Post by Nicole Schaffrich on Oct 20, 2011 19:08:59 GMT -6
As we wait to find out who the new HoH is — move your ass, Karen! — I'm remaining optimistic that my social game will keep me safe, no matter who wins this week. Obviously, I would be thrilled if any of the Zombie Slayers wins. (To clarify, the Zombie Slayers are basically an amalgamation of my previous two alliances, except with Karen replaced by Sarah. Cougar Power still exists, but Karen's infrequent appearances make it difficult to strategize. G-Force, meanwhile, has been subsumed by the larger Zombie Slayer alliance.) We currently make up half of the house, which means there's only a 50% chance that one of us will win HoH. If Dustin or April wins, I'm confident that I won't be on the block. And if Karen wins, it concerns me that I don't know anything about her targets, but I believe I'd be safe. That only covers 80% of the house. If Steven or Parker wins HoH, I'm fairly certain that I'll be nominated. Parker has soured on me completely since I nominated Jordan after using the Diamond Power of Veto. I effectively catalyzed the destruction of whatever alliance the veterans had, because Dustin then defected to the newbies' side and Annie soon walked out of the game. It really saddens me that Parker is being so cold to me because I like him as a person and I hoped that we could have continued to speak on, at the very least, a personal level. But he's an emotional player and he blames me for his poor standing in the game at this point. He knows that he's next on the chopping block if he doesn't win Head of Household and he blames me. While I don't think Steven holds anything against me personally, we don't talk very often; he voted for Jordan to stay in the game and I'm pretty sure he would nominate me to pay me back for Jordan's eviction.
Now, what if I win HoH (which better happen soon!)? To be honest, I have no clue what I'd do. My alliance has been fairly clear in targetting April, Parker, Karen, and Steven. I'm still holding out hope that Karen will turn out to be a loyal and valuable ally to me. And I get along really well with April. Does that mean my only option is putting up Steven and Parker? I thought so…until I had an interesting conversation with April.
April essentially confronted me (gently) about being left out of the loop in terms of alliances and partnerships. I assured her that I have her back (which is mostly true) and told her that I feel out of the loop too (which is mostly untrue). After we re-established trust in one another, a whole new April surfaced: some bad bitch April with war paint on her face and a shockingly ambitious blueprint tucked under her arm.
(Note: I've condensed the following conversation excerpts for the sake of brevity and corrected some spelling and grammar errors. None of these edits alter the content or tone of the conversation.)
April: It's just about to be a war in this game, and I wanna throw the first bomb, ya know? [...] People are after me supposedly because I'm a floater, so why not show them what I'm capable of?
Nicole: Well, what are you thinking?
April: If I win this HoH, it's happening. [...] But before I do that, I really need to get some people on my side, ya know? Or at least attempt to. How do you want to play this game?
Nicole: What do you mean?
April: Balls-to-the-wall or more low key?
Nicole: You can't be balls-to-the-wall all the time.
April: I know, you have to play smart. But I just feel like going balls to the wall. Like, I really want there to be a direct line of division, like Season 6.
Nicole: Who's on what side, though? Like, who are your main targets?
April: Dustin, Porsche, Renny. [...] Those are the three that need to be worried if I won HoH.
Obviously, this exchange sent up a series of red flags. Firstly, I was actually taken aback by April's new-found aggression. Secondly, I can't have her targetting any of the three people she mentioned. Now, the opportunist in me wanted to let this slide…because as long as I'm safe, that's all that should matter. But as the conversation progressed, I realized that April wasn't concerned with my safety at all!
April: If Jordan comes back, we could totally use that to our advantage. Oh my god… Is that uncomfortable? If I say "we"?
Nicole: I don't think Jordan would want to work with me.
April: I dont know either, but it's worth a try. I'm so out of the loop with the newbs, I have no choice.
Nicole: I'm not 100% comfortable with Jordan coming back, though. Just because she'd obviously come straight for me.
April: I don't know… But I think Jordan could be easily swayed if she did come back, because she has no one. She's someone I would want to work with because I hear she's loyal and a great competitor.
Nicole: She's definitely a good competitor; that's why I put her up. But she has a mean streak and I know she'd be looking for revenge if she came back. It's nothing personal against her at all, but I hope she doesn't get back into the game.
At this point, April completely changed the subject and didn't mention Jordan again. How can she possibly expect me to stay in some kind of alliance with her when she's blatantly disregarding my safety? April is someone that I like very much as a person, and with the exception of a very brief period when I believed she was a veteran, I have largely stayed loyal to her. But I don't see how I can possibly have any allegiance to her anymore. Don't get me wrong: if she wins HoH, I'm going to lay it on thicker than Texas toast to keep myself safe and, hopefully, divert her attention away from Dustin, Renny, and Porsche. But the truth is, I just can't trust April anymore.
Now, what if I win HoH (which better happen soon!)? To be honest, I have no clue what I'd do. My alliance has been fairly clear in targetting April, Parker, Karen, and Steven. I'm still holding out hope that Karen will turn out to be a loyal and valuable ally to me. And I get along really well with April. Does that mean my only option is putting up Steven and Parker? I thought so…until I had an interesting conversation with April.
April essentially confronted me (gently) about being left out of the loop in terms of alliances and partnerships. I assured her that I have her back (which is mostly true) and told her that I feel out of the loop too (which is mostly untrue). After we re-established trust in one another, a whole new April surfaced: some bad bitch April with war paint on her face and a shockingly ambitious blueprint tucked under her arm.
(Note: I've condensed the following conversation excerpts for the sake of brevity and corrected some spelling and grammar errors. None of these edits alter the content or tone of the conversation.)
April: It's just about to be a war in this game, and I wanna throw the first bomb, ya know? [...] People are after me supposedly because I'm a floater, so why not show them what I'm capable of?
Nicole: Well, what are you thinking?
April: If I win this HoH, it's happening. [...] But before I do that, I really need to get some people on my side, ya know? Or at least attempt to. How do you want to play this game?
Nicole: What do you mean?
April: Balls-to-the-wall or more low key?
Nicole: You can't be balls-to-the-wall all the time.
April: I know, you have to play smart. But I just feel like going balls to the wall. Like, I really want there to be a direct line of division, like Season 6.
Nicole: Who's on what side, though? Like, who are your main targets?
April: Dustin, Porsche, Renny. [...] Those are the three that need to be worried if I won HoH.
Obviously, this exchange sent up a series of red flags. Firstly, I was actually taken aback by April's new-found aggression. Secondly, I can't have her targetting any of the three people she mentioned. Now, the opportunist in me wanted to let this slide…because as long as I'm safe, that's all that should matter. But as the conversation progressed, I realized that April wasn't concerned with my safety at all!
April: If Jordan comes back, we could totally use that to our advantage. Oh my god… Is that uncomfortable? If I say "we"?
Nicole: I don't think Jordan would want to work with me.
April: I dont know either, but it's worth a try. I'm so out of the loop with the newbs, I have no choice.
Nicole: I'm not 100% comfortable with Jordan coming back, though. Just because she'd obviously come straight for me.
April: I don't know… But I think Jordan could be easily swayed if she did come back, because she has no one. She's someone I would want to work with because I hear she's loyal and a great competitor.
Nicole: She's definitely a good competitor; that's why I put her up. But she has a mean streak and I know she'd be looking for revenge if she came back. It's nothing personal against her at all, but I hope she doesn't get back into the game.
At this point, April completely changed the subject and didn't mention Jordan again. How can she possibly expect me to stay in some kind of alliance with her when she's blatantly disregarding my safety? April is someone that I like very much as a person, and with the exception of a very brief period when I believed she was a veteran, I have largely stayed loyal to her. But I don't see how I can possibly have any allegiance to her anymore. Don't get me wrong: if she wins HoH, I'm going to lay it on thicker than Texas toast to keep myself safe and, hopefully, divert her attention away from Dustin, Renny, and Porsche. But the truth is, I just can't trust April anymore.
). I'm beginning to worry that my alliance doesn't see me as a competitive presence in the game; I want them to look at me as an asset. Porsche has won HoH twice, Renny and Sarah have each won the Power of Veto. While Jun and I won the Veto Stopper and DPoV, those didn't count as competitions in their own right. If Jun wins this Veto, for example…how useless will I look? Ultimately, though, it's better if Porsche or Jun wins the Veto this week so that the nominations can be kept the same with the least amount of drama. Then, hopefully, I can redeem myself by winning the next Head of Household competition! (I can't be a bridesmaid forever, dammit!)