#we need our players to see what true leadership is

[ikram1909]

A sextuple winning captain btw.

[starqueensthings]

A very Crosshair Character Analysis

I posted a poll the other day looking for some opinions, and the prompt was: does Crosshair ever truly miss a shot? Meaning, of all the shots we’ve seen him aim and fire, how many of the few that didn’t land, were intended not to land? Does Crosshair have the skill and ability to land every shot he takes, and what of the ones that go astray (because there are some!)? The overarching, collective opinion (77% of votes) is that the sniper only misses a shot when he intends to, but let me explain why I was asking— the "methods behind my madness," if you will… (Fasten your seatbelts, and keep all extremities— and pitchforks— inside the ride!)

If Crosshair “doesn’t miss”, then there are some things that demand consideration and possible explanation. Please accept this weird internet essay as a deep dive into Crosshair’s character based solely on how I perceived his actions throught season one and two, and opinions I formed while watching his character develop. And while this could not be a Tech-approved analysis without touching on both his perceived good qualities and “flaws”, please know this is not a hate-on-Crosshair post.

Before I get into specifics, I think it’s imperative that we establish a basic understanding of his personality before the chip’s activation. While there is, sadly, not much “footage” we can use to form a true characterization of him, there are some instances we can touch on. The Skako/Anaxes arc from TCW and the earliest few moments of “Aftermath”, Crosshair is shown to be quite sarcastic, uninterested in trivial conversation, measurably combative toward those with differing opinions to his (seemingly all regs, including but not limited to Kix and Jesse), moderately argumentative toward leadership outside of his own Sergeant (mainly Rex, as Crosshair seems to have no qualms following Anakin’s or Cody’s orders), comforting to those who need it (Echo), and an overall good tactical team player.

So, let’s start this analysis by dialling things way back to their mission on Kaller and the complications that arose once Order-66 had been dropped. More specifically, hunting Caleb down in the forest. One of the things I noticed upon first watching that scene and every re-watch since, is how often Crosshair toggles back and forth between blaster bolt and stun cartridge on his rifle, as if constantly battling the indecision of exactly how he wanted to detain the Jedi. Now, if you remember, Tech com’s in and basically says [paraphrased obviously]: “Shit is starting to his the fan, we better get our butts outta here,” to which Hunter responds: “Can’t. Haven’t found the kid yet.” Crosshair then chimes in with, what I have long-deemed to be his catch phrase: “Wrong,” and proceeds to shoot the branch that Caleb is perched on. Not Caleb, who, in Crosshair's mind, should be the rightful recipient of a kill shot… the branch. Hmmmm.

If every one of Crosshair’s shots is so masterfully aimed that its deemed an automatic hit, and thus every miss is intentional (a notion of which I also believe, less one particular shot which I’ll touch on a little later), then there would’ve had to have been a portion of Crosshair’s cognition overriding that Order-66 command to eradicate all Jedi, even if it was only enough to fleetingly switch his gun to stun.

Not long afterward, we see his beloved Firepuncher saber-whacked from his hands, and Crosshair opts to then continue his attack with his backup DC17. Missed shot, missed shot, missed shot, missed shot. Were these blown shots intentional as well? And if so, why does he continue to assail the Padawan? Is Crosshair only able to fight off the command to kill Caleb while his finger is on the trigger, possibly knowing that’s when the fight against his own mind becomes most crucial? Is he clinging to some autonomy in the moments where he’s not posing an imminent threat to those around him, like during the flight back to Kamino? Or can he only resist the chip’s influence when the urge to do something terrible is paramount?

Let’s skip ahead, shall we, to when the Batch is attempting to flee Kamino with Omega. Crosshair sashays onto the landing platform in his new gothboy armour, fresh out of an undescribed chip “augmentation” procedure (whatever that eludes to), and proceeds to have a small stand off with Hunter— both of whom have their weapons directed pointedly away from each other (interesting). During the succeeding fire fight, we see Crosshair line up several well aimed shots, many of which appear to be only inches away from landing on their “intended target”. He eventually succeeds in shooting Wrecker in the shoulder, and I’d like to point out that this shot lands almost exactly where Wrecker was hit by the training droid some hours/days previously. Was the placement of this shot intentional? Did Crosshair pick that particular target area knowing Wrecker would survive the damage?

The shot I find most intriguing is the one near-perfectly aimed at Hunter’s head (lol— brothers). You know, the one where Omega saves the day by unexpectedly blasting Crosshair’s rifle out of his hands. If the chip's activation was the reason he was now hunting them and claiming their treason, why had that moment seen him hesitate? Perhaps he needed a second to line up his shot, you might argue to which I would say argue: we’ve seen him use the active recoil from that same rifle to line up his next shot many times in quick succession with a zero margin of error (see the Skako/Anaxes arc in TCW and the first few minutes of Kaller), including when each shot was aimed at targets both more dynamic in action and further away than Hunter was.

Crosshair then takes several shots at the ramp of the Marauder as they take off, all of which are well aimed… and simultaneously redundant; the passengers are taking cover in the ship already, the Marauder has begun its take off, the ramp is closing, Crosshair running whilst knowing he can’t reach them. I personally attribute those last few shots as tokens of both anger and resentment for being left behind, not ones made with the intention of killing. I think that he expected his brothers to know him better than to believe these actions were of sound mind— he thought they’d be able to deduce that he was fighting a losing battle inside his own head, yet they were quick to believe he would actually entertain such sudden and aggressive hostilities toward them.

At this point, you might be itching to argue that maybe Crosshair's accuracy is largely diminished when he opts for a pistol instead of his rifle, and while I can't dispell this theory, I can provide some statistics. We see Crosshair use a pistol only four times in the entirety of the show so far: 1. against Caleb on Kaller (objective miss), 2. against the Batch Batch as their leaving Kamino (objective miss), 3. against a soldier while he and his new elite soldier squad infiltrate Saw's camp (direct hit), and 4. against Leiutenant Nolan when that asshole he gets on Crosshair's last nerve at the Outpost (direct hit). I will leave it up to you to decide if the theory of whether his skill level changes based on the weapon he's firing holds any merit, or is worth further discussion.

Moving on— the 99-clan is reunited on Bracca. Let’s turn our attention to the shot Crosshair takes at Tech whilst the latter was emerging from the ion engine, and I’m going to include pics this time to support my assertion.

Crosshair has an undeniably clear shot— his line of sight is not impeded, there are no environmental or atmospheric disturbances to disrupt his composure, he was ready and waiting for them to appear. The shot that he fires lands a good distance in front of Tech. Though the unexpectedness of it was enough to startle the genius into nearly falling out of the engine, I believe it was intentionally aimed this way (see below). A warning shot if you will. A “Hello, I outsmarted you and am waiting at your point of attempted escape. Stop trying, and get down here because I don’t want my new imperial cohorts to take aim for me and kill you” shot.

The next arc (Ryloth) quickly demonstrates that any neurological augmentations he’s been subject to (at this point, I believe we've been shown two, but have been led to believe there were several), have had no effect on Crosshair’s infamous sniper skills. First, he fires a perfectly aimed tracking beacon onto the moving target of Gobi’s ship. Then, upon the ship’s return, uses a single shot to disable one of the engines; a shot taken from, what appears to be, several kilometres away and having the immediate desired affect of disabling the ship. Finally, he makes the astoungingly precise shot (and I’m using astoundingly very heavily here) of blasting Senator Taa in the head. This shot, more than the previously mentioned two, are a sign of his impeccable marksmanship. Let me remind you, he was an undisclosed albeit very far distance away, on the opposite ridge of an enshadowed canyon, and is still able to shoot the senator in a place in which HE WOULD SURVIVE the attack. And not just survive, “make a full recovery” as Rampart claims afterward. This is unrivalled accuracy, and while I do not support the assassination attempt in itself, I can not deny how much skill was required to have achieved it.

My next point is something I have always personally found quite compelling, and it occurs in an off-the-cuff, likely forgotten about piece of dialogue.

Brief context: Crosshair has scooped Hunter off of Daro, they’ve landed on Kamino, and the duo (and a third soldier) are on their way to the Command Center to await the rest of the squads arrival. One of Crosshair’s elite troopers waits until he departs the platform before approaching Rampart and saying: “I question the clone’s motives with his old squad. I don’t trust any of them.” I’m intrigued to know where such a potent mistrust began. Is it simply because he’s a clone? A person born and raised unnaturally in comparison to someone with a traditional gestation and upbringing? Or has this soldier previously identified possible cracks in Crosshair’s imperial facade? Has Crosshair failed to hide his distress in quiet moments where he possibly longs for the life he had with his brothers? What is it that triggers this soldier to suspect Crosshair has an ulterior motive in capturing his old squad, and one that they’re apparently worried would not coincide with Rampart’s ideals?

Ramparts reply, in my opinion, gives us a well disguised clue: “If his plan fails, none of them will be a problem any longer.” If his plan fails. Crosshair’s plan. Crosshair has a plan for mobilizing his old family into one place, and what is it? Is he concealing the hidden objective of a reunion with his brothers under the guise of squad assassination? Was it always his plan to eliminate his new elite squad members, hence the perfectly placed mirror pucks we see him utilize in the training room, to make room for his old squad?

Remember, Hunter asks him some time later: “So this was your grand plan? Bring us here and kill us?” Crosshair answers: “If I wanted you dead, you would be.” And this is a statement which I believe to be incontrovertibly true. He has never wanted his family dead, despite having both the resources and skill to ensure they would be if that’s what he desired, but no. He’s angry that he’d inherently felt more loyalty to them than they had shown to him; frustrated that their choices post-Kaller did not align with his expectations of their choices, disheartened that they hadn't initially recognized to his choices to be ones made outside his character, and Crosshair now eagerly rebuffs their every excuse. Reference the spoken: “They don’t leave their own behind… most of the time.” . . . “You tried to kill us, we didn’t have a choice.” . . . “And I did?”

And follows the: “We’re loyal to each other, not some empire.” . . . “You weren’t loyal to me. I was one of you. You may have forgotten, but I haven’t. And it’s why I’m going to give you what you never gave me: a chance…” conversation. (Just stab me in the heart and twist the knife around, Jennifer!!!! Ouch!!! I'm still not over this!)

Was this his plan? To lure his brothers back to their home, and indirectly beg them to join the empire? To offer them the chance to join the ranks of those who have relentlessly hunted them, in the hopes that there might be some semblance of safety in conformity? To reunite the elite squad that they were in the days of the Republic (the original elite squad of which Rampart is trying to replicate with tactically inferior recruited bodies), simply for the safety that joining the empire could potentially promise? Is this the first demonstration of Crosshair using hostility to shield those he cares about from the callous clutches of the empire that he’d become painfully familiar with?

Regardless of the still-unexplained motive, Crosshair’s plan fails. Hunter has either become, or has always been, as protective of his family as Crosshair is stubborn, and he would never willingly subject his brothers (and now sister) to a life of committing abhorrent war crimes in the name of an Emperor who rose, uninhibited, to extreme and unnatural levels of power whilst abolishing the Republic of which they'd previously served. That’s not what their squad was made to do, despite Crosshair trying to convince Hunter perhaps maybe it was.

Unsurprisingly, Crosshair’s pitch falls on deaf ears, even despite killing his elite squad as an offering of trust. Once the training droids have been taken care of and the fray had subsided, Crosshair stands to find Hunter now has a blaster pointed directly at him, as does Wrecker— (Echo and Tech, curiously, keep their weapons pointed away), and the tables have quickly turned. Hunter begins his own plea to his brother, and it leads to a very ambiguous admission. Hunter: “Crosshair, forget the empire. This isn’t you, it’s your inhibitor chip.” Crosshair: “Wrong. I had my chip removed a long time ago.”

What degree of this admission is true? All of it? Parts of it? None of it? Was Crosshair only told that his chip was removed during one of the apparently many augmentations he’d been subject to? Was it removed and replaced with an alternative? Or was it truly extracted, and his questionable actions have been entirely his own? If so, was it the fall of the Republic that spooked him enough to join the ranks of an unknown empire? Did the thought of disobeying orders bother him enough to sacrifice the family dynamic he’s always known, and replace it with a safe sense of conformity? And if this is the case, was missing all of the shots he’d aimed at his brothers, a veiled display of love?

Atop the water hours later, Tipoca City has fallen. Due to their imminent death, Crosshair and his squad have been forced to work together to survive. Tech makes a lingering comment about Crosshair’s unyielding personality being outside of his control, and it’s still ringing in our ears at this point because it implies that a lot of this misunderstanding may just be because of how strongly Crosshair forms opinions, and how only one of his brothers understands that about him. Omega is mid-drowning trying to save her droid friend, Hunter is .4 seconds away from leaping into Kamino’s frigid and turbulent waters to try and retrieve her… and we see Crosshair grab his rifle. This is a shot, of any, that I would expect him to miss— water both impedes and shifts the trajectory of a projectile and mathmatically accommodating for this would take some serious, well thought out calculation; the only usable light for aiming is from the burning remnants of their home, and the container in which Crosshair is perched heaves and tips with every wave.

But he doesn’t miss. He, again, demonstrates that he can make any and every shot he wants to. He lands his shot on AZI’s chest (not dissimilar to where he shot Wrecker, on an obviously smaller scale), and pulls Omega from the depths of the water. Upon turning to see his brothers poised and ready to shoot him if they deemed the need appropriate, I think Crosshair realizes how monumental the fracturing of their squad was. They have no trust left for him. His actions, powered by an inhibitor chip or not, quickly led them to believe he was not the person they knew him to be. As much as he desperately wanted to them understand how powerful the control of the chip was, they didn’t. And I think this moment robs Crosshair of some of his anger and resentment he harboured toward them, and reaffirms that his only option now is to follow the path he was first influenced to follow, regardless of if it’s what he wants now or not. He then chooses abandonment. He chooses to be left stranded on that platform, likely aware that the potential he’d perish there was high. His separation was now his choice.

Let’s move on to Season Two! Episode 3, appropriately named “the Solitary Clone”, indirectly shows us more about Crosshair than I believe any previous episode ever has. Crosshair’s marksmanship is, once again, on full display as he takes down an old separatist tank with one shot (I’m still reeling over it, ok? That shit made me horny). And I can’t move on from this episode without also mentioning how it ended— we know Crosshair has respect for Commander Cody, that was demonstrated by his willingness to follow Cody’s command while he rebuked others’ in the Skako/Anaxes arc. I think it’s also apparent by the return of his notorious sarcasm, that Crosshair is happy to see a familiar face, one of which he may have previously deemed a friend. Cody, in return, places tidbit of trust in Crosshair (I’m also going to link this post in case anyone is curious about my thoughts on Cody’s initial comments). Not only does the commander inch toward the precarious conversation about “going rogue” and the Order-66 debacle, but Cody lets Crosshair take the lead after their shuttle crashes on Desix. “Trust me,” Crosshair begs, and Cody accedes.

They gain access to the strong hold; Crosshair, Cody and Nova (RIP) struggle only mildly with the droid forces ("Droideka's."). Crosshair demonstrates more inhuman trigonometry abilities and immaculate skill by using those mirror pucks to shoot around corners. Cody saves Crosshair’s tushy when a Commando droid gets a little too close to the sniper. Crosshair lowers his weapon at Cody’s request while they negotiate with Tawny Ames, a motion he had otherwise refused earlier in the episode (the civillians they come across behind a closed door— Cody lowers his gun and reassures them, Crosshair does not.) And when the Empire shows its true colours by demanding that Cody renege on his promise of peace and assassinate the governor, Crosshair does not hesitate to answer the call.

Now superficially, this act would appear as nothing more than a repeat of his crimes on Onderon, or Crosshair simply “following orders” as he had previously developed into a sort of mantra. But I think it’s much more layered than that. I think Crosshair recognized that Cody would be subject punishment did he not comply, a notion reinforced by his extended time at Rampart’s elbow, where it was regularly displayed that clones were of little significane and use to this new military regime. What would happen to Cody as a result of his disobedience? Would he simply be demoted from Commander? Would he be court-martialed and questioned? Detained and imprisoned? Killed? Is this why Crosshair took action into his own hands, and “did what needed to be done”? To protect Cody from the repercussions of disobeying a direct order? Or, more harrowingly and something that I am more inclined to believe, was Crosshair protecting Cody from the poignant shame and self-hatred that he knew the Commander would feel if he DID comply? Was Crosshair unwilling to let the mind of another clone be tainted by the emotionless demands of the empire, so he took the action upon himself? Was his objectively unnecessary and cruel attack, an action of deep seated respect and appreciation? Is this why Cody's comment about living with the consequences of their decisions affects Crosshair so deeply as they separate at the end of the mission?

Let’s dial back to the debated intention of Crosshair’s shots— are his missed shots deliberately missed? Our next stop on this journey is The Outpost (my personal favourite, and not because of the dreamy, sardonic, bearded Commander Mayday), but because of the overt growth that we see Crosshair attain. (Here’s an analysis I posted a while back about some of the messages I think the writers were trying to convey via symbolism throughout Crosshair's episodes to this point). If you've read it and even partially subscribe to my theory, then we can agree Crosshair’s mentality has been shifting little by little since we saw him last, and his attachment to Mayday (and the adjacent benefit that Crosshair rediscovers in companionship and brotherhood) is proof of this. So here’s what happens— raiders make it inside the perimeter of the Outpost thanks to limited man-power and degrading equipment. Crosshair heads directly to where he knows he can play to his strengths: high ground. He’s taking quick and careful aim at the retreating insurgent when the nearby shuttle explodes, and something peculiar happens. Whether it be the blinding flash of the explosion magnified significantly by his riflescope that had caused him such immediate discomfort, or something more (chip alert? Maybe? Or residual effects of having it augmented so many times?), but Crosshair’s subsequent shot is not of his regular quality. He hits his target, so I am not deeming this as a shot missed, but Crosshair has a track record of “one-shots” or “kill shots” of which this is not.

I’m inclined to ramble on for centuries about this episode because there is simply so much development, growth, and symbolism that occurs in those 28 minutes— it’s truly a masterpiece in story telling, but I’ve deviated too far from the intention of this essay (novel) so let’s trek forward.

Let’s get to Tipping Point, and what I would deem to be his only failed shot (and the implications of what it might mean). Crosshair has been sedated, interrogated, injected, neglected, confused, and abused since arriving on Tantiss. (You guessed it, I also have an analysis of this episode, structured a little differently than my previous but still helps to break down what I deem to be the motives behind his actions). Hemlock first attempts to bribe Crosshair with his freedom in exchange for information on his brothers, and as such, divulges his true need for Omega. Crosshair, who has never really had the chance to bond with her like his brothers have, refuses to provide any information. And why? Having only a surface level relationship with Omega, and having rebuffed her advances for companionship several times, why would he protect her in the face of imminent chemical torture? Because it directly protects them, and they are no longer being hunted by a squad of recruited bodies lead by an angry brother... but by a twisted and cruel doctor who's methods were proven unorthodox and tortuous upon immediate introduction.

Upon awakening from another round of interrogation, Crosshair understands the time to act is diminishing quickly, as is his ability to refuse Hemlock the information he wants. Each interrogation leaves him physically and mentally weaker; the time is act is now. He shoots and kills the pair of troopers, as well as the interrogation droid, with no difficulty. He stuns Emerie the scientist (possibly recognizing her clone accent for what it is, thus opting not to kill her?), steals her access card, and stumbles from the room. His body is no where near recovered from whatever toxin that droid injected him with, and he staggers through the unknown halls. Quickly coming across a pair of troopers guarding a doorway, the next shot is the only one that I believe he truly missed, and understandably so. It lands on the wall between their heads, and Crosshair quickly realizing his failure, shoots them with the following two rounds.

While missing that shot is largely inconsequential to the overall story, I think it’s an important anecdote for his character growth. In that moment, Crosshair is both physically weakened and mentally desperate to get a message to his brothers, and it’s the combination of those that had his aim faulty. He’s found himself nothing more than a man broken… stripped of the celebrated titles he’d once possessed and mentally mined until simply raising and aiming a blaster, a motion he’d once found more innate as breathing, was a motion difficult for him. He's forsaken his family, lost his purpose, been rendered nothing but an experiment and a tool.

So to summarize this egregiously long essay of Crosshair’s character, I’d like to reiterate that he is human. As we all do, he has faults. A lot of his reasoning is arguably flawed. He makes poor decisions, often in haste without considering the ripple effect it may have. He is extremely stubborn, and he does not communicate well. And there are things he’s done and decisions he’s made that I can not personally elucidate and would love to openly discuss with other Crosshair enthusiasts (example, trying to incinerate his brothers in an ion engine— did he assume Hunter would double back again, and this is Crosshair’s attempt at forcing them into the open? Or is this one of the moments when he cannot fight off the chips control?). You don’t have to like him. You don’t have to agree with him or anything he says. You don’t have to like me or agree with anything I say, but as we head into the third and final Act of this remarkable story, it is worth determining which of his actions are superficially misunderstood, and which have a deeper meaning that a casual viewer might simply overlook.

Thank you for attending the Ted Talk that no one asked for.

Holly ♥️

**forewent the taglist as this is not my typical content

[kcwriter-blog]

Since there has been some discussion about how a young Lavellan might interact with Solas, I thought I would chime in with how an older Lavellan might interact with him.

My Lavellan is in her 30s. She has been a First for some time. That means she has been groomed for a leadership position since her teens. At her age, other clan members will be asking her for advice.

She may not be experienced enough to be considered a haren but she is as knowledgeable as any Keeper about elvish history. She knows herself. She knows her people. She is proud to be Dalish.

So she doesn't give a rat's ass what Solas thinks about the Dalish. At first he's just a weird elf who carries himself like one of the Dalish but doesn't even have a valleslin. She's been taught that non-Dalish elves are to be pitied because they have lost their way. Even as far back as Origins we have a haren telling our Warden that when the elves get another homeland it will be up to the Dalish to teach the city elves how to be true elves. So whether she likes it or not, her first impression will be that he is an elf but not a "true" elf.

So while she asks him his opinion, its not because she thinks he knows more, it's just curiosity. What do non-Dalish elves think about elven culture?

She may say that he "insults her people" but that just drives home the fact that she sees him as different. He isn't one of her people. He isn't Dalish.

What he says is irritating but she can forgive him because he hasn't spent much time with the Dalish and his few experiences weren't positive. He can say what he likes. She's heard worse from the shems.

However, being proud to be Dalish doesn't mean she is going to refuse knowledge just because what she has learned is different from what he is telling her.

Dreamers are important to the Dalish. They are rare but they should be listened to. She's also very, very intelligent. She knows the Dalish don't know everything. If they did, they wouldn't be trying so hard to put together the puzzle pieces that are all that remains of her culture.

She is a confident woman. She is mature. She understands her strengths and weaknesses. She knows it isn't weak to ask for help. She knows leadership is about collaboration. In some ways she is more mature than Solas.

So she listens. She compares what she knows with what he tells her and decides for herself if it makes sense or not. She doesn't believe him just because he is older than she is. She takes in knowledge from many sources including the ruins they visit, the scrolls and books in the library, what other elves say. She analyzes the data and comes up with her own set of beliefs.

She views Solas as someone in need of protection. She tells him she will protect him anyway she has to because she knows the shem could imprison him, make him Tranquil or execute him if they feel like it. She is lucky. She has a seat at the table. She chooses to exercise her power by protecting him.

Solas isn't a mentor to her. Yes, he knows a lot and yes, he gives her good advice but so do Cullen, Josephine and Leliana. He is a colleague. She may trust him more because he is an elf. She may spend more time with him because they share some of the same experiences (as far as she knows) but at the end of the day he is basically someone who can help her do her job. It can even be argued that when she becomes Inquisitor she becomes his boss.

Solas may start out thinking of himself as a mentor or at least a teacher but it is not their dynamic. He gives the information freely. She can take it or not. Does he get frustrated if she doesn't listen to him? Sure. I get frustrated with my friends when they don't listen to me but I can't make them.

I think by the time they get to Skyhold they are on a more equal footing. They respect one another. They may even think their first impressions were wrong. And they may fall in love.

I've always seen their relationship as an equal one with a lot of give and take. As players we know who he is but our Lavellans do not. So there is no real power dynamic at play. He isn't her boss. He knows a lot and gives her advice but that does not put him in a position of power over her. He acknowledges that every time he apologizes or concedes to her.

How will she deal with him 10 years later? She has had a lot of time to reflect. She was in a position of power. She realizes he is right. Sometimes there are only terrible choices left. She had to leave Hawk or Alistair in the Fade. Hell, one of her decisions resulted in the destruction of her clan.

So she understands that Solas once had to make a terrible choice. He regrets it the same way she regrets some of her decisions. She knows there are things she would do differently if she could. She would give anything to change some things.

She understands how being in power erases your identity. She knows that sometimes you can become the person everyone believes you to be even if you don't want that. She knows what he went through. She went through the same thing. She knows the world will decide who you are without ever getting to know the real you. She also knows that you can never really leave all of that behind.

With age sometimes comes wisdom. She understands him better now than she did when they first met.

She has had time to learn more about the Veil. She can see that its presence has caused a lot of suffering. She has come to the conclusion that Thedas would be better off without it. She just wants it done in a way that results in as few lives lost as possible.

She has had time to reflect on their relationship. She was very angry at the time but has let it go. She understands why he broke it off. She understands him well enough to know that he is broken and not capable of having a real relationship until he has dealt with his shit.

Her feelings for him have actually deepened because she understands him better now. So when they meet again she isn't going to be plotting his downfall. She's not going to jump into his arms either. There is a lot of water under that bridge. From her perspective they have a job to do. They can talk about their relationship afterwards.

Whatever happens they will deal with it like the mature adults they have always been.

[snaccpopstudios]

Long time, no see, Tumblr!

Hello Everyone! It’s been a while, and we’re so sorry about the silence on our blog! But we have some big, important updates to share with you all. The entire team has been extremely busy with both personal, real-life responsibilities and with game production! On top of this, we have also had a big change in management and production, so we’ve been getting a handle on that at the same time.

I’ll start this by stating that I’m Tobias (he/him), the new social media and community manager, and I’ll be bringing this update to you all! And, all Patreon links provided (minus the ones near the end) are public posts, so you don’t need to be subscribed to a tier to view them, but you still need to be 18+! Now, this goes a bit back, so get a warm drink and get comfy to read this big post because if you haven’t been on the Twitter or Patreon, you’ve missed quite a lot (which is on us entirely! We’re sorry again!) In September 2023, we released a few screenshots on our Patreon showing off some script revisions for the demo of “Something’s Wrong with Sunny Day Jack.” (read them + the update more in detail here!: https://www.patreon.com/posts/sunny-day-jack-90099502) As stated in that post, “A lot of grammatical errors, run-on sentences, etc.. are also being combed out in favor of: - Content that foreshadows future events in the game - Content that is easier to read - And content that more clearly portrays the rules, lore, and restrictions of the supernatural/horror elements in this world

Additionally, more content in general, will be added. Not a substantial amount, but enough to flesh out scenes and make things make more sense now that the world/game has been almost completely outlined.” This post was met with a lot of confusion, as SDJ fans mentioned that they feared the game was being toned down from its original concept. And while our re-writes do actively remove dialogue that unintentionally may be perceived as dubious consent or pressuring the player into sexual/romantic choices, there are no intentions to remove yandere/horror content! We cleared this all up in another Patreon post; a small QnA (here’s that one, again, more in detail!: https://www.patreon.com/posts/q-yandere-is-to-91034309). 

You may be saying “But Tobias! On the Kickstarter, it said there was soft, dubious consent!” And yes, that is true. However, as stated in the 2nd link provided, Our publisher at the time, Project Enso, originally put that warning up. Sauce (they/them) was not happy with that, but PE properly explained that people who were uncomfortable with the infamous "No Route" hadn't had that warning, and thus felt surprised.

This twitter post was the beginning of Sauce’s quest to remove that warning. (https://x.com/SunnyDayJack/status/1560782320533118976?s=20)

[Disclaimer: PE had nothing to do with the writing of the content. They just had to do what was safest!]

Now, you may have noticed that at the beginning of this post, I mentioned a big change in management. In a post made on Patreon in late October 2023, we got introduced to our new Director, Biscuit (she/her)! She’s previously made devlogs on the Patreon, but she’s since been made the Head of Operations for SnaccPop! These are big and important posts, so I really recommend reading them (as well as the previous posts I’ve linked) in their entirety on the Patreon! - Status Update: New leadership, steps moving forward, future of SnaccPop: https://www.patreon.com/posts/status-update-of-91558879 - Q&A: Project Enso departure, AphroDesia, Deadlines and more: https://www.patreon.com/posts/q-project-enso-91850042

But the main points of these two posts above are, 

Sauce will no longer be taking a management role at SnaccPop anymore. Instead, they will take a much necessary backstep to focus solely on creating art and supporting the studio through their continuous work.

The studio has Biscuit as its front-facing figure, but she will be helped out by Perrie (she/her, our current Voice Acting director), Nana (she/her, our current Art director), and other individuals who are key to keeping the content going smoothly at a decent pace. 

SWWSDJ is no longer being released as a full game in November 2024, and is now having Episodic Releases! (Acts 1, 2, 3, and 4)

The Patreon rewards will remain entirely the same. Sauce, as it has been said before, will keep working with us all the way!

Some of you may be wondering what happened with Project Enso and why we parted ways with them, you can read their parting message here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/official-from-92484578

We want to say thank you to Project Enso for all the great work they did for us, however, we believe this decision is the best next step forward to make Sunny Day Jack as best of a game as it can be.

Now, onto some fun stuff! Speed round!

An AphroDesia Game?! The customer is always right! But that doesn't mean that they're necessarily pleasant to deal with…   Available to our $10+ Patreon supporters, you can play a demo of the upcoming mini dating-sim featuring our beloved cutie-pie, TMon, called “ConciUrges.” Featuring 4 endings, two of which are NSFW!

Bachelor of the Month is back! We’re introducing our new icy, and first plus-sized bachelor for the month of December, Jacob Frost (who’s voice has yet to be revealed, but his look has been!) He’s draped out in front of a cozy fireplace, waiting for you to get to know him for $5+~

Another SDJ Demo? You betcha! We understand that there's been lots and lots of content for Sunny Day Jack, and that includes multiple demos that we've released in the past. However, we want to release one last demo. One that includes our new artstyle and script changes that reflect our ideology much more clearly so there aren't any doubts as we move into the future. The release date is TBD!

WE'RE HIRING!! Are you an 18+ NSFW writer and/or an audio engineer? Then you're the person(s) for us! Apply for the position(s) on the Patreon post or the Twitter post!  THE POSISTION IS ONLY FOR THOSE 18+. PROOF OF AGE WILL BE REQUIRED.

Project: DramaBoy As stated in the above linked posts in #5 (more in detail on the Patreon link!) We’re starting up a new project, Project: DramaBoy! As an explanation to non-paying patrons who may have missed our upload of our first teaser (Impish BF Surprises You on Christmas),  we'll be looking to release (hopefully) weekly NSFW and SFW POV Boyfriend audios! Sometimes they'll include characters you know and love-- such as Jambee or Sunny Day Jack. However-- sometimes, they'll include interesting beta concepts voiced by the same VAs from our mainstay projects! Read all about it and see the SLIVER of the list of BFs we’re planning to bring you at https://www.patreon.com/posts/project-dramaboy-94652067 (available to read for free!)

That's all for this update! We know it's lengthy and long overdue, so thank you for your continued support and for taking the time to read! ^_^

[3416]

Everytime people discuss who should be in the leadership group and start writing fanfiction about how Mitch doesn't deserve anything and doesn't do anything for the leafs, actually, I just think about this article and wonder how we got here. I think he could be captain- I actually think he could be a great one. But I guess we'll never know https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/2469915/2021/03/25/mitch-marner-ohl-season/

reading that just made me so fucking emotional. i honestly think it would translate into great captaincy in the nhl too... he just happens to be on a team with auston matthews, so i get WHY it's like this (still.. if there was ever a modern case for co-captains but. too late now ig) but. i hate to say it's not the right market bc it's not his fault that this market is so fucking volatile and stupid so often, lmfao. like. he says things the same as anyone and i'll firmly defend that to death. i hate when people say even lovingly 'no he shouldnt do that' or 'i wish hed stop talking to them' like no, fuck you, lol. it's the temperament in toronto that's the fucking issue and more people should be seriosuly talking abt it and calling it out in the main journalists so they can be shamed and maybe learn responsibility. it's stripping so many of our players and staff from ever letting an ounce of personality or anything personal show whatsoever. it makes it so much less fun and WAY less marketable. it's just obnoxious to me, but mitch marner is someone who has SO MUCH leadership presence too.... like in 22-23 when HE was this team's mvp and the team was coming together to try to make stuff happen for him???? it echoes auston's chase for 70 so much. there's that other great article from a couple yrs ago abt mitch and auston and their personality differences but how both are leading the team and it's just so true. they're natural born leaders but even more than that, their work ethic and accountability to themselves is insane, you can just see it. i'm so sad we live with this era of social media as leaf fans sometimes bc it's genuinely so hostile and obnoxious to try to participate in, lol. mitch can be loud and knows how to point out when stuffs wrong and wants to work to fix it and hold ppl accountable. but on the same hand, he also wants everyone to feel like THEY can talk if they need to and that they're welcome there and valued as people and that's just like. a beautiful personality trait to have. that locker room would not be half of what it is without him, idec, lmao.

[defschoice]

The Blue eyed Lieutenant

Words: 3.5k

Characters: Kelly Severide, Matt Casey, Stella Kidd & Fem reader

Warning: 18+, NSFW, slight fluff in the beginning

Summary: Skylar Casey or now known as Skylar Collins is one of the new additions to the firehouse being placed on Truck under Matt and Stella, but what happens when she gets introduced to a specific blue eyed Lieutenant who makes her knees feel weak whenever she looks at him?

We walked into the apparatus floor seeing a few guys sitting at a table as Stella greeted them when I read Squad 3 one of them.

"So how's life?" Stella asked me as her and I walked into the firehouse. I've been spending the last few nights at her place. We walked into the locker room to change into our uniforms when Lieutenant Severide came walking around the corners to his locker wearing nothing else but a towel. I tried my best to not stare at his muscles and mind my own business but god damn it was hard. I looked over at Stella as she smiled at me in a mischievous way and signaled for her not to do or say anything but of course she had to. I swear if eyes could kill.

"Hey Severide! Have you met our new firefighter on Truck?" She asked pushing me further towards him as he scratched the back of his neck. Jesus Christ his bicep I thought to myself as I started cold sweating a bit. Why am I like this? I have never been like this with anyone before.

"I don't think so been quite busy. Hi I'm Lieutenant Kelly Severide in charge of rescue squad 3" Kelly reaching his hand out for me to shake as I took and quickly shook his hand introducing myself.

"Hi I'm Skylar Collins, new on Truck 81 but I guess you already know that. It's nice to meet you Lieutenant I'm gonna head out now see you around" I said quickly walking out of the lockers room as I look behind me to see Severide laughing a bit as Stella walked out short time after so he change into his uniform as well. I bet he looks really in a uniform, I definitely wouldn't mind being under his leadership.

I need to get my act together and figure out a way to be professional in front him and around him otherwise it can quickly end out really wrong plus I'm sure he's already got someone and I'm probably too young for him anyway. I thought as Herman walked into the common room with a big smile on his face.

"Hey remember to come to Molly's tonight!" He said really excited about whatever he's about to announce.

"What's happening at Molly's tonight?" My brother asked looking curiously at Herman as he clapped his hands together.

"It's karaoke night!" He said as some of them laugh a bit and others said they were coming but no one really seemed to be too eager to actually wanting to perform. He walked over and sat down at the table next to Cruz as Severide walked in. Oh dear lord here we go I said to myself as I tried to stay quiet when Stella came and sat next to me.

"Not cool what you did out there" I said looking at her trying to get a sense of where in the room Severide was so I wouldn't end up staring at him again. She just looked at me a laugh a little bit putting a hand on my shoulder.

"Sorry girl, I didn't know he had such a huge effect on you. Why don't you just ask him out?" Stella asked as I hit her arm lightly.

"Are you actually insane? I'm way too young for him and he probably doesn't even like me the same way" I said looking over at him laughing at something with my brother.

Severide's POV

I look over at the table seeing the new firefighter sitting at the table with Kidd just watching them talk as Cruz and Gallo snapped me back to reality.

"Yo that new firefighter Skylar? She's kinda cute" I said as Cruz and Gallo laughed at my comment which I don't get why.

"Nothing just the big Kelly Severide striking again. You must already been through most of Chicago by now" Cruz said laughing as I hit him on the site of his arm. Wording it like that makes me sounds a player which is not true I think. They're just exaggerating it.

"I mean I get you Lieutenant, she's is pretty attractive, but I would be careful" Gallo said as I just smiled at him as the bell went off.

End of POV

"Squad 3, Ambo 61, Truck 81, Battalion 25 structure fire 385 Lake Shore" Dispatch said as we all ran out and suited up and went off towards the scene to see big flames and a man running out of the building as Severide, Casey and Stella gave out orders.

"Cruz, Gallo with me" Severide yelled out as they followed him inside and masked up when Stella looked at me and nodded her head.

"Collins, Hermann with me" Stella yelled as me and Hermann masked up and followed her into the burning building seeing squad looking for potential victims when Stella told Hermann to go look somewhere with her and send me upstairs to look. As I came up the staircase collapsed and I saw Severide at the end of the stairwell. Oh god am I trapped up here with him? This is not gonna end well I thought as I tried to push those thoughts away and tried to be professional. I moved down the hallway calling out for any victims.

"FIRE DEPARTMENT! CALL OUT!" I yelled out multiple times until I start hearing a beeping sound which I soon come to realize is the sound of someone missing oxygen. I go further in to see Lieutenant Severide on the ground mask off. I panick for a moment as I rush over to him.

"SEVERIDE!" I just yell out in fear as I hear his radio go off, it's Boden.

"Severide report!" He says as I take a deep breath of the oxygen in my mask and pulls it off my face placing it on Severide as I start to do chest compressions on. I hear his radio go off again as I speak into my own.

"MAYDAY! MAN DOWN! SEVERIDE IS WITHOUT OXYGEN AND HE'S NOT RESPONDING!" I yelled into the radio as I started tearing up when his eyes flashed open. He looked around confused for a moment and saw me looking at him. I helped him stand up as he gave me my mask back on and took him around my neck and carried him out of the building.

"I got you Lieutenant" I said as I came outside to fresh breeze and almost collapsed when Cruz and Casey came over with Cruz helping Severide over to get checked out by the paramedics as Casey looked at me worry spread all over his face as he carried me over to Sylvie and Violet when I was given an oxygen mask and told to breath slowly.

"You scared me! Don't ever do that again" He said hugging me as I hugged him back when Severide came over and sat next to me as I took the mask off being able to breathe better now.

"Hey, thanks for saving me back there. I didn't know you were so strong sparkles" He said laughing a bit as he put one of his arms around me pulling me into a side hug gently kissing the top of my head. Omg did he really just do that or am I hallucinating? I think my heart just skipped a beat. I couldn't figure out how to think or talk properly it's like everything suddenly malfunctioned inside me.

"You're welcome Lieutenant and there's a lot you don't know about me" I said winking at him as I stood up walking over to Stella as we packed up and drove off towards the firehouse when Boden came up to us.

"I want you guys to swing by Med to get checked out before shift is ending and that's an order" He said smiling at both me and Severide as we drove back to the firehouse with me getting dropped off at Med along with Severide as we walked in to be greeted by Maggie.

"Chief called you guys can take a spot in treatment 3 and someone will be with you very soon it shouldn't take long" she said smiling at us as we both looked elsewhere than at each other. It was slightly awkward not gonna lie. Short time after Dr. Halstead walked in and greeted us as he first check Kelly's breathing giving him a go and then checking my breathing giving me a go as we were allowed to leave again since it wasn't that bad.

We went outside to see his car holding as he told my brother had been by dropping it off for us. We went inside as I looked at him starting his mustang as he turned to look at me moving a bit closer as he put his hand on the side of my cheek. I started freaking out on the inside as to on the outside I looked completely fine.

"I seriously don't know how to pay you back for saving my life, so how about this?" He said giving me no time to answer as he gently smashed his lips into mine and at first I was a bit shocked but then I gave in kissing him back putting my hand on the back off head and the other hand holding his bicep which btw was huge compared to my small hand as we continue to heavily make out for another 10 minutes before pulling apart as he started driving.

The rest of the ride back to the firehouse none of us said a word to each other as he focused on the road and I looked out the window as we arrived at the firehouse.

"See you tonight at Molly's" I said thanking him as I walked out and into the firehouse in a steady tempo making sure he was out of sight before I freaked out over what just happened. I just made out with Lieutenant Kelly Severide...... oh my god. I tried to keep my cool walking into the lockers room changing and grabbing my stuff as shift was over when Severide came in as I walked out. We smiled at each other and of course Stella noticed it and quickly gave me a look saying we need to talk.

"Spill the tea. What happened between you and Severide? Cuz I saw the way you were looking at each other" She asked crossing her arms as we were getting ready to head over to Molly's. I stopped what I was doing and turned around facing her as I looked down at the floor quickly before making eye contact with her.

"When we left Med after getting cleared by Will we made out in his car for about 10 minutes before driving back to the firehouse acting like nothing happened" I said looking at Stella smiling as her eyes widened big and she started getting really excited for me as she hugged me when we squealed together like two teenagers.

"Omg Sky! How was it? Or should I say how was he?" She asked all excited as I tried to calm myself down.

"It was amazing. He was amazing so sweet and gentle" I said blushing hard thinking back at it as he hugged me again.

"Let's get going to Molly's don't wanna be late for the karaoke. I have a surprise to make" I said smiling as Stella got really curious trying to press it out of me but I kept telling her that she had to wait and see it.

We walked into Molly's walking up to the bar seeing everyone from squad and truck there and of course it didn't take me long time to spot Severide and for him to spot me. He looked so good dressed in his black jeans and black shirt with sleeves rolled up to his elbow. Goddamn he looks hot.

He waved over me and Stella and ordered us some drinks as he pulled me into his side as he started kissing my neck and behind my ear. To say I was enjoying it was an understatement. I want him to continue but I can't have Matt noticing. I put my hand against his chest quickly kissing him on his lips as I pulled back.

"As much as I love this. We can't do it here" I said drinking the rest of my glass putting my hand under the table on his lap as I moved my hand higher and higher up stopping when I reached his waist.

After multiple more rounds of shots and cocktails it was karaoke time and oh boy was I excited for this thought that I could see Stella and Matt being a bit concerned for me as I've consumed fairly a lot of alcohol in the past few hours.

I stumbled upon the scene not being able to walk in a straight line at this point I grabbed the mic almost falling forward before regaining my balance making myself somewhat steady.

"How are doing tonight?" I screamed into the mic raising my glass as everyone cheered with me while I drank the rest placing the glass down.

"Okay so first I just wanna thank everyone for being so kind to me and taking such good care of me the last couple of days and thanks for the warm 51 welcome. Now let's get to business" I said as they laughed and Severide winked at me.

"So I wrote a song a few days ago after meeting this really awesome person, so yeah let's get this party started" I said as everyone cheered again and the background music for my song started playing. Last time I sang in front of a crowd was at a talent show in 8th grade and I've definitely improved my skills since. The whole time singing I was making eye contact with Severide.

We're just friends right?

Like we've been right?

So can tell me bout' the girl that you kissed last night

Keep going on about

Staying at her house

It's not like I feel like I could throw up right now

You're my ride or die

So I'm not jealous right?

Cause the way I feel about you is just black and white

And I ain't been staying up

Overthinking us

Tripping all over these feelings, nah, that'd be dumb

I sang about to go into the pre chorus as everyone was listening carefully and some were a bit shocked by the lyrics and with some I mean Stella and Matt.

It's fine, yeah it's cool

Not like I wanna make a move

It's fine, yeah it's cool

It's not like I'm in love with you

Shit

No I'm not feeling unwell

And no it's not scary as hell that I

Want you more than anyone else

Want your body all to myself

It's not like I'm losing my head

Thinking 'bout you in my bed

Keep doing that thing you do

It's not like I'm in love with you

I sang the chorus as I locked eyes with Severide and he smiled at me as I continued into the second verse.

It started slow but then like dominoes

I started free falling for you, no control

Couldn't hide the truth from my friends too

It's not like everybody knows but you

It's fine, yeah it's cool

I totally know what to do

It's fine, yeah it's cool

It's not like I'm in love with you

No I'm not feeling unwell

And no it's not scary as hell that I

Want you more than anyone else

Want your body all to myself

It's not like I'm losing my head

Thinking 'bout you in my bed

Keep doing that thing you do

It's not like I'm in love with you

It's not like

It's not like I'm in love with you

It's not like

It's not like I'm in love with you

No I'm not feeling unwell

And no it's not scary as hell that I

Want you more than anyone else

Want your body all to myself

It's not like I'm losing my head

Thinking 'bout you in my bed

Keep doing that thing you do

It's not like I'm in love with you

I'm in love, I'm in love

I'm in love with you

But it's not like I'm in love with you (in love with you)

I'm in love, I'm in love

I'm in love with you

But it's not like I'm in love with you (in love with you)

I'm in love, I'm in love

I'm in love with you

But it's not like I'm in love with you (in love with you)

I finished my song as everyone started clapping and I went down the stage going back over to the table where Kelly, Stella, Sylvie and Antonio were sitting. I ordered another drink and noticed that I was far more gone than the others but I honestly didn't mind at this point.

"Hermann! We need a round of shots for everyone" I said loudly to him as I stood up almost falling forward pushing the table a bit as Severide stood up catching me.

"I'm fine" I said sitting down again with the help of Severide as he removed my glass to other end of the table. I saw Hermann signaling something to Severide as he nodded his head and stood up making me stand up as well holding onto to me so I wouldn't fall.

"I think it's time for you to call it quit tonight" Severide said as I disagreed with him grabbing his face kissing him passionately in front of everyone including my brother. Not long after Severide pushed back from me.

"Not here. Not now. Let's go" He said leading me out of the bar as I greeted everyone goodbye as he took me back to his apartment both of us being drunk but me slightly more than him.

As we entered his apartment I pushed him further in as he guided us towards his bedroom lifting me up and gently placing me down on his bed as I took off my shirt and he took off his as I tucked at the rim of his pants.

"You're really impatient huh?" He asked as we both laughed while he was taking off his pants. He came into bed only wearing boxers as my hands were all over his muscles feeling his arms and chest while kissing him up and down his chest and neck making him moan slightly. We removed the rest of our clothes as he looked me deep in the eyes asking for permission before entering as I nodded my head adjusting to his size before he started thrusting in and out in a steady tempo.

"Kelly!" I yelled out in pleasure. My hands were on his back as I was scratching him. I leaned my head back morning in pleasure as i felt him already pulsing inside me This is the greatest I've felt in a long time.

"You have no idea how long I've been wanting to do this for" I said kissing him again as he came inside of me and pulled out short time after. He switched around so that I was now on top of him. I sat on top of him just watching him catch his breath from before watching his chest rise and fall as I started kissing him all the way down to his waist leaving hickeys in my way down.

"Goddamn!" He said putting his hands on my waist guiding them in the right tempo as I started riding him when he threw his head back arching his back a little more than he already was.

"You enjoying this.... Lieutenant?" I said teasing him as I kissed him while he just hummed a yes. He opened his eyes looking at me with eyes full of lust.

"Please say that more often. I like hearing it when it's coming from you" He said smiling as I stopped crawling off him laying down next to him placing my head on his chest listening to his heart as he covered us up with the sheets when I heard the front door go. It made me jolt a bit as Kelly just chuckled at me.

"It's just my room mate" He said kissing me again as I heard the voice of my brother and started panicking a bit.

"You're roommates with Casey?" I asked him tracing circles on his muscles as he nodded his head at me.

I kissed him one last time before we drifted off to sleep with my head on his chest and him having his arms around me we fell asleep together.

"My very own blue eyed Lieutenant" I said as he kissed me holding me tight closing his eyes as we drifted off to sleep.

[sergeifyodorov]

drop the essay PLEASE

o7

so. the main thing we know about Kyle is. he likes his guys.

this manifests in many different ways: most notable of which being that he is loyal to coaching staff and former players of his -- whenever he gms a team, sheldon keefe is his head coach; the current leafs roster is stacked with former soo greyhounds; he gives out no trade clauses generously; et cetera. we've all seen the soo jokes. but what can we glean from this?

firstly, that kyle is more likely to trade picks than players, even prospects. this is good and also bad: we have our 23 first, which is good, and we're desperately cap-strapped, which is bad. win some lose some.

secondly, that we are cap strapped. why is this a consequence of kyle Liking His Guys? well, it's because of the third reason.

thirdly, because kyle understands, almost as much as skill, that the vibes are crucial to a good team. this is why the winnipeg jets went from bad last year to good this year with hardly much more than a coaching and captaincy change. this is why kyle spent a first round pick on nick foligno. this is why john tavares was appointed captain. this is why the leafs wore pride tape as the away team on another team's pride night. this is why the bruins are unbeatable.

because kyle values the vibes he is willing to pay the big bucks for people he knows are good in the locker room even if they're not as shiny on the ice as some others. matt murray, nick foligno, jason spezza, jake muzzin. this -- and a brutally unlucky stroke that COVID flattened the cap right after 1634 signed their contracts -- is why we are cap strapped.

liking his guys and valuing the vibes drives the sorts of teams he wants to build: structured, possession-heavy, 200-foot. besides The Curse the leafs have very few weaknesses. kyle is very good at his job.

so what does that mean for trades?

one, that kyle isn't going for a rental. he's made that mistake in foligno before -- someone you sign on an expiring contract without plans of extension who doesn't work out and walks in UFA. he paid a prized first round pick for him. he hasn't used a first round pick in his entire tenure [citation needed but i think it's true off the top of my head]. if he's going to spend it on the scoring we so desperately need, he's going to spend it on term.

two, that kyle isn't going to get someone controversial. fuck you patrick kane (controversial being a mild term here)

three, that kyle likely won't get involved in a big show. because he general manages The Leafs, every move of his is picked apart and every GM in the league wants to see him (well, The Leafs, but him by proxy) lose, which means if there's a bidding war his offer is last on the list unless it's the shiniest by far. and because of the cap situation and his reluctance to give up valued players for strangers, his offer almost never will be.

so what targets remain?

patrick kane violates (😬) all three of the guidelines here, which means he should remain a chicagoan pissbaby forever. timo meier is the prize, which means that the third guideline is almost certainly blocking his arrival (not to mention RFA status and 10 mil QO). gavrikov, mccabe, and lafferty are straight up bad and we're trying to cup contend here. ryan o'reilly is a rental and aging but does have a good leadership reputation. karlsson is far too expensive but otherwise ticks all the boxes.

i doubt, with the possible exception of meier, that kyle is pursuing anyone on this list. but the fact remains that the leafs need someone, and that the deadline is inching nearer. the probable addition will likely be out of left field. but whoever he is I hope he helps

[jewishrose]

okay sorry ive been mia but those of you who follow me on my main know i’ve been very busy lately with career stuff! anyways i’ve been rewatching yellowjackets and i think i have a more concrete idea of how i’d classpect the team.

shauna shipman - maid of breath

breath is the aspect of choices, independence, freedom, and change, and the maid’s journey is all about learning to accept and rely on their aspect instead of seeking it out in other people. in both 1996 and the present day, shauna feels trapped - literally, trapped in the wilderness, but also trapped in jackie’s shadow and trapped by the web of secrets she’s been keeping, and in the present day she’s trapped in the role of a suburban housewife with a daughter she hates and a husband she only married because of jackie. before the plane crash, shauna feels like her whole life revolves around jackie, and is happy to let jackie make choices for her. shauna’s arc is about stepping into her own personal freedom and relying on herself, for better and for worse. shauna’s arc challenges her to break out of the shell of apathy she hides beneath and accept her personal freedom.

jackie taylor - knight of blood

HEAR ME OUT ON THIS ONE. karkat is an example of a fully realized knight of blood. but jackie never realizes the true potential of her title because… you know. blood is the aspect of bonds, connection, influence and leadership, and before the crash we see jackie fully in her element as team captain. she’s able to stop the team arguing with a single “ENOUGH!”, she commands the field and scores the winning goal at states, and coach martinez reminds her that the reason she’s captain is because of her ability to influence people. she resolves arguments and keeps the team united. she works hard to maintain a facade - like all knights - of a person who has her shit together. and then the plane crashes, and her knightly facade cracks wide open. the wilderness operates on totally different rules, and jackie finds herself totally unfit to survive in this new world. she loses her authority as leader pretty early on, her bonds become distant before everything crumbles in the season finale and jackie dies. jackie was the glue holding the team together - it is only after her death that the team fully submits to the savagery of the wilderness and devolves into ritualistic cannibal cult shit. like all knights, despite her natural knack for connecting with/exploiting her aspect, she’s deeply insecure at her core. at her worst, she’s clingy and dependent. note also that blood and breath are opposite aspects. i won’t get too into inversion theory but i definitely think shauna and jackie ghost each other’s aspects at times.

misty quigley - witch of light

witches are notorious for being quirky/rebellious/unhinged. witches are manipulators - unconcerned with rules and use their aspect to break/change the rules. misty is obsessed with relevance. she destroys the team’s only chance at being rescued because people are finally paying attention to her. she’s excellent at manipulating people and things to suit her own ends and improve her social standing/relevance/importance. light players are also freakishly devoted to the pursuit of knowledge/collection of data and boy howdy is our favorite ~citizen detective~ good at obtaining data and manipulating it. she’s a bit of a know-it-all and i don’t need to say any more about the size of her ego. additionally, misty manipulates other people’s perception of her. who would think the poodle-haired, bespectacled geek who wears crocs and loves phantom of the opera is a threat?misty herself says, “i know when you look at me you don’t see someone you should be afraid of. but you should.”

lottie matthews - seer of doom

this one’s pretty easy. as a seer, lottie is uniquely aware of what horrors the wilderness has in store, and knows what the team must sacrifice in order to survive. even in the first few days after the crash, lottie tries to warn the team that something bad is following them. she’s perceptive of the doom that awaits them all, and no one believes her at first. of course, the team eventually becomes reliant on her prophecies as the antler queen, and lottie uses her abilities as a seer of doom to lead the team to the necessary course of action.

taissa turner - prince of mind

taissa can be downright machiavellian at times, and people tend to hate her for it. i don’t. i think she’s pretty much the poster child for the mind aspect. as a lawyer, she’s deeply concerned with justice. as a politician, she’s keenly aware of the fake persona she’s expected to perform in order to get the votes she wants (and, just like how dirk ghosts the mind aspect, tai ghosts heart). like any good prince, taissa is deeply stubborn and ambitious and willing to do whatever it takes to reach her goals. her challenge is to not destroy her own mind in the process (failed step one). eventually tai needs to find out why she’s been eating dirt, climbing trees, and murdering family dogs without any inkling of remembrance and return to stability in order to attain her goals.

laura lee - heir of hope

dear, sweet, precious laura lee. heirs tend to naturally gravitate/attach to their aspects, and laura lee’s undying faith is a pretty good example of that. throughout her time in the wilderness, laura lee never loses faith that jesus will protect her, and that her purpose lies in helping to save the team. she’s optimistic to the point of naivety, which is why she walks right into the face of danger by flying the plane. she truly believes her faith will protect her. she’s firmly devoted to her belief and convinced of her purpose right up until she explodes. rip queen ily

natalie scartorccio - rogue of rage

rage isn’t just about being angry. the aspect of rage encompasses all strong emotions, positive and negative. as a rogue, nat struggles to cope with her emotions. like her fellow rogue, roxy, she turns to substance use in order to drown her feelings out. nat’s challenge is to allow herself to feel all the messy things inside her heart - grief, frustration, depression, and aimlessness - and use them to help not only herself but those around her. for example, nat channels her grief over travis’ death into action, and devotes herself to figuring out how he really died.

the only person i’m still not sure about is van palmer! i’m tempted to say she’s a life player because… i mean. she’s cheated death like three times now. im convinced she’ll never die. but i also feel like she could be a space player because she’s always concerned with the big picture. i’m not sure!

[the-firebird69]

Some of the things that are happening here

--we have had several offers for us to provide products for companies and one of them is pretty whopping it is the Chrysler corporation it's been happening over the past few weeks because of this insulin moron who's as dumb as a primate next door is what they're saying is instructing his people to ruin themselves like his suicide ship is just a collector stuff and our son is right the guy can't hold on to it and he keeps doing it and he's still doing it and he's not running the finance centers and people need him out we need him out so this works for us they're people who are not his dukes and they all are going to start fighting him from the inside to stop him from ruining our son and daughter they want their fleets intact and they want to do work good now we know what to do we're going to start doing it and we're going to start holding meetings with people and we're going to get it out there he has daughters and sons and other clothes that are not dupes they want to do this and have the companies and Chrysler corporation of course we were talking about is a strong player in this arena and they saw our current lineup and they said wow we could be part of the big three and globally and it is very true very true that that could take off without much effort so there on the line with us they can hear this idiot threatening them and telling him to shut up and go away. And finally starts threatening and they said this is the stuff we need to tell the others and we'll all start pushing you out and you'll get Bent stay out or you'll be gone. So he's going to start doing this and that's Terry c and others too his son and more they need the money they need to get control over his stuff and they don't have enough assets and he's sitting on it all and they need to take it over and money does work and we can butter for some things but really he's going to be getting a product sold so we're moving out and we're doing that and it's going to happen. There's a lot of products that they like there's some that they really want to do right away and this Wednesday want to make happen so we are going to discuss it as it comes up

--other things that are happening to this fool is it he is ostracized from his group and his clones are trying to get at him and they're ripping him apart and others are going after the clothes it won't be long and they'll be gone and the stink session will end and yeah somebody made some really nasty clothes we are noticing that they're beginning to fight him today on everything that he's ordering

--there's other things too but really he is simply obsessed with our son and he is a horrible person there's no real reason for it yeah they're a couple he can't seem to harm him enough and things like that and we are going to hit that piece of crap that we give you a right to try and harm people to see if they are powerful that's idiocy and you ruined these people you should be in court and on trial in front of your whole kind Trump is a loser you can play with us for you being this moronic asinne killer of your own

--there a couple more things going around town they do not want him as sheriff they saw him messing with the boy and they're telling him to get lost and he's saying no to all of them and they finally are getting up courage to tell him to go away and there's a lot of them by the way it's about 80,000 people can put the Gorda out of 120,000 and 30,000 abstain and they want him out and they're going to start drumming him out in his idiots and they're going to keep them out in there are about 80,000 more of that thinking coming in I'm going to try and push them out right now there's about 1.2 billion in the rings if they lose these and they usually do leadership will be at 7% and 12.5% and 32% and wow that is a lot of drop and we are nearing these 3.5% in Florida and we say that's the number they're going to have to get out of here at that's true those are the top echelon and they're mostly regionts that's what they are actually in they have a different reaction if they're not making it they want to leave but our son and daughter say a lot of their areas are messed up and they're going to try and keep this area and trying to be alarmed and his tubes and John remillard are sacrificing them it's true and it's going to go down like that they're going away more in a moment and about this topic

Thor Freya

Olympus

Zues Hera

[masterroofersmktg]

Selecting a High-Quality Skylight Contractor (Podcast)

We talk with Ryan Sturgis, Senior Sales Representative at Velux, about selecting a high-quality skylight contractor. We also discuss the essential qualities to look for in a skylight product, certifications and warranties homeowners should prioritize when selecting a skylight brand, and common misconceptions about skylights.https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/1761442182&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true

Master Roofers · Selecting a High Quality Skylight Contractor (with VELUX Skylights)

John Maher: Hi, I am John Maher and I'm here today with Brett Rogenski, General Manager of Master Roofers, the most trusted roofing company in New Hampshire for over 80 years. Welcome, Brett.

Brett Rogenski: Thanks, John. Thank you for having me.

John: Sure. And our special guest today is Ryan Sturgis, Senior Sales representative at VELUX, a residential and commercial skylight and roof window manufacturer. Welcome, Ryan.

Ryan Sturgis: John, glad to be here. Thanks.

Essential Qualities to Look For in Skylights

John: Sure. Today we're talking about some important factors in selecting a high-quality skylight contractor, but Ryan, let's talk a little bit about skylights in general. What are some of the essential qualities to look for in a skylight product in terms of durability, energy efficiency, and safety?

Ryan: Well, John, skylights are all over the world. They need to withstand summer heat in Florida, Arizona, Texas. They need to withstand the cold of Canada, of Northern Scandinavia. So, everything about the skylight is chosen with that rigor in mind, if you want to think of it that way. The gaskets, the sealant, the glass, thermal characteristics. There's a lot that goes into it and it's always being iterated on, if you will.

But really, probably one of the most important things is regarding safety. Skylights come standard now with laminated glass. I don't think a lot of people are aware of that. It is the most safe because that inner pane of your skylight, it's glass on a slope above you, sometimes above your bed, and so it behaves like your car windshield, which is also a skylight when you think about it, and so if that glass were to ever break for any reason, it would just hang there stuck to that acrylic interlay of laminate. Skylights are very durable and definitely code compliant in the safety department for sure.

John: Do all skylights have that safety measure or is this something particular to VELUX?

Ryan: No. A lot of manufacturers, that would probably be a choice and an upcharge, something that you would have to be educated, have a certain knowledge to specify and you would have to pay extra.

For us, it is just a standard. When we feel like we carry the flag for the skylight category, we have to take leadership and we want to make sure that everything that we put out into the world, if you will, is code compliant almost no matter how it's used, basically. And that's what that laminated glass assures us.

Skylight Energy Efficiency

John: What about in terms of energy efficiency? Are modern skylights more energy efficient than older types of skylights?

Ryan: Very much so. You would find if you were driving by older skylights from the '80s, in the winter, that the snow would be melted off of it, but also melted sometimes even all around it, which is indicating how much heat's being lost. Glass has come a long way, not just for skylights, but for regular vertical windows as well and with the glazing variant that is standard, it's so efficient that when you add a shade to it, a solar-powered shade, which we provide frequently for customers, the tested U-value that the government uses for Energy Star drops all the way to 0.25. And that may not mean too much to a lot of people -- what it amounts to, though, is if you can see behind me, the snow doesn't immediately melt off that skylight. The snow can last a couple of weeks. And some people don't like that. I do like it. I feel that the snow is adding another layer of insulation and it's just indicating that it's not just a hole in the roof. It's quite well insulated. The snow finally melted off that skylight behind me when it warmed up outside, Brett, because it's been unseasonably warm for the last week or two.

Skylights can be quite energy efficient, and that's something that a lot of people aren't aware of if they're just used to skylights from the '80s.

Brett: Yeah, I think that that's something that we... That's feedback that we get very commonly from customers and prospects, people who are looking at maybe replacing older skylights, is they're really shocked at how much more efficient modern skylights are, how much more well insulated they are.

Going back to the other discussion on the safety, that's something a lot of people don't think about and, living here in New England, a lot of folks have skylights because they have beautiful trees around their home and that sort of thing. I lived in the lakes region for a long time. Well, occasionally that beautiful pine tree loses a large limb and it lands on your roof, which is a problem. But you and the owner and the insurance company and a roofer will help figure that out. But what you don't want to have is a family member get injured with glass raining in, and you're right, with VELUX, you don't have to worry about that. With some other manufacturers who do not use laminated glass, that's a distinct possibility.

The whole key to a situation like that is we don't want anyone to get hurt, and we certainly don't want them to get hurt from that, so that added protection is fabulous.

Skylight Certifications and Warranties

John: Absolutely. Ryan, what sorts of certifications and warranties should homeowners prioritize when they're selecting a skylight brand?

Ryan: I would say unless you have an unusual local code like Miami-Dade certification or something like that, then skylights have a wide range of certifications that are most relevant to, probably more so, architects, they certainly fulfill every requirement where we're at, which is New England right now.

The most important thing that I would want a homeowner to know is about the warranty, specifically, there are different warranties for different aspects of the skylight. The hardware, any electronics, the glass. The glass is warrantied for 20 years, as a matter of fact.

But the most unexpected one may be that we have a no leak warranty. If that skylight leaks, under any circumstances, then we cover damages, product, and labor for 10 years. And it certainly isn't that we expect there to even be an issue in 10 years, it's just that the idea is, within a decade, that skylight has been put through its paces. You have had that storm come up the coast, you have had that ice storm, you've had a lot of snow and then had it rain and freeze. You've had all these conditions occur and the skylight has come through on the other end and performed.

So, you have cut a hole in your roof and we just need to be worthy of that trust. It's a big deal to us and part of that is taking explicit ownership of that hole in the roof with that no leak warranty.

Common Misconceptions About Skylights

John: Are there any common misconceptions that people still have about skylights and roof windows that they should be aware of?

Ryan: Yeah, I would say there are probably two primary ones. One would be that skylights leak, that all skylights leak. An enormous amount has been done with that. Starting in 2010, we redesigned our skylight, again to take ownership of that hole, and that's when that no leak warranty started. Everyone likes what skylights do, John. Everyone likes natural daylight, everyone likes fresh air, but there are some for whom the risks of a skylight outweigh that. And so we had to take ownership at that time and we redesigned everything, putting it through real world practical tests, not computer modeling, to make sure that it performed to our expectations. So, we've hit that on the head and folks that are inclined to get a little extra day lighting into the core of their space, they can do so with confidence. That would be the first one.

The second one is just that the skylight is an energy drain. There is that thought out there, and what we've done there…I mentioned earlier about U-Value, and that's probably a little bit obscure for listeners, I guess, but all reputable companies submit a product to a third party lab for testing, and that is used by the NFRC and Energy Star. And what that effectively does is, our skylight has a 0.42 U-Value without a shade, but with a shade people would be, I think, shocked to realize that it improves the energy efficiency about 40% by adding a shade to the skylight. Creating that dead air space between the fabric and the inner pane of glass makes an enormous difference in energy efficiency and provides a very, very generous federal tax credit at the same time, in the amount of 30% on the entire project.

I mentioned earlier about the snow on my own skylight. That's demonstrating that in a very clear, real world way to me as well. So, I feel like both of those common misconceptions, we've hit right on the head. Confidence and energy efficiency.

John: Right, with that snow on the roof, like you said, if your snow is immediately melting off of your skylight window, that just means that all that heat from your house is just going right through that window and melting that snow, and so the fact that all that snow is just able to stay right on the window and not melt means you're not losing that heat from inside the house.

Ryan: Yeah. A roof certainly has a certain insulating value, R-Value, and the skylight is not quite at the level where the roof is, but neither are regular windows compared to the walls that contain them either. But you get twice as much light per square foot from a skylight on a slope as you do from a vertical window, like a double hung or a casement.

So, usually when I'm talking to architects or design professionals, I'm explaining how skylights punch out of their weight class, if you want to think of that expression in that regard. Surprisingly energy efficient, even, because they're in a roof, they're a very small part of the roof in terms of square footage and they bring in twice the light per square foot of other windows as well. It's very possible, Brett, when you're replacing a skylight on any given house in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, or what have you, that window will be the most energy efficient window in that house.

Brett: I would tell you, Ryan, that I 100% agree with you. I guess every case is a little bit unique, but I would tell you certainly in 9 out of 10 cases where we're retrofitting, replacing, someone's older skylight or maybe even installing a brand new skylight, it's going to be newer than most of the windows in that home, if not all of them. And I would agree with you, it's probably going to be the most efficient opening in that space.

And to your point, Ryan as well, I was just thinking as you were expressing it, skylights today, this is not your grandpa's skylight. There's a lot of misconceptions that may have been true, or truer, once upon a time that are no longer the case because of, like you said, a couple of misconceptions that they're inefficient and that they all leak. Well, once upon time, I don't know if that was true, but it was more prevalent and you're absolutely right. VELUX skylights now, they're standing behind that with that no leak warranty and it stands up over time. And the efficiency, of course, that can just be measured by third parties as you said, and we can prove to people that, "Hey, this is very efficient."

So yeah, it's not your grandpa's skylight. They're really quite a joy to live with.

Factors in Ensuring a Successful Skylight Installation

John: Brett, while we're talking about installations, beyond the quality of the product from VELUX, what are some of the crucial factors in ensuring that a skylight is successfully installed in a roof, especially when you're working with the existing roof structure?

Brett: Sure. In general, I tend to think of skylights in two classifications. There's a new installation, so someone who does not have a skylight currently and chooses that they would like one, and that comes with some structural change. This isn't just re-roofing where someone's taking your old shingles off. They're actually cutting into the structure of your home's framing and doing this, so this bridges between just roofing and construction because you have to box that, you have to do finish work inside, all that stuff.

And then the other part is replacing an existing skylight, which is probably the more common situation. Most homes either get built with or don't get built with skylights. What are some of the most important things to be looking for there? Experience. The more skylights you and your crew, your company, have experience with, the more competent you're going to be in either of those categories, either replacing a skylight or installing a new skylight.

Not every company is actually built to support skylights, either. Any roofing company can go to their distributor and purchase a skylight. They all can do it. My question would be how often are you guys doing this? How often are you replacing skylights? Do you have a crew of team members who are certified by the manufacturer to replace skylights?

In our case, for instance, at Master Roofers, we're a five-star certified contractor by VELUX, so we've had to, in essence, prove to VELUX that we are experts in skylight replacement and in skylight installation.

So, the biggest things are coming down to experience with skylights and do you have team members with those right skill sets, which again crosses really into construction, in some cases, not simply, "Do you have a guy that's a roofer?", who -- not to demean that at all, that's a skill set in its own, it's just different than installing skylights. Any thoughts on that, Ryan? You work with a lot of folks in this space.

Ryan: Yeah, you would definitely want to partner with a company that has seen it all, I guess, for lack of a better term. There are certainly skylights that are VELUX now and they're 25 years old and you're replacing with the exact same size, and those are a little bit more pedestrian, whatever you want to call it. But there are less optimum applications. Sometimes you're close to a valley or close to a ridge.

Sometimes you're replacing a competitor from the eighties that is not around anymore, of which there are many. Now we have to navigate and flow like water to an efficient solution, and you need to have all of the solutions that VELUX offers at your fingertips. A different installation method, different sizes than you're accustomed to, different flashing kits sometimes. You have different roofing, particularly in New England, you can have metal roofing. That is another not-insurmountable challenge, but it's just a different installation that experience pays off with.

It's definitely always an advantage to, as I say, partner with an installer, an applicator that has seen it all before, for sure. Absolutely.

The Skylight Installer Certification Process

John: Can you give us a little insight into what that certification process is in terms of certifying a company like Master Roofers to install VELUX skylights?

Ryan: To be a specialist, which is what Master Roofers is, you need to go through a physical roof section, installation training on a variety of products, ganging our products together, which is a bit of a different and more detailed installation. Installing roof windows, installing sun tunnels, installing shades. I think even at that time it was re-glazing skylights probably as well, so it's a quite wide-ranging installation training.

These days, you have to know about how to register electronic components, remote controls to windows, so that you can operate your shades. Comfort level with our active system so that you can run our products off of your phone with our app or our other touchscreen remotes, so it's even more wide-ranging and stringent than it even would've been in the past, and a significant part of that is also understanding, as I mentioned, all of those solutions.

You never know what you're going to encounter based on the roofing material, based on the application and the functionality that the homeowner wants from their skylight now as opposed to what the homeowner wanted 30 years ago. So, how to best explain the correct installation method and the correct method of control for the skylight for each homeowner. A lot of the training is sales related in that regard so that you can understand your solutions, provide that for a homeowner.

Brett: Ryan brings up a good point with the sales related, and when we talk about differentiators, at least our approach at Master Roofers, our salespeople are very well-trained and they're going in... It all starts with a good design. Yeah, you need experience to go execute it and do it right and we literally have "master roofers" on staff. We have folks who work on metal, slate, copper, asphalt shingle, everything in between.

I'm thinking of one particular gentleman, Pat Shea. Pat's been doing this for 40 plus years. He went to a roofing trade school and Pat literally is a man who can do anything. But what Pat needs, the real beginning point, is from visiting with the homeowner and aligning on what's possible and what their goals are, starting off with a great design. Otherwise, we're putting Pat in a position where he has to maybe pull out a miracle that he may not have. And our relationship with VELUX goes back, gosh, what Ryan? Is it two decades or more?

Ryan: Well, almost certainly the skylights have been used for many, many, many decades, but as a certified installer... Geez, I would say probably 12 years maybe? I would guess.

Brett: Yeah, I was going to say…long time. A long time.

Ryan: That is a lot of skylights. Yes.

Brett: That is a lot of skylights. And one interesting thing is that most roofers avoid wanting to cut holes or mess with holes and roofs. Their goal is, if it's not leaking, don't touch it and don't cut a hole.

We're a little unique. We like it, and that's just because we're so comfortable in our skillset and with the product that we use, that cutting in a new skylight sounds great to us, doesn't scare us. Want to replace the skylight? Super. We love doing that. We love helping people like that.

Whereas I think that you'll find with some other roofers, there's some apprehension. They're pretty happy sometimes to say, "Oh, what? We're re-roofing your home. We're taking a 30-year-old roof off and you've got a 30-year-old skylight? Oh, it's not leaking. Go ahead and leave it."

Think about it. Now you have a 30-year-old window in your house with your brand new roof. What's the likelihood that's going to work out well? And it's because they're not comfortable with their skillset, whereas we embrace that. We enjoy that.

Choosing a Skylight Contractor

John: Brett, what else is involved in choosing a good contractor for installing skylights? You mentioned experience, which you obviously have, and what about licensing and insurance, things like that?

Brett: Sure, absolutely. Yeah, you should absolutely be seeking someone who's a certified home improvement contractor, and can prove that on paper. They should provide you with copies of all. So that's essentially your licensing in that space. You should also be getting copies of their certificates of liability, etc. Any reputable contractor is going to be able to provide those to you in real time and make you a named insured of their insurance and of showing that they're a certified home improvement contractor, which of course, the state regulates that.

Another great resource, as well, is the Better Business Bureau and things like Google. That's one of the neat things of the modern era is that if someone's out there doing a bad job, it's going to catch up with them. You can't control what people say about your business on Google. They can just do it. And we all know that occasionally there's some folks who give poor reviews, because they're whatever, they're just having a bad day, but if you see a company with a lot of reviews and they're overwhelmingly good, that's a good sign from the field as well.

But the three biggest things I would look for, absolutely insurance, absolutely that they're a certified home improvement contractor, and then the next thing I would actually look at is their longevity.

Unfortunately, there's a lot of folks in the roofing space who are around for a few years and then they disappear. There's a lot of folks in the roofing space who decide to, "Hey, I'm a roofer. I worked for someone else. I'm going to go out on my own." And they don't do things like get proper insurance or they, "Oh, I'm supposed to pull a permit in your municipality for this? We won't pull a permit. I'll save you some money." They're probably not trying to save you money. They probably don't have proper licensing to be doing that.

So yeah, absolutely seek people who have that longevity, can provide you with proof of insurance, can provide you with proof of licensing. And you're also going to find that they're aligned with quality companies, that they're going to be aligned with companies like VELUX where we have their certifications. In roofing, where we're a master elite roofer with GAF. That comes with very similar needs to being certified with VELUX, and that'll put you on the right track to finding someone that you can trust to be your homes partner.

Skylight Project Timeline

John: Right. And then Brett, what else is involved in the project timeline? You mentioned it starts with the sales and the design of the project. What happens after that?

Brett: Sure. Great question. The initial sales call is going to align with our skylight expert about what you're trying to achieve. So, we do that. We actually do full measure calls. We actually get up on the roof, so whether it's a replacement or it's a new installation, we're getting up on the roof doing a physical inspection in most cases, too, depending on the design of the home, if there's an attic that needs to be addressed, some sort of space that needs to be addressed for getting in there. We're doing that on what we call our measure call. The key components of that are aligning with the customer's expectations and then the second of all, accurate measurements, because again, remember this is a construction project in some cases, so where do roof rafters lay? To Ryan's point earlier, where are valleys, etc.?

Once we've designed it, presented the solution to the customer, they choose to accept it, the next part is ordering skylights, so ordering the windows to go in the roof. There are some standard sizes that we can adapt with. There are custom sizes that Velux can actually make for us. So, depending on the need, the lead time -- in most standard cases, roughly a two-week lead time on us getting the material in and getting it into our schedule.

Once that material is successfully available to us, so it's been distributed to us through our distributor by VELUX, then we're going to align with you on what time works for that. Obviously we're going to be putting holes in your roof or we're going to be taking what's not a hole and opening it up and making it a hole. We have to work around weather.

So, I guess what I would tell you is, from the time that you sign that agreement after the measure call to the time that you're actually executing, replacing, or installing your skylights is going to be in the two-week to four-week time range for most cases, depending on weather, depending on if you're getting a custom skylight, those can make it longer of course.

Common Questions and Concerns About Skylights

John: Okay. And this can be a question for either one or both of you. What are some of the most frequent questions or concerns that you encounter from homeowners regarding skylights?

Ryan: Sure. Well, I would say from my part, there are probably three different common questions.

Identifying Skylights

The first would be people want help identifying. They have an old VELUX skylight or an old skylight of another manufacturer, and they need to identify what is the current comparable VELUX to be able to go into that opening gracefully, either on its own as a separate project or as a part of the roof. Or just recommendations, if it's a new skylight, for size, they want to daylight an area.

I'll give you an example with COVID, a lot more people were in their offices and all of a sudden they realized that their home office wasn't especially pleasant. It didn't have as much natural daylight. So, we would get a lot of calls from people with basically a Teams meeting showing us their space and asking us how many skylights it would take to be able to have a pleasant amount of natural daylight in their area. And there's a lot that goes into that with framing, and even the color of the walls can help make it more reflective or less.

Tax Credits

But probably the most common question that I get these days is related to tax credits. Solar-powered motorized skylights run off a remote. They close if it rains so that you can use them spring, summer, and fall at will with confidence. But probably the most important thing about them is they're eligible for 30% uncapped federal tax credit on the entire project, installing those skylights. Everything that you pay because you decided to put this skylight in, you can take a 30% federal income tax if it is a home in the United States and if you do pay federal income tax, if you have a federal tax liability. So, if you have a number of skylights, you can see where that would add up to a significant amount of money.

The federal government is helping you to replace old skylights when you do your roof, if you want to think of it that way. It makes all the difference in the world in the calculus of what you do when you're replacing a skylight. And we did that for a few years and we realized that if we, the manufacturer, pre-install a solar-powered shade into any type of skylight, even a fixed skylight or a manually operated skylight, it imbues that skylight as well as a solar electric property and you can take a 30% federal tax credit on the entire project related to the installation of it.

So, really almost all of our skylights that we sell now, unless they're custom sized, you have it within your power to take a 30% tax credit on the work that Brett and his team are doing, and that is a powerful tool to help people with their project.

John: Yeah, that's an important consideration. Absolutely.

Brett: I think for us, a lot of the questions we receive, especially during the sales process, go back to something we chatted about earlier that, hey, this isn't your grandpa's skylight anymore.

A lot of folks maybe have an existing skylight and for whatever reason, it's time to move on, replace it. A lot of what Ryan just spoke about, about solar-powered shades, about being able to vent it without having a giant pole that you're cranking up and that sort of thing, about the fact that it will close automatically when it senses rain and seal up your house. Most people aren't aware of that, so we like to take time and educate in the process because people love the light of skylights. They love, in many cases, the ability to vent and get fresh air. Most of them don't realize how much more convenient it is, maybe more now than it ever was before, certainly.

And even doing things like home automations. Ryan mentioned the app and then there's some other stuff that's associated with it. You can set it up so shades are opening and closing automatically on preset times and same thing with venting your home, having these open and close. And for us, I guess, maybe a lot of the most gratifying part is educating people to... In addition to the light that skylights provide, how easy they are to live with now with these modernizations that have occurred to them over time, and the fact that you're not going to have to worry about this thing leaking. The product is going to be leak proof. And then when you work with a quality contractor, they're going to do a great job and you're not going to have issues there. So, it's not going to leak at your roof either.

John: Right. Speaking of quality contractors, do you have any cautionary tales, Brett, things that you've seen where maybe a homeowner got a skylight installed by a different contractor and now they're having problems? What have you seen?

Brett: Sure. Unfortunately, we meet a lot of people in that situation. "Hey, I'm getting leaks around my skylight," that sort of thing. "I had some guy do it. He doesn't call me back anymore," And that sort of thing. So we do get that. We don't like meeting people in those circumstances, but what we do like is the fact that we can help them.

So, again, it goes back to working with someone who works with and who installs skylights all the time and is really competent and confident in their skills.

A lot of times what we do is we get up there,and the skylight itself may not be leaking, but it's leaking around the skylight. We do what's called a water test, which is exactly what it sounds like. We're up there with a hose figuring out exactly where the permeation is and we're helping then. We usually have to remove shingles and redo flashing and then make it so that this is truly watertight around that opening.

Occasionally, we may find the skylights themselves, not if they're working with a VELUX skylight, as long as it was properly installed, the skylight itself is not going to leak. We're pretty confident of that. It's usually all the other work around the skylight that is where the risk is, if you will.

So yeah. A lot of folks go, "Wow, I was able to save. I worked with Joe in a truck and I was able to save 10% over that certified company." Well, some days you get what you pay for, and I'm not trying to dump on any other contractors, whatsoever, but I guess my cautionary tale would always be, work with that certified contractor, work with someone that the manufacturer recommends, because they have standards in place that help ensure that you're going to get a quality installation by a competent company that will stand behind that work as well once they leave.

Collaboration Between Skylight Manufacturers and Roofing Companies

John: And then finally, guys, what collaborative efforts between manufacturers and roofing companies and roofing installers can be taken to ensure a seamless and positive experience for homeowners who are choosing skylights?

Ryan: Well, we do ask for regular training to keep folks up to date so that you have the right…At any given application, you have the right solution at your fingertips if you're a salesperson for a certified company. So you know what's available, you know what the best way to approach it is, if they want it venting, if they want it fixed, know the best way to approach that. You're conversant with the tax credit information that I mentioned earlier.

One thing that's unique about this area is that the majority of skylights are venting. Most skylights are venting around here in this part of New England and so people are usually trying to evaluate the best way to do that. What's the best experience? And if you don't understand the tax credit in its totality and believe that you're going to be able to achieve that when you do your taxes, then you might wind up with a suboptimal result, I think. Definitely ongoing education and touch points.

Also, to me, a good roofer knows when to bring me in as the rep, which I go out and look at stuff, or maybe it's someone from another part of the country. They should have access to their VELUX rep. We want these things going smoothly. We want people putting in the correct skylights, enjoying them, and when they are working for them and they're using them on a day in and day out basis, then someday when they build another home, they will put more skylights in presumably. And that's the best result for VELUX for sure.

Brett: Yeah, absolutely. And ourselves, being the roofer integrator, if you want to think of it, that's a lot of our job is to work with manufacturers, both shingle manufacturers, work with construction consultants, work with folks like Ryan at VELUX, and make sure that we're staying fully trained and that, number two, we're using the best and optimal products and methods for all those things that come together. Because there's a skylight there that's being built into construction that now has shingles around it. So, at the end of the day, they all converge, and that's our job is to stay current and fluent with each of those facets of the game to give the customer the best experience.

John: All right, well that's all really great information, Brett. Thanks again for speaking with me today.

Brett: Oh, thank you so much. I appreciate you having me.

John: And Ryan Sturgis from VELUX Skylights. Thanks for joining us as well.

Ryan: You bet. Glad to be here.

John: And for more information about Master Roofers, you can visit the website masterroofers.com or call 603-825-4856.

[mariellaolden]

Meet Mariella

(A Purposive Communication Introductory activity)

What's up, worldwide web? It's Mariella Angela here! A name combination from my wonderful grandmothers—Maria and Elena, while "Angela" came from my dear mother who loved collecting angel figurines. I just turned 19 last March 1st, the eldest of three children, from Rodriguez, Rizal.

Ever since I could spell "doctor," I've been dreaming of the idea of wearing a white coat with a stethoscope someday. Biology has always been my dream program.  After a year-long roller-coaster ride of tremendous hard work in applying to several universities, I am now an Iskolar ng bayan. Perhaps it was fate that brought me here, I am beyond grateful to Sintang Paaralan for giving me this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity (my 6-year-old self must be so proud). Back then, I told myself that I would choose the school that would choose me, and PUP embraced me fully.

Leadership runs through my veins, a passion I’ve nurtured since my elementary days. From participating in leadership and fellowship programs held in UP Diliman and Ateneo last quarter to initiating a reading program for kids and doing multiple projects back in my senior high school. I currently reside as one of the Junior Council Officers of the College of Science Student Council (CS SC) and the Creatives Officer at Youth for Youth—a national youth-led organization advocating for youth empowerment.

Moreover, I am a high blue belt taekwondo player. Through my determination and perseverance, I won several gold medals over the years, including one for my first national competition last year. But since delving into this program, I’ve taken a break due to a jam-packed schedule. Fingers crossed that I can bounce back and play the sports I love again.

Oh, and did I mention I'm a journalist too? I am also one of the Junior staff writers in Halawin, the official publication of the Department of Biology. In fact, before the classes started, I was awarded first place in news writing. Poetry? Prose? Essay? Name it. I believe that our society needs more young people who’ll never be afraid to use their pens and voices for a greater and better cause. I bleed, not of blood but words. If writing means running, I would rather write and write.

But hey, life's not all just about deadlines and textbooks. I'm a fangirl too! Despite being a busy bee, I try my best to have fun in life. I've attended YouTube Fan Fest '18-'19, screamed my heart out at SB19's Where You At Tour ‘22, bedazzled in ENHYPEN's Manifesto in Manila Concert ‘23, and attended the UP Fair Pop Rising ‘24 advocating for Education rights, as well as the recent concert of Jeff Satur's Space Shuttle No. 8 in Manila last March 2. I was also able to showcase my editing skills when I designed birthday advertisements for ENHYPEN, displayed in Jakarta, Indonesia, and here in Moa Globe. Trust me, there are a lot more fangirl experiences to share but let me save that for later.

Passionate, optimist, resilient, and empathetic—that's me. I am the kind of woman who constantly aspires to greatness and growth. No matter how challenging every dream of mine is, I set my heart and mind to achieve it. I see failures as a motivation to strive harder and the tenacity to turn every obstacle into opportunity.

The pandemic brought me so many realizations and life lessons. Among them is that life is cruel, it is unfair and it never actually gets better. There will always be bad days, stress, breakdowns, and failures. What we can do instead is change how we approach and view it. We have the power to shift our perspective, to embrace and adapt to challenges without losing our true selves.

I am eager to face whatever comes my way with the same determination and hope. I can't wait to see the person I'll become in the next four years of this journey. 화이팅!

[annvirtualally]

Excellent Leadership: Essential Qualities of an Effective Leader

Qualities of an Excellent Leadership

We see different facets of leadership being portrayed in our society nowadays. To name a few, we have politicians, government officials, spiritual leaders, social media influencers, and even ordinary people who take extraordinary steps to create a difference. Leadership can be a powerful tool to influence, inspire and change the lives of others. With the sphere of influence a leader has, one has the authority to create an impact either positively or negatively. Regardless of how crucial it is to be in leadership, many are wanting to be in the position. But what is true leadership anyway? Let's take a look at the excellent leadership essential qualities which a leader should possess to become effective in the position:

Practices of an Excellent Leadership

Have a Clear Vision

Leadership expert Warren Bennis once stated, "Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality". You need to be clear about what you want and where you're heading. A vision is a picture you have in your mind which directs your thoughts on what you want to achieve whether in your business, career, or family. An effective leader has a well-defined vision that allows her to focus on achieving her goals despite being confronted with various challenges along the way.

Thinking More of Others and Less of Yourself

Rick Warren says, "Humility is not thinking less of y it is about thinking of yourself less" It can be tempting sometimes to be enamored by status and positions especially when you are in leadership. One of the qualities of a good leader is simply removing your ego from the equation. It is not just about "ME" but it is about "WE" in the process. If people around feel their importance and value, they will undoubtedly become a strong player in the team which then leads to success.

You are NOT Perfect And that's OK

When you become a leader you will happen to be in the limelight. Your life becomes an open book. You get people to see all of you, your scars, your flaws- but it's ok. You don't need to be perfect to please everyone. Everyone commits mistakes and likewise you. But the good thing about making mistakes is that they can be corrected and becomes an instrument to help other people not to take the same path as you did.

You are NOT the Whole Ship - You are Just Part of It

Out of the very many lessons that leading can tea the most important lesson that we should never forget is that leaders are never the whole team -they are just part of the team, the same as the rest of the group. You could be leading your classmates in a group, you could be leading your staff in a team, you could be leading employees in your business, or your students in school as a teacher. May it be a small or big team, never forget that your role is to lead and facilitate, never to control and dictate. You are linked to the rest of your team, respect them and make them grow!

Now if you think you have all these excellent leadership essential qualities and traits of a good leader to become an effective leader, you're already a way to go to become a successful influencer who creates an impact in the lives of others. Create a difference. Make an impact. Be a blessing.

To learn more about freelancing and be the next excellent leader in your field of jobs, you can visit Surge.

Source: https://courses.thesurgemarketplace.com/excellent-leadership-essential-qualities-of-an-effective-leader/

[alexbkrieger13]

https://www.fotbollskanalen.se/uefa-nations-league/gerhardsson-om-masterskapsmeriterna-blir-berord-och-stolt/

Get to know how Peter rolls.

CASTEL DI SANGRO/STOCKHOLM. Double WC bronze and an Olympic silver. If Peter Gerhardsson wants to top his achievements with a championship gold?

- Sometimes you end up at the top and sometimes a little further down. Then the journey there must still have been worth something, he tells Fotbollskanalen.

Peter Gerhardsson has a fine championship record since he took over the Swedish women's national team. WC 2019 was his first championship as national team captain, where he won a bronze medal. The Olympics in Tokyo later resulted in a silver medal, and the WC in Australia and New Zealand resulted in another WC bronze.

During Tuesday's Olympic qualifier, Sweden faces Italy, a match that you need to win to have everything in your own hands to get to the Olympics. If you don't finish first, all dreams of the Olympics die, but then you have to finish top two to secure a European Championship place.

- We play one match at a time, it's nothing else. It's not possible to think longer, I think short-term, says Gerhardsson.

Is that what you convey to the team as well?

- Yes exactly. I think that's how players and coaches work, but then I can understand that it's discussed and speculated differently. But as a coach and player, only the next game counts. So there is not much else.

Looking at your championship record under your management, what are you most proud of?

- It's a bit strange, but it's more the whole. The whole of us making it work with leadership teams and player teams. We have huge demands on ourselves, then there may be demands from outside, but they never exceed even our own demands. You feel good and have fun, and joy in particular is very important, if I didn't feel that at work I would do something else, says Gerhardsson.

WC 2019 was the first championship where a bronze was won - Blågult had to celebrate and the national team manager didn't think more than 1000 people would show up.

- It was very emotional. I thought there would be 1,000 people, but were 30,000 in Gothenburg.

How was it?

- It was hugely awesome. You live in a championship and may not follow what happens outside in the form of media, but you are focused on the next match and training. I almost get to put myself in the situation when I watch it myself. I remember the World Cup in 1994, how awesome it was in Sweden and I'm beginning to understand that maybe that's the direction it's been in this championship. You are touched and proud.

Two bronzes, an Olympic silver - when asked if Gerhardsson feels the need to top off his achievements with a championship gold, he answers:

- I don't think much about it. I have enormous respect for what I'm doing, there are a lot of good nations and it's very difficult. I work very short-term, it's always the next game and so on. It's like a mountain you have to climb, you want to get to the top, but you have to see each step on this mountain climb as something that is fun and that is developing for yourself. Sometimes you end up at the top and sometimes a little further down - then the journey there must still have been worth something.

You have two years left on your contract. You don't see what you have to do later or what you want to achieve in a few years?

- I've never given it much thought.

You stretch to the next game only?

- Yes. It sounds cliché, but it's true, that's how I work. I have never in my life thought about anything like this is what I want to do or this is what I want to be. In grade nine I said I wanted to be a sports journalist and that was it.

Do you want to stay longer than that?

- I do not know. I don't think about it much, I see everything very short-term all the time and try to enjoy every day, he concludes.

He's an interesting character that's for sure

[art-of-manliness]

Podcast #853: The Real Rules of Power

Most leadership advice says the same thing: to be a good leader, you need to be generous, humble, and authentic. My guest, professor of organizational behavior Jeffrey Pfeffer, would say that kind of advice may make us feel good and represent the world as we’d like it to be, but it doesn’t actually work in the world as it really is. What the research shows does work is what he lays out in his book: 7 Rules of Power: Surprising—but True—Advice on How to Get Things Done and Advance Your Career. People often have negative associations with power, but Jeffrey would argue that power, and many of the techniques involved in getting it, are morally neutral, and can be used for ill or for good. So if you have a worthy aim and want to grow your influence and move up in your job, you have to get comfortable going after something that may make you uncomfortable. Jeffrey shares how to do that as we take a quick and dirty dive into the real rules of power. Resources Related to the Episode * AoM Article: How to Dress to Convey Power * AoM Article: The 3 Elements of Charisma — Power * AoM Podcast #403: A Better Way to Network * AoM Podcast #837: The Cues That Make You Charismatic Connect With Jeffrey Pfeffer * Jeffrey’s Website with links to his podcast — Pfeffer on Power Listen to the Podcast! (And don’t forget to leave us a review!) Listen to the episode on a separate page. Download this episode. Subscribe to the podcast in the media player of your choice. Listen ad-free on Stitcher Premium; get a free month when you use code “manliness” at checkout. Podcast Sponsors Click here to see a full list of our podcast sponsors Transcript Coming Soon The post Podcast #853: The Real Rules of Power appeared first on The Art of Manliness. http://dlvr.it/Sdd6Kp

[oeldeservesthenorris]

"There were guys on our team where he did not pull any punches. He's like, 'You are fat. Stop eating s---,'" (Ian) Cole said. "In his defense, he's not wrong. He's just so blunt and honest and doesn't pull any punches. He's like, 'I'm not gonna give a s---. It's true.' And it is 99% of the time."

Ed.: WHOA. Full stop. The excitement of this week aside, when are we going to stop lauding bullying and toxic locker room behaviour  in the name of  “he’s just an intense guy” and “he just wants to win”. This article make me definitely feel some type of way about MacKinnon. I didn’t think the “no smiling!” when they won the conference was cute and I am not feeling this.

I should add: his way of doing things obviously has led him to success and I guess it’s a whole end justifies the means kinda thing I just think this is another small example of how messed up sports culture is and bullying is somehow lauded as leadership. 

Sorry, just my opinion. Full article below:

How Nathan MacKinnon molded the Colorado Avalanche into Stanley Cup champions

Jun 27, 2022

TAMPA, Fla. -- Nathan MacKinnon raised the Stanley Cup over his head and then lowered it to his lips.

The Colorado Avalanche, a team he dreamed of playing for as a child, were champions for the first time since 2001. MacKinnon, their 26-year-old superstar, had a goal and an assist in their 2-1 Game 6 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning to earn that championship.

As he raised the Cup again, there was something peculiar about MacKinnon's face. Something that hadn't been there at the end of any of his previous playoff series: a beaming grin.

"He doesn't smile too often. He's all business. But you could just see how excited he was to lift it," Colorado general manager Joe Sakic said. "I'm so excited for him. Maybe now he can relax and enjoy the summer a little bit."

MacKinnon scored 13 goals and 24 points in the playoffs, doing all he could to secure a title for Colorado and lock down his own legacy as an NHL star. Even if the latter didn't matter much to MacKinnon before the Stanley Cup Final.

"Legacy for who? You guys?" he said on media day. "I'm just having fun day by day. Doing the best I can for my team. That's all I'm thinking about."

To begin his own legacy, he ended another, eliminating the back-to-back defending Stanley Cup champions.

"It's crazy how they went back-to-back," MacKinnon said. "I might get fat as s--- right now, so I don't know if we're going back-to-back. But I'm going to enjoy it for sure."

The Lightning have said they needed to lose before they could learn to win. So did MacKinnon. Those anguishing disappointments in the regular season and postseason that had come to define his nine-year NHL career were, in the span of one victory, undoubtedly worth it. Those years of demanding nothing short of excellence from teammates to the point of behind-the-scenes rigidity. That personal journey for MacKinnon in which he learned, from mentors such as Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby, the mindset to unlock playoff achievement.

It all became worth it, because Nathan MacKinnon could finally relish in the unbridled elation of bringing a Stanley Cup to the Avalanche.

On the ice, he has been a star. Off the ice, MacKinnon was "the battery of our team, he makes everything go," as defenseman Erik Johnson put it. The guy who would say or do anything to ensure that his team finally reached its potential.

"I think what makes him this good is hypercompetitiveness," said former Avalanche defenseman Ian Cole, now a member of the Carolina Hurricanes. "Even in practice. He'll do whatever it takes to win. Even if that means calling out his own teammates."

Which MacKinnon would do, with frequency. In finally earning a twirl with Lord Stanley, one of the best players on the planet had molded himself and his teammates into champions -- even if it meant crushing some egos along the way.

Nathan MacKinnon describes how he knew he'd win the Stanley Cup

An emotional Nathan MacKinnon goes through all of his emotions with Emily Kaplan after the Avalanche clinch the Stanley Cup.

WHEN DEFENSEMAN JOSH MANSON

was traded by the

Anaheim Ducks

to the Avalanche ahead of the deadline, he knew about MacKinnon's intensity as an opponent on the ice. He didn't know that intensity paled in comparison to what players experienced with MacKinnon away from the games -- in practice, in the locker room and in life.

"Well, he is intense. Scary? I guess that depends on the player. But he is very intense," Manson said. "But that's why he's different. He drives everybody else around him to be better, and that is what's so special. He's in your face. He says, 'I expect this from you. I'm here to win.'"

Many who played with MacKinnon have seen or experienced first-hand how those expectations manifest. There is yelling. There are blunt critiques and unfiltered advice. There is a standard of excellence applied to everything from a practice drill to a fitness decision.

"For one of the best players in the league, who dedicates so much of himself to the organization, if he's a little intense when someone doesn't act the right way? I don't see that as a problem," said Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, who played with MacKinnon for two seasons before leaving for the Lightning last summer.

Cole spent parts of three seasons with the Avalanche and considers MacKinnon a friend.

"I don't necessarily think that competitiveness is a bad thing. Yes, it is abrasive. But I think that competitiveness and that abrasiveness and ability to just call anyone out at any given time, about anything, whether he's right or wrong, it makes guys step up to the plate and makes guys play better," he said. "They're either scared to be called out or they don't want to look foolish and they're stoked to play better."

That goes for NHL veterans on the Avalanche as well as the newbies.

"A lot of young guys are like, 'I just don't want to f--- up and get screamed at,'" Cole said.

Cale Makar was one of those young players. He famously joined the Avalanche in the 2020 playoffs, straight from the NCAA. He had six points in 10 playoff games and then won the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year the following regular season. It was obvious he was going to be a special player.

That wasn't good enough for MacKinnon.

"Cale had all the talent in the world," Cole said. "But Nate was still pushing him. Telling him it wasn't good enough. Asking him what he was doing on the ice. Telling him, 'You gotta be better than this' on the power play or whatever. And now Cale is one of the best players in the NHL. When you surround yourself with people who make you better, then you have to automatically elevate yourself. That's the culture that Nate was building there."

That culture is something that Makar has embraced, and the Norris Trophy winner credits MacKinnon for driving him in practices.

"He's obviously a touchstone, a very intense guy," Makar said. "And I think, for me, I'm a very competitive guy. So it's fun, especially practicing with him. He's a guy that pushes other people to become better, and I'm a guy that likes to think I'm trying to make people around me better as well."

Avalanche hoist the Stanley Cup for the third time in franchise history

Gabriel Landeskog, Nathan MacKinnon and the Avalanche hoist the Stanley Cup after their win over the Lightning in Game 6.

Logan O'Connor has been that young player, too. This was his first full campaign with the Avalanche after playing parts of the past three seasons with the team.

"[MacKinnon is] a great role model for a lot of young guys," he said. "He's at the peak of his game, in the conversation for one of the best players in the world. He's always out there before practice and after practice, pushing guys. Someone messes up a rep ..."

O'Connor paused.

"You need someone to push everyone. When guys aren't sharp or they're sleepy, because it's a long season, he's always there to refocus people and keep them accountable," he continued. "I think that's the biggest thing with our team. The accountability throughout the lineup. Everyone has high standards for each other, and he's one of the guys who keeps those standards up."

Even if those standards mean you don't dare, for example, eat junk food in his presence.

"I'm not a candy guy," O'Connor said. "Luckily had nothing to do with that."

CANONICALLY, THE GREATEST

example of MacKinnon's abrasive intensity was provided by former Avalanche defenseman

Nikita Zadorov

last summer.

He did a Russian-language interview

in which he shared some of MacKinnon's dietary standards, which he said were pushed on his teammates.

"Two years ago in Colorado, he got rid of all the pop, ice cream and desserts," Zadorov said. "He got rid of them from the dressing room and pregame meals. He even got rid of the white sauce for pasta. He replaced the actual pasta itself with chickpea pasta. He says, 'Guys, if you want to eat crap, you have the offseason for that. When you come here, there will be none of that because we're winning the Cup.'"

He then compared MacKinnon's behind-the-scenes intensity to that of Michael Jordan. Seeing it pop up on social media, MacKinnon reached out.

"I read the first paragraph of it on Instagram and I'm like, 'I can't read this.' Like, he compared me to MJ. I'm like, "Dude, you're such a donkey,'" MacKinnon said. "I texted him. I'm like, 'Bro, can you stop talking about me in Russia?'"

MacKinnon didn't deny that he eats healthy and encourages teammates to do the same.

"Maybe if I saw 'Z' eating a big chocolate bar I'd give him crap," he said. "But I'm not a psycho eater or anything. I like to eat what everyone else does too."

Makar said that, for the record, MacKinnon would not yell at him if he saw him eating a cupcake.

"I feel like all of that stuff was taken way out of proportion," he said. "He can have some cheat meals, and he's not crazy like that. But during the season, he's obviously very dialed in, which you should be."

Cole is gluten-free, dairy-free and watches his own diet, so he was never on MacKinnon's culinary hit list while playing for the Avalanche. But he said the pressure from MacKinnon on his teammates to eat right was real.

"There were guys on our team where he did not pull any punches. He's like, 'You are fat. Stop eating s---,'" Cole said. "In his defense, he's not wrong. He's just so blunt and honest and doesn't pull any punches. He's like, 'I'm not gonna give a s---. It's true.' And it is 99% of the time."

MacKinnon is far from the only NHL player to place a high value on nutrition.

"He's pretty strict. But I think nowadays, all the guys are so aware," Crosby said. "I'd say we're pretty close [in diet], though."

Crosby and MacKinnon. Two NHL superstars from Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia. An idol who befriended a fan, and is now his offseason training partner.

"He and Sid are good buddies," said Cole, who was also Crosby's teammate with the Penguins, "and they're both very similar in that sense -- hyper, hyper competitive."

THE TWO FIRST

met when MacKinnon was 17, playing for the Halifax Mooseheads of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. MacKinnon would go back to Cole Harbour in the summer and train there, as would Crosby.

The Penguins star and the Avalanche star spoke before the playoffs, but MacKinnon declined to share what they discussed. Crosby has said the two have had candid conversations about hockey, including the mental side of the game.

"I think it's something he's aware of and I think the big part of it is recognizing that. It's always easy to sit there and say, you know, I wanna improve something. I think it's just experience. He'll go through different things than he has already that he'll learn and figure out," Crosby said. "You're always learning. I'm still trying to figure it out, and I'm sure he is too."

Crosby has matured into an even-tempered leader after coming into the league as an enfant terrible. But MacKinnon warned against mistaking that serenity for a lack of aggression.

"I wouldn't say he's chill. He's the most competitive guy I know. I think earlier in his career, he kinda wore his emotions on his sleeve. And now he's calmer," MacKinnon said of Crosby. "I think it's better to be like that. I think every year I'm getting a little bit [calmer]. But I definitely don't think I'll be there anytime soon, for sure."

While MacKinnon learned from Crosby's demeanor, he also adopted Sid's total immersion into hockey. Cole thinks MacKinnon started to breathe the sport in 2016-17, which was Jared Bednar's first season as head coach and the nadir of the franchise, as the Avalanche finished last in the league with a .293 points percentage.

"They are both extremely hockey-centric," Cole said. "That's how Sid's always been wired. But to be honest, for Nate it was a conscious decision he made after that really bad losing season they had.

"He felt he needed to live and breathe and do everything he could to be successful because that sucked. I think he made a conscious decision: 'That was miserable. That was the worst season I've ever been a part of. I am never going to let that happen again. And I am going to hold myself accountable and hold everyone else accountable to make sure it never happens again.'"

MacKinnon's approach to practices and teammates was amplified in the years between the last-place season and the team's recent postseason failures. Just like Crosby learned to reel in his intensity, so has MacKinnon -- to the Avalanche's benefit.

"He's always gonna push, he's always going to be the driver of our offense and put a lot of responsibility on himself, but I feel like he's let himself relax a little bit more," Bednar said. "There's a little bit more inner confidence in what he can accomplish over the years and what our team can accomplish if he plays his role to the best of his ability. It doesn't have to be the perfect game every night."

PLAYOFF ELIMINATION POSTGAME

news conferences have been a place where MacKinnon's emotions are on full display. He would look devastated, despondent and utterly defeated.

Like after last postseason, when the Avalanche lost to the Vegas Golden Knights in six games and MacKinnon said this:

"For sure, there's always next year. That's all we talk about, I feel like. I mean, I'm going into my ninth year next year and I haven't won s---."

Looking back on that news conference, MacKinnon said that his team's unwavering belief that it could finally be the year led to his sullen denouncement.

"You don't have many opportunities. I mean, I've probably had, like, two or three, maybe, possibilities of winning in nine seasons. So whenever you feel like you're that close to winning with the team you have and you don't ... you know, I think we're all upset. So it wasn't just me, it was all the guys," he said.

MacKinnon says he's not that guy anymore.

"I feel like a different person from that year. I was very emotional. You know, I'd be emotional again if we don't win. But I think the mindset is a bit more even-keeled, a lot more positive," he said. "Sometimes when you want it -- and you try so, so hard -- it doesn't work out. The goal is to win."

It's somewhat simplistic, but the Colorado Avalanche are Stanley Cup champions now because they failed to become one for the past few seasons. They learned from losing in seven games to the San Jose Sharks in 2019; grew from their 2020 Game 7 overtime loss to the Dallas Stars; understood what went wrong in blowing a 2-0 series lead to the Golden Knights in 2021.

"Every time you lose, you have to learn a little bit and figure a few things out. Vegas kinda took it to us and we got away from how we play to our strengths. We got a little timid out there. We were a little hesitant, I think," MacKinnon said. "When you play like that, you're not gonna win against a team that is rolling."

It's a beautiful coincidence that the Avalanche finally captured the Stanley Cup against the Lightning, as the teams have similar paths to glory. Tampa Bay has talked openly about "learning how to win" through playoff disappointments. The Lightning's 2019 first-round playoff sweep at the hands of the Columbus Blue Jackets is a key moment in their origin story, showing the Lightning how they needed to play -- and how they needed to think -- to succeed in the postseason.

"Knowing how devastating that was for the group, it was pretty easy to get mad at each other, point fingers. But everyone looked in the mirror and came back the next year with a little bit of a chip on their shoulder," Tampa Bay defenseman Zach Bogosian said of the Lightning.

Erik Johnson said the Avalanche took inspiration from the Lightning's resilience.

"I think we knew what they had been through. They did lose to Columbus that one year in the playoffs and everyone sort of wrote them off. They went through some ups and downs, and now they're the team everyone is trying to emulate," Johnson said. "Mentally, we've come a long way from where we've been. Sometimes you have to learn from those losses and those defeats. To win, you have to go through some heartache sometimes. For us, it's been about staying on the gas and not being content."

Makar echoed that lesson: No matter what the situation is, the Avalanche have to remain vigilant.

Like, for example, eliminating an opponent after they've put them on the ropes.

"One of the things we've taken from last year is that when we'd get down in games, guys would get frustrated or start looking forward. Even if we won a game, we might take our foot off the gas," he said. "But I feel like this team, we're so set in trying to do our best and play our successful style."

It wasn't just the players that took a lesson from the Lightning. Incredible as it is to ponder now after back-to-back Stanley Cup wins, there was talk about whether the Tampa Bay core should have been blown up after a series of playoff disappointments.

"After 2019, I was a little skeptical, I'll tell you that. But we kept the band together. We kept the faith," Cooper said.

The Avalanche did the same despite four straight seasons without an appearance in the third round.

"It's a belief. It's a belief in your core," Sakic said. "You have to learn. You have to grow. Over time, we kept getting a little bit better. Especially this year, we really competed."

MacKinnon was a leader in that regard, doing everything that was asked of him. He also learned that he didn't have to win games all by himself.

"I think one of the areas where he's grown this year is he hasn't put so much ... I feel like he's more relaxed in our team game. I think there's a confidence in our team game where he doesn't put too much weight on his own shoulders," Bednar said. "It doesn't have to be a three- or four-point night. That's where I see the growth from Nate. It's just a more mature player every year that we've had him here, especially come playoff time with the experiences that we've gone through."

All of it leading to the ultimate experience: winning the Stanley Cup together, with MacKinnon leading the way.

[emblemxeno]

JP vs. Localization in Fire Emblem Fates: Revelation

(Okay, for real this time lol)

Again, here’s a link to my sources post.

Fortunately, this route follows suit in terms of good localization quality after Conquest. It’s the shortest out of all the posts, since I don’t really have a lot to talk about. Mostly subtle line changes, references and a few key points of information that were cut out. I also went through Hidden Truths and Heirs of Fate to see if I could add stuff from those on here, but there were no big problems that I found.

Once again, the main part of this post will all be put under the cut. If a chapter isn’t covered, it means I didn’t think there were any differences worth talking about.

I’ll use localized names for characters and locations, unless I feel the need to do otherwise.

I’ll be using she/her when referring to Corrin in this post. (I flipped a coin to decide the gender lol)

Also, note that after Chapter 14, the translation of this route on Fateswartable ends, so I mostly relied on the English patch done by Serenes at that point forward. (I also used PegasusKnight.com as a reference to fall back on if I needed it)

Chapter 7

-A minor gripe I have with localization. The JP version compares Touma (Valla) to hell constantly. To jump ahead a bit, I believe in the JP versions of the End of All Sky/Land/Below tracks are even called The End of All Roads Heaven/Earth/Hell. The Vallites are also often called demons in the JP version, and Anankos himself is known as the ‘Invisible Demon Dragon’.

Another cool thing I just thought of too, is a connection to a popular Japanese short story. Zelda fans might be familiar with the story, “The Spider’s Thread”, which inspired the Ancient Cistern dungeon in Skyward Sword.

The beginning of the story has Buddha walking through paradise (heaven), before coming across a pond. The pond is filled with crystal clear water, and covered with water lilies/lotuses. As Buddha gazes further into the pond, he begins to see the depths of hell.

Sound familiar? “Azura is walking through Hoshido, before coming across a lake. The lake is filled with crystal clear water, and when she gazes into the lake she sees the fallen kingdom of her birth. Valla, the kingdom associated with water lilies/lotuses in the game, has been turned into hell itself.”

This association loses its meaning a bit when the comparisons to hell are a bit toned down, as well as when the Buddhist inspirations were kind of supplanted in favor of Greek renames. It’s not supremely important to the plot as a whole, but it’s something interesting I wanted to bring up.

-In the JP version, while explaining what happened in Valla, Azura eventually says “Using the art of manipulating people’s souls, he (Hydra/Anankos) made the people kill each other.” This bit of the people killing each other was cut in localization.

Chapter 12

-In the JP version, when Corrin asks Flora if she knows anything about dragons, Flora says “Sorry, I don’t know…The ancestral dragon of the Ice Clan has already perished and isn’t part of the legend. I don’t know what role it plays, sorry…” Localization makes her response “I'm sorry, but I can't think of anything... They've been gone so long that we don't even have tales of dragons in the Ice Tribe. I'm sorry I couldn't be of more assistance...”

So, the JP version explicitly says the Ice Dragon is dead (I believe Fates’ second artbook mentioned this as well), whereas the localization only says the First Dragons have been gone for a long time.

Chapter 16

-There’s not really much of a problem that I have with what Ryoma says about Corrin “having leadership qualities at a young age” but I wanted to do comparisons regardless cuz the word choice might lead one to different conclusions. In localization, Ryoma says this:

Ryoma: Huh... So she told us the same thing... I don't think it's in Corrin's nature to lie. And there's a leadership quality about her that just attracts followers. I remember being jealous of her as a child, in fact. Even at such a young age, she displayed the characteristics of a ruler. Silly to be jealous of her, right?

In the JP version, Ryoma says this:

Ryoma: Oh... So, she told you the same thing. …Corrin isn’t one to tell lies. She’s been like that since childhood. She’s always genuine and honest... She has this mysterious appeal that draws people to her. Seeing my younger sister with the qualities of being a ruler... Honestly, it makes me feel envious. …What a ridiculous thing to say, right?

Again, I don’t necessarily have a problem with how it was localized, but some might. The localization version might have people think that Corrin somehow was a fantastic leader at such a young age, but JP is more clear that it was about the qualities she had at a young age that would be valuable as a leader.

Chapter 19

-A minor gripe. In the localization, Azura says that Anankos uses his magic to send Vallites to Nohr and Hoshido to stir up conflict. In the JP version, she says he uses magic, along with the help of a body of water. That’s why whenever you fight Vallites outside of Valla proper, there’s a body of water nearby; Hoshido’s lake (and the ponds shown in Hinoka’s CQ battle which are in the capital) for Chapter 5, the sea for BR chapter 11, the burning falls for BR chapter 21, and the city for Rev chapter 13. Similarly, the consequences of being a victim to the curse are described as “turning into sea foam” in the JP version. Localization as a whole kind of toned down how much water has an influence on the story.

Chapter 23

-Probably the pettiest gripe I have lol. As Arete is fading away from Azura’s arms, Azura has a different reaction in localization and Japanese. In localization, Azura says “Mother? Mother!” while a voice clip of her in-battle pain cries plays. In the JP, she says  “*Sob... Sob*…! Mother... Mother...!”, while a voice clip of her crying plays. Her crying voice clip I don’t recall hearing anywhere else.

This is one of the few times in the you get to see Azura express a heavy and heartfelt emotion, since her rough childhood caused her to remain guarded and stoic around everyone. The equivalents to this scene in other routes is her death scene in Birthright, and her crying with Corrin over Ryoma’s death in Conquest; a normally unflinching and aloof character breaking down is a rarity, and indicates that the cause of it is something to take note of for the character as a whole. Localization softened this aspect, and I take issue with it, despite it probably seeming trivial to most other people.

Chapter 24

-When Corrin is questioning the phantom Mikoto, an exchange happens. In localization, part of it goes like this:

Corrin: But this can't be... Are you truly my mother?

Mikoto: I am. Even as a puppet of Anankos, my spirit at least remains my own.

Corrin: I... I believe you.

In the JP version, it goes like this:

Corrin: It can’t be... …Are you really my mother?

Mikoto: Yes... I became an Invisible servant, controlled by the Invisible King... Even so, I am your mother.

Corrin:  …………

Again, a minor thing that I don’t personally have issue with, but replacing Corrin’s silence with an admittance of belief could make some believe she has “reverted” back to being too naïve.

Chapter 26

-While Gunter is relaying his past, an exchange happens. In localization, it goes like this:

Gunter: I ask myself that, every day. I cannot understand the minds of royals. To you all, we commoners are little more than pawns in your schemes... Or weeds to be killed on a whim.

Corrin: That's not true...

Xander: Is that how people view the royalty?

Ryoma: Such an impression would easily breed powerful resentment...

In the JP version, Corrin, Xander and Ryoma don’t say anything. They just remain silent.

Endgame

-Not a major problem so much as a general thing about the game, but I can think of like... at least three memes that Treehouse inserted into the localization. Now I like memes, but there is no better way to date your media nowadays. One of them was Kana’s “That’s dragon for I love you” which tbh, is kind of cute and isn’t the most well known meme so I guess I can let it slide. Another is Felicia saying “I had one job!” when she messes up in the dining hall, which isn’t that big of a deal since the dining hall is very optional.

The last one I can think of is why I put this specific grievance here, and it’s during Corrin’s speech before facing Anankos.

Corrin: We won't back down! This is my... This is our destiny! Ready your weapons! Fight for your friends! With the Seal of Flames... With the Fire Emblem on our side! We fight for our world!!

Yeah, she says “Fight for your friends” which is everyone’s favorite Ike line from Brawl. Now, this isn’t even a totally inaccurate translation either, but it kind of just... makes the moment funny for the player when it’s supposed to be commanding and serious I guess.

But yeah, not the most important issue by far, but something I’d thought to mention. Hell, it’s not even that bad compared to how they made Peri’s, Effie’s and Hisame’s quirks into exaggerated and tired jokes. And the Beruka-Saizo support. Never forget.

-When Azura and Corrin are by the lake and discuss the latter’s plans to rule, Corrin says this in localization:

Corrin: I'm going to make Valla a wonderful place! In honor of the true last king and for Queen Arete. And everyone who fought... I promise to make them all proud.

In the JP version, she says this:

Corrin: I’ll make the Invisible Kingdom (Valla) into a great land. For the previous monarch, Queen Shenmei (Arete)… And for all of my allies who fought beside me. I promise.

So, JP version only mentions Arete as the reigning monarch of Valla. Which makes sense, cuz unless there was some wild “keeping the bloodline pure” shenanigans in Valla, Arete being the Queen keeps in line with what we know about the rest of Valla’s history. Arete was royalty from birth, as was her sister Mikoto. Arete is the one who passed down Lost in Thoughts and the pendant to Azura.