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Post by Doctor Nanjo M.D. on Oct 21, 2023 16:01:50 GMT
[Chapter 3 - Requested by Rebecca]
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Post by Panda on Oct 21, 2023 16:16:23 GMT
By some coincidence, Rebecca encountered Felix in the piano bar. It was calm and peaceful in there.
"Ah, Felix. I've been meaning to talk with you. You always seem to be following me about, perhaps worried that I'll get in to trouble, so this time I'll take the initiative."
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Post by Neotelenta on Oct 21, 2023 16:30:28 GMT
Felix looks up from his own laptop as he sat and enjoyed the peace. "Oh, hey Rebecca. Yeah, I'll be honest, I've been wary of how few points you've been getting. Combined with your drive to win this game, I...Well, it raises some red flags. But you seem aware of that, too. What did you want to talk about?" Felix asks, turning his full attention to Rebecca.
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Post by Panda on Oct 21, 2023 16:44:44 GMT
"Oh, I didn't have anything specific in mind," Rebecca replied, taking a seat nearby. "There's not much to talk about regarding the points, after all. Unless you have any ideas? I can only assume I'm being penalised for some behaviour of mine, but I can't for the life of me figure out what."
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Post by Neotelenta on Oct 21, 2023 16:58:30 GMT
Felix smiles. "You wanna know my take? If I can be completely honest." he leans forward to whisper to Rebecca. "You have the biggest drive to win, which makes you the biggest target for Bogota to try and exploit into doing something stupid. I genuinely think he's rigged the points system. Or isn't being truthful about the points you're getting. It's either that, or people have basically judged you as some whiny Karen and have purposefully been ignoring you, but considering everything you've done...I'm leaning on the former. Bogota wants you to snap because he knows how much care you have about the game. If you want him to get off your back, take it easy like the rest of the group. Then maybe he'll focus on someone else who seems desperate to get out. Cole-Brandon seems like he's easily worked up, for instance, as much as I like the guy."
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Post by Panda on Oct 21, 2023 17:14:04 GMT
Rebecca snorted. "Maybe. Whatever makes the best TV, right? Still... I can't say I like the idea of just sitting quiet while Bogota continues to lord it over us."
She considered it a little more. "Maybe I'll try what you suggested. Or, maybe, if I do something outlandish enough it'll satisfy the bozo and I'll get back all the points I've been missing out on." She smirked. "You won't know which it is until it's too late, I suppose."
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Post by Neotelenta on Oct 21, 2023 17:47:40 GMT
Felix gives a disdainful smirk. "I mean, I suppose so. Just do something outlandish in a way that doesn't result in people dying, alright? Otherwise, go nuts. I'll admit that the days get boring, and while it was sad that Sara died, I can't say I blame you for wanting to use recreational drugs to give some variety. But...It would've been nice if you had been more transparent about it."
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Post by Panda on Oct 21, 2023 19:08:45 GMT
"I wanted to screw with people a little, I admit it," Rebecca replied, shrugging. "Cause some problems, stir the pot, create drama. Not to that end, though. I genuinely didn't expect anyone else to get their hands on the drugs.
"Anyway, that's an old, unpleasant topic. Why don't we talk about you? Halfway through this 100 day show and I'm still not entirely sure why you're here. I've not yet heard about you being kidnapped, but it's hard to see someone like you signing up for a reality TV show either."
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Post by Neotelenta on Oct 21, 2023 19:47:39 GMT
Felix smiles lightly when Rebecca mentions talking about him. He pauses and blinks for a few seconds before looking Rebecca in the eyes. "...I was asked to be here. For reasons I can only guess. Maybe they wanted someone to make sure the other contestants were taken care of, and they knew I'd step up for the job? I don't know what kind of psychoanalysis they did on me. But you're right, I don't have any interest in the money. I normally wouldn't sign up for this." Felix shrugs before leaning in a little.
"If I win...it will be an accident."
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Post by Panda on Oct 21, 2023 20:39:52 GMT
"Oh, how interesting. Yes, you do seem to have a rather wide skillset. It wouldn't surprise me if they wanted someone on-hand if something broke. Though..." She adjusted her glasses. "I can't say I believe your comment about the prize money. No-one's that disinterested in $100,000,000, not unless they're already filthy rich. And you seem too self-sufficient and practical for that."
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Post by Neotelenta on Oct 21, 2023 20:47:13 GMT
"I mean...If I were to win that much money, the first thing I'd probably do is spend the first month just brainstorming about how to spend it wisely. Money is genuinely a bothersome responsibility. I'm this well-off because my parents were smart with their spending and taught me to be careful with what I get. But I'll be honest, I'd probably give at least 95% of it to charity causes and spend the remaining 5% on like...I dunno, a better car or computer, if they break down. Put the rest in savings for retirement."
Felix pauses. "But what about you? You seem really invested in all this. What are you here for?"
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Post by Panda on Oct 21, 2023 21:29:37 GMT
Rebecca shook her head, not quite believing what she was hearing.
"I'm here for the exact reason I stated when I first arrived: the money. When I heard how large the prize pool was, I just had to get on this show. It really is as simple as that. I don't care for the fame, or the connections, or the experience. I just want the one thing everyone in the world needs to live a satisfying life."
She frowned, staring at Felix. "I suppose you wouldn't understand, given your upbringing."
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Post by Neotelenta on Oct 21, 2023 21:49:17 GMT
Felix shakes his head. "No, of course I know you want the money. I mean...What specifically will you use it for? Are you trying to get a better house? A better car? A better town to live in? A way to escape in-laws? Like...?" Felix trails off, waiting for elaboration.
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Post by Panda on Oct 21, 2023 22:05:10 GMT
"The thing about money is, it's everything. New house, new bike, any food that I want, any vacations I like. Ultimately, freedom: the luxury of being able to do anything I like," Rebecca explained. "I don't have any specific goals in mind."
She sighed. "Look, when I grew up I had almost nothing. My dad owed some bad people some massive debts, so we had no money, and no stability either as we'd have to constantly move from place to place to escape the debt collectors. It's my one goal in life to avoid having to live like that ever again."
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Post by Neotelenta on Oct 21, 2023 22:58:50 GMT
Felix nods slowly, a look of familiarity on his face. "You remind me of my aunt. She's the same way. My grandparents on my father's side were awful with money. She got sick of it and got a job in marketing. Worked her way up the corporate chain and did well for herself. She never looked back. She got married and had a kid and she's fought tooth and nail to make sure her kid didn't experience anything like what she had to deal with." Felix continues.
"My father wasn't quite so cynical, but he made sure to know how to manage his money. From a young kid, he had always been working. Work ethic was something he just had. And still has. I got it from him. I didn't get the experience of growing up poor. But I'm surrounded with a support structure of people who did. You have to understand that I genuinely think I'm always taking something for granted. I owe everything I have to the efforts of other people." Felix says soberly.
"Your story isn't strange to me. But it is sad. I hope you can get enough money to sustain yourself and not end up repeating the mistakes your parents made."
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Post by Panda on Oct 21, 2023 23:24:28 GMT
Rebecca nodded. "My plan, before I heard about this show, was to work my way up the ladder too. My childhood circumstances meant I didn't have access to the education I'd have liked, so steadily working my way up, starting as a secretary, was the best option available. Sounds like your aunt and I would get along.
"As for you, well, maybe you do have your head on straight. Though, I still can't fathom how you bend over backwards to help people like you do," she continued, smirking. "You know some of the people you're helping will betray you, right? Many of the 'crabs' here have already done some terrible things that could have gotten people hurt or killed."
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Post by Neotelenta on Oct 21, 2023 23:44:39 GMT
"...Maybe I'm just the kind of guy who would rather die fighting and helping than whining and being fruitlessly selfish. And if I'm helping someone who might betray me as likely as they'll betray someone else, don't you think someone would be less inclined to kill me if I've been doing them favors this entire time?"
"With all due respect, I'm surprised you haven't died yet."
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Post by Panda on Oct 22, 2023 9:44:46 GMT
"'Whining', 'Karen', you do have a high opinion of me, don't you," Rebecca commented, before laughing mirthlessly. "And yet you still make me breakfast. Then again, you even seem to help Bogota of all people. I'm confident everyone else here would side with me on that particular matter.
"We think too differently, which probably makes it hard for you to see from my perspective. But my survival is no fluke: I've readily established that I'm simply far too much trouble to kill. A potential killer would prefer an easy target. Dare I say it, someone nice and trusting like you seems very vulnerable in my eyes. Though, to your credit, you've proved smart and resourceful. If you were in Jackson's position back during that fire, you might have found a way out. That's my analysis of the situation, at least."
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Post by Neotelenta on Oct 22, 2023 18:55:59 GMT
Felix smirks sadly. "I'm too busy trying to make sure people don't die to afford coming up with a better opinion of you. But if you help me, I'd love to think better of you. Genuinely. If I die, everyone else here will die a lot faster. Especially the person who kills me. We're on live TV after all. I mean this in the most genuine way possible, and not as a purposeful threat, but...There are people who care about me out there. And I know not all of them have the same morals I do. They won't be as trusting or merciful as I am. Kill me, and I can't promise you that $100,000,000 will keep you safe from the other people I've made connections and friendships with." Felix explains, but he seems downtrodden the more he talks.
He refocuses on Rebecca's eyes. "I'm happy to lose. But if you kill me, everyone here loses."
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Post by Panda on Oct 22, 2023 19:42:15 GMT
"Oh, you don't need to warn me. I don't intend to kill anyone here. What point is there in escaping with $100,000,000 if I have to live with murder?" Rebecca responded, meeting Felix's gaze firmly. "I don't want that on my conscience. No amount of money can erase trauma.
"Still, that's a dangerous background you're presenting. You're really not all that you seem, hmm?" She seemed quite amused now. "All this from... what was it, an IT support worker?"
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Post by Neotelenta on Oct 22, 2023 23:47:36 GMT
Felix's demeaner stops its descent and hangs there. "That's really good news. I'm going to trust you, you know." Felix says, and his mood immediately seems to lighten back to how it normally was.
"If I win, it'll be an accident. But that doesn't mean I'm trying to lose. I..." Felix pauses before he shakes his head and laughs. "Listen. I'm not actually all that special. But my circumstances are. Loving parents. Two sets of loving grandparents. No financial, mental, physical, or relational problems across the board for anyone, spare for a stray minor allergy or a piece of history that's not even relevant anymore. Got into the schools I wanted. Made some efficient self-discoveries about what I like to do. Got a full ride through college. And now I'm working in society, debt and problem-free. Life. Is. Good." Felix smiles contently.
"I'm happy. I genuinely love life, and I love people. And that is a two-way relationship, you see. Because whoever controls life certainly loves me. And according to most people I've gotten in more than 1 or 2 conversations with, people love me in return. I earned none of it. Deserved none of it. Controlled none of it. Yet I have it. Isn't that just gross? Do I sound stuck-up yet?" Felix asks rhetorically.
Or did he? He seems to stop talking and waits for a response.
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Post by Panda on Oct 23, 2023 9:52:35 GMT
"You sounded stuck-up a few sentences into that monologue," Rebecca answered with another smirk. "At least you're aware of your situation. Hell, to be honest it sounds like you're living the life I'm aiming for, so I can't really judge. If I had to level a criticism at you, I'd reiterate my earlier point: too trusting. Too naïve. You've lived a charmed life, so you don't know what it's like to be stabbed in the back. My father thought he could trust his friends, but in the end they were the ones who betrayed him, tricked him into taking on a massive debt while they escaped with all the profits. He, and I, had to live with the consequences of that for over 25 years. That could be you in the future. Then again, it sounds like you've got so many people who'd take your side that it wouldn't even impact you much. You have redundancy in your supporters. A smart choice."
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Post by Neotelenta on Oct 23, 2023 13:06:54 GMT
Felix seems to breath a sigh of deep relief.
"...Truth be told, you're right. There are people out there who would turn on me. And I suppose I won't know until it happens, huh? You learned to distrust people because they abused it. Mine hasn't been abused yet." Felix says before immediately questioning what he just said.
"Well...Okay, maybe this place has abused it a bit, but not in a way that has unraveled anything outside of this place. The day I lose trust in people as a whole in a way that matters would likely be the day I legitimately get stabbed in the back. So...I'll keep my wits about me, I suppose. I'll be honest, I'm surprised that I didn't think of buying my own set of security cameras. You thought of that first, and it was a good idea. If you want, I'm happy to help reclaim the ones you bought from the cabin location and set them up around this house."
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Post by Panda on Oct 23, 2023 14:02:48 GMT
"Oho? Coming around to my viewpoint now? There's probably a limit to how many cameras we can install, the production staff want to encourage us to kill each other after all, but anything we can do helps," Rebecca said smugly. "That's why I've been taking notes on everyone, learning everything that I can. Anything that might give me an edge in surviving. But, if it's all the same to you, I like to keep my cards close. I'd be a fool to leak all my precautions only for you to use that knowledge against me. That goes for the locations of my cameras, too.
"That said, if you have any other ideas for our - everyone's - safety, I'm all ears. Maybe we can work on that together. Do the bedrooms have locks on the doors? Back in the manor, I'd hoped to get a room all to myself and lock it, but that didn't pan out. Nevertheless, maybe that's a project worth considering here."
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Post by Neotelenta on Oct 23, 2023 19:49:59 GMT
Felix looks skeptical. "You know I never broke into your laptop, right? I don't know what you have in there. I'm still not sure what to think of the fact that you have so much security on it. I have to wonder if you're all you seem to be, too. The only people I know that use Linux machines are server admins and REALLY nerdy guys. More nerdy than me. The only way I'd use your information against you is to actively vouch for you in case you come under fire again for doing secret things." Felix frowns.
"Anyways, my only other idea besides setting up cameras of my own in the event that you were cagey about yours was to set up motion detectors or trip-lasers and link them to my laptop so we can pseudo-track activity around the house."
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Post by Panda on Oct 23, 2023 20:50:53 GMT
"I picked it because it had the best security. Come on, you know me well enough by now to tell that I'm just paranoid like that," Rebecca explained. "I don't trust people. Part of living a free, comfortable life is being confident in my security. One less thing to worry about.
"Anyway, those suggestions... sound expensive. Are you sure you want to cough up so many points for something like that?" It was assumed, by default, that she wouldn't be paying.
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Post by Neotelenta on Oct 23, 2023 21:22:41 GMT
"Nope. It's why I was hoping you'd find value in the security of having someone vouch for you. After all, if you get killed, who's going to find your cameras and get revenge on the murderer for you? Probably me, now that I think about it. I would've eventually cracked your laptop. But the murderer probably knows it's valuable and would trash it before I ever get a chance to do so. If you don't like security in numbers, I'll have to set up my own cameras. Which'll suck, but if that's the cost, then so be it. Seriously, though. I get your paranoia, but only up until it becomes impractical."
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Post by Panda on Oct 23, 2023 21:56:10 GMT
"If I get killed, I really don't care what happens afterwards. It's all over at that point anyway," Rebecca replied simply.
"Look, Felix, in my time I've met a few people who act like you. Nice, amiable, relaxed. Friends with everyone. But on the inside, they're monsters. I simply don't have a way to tell whether you're like that too. I can rely on mutual self-interest, but I can't give away every secret.
"Still..." She paused, considering the matter some more. "The cameras aren't as effective now that everyone knows about them. Fine. That's one secret I can part with. Lets hook them up to your computer."
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Post by Neotelenta on Oct 24, 2023 1:14:28 GMT
Felix nods. "What can an innocent man say that a guilty man won't? I'll trust that if I do something that a monster does, that you'll stop me. And I'm not asking for grand secrets. I'm just asking for parity in case our respective secrets get us in trouble. The cameras are plenty. Let's get them connected."
Felix will then work with Rebecca to get the camera feed set up to connect to his computer.
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Post by Panda on Oct 24, 2023 11:35:32 GMT
As they (mostly Felix) worked, Rebecca nosily examined his laptop. "Is there anything interesting about this, Mr IT support? Hard to imagine this is just a run-of-the-mill computer."
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