Isadora: Day 1 (Changing the Script)

Another Tuesday morning finds you sitting at the coffee table alone while Freya sets up her cameras. Rebekah is in the living room, working hard on some schoolwork. You can’t swear to it, but it seems to be one you’ve seen on her screen a few times over the last couple of weeks. Whatever the case, she’s busy and you can handle this interview yourself.

“It’s a shame your manager can’t join us,” says Freya as she starts recording. “That was an amazing power play she pulled off yesterday.”

“Thank you,” calls Rebekah without looking up from her computer.

Freya grins as she looks over her shoulder towards where Rebekah sits. She doesn’t say anything, noticing that Rebekah’s focused on her computer.

“So how does it feel to know your girlfriend just dethroned the Queen?”

You laugh at that. “She’s scary, it’s true!”

“I heard THAT!” yells Rebekah, but there’s humor in her tones.

“Well you are,” you call back. “I just happen to like strong, scary women. Sorry we disturbed you, baby.”

“It’s fine,” says Rebekah.

“Seems like she’s very busy,” says Freya.

“Yeah, she’s got a lot going on right now,” you say. “Between school and streaming and being pregnant and… well… you name it.”

“That is a lot, yeah,” says Freya. “How’s she holding up?”

“Really well,” you say. “I couldn’t do it, I know that. So I’m just trying to give her her space, make the food, things like that.”

Freya pauses for a moment, deep in thought, before continuing with the interview.

“So, just one more week until the finale is announced and thanks to Rebekah you’ve ensured that the returning champion is eliminated - well, assuming that you win your challenges this week. Any plans?”

You nod. “Yeah, I have a joker card, a special play that allows me to score a top level challenge automatically with one of the ladies, and I have a slave contract to play with the other.”

“Slave contract? I know it means the BDSM thing, but how can you be sure someone will go along with that?”

You shrug nonchalantly. “Actually, it’s one of many ways the game’s a bit messed up. As long as a challenge meets the basic description, that’s all that’s necessary. There’s been a lot of slave contracts played this season, from the year-long total submission one Milo signed to win a challenge with his mistress to one of the ladies signing a very short slave contract for me earlier in the game. That was limited only to helping me fulfill a challenge with someone else I’d drawn.”

Freya tilts her head, considering what you said. “That is a HUGE variety of things it can mean then. Some are actually trivial. Yet it’s the biggest score there is while getting someone pregnant scores less? I looked into the history as much as I could when you played that card with Rebekah and it’s happened less than a half dozen times in the history of the game.”

“I know,” you agree. “Like I say, there’s many problems with the game. Not with what you do in it. You have to get consent for everything and it’s not like nobody’s gonna have sex without the game, but with the rules and assumptions that form the framework.”

“What else?”

“Well the big thing is the ranking system. I mean I know there has to be something, but ranking women based on university social media chat about them is silly. Do you know how many of the ladies are in the wrong rank - if they even SHOULD have a rank?”

Freya chuckles. “I guess you’re right, but I get it. You guys do rank women like that.”

“I never have,” you say. “I mean, there’s women I think are sexier to me than others, but so what? Not to mention how I’d assess someone if I did would change based on what I know about them.”

Freya nods along, thinking that through. “So you’re saying the game doesn’t work? That it reinforces stereotypes?”

You sigh. So now you’re getting into the sociology of it? Well it had to come up sooner or later.

“I’m saying it’s flawed. I guess everything is, but there are so many mistakes made in how it’s set up. I reckon they could come up with a much better system.”

“Oh,” says Freya. “Such as.”

Yeah, you left yourself open to that one. But what would you change? It’s the old adage, isn’t it? Don’t bring problems, bring solutions. And the fact is, you don’t have any.

“I dunno, maybe drop the rankings altogether? But there does need to be a way of keeping score in a game so that might not work. There has to be something though.”

“Perhaps,” says Freya. “Believe it or not, I’ve heard they’re actually talking about how to change the game behind the scenes. Some of it from the stuff you’ve done. Apparently they make changes each year, but this year they’re really talking about major changes. What that will be, I don’t know.”

That is interesting, you think. The fact that you’ve had an impact on that is also kind of scary. Still, you’ll be done with the game after the finale so it won’t be relevant to you.

“Moving on,” says Freya. “Do you have any plans for the finale?”

You shrug in response. “I don’t even know how the finale works, so no. No idea at all.”

“Fair,” says Freya. “All I’ve found out is it’s based on who can do the single most exciting challenge out of the two finalists. Any constraints or limitations, I have no idea.”

She wraps the interview up after that and leaves. You take a look at the clock and see it’s already 11am. You stand up and check the fridge for what you can make Rebekah for lunch.