Day 4 - Rumors spread and the Veto competition gets underway

It's the morning of Day 4 (Saturday) in the house, and you wake up with Daisy Mae still wrapped around you. You give a contented sigh at the warm sensation of her body pressed against you from behind. After cuddling for a little while longer, the two of you eventually get up and go about your morning routines. As you're walking into the kitchen to get breakfast, though, you overhear people talking about you and Daisy Mae. You never had any intention of hiding your relationships with the girls in the game, but you are caught off guard by how quickly the information has spread. If people think the two of you are in a game alliance, they could view you as a threat. You'll need to put in work to make sure you aren't targeted.

As morning transitions to afternoon, Julian comes out of the diary room and announces to the house that it's time to pick players for the Veto competition. As the houseguests all converge on the living room, the episode editors splice in confessionals from the HOH and nominees about their hopes for the draw.

JULIAN (Diary Room) - "I'm hoping that Liam gets picked for the Veto. He's a strong competitor and I think he would listen to me about what to do with the Veto if he won it."

VICTORIA (Diary Room) - "I don't have many strong connections in this house right now, but I hope that either Raquel or John gets picked. After what they told me last night, I think they would be willing to use the Veto to save me."

EUGENE (Diary Room) - "I would love for Alina to get picked for this Veto, since she's the person I'm closest to in the house. At the end of the day, though, no matter who gets drawn, I'm going to fight like hell to win it for myself."

Everyone gathers and sits together in the living room as Julian, Victoria and Eugene stand and face the rest of the group. In front of them stands a blind box with the Veto symbol printed on. Inside the blind box are thirteen identical plastic chips each printed with the name of a different houseguest eligible for the draw. There are also some extra chips in the box labeled 'Houseguest Choice'. If one of those chips is drawn, the person who drew it can pick any eligible houseguest to play in the competition. Once everyone is settled, Julian reads a prompt off a card.

JULIAN - "Only six people will participate in the Veto competition: the Head of Household, the two nominees, and three other players selected by random draw. As HOH, I will pick first."

Julian reaches into the blind box, rummages around for a bit and pulls out a chip. He looks at it, turns it around and announces the name of John. The houseguests applaud for you as you get up and stand next to the nominees. Victoria is the next to draw. She reaches into the blind box and pulls out Alina's chip, much to Eugene's delight. Eugene is the last to draw. He reaches in and pulls out Danielle's chip, solidifying the final lineup.

JULIAN - "It is also my responsibility to choose a host for the Veto competition. I choose Liam!"

Liam cheers as the houseguests clap for him.

JULIAN - "Big Brother will inform us when the competition is to begin. Good luck!"

While waiting for the Veto competition to start, you end up in a room with Victoria. As soon as it's the two of you alone, she fist pumps the air and you join her in celebrating. Victoria and you sit down and discuss plans for the Veto. The two of you agree that she's coming off the block if either of you win, but Victoria pitches that you should throw the competition to her if you can. That way, she can take herself off the block and you don't need to expose your alliance or potentially ruffle feathers with Julian. You agree with Victoria in the moment, but in private you admit you're not entirely sold.

John (Diary Room) - "Victoria wants me to throw this Veto competition to her. The plan does make sense, but the problem is if Victoria wins it, then I could potentially go on the block as her replacement. I know I've got a bit of a target on my back now thanks to my connection with Daisy Mae, so I really need to sit down and think about what's best for my game."

Before long, Liam emerges from from the diary room dressed in a tunic and carrying a wooden staff. He announces that it's time for the Veto competition. You and the other five Veto competitors get changed into athletic wear, and are then each given a helmet, knee and elbow pads, making it clear that this competition was going to be physical. The six of you file out into the backyard along with the rest of the houseguests to discover what's in store.

DANIELLE (Diary Room) - "I walk into the backyard and it looks like one of those European bathhouses, but from hell. There's a trough of slimy liquid, water squirting everywhere, I've got all this protective gear on and all I can think is...what have I gotten myself into?"

As the non-competing houseguests all file into an observation area on the side of the yard, the six competitors each take a spot in front of a puzzle board. In front of you, you can see a ramp leading up into a shallow pool of soapy liquid. The pool has a bar running across the top that'll **** you to duck under it to get through. On the other side of the pool is an open area decorated like temple ruins, full of sputtering fountains, statues, and piles of assorted fake stones made of foam. As the host of the competition, Liam stands to one side and reads the rules of the competition off a prompter.

LIAM - "Houseguests, welcome to Mercuralia. This ancient festival was once held each year to worship Mercury, the Roman god of commerce and language. The festival was held here at the Temple of Mercury, where merchants would sprinkle water from the sacred well onto their heads to bring prosperity. However, this year the festival is in crisis because Mercury is in retrograde."

Some of the houseguests laugh at this while others don't seem to get the joke. Derek asks the others "Is that a thing?", to which Chirag replies "I'll tell you later".

LIAM - "Thanks to the disruption, the temple walls have collapsed, and the stones which bear the letters of the Latin alphabet have been scattered everywhere. Now, it's up to you to restore order to Mercury's domain. Here's how the competition works. When the horn sounds, you must race through the well and into the ruined temple to find stones etched with the missing letters, but be careful. Water from the well will be sprinkling you as you go, making the temple floor very slippery. Once you've gathered the stones you want, bring them back through the well to your puzzle board where you'll use the letters to spell a word. When you're ready to lock in your word, cover the board and hit your button. If you do not lock in a word within ten minutes, you will be disqualified. The houseguest who locks in the longest correctly spelled word will win Mercury's favor and be rewarded with the Golden Power of Veto. Who's ready to play Slip 'N Spell?"

The houseguests clap and the competitors get into position. It won't be long before the horn sounds and the six of you are off to the races. As you wait on the starting block in anticipation, you must answer an important question: