The Addison House - Episode Three

Welcome back to The Addison House, where eight strangers with different backgrounds, looks, and personalities all see how long they can survive in the rumored-to-be-haunted Addison House for 50,000 Simoleons. A brief recap of what has happened up to this point:

On the first week, hard-working but mean-spirited Amie was sent packing after rubbing too many contestants the wrong way. During the second week, German contestant Stefan turned hostile and even violent, resulting in his landing in the Bottom Two for the second week in a row. He was set to be eliminated next, but was spared when J-pop girl Saki neglected to pay off her debts, saddling her with two extra votes that ended up eliminating her. This week's ending remains to be seen: Will Stefan make good on his second chance and pull through another week? Another thing we'll be watching for: Rocco and Lucas are the only two contestants that haven't been sent to the cellar yet. Will their luck continue?

This week's task is sculpting. Again, Immunity is granted to the one who earns the most skill points by the end of the week, and money will be awarded to first, second, and third place (75, 50, and 25, respectively). Money contestants earn by selling finished sculptures also go towards their money total.
(Author's note: The original task was actually music with guitars, but I quickly canceled it after one of my worries came true: most contestants just stood around and watched while one contestant played the guitar and gained skill - they would stand and watch for hours. So I ditched the music idea.)

Now let's get our cameras rolling and see what our contestants--....whoa, wait, wait. What is that?

It's a...sign. There's a sign on the cellar wall that wasn't there before. Says, "I didn't do anything wrong. I loved her. I don't understand. But I see all of you. Please, restore me."

Uh...folks, our crew didn't put that sign up. We'll ask around again, but...that is certainly...odd. We don't really know how to comment on that. Let's...let's just focus back on our contestants, shall we?

Oh my, Alyssa. Lollipop Chainsaw, anybody?
Alyssa: Awwww yeeeaaaahhh!

Rocco builds an item which would be quite useful in the Addison House where they have to share one dinky little bathroom. Sorry, Rocco. You have to sell it.
Rocco: Can I pee in it first?
No.
Rocco: Dang.

Lucas, ever-obsessed with keeping his hair and makeup perfect.
Lucas: This is a reality show. The pretty contestants always win.
You voted off a pretty hot Japanese chick last week.
Lucas: I voted for Stefan.
Fine, whatever.

Lara: Alyssa, what are you doing?
Alyssa: Cleaning the shower.
Lara: But I wanted to do that.
Alyssa: Lara, you're starving. I saw the bubble over your head two seconds ago. Go eat.
Lara: But I want to clean the shower.

Oh no!! Alyssa's foaming at the mouth! Ectoplasm! This place really IS haunted!
Alyssa: 'M bwuffhin mah teef.
...Oh. *Hey guys, you can call off the paranormal investigators. False alarm.*

Many contestants seem to be having a few changes in their game plan. Alyssa appears to be the most consistent - she often stays up late working on the task of the week and is always a fierce contender for it. Good-girl Lara stays out of arguments and hasn't entered a negative relationship with any of her fellow contestants, and she often deliberately picks conversation topics that her fellow contestants enjoy (talking about books with bookworm Dewayne, talking about going green with eco-friendly Rocco). Dewayne is...well, he's still his strange self and he still does strange things.

Lucas seems to have toned down on talking about himself and his possessions all the time - after a half million yawns, I guess he's finally got the point. He's actually focusing on developing deeper relationships. In fact, we finally have our first pair of best friends!

It's cute to watch these two. Lucas can even brag to Alyssa and she won't mind.

We are growing a little concerned with Stefan, however, and not because of his rage. In fact, he's practically a different person that who he was last week - it's midway through the week and he hasn't even yelled at anyone yet. He's been making friendly conversation here and there, but largely he has been a sad, listless individual. Occasionally he'll have a freak-out moment:

And he did get into one fight, after Dewayne out of nowhere started mocking him.

(Dewayne won)

But his personality change has been so dramatic. Where he was violent and vicious last week, he seems really sad this week. We know he loves the outdoors - is being stuck inside one house getting to be too much for him? Are things okay with him psychologically?

This is largely all he does. He will spend hours staring out windows, completely unmotivated to work on his sculpting. We'll keep an eye on him. Hopefully he'll sort himself out.

Sneaky Rocco appears to have a master plan up his sleeve. This week, in addition to his usual dragging-people-away-from-what-they're-doing-to-pillow-fight-with-them schemes, he has been spending purposeful time with each contestant and raising relationships with all of them. In fact, he has made friends with both Lara and Dewayne (whom he originally couldn't stand), and has good standing with everyone else. We thought you hated reality show contestants, Rocco.

Rocco: My plan! It's working! I've got the money in the bag!
...I guess he still does. Good luck with that, Rocco.

--

Stefan is now staring at a plant. He has been looking out the windows for about four hours now, and now he is staring at a plant. We are getting very concerned. We might need to intervene. He could be extremely psychologically distressed right now. He--...where's he going now?

He is now staring at the soap in the bathroom. The soap. Alright, it's time to sit him down. We have to talk to him and see if he's okay.

Stefan. Our producers are becoming concerned with you. Last week you were...well, volatile and even violent, and now you're been unproductive and listless, staring at plants and windows and walls and even bathroom soap. Are you okay, Stefan?
Stefan: ....
How are you feeling? You seem depressed to us. Do you need a counselor or someone to talk to?
Stefan: No.
We're worried about your changes in mood and activity, Stefan. Are you finding it difficult to stay locked in this house?
Stefan: Telling de truth vould bring disgrace on me. I have no need to talk.
Can we do anything to help you cope with your emotions?
Stefan: I signed up for dis and I vill have to finish it. By myself. I'm done.
Wait, Stefan, we're not--...

...We'll be having psychologists keep an eye on him.

---
On such a happy note, why don't we take a look at who took trips to the cellar this week! This week the contestants were far more careful - only two contestants were sent to the cellar, although one of them was sent twice. They are...

Lucas and Lara. Lucas finally made his first trip to the cellar this week by clogging the toilet...and less than twelve hours after his release from the cellar, he clogged it again. During one of those trips, he shared the cellar with Lara, who broke the sink. It--....oh, wait, something's happening.

Lara: Lucas?....There's a stove in the cellar.
Lucas: Yeah, I thought that looked weird.
Lara: Lucas, I've been in the cellar before. I was here last week. There was no stove last week.
Lucas: ...Really?
Lara: Gosh, Lucas, do you think this place actually IS haunted? I thought it was just a joke.
Lucas: I think I'd be more scared right now, but I'm too exhausted to care...*slump* Zzzzzz...

We've asked around. We didn't put that stove there. I think there's something going on that we don't know about.
But on the positive side, Lara got some ghost stories out of the experience.

(I just love the expressions on the guys' faces)

---
And now to announce our winner of Immunity for the week! With a tiny fraction less than 7 points of sculpting, blowing away the competition, the winner of Immunity is...Alyssa!

Alyssa: Pschyeah. Did it again. Super-model pose.
You certainly did, Alyssa. Rocco came in second with 4 3/4 points and Dewayne slid in with 4 1/2 points.
And even more exciting news: both Alyssa and Rocco reached $350 this week - both have been granted one-time Free Passes from the cellar. Should they break an object, they get to skip the cellar treatment for one time. Congratulations, Alyssa and Rocco!
The rest of the money standings looks like this:
Dewayne: $194
Stefan: $141
Alyssa: $85 (after paying $350 for the Free Pass)
Rocco: $42 (after paying $350 for the Free Pass)
Lucas: $-14 (being sent to the cellar twice cost him, but to his credit, Lucas has worked diligently to pay off those debts and prevented a vote against him)
Lara: $-24

Saturday the contestants got to enjoy some indoor activities played outdoors.

--
Now we've come to the end of the week. It's up to our (second-time) Immunity contestant, Alyssa, to announce which contestant will leave us this week of the Addison House.

Alyssa: If you are seated, you're staying. Good job. Blah blah blah. If you're standing, you're in the bottom two. You know, I'd really like to paint right now...just saying...
Alyssa. Focus.
Alyssa: Okay, okay. The one who is leaving us this week - finally someone other than a girl - is...

...Stefan. I'm sorry, Stefan.

Landing in the bottom two the previous two weeks, Stefan could not hold on for a third. Although he was dramatically more pleasant to talk to this week (only having a rough patch with Dewayne), the damage from the previous week had already been done. And honestly...we kind of think Stefan intentionally lost. We wonder if the show's pressure just got him to his breaking point, especially with the house mysteriously getting "more" haunted.  Let's let him speak for himself.

Stefan: I am a bit of a free spirit, a "vild child," so to say. I take risks, I love outdoors. I thought I could handle the show, but...it got to me. I lost all control of my emotions. I turned into someone I did not recognize. You never know how hard it is to be separated from loved ones, locked in a haunted house vith people you do not know...you never know how hard it is until you do it. I vasn't as strong as I thought. I know I have lost respect from viewers, giving up as I did, but I really don't know if I could have lasted another veek. I vish the best to everyone left.

We wish the best to you, too, Stefan. Get some rest and treat yourself. You've been through a lot.