intern #2 grumbled.
"Ilene, in order to pass, you will have to listen to three minutes of balloon rubbing noises," Lara explained.
Ilene took the device from Lara and reluctantly put on the headphones and pressed play.
She kept a straight face for a few seconds before she started to wince and screamed as she tossed the headphones away. The walkman fell on the ground with a thud.
"That was quick," Lara noted. "Ilene fails her challenge and will not get immunity tonight."
"I'm sorry," Katerina sighed, putting her hand on Ilene's shoulder.
"It wasn't worth it," Ilene assured her.
[Confessional: Gah…how do weeks go by before I start writing again?
Ilene (Belgium): Immunity is not worth of hours of squeaking in my head [shudders]
Hadi (Israel): And I am through to the next round! I think I might go all the way this time – I'm decent enough at dodgeball.]
Emilia gasped several times as she continued to clench onto the hot pack.
"Okay, Emilia, here is your challenge!" Lara announced as she lead Emilia towards a table. There were four pieces of chocolate arranged around a cardboard spinner.
"Three of these chocolates contain delicious caramel, while the other one contained piping hot chilli chocolate. You must eat the one that the spinner lands on," Lara explained.
"Will I get milk afterwards?" Emilia asked hopefully.
"After 10 minutes," Lara told her.
"Alright…I'll do it…" Emilia said hesitantly as she gave the spinner a turn.
"4," Lara said, referring to the number the spinner.
Emilia picked up the chocolate and hesitantly placed it in her mouth.
"Hmm…" Emilia nodded, before her face went crimson. "Oh f**k!"
She then proceeded to yell many swear words in all six of the languages she could speak.
[Confessional: Also screw you to Martin Solveig for making me miss the final twice in a row
Emilia (Netherlands): [screams her head off] Why does painful stuff keep happening to me!?]
"And the final fear I will be dealing with for the day…Carolyn!" Lara announced.
"No," Carolyn said stubbornly, folding her arms tightly.
"Are you sure? You could use the immunity," Lara advised her.
"I said no!" Carolyn snapped.
"Well, in that case, I'll check on Adrijana and see how Eloise is doing," Lara stated, taking out her phone.
[Confessional: I got a new internet connection and it doesn't work on my laptop
Carolyn (United Kingdom): And then she put in back in her pocket a few seconds later.
Lara (Slovenia, Host): [defensively] It was part of the script.]
"Hey, did I miss anything?" Petros asked as he joined the small of contestants standing in front of a barber's chair.
"No, we're still waiting for her," Adrijana told him. "She's been in the confessional for the last five minutes."
"Isn't there a time limit or anything?" Lou asked.
"No – I guess we'll just have to wait," Adrijana sighed.
"Come on, I want to see her get her head shaved! She is a horrible person!" Pavils yelled in a forced tone.
[Confessional: It's been a while since anyone called Lara 'Krava'
Symon (Ukraine): Pavils…just…why?
Sanna (Denmark): [giggles] I love how Pavils always sounds like he's trying to hide something.
Eloise (France): [crying] I can't do it without Vincenz…I can't do it without Vincenz…]
She continued to sob as she walked out of the confessional and slowly made her way towards the challenge.
"I just can't do it. Not without you," Eloise sobbed.
There was a pause as Eloise looked to her right.
"But you were what made me strong," Eloise added, before she paused again.
"But…"
After another very-long pause, Eloise nodded as she wiped her eyes and said, "You're right! I can do this! I can be strong!"
[Confessional: But they got Johannes' mom to play the part?
Lara (Slovenia, Host): We got an old woman to play Ania, but editing in Vincenz was too much work? Makes sense…]
"Okay, Eloise is here!" Adrijana announced.
A few of the contestants cheered in encouragement.
"Finally!" Sveda cheered gleefully. "Her hair is going to hell."
[Confessional: I'm writing a book about a prison camp
Symon (Ukraine): I don't why people wanted to see Eloise get her head shaved. That would mean she's closer to immunity.]
"Okay, Eloise, this is it!" Adrijana announced as Eloise reluctantly sat in the barber's chair. Adrijana held an electric razor and slowly brought it towards Eloise's hair. "Last…chance…to…back…out…"
Suddenly, Eloise freaked out and in a spur of the moment decision she slapped the razor out of Adrijana's hand, sending it flying into the air…
…
…
…
…
…
As Eloise tried to duck, the razor came flying towards her…
…
…
…
…
…
she pushed it away (receiving a cut on her palm), and it was sent back in the air, and landed…
…
…
…
[Confessional: Internet is shit in Germany. Any other country I've been to has Wi-Fi everywhere
Lara (Slovenia, Host): [is bawling her head off from laughing]]
Lara continued to point and laugh at Adrijana as he stood beside her with bald patches all over her hair.
"Hey, at least I still have hair!" Adrijana snapped at her.
Lara stood there silently for a few seconds, before collapsing with laughter once again.
"Let's move on to the next part of the challenge," Adrijana sighed.
[Confessional: To recap, Emilia, Hadi, Katerina, Sanna, Sveda and Symon are left.
Symon (Ukraine): My fear wasn't easy…but I'm still in the challenge! I may have only gotten immunity once so far, but I'm confident I can get it again.
Sveda (Azerbaijan): Eloise may have dug her own grave, but I'm still in…
[groans]
If only I wasn't bad at sports.]
All of the tables had been pushed to the side in the mess hall. Six long benches had been placed to form an asterisk shape in the centre, with one of the six remaining contestants standing in one of the six spaces between the benches.
Each contestant was armed with two soft yellow balls.
Adrijana explained,
"This part will last one minute. If you get hit by a ball, you're out. If you catch a ball, the person who threw it is out, and you get to bring someone onto your side to help you out."
She looked at Lara to finish off the announcement.
"B-b-b-BWAHAHAHAHA!" Lara screamed. "I'm sorry…I just…By the eh-hahahahaha!"
Adrijana groaned as she swiped the notecard from Lara, "The six interns will be watching the cameras and observing your every move, and they will inform me and Lara if anyone gets hit. By the end, anyone who is left standing wins immunity, and any helpers left standing will get their votes cut in half at the ceremony..."
Some interest was sparked by the last part.
"Ready, set, go!" Adrijana exclaimed, and the other five contestants immediately flung all their balls at Sveda. Sveda tried to dodge them, but she wasn't agile enough, and she was sent to the ground screaming her head off.
Adrijana clenched her eyes as several voices yelled into her headset. "Sveda is out! I get it!"
"No!" Sveda screamed as ran to the sidelines with the rest of contestants eliminated from the challenge.
The remaining contestants all seemed to be doing reasonably well, though Emilia was still moaning in pain from the sting and the chilli chocolate.
"Heads!" Katerina exclaimed as she flung a ball at Sanna, who unfortunately couldn't get away fast enough. The ball hit her chest.
"Sanna is out!" Adrijana announced. "45 seconds left!"
Emilia flung a ball at Hadi, only for him to catch it.
"Emilia is also eliminated," Adrijana continued. "Hadi…"
"Hmm…Rikard," Hadi decided. Rikard squealed as he joined Hadi on his side.
"Ayayayay!" Katerina screeched as she picked up three of her balls and flung them about. None of them hit anyone but one got relatively close to Symon.
"Hey, did that night not mean anything!?" Symon exclaimed, flinging balls back.
"I got you to do a fake Canadian accent. What do you think!?" Katerina yelled back, throwing more balls at Symon.
As the two of them continued to fight, Rikard flung a ball towards them. Or to be more specific, he weakly threw the ball and it didn't even get over the bench.
Hadi gave him a weird look, and Rikard sighed and said, "I'm not called a walking stereotype for nothing."
Hadi prepared to throw a ball at Katerina, but Rikard had already attracted attention towards them, and she swiftly threw a ball at Hadi. It hit him straight in the stomach.
"Ack!" Hadi gasped as he clutched himself.
"Bye Hadi," Adrijana said.
The Israeli nodded in regret as he trudged away.
"15 seconds left!" Adrijana announced.
Katerina and Symon both sent each other death glares. As they did so, Katerina sneakily threw a ball at Symon's leg.
"Ugh, that's dirty!" Symon whined as he stomped off.
"And that's it for Symon," Adrijana stated. "5 seconds left. 4…3…2…1…"
Rikard threw a ball at Katerina, only for her to catch it and yell, "ILENE!"
Ilene's eyes went wide before she rushed to join Katerina on the makeshift court.
"Time is up. Rikard is out, Ilene gets points cut in half, and Katerina is immune!"
"Eeiii!" Katerina squealed, as she hugged Ilene and they jumped up and down in excitement.
"Since Katerina is the only person left for the next round, she automatically wins the reward," Adrijana added. "Just say whose confessionals you want to watch in one of the confessionals, and you'll get to watch them after the elimination."
Katerina sighed a little at this, but shrugged it off.
[Confessional: That weird French alphabet song has been stuck in my head for weeks. E greque! E greque! Zeeeeeeeeed!
Katerina (Macedonia): I'm kind of annoyed that I'll only be able to watch the confessionals after the elimination, but I'll take what I can get.
Eloise (France): I'm done…I may as well surrender with my head held high at this point.
Symon (Ukraine): 3 points to Sveda. Also, I've decided not to give any points to Eloise. She's the next biggest target, and it's best if nobody comes close to beating Sveda.
Sveda (Azerbaijan): Well…it was going to happen inevitably. In this emergency situation, I think my best move is to get Eloise eliminated.
The question is…how can I do it without rising suspicion?]
Carolyn walked through the forest. Petros had his arm around her.
"You know, this is nice," Carolyn commented.
"Yeah," Petros mumbled.
"It's nice to relax like this – we have a pretty easy elimination this time round," Carolyn sighed happily.
"What are you talking about?" Petros asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I mean…wait, you're not suggesting that we…" Carolyn said in shock.
"I think this is a good opportunity to get connections," Petros stated. "Eloise and Sveda are going to be very desperate for votes. We could use this to our advantage."
"You are joking, right?"
"Well…no," Petros responded hesitantly.
"How can you even suggest that!? They're horrible people!"
"Does that matter?"
"Yes!"
"In games like these, you need to stay safe as possible. Even if it involves working with people you don't like," Petros explained to her. "Think about it – we'd have access to another big alliance."
"I am not working with Eloise! I am putting my foot down at that!" Carolyn snapped at him.
"Ugh, you're only thinking with feelings," Petros scoffed.
Carolyn gasped in shock, "What did you say?"
"I said…well I meant…look, I'm just saying, the way you're spiteful towards Eloise – you're just mad over something she did," Petros stated, his tone growing gradually more timid as he noticed Carolyn's face drop drastically.
"I cannot believe you just said that!" Carolyn growled, giving him a light push. "Eloise lied about getting raped for attention. That is disgusting, and you know it hits close to home with me. Sveda almost got Ilene attacked by bulls – she clearly has no moral ground if she was going do something as dirty as that! I think that goes far beyond my feelings!"
By now, she had backed Petros towards a tree.
Petros tried to argue back, only for gibberish to come out. He clenched his throat in shock as he shook frantically.
"Are you alright?" Carolyn asked in concern. "Oh no! I didn't mean to…come here."
She put her arms over Petros and embraced him in a hug.
"Th-th-th-th…" Petros stammered.
"It's okay – say what you need to," Carolyn said calmly.
"This is why r-relationships scare me," Petros groaned. "Having unnecessary fights. I can't stand it!"
"It's okay, I overreacted," Carolyn continued as she gave his back a rub.
"Please stop doing that," Petros requested, and Carolyn complied.
"How about we compromise? I suppose I could take working with Sveda. But only after Eloise is gone," Carolyn sighed.
"Fine…I-I could do that," Petros nodded.
"Let's see what Emilia and Lou think," Carolyn suggested, and they walked off.
[Confessional: Why did I just take five spoons of Nescafe Gold?
Petros (Armenia): And that was only after two days? Who knows what we'll be arguing over in a month?
Carolyn (United Kingdom): I feel really bad for freaking him out but…ugh…I can't believe he said I was just letting my feelings talk.]
Rikard was sitting on the steps of the north cabin, looking in thought, when Sveda approached him.
Her hands were cupped together as she held some weird, mashed substance.
"Hi," Sveda greeted. "I made you some pie."
"Erm…thank you," Rikard said hesitantly. "But I'm not hungry right now."
"Eh…what's the use?" Sveda groaned, flinging the 'pie' away. She sat beside Rikard and groaned.
"Um…are you okay?" Rikard asked in concern.
"I'm not going to get anyone on my side, am I?" Sveda sighed to herself.
"What?"
"I should just accept that I'm going home tonight. It doesn't matter how much I bribe people. Everyone thinks I'm some evil mind-master," Sveda continued as she brushed her hair out of her face.
"Erm…well…"
"I don't know why Stela made up that lie. Just so she could push me around if she liked," Sveda sighed. "I know you probably won't believe me. Stela was your close friend. But I've said what I can."
With that, she took her leave.
[Confessional: Rikard doesn't know about the alliance, right? Really hope I haven't fallen into a plot hole.
Rikard (Finland): Would Stela really lie to me like that? I know Sveda might be lying but…ugh…I don't know…if she isn't, I don't want to be part of the problem.
Sveda (Azerbaijan): I believe I handled that well. But Rikard is the easiest – he's vulnerable and easily swayed by emotions.
The others are going to be a bit trickier – I'm not telling Ilene or Katerina about my plan in case they lose the little trust they have in me; Carolyn, Petros, Emilia and Lou already know about the alliance; Symon is pretty dangerous and unpredictable at this point…
That leaves Pavils, Sanna and Hadi. Pavils should be easy enough, but the other two…I'm going to have to think hard about my strategy on them.
Pavils (Latvia): Sveda just came up to me and started talking about how Eloise is a meanie and she doesn't deserve to be in the game anymore.
[scratches his neck]
Yeah…Sveda wants to backstab Eloise. I don't like it, but tonight I'm either going to lose one ally, or two. I'll take what I can get.]
"No," Emilia replied, folding her arms, as she and Lou stood in front of Carolyn and Petros.
"What? Why not?" Petros asked in disappointment.
"It sounds really risky," Emilia insisted.
"How?" Petros responded, putting his hands on his hips. "We'll have seven votes on our side. That's as safe as it gets."
"Who cares? I may very well get voted off tonight! Not to mention a seven person alliance doesn't seem very stable," Emilia commented.
"It'll be four against three. I mean, if things go as planned," Petros said, though he didn't down particularly confident in himself.
"Me and Emilia came very close to getting voted off, and we'll take a safe elimination when we see it," Lou insisted.
"What he said," Emilia agreed.
"Come on…" Petros pleaded.
"I'm sorry about doing this, but we're not getting screwed over by your plan," Emilia stated, before she and Lou went off.
[Confessional: This chapter had a lot of 'unintentional' innuendo, huh?
Emilia (Netherlands): Even if I wasn't concerned about being voted off, who do you think this big alliance would benefit? Petros hasn't come close to being eliminated – everyone thinks he's weak and hopeless. Meanwhile, people like me, Carolyn and Katerina who have already come close will be picked off one by one.
Carolyn (United Kingdom): I can see where Emilia is coming from, but I really don't need to get into another fight with Petros, so I'm sticking with his plan for now.
Petros (Armenia): Emilia did have a point about her being at risk of being eliminated. So I've decided to give 3 points to Pavils and 2 to Eloise so he has a better chance of being eliminated. It's worth a shot.
Even if Emilia or Lou gets eliminated anyway, it's not like they were the most trustworthy allies.
Symon (Ukraine): I went up to Emilia and Lou and asked them if they'd join me in giving no points to Eloise, and Emilia went on about how she wanted it to be a 'safe elimination'.
I must have got them at a bad time, I guess.]
Hadi and Sanna had a meeting in the east cabin.
"You'll never believe who came up to me," Hadi groaned.
"Chances are, it's the same person who came to me," Sanna responded.
"Sveda must have gone around to everyone, huh?" Hadi stated.
"Yeah, she's that desperate for votes," Sanna giggled.
"Well…maybe we should take her on," Hadi suggested.
"Excuse me?"
"Well, she's clearly desperate, and we don't have any other allies as it is," Hadi pointed out.
"Do we need more allies?"
"At this point, it seems necessary. As long as nobody else finds out about it."
"Yeah, but, with Sveda?" Sanna said in disbelief. "There's so many better and more trusty people we could ally with – Emilia and Lou, Katerina and Ilene…"
"Weren't they part of a secret alliance with Eloise?" Hadi pointed out.
"I know. It's sad that it still makes them safer than Sveda," Sanna said cynically.
"Alright, I get the point. No alliance with Sveda," Hadi shrugged.
[Confessional: Sometimes I wish life was a musical
Katerina (Macedonia): Eloise told us that we should vote off Emilia, while Sveda and Pavils vote for Carolyn.
I guess I'll be sad to see them go, but the game has come to this point.
Then again, it's pretty likely that Eloise and Sveda will leave. I mean…come on.]
The final 13, soon to be final 11 plus two eliminates, sat on stumps before Lara and Adrijana.
"So…Krava has finally gotten over her laughing, and to make up for all the lines she skipped, she'll be doing this ceremony herself, while I get something done about my hair," Adrijana sighed, before handing a pile of notecards to Lara. With that, she set off.
"Well, this has been another exciting elimination. Four people got at least one set of three. As always, most of you will stay to play in the next round, but two of you will be leaving in just a minute or two," Lara stated. "Since Katerina was the only person to get immunity tonight, she receives the first marshmallow."
"Yes!" Katerina squealed, pumping her fist as she grabbed her token of immunity, with Kelija crawling behind her.
"Now onto the exciting part," Lara continued. "Tonight, two contestants received zero votes."
…
…
…
"...you have not gotten any votes since the merge began, and it's not about to start tonight. Sanna!"
Sanna beamed as she collected her marshmallow.
…
…
…
…
"You may have just missed out on semi-immunity, but you got zero votes anyway so it didn't matter - Rikard."
"Yes!" Rikard squealed, racing up to also take his marshmallow.
"In increasing number of votes, the following are also safe…"
…
…
…
"Ilene."
…
…
…
"Symon."
…
…
…
"Lou."
…
…
…
"Hadi."
…
…
…
"Petros."
Petros flashed a cheesy smile before he patted Carolyn on the back and went to grab his marshmallow.
Only five people remained sitting on their stumps – Carolyn, Eloise, Emilia, Pavils and Sveda.
…
…
…
…
…
"Carolyn."
"YES!" Carolyn screamed, leaping up and rushing towards Petros. Petros ducked in shock, and Carolyn ended up tripping over him and falling onto the grass.
The two of them burst out laughing.
"Sorry about that," Petros apologized as he got up and adjusted his hat.
"It's alright. I could have been voted off," Carolyn shrugged, as she dusted some grass off her pants before taking her marshmallow.
…
…
…
…
…
"Pavils."
Pavils pumped his fist as he joined the others.
The three people remaining all looked terrified.
"No…" Emilia muttered. "No-no-no-no-no."
"Please," Eloise pleaded, praying as her hands shook frantically.
"Only one marshmallow left for tonight," Lara sighed. "And there was a tie for the second time in a row."
"Mmm…" Emilia muttered, not sure of whether she should be happy about it.
"Tonight's tiebreaker was…"
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
"…Tia."
Eloise inwardly groaned at this.
Emilia looked a little more hopeful than before, but still seemed very scared.
Tears were forming in Sveda's eyes.
"The final marshmallow of this evening goes to…"
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
"…Emilia."
"YES!" Emilia cheered. "YES-YES-YES-YES-YES!"
She rushed to the podium and stuffed the marshmallow into her mouth, before Lou came over and she tugged on him with all her might.
Eloise and Sveda both looked at each other and groaned.
"Sorry to you two, you both made for an excellent season, but this is the end of the road," Lara told them.
"I don't care about losing – but I don't want to leave with everyone think I'm some evil villain. I want to be remembered as Sveda," Sveda sobbed as tears rolled down her face.
"You mean…you really weren't evil?" Rikard asked as he walked over.
"No," Sveda replied as she allowed Rikard to hug her. "I'm just some farm-girl from Azerbaijan. But nobody will remember me like that."
"Don't worry, the people back home loved you. And the friends you did make – Pavils, Finn…and now me."
"Thank you," Sveda smiled, hugging him back.
"Bye Sveda," Pavils added, joining in on the hug, before he turned to Eloise, "It's been great."
"Merci," Eloise nodded, tears also pouring down her face. "S…s…Sveda…we better go."
"Okay, bye everyone," Sveda waved, before she and Eloise were escorted off by the interns.
[Confessional: I read T-rated fics when I was 11 #thuglife
Emilia (Netherlands): Stings and burns may have…well…hurt…but I didn't suffer the worst of pain of all, being eliminated. Thanks to everyone who didn't vote for me!
Omg, final 11!
Also, Carolyn was right. It does get easier each time. I think that's what she said…
Pavils (Latvia): Well, that's two allies down…and who do you think Ilene would pick between Katerina and a doofus like me?
Katerina (Macedonia): I am so close to finally getting Macedonia a spot in the top 10! This is so exciting!
Rikard (Finland): I had no idea I'd make it this far. It's been an amazing experience so far, and I'll just hope I'll stick around for the whole thing.
Petros (Armenia): Well…it looks like my plan has failed. But now that I think about it, Sveda would have been even less trustworthy than Lou and Emilia.
Carolyn (United Kingdom): What the heck is happening? The UK is meant to be awful at Eurovision! That's right…I made the final 11 for a failure of a country.
Hadi (Israel): Maybe Sanna was right. Keeping a target off our backs is the main thing at the moment. Though we've seen have people go from getting barely any votes, to being eliminated.
Sanna (Denmark): Looks like I'll be the first contestant to make the top 10 twice in a row. Maybe I'll even start a chain of top 10s for Denmark. Or even better, a chain of finalists!
Ilene (Belgium): It's only just dawned on me that I might actually be good at this game.
I'm gutted that allies are gone, but then again, they were Eloise and Sveda. Who cares? [giggles nervously]
Symon (Ukraine): [smirks] Bye Sveda. And I didn't even have to do anything.
Also, Rikard is gullible as f**k]
Votes –
Carolyn –
3pts: Eloise
2pts: Pavils
1pt : Hadi
Eloise –
3pts : Emilia
2pts : Carolyn
1pt : Lou
Emilia –
3pts : Sveda
2pts : Eloise
1pt : Pavils
Hadi –
3pts : Sveda
2pts : Eloise
1pt : Pavils
Ilene –
3pts: Emilia
2pts: Lou
1pt: Petros
Katerina –
3pts : Emilia
2pts : Carolyn
1pt : Petros
Lou –
3pts: Sveda
2pts: Eloise
1pt: Pavils
Pavils –
3pts : Emilia
2pts : Eloise
1pt : Carolyn
Petros –
3pts : Pavils
2pts : Eloise
1pt : Ilene
Rikard –
3pts : Eloise
2pts : Hadi
1pt : Ilene
Sanna –
3pts : Sveda
2pts : Eloise
1pt : Pavils
Sveda –
3pts: Emilia
2pts: Eloise
1pt: Symon
Symon –
3pts : Sveda
2pts : Petros
1pt : Carolyn
Eloise – 20pts (13th)
Sveda – 15pts (12th)
Emilia – 15pts
Pavils – 8pts
Carolyn – 6pts
Petros – 4pts
Hadi – 3pts
Lou – 3pts
Symon – 2pts
Ilene – 1pt (2 divided by 2)
Nul points – Rikard, Sanna
Well...that was...quite an elimination. Tonight we say goodbye to two very big players.
I'll start with Sveda, since I don't have quite as much to say about her.
Sveda was an interesting enough character to write for. She had the ability to read people through their body language, and took pleasure in messing with people's heads - most notably taking on Finn as a fake boyfriend.
For a while, I had actually considered her to be the winner, being able to stay under the radar while the rest of her alliance of stronger players got picked off, but then Stela's elimination put a stop to that.
I'm actually glad I got rid of her - her abilities did get in the way at times.
And now onto Eloise.
I absolutely adored being able to develop her character. Having her start off as the mean, manipulative bitch from last season, and then gradually become grounded in reality by Vincenz, and develop genuine (albeit short lived) friendships with Ilene and Katerina. Like I've said before, Vincenz came very close to being an early boot, and he was perfect to fill the role of Eloise redeeming himself. He started off as a pawn for Eloise, and then Eloise developed feelings for him in the process.
Her alliance with Ilene, Vincenz and Katerina also made quite an impact on the game - maybe not due to Eloise herself, but the connections it gave to Stela when she blackmailed Eloise.
In the end, it was Eloise's dark past catching up with her, and getting her voted off.
With that, only 11 contestants are left out of the original 36 - Carolyn from the UK, Emilia from the Netherlands, Hadi from Israel, Ilene from Belgium, Katerina from Macedonia, Lou from Cyprus, Pavils from Latvia, Rikard from Finland, Sanna from Denmark and Symon from Ukraine.
By the time you read this, another new character will have been added to the promo on DeviantArt. The next country to return is...
...
...
...
..Switzerland!
There's five episodes left! I can't believe it! Kind of a shame it took at least a year longer than I would have liked :(
