AN: Uh, okay so…obviously this is a work of fiction and any names or likenesses to real world people or companies are entirely coincidental. I say this because there is a name drop of a fictional company in this chapter, and while I doubt it bears much resemblance to anything in reality, I'd much rather have this stated now than be sorry later. Anyways, sorry for the gigantic delay, please enjoy the chapter.
Chris's Recap:
"The teams were tasked with a challenge of observing all the flora and fauna of the island on a long nature hike, but when they reached their destination, they found that the questions we tasked them with answering were obscure trivia facts that had nothing to do with the island! Hahahaa, the look on their faces was priceless!
Upon learning of this season's second main mechanic, Ghosts and Haunting, Mizu opted to haunt Vethrian, who was not trusting of the process nor of the conman explaining it to him. It was a close fight in the challenge, but the Prophets managed to pull out a victory, sending the Orange Oracles to their first elimination ceremony! The players on the chopping block were Cochrane and Sara, and thanks to, of all things, Palmer's Wheel of Fortune random votes, he telegraphed to his alliance to vote for Sara and the season's, perhaps even series', most argumentative player was eliminated! But it wasn't over for the Oracles, because as the holder of the Death card, Glo was forced to pack her bags and switch over to the Prophets' team, leaving the Oracles without their most analytical player. Now there are 20 contestants left in the running for the million dollar prize. Who will be brought kicking and screaming into the light of Tine Naofa as our next elimination? Find out right here! On Total! Drama! Hud Hynafol!"
~Theme Song: Uragiri no Yuuyake (English Cover) (Lyrics by Y. Chang)~
During the dream beats at the beginning of the song, the camera zooms in from the sky into the Ionad Desert of Crios Cath before using a sandstorm to cut away to another shot as the lyrics start.
In the heat of the sun, your sweat runs dry, walking hard to the beat of the crowd.
Sienna is doing her best to stay awake as she trudges through the Ionad Desert. Meanwhile, Karen is a couple paces ahead of her, clapping in a rhythm to keep Sienna moving while she impatiently side-steps forwards.
Hear the city sing her song, she cries "Everybody's got a right to be proud."
The camera cuts to Dianne carrying a massive amount of firewood over her shoulder in the Cloch Mountains before she looks out to her side. A quick shift cut in that direction then reveals Saki tending to the worn-down grass shelters in the Lower Ceol Fields, before looking out in the opposite direction of Dianne.
Roar out loud. Break the silence. When it's looking like no end is in sight,
A cut to Gwynnis is clutching her card close to her chest with disdain as she seemingly groans in agony. It's revealed that Morren is behind her and has been following her for some time. He continues to follow her throughout their campsite in the Glas Woods.
Roar out louder. Stop the violence. Pick up the pieces of your heart tonight, oh.
The camera pans to where Cochrane is shyly bringing his hand back, as though he wanted the pair to stop arguing but couldn't do it. Cerice's hand then appears on his shoulder as she leans against his back and puts her face close to his before the camera cuts again, using heart motifs.
Look above the horizon, yeah, see the sun shining through.
Omar finishes writing down a reading from his machine in the Cloch Mountains and gets up, looking out to the sunny skies. Freddie then jumps up from behind Omar's machine and picks it up. He and Omar nod at each other before both looking out at the sky again.
If you keep trucking on, don't stop believing. Maybe then your prayers will be answered soon, oh.
The sky is used to cut to Vethrian is racing through the Nialasach Ruins, desperately trying to do something when he trips and falls. He struggles to get up, but Mizu appears behind him and offers a hand. Vethrian reluctantly takes it and as he is helped up, the action becomes a handshake between the two of them.
Look above the horizon, yeah, shooting up through the moon.
The camera cuts to Haywood is in the Cailleach Bog, looking up at a shining moon in the sky, when Froth pats him on the back and starts excitedly moving off camera, prompting Haywood to turn in that direction.
If you keep holding tight, onto that feeling, maybe lady luck will give into you, oh.
The camera follows Haywood as Froth jumps up and down near a crossed-armed but smiling Sylvia. As the trio make their way through the bog, Glo emerges from behind a mangrove, and leans against the trunk with a smile of her own while she watches the trio move out.
Everybody's got a tune to pull them through to tomorrow. Through sorrow.
The Camera cuts to where Kaiser is doing his best in the mountains to push a large boulder out of the way. It then pans over to reveal Sara on the other side, trying to push it the other way.
If you're feeling like you wanna stop believing, take another look, all you gotta do, oh.
The camera cuts to Ethel in the Upper Ceol Fields, looking at her card with a frown, before a noise captures her curious attention. The camera pans to reveal Court dancing. He extends a hand and Ethel takes it with a smile, and her white clothes become the cutaway to the next scene.
Look above the horizon, yeah, lining up all the fools.
Chris and Chef are snickering with each other as they line up little models of the cast in the planning phase of a challenge. A fire motif is used to cut to the next scene..
'Cause it's heads or it's tails. No rhyme or reason.
Palmer is forced before a wheel of contestants in the Tine Naofa Bonfire Pit, and he looks it over with worry. Joy comes up behind him, looks at the wheel, and forces Palmer's hand to spin it. The camera zooms into the wheel before cutting to the next scene.
Baby in the end, it ain't up to you, no.
The camera zooms out to reveal Cerice, Froth, Sienna, Gwynnis, Karen, Sylvia, Sara, Vethrian, Joy, Omar, Palmer, Dianne, Kaiser, Glo, Cochrane, Ethel, Saki, Mizu, Haywood, Freddie, Morren, and Court all in a long giant line as they look over the Loser Lounge that has been set up for what appears to be a voting ceremony, and the sky pans up to reveal the title:
Total Drama Hud Hynafol: Reversed
Location: Lower Ceol Fields (Purple Prophets Campsite)
Contestant(s): Cerice, Court, Froth, Glo, Haywood, Karen, Morren, Sylvia, Vethrian
The starry autumn sky above the fields of the Prophets' current campsite illuminated the darkness more than their dwindling fire as Glo approached her new home, at least for the time being.
"Oh my GOODNESS!" Froth had been paying more attention to nearby rocks than his turn tending the fire, so as Glo approached, Froth dropped his rock and gasped with glee. "EVERYONE! IT'S RAPUNZEL!"
"Helloooo~" Glo sang sweetly to Froth with a friendly greeting. "This is a little embarrassing for me to explain, but I'm going to be part of the Prophets for a while now according to the rule of my card, Death. Oh, but please, you may all call me 'Glo.' I look forward to meeting each of you in earnest."
As she introduced herself, some of the Prophets stirred from their lodgings.
"Nooooooo…." Morren whined and simpered. "Another mouth to feed, and it isn't even a challenge beast like Kaiser? What a ripoff…." Before he retreated back into his grass hut.
"Did you just flat out reveal your card to us?" Vethrian rose one of his eyebrows. "You do realize that you're sharing valuable information, right?"
"Yeah, that's the point, dummy!" Glo giggled. "You seem like you have a good sense of insight. Does it sound like I'm trying to mislead you?"
"No, and what worries me is that you may have some plan already in mind." Vethrian crossed his arms.
"I always have at least 3 plans in mind at any given time." Glo grinned confidently. "A safe plan, a personal plan, and a high-risk/high-reward plan. I'm going with the personal one right now. I'm sharing information in the hopes I can ingratiate myself to you all, since, frankly, this rule of mine is a huge inconvenience for me. I might get to socialize with everyone before the merge this way, but I'll need to work twice as hard to form meaningful bonds, you understand. Uhhh, I know your name, but I would prefer you introduce yourself at least. Let us all be civil, yes?"
"Vethrian." Vethrian deadpanned. "And while you seem honest, I do not trust someone who is so readily accepting of your claimed situation. Get some rest. Goodnight."
He dipped back into his hut.
"Well, it's nice to meet you, Glo!" Cerice gave a friendly smile. Glo knew from where she was standing that the smile was fake. Cerise waved. "Always nice to have another girl to gossip with!"
She followed Vethrian.
Court gave Glo a polite nod before he too returned to his lodgings.
"Introductions can probably wait until morning." Haywood suggested. "Thanks for letting us know about the situation immediately, but we should sleep so-"
"Oh, not you." Glo shook her head. "You, specifically, are coming with me, to the desert border."
Haywood thought to himself for a moment.
"I choose to follow you to the desert border of my own volition, not because you requested it of me. After all, I have questions I'd like answered."
Confessional: Haywood: The Purple Prophets
"Okay, good…that didn't trigger an elimination. It's hard to figure out exactly what a 'deal' is when it comes to the terms of my card's rule."
End Confessional
"Rapunzel! Before you go!" Froth rushed up to Glo. "Let down your hair!"
"My hair is already about as long as it can get without a straightener." Glo smiled at Froth as she twirled a curl. "You go to bed with the rest of our team now. Let someone else tend the fire."
"You don't want to?" Sylvia asked Karen in a whisper. "I'm…not going to follow those two."
"Fine, whatever." Karen sighed and relented.
Location: Ionad Desert Border
Contestant(s): Glo, Haywood, Sylvia
"Alright, what are you doing here?" Glo crossed her arms.
"That is my question." Haywood crossed his, using his superior height and muscle mass to tower over Glo. "And arriving via police escort helicopter? Theatrical much?"
"Uh, yeah!" Glo huffed. "It's called making an entrance! Now, are you going to help me out here or not?"
Sylvia stayed quiet and hidden behind a dune, only her eyes poking out from the horizon. She went unnoticed.
"I'm not going to help you because I literally cannot now that you've asked for it." Haywood warned Glo. "Your impatience is going to cost you if you keep assuming you know everything about everyone in this game."
"Well, I guess I neither need nor want help from you, of all people." Glo rolled her eyes. "After all, I know who you are."
"Island gods, grant me the strength to deal with this chick." Hawyood pinched the tip of his nose.
"'This chick' is standing right here, and she has a name!" Glo huffed.
"Strange that you shy away from using it." Haywood teased.
Glo stared him down.
Haywood stared back. The girl in front of him had tried to even the intimidation match with her words, but he would not let her overpower him.
"Fine," Glo relented. "Then let's change the topic back to the cards. Is what you told me just now true?"
"About my rule? Yes, which is very convenient because you aren't doing yourself any favors with this conversation."
"Yes, I aim to remedy that." Glo cleared her throat. "Might you please do everything in your power to eliminate me?"
"Congratulations, you've turned me into a non-entity when it comes to your potential elimination." Haywood sarcastically congratulated. "But look, as far as I'm concerned, I'd much rather you survive this team's next elimination ceremony. However, because you were impatient, I cannot give you any direct aid. I must act neutrally. Therefore, I have decided, of my own volition, to point you to the person who, at the moment, is considered our team's leader. I have no doubt that he'll have a lot to say to you tomorrow morning if you approach him. What comes of that meeting will be entirely up to you."
"Well…who is it?" Glo awaited patiently. "Because surely, it isn't true what Morren was saying back during the last challenge."
Haywood gave Glo a pitying look.
"Oh." The disappointment in her voice was low and grated. "Fine then, and while it goes against my own better judgement, I will refrain from needlessly spreading your own surname to the other contestants. Now then…goodbye."
"Glo, wait!" Haywood stopped her.
"What is it?" She turned, startled.
"I know this conversation didn't go the way you hoped it would, but…I am glad to see you were able to play on Total Drama."
"Oh….well thank you! I'm happy for you too, in that respect." Glo gave Haywood a small smile. "Now then, I'm off to protect myself from being tossed away by this team like garbage."
"Good luck." Haywood wished her well.
"Luck will have nothing to do with it." Glo grinned. "But thanks. You too."
Confessional: Glo: The Purple Prophets
"Haywood Pamesi. The older by a few minutes of the Pamesi twins. He's a bit taller and more muscular than his brother. A better tan too, but he certainly has that same defiant attitude. If I had to hazard a guess, I'd say he was here for redemption. Whether that's in the form of redemption for his family name or redemption for his brother's basic strategy remains to be seen. But his card makes it impossible for him to accept deals of any sort, huh? I wonder what kind of power that nets him. I hope making him a non-entity when it comes to my game turns out for the best, especially considering he was apparently going to ally with me before I let my, ahem, 'wit' get the better of me. For now though, eugh…Morren is the man of the hour."
End Confessional
Haywood surveyed the area after Glo left. "I know you're there, Sylvia." Haywood spoke in the direction where Sylvia was hiding.
"I just wanted to make sure that the two of you were indeed up to something." She admitted as she approached Haywood. "You and that Glo girl talked like you had never met."
"Wha-? Oh, yeah, well…" Haywood rubbed the back of his neck. "How do I put this? It's not like we really know each other all too well. We just recognize each other, really."
"I mean, it seemed like you guys weren't very close at all." Sylvia noted. "She's a woman and you got nervous like usual. What's that all about?"
"Oh, yeah I guess I did hold my own pretty well when it came to her." Haywood admitted. "And hey, I'm holding my own pretty well when it's coming to you now too! I guess that means I'm able to feel more at ease around you."
Sylvia was not prepared for the earnest implicit admission of trust, but she made no effort to hide the red forming on her cheeks as she gave Haywood a smile. "I knew you didn't have it in you." She laughed.
Confessional: Sylvia
"Okay…Glo…possibly a strategic threat, but that's about the only way she's a threat…but if I can somehow get an original Oracle on my side…well, if one person can switch teams, then why can't others? Yeah, I think Operation: Befriend The Oracle has been born, here!"
End Confessional
Location: Loser Lounge
Ghost(s): Mizu, Sara
Sara was greeted by Mizu at the gates to the Loser Lounge.
"Oh, finally, someone new to talk to!" He smiled. "Welcome, my soon to be fellow ghost!"
"Don't fucking talk to me." Sara shooed Mizu away.
"But all we have for conversation is each other, at least until you decide on a contestant to haunt." Mizu reasoned.
"Says here I don't have to haunt anyone if I don't want to." Sara read the sign explaining the rules to her.
"That's true, in theory." Mizu slouched back in a lounge chair. "But in practice, you really ought to pick someone to haunt. After all, you aren't going to get a million dollars by wasting time here, are you?"
"I believe I told you to not fucking talk to me." Sara glared at Mizu.
"Okay, personal space, got it." Mizu put his hands up and headed towards one of the tents set up in the lounge. "You're probably not worth forging an alliance with anyways." He mumbled under his breath.
Sara turned her attention back to the sign and the board of remaining players.
She took note of Vethrian's crossed out face.
"Not sure what good that knowledge does to me." She muttered to herself. "But, that annoying Prophet is right. If I want the money, I need to haunt someone…and as much as I hate to admit it, I'd rather haunt an Oracle than a complete stranger…but which Oracle can I haunt that will let me do the most damage to the people I don't like? Probably…"
Her eyes landed on one picture in particular.
"Oh…OHHHH…I've just had a wonderful idea, hahahaha! Oh this'll be fun!"
She took the marker…
Brought it up high as though brandishing a weapon…
And…
Smiling with malice…
Crossed out her chosen contestant.
As Sara left to sleep for the night, content to begin her haunt when the sun rose, the camera zoomed in on the unfortunate recipient of a ghost who didn't seem as keen on help as Mizu was.
The portrait belonged to Ethel.
Location: Glas Woods (Orange Oracles Campsite)
Contestant(s): Cochrane, Dianne, Ethel, Freddie, Gwynnis, Joy
Ghost(s): Sara
"Wake up, sleepy head…" Dianne sang as she rolled Cochrane awake.
"Huh?" He wondered.
"Good news, alliance-mate!" Dianne smiled. "Even if your ass was nearly roasted at that elimination ceremony, my card's rule means that I'm a vote at your disposal until, well, until we go to another elimination ceremony!"
"That's…good?" Cochrane yawned.
"Damn straight!" Dianne put a fist in the air. "It means I can still be part of our Wheel of Fortune alliance!"
"Be that as it may," Cochrane got up. "I would rather not be on the chopping block should we lose again. Once was plenty scary enough, thank you."
"Yeah, I can only imagine." Dianne sighed. "What do you intend to do about it though? Not like miss high and mighty Gwynnis is going to just forgive and forget, y'know?"
"I'm going to make myself useful in challenges, for one." Cochrane determined. "And to that end, I'm heading out to find Kaiser and ask for physical training."
"Shucks, I could train ya with all the camp labor that needs be done!" Dianne laughed. "But nah, you go ahead and find 'im. The game is never on pause."
"That it is not." Cochrane agreed with a wave as he went to go find the soldier.
Confessional: Cochrane: The Orange Oracles
"Okay, last night was a bit of a wake-up call. We were really lucky that our votes coincided with the majority, and I think Dianne, Palmer, and I all realize that something like that happening again would be nothing short of a miracle. I do not know what Joy is thinking because none of us know what Joy is thinking, but it's probably nothing good. Either way, my main goal here at camp is now to become more of an asset in challenges, and since Kaiser is such an asset that he's still our MVP with literally one arm tied behind his back, he seems like the best person to ask for training."
End Confessional
Confessional: Dianne: The Orange Oracles
"Camp does have a lot of labor that goes into it, but that's not all. There is a lot of touch-up nonsense that I'm not so great at. That's why when it comes to chores, I usually take care of the hefty manual labor, while Ethel takes care o' that housekeepin' stuff. Like patchin' the shelters n' keepin' clothes n' dishes washed."
End Confessional
"Got some wood for the fire." Dianne dropped some sticks and logs near Ethel.
"Thanks so much, Dianne!" Ethel smiled up at her from her spot tending the fire. "The clothes you were wearing yesterday should be dry by now, so take them off the clothes line I set up whenever you want!"
"Heck yeah!" Dianne went to grab her laundry immediately.
Confessional: Ethel (Sara): The Orange Oracles
"I wasn't ever expecting Dianne of all people to become like, one of my best friends out here. Mainly because of how different our upbringings are. She's from a dude ranch and I, well, let's just say my family is extremely well-off and leave it at that for now. Either way though, it's been fun to get to know someone so different and still find that we hold similar ideals. Though, I suppose finding these kinds of friends isn't terribly out of the ordinary now that I think back on all my favorite novels and historical dramas."
End Con-
A loud knock.
"Hello?" Ethel wondered from inside the confessional.
"Ah, can't have that." Sara grunted as she forced her way into the confessional.
"What the FUCK are you doing?!" Ethel wondered aloud and angrily. "This is a private moment, here!"
"About that…" Sara made herself comfortable, pushing Ethel out of the center. "I've chosen to haunt you, see, so you don't get confessionals to yourself anymore. More importantly, did Miss 'Perfect Noble Princess' just curse?"
"Of fucking course I cursed!" Ethel responded just as angrily as before. "You barged in on my confessional!"
"Well, it's our confessional now! And here I thought you like, had to be polite or something."
"I do have to be polite!" Ethel revealed. "But not in here, and probably not to you either now that I think about it! After all, you aren't a legitimate player anymore though it would be dishonest of me to say you were ever much of one to begin with!"
"Huh." Sara laughed a bit. "Hahaha…" It picked up until it overtook her. "Hahahahahahahaaaah!"
"Am I fucking losing it?" Ethel stared into the camera while Sara laughed. "What…what is this?" She gestured toward the laughing ghost.
"No…no…" Sara began to calm herself down. "It's just…I don't intend on making things more difficult for you at all, at least in terms of the game, and challenges, and whatnot. In fact, now that I see that fire in those icy eyes of yours, I'm actually starting to like you a bit. Here I thought you were a goody two-shoes."
"Well, if you think I'm a villain, you will be sorely disappointed." Ethel crossed her arms. "I intend to play with integrity, though perhaps that's a hard concept for you to grasp. In any case, I was rude to you because your shitty behavior not only now but over the course of this game has warranted it. But if you thought I was such a goody two shoes, then why did you haunt me in the first place?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Sara's devilish grin grew. "If I haunt you, here and now…that means that no one else will be able to do that, and if they want to get rid of me…they have to vote you off. Might be harder when we get to the merge, but for a team setting? Who wants to vote off their nice, polite, team-mom? Especially when the authoritarian bitch is still around!"
"Let me see if I understand what you're hinting at." Ethel pinched her nose with a frown. "You, Sara, have chosen to haunt me in order to use me as a shield while, I assume, you make the lives of my friends miserable, with their misery as your desired end-goal?"
"Good reasoning." Sara snarked. "Did you learn that at a fancy prep school?"
"No, you're just immature and obvious." Ethel didn't miss a beat. "But I'll tell you what I did learn at a fancy prep-school: The power of influence. I have it here, in my possession…" Ethel gestured to the camera. "Confirmation that you intend to commit the crime of harassment with malicious intent. If I so much as even suspect that you actually follow through with it, I take it to production."
"Hah." Sara scoffed. "And they'd listen to you? Instead of the ratings I'd bring them?"
"They would indeed." Ethel once again didn't miss a beat. "I don't particularly enjoy leveraging political power, but if it's to protect people I actually like from rotten and bitter people like you, then you leave me no choice. Now, to explain why my word matters so much. You're a violent delinquent, so I assume, at some point, you've held a weapon. Is this accurate?"
"Whatever." Sara rolled her eyes. "Sure. I've got a combat knife, and once I'm old enough, I'm grabbing a gun too. Despite what you might think, I'm currently on the right side of the law."
"That 'currently' will certainly help a case for intent." Ethel noted. "But more importantly, good, this will make it easy to explain to you. Both the knife you own and the gun you plan to buy were in all likelihood designed and manufactured by RossWorks. I am their CEO's sole daughter and heiress to that company."
"And? Hardly a political powerhouse if your daddy just owns a business." Sara didn't quite understand.
"RossWorks is at the top of the Military Industrial Complex, you absolute imbecile." Ethel sighed. "In terms you're more likely to understand…We decide who wins wars. If I make a stink about you, do you think production wants to anger that kind of power?"
"Whatever, I'm at the bottom of society anyways, right? Why should I care about pissing off bigwigs?" Sara was still defiant.
"I suppose I wouldn't know." Ethel admitted. "But why should you care about dragging others down then? You'll never climb over them, and you especially aren't climbing over those at the top. I suggest you use your time as a ghost to reconsider what you truly believe in, and once you have your honest answer, do what you think is right. Meanwhile, I will do what I think is right and keep a constant vigil because I am a woman of my word, and if you've seen fire in my icy eyes, then you know the ice you're on is very thin indeed."
Sara stared for a moment, attempting to stay defiant, but eventually relented with a low growl. "Whatever you say, she-devil."
"Hmph." Ethel flipped her ponytail. "You're closer than you realize."
End Confessional
Shift Camera Focus
Joy sighed as one of the machines that Omar had spent the past few days setting up in his free time lay at her feet.
No one was around except for Gwynnis and Freddie, who were too caught up in bothering each other to pay her any mind.
"What the fuck, Freddie? I almost tripped that little snare of yours!"
"Hey Gwynnis, could you please trip the snare?" Freddie asked.
"Oh, you little…"
Joy didn't really mind it that much. She was used to things being this way.
What was unforgivable was how nonchalant everyone seemed to be.
"Hey Gwynnis!" Freddie called out again. "Would you please tell me what your card does?"
Gwynnis smirked at whispered in Freddie's ear.
"Oh, cool! That's great since you're my ally and all!"
No one seemed worried that they would be the next one to go home, even Cochrane was more motivated by proving himself useful than saving himself from elimination, an important distinction to Joy.
Glo wasn't around to watch her like a hawk. Both a blessing and a curse. There was someone who was incredibly worried, and rightfully so in Joy's mind. But now, she was over with the prophets, and the only way to get her back would be to win the upcoming challenge.
Joy nodded to herself, having decided on what she viewed as a foolproof strategy, and once again, made sure no one save the viewing world was looking as she took a large rock and smashed Omar's nearby machine to bits.
Joy's ears perked at Gwynnis losing her temper at Freddie and preparing to storm off, so she took the time to spell out a message in broken machine parts. "Winning takes priority."
A few more minutes passed and soon enough Freddie caught a glimpse of Joy and the broken machine.
"What's going on?"
"Gwynnis." Joy pointed to the message she made on the ground out of Omar's broken machine. "She walked by a few minutes ago, really mad, took that rock there and just smashed the machine to bits. She thought it was mine and said 'winning takes priority.' Someone ought to tell poor Omar the news."
"I'll go and do that." Freddie frowned. "You make sure Gwynnis doesn't break any more of them."
"Easily done." Joy replied with a perfect poker face.
Confessional: Joy: The Orange Oracles
"Freddie is too much of an opportunist. He cannot be allowed to stay."
End Confessional
Confessional: Freddie: The Orange Oracles
"Does she…think she's clever? I know it was her that did it, Gwynnis stormed off in a different direction and wouldn't have the time to double back and break that machine. Still though, it's a welcome opportunity to get on Omar's good side. I won't throw anyone under the bus: just say that I found his machine broken and lead him back here. I put Joy on Gwynnis duty because either she'll follow through with it, and Gwynnis will prefer being annoyed by me in comparison, or she won't follow through with it, giving the rest of us, who already don't quite 'get' her a good reason to vote her off should we lose. See? This chef is cooking!"
End Confessional
"Do you…need something?" Gwynnis asked Joy as the latter approached the former only to just stand there staring for two minutes.
"I was wondering what you would say when you realized I was staring at you." Joy answered. "But aside from that, it occurs to me that we haven't had much time to talk or get to know each other."
"Well, I suppose one of the duties of a leader is to know her subjects." Gwynnis mused. "We can start with what brings you to the game in the first place."
Joy sat down and relaxed herself. This too was all part of the fool-proof plan. "Oh, not much really. I'm a fan of the show, so I've auditioned a few times hoping to get on. I was lucky and got accepted this season. I could probably use the money, but I don't find it that important. I just kind of want to play the game."
"You haven't seemed to be doing that much, from my point of view." Gwynnis frowned. "You've gained a reputation as a bit of an enigma and an unreliable one."
"Would it help if you heard that I'm duty-bound to compete in challenges thanks to my rule?" Joy asked.
"Depends on how true it is."
"Mostly true. I can't share all my secrets, nor would I ask you to share all of yours. But what about you, what brings you here?"
"Order." Gwynnis answered. "Every time I watch this show I see people making stupid mistakes because they lack a clear, orderly, guiding hand. I will be the hand that guides them."
"But see, you have gained a reputation for being a stuck-up tyrant. Spurning the idea of working together with Ethel at the last ceremony hasn't helped that perception of you. Surely, you must know this."
"It's not lost on me." Gwynnis shook her head. "But so long as we work to win our challenges, I see no real drawback. As long as I remain in control by the time I reach the end of the game, no one short of an extremely idealistic fool would doubt my skill and right to be crowned winner."
"How many idealistic fools would you say are on this season, then?" Joy pondered. "Hopefully not enough to thwart that plan."
"Even if there were, I have a failsafe, but just like you, I plan to say no more than that."
"For what it's worth…" Joy got back up. "I believe your strategy and philosophy are just as valid as those held by the players that champion ideals or morality or ethics. It was nice talking to you."
"You too." Gwynnis waved Joy away.
Confessional: Joy: The Orange Oracles
"That is, of course, to say that none of them are 'valid'...Least of all mine, heh."
End Confessional
Confessional: Gwynnis: The Orange Oracles
"That girl is surprisingly normal, all things considered. I was convinced my first conversation with her would be her muttering something unintelligible, performing a random action, and calling it a day, but that was actually a very pleasant talk. She isn't about to reap any benefits from it other than that of the doubt, but it was still a pleasant surprise."
End Confessional
Location: Cloc Mountain Range
Contestant(s): Cochrane, Ethel, Freddie, Kaiser, Omar, Palmer
Ghost(s): Sara
"And it was the Glas Woods one that was broken?" Omar asked Freddie as he took a sample from his machine in the mountains.
"Yeah. I'm not sure who did it, but they left a message. 'Winning takes priority.'"
"Well, it sure sounds like Gwynnis, or at the very least, someone wants me to think it sounds like her."
"But which is it?" Freddie falsely wondered.
"In truth, it doesn't matter." Omar put the geological sample in a pouch on his belt. He looked up towards the clear sky and let the wind blow through his dreads. "My course of action is the same either way."
"Eliminate Gwynnis?"
"Oh, heavens no. I aim to align with her, at least temporarily."
"But she might be the one breaking your stuff?" Freddie was admittedly confused by this answer.
"All the more reason to cement an alliance. You're involved with her too, aren't you? I can guarantee you'll have my complete honesty about anything and everything, and an extra vote to cast besides. Even more useful, I have what amounts to an immunity granting power. I fail to see how you could go wrong to choose me as an ally."
"Well, the big issue is less you and more her." Freddie once again falsely admitted. "If she is the one that broke the machine, wouldn't that make her very unlikely to accept your alliance offer."
"It would." Omar nodded. "But we would then have the truth of the matter, and there is no good that will come from acting on unverified assumptions. So, what do you say, want to introduce me as a potential third partner?"
"Maybe…" Freddie crossed his arms. "To tell you the truth, I'm worried that if it's not her idea, Gwynnis will dismiss it out of hand. But I am, at the very least, open to working with you and bridging the gap if you'd like that."
"I'd prefer more, but that will suffice for now. What is important is that I don't let whoever committed this act of sabotage reap whatever benefits they see in causing discord amongst the team. As long as their goal is prevented, I am content."
Confessional: Omar: The Orange Oracles
"I believe I mentioned earlier that I would be sure to take the game seriously. My reasons for being here might be entirely removed from the competition, but I am under no illusions. This is a competition, and why on earth would I just allow another competitor to make me their pawn?"
End Confessional
Confessional: Freddie: The Orange Oracles
"Geez, and I thought Glo had good reads on people. Looks like this team is full of keen-minded players. Hell, maybe even the majority of the cast! I think we're in for some fun times."
End Confessional
As Freddie left to go plant the idea of an alliance with Omar in Gwynnis's head, Palmer emerged from the forest, and walked up to Omar.
"I wasn't eavesdropping, promise." Palmer held up his hands. "But I was waiting for my turn. Liking the island so far?"
"I've never seen anything like it." Omar smiled. "As far as I can tell, the soil is entirely genuine and really old, which means even if the biomes have been manually engineered, they went the extra mile to bring them all over here from existing biomes. That's a lot of time, effort, and money for something only someone like you or I might notice. The alternative is even more enthralling though."
"The alternative?" Palmer wondered.
"That it was the ancient peoples of Crios Cath who altered the terrain this way, likely over tens if not hundreds of years. I wonder if the lifestyles of the various clans evolved to suit the biomes or if the biomes evolved around the lifestyles. Maybe both! Absolutely worth further study."
"That really is amazing." Palmer smiled. "I've been having a blast exploring all over. It's such a shame though. It seems the only structures remaining of the original clans can only be found in the now sealed off Shameterranean. Oh. I guess it's just a subterranean zone now since the losers of the game don't go down there."
"Maybe, but if we look at the ways the contestants of Crios Cath made their shelters, it might be a good starting point in order to find similar, if ancient and faded, sights from the true clans." Omar theorized.
After the two of them finished nerding out over the island, its history, and what discoveries might be made there, Omar finally broached the game as a subject.
"Well, I'm glad to say, it seems we'll be getting along quite well, at least socially." Omar smiled at Palmer and offered a hand. "What would you say to joining an alliance with myself, Freddie, and Gwynnis?"
"I would…." Palmer sighed heavily. "I would have to decline that offer for a couple of reasons. Mainly, I'm already in another alliance, and even more importantly one that revolves around my rule. It's not going to be popular with Gwynnis, and I doubt it will be popular with Freddie either to be honest."
"Your rule?" Omar wondered to himself before deciding not to press that particular topic. "Well, since I've told you the names of those in my alliance, might you tell me who is in yours?"
"Cochrane and Dianne at the moment." Palmer answered. "And maybe Joy? It seemed like she knew something about my rule and my power during the last elimination ceremony. It's hard to tell with her."
"Well, I'm saddened to hear that, but I will respect your decision and wish you well in the days to come."
"I wish the same for you." Palmer smiled.
The two players shook hands before going their separate ways.
Confessional: Palmer: The Orange Oracles
"Look, I know, in a vacuum, that having more allies is just flat out better, but I have to vote randomly for the entire game, and any alliance that Gwynnis is involved in definitely answers to Gwynnis and no one else. Do you guys think Gwynnis of all people will support a random voting block? No! And I don't want her gunning for me, especially if she already has allies of her own. Even if I lied about my rule and joined under false pretenses, she'd figure it out after literally one ceremony. No, I can last longer if I just don't engage with her until I absolutely have to."
End Confessional
Shift Camera Focus
"Kaiser!" Cochrane flagged down the arm-bound soldier by a small mountain pond where he was training as best he could.
"Cochrane!" Kaiser nodded with a surprised smile. "To what do I owe the unexpected visit?"
"Fear and resolve." Cochrane answered. "Seeing the amount of votes I received at that last ceremony has me on edge, and I don't want to be the next one to leave. To that end, I want to perform as best I can in future challenges, but I'm not a physically gifted man. I'm not unfit, per se, but if our challenges ever involve manual labor, I'll be behind if I don't get in shape asap. I was hoping I could join you, follow your routine, and hopefully I'll get some of the muscle I need."
Confessional: Kaiser: The Orange Oracles
"Of course I'm happy to help Cochrane. I've really wanted to get to know others on the team better than simply the three-...well I guess two now with one on the other team, women who gravitate towards leadership. It's also a pretty big boost to my own self-confidence that he came to me about it and not, say, Palmer or Dianne. Both perfectly fit and know him better than I do."
End Confessional
"Well, I'm touched by the request, and I'm happy to help." Kaiser laughs. "We can start with a few laps around this pond to get your heart rate up. Then, we'll move onto using some of the larger rocks as lifting weights, and we shouldn't forget a few reps of sit-ups and push-ups. There is one small hiccup in this plan though."
"Oh?" Cochrane frowned. "What is it?"
"Cochrane, muscles don't appear overnight. I'm happy to train with you, and I'm impressed by your initiative, but before any muscles overcompensate and get stronger, you're going to get sore. Really sore. If we have a physically demanding challenge before you start getting used to the routine, your performance might suffer rather than improve."
"That's a risk I'm going to have to take." Cochrane shrugged. "Besides, the more exercise my body gets, the healthier and more attentive my mind will be as well."
"Well, as long as you've thought it through." Kaiser nodded as he held out his unbound hand for a shake. "Welcome to Kaiser's Mountain Gym! We'll meet here at sunrise each morning! Now, I'm getting excited for it too!"
"It's written plain on your face!" Cochrane laughed. "I'm glad you find this so agreeable, I was worried you might've chastised my lack of strength."
"Oh?" Kaiser frowned. "Do I come off like that?"
"It may just be stereotypes influencing perception." Cochrane admitted. "I just barely know you is all."
"Ah, see, that's the reason why I'm so excited about this!" Kaiser replied. "It means we can get to know each other! I do want to spend more time getting to know everyone, really, it's just that some of the people on this team are very disagreeable about socializing at all."
Both boys' eyes wandered as they heard footfalls approaching. Ethel, followed by Sara, made their way to the bank of the pond. "In fact, it appears there are some so disagreeable that even elimination can't truly get rid of them." Kaiser joked towards Cochrane before the pair welcomed the women to the pond.
"Good day, ladies!" Cochrane waved.
"Can we help you with anything?" Kaiser asked.
Ethel looked toward Sara. Clearly, she wanted to say something from the daggers she was glaring at Kaiser and Cochrane, but she kept her lips sealed.
Ethel smiled towards the men. "I just figured I'd show you guys my new tagalong."
Sara almost immediately grabbed Ethel and dragged her to the nearest confessional.
"Oh, looks like she needs to say something privately! We'll be back!" Ethel called.
Confessional: Ethel (Sara): The Orange Oracles
"The fuck are you doing?" Sara asked in a snarl. "If you tell them I'm haunting you, you'll get eliminated sooner, so they can get rid of me, you know."
"No, they won't." Ethel crossed her arms. "Unlike you, Cochrane and Kaiser are loyal people and I intend to prove to them that you are nothing more than a fly on the wall as far as we're all concerned. Your little vendetta plan has been thoroughly quashed before it ever got started. Now what are you going to do about it?"
"If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were goading me on, she-devil." Sara narrowed her eyes.
"That's because I am." Ethel once again didn't miss a beat. "This is really a win-win for both of us, even if you can't see it. Either you act out like you've been wanting to and prove me right about your character, or you don't and find a healthier way to channel whatever makes you so angry and vindictive towards something else. These people only want our team to get along and succeed."
"You don't know me like you think you do." Sara spat. "I'm no more of a friend to the dictator bitch than I am to you or the soldier you both have the hots for. Why should I be made to follow because any of you say so? I can make my own decisions."
"Forgive me if the decisions you've made thus far leave a lot to be desired." Ethel rolled her eyes. "But I do see the point you are trying to make. You'd rather individuals contribute how they see fit?"
"Only if how they see fit doesn't dictate the actions of another person." Sara responded.
"Interesting…" Ethel's gaze softened into a more curious expression. "But what if a person doesn't contribute anything? What if all they do is shoot down the opinions of others, or say, harass people against their will. Would they not be dictating both actions and status?"
"Well, you'd vote an asshole like that off, obviously." Sara didn't quite parse the full extent and meaning of Ethel's question.
"Maybe I'll leave you to think about that answer for a while." Ethel stood up with purpose and left the confessional. Sara, now more confused than angry, left soon after.
End Confessional
After both Ethel and a silent Sara joined the boys for the first session of Kaiser's Mountain Gym, Cochrane took his leave, and as Sara sat glaring under a tree, Ethel and Kaiser took the time to sit next to each other.
"Your uh…plus one seems rather tame compared to what I expected."
"What did you expect?" Ethel asked.
"I expected her to haunt someone on the other team to try and make us lose. Failing that, I figured she'd haunt me or Gwynnis."
"As I understand it," Ethel mentioned, "ghosts have autonomy, but they wouldn't be allowed to cast a vote for the player they're haunting or sabotage them in challenges. I happen to know precisely why I was chosen as she told me."
"Oh? Why?"
"I'm sorry, that was said in a confessional." Ethel shook her head. "It would be unfair of me to tell you without permission."
This caught Sara's attention.
"Just know," Ethel continued, "that she's not here to sabotage any team effort. I can say that with certainty."
Sara nodded to herself.
"I…I'll keep that in mind." Kaiser was still a little unnerved by Sara's presence and whenever she took notice of him her stare did return to its death glare.
Location: Ceol Fields (Purple Prophets Campsite)
Contestant(s): Cerice, Court, Glo, Karen, Morren, Saki, Sylvia, Vethrian
Ghost(s): Mizu
Court looked around with a shrug of outstretched arms as he and Karen met up away from camp.
"Yeah, I don't know either." Karen shook her head. "I do know that he said he'd be really late though. So, what do we do about this?"
Court gestured directly to the ground and then pantomimed a person walking from one location to another with his fingers, and once again gave a shrug.
"Glo's a complication, for sure." Karen nodded. "But no, you had it the first time. What are we going to do about this meeting?"
Court pantomimed pushing up a pair of glasses by the nose bridge.
"Well yeah, my vote is still for him. I literally can't change it until he's gone."
Court pantomimed two people walking up to the pair of them, then tapped his wrist like a watch.
"Yeah, I guess we do just have to wait it out to talk to them about it."
Confessional: Court: The Purple Prophets
"I'm really really getting the hang of communicating what I need to, at least with Karen. It'll be different for different people, I've decided, so I can hide any conversations from hostile inquisitive players. I think Karen and I are generally in agreement on Glo though. She's a complication, but if we can use her to our advantage, as an extra vote against Morren? We really really should. As long as Karen's vote is locked in, our alliance can't function at its full potential. We're already getting creative just to talk to each other to begin with as well, so let's make no mistake that we need all the help we can get, and if it comes from an Oracle, all the better that Morren blames them instead of us."
End Confessional
Confessional: Karen: The Purple Prophets
"Vethrian said he'd be late, and without him, Mizu can't share his thoughts and opinions, so he's back at camp and will bring our stoic blonde back with him whenever whatever he's doing is finished."
End Confessional
Shift Camera Focus
"Uugghhh!" Morren complained to Saki. "The noise is still going on, Saki!"
"Well, you can leave whenever you want!" Saki was similarly annoyed by the noise but not as annoyed as she was by Morren's presence.
"But then I'll have to go get food for the extra mouth to feed, and she doesn't even look that useful for challenges!"
Confessional: Saki: The Purple Prophets
"Why, yes, he is complaining about the girl who in any other circumstance would be a gift on a silver platter for him considering his days are numbered! And yes, he is trying to get me to deal Cerice being…Cerice, and yes, he is still insistent that he's the leader of this team despite doing nothing, literally nothing, about anything!"
End Confessional
"Um…" Glo poked her head into the tent where Morren was complaining to Saki. "Did I…come at a bad time? I'd like to speak to Morren if I can? I was told you were the leader so…"
"He is!" Saki desperately answered.
"I am!" Morren desperately answered. "Come with me, new blood, away from the awful noise!"
As Morren ushered Glo out of the tent, she saw Saki put her hands together and mouth a "thank you so much."
Confessional: Morren: The Purple Prophets
"I don't like this at all. I don't want an Oracle messing things up for me, but at the same time, she might also be the perfect tool to divide everyone against each other. Then I can step in, eliminate her, and show off how I'm the only leader they'll ever need!"
End Confessional
"Morren, I-" Glo was cut short by a long, loud, wheezing sigh by Morren himself.
"Glo, I'm so sorry for the piss poor way everyone has been behaving to you." He shook his head. "They're all complaining about having another mouth to feed. They're all underestimating how well you'd perform in challenges, and they're all certain you'll betray us at the slightest inconvenience for you. I won't lie, you have your work cut out for you."
"Yeah, I figured that after last night." Glo sighed. "Is there-" Another long, loud, wheezing sigh interrupted Glo.
"Glo, if you promise not to betray the Prophets, I'll tell you what I know about them, deal?"
"Deal….." Glo stared at Morren for a while. "So when-" Another loud interrupting sigh.
"Cerice is just a slut, she's not worth socializing with, but you don't get to vote her off, since she's my main squeeze."
Confessional: Glo: The Purple Prophets
"Okay, so this Morren isn't just a whiny liar, he's…like dangerously unstable. Every time I tried to say anything more than what he wanted to here, I thought for sure he was going to like, pull out a knife on me or something. Seriously, it's that bad, and I'm not even getting good information from this."
End Confessional
"Court's basically a shitty mime so good luck getting any information from him. Froth is one bad day away from going completely insane and killing all of us, avoid him at all costs. Haywood is nothing but a stupid brute, easily fooled and quick to violence. Karen really lives up to her name. Mizu is around somewhere, but he's a ghost. Shame that it's only in the game and not real life. After all, he's a professional con artist and identity thief, so he deserves no sympathy or mercy. Saki doesn't even understand English as far as I can tell. She never does any of the tasks I always super politely ask of her. Sienna's a lazy good for nothing that hides behind a false narcolepsy problem. Sylvia is my side piece, so you can't vote her off either, but she's also power-hungry, so you should stay away from her as much as possible. And then Vethrian, he's the worst of the bunch of them! He's the reason Mizu can still be around as a ghost even after I so skillfully got rid of him! He's nothing but the con artist's lackey, doing whatever his evil master says. So as you can see, this entire team is a joke, but if you stick with me, I'll keep you safe from their unfair attacks on you."
"I'll keep…." Gloria paused, just waiting to be interrupted again. "That in mind…"
"Why do you keep pausing like that?" Morren snickered, seemingly unaware that it was behavior caused by his own actions. "That's so weird."
"Sorry." Glo gave a false apology. "In any case, to show my trust, I'll reiterate what I said earlier, that my card is Death and that-" The longest, loudest, and angriest wheezing sigh yet interrupted her words.
"Well, I'm the leader here, and I've got important stuff to do, so try not to waste my time with pointless details!" Morren snapped before sprinting off.
Confessional: Glo: The Purple Prophets
"That was, by far, the most unpleasant experience I've had on this show. The season's still young I guess, but I find it difficult to imagine something that'll top that."
End Confessional
Meanwhile, Saki finally made her way over to the noisy tent.
"Alright, you two, the fun is over! It's nearly noon, and who knows when Chris will call the next challenge? I'd like to be able to go for a walk before then if at all possible, so I need you up and out of camp!"
"Agggh!" Cerice groaned from inside the tent. "What are you, our mom?! Fine!"
After some ruffling, to Saki's surprise, both Vethrian and Mizu left the tent.
"Unbelievable." She shook her head in disappointment.
"It was…advised." Vethrian looked toward Mizu, who gave Saki a proud wave.
"At least tell me it's out of your systems now." She pinched her nose in frustration. "Actually, wait, no, don't tell me, just…go…" She waved them away.
"I think someone's just jealous of all the action I'm getting." Cerice said as the two boys left camp, and she herself finally left her tent.
"Firstly, if I wanted action, I'd just go and get some." Saki replied. "Secondly, my problem isn't with this weird 'fuck the guys' strategy you have on principle. It's with how long you keep going at it for. I can't do anything worthwhile as long as you have company over and aren't leaving camp. Can't you find a spot away from camp to do your rutting?"
"Uh, you mean out in the open? Ew, no." Cerice gagged. "I'm not an exhibitionist. I'm just trying to make sure I'm not on the bottom. Pun half-intended."
"Well then, let me put it this way." Saki warned. "The harder you make it for me to play my game, the more likely I am to ruin yours. I do have that power. Besides, as long as Morren is around, I think we have a single public enemy. And even though I like her more than you, Sienna's probably gonna follow him."
"And we're just…gonna let the Oracle no one knows stick around then?" Cerice scoffed. "Or what about Sylvia, who can only ever lie about things? They aren't exactly prizes to work with as much as they are easy eliminations."
"I disagree heavily with both of those assessments, but I didn't come to discuss strategy with you. I came to warn you, and I've done that now. Don't make me do it again."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever, hakama chick." Cerice sighed as she walked away. "Go enjoy your freedom for however long you have it before the challenge starts."
Confessional: Cerice: The Purple Prophets
"Okay, so Vethrian and Mizu, two for one deal. I've already got Court. All that's left is Haywood. Then I'll have four votes never going my way, not while I offer them something no one else can. My initial plan was to try for Sylvia first, but with Glo arriving and Saki starting to get real bitchy about my own game plan, I might need to adjust, and unlike any of them, I've got way more work cut out for me when my vote only counts with immunity."
End Confessional
As Vethrian and Mizu joined up with Court and Karen, the musician got right to the point.
"Alright you two, Court and I have been communicating about Glo. We say we bring her in on this. A fifth vote should be more than enough because I can't for the life of me imagine Morren managing to get everyone else on his side."
"Seems a fine enough idea for now." Vethrian nodded along. "Especially since it seems our target remains Morren thanks to Karen's rule."
"If I might offer a suggestion, Vethrian." Mizu spoke up. "If we're going up against Morren, we should try to learn what kind of power he has, or even just the name of his card. I bet our storyteller here could give an educated guess based on name alone."
"Oh Mizu, you flatter me!" Court put a hand to his heart. "And you know me all too well, already!"
"Sylvia is the one who seems closest to Morren." Vethrian observed. "We could ask her about it, and then we can talk to Glo."
"Talk to me about what?" Glo asked, as she walked up to the group.
"Oh, perfect timing!" Karen smiled. "We'd really really like to eliminate Morren and wondered if you'd like to join our alliance for it?"
"I'd be happy to aid however I can." Glo replied. "I just had a very one-sided conversation with Morren and my initial takeaway is that he's stark raving mad and possibly dangerous to be around." She nodded her head toward Mizu. "He wished death upon you specifically, and I'm given to understand this is not the first time something like this has happened."
"He's too unstable to be left alone." Vethrian concurred.
"Vethrian and I were about to go to Sylvia to ask about Morren and if she had any information about his card." Karen mentioned.
"Oh, I learned something about it the other day during the fool challenge!" Glo smiled proudly. "Morren, evidently, has one of the most powerful cards in the game. This is something inferred, rather than known, but I'd bet money on it. He physically can't talk about the cards, I think that's part of his rule. More than that, he definitely knows who has which card and what they do. Otherwise, I have a hard time believing he'd still be around after your first elimination ceremony."
"Well, we knew that much already." Vethrian quickly lied on behalf of the alliance.
"Oh." Glo frowned. "I guess it would be pretty obvious to people who have had to live with him, huh? Uh, good luck with Sylvia, then, you've got my vote, just let me know if the situation changes."
Confessional: Glo: The Purple Prophets
"What a liar! He had that ready to go, even! Vethrian Calderon, you, my friend, have piqued my interest. With just a sentence, even if untrue, you've pretty firmly cemented me as the least important member of your alliance, below even the man who can't speak to other players. Ohoho, I'll be keeping a keen eye on you."
End Confessional
Confessional: Vethrian (Mizu): The Purple Prophets
"Well?" Mizu asked.
"Yes, it felt very good, what do you want from me?" Vethrian rolled his eyes. "Though I didn't expect you to join in."
"What can I say?" Mizu smirked. "We ride together or die together!"
"It wasn't either of us doing the riding though." Vethrian pointed out very matter-of-factly and Mizu erupted into laughter.
"Anyways." Vethrian sighed. "I'm glad I had that lie on-hand. I have nothing against Glo, and she seems perfectly trustworthy, but she's too mysterious and therefore too dangerous to be freely given any social or strategic power, especially when she can confidently declare her card for all to know and then say to my face that she's operating three levels of plans at once."
"Oh, sounds like someone's got a bit of a crush on the girl." Mizu teased. "Yeah, I can see it."
"Are you just going to joke around and make fun of me or will you take my strategies seriously?" Vethrian asked with a sigh.
"I can and will do both." Mizu nodded.
End Confessional
Syliva had taken over fire duty for the moment as Vethrian and Karen approached her.
"Good night." She greeted both of them as the sun beat down from overhead.
"Sylvia, we want to get rid of Morren." Karen cut right to the chase.
"Not me." Sylvia agreed. "What about it?"
"It would go far more smoothly if we knew his card and what it did." Vethrian explained
"I know exactly what Morren's card is and what it does." Sylvia sighed sadly.
"Well, this was a bust then." Karen clicked her tongue in frustration.
"We'll have to go tell Court, Mizu, and Glo that we didn't get any useful information." Vethrian nodded, name dropping the voting power. "Thanks for your time, Sylvia. If you do learn, we'd be happy to hear it."
Confessional: Sylvia: The Purple Prophets
"I can learn too. I have my own power at my disposal, it could force Morren to spill everything and still have two questions left for him if I play it juuuust right, and I do want to play it on him. Especially if it can ingratiate me a little with Glo and further my 'befriend the Oracle' plan. But I need to figure out, firstly, what precise question to ask, and then when and where I'd want to play that card in the first place. I'm not sure sharing it with anyone even including Glo, would be a wise move on my part. As long as no one knows that my own card is the Hierophant, the announcement Chris shouts won't mean anything to anyone, and people can still assume I have a power to play. But on the other hand, when exactly will I get a chance to play it with no one else around? Morren very rarely is out of earshot or sight of the whole team. Still though, this is something to consider, and boy am I considering."
End Confessional
Location: Neart Highlands
Contestant(s): All Remaining
Ghost(s): Mizu, Sara
"Ladies, gentlemen, and ghosts!" Chris welcomed everyone. "Welcome to today's challenge! The Sun! And here to help proctor it is a special guest star!"
"I really don't want to do this." A young man groaned. He scratched his shaggy satin blonde hair and took some black-rimmed rectangular glasses out of a case, putting them on carefully in front of his royal blue eyes.
"It's Hubert Swanson!" Chris chimed, ignoring the man's complaint.
"So?" Gwynnis rolled her eyes. "Why should we care?"
"We shouldn't." Joy answered.
Saki nudged Cerice in the shoulder. "I'd get some from him if it weren't for the competition." She whispered.
"He's taken." Glo whispered in from the other side of Saki. "Happily, I should add."
"Oh, are you his girlfriend?"
"Ew! No! That's disgusting!"
"Ahem!" Chris coughed to the women. "The rules for today's challenge are as follows! Hubert will guide both teams through a game of I Spy, where he will cryptically describe a member of the opposing team. You as a team have 3 chances to guess the player he's talking about before he gives you a hint and one final guess. Guess the correct person and earn 3 points for being correct right away, 2 points for needing two guesses, 1 point for needing 3, and a measly half a point for only getting it after the hint. If your team still gets it wrong even after that, you will lose 2 points. Whichever team has the higher point total at the end of the game will be crowned the winners! The losers will be sent to Tine Naofa tonight for an elimination ceremony! Any questions?"
Glo's hand immediately shot up. "Yeah, why does he have to be here for this challenge?" She pointed to Hubert. "This is something you could do on your own!"
"Wait, why is it such a problem that he's even here?" Ethel wondered.
"It's not." Joy answered.
"Chris." Court raised his own hand. "How exactly does answering these questions work? Does the group have to confer among themselves or if we think we know can we just shout out the answer we have?"
"Oh right!" Chris smiled. "I'm glad you brought that up, Court! This challenge is based in observation, for real this time, so there will be no conferring while it is your team's turn to guess about the opponents. Answering will indeed be done in 'blurt out' fashion. No other rules. So if you think you know everything about the opposing team, go ahead and confidently answer every question if you want!"
"Even I don't have that kind of confidence." Court laughed. "I have no more questions."
"I'd like mine to be answered!" Glo stuck her hand up even further.
"It seems like there aren't any more questions!" Chris grinned at Hubert.
"This seems particularly cruel." Hubert frowned at Chris. He turned to Glo. "I'm here because Chris requested it for ratings. I won't be the last guest he'll have this season. He's trying to generate hype."
"Hype for what?" Palmer asked curiously.
"Hype for this challenge!" Chris clearly lied, but he'd lied his way into an escape from the scene. "Take it away, Hubert!" He called as Chef drove him away on an ATV.
Challenge: The Sun
Rules: Hubert will alternate 'I Spy' rounds with each team, giving them a cryptic hint describing one of the opposing team's members. Teams will have up to four chances to correctly guess the subject of the hint, earning more points the earlier they succeed and losing points should they fail. At the end of the challenge, the team with the higher total will win immunity and the losers will be sent to the Tine Naofa Bonfire Elimination Ceremony.
Round 1
Hubert turned to the Oracles. "We'll start with you guessing." He determined. "And here is your description. I spy an unchanging song."
"Karen!" A voice hollered out. Everyone turned to look, in shock and awe, to see that Sara of all people was the shouter.
Confessional: Ethel (Sara): The Orange Oracles
"What? I don't want to lose." Sara crossed her arms.
"They probably aren't going to vote me off even if we do lose though. Wasn't that why you haunted me in the first place?" Ethel grinned happily. "I think directing your frustrations into giving your all during challenges is a good development, don't you?"
"Shut up! I'm not doing this because you got through to me. I'm doing this because if I don't you'll keep being annoying about it. Don't make me regret it with false praise."
"It's entirely sincere, but if you don't want it, I won't give it to you." Ethel giggled.
End Confessional
"That is correct." Hubert looked over to the Prophets. "Now it's your turn, Prophets. Here is your description. I spy a strong superfan."
"Oooh, oooh, him!" Froth pointed at Kaiser. "He's super strong!"
"That he is, but that's not the correct answer." Hubert shook his head.
"Oh." Froth looked to the ground downcast. "I suppose he doesn't have enough blades to be a fan anyways."
Vethrian scanned his eyes over the Oracles.
Confessional: Vethrian (Mizu): The Purple Prophets
"I'm at a bit of a loss here. The only Oracle who struck me as any kind of superfan was Glo, and she's on the Prophets now so it can't be her."
"Well, what if we don't focus on the superfan bit?" Mizu suggested. "Who would you suppose has, say, the Strength card based on what we've seen?"
"Well, if I were making a rule about a strength card, and assuming it's not someone on our own team, I'd force the holder to anchor, or at least participate, in physical challenges." Vethrian mused before his eyes shot wide. "I know who it is, and now I'm extremely worried. If we answer this…well, it might give away too much of our own hand."
"Think of it as intimidation then." Mizu shrugged. "On two fronts, even."
"I get it." Vethrian nodded, calming himself slightly. "Very well, I shall voice the answer."
End Confessional
"The girl in question is Joy." Vethrian pointed to where Joy was knelt on the ground, seemingly indifferent to the challenge and biting down on her index finger as she used the other index to trace in the dirt.
"That's correct." Hubert nodded.
Vethrian turned toward Glo. "Did you know?"
"The answer? Best I could do was guess, but I wasn't entirely sure, so I figured it wasn't worth the risk." She folded her arms. "Though if you mean to ask me if I knew she had the Strength card, I can say she's at least told me she had it. Why? Are you concerned I'm throwing the challenge?"
"I expected you'd be all too happy to. I might not know what power the Death card holds, but wouldn't you be in a better position if you went back to your old team sooner rather than later?"
"So much hostility from a supposed fellow alliance member." Glo frowned. "Do you want me to take the lead next question?"
"Only if we get it wrong too many times." Vethrian narrowed his eyes.
"Control freak central over here." Glo rolled hers. "Fiine, have it your way."
Round 2 (Oracles at 3, Prophets at 2)
Hubert turned back to the Oracles. "I spy…a tiebreaker winner."
"That's…not as easy as the last one." Freddie bit his lip in frustration.
"Well, we aren't gonna get anywhere if we don't guess." Gwynnis figured. "Who would that team try to vote off other than Mizu?"
"Uhh…Sienna!" Dianne blurted out.
"Incorrect."
"Froth!" Sara shouted.
"Incorrect."
"Fuck."
"Hrm….maybe we need to think about who could actively defeat Mizu in a tiebreaker challenge?" Palmer suggested. "And it's usually a staring contest so…"
He pointed and shouted out. "Saki!"
"Oooh, good guess!" Saki grinned as she stared down Palmer.
"Incorrect." Hubert sighed. "I'd hoped I wouldn't have to use a hint this early in the challenge, but here goes. I spy a poor judge."
"Orrrh." Joy said…something…through her finger biting.
"Maybe a bad judge of character?" Ethel wondered.
"Glo!" Cochrane shouted out.
"Hey!" Glo huffed, clearly offended. "I object to that accusation!"
"Good, because it's incorrect." Hubert sighed. "Oracles have lost their lead." He turned to face the Prophets. "Here's your description…I spy a devil for details."
"Kaiser!" Froth shouted out immediately.
"Stop guessing Kaiser right away for everything!" Cerice snapped.
"It'll be right eventually!" Froth grinned.
"But not this time." Hubert clarified.
"Gwynnis." Karen guessed.
"A much better guess than Kaiser at least." Glo crossed her arms.
"What? You know who it is?" Karen asked as Hubert informed her she was incorrect about Gwynnis. "Then say something!"
"I would, but control freak over here is saving me for the case you lot need to avoid losing points." She immediately threw Vethrian under the bus.
"Why wouldn't you use her to just get more points?" Karen confronted him quietly.
"Credit." Vethrian replied in the same hushed whisper without missing a beat. "She's still too much of a variable to be allowed to gain power on a team she didn't originate from. The more credit she gets from this challenge, the more power she'll amass, and furthermore, if any new information does spill forth from her, I'd rather it not be where the opposing team can hear it, but back at camp where it's only us."
Confessional: Karen: The Purple Prophets
"That man has a real vice grip on this situation, I can only hope he knows what he's doing and doesn't play himself into a corner. Hopefully Mizu can help him avoid them."
End Confessional
"Oooh, oooh, I know!" Froth bounced up and down. "It's Omar!"
"Ha!" Omar smiled. "I do have a fairly discerning eye, but unfortunately, I fall short where the term 'devil' is concerned."
"Yes, that too is incorrect." Hubert shook his head. "And after such strong starts from the both of your teams too, I'm disappointed. Anyways your hint is-"
"Ugh, don't bother." Glo flipped her curls. "The answer is Ethel." She pointed to the perfectionist.
"That's correct." Hubert nodded. "Congrats for narrowly avoiding a point loss."
"I don't recall ever sharing anything with you to make you believe me to be a devil, though." Ethel canted her head in confusion.
"Your speech." Glo revealed. "Or wait, no, let me correct myself. Your way of speaking. It's too much like mine. I do it deliberately for my own reasons, namely an intense dislike of lies, but you do it mainly to keep a calm face. If I had to guess, it has to do with a rule to always remain polite. I can't imagine Gwynnis having much power if you were allowed to voice what you really thought of her, for instance."
"Oh this should be good, what do you really think of me, Ethel?" Gwynnis grinned.
"Would you please retract that question and never ask it again, Gwynnis?" Ethel forced a smile.
"You little…" Gwynnis snarled. "Fine."
Ethel breathed a sigh of relief.
Confessional: Gwynnis: The Orange Oracles
"The devil girl shouldn't be so relieved just yet. I knew we wouldn't get along from the get-go, but to have it all but confirmed that she'll remain a challenge to my authority, she needs to go sooner rather than later."
End Confessional
Confessional: Ethel (Sara): The Orange Oracles
"Let me guess, she's an authoritarian bitch, right?" Sara smirked.
"Worse." Ethel nodded. "If she was just authoritarian or just a bitch that'd be bad enough, but she demands complete loyalty and fealty to the team at the cost of the individual, and she has no respect for dissenting opinions or democratic processes. I doubt she'd even look at a rival alliance as an equal."
"Oooh, careful she-devil." Sara teased. "You're getting dangerously close to the no-no word. I can't imagine the show would let you say it even in a confessional, lest they lose a lot of ratings, really quickly, for accepting her on board in the first place."
"You make a good point actually." Ethel pondered. "Still though, Rossworks rose to power producing weapons and machines to fight people just like Gwynnis, and I don't intend to ever get along with her of all people, even if I don't quite like the way Glo overshared in response to my comment."
"Well…" Sara hesitantly put a hand on Ethel's shoulder. "I guess we found some common ground there at least. We aren't going to put up with that fucking-" (The confessional cuts out)
End Confessional
Round 3 (Oracles at 1, Prophets at 2.5)
"I spy…" Hubert turned to the Oracles. "A Night Shift worker."
"Saki?" Palmer guessed.
"What, have a crush, explorer kid?" Saki smirked. "This is the second time you've guessed me."
"No, no!" Palmer quickly let his gaze wander to Dianne before returning to his conversation partner. "I just figured it was possible you were an immigrant and might have a different internal clock so-"
"Hm…" Saki enjoyed seeing Palmer flustered and squirming to explain himself. "Sorry to disappoint you, but you're a generation too late for the immigrant theory. Not that it matters either way, you're incorrect."
"I'm hosting the challenge here." Hubert cleared his throat.
"I mean…I can be your assistant if you want." Saki's lips curled.
"Seriously, please," Glo groaned. "Stop flirting with Mr. Swanson." She looked pained as the words 'Mr. Swanson' left her lips. "He's proctoring a challenge and is happily involved in a relationship."
"The heart wants what it wants, Glo." Saki shrugged. "Stop being so weird about it."
Hubert, who was largely ignoring the whole exchange, looked back to the Oracles expectantly for their next answer.
"Hm…if I had to guess…" Kaiser spoke up. "I'd say it was Haywood."
"You'd be correct." Both Haywood and Hubert responded.
"I'm hosting the challenge here." Hubert cleared his throat again.
"Ah…sorry, sorry." Haywood laughed.
Confessional: Haywood: The Purple Prophets
"Truth be told…I'm a worker who does have shifts, but the 'Night' part is misleading. Hubert is trying to reveal who has what card to everyone, and I'll be the first to admit I'm not the greatest at following along with cryptic hints, even if they seem obvious, but if it's about me, then I know he's trying to get people to think I have the Moon. Still, just knowing what the card is isn't necessarily enough information for anyone to act on."
End Confessional
Hubert turned to the Prophets. "Maybe if you have to guess something you'll stop all this peanut gallery banter. I spy a just country flame."
"Kaiser!" Froth shouted again.
"Incorrect. Again." Hubert hid a laugh at just how often Froth was guessing Kaiser.
"Palmer!" Froth shouted out yet again.
"I applaud your relentless enthusiasm for the challenge, but that's incorrect." Hubert sadly informed Froth.
"Dianne!" Morren quipped from where he had been largely silent the whole time.
"Morren is correct." Hubert nodded.
Confessional: Morren: The Purple Prophets
"I'm not going to let them say I'm the reason we lost this challenge. There, I helped! It was scary too, I was worried that if I said anything, it'd count as breaking my rule, so my whole team should be grateful that I put myself on the line like that for them because I won't be doing it again until they all return the favor!"
End Confessional
Confessional: Sylvia: The Purple Prophets
"So, Morren figured out that since he's ostensibly 'guessing,' he can somewhat talk about the cards' holders. Good. That means once I've figured out precisely how to word my question for him, I can get all the information he has in one fell swoop."
End Confessional
Round 4 (Oracles at 3, Prophets at 3.5)
Hubert turned to the Oracles. "I spy an incorrect vote trick."
"Uh…" Kaiser looked over the options. "Morren."
"Hey!" Morren whined.
"Incorrect."
"If I had ta' guess…" Dianne scratched her head through her long red curls. "I'd say Froth."
"You'd guess correctly then." Hubert nodded.
"Oh, it was me!" Froth smiled widely.
"No, that's not a good thing, buddy." Sienna yawned as she pat Froth on the shoulder. "Try not to vote incorrectly."
Hubert turned to the Prophets. "I spy a hanging war wound."
Laughter erupted from Court.
"Is something funny?" Hubert asked.
"It's just…that's so obviously Kaiser." Court grinned. "I'd assumed these would get harder, but I guess it's unpredictable."
"They're all pretty easy for me to guess." Hubert admitted. "I suppose some are made obvious based solely on physique or circumstance, but considering how many times I've said 'incorrect', I think there's still clearly a challenge to be had here, don't you?"
"Fair enough." Court shrugged. "I was correct though, right?"
"Indeed you were." Hubert nodded.
Round 5 (Oracles at 5, Prophets at 6.5)
"I spy…" Hubert addressed the Oracles. "A carnal fool."
"Saki." Palmer sighed as he guessed.
"Excuse me?!" Saki gasped though a wide smile remained on her face. "Care to explain your reasoning this time?"
"What the heck is there to explain? You've been making bedroom eyes at Hubert this whole time, who else was I gonna guess?!"
"I mean, he has a point. I was gonna guess ya' too." Dianne came to his defense.
"Geez, I'm glad I'm not on your team if you guys think flirting automatically means carnal activity." Saki crossed her arms as the smile grew more malicious. "But hey, thanks for wasting a guess on me again!"
"As Saki said in many more words than needed." Hubert nodded. "That's incorrect."
"I guess if it isn't her…" Freddie mused. "It must be Sylvia, right?"
"I'm super excited to hear my name be guessed, but I suppose in this outfit it can easily be helped." Sylvia shrugged with a lie.
"That's also incorrect." Hubert nodded.
"That just leaves Cerice really." Gwynnis shrugged.
"Wh-what?!" Cerice nervously laughed.
"Oh, come off it, already." Saki rolled her eyes. "You think Karen or Sienna would get up to stuff like that, it was a simple process of elimination on the Oracles' part."
"They didn't guess a single male contestant!"
"The only one they'd probably guess is Haywood, and he's already been the answer once before." Sienna yawned.
"Hey now, I haven't done anything." Haywood held up his hands.
"Gwynnis is correct." Hubert nodded.
Confessional: Cerice: The Purple Prophets
"Ugh, that bespectacled nerd is gonna super ruin my reverse harem strategy here! How are the guys gonna…wait…wait maybe this is actually a good thing. Now I don't have to worry about a romantic angle being attached to any of this. If they all consider it stress relief and nothing else, I might even finally be able to bring in Haywood and set myself up comfortably! I came in here to complain about you, Hubert, but now I think I'll thank you for the assist!"
End Confessional
Hubert turned to the Prophets. "I spy a sunbleached scamp."
"Hm…" Morren scanned the contestants.
Confessional: Morren: The Purple Prophets
"I know the answer is Freddie because I know all the card holders, but I don't want anyone to get suspicious. In fact, I need to get at least one answer wrong and maybe throw some of the not quite as stupid as the rest of them people off my trail."
End Confessional
"Is it Cochrane?" Morren asked.
"No, that's incorrect." Hubert shook his head.
"Why are you smiling so proudly at being wrong?" Sienna asked.
"I'm just relieved that Cochrane isn't a scamp!" Morren lied.
"Is it Palmer?" Saki asked.
"Did you just ask that to spite me for guessing you all the time?" Palmer crossed his arms, unamused.
"Of course not, but since you kept guessing me, I figured you had to be some form of scamp or imp or the like with how annoying it got."
"Saki is incorrect." Hubert announced.
"It's Freddie." Glo quickly shot up.
Vethrian glared at her.
She glared back.
Confessional: Vethrian (Mizu): The Purple Prophets
"I can't help but feel your intimidation suggestion has backfired horribly." Vethrian says at Mizu relaxes, nonchalant about the situation.
"Has it? I wouldn't be so sure."
"I don't follow."
"Well…let's assume we're in her position. There haven't been any repeat answers so far, so it's only a matter of time before we or in this case she is the subject of the challenge for the Oracles. And notice how it isn't just hints about the cards, but also snippets about our personalities or out of game information. Glo has entirely immersed herself into the game, which is commendable, but it betrays a fear that's all too obvious. She doesn't want anyone to pay attention to who she is outside of the game. I can empathize, myself, considering my whole situation."
"Right, you're a convicted felon and a fraud."
"And an identity thief, and a con artist." Mizu nodded. "Every last charge against me was entirely deserved on my part, but in this game, have I not been a reliable ally?"
"I hesitate to say you've been either of those things, let alone both of them, but I suspect others might believe you."
"And surely you'd appreciate I'd rather be looked at solely through the lens of my actions in the game, yes? It's quite embarrassing to talk about my criminal life outside of the game, not to mention such a huge handicap that you still don't trust me even now."
"And you believe, what, Glo is also a con artist or criminal or something?"
"Her?" Mizu cackled. "Never. But that doesn't mean it's any less important or scary for her. The prospect of having her personal life bleed into the game she wants to play. So let her have this moment of defiance. I suspect that very soon the target of her ire will change."
"I just have one more question then." Vethrian narrowed his eyes towards Mizu. "Do you know who she is outside of the game?"
"As a matter of fact, I do not." Mizu smiled. "But I have a sneaking suspicion that everyone will know very soon. After all, there aren't many people left to ask about."
End Confessional
"Freddie was the correct answer." Hubert nodded to Glo. "Currently, the Oracles are at 6 points and the Prophets are at 7.5 points. It is still anyone's challenge, but we are entering the final round, while it's still possible to guess incorrectly. If the scores are somehow tied at the end of this round, we'll enter into a tiebreaker, but otherwise, you'll want to make this last round really really count."
Round 6
"Oracles, your last target is this…" Hubert sighed as he looked at the card he'd drawn for the last question. "I spy a re-birthed Zero Sum contestant."
"What, like a returning player?" Kaiser questioned.
"After a fashion." Hubert shrugged.
Joy stepped forward and raised a hand.
Hubert looked at her expectantly, waiting for an answer.
Silence.
"Joy," Gwynnis growled, "if you're not going to say anything, don't walk out into-"
"I am going to say something." Joy decided. "But I have a question first."
"It's the last round of the challenge and only now do you have a question?" Cochrane asked.
"It only came to me right now."
"Fine, what's the question?" Hubert sighed. "And can I expect you to answer the challenge afterwards?"
"You can. It's the one time you can expect me to do anything at all." Joy spoke in monotone. "My question is this. I'm aware that we can arrive at answers and guess independently, but do I have to blurt it out, or can I answer quietly, simply by pointing?"
"You don't have to know their name or say it, but you do need to single out the person somehow." Hubert responded. "If you want to point, you'll have to specify who you're pointing at."
"Thank you." Joy said as she left the huddled Oracles and walked over towards the Prophets with an intense purpose.
The look on her face remained stoic, but her stride was the most serious any of the other contestants had ever seen Joy be.
Soon she was among the prophets, honed in directly on her target.
Her index finger was brought back behind her hip and then thrusted, almost like a weapon, stopping just short of Glo's nose.
"You." Joy spoke.
Glo smirked. Eyes confident and at ease. "That's cor-"
"Gloria Swanson." Joy interrupted.
Glo's smirk faded. The confident expression was quickly gone from her eyes and replaced with worry.
"Oh yeah, there was an episode of Zero Sum where Hubert competed alongside his little sister, wasn't there?" Cerice mused.
"Well, this explains her strange resistance to me being flirtatious with Hubert." Saki smirked. "That's so cute, looking out for her big brother like that."
[Gloria - ?]
"You…you asshole!" Gloria shouted, not at Saki, not at Joy, but at Hubert. "Couldn't you have just picked literally any other card?!"
"I'm not here to play favorites." Hubert crossed his arms. "And besides, Joy clearly knew here, so it's not like you'd be able to keep up the lie forever."
"I wasn't lying about anything! I've been honest this whole game!"
"Not entirely honest though." Vethrian saw his opportunity and took it. "And that was the kind of honesty you were so proudly trying to cultivate."
"I don't even understand why, to be honest." Ethel canted her head. "I was under the impression that Hubert was considered more of a hero and a pretty big fan favorite among the academic crowd. Why would that be something to hide?"
"Guys, lay off." Haywood came to Gloria's defense. "Who cares who she's related to? So she doesn't want to be connected to her brother, so what? I imagine you didn't like being racially profiled by Palmer earlier, right Saki?"
"I…well, no, I didn't."
"Well, consider this something similar."
"I'm sorry, but we simply can't." Vethrian stood his ground. "Make no mistake, I don't care who Gloria's relatives are. I only care about the blatant hypocrisy. For someone so invested in the truth on her own, it seems cowardly to omit such a non-issue, and it makes me wonder if she's omitting anything larger."
"Fine, fine, I get it." Gloria shot Vethrian an angry look. "You don't trust me? You think that just because I didn't want to invite comparisons between myself and an overachieving older sibling I shouldn't be given the time of day? Fine! We'll play it your way then! Good luck in the final round, assholes, you won't be able to get rid of me tonight anyways!"
And with her piece said she stormed away from the challenge.
"Why did you do that?" Haywood asked Joy, stopping her from rejoining the Oracles. "That was cruel."
"No, it was necessary." Joy replied. "It would be far, far crueler to have allowed her to continue as she was. Besides, we aren't here to placate the insecurities of a teenage girl. We're here to compete for a million dollars."
Haywood looked back to where Gloria was running, steadily growing further and further away from the challenge. He looked back up to Hubert, to the Oracles, to the Prophets, and to Joy.
"I'm sorry…I'm out too." He shook his head.
"Haywood!" Sylvia called out.
Haywood looked back as he prepared to leave.
Sylvia stared into his eyes and offered a sympathetic smile. "Haywood, wait."
Haywood smiled back with a nod and took off after Gloria.
"Absent two members, but the Prophets still have a challenge to complete." Hubert cleared his throat.
"Is it alright to just…leave them like that?" Karen wondered.
"Whether it's alright or not to leave them like that is up to you all." Hubert responded, though he was clearly pained. "I'm only here to host a challenge, and I can't interfere beyond my duties. Not unless it's an emergency."
"So this isn't an emergency then." Ethel sighed. "That's a relief at least."
"Anyways…Prophets that are still here." Hubert turned to the Prophets. "I spy a submissive ruler."
"I hear an oxymoron." Karen sighed. "Uh…Omar?"
"Incorrect."
"Just want to chime in real quick." Joy raised her hand. "Glo could have guessed this right away. So thanks for driving her away. Really helped secure our victory."
"You haven't won yet, assholes." Morren snapped. "It's obviously Palmer!"
Confessional: Morren: The Purple Prophets.
"It's obviously Gwynnis, but come on, I've just been handed chaos on a silver platter! I can totally take control of these idiot bully teammates of mine! All I need to do is get to Glo and Haywood before the others!"
End Confessional
"That's incorrect." Hubert shook his head.
"It's Gwynnis!" Sylvia shouted out.
"That is correct." Hubert nodded. "Unfortunately…You're one guess too late. With a score of 9 against a score of 8.5….The Orange Oracles are victorious."
Cheers were sparse from the Oracles. Only Gwynnis really seemed to care that much.
"Prophets, Chris will see you at the Tine Naofa Bonfire later tonight, but this is where I take my leave of all of you."
"Not going to go after your sister?" Vethrian wondered.
"Oh believe me, I want to." Hubert responded. "Especially after the damage you did."
"I was just pointing out-" Vethrian tried to explain himself.
"Easy there, Vethrian, I wasn't trying to accuse you of wrongdoing, in fact I agree with what you said. I'm just pointing out that it was your rhetoric she took the hardest. If you feel the need to defend your words though, I have to wonder why you spoke them to begin with."
Vethrian quickly looked over to Mizu who shrugged with a smile.
Location: Ionad Desert
Contestant(s): Gloria, Haywood, Morren, Saki, Sienna
"Shouldn't you be losing a challenge?" Gloria asked as Haywood approached the girl, crouched over on a sand dune, eyes red from recent tears.
"I just figured you could use some company from someone who gets it…at least a little bit."
"No, no, you don't get it, Haywood! Even if you're the less well known sibling in your relationship, you're both the eldest, and you aren't constantly compared to an overachieving brother."
"I mean…I guess I'm a bit of an overachiever in my own right." Haywood admitted. "But if you thought I wasn't constantly compared to my brother, think again. For every job I've worked, five have turned me down because of background checks finding out who my brother is. He's not a bad person, but he's not one for rules or regulations and gets himself into all kinds of shady trouble. Because I'm a twin brother, and one that frankly understands where he's coming from, I get the same treatment a lot."
"Well, I don't get the same treatment." Gloria gripped a handful of sand and threw it behind her. "I get treated worse. Invariably. All the adults in my neighborhood are so, so proud of my older brother. Fourth in a reality TV show, the hero of the season. He helped save the life of his girlfriend's loved one by securing funding for her instead of taking the challenge I had to compete alongside him in seriously. Meanwhile, what am I? I'm not anyone anymore. It's always, 'Hey aren't you Hubert's little sister?', 'Oh, I saw your brother on TV. He's so cool!'. My past 3 boyfriends were all using me to get to know Hubert better. The second I'd bring a single one of them home, I'm entirely forgotten about in favor of him. So I figured I'd ask production to scrub my full name from promotional material and let me play up a mysterious angle. At the very least it wouldn't invite so many comparisons, and I'd be able to play the game the way I want to, without the shadow of my brother looming over me, but I guess that's fucking over. Great."
"Gloria, I'm not sure you've thought this all the way through." Haywood laughed.
"Don't laugh, jackass! You're lucky I'm still keeping my promise to you about not telling anyone about your situation."
"Sorry, sorry." Haywood apologized. "But this is probably a blessing in disguise for you, Gloria. Because now the game you play really can be your own. It'll have your real name on it, and so when you go back after it's all over, people will know you for your own game. If you'd kept up with your frankly ridiculously easy to see through alias, then Gloria Swanson would still be compared to Hubert Swanson. 'Glo' only offers a temporary escape. 'Gloria' can escape for real."
"Then what about you?"
"I've been honest with the audience." Haywood motioned towards where he assumed cameras were. "Everyone watching right now knows I'm the older Pamesi twin, and they know that I'm playing to prove my own character. Hopefully, if time allows I can redeem my brother somewhat as well, but in a competition, I think we can afford to be a little selfish, right?"
"I guess so." Gloria seemed to be calming down.
"What kind of game did you want to play anyways?" Haywood wondered
"You're going to laugh and say I was doing it wrong."
"Try me."
Gloria sighed. "The kind that only comes along once in a lifetime, a heroic strategist so strong that she gets rid of all the truly villainous contestants before the merge."
"You're right. If I wasn't stopping myself, I would be laughing and saying you were doing it wrong." Haywood admitted.
Gloria punched him in the arm. "I've been too careful with my words, I think." She said. "And I freaked out when I recognized who you were, so yeah, I've done a bang-up job so far!" She rolled her eyes sarcastically. "But it's the only game I feel I can possibly try to play. Anything else would invite comparisons that I don't think I'd be able to endure without absolutely losing my shit. Like can you imagine what it must be like to have the expectation of heroism placed upon you? I can't even try and fail either. I need to somehow, some way succeed. Otherwise, I'll always be the 'lesser' Swanson." Her eyes started to water again. "How the fuck is that fair, Haywood? How am I supposed to do any of this?"
"You should start by trying to make some actual friends." Haywood suggested. "I'm going to tell you right now, before you ask anything, that I'm not going to vote against you. I believe I can convince others to vote alongside me, but I will not say whom I plan to vote for as I believe that would breach our neutrality to each other as players. I'm sure there are people on the Oracles that you at least got along with, right?"
"Um…" Gloria had to think about it. "Yeah, I guess there are. I guess I wasn't that close to any of them though. I should probably make an effort to change that."
"Yeah, right up until now, you've been channeling way too much of your older brother into your speech." Haywood grinned. "I bet if you acted more like…whatever you're normally like, it'll go a lot further socially. Being friendly and emotionally intelligent doesn't mean you aren't also strategically intelligent, you know. If you want proof, remember who won your brother's season."
"True, he did suck at social gameplay, and I do pride myself on being the better people-person. It might be a bit jarring for the Oracles, but as long as I have the time, I can make it work."
"There we go. Glad to see the confidence wasn't being faked."
"Nothing was being faked!" Gloria exclaimed as she stood up and dusted her dress off. "But now, nothing is being hidden either. Well about me anyways. Obviously, I'm sure plenty of stuff in-general is being hidden."
"Oh good timing, we found you both!" Saki's voice rang out as she, Morren, and a Sienna being carried between them approached.
"What happened?" Haywood asked. "How'd the challenge go?"
"Well, thanks to not having our Oracle insider, we lost by half a point." Morren whined. "And if you don't mind, as team leader, I need to have a conversation with her. May we head off to camp first?"
"Uh…" Gloria looked to Haywood, who shrugged.
"Sure, let's go I guess." And the two left Haywood, Saki, and a sleeping Sienna behind.
"Alright you." Saki narrowed her eyes at Haywood. "Let me cut to the chase and save us a lot of trouble. I want you to know that I'm planning to cast my vote for the 'carnal fool.' I already know I'm safe from any targets, and I can guarantee that so are you. Right now, there are four major heads on the chopping block. Two just left. I told you about one of them just now, and the last one is Sleeping Beauty here. That's all I came to tell you. I figured I'd keep you in the loop at least, because I don't want one of the few people who can match or beat my athleticism on my bad side, and with that, I'm taking this one back to camp." She motioned to Sienna and trekked through the sand.
Confessional: Saki: The Purple Prophets
"And of course, his clear connection with Gloria. He's either done this on purpose and is being strategic about it, or he's wandered ass-backwards into a very enviable position as our Oracle's most trusted friend. Either way, I would much rather see his position solidified. Not only does it give Morren less credibility as a leader, it keeps the target safely off of my back."
End Confessional
Location: Lower Ceol Fields (Purple Prophets Campsite)
Contestant(s): Cerice, Court, Froth, Gloria, Morren, Sylvia
"So, what's this about?" Gloria asked Morren as he sat her down alongside Sylvia at the campfire.
"The three of us are getting rid of Sienna." Morren announced. "I've done the math, we have the votes as long as no one strays from it. Surely, that won't be a problem, Gloria?"
Gloria thought back to how the challenge went. No one in the alliance she tried to join came to her defense, and the closest thing they had to a leader figure had actively made her situation worse.
"No problems." Gloria smiled. "In fact, this is the best offer I've gotten so far."
"Glad you could see sense at least this one time." Morren sighed. "Alright then, you can both leave."
Gloria stood up and walked away from camp, but the noises in Cerice's grass tent kept her wondering.
They weren't the usual noises that Cerice made, so it was probably a conversation of some sort.
She stuck her ear to the thin wall and listened in.
"But I don't buy that sadness act for a single second!" Cerice huffed. Something shuffled in response. Court probably.
"That's why we should just vote her off and be done with it!" Cerice encouraged. "She's too dangerous to just swap teams constantly! That's a lot of information we're risking every single time we let her stay on! Besides after what Vethrian said, it's almost a guarantee she has more loyalty to the Oracles."
"I'm confused." Froth's voice rang out. "Why are we worried about that? Wasn't she already an Oracle to begin with?"
"Loyalties can change, buddy." Cerice put on a gentle voice like she was talking to a child. "And besides, don't you think Rapunzel would be happier if she could relax in a super nice lounge instead of here in grass tents?"
"I guess so, yeah." Froth nodded.
Confessional: Gloria: The Purple Prophets
"Well, it's at least nice to know who my enemies are."
End Confessional
Confessional: Court: The Purple Prophets
"I've been trying to meet with my allies to confirm that the plan is still Morren, but Vethrian's been off sulking since the challenge. I can't really confirm anything of my own with Karen without Mizu there to allow me to be specific. Which is why I'm here, figuring out what Cerice wants to do, so I at least have an idea of what's going on elsewhere. I admit though, I'm not too ready to see Gloria leave just yet. Maybe scare her a bit then switch my vote at a re-vote opportunity?"
End Confessional
"Attention Campers!" Chris announced from a chopper overhead. "The Hierophant Card's Power has been played!"
Gloria scurried off the campsite as the tent trio clamor shuffled to leave and look around.
"Hey, where the hell did Sylvia, Morren, and Gloria go?" Cerice asked as she left her hut to the fire being left completely unattended. "Whatever, I guess I'll do it."
Confessional: Sylvia: The Purple Prophets
"It wasn't easy thinking up the question, but I did it! I used the other two questions for…well, surprise strategies later! And I made sure to take him far away from camp when I did it too, so I should be the only one besides him who knows what all the cards in play are doing, and who has what! I'd get rid of him right away if I could, but my vote is already locked in for Sienna, otherwise my lie wouldn't be a lie anymore. I feel bad throwing her name under the bus like that, especially because I'd personally rather get rid of Cerice, but I needed someone to take the fall so that Morren wouldn't go after Gloria. After all, I need her around as long as possible if Operation: Befriend the Oracle is going to bear any fruit. The first phase is complete though at least."
End Confessional
Location: Tine Naofa Bonfire (Elimination Ceremony)
Contestant(s): Cerice, Court, Froth, Gloria, Haywood, Karen, Morren, Saki, Sienna, Sylvia, Vethrian
Ghost(s): Mizu
"Welcome back, Prophets, to your second elimination ceremony!" Chris smiled. "Enjoying there being twelve of you?"
"Not really." Morren answered. "There's too much dead weight."
"Yeah, and it's you." Karen rolled her eyes.
"I take it everyone with special voting rules remembers what they are?" Chris asked. The contestants nodded. "In that case, question time! Glo."
"Gloria is fine." Gloria swung her leg. "No point in trying to hide it anymore after this afternoon."
"You don't sound worried. Didn't your outburst and running away cost your team the challenge?"
"It's a matter of perspective really." Gloria hummed. "Sure, it might have not helped, but it hardly cost them the challenge. They still had the opportunity to guess correctly. It can hardly be blamed on me that they weren't paying attention."
"Joy would disagree." Vethrian said.
"Joy isn't here." Gloria quickly responded to Vethrian. "But you're here. And last I checked, I got more questions right in the challenge than you did."
Confessional: Vethrian (Mizu): The Purple Prophets
"Okay." Mizu admitted. "Now the intimidation has backfired."
End Confessional
"I mean, let's not act like Froth was being any help to us either." Saki said as Froth waved happily, hearing his name. "But I don't see anyone clamoring to write his name down."
"I don't remember saying I planned to write Gloria's name down." Vethrian crossed his arms. "All I want is some stability. Sadly, by nature of Gloria's rule, she's antithetical to it. We will, inevitably, butt heads like this, but I hold no ill will towards her."
"Oh, I'm so pleased to have your approval as a person." Gloria put on a mocking, bubbly voice. "I was totally going to vote for you, but you've convinced me with your suave charm and charisma not to!"
"As you can see, Chris." Vethrian fought the urge to make an expression, though it was unclear whether it was a smile or frown he was fighting. "We never entertained the idea of voting each other off. It's simply a playstyle incompatibility."
"Oh, we're not entirely incompatible." Gloria laughed. "You're just a coward."
"Oooh, called out." Saki grinned.
"I'm careful." Vethrian corrected. "If I was a coward, I wouldn't have elected to live on an island with a bunch of perfect strangers for a potential reward of one million dollars."
"No, you're definitely a coward." Gloria wasn't convinced. "That's why being in control is so important to you. Because when you aren't, you'll grasp for anything and anyone to hand some over to you. Even me. Even him." She motioned towards Mizu.
"He is not tied to me by my own choice." Vethrian crossed his arms. "If possible, I'd cut him loose."
"Ouch." Mizu whispered. "And here I thought we were getting along, Big V."
"Horrendous nicknames aside, however." Vethrian turned back to Chris. "He and I are on the same page when it comes to the competition, including who we're voting for."
"In that case…it is time to vote." Chris announced.
One by one, every player got up to vote.
And one by one, every player returned from the voting booth.
Finally, Mizu, as a ghost, was allowed to walk up and vote.
Chris soon returned with the voting jar.
"I've tallied the votes." He said. "If anyone has a card power they wish to play before the votes are read, now is the time to do so."
Vethrian looked around.
Saki narrowed her eyes and stared straight at the jar.
Froth bounced happily.
Sienna yawned.
Gloria adjusted her shoe.
"Then I'll read the votes." Chris smiled as he pulled out the first slip of paper.
"One vote for Gloria." He announced as she showed Gloria's name written in a glittery script. "But this is the Fool's vote, so it doesn't count. That's one vote for Vethrian."
"This again?" Saki asked.
"This again." Vethrian confirmed.
"A second vote for Gloria, but it counts this time." Chris announced.
…
…
"Another vote for Gloria. That's two votes Gloria, one vote Vethrian."
…
…
…
"Sienna. That's two votes Gloria, one vote Sienna, one vote Vethrian."
…
…
"Morren. That's two votes Gloria, one vote Morren, one vote Sienna, one vote Vethrian."
…
…
…
"Cerice. That's two votes Gloria, one vote Cerice, one vote Morren, one vote Sienna, one vote Vethrian."
"The votes are all over the place tonight." Cerice whispered.
"You've gotta be fucking kidding me." Karen sighed.
…
…
…
"Sienna." Chris said. "That's two votes Gloria, two votes Sienna, one vote Cerice, one vote Morren, one vote Vethrian."
…
…
…
…
"Cerice. That's two votes for Cerice, Gloria, and Sienna, one vote for Morren, one vote for Vethrian."
…
…
…
…
"Cerice. That's three votes for Cerice, two for Gloria and Sienna, one for Morren, one for Vethrian."
…
…
…
"Sienna. That's three votes for Cerice and Sienna, two for Gloria, one for Morren, one for Vethrian."
…
…
…
…
…
"Morren. That's a second vote for Morren. Cerice and Sienna are both still at 3 a piece. Gloria also has two votes, and Vethrian has one."
…
…
…
…
"Morren." Chris announced. "That's three votes for Cerice, Morren, and Sienna. A three way tie."
Gloria let loose a sigh of relief.
"Each contestant will explain to their team, briefly, why they should be kept around." Chris announced. "And then everyone except Cerice, Morren, and Sienna will vote again. You may only vote for Cerice, Morren, or Sienna. If there is still a tied vote between the three of you, we will have a tiebreaker challenge in the form of a 40 yard race."
Cerice's Pitch:
Cerice was first up to give her pitch. "I can admit that I might be a little annoying to deal with, especially in the early mornings, but I don't think that's a reason to vote me off. I'm not throwing challenges or anything like that. I want to win just as much as the rest of you. If you want to take your chances with either of them…" She pointed towards Morren and Sienna. "Then go ahead, but I think we all know it'd be premature to get rid of me right now."
Morren's Pitch:
"I can't believe you guys are still trying to get rid of me!" Morren whined. "I led us to victory during the last challenge, remember? And I'm way smarter than either of those two bimbos! You are going to regret it so badly if I get voted off you know! I don't think you want to know what happens when I become a ghost. I'll be way worse to you than the convicted felon!"
"Is this a plea to spare you or a threat to listen to you?" Karen groaned. "Not that it changes my vote either way."
"Chris, Karen's talking during my pitch!" Morren whined. "Now it's ruined!"
"Oh good!" Chris smiled. "That means I can move on to Sienna!"
Sienna's Pitch:
"I know I'm mainly here because of the narcolepsy thing, and I admit that it's not something I can easily control, but like…I'm trying alright? It's hard enough dealing with it on its own, but I'm constantly on Froth-sitting duty as well, so yeah. I'm probably not as effective in challenges as the other two, but I'm just as loyal to the team as Cerice is, and I'm even less noisy. Let's not let a single trait define us, right?"
"And with that…" Chris smiled at the remaining Prophets. "It's time to vote yet again."
Confessional: Court: The Purple Prophets
"This was a hard decision for me, but truthfully, I'm not prepared to lose the other two just yet. I'd like to keep this season as exciting as possible."
End Confessional
Confessional: Froth: The Purple Prophets
"I'm sorry, but I think I have to vote for Sienna. She said she was going to sit on me, and that sounds really uncomfortable!"
End Confessional
Confessional: Gloria: The Purple Prophets
"Hm…I don't have to keep my vote on Sienna now that I'm safe, and I happen to know Cerice wanted me out…Turnabout's fair play, girl."
End Confessional
Confessional: Haywood: The Purple Prophets
"My vote remains unchanged."
End Confessional
Confessional: Karen: The Purple Prophets
"Hopefully, this is the last we have to hear of you Morren, you whiny asshole."
End Confessional
Confessional: Saki: The Purple Prophets
"To be honest, I couldn't care less who leaves at this point. It's going to be an improvement. Still though, I do have a particular bias."
End Confessional
Confessional: Sylvia: The Purple Prophets
"Like I said before, I'm kind of stuck on my vote."
End Confessional
Confessional: Vethrian (Mizu): The Purple Prophets
"I'm here to speed this along." Mizu smiled to Vethrian. "Besides, we're both voting for the same person anyways."
"And hopefully, for the last time." Vethrian agreed.
End Confessional
"I've tallied the votes." Chris announced. "And now I'll read them."
"One vote for…Sienna."
…
…
…
"A second vote for Sienna."
…
…
…
"One vote for Cerice."
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"A second vote for Cerice."
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"One vote for Morren."
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"A third vote for Cerice."
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"A third vote for Sienna."
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…
…
"A second vote for Morren. That's 3 votes Cerice, 3 votes Sienna, 2 votes Morren, 1 vote left."
"No vote for Vethrian in the tiebreaker?" Saki wondered.
"Because he can't be voted for anymore." Gloria deduced.
Vethrian clicked his tongue.
"The last vote of the night…" Chris announced.
"Goes to…"
…
…
…
…
…
"Morren. It's another 3 way tie."
"For fuck's sake!" Karen shouted.
Tiebreaker Challenge: 40 yard dash.
On Chris's signal, the three contestants on the chopping block started dashing from their designated starting line towards him past the finish.
Morren was off to a bit of an early lead, but both Cerice and Sienna were just behind him.
"Mooorreennnn!" Cerice called sweetly. "Slow down for me please."
The only thing Saki found more offensive than the blatant seduction attempt was the fact that Morren fell for it. He slowed down his pace, allowing both Cerice and Sienna to pass him, if briefly. He realized his mistake.
"Hey, you tricked meeee!" He whined as he sped back up and quickly gained on them, though it seemed like it would hardly matter.
Cerice handily crossed the finish line first, and Sienna still had a good few paces between her and Morren, even if he was gaining.
And then she fell to the sand.
Morren rushed past her cheering loudly, but Sienna was already unconscious.
"That….you have got to be fucking kidding me." Karen looked ready to snap her flute in half. "We're still not rid of him?"
"Yeah, good luck with both of them." Gloria sighed as she got up, readied her things, and walked to the edge of the bonfire pit. "If you guys want, the Oracles can go super, super hard on you so you can lose again to vote one of them off."
"That's super thoughtful, but I think we'd rather just win." Haywood smirked. "You take care, Gloria."
"I'll be fine. It's your team that seems to be in shambles right now. Please, do get it sorted by the time the merge hits."
"And we're down to 19 remaining contestants!" Chris announced to the camera as he hoisted up a sleeping Sienna. "Who will this sleeping beauty choose to haunt? How will Sylvia use her new information? Now that Gloria's secrets have been brought to light, what does it mean for her game, especially now that she's rejoining the Oracles? Find out hopefully all of this and more next time! On Total!
Drama!
Hud Hynafol!"
*Sienna's Final Confessional
"I'm not really sure what to say. Honestly, I thought I'd be gone even earlier than this. I don't like that I barely got to do anything. I guess when I'm a narcoleptic, and I have the misfortune of the high priestess card, I can't really do much by way of social gameplay and alliances. I was close to getting that horrible Morren person out too! Ugh, if only I could've stayed awake just like, two more seconds. I guess I'd enjoy seeing Saki or Sylvia do really well, so those are the two I'll be rooting for. As for how ghosts work…I'm not sure I'd actually want to haunt anyone I want to do well. I don't think I'd make a very good ghost. Hopefully, I'm not required to choose right away."
End Confessional*
The Votes for those who are curious
The Fool voted for… Death (doesn't count)
The Magician voted for… Death, The High Priestess
The High Priestess voted for… The Fool
The Emperor voted for… Judgement, Judgement
The Hierophant voted for… The High Priestess, The High Priestess
The Chariot voted for… Judgement, Judgement
Death voted for… The High Priestess, The Fool
The Tower voted for… The Fool, The Fool
The Moon voted for… The Fool, The Fool
Judgement voted for… The High Priestess
The World voted for… Death, The High Priestess
The Chariot's rule voted for… The Chariot
Mizu voted for… Judgement
AN: This chapter took forever to write. Sorry about how long it has taken. As you can see, a lot has happened.
Anyways, uh…favorite moment this chapter…really hard to choose honestly. A lot of the Oracles absolutely killed it this chapter, so I'm having trouble with them, but honorable mentions to Saki, Haywood, and Gloria.
I think, gun to my head, I like Ethel's first confessional with Sara the best right now. But it's only just barely my favorite moment of the episode, it could easily change on rereads, I'm really happy with how this turned out.
But that's just my opinion, what do you guys think?
Will Sara drag Ethel down, or is it possible that Ethel can lift Sara up? Did she make the right choice haunting Ethel?
Who will Sienna decide to haunt? Or will she even haunt to begin with?
Find out next time on Hud Hynafol Reversed!
EN: Woo, editing this one was a doozy. It's a long one, and I'm that slow of a reader. Hope you all really liked this one. I've been looking forward to it, and I can read through Doobop's excitement from all the way back when we outlined this one together. A lot of things happened this episode, and that Ethel/Sara confessional really caught me off guard. However, my favorite moment has to go to Morren spilling the tea to Gloria. That was such a reveal to what Gloria detected about him being true. It gives Gloria that rapport that she kinda lacked up until that point.
Obviously, Doobop and I aren't really going to choose the big reveal moments… because we knew about them the whole time. I can hear a bunch of the y'alls disagreeing, but that's okay. Storytelling is fun like that.
Anyways, I think Sara could actually have a change of heart, constantly be surrounded by some good will. It was the right choice for her, spiritually. Sienna is gonna choose to haunt Froth. She will never escape her Froth-sitting duties. She will haunt because it's a good game mechanic.
But I guess we'll find out next time.
AN2: Discord link up in my profile, feel free to come join!
AN3: And as always, thanks for reading!