Episode 9

[Big Brother]

Episode 9: "I feel like Juror #4 in the Casey Anthony trial."

For the past eight weeks, Lori had been a destructive force in the Big Brother Curve house. She'd blown up on multiple occasions, leaving her fellow housemates simultaneously annoyed, confused, and offended. Against all odds, she had made it to the final five, despite being an outsider for almost the entire game. But now, her time had come.

Imogen: I'm sorry Lori, but you're too dangerous to keep around. I have to evict you.
Bianca: It's official, Lori, you are the eighth person to be evicted from the BBCurve house! It's now time to say your goodbyes. I'm coming to get you!

The remaining housemates were hardly heart broken by Lori's departure.

~JJ Bird~
So Lori Valenti finally met her maker. It was a LONG time coming that is for sure. She survived against Makosi, and then was taken off during Dino's eviction week, shockingly taken off might I add. Yesterday, she did her last shin-tick and tried to convince me to keep her but she just was too much of a risk. Eventually, Imogen stood by her word and broke the tie by evicting Lori forever.

In all fairness, Lori left with her head held high, something I didn't expect off of her. She was great in defeat, will she uphold this once she's a jury member and questioning the f2? I really don't think so.

~Billi Bhatti~
LORI IS GONE, it's about damn time too. She served her role perfectly up to this point in the game. Lori was my crazy, annoying, bigoted human shield. As long as she was in the game, I was never anyone's number one target, especially after Makosi left. She did her job and ensured that I got to the final four with Imogen and two people that have yet to win a single challenge in the game. This game is officially on lock-down, Imogen and I are in the Final 2, just like I've been saying the whole game.

And FINALLY I can rest a little bit, you have no idea how tired my shoulders are from carrying Lori this far in the game.

Imogen, who had just broken the tie to evict Lori over Dan, was already thinking one step ahead, and was busy working to secure her place in the house for another week.

~Imogen Thomas~
I'm going to talk to Dan and try to wiggle my way through this next round on the off chance that he has any say or power. Maybe I should make a F2 deal with him and play hurt that Billi and JJ "plotted against me"? O:)

Imogen: Hey Dan. I was almost positive that JJ and Billi would try to screw me over and force me to publicly break the tie. It figures. At least my intuition was right and I'm quite pleased that I got to send Lori home once and for all. Maybe we'll finally have some peace around here. On a personal note, I'm glad I was able to show you that my word is my bond. I promised you that you would be safe and survive this round and I'm glad that I was able to show you that I am true when I make promises. Figure out who voted against you and maybe we can do some damage against them.
Dan: I didn't talk to either one about the vote, so I dunno who kept me. I dunno why they want you to break a tie, it doesn't serve a purpose to me since now I feel like they're both against me. So them two basically screwed themselves over. If I win HOH/Veto you're safe and either Billi/JJ will be leaving. Thanks for sticking to your word.
Imogen: If I had to guess, I'd say that Billi voted against you to keep Lori and that JJ voted against Lori to keep you. Either way, they've just shown that they're clearly working together and need to be split up. Best of luck tonight at the HOH competition. I'll be cheering from the sidelines.

~Dan Gheesling~
Didn't talk to Billi or JJ about the vote, dunno why they split it for.

Anyways talked to Imogen said I would keep her safe this week if I won HOH/Veto. I'm sure Imogen and I can work a final 2 deal together so that if she wins veto than I'm safe this week. It's time to win a damn challenge.... I think I've thrown too many that I don't know how to win shit anymore.

If I can win HOH/Veto and Final HOH, I think I can beat JJ or Billi in the finals. Maybe I just have to win 2 out of 3 challenges to make my case?

Either way, I don't think jury is going to respect me losing every single challenge.

~Imogen Thomas~
So this is it. I've made it to the Final 4 and I've positioned myself the best way I possibly could have - with my two most loyal allies (Billi and JJ) and Dan, a nonentity that will almost certainly never win a challenge. I've worked to secure Dan's vote in the super off chance that he wins the F4 veto.

That could be a lot of smoke blown up my ass, but it could be better than nothing. At the very least, I could use it to guilt him into keeping me in case he tries to waver. But I don't think Dan will be my problem this week. The person who wins veto this week will ultimately get to decide who to send home - that will be JJ or Billi.

Imogen and JJ soon sat down for one of their usual gameplay chats. However, their bond was nowhere near as genuine as it once had been.

Imogen: Are you pumped for tonight?
JJ: Yes I'm pumped for tonight and ready to win my first HoH!!
Imogen: I don't care if Billi or Dan go this round. I really don't. I'm nervous though because I think they might gun for me this round.
JJ: I'll try my best to win HoH, promise. For both of us.
Imogen: Seriously, your only competition is Billi.
JJ: I couldn't agree more.
Imogen: And just in case you're paranoid and worried that I'm going to flip on you, you don't have to worry. I committed to you on day one and that's how it's going to be.
JJ: I trust you... we don't have to go through this, we've come so far and nothing is going to change that. You've done a lot for me, and I'm committed to you.

~Imogen Thomas~
If Billi wins the veto, I am 99% sure that I'll make it to the F3 and that he'll evict JJ or Dan.

JJ, on the other hand, could make for a trickier obstacle. He's been my right hand man throughout this whole game and has been a great ally, though he's definitely ridden on the coattails of all my challenge wins and hidden alliances. He has his own strong social game, I'll give him that, but he hasn't done much other than that to prove himself. And I'm getting word from Billi that JJ may very well be ready to dispense with me this round if he can. From their standpoint, it makes perfect sense to work together to get rid of me this round if they can. Little does JJ know that the bond between Billi and I is way stronger than that. Anyway, in my few talks with JJ lately, I can tell that Billi's intuition is right and that JJ wants me out. JJ is being exceptionally more effervescent and enthusiastic than he normally is...which means that he is either (a) nervous, (b) overcompensating our alliance talk because he's planning to evict me, or (c) both. Since I'm not eligible for HOH, I wouldn't say it's as much (a), but I think he's nervous that I'll get veto and screw up his plans, so he's hedging his bets. Either way, his tone has definitely changed from the norm, which means he's up to no good.

It looks like my back is up against the wall for sure. If I can just get past this round, I should have a decent shot to win this whole game. ::fingers crossed!::

Imogen's perception on JJ was spot on, as he actually was planning to betray her, and had made a deal with Billi the previous round to do just that.

~JJ Bird~
I'm not enjoying lying to Imogen and nor I am enjoying betraying her. At this stage it is meant to be fun, so perhaps my urge to win really isn't that strong after all. I don't want it THAT badly. But I just don't want to stand aside and let her walk to the final with as much ease as she's getting. I've been overdoing it, or at least in my eyes, trying to convince her that everything is normal and there isn't anything out of the ordinary going on.

With Billi, I don't trust him 100%, not at all. But one thing I do know about him is that he knows what is the right step to take and we both know (as I'm sure Dan knows, if he gets his arse out of the rock he lives under for longer than 5 mins) how much of a threat Imogen is ... its just as simple as that.

Before the HoH Competition, JJ and Billi had another talk in which they reconfirmed their plan.

Billi: I think Imogen is scared. I talked to her a bit this after noon.
JJ: How did she seem? I've been trying to reassure her as much as possible.
Billi: Well I played it off like it was no big deal, but she kept mentioning all the things she's "done for me" and saying I wouldn't be at this point if it wasn't for her.
JJ: Oh, so she was trying to call in some favors then.
Billi: I could tell what she was doing though. It was pretty obvious.
JJ: I think she realizes she's in trouble.
Billi: The only thing we have to make sure of is that she doesn't win veto. We have the odds.
JJ: Exactly... she must NOT win PoV.

~JJ Bird~
I cut a deal with Billi, so let's hope he sticks by his end, and I stick by mine. Tonight is HOH, for as long as Dan doesn't win we are looking at a comfortable postion heading into POV. I just don't want Imogen to win and then our plan can work. I hate to be plotting against her but it needs to be done. I'm playing a game, not making friends for life. Fingers crossed it all goes well, Billi's right, we can't just stand aside and let her walk the final with ease, gotta give her some last hurdles if destiny is on her side. I would like HOH this round, to solidify myself in the FINAL THREE!!! Oh just saying those words make me feel great!

Unbeknownst to JJ, he was actually all on his own.

~Billi Bhatti~
So, I made a deal with JJ to get rid of Imogen this round, unfortunately for him that absolutely is not going to happen. I've had a final two deal with Imogen from the start and that's exactly the way it's gonna stay.

The HoH competition required the housemates to answer seven questions about BBCurve. In each round, each housemate was also asked to place a bet on their answer. The housemate with the most bets at the end of the competition would be the winner. Ultimately, JJ finally breaks his losing streak and becomes the new Head of Household.

~JJ Bird~
So, after nine LONG weeks, putting virtually my all in every week. I end up winning HOH, whilst I admit it is one of the most pointless HOHs to win, I still guaranteed my safety and that I am sailing into Final Three. So for that, I am proud. Plus I did pretty damn well init anyway!

Meanwhile, Lori arrives at the jury house, thus joining the already evicted housemates: Kaysar, Makosi, Dino and Jessica.

Makosi: THIS WEEK BETTER GO FAST AS A JUROR I AM LOSING INTEREST. I feel like Juror #4 in the Casey Anthony trial.
Lori: Hey jurors! Well Imogen won HoH of course and put up Dan and I...I knew I was the target but Imogen won pov decided not to use it....votes split 1-1 and Imogen chose Dan over me...that's the brunt of it. JJ/Imogen are together but I know one of them plan to screw the other and take Billi to f2. I am pretty certain. The person I really want to win this game overall is Dan, screw the rest. Dino - sorry again for being a bitch, it was all game and theatrics but I know I pushed the enveloped too far and I am really sorry.
Dino: It's cool, Lori. We've spoken since and all is forgiven. Sorry to see you here, I wish you were still in the game. Personally, I'd love to vote for Dan as well, but I'm just not sure of what he has done in the game to earn it. He hasn't pissed people off, but I don't know what else. I also just don't know too much about his game. I'm probably going to wind up voting for JJ if he makes it to the end.
Makosi: Anyone but Imogen.
Lori: Anyone but Imogen or JJ.....voting personal for the win!
Makosi: I was always going to vote personal and I agree with this.
Kaysar: Lori, I wish I got to know you more. We talked a lot more during the beginning of the game, but we should've talked more, so now we can talk! Has JJ done anything this game anyways?
Lori: Yeah, jumped on Imogen's back and been carried to final four.

Back at the Big Brother house, JJ has quick talk with Billi before making his nominations.

JJ: I'll try my hardest to win PoV.. I'm going to put you up against Dan... okay? and If I win PoV... you have my 100% word that I'll take you off. I'm sticking by our deal.
Billi: Yeah dawg, it's all good. Veto is the only thing that matters.

JJ then went ahead and officially nominated Billi and Dan for eviction. While the plan was to backdoor Imogen, JJ was still frustrated with Dan.

~JJ Bird~
After winning HoH I nominated Dan because I haven't forgiven him for lying to me. He then admitted he lied and when I asked why he said it was for him to see if me and Billi were aligned. Absolute bull crap and we all know it, he chats so much rubbish. Then he tries to swear at me like a retard but everybody knows he is worthless and has a worthless existence! He had the Lori syndrome, listening to her for far too long and predicting out of his arse!

Without wasting another moment, it was time to compete in the PoV Competition. The competition required housemates to recall facts about the evicted housemates, and place their names on a board that consisted of several clues. The housemate who filled the board with the correct order first would win the Power of Veto.

~JJ Bird~
POV went down and it is a speed challenge, with a little to no knowledge. I'm almost 100% sure that Imogen will win. Which means us trying to get her out is almost never going to happen. Now if worst case scenario and she wins, it means she holds the SOLE vote in this week eviction. I wonder if Billi will play dirty and tell her how we had a backdoor plan, causing her to save him on the notion that he promises her he will take her to the F2 if he wins. And he will have knowledge that because I tried to backdoor her I wont take her. Making it a Billi vs Imogen vs JJ final three. Whilst that is more exciting, I think Dan is a safer bet to beat in the final HOH of the series. If Billi doesn't play dirty, Imogen will almost always choose to evict him I reckon.

But JJ was in for a pleasant surprise, as he successfully defeated Imogen by six seconds, and earned himself the Power of Veto. Imogen, of course, was not as happy with the results.

~Imogen Thomas~
Shit. JJ just won veto. Damn, he was great. Though this might not be the end of me yet. If Billi gets the only vote, JJ could get a fun surprise. If Dan gets the only vote, I'm probably toast, but hopefully I've planted the idea in his head that JJ/Billi are together that he might boot Billi as a way to break that up. Let's not kid ourselves - there's sadly a good chance I'm going home now, but I think I've done enough background social legwork that I might still have a prayer. ::fingers crossed::

Imogen knew that if the nominations remained the same, or if the veto was used on Billi, she would be safe. However, she was less sure about how Dan would vote, and therefore focused her efforts towards him.

Imogen: Bummed one of us didn't win veto, but I guess we have to just sit on our hands now and wait for JJ to do whatever.
Dan: Do you know what he's doing?
Imogen: No clue. I haven't talked to him at all this round which makes me nervous. Do you have any clue what he'll do?
Dan: No, I don't talk to him.
Imogen: Well I was hoping to talk to him to see where his head's at, but I guess he's not coming downstairs anytime soon.
Dan: I hope the noms stay the same.

At the veto ceremony, JJ announced his potentially game altering decision.

JJ: Throughout the game I think there has been some tough calls to make, I’m not going to sit here and name them but it has happened. Each of us have done a good job to get here and should be proud of getting 4th. I have made my decision and it is one that I’ve been thinking about for a couple of rounds and decided only to act upon it this round. I have decided to take Billi off of the nomination block and therefore be replaced by Imogen. Imogen, let me take this time to say that I’m sorry. We have been a partnership that many desired and we’ve worked hard to get where we are. The reason that both of us still remain in the game this far is because of you. You have pulled me through thick and thin of this game and it is you who has been a powerhouse to solidify us as such a successful partnership. It is that precise reason that I’ve decided to take Billi off because at the end of the day, this is a game and we are playing for number one. I’d be a complete fool if I didn’t at least try this move and if I didn’t target you now you would go on to beat everyone in the Final. I cannot simply, sit aside and let that happen, I don’t want to go into final two jury questioning and be nicknamed as someone who rode coattails. I want to be known as someone who made good decisions when the time mattered regardless of my dreadful competition record. You have been a friend, a partner and a damn joy to be around and this decision is not personal AT ALL. I’ve enjoyed your company and I’m sorry that it has turned out this way.

~Billi Bhatti~
So JJ nominated me after he won HOH then turned around and won veto and took me off the block, where the fuck has this guy been the whole game? Imogen has been dragging JJ's sorry ass for like half the game and now all of a sudden he wins 2 challenges in a row, WTF?

Billi had to immediately cast his vote to evict either Dan or Imogen from the house, and his speech was very surprising.

Billi: Before I announce my decision I would like to tell everyone a little story and reveal a huge secret that I have been carrying around this entire game. Up until nine months ago, I was what you would consider your ordinary average gay male. When I wasn't working at Starbucks I spent a vast majority of my free time in gay bars trying to have gay sex with as many men as would stick their respective dicks in me. To say I was "flaming" would be an understatement, I practically had rainbows shooting out of my asshole. Then one fateful autumn day we hired a new female employee at Starbucks, she was cute, friendly and interesting but I never thought of her to be anything more than a friend. As we became closer and closer, she eventually introduced me to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. She explained to me that all of the actions I had been taking during my adult life were directed from the devil and had nothing to do with God's plan. Over the next few months she taught me how to "pray away my gay" and how to forgive myself for betraying God. The last six months have been the best time of my life, my girlfriend and I just got an apartment together in June and we're even talking about possibly getting married and starting a family sometime soon. And that's my story. All of you in this game may now be wondering exactly what this story has to do with the game, well the person that saved my life from the eternal fires of hell and the woman that I love more than anything on this planet, just so happens to be Imogen. So as you can see, I cannot possibly evict her from this game, we started this thing together and hopefully we'll be at the end together. I VOTE TO EVICT DAN!

JJ and Imogen were both shocked by Billi's speech.

~JJ Bird~
I'd be lying if I sat here and said that I expected that, because I didn't. I OBVIOUSLY do not believe Billi's Gay Themed Starbuck story, they were probs aligned from the beginning. Saying that though, maybe they are together, lets face it, why else would Billi keep her round. She practically wears 'I'm a threat' around her neck, perhaps her boobs suck the necklace in and Billi has been smitten ever since.

~Imogen Thomas~
Billi's story is not true at all. We have been in an alliance since Day 1, but I don't know him outside the game. I have no clue where he actually lives, but I don't think it's around CA. I think he's just crazy, so he wanted to make up an elaborate story instead of just saying that JJ made a dumb move and that Billi was keeping me over Dan.

~Billi Bhatti~
For the record, that story I said was 0.000% true, I don't know Imogen in real life, I've never taken a dick in my ass, I love motorboating some titties, and I'm an atheist, so go figure.

The only housemate who didn't seem to have any reaction to Billi's story was the one who had just been evicted, Dan.

Dan: I didn't listen to any of that.
Bianca: Dan, it's official. You are the ninth person to be evicted from the BBCurve house. It's now time to say your goodbyes, I'm coming to get you!
Imogen: Dan, sad to see you go. Let's keep in touch after the game. Billi, thanks! I guess being in a secret alliance with you from Day 1 proved useful. Yeah! JJ, if you're going to try and backdoor me after publicly admiting that you rode my coattails for most of the game and after publicly admiting that you've plotted to get me out for weeks now even though I've stayed fiercely loyal to you as a F2 partner all game (even lately when I've had the power to boot you on multiple occasions if I had wanted to), the least you could do was make sure your plan would work. I'm still kind of upset that you broke our F2 pact and ruined my streak of never having been nominated, but I guess we'll just have to see what the future holds. Best of luck to everyone in the F3.
JJ: Imogen, don't be upset. I have indeed publicly admitted those things, and that doesn't change anything. Week after week we chatted and exchanged thoughts about the game and I don't think that all of that was a lie either. We discussed how certain jury members 'Had the best end story' and would walk away with the winning title. I'd be a hypocrite (as would you be) if I didn't see you in exactly the same way. You have the best end story and I do personally feel chuffed that I ruined your no nomination record I'd be stupid if I didn't try that move and you have to admit that yourself.
Imogen: I don't doubt your friendship, JJ, though I am a bit burned by your attempt to oust me. Objectively, though, I'll even admit it was a smart move to try...there was just that extra variable you didn't realize was there. Dan, I'm sorry you had to be the collateral damage in this all.

~Imogen Thomas~
YEAH!!! I thought I'd positioned myself well in the F4, but I didn't realize just how perfectly I'd placed myself. In any other situation, I would have been gone this round without a doubt. Secret alliance with Billi since Day 1 <3 <3 <3! I bet you JJ is shitting himself right now, especially since he publicly admitted his horrible game play, how I've been nothing but loyal, and how he's been planning on voting me out for rounds now. WTF!? Thanks for playing, JJ. Hooray for F3!

As JJ and Imogen continued their discussion, they hardly noticed Dan as he walked out the front door and made his way to the jury house. Now, only three housemates remain, but one more would have to be evicted before the Big Brother Curve finale.