Big Brother 18 Live Feed Spoilers and Updates for Wednesday 8/31/2016!!!

Tuesday passed with nothing terribly significant happening. The HOH camera made an appearance and Natalie, Victor and Corey were the only house guests who participated in Nicole's picture taking. Nicole couldn't complain much as she and Corey had ignored the last two HOH picture taking days. Only Victor is a routine participant in every picture taking day. Nicole did her HOH blog which will be posted later.

Victor's dying of boredom and led feed watchers on a Nature Watch program where he assumed the personality of a wildlife commentator discussing the various house guests. We'll likely see all or part of that airing on TV in the near future as unlike his Baldwin bits, this was entirely G rated.

Paul and Michelle seem to be engaged in some sort of a sleeping competition. Both are spending most of the day sleeping. Once Paul woke up he got a bit paranoid about what was going on in the house and wondering if he wasn't being voted out by a 4-0 vote on Thursday. (All indications are it will be a 2-2 tie and Nicole will likely vote out Michelle.)

Natalie has been observing the house and informed James that Michelle was likely leaving this week and that Paul and Victor are now solidly with Nicole and Corey. James didn't believe it and has a hard time accepting the possibility that Nicole would keep a solid duo like Paul and Victor in the house and vote out a relatively harmless Michelle. (A point most BB watchers agree with, but Nicole has a rather intense dislike of other girls/women so that makes Michelle a bigger target for her.) 

Nicole doesn't care that Paul and Victor tried to get her and Corey separated just last week, and have been targeting them since Paulie left. She told them she didn't care what had happened before and they were starting from scratch after she won HOH. Not surprisingly she doesn't extend that forgetfulness to Michelle. Everything Michelle has ever said against her is retained and being used against Michelle. 

Tactically I think it's a mistake on Nicole's part to keep Paul over Michelle. Even if Michelle won HOH and nominated Nicole it's likely the house would view whoever was up opposite Nicole as the bigger threat and Nicole would survive. If it was Nicole versus Victor, Victor would leave. I just don't see Michelle being that big of an immediate threat and Paul and Victor said yesterday that they'd rather have Corey in the final three than Nicole so she's not especially safe with them.

Natalie and Michelle have discovered that Victor has a foot phobia and doesn't like anyone's feet touching anything. They started using their feet to open the refrigerator door, touch the stove controls, etc. to annoy and frustrate Victor. They'll be having fun with him over that now that they know it bothers him. 

Victor and Paul spend all of their time managing Nicole and Corey. Victor takes the early shift and glues himself to them until Paul gets up and then Paul takes over. They're not giving Nicole and Corey any time apart to think things over too much. Nicole and Corey can't understand why James isn't having any game talk with them, but they're never far away from Paul and Victor, so he hasn't had many opportunities. I still think one heart to heart talk between James and Nicole could flip the house this week, but Paul and Victor are doing everything possible to prevent that.

The house will likely be on an inside lock down today as the yard is prepped for tomorrow's HOH comp. This limits the ability to get away from everyone for a one on one chat. Natalie thinks some items are missing from the house and has informed James of it in case that's part of a comp. I'm not sure anyone else has noticed stuff missing. (It's entirely possible that nothing is missing and Natalie is mistaken, but who knows. She thinks things have disappeared and she could be right. They have done that for comps before.)

We have a show tonight. On tonight's show we'll see the aftermath of the nominations, the picking of the POV players, the POV comp and the POV ceremony. Watch Corey's eyes light up when he finds out it's a Christmas themed comp.

Big Brother 18 Live Feed Spoilers ad Updates for Tuesday 8/30/2016!!!

Yesterday started off with the POV ceremony. Just before the ceremony James found Nicole outside on the lounge and sat down with her for a few seconds to be sure everything was still fine. They started out with normal chit chat and then Nicole said she was thinking it might be time to start pulling away from Corey a bit so the shock of not seeing him all of the time wouldn't be as bad when the show ended. James was getting ready to be sure everything was on plan for the upcoming POV ceremony and eviction when they were disrupted by Victor who came over and joined them. Nicole then got called in for the ceremony and kept the nominations the same.

Nicole and Corey seem confused as to why James, Natalie and  Michelle are so comfortable and aren't going crazy. They don't understand that James trusts Nicole and that she told him she was sticking to the plan which was to vote out Paul, so James is trusting her word. In addition she kept the nominations the same which implies she's still going along with the plan, so James has little reason to doubt her. On the occasions when James has tried to have some private time with Nicole to be sure everything was fine, Paul or Victor would arrive and disrupt things. 

Paul and Victor continue to glue themselves to Nicole and Corey and Nicole is really getting frustrated with them. She likes them, but she doesn't want to be with them all of the time. I still suspect Paul's nonstop intensity will have him leaving on Thursday, but we'll see.

Corey came up with an odd plan yesterday for how to use his $5000 bribe. He suggested to Nicole that he could use the bribe to have James throw the HOH comp and tell James that the plan was to evict Natalie so James wouldn't have to get rid of her. Corey thought this was a good plan. Nicole looked at him like he was insane. She told him there was no way James would go along with that.

If Paul does leave then the current plan seems to be to vote out Nicole next week should James, Michelle or Natalie win HOH. Michelle made the argument that Nicole was too dangerous to leave in the house any longer and that she needed to go. I'm pretty sure James would prefer to lose Corey or Victor over Nicole, but Michelle has her sights set firmly on Nicole.

We need to have James and Nicole have a nice long private chat without Paul or Victor hopping in. Corey could be there, but at some point James and Nicole have to have a private chat and sort things out. Nicole and Corey's doubts about James come from James saying Natalie wanted to keep Victor over Corey. What Nicole and Corey are forgetting is that Paul and Victor were in Natalie's ear all week and wanted Corey gone when Natalie was HOH, but that James still voted to keep Corey. Had they really wanted to keep Victor, Corey would have been gone. James will remind them that if James or Natalie wins HOH this week that Paul and Victor will be right back up in the HOH wanting Corey and Nicole put up. James can point out that he's always kept his word while Paul and Victor have always flopped to whoever has power.

Today will see the HOH camera come out and expect to see lots of pictures of Nicole and Corey together. Nicole has largely ignored camera day the last few weeks, but this will be a big day for her. She'll do her HOH blog which could be interesting reading. Things should stay on track for today. Expect more dithering on whether to keep Paul or Michelle, but Michelle still seems to be the target. My gut still says Paul will go, but things don't look that way now. We'll see what happens.

Big Brother 18 Live Feed Spoilers and Updates for 8/29/2016!!!

Attack of the confusing drone! Yesterday saw a drone carrying an inflatable doll with the message "JUR8 BBS18 #1" written across its abdomen buzz the backyard of the house. Paul missed the drone because he was inside sleeping, but the most of the rest of the house was in the yard at the time. Michelle screamed and ran inside after seeing the drone. The rest frantically tried to read the message but none were very successful.

BB immediately called the house guests inside and then questioned them one by one in the DR. Each was told not to talk about it, but that had no effect as all anyone talked about was the message they thought they saw. The house divided into two camps. James, Natalie and Michelle gathered downstairs talking about what they thought they saw, while upstairs Paul, Nicole Corey and Victor talked about what they thought they saw.

The upstairs crew initially thought the doll said "trust" someone on it, but couldn't make out the rest. Victor and Nicole didn't have their glasses on and couldn't get a good look. Paul suggested it said "Vote out Nat" but that was quickly dismissed since he was sleeping at the time and no one saw anything close to that. (Some online observers think the message meant to say that "Jokers Updates Rates BB Season 18 #1.") Whoever sent the drone, despite posting images of it prior to launch and while in flight, has not explained what the message meant. The "J" could be for James the "UR" is a common online abbreviation for "you are" or the "U" could be for "you" and the "R" could be combined with the "8" for "Rate." Under that interpretation you'd get "James you rate Big Brother Season 18 #1."

As the upstairs crew disbanded, Nicole and Corey had a private moment and Nicole asked Corey, "What if it's someone telling me not to vote out Michelle?" Corey dismissed that fear, but Nicole was worried. Nicole is likely going to be waffling on who to vote out all week.

Later today we'll have the POV ceremony and I expect the POV not to be used. Then the serious campaigning can start. James is planting little seeds here and there in an effort to be sure Michelle stays and Paul goes. Nicole and Corey wonder why James and company aren't campaigning harder to stay. (It's early being a prime reason. Today's Monday and the vote isn't until Thursday.) Nicole got a bit paranoid and wondered if Victor was really with them and Paul, or if he was actually with James, Natalie and Michelle and only playing them. If James knew Victor was really with him that would explain why James wasn't in a panic over losing Michelle.

Nicole's fears of Michelle staying had her briefly considering using the POV to put up Natalie to be sure Michelle goes. (Nicole's fear of Michelle is a bit overblown as Michelle would target whoever stays of Paul/Victor/Corey and possibly even James before Nicole. And the odds of Michelle winning HOH aren't great.) Then after much discussion, Nicole and Corey came up with an alternate plan. They'll use Corey's bribe to get Victor to vote out Michelle, guaranteeing the two votes they need to get a tie and then Nicole can break the tie. Giving Victor the $5000 locks in his vote, shows they trust him (actually it shows they don't, but why quibble,) and guarantees that Nicole controls who goes on Thursday.

Michelle got a bit overwhelmed with everything yesterday. She was upset about the idea of her sisters going through her boxes of stuff and messing with her clothes. (Michelle has a bit of a hangup about people touching her clothes as Paul learned a week or so ago.) She was upset about pretty much everything and crawled under the blankets in the London bedroom and broke down. Natalie found her and comforted her and assured Michelle that she was a natural beauty and was wonderful. Paul briefly wandered in and Natalie covered for Michelle saying she was feeling sick to her stomach. Paul left and the Natalie pep talk continued and she managed to pull Michelle out of her funk. James came along and the two soon had Michelle laughing and saner again.

So, today the POV ceremony take place. I expect nothing to change. If Nicole uses it, she'd be declaring herself on one side or the other instead of the middle, and she prefers to stay in the middle for now. Then the real campaigning will start. Paul and Victor are glued to Nicole and Corey for now. Corey seems to like the attention, but I get the feeling Nicole is tiring of it a bit. Paul really tries to take over whoever the HOH is and run things and that wears thin after a while. Nicole knows deep down that keeping two strong players at this stage of the game is dumb. She's even admitted that.

My gut still says Paul leaves this week. Nicole keeps thinking about who to keep and has said her parents are screaming at the TV to get rid of the strong players. I just suspect that she'll gradually have more and more doubt about keeping Paul and vote him out. She'll hope to keep Victor on her side with Corey providing her with two meat shields who are bigger targets than she is. (The $5000 bribe will likely be part of her sales pitch to Victor.) Then it'll be a three on three battle next week. Most likely Nicole will make a deal for one week's safety with Michelle. She'll then try to see if Victor would be okay with Paul going. (I suspect he would.) Then Paul will leave by a 3-1 vote or a 2-2 vote with Nicole breaking the tie.

Big Brother 18 Live Feed Spoilers and Updates for Sunday 8/28/2016!!!

Yesterday saw the day start out with the reveal of the Have Nots and the Have Nots food. BB decided the Have Nots were the first two of the house guests to fall from the wall which made Corey and Victor the Have Nots for the week. Emerging from the HOH room to see the Have Nots food brought immediate frowns and nose holding as the stench from the food filled the air. This week's Have Not food is squid and seaweed. (Apparently not especially fresh squid and seaweed if the smell is any indicator.) 

Paul and James celebrated wildly when they learned they weren't Have Nots while Victor and Corey moaned in disgust. The table was rapidly cleared of the foul smelling mess and we're unlikely to see either the squid or seaweed used for anything but pranks this week as neither Have Not seems enthused about the food choices. (Hint: squid and seaweed are great foods for the marine fish in the HOH aquarium.)

With the Have Nots chosen and the food revealed attention then turned to the picking of the POV players. Everyone hoped that Natalie would be picked so she wouldn't be the host, as her hosting skills are not the best, but as fate would have it, Natalie was once again the host. She promised to do better this time and apparently did as we heard no complaints about her hosting abilities this time.

The POV comp was a Christmas themed counting/hold and fold comp. This is the comp where they're shown a large pile of stuff and have to figure out how many whatevers there are in the pile. They then have to write down their answer, listen to how the others have answered and then decide if they want to stay or fold. The house guests were all dressed as Santa's elves except for the host Natalie who was dressed as Mrs. Santa Claus in a red fur trimmed dress. Nicole was apparently on the verge of being eliminated when Corey threw the comp to her by guessing one billion as an answer. Nicole emerged triumphant. James claims to once again have thrown yet another comp knowing his trio were safe this week.

Paul and Victor immediately started to scheme on how to get Nicole to use the POV and get James/Natalie up and out, but Victor suggested they cool it and let Nicole do what she wanted. Paul briefly agreed then went upstairs and suggested Nicole use the POV to put up Natalie saying that would rattle James and Natalie all week and make them easy pickings for the next HOH. Nicole said no, she was keeping the noms the same and assured Paul he was safe. She then went downstairs and assured James that Paul was going and said that he was driving her nuts being in her face all of the time.

This week now comes down to "What will Nicole do?" The vote on Thursday (at least at this time) will likely be 2-2 with Victor and Corey voting to evict Michelle and Natalie and James voting to evict Paul. Nicole knows that keeping the two strongest players in the house is stupid and that her parents will be screaming at the TV to get rid of one of them,  but she tells Corey she thinks they can keep those two and use them. (Well, someone's getting used in this relationship, but I'm pretty sure it's not Paul and Victor.) Paul was gloating that with Michelle gone no one can beat him in mental comps and no one can beat Victor in physical comps.

Nicole is convinced (at least occasionally) that this coming week is a double eviction and the comps in a double eviction tend to be mental. She doesn't seem overly confident about Corey winning a mental comp (for good reason) so there's some logic in keeping Paul to win the mental comp for her side. She seems to trust that Paul/Victor will be one hundred percent loyal to her just as they were one hundred percent loyal to Paulie before back-stabbing him, and one hundred percent loyal to James/Natalie/Michelle before planning to back-stab them only to be back-stabbed by James/Natalie/Michelle first.

Nicole is not a hundred percent solid in any decision she ever makes and I expect lots of waffling between now and Thursday. I wouldn't be shocked to see Paul get evicted by a 3-1 vote. I don't see Nicole wanting to get on James bad side by voting out Michelle and keeping Paul, even though that's what she's saying she'll do now. The wisdom of keeping a very strong player in the game this late is not sound. Paul tends to grate on the nerves of HOH's pretty quickly as he tries to tell them how to do everything and I strongly suspect he'll talk his way out of the game by Thursday.

Michelle's won one whole comp and has been noncompetitive in most recent comps, so keeping her poses little real threat to Nicole. Michelle's not a romantic rival, they were allies earlier in the game in the Fatal Five, Michelle is unlikely to win most comps. Michelle might be one of the few house guests Nicole could take to the final two and beat easily. Michelle has few allies in the jury other than Zakiyah, and Zakiyah is only one vote.

Today and tomorrow should be nice, stress-free days for the house. The yard is open again. There are no comps or events planned other than the POV ceremony and that'll be pretty straightforward and the POV won't be used. Of course, Paul could up the stress level a lot by pushing Nicole and Corey to use the POV. If he annoys them enough they might just use it to make a deal with Michelle for safety (using Corey's $5000 bribe) and use the POV and put up Victor alongside of Paul and let James, Michelle and Natalie vote out Paul. Any deal they make would be binding and if Michelle won HOH next week she couldn't nominate Corey or Nicole. That would help settle their fears of Michelle and she'd still have whoever survived of Paul/Victor to put up as her nominees with James/Natalie as a pawn. Even if Victor were to win the HOH next week, he'd have a house full of targets and there's no guarantee which way he'd go. Michelle would be thrilled to get the $5000 for doing something she'd do anyway if she won with her only real change being the pawn.

We'll have to see how things play out, but this week is in the hands of Nicole and she knows there's a smart, game wise move to make in taking out a strong competitor, and there's a less smart move to make, that will make her happy even though it leaves a very strong duo in the game. We'll have to see what she does.

We have a show tonight! On tonight's show we'll see the conclusion of the wall comp. With any luck we'll hear what Zakiyah and Davonne said to one another before jumping down. (Supposedly they didn't want their hair getting wet.) We'll see James make the deal with Nicole and hop off. We'll see the deal making between Paul/Victor and Corey/Nicole and then the nominations.

Big Brother 18 Live Feed Spoilers and Updates for 8/27/2016!!!

Yesterday saw the day begin with the arrival of yet another Care Package. Paul and Victor watched anxiously as the card was read, knowing that America was giving them the power to overturn the HOH. Then they were surprised to find Corey's name called out as the winner. Corey was stunned to win. (Corey is easily stunned, or appears that way anyway.)

Corey then opened the Care Package and found America gifted him with jock straps, sunglasses, and the ability to give out a $5,000 bribe. After much confusion over the meaning of it all Corey and Nicole retreated to the HOH room to think things over. (As much as they think of anything.) Nicole was convinced that America was sending them a message of some sort. (Let's see now. America sent Care Packages to Natalie, James, Nicole, Michelle and Corey who are five of the seven house guests left. Hmmm. . . . .What kind of  message could America be sending them?)

Paul and Victor, recovered from the shock of not getting any of the Care Packages then arrived in the HOH and attempted to convince Corey and Nicole that the Care Package meant America approved of their alliance and loved them. Nicole briefly considered the possibility that maybe America didn't like Paul and Victor since they never got a Care Package but soon dismissed that notion. 

Nicole then came up with a plan to nominate someone from each of the other sides of the house to try and stay in the middle without alienating anyone. (Yeah, that'll work.) She decided to put up Paul and Michelle as her nominees. Michelle because Michelle and Nicole hate each other and neither one really tries to hide it. She then had to figure out how to break the news to Paul. She decided to assure him that he was a pawn and that they had his back no matter what and if it came down to a tie vote that Nicole would break the tie and save Paul. After some initial reluctance, Paul agreed to this plan.

The question then arose as to what to do if the POV is used. Corey suggested that James could then go up as a replacement. This was agreed to initially then later in the evening Nicole said she'd never put James up, so who knows what they'll do should the POV be played. The nominations were made and Paul and Michelle are the nominees.

Nicole, despite pledging her undying allegiance to the plan, still has some doubts about which of the two final four's she's part of she should stay true to. She knows that James and Natalie would be easier to beat, but she thinks Paul and Victor would win more and take them to the final four. (Nicole doesn't know that Paul and Victor have talked before of taking only girls to the final four/five and Corey would be a target of theirs in the very near future. Of course, James has also talked of taking only girls to the final four so Corey's out in either case.)

With the nominations done, attention turned to other matters. Natalie briefly tried making Jello and somehow managed to briefly catch the pot on fire (emphasis on briefly) which has her sworn off cooking forever and led to many minutes of apologies for nearly burning the house down, burning off Paul's beard, burning off her eyebrows, incinerating the entire state of California, the West Coast, and nearly all of the United States. Did I mention how briefly the pot was on fire? Anyway, once the long, long string of apologies ended, James finally ended his Have Not reign and was finally able to eat again. 

Paul, Victor, Nicole and Corey, in preparation for today's POV comp drank the better part of two bottles of wine and got slightly sloshed. Michelle, who earlier in the day had said she was done with the game and wanted to go to jury, frantically ran through all of the events of the house and everything in the house to prepare herself for the POV comp. (She donated a bottle of wine she'd saved to the upstairs group to help them get sloshed.) Michelle is planning to win the POV, save herself. James assured her that Nicole an Corey would put up Victor. (He might be right, or they could put up James or Natalie.) James later told Natalie they had to win the POV to lock in the noms and keep everything the same so Paul would go home. (Michelle's the real target though unless she wins POV and uses it.)

Later today we'll find out if there are Have Nots this week. The house doesn't think there will be since the store room was heavily restocked and the Have Nots would likely be Paul, Victor and Corey, the first three to fall in the HOH comp and the three biggest eaters. The theory is that they wouldn't have gotten that much real food for just the three girls and James if there were Have Nots this week. Then we'll get the picking of the POV players. Natalie is convinced she'll be picked to play as no one wants her to host a comp again. She apparently required multiple takes of her lines the last time she hosted a comp and everyone lost patience with her as a host. With only one house guest sitting out the comp that person defaults into the host role. We know Nicole, Paul and Michelle will be playing then each will pick one more house guest's name from the box. Then the POV comp will take place and we'll see what happens afterwards.

If Nicole and Corey have any mental capacity left, they'll realize their best chances of winning are by eliminating the big strong players (Paul and Victor) from the house. Taking out Michelle at this stage is kind of a wimpy move if you want to win the game. Make a truce with her, get a promise of safety in return and trust you can beat her in a POV comp down the road should she betray you. Paul, being Paul is virtually living in the HOH room and trying to not so subtly manage Nicole's HOH. That may be wearing a bit thin with Nicole right now. Expect lots of whining from Nicole between today and Monday over what to doooooo, who to truuuuuust, and lots of Coreeeeeee's.

I'll never understand why people kill themselves to win an HOH and then don't know what to do once they win it. Every week before the HOH comp I'd have a mental list of four people (two nominees and two potential replacements just in case the third person on my list used the POV on one of the others) and I'd stick to that list. It's not really that hard. Who's the biggest obstacle to your winning the game? Take out the smartest (Paul) most physical (Victor) threats to your game. If you can't be sure you'll beat them later, then get rid of them while you've got the chance. Everyone in the house wants you gone, so that's not really a motivation to vote anyone out. Get rid of those who will be hardest to beat and you improve your odds of winning. Michelle strikes me as being someone who's not that hard to beat. Keep her around and get out a real threat while you've got the chance.

Big Brother 18 Live Feed Spoilers and Updates for Friday 8/26/2016!!!

Thursday saw Victor get evicted and then come back in the Battle Back by outlasting the rest of the jurors on the wall. The battle of the wall soon escalated to a battle of the three smallest house guests with James, Nicole and Paul hanging on for dear life. Paul eventually fell leaving just Nicole and James on the wall.  Nicole begged for James to let her win so she could get a letter from her mom. James wasn't sure and Nicole repeatedly assured him, promised him that she'd never put him and Natalie up and that all she wanted was the letter and that she'd even let James pick the nominees.

James asked her what her mom's name was and Nicole said Jenny. James then said "Jenny, I'm doing this so your daughter can read your letter" and James dropped off the wall. Nicole was thrilled and leaped off to embrace James (knocking him down in the knee deep water in the process.)  The feeds then went down for a while only to come back with Nicole and Corey talking about noms.

Nicole really wants Michelle out and initially talked of putting up Victor and Michelle with Michelle the target. (Yeah, that's a good strategy. Let's get the weakest player out who can't win anything.) Paul and Victor then pledged undying loyalty to Nicole and Corey and Paul pushed hard for James and Natalie. Nicole didn't want Natalie up and instead suggested Michelle up alongside of James. At this moment that's where things stand. Nicole claims she'd never have lasted on the wall if Paul hadn't been alongside of her encouraging her.

Paul and Victor are teamed up with Nicole and Corey. (At least for now.) All that talk of James and Nicole having a pre-show agreement to work together should now be gone. Nicole is likely targeting one of the weak three (James, Natalie, Michelle) instead of one of the strong two (Paul, Victor.) Nicole's undying hatred of every other woman in the world will likely end up with Natalie and Michelle on the block by next Thursday. 

Nicole for whatever reason never wants another girl in the house and despite being in an all girl alliance earlier, has consistently worked to get rid of all the female competition. In this HOH she's determined to thin the herd by at least one more girl. Michelle is her initial target, but Natalie is far from safe too. James could even be booted this week depending on how things play out. James should have learned not to throw comps, but it seems to be a lesson he's too dense to learn.

Everyone's settling down for the night now and then later today the Care Package will arrive. After the Care Package arrives then the serious negotiations will start. Later this evening the nominations will take place. It's pretty much certain that Michelle will be one nominee, and either James, Victor, or Natalie the other. I don't think it will be Victor, or Paul won't trust Nicole and Corey. My gut says she'll put up Natalie knowing James would use the POV on Natalie if he won it so Nicole could then get rid of Michelle. If Natalie were to win the POV and James/Michelle were on the block there's a chance Natalie would use the POv on Michelle trusting James was safe.

Big Brother 18 Live Feed Spoilers and Updates for 8/25/2016!!!

Not much is going on in the old BB house. Paul and Victor are conspiring to try and save Victor by making it look like Paul is hooking up with Corey and Nicole to get Corey voted out. They're trying to convince James that Victor will turn on Paul and work with James, Natalie and Michelle to get out Paul. James isn't that stupid. He's voting out Victor. One of their big selling points is that Paul and Corey together would be guaranteed to get the Care Package. Of course, if they keep Victor, Victor and Paul would be guaranteed to get the Care Package, so that's largely a wash as far as James is concerned. 

We'll see the HOH comp live on the feeds tonight after the show according to CBS. That implies an endurance comp of some sort, likely the wall comp given the set up time they've used.

With little going on in the house, I took the opportunity to write a couple of short BB stories. The first is in my medieval style and the second is a more supernatural one.

The Medieval story.

The hour of reckoning is drawing near and a general unease and chill has swept through the Big Brother kingdom. The citizens sense a disturbance in the air, much like the air feels before a big storm, but there are no clouds on the horizon. All can sense it, but what does it mean? Have the Gods grown tired of them? Is a great evil soon to descend upon the house?

The apprentice seer Victor, soon to be dismissed from the kingdom for his alliance with the jester Paul, is consulted. Victor is wise beyond his years, but lacks the depth of knowledge of the holy seer Michelle, who having grown tired of the jester Paul, conspired with Queen Natalie to have him banished. But Paul through a trick of fate has managed to stay in the kingdom, while his co-conspirator Victor is to be expelled.

The residents find Victor at work, cleaning the royal bath as penance for his crimes, and consult him. 

“Oh great seer, can you foretell us of what is to come so that we may prepare ourselves?”asked Nicole, the concubine of the warrior Corey, who having suffered one too many blows to the head in combat is now somewhat befuddled. So severe is his befuddlement that he will often walk in his sleep, though truth be told there is little difference between his wakeful state and sleep state.

“The future is cloudy to me today as my mind is greatly troubled. But, I too sense a disturbance,” said Victor.

“Have the gods tired of us?” asked Nicole.

“I think not,” said Victor. “They’ve been giving us a gift each Friday and each gift has been more valuable than the one before. Surely if they were tiring of us they wouldn’t have bestowed upon us such gifts. No, there is something else afoot, but with my exile so near, my mind is clouded. We must consult the royal seer herself.”

“Dare we wake her from her slumbers?” asked the jester Paul, already fearful for his future in the kingdom.

“I dare say it is a risk we must take,” said Victor. “She’s had nearly her normal twenty hours of sleep so far today, so she would be arising soon in any case.”

“But who among us is brave enough to disturb her rest?” asked Nicole.

“I shall do it,” said Victor. “I am already to be exiled this very evening, so what more could she do to me?”

Victor slowly climbed the twisting, curving staircase leading to the royal sleeping chambers and found the royal seer asleep alongside Queen Natalie.

Queen Natalie heard the lad approach and raised her head. “What is it you request lad?” asked the queen. She had a genuine affection for the lad and wished he’d not been sentenced to be banished, but the threat posed by his alliance with the jester made keeping him too risky for her reign.

“We fear there is something ominous building and my vision if clouded. Could you awaken the seer Michelle to find clarity for us?”

“I shall try,” said the queen, knowing all too well how hard it could be to rouse the sleeping seer. “Go and prepare coffee for the seer for when she awakens. It will help to sharpen her senses.”

As Victor scurried down the steps to the royal kitchen to prepare coffee for the seer, Queen Natalie attempted to awaken her.

“No, go away!” muttered Michelle.

“We need you to get up now. There is something wrong.”

“I need more sleep,” muttered Michelle pulling a pillow over her head.

“I know you do my dear,” said Queen Natalie, “but duty calls. We need your gifts.”

“Duty su*cks!” muttered Michelle finally sitting up in bed. “What is it now? Don’t tell me that idiot Paul wants me to tell him what the gift that is coming tomorrow will be again? I’ve told him a thousand times it won’t save him from his fate.”

“No,” said the queen gently. “There is something else going to happen, we just don’t know what.”

“

Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever. Let me get my robe on and get some coffee and I’ll see if I can’t sort this all out.”

The queen, already adorned in her light blue royal robe, waited while Michelle shook the fleas from her red robe and slid it on. The two then slowly descended the stairs to the royal kitchen where the house awaited their presence. All stood by in silence as Victor handed over a cup of coffee to Michelle who gulped it down and then took a refill.

“Okay,” said Michelle after finishing the second cup of coffee. “So what’s the problem?”

“

We can sense a disturbance coming.”

“That’s all? Jeez! I’ve been telling you guys for weeks that someone is coming back to rejoin the kingdom. It’s probably happening tonight. Victor is going, there will be a trial of some sort and someone will return. Paul will try to find a new ally, most likely Corey and Nicole, though in fact he'll largely be alone. Can I go back to bed now?”

“But who of the banished is returning?” asked the jester Paul.

“That is for the Gods themselves to decide. There will be a trial of some sort and the one they decide is most worthy will return. I’ve been telling you people this for weeks. Doesn’t anyone listen to me?”

“The royal timekeeper James said there was no time for a returnee,” said Paul.

“The royal timekeeper is nearly as befuddled as Corey,” said Michelle nodding to a corner where Corey and his concubine were engaging in foreplay before the whole house. “Jeez, why don’t you two get a room instead of doing that out in plain sight all of the time?”

Corey merely looked up with a blank look on his face and asked “What?”

“Coreeeeeeee!” squealed Nicole. “We aren’t done yet!”

“We aren’t?” asked Corey.

“Noooooo,” whined Nicole. “Now give me back that finger of yours.”

“Okay,” said Michelle. “That does it. I’ve had all of you people I can stand. I’m going back to bed.”

“But who among the exiled is to return?” asked Queen Natalie.

“Who knows?” asked Michelle. “It could be Victor for all I know. That is a decision for the Gods to make and even I cannot foresee their actions.”

“But the calendar says there’s no time for a returnee!” said a clearly befuddled James.

“The Gods will alter the calendar to suit their wishes. Someone’s coming back. Get used to the idea. Now I’m going back to bed. Jeez, what a pack of losers I’m saddled with. Victor, pack your bags you’re leaving tonight! Corey, oh for God’s sake, will you two get a room? Corey you’re staying this week, God only knows why. Me, I’m going back to bed. That’s it for my seer duties for this week.”

The horror/supernatural version.

The house looked much as it had in previous seasons. From all outside appearances it was no different than any other BB house. Then, just before the season, strange events started to occur. Nine volunteers entered the house for a week only to disappear and never be heard from again. No one knows what’s become of them. A thick layer of sand appeared from nowhere covering the bathroom floor only to disappear mysteriously and be replaced with a sand colored carpet.

The first twelve to enter the house for the season were stunned to find four former players emerging mysteriously from a suitcase that seemed impossibly small to hold them. The returning house guests seemed surprised to find themselves back in the house and told of being in darkness then emerging to find themselves in the house.  None could explain how they’d gotten there.

Almost immediately after entering the house strange things started to happen. Glenn, the oldest of the house guests vanished just twenty nine hours in, never to be seen again. Then a blood curdling scream wracked the house one night as one of the girls awoke to see a ghost hovering over her bed in the London bedroom. So frightened was she that she vowed to never sleep there again. About ten days after Glenn’s mysterious disappearance Jozea, a man who considered himself the Messiah, vanished without a trace. A pattern soon developed where each Thursday night another house guest would vanish.

Strange sounds emanated from within the walls of the house. Footsteps could be heard, but no one was walking nearby, or could be seen. Voices could be heard coming from within the walls and even electronic devices like cell phones could be heard to vibrate, but clearly there could be no such devices hidden within the walls. Objects fell from the wall for no reason. Mysterious messages appeared. One offered vague clues that led to the discovery of a hidden room within the house. It was hoped this mystery room might reveal a secret of what was happening, but it didn’t. 

Mysterious injuries occurred. Paul nearly had his nose broken when an awning came loose and hit him. Bridgette was nearly crippled with multiple leg issues. A basil plant acquired human characteristics and became a Mr. Jenkins. An inflatable pool toy came alive and was called Pablo. A talking Eagle named Baldwin appeared demanding repayment from James first of five hundred dollars then five thousand dollars.

The powers that be finally conceded something odd was going on and called in a psychic investigator by the name of Ima Loone to examine the house.

Ima Loone had examined many strange events in her years as a psychic investigator but nothing she’d seen could prepare her for the Big Brother house. She entered the house with her equipment to get to the bottom of what was going on, certain there had to be a logical answer. She was welcomed by James who offered to take her on a tour of the house. As they headed towards the Tokyo bedroom, a sound unlike any she’d heard before chilled Ima to the core.

“My God!” muttered Ima listening to the high pitched whine. “That sound is definitely something inhuman!”

James paused and listened for a second as the mournful whine repeated, “Coreeeeeeeeee!”

“Oh, that’s just Nicole,” said James. “She’s human. She’ll be in bed right around the corner.”

As they prepared to turn the corner a large seemingly zombie-fied man approached the two, clearly lost in a trance-like state. The sight of the zombie produced a scream from Ima as she backed away in terror.

“That’s just Corey,” said James. “Don’t worry about him. He sleepwalks from time to time but truth be told he’s pretty much the same asleep or awake.”

“He’s always like that?” asked Ima as the hulk lumbered past her.

“Yeah, pretty much,” said James. “Come on, I’ll take you into the London bedroom where the ghost was seen. Maybe you can pick something up on your equipment there. A couple of the other house guests are in there now.”

James led Ima into a phone booth that seemed to change in appearance midway through and then into the 

Tokyo bedroom where a man and a young woman were waiting.

“Guys, this is the psychic investigator sent to look into what’s going on.”

“America!” shouted the young woman named Natalie. “Thank you America for sending me a psychic investigator. I love you America and I know you love me! Yea!”

“HEY!” shouted the man. “I’M YOUR BOY PAUL. I KNEW THERE WAS SOMETHING WEIRD GOING ON HERE. IF YOU NEED ANY HELP, I’M YOUR BOY. YOU JUST GIVE ME A YELL AND I’LL TELL YOU ANYTHING YOU WANT TO HEAR THAT WILL HELP KEEP ME IN THE HOUSE. SURE IT MAY NOT BE TRUE, BUT THAT’S OKAY AS LONG AS I GET TO STAY.”

“You don’t have to shout,” said Ima.

“WHY DOES EVERYONE ALWAYS SAY THAT? I’M NOT SHOUTING.”

“Okay then,” said Ima.  “So this room is where the ghost first appeared. I sense a bad aura here.”

“PABLO WAS JUST SAYING THAT TOO!”  said Paul nodding toward the inflatable pelican at the foot of his bed.

“Oops!” said Natalie. “That was me! I farted. Sorry!”

“Let’s go take a look at the living room where the big sign nearly fell off,” said James as he hastily fled the room. As they passed by Tokyo room strange movements and sounds could be heard coming from under the covers where Nicole had been.

“Oooohhhh, Coreeeeeeee!!!!!” came an inhuman whine as the bedding moved in a suspicious manner.

“Are you sure she’s human?” asked Ima as she hurried past the bed.

“Yeah, she’s as human as the rest of us,” said James.

“There’s the sign that nearly fell off.”

Ima looked up to find an airport departure sign mysteriously placed on the wall of the living room. She seemed more than a little confused.

“Was this an airport at some point?”

“No.”

“Why is there an airport departures sign in the living room then?”

“Um, I don’t know. I guess someone thought it was a good idea. It was here when I got here.”

“And you emerged from a suitcase?” asked Ima.

“Yeah, it’s right around the corner here. Come on, I’ll show you.”

James then led her to the suitcase where he’d emerged.

“Tell me what happened again.”

“Well, I was down in Texas and the next thing I knew I was in the dark and emerged here to be greeted by twelve strangers. It was a little bit weird.”

Ima tried to move the suitcase to examine it to find it bolted to the floor.

“Why is this bolted down?”

“Everything here is either glued down or bolted down. It’s just the way things are done.”

“You said someone here had disappeared and returned?”

“That was Victor. He’ll be in the kitchen cleaning. Come on.”

James introduced the two and then Ima asked Victor what had happened and he related the tale to her.

“We had figured out that someone disappeared every Thursday,” said Victor, “so we were all gathered together in the living room. Then I was no longer in the living room but in another space surrounded by strangers who all seemed to be happy to see me. Then this dark haired, goddess like creature appeared and had me sit beside her while she questioned me on my experiences here. She then told me I would face a series of trials and if I survived I would be returned to the house and a few weeks later here I was. I’ve been pretty safe here since then, but now I feel a danger very nearby. I fear I may be the one going tonight. In fact, I’m nearly sure of it.”

“I see,” said Ima. She looked at the plant on the table and the eagle puppet nearby and asked, “Are they Mr. Jenkins and Baldwin?”

“Yeah,” said James. “Mr. Jenkins doesn’t say much but Baldwin is quite the talker when he wants to be.”

“And he threatens you for money?”

“Yes, but I don’t remember borrowing any money from him,” said James.

“Have I met everyone?”

“You haven’t met Michelle, but she’s upstairs asleep. I wouldn’t wake her up if I were you.”

“And she’s normal?”

“Well, as normal as the rest of us.”

“I think I might know the problem,” said Ima.

“What is it?” asked James. “Poltergiests?”

“No, my instruments show nothing supernatural is going on here, you people are just crazy! I’m out of here!”

Wednesday 8/24/2016 Big Brother 18 Live Feed Spoilers and Updates!!!

Another day has passed in the old BB 18 house. Yesterday saw a small prank war break out with Corey taking the worse of the abuse while showering. Natalie now suspects James is the saboteur since he always gets away with his pranks while she gets scolded as soon as she picks up an egg to retaliate. Michelle, James and Natalie seem pretty solid as a threesome right now. They expect Paul to try and hook up with Nicole and Corey when Victor leaves. Natalie wants James to win the next HOH, but James seems less interested in winning that one and focusing more on future HOH comps. He trusts Nicole and Corey not to put him up.

Paul had another largely quiet day. He's not taking the prospect of losing Victor very well. Victor on the other hand is still the same old Victor, engaging with the others and acting the same as always. He knows his fate is out of his control and he's just being himself. Paul is sleeping a lot and when not sleeping he's pretty quiet.

Things are on track for evicting Victor by a 2-1 vote on Thursday. What happens after that is up in the air with a returning house guest. If Victor comes back, the target stays on Paul. If Paulie comes back the target would likely shift to Paulie. If Davonne, Bridgette, or Zakiyah comes back, the target would likely stay on Paul.

James strategy of spoiling blindsides could come back to help him with a returning house guest. Each of those evicted who could come back got warned by him just before being evicted that they were going. With multiple other targets around, that could buy him a week or two of safety should one of them win HOH.

Things are going to be a bit tense in the house until after that final Care Package arrives on Friday. This is one week where even the HOH won't feel safe until they see what that Care Package is. Every Care Package so far has been better than the one before so they've speculated that this one could unseat the HOH. That's going to have everyone a bit on edge until they see what it is. With just Paul, Corey and the returning house guest as eligible recipients, the house will be pretty nervous about that package. Once they see what it was, they'll lose that nervousness.

The house should stay pretty quiet again today as the long indoor lock down continues. Yesterday saw the HOH camera make its appearance and the girls did their HOH blogs. Today is just a quiet day before things get interesting tomorrow. Goodbye messages will be recorded. Diary Room sessions will be redone. It should be a quiet day.

We have a show tonight. On tonight's show we'll see the picking of the POV players, the POV comp, and the POV ceremony. Then it's on to Thursday where things get interesting.

Big Brother 18 Live Feed Spoilers and Updates for Tuesday 8/23/2016!!!

Yesterday saw the POV ceremony take place where Paul used the POV to save himself and since he'd been nominated by Michelle, Michelle had to replace him. Michelle replaced Paul with Corey so the nominations now are Corey and Victor. Victor is the clear target for James. There are only three votes this week with Paul, Nicole and James doing the voting. Paul will vote to evict Corey. Nicole and James will vote to evict Victor. Two votes is all it takes to evict this week, so Victor will be gone.

Paul was happy to save himself, but he knows that Victor is largely doomed which will leave Paul on his own. Paul had a rare bad day yesterday as he was just moody most of the day. (BB fatigue has set in for much of the house.) Paul realizes how difficult it will be for him to go much further in the game if he loses Victor. Michelle was closer to Victor and has pretty much glued herself to Natalie and James since winning the Care Package. She now hates Paul and is very unlikely to unite with him. (I'm not sure Paul doesn't think he can pull her back in, but it seems highly unlikely.) Nicole and Corey are not his allies and seem close to James. Paul is feeling very alone. Paul is the clear target for next week and depending on who comes back on Thursday night, he absolutely has to win the HOH this week to stay alive.

And speaking of coming back on Thursday night, the house is going on an early inside lock down today to prep the yard for Thursday. That implies either a complicated comp like the wall comp that requires a long setup and testing, or multiple comps setup for the juror Battle Back. We'll keep an eye on the feeds today and tomorrow to see if there are any unexpected HOH lock downs indicating that early rounds of a Battle Back are underway. I just don't see how they have the time on Thursday's show to show four individual Battle back comps. The last Battle Back took a full hour to show on a special Friday show, so my best guess is this will be something much simpler. I still like the idea of picking new tickets to see who gets the Round Trip and gets to reenter the house. It's fast, easy, fair, controlled, and still has some tension for TV viewers.

Victor is starting to feel the effects of slop and the lack of sleep that comes from sleeping in the bumper cars. He's feeling a bit poorly and out of sorts. Add in the stress of being in the house and on the block and he's getting a bit worn down. He did get the kitchen nicely cleaned yesterday. Victor's planning to clean one room a day until Thursday. He and James had a nice chat where James asked him how he felt the last time he got evicted and Victor said relieved. It was nice having the pressure of the game off, then of course Julie put it right back on by telling him he might go back in.

Paul and Victor felt out James yesterday on the vote and they think James might be voting to keep Victor, but they know that Victor is a huge target for the house. They also know that Nicole has pried herself free from Corey and has been more social with both Natalie and Michelle lately. Nicole and Corey don't seem overly worried about Thursday either which has both Victor and Paul a bit on edge.

Today the house will go on an early inside lock down, the HOH camera will come out, and the two HOH's will do their blogs. Victor will pick another room of the house to clean, he's done the bathroom and kitchen so far.

The current state of the house seems to be a solid threesome of James, Natalie and Michelle, a pair in Corey/Nicole with Corey a near term target at which point Nicole will be absorbed in with James, Natalie and Michelle. Paul and Victor are still a solid team, but Victor is going soon and I don't see Paul hooking up with either group as everyone is dissing him badly behind his back. At this moment the house is targeting Paul next, then Corey. Now the returning house guest could upset that projected order and change everything, but we'll have to see who comes back and how they fit in. Bridgette would likely, nearly certainly be absorbed by James, Natalie and Michelle. Davonne and Zakiyah might try to hook up with that trio also. Paulie will likely be on his own if he comes back. Victor would obviously hook up with Paul again.

Michelle is planning to attack Paul if he doesn't win HOH this week. She's annoyed at his constant brags about the stuff he's bought, the places he's been, the people he knows, his business and assistant, etc. She's speculated that he has to be older than he says he is in order to have done all he says he's done. Things could get a bit heated between Paul and Michelle if he doesn't win HOH next week. (Not a horrible strategy on Michelle's part to keep the target on Paul next week and not her.) She's been busily planting anti-Paul seeds among the house guests to help keep him the target. As long as he doesn't win HOH, Michelle should be fairly safe next week.

Paul is now addressing the live feed watchers. He's subdued and admits that Victor is likely going. He's begging for the next Care Package, but he doesn't know how bad a Care Package it is. He disses Michelle and doesn't believe she's working with James/Natalie. (He's wrong.) He's hoping to play the middle and turn the two couples against one another. He's asking for the care package again for next week. (It's almost worth giving it to him just to see his disappointment when he sees what it is.) Paul is saying he'll take a shot at Natalie and James if he wins HOH. One of them has to go. (It'll be a challenge for him to win HOH this week as James, Nicole, and Corey will be competing against him and they all want to/need to win this week.) Paul is very subdued. He complains that Michelle is starting to push his buttons.(He's right.) Paul thinks his best chance to win would be to take Michelle to the final two. And that ends the chat.

The house should be pretty quiet today. Tension will build tomorrow as the eviction gets closer. Thursday's show has a lot of potential. We get a returning house guest and the promise of a double eviction/fast forward in the not too distant future. I'm guessing a wall comp is the most likely HOH comp which should strongly favor James, but Paul will hold on for dear life. He's looking pretty defeated these days though so who knows. He might just roll over and play dead. He knows he's got a tough road ahead of him. He thinks it might not be in his best interest to win HOH if the Care Package is a dethrone HOH so he may hop off quickly on Thursday and hope the Care Package saves him, or he can win POV. Thursday promises to be an interesting day.

Big Brother 18 Live Feed Spoilers and Updates for Monday 8/22/2016!!!

Sunday found the house largely lounging and taking it easy with some scheming going on. Nicole and Natalie tried to get along poolside, but there's no chemistry there. Conversations are forced by both women when they're together. (Natalie is much more relaxed chatting with Michelle.) Natalie gave it a good effort then retreated back inside the house. James says his preferred final four includes Nicole, Michelle and Natalie. That works out well for Natalie who would be okay with that final four.

James and Nicole had talked about giving each other a present (splitting the $500,000) if they made the final four and BB called them out on that and Nicole had to go to the HOH room and tell everyone she couldn't give James a gift. Then James had to repeat the statement. That had the rest in the HOH room a bit uncomfortable but Natalie tried to explain it away by saying James had promised to send her a gift from Texas after the show. (Natalie's largely the reason James wasn't booted weeks ago. He's made some bone-headed mistakes this year and Natalie's bailed him out each time.)

Paul and Victor are desperately trying to work the house to keep them both in. Victor cleaned the bathroom yesterday and then Paul and Victor started to work the house. Paul is desperate to have Corey go up and out so he can't win the next Care Package. Paul is convinced the next Care Package will be something awesome and he wants it to go to him or Victor, and if Corey is gone, they'll be the only two eligible house guests. (They don't know that someone will be coming back. The returnee will also be eligible since the only people who have gotten Care Packages are Natalie, James, Nicole, and Michelle and all four are still in the house and likely to still be in the house on Thursday.)

Paul's push to have Corey put up is annoying Michelle a bit. She really wants Nicole put up and voted out. In truth it doesn't matter who goes up as Victor is leaving on Thursday.The only way Victor stays is if Paul uses the veto on Victor, then Paul would go. Getting Victor out is the smart move for everyone in the house, even Paul, but Paul may not see it that way. Victor is the big threat in the house now from a competition standpoint. Even Michelle agrees with that, but thinks they could keep Victor to take out the guys instead of the girls and then get rid of Victor.

Victor has done the math and decided that someone is coming back into the house. Most of the rest disagree, but Victor has that twist figured out. It'll be fun to see who comes back in.

At this moment it sounds like Michelle will be putting up Nicole. Natalie is pushing it a bit saying that if they keep Corey that James, Corey, Paul and Victor will all be gunning for one another and the girls should be able to skate by. She's warning Michelle that James will want to vote out Victor, but that they can talk to him and get him to vote out Nicole. (She knows they can't and Natalie wants Victor gone too, but she's working Michelle.) Michelle is really torn and confused about who to put up and who should go home. Her gut tells her to put up Nicole, but I don't think she wants to waste an HOH on a player like Nicole. She really doesn't want Nicole there though. 

The POV ceremony will be going on later today. Expect Paul to use the POV on himself and then either James, Nicole, or Corey will go up. It doesn't really matter which one goes up despite the intense lobbying that's going on. If James goes up, Nicole and Corey will vote to evict Victor. If Corey goes up, Nicole and James will vote to evict Victor. If Nicole goes up, James and Corey will vote to evict Victor. Victor is a dead man walking despite all of the plotting and scheming that's going on now and will continue through the week. Victor is just too good a player to keep in the house and with Paul as his partner they're too strong of a duo to keep in the house. There are four possible voters this week (Paul, James, Nicole, Corey) and three want Victor gone, so Victor is likely a goner.

It might be possible for Paul and Victor to pry Corey away from Nicole (he had talked of being fine with Nicole going earlier) and hooking up with Paul and Victor if they put Nicole up. I don't think that will happen but as a trio they'd be pretty powerful. That trio against James, Natalie and Michelle with Michelle and Natalie unable to play for HOH this week would likely get all three a week further in the game. One of that trio would likely win HOH against James and then some combination of James/Natalie/Michelle would be the nominees with the other one as a reserve in case the POV was used.

I expect to see Michelle follow her gut and put up Nicole. We'll see if Paul can change her mind or not.

Big Brother 18 Live Feed Spoilers and Updates for Sunday 8/21/2016!!!

Saturday was a very busy day in the old BB 18 house. The Friday night/early Saturday morning hours were filled with BB weather announcements and updates to be used in the POV comp. Paul went into manic mode and spent most of the night trying to memorize everything, much to the annoyance of those trying to sleep. The house then got up early for the Have Not food reveal which this week is pies of many varieties. James and Victor are the Have Nots this week and James is planning to eat nothing but pies all week.

A while later the picking of the POV players took place and everyone but Nicole was picked to play. Nicole would host the event. Then for five long hours the POV played out. When the feeds came back Paul had won the POV and was being congratulated.

Paul and Victor had a brief strategy session before Paul headed for the HOH room. Paul told Victor that this week Corey would go home, then next week one of them would be guaranteed the next Care Package since only Paul and Victor would be eligible. (Paul's expecting the next Care Package to be something better than the last one since each one has gotten better. The next one's not great however.) Paul is counting on them either winning the next HOH or having it given to them in the Care Package and wants to put up James and Natalie with the plan being to get rid of James. This would give them a final five of Paul, Victor, Natalie, Michelle, and Nicole. Not a bad final five for Paul for if the girls won HOH, and they likely would win one, they would more likely take out Victor and Paul could skate through to the final three without a lot of trouble.

There's just one little hiccup in that plan. They need Victor to stay and Corey to go this week. Paul went up to the HOH bedroom to be sure those minor details would fall into place. Sadly for him, they aren't falling into place. James had already told Natalie that he had to do what was best for his game at this stage of the game and that would be taking out Victor. James said he trusted Nicole and Corey more than Paul and Victor. Well, along comes Paul and he's telling them how great it all is and how they're together to the final five now no matter what (in other words don't vote out Victor) but the final five talk is all nonsense as Paul/Victor want James out next week.

Paul not so subtly brings up voting out Corey, and Michelle said she didn't know about that. She really wants Nicole up and out. James told her, "If you want Nicole out, then put her up as the replacement." Paul went into panic mode and reminded them that Corey might get the next all powerful Care Package if they did that. Michelle didn't care. She wanted Nicole out. (By the way Natalie wants herself, James, Michelle and Nicole as her ideal final four.)

Paul sat for a while with his head in his hands as Michelle and James happily fed the fish and watched them eat. His brilliant plan was in trouble. He has to get Corey nominated and then out to make this all work and if Nicole goes up instead of Corey, that will be a problem. Michelle could care less about Paul's problems however.

Natalie's happy in that her work is done for the week and she gets to just sit back now and watch everything. Michelle has to put up the replacement and alienate Corey/Nicole. Corey and Nicole are happy in that they know/think/hope James will vote out Victor if he stays on the block so they'll be safe no matter what.

Paul will be frantically working the house today to try and get Michelle to agree to put up Corey, but James and Natalie are fine with Michelle putting up whoever she wants as they know James controls the outcome this week and James will vote out Victor. (Who's planning to vote out James next week if he stays, so it's a smart move for James. He may have been eavesdropping on the guys as he knows they want to take the girls to the final five with them.) Even if Michelle pulls a wildcard and puts up James, James is confident that Corey and Nicole would vote out Victor over him, so he'd still be safe. The more push Paul gives for putting up Corey, the less likely Michelle is to trust him, which is good for James/Natalie. With Paul remaining in the house next week he'll likely be on his own. (Depending on who wins the jury Battle Back on Thursday.)

Speaking of the Battle Back, that will be an interesting comp to watch. It looks like it'll end early on Thursday as the voting for the next Care Package starts at 10 PM ET which is right after the show ends on Thursday. They expect us to know who won the Battle Back by then. That means the Battle Back will be a short comp during the live show, or they'll pre-tape that show earlier in the day. Victor will be slightly handicapped in that he'll be coming off a week of slop and limited sleep in the bumper cars. A fast Battle Back comp would imply something more random (perhaps something as simple as drawing cards like for the Round Trip ticket) which gives all of the evicted house guests a good chance to win.

The house will be having a quiet day today with the exception being Paul who will be scrambling to try and save his carefully thought out plan. Step one, and of utmost importance to him, is getting rid of Corey. If Nicole gets put up, Corey's still there and the Care Package could go to him and Paul really doesn't want that. So Paul has to push Michelle hard to put up Corey over Nicole and that will take some finesse as Michelle doesn't like to be told what to do and Natalie and James will be supporting her as they don't care who goes up, James is voting out Victor.

If Paul is able to manipulate Michelle into putting up Corey, he then has to convince James to vote Corey out. Paul will be very, very busy this week. Expect Paul to be very disappointed when he sees what that final Care Package is. I'm looking forward to his reaction.

Right now my money is on Victor going to the jury this Thursday. James seems very set in that vote and I don't see him changing his mind on that. I'm guessing we'll see an early vote to evict on Thursday, then the Battle Back comp or comps, then finally the start of the HOH comp which could be the tea cup comp or the wall comp. If Victor leaves, Paul will have to rethink things a bit. If he alienates Michelle this week in pushing hard for Corey to go up she may not be an ally for him. (If he really alienates her, she may want Victor gone over Corey/Nicole.) It could be a pretty interesting week developing. Paul will have his work cut out for him this week.

Big Brother 18 Live Feed Spoilers and Updates for 8/20/2016!!!

Yesterday started out with Natalie as the HOH then the care package arrived and Michelle won the co-HOH Care Package. Both girls were happy about this and immediately started to talk about who to nominate. Michelle initially wanted Nicole put up and voted out, but Natalie doesn't want a girl to leave the house on her HOH and the two then talked about Paul and some of his lies, and agreed to put up Paul and Victor with Paul as the target.

The feeds went down for the nominations, then came back with Paul in frantic mode trying to talk his way out of trouble. He went into full speed, "They're all liars," "I have your back," "It's the five of us to the end," "I'd never put you guys up" mode. His nonstop cyclone of words soon had the girls regretting their nominations and agreeing to backdoor Corey. (Corey would have gone up if one of the guys won POV anyway, so it wasn't much of a concession.) Michelle nominated Paul and apparently gave him a nasty nomination speech where she called him out for being an atheist but swearing to God. Paul denied being an atheist and Michelle regretted saying that.

Paul then went out to confront Nicole over things she'd said about him in another cyclone of words that had her dazed and confused. Paul claims he more or less never said or did anything wrong and it's all Paulie's lies that are causing the trouble. Some of which is true, but Paul and Victor are still the biggest threats in the house which makes them a big target.

Everything has now gotten sidetracked by a series of Big Brother storm warnings featuring the evicted house guests. Paul, Victor, Michelle, James, and Natalie are ensconced in the HOH bedroom trying to memorize all of the details. Paul is getting a lot of it confused which may be tactical on his part to make sure the others get it wrong, but he could also be bad at memorizing the details. Nicole and Corey are in bed downstairs trying to memorize the details of the messages. Everyone's planning to stay up all night to memorize all of the details.

These are pretty easy comps for BB to manipulate as they're listening to the house guests trying to memorize details and can ask questions that they know certain house guests don't know the answer to. They can really control the outcome of the comp by asking the right questions. No one can memorize every detail of every statement, but knowing which house guests know which details they can create questions that favor one house guest, or group of house guests, over another. Even with that however a house guest who they prefer to have win could still get things wrong and be gone on the first question.

At this very moment, the house is a bit too unsettled to know how things will play out. James still likes the idea of voting out Paul. If Paul leaves he wants the three left (Michelle, James, Natalie) to take in Victor. If the POV is played by anyone other than Paul, Victor will be saved and Corey will go up. If Victor and Paul stay on the block, there's a good chance Corey and Nicole will vote out Victor as he's a bigger comp threat. If Victor comes down and Corey goes up Nicole will vote out Paul, Victor will vote out Corey and James will make the decision on who stays and who goes. We'll have something of a better feel for the house after the POV comp today. You've got a big time schemer/talker in Paul, a comp beast in Victor, and Corey the big doofus as prime targets right now.

Things have worked out pretty well for Natalie and Michelle to this point. The two guys they nominated aren't really blaming them and are unlikely to immediately target them. They'll lose a major player in the house in Paul, Corey or Victor this week which will benefit them no matter what. Both girls are likely to emerge unscathed and get rid of a major threat. Not a bad week for any HOH.

Big Brother 18 Live Feed Spoilers and Updates for 8/19/2016!!!

Ding dong, Paulie is gone!!! Paulie the crying tyrant got the boot last night, but before he left he spread seeds of distrust in the house to try and help Nicole and Corey. He apparently told the house guests a lot about how Paul was playing the house and how dangerous the Paul/Victor combo was. Paul was upset over who had told Paulie about the plan to evict Zakiyah. (It was James.) Natalie defended James and said she was sure it wasn't him. James tells everyone everything on eviction night so they won't get blindsided.

The feeds were down for a long time as the late night HOH comp played out and when the feeds came back Natalie was the HOH!!! Everyone was covered in goop (so much so that the shower drain kept clogging with it.) I'm not sure what the comp was (making the best blackjack hand?) but Corey was shocked that a smaller player like Natalie won. Nicole said something about finding a two instead of a five, so I'm not sure what the comp was. Natalie is very, very excited to get her letter and photos of her family and friends. (We're still waiting for the HOH room reveal as I type this.)

Victor, who is something of a clean freak, now forced out of the nice clean HOH bathroom, has spent much of the early morning scrubbing and cleaning the shower stall. There were clumps of hair, discarded razors, globs of the colored stuff they were all covered in, all over the shower and he's been in there on his hands and knees scrubbing away. Victor almost filled a white kitchen trash bag with the contents of the little bathroom trash can and the junk from the shower.

Natalie, who's unafraid of making big moves, could very well try to make another big move. She's a bit handicapped this week in that she only gets one nomination and the co-HOH gets the other one. Now we have to wait and see who wins the co-HOH Care Package. The contenders are Paul, Victor, Corey and Michelle. We'll have to see who the co-HOH is and how well he/she works with Natalie. This could be an interesting week. Corey and Nicole would seem to be the big targets, but you never know. If the distrust of Paul is strong enough, and Paul has been playing very hard, he could be on his way out. Natalie's said she won't put up Victor and wouldn't mind having Victor go to the final three with them. (He cooks,he cleans, he's the closest thing to a Bridgette left in the house.)

Next week we have the jury buyback with the five jurors competing to return to the house. That could be, may well be, another wall comp. If it is, then we could see James/Natalie win back to back HOH's. Winning at this stage of the game is pretty much crucial.

Today we'll see the Care Package arrive (typically around 3:00 PM ET.) They'll get the second HOH room reveal. Lots of  conspiring will go on between Natalie and whoever is the co-HOH, then later tonight (typically around nine) the nominations will be made. Natalie has reportedly told Nicole she won't put her up (Girl power) so that limits her options. In some ways only having one nomination makes life easier for Natalie.

And Natalie just got called to the DR, so it's probably time for the HOH room reveal.