Fanfic / Total Drama: Pomewin Island

Total Drama: Pomewin Island is a dark fic ofTotal Drama written by Empire-of-the-East (Fanfic Writer).

From 2018 through 2021, Pomewin Island was thought discontinued, though on November 5, 2021 the author unleashed a remake of the fic into existence.

The plot of the original went like so: 55 (later 56) contestants from all of Total Drama's previous seasons (including the Ridonculous Race) are kidnapped by Chris & Chef to take part in a new season of the show set on a brand new island, the titular Pomewin Island; located along the coast of British Columbia. The campers go along with it first, since after all it is a chance to win $1,000,000. Or at least so they think, because they soon enough learn that they are fighting for much more than just money. The original was discontinued after 7 chapters.

Remake: Set two years after the Ridonculous Race, the Producers have re-emerged from hiding and given Chris, Chef and Don the task of hosting a reunion of the show's vast cast of contestants in order to select a portion of them for a newly greenlit season: the setting being Pomewin Island, along the coast of British Columbia. In addition to the 39 who win the lottery draw at the end of the reunion, 3 competitors were pre-selected for the season and were already waiting for the others on the island. The cast of 42 campers is also rather unaware of the season's true nature as they begin their competition - and it will put all of their relationships, conflicts, friendships and strength to the test like no other season has before. The remake is currently ongoing.

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The original and remake contains examples of:

• Meaningful Name:
  • Both: "Pomewin" when translated into english is synonym for "Despair". This also shapes one of the tropes mentioned below, but while in the original it is indicative of the plot in the remake it's more of foreshadowing for later, due to the latter taking more time to get on the actual island.
  • Original: Nero and Tiberius are named after notorious Roman political figures. Nero was one of the most psychotic and eccentric of all the Roman emperors, and Tiberius Gracchus was a populist who hastened the fall of the Roman Republic. Note that it is currently unknown if they will appear in the remake or not, as it hasn't gotten to the actual island yet at the time of writing.
  • Original:
• Nepotism: Three major examples, including the remake:
  • The Original: In the original version of the fic, the main source of this trope was the heavy implication that Chris only got his job because he was the husband to one of the producers.
  • The Remake: In the remake version of the fic, Chris' relation to Cassandra is changed from husband to cousin and a second dose of nepotism is added; the Producers designating Amy as a pre-selected winner just because she's the grandniece to the male producer.
• Pyrrhic Victory: Different flavors in both versions.
  • The Original: In Chapter 5 of the original, it is revealed that not even the "winner" is intended to survive.
  • The Remake: Amy is designated as a "pre-selected winner" in the prolouge by the producers, and thus it can be presumed that anyone she faces off with in the final two should it reach that point will, shall we say, not be allowed to take the million.
• Shout-Out:
  • Both:
    • Pomewin when translated into english means "Despair", which can double as a shout-out to two things at the same time depending on which way you look at it. However, the remake only retains the name to be recognized by readers of the original.
  • Original:
    • In Chapter 4, Scuba Bear appears as part of the challenge and serves as a not-so-subtle reference of Slenderman.
    • When Sky damages one side of Scuba Bear's face, the damaged side appear black and the other side white in reference to Monokuma from Danganronpa.
    • When the rest of the contestants learn about Beardo’s fate at the beginning of the episode, Noah sarcastically states that they’re part of a “Wawanakwa Massacre.”
    • Thomas Pertchgill is named in reference to Total Drama's real life creators, Jennifer Pertsch and Tom McGillis.
  • Remake:
    • Officer Garcia & Dr. Lizowski who appear in the prologue chapter (Chapter 1), are so obviously cameos from 6teen that it barely even needs to be said.
    • Pertchgill is replaced by Claude Gillertsch, who maintains the previously mentioned reference to McGillis and Pertsch.
    • The second & third chapters are named the The No-Good Reunion, which is in reference/honor of the ill-fated fan project Total Drama Reunion.
• Serendipitous Survival: All of the characters who avoid being part of the season, which is especially apparent in the remake more so than the original thanks to the fact the competitors were selected via a draw machine which means that those not selected could very easily not have been so safe.
  • The best example is Dwayne Junior and Pedro Burromuerto, who are first names drawn in the lottery style selection of campers, however, Chris actually obeys the fine print for once and states he can't let them compete due to both of them still being 15.

The original contains examples of:

• Alpha Bitch:
  • On the side of the producers, Cassandra. She is not only in charge of the game, but she also has no compunctions about killing the contestants.
  • On the side of the contestants, Amy. She starts off as her normal self, but when the second elimination comes, revealing to everyone what they face, Amy bluntly admits that she does not care about the fact that people have died.
• Adaptational Heroism: Nearly all the contestants and Chef are much more sympathetic here, having no desire to send anyone to their deaths, but not having any choice in the matter.
• All of the Other Reindeer: Dave who had been left on Pahkitew Island like in canon, even had his parents not care enough to rescue him thus leaving it ultimately up to the production crew - really for the purpose of bringing him onto the game, and then had nearly everyone be against him save for but a few people due to his previous actions on his first season. This even persists after the first few eliminations.
• Be Careful What You Wish For: Dave, who wanted nothing more than to see Sky's elimination after what happened to him in canon, only once he actually sees how she is eliminated, he is very clearly deeply regretting having pursued it so zealously.
• Big Bad: Cassandra, the chief producer, creator of the show, current Prime Minister of Canada and the only person who has even Chris too fearful to stand up to her.
• Darker and Edgier: It's rated M for a reason, and that reason is Murder. Also see the trope immediately below this one.
• Dark Fic: The entire plot of the fic involves 56 people being kidnapped as part of a corrupt politicians scheme to make them take part in a game in which all of them get executed horribly at the end, with one of those kidnapped being only 13 or 14 years old. Cassandra also implies that she does not intend for even the game's winner to survive.
• Deadly Game: Losing contestants are not merely Voted Off the Island, they're voted off the mortal coil.
• Deadpan Snarker: While there are others who exhibit this trait, it is naturally Noah who has the most sarcastic snarking to offer.
  Noah: Asks the person who was the one who actually ran away from the group.
• The Dragon: Chef is this to Chris, while Chris himself is revealed to be this to Cassandra. Chef is this because he is Chris' co-host, while Chris is Cassandra's submissive husband. Though Nero and Tiberius are more than obviously the true dragons of Cassandra.
• Even Evil Has Standards:
  • During the first elimination, where the hapless loser is thrown into a woodchipper, Chef Hatchet, who normally has little love for the contestants, desperately tries to stop what is happening, passes out at the sight of the results, and reveals his moral issues with the game to Chris the day after.
  • Subverted with Chris. He is initially aghast when he witnesses the first elimination, but when the shock passes, he is only concerned about legal repercussions and the fact he won't be able to abuse the eliminated contestants anymore.
  • The vast majority of contestants, upon realizing what is going on, are only continue their involvement because they have no choice in doing so, rather than any desire to win.
  • Averted with Amy. Upon witnessing the second elimination, she is the only contestant to have no sympathy regarding Sky's death. The rest of the cast does NOT appreciate this.
• Glad-to-Be-Alive Sex: Heather & Alejandro in the re-edited version of Chapter 6. They have sex while in their now shared bedroom after having witnessed the second elimination and still be in shock over what they saw. It is all but directly stated that Alejandro wants Heather to get pregnant in order to force himself to not betray her later in the game.
• Hypocrite: Sierra, who constantly berates Dave for being insane and clingy to a point where she tries to bar Cody and Dwayne Junior from interacting with him. The hypocrisy is that both canon and this story make a clear point that she is just as crazy and clingy (to Cody in her case) that she berates Dave for being - seeing as how she has all but forced Cody to be in a relationship with her and goes completely ballistic when he is not with her.
• Intercontinuity Crossover: Ejiri Misato is also featured in the disconnected Survival of the Fittest story, in which she is the one who is the Big Bad. While there is a reference to Survival of the Fittest in the story, Word of God decrees that the stories are otherwise completely unconnected to each other.
• La Résistance: A rebellion group lead by Jasmine, Shawn, Noah and Courtney, among others, begins to form in Chapter 6, consisting of not only the best, brightest, and most competitive contestants, but also those like Junior and Cody who may well not be self-sufficient enough to persevere in a literal game of survival.
  • Token Evil Teammate: Averted, as Shawn said, until a solid plan can be made before more of the other contestants whom can be trusted to take part in it are brought in. Also deconstructed, Sierra points out that having evil and/or selfish contestants like Amy or Dave in the ranks of the resistance group early on would cause dissension and strife.
• Manipulative Bastard: Heather deconstructs this particular aspect of Alejandro in Chapter 6, implying it and his Ax-Crazy moment of knocking Cody into shark-infested waters in Season 3 as chief reasons to vote him off to his demise right away.
• Mood Whiplash: A perfect example of it. Rather than be up front with the dark nature right away, the initial chapters fool you into thinking this is just like any other multi-generation Total Drama season. Then the first elimination happens and shit gets real.
• My God, What Have I Done?: Dave is inconsolable after the second elimination, having actively pursued Sky's elimination.
• Oh, Crap!: Chris, Chef, and the contestants get this when they realize that the game is to the death.
• Wham Episode: While Chapter 3 could originally be up to bat for this trope, its successor Chapter 4 in a way takes the cake as it is the one in which all of the contestants are caught up to speed on what is going on for this "season" and what is actually in store for them.
  • Chapter 5 ends with a Wham Line that puts every single contestant and their lives at question, if not more so the "the winner."
    Cassandra McLean: "I never said anything about a winner."
• Wood Chipper of Doom: Upon their elimination, the first boot was via wood chipper by Chef, bringing everyone to realize the increased stakes of the competition.
• Yank the Dog's Chain: In Chapter 4 it appeared as though Dave was on the verge of being accepted at the very least by some parts of his team, only to have those thoughts dashed after the incident that was the second elimination.

The remake contains examples of:

• Actor Allusion: Yes, in a fanfiction. While greeting the guests arriving to the reunion party, Kelly (the one from Stōked) briefly mistakes Carrie's squeal for her enemy Emma's (not to be confused with the Emma from the race). This is a reference to the fact Carrie and Stoked's Emma have the same voice actress. There's also a reference to the fact Reef & Devin share a voice actor in canon as well.
• Adaptational Sexuality: Cody is introduced in the Reunion as having come out as bisexual in the 2 years since the race, and is currently in a relationship with Reef from Stōked. This is much to Sierra's dismay as she is not happy with her "demotion" in the slightest. There's also some ship teasing with Junior and Pedro, a younger cousin of Alejandro.
• Pit Trap: At the end of the prologue, Don is sent down one by Cassandra after he objects to the idea of Amy being a pre-determined winner of the upcoming season and refuses to go along with it. It is currently unknown what happened to him after he finished his fall, and the Producers even lampshade that fact.
• Read the Fine Print: Supposedly, contestants who are related to the hosts/production crew are supposed to have their contracts rendered null & void (and presumably this means immediate elimination from the competition); this also applies to competitors who are under 16 that don't have an of-age partner. However, due to the nepotism trope mentioned at the top of this page, the Producers, Chris, Chef & Amy are willfully choosing to ignore this fine print.
• Spared By Adaptation: Junior, Cody, Bridgette, Ryan, Katie, Sadie, Izzy, Kitty, Ennui, Crimson, Lightning, Owen, Sammy, Justin, Topher, Ella, Leonard and Tammy are the competitors from the original who fail the draw during the reunion party and thus are not competitors in the remake.
  • Note that Sammy did win the draw, but Chris treated her ball as a blank one and didn't call it.
• The Cameo: There's the two bit characters mentioned at the top of this page who appear in the prologue, but two characters who have more lines and relevance in the story are Kelly and Reef from Stōked.
• Time Skip: The original version of the fic seemed to take place fresh after Ridonculous Race, wheras the remake is clear about being set two years ahead. All of the original season competitors are now 21 years old, the fourth season competitors are 20, and the Pahkitew competitors are 18-19. The only one who's still underaged is Junior, who is now 15.
• Underdressed for the Occasion: During the reunion party, many (but not all) of the contestants don't bother dressing up formally for the occasion, as they all suspect it to be yet another trap devised by Chris to get them into another season - considering he's done that twice before.

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