So what a whirlwind the last week has been! Let's start by rewinding to the last eviction between Hal and Shay.
I had fully intended on booting Hal at the time due to his potential relationship with Tom and the prospects of Tom coming back. But something inside me decided that Shay needed to go as she ran the risk of sliding by each week and I had no idea where she stood gamewise.
The finalizer alliance of Kristen(whom Jiggle brought in), Jiggle, Zooey, Britt, and myself had decided that Hal would go without consulting Britt in a late night chat. The next day me and Britt spoke and decided that we didnt need Kristen coming in and trying to call shots. We also came to the conclusion that she was the only one who was close to Shay and therefore we needed to cut that limb off.
Britt was busy throughout the day and that made for some communication issues. I was able to scrounge up a few votes but it was still going to be a very close vote. Realizing the potential of a tie I consulted Amy to see what she would do in the case of a tie and nudged her toward keeping Hal. I saw spoke with Hal and told him that he had my vote to stay but expressed some concerns about Tom to which he laid to rest. At this point I told him that Kristen was lying to him again and set her up as a scapegoat going forward.
Shay came on to do her campaigning but never outright asked for my vote although I led her to believe she had it by telling her things such as I think she will be fine. When in reality at the time I thought she might be but I was not ready to give up my fight that easily. I monitored whether or not she was speaking to Amy which she never did. So when the smoke settled the voted tied and Amy sent Shay packing as I had hoped and planted the seeds for. Hilarie again exclaimed playfully that why does every vote have to go my way, because of hard work and playing the people rather than just playing the game. Everyone has something that makes them tick and preying on those weaknesses or openings gives power. For example going to bat for Hal is something no one has done and with his trust issues it will push him over the top in to my corner.
Next we get word of an unusual challenge coming our way and go figure Penn decides to throw a curveball in there. An elimination challenge with an added twist that just set off paranoia around the house. I stayed calm, cool, and collected and planted an original seed to get Amy out with a few people. It would take more conversations and time closer to the deadline though for anything to be solidified as everyone began to realize the puzzle from hell loomJiggle. Another option I tossed around was having the vote fall on myself and picking fight so I could decide who goes home but I felt that was too risky in the end.
In the end Brant came to me and Jiggle and let us both know he had picked flight and voted for Badger. This was the opening and information I needed to turn a chance challenge into a win and sure thing. Brant had told me multiple times how honest and forthcoming I was so I took this opportunity to strike and by myself yet another round with many people who would go to bat for me. When the vote was reveal it was a landslide loss for Brant and he was sent packing with little to no disruption within the house. No offense to Brant but no one really saw this as a big move because he wasnt really in anyone's plans as it was the most lopsided vote of the season.
Onto a creative HoH we went which was just fun really and took some of the edge off the game temporarily. I went with an outside the box idea that I was happy and satisfied with. I spoke to Hal alot throughout the challenge because I knew this would be one that he would attack and go after as his back was against the wall. Which I was absolutely ok with him winning because I had just spearheaded saving him.
Low and behold Hal pulls out his first HoH win and Im sure ass kissing from all angles began whereas I put in my work and did not have to partake in that. Hal asked me about the alliance that I partially divulged to him last round and I threw those cards on the table because like I said weeks ago I doubted I would stick with it til the end. I informed him of the members of the finalizer alliance so he was determined to put up 2 of them. He seemed content on Britt and Zooey with a potential backdoor of Kristen but he really Britt or Kristen out and figured people would veto Zooey because she is well likJiggle.
That coming from Hal sent off a slight alarm and I went to bat for Britt as I can see that Zooey will be a threat on the jury and it solidified that I cannot drag her to the end. Britt on the other hand will stay a constant target and I feel like she is closer to me than anyone else. So I told Hal that she was an advocate for him to stay and just felt bullied by the other 2(Zooey and Kristen). Also if he had to put up Kristen if he wanted her to go and she was going to go after veto no matter what but not to worry about the DPOV because my intel told me she didnt have it.
At this point we changed subjects a bit and Hal gave me some vital information saying a few people are starting to talk about me as a potential juror threat because Im so well connectJiggle. Which I believe Kristen and Hilarie are the main culprits of that. But you gotta love the fact that Im sure he believes that too but is willing to give me that information. Then he turns around and nominates the person I suggested rather than the person he originally brought to me. Again assessing my options in the house I dont win HoH but get the nominees I want on the block and save someone I dont want up there.
After the nomination ceremony I spoke with Britt and told her this is the chance we needed to break free of Kristen and am working on pulling her away from Jiggle as well for his blunder in bringing her into the alliance. She agreed and ideally Kristen goes home this round but there is much still to come and Im antsy about whether this is the last round before someone coming back or not. I feel that Kristen will have her shot at ashes if she is evicted and they will fight it out next round to return but who knows I may be wrong.
All in all thinking about things I dont want to win an HoH that will prevent me from competing that round that the Ashee returns because I will probably be enemy of the state numero uno. So I need to balance the need for an HoH with the need to potentially protect myself from that. Of course all this could be made alot easier if I can manage to get my hands on that DPOV. If I can get that I can visualize a clear path to the finals.
This week I've also come to the first realization of who I want in the finals with me and Im not quite sure if its a heart or brain move at this point. But I am really feeling like I want to be there with Amy, Im sure she has made some enemies in Shay and Kristen so ideally they would both be on jury but highly doubtful. And her niceness can come off as fake to other people. Ive gotten to know her this time around and that is both positive and negative as I think she trusts me wholeheartedly but it also makes my potential ousting of her again very hard. But I will continue to monitor how things play out as people love to tell me things and measure the pulse of how people feel. I will keep my eyes on the prize and try to make the best strategic decisions for my game rather than let my heart come into play.
On another note I promise I will give you guys a video DR in the near future.
What did I do