Week 4 - Diary Room

[heather]

7/11/2015


_{Starring Mike Dutz and Sofia Valentine!}

This week lol... love it.

I'm beginning to worry a bit about how I'm perceived by the other people in the house.  The last thing that I need is for the spotlight to be on me right now.  I love Ryan but I'm perfectly content to let the majority of the other players focus on physical threats for the time being.  As long as everyone else is distracted, I can continue to work my magic from behind the scenes.  



Maybe I'm just paranoid, but what really got me concerned was a conversation that Neda had with Shilpa.  Apparently certain 'well connected social threats' scare Neda the most in this game, because 'those types of players always win All-Stars seasons.'  Shilpa told me that she felt like Neda was referring to one person in particular, but that Neda wouldn't tell her who. She was worried that Shilpa would blab to this person, so it's definitely someone that Shilpa is seen as close with.  The process of elimination tells me that Neda was referring to one of two people, either Zach or myself...


_{Neda can you not?}

I mean, if Neda feels that way then who else does?  I need to be extra cautious.  I don't think that I'd be a backdoor target for Sofia this week, but I'd be a fool to feel safe right now.  Shilpa also mentioned to me that Sofia said something about having 'bigger fish to fry in this game...' so who exactly qualifies as a big fish, or rather a bigger fish than Shilpa?


<sub>Who are you calling 'Thickums'?


I prefer 'a bit fat but otherwise lovely and very talented.'  TYVM.</sub>

[heather]

7/11/2015

I've always believed that the foundation of a good game is built in the relationships that you make.  You can be the biggest competition beast or the smartest strategist, but if you don't have the social prowess to back it all up, your options are always gonna be limited.  While I consider myself decent in challenges and pretty damn good at Big Brother strategy, the primary reason that I was so successful in Season 8  was because I had good relationships with pretty much everybody in the house.

To make sure that I have that with my fellow All-stars, sometimes I have to go above and beyond what the average BB socialite would do.  For instance, the other day, Boog and I were having small talk and that's fine, but you know, small talk isn't really where I want to be with a player like Boog, so I decided that I was gonna change that.  When she told me that she was playing Settlers of Catan, I asked her questions about the game and when I expressed interest, she offered to teach me how to play.  A few hours later we were hanging out (on Skype) with Christine and the three of us were playing and having a great time!  It was a good bonding experience I think and if I'm ever on the block in the future, I feel like Boog will be a little more inclined to keep me around.  At least that's my hope!

My motives aren't completely Machiavellian either.  I genuinely like Christine, and getting a bit closer to Boog was beneficial I think for both Boog and me.  Shilpa has told me on several occasions that Boog feels like she's on borrowed time in this game because of all the outside relationships that she isn't a part of.  Hopefully Boog feels a little more secure now, at least with me!

The funniest part of everything was that once Boog, Christine and I made a date, I told Shilpa about it, because she's my girl, and so Shilpa really wanted to join in on the fun.  Boog and Christine were not having any of her fishing for an invite though lol.  My favorite thing was when Christine jovially told me that learning Catan was best with just three players.  Poor Shilps.

[heather]

7/12/2015

Obviously I'm great friends with Keith, Nick, Shilpa and Zach outside of the game, but in this house, Memphis is easily my best buddy.  The two of us just have so much fun together and it really feels like I've known him for years.  I love him!  The two of us just really click.  As the remnants of the Socialites, obviously we're aligned, but rather than hardcore scheming, the majority of our days are spent goofing off and just laughing at ourselves.  We don't take ourselves too seriously at all.

_{Today we made a fort... out of blankets!}

Since neither of us have won HOH, been nominated or even been picked to play in a Veto Comp yet, the two of us have had a lot of time on our hands... too much maybe lol (sorry Kat!) We've sorta had to be creative and make our own fun.  Even though I'm sure we're borderline irrelevant to most of the season's current storylines, hopefully our pairing is at least providing some of the 'live feed' viewers with a bit of lighthearted entertainment.

[heather]

7/13/2015

SPOILER: Click to show

_Help.

[heather]

7/14/2015

_{My face at the Veto Ceremony.}

Shilpa went up and honestly, I wasn't shocked.  I feel like people knew more about what was going to happen than they let on too.  I guess that it's been going around that Shilpa and I are a pair?  Whatever... even if I did have an F2 with Shilpa (which I don't, I'm not even trying to think that far ahead right now) there are still 19 people left!  Those rumors though, they make it impossible for me to effectively campaign for her to stay.  If I push for a Hayley eviction right now, it'll only do more harm than good.

Thinking ahead though, it's probably better anyway if I keep my head down and my mouth shut right now. After all, anything that you say in this house, can and will be used against you in a court of Sofia and Zach.



It's funny too, because I think that it's the people that are in the middle of this vote that are really in the most precarious positions right now.  A lot of them should really be thinking about where they're gonna stand in a few weeks.  No one is going to hold my vote against me at least; Hayley and Sofia and Zach already gave me their blessing on that.  As things stand, I can pretty much just sit back and suck my thumb and I'll probably be carried to a cushy spot on the jury.  


_{Me just hanging out, if I want.}

Obviously I'm a little more proactive than that but you get the picture.  It's the people that are afraid of pissing off the so called threats that won't be so lucky though, especially if it's Shilpa who ends up going.  I love Hayley but let's be real, she's 'princess pretty pawn' right now.

[heather]

House Assessment

I think that I've had about three or four actual conversations with Ash... tops, and the saddest thing is, I feel like that's a relatively high number in comparison to most other people.  In spite of him being close with players that I legitimately want to work with in this house (Boog, Christine, etc.), I just can't bring myself to try anymore.  He's a lost cause and if he goes sooner rather than later, I won't lose any sleep over it.



I'm so happy that she and I have gotten closer lately.  We're finally establishing real trust and I love that she's coming out of her shell more because she's really got an adorable personality. I seriously can't say anything bad about Boog; she's fantastic.



I think that Brian is a really sweet guy but Lord help me, I've never met someone who can talk so much and at the same time contributes absolutely nothing meaningful to the conversation.  Usually I don't even know for sure what he's trying to say.  Am I playing with some primitive form of A.I. here? I'm tired of feeling like I have a Magic 8 Ball stalking me.



Candice and Shilpa have definitely had a rocky relationship so far in the house, but Shilpa seems to really believe that Candice wants her to stay now.  That's what I really love about this game... the fluidity of everything.  We're in a constant state of flux in here.  If someone had told me after Casey's eviction that Candice would be one of the few people in Shilpa's corner right now, I'd have had a hard time believing them, but here we are.  I think that she's gonna be in a lot of jeopardy in the coming rounds too, so I have to admit that I've gained a lot of respect for her, for at least going out and attempting to change that.



I'm glad that she's sticking around but sadly, I'm not sure how much of it is on borrowed time.  I still trust her a lot though and I think that she'll actually be one of the surefire votes for Shilpa to stay this round.  I know that Christine is really scared about her position in the house, but I feel like she's beginning to realize that she doesn't have a whole lot left to lose.  Appeasing threats isn't going to help her move up the pecking order so she might as well do whatever the fuck she wants.



Hayley is truly a gem.  I hate that she's against Shilpa this week but she went out of her way to tell me that she understood if I voted to evict her and I thought that was very kind.  While there is a lot to be said about her deadliness as a pawn going forward, I can't help but admit that I really enjoy her and want her to stick around (just not at the expense of Shilpa.)



She's been keeping a low profile since her HOH reign ended, but real talk, Heaven trying to fly under the radar is like a whale trying to look inconspicuous in a kiddie pool.  I love her positive personality and the two of us have good talks (which I always have to go out of my way to initiate,) but the minute that she's vulnerable on eviction night, I think she's screwed.



In this game, Keith is kinda like my kid brother who my mom is forcing me to babysit even though I would much rather be out partying (with Sofia, who loves to party!)  Keith honestly means well and he has good game instincts, but oftentimes he has no idea what he's talking about when it comes to the house dynamics.  I still trust him though, probably more than anybody else in this house at the moment.



Matt and Shilpa are super close so it's not really a surprise to me that he's fighting hard for her to stay in the house.  I really admire his resolve but I'm not sure how effective he'll be with his campaigning.  If Shilpa does go, I'm having a hard time seeing the two of us working together all that closely in the future, but never say never... I have always been one to keep my options open.  Practically speaking though, I'd probably be wiser to hitch my wagon elsewhere.



We're still obsessed with each other but I'm pretty sure that Memphis and I are gonna be on opposite sides of the vote this week.  He's still my best buddy in the house obviously and we'll be doing handstands in the backyard again in no time.



I feel like the fit that he threw over the Battle of the Block was probably staged.  It just felt very inauthentic to me.  I'm not sure what's going on between him and Sofia but I wouldn't be surprised if the two of them had a deal beyond the standard agreement that they made this week not to backdoor one another.



Neda is on the fringe as far as votes go this week.  I'm taking what she says with a grain of salt, but I do feel like she will keep Shilpa as long as the votes are there. I get it too, I mean if she votes to evict Hayley and it turns out that we're all in the minority, she's gonna be in a lot more trouble than I am.  I still think that she's expendable to a lot of people in this game though, and whether or not she placates them, I don't see that changing.  I'm cautiously optimistic that she'll make the better move for herself and keep the bigger target in the game but we'll see...



I don't understand the game that Nick is playing.  To me it seems so obvious that he's the Cody/Lane/Memphis to Zach's Derrick/Hayden/Dan.  If Shilpa leaves, that's someone who would have been in his corner but he has no interest in saving her.  I don't know why he's giving all of the power in this game to Zach.  Zach is gonna be the one with options going forward and even if Nick is the one that Zach brings to the end with him, Nick isn't gonna win in that scenario.  I never expected Nick to be playing for second place.  In the immortal words of Daniele Donato, 'it's so frustrating.'



I get such mixed vibes from this chick.  She seems interested in keeping Shilpa around, but she could easily be bullshitting us and I wouldn't be the least bit surprised.  She's the quintessential 'that girl' of this cast to me.  I have no idea where her loyalties actually lie.



I love Ryan.  I love, love, love him.  I can talk to him so much more seamlessly than 85% of this cast.  He asked me to Big Brother Prom! We're in a showmance TBH.  I know he's a major target for a lot of people, but I'm seriously gonna fight for him.  This time Heather and Ryza are working together!



I think that she's beginning to feel defeated and I feel so bad.  Shilpa is seriously one of the kindest, most compassionate people that I've ever met.  It kills me that so many people are probably going to evict someone who would have their backs and be an asset to them, simply because they're afraid of pissing off a couple of people whose plans they don't factor in to.  Shilpa deserved better if you ask me...



She's such a bad bitch and I'm honestly in awe!  I think that I might actually have a girl-crush on her!  It's so easy to understand why people are intimidated by her but personally, I'm not scared.  Players like Sofia can smell fear a mile away, and they feed off of that and it makes them stronger.  The truth is that for now she's really just Zach's attack dog.  He's the one pulling the strings.  Luckily I brought a whole box of Scooby Snacks with me into this house.



Why is our relationship so complicated?  I adore Zach but as a player in this game, he's like a ninja assassin.  I think that I factor into his longterm plans, but I don't want to let my guard down and wind up with a katana in my back one of these days.  He's running the show for the time being though and as much as I hate to admit it, I'm probably gonna have to buckle up and let him drive for a while.