How much of a crook...

[sidney]

How much of a crook would Face be without the team?

I was reading my story this morning to just relax a bit, and there was this inner monologue by Face where he was feeling sorry for himself. And in this monologue he talked about how he was a crook. A criminal. And that being with the team keeps him doing more right than wrong, and he appreciated it. But he knew that without the team, he'd be... Well, basically up to no good.

If he never met the team, but still had his scamming super powers, would Face still be a take from the rich, give to the poor kind of guy, or would he use his powers simply for his own benefit?

[Katia]

I think Face largely does work for his own benefit... the team jobs are because they're team jobs. I'm not sure any of them would really be do-gooders like that without the team. B.A. would volunteer at the youth center, Murdock might volunteer at the animal shelter, Hannibal would volunteer to keep young, pretty blonde women from being lonely, etc. But "beat up the bad guys and right the wrongs"? Nah. They'd intervene if they saw something directly-- I pity the fool who'd go beating up on a kid or woman when any of them were around, for example; I think even Face would step in, even if he'd probably be like, "Oh, MAN; this is my new shirt and I didn't want to get it bloody, and I'd better not get a black eye before my date tonight"-- but I don't know that they'd go looking for it.

But, I don't think Face would turn *corrupt* and become a bad guy or anything. He'd just... live the high life and get all the women and goods.

[amyk]

I think Face would be considered a criminal, because I do think he would survive off of his cons and such, which I presume would be criminal activity.

[akin]

If he survived his bad phase after Leslie, I think he would either go into accounting or become a lawyer. What side on law that would be, hmmm hard to say. He would probably have a soft spot for the abandoned kids, but I doubt it would be his only activity.

[amyk]

He does have a knack with numbers, so maybe becoming a CPA could have been a possibility for him.

[HoudiniDerek]

I think Face might have gone straight if he could have made one big scam work.

On the flip side, I could see him being like the Leo Dicaprio character in CATCH ME IF YOU CAN

[Katia]

Oooh, I dunno. I think he could *try* to go straight, but I bet eventually he'd go back to scams. It would be like Hannibal not being snarky at bad guys... I don't think he could quit!

[amyk]

If Face had more than enough money from whatever sources, do you think that he would still do scams, like does he enjoy the "thrill of the scam"?

[HoudiniDerek]

Jan 6, 2024 19:42:22 GMT -5 amyk said:

If Face had more than enough money from whatever sources, do you think that he would still do scams, like does he enjoy the "thrill of the scam"?

That's what makes me think he could stop. If he was successful, why keep doing them? Of course, he might feel there is never "enough" and keep doing them, but I think there are elements out there that would make him content.

[Katia]

Yup. I feel like he can't help it.

After all, Face could get a legitimate job and make plenty of money, have a place to live and friends and social connections in the "normal" way. He just chooses not to.

[akin]

Wasn't in some episode mentioned that Face as kid wanted to be a cop? That doesn't sound to me like a person who wanted to become a crook, more like he learned to use circumstances for him?

[amyk]

I vaguely remember Face mentioning something like that.....didn't he also say that he watched DRAGNET?

[sidney]

He definitely loves the thrill of the scam.
He often makes scams more outrageous than they have to be? More story, more roundabouts, more accents... If he really was just using it as a means to an end, would he have such a good time with all the extras?

[amyk]

I think he just really wants to be perfect in his scams and make them appear so realistic....like when he purposely has an expired license or registration so he can produce the extension (or whatever that is he does in IT'S A DESERT OUT THERE).