This is on jokers and I loved it even tho I'm still angry that James is gone. It is very long but worth the read.
The dynamics of the house have changed. No longer is Steve called the derogatory "BOY!"
You may be aware that Steve was unable to sleep last night. He got about an hour of sleep in the comic room and then about two hours on the floor in the HOH room while on lockdown. Despite that, he was able to win a puzzle competition and became the HOH for this week.
For those of you who have listened to Steve's late night mumbles or his talks with Johnny Mac, you know that Steve's targets for this week are Austin and Liz. He decided this roughly two weeks ago.
After winning, Steve had a new best bud in Austin. It was bizarre watching Austin follow Steve everywhere, instead of Liz. Steve wanted to play chess. Instead of finding no takers, they all eagerly agreed. At one point, the twins attempted to talk game. Steve was not interested saying he wanted to sleep first. After Steve won, he went to take a nap in the comic room while awaiting his new room. Austin, of course, would have none of that.
During the conversation, Austin continually brought up scamper squad. Steve was not impressed. Austin then switched to putting up the twins and keeping himself off the block. Austin repeatedly tried to get Steve to agree that Austin would not be on the block. Steve refused to agree to that, despite Austin's best sale pitch. Steve did tell Austin that he thought he was safe this week, no matter what happened and prefaced it with that he needs sleep. Steve indirectly told Austin no to all of Austin's ideas at least three times, as well as reminding Austin that Steve is exhausted.
Of course, when Austin was done Vanessa needed to have her say. She must be in control, as we all know. At first, Steve pretended to be that dumb naive child he plays so well. And then, Steve pulled a Johnny by saying things like "okay", "yeah", "oh". After all, feigning stupidity and letting her think she is in control is the only way to get Vanessa to quit talking.
When Steve received his room, everyone did the usual fake excitement about his basket, pics and letters. The twins, of course, helped themselves to his treats. Steve did make a comment about how he did not get most of his stuff last time. I think the twins got the hint and left his food alone. Steve received lobster tail. Everyone was jealous. Aside from his letter, his favorite item was Coco, the teddy bear. It's great he got his teddy bear. Finally, he has something to hug which will always be genuine in that house. I'm happy for him. Steve requested some alone time and everyone quickly retreated.
Johnny Mac was the first to talk game with Steve after the room was revealed. They are on the same page, Liztin must be on the block. There is zero chance that JMac will become a replacement should Julia win veto and pull her sister off the block. During this conversation, Steve and JMac express their concern over the closeness of Vanessa and Austin. JMac is going to vote the way Steve wants. They decided there was not much point in worrying about scenarios and deals for next week until after veto. (It is always fun to watch Steve with JMac because Steve drops the child persona. They joke with each other and have a good time. They make me laugh.)
Meanwhile, downstairs the twins are whining about how Steve shouldn't put them up because they have always been nice to him. (Gee, that's not how I remember it. I'm pretty sure being described as a person with no emotions whatsoever who is a computer that needs to be CONTROL-ALT-DELETE and RESET is not nice and that's only one example. But, I digress.) Liz also whined about how she kept him off her block and didn't evict him when Austin put him up. (Favor returned. Julia stayed instead of Meg.)
Julia rushes up to talk to Steve when she sees JMac is downstairs. She promises him that if he does not put her up, she will not use the veto even on her sister. Steve pretended to believe her but made it clear that he didn't buy that line of lies when she left.
Next up is Liz. She talks about how she didn't nominate him so she shouldn't go up. It was a short conversation.
Vanessa returns. Watching Steve with Vanessa compared to JMac is like the differences between night and day. I was rather impressed as he held it together while she talked down to Steve. At one point, she appeared to insult him with her Vanessa way of speaking. He took a deep breath and then began yes'ing her again. It became obvious that Steve knows Vanessa's loyalties are divided. Austin came up before she was done. They had small talk for a while and then she left.
It is round two for Austin! Since the Johnny Mac angle didn't work, now he pitched Vanessa as a replacement nom. Why replacement? Austin seems convinced that he is not going on the block, at least initially (LOL). Austin promised that he would not use the veto if he won or hey he might even throw it. Although Austin is the most skilled liar in the game, Steve wasn't buying it.
When all the scampering was done, Steve was finally able to enjoy his room and it was a treat. He was truly elated. We heard words like Wow, Nice, This is my room! He loves the water pressure in the shower, in case you wondered. As he excitedly walked around, it was obvious that Steve had not a worry tonight.
When Steve went downstairs to get himself a snack, he had company and Steve transformed. No longer was he the carefree elated man. Suddenly, he was the sad worried boy who was so upset at having to do another round of nominations. Miraculously, when he returned to his HOH room alone, he was a happy man again. (Oh that Steve, he is such a joy to watch if you pay attention to his subtleties.)
For all of those who doubted that Steve was playing his own game and questioned Steve voting out Meg last night and even nominating Jackie in the first double eviction, perhaps his second HOH will help clear that up. What was best for Steve was to stay loyal to his alliances and that was (like it or not) Vanessa, Austin, Liz, Julia & also Johnny Mac. Steve never wanted to go to the final five with scamper squad and now he is making it so that will not happen. Steve is most loyal to Johnny Mac and Vanessa. That is his final three. (Although, he might not be terribly unhappy if Julia were to accidentally be sitting next to him on finale night because she has no chance to win. That is just my guess, though, and I could be wrong.)
Should the worst outcome possible happen and Julia takes her sister off fhe block, he will put up Vanessa. This does not mean Vanessa is going home for there should be little doubt as to her skills of persuasion and manipulation. Most likely, she can convince Julia to vote out Austin. It only takes two votes and JMac would definitely vote out Austin if it is Vanessa vs. Austin.
Finally, a good week for Steve and even Johnny Mac. More importantly, Steve will be getting a good day's rest when he finally gets to sleep.
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