History Fanfic / DespairIsland

What if, when people are voted off, instead of being taken to Playa de Losers[[note]]canonically a luxury hotel where eliminated contestants stay until the finale[[/note]], they are murdered... brutally? Now, the twenty-two original competitors are in a fight for their lives, where they have to scheme, double-cross, and backstab each other in order to win and stay alive.

Can be found [[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10295140/1/Despair-Island here]]

* AntiVillain: Justin, Heather, Alejandro, and Chef Hatchet loathe their horrific circumstances and show remorse for their evil actions, but are ultimately doing what they must to survive.
* AscendedExtra: Ezekiel makes it much further than in the season being reimagined.

* BigBad: Chris is the overarching villain of the story, with the literal power of life and death over the contestants.
* BigFun: Deconstructed with Owen. His happy-go-lucky personality is seen as an annoyance, and he is generally viewed as TheLoad.
* BittersweetEnding: After all the death and suffering, the surviving players are able to return to their normal lives with relative ease, but most of the villains are not really brought to justice.

** [[spoiler:A contingent of Canadian armed forces soldiers arrives at the end of the finale to save Geoff from being the final execution, rescue the other surviving contestants (Noah, Bridgette, Justin, and Duncan), and arrest Chris and his subordinates.]]
** [[spoiler:Duncan's father attempts this even earlier, but fails miserably, which results in him being imprisoned and Harold being senselessly killed in an escape attempt.]]

* CutLexLuthorACheck: Jonathan Gavrilovic, a member of the Serbian mafia who has somehow become a high-ranking Canadian government official, risks his reputation and even his liberty to produce a "snuff" reality show for the black market, even though a man with his power and connections could have made more money more easily and far more safely by producing a legitimate reality show.
* DarkFic: The original 22 contestants are now playing not for a cash prize, for their very lives, having been taken from their homes against their wills due to a sinister criminal conspiracy involving the Serbian mafia and corruption within in the Canadian government. Also, none of the canon series' AmusingInjuries are PlayedForLaughs here.
* DarkerAndEdgier: The fic takes itself a lot more seriously than the actual show, making the challenges and their hazards more realistic and removing the cartoonish elements.

* DeadGuyJunior: [[spoiler:Duncan memorializes Courtney's death as an adult by naming his daughter after her in the epilogue.]]

* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler:After Alejandro's death, Heather]] is pushed to this. [[AmbiguousSituation Or is she?]]
* DroppedABridgeOnHim: [[spoiler:Trent, Alejandro and Heather's]] deaths are sudden and particularly unceremonious. Even Chris is disappointed in them.
* EarnYourHappyEnding: [[spoiler:Noah, Bridgette, Duncan, Geoff, and Justin go through 26 episodes of an utterly horrific and deeply traumatizing DeadlyGame, but all survive, recover, and manage to live surprisingly happy and peaceful lives in the end (although Justin less so than the rest).]]

** Just like in canon, [[spoiler:Harold]] leaves the game with his head held high and a smile on his face, due to his death being, as he observes, "wicked awesome".

* FakingTheDead: [[spoiler:Duncan]] does this in order to potentially save himself from elimination.

** Another example would be Chef, who doesn't want to work at a camp that butchers the campers, but is made abundantly clear that he has to.
* FrameUp: Justin is particularly skilled with this. He frames [[spoiler:Courtney for stealing Eva's [=MP3=] Player and Cody for stealing Leshawna's bra.]] This is, of course, to get people eliminated
* GovernmentConspiracy: Respected high-ranking government official Jonathan Gavrilovic is able to secretly kidnap 22 teenagers, produce a highly illegal DeadlyGame show, and hire criminals to produce said show, all with the help of his connections to the Serbian mafia.
* HalfTheManHeUsedToBe: [[spoiler:Katie and Sadie are both executed by being sawed in two.]]
* HollywoodTactics: The first rescue attempt fails in part because of multiple tactical blunders by the would-be rescuers, most notably letting Chris stall for time. The leader of the rescue crew is an experienced police officer who really should have known better.
* ImprobableAimingSkills: The first rescue attempt implodes when Zolkoff shoots the helicopter pilot in the head despite not having a realistic angle to do so at any range close enough for his sidearm to be effective.
* KarmaHoudini: [[spoiler:Jonathan Gavrilovic's role in creating ''Total Drama Island'' is never exposed after Chris' death and he remains a respected member of the Canadian government with nobody knowing of his ties to the Serbian mafia.]]
* TheKlutz: Tyler, like in canon, is especially clumsy and prone to having accidents and injuries, to the point that he got put into a wheelchair in the first challenge!

** Noah intentionally invokes this in the 'dodgeball episode' in order to get eliminated. He had found one of the life idols, and wanted out of the game as quickly as possible.
* TheManBehindTheMan: Jonathan Gavrilovic, a high-ranking and well-respected Canadian government official, who was the one who funded Chris' DeadlyGame and allowed it to happen without the knowledge of anyone in Canada.

* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: [[spoiler:Justin finds himself plagued by this after getting Eva, Gwen, and Cody eliminated, to the point where he decides to stop scheming and engineering others' eliminations.]]

* NonGameplayElimination: Several contestants die under circumstances other than being formally eliminated and executed. These circumstances include challenge hazards, suicide, and being killed whilst attempting to escape.
* OffWithHisHead: [[spoiler:Courtney is guillotined after losing a tiebreaker challenge to Leshawna.]]

* ShipTease: Geoff/Bridgette, as well as some minor Duncan/Courtney [[spoiler:and Heather/Alejandro]].
* ShooOutTheClowns: Izzy and Owen are canonically the show's main sources of over-the-top comedy and bring little else to the table, so they are quickly disposed of in this [[DarkFic unremittingly dark]] remake.
* TheSociopath: Chis, even more so then in canon, as he takes a lot of glee out of the camper's terror of the situation and in their gruesome deaths. The only time he shows any empathy is DJ's horrific fate.

* YouKnowTooMuch: [[spoiler:Chris is killed by Zolkoff after being arrested in order to prevent him from blabbing out Jonathan Gavrilovic's involvement in the show's production.]]
* YourHeadAsplode: [[spoiler:Tyler is executed by being forced to hold a live grenade in his mouth.]]

''Despair Island'' is a ''WesternAnimation/TotalDrama'' fanfiction by [[https://www.fanfiction.net/u/4311772/Knifez Knifez]] It is an alternate retelling of the original first season, but with much higher stakes.

* TheStationsOfTheCanon: This Season 1 remake has the same challenges in the same order as the canonical season it reimagines. [[spoiler:Noah and Bridgette are even still removed from the game in the same challenges they were in canon.]]

* TheSociopath: Chis, even more so then in canon, as he takes a lot of glee out of the camper's terror of the situation and in their gruesome deaths. The only time he shows any empathy is DJ's horrific fate.

* NiceGuy / NiceGirl: As per canon, Geoff and Bridgette remain among the kindest characters on the show, managing to keep their humanity and their heads up despite their horrific situation.

* NonGameplayElimination: Several contestants die under circumstances other than being formally eliminated and executed. These circumstances include challenge hazards [[spoiler:(Trent and Alejandro)]], suicide [[spoiler:(Heather)]], and being killed whilst attempting to escape [[spoiler:(Harold)]].

* AdaptationalEarlyAppearance: [[spoiler:Alejandro and Sierra appear in ''Island'' as newcomers when the merge arrives.]]

* BreakTheCutie: [[spoiler:Katie]] goes off the deep end when [[spoiler:Sadie]] is eliminated, and even tries to kill Chris at one point.

* CharacterExaggeration: Chris's sadism, Izzy's insanity, Cody's perverted nature, Lindsay's stupidity, and [[spoiler:Sierra's craziness]] are all even greater than they are in canon.

* AntiVillain: Justin, Heather, Alejandro, and Chef Hatchet are portrayed in this manner. All of them loathe their horrific circumstances and show remorse for their evil actions, but are ultimately doing what they must to survive.

* DarkFic: And how! The original 22 contestants are now playing for their very lives, having been taken from their homes against their wills due to a sinister criminal conspiracy involving the Serbian mafia and corruption within in the Canadian government. Also, none of the canon series' AmusingInjuries are PlayedForLaughs here.
* DarkerAndEdgier: If the premise didn't make it obvious, the fic takes itself a lot more seriously than the actual show, making the challenges and their hazards more realistic and removing the cartoony elements.

* BurnTheWitch: [[spoiler:Ezekiel is burned at stake.]]

* CruelAndUnusualDeath: Most of the execution methods are cruel, demeaning, and/or gory; and because methods are rarely reused, they tend to become ever more baroque as the story progresses. Contestants meet their ends via agencies such as being [[AnvilOnHead flattened under an immense concrete block]], a hand grenade [[YourHeadAsplode exploding inside the condemned's mouth]], being [[BurnTheWitch burned at the stake]], being [[HalfTheManHeUsedToBe sawn in half]], and [[OffWithHisHead a date with Madame Guillotine]].

* DemotedToExtra: [[spoiler:Owen, Gwen, and DJ are eliminated much earlier than in canon. To a lesser extent this applies to Izzy, Sadie, Lindsay, and Heather, who are all eliminated somewhat earlier than in canon.]]

* AscendedExtra: [[spoiler:Ezekiel, Justin, Beth, Katie, and Courtney all make it much further than in canon. Leshawna, Trent, Harold, Cody, Tyler, and Eva are also eliminated later than in canon, although not by much.]]

* AdaptationalPersonalityChange: Ezekiel is made [[TokenReligiousTeammate devoutly religious]] rather than just being a clueless kid with old-fashioned views. He's still homeschooled though.

* AscendedExtra: [[spoiler:Ezekiel, Justin, Beth, Katie, and Courtney all make it much further than in canon.]]

** [[spoiler:A contingent of Canadian armed forces soldiers arrives at the end of the finale to save Geoff from death, rescue the other surviving contestants, and arrest Chris and his subordinates.]]

* DemotedToExtra: [[spoiler:Owen, Gwen, and DJ are eliminated much earlier than in canon.]]

* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler:After Aleandro's death, Heather]] is pushed to this. [[AmbiguousSituation Or is she?]]

** [[spoiler:Harold]], due to his death being, as he observes, wicked awesome.

* TheStationsOfTheCanon: This Season 1 remake has the same challenges in the same order as the canonical season it reimagines.

* TheStationsOfTheCanon: [[spoiler:Noah and Bridgette are eliminated in the same episodes they were in canon.]]

* PunchClockVillain: Chef, the cameramen, and the interns. None of them like doing what they have to do or seeing
what Chris does to the campers, but due to all of them being convicted criminals being given a chance at a lighter sentence, they'll take what they can get.

* TheStationsOfCanon: [[spoiler:Noah and Bridgette are eliminated in the same episodes they were in canon.]]

Despair Island is a Total Drama fanfiction by [[https://www.fanfiction.net/u/4311772/Knifez Knifez]] It is an alternate retelling of the original first season, but with much higher stakes.

What if, when people are voted off, instead of being taken to Playa de Losers[[note]]canonically a luxury hotel where eliminated contestants stay until the finale[[/note]], they are murdered... brutally. Now, the twenty-two original competitors are in a fight for their lives, where they have to scheme, double-cross, and backstab each other in order to win and stay alive.

* AdaptationalPersonalityChange: Ezekiel is made [[TokenReligiousTeammate devoutly religious]] rather than just being a dweeby homeschooled kid with old-fashioned views.

* BigBad: Chris Mclean is the overarching villain of the story, with the literal power of life and death over the contestants. The DeadlyGame was originally his brainchild, although this point was later [[OrwellianRetcon quietly retconned away via revision of the first chapter.]]

* BittersweetEnding: After all the death and suffering, the surviving players are able to live relatively normal lives, but most of the villains are not really brought to justice.
* TheCavalry: A contingent of soldiers arrives at the end of the finale to save Geoff from death, rescue the other surviving contestants, and arrest Chris and his subordinates.
** Duncan's father attempts this even earlier, but fails miserably.

* CutLexLuthorACheck: Jonathan Gavrilovic, a mob boss who [[MakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext somehow became Canada's de facto dictator]], risks his reputation and even his liberty to produce a "snuff" reality show for the black market, even though a man with his power and connections could have made more money more easily and far more safely by producing a legitimate reality show.
* TheDragon: The OC Zolkoff is Chris' hired muscle. Essentially a low-grade comic book supervillain, he is noticeably overpowered for the setting.
* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler: After Aleandro's death, Heather]] is pushed to this. [[AmbiguousSituation Or is she?]]
* DroppedABridgeOnHim: [[spoiler: Trent, Alejandro and Heather's]] deaths are sudden and particularly unceremonious.

* FakingTheDead: [[spoiler: Duncan]] does this in order to potentially save himself from elimination.
* ForcedIntoEvil: Villianous contestants, like Heather, Alejandro, and Justin, don't want to cause people to die so they can get ahead, they've just been forced to do so because of the game.

* FrameUp: Justin is particularly skilled with this. He frames [[spoiler: Courtney for stealing Eva's [=MP3=] Player and Cody for stealing Leshawna's Bra.]] This is, of course, to get people eliminated

* NonGameplayElimination: Several contestants die under circumstances other than being formally eliminated and executed. These circumstances include challenge hazards, suicide, and being killed whilst attempting to escape.

* SoleSurvivor: The game is billed as one where only the winner will survive, with the other contestants executed as they are eliminated. The trope is subverted, however, because several others survive for various reasons.

* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler: After Aleandro's death, Heather]] is pushed to this.

* BittersweetEnding: After all the death and suffering, Geoff, Bridgette, Justin, Noah and Duncan all survive the horrors of the show, Chris and Zolkoff are arrested and Chris is murdered by Zolkoff in prison while Chef flees and lives out his days in luxury. Geoff and Bridgette get married, Justin moves to Hawaii with his family, Noah moves on with his life and Duncan becomes a police officer like his father and names his first daughter after Courtney.

** [[spoiler:Ezekiel]] ''tries'' to do this, but ultimately ends up screaming in pain as he's burned alive.

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:After all the death and suffering, Geoff, Bridgette, Justin, Noah and Duncan all survive the horrors of the show, Chris and Zolkoff are arrested and Chris is murdered by Zolkoff in prison while Chef flees and lives out his days in luxury. Geoff and Bridgette get married, Justin moves to Hawaii with his family, Noah moves on with his life and Duncan becomes a police officer like his father and names his first daughter after Courtney]].
* TheCavalry: [[spoiler: A contingent of soldiers arrives at the end of the finale to save Geoff from death, rescue the other surviving contestants, and arrest Chris and his subordinates.]]
** [[spoiler: Duncan's father attempts this even earlier, but fails miserably.]]

* FrameUp: Justin is particularly skilled with this. He frames [[spoiler: Courtney for stealing Eva's MP3 Player and Cody for stealing Leshawna's Bra.]] This is, of course, to get people eliminated

* BiggerBad: Jonathan Gavrilovic was originally just the guy who bankrolled Chris' idea for the show, but was later retconned into the driving force.

What if, when people are voted off, instead of being taken to Playaz de Losers, they are murdered... brutally. Now, the twenty-two original competitors are in a fight for their lives, where they have to scheme, double-cross, and backstab each other in order to win and stay alive.

* BearsAreBadNews: DJ is brutally mauled by one in the night.

* BearsAreBadNews: [[spoiler: DJ is brutally mauled by one]]

* DarkFic: A textbook example of it.

* TheKlutz: Tyler, like in canon, is this. He got put into a wheelchair in the first challenge!

** Noah [[spoiler: intentionally invokes this in the 'dodgeball episode' in order to get eliminated. He had found one of the life idols, and wanted out of the game as quickly as possible.]]

* TheSociopath: Chis, even more so then in canon, as he takes a lot of glee out of the camper's terror of the situation and in their gruesome deaths. The only time he shows any empathy is [[spoiler:DJ's horrific fate]].

* NonGameplayElimination: [[spoiler: Harold, Trent, Alejandro,and Heather are all killed out of or during a challenge, without being properly voted off. Duncan fakes one of these in order to get out of the game.]]

* BigBad: Chris Mclean is the overarching villain of the story, with Johnathon Gavrilovic as the BiggerBad. However, just like in canon, there are a few contestants causing trouble for the rest of them.
** Pre-Merge, Justin is undoubtly the main villain, as he is personally responsible for four eliminations: [[spoiler:Eva's, Gwen's, Cody's, and Katie's]]
** Post-Merge, Alejandro seems to be built up to be the new main villain... [[spoiler: until he is unceremoniously killed in the horror challenge.]] After that, Justin takes back the reigns as the main villain.