Teaser: The Return
"Let's… rewind to the top!"
A stern, yet relaxed chef whistled raspingly to the leisurely camera crew, already falling way behind the former campfire site where the intimidating former co-host stood firmly, eyeing them down with his typical ferocity. One cameraman zoomed in closer to another hustler that stood far behind the chef; the man himself… the cream of the crop… the host with the most… the one that led with an iron grip…
No, not that guy…
"What are you sloths pointing those fancy-pantsy lenses at?" Chef yelled in confusion, spinning around. Immediately, he raised an eyebrow, arms crossed; he was not expecting THAT guy to return. Nope. Not one bit…
"TOPHER?" He voice-cracked.
"Flabbergasted already, Chef Hatchet?" Topher, with the usual arrogant flamboyance, stood confidently near the edge of the campfire site, arms behind his back like a businessman executing his master plan. "You should know already; the Topher Experience… is inevitable."
"Oh yeah?" Upon regaining his composure, Chef flashed an unexpected smirk. "What do you think will happen next? You? Hosting the new season here, on Pahkitew Island?"
"Yes. Yes indeed." Topher returned a devious smirk of his own, snapping his fingers in a dramatic, sassy manner…
Only just a few seconds later, a rowdy crowd of cowboys emerged from the cliff behind him, crawling onto the surface with their ropes like spiders.
"It's high mornin', fellas! WOOOOOOO!" One drunk cowboy shouted, gazing into the sunrise behind his nine other companions.
From a far-away view, Pahkitew Island appeared almost the exact same. The hilly complexities still visible, accompanied by jagged cliffs near the shorelines. The usual pointy rocks stood out from the center of the island like a sore thumb. Indeed, the island's key features remained intact.
However, upon closely inspecting the island, some key differences were spotted by Topher, observing flashing lights emitted from a small, casino-like town deep within the island's mechanical forests.
"Looks like New Year's Eve over there," he squinted, hand over his forehead, cautiously making sure not to ruin his combed hair—or rather, in his own Topher words—a 'national treasure'. "Quite a unique view from here, I must say…"
"Yeah-yeah-yeah, island was bought by some rich bozo, turning it into his own miniature version of Vegas. We all know the story," Chef crossed his arms, rolling his eyes. "Just… hurry it up an' say what you wanna say, pretty-boy wannabe. I ain't got time for suck-ups."
"Well, guess who's the suck-up now…" Topher snapped his fingers once again; his cowboy army whipped out revolvers out of their holsters, aiming at Chef and his stiff camera crew behind him, ready to fire at a moment's notice. "Forgot to mention that these fine gentlemen are my coworkers I befriended at the Pahkitew Brewery Bar. I work here… and there. I'm… inevitable."
"Will you stop quotin' you-know-who?" Chef rolled his eyes. "You're as intimidatin' as a bar of soap."
"Oh-Chef…" Topher held both knuckles on his hips. "We both know the cards are stacked against you at this very moment. Consider this a… Pahkitew Showdown if you will," he winked directly to the camera.
While the camera crew's foreheads dripped in shivering sweat, surrounded by mean revolvers, Chef eyed down each individual so-called 'cowboy', noting an out-of-place price tag hanging out of one of their jackets. Upon closer analysis, they resembled more like college party animals playing cowboy dress-up. Placing his massive hands behind his back, he smirked deviously.
"Seems like you haven't learned from your final encounter with McLean," he countered, lowering his voice, echoing intimidation. "Allow me to demonstrate…"
Stepping forward towards the dressed-up cowboys, Chef whistled harshly, prompting the cowboys to aim their weapons away from Chef and his camera crew, and instead… towards Topher.
"Wha-what is the meaning of this?" He whined in confusion, raising both hands in the hair.
"They were under my payroll the whole time. Get duped, sucka'!" Chef laughed, slapping his knee. "Gentlemen… tie him up!"
Upon hearing the go signal, they lassoed a teary-eyed, whimpering Topher and pulled him away from the cameras, forcing him to trip and fall onto the rough dirt. Meanwhile, out-of-nowhere, one of the cowboys pulled out the Cannon of Shame, the same exact one used for the Pahkitew Island cast.
Being carried and tossed into the cannon yet again, Topher had let out one last, desperate cry. "NO! You can't do this! Not again!" He screamed. "The season hasn't even started yet. I still need to launch The Topher Experience! I can't be launched out the island just yet! Please, not aga-AAAAAIN!" Chef had enough of his grovel presence, pressing the giant red button on his cannon remote one last time, gladly observing Topher flying through the morning sky like a shooting star.
"Good… riddance," Chef muttered in relief.
"You know…" one of the cowboys drowsily approached Chef. Given the strong beer scent whiffing out of his jacket, Chef patiently waited for nothing but potential stupidity spouting of the cowboy's mouth. "If it were a night sky, I'd-I could really use a wish right now."
"Oh yeah?" He rolled his eyes. "And what would that wish be?"
"For Chris McLean's grand return, maaaan…" he wrapped one arm around Chef's shoulders, gripping tightly to avoid faceplanting the ground. "Me an' him go way, way, way back. Ever since I sa-saw him on Total Drama Revenge of Action, with that radioactive chick. I m-m-met him on my TV screen. Never in person, but this will be my very first, bro. Saw that Bakuhatsu season, didn't like that blonde chick host. I wanted Chris McLean, man. No Chris McLean, no good. So, where is he?"
"Hold your horses, trooper." Already wanting to walk away, he simply shoved him away from the camera shot, eyeing down the lenses with his signature stare-down.
"So… now that we got that nuisance Topher gopher out of the way, let me spill the gist…" Chef cracked his knuckles. "We're back at Pahkitew Island. This time, joining us: more lights, more cameras, more action, more… everything. But this time… no more Topher. PERIOD!" He stomped. "After Pahkitew Island's season release, our mechanical island was purchased by some nutty billionaire, transforming it into a public tourist attraction. Vegas-inspired, go figures," Upon uttering 'Vegas', his voice drooped down to disappointment. "Way to ruin the island's serenity, well… apart from the killer robots. Anywho…" He raised his voice. "After Bakuhatsu's wacko-wannabe attempt at bringin' back Total Drama viewership, I had to dive back in the ringer… one last time. You might be wondering: where's Chris McLean? The mystery surrounding his… disappearance… will be answered… WHENEVER I GOSH-DARN FEEL LIKE IT! You can stop the #saveChris and #McLeanNeverOut now!" He rolled his eyes.
"Moving past the… inconvenience, we got a huge cast this season! Half of Pahkitew's cast, half of Bakuhatsu's cast, and the rest—brand-new competitors! Now… for all you starstruck newbies wanting to sign up, here's your gosh-darn application form!" He shoved an application into the camera lenses, almost too blurry to read. "You want bewilderment? You want mayhem? You want chaos? Oh, we'll deliver chaos," he smirked, accompanied by his signature, low-pitched, menacing laughter.
"Stay tuned…"
Application Form
GENERAL
Full Name:
Stereotype:
Nickname(s) (optional):
Age (17-19):
Gender:
Sexuality:
Relationship Status:
Race/Ethnicity:
Religion (optional):
Nationality:
PHYSICAL APPEARANCE
Body Type (or overall description of their entire physical appearance):
Skin Tone:
Height/Weight:
Hair Style/Color:
Eye Color:
Any additional details?
CLOTHING
Primary Outfit:
Accessories (optional):
Secondary Outfit (optional):
Sleeping Outfit:
Swimsuit Outfit:
Fancy Attire:
PERSONALITY TRAITS
Personality (your meat of the application; be very descriptive):
Backstory:
Likes:
Dislikes:
Skills/Talents:
Phobias:
Quirks (optional):
Strengths (4 minimum):
Weaknesses (4 minimum):
TRIVIA
What is their main reason for signing up?
How much Total Drama knowledge?
How do they view Chris McLean and/or Chef Hatchet?
Their favorite former Total Drama contestant(s)?
Their least-favorite former Total Drama contestant(s)?
Have they watched all seasons?
Their thoughts on Pahkitew Island?
Are they familiar with the Bakuhatsu Island cast?
Would they be seeking love/relationships within the show?
Their ideal friends?
Who would their enemies be?
Their game strategy? (joining/creating alliances, would they manipulate/cheat, etc.):
Any plans for the money if they win?
MISCELLANEOUS
Their favorite song? (OC's favorites, not yours; list 2 minimum):
Their favorite food?
Your inspiration for creating your OC? (Optional; this helps me paint a picture on how you envision your OC):
ANY ADDITIONAL INFO
List additional info here (optional):
AUDITION TAPE:
Author's Note: Greetings, fanfiction enthusiasts! I'm here to drop my very-first SYOC story: Total Drama: Pahkitew Showdown!
Hope you enjoyed the little intro I cooked up. Consider it a teasing tone-setter for what's to come. Remember, this is just a teaser. My typical chapter word length is in the 10K-14K range. Hopefully, it'll live up to a high standard that I've envisioned in my head, but we shall see.
Now, before I dive further into application details, let's talk briefly about cast size: in total, there will be 32 competitors! Yup, you heard correctly… 32 competitors (cast size may be subject to change once I receive all OCs; if it does, it'll most likely drop down to 28 total competitors, but we shall see). Let me preface this by saying; yes, I understand the stigma regarding 30+ characters, but I will make sure to deliver a carefully crafted story while simultaneously balancing character spotlight. I understand that the size is a frightening number to behold but hear me out; this is a story I've been envisioning behind-the-scenes for months, so I have a clear-cut idea on potential story arcs I'll be unraveling. Plus, given this season's chaotic nature, I believe this cast size would tie in with the themes of this fic quite neatly. No doubt, writing this story will be a challenge, but it's a challenge I'll be looking forward to tackling. Not to worry; I will cautiously approach each individual character, especially your guys' OCs, with the upmost care. Hopefully, I'll be able to showcase my writing capabilities on full gear for the following chapters once I receive the complete number of OCs needed.
However, the window for OC submissions is small: only 12-14 OCs will be accepted.
This season will be a sequel to Total Drama: Bakuhatsu Island, my previous fanfic. That story is currently in progress, but it's very close to finishing. Now, just a heads up; you don't have to read Bakuhatsu Island before reading Pahkitew Showdown. However, for those interested in reading Bakuhatsu Island in the future, there may be a couple minor spoilers sprinkled here and there regarding some of the characters returning from that fic; however, nothing too major. Just letting you know ahead of time for those curious, so be on a lookout.
Now, here are the five main submission rules:
1. I'm pretty sure this is an obvious given, but please; make sure your characters are human. This shouldn't need to be publicly stated, but any submissions deemed "Mary-Sue-ish" will be rejected.
2. You are only allowed to send the applications through inbox. Do not post them under reviews. Your subject line must explicitly say: "PS Application: [insert OC's full name here]" (don't include the quotation marks and make sure to insert your OC's name inside with the brackets included).
3. This is not a first-come, first-serve. However, keep in mind that the selection pool is very narrow due to the limited number of total OCs I will be accepting. I repeat; only 12-14 will be accepted.
4. Each person is only allowed to submit two OCs max. However, I will only be accepting one OC per person. No more than that. If your OC is not in the official final roster, please do not spam me with PMs begging me to change my mind. I'd appreciate courteous discourse.
5. Only use the application I provided above. Failure to do so will automatically result in a rejected application. I will be posting the same application form on my profile page and the reviews. Make sure to copy-paste the form from either one.
Most importantly, remember to have fun! Trust me, it'll always pain me to reject applications, so don't take any rejections personally.
I am looking forward to writing this story while delivering a fun reading experience for all to enjoy! Just a heads up; I will not be immediately writing this story until my previous fanfic is complete. Regardless, I would need this extra time to carefully craft story arcs for these new OCs, so keep in mind that updates will not be regular, at least for now. But not to worry, I will not be abandoning this story. I am not the type to leave any work unfinished, so expect completion through-and-through.
Applications will be accepted at a slow pace due to my inner perfectionist wanting to select the most well-suited cast members for this fanfic, so don't expect rapid-fire updates for now. The following chapter will showcase half of the total OCs accepted, so be on the lookout for that update!
Let me know your overall thoughts of this short intro chapter in the reviews.
And as always, stay tuned!