Hey there everyone, welcome to another episode of Total Drama Island: Rewritten!
Well, this isn't just another regular episode! This is THE FINALE! HOLY. CRAP. When I first started this story, I had dreamed about working on the finale, thinking about how much fun it would be to wrap this whole story up. And now, here we are!
This is easily the longest thing I've written as well. Like, without a debate. Over 40K words. WOW. It was a long process, but it was fun the whole way through. I really hope that the fun I had comes through here.
And a special thanks to Project as well! Throughout the process of writing the finale, he was doing a live reading on his discord of the story when I was on my weekend. It was so fun to go back and reflect on how far this story's come, and to relive some of my favorite moments from this. And it was a true pleasure to see his unfiltered reactions to some of the biggest blindsides and betrayals throughout the story as well. Who knows, Project? Maybe this is where Apollo comes back without a shirt after winning that battleback competition. But for real, thanks so much to Project for all the time he spent with me live-reading, and thanks for being a great person, and a great friend. And Project is a great author, too! Make sure to check out his stories. He's got some awesome stuff going on, and some awesome stuff to come in the future. Stuff where you may just see a familiar face or two pop up...
But that's enough talk, I think. It's been a long time coming. But now, it's here.
Welcome to the Finale.
The sun shone high and bright in the sky, the day cloudless as the blue stretched out as far as the eye could see. Waves lapped calmly against the shore, somewhere overhead a gull cawed. Everything was serene.
"Yo!"
That was, until Chris McLean appeared, a large grin on his face in excitement for what was to come. "Welcome back to Total Drama Island: Rewritten!" He greeted his viewing audience. "Today's a special day, everybody. Right now, we're here at Playa des Losers, getting everything nice and ready for what will be an epic finale for this amazing game!" The host gestured in front of him, where interns were hard at work setting up a battalion of white lawn chairs for people to sit in.
He then gestured behind him, towards the doors that led into the main lobby of Playa des Losers. Overhead, a huge television screen attached to a pair of white pillars hung over the large red carpet that led directly out of the doors that led into the glitzy hotel. "On this awesome television screen, the live audience that we'll eventually have filling all these chairs will get to see the final two, David and Neda, as they face a question and answer session from our jury."
"And speaking of the jury…" Chris teased, before directing the camera over to a small stage, with four seats sat on the floor, and another three behind them, elevated up a few feet so their occupants wouldn't be obscured by those in front of them. "Our Jury of Seven will be sitting right there as they find out everything they need from the final two." He then gestured towards a small podium with seven empty slots on the top of its flat surface. "And once the Jury question and answer is done, they'll vote by putting keys with the name of the person they want to win the game in this key wheel. The person that has at least four keys with their name on it will win!"
Chris laughed. "And what will they win?" Gesturing to an unseen person off-camera, he grabbed and showed the camera a large metal briefcase. Popping it open, the contents of the case are revealed to be layers and layers of crisp, green hundred-dollar bills. "Not only will they win bragging rights for winning such an epic season, but more importantly, they get this briefcase, which has a million dollars in cash!" The host then placed the briefcase on a small podium beside the key wheel.
"Everyone, it's been a long season, with some shocking betrayals, vicious blindsides, and, most importantly, a cast that came to play, and a cast that came to win! It's been an epic ride, so before we get to the finale, let's start back at the very beginning, and revisit the season that was, and see how we got here."
Chris then threw out his arms to the side. "The end is here! By the end of the night, we'll have our winner! Who will it be? Find out right here, on the season finale of….
TOTAL!
DRAMA!
ISLAND: REWRITTEN!"
"This season on Total Drama Rewritten," a voiceover of Chris McLean began as clips from the first episode were shown, "Sixteen new contestants arrived on the island of Wawanakwa, all eager to play the game and win the million dollars. And play the game they have! Among our new contestants was Liana Archambeau, a mathematics student born in France but residing in Las Vegas, who in her spare time is a professional poker player for the World Series of Poker…."
"I haven't even scratched the surface," A clip from Liana played as it showed her in the confessional booth, "Like how I'm going to Stanford to get my PhD in game theory, or when I'm not in classes, I'm in Vegas, making bank as one of the World Series of Poker's fastest rising stars."
"...John Lane, an artist from Montreal who's spent more time traveling the world than in a regular classroom…"
John was seen in camo gear wielding a paintball gun. Next to him was a large rock that had been covered with paint. With a grin, John remarked, "I never pass up an opportunity for art."
"...Neda Atashnak, an Iranian immigrant who's, well, pretty much obsessed with reality television who came in with a strategy she's been working on for years….."
"...Total Drama has the outhouse confessional, Big Brother has the diary room, and Survivor has the direct camera interviews…" The flashback of the superfan explained, a wide smile on her face, "...And after seeing so many seasons of so many kinds of these kinds of shows, I've got my strategy down pat and I'm ready to win this whole game!"
"...And David Masters, a culinary student from my home province of Newfoundland who wants the money for culinary school," the voiceover of the host happily added.
"I'm just gonna be going to Culinary School! ...Money is pretty tight for me, so I gotta say that mil will be a real big help."
"...as well as twelve other great players from around the World. These sixteen players were immediately put into two teams of eight: The Apathetic Albatrosses and the Calm Crocodiles. And almost immediately after the teams formed, the games began!" Chris' voiceover excitedly exclaimed. "On the Crocodiles' side, while the girls were in turmoil due to near-immediate arguments from Ji and Brooke, the guys were busy forming an alliance that would ultimately come to define this season: The Agency."
"...If we form up now, we can get control of the votes sooner. And the sooner we control the votes, that means we can pick off the girls and keep each other around. And if we control the votes, we last deeper into the game," Godfrey's voice explains aloud.
"Meanwhile," the host continued, "Things proved tenuous at best for the Albatrosses, especially after they lost the first immunity challenge. And when one Albatross in particular, Daniel tried to form a five-person alliance to control the votes and send Liana home first….." Chris heartily laughed. "Let's just say that the gambler didn't appreciate it very much and made her displeasure known."
"...So you're lying to me!" Liana yelled, her face red and tears flowing freely from her eyes. "You really think you can just stand here and lie to me and lie about me like this?! Oh my God, you must be, like, silly!"
"Unfortunately for Daniel, running into the woodchipper that is Liana proved to be his ultimate downfall, and he was the first person eliminated." Chris then laughed. "But, fortunes change quickly in a game like this, because the Albatrosses went on to win their next two immunity challenges, leaving the Crocodiles in pure chaos when the next two elimination ceremonies were blindside city!"
"The person going home will be…Apollo."
"Godfrey. You're…..safe. Sorry, Misha, but you're eliminated."
With his head buried in his hands, a flashback of David inside the confessional booth groaned, "This game is insane! And it hasn't even been a full week!"
"And the orchestrator of these blindsides was the person who many think was the undisputed best player this season; Godfrey Ngakoue, a certified, self-professed villain with a penchant for flashy moves," Chris explained.
"...I'll do anything to win this game, man. I'm ready to get blood on my hands. Backstabs, Frontstabs, Sidestabs, whatever kind of stabs you can ask for," A flashback of Godfrey confidently told the confessional camera. "Nothing off the table…..You either win or lose. No other options. I intend to win."
"But, in our fourth challenge, the Crocodiles managed to come back and get a big win!" The host exclaimed. "Which meant that the Albatrosses had a date with elimination once more. And even though Liana was the one voted off, thanks to a hidden immunity idol, she stayed in the game, which meant that Samuray Martero, the honorable luchador, became the fourth eliminated contestant."
"Well, this sucks….I guess you don't want me around anymore." Liana reached into her bag and produced an immunity idol. "...You're not getting rid of me just yet." Liana handed the wooden head of the host to the host himself, who confirmed its authenticity before throwing it into the fire.
"...This means that Sammy, you are the fourth person eliminated from the game."
The mask-clad wrestler smiled at Liana. "Well played. I know when I've been beaten."
The host continued, "Not only was this a major elimination because it saw the beginnings of one of our most enduring, game-defining rivalries; that of course being Liana and Vivi, the rocker chick with major attitude, but it also sent us into our first major twist of the season!"
The campers were seen standing around the still-burning campfire, many in pajamas, and many annoyed by the fact they'd been awoken from their sleep. "What the hell is it, McLean?" Vivi growled, obviously angry from her being woken up.
"I just wanted to welcome you guys…to the merge!" The host's flashback announced, a mischievous glint in his eye.
"That's right," The voiceover of the host confirmed. "The first major twist of the game came only four eliminations in when the teams dissolved and we merged, turning this team game into a solo game! And with a cast like this one, they were ready to go!"
"...Oh my god! It's really the merge!" Neda squealed with excitement inside the confessional booth. "This is the part of the game I've been dying to get to!" Beginning to explain her strategy, Neda went on, "...It's gonna be like an onion. I surround myself with layers and layers of alliances….and if you want to get at me, you have to peel away the layers of the onion." Neda then gave the camera a girlish pout. "But who'd wanna target little ol' me?" She cutely asked.
"Now, I can start hunting other guys to add to my own alliances," Alessia told the camera, a sultry look on her face. "And I can start pitting the girls against each other too!"
"...Now, I can shift my strategies once more," Ji explains to the confessional camera, a thoroughly unimpressed look on her face. "I have learned that my former team is entirely useless. So, I am completely abandoning the lot of them. I'll find a new home, new allies, and new alliances amongst the former Albatrosses."
"But," the voice of the host cut in, "For one competitor, the merge instead filled her with a fear that she wasn't sure that she could last."
"I've been worried for this stage because I don't really feel I can handle this," Wind sadly told the confessional camera. "I was just barely getting by when I had a whole team to rely on, but now?" The hippy sadly sighs. "I fear that it may just be too much."
"To officially ring in the merge, we decided to celebrate!" Chris excitedly announced. "And how did we celebrate, you may ask?" The host then laughed sinisterly. "Not with a pizza party, or a feast, or a day off, no sir! No, we decided to celebrate by hosting the most brutal, sinister, diabolical challenge in Total Drama history."
Suddenly, a large glass box flashed on the screen. On the inside of the box were multiple buttons attached to red lights. "Ladies and Gentleman…..The Pressure Cooker. A battle of pure endurance; nothing more, nothing less."
The red lights all illuminated at once, bathing the glass structure in red, giving it a near-demonic appearance. "When you press the red button, your light goes on. And in order to win, you had to be the last one standing. No gaming it, no making it easier; it's only about if you can last longer than those around you."
The voiceover of Chris laughed once more, keeping its sinister edge. "And, to make the Pressure Cooker even more important, it wasn't for individual immunity; rather, if you won the Pressure Cooker, you gained the power to cast the only vote at that night's elimination ceremony."
"Naturally, everyone wanted to have that power, and they fought like hell for it. But, in the end, only one person could win," Chris explained.
"...Congratulations, Brooke!" A flashback of Chris announced as he stepped inside the Pressure Cooker, its ominous red lights the only thing that sliced through the black of the night. "...After fifteen hours, you have won the Total Drama Pressure Cooker!"
"But the Pressure Cooker wasn't all bad," The host added, his voice sounding proud. "Because inside of it was a series of boxes that the eliminated contestants could choose to open. And while some were disgusting…"
"Ugh!" Marcellas, his hand still on his button, gagged, his face twisting in disgust. "What the hell did you even get, Alessia?!" He annoyedly asked.
Peering inside the box she had chosen, she groaned, "It's a big pile of dead fish."
"Ahhh!" Marcellas screeched as he opened the lid of his box and a swarm of insects flew out.
Laughing heartily, Chris told the fashion-minded teen, "You got the box of flies!"
"And some were unfortunate…." The host continued.
"Uh-oh," John painfully groaned as he read the note inside the box he had chosen, "You have chosen this box. Because of this, at the next campfire elimination ceremony, you will automatically receive one vote against you to eliminate you from the game."
"And some were just plain hilarious!" The host laughed, obviously pleased with this part.
Pulling out a piece of paper, Wind read aloud, "You have won absolutely nothing."
Godfrey wore a highly amused grin as he pulled his prize out of his box. "I got a dollar."
Ji stared mystified at the large item that was inside her box at the end of the competition. When she pulled it out, Chris busted out in laughter, nearly doubling over and wiping tears from his eyes. "Since you competed in the Pressure Cooker, why not get your very own pressure cooker to take home!"
"Some of the boxes also contained positives for our campers too."
"Congratulations!" Neda read off the piece of paper that was inside of her box. "By choosing this box, you have won-" When her brain comprehended the words on the paper, she covered her mouth in shock as tears started to flow down her face. "...You have won a phone call with a loved one."
"Congrats, Weenus!" Chris excitedly told the exhausted stuntman. "...You've gotten one of the four immunity idols here on the island!"
"Not a bad way to end this thing, David!" The host happily told his fellow Newfie. "You just got three thousand dollars!"
"As for Brooke, the winner of the Pressure Cooker, she was suddenly faced with an awesome amount of power, Brooke faced an onslaught of ideas from all sides, all trying to bend her to their own selfish agendas on who she should eliminate that night," Chris continued.
"If you ask me," Godfrey told Brooke as he sat next to the taller girl in the mess hall, "If you ask me, I think the person you need to get out is Liana."
"But at that night's campfire ceremony, Brooke made a decision that shocked all," Chris revealed.
"Damn strategy. Damn it all. Rather than strategy, I'm making this personal." Locking eyes with her enemy, Brooke spat, "Ji, get the hell off this island."
"That's right!" The voiceover of the host laughed. "In a major shocker, Brooke blindsided her alliance mate, final two partner, and her biggest enemy in the game, Ji, and sent her straight off the island! Man, what a moment!" The host continued to laugh, before settling down and continuing his recap.
"In the aftermath of the merge, The Cali Connection, the final two alliance that Marcellas and Alessia had formed, made their move," Chris explained, "And they did so by targeting Weenus and trying to split him off from the Agency. For a minute, it seemed like their plans were going to come to fruition when Weenus gave the streamer girl the immunity idol he got in the Pressure Cooker."
In the confessional booth, Alessia holds aloft the small wooden head of Chris McLean and stares at it lovingly. "I really got it…the idol. I couldn't believe how easy it was, too." Alessia scoffs, saying, "I knew that Weenus was a total rube, but to think all it took to get this thing was a single kiss and some nice words?"
"And the Cali Connection's master plan would have worked if not for Weenus accidentally telling David and Godfrey that he had given Alessia his idol in a moment of anger," the host continued, "Along with some unforeseen allies."
"...That's why Vivi and I are here, Godfrey," Liana told the charmer, her expression making it clear she'd rather be talking to anyone else, "We wanna get her out, and as loath as I am to admit it, I need your help."
"However," Chris continued to narrate, "Despite the streamer having an immunity idol, it was from David of all people that the master plan for that night came from. And with a little help from another one of David's allies in Neda, the trap had been set.
"I just talked with David," Neda quietly told Marcellas as she leaned close to the bald teen. "He gave me this whole plan about how he and some other people are gonna blindside Alessia tonight."
At the campfire ceremony, Alessia stood next to Chris, a glare directed at the other campers in front of her. "Your dumb little plan isn't gonna work tonight," she venomously told them as she procured the hidden immunity idol from her bag. "I'm staying."
"The final marshmallow of the evening will go to…..John." The host then turned to Marcellas and told him, "Marcellas. You are the sixth person eliminated from Total Drama Island: Rewritten."
"And though Marcellas himself was okay with his elimination…." The host began,
"Bye, everyone!" Marcellas emotionally called, waving goodbye to everyone as he headed towards the Dock of Shame, "It was so great meeting you all! I love you guys! Truly! I can't wait to see you after the show! Bye!"
"...Alessia was most certainly not." He finished.
"No! Dammit, no!" Alessia screamed in outrage after the votes had been read. Standing and staring at the gathered campers once more, she screeched, "You liars! How dare you take my best friend from me!"
"And for one competitor in particular," the host added, "She didn't hold back how she felt."
"Marcellas would still BE HERE if you weren't so stupid! You useless piece of crap!" Alessia screamed directly at Weenus in front of everyone. "You are a worthless moron, Colby! WORTHLESS!"
"And in the aftermath of that elimination ceremony, the deck had been reshuffled once more," the host continued. "Alessia was a sticking point for many, and while some thought this presented a great opportunity…."
"We definitely had to split up the Alessia and Marcellas thing," Liana told Brooke with a satisfied grin on her face, "But now that she's floating in the ether by herself, we can just scoop her up and add her as a number to our alliance!"
"...Others thought that Alessia needed to be punished for what she did," the host finished.
Sitting in the confessional booth, Brooke looked irate. "She needs to be held accountable for her actions. You don't get to skate by and get far in this game after pulling a stunt like she did. And if Liana's going to reward her bad behavior for an alliance, then I'm gonna have to be the one that holds them accountable."
"And with the line in the sand drawn," the host continued to narrate, "it quickly became a mad dash to secure votes for that night's elimination ceremony."
"...Alessia, you need allies. And I need new friends too," Liana told the streamer. "...I know Brooke is coming for your head. And it doesn't take rocket science to figure out Godfrey, David, and Weenus will be too."
"...So," Vivi replied, sitting at the edge of her bed, talking with Liana and Alessia. "We should be focusing on Neda, John, and Godfrey."
"So, to recap," Neda happily told the confessional camera, "I've told both sides of this conflict that I'm for sure on their side. Of course, I'll only be able to vote one way. In addition, both Liana and Brooke have agreed to take me to the end of the game with them, as well." Neda looked contemplatively into the camera for a few seconds, then busted out laughing. "It's so perfect!"
"Of course, I don't know what side I'm gonna actually ally with just yet," John shrugs from the confessional booth. "To do so now would be silly. What happens when you just willy-nilly pick a side, and it's the wrong one?" John then slashes his thumb across his neck. "That's what happens. You get cut. And that's not happening to John Lane."
"I'll join this alliance of yours if you think it is for the best," Wind tells a surprised Liana as they lay at the abandoned talent show stage.
"And even when the game was seemingly at its most pivotal," Chris added, "And this vote could determine the future of the game, other players were working their own angles as well."
From inside the confessional booth, Neda giggles. "And, as for why I did this to begin with? It's simple!" She exclaims. "Vivi and Liana being enemies is good for my game. If they don't like each other, then that's two people I can attach myself to and convince them to take me further."
"You know, I've realized something," David admits to the camera. "I've really just been hanging out, having fun with this thing so far. But, if I wanna win this game, I really gotta step my game up."
"And in the end…"
"The person leaving Total Drama Island: Rewritten is….Alessia."
"It was Alessia who was eliminated," Chris ended. "With Alessia leaving the game, things remained fluid and ever-changing. And whether it's Liana knowing when to fold…."
"...This doesn't really bother me," Liana tells the confessional camera neutrally. "I know that it should, but this is just another in a long line of disappointments for me thus far in this game."
"Vivi's joy in backstabbing her ally, and more often enemy…."
"I really got one over on Liana at that last ceremony, huh?" She asks the camera with a laugh.
"Neda playing damage control for her duplicitousness….."
"...I lied to you," Neda tells a surprised Liana. I ended up voting to eliminate Alessia, and not Godfrey, like you asked. And I wanted to say sorry to you."
"...Even if she wasn't sorry whatsoever," The host added.
"...When you apologize to someone for what you did to them, it takes the focus off of what you did, and puts it on what they can do to get themselves out of their situation." With a smirk, Neda adds, "...If they think you're apologetic, it's basically the same thing, too."
"The game marched on. In the immunity challenge, it was a major shocker when Brooke lost her first merge challenge, after winning the last three in a row, losing to, of all people, Wind!" He excitedly announced.
"And in the strategizing and scrambling after the challenge, both sides of the game could unite on one particular person to vote off."
"Sorry, Brooke," Chris told the athlete as John caught the final marshmallow of the night, relief clear on his face, "But you're eliminated."
Chris laughed then. "But what came next shook the game down to its very core!"
"...You, Brooke, are the first member of the Total Drama Island: Rewritten Jury!" The host then explained to the other players, "There are now eight of you left; over the next six eliminations, you will all be taken to Playa des Losers, where you will join your fellow jurors, and you can all decompress and discuss the games and how it went. And, on our finale night, we will all gather at Playa des Losers, where our Jury of Seven will cast their votes to determine the winner of the game!"
"And with the arrival of something as monumental as the Jury, everyone realized that a re-examination of their strategies was vital," Chris continued.
"Not only do we have to send people out of the game," David told the confessional camera, "But now, you also have to send them out of the game with a good impression of you. Which is so hard, because you're taking away their shot at a million bucks!" David then gave a resolute look to the camera. "...I still need to think about getting myself to the end first before I worry any more about the jury."
With a grin, Vivi tells the camera, "Suddenly, someone like me who's a bit prickly, and makes enemies pretty easily, seems like a pretty good person to be matched up against in the final two."
"I've been hiding in plain sight, and letting other people make the moves," Neda explains to the confessional camera. "And it's worked perfectly. All I need to do is keep doing what I'm doing and make sure people want to take me to the end."
"...And for one camper," the host added, "There was a radical shift in strategies almost immediately after the vote."
"...The jury holds power," Liana coldly explained as she stood in front of all the remaining campers immediately after the elimination ceremony. "A lot of it. And, I'm going to tell you all this right now, in front of everyone at once, so I can make it very, very, very clear."
Her gaze hardened even more, as her eyes lit up like a burning inferno. "I swear on everything that I hold dear, and I promise you all, that if you send me out of this game, and I go to the jury house, I will become poison. A lethal dose of cyanide to all your games."
In the confessional booth, Liana explained, "If I blatantly threaten everyone here, I'm hoping that even a few people will decide that they want me to stay around, and not risk me poisoning the well, so to speak. All I need is a few people to decide that fighting me on this isn't worth the risk."
Laughing heartily, the host added once again, "And there was one competitor who was bold enough to declare that the jury changed nothing! Three guesses as to who that was," the host cheekily told the audience.
"...The jury changes nothing," Godfrey tells the confessional camera matter-of-factly. "I'm still planning on backstabbing, betraying, and being a general villain for the second half of the game." Godfrey then gives the camera a dazzling smile. "When I get in front of that jury, and they all look at me with hate in their eyes, I feel supremely confident that I'll be able to talk them into voting for me."
"And speaking of Godfrey and David," the host continued, "It was at this point in the game that the Agency started showing signs of cracks, with two members of the alliance slowly losing faith, and trust in each other."
"I know that Godfrey's losing trust in me," David tells the confessional cam plainly. "So, I'm trying to get back in his good graces. If I'm closer to him, maybe he'll be less willing to try to take a stab at me or something. Even if he doesn't fully trust me, the fact that I at least look interested in mending our partnership will hopefully make him think that I should be kept around even for potential usefulness."
"It's very cute that David is trying to get my trust back," Godfrey snidely says in the confessional booth. "He's caught onto this game pretty solidly, but at the end of the day, he's just not me. David can't match up. Coughing Baby vs. Hydrogen Bomb."
"Meanwhile, in the broader game," Chris explained, "Things got shaken up once more, and this game that had become individual long ago once again started to fall along the old team lines."
"We need to get Vivi on our side," Liana tells John as they stand at the foot of the Dock of Shame together.
"And I assume that you go get Wind," John evenly responded, to which Liana nodded in confirmation.
"With a pivotal challenge comes a pivotal immunity, and in the case of our Rock-Paper-Scissors challenge, it was John who walked away with immunity at that night's campfire ceremony. And it was an immunity that the artist needed," the host added, "Because after voting to eliminate Godfrey in the last ceremony, John found himself in the doghouse to more than one competitor."
The voice of the host then continued, "And, with instructions from Liana, with Godfrey in their crosshairs that night, John went to the other former Crocodile they felt was most likely to flip on her former teammates."
"Hey," John lazily told Neda as the Iranian teen sunbathed on the beach. "Wanna go sit on the dock?"
"From there, the Lane artist made his move."
"...I'm part of a new alliance. It's got four people, and we wanted to have you as the fifth," He explained to her.
Curiosity peaked, Neda asked, "Who's going to be in it? There's only eight of us left, and five is a pretty big chunk of that."
John grinned and told her, "You, me, Wind, Vivi, and Liana."
"But unfortunately for John, Neda was too smart and too well versed in these kinds of shows to fall for the Albatross's plans."
"...A guaranteed final five spot sounds great!" Neda tells the confessional camera, before frowning and crossing her arms. "But, do you know what will happen when we actually reach the final five?" She asks the camera, before answering, "Well, I do. What happens is that I'm still seen as their outsider, and am instantly cut the moment the other guys are gone because I'm no longer necessary."
With a shake of her head, she finishes, "So no, I know already that there's not a single chance I take this alliance. It may fool someone with less experience in this kind of game, but not me. I see that this is nothing but a trap to get to the end of the game at my expense."
"And now knowing what the former Albatrosses were trying to do, Neda decided to fight fire with fire."
"So I just talked to John," Neda frantically told David, Weenus, and Godfrey, "He said all the former Albatrosses are forming together to take us out. Vivi, Wind, John, Liana. John told me that the alliance was Liana's idea."
"At that elimination ceremony, things were right down the middle, divided by the old team lines. For the first time in the season, we had a tie vote. And not only did we have a tied vote, but we had a deadlocked vote, meaning that Godfrey and Liana drew rocks to determine who was going to leave the game."
"But just as we were about to reveal rocks, one of our campers who weren't Godfrey and Liana stood, and made an announcement that would rock the game, and the gamers, to their very cores."
Wind stood, tears falling from her eyes. "Godfrey and Liana have worked so hard to be here. They've put their all into playing this game, and into winning. Something I have not done. Something I am not capable of doing. They both deserve another opportunity to continue playing. And, I am giving up my place in the game so they can continue to do so."
"Yes, Wind, the kind and sweet hippy, sacrificed her game, so Godfrey and Liana could stay. And as she left, knowing that she was leaving behind her chance at a million dollars, she had poignant words for the final seven."
"...Please make sure to remember that this is a game, and we are all just people at the end of the day. Do not lose your humanity. Please, be kind to one another."
"With Wind out of the game, her number one ally, and best friend Liana, didn't take it well at all," Chris told the audience.
Liana lay in bed, under the covers. Her eyes were bleary, wet, and red-tinted, her cheeks stained with lines of tears. She said nothing and did nothing, other than stare at the bunk above hers and sniffle occasionally.
"But," Chris added, "Some help came for Liana from an unexpected place."
Vivi took what she thought was the next, correct course of action, which was grabbing the blankets that Liana was bundled in and throwing them off her. Before the surprised gambler could do anything, she found herself grabbed by the collar of her shirt and yanked to the floor.
Shocked, Liana lay on the floor, staring wide-eyed at the smug grin of the rocker staring down at her, arms folded victoriously. Seemingly taking a few seconds to register what had just happened, Liana didn't move or say a word to Vivi.
That didn't last for long, however, as in the blink of an eye, Liana was on her feet, face already beginning to turn red and eyes flashing dangerously. "What the hell's your problem?!" Liana shouted at Vivi.
"Looks like that got your attention," The rocker joked in response.
"And when things like they were going to reach a boiling point between the two rivals, they instead, shockingly, found common ground."
"Why did you help me?" Liana blurted out. "You could have just let me lay there and have watched me get eliminated, but you didn't. But, you didn't. Why?"
The rocker was quiet, before finally answering, "...I don't know." Shaking her head, she continued, "...Maybe, seeing you laying there, defeated, maybe that hit a little closer to home for me than I'd care to admit." Vivi then shrugs. "Maybe there's been a few times in my life that I've been so depressed that I couldn't get out of bed either, Liana, and I didn't have anyone there to grab me by the scruff, drag me out and get my ass back in gear, and even though we're not exactly best friends or anything, I wanted to do something for someone that no one did for me because I know how futile and useless you feel when that's all you can do."
Vivi smirks at her conspiratorially. "Maybe I just wanted to be a bitch to you and rub it in that Wind left, and it was just a happy accident that it lit a fire under you." And as Vivi turned to leave the cabin, she turned and spoke to Liana one last time. "Maybe I'm not as big of a bitch as I like to pretend. Take your pick, Liana."
"But while Liana and Vivi were miraculously repairing their relationship, with the end of the game rapidly approaching, the others were as hard at work as ever."
"I just don't know," David mutters in the confessional booth, obviously conflicted. "I wanted Weenus to have the idol because I wanted him to have that extra safety because I really wanna get to the final two with him!"
"It's simple, Neda," John told her with a roll of his eyes as the two jogged together. "Your guys take out Liana and Vivi, leaving us as the final five. Then, we can link up with, knowing your teammates, more than likely Godfrey, and take David and Weenus out, leaving us as the three. At three, you take me, I take you if either of us wins final immunity."
"As I was balling out, it hit me," Godfrey ecstatically tells the confessional camera. "The plan. The plan that, I believe, will be the coup de grâce in me not just getting to the end, but sealing the deal on my win….and it all starts with John."
"And all these threads came together in the next immunity challenge," Chris announced, "Where it was another battle of endurance to determine who would be immune from elimination at that night's ceremony. And in the end, Liana claimed her first individual immunity."
"After the challenge, with another elimination looming, everyone scrambled to get their plans in place, and one camper, in particular, seemed to have something epic planned," the host joked.
"The plan is that The Agency is voting for John tonight, boys," Godfrey told David and Weenus with a sly grin on his face.
David, however, didn't look sure. "Godfrey, I've gotten to know you pretty well, man," he began, "And I know what you're like. And I can't help but notice that you said The Agency is voting for John, and not the three of us."
Laughing heartily, Godfrey replied, "...Yup, I want you two to vote for John. I've got my own angle cooked up tonight.
"...Don't you fret Neda, because I have some big plans for sure," Godfrey told the Iranian girl before turning to look at John. "But, this is where I'm calling in my favor, John. Not with the alliance itself, but who we're voting for. If we get this vote right, I think we can sweep right to the end."
Giving the charmer a hard look, Liana told him, "We want your help in taking out Neda tonight, Godfrey."
"And in typical fashion, Godfrey had a few choice words about the spot he was in," Chris laughed once more.
"Three targets. Each has two votes. And here I am, standing above them all as their King. The Puppetmaster. I am the sole man who will send someone to the guillotine tonight. I have all the power. And it feels good."
"With the votes seemingly split three ways, two apiece, Godfrey made his biggest move."
"By a 3-2-2 vote, the third member of the Total Drama Island: Rewritten jury is…..Weenus."
"Yes, just like with Apollo earlier in the game, Godfrey orchestrated his ally's elimination from the game," Chris revealed. "And when the other shoe dropped, and Weenus left the island, rest assured that the only other member of the Agency left, David was not happy."
"What the hell, Godfrey!?" David snapped as he stormed into the boys' cabin, his Irish accent thick in his voice. "What the hell was that?!"
"It was me doing what I have to do to get myself to the end of this game, David," Godfrey told the irate Newfie, his tone distinctly lacking the mirth and cheer it usually did.
"But what about the Agency?!" David angrily asked, but his anger continued to grow when Godfrey just laughed in his face.
"Really?" Godfrey asked with a roll of his eyes. "You're bringing up the Agency?"
Growing cold, the charmer continued, "...Do you think I'm a fool or something, David? I have eyes. I see what you're doing. What you've been doing…..let me guess, you wanted to try to take me out with his help."
"But he was your friend!" David shouted. "Weenus was our boy! He wasn't a threat!"
"And this isn't a game in making friends," Godfrey lectured the angry Newfie.
"With the Agency dead and buried, David had to find new allies….and quick. But luckily for him, David knew just the people to help."
Taking a few moments once more to calm himself, David told Liana and Vivi, "Godfrey betrayed me. Weenus is gone. I'm by myself. And I really need some allies."
"And though Vivi was more than happy to ally with David, Liana didn't share the rocker's enthusiasm," The host's voiceover added.
"I don't trust that guy, Vivi! I think he's playing us. I think Godfrey's set him up to do this stuff."
"While one side of the game was managing a paper-thin peace, the other was reveling in their good fortune," Chris continued.
"Neda! John!" Godfrey jovially called as he quickly approached and sat down at the pair's table. "...I just wanted to celebrate how wonderfully everything went tonight with you two."
John rolled his eyes. "He was a goof. I still don't even get why we did it."
Neda added, "...As far as I'm concerned, it's just another person that's not here and we are. Weenus was awesome but I'd rather he be gone than me, you know?"
"And when the raven-haired artist left for the night, that gave Neda and Godfrey a moment to have a frank conversation."
"I was quite intrigued to hear what a busy bee you've been, Neda. The way you turned Vivi and Liana against each other was some good work. I was very impressed when they told me about it."
Her guard raised, Neda replied, "I'm just trying to win the game like everyone else here, Godfrey. Yourself included. And I've done what I needed to do in order to do that."
Leaning in, Godfrey told her, "You don't have anything to worry about with me, Neda. You scratched my back and voted Weenus out. What you do on your time is yours. I'm not gonna hold it against you, because you've not given me a reason to. I still trust you, and I'd like to make the final two with you."
Neda's eyes widened in surprise slightly, but she kept her neutral look other than that. "Well, that's nice to know, Godfrey," she honestly told him. "I guess I can extend you the same courtesy, and I'd like to make the final two with you as well."
"In the immunity challenge, it was a great time for all our campers, because everyone was a winner one way or another!"
The host listed off, "Vivi has a message from home, David's won a trip to New York, all expenses paid, Liana has the final immunity idol, John has regular old immunity, Neda has ten thousand dollars, and Godfrey ends the game with the Double-Edged Sword!"
Looking at Godfrey, the host explained, "Because of the Double-Edged Sword, you can name one person who is also immune at tonight's campfire ceremony! But, there's a catch! Whoever you choose to keep safe tonight doesn't get to vote to eliminate someone, either!"
Chris then gave the charmer a wicked grin. "And you have to choose who that is right now!"
Godfrey, however, didn't miss a beat. "I choose David."
"Like Godfrey, Vivi had a choice to make as well."
"Although you got the prize to hear from a loved one back home, you now have a choice yourself. You can either choose to keep your prize and hear from your loved one, or you can give your prize up, and let everybody else hear from a loved one!"
"And for Vivi Venom, this was the easiest decision in the game so far."
Vivi shrugged. "It's easy. Let everyone else hear from their families."
"And, for just a short while," Chris said with a smile on his face, "Everyone agreed to put the game on hold, and not worry about all the trappings of the game so everyone could hear from the ones they love and miss back home."
"But the game continues, and so did the gamers," the host continued. "And continue on it did, with one side immediately starting to fracture beyond repair, with Liana immediately questioning David why Godfrey helped him with the Double-Edged Sword."
"...We're down a vote now because of Godfrey." A harsh glare leveled on the Newfie, she asked David, "Care to explain why Godfrey picked you to be safe, David?"
David immediately raised both hands to try to placate the gambler. "I don't know! I was just as surprised as you two were!"
Her glare seemed to intensify. "Really? I'm supposed to buy that, considering that you two were in an alliance on day one?"
"And it was up to, perhaps, the least qualified person there to try to keep the peace!" The host heartily laughed.
"Liana, lay off!" Vivi snapped, obviously angry. "Who cares?"
"And although the trio agreed that they needed to sway the Lane to target Neda that night," the host explained, "Things may have been too damaged to continue."
Vivi stepped right into Liana's face. Despite being almost half a foot shorter than the gambler, the two stood nearly chest-to-chest, glaring right into each other's eyes. "Don't yell at me," Vivi told her, the rocker's voice carrying a sense of danger.
"Get out of my face, Vivi," Liana shot back, her tone lower and full of venom.
"With the elimination ceremony fast approaching, and a new final three with himself, Neda, and Liana being suggested, it was John who made a move," Chris then told the audience.
"You're going home tonight," he plainly told Liana. "The conversation I had with Vivi made it obvious that you are."
Irate, Liana demanded, "What'd she say, John!?"
With a bored tone, he told her, "...She agreed to vote you out tonight and blindside you into the jury if it meant we took her to the final three. She grabbed me while I was running with Neda; we talked to Godfrey, and we're the new three. It's you tonight, Neda next, and David after that."
"John laid the bait, and that was all it took for the alliance to completely collapse, ultimately culminating with a shocking blindside."
Holding the final marshmallow of the evening, Chris looked between Neda and Vivi. "Neda, Vivi. One of you is about to be eliminated from the game and go to Playa des Losers, where you will join our Jury of Seven. The person leaving Total Drama Island: Rewritten and the fourth member of our jury is….Vivi."
"In a true shocker, Liana bought John's lie hook, line, and sinker, and was more than happy to blindside the rocker right out of the game," Chris explained. "And she was thrilled about it."
Liana stood at the end of the Dock of Shame, watching the boat that carried Vivi to jury recede far into the distance. The neutral look that she wore morphed into a cruel smile. "It took so, so long," she whispered, "But I finally, finally beat you."
"The fallout of such a seismic shift in the game was sure to be felt, and it was felt immediately. With Godfrey kicked out of the alliance with Neda and John, and replaced by Liana, there was only one person that he could go back to."
"David, I know that since Weenus got blindsided, things haven't been exactly peachy," Godfrey began. "But all that needs to end right now because the facts are that we are totally alone."
"...You and I need to make a final two, David," Godfrey casually began to the Newfie's surprise. "Simply put, we need to because, look around, we only have each other."
David stared at Godfrey, conflicted. "I've known you since the literal start of this game, Godfrey. I know how you operate, man…But I just can't trust you."
David gave Godfrey a hard look. "You have to promise me that you won't betray me and that you swear and promise that you'll take me to the final two."
Without missing a beat, Godfrey told him, "David, I promise that I won't betray you for the rest of this game and that we will be the final two."
"With the Agency back and better than ever, David and Godfrey then set out on their most difficult task yet: Convincing one of John, Liana, or Neda to flip and join them."
Godfrey gave Liana a perfect smile. "What do you think about ditching those two and joining up with us?"
"Well, I don't know just how much it'd wow you, John," Godfrey told him, "But all you gotta do is just like up with me and David, and then we're the new three. And as an added incentive, I'd take you to the final two."
"Think about it, Neda," David was telling her. "We both know the kind of game that John's been playing. He's a sneak. If I were you, that's not someone that I'd want to put all my effort into."
"Despite their best pitches, the other three seemed unsure that it was worth making the move," The host narrated. "After Neda won immunity, things were still up in the air, which made for a tense campfire ceremony. The vote came down to David and Liana…"
"This is it. David or Liana, one of you will be leaving the game, and becoming the fifth juror of Total Drama Island: Rewritten. And that person is….Liana."
"That's right!" The host laughed. "Godfrey and David's push worked, and Liana was the victim of a gargantuan blindside. But before the speculation could even think about beginning, the person who flipped revealed themselves."
"Sorry, Liana," John told her as he stood from his spot, his voice devoid of emotion. "But I did what I had to do. You were just too dangerous."
"And needless to say…Liana did not take it well."
"YOU NO GOOD LYING BASTARD!" Liana screamed, stomping right in front of John. "I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU'D BETRAY ME NOW! AFTER EVERYTHING WE TALKED ABOUT, AFTER YOU GUARANTEED YOU'D VOTE WITH ME! YOU NO GOOD SON OF A BITCH, JOHN!"
"But John didn't do this just for fun," Chris explains. "The artist himself had a pretty good reason; a strategy that will hopefully win him a million dollars."
"If I'm gonna be known as the shifty player that nobody trusts, why not just fully lean into it, and make myself the most toxic final two partner when Liana spends every waking minute in jury talking about what a horrible person I am?" He asks, seated in the confessional. "If the jury hates me, I'm prime real estate for the final two spot."
"And as for Neda, the Superfan realized a sudden, stark, and potentially game-ending fact."
"My absolute worst fear right now is that John's sent both Liana and Vivi out because he, David, and Godfrey made a guys' alliance." Neda frowns deeply. "If they did that, and I don't win the next immunity…." Neda gulps. "It's curtains for me and my game."
"But, even though Neda felt nothing but apprehension after that ceremony, Godfrey and David felt nothing but elation."
"Bro!" David cried out in excitement, practically bouncing off the walls. "We really freakin' did it, man! We're both still freaking here! Holy crap!"
Godfrey sat on the bed across from David inside the men's cabin, a more subdued smile on his face. "And that, David, is why you should never count out the Agency. We're stronger together as the sum of our parts. You bring 'em in with the vibes, and I razzle-dazzle 'em with the strategy."
"But for the reformed Agency," Chris added, "It wasn't all positives."
"I know Godfrey well enough to know he's definitely got something planned here," David groans, before giving the confessional camera a hard look. "He's gunning for me. So I gotta get out there and fight back."
"And things were even more tense for the other pair on the island."
"Yeah, I'm very not happy! What the hell, John?" Neda asked in a harsh whisper.
"...For one, I didn't trust her at all. I was worried that she was gonna pull some crap to screw us over…..And secondly, I think that getting rid of her is gonna help me and maybe get me a better chance to win, Neda. It was a risk I had to take for myself."
"For yourself," Neda repeated pointedly, her face conveying her unhappiness.
"Yeah, for myself," John confirmed before adamantly continuing, "I'm not sorry Neda. There are four of us left. I wanna go to the end with you still, but I gotta give myself that insurance. And if you don't like it, too bad. But don't ask me to apologize or anything. I'm not doing it."
"But the games continued, with the final four all making pitches for why they should be going to the end.
With an excited grin, John tells the confessional camera, "In my best-case scenario, I'll have David, Neda, and Godfrey fighting to take my toxic butt to the end."
"Who exactly on the jury is mad at David, Neda?" When the Iranian girl was silent, Godfrey nodded and continued, "No one. That's who. David's in good with pretty much the whole jury. He's played safe, but also strong. Been able to not step on anyone's toes. That takes skill."
Godfrey grinned at her. "That's why I want to go to the end with you. You and I have both gotten some blood on us and made a few jurors mad at us."
"In our penultimate immunity challenge," the host began, "It was go big or go home, and we went big with Total Drama: The Board Game! The challenge lasted all day and was host to some of the most intense moments on Wawanakwa thus far, but in the end, John, Neda, and Godfrey's plans were dashed when the person they all agreed to target, David, won immunity."
"And with David saving himself, Godfrey, Neda, and John all engaged in a mad dash to save their skins that night."
"Plus, let's face it," John told Godfrey, who looked intrigued. "Out of the four of us left, we're not winning any popularity contests, especially against Neda and David." With a shrug, the Lane finished, "I think you know where I'm going with this, Godfrey."
Godfrey laughed heartily. "You know John, If I didn't know any better, it sounds like you're trying to get your pal Neda out."
"Well, between John and Godfrey, who do you think should go more?" Neda asked David, a grin on her face. Whatever you wanna do, I'm with you, David."
"So we're doing Godfrey tonight?" Neda asked, breath shaky.
John nodded, a smile on his face. "Godfrey tonight. David's with us."
"...Who goes tonight, Godfrey?" David asked. "We got two choices tonight. Neda or John."
Godfrey shrugged in response. "I don't know. Both have their pros and cons."
"That night at the elimination ceremony, all the planning, strategizing, and dealmaking came to a head, when the votes came down to Neda and John, the two allies."
"Neda. John. One of you is going to be eliminated from the game, and become the sixth member of the Total Drama Island: Rewritten jury. And…..that person is….John."
The artist just grinned, highly amused at the outcome. "You finally got me, didn't you?"
"With three people left, all three had deals with each other to take them to the final two. But only one deal could prevail, and we'd find out which one in our final immunity challenge."
"How's it feel, man?" Chris asked an ecstatic David, who had just won the final immunity challenge. "You just punched your ticket to the end! You did it!"
Chris then grinned evilly. "...I think it'll be fun if we do the elimination…right now!"
"That's right!" The voiceover of the host laughed. "In our final twist, our final elimination was also an instant elimination! Neda and Godfrey had just a few moments to plead for their lives….."
"David, we've had an alliance for a really long time," Neda told the Newfie who held her fate in his hands. "And we've stuck by it, and each other for a long time too. I want to get to the end with you, and I just hope that you choose me."
Godfrey just shrugged. "We've been allied since hour one of the game, man. The Agency. Most dominant alliance in Total Drama history. Weenus wants us to get to the end together. Let's make it happen."
"And with that, David made the most important decision in the entire game."
"Well, I have final twos with both of you!" David uneasily laughed as he began to talk. "Godfrey, man, we've been through so much. Like you said, we've been allied since the very, very start of the game."
"At the end of the day, I have to stay loyal to the alliance I made at the start of this game…..It's with myself. I told myself I'd do whatever I had to in order to win. And Godfrey, if I wanna win, I have to eliminate you, brother."
"And with that," Chris's voiceover began to wrap up, "Godfrey became the seventh, and final juror, leaving Neda and David as our final two! Both have been very strong in the game, and all their hard work comes to fruition tonight. The end of the game is upon us, and our winner will either be the Secret Superfan, Neda Atashnak, or the Goofy Chef, David Masters! Who will it be? We'll know later tonight! But now, let's get this finale going!"
Back at Playa des Losers, the scene was radically different. The rows and rows of empty chairs were now filled to the brim with eager fans and viewers, clamoring excitedly at the finale to come. On the red carpet next to the key wheel and the briefcase stood Chris. "Hello, everyone, and welcome to the Total Drama Island: Rewritten finale!" He called and received a large cheer and claps from his gathered audience. "How're we all feeling!?" He then asked and then received another enthusiastic cheer from the crowd. "Great! It's been a heck of a season, undeniably, and I don't know about all of you, but I'm psyched to see who wins! How about all of you?!" Another large cheer from the crowd as the host laughed giddily.
Walking down the red carpet and beside the rows of audience members, Chris went on, "This season's been such a joy to watch happen. This cast has been playing like crazy since the very first day, and here we are, 37 days later and it's almost over! It's been a wild ride, and I hope it's been as fun for you as it was for me!"
The crowd cheered and clapped in response, which made the host laugh. "Great!" He called, before continuing, "Last time, we left our jurors just as they were heading to the bonfire pit on Playa des Losers for a secret task. Let's turn our attention to the screen and see what they were doing there!"
Brooke, Wind, Weenus, Vivi, Liana, and John all sat in lawn chairs that had been set up around the crackling bonfire. They all noted that there were two additional seats, but obviously, none were there to fill them yet.
"So…" Vivi trailed off, "Are we just supposed to wait here like a bunch of dorks?"
John shrugged. "Guess so."
Liana smiled and added, "At least the scenery is nice," as she gazed upwards at the dark sky, illuminated by the twinkling of thousands of stars and highlighted by the calming sound of waves lapping against the shoreline.
"It truly is," Wind hummed contentedly. "This is a beautiful night."
"It's a nice night to do whatever we're doing outside on the beach," Brooke commented. "Better this than when it was a giant storm."
"Man, this is just so exciting!" Weenus suddenly declared, almost vibrating in his chair. "Something cool is gonna happen! I just know it!"
John snorted. "I dunno Weenus, I think they just sent us out here to enjoy the scenery myself."
"Hi there, everyone!"
A new, unfamiliar voice made itself known before anyone could retort to John's sarcastic remark. Everyone turned to see a person emerge from around the corner that led to the wooded part of the resort.
The new, feminine figure walked over to the campfire. The jurors could make out the aquamarine jacket that she wore, as well as her denim shorts that reached her knees. As the mystery woman came over and sat in one of the two empty seats, the bonfire illuminated her blonde hair tied in a ponytail, green eyes, and the easygoing smile adorning her face.
"Hey guys," the woman greeted with an easygoing tone. "It's so nice to be here tonight with you guys! My name is Bridgette, and I'm your host for what we're all doing tonight."
"Bridgette…." John trailed off, before snapping his fingers. "You were on the first couple of seasons, right?"
Bridgette gave the artist a nod. "That's right, John. I've played this game three times." She then laughed and told him, "But I doubt any of my seasons were as intense as this one was!"
"Well, it's nice to meet you," Liana began, before asking, "But why exactly are you here?"
"Great question, Liana!" Bridgette replied, before explaining, "Like I said, I'm gonna be hosting what we're all doing tonight. And what we're doing is called a Jury Roundtable. Basically, with the game ending soon, I'm going to be a moderator while you jurors talk about the finalists, and argue for and against whoever you'd like. This is going to be an open forum for everyone to discuss everything and anything they want about the game and the final three."
Bridgette continued, "Even though I've played three times already, like I said, I'm just here to be the moderator. Tonight is about you guys, and the three left in the game. I'll just be bringing up topics for us to talk about and stuff like that. Does that make sense?"
The surfer girl got nods and vocal acceptances, which made her smile. "Great!" She happily told the six. "Well, we might as well get this going. So, with John, you leaving and becoming the sixth juror," She began as she looked towards the artist, "That leaves a final three of Neda, David, and Godfrey. First of all, who here can say that they already know, for certain, who they're voting for?"
Bridgette looked around and saw only one hand go up. "So Colby, you already know who you will vote for?" She asked curiously.
"Totally, Bridgette!" The stuntman enthusiastically replied. "I'm going for my boys! No debate, man! We've been in an alliance since the start of the game, and I wanna see one of my friends win!"
Bridgette accepted his answer with a nod, before asking, "And as for everyone else, why don't you have a winner picked out?"
"No offense to you, Bridgette," John began, "But I think this season has been more strategic than most of, if not all of your last three. So we're all looking at this differently as a result. We wanna vote for who best represents this season. Some of us will have different criteria and stuff, but we're a group that takes being jurors seriously, and we wanna do the finalists, and the game justice."
Wind agreed, saying, "John speaks for how I feel. Gameplay is one thing, of course, but we should not be discounting how we feel. That is something that can change in an instant. What happens if you are set on voting one way, but then you learn troubling information?" The hippy asked. "Then everything you thought must change. Thus, I feel that keeping an open mind about the ending and our finalists is quite important."
The hippy then laughed. "No disrespect intended for my friend Colby, of course. He, David, and Godfrey have been close for a very long time. If he is set on voting for one, then it is not my place to judge that."
"I'd rather not even be here," Vivi suddenly announced, looking annoyed. "I honestly think this is kind of ridiculous. We're not gonna learn anything that we already haven't talked about. I'd rather just hear it from the people that are still there than all of us."
Bridgette lightly laughed at the Rocker's words. "I get what you mean Vivi, but this is really more for the jurors to talk through everyone and think about what they want to hear from the finalists and that kind of thing. But you'll be hearing from the finalists tomorrow Vivi, don't you worry. Well, speaking of the finalists, they're Godfrey, Neda, and David. How do you all feel about those three? Does anyone have-"
"I feel awesome!" Weenus immediately announced, to the amusement of a few. "David and Godfrey are my boys! Agency Strong, Bridgette!" The surfer girl laughed as Weenus continued, "David and Godfrey have been rocking it all game! And Neda is super cool too," he then added. "She's always been cool to me, but no offense to her, but she's not the Agency!"
"Well, as for myself, I value strong gameplay," Liana decided to say. "And I think that this is almost the strongest final three we could have seen. I mean, Godfrey is Godfrey; I don't think that anything else really needs to be said about him. And I think one of the most interesting things that I've learned about since becoming a juror has been learning about the really strong, under-the-radar game that Neda has played."
"And how about David, Liana?" Bridgette then inquired. "I noticed that you didn't mention him there."
"...He's there too, I guess?" She asked with a shrug. "I don't mean to demean anyone's game, but if you compare David to Neda and Godfrey, I don't think there's any comparison."
"Now hold on," Brooke decided to interject. "I think you're underselling David a little here, Liana. Sure, he's not Godfrey or Neda, but let's be fair. Who is? Those two are operating at a different level, honestly."
"And I think that there are some areas that David exceeds where Neda and Godfrey do not," Wind added. "I personally think that David had the strongest social game out of the three."
"Now David vs. Neda socially is a close contest," Liana responded to Wind.
"With Neda, a lot of it seemed like an act in retrospect," Vivi said. "Like she was always thinking of the right thing to say to make sure her interests were protected. But David always seemed genuine to me." The rocker then shrugged. "But hey, maybe they've got me fooled, and David's the world's greatest actor or something. But that's how I see it."
"Well, let's talk about Neda more for a moment," Bridgette announced. "Vivi, you said that you think that you felt like Neda was putting on an act so to speak. Anyone else feel that way?"
Vivi, Liana, Brooke, and John all raised their hands in agreement. "There were definitely two sides to Neda," John announced. "I was Neda's closest ally for a good portion of the game and what Vivi said was pretty accurate, because I was familiar with both of them. And there absolutely was a side of Neda that was a hardcore strategist."
"And what was so impressive about Neda is that she hid it just so well," Brooke gushed. "I mean, when you talk to her, you'd never get that she was such a little gamer." Laughing, she added, "It's so hard to imagine that the girl that I promised I'd protect after Misha left and I caught singing Britney Spears songs alone in the cabin could be so cunning, but the facts say she was!"
"When Neda talked to me about Liana turning on me, looking back at now, it's kinda freaky," Vivi recounted. "Like, she never came out and said that's what happened, but….man, she totally played me. She was able to make me think that happened without ever even saying it."
"Kinda like that movie where people break into your brain to implant ideas," Weenus replied to the rocker, who just nodded.
"Neda absolutely has a mind for this kind of stuff," Liana concurred. "Vivi, like you said, she just had a way of making you think what she wanted, while also making you think that her idea was yours all along. That's super impressive to me."
"And her social skills are what made her so good at that," Wind agreed. "If she was not very good socially, what she did would not work. But the way she came off was so unthreatening and….well…." She trailed off, trying to find a way to say what she was thinking that did not come off rude.
John could tell where Wind was going, so he decided to help her out. "Neda absolutely dumbed herself down," John nodded. "I'd be stunned if she wasn't really smart in actuality because she was able to do some really impressive stuff." He then shrugged. "But who knows? Maybe she's an idiot savant at these things."
"Neda's also super genuine," Weenus finally popped in as the cast laughed at John's remark. "She just makes you feel good. One morning, it was just me and her who were awake, and I prayed with her. And it left her in tears because it was so important to her, y'know? But now, I don't know if that was real or not!"
"And that's what makes Neda so impressive," Brooke summarized. "She feels so genuine, but she's always got an angle of some kind going. And she's so small and cutesy, you just never realize she's lulling you into a false sense of security. And then, once she has you in that sense of security, you never realize that she's gaming the crap out of you."
"Well, we've discussed a bit about Neda, is there anyone else who has any words on her?" No one answered, so Bridgette decided to switch topics. "Alright, let's talk about another finalist. What does everyone here think about David's game?"
"David's the man!" Weenus shouted, jumping out of his seat excitedly. Bridgette laughed at the stuntman's excitement but didn't see a few others roll their eyes.
"I'll say that I think David's kinda gotten a bad rap so far," John decided to defend the Newfie. "He's not Neda or Godfrey, yeah. But really, who is?" John asked. "Those two are the elite of the elite if you ask me. Those two are just on another level."
"It's like comparing the best College Football team to the best NFL Team," Brooke added. "The best College team is great and dominant, but if you put them on the field to play the team that won the Super Bowl, they get demolished every time. And that's how I see David myself. He's the best college football team."
"But does that constitute being a winner?" Liana asked aloud. "Sure, I'll admit that maybe I was ragging on David a little unfairly," the gambler admitted, "But at the same time, why should I vote for the best college team when I can vote for the Super Bowl Champions instead?"
Vivi scoffed. "It's not all about what they did in the game, Liana. Gameplay isn't the be-all-end-all. I'm certainly lookin' at more than just who did the coolest moves and stuff."
Wind nodded her agreement. "Exactly. I can only speak for myself, but a large part of who I am thinking about voting for will also come down to how they interacted with others in the game, and not just their strategy. Not that I don't think that any of the three were poor socially," Wind quickly amended, "But I do think that David was the strongest socially."
"I definitely think that's David's strong point, Wind," John replied in agreement. "David's just got this genuineness about him. He puts you at ease. It's like you wanna trust him implicitly."
"And as we've seen, that's when he gets ya," Brooke groused. "I felt that way about David, and look what happened."
"You know, I came up with that plan too," John reminded, which made Brooke roll her eyes.
"And which one of you two is still there, Lane?" She questioned. John didn't answer, and Brooke smirked victoriously, making him roll his eyes.
"Well, we've talked David, and we've talked Neda," Bridgette spoke after a few moments of silence. "There's one finalist left to talk about, Godfrey."
"Godfrey confuses the crap outta me," Vivi announced. "I mean, it felt like half the time he was baiting everyone to target him. He did all that shifty stuff pretty much in all of our faces, and we never did anything about it. Sure, people tried to take him out a few times, but it never took. And…..just…..how?"
"That's what happens when you're elite," Weenus told everyone, pride clear in his voice. "David is my bro, for sure, but Godfrey…he's just outta this world!" The stuntman enthusiastically continued. "It felt like whenever Godfrey was explaining his strats and stuff, it was like he was speaking a whole other language!" He laughed.
"I hate to agree….." Brooke trailed off, "But I do. Objectively, the move he did to me was just amazing. He voted out Apollo, knowing that it would put him at a disadvantage, knowing then that he'd threaten me into voting with him. He told me that if I didn't follow his plan, he'd get Ji and get me out." Grumbling, Brooke added, "And I know for a fact that Ji would have done it. I was screwed either way."
"The guy unapologetically held my butt over a barrel, then practically strong-armed me into joining an alliance," John revealed. "And that alliance worked, which is the crazy part." John shook his head, amusement clear on his face. "Say what you will about that crazy bastard, but he can run a ship."
"Godfrey gave me his immunity idol he found just to curry favor," Liana added. "And then I betrayed him almost immediately. And he didn't even really care!" She then laughed. "I think that's what I respected most about Godfrey. He played out of his mind, but there were also times when he had this…." She trailed off, trying to find the right words. "I guess aloofness. It's almost like he never cared if things went wrong."
"I think that Godfrey enjoyed the challenge," Wind hypothesized. "We all know Godfrey and his…..belief he has in himself," she added with a giggle. "And I think that there was a side of him that enjoyed when things went wrong. He is the kind of person that likes challenging himself."
Weenus laughed at that. "Yeah, that's Godfrey to a freakin' tee, I say. There were times I thought he was taking this whole thing way too seriously, but at others, he almost didn't care at all! But man, that's why Godfrey rules."
"And simply put," Liana interrupted, "I feel comfortable saying that if Godfrey makes it to the end, he's getting my vote; full stop."
Bridgette looked quite surprised at that. "Wow, Liana. That's a pretty bold declaration before you even know if he's going to make it. What makes you say that?"
"Well, just look at Godfrey's time in the game," Liana began. "He came out of the gate swinging. He formed a big alliance on day one, where two of the members are in the final three. The other two? He took them out pretty much himself. He also took Misha out with one of his big plans. That's three out of sixteen people already. And," she looked over at Weenus, "Thank God for Weenus being here because he's offered valuable insight into both David and Godfrey."
The Stuntman beamed as Liana went on, "And the add in the ceremonies where he wasn't the sole person responsible, but had a hand in them?" She lifted her fingers, with three up already. "Neither of the pre-merge eliminations for the Albatrosses nor Brooke taking out Ji. But Marcellas? Had a hand. Alessia? Had a hand. John? Had a hand. That's SIX out of Sixteen! That's just unfathomable. All of that while being an incredibly bombastic player who not only made himself a target but WANTED to be a target with his cocky attitude!"
Liana was clearly passionate about this, so everyone kept quiet as she rambled, "And in the middle of the game when his game didn't look so hot? He was smart enough to lay low and let the heat blow over while we were focused on other stuff. And, honestly, the most incredible thing about that is Godfrey told us this would happen. He told us that he was gonna be a dirty, slimy player and that he'd screw us over. And we all laughed. And you know what happened? He delivered. He didn't lie at all, which is a whole other thing! I think Godfrey played a truly special, one-of-a-kind game, and we're all stupid for letting get this far, but that also goes to show what a true beast he was."
Wrapping up her sudden speech, Liana said, "So yeah Bridgette, I know I made something easy into something overly long and convoluted." With a look out of the corner of her eye, she joked, "Vivi would know a thing about that." The rocker snorted a laugh as she continued, "But I gave my everything to this game. My heart, my soul, my blood, my sweat, most definitely my tears. And even though I can't win, I have to stand up for what I consider the far-and-away strongest player."
Bridgette was shocked at Liana's sudden outburst in favor of Godfrey, as she slowly responded, "...Wow. Thank you, Liana." She then gave the gambler a genuine grin and told her, "And that's exactly the kind of passion that I wanted to hear when I agreed to do this. It's really obvious that you care, Liana." She looked around at the others and continued, "It's really obvious that all of you care, honestly. And that's fantastic! This is a huge decision you're going to be making, and the fact that all of you are so passionate about this shows that you're going to take this seriously and choose who you truly think deserves it."
"But…" The Surfer Girl trailed off, "There's something that I haven't told you guys." Curiosity and nervousness seemed to ripple through the jurors as Bridgette eyed them. "In preparation for the finale tomorrow, earlier today was the final elimination ceremony. The seventh juror is already here, and they've been waiting to come down here."
"Wait, the finale's tomorrow!?" Brooke asked, shocked. The other five looked equally surprised at Bridgette's announcement, but the star athlete seemed to be the only one who could vocalize hers.
"Yep Brooke," Bridgette confirmed. "The game comes to an end tomorrow, but this roundtable isn't over." She then called, "Come on out!" As the jurors craned their necks and looked around to get a glance at their final member, a voice cut through the darkness.
"They finally got me, man!" Godfrey laughed as his form entered the light of the bonfire, an amused grin plastered on his face. At his arrival, a few groaned disappointedly, a few laughed, and a few still grinned happily.
"Aw man, Godfrey!" Weenus groaned, disappointment clear in his eyes. "I can't believe you got taken out, bro!"
"Sorry, man," Godfrey shook his head. "But it's true. I'm done."
"Yeah, what the hell, Godfrey?" Liana asked, faux-anger in her voice. "I just went on this whole tangent about how great you were and how you deserved to win. And now you're here on the jury? C'mon, man! Now I just look stupid!"
Godfrey laughed as he took the last open seat, and responded, "I'm sorry to disappoint you, Liana. But I would have loved to hear you talk about how great I am." With a cocky grin, he added, "I'm sure it must have killed you to heap mounds of praise on me."
Liana laughed herself and responded, "You played the best game, Godfrey. I only wish that I could have gotten away with a quarter of the stuff you managed to pull off." With a grin, she added, "I can't wait to see the season back and see the ludicrous logic that I'm sure you had. Before Godfrey could respond, she then joked, "Though the self-aggrandizing confessionals will probably be a bit much."
Godfrey laughed heartily at that. "But Liana, the self-aggrandizing confessionals are the best part!"
"Just be glad you weren't in an alliance with him Liana," John rolled his eyes. "I almost quit because he wouldn't stop talking." Turning to the charmer, John asked, "How much exactly do you love the sound of your own voice, Godfrey?"
"I'd say quite a bit, Lane," The charmer responded easily, which made the raven-haired artist snort amusedly.
"So Godfrey," Bridgette interrupted, getting the roundtable back on track, "Why don't you explain what happened since John left the game?"
He shrugged, "I guess, but it wasn't a whole lot. At the final three, we pretty much all had final two deals with each other. We didn't negotiate out strategy or anything, since, in my opinion, we were just waiting to see who'd win the challenge. Plus, admittedly, again only for me, I felt quite confident that both Neda and David would have taken me to the end, but," Godfrey started laughing, "I guess not!"
"But anyhow, simply put, I didn't win the challenge, that you all were quite fun in, I may add, and I thought I was good with either of them winning," He shrugged. "But again, since I'm sitting here, it doesn't seem like I was after all."
John smirked at Godfrey and told him, "Good to see that Neda finally wisened up and took your ass out, Godfrey."
In return, Godfrey gave John a smirk right back. "John, when did I say that it was Neda who took me out?"
That seemed to shock the others. "Don't tell me…." Wind gasped, hand covering her mouth.
"There's no way that happened," John retorted, disbelieving. "He wouldn't have the guts."
That made the charmer laugh. "Then you're gonna have to eat some crow, Lane, because yes, it was David who won final immunity and took me out," he confirmed.
As some reacted in surprise, John looked genuinely shocked. "He did…..wow…"
"I knew that David had lost trust in you, Godfrey, but I didn't think that he'd go through with it and kick your ass out," Vivi remarked. "Color me impressed! I didn't think he had the cajones."
"It was the smarter move for sure," Liana nodded. "But still, I'd never have anticipated it."
"Ahh man, that blows," Weenus disappointedly remarked. "David told me plenty of times that things were tense, but I really thought that we'd have that Agency final two." The stuntman's face suddenly got a look of surprise on it before he then depressedly sagged in his seat. "Man, this means that all three members of the Agency were taken out by other members. So much for us being the best alliance ever…we couldn't even not blindside each other."
At Weenus' disappointment, Godfrey just chuckled. "Hey man, don't sweat it. That's just the nature of how these things go. Not every alliance is gonna be unbreakable. But the alliance isn't what matters, man. What matters is that we met each other and that we've become friends. The alliance known as The Agency may not have been strong, but the group of friends known as The Agency is gonna last for a long, long time. And I'll take that over a strong alliance any day."
The roundtable was silent as everyone, and the stuntman in particular absorbed Godfrey's poignant words. After a few moments though, Weenus just burst into laughter. "Man, Godfrey!" He exclaimed. "You really do have a way with words, bro!"
Wind covered her mouth as she giggled and added, "It is true, Godfrey. Even I find myself continually impressed at your eloquence."
Godfrey gave the two a grin and told them, "Not the first time I've been told that, and certainly not the last time." Casting an eye at Liana, he added, "Positively or Negatively."
Bridgette laughed and asked, "Godfrey, for someone who got so close to the end, only to get taken out at the last possible second, you really are quite jovial." Brigette began laughing harder as she recalled, "When the person who was the villain on my first season was taken out, also at third I may add, she…..well, didn't take it nearly as well as you did. So please, explain what's going through that mind of yours!"
"You may regret asking that," Vivi snarked, which made Godfrey laugh before he could answer.
"Well, as ludicrous as it may sound coming from me of all people, I didn't come into this game expecting to win," Godfrey revealed.
"Get real!" Brooke responded, rolling her eyes at Godfrey's comments.
"It's true, I assure you, Brooke," Godfrey rebuked. "I didn't know what I was getting into; who my competitors would be, what the game would be like, critical information like that. Of course, I wanted to win," he added, casting a look towards Brooke, before continuing, "But I'm realistic to know that only one person can win. And it may be me, but it may not. So…I decided to just have fun with it."
"How do you mean, Godfrey?" Wind asked, confusion clear on her features, before lightly giggling. "Your actions prove that you were in it to win it."
"And I was," Godfrey emphasized. "I did wanna win. But, why can't I have fun while doing it? And really, who has the most fun?" He looked around at the other jurors, knowing that they knew the answer. "Villains, that's who. Villains don't have to worry about virtue or social norms. No, we villains get to have the run of it. So I decided that I wanna be a villain."
He then gave Bridgette a dazzling smile. "But, as my castmates know, I don't half-ass things. So if I'm gonna be a villain, I wanna be the greatest villain of all time. Blindsides, betrayals, backstabs, I wanna have the full villain experience."
Godfrey laughed. "So that's exactly what I did. I played like a true blue villain. The fact that I didn't lie and was all honest was just part of the strategy to sow chaos and make myself look good. You know that I'm gonna betray you and that you can't trust me. That's the fact in the sea of lives that is the game."
"And the best part is, me having a fun time and throwing crazy crap at the wall to see what sticks got me third place and a bunch of friends. Sure, I lost at the end of the day. And that's fine. As I said, only one person can win. It woulda been cool if it was me, but it's not. And that's just life. But I can live with myself knowing that I went full tilt and won, but losing is part of life. And at the end of the day, I accomplished my goal of having fun."
The charmer looked back towards Bridgette. "That may have been a bit long-winded, but I'm sure that answers your question." He then looked over at John and shot back, "Or, maybe you've just learned to love the sound of my voice as much as John thinks I do."
Bridgette seemed a bit thrown off by the charmer's long-winded answer but smiled after a few moments. "That was quite the eloquent answer, Godfrey. And I'm happy that you can come out of this game with that mindset. It's something that a lot of people end up struggling with."
She then smiled and clapped her hands. "Alright!" She called. "Now that Godfrey is here, we have our full Jury of Seven to determine our winner. Godfrey, John, Liana, Vivi, Brooke, Wind, you guys have a big responsibility. We talked a bit about the final three, but now that we know that Neda and David are your final two. So, I think we should go a bit more in-depth on those two." Looking around at the jurors, Bridgette asked, "Do any of you have a particular spot you wanna start with?"
"I do actually," Vivi called with a raise of her hand, to the surprise of the other jurors. "I know we talked about those two in a general sense, but with David, I wanna say that while he maybe wasn't as strong of a player as Neda, I also think that he had more control in the game as a whole. Neda was good at navigating the game, really good, but she never really felt like she'd grabbed the game by the balls and said 'This is what we're doing', you know?"
As other jurors laughed at the rocker's phrasing, Vivi continued, "And again, while that's not a bad thing, there were obvious points where David had the game and was steering it in the way he wanted to go. Particularly with those Marcellas and Alessia votes. Neda? Not so much."
"But don't you think it's more impressive to be able to not need to do that, and instead have the social capital to be able to just be able to follow the power and know that you're safe?" Wind then asked the group.
"Well, at that point, it just devolves into whether you find a subtle or an aggressive game more interesting," Brooke shrugged. "And you just split hairs at that point."
"Both Neda and David had their moments of subtlety and aggression though," John pointed out. "Sure, David had the Marcellas vote, the Brooke vote, and of course, you Godfrey," to which the charmer nodded, "But Neda had the vote against Vivi that put the heat back in that rivalry, and that played a huge part in the whole second part of the game."
"And you know what's rad about that?" Weenus asked. "Even those moves show off their two styles. David's move was bold and in your face, it was a big ol' blindside and it burned an idol. But Neda's didn't seem big at the time but it ultimately became something that lasted weeks! It's all about that subtlety and aggression thing again, you know?"
"And that's what makes the two of them such a strong final two," Liana commented. "They both have their strengths and weaknesses. They both were subtle and aggressive. So like Vivi said, whether you think the ability to steer the game or the ability to maneuver through the game is more impressive is up to the individual."
"I know that I just got here," Godfrey began with a raised hand, "But I find it refreshing that we're seeming to be very fluid with our votes." Looking at Weenus, he added, "I have a feeling that I know where you're gonna vote, man." The stuntman laughed as Godfrey continued, "But as for myself, I'm in the camp of wanting to hear from both Neda and David before I cast my vote." Godfrey then looked around at the other jurors, "And yes, it may seem shocking, but my vote is as open as the rest of yours are. I'm not locked in with David because he's my friend, or Neda because she didn't blindside me like David." He then smirked at them. "If I'm gonna crown someone as the person who officially beat Godfrey Ngakoue, I want to know all the facts."
"Very informative, Godfrey," Brooke dryly retorted, making Godfrey chuckle. "But yeah, we've all been trying to keep each other in the loop with info and stuff." Motioning to Wind, she added, "She insisted on us taking this seriously. And it meant a lot to her, so why not? And like you said Godfrey, it worked out in the long run. We're all taking this seriously rather than being bitter and aloof."
The charmer gave the hippy a grateful nod. "Good job keeping them under control, Wind. If anyone could do it, I'd have faith that it would have been you."
"It was no problem," The hippy airily replied, playing with a strand of her hair. "I don't wish to sound selfish, but I did sacrifice myself so that you and Liana could keep playing, so I had a vested interest in how it ended." With a giggle, she then said, "And I promise that I did not copy your speech with that line of thinking."
Getting the roundtable back on track, Bridgette then pivoted, asking, "Well, is there anything else that anyone wants to say regarding the finalists? We've covered a lot of ground tonight and had some productive, informative discussions. If anyone has any bookend thoughts, you should say your piece now."
"I just wanna say that though I seemed a bit hard on David tonight, I'm only doing that because I wanna take this so seriously," Liana announced. "Someone's gonna get a million bucks at the end of this! That's huge, and I think that gets a little lost. I know some of us are differing on what constitutes a strong winner and their criteria, but I think that we have two exceptionally strong finalists to choose from and that the in-depth explanations will be even more helpful."
The jurors all nodded in agreement, with Vivi adding, "As I said, I think that hearing from the two is gonna be huge." Looking around at everyone, she continued, "I know that we were able to fill in a lot of the gaps with each other, but really, we're gonna get the most info from the two themselves. So hearing everything from the horse's mouth is gonna be my main thing."
"Yep," Brooke agreed with the rocker. "It was good to hear what all of us thought and stuff, but only David and Neda know the true intricacies of their games. So hearing from them is gonna be a big thing for me too. But everyone here raised a lot of good points and opened my mind."
"Liana in particular," John nodded, before looking at the gambler in question and telling her, "She raised a lot of great points. I'm in the same boat as her in thinking that the strategic moves are really important, but not to beat a dead horse, but the context is key, too."
"Who'd have thought that you'd be here agreeing with what I say within a week of what happened, John?" Liana asked amusedly with a shake of her head, to which the artist just shrugged.
"Funny how things go when you're not being irrational, Liana," John snarked at her.
"Listen!" Weenus suddenly announced as he stood. "Neda rules, I know. But she's not David Masters! Like Vivi said, my boy grabbed the game by the nuts and drove it, bro! David's got my vote for sure! My dude deserves that dub!"
Godfrey just shook his head in amusement. "Good to see the team spirit is still within you, Weenus. But like I said man, David's not guaranteed squat from me. He's earned a lot in this game, for sure, but he's still gotta earn that win for himself if he wants to bring the win home." Godfrey then looked slightly annoyed at Weenus, "Especially against someone as tough as Neda. She may be small, but her game was huge. Even I'd be intimidated if I had to go up against her. She's tough, man."
"Neda's tough, but she's not David!" Weenus replied simply. "Agency ride or die, bro. Sorry not sorry."
"At least you're being honest, Colby," Wind kindly told him. "Your trust and admiration in David is worthy of much respect, but still, at least hear Neda out. You may never know; you may find yourself swayed yet."
"And with that, I think we can bring this roundtable to a close. It's been a lot of fun, guys! I really do hope that this has been informative and helpful for you guys and your decisions tomorrow. Just remember! I've played three times, and I've never gotten to do anything even close to something this cool. I'd have loved to be on a jury like this! You're gonna be choosing the person that best represents this season, you all as a cast, and this new era of Total Drama" She reminded. "And when you make your vote, regardless of who wins, I hope that all of you make the choice you feel deep within you is right." With a grin and a wave, she stood from her seat and then said, "And most importantly, have fun! This is a big deal, but don't forget that this is a game when you get down to it, so have fun tomorrow!"
"Well," She finished, "It's time for me to go. Again, this has been a blast, you guys. I wish that I'd have gotten to play with you, but that wasn't in the cards, unfortunately. Who knows, though? Maybe it'll happen someday! I know that I'd enjoy that a whole lot. But either way, I'll see you tomorrow at the finale!" And the Surfer Girl called out her goodbyes and waved as she walked towards the pier, ending the roundtable.
As the focus returned to Playa des Losers, the crowd cheered once more as Chris raised his microphone and spoke, "What a fun roundtable that was! I'm happy that our jury was able to get some stuff out in the open like that. And speaking of our amazing jury, we'll see them briefly!" He then gestured over to a seat to his left. "And thanks a ton for hosting, Bridgette! Everyone, give her a hand! She did great!" The camera then panned to the girl in question, as she smiled and gave it an enthusiastic wave.
When the camera came back to him, Chris began walking back up the red carpet as he spoke, "But, as much as we love our jury, today's not about them; instead, it's about our amazing final two; Neda and David. Both fought so hard to get to this spot; the very end."
"Last night, the final two arrived here in preparation for the big day today. As with all the jurors sans Godfrey, they were given video cameras to catalog their thoughts before the finale, as sort of an audio journal for the next 24 hours. And our great editing team has put their thoughts together to show you all. So, let's see how David and Neda are doing before their big day today."
Neda was sitting in a chair inside a fancy hotel room as she fiddled with her camera. "...There, I think I got it." Waving her hand in front of the camera, she leaned forward, grabbed the camera, and shut it back off. A second later, the camera was on again as Neda was once again leaning forward, messing with the camera. "Alright, that worked!" She then placed the camera on the desk in her room, leaned back, and smiled. "So, I was given this camera. Well, more like it was left in my room, but still. Either way, I just got here a few minutes ago, and I've been told that I'm to be sequestered here until the finale starts. Being sequestered here is allowing me to process everything that's been happening, and I just have to sit back and take it all in. I'm really here at Playa des Losers." She got up out of her chair and turned to look out over the whole resort. The sky was black and the moon hung bright and alone in the sky as she spoke, "It's just surreal. There are no other words to describe it, if I'm being honest. Tomorrow is it. The day that I've been thinking about since before this game even began. The finale."
She sighs, then sits back down in her chair as she talks to the camera. "I've fought so hard to get here. Every conversation, every lie, every smile, it all led to ultimately getting here." Neda then sighs again, exhaustion clear in her tone. "It's been tiring. So tiring. At this point, I'm exhausted. Mentally, physically, emotionally, I'm just tired."
She then smiles widely. "But it's also been the most fun thing I've ever done in my life. Not even close. These last 37 days have been everything that I've dreamed of. And the best part? I'm proud."
She nods. "It's true. I'm genuinely proud of what I've accomplished here. My game plan has been as close to my plan coming in as I could get it. Did I play perfectly?" She shakes her head. "Not even close. No one has played a perfect game. Not Boston Rob, not Parvati, not Dan, not Dr. Will, not anyone. And I'm not comparing myself to legends like them!" She laughs. "But they're also people who played their best and made it to the end. And they're still considered the greats."
Neda then smirks at the camera. "And like those four, I also intend to win this season, and join them as one of the greats."
Meanwhile, David was also sitting in his hotel room. Like Neda, he was also sitting in a chair in his room, but unlike Neda, David held the camera in his hands up to his face. "Yoooooo!" He excitedly calls, pointing the camera towards the large window that faces the pool area of the resort. "Check it out! How rad is this place, man?"
He then turned the camera back towards him. "The people behind the scenes told me that I've gotta stay in here 'till tomorrow for the finale. But, they gave me this cool camera to document my thoughts and stuff."
David is uncharacteristically quiet for a moment, before softly saying, "It's crazy that I'm here. I somehow made it to the very end. Not only that, but I fought my way here. I won the last two immunity challenges to make it! I had to earn it. It's crazy."
He gives the camera a guilty smile. "For a while, I thought that I wouldn't make it. There were all those scary strong players. Brooke is a crazy WNBA-level athlete who dominated three immunities in a row. Liana was so smart it scared me. John was so sneaky, I was never sure what that dude was thinking." David then amusedly grinned. "And of course, Godfrey. What else do I need to say besides Godfrey? The guy had a mind that I can't even pretend that I understood. The dude's a genius. Nothin' more to say."
David's face then turned serious. "But, even with all those huge threats, I somehow beat 'em all. Brooke, John, Liana, and Godfrey are all gone, and I'm still here. I've got a chance to win a million dollars. That'll change my whole life. I'm not gonna squander this opportunity. I'll do whatever I gotta."
The camera flashed to life once more, and Neda was shown again, her back to the camera as she stared out the window at the sunrise. The sun was just beginning to rise over Playa des Losers, with the sky behind Neda a beautiful orange, with the lightest tinges of pink. Neda's hair, which was normally kept in her braid, was unbraided and unkempt.
As Neda turned and made her way closer to the camera, she looked like she'd just woken up as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and stretched and yawned. Wearing her sleepwear of a pair of dark blue boxers and an overly large gray t-shirt, she remarked, "The clock says….. 6:33." She yawned again and groaned, "Obviously I didn't get a lot of sleep last night."
"I've just been so excited," She admits with a rueful grin. "This day is a day I've constantly thought about. I've had dreams about what's gonna happen today." Neda then cheekily laughs. "Granted, in my dreams, the jury that I was in front of had Cirie Fields, Rupert Boneham, Danielle Reyes, Jun Song, Vanessa Rousso, Sandra Diaz-Twine, and Tony Vlachos on it, and instead of David, I was sitting next to Russell Hantz, but that's neither here nor there at this point, is it?"
Neda laughs a bit more before calming down and continuing, "But seriously, I have had many dreams about today." She sighs happily, closing her eyes. "Since I was twelve, I've dreamed about this. Being in front of a jury. Pleading my case. Defending my actions and talking up my moves."
The sleep was now gone from her eyes, replaced with a burning excitement. "I'm gonna hold nothing back out there. I'm gonna tell everyone everything. David's tough. That's obvious to me. But I'm gonna do everything and anything in my power to convince that jury that I should win this season."
Much like Neda, David had also awoken early, but unlike the superfan, who left the camera on her desk, David once again held his aloft as he filmed the sunrise over Playa des Losers. "Would you look at that view?" He asks the camera, awe clear in his voice. "How beautiful is that?" He lets the camera linger on the sunrise for a few moments before the Newfie then shifts the camera's focus to the camera. "7:04. Granted I woke up about half an hour ago, but still. Pretty early. But today's gonna be a real big day."
David then flips the camera's view to his face. "Y'know, I've been thinking a lot about this. When I came into this game, I never thought there'd be so much…well, goin' on. I thought it was just gonna be like a fun summer camp kinda gig. Hang out on the beach, sleep in a cabin, make some new friends….." David then laughs embarrassedly and adds, "Maybe meet a cute girl or two!"
But David then shakes his head. "But woah, I was not expecting the levels of seriousness that would be here! People were here to play! I was totally thrown off my game! But when Godfrey suggested that alliance the first day…I thought things were gonna be nice and easy."
David scoffs. "Man, how wrong that was! Talk about getting thrown into the deep end of the pool without a lifejacket. I was pretty worried that I was in over my head with this stuff. It was either sink or swim. So…I decided to swim. I was forming alliances, I was making deals. Heck! I even managed to put together a blindside of my own. That was cool, for sure. It was on-the-job learning, but I did learn."
"But with all that stuff happening," he continued, "I never forgot something really important that my mom told me before I came out here. That was to always be yourself." David grins. "So I have! And at the end of the day, maybe I wasn't as strong as Godfrey or Neda or Liana or Brooke, but I was authentically me. I'm David Masters, and that's who I gave my friends out here."
"And at the end of the day, win or lose, I'm proud of that."
It's a bit later in the day when Neda once again sets up her video camera. "So right now I'm getting my finale outfit ready," she explains from offscreen," And OH MY GOSH it's going to be so cute!" She squeals, before stepping into the frame once more, still in her sleepwear. "But for now, I'm still wearing my sleepies. I mean, I haven't even taken a shower yet!" She exclaims with a laugh.
Neda then grows a more subdued look. "I really, really hope that they were able to get my family out here," she quietly admits. "As much fun as all this for a dork like me, I'm doing this for my family, too."
She breathes deep. "I've talked about them a lot this season, but my family means a lot to me. I hate to make it sound like it's the family Olympics or something, but even more so than the average person. My Baba risked his life and gave up everything for us. If the Iranian Government found out what he was doing, they would have killed him."
"And my mother risked so much, too," she continued. "When Baba left the country to get the process of immigration started, we were alone. And my mother risked her life every day just doing basic things for our family. Going out to the market for food unaccompanied could have gotten her arrested by the religious police. And the things they could have done to her…" Neda shivers and shakes her head to chase out the ugly thoughts.
"And then my sisters," Neda fondly remembers. "Barely adults themselves, but still having to protect me from everything around me. Of course, they didn't get everything right, but they were still kids too. But they looked out for their little sister because that's what they do. Because they're the best big sisters in the world."
Neda gives the camera a fiercely determined look. "So when I say that I'm doing all this for them and that my family is the world to me? You know that I mean it, a million percent."
David is showing the camera inside his room's bathroom. "Look at this dang bathroom, man!" He excitedly tells the camera as he turns it towards the shower. "Look at this kick-ass shower! I'm gonna have such a good shower later, man!"
David then went over and set the camera on the edge of the bathroom counter as he grabbed a toothbrush out of a small cup next to the sink and, after putting some toothpaste on it, began brushing his teeth. After a few seconds, he then spit his toothpaste and laughed, "Gotta look nice and presentable for that jury. Most important day of my life, don't wanna look like a slob."
He kept brushing then, and through garbled speech, told the camera, "My mom always impressed upon me cleanliness. No matter how charming and fun you may be, you'll never make a good impression if you smell like a garbage heap and look like you crawled out of a dumpster is what she told me once. Maybe it's stupid, but that always stuck with me."
He spit the toothpaste out and grabbed a small bottle of mouthwash, gargled with it, and spit it into the sink as well. As he looked in the mirror, he continued, "My mom always has a funny saying for everything. She has a knack for seeing humor in things. Something that she passed down to me, too," he added with a chuckle.
David was quiet for a little bit, before continuing, "I think you have to have a sense of humor when you had a hand as rough as hers in life. But I've never once seen my mom break. She'd always pick herself up, dust herself off, and just keep going. Again, that's something she taught me. I know I haven't played perfectly, but like my mom, when I've done things wrong, I just pick myself up and keep going."
David then reached over and grabbed the camera. "She's the reason I wanna win so badly. To show her that all that hard work, all those hard times, and all that sacrifice was worth something. To show my mom that, at the end of the day, she raised a kid all by herself, when she was still practically a kid herself, who can go on and do anything."
He gives the camera a cheesy grin. "Even win a reality TV show."
Neda is back once again, and she's fully sat at her desk with the camera facing her. Neda looked to be in the midst of getting her finale look ready; though she still wore her sleepwear, her hair was now tied in its regular braid."Everything's just about ready!" She giddily tells her camera. "Hair's done. The dress is hanging, ready to go. I'll apply my makeup once we get closer to the time. I'm excited!" She then squeals. "I haven't had a chance to dress up like this for a while. I can't wait!"
Neda gestured over to her window, which was now closed. "Production told me that they're starting to get things ready for the finale, so I've had to shut my window." She pouts. "Boo! I was hoping to see all the excitement down there for myself. But I guess they don't want me or David to see whatever's going on down there. Oh well." From off to the side, Neda then grabs a piece of fabric. On closer inspection, it could be seen to be a faded purple color, and the frayed edges and tears and gaps gave away its age. "This hijab belonged to my maman bozorg on my mother's side," she explains. "When my family left the country, she gave this to my mother."
Neda sighs. "I know that it was difficult for her, too. This was the last thing that my baba bozorg got for her before he was deployed to the front lines in the war with Iraq. But still, she gave this to my mother to remind her of home."
As the Iranian girl began deftly wrapping the hijab around her head, she continued, "My mother has kept it until then, wearing it for all our biggest moments. Then, when I was getting ready to leave, imagine my surprise when Mama told me to take this!" She laughed. "I asked her if I really could. She said yes, but only on the condition that I made it to the end."
As she finished wrapping it, she did a little pose with a wide grin on her face. "And here I am!" She laughed, the hijab fitting nicely around her head, hiding her hair and only leaving her face and the bottom half of her forehead visible. "At the end, like I told Mama. And it fills me with pride that I get to wear this on national television, in the biggest moment of my life."
"It means a lot that I get to wear this actually," she continues as she takes the hijab off. "I'm not very open with it, but like I told Weenus, I still do consider myself a Muslim woman. And the fact that I, an Iranian Muslim Woman, can not only compete but also get to the very end of a social strategy game like this?"
She smiles. "I hope it empowers other women like me and shows them that we're just as capable as anyone. And I hope that it also shows the world that we're all people at the end of the day and that just because I'm of a certain religion doesn't mean I'm full of hate. I'm a teen girl who loves pop music, and reality TV, and I'm a Muslim too. I know that this won't fix the world's problems, or even be a significant leap forward. But it is a step. And you know the old proverb. The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. And I'm proud to be taking that step."
"Check it out, man!" David excitedly exclaims as he sets down his camera on the desk. When David appears in frame next, he's dressed exceptionally differently; gone is his usual attire of gray, long-sleeved shirt and jeans. Now, the Newfie chef was clad in a long-sleeved white dress shirt, with a black vest on top of that. Along with the vest was a solid red tie, and black dress pants. "I dunno about you guys, but I dapper up pretty good if I say so myself!" He laughed.
"Even got me some fancy dress shoes," he laughs as he lifts one of his legs to reveal the black dress shoe on his foot. Lowering his foot, David sat in a chair and did the Agency's classic hand signal, before laughing once more. "Well, I'm all ready to go!" He announced. "All cleaned up, all dressed up, now I'm just waiting on the word from the producers. It's….." He glances over at the clock, reading, "...2:26. From what I remember, the finale would be starting around 5, so I guess I'm just gonna be chilling out and waiting until then."
David's face morphs as he looks to be in concentration. "When you're all by yourself like I am, your mind kinda starts to wander. And I can't help but go and think about everyone from the game that left. All those people wanted to be here, but I'm the one who made it. And I had to hurt people to do it."
David then sighs. "I'm not like Alessia, or Daniel, or Liana, or Godfrey. I don't live for that thrill. I don't like hurting people. Even with a huge pile of money at the end, If I was able to do it without hurting people, I would have, without a second thought. But, that's just how it goes, I guess."
"But, I had to at the end of the day," he confesses. "To get to this very second, where I'm all dressed up and talking to this camera in an empty hotel room, I had to hurt people. And I just hope that I'm forgiven for it."
David is quiet for a little bit, before then admitting, "Y'know, sometimes I wish I could be more like Godfrey. To be able to strong-arm, threaten, and blackmail people without a care in the world. To have a level of supreme confidence like that, to think that everything will be great just because I think it will be."
The Newfie then shakes his head. "But then, I think that empathy is important. Not that I think Godfrey's some unempathetic monster or anything!" David was quick to add. "But I like to think that empathy is a big reason that I made it here to the end. People got what I was thinking, and knew that I'm just a guy from Newfoundland who wants to be a chef."
David smiles. "And I think that's all I need. I'm just a guy. And I like myself for it."
The camera in Neda's room was once again on, but the superfan was nowhere in sight. "Aaaaaand…." Her voice excitedly called from off-screen, before she slowly walked into the camera's view. "Ta-da!"
The Iranian superfan was now clad in her finale attire as well, her head was once again covered in the faded purple hijab, wrapped neatly along her face and head. Along with that, she wore a cream-colored dress with long, lacy sleeves, which reached her knees. Around her waist was a large brown belt, around her neck was a trio of golden necklaces of various sizes, on her left wrist was a gold bangle, and on her feet was a pair of cream-colored dress slippers. A subdued red was present on her lips, her cheeks lightly shined with blush, and the thin black around her eyes indicated that she had finished her eyeliner as well.
"I feel like an old Egyptian priestess or Cleopatra!" Neda laughed as she did a twirl. "But it's been so fun. I've been doing this for the last few hours. I wanna look perfect for this. Being at that summer camp was one thing, but for the finale, I really wanna glam up."
Neda then picked up the camera and took it into the bathroom with her. "I'm just gonna apply my eyeshadow now, but why don't you come with me and listen!" As the superfan said that, she placed the camera on the counter to face her. As she leaned over the counter and began fastidiously applying her eyeshadow, she began, "I'm so excited for tonight! To finally get up in front of my peers and my friends, and just explain everything that I need to explain! I just can't wait!"
As she continued to apply, she rambled, "I've seen many a final two jury performance in my time watching these shows. I've seen some totally amazing ones and some really terrible ones. A lot of the time, it's just giving the jury what they want to hear. Like from Survivor Vanuatu when Chris sucked up to the jury and talked about how bad he felt for betraying them all and stuff. That was a jury that was pretty mad at him, but he was smart enough to understand that they weren't interested in hearing about his moves; they wanted his apologies. So he did, and he won the season."
Neda, seemingly happy with the first eye, began working on the second. "And at the same time, there are so many great examples of what not to do." She took a second before adding, "Maybe more than to do. I've seen many more absolute final bombs." Neda began laughing suddenly. "And immediately, there are few I've seen that were more disastrous than GinaMarie from Big Brother 15. The jury didn't respect her, her answers were abysmal, she rambled on and on, and really, everyone thought she was crazy because she talked about how the hardest moment in the entire game was when her crush was evicted second. I mean, at one point, she was asked, other than taking this one person Amanda out, what her next biggest move was. And she takes like 20 seconds to answer…and then says that her biggest move was taking out Amanda!"
"But no one comes even close to Phillip from Survivor Redemption Island," Neda then giggles. Applying the finishing touches, she continues, "All I can tell you guys is that, unlike Phillip, I'm not gonna constantly talk about how David masterminded the game, or how I was his puppet. And I'm certainly not gonna argue with the jurors and tell them to go to hell either!"
Neda looked at herself in the mirror for a little bit, before smiling happily at how everything looked. "Okay!" She declared. "I think we're good." Neda then walked over, grabbed the camera once more, and held it up to her face. "Yeah, I haven't been this glammed up in a long time. I feel so pretty!" She then takes the camera and points it at the digital clock that is on the table next to her bed. "4:45. About 15 minutes until everything gets going." Neda can be heard sitting on her bed and then turns the camera to her face. "I think that's everything! Next time you see me, I'll be fielding questions from the jury. Wish me luck!"
With that, her camera shut off.
David's shown next, the Newfie lying on his bed, pointing the camera down at his face. "Well, it's about time!" He excitedly tells the camera. "Any minute now, I'm gonna get the go-ahead and we're gonna get ready."
"I've been thinking about being in front of that jury and thinking of my plan of attack from here. I'm not gonna be able to predict what I'm gonna get asked and stuff, so I think the best strategy is just honesty. No reason to lie to anyone at this point, y'know?" He then asks with a shrug. "So, ol' David is gonna be an open book. And hopefully, that'll be enough to get me the win."
If anything, his grin grows. "Either way, whether I win or lose, I'm just glad this thing's gonna be over. I've had fun and met some awesome people, but I'm ready to just go home and be with my people again. I'm gonna be super glad that I won't have to worry about people backstabbing me and stuff anymore."
David then laughs as he adds, "Well, I guess they could technically stab me in the back in the kitchen with a knife, but you know what I mean!" He laughs for a bit, then says, "But yeah. I'm ready to just be a regular dude who goes to culinary school, plays hockey on the weekend with his friends, and talks to his mom every day again."
From outside David's door, a trio of knocks were heard. "Oh! That's the signal! Guess it's time to get this show on the road, then." David gives the camera a large, cheesy grin. "See you on the other side!"
With that, David set his camera down on the desk, fiddled with it, and the device shut off.
As the camera fades back into Playa des Losers, a camera attached to a large crane pans over the crowd, showing the crowd of about 200 clapping and cheering in excitement. Another change of camera then occurs, as a cameraman walks up the red carpet, towards Chris and the podium with the briefcase. It frequently goes back and forth between rows, the fans waving and cheering at it, large grins on their faces.
Another change in the camera occurs, and this time, the camera faces Bridgette, who gives a friendly wave to the camera with a smile. The camera then proceeds to start going to the right, showing everyone in Bridgette's row; a taller man in an open pink dress shirt and a cowboy hat that gives a loud cheer to the camera that makes Bridgette laugh heartily; a shorter girl wearing glasses and a ponytail that gives the camera a wide smile; a much taller, dark-skinned man in a green shirt that gives the camera a small wave; a dark-skinned woman with a black ponytail that shakes the man next to her and tells him to lighten up; and finally, a taller woman with pale skin, black and blue hair and wearing all black, who gave the camera a side-eye and a small smile.
The camera then flashed once more, changing to a view only containing five people. The first was an older gentleman with tanned skin, a salt-and-pepper beard, and a bald head who wore a nice black suit. On closer inspection, it could be easily seen that the three women of differing ages that sat all next to each other, the older woman sitting next to the man, all had nearly identical tanned skin, which easily gave away that they were all related. The leftmost woman had much darker hair than the man, but her hair had the faintest hints of silver beginning to appear, which was worn up in a bun. This woman also wore a light pink abaya.
The two women next to the older woman were dressed in a much more Western style. The older of the two girls wore her black hair straight and down to her shoulder and wore a light blue dress. The younger had thick glasses adorning her face, wore a black blouse with a simple pencil skirt that went to her knees, and had her black hair in a ponytail.
At the end of the row of five was a woman who couldn't look any more different from the other people if she tried. This diminutive woman had very light skin and well-maintained strawberry-blonde hair and wore a green gown. As the camera went past these five, they all gave waves and smiles to it.
Finally, though, the camera shifts to the front and the host. "And welcome back!" He greets. "Wasn't it great to hear from our finalists?" A loud cheer goes up in response. "Yeah, I thought it was great too. And I can't wait to see them when they talk to the jury later. That's going to be so fun."
The host then gestured over to one of the rows in the front. "And how about our Total Drama Alumni here as well!" The camera then flashed back to them, all giving the camera various levels of attention. "Give them a big hand, everyone!" As the crowd cheered, Chris continued, "Geoff, DJ, and LeShawna, as well as our first two winners! Total Drama Island Winner Gwen, and Total Drama Action Winner Beth!" The crowd cheered harder at the mention of the two winners as the host then grumbled, "Unfortunately, the winner of our third season, Heather, didn't want to come." But he quickly gave the crowd another grin and added, "And a special thanks to Bridgette for hosting our jury roundtable! Wasn't she awesome?"
The crowd cheered once more as the camera flashed back to Bridgette, who gave the camera another smile as Geoff enthusiastically patted her on the shoulder. The surfer girl looked surprised as Chris approached her, holding out the microphone. "Bridgette, you got an up close and personal seat with all the jurors. Do you have any big thoughts about how they'll vote?"
Bridgette took a moment to decide on what she wanted to say, before speaking into the microphone, "They were all very passionate, Chris. It was obvious that they all care about this game a lot, and that determining the winner is a big deal for them. And I think that even if they come down to having different votes, they'll respect each other for their votes."
"And even though you didn't get to actually talk to them, did you get any big thoughts on who you think will win after seeing David and Neda's videos just now?" Chris then asked Bridgette.
"Both would make a great winner, without a doubt in my mind," Bridgette confidently said. "And I'm sure Beth and Gwen will agree that no matter who joins them in the winner's circle tonight, either one will have absolutely earned it."
Chris then gave the girl a mischievous grin. "Okay Bridgette, one last question for you. When you told them that you'd like to play with them at some point: did you mean that?"
At that question, Bridgette laughed, and responded, "Absolutely," to raucous cheers from the audience, which made Geoff stand and holler excitedly. "This group is so passionate about this game and so eager; It'd be a real blast, Chris. I'm sure it'd be challenging as heck, but at the same time, it'd be even more rewarding than my previous three seasons." Bridgette then laughed. "I'd love to see Alejandro try his moves on Godfrey. I'm sure that Godfrey could chew him up and spit him out before the first elimination ceremony."
The crowd laughed as well at Bridgette's comments as Chris told her, "Well, Bridgette, you never know. Maybe you will get to play with these guys someday! But for now, we're so happy to have had you here for the jury roundtable, as well as for the finale." He gestured to the other alumni and added, "We're happy to have all of you here!" As the host stepped back up next to the podium, he gestured to the other side of the aisle, "We're especially happy to welcome our finalists' families: Give a warm welcome to David's mom, Katherine Masters, as well as Neda's family; Hossein, Farah, Maryam, and Yasmin Atashnak!"
The crowd cheered and clapped once more as the camera switched to the feed on the finalists' families as well, the five clapping, smiling, and waving at the camera, cheering for their loved ones. The feed then switched back to Chris as he gave the camera a wide smile. "Well, it's been a great season. And the key to a great season is a great cast. And, we're so happy that a great cast has given way to a great jury. So, without further ado, I think it's time to bring out the jury!"
The crowd erupted in cheers as the Total Drama theme began playing over loudspeakers around the pool area. "First up is our first juror!" Chris announced. "She was a dominant force in the game, winning three individual immunity competitions in a row, including the dreaded Pressure Cooker, which let her blindside her biggest enemy in the game. She was such a big threat, the moment she didn't win immunity, both sides of the game came together to vote her out in a nearly unanimous vote. Please welcome Brooke Baker!"
As the doors leading into Playa des Losers opened, Brooke walked through. She wore a white bodycon dress that reached her mid-thighs and white heels, and deftly walked over towards the seven empty seats set up on the stage. Only stopping to give a quick handshake to the host, he pointed her towards the seats for the jury. She then readjusted her dress and made her way to the seats, stopping for a moment to wave to the crowd, before climbing up onto the back, elevated row of chairs, and taking her seat on the furthest right chair.
"Our second juror was one of our most passive players, but also, in another one of our juror's estimations, played one of the strongest games on the island. But," the host then added, "her disdain for the more treacherous aspects of the game led to one of the most stunning moments of the season when, when it seemed like one of two major power players was destined to go home, she shocked all by forfeiting her spot in the game so that both could stay. She was everyone's favorite hippy! Give a warm welcome to Wind Aurillian!"
The hippy in question was next to come through the curtain, wearing a faded yellow sundress and her regular brown sandals. What drew the eye of all in attendance was the multitude of flowers intricately tied in her hair, as well as the beautiful crown made of flowers that was wrapped around the top of her head, and trailed down her back. She stopped for a moment to say something to the host before he motioned her toward her seat. She quickly began to make her way there once more, giving the crowd a small wave as she turned and sat in the third seat of the first row.
"Juror three has been a tried and true member of The Agency since its inception!" Chris declared. "He was ride or die until he found himself backstabbed by his biggest ally. But even after that shocking betrayal, he left the game with a laugh and a smile, and has since been the biggest advocate for members of The Agency on the Jury by a considerable margin! Everyone, welcome Weenus Martinez!"
With much more energy than Brooke or Wind, Weenus bolted through the doors of Playa des Losers, wearing what's basically his regular attire of timberland boots and camo cargo shorts, but rather than the shirt of his face, he now wears an ill-fitting t-shirt with the image of what would normally be the front of a tuxedo. Weenus bolted right past the host, and ran down the aisle of fans, high-fiving everyone in the aisle seats as the crowd roared in approval. After he reached the end of the row, he immediately turned and ran back towards the main stage, high-fiving everyone on the opposite side of the aisle.
After making his way up and to the front once again, he stood in front of everyone and began posing, flexing non-existent muscles as the crowd seemingly cheered even louder. As his routine continued, he was only stopped by a tap on the shoulder, which was Chris telling him to sit down in his seat. Weenus did so with a large smile on his face, waving at the crowd as he made his way to, and sat down in his seat, the second in the front row, on Wind's left.
As the Total Drama theme looped, starting over once more, Chris continued once more, "Juror number four was rude, confrontational, aggressive, and had a real nasty attitude. And that's what she says about herself in her own words!" The host laughed over the microphone. "But despite all that, her hard-nosed attitude and hard-rockin' vibes endeared her to her castmates. She was fearless in going after her targets, and she was never afraid to let someone know that she wasn't happy. Here she is, it's Vivi Venom!"
The rocker stomped through the double doors of the resort and walked right past the host without so much as an acknowledgment of his presence. In the bright sun of midafternoon, the rocker's nearly all-black ensemble stuck out like a sore thumb. Though most of Vivi's outfit was the same; she kept her black tank top, black choker with a golden cross dangling from it, as well as her black combat boots. But now, she was without her iconic leather jacket, and instead of her acid-wash jeans, she had a tight pair of black leather pants.
As she stood right in front of the crowd, her hair shining and her piercings reflecting the sunlight, she raised both hands in the air, making devil horns with both to the roar of the audience, with some in the crowd even raising their hands themselves. After holding her arms up for about ten seconds, she lowered them and sauntered over to the seats, taking the leftmost seat in the back row, leaving only the one in the middle.
"Juror Five was one of our most strategically powerful contestants in the cast!" Chris then announced. "She seemed to always have a hand in anything strategic going on around the island, and she was absolutely fearless, making big move after big move."
The host then laughed. "But none of that is what set her apart from everyone else! No, what did that was her extremely emotional nature. Blow-ups, meltdowns, arguments, and more were a staple of her time here on Wawanakwa. So now, give it up for Liana Archambeau!"
Liana strode confidently through the doors of Playa des Losers, and immediately, her outfit was one of the more visually striking. Instead of her green jacket, gray shirt, and jeans, now she wore a maroon pantsuit and black heels, with a pair of aviator sunglasses resting comfortably over her eyes. However, some things were the same, such as the familiar gray beanie that rested atop her head. She stopped and gave Chris a handshake, before continuing her stride toward the juror's seats, waving toward the crowd before taking the seat on Wind's right, at the end of the first row of seats.
"In the opposite of Liana, our sixth juror was cool, calm, and collected throughout his time in the game," Chris then began. "Despite an attempt to stay in the middle, his plan didn't work out all that great, and he found himself on the outside looking in on quite a few different occasions. However, he managed to find himself at the center of one of the more powerful alliances in the endgame thanks to his, in his own words, surprisingly strong social game. He orchestrated the exits of the previous two jurors, but was unable to sneak through to the very end, leaving him as the fourth-place finisher. Everyone, give John Lane a hand!"
The apathetic artist was next to make his way through the doors of Playa des Losers, and instantly, Chris was annoyed to see that John was in his exact same attire as normal; his black jeans that were tucked into his black boots, his black shirt, and his red, opened dress shirt on top of that, with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. As John walked over to the host, Chris gave the artist an unenthused look.
John seemed non-plussed however, as he just shrugged and made his way to the chairs, turning to look at the crowd for just a moment, before going back and making his way to his seat in the back row, between Brooke and Vivi.
"And finally, our seventh juror," Chris grinned. "You all know him. He's played an absolutely legendary game, full of blindsides, deceit, and betrayal. Wherever he went, he left a path of sheer villainy that cannot be touched. Friends, enemies, it didn't matter to him; they were all targets. With his particular brand of "honest villainy", he told his fellow campers many times that he was going to betray them; a warning that few heeded, which let him run roughshod over the game. He pulled off some of the craziest moves that this show has ever seen. Everyone, please welcome our seventh and final juror, Godfrey Ngakoue!"
The final juror stepped through the doors to a thunderous applause. In his white suit jacket, white dress shirt underneath, black suit pants, black dress shoes, and black tie, Godfrey looked the part of a spy as he shook Chris' hand heartily, before turning and continuing down the red carpet. He held up his hand for the crowd as he kept up his pace toward his seat, which made the crowd roar excitedly. The charmer did nothing else though, and sat in the final available seat, to Weenus' left, and the first seat in the front row.
As the camera shifted, showing all seven in their seats, Chris announced, "Ladies and Gentleman, give it up for your Total Island Rewritten Jury!"
The crowd cheered in response as Chris walked over and stood in front of the seven assembled jurors. "Jury!" He enthusiastically called. "How're you all doing today?" They all gave different answers that ultimately just jumbled together.
"Well, I wanna start off with you John," Chris said to the raven-haired artist, annoyance creeping into his tone. Why didn't you dress up?" He asked. "Look around, John! Liana's in that snazzy pantsuit, Godfrey's in that dashing suit, and even Weenus dressed up….in his own way. Why couldn't you get in on the fun, too?"
"I take offense to that," John sarcastically remarked, before pointing to his pants. "These aren't just my regular old jeans, McLean. I agree that this is a big moment, so that's why I'm wearing my pair that doesn't have any holes in them."
Chris rolled his eyes as the other jurors, and the audience laughed at John's remark. "That's great, John," Chris remarked, changing the topic to ask, "So anyhow, since I'm already talking to you, are you excited to determine the winner today?"
At that, the artist nodded. "I'm not one to get overly enthusiastic-"
"Shocker," Brooke good-naturedly interrupted, which made the artist smirk at her.
He then continued, "But like I was saying before I was rudely interrupted by Andre the Giant sitting next to me, I'm pretty damn excited for this, Chris. I've got a hell of a lot of respect for Neda and David so I'm ready to hear both of them out before making my decision, and I'm ready to hear them talk about their games in their own words. That's the best way to hear someone's thought process."
"So, John already landed on something I wanted to ask you all," The host continued. "After the jury roundtable, raise your hand if you know who you're voting for right now." Out of the seven jurors, only Weenus raised his hand. "Wow, only one of you!" Chris exclaimed, before turning to face the only juror with his hand up. "Weenus, why are you still so confident in your vote for David? The second you got to the jury house, you were clamoring for your friends."
"'Cause he's my boy!" Weenus laughed. "David rules so much. We talked a lot back at camp, and not just about the game and stuff. We talked a lot about our personal lives. And David could use a million bucks, I'd say. I mean, I dunno what Neda's deal is," The stuntman shrugged, "We never talked about the money or anything like that. So if Neda really needs the money too, I don't know. But David's my best friend, he needs that moolah, and I just wanna see a member of the Agency win this thing, man!"
Chris nodded at Weenus' explanation, before turning to another juror. "Now Godfrey, I couldn't help but notice that you didn't raise your hand. Hypothetically, does that mean that you could be casting your vote for Neda tonight, over your former alliance mate, David?"
"Totally," Godfrey answered after taking a few moments to think about what to say. "David's my friend, and I love the dude, but at the end of the day, this ain't a popularity contest," the charmer explained. "It's determining who wins this whole game, man. That's a huge deal after what I, and so many of us have put into it. And if after everything I've heard, I'm more impressed with what Neda had to say? Then that's just how it is."
"Godfrey speaks for all of us Chris," Liana added, raising her arm to get the host's attention. "We respect both of those two, but unlike Weenus," whose name she said with clear annoyance, "We're trying to make this, well, not a popularity contest, but rather who played the best strategic game at the end of the day. We want to make this unbiased, and have the finalists' games speak for themselves."
"And of course," Wind then piped in, "What constitutes the best strategic game is different for most of, if not all of us. And that is what makes this process so fun," she giggled happily. "I may have a different set of criteria from Liana, who has a different one from Brooke, who has an entirely different one from Godfrey. All of our criteria are equally valid. So really, both finalists are correct to vote for!" She finished with a wide smile.
"How very positive," Chris dryly told her, before grinning and speaking, "Wind, since I'm already talking to you, that's quite the impressive floral arrangement in your hair. Did you make that yourself?"
Wind nodded, pride clear in her face. "Absolutely! This island had so many beautiful flowers scattered around that I couldn't choose just a few. And since that, this is the finale, and we're all dressing up, I thought that it would be perfect for the occasion." The camera came closer to Wind, focusing on the floral crown atop her head. Tied together with flower stems, it had a large sunflower in the center where a large gem would be on a normal crown. Ringing the outside of the crown were various smaller flowers of all colors, from white to blue to red.
The camera then went behind Wind, revealing that stems and vines were attached to the back end of the crown as well, trailing down to her mid-back, flowers woven into those as well. And of course, the hippy had a multitude tied into her actual hair as well.
"Well, it's fantastic, Wind," Brooke gushed from behind her. "You look amazing."
John nodded. "You do. You remind me of some woodland creature from a fairy tale. To be honest, it's given me some really good inspiration for a painting."
Wind giggled, red creeping onto her cheeks. "You're much too kind." Turning to John, she then said, "And John! If you make any art of me, I would be so pleased to see it."
"Consider it done," the artist nodded.
"Now, there's one person that we haven't heard from at all yet," The host mentioned, turning to look at Vivi. It may not have been a smart move if the sour look on her face was an indicator. But the host either didn't notice or didn't care as he asked, "How are you feeling right now, Vivi?"
She just looked at the host, annoyance clear. "I'm pissed off."
Chris certainly didn't expect that. "Vivi, what could have you so annoyed? We're about to crown our winner. That's super exciting!" Almost on cue, the crowd behind the host cheered on his statement, which made him laugh. "See! Even the audience agrees!"
"Well, that's exactly why I'm pissed off," the rocker grumbled. "We're crowning a winner, and I'm not in the final two. I'd rather not vote for either of 'em. I wanted to win, dammit."
Before the host could reply, Brooke stepped in. "I do agree with Vivi in a sense," she added. "This is gonna be fun and all, but at the end of the day, I'm a competitor at heart, Chris, and being so close, but not being in that final two kills me. I'm definitely able to admit that I'm jealous of Neda and David."
"Well, it looks like we've stumbled onto a bit of an interesting topic," The host clapped. "Thanks for that, Vivi!" The rocker just grumbled and crossed her arms as the host continued, "Since Vivi and Brooke have been so frank about it, do any others here feel jealousy at the finalists?"
Quickly, Vivi, Brooke, Liana, John, and Godfrey all raised their hands. Shockingly, then, after a few moments, Weenus raised his as well. The others all looked at the stuntman, clearly surprised, as Chris remarked, "Woah, okay! Let's discuss this first. Weenus, you're jealous of David?"
Weenus laughed embarrassedly in response. "Yeah….." he trailed off. "He's still my main man and stuff, but I'd have loved to be in front of the jury too. I'd never turn down a million bucks, and man, getting to call myself the winner would have been really damn cool."
"Exactly!" Vivi suddenly reacted defensively. "Even friggin' Weenus is jealous of those two. So it's not just me being pissy and a sore loser, McLean. I just wanted to win, and I'm bummed I didn't."
"And as for Godfrey, John, Brooke, and Liana, I can see why you'd all be jealous. You all played so hard, I bet that making it so close, but just not getting there would suck," Chris admitted, before then looking at Wind. "Just as I can see why you're the only person here who's not jealous Wind!"
The hippy that just giggled at Chris' jab. "No, unlike my compatriots here, I am not," she confirmed. "I've made clear my stance on playing the game pretty clear, I'd like to think. While I have respect for everyone here who tried their best to play the game, and I certainly do not hold things that they may or may not have done against them, it simply was not for me."
"And honestly, Wind?" Chris asked, before giving her a big grin. "We're glad that you feel that way. Having people that have different viewpoints like yours is what makes this whole thing so great, Wind. They take people from all around, with so many different views and opinions, and mash 'em all together. Sometimes you get pure Drama, like our first season, and sometimes you get casts who wanna win. And that's great! And Wind, you've done such a great job representing yourself this season."
The others nodded along in agreement as Wind blushed and responded, "That is too kind, Chris. I just hope that I've shown people that games like these don't have to be so personal and ugly."
"You absolutely have, Wind," Chris acknowledged, before turning to another one of the jurors. "Now Godfrey, you've been shockingly quiet so far. I'd have thought that you wouldn't be able to be quiet today. What's going on with you?"
The normally boisterous Godfrey had a subdued look on his face. "McLean, this is a big day, man," he tells him in response, his voice much more subdued than it normally would be. "It all comes to an end today. One of my friends wins a million bucks, and this crazy chapter of my life comes to a close. It's left me with some melancholy. So yeah, I am a bit more subdued. Because the gravity of what's gonna happen here deserves it."
"I agree with Godfrey," Liana announced. "This has been fun, but now that we're all out here, I think that it's hitting all of us in different ways that this is about to come to an end, and it's time for us to do our jobs."
"We're ready to hear from the final two, McLean," John added, also agreeing.
"I've been dying to hear from the two of them," Brooke echoed. "Let's get this show on the road."
Chris nodded his acceptance. "Alright you guys, we'll move on then. You're ready to go, and the finalists are now ready to go too. So, look at the screen," the host announced, pointing to the large screen hanging above the walkway, "And say hello to David and Neda, your Total Drama Island Rewritten Final Two!"
The screen flashed to life at the hosts' words, and the two finalists appeared in the lobby of the hotel, both sitting in chairs next to each other, both in their formal attire. The crowd cheered when the two of them appeared, and they both smiled and waved, showing that they could hear them, but even through the screen, it could also be seen that they had an air of nervousness around them as well.
"David! Neda! What's up?!" Chris excitedly shouted, making the two laugh through the screen. "We're all here! Jury and finalists together! Isn't this so exciting!?"
"Heya, McLean!" David called. "Can you hear me?"
"Loud and clear, buddy!" The host called, as Neda fiddled with her microphone.
"And how about me?" The superfan asked.
"You're good as well, Neda," the host answered, before continuing, "Well! Like I said…..It's the finale, you two! How are you feeling?"
David laughed aloud before answering, "Man, I'm kinda in awe of this whole thing. I somehow got all the way here to the end! That's just so crazy! I'd always hoped that I'd get here, but now that I am, staring at this screen at you and the jury, it's surreal. But honestly, man? I'm nervous as hell!" He admitted. "This is the most important moment of my entire life. I've got a chance to earn a million dollars. The tension's just really high."
"I totally agree," Neda nodded, taking a moment to readjust her hijab. "As excited as I wanna say I am, I'm mostly just anxious. Like David said, this is just such a huge deal! It's the finale! A million dollars is on the line! We're in front of the jury! It's just a whole lot happening right now, and it's really hard to not feel the pressure."
"Well, thanks for being honest, you two," the host responded. "I know the pressure is on, but for what it's worth, you both look great." The two finalists grinned at the host's words as he then announced, "But, all niceties aside, it's time to begin our Jury Q and A!"
The finalists and jurors both listened intently as Chris explained, "In the Q and A, all seven jurors will approach the screen and face both Neda and David. There, they can say whatever they want; they can ask a question, make a statement, air their grievances, whatever they feel like they need to tell the finalists. If you're asking questions, you can ask one or both finalists the same question, or a different one for each. But you're only allowed one per finalist. After all seven get in front of the finalists, we'll have the jury cast their votes for a winner! Does that sound good, everyone? Does anyone have any questions?"
Neither David nor Neda nor the jurors had any questions, so Chris began once again, "Alright, then. This Jury Q and A is officially underway, and we're going to start with opening statements by our final two. Does anyone wanna start in particular?" One of the finalist's hands shot up near instantaneously, so Chris called, "Alrighty then. Neda, open us up. The floor is now yours."
With a grin of sheer excitement now on her face, Neda stood, straightened her dress, and stared directly into the screen that all the jurors were now on. "Well, hi everyone!" She cheerily called, giving the assembled jurors a small wave. "First off, I wanna say that it's so exciting to be up here, in front of all of you; people I've grown to love like family, people I consider among my best friends, and people that I hope to know for the rest of my life. So thank you all, for not only opening yourselves up to me, and letting me open myself up to all of you in return, but also giving me the great privilege to play this game with you all."
The superfan now grew a cheeky smile. "But with that being said, while I've gotten to know all of you very well, I feel like there's a lot about myself that you all never got to know. And since now is the end, I think it's a great time to share even more about myself."
The jurors, as well as David all looked at the Iranian girl curiously as she began, "My name is Neda Atashnak. I'm seventeen years old, and I live just outside of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. I live with my mom and dad; my two older sisters have moved out. My older sister, Yasmin, is a middle-school teacher in Thunder Bay, Ontario. My other older sister, Maryam, goes to veterinary school in Guelph, which is about an hour's drive from Toronto."
She continued, "I was originally born in Tehran, Iran. I lived in Iran for the first ten years of my life. However, when I was ten, my father decided that the Islamic Republic of Iran was not a good environment for his three daughters to grow up in, so he left the family and got a new job in Ankara, Turkey, to try to help all of us immigrate to the West. My father was there for nine months by himself while he tried to get immigration papers and passports for the family. After nine months, he was able to get the rest of us out of Iran and bring us to Turkey with him. We spent another six months in Ankara before we were able to immigrate, and when I was twelve years old, I arrived in Canada and officially became a Canadian citizen."
"That's all stuff that all of you may already know about me though," Neda laughed. "But there's a lot I've kept hidden. Among those things are that my birthday is in only a few weeks, I'm one of the top students in my graduating class with a 3.9 GPA, I'm going to be attending Broadcasting School after the game ends so I can start an online web series, and I've been putting on an act since the very start of this game."
The jurors and David looked exceedingly surprised at everything that had been revealed as Neda continued, "The truth is that I'm a reality TV superfan, and have been since I was thirteen. I've seen every season of Survivor, Big Brother, and Total Drama. Many of them multiple times over. I'm extremely active in the online competition reality community in places like Reddit, Twitter, and Discord. In my free time, when I'm not busy with schoolwork, I run BrantSteele competitions and post a series on the Total Drama Subreddit about the games of all the players and talk about why they lost the game. When I go to broadcasting school, I want to make my own reality TV podcast series like my inspiration, Rob Cesternino from Survivor Amazon, who's turned his Survivor fame as one of the game's original strategists into a reality podcast empire."
Neda was on a roll. "I've been planning and formulating my strategy in this game for literal years, and I came into this show ready to play it to a tee, and it got me right here, to the end. Being on a show like this has been my dream, and to finally say that I've done it has been a dream come true. So thank you all, for making this reality TV-obsessed Persian Girl's dreams come true, and letting me play alongside you all. I can't wait to hear from you, all, and hopefully answer any and all questions you may have about my game. So again, thank you. Or, in my native tongue, Sepasgozaram." With that, Neda sat back down in her seat, an accomplished, happy smile on her face.
The jury sat quietly as they all absorbed Neda's speech and all the truths that she had revealed. "Wow, Neda!" Chris then exclaimed. "What a speech to start us off! Thank you, Neda. Alright, David. Now it's your turn! Take it away, man!"
David stood next, and awkwardly looked at the camera, before laughing. "Oh…..wow!" he shrugged. "Who woulda thought that Neda had so much to say?" The jurors, as well as Neda herself laughed at David's line before he continued. "Well, unlike Neda, I can definitely say that I didn't come into this game as a big fan of reality TV or anything. I'm just a regular guy from Newfoundland who applied for this show thinking that it'd be a fun way to meet some new friends, maybe meet some cute girls, and maybe make a million bucks if I was lucky. I didn't come onto this show expecting anything more than that."
David then laughed once more. "But, woah man! I didn't anticipate what I was getting into for a single second! Before I knew it, there were so many people around me who knew so much more about what they were doing and were unafraid to show it. And really quickly, I learned that if I didn't adapt, and learn how to play this game, I would be gone. So that's what I did. I adapted. I learned to play this game."
"And that's what I did. Was I the best?" He vigorously shakes his head. "No. Not even close. I've been outplayed plenty of times, and plenty of people here are people who were stronger than me, I have no problem admitting that. But what separates me and them is that I'm still here!" He exclaims. "I made it! I made it here by making moves and playing the game! I was the one who organized the Marcellas blindside, I was the one who organized the Brooke blindside, I'm the one who single-handedly took out Godfrey. I had to win my way here, and I did that when I won back-to-back immunity challenges."
"But, I didn't make this alone," David continues. "I had a lot of help throughout this game. My buddies, Weenus, Apollo, and Godfrey. Agency strong. But it was Godfrey, who I can see sitting on that jury with a big ol' grin, who showed me that this isn't just summer camp. I watched him, both from up close and afar. We were allies, and we were enemies. But in the end, the student took out the master, and I was the one who slayed him."
"Then there's Neda, who I'm sitting next to right now. Granted, I never knew that she had all that hidden," he chuckles as he turns to face the Iranian girl, "But still, Neda has been one of my closest allies in the game for a long time, and making it here with you is awesome." Neda gives him a wide smile as he then says, "And the fact that you were able to keep all that stuff hidden this entire time is just next level. That's just crazy. But, there've been so many other great people who've helped me out on this journey, and I just wanna say thanks to everyone. It was the people that I was here with that made this such a memorable time, and it's them that will make this a great season. So, thank you," David says, gratefulness clear in his tone.
"This whole game was a long climb," David begins to wrap up, "A long climb up a big, steep mountain. And again, unlike other people, I didn't come in as a strategic mastermind, or a superfan of these shows. I learned on the job. And I was able to outlast the titans of this game, and the people that will define this season when it's all said and done. And that's why I should get your votes. I wasn't the strongest player, but I was the most adaptable. I had a strong social game, I made big moves, and I made it here. I didn't come here expecting to become a gamer, but that's exactly what I did. So I hope to get your votes. Thank you." And with that, David sat down, ending the opening statements.
"Alrighty, thanks again to both David and Neda!" The host called, and the crowd cheered loudly, and the jurors clapped for the finalists. "What a pair of speeches! But now, we're going to be opening the floor to the jurors." Chris then explained, "One at a time, I'm gonna call you up, where you will stand here, in front of this TV, and face the final two, where you can then ask or tell them anything you want. Sounds good?" The jury all nodded and understood, so Chris accepted this and announced, "Okay, Brooke, come on up. We're starting with you."
In response, Brooke stood and walked over to the area that Chris had designated, and stood tall as she faced the final two. "What's up you two?" The athlete asked, a grin on her face. "Man! When this thing started, if I had to guess who'd have made it to the very end, no offense to either of you, but I wouldn't have said either of your names." She then gave them a smirk. "I surely thought that my name would have been in there."
The finalists laughed as Brooke continued, "But now that we're all here, I think that there's no better pair of people to represent us. I'm really happy for both of you. I want you both to know that I'm not bitter and that my vote is open and could go to either one of you." But, the look on her face hardened. "But just because all that is true doesn't mean that I'm gonna take it easy on you two either. I wanna hear good answers from both of you. This could be the thing that determines who I vote for. It could determine who the whole jury votes for. So if I hear any lies or anything that doesn't sound honest, I immediately turn and walk back to my seat. Deal?" Neda and David were both unphased by Brooke's harsh language and nodded their understanding. "Good. So, with that, David, I wanna start with you. My question for you is why should I vote for you to win when you were directly responsible for sending me out of the game?"
David nodded and took a moment to think about what he wanted to say, before standing and beginning, "Brooke, you should vote for me because when I put together that plan to take you out, it was out of nothing but respect for you as a competitor. Brooke, when the move was made, you had won three straight immunity challenges. And not just that, you won three varied immunity challenges! You won that super physical one that had us balancing and swimming. Not only did you win that, but you dominated it, Brooke. You had won when Alessia and I were still in the first portion of the challenge! That's just a different level of dominance!"
David continued, "So you won a physical challenge. We shouldn't be so surprised. I can only speak for myself, but I thought that you were the most intimidating person on the island from an athletic standpoint, Brooke. I mean, I play hockey a fair bit and stuff, but you're an entirely different animal! But anyway, you also won a mental comp, too. You took out a bunch of other people in that competition about remembering stuff that had happened earlier in the game. Some of that stuff was tough! So, not only are you super tough athletically, but you've also got the brains to match."
"And then, that third challenge you won? The freakin' Pressure Cooker!" David exclaimed. "Which was the toughest challenge we all competed in. That thing went over fifteen hours, and Brooke, you won that too!"
"So not only are you super athletically strong, Brooke, but you're also mentally tough, and you've got crazy endurance. And the last challenge you lost? You almost won that, too! So that could have super easily been four challenges in a row you'd have won, Brooke." David then shakes his head. "And simply put, if the opportunity presented itself, I had to take it, because who knows if, honestly, you'd ever lose one again? So I talked to Godfrey and we made the move to get you out."
David then went on a new line of conversation. "But Brooke, just because I gassed you up, and explained why I had to take you out, doesn't really answer your question. You should vote for me because, in all our time on the island, the only time I broke our word was when you went out. Before that, I never betrayed your trust. Brooke, I could have very easily told you to take a hike in the Pressure Cooker, but I didn't. We made a deal, and I honored it, and I threw the comp for you. That's why you should vote for me to win. Because when I gave you my word, I kept it, sometimes to my own detriment. You were the biggest threat in the game, even bigger than someone like Godfrey or Liana, and I did the move I needed to, but I never broke my word to you otherwise."
With that, David seemed to be done with his answer and sat back down in his seat. Brooke nodded, satisfaction clear on her face, and evenly responded, "Thank you for your answer, David." She then looked at the other finalist and asked, "Neda, I'm giving you basically the same question. Why should I vote for you when you won fewer challenges and played this game much more passively?"
Neda nodded to herself, seemingly to psyche herself up, before also standing and beginning. "Brooke, I should win despite my lack of challenge wins and less bombastic game because I played to my strengths. As an athlete, you should understand that some people have different skill sets than others. Much like how just because you're awesome at basketball doesn't mean you'd be great at bodybuilding, right?"
As Brooke wordlessly nodded, Neda continued, "That's how I saw my game. Look at me," Neda giggled. "I'm barely five feet and a hundred pounds. I'm well aware that I'm not some athletic beast. I like to run, and I'm exceptionally proud that I managed to win a competition, an endurance competition at that, but I'm also realistic. I knew that if I came into this game thinking that I was gonna be winning a bunch of challenges, I was out of my freaking mind. So, much like you play to your strengths as an athlete, I had to play to mine as a strategist. I knew that was my best course of action, and it's what I stuck to. My strengths are strategy and being able to be unthreatening, so that's entirely what I did. I knew that making these big moves and winning a bunch of challenges wouldn't benefit the style of game that I came in wanting to play."
"I wanted to look so unthreatening because people would just gloss right over me as a target, and view me as a number for any of their alliances, which was a core part of what I wanted to do," Neda passionately argued. "The more alliances I was in, the better protected I was. So I did that. And back to the part about gameplay, I'd just like to say that big moves are really fun, I think we can all agree on that. It's fun seeing a crazy blindside, or a nasty betrayal, but in my case, sometimes it's about not making moves. In my game, if I did that, I'd just gather unwanted attention. And sometimes, not making the big move is just as, if not more powerful than making a move, Brooke. Like, my move to not try to save you was still a big move, you know? So that's why you should give me your vote. Because, just like you, I played to my strengths. And just because my strengths aren't as flashy or showy, doesn't make them any less valid." And with that, Neda sat down as well, also done explaining her answer.
Brooke took a second to absorb the two's answers, before nodding. "Alright, thanks you two," she told them before walking back to her seat and sitting down.
"Alright, thank you, Brooke!" Chris called, before then saying, "Now, Weenus, you're up!"
The stuntman excitedly leaped from his seat and made his way over to the screen. "David, Neda! What's up?!" He excitedly shouted, a huge smile on his face. "It's so awesome to see you two again!"
The two smiled and waved at the stuntman, his energy infectious even through a screen. "Listen, it sucks that only one of you can win. I'd be so happy if you both could!" The stuntman then looked at the Iranian girl apologetically. "But Neda, I'm sorry girl, but I can't vote for you. David's been my homie since the first day. We're Agency strong, and I wanna see one of my boys win the game and the cash. So please don't be mad! If anyone else was there, you'd get my vote, but I'm givin' that vote to David, no matter what."
Neda just laughed. "Oh, don't worry, Weenus," She giggled. "It's fine. You vote for whoever you want to vote for, and I promise that I won't be mad, no matter how this goes. We're still going to be friends, don't worry."
The stuntman looked relieved. "Thanks, Neda! I had a feeling you'd understand," He cheerfully called, before turning and looking at David. "David! Bro! BRO! YOU MADE IT!" He shouted, almost shaking in excitement. "The final two, dawg!" David and Neda laughed as Weenus went on, "You've repped the Agency with me since the first day. And even when the Agency looked kinda shaky, you still stuck by my side. It sucks that we couldn't all be there together, and it sucks that I can't be there with you, no offense Neda," he added, to which the superfan brushed off once more, "But I can at least tell you that you've got my vote, man. And no matter what, you've got my friendship as well."
"Thanks, man," David responded, an easy smile on his face. "Even if I do somehow win, I won't be lying when I say that meeting you and becoming your friend will be the highlight of this time for me. And thanks for the vote, too!" He added with a laugh. "That's appreciated too, can't lie, bro!"
"Alright, I'm done! Just again, congrats to both of you! You both rock!" Weenus called before turning and heading back to his seat.
"Okay, with Weenus done, the next one up is John! So come on up!" The artist lazily did so and made his way in front of the finalists. Crossing his arms and looking at the two, John said, "Well, here we are. It's been a long, tiring road, huh?" The artist shrugged and continued, "Sorry David, but I don't have a question prepared for you." He took a second before adding, "Don't think that this means you're not getting my vote, though. I meant it when I left the game that I was keeping my vote open. So now, it's your time to wow me. But, I'm not just here to wax poetic. I've got a question for Neda."
The superfan braced herself for whatever question was coming as John asked, "So, Neda. We were allies in the game for a long time. And despite that, you took the gamble of taking me out at the final four, rather than trying to convince David to vote with me to take out Godfrey. I'd just like to know what your thinking was in going with those two, rather than your number one ally; myself."
Neda nodded and stood. "Okay, John. I took you out because, simply put, I couldn't trust you anymore. While that vote against Liana was really smart, the fact that you left me out of it almost entirely was something that I just couldn't ignore. If you went rogue on me that time, who's to say that you wouldn't do it again, and that time, actually take me out too? It was just a risk that was too great for me to overlook, John."
The superfan continued, "Plus, the way I saw it if I took you out, I became the best person to take to the end. John, your strategy of burning Liana and trying to use that to make yourself the best final two-partner was something bold and something I didn't expect, so I give you a ton of props because that's a move that I really respect. But at the same time, I think it worked too well John, because you made yourself such a great finale partner that everyone saw you as too much of a threat. Everyone was subtly thinking about taking you to the end because you were right; we weren't sure how Liana was acting at the jury house. And with voting you out, I was also to weaken Godfrey's position that much more, because at that point we had been talking and neither of us wanted to take David to the end. That way, with you gone, I was left as his best choice to take to the end."
Neda then laughed and added, "Of course, David ended up winning the final challenge anyhow, so it's all a moot point. But John, that's why I took you out. I really hope that you see and know that it wasn't personal at all, and in fact, it was the hardest elimination I had to go through. You became my best friend out here John, and even though a lot of the stuff I did and said out here was under the veneer of my strategy, you befriended the real Neda. Our runs together were highlights of my days, getting to play the game with you so closely was a genuine privilege, I told you things that I normally keep very closely guarded to myself, and I just really hope that you know and understand that the friendship we forged was real John, but at the end of the day, that move you made with Liana left me too worried about your trustworthiness and I felt like I had no other choice. You said that you wouldn't be bitter, but I hope you that you keep your promise, and see that what I had to do was just game."
John lightly laughed. "Well, first of all, don't you worry, Neda. I've kept my promise. I'm not mad or anything, and we're cool. And second, thank you very much for the explanation. It was awesome to hear your thought process." The artist then looked over at the host and told him, "I think we're good here, McLean."
Chris nodded. "Alright, John! Go ahead and take your seat." The artist did so and plopped down in his seat, and after he did so, Chris called, "Okay, Liana! You're up next!"
The gambler nodded in acceptance and smoothly made her way out of her chair and up in front of the finalists. With a flourish, she tilted her sunglasses up on top of her beanie, revealing her eyes to the finalists, and revealing the flash of excitement in them. "Hey, you two!" She happily began. "It's cool to see the pair of you here at the end. I'm going to keep this one brief since this is a question that I think you'll both really want to focus on, and a question that the jury wants to hear your answers to, so I'm going to ask you both the same thing. So with that being said, here's my question." She looked back and forth at the two before asking, "David. Neda. While you were playing this game, what was your primary strategy?" She looked at one of them in particular. "David, I'd like to hear from you first, if you could."
Though he looked unsure, David nodded and stood. "Alright! Well, Liana, when I came into this game, I didn't have one!" He laughed. "At the start when the guys on the Crocodiles formed up and made the Agency, I actually thought that it'd be that simple and we'd just walk right to the end." He laughed. "But man, when Godfrey blindsided Apollo in that second elimination, I had just one thought: I can't let that happen to me."
"So Liana, it was right around then that I can say that a strategy started to formulate for me. Now granted, it was slow going," he again laughed before continuing, "But if I wanted to avoid Apollo's fate, I knew that I had to do…something. So that's what I did. I started making bonds with people outside of The Agency."
David motioned to the girl right beside him. "Like Neda. She was one of the very first people I wanted to put some trust in. And I think it worked pretty damn well if I'm being honest!" He chuckled, which made Neda giggle as well. "But that was my main strategy, Liana. I was flexible with the people I worked with. I worked with Neda. I was allied with you and Vivi. Even after the betrayals, I was still working with Godfrey, and I had an outside alliance with Weenus. I had deals in place with Brooke. I had enough of a good social game where I felt I was able to slot into really any alliance and be accepted. Granted, Liana, you didn't trust me when I formed up with you and Vivi, but at that point, after Weenus was taken out, I was fully on board with the guys. And even after that fell apart, I was able to start working with Godfrey once more, even though our last alliance fell apart and we got into an argument. That was my strategy; find any alliance that would take me, ride it for as far as I could, and once it either fell apart or something else came along, I'd use my social standing to slip right into that as well. And that got me here."
Liana nodded in acceptance as David sat down. "Thanks, David. That was very informative." She then looked at Neda. "Alright, Neda, your turn." She then smirked. "I can see through the screen that you're so excited to share that you're practically vibrating in your seat, so go ahead."
With a smile that threatened to split her face in two, Neda bolted up from her seat. "Thank you so much for asking this, Liana!" Neda gushed. "I was hoping that someone would ask this and I could explain this now, rather than in the closing speech."
She then took a deep breath and began. "So in my intro speech, I mentioned that I had been forming this strategy since I was thirteen. And that is entirely true. Firstly, I wanted to come in and make myself as unthreatening as I possibly could." Neda did a spin and giggled, "Being so tiny makes part of that easy. People aren't nearly as threatened by someone as little as me when you have people like Brooke and Vivi wandering around. So that right there is the first major part. Part two is something that I also mentioned in my opening statement; downplaying my own intelligence and game acumen," Neda continued.
"What that means is that I needed to keep my threat level as low as possible," she explained. "I'm already tiny. If I'm tiny and seem like I'm not so smart, not very strategic, and just here to make friends and have fun? That makes me even less of a threat. And if I'm less of a threat, that means I'm more likely to be taken farther along in the game, because, hey, it's one less person in the game that's worth worrying about. Be honest here; was there a time in the game when any of you either thought or maybe even told someone, We don't have to worry about Neda?"
In response to Neda's question, Godfrey, Brooke, Weenus, Liana, Vivi, and David himself raised their hands. Neda smiled in satisfaction and responded, "And that's exactly what I wanted you all to think. I wanted to make the target on myself, and my threat level to everyone else as small as possible. If you're not worried about me, you're not thinking about me. And if you're not thinking about me, then I get to move forward in the game, and move forward with the final part of my plan."
If possible, Neda's smile grew. "So, I've reduced my threat level by hiding my true self. That's a huge part of my strategy, but it's just part of the puzzle. The absolute most important part of my strategy is what's referred to as an Onion Strategy." The jurors looked highly intrigued as Neda explained, "With an onion, you have to peel away at layers and layers to get to the center of it. And that's what I used as the core of my strategy. I made a bunch of alliances, all on different sides of the game, which I was able to do because of my low threat levels! I insulated myself in layer upon layer of alliances so if anyone wanted to get at the center, which was me, they'd have to peel away layers of the onion because I was working with so many people. That was the core of my strategy; the more alliances I had, the harder it would be to get to me."
Neda then smirked. "But then, it all goes back to the first prong; why would anyone bother to peel away at this onion to get at me when I've reduced my threat level so much?" Neda, however, then shrugged. "But, though the way I described it makes it seem impossible to beat, rest assured, it's perilous to pull off. If you get too many people comparing their notes, and all seeing that you're in an alliance with everyone, that can and will happen to you. It's happened many a time. It gets even harder in the later stages of the game as the numbers dwindle, and fewer and fewer people are there for you to shield yourself with, and who's more likely to compare who they're working with. And at that stage, all it can take is one conversation to leave you with nothing whatsoever."
And even I didn't do it perfectly, either," she then admits. "Vivi and Liana were able to get together after I cast that hinky vote against her and realized that I had been subtly driving them apart, which led to me very nearly getting taken out at seventh, if not for Godfrey. And on that same point, after Liana went home because of John's blindside against her, I was extremely paranoid that I had been duped and that John, Godfrey, and David had all formed a guy's alliance because it had been Vivi and Liana who left back to back. And trust me, being all alone in the girl's cabin with nothing but my thoughts was terrifying." Neda then grew a determined look. "But it was those social bonds I made, and my small threat level that allowed me to survive not only that vote against Weenus but against a potential guys' alliance, when I worked with David to get John out."
She took a deep breath and chuckled embarrassedly. "I know I went a little long there, Liana!" She awkwardly laughs, ruffling her hijab slightly. "But I really wanted to go in-depth and fully explain my game because it is intricate. But I love social strategy games like these, and to have my strategy, and execute it so well, and make it here? I'm so proud of myself. So in summation, I reduced my threat level by hiding my intelligence and hid myself in an onion of alliances. And that strategy went off without a hitch until, at the minimum, over halfway through the game. So, there you go!" She laughed as she sat back down in her seat.
Liana lowered her shades back over her eyes. "I'm seriously impressed, Neda. You spared no detail. And David, the way that you picked up the game so well is also super impressive. You both had such unique strategies, even down to when you started implementing and thinking about them. This is gonna be a really, really tough choice between you two." And with that, Liana turned on her heel and made her way back to her seat.
"Alright, let's keep this Q and A rolling! Wind, you're next!" The host called, and the hippy happily made her way up to the screen as well. Holding her hands in front of her, she smiled wide and began, "Neda and David! It is truly wonderful to meet you both once again! You both look wonderful." The smile on her face then fell slightly as she continued, "I made it very clear in my time in this game that I did not care for the more treacherous aspects of it, and that holds true even now. However, I will not fault you for it, or hold that against the both of you. The both of you did what you had to to make it here, and I am happy for you both."
The smile on her face grew again. "However, for my question, I would like to have the both of you shift your thinking to more like me. With that being said, my question is for both of you." She looked at David and asked, "David, please explain why you think that Neda should win over you." She looked at the superfan next. "And Neda, I would like you to explain why you think that David should win over you. I leave it open to the both of you."
It was David who stood first. He apologetically grinned at Neda and asked her, "Is it cool if I go first, Neda?" The superfan gave him a nod, he once again turned to the screen that held the jury and began, "I think that Neda should win because this obviously means the world to her." As Neda nodded, the Newfie continued, "I mean, you've heard her answers. She's come into this game with a whole intricate strategy. She spends her free time running games and breaking down games like these. Heck, she even told us that she's gonna go to broadcasting school because she wants to talk about games like these to be her job. I heard Neda talk about these games just a little bit ago for the first time, and even then I could tell the love that she holds for them. In fact, I'd wager that Neda would be happier to have the ability to say that she's won one of these games over having the money. So, that's why Neda should win. This whole thing means the world to her, and it would be a dream come true for her."
David sat at that point, so Neda then stood and began her answer. "Firstly, thank you for the kind words, David," She sweetly told him, "And you are not wrong in anything you said. Secondly, David should win because he is a wonderful guy who would only do great things with the money. David's really not held back in terms of that," Neda explained. "He wants to go to culinary school and give some money to his mom. And that's a great use of that money!" She exclaims.
"I've heard of plenty of people who won shows like these only to totally screw it up. David won't spend it all on cryptocurrencies, or lose it in stocks, or start some money pit business, or, god forbid, use it to start a drug ring like the winner of Big Brother 9," Neda laughs. "No way. I've known David for a fair bit, and he will absolutely make the most of that money, and that money will absolutely make his, and his family's lives, better. That's why you should vote for David if you ask me. He'll be smart with that money, and he'll love having it." With her answer done, Neda sat down as well, with David giving her a large grin of his own and a 'thank you'.
Wind gave the two a large grin and told them, "Thank you very much for your answers. Not only were you both easily able to give them, but I could also tell that you meant every word on why you think your opponent should win. That is truly wonderful; I am very happy that you two are the finalists. I wish you luck in the rest to come." With that, Wind gave the pair a small wave and a smile and returned to her seat.
"And thank you very much for that thoughtful question, Wind," The host thanked her, to which she grinned widely and nodded. "We've got two jurors left. So, Vivi, how about you come up next?" With a frown on her face, Vivi slid out of her seat and walked up to the screen, her heavy boots clunking on the red carpet as she made her way up and stood in front of the screen, arms crossed.
"First off, I'm not gonna say a bunch of sappy garbage," She told the two, her tone conveying pure annoyance. "I'm not happy for the two of you at all. I don't have anything against either of you, but simply put, you two are in the spot that I should be in. I wanted to be there and win that million. And you two took that spot away from me. So no, you're not getting my congratulations or my happiness or anything."
As an awkwardness hung in the air, Vivi then shrugged. "But at the end of the day, you two made it, and I didn't. So I just gotta deal with it. So with that out of the way, my question is simple and for the both of you." She eyed the two before asking, "What was your strongest game move? Whoever wants to answer first, go ahead."
Neda looked over at David and asked, "Since you went first last time, can I have this one?" The Newfie Chef gave her a nod in confirmation, so she stood and prepared her answer. "Vivi, my biggest move of the season actually involves you. It may not seem like much, but it was the hinky vote that I cast against you in the vote that took out Marcellas. At that point, I saw you and Liana coming back together, and I instantly knew that it wasn't good for my game. My game works at its best when I have multiple people all on different sides that I can shield myself with, and before that, I was able to use both you and Liana since you were opposed."
"But when you came together, I was losing some of my prime shielding," Neda continued. "So with that vote, I was able to then later find you, Vivi, and convince you that it was Liana who did it, especially in the aftermath of the vote. And that move set up a huge portion of the latter half of the game. If I didn't make that vote and subtly convince you that Liana was the one who did it, you wouldn't have turned on Liana for that perceived slight against you, and because of that, it would have been Godfrey who left the game. If Godfrey left, there would have been a scramble for power for his side of the game, and with that, you and Liana's relationship wouldn't fall apart again, which, by proxy of Godfrey leaving, makes you and her one of the strongest duos in the game, and me phased out. And since Liana joins with Alessia, that means you probably do as well, and you go ahead as a power trio as the structure of the game resets."
"So while I'm not a psychic or anything," Neda begins to finish up, "My move changed the entire landscape of the game. Now granted, you and Liana still came back together in the endgame, but it was my move that left those seeds of distrust still within the two of you, and as a result, led to her backstabbing you and sending you out. And like I said earlier, sometimes a big move may seem small at the moment, but can grow to be a giant tree in time. Not all of the game is in the moment; sometimes you make moves for days in advance. And that's exactly what that vote did." With that, Neda was finished and sat down.
Seeing that the superfan was finished with her answer, David stood next. "Well Vivi, my biggest move was around the same time as Neda's, and it's one that you're very familiar with because you were there when I came up with it; the move that blindsided Marcellas," the Newfie explained. "At that point, the four of us knew that Alessia had the idol and that any move against her would just be a waste of time. But at the same time, we also knew that after what happened with Weenus, she needed to go as soon as possible. You and Liana had just figured out that Marcellas and her had played Liana like Neda played you, and wanted revenge like me and Godfrey. That was when I thought that if we tricked Alessia, who would totally be paranoid about the votes that night especially after Weenus told her about the idol, we could get two birds with one stone."
"So that's what we did!" David cheerfully confirmed. "With a little help from Neda, which was also part of my plan," he adds quickly, "I had her tell Marcellas that the votes were going to be for her. She played the idol, thinking just what I had told her, but then we razzle-dazzled her and took out her number one ally, as well as her idol, instead!"
"And that's my biggest move!" David finishes with a laugh. "It was much more of a team effort than Neda's was, but it was a blindside that took out a power player and weakened her enough that she'd be taken out the next ceremony, and it also burned her immunity idol." With his answer done, David sat back in his seat.
Vivi stared apathetically at them for a few moments, before shrugging, grunting something, and turning to go back to her seat. "Let's hear it for Vivi Venom!" Chris called, as the crowd laughed. As the rocker took her seat, he then announced, "Well, we've got one juror left to hear from. Godfrey, your time to shine, buddy."
With his ever-present charming smile, Godfrey stood and sauntered over to the screen before stopping and eyeing the two finalists, before he started to openly laugh. "It's been a while, hasn't it?" He asked, which made Neda and David laugh. "Well, congratulations, first and foremost. You're the final two. You beat fourteen other people to make it there. So, no matter what happens, you both should be extremely proud of yourselves."
Godfrey first looked at Neda. "Neda…..girl!" He laughs once more, which makes her laugh in turn. "Who'd have ever thought you had all that in you? I felt like I knew you pretty well from the times that we worked together, and I had had a hunch that you were a bit smarter than you let on…..but man! You had me thoroughly fooled. While I came into this game and just threw stuff at the wall and thought it'd be fun to see what stuck…you were in here like a surgeon, making little incisions all over the game and sewing them back up before we even knew you cut us. So, truly Neda, props. I'm super impressed with you."
Godfrey then looked at David. "But David, just because I was gassing up Neda, don't think that my vote is locked in for her man. I respect her a lot, but I also respect you a lot." Godfrey smirked at him and added, "I mean, I gotta respect the guy that took me out after all." The two laughed for a moment, before the charmer continued, "For real, man. I got to watch your growth in this game, and not to sound cheesy, but right now, I'm just proud of you, man. And not like a parent seeing their six-year-old get third place in a soccer tournament. I'm proud of you the way I'm proud of seeing my family succeed, David. You came up in this game. You made moves, made connections, and did whatever you had to do."
Godfrey's expression changed now, and he looked at the finalists with a hard look in his eyes. "But, with that all being said, you both should know that as of right now, there is no decision on who I'm going to vote for. Much like life, my vote is not guaranteed. You both fought and worked to get here, but you gotta fight and work for my, and all my fellow jurors' votes. I can't speak for anyone but myself, but I'm waiting until your final speeches are done to make my decision. My vote is live. You can still earn it."
He looked at both of them, the look in his eyes giving nothing away. "Maybe this seems overly dramatic to you, but it's not to me. I gave this game everything I had. I'm proud of what I did, but at the end of the day, I've lost. But, I can still choose who I lose to. And the person that I want to lose to, and who I want to represent me, my castmates, and my season, has to be the best. So…"
The look in Godfrey's eyes fades, and he grows a sly grin. "Enough of that. Let's ask these questions. They're personalized for both of you, so I expect some solid answers." He looked over at David first. "David, we were allied for a while." Godfrey then laughed. "Well, more like since the beginning of the game! But the point remains. But, there were plenty of times in the game that I could tell that you weren't really on my side, man. When did switch flip, man?" Godfrey then asked. "When exactly did you start not trusting me, and stopped being totally on my side?"
David just laughed. "Honestly, man? It was after that vote that you took out Apollo. When the game started, I was totally naive enough to think that we'd just be Agency strong to the very end. But after that vote where Apollo got taken down, I was spooked. Apollo was one of us, man! And he did nothing wrong, and he still got taken out because it was convenient. And Godfrey, the fact you were able to do that so nicely and easily, without a second thought, that really frightened me, man!"
"After that's when I started thinking that I had to watch out for you, dude," David admits. "It was around then that I told Neda about you too, because admittedly, I thought she was pretty cool. I linked up with Brooke around then too, and we formed a pact to watch out for each other and keep an eye on you. And that's how the rest of the game went. I kept you in my back pocket, and we kinda sorta worked together a lot until the very end when you were my only choice, but the whole game, I was making other alliances to fall back on if you decided to try to take me down like you did Apollo. I knew that keeping you as my ally for as long as I could was good for my game, but I also knew that the closer I got to you, the more allies I needed. So, yeah man! That switch flipped after the second vote. We were buds and stuff, but you made it hard as hell to put my trust in you!" The Newfie chef laughed.
Godfrey laughed as well, replying, "Thanks for the answer, man!" before looking at Neda. "Neda, I have a question for you as well, like I said. This may be a bit close to what Brooke asked you at the start of this Q and A, but it's an important question for me. So, Neda. Why should I give you my vote when David has been my boy since the start of the game, and not only had me fooled for a solid majority of it, but was also the one that took me out?"
Neda took a moment, inhaling and exhaling deeply and closing her eyes. She quickly seemed happy with her answer, and began, "Godfrey, if you're going to vote for David because he had you fooled for the whole game, then you should be thinking about me too. David may have had you fooled the whole time, but not only did I have you fooled, I had everyone fooled!" Neda had passion clear in her voice as she continued, "Like you said, Godfrey, you may have seen through my facade after a while, but that was long after you realized that David was against you. We were working together and you didn't see through it, Godfrey."
Neda was on a roll now. "You considered targeting David at a few points, didn't you?" She directly asked the charmer, to which he nodded in confirmation. "And did you ever think about targeting me, Godfrey?"
The charmer took a moment, but ultimately laughed and shook his head. "No, I can't say that I did, Neda."
Neda clapped her hands. "And that, Godfrey, is why you should vote for me to win. I had you fooled for the majority of the game, and despite that, you never once thought of targeting me. Godfrey, you didn't just not target me, we also had an alliance; even a final two! I don't know how dedicated you were, but the fact is that you agreed to it with me."
Neda looked at all the other jurors. "In fact, the only two people who ever did think of it were Vivi and Liana. And even when they tried to target me, they both failed and then Liana took out Vivi. Why? Because of my move! But other than them, I was able to sneak by for the entirety of this game. Something that no one here was able to do. All while planting seeds of doubt and protecting myself."
Neda was seemingly done at that point and sat back down in her seat. When she did so, Godfrey nodded. "Killer answers from both of you. I'm very happy that this is such a tough decision. It's gonna be hard as hell to choose between you two because neither of you is the wrong choice. But whoever wins is gonna deserve the hell outta it. Congrats, you two." With that Godfrey was satisfied, and made his way back to his seat.
Chris clapped, satisfied that the Q and A was over. "Alright, that does it for the Q and A, everyone!" He announced aloud. "Everyone, give a hand to the jurors for those great questions!" A cheer went up from the crowd as the jurors all gave different reactions, from Godfrey laughing to Vivi folding her arms to John whispering something to Brooke, who was sitting beside him. Whatever the artist said seemed to be rather amusing if the snort she gave was any indication.
The host continued, "That was a great Q and A, I gotta say. You all kept on the finalists and while you asked the tough questions, it never got mean or bitter. So, again, great job to our jurors." The host then gestured to the screen. "And a big thanks to our finalists as well!" He called, and again the crowd cheered loudly. "Neda, David, you two rolled with the punches fantastically. You gave a hundred percent in your answers, and it made for an eye-opening, but also very informative Q and A session. So again, great job!"
"However, it's now time for David and Neda to give their closing statements," the host announced before he turned and faced the screen that the two finalists were on. "David. Neda. This is your final chance to address the jury before they cast their votes. If there is anything you want to tell the jury that you haven't had the chance to say, this is your last opportunity to do it. Do you two understand?" The finalists gave the host a pair of nods, which Chris accepted with one of his own. "Alright. Then, Neda, we're gonna start with you. Let's hear your closing statement."
With a resolute look on her face, Neda stood and began. "To start, I'd like to ask the jurors a question. Jury, please raise your hand if I were in an alliance with you." A moment later, Neda grinned happily to herself as every single juror's hand went up in response. As the jurors looked around, many of them chuckled or, in Godfrey's case, openly laughed at seeing all seven arms raised. "Just look around," Neda told them. "If that doesn't prove that I perfected my strategy, nothing will. I had alliances with the entire jury. Just like I explained, my goal was to wrap myself in an onion of alliances. And I did just that. I was so well insulated that only two people, not just on the jury, but two people in the entire game thought about targeting me."
"And I didn't just hide myself," Neda continued, her voice growing fiery. "I made moves throughout this game, too. They were just hidden in the shadows, where people wouldn't see them in the open. Not only did I make the move with Vivi which I explained earlier, but I was the reason that David used his immunity idol when he did!" She exclaimed. "David came to me because he was worried about Godfrey, and because of my social game, he trusted me enough to reveal that info to me. And when I got that information from David, I was able to subtly put the idea into his head…"
Neda stops then, thinking about something. However, that was replaced by a look of determination. "No, I manipulated David into thinking that Godfrey was coming for him and that he should use the idol." With an uncharacteristic edge to her voice, Neda announced, "Yes, I manipulated David. And I manipulated a lot of you over the course of the game, and none of you were none the wiser. You all thought I was just sweet little Neda, here to make some friends and have a fun time…not that I was a strategist and someone here to play this game. And I played this freaking game. It may not have been bombastic and flashy like Godfrey, but I was still playing."
Neda shakes her head. "And if some people are unhappy that I manipulated you, then I'm sorry. But I'm not a crazy athlete like you Brooke. Or I'm not a badass like you Vivi. I don't have that luxury. I'm just a petite girl from the Middle East. But, I weaponized my small size. You guys used your attributes, and I used mine. And if that seems a bit more deceptive or mean, then again, I'm sorry. But, I want to quote something my favorite reality TV competitor of all time once said."
Neda smiled at the words that were coming into her head. "Her name is Cirie Fields. She's considered the greatest Survivor player to never win, and one of the greatest of all time, with or without that win. But there was something she said once that described her game, and that can also describe my game. Cirie was talking about how she played the game and described how, when she was younger, her mother had told her that you may not be able to beat people with these….." With that, she flexes her left arm, pointing to it with her right hand, "But you can always beat them with this." She moved from pointing to her muscle to pointing to her skull. "And that was what I did. I couldn't beat you guys with these," Neda flexed her muscle and pointed to it once more, "But I could beat you with this," And she pointed to her head once more.
As she began to wrap up, Neda told the jury, "And at the end of the day, this is my dream. I've wanted this since I first came to this country, and I saw my first season of Big Brother when I was still learning to grasp the language. David, you're my friend and I really respect you, but for you, this is a great experience and the money would be life-changing. But that's where this ends. As an experience. For me? This game is my life. I want this to be my job. I want to talk about this for a living. I want this win more than freaking anything. As David said, I honestly care more about being able to call myself a winner of a strategic game like this than the money. And more than anything, I hope you make my dreams come true. It's been a heck of a summer, everyone. Thank you all so much for memories and friendships that will last a lifetime." With that, Neda sat down, her closing speech done.
"Neda, thank you for your speech," The host told her. "That was so full of passion! But now, your time's up." Chris turned and looked at David, telling him, "David, now it's time for your closing speech." With a determined look in his eyes, David stood.
For a second, David said nothing, but then he nervously laughed as he looked over at Neda. "Man!" He remarked. "I never thought that I'd be an underdog against a girl I'm almost a foot and a half taller than and outweigh by over a hundred pounds, but that's where we are. Against Neda, I feel like I'm up against Gordon Ramsay or something in the kitchen. There's no use sugarcoating it," he shrugged. "Neda definitely outplayed me."
"But," David then continued. "I didn't come into this game originally as a fan of these shows. I've heard of Survivor, Big Brother, and Total Drama, but I never watched them. And my game definitely shows it," he honestly told the jury. "I didn't start playing this game right away like Neda did. And along the way, even with my big moves, there are some misplays I'm not proud of. As Neda said in her speech, she was pretty easily able to manipulate me into using that idol. At that moment in the game, I was paranoid, and she was able to capitalize on that. And by the end of the game, I had no one who wanted to actually go to the end with me. I had to fight if I wanted to make it here."
"I had to learn this game on the fly," David then told the jury, a new determination entering his voice. "But I did learn. I did fight to be here. I won my way to this ending when no one else would take me. And as the game went on, I adapted. I made moves, like the Brooke and Marcellas blindsides. I made bonds with damn near every single person here, all of which helped propel me as the game went on."
David then laughs. "Heck, I even made my own strategy! Maybe it wasn't super thorough or planned for years, but I did have a strategy, and it worked well enough to get me right here." David now turned and looked directly at Neda. "And Neda, you had an awesome final speech, but there was one thing that you were wrong about. Winning this game would mean the world to me. I won't lie to everyone here; the money would be so great for me. It'll change my life. But Neda, you don't come into a game like this, play your heart out, see your friends fall, and watch the game around you constantly evolve, and not come out loving it. And yeah, I've come to love this game."
"So, that's all my cards on the table," David admitted, his speech coming to an end. "Like I said at the start, I didn't come in as a fan or anything. But I always try to finish something a little different than when I started, and I'm finishing this game as an entirely different person, regardless of what you jurors decide. But just know that winning would mean the world to me and my loved ones. But thanks for listening, thanks for playing with me, and thanks for being my friends." And with that, David sat down, his speech also over.
Chris then clapped his hands. "Alright, everyone! With that, our final two jury Q and A is now over! We're going to take a quick break; when we come back…..it'll be time to vote for a winner! Stay tuned everyone; the end is almost here! We'll be crowning a winner when we come back from the break!"
When the show returned, the crowd was all standing on their feet, an excited cheer rising up from them. As the camera panned over the crowd, the alumni, as well as the finalists' families, and the Total Drama alumni could also be seen. After a few more crowd shots of excited fans, the focus shifted back to Chris, who stood next to the key wheel.
"Welcome back to the Total Drama Island: Rewritten Finale, everyone!" He greeted the audience. "First off, let's give a big round of applause to our finalists; David and Neda!" The crowd did so, giving the two a massive cheer as they could be seen grinning excitedly on the screen. "They killed that Q and A! When we originally decided to switch over from our regular format of a large challenge to a full-on Q and A and jury like other shows, there was some concern about whether or not that would properly translate to this show."
Chris grew a look of pride on his face. "But I'm so happy to say that I feel pretty confident that thanks to our finalists, this format has been a smashing success!" Turning to the crowd, he loudly asked, "And what do you guys think!?" The host couldn't help but give a large grin at the cheer that went up from them. "Heck yeah, everyone!"
Chris then gestured to the jurors. "And let's also give a great thanks to our jurors as well!" As the crowd cheered again, the host explained, "We can't have a great jury Q and A without a great jury, and our jury delivered big time! So, with that, give a round of applause to Brooke, Wind, Weenus, Vivi, Liana, John, and Godfrey!" The crowd cheered even louder as most of the jurors (sans John and Vivi) stood and waved at the applauding crowd.
This went on for a few moments before the cheering died down and the jurors sat back in their seats. "Alright, everyone," Chris suddenly began, a serious tone in his voice. "We all know what time it is. It's now time for the jury to vote for the winner of Total Drama Island: Rewritten. During the break, we had production give you each a small bag." In response, the jurors all nodded, and John even held his up for dramatic effect, revealing it to be a small purple bag with rope loosely tied to the top to keep it shut.
"Inside this bag is a pair of keys; one that says David, and one that says Neda. When I call your name, you will come up here to the key wheel. While you're up here, you can give a short statement to the finalists, and you will be placing a key inside one of the seven slots we have here. Once you insert your key, you give it a twist to lock in your vote for the winner. I cannot stress this enough: YOU WILL BE PLACING THE KEY OF THE PERSON YOU WANT TO WIN." He sighed, muttering under his breath, "The last thing we need is a disaster like the first Big Brother Canada finale…"
Chris quickly returned to his normal state, and continued, "Once you place your key inside the wheel, your vote is locked in and cannot be changed under any circumstance, so take this time to really think about your choice. Do you all understand?" The seven jurors all collectively gave the host nods of understanding, and he nodded himself in acceptance. "I'm gonna repeat this one more time since it's so important: When you get up here, you will place the key of the person you want to win. I'm gonna ask again: Do you all get it?"
"We're not stupid, McLean!" Vivi snapped irrtatedly. "Let's just do the damn thing already!"
"Yeah, I'm ready to do this!" Weenus added, his voice much more excited than irritated. "Let's get this show on the road!"
Chris nodded. "Alright then. If you guys are ready and understand the rules, then we'll get this going." Chris looked over at one of the jurors. "Brooke, come start us off."
The athlete stood and made her way off the back row of seats, and purposefully made her way towards the key wheel. Arriving, she took a moment to look at both of the finalists, before telling them both, "Congratulations again to you two. You both played so excellently, and this was a really, really hard choice." She then produced her key, and as she placed it in the keyhole, she declared, "But I've made my choice, and it's a choice I'm more than happy with." As she twisted her key to lock in her vote, she said, "Both of you fought like hell to get here; but I'm voting for the person who fought the hardest." With that, she turned and made her way back to her seat.
"Wind, come on up now!" Chris called. "You're next on the voting list!" With an excited grin plastered on her face, Wind excitedly made her way up to the key wheel.
"I'm so happy for you both!" She excitedly told them. "I only wish that I could vote for both of you. You both earned this, and you both deserve this." As Wind told the finalists this, she grabbed her chosen key and placed it inside the keywheel. "So if you did not receive my vote, please don't think that I don't respect you or your game. This was a momentous decision, but I am at peace with the decision I've made. I admire you both, and good luck," Wind told them, her grin still wide as she became the second juror to twist her key and lock in her vote for the winner of the game.
As Wind made her way back to her seat, Chris called, "Weenus, man! You're third up!" In an instant, the stuntman bolted off his seat and practically sprinted up to the key wheel, running right past Wind, making her giggle as he nearly collided with and knocked over the key wheel. Thankfully, though, he managed to stop just before that and gave the finalists a huge smile.
"Neda, David, hell yeah you two!" He excitedly shouted. "How awesome is this?! We're about to have our winner!" The finalists laughed at Weenus' sheer excitement as he continued rambling, "You're both just so awesome! Like Wind said, I really wish you could both win, for real." Weenus looked over at Neda with an exceptionally apologetic look. "But Neda, I already said it, but I gotta give my boy his flowers." Neda just wordlessly nodded as Weenus grabbed his key, inserted it into the key wheel, and gave it a firm twist. After he did so, he locked eyes with David and, wordlessly, gave him the Agency's hand sign; one that David was quick to return. They held the pose for a few more seconds before Weenus dropped it and made his way back to his seat.
"Okay, Vivi, it's your turn!" The host called. At that, she stood and stomped her way towards the key wheel. Standing in front of the finalists on the screen, she said nothing to them, and they said nothing to her. The feeling of tension in the air seemed to grow thicker by the second as the three all watched each other in silence.
"I still would rather not vote for either of you," Vivi said after about twenty seconds with a shrug. "And I still wish it was me instead of both of you." But then, the rocker opened her bag, fished out a key, and stuck it into the key wheel. "But I gotta vote for one of you. And I'd rather see this person win." Vivi turned her key and locked in her vote before wordlessly making her way back towards her seat.
"Okay Liana, now it's your turn!" The host called. In response, Liana stood and confidently strode in front of the finalists, arms folded, and a smirk on her face as the sun reflected off her aviators.
"Well, this is it," she remarked as she unfolded her arms and pushed her sunglasses to the top of her beanie once again. "After all this time, I'm gonna cast my vote." She looked back and forth at both finalists as she explained, "You both gave me some great answers, so props to both of you. Neda, the passion in your speeches was abundantly clear, and the way you spoke with such confidence in your strategy was inspiring. And David, you picked this game up scarily quick. You've probably had the most up-and-down experience here, but through it all, you've maintained that good attitude and did what you had to do."
As she reached into her bag, she announced, "Both of you would be a great winner, but for me, there's a clear-cut choice. And I'm giving my vote to the person that I believe played the strongest game." As she grabbed her key, put it into the slot, and twisted it, she grinned, lowered her aviators once more, and told the finalists, "Best of luck for what's to come."
With Liana turning and making her way back to her seat before Chris could announce who was next, John stood from his seat and sauntered over to the key wheel. "Hey!" Chris exclaimed, annoyed. "I didn't call your name yet, John!"
John, standing next to the key wheel, raised an eyebrow and asked, "Well, was I next?" Though the host said nothing, his glare at the artist indicated that he, in fact, was. With the host saying nothing, John rolled his eyes and then told the finalists, "So this is it." John gave them a playful smirk as he told them, "It's a shame that my toxic juror plan didn't work, but hey, I think that we got a solid as hell final two because of it." John reached into his bag, produced a key, and stuck it in the wheel. "No fancy words or big reasons. Simply put, I'm voting for the person I wanna see win the most." He twisted the key and gave the finalists another, more relaxed, grin. "Congrats you two. I'm happy for you guys." With those honest words, John turned and walked back to his seat, leaving one more juror's vote to go.
"Alright, Godfrey!" Chris cheerily called. "It's all you now, dude! You're the final juror! Time for your vote!" In response to that, Godfrey stands, straightens his suit coat, and swaggers over to in front of the finalists. As he stared at them, a large, confident smile spread across his face. "Well…..here we are," Godfrey tells them. "It's time for my vote." He looks at the both of them as he tells them, "I was entirely serious when I said my vote was open until this moment. Both of your Q and As, as well as your speeches, were awesome. I learned a lot about both of you and about your games. I won't lie; this was a very tough choice. But…" Godfrey grabbed a key out of his bag and placed it into the wheel. "In the end, I have one vote to give. And my one vote is for the person that I feel best about saying is the representative of this season and the person that beat Godfrey Ngakoue." Godfrey gave his key a hard twist, and with that, the seventh, and final vote was locked in.
"Thanks, Godfrey!" Chris happily told the charmer. "Thanks everyone! Your votes are now locked in. We're gonna take one last break…and when we come back, we'll reveal the jury votes, and crown the winner of Total Drama Island: Rewritten!"
Line break
Excitement was palpable in the air as the show returned, and now both the host, the key wheel, and the briefcase were all in front of the screen that the camera was on. "Welcome back everyone to the season finale of Total Drama Island: Rewritten!" Chris announced, excitement clear as day in his voice. "We're here, and we've got the votes and the cash! I don't think that there's anything left to say. So, I think we should show these votes and crown our winner!" He turned to the crowd and yelled, "WHAT DO YOU ALL THINK!?"
A roar went up from the crowd, and Chris basked in the wave of excitement that the crowd gave him. A giant smile went on his face, and Chris patted the key wheel. "Alright then! Then let's not wait any longer! Let's freakin' do this, everyone!" Another cheer went up from the crowd as Chris turned and looked at the finalists.
"David. Neda. You know what time it is. We're gonna be reading the votes now. One of you is about to win a million dollars. There are seven votes inside this key wheel. To win, you need at least four to win. Do you understand?" The pair nodded solemnly, and Chris nodded as well. "Okay. Then if there's nothing left to say, let's reveal the votes and crown a winner."
David and Neda looked at each other out of the corner of their eyes, and then, surprisingly, Neda reached over and clasped David's hand. "Is this okay?" She quietly asked.
David nodded. "Yeah. You're good," He tensely whispered as their hands sat on a handrest on one of their chairs.
As this happened, Chris grabbed the first key, twisted it, and pulled it out. "Brooke has cast her vote for….
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…David!"
A cheer went up from the crowd at the announcement and as Chris flashed the key with David's name on it to the camera, David just nodded in acceptance. After a few moments, Chris set the key aside and grabbed, twisted, and removed a second key from the wheel.
"Weenus has cast his vote for…..
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…David!"
Another cheer from the crowd as David showed the second key with David's name, and David widely grinned and pumped his free hand at the revelation in response. Chris then announced, "It's currently two votes for David and zero for Neda. Five votes are left." After a few moments, Chris set the second key aside, and after doing that, he grabbed a third key, twisted it, and removed it from the wheel.
"Wind has cast her vote for….
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….Neda!"
The superfan smiled wide and the crowd loudly cheered at the Iranian girl getting her first vote and the host flashed the key to the screen, revealing Neda's name adorned on it. Chris set that key aside and repeated the motion of grabbing, twisting, and removing a key from the wheel. "John has cast his vote for….
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….Neda!"
Neda's grin threatened to break her face as Chris revealed the key with her name on it, and the crowd reacted even louder as it became a tie. "It's currently a two-two vote," Chris informed everyone. "We have three votes left, and you need at least two of them to win." After his announcement, Chris placed John's key to the side and grabbed, twisted, and removed his fifth key. "Liana has cast her vote for…..
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…..Neda!"
David could feel the grip on her hand tighten as she was one vote from victory. The crowd loudly reacted to this as well as Chris showed the third key with her name on it to the screen before placing the key on the growing pile of keys on the wheel. Chris untwisted and removed the penultimate key and the key that could win Neda the game. He looked at it and read, "Godfrey has cast his vote for…..
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….David!"
Another huge cheer went up from the crowd as they all realized that the next vote would determine the winner. David and Neda both looked extremely anxious as Chris announced, "It's a three-three tie. The next vote determines the winner." The jurors all turned and looked at Vivi, but the rocker gave nothing away as the host set the key aside, grabbed the final key, twisted it, removed it, and read it.
"Vivi has voted for, and the winner of Total Drama Island: Rewritten is…
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…DAVID!"
Immediately, as soon as his name was read, David fell out of his chair and collapsed to his knees. The crowd exploded in jubilance as the winner was named and Chris flashed the final key on the screen. Meanwhile, Neda crouched beside David, tears leaking from his eyes, and hugged him.
"I really won!?" David asked, sounding like he was in shock. "Did I really win?!"
"You did!" Neda happily told him. "David, you won!"
David then stood and wrapped Neda in a huge hug which lifted her straight off the ground. "I really won!?" He asked again, seemingly in disbelief.
Neda squealed in laughter as David lifted her off the ground. "You did!" She repeated. "Congratulations, David!"
"David, Neda!" Chris called to get their attention. "Follow the red carpet and come through the double doors!" After the host said that, David set Neda down, and Neda motioned for him to follow her. He did so, and the pair disappeared off-screen.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome Neda Atashnak, and the winner of Total Drama Island: Rewritten, David Masters!" At those words, the doors to inside the hotel swung open, and as the Total Drama theme blared over the speakers once more and confetti cannons shot off, sending confetti high into the hair, the doors swung open and David ran through to the roar of the crowd, with Neda just behind him.
As confetti fell from the sky, David was immediately embraced by Weenus, and the two shared a huge hug as they laughed. "YOU DID IT, BRO!" Weenus shouted over the roar of the audience and the blaring music. "THE AGENCY BROUGHT IT FREAKING HOME!"
"THANKS SO MUCH, MAN!" David cried as he kept the hug on Weenus. "THANK YOU!" As the two hugged, Godfrey also joined in.
"Let me in on this, guys!" The charmer laughed, and David and Weenus were more than happy to oblige as the trio all embraced. "You did it, David," Godfrey whispered to him. "I'm so proud of you, bro. You brought it home."
As the Agency trio embraced, Neda gave a hug to Wind, who approached her along with John. "I'm sorry you didn't win Neda," Wind sadly told her.
"Yeah, I'm sorry too," John added, his voice clear that he meant it. "I know how much you wanted it.
"It's all good!" Neda cheered. "This is just too fun to be upset!"
As the Agency separated, David ran into the crowd and hugged his mom. As he did that, Godfrey approached Neda and hugged her as well. "Sorry Neda," he honestly told her, "But you know how it is."
She giggled. "It's okay!" Neda cheered, before extricating herself from the hug. "I need to see my family!"
As the jurors milled about on stage and talked, Neda and David were both embraced by their families. The cameras couldn't pick up what was said, but smiles and tears were abounding from both David and Neda.
The next few minutes were generally chaotic: the music still blared and confetti flew through the air as everyone embraced; Neda could be seen hugging Katherine, David could be seen talking with the Atashnaks, Neda talking with Liana, Godfrey and Weenus meeting Katherine, and more. It was an atmosphere of celebration.
"David, come back over here!" Chris called, and David could be seen weaving through the huge crowd that had gathered, holding his mom by the hand. "David, you just won a million bucks! How does it feel, man?!" Chris happily asked.
"Chris, I'm on top of the world, bro!" He shouted. "I'm just a momma's boy from Newfoundland, McLean! And I just won this game and a million bucks! This is so amazing!"
David then looks directly into the camera and tells it, "I didn't come into this game as a big fan or anything! But I was able to pull out the win through hard work and giving it my best! And if I can do this, you can do anything! No matter what your circumstances are, if you just try your best and believe in yourself, you can do anything you set your mind to! I did it and so can you!"
Finishing his small speech, David turned and wrapped his mom in a hug. The camera then focused on Chris, as he told it, "What a season this has been, everyone! I've been so happy to be your host for this! Thank you all so much for joining us on this adventure! For David Masters, I'm Chris McLean, and this has been….
TOTAL!
DRAMA!
ISLAND: REWRITTEN!"
As the camera moved and Chris turned to talk to Neda and Liana, it zoomed in on David hugging his mom. As it faded, David could be heard telling her, "This was all for you. I love you, mom."
DAVID WINS THE SEASON!
Choosing a winner for this was so tough. For a long time, I considered actually having Godfrey win! I thought it would be a really fun subversion to have the winner be the dominant villain of the season too. There where times I'd waffle back and forth between David and Godfrey, even as the story went along! But the farther I got, the less I wanted that to happen. I thought it would be a little too...easy, I guess, for Godfrey. David was always my other choice because I thought his arc throughout the season was really fun. You could see him grow and learn the game as it went on, and now that it's here, I'm very happy with his win.
And Neda is second! This may be surprising, but Neda was never in contention to win this game. I love her, and she's easily my favorite OC, but at the same time, I didn't want this entire story to be seen as "something that exists so Neda can win something." But Neda was a joy to write the entire way through, and I'm very happy making her my runner-up.
Also, because I think it would be fun, here's why everyone voted the way they did:
Brooke respected David for keeping his word, like he mentioned during his speech. Both in regards to the Pressure Cooker and her Hemophilia, David never actually betrayed her or her trust, besides when she went out of the game.
Wind voted for Neda because she could hear the passion in her voice when she talked about the game, and how she wants talking about things like this to be her career. Thus, Wind gave Neda her vote so her dream would come true.
Weenus voted for David because...well, The Agency. LOL.
Vivi voted for David because she thinks that he could use the money more, and that he's just a simple, cool guy.
Liana voted for Neda because she believes that Neda played the strongest strategic game.
John voted for Neda because of their friendship; thusly, he recognises her as having a super strong social game. Especially when she had the jury raise their hands, and all seven were in an alliance with her.
And finally, Godfrey voted for David because he really respects that David was able to grasp the game so fast, and in the span of two eliminations, go from thinking his alliance would just make the end easily to having plans outside of the Agency. Plus, he respects that David was the one who took him out.
And that's the season! This has been so hard, but so fun, and so rewarding. My most sincere thanks to EVERYONE and ANYONE that gave this story a read at any point. This has gone from a pipe dream years in the making to a reality. And it's thanks to all of you that this has happened. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.
And don't forget, we're not done! There's still an epilogue chapter to come, too! Expect that in the future, and after that...who knows?
This has been AZW, and thanks again! I hope you all enjoyed, and see you one final time next time to catch up with the cast after the game!