Chapter Text
There you have it! Another wonderful season filled with pain and misery. But no matter how hard we try, it always ends with someone happy. Well, hopefully, we can change that on the next season of… TOTAL… DRAMA… ISLAND!!!
…
‘WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?’
Julia was very close to throwing the remote at the TV and kicking it so it would never work again. A sense of injustice and sheer rage took over her whole body. She tried to take a deep breath, but the only thing that came out of her was more hateful words.
‘“ALWAYS ENDS WITH SOMEONE HAPPY”, MY ASS! I’M NOT HAPPY! NOT ONLY THAT, BUT YOU MADE MY UNHAPPINESS LOOK LIKE A FUCKING HAPPY ENDING! ARGH, I HATE THIS SHOW!’
She grabbed a pillow and drowned her face in it. Although probably even five of them wouldn’t be able to drown out her screams.
After several deep breaths and exhalations, the blonde grabbed the remote control, turned off the TV, and threw it across the room. She didn't care if it broke.
She grabbed her head, wanting to pull her hair out, but after a moment of reflection, she realized they had already suffered enough. She had no intention of destroying them again after they were slowly beginning to grow back.
Suddenly, she heard her phone vibrating. She knew exactly who was texting her. Because of school, MK was unable to see Julia often. Nevertheless, every Saturday they wrote to each other, sharing their impressions after new episodes.
The last few weeks have been... weird to say the least. In both positive and... less positive ways. The girls were pleasantly surprised that their duo took up so much screen time. On the other hand, social media has been taken over by… MKulia craze.
For some reason, Total Drama fans loved their on-screen chemistry so much, they started shipping them. Especially after the “Because you like me?” conversation in episode 7. Julia tried her best not to comment on it online, and MK generally did not use socials. Nevertheless, they were aware of the situation.
For the most part, they could only laugh about it, because any other reaction would be pointless. No one in the whole world even knew if girls were gay or bi in the first place. Even they didn't know that about each other. Because who gives a shit?
People can come up with the most fucked-up things sometimes.
One positive thing that came out of this (at least for Julia) - was an increase in popularity. For the last month, the Internet was all about them, and after MK was eliminated, the Internet was all about the blonde.
What more could you want?
That being said, there were a few haters. For some reason, the show cut out a lot of Julia's actions. Writing the fake contract for Nichelle, convincing Rat Faces to vote off Bowie, and finding the immunity idol that Damien left in the bushes. They didn't show any of it.
Because of this, the audience has been speculating if the show was rigged in the blonde's favor. Yup, even though she busted her ass during the entire competition, the producers decided not to show it. Almost as if the whole competition was comically easy for her. Well, it wasn't. Especially in the finale.
The last episode, however, turned out to be a completely different matter. Basically, the show took the "Julia is the worst and she sucks" narrative. Wayne got the money, Caleb got a girl, Julia got a horrible haircut, and nothing else. Literally nothing. She talks about how did she not win after all the cheating, lying, and manipulating, and that's it. No one even cared about her… except MK, that is.
Seriously. Whoever edited this, needs to be fired.
The blonde completely spaced out for a while. She shook her head and grabbed the phone. As she knew, the ravenette had sent her a lot of messages.
dude
they REALLY made sure you had no
happy ending
don’t even get me started
I’M PISSED
LIKE
THEY MADE ME LOOK LIKE A
SELFISH IDIOT
…
gee, i wonder why…
OH, FUCK YOU
what’s wrong, princess?
you’re mad at your GF?!?! LOL
…why is everything and everyone
so dumb?
idk
i was about to ask you that
UGH, CAN YOU SHUT UP ALREADY?
I’M NOT EXACTLY IN THE MOOD
FOR… YOU
OH, FORGIVE ME FOR DISTURBING
THE PEACE, YOUR MAJESTY
I’M GETTING OUT OF YOUR SIGHT
THANKS
GOD, I HATE PEOPLE!
Julia wanted to throw her phone against the wall, but she thought she'd ruined enough out of her rage. Instead, she went on social media to see feedback about the final. As if her fury wasn't sufficiently charged already.
WOOOOOOAH, LET’S GO WAYNE!!!
WHAT THE HELL? JULIA GOT ROBBED!!!
Duh.
WAYNE TOTAL DRAMA
so happy for wayne, suck it julia lol
what do you get for being an awesome person? a million dollars
what do you get for being a bitch and doing basically all your actions off-screen? a butt ugly mullet lmao
“i cheated, lied, manipulated people, how did i not win?”
…
girl, are you really that clueless???
okay, i don’t know how that works or if it’ll send, but screw it, no matter what you think of her, whether you call her a bitch or a cheater, i stand by what i said, when she’s not destroying your life, julia is awesome, and as much as i hate people, she’s the one person i… don’t hate that much, okay, enough with the corny shit #teamjulia #releasethejuliacut LMAO
Julia was extremely confused after reading that last post. And the revelations didn't end there. The user's name was "MarioKart123", and underneath the text, there has been a photo.
It was after team Skunk Butt won the sap challenge. The girls celebrated their win and the blonde suggested taking a selfie together. MK was terribly reluctant to do it because she didn't think she was photogenic. However, after Julia's long persuasion, they managed to take a picture.
Blonde made a duck lip while showing the peace sign with her fingers. Meanwhile, the ravenette tried to cover her face with the beanie. It looked messy and hilarious at the same time.
Just moments ago, Julia wanted to rip MK’s head off. And now… she wanted to hug her.
An uncontrollable smile appeared on her face. Not only was it nice, but it was also unexpected that someone as coldhearted as MK could write something this nice about someone as mean as Julia.
This girl keeps surprising me… and I weirdly love it.
The blonde immediately reopened their conversation.
mk
what?
remember that word that i’m still not
used to say a lot?
the one that losers use when they
fuck something up?
…i’m sorry?
YES, THAT
THAT’S WHAT I WANTED TO SAY
i assume you saw the post lol
yeah
i need to teach you how to post some
decent content lmao
HEY, DON’T FORGET ABOUT WHO
SENT THE VIDEO OF YOU YELLING
AT THE RAPTOR
dw, i’ll never forget that
but seriously
thanks for those words <3
eh, not sure if that was a good idea
but whatever
wdym?
now all those shippers will start
making some new theories about us
LOL TRUE
THANKS FOR FUCKING THIS UP
you’re welcome ;)
are you planning to comment on
anything?
Suddenly, Julia got a notification. She opened the email that came to her, and her eyes widened in surprise. She went back to talking and started typing.
i think i’ll have… an interesting chance
to do that
what happened?
just got an email
me, wayne and caleb have been invited
for an interview… IN THE MORNING
SHOW
OOOH, JULIA BACK ON TV
HOLYSHITHOLYSHITHOLYSHIT
MK, I’M GONNA EXPLODE
WAIT, I’LL GRAB SOME POPCORN
AND LOOK OUT THE WINDOW
VERY FUNNY ASSHOLE
I’M NERVOUS
relax
you’ve been on tv for the last 6
weeks
what’s so different?
THIS WILL GO LIVE
yeah, like most of your live streams
on myselfiegram
THIS IS DIFFERENT
yeah, sure…
I’LL SHOW YOU THAT IT IS
oh really?
how?
CAUSE YOU’RE GOING WITH ME
HAHAHAHAHA… no
I’LL LET YOU ON THE AUDIENCE OR
THE BACKSTAGE
I’M SURE THERE WON’T BE A
PROBLEM WITH THAT
UGH… fine
BUT I’M TAKING MY PHONE TO
RECORD YOUR FLOP UP CLOSE
they confiscate all the phones before
recording haha
FUCK
***
Television - the most interesting and addictive thing in the world before the invention of the Internet. The box that old people sat in front of every Sunday to watch their favorite soap operas. The source of the most idiotic entertainment programs and kid cartoons that, instead of making them smarter, make them dumber.
At least that's how Julia saw it.
There were days when a girl wondered why she decided to take part in the show in the first place. She lived her peaceful life as an influencer. Until one day, she thought that this show would be "such an amazing platform to share her personal life and positive energy with the world".
How could I be so fucking stupid?
For the blonde, popularity was the mother of all that's good in this world. And every opportunity to raise it was worth gold. It didn't matter if it was about fundraising, product promotions, or being an ambassador for some fashion brands (from which she had not heard a word in a while, by the way).
She never imagined how her popularity would change the moment she landed on TV. After all, being an influencer, her content mainly reaches a specific target audience. Television worked differently. You're putting yourself in front of millions of different people across the country and even around the world.
She didn't know where it would take her.
And there she was. In her white top and blue skirt. Sitting on a couch next to Caleb and Wayne. In the studio of Toronto's most popular morning show, Kenzie Carol sitting right in front of her on the opposite couch.
I've come so far, I guess…
The buys looked decently enough. Well, at least Caleb did. Wayne was in his usual Snow Owl outfit.
Does he have ANY other clothes?
Meanwhile, the other guy was wearing a black button-up shirt and tight jeans. If Julia was even the slightest bit interested in the boy, maybe she'd praise him for his looks… emphasis on “maybe”.
She clearly saw MK sitting in the audience, although she did not seem to show any particular interest in the program. This was quite obvious, because Julia had to force her to participate, and at the same time she didn't want to reveal herself to the crowd. After all, this was the show dedicated to the final three, not to her.
‘I'm here tonight at my studio with the finalists of this year's season of Total Drama Island: Julia, Caleb, and of course, our winner, Wayne!’ Kenzie began, drawing applause from the audience. ‘So Wayne, I’ll start with you. How does it feel to be a fresh millionaire?’
Wayne started sniffing himself out of the blue.
‘I don’t know if I’m that fresh, eh. I forgot to take a shower after yesterday’s training’ Wayne said, without his usual grasp of what was going on.
It caused an absolute burst of laughter in the audience, as well as in the host. Caleb chuckled subtly. Meanwhile, Julia put a fake smile on her face, trying to stop her eyes from rolling and her hand from doing a facepalm.
MK laughed too, but mainly because she knew the blonde was going through torture.
‘As funny as always, I see’ the host continued. ‘Tell us how you spent your million? Did the two-bus plan go into effect?’
'It sure did, Kenz! And guess what? The second one is faster than the first! Isn't that awesome?'
'Wow! So I assume that you're traveling mostly with that second bus, right?'
‘No, we travel with the first one. The second one is always empty… BUT IT’S FASTER DUE TO BEING EMPTY, EH!’
Somebody, get me out of this hell!!!
Even though Julia found Wayne’s stupidity annoying, everyone couldn’t stop laughing.
Well, idiots will laugh at other idiots, I guess.
‘Alright, moving on - Caleb!’
‘Hello Kenzie’ The boy warmly said with a big smile on his face.
'I gotta say, you had a fascinating run. You started off as the well-known first boot of season one. However, you were able to position yourself very well on your team by allying with Priya, who was the former winner. And the two of you not only made it to the final four together, but a certain romance blossomed'
‘Correct’
‘So tell us, how does it look now? Are you still together, or did you part ways just after the show ended?’
‘It’s going really well. I consider myself very lucky to have had the opportunity to meet the greatest girl in the world. It’s just like what I said in the last episode - I may not have won, but I feel like a winner’
The audience was moved. The whole studio could hear one big “AWWWWWWW!”.
Julia wanted to puke.
‘Beautiful words, although there are some people here who would say “Well, YOU DIDN’T WIN!”’
Okay, no more holding back.
The blonde simply rolled her eyes, raised her hand, and said:
‘Guilty as charged!’
The applause of the audience turned out to be huge. People clapped and shouted in excitement. Somewhere in the crowd, someone was shouting: "WE LOVE YOU, JULIA!". The girl was stunned, and so were the guys. Even MK couldn't believe what was happening.
‘I see we have a lot of Julia fans in our audience today. I mean, who can blame them? It’s Julia! Most of us love her… unless you had to live with her on an island’
There was a thunderous laughter again. Even Julia laughed at that, even though she felt slightly offended by that joke.
Sometimes you gotta grin and bear it.
‘Okay, Julia. First - love your new hair. Incredible how that terrifying mullet could somehow transform into something that good’
‘Why, thank you, Kenzie! Shout out to my favorite hairstylist - Alicia!’
'I have to say, and I think some of the audience members would agree - this was your season. You dominated strategically, you were a challenge beast, and you actually reached an all-time record for the most individual wins in Total Drama history. Not only that, you also broke the record for the highest amount of confessionals in one season, with 76, including a lot of confessionals with your newly formed BFF. We're gonna talk about this in a moment, but for now, I have to ask… why didn't you win? I mean, it almost felt like this season was tailor-made for you to win'
‘Well, Kenzie… I don’t get it too, honestly. I mean, people were made that I was “mean” and I “cheated”, but like, IT’S A GAME FOR A MILLION DOLLARS! OF COURSE, I’LL DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO WIN!’
Once again, applause swept the studio. MK raised an eyebrow after that statement, leading to Julia clearing her throat.
‘That being said… I admit, I could’ve played it better. I mean, obviously, I did some things wrong, since if I did everything correctly, I would be the winner’
‘That was… unexpectedly humble of you’
‘Oh, you know, that’s just me’ Julia smiled, while everyone began laughing again.
Sometimes you just have to make fun of yourself to make yourself look like… a human.
‘However, I think we also have to say, it wasn’t just your season. You found yourself a partner in crime in MK. Someone you kicked out last season. Tell us, how did this even start between you two?’
'I know it seemed easy, but believe me, it wasn't. MK is insanely smart, clever, and cunning. Like I said - I like her style of gameplay. I'm still shocked that I was able to convince everyone to take her out, not once, but twice'
'And let's just say, your goodbyes from each season are massively different from one another. In season one, you rubbed it in her face, and then one season later, you shared a hug. So what is it about you two? Is it really a friendship, or was it just an alliance that started with the game and ended the moment you sent her home?'
Julia was clearly thinking about how to answer that question. She went quiet for a moment and sent a look of confusion towards MK. The ravenette’s face said it all.
How the fuck should I know what to say?
Julia took a deep breath and exhaled. She knew she wouldn't be able to run away from that question.
'Friendship, absolutely. It's funny because I think it's clear I'm not exactly super friendly. It's like I always say - friends are a lot like zits, and I still stand by that. But… that's the one zit I don't want to pop'
Another "aww" came from the audience, which was unexpected, as no one thought Julia would say something like that. Even Julia herself was surprised with how she answered that question.
‘It’s really great to hear it. You two were extremely fun to watch on screen. Now, I gotta ask, because some people would kill me if I didn’t… is it just a friendship or… something more?’
‘FRIENDSHIP!’ The blonde shouted, much to the shock of everyone. However, she kept her cool and laughed. ‘Just a friendship. A strong one, but a friendship. Did I say that it’s just a friendship already?’
‘Yes’ Kenzie said.
‘Around four times’ Caleb added.
‘Okay then, great’ Julia smiled awkwardly and laughed.
MK couldn’t even look at this whole. All she ever wanted was for someone to record it, so she could harass a blonde with it for the rest of her life.
‘So… any other questions?’ Julia asked.
‘I think we’re good’
‘Okay’
Note to self - no more interviews on TV.
***
‘Wow, you were really smooth with that last question’
‘Oh, shut up’
The girls were sitting in the café. MK sipped her double espresso (that’s what happens when you have a caffeine addiction), while Julia was rubbing her nose with her palms, with her tea slowly cooling down.
‘I’m never doing this again. That was pathetic. Not just answering those stupid questions, but like, sitting next to these two idiots? I’d rather have my hair in raptor’s mouth again… Okay, maybe not, but you know what I mean’
‘Wow’ MK chuckled and widened her eyes. ‘Julia doesn’t want attention and fame? That wasn’t on my bingo card this year’
'You know what's on my bingo card?' The blonde smiled, then she pointed at herself, then at MK, and then she showed slitting her throat.
‘You really are a drama queen’ The ravenette scoffed and rolled her eyes. ‘Thank God, we have our “friendship”, so you’re not taking any of my insults personally’
At first, Julia raised her eyebrow in disrespect. As if to say, “Are you sure about that?”. However, she immediately shook her head and smiled.
‘Yup, and vice versa’ She said raising her mug with tea. MK did the same thing with her coffee, and they clinked them with each other.
‘Are you sure about that?’ The ravenette asked while taking a sip. Julia was surprised by that.
Wow, we really share the same brain cell, huh?
'Duh. Besides, I'm taller than you. You won't be able to jump at me when I attack you'
‘I may be small, but I’m also deadly. Trust me’
‘Oh, I trust you with my life… not’ The blonde laughed with MK chuckling quietly.
Meanwhile, the waitress brought their bill. Julia took $5 out of her purse and put it on the table. She then looked at MK who, at that moment, kept searching through her bag. Suddenly, she put a wallet on the table… and then another one… and another.
‘How many wallets do you carry with you?’ The blonde asked.
‘It depends’
‘On what?’
‘On how many people do I stumble upon’
Julia couldn’t help, but laugh. MK truly was unpredictable. And that’s one of the reasons why the blonde liked her that much.
‘Got it!’ The ravenette exclaimed and took out her part of the bill, putting it on the table.
‘Alright then’ Julia said. ‘Let’s go’
They got up from the table and left the place. Despite the sun, there was a pretty cool wind. The weather in October was showing signs. It was getting colder every day.
Julia was wearing her favorite white sweater and light blue leggings. Meanwhile, MK was dressed in a loose black t-shirt with long sleeves and dark tracksuits. And of course, the beanie. Sometimes the blonde would think about taking it off of her head to see if it was glued.
‘You won’t mind?’ The ravenette said, attracting Julia’s attention with what she took out of her bag. She was holding a pack of cigarettes and a lighter in her hand. The blonde was a bit mixed about it, but who was she to put restrictions on her friend.
'Sure, just don't puff a smoke in my face' Julia shrugged, to which MK nodded. She then put a cigarette in her mouth and lit it. She took a deep breath and then blew out a giant cloud of smoke out of her mouth. 'Well, that explains a lot'
‘What?’
‘You smoking’ The blonde clarified, resulting in the ravenette raising her eyebrow in confusion.
‘And what does it explain?’
‘Well, first, your lack of care for yourself…’
‘Aw, how nice of you’ The girl responded, rolling her eyes.
‘...second, your height…’
‘Okay, that’s kinda racist’ MK said, dumbfounding Julia completely.
‘How- how is that racist?’
'I'm 4'11, which is an average Asian woman's height' The ravenette explained.
‘HOW WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW THAT?’
‘Well, now you know’ MK said, sending Julia a sinister smile.
‘Mhm, and you’re telling me that you smoking has absolutely nothing to do with you being short?’ The blonde asked.
‘Nope, everything’s in my genes’ She answered, taking another drag.
Actually, my height is below average, but she doesn’t need to know that.
‘Okay, well, lastly… I mean, your voice says it all’ Julia said, which resulted in her chuckling.
‘Alright, I can see smoking being… partially responsible for that’
‘And what’s the other part?’
‘I don’t know. Singing, maybe’ The ravenette shrugged, while Julia found herself surprised again.
‘YOU SING?’
‘What? Of course, my angelic voice is perfect for singing’ MK said sarcastically, causing the blonde to intensely roll her eyes. ‘But like, sometimes I can scream loudly when Avril Lavigne drops in my headphones’
‘No way, you’re listening to Avril?’
‘Yeah, what about it?’
‘Nothing, just…’ Julia thought for a moment about what to say. ‘You surprisingly don’t have a shitty taste in music. I’m shocked’
‘You know what they say - expect the unexpected’ The ravenette chuckled. ‘Speaking of unexpected, I was surprised that Kenzie didn’t dwell too much into the “MKulia” topic. All that was needed was you saying “friendship” about 12 times and that was it’
‘Hey, it wasn’t 12 times’
‘Fine, 20 times’
‘Oh, shut up’ The blonde said, shoulder bumping the other girl. ‘But yeah, I think people realized that there’s nothing between us and I’m 100% straight’
At that moment, MK stopped, raised her eyebrow, and looked at Julia like an idiot. It took a second for the blonde to realize it and turn in her direction.
‘What?’
‘You? 100% straight?’
‘Duh?’
'Hah, no one can be 100% straight. Especially someone that says, "If MK's brain drove a cool car, I'd date it"' The ravenette said, impersonating Julia's high-pitched voice.
'Said by miss "Julia is actually kinda cool when she's not destroying your life"' The blonde responded, adding a bit of rasp to her voice to imitate the scratchy one ravenette had.
'Hey, I didn't say that I'm 100% straight' MK said, dropping her burned-out cigarette on the ground and smashing it with her shoe. Julia was confused by that statement.
‘And… are you?’ She asked. The ravenette was thinking about how to answer for a moment, but she realized she didn’t want to hide something that unimportant from her friend.
‘Well’ She said, rubbing her neck with her hand. ‘I’m 100%... but not straight’
It took Julia a while to come to terms with what she had just heard. She was never interested in the subject, and yet that information surprised her. But it didn’t change how she felt about the other girl. She was just wondering how best to answer it.
'So wait' She started. 'You can be 100% gay. but not 100% straight? How does that work? That makes no fucking sense'
MK felt kinda relieved. It was good to know that Julia wasn't as judgmental as she thought she would be.
'Does anything in this world make sense?' She asked. Julia opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but she eventually went quiet for a moment, until she shrugged and said:
‘Fair point’
After a while, the girls arrived at MK’s house. They hugged each other goodbye and went their separate ways. But before Julia could disappear, the ravenette’s voice stopped her for a moment.
‘Hey’ She exclaimed. ‘You’re not homophobic, aren’t you?’
Julia couldn't help but laugh after hearing this, which got MK to join her in that. After a second, Julia took a deep breath and exhaled to calm herself down.
‘Just because I hate Bowie, doesn’t mean I hate gay people’
‘Alright’ The other girl responded. ‘See ya’
Julia waved her goodbye until MK disappeared behind the doors of her house.
Was MK’s confession unexpected for Julia? Yes. Did she suspect anything? Kinda.
That thought had been in her head for a long time. Maybe it was because, on an island, she was able to get to know her more closely than anyone else in her life, but when she went through her mind what her love life looked like, somehow she was never able to imagine her with a boyfriend. She just never gave off those kinds of vibes.
The thing that concerned the blonde more was the “no one is 100% straight” thing. She never questioned her sexuality, because, in her mind, it was a waste of time. It was easier to just say “I’m straight, end of story”. And for a while, it worked for her. And yet… she felt like something changed.
It was already getting late. The sky turned from blue to a mix of pink and orange, while the wind got a little cooler. Thankfully, Julia’s house was just around the corner. She wanted to shut herself up in her four walls, have a cup of tea, and forget about this awkward interview.
The first thing she noticed while getting closer to her home was a white car parked right in front of it. She didn’t know who it belonged to. She was confused and kind of mad. She hoped she would be alone after the whole day.
However, what really stunned her was the person standing in front of her doors. About forty-year-old, middle-height woman with short blonde hair. She was wearing white jeans and a light blue buttoned shirt. And she was also someone Julia hoped, no, PRAYED to not see. And yet there she was, turning her head to face the stone-faced blonde.
‘Hello Julia’
…
‘Judy’