Gustav

@cLoWn skipped; please pick when you're available. @ctots back on the clock

Feel free to pick your last skater if you’d like…I notice there’s no one between you and you again who needs defense. Or not, up to you.

Yeah, feel free to make a skip happen yourself if you notice as well; it doesn’t have to be the group manager as long as rules are being followed! I still should have noticed, though, so that’s on me. Let’s finish this up.

F - Igor Molotov F - Mason Jones @kirbithan

Big Pie wants you to believe that your slice is the same as everyone else’s. Without actually doing the math I’m pretty sure the text just got flipped around. The image is correct in any case as that’s just taken from the form.

D - Brian Kowalski D - Phil Strasmore @kirbithan

I tried to come up with a BIG IDEA for my .com article this week, because I generally enjoy being worth reading. It just wasn't there in the time I took to try to find it (maybe that by itself could be an article, but I've done that before). So, I hope you enjoy what's on my mind VHL-wise lately. Another season gone, another season where I forget to do predictions. I also forgot to do Super Coach. I think I have a bit of an issue when it comes to these things--I see them go up, I tell myself I'm going to go do them in a bit, and then I don't do them. I'm not happy about it, but I'm at least cool with not being mad about it. I'm a great earner otherwise and it's not going to affect my real-life happiness if I miss out on TPE here and there. I'm cautiously optimistic about LA, and on paper I think we look great. We're capable of going anywhere; it's just a matter of how the sim luck shakes out. How many times have you seen me say that? I'm also happy that the draft went the way it did. This was the first time in a while that LA had a reasonable amount of picks early on, and I think we ended up with a steal in @nurx. I agree that there were reasons why my guy fell, but preferences were laid out and we were just one of the teams that followed them. Anyone could have done that; them's the rules. Is this what it's like to win a Cup? I'm practically nonexistent as London's AGM (as I'd prefer it), but I've certainly picked up on how well this offseason has gone after already having a hell of a management clinic put on by @jacobcarson877 last season. I made this point in the Board of Gustav, but I feel like telling GMs they need to do better will just serve to make the GMs who are already doing better angry and to do absolutely nothing to the ones who aren't. We had one such post recently (that just devolved into a different activity of mine in E-hating), and I've certainly made others myself in the past. But I've also been seeing that sort of thing for years and I know it's never going to change our entire GM culture. In a perfect world, those who aren't willing to work for their players would just choose not to take or keep a job that ideally should involve working for players. Sadly, that's not the world we live in all the time.

1. @Gustav (GM) F - Leandro Goncalves F - Igor Molotov F - Mason Jones D - Brian Kowalski D - Phil Strasmore G - Art Vandelay 2. @kirbithan F - Ronan Lavelle F - Vasile Lamb F - Henry Eagles D - Mo Probert D - Pierre Emile Bouchard G - Lachlan Summers 3. @eagle_3450 F - Tomas Sogaard F - Landon Wolanin F - Nezuko D - Velociraptor Greg D - Mikhail Kovalchuk G - Jesse Teno 4. @scoop F - Sirdsvaldis Miglaskems F - Nico Pearce F - Perry Laperriere D - Brian Payne D - Biggie Cheese G - Cole Pearce 5. @ctots F - Napoleon Dynamite F - Hulk Hogan 2 F - Dogwood Maple D - The Board Game Clue On Skates D - Jake Thunder G - Bubbles Utonium 6. @cLoWn F - Daniel Janser F - John Jameson F - Larry Abass Jr D - Hammar Voss D - Deron Nesbitt G - Clueless Wallob

1. Leandro Goncalves @kirbithan

I feel like our 11-26 bracket could be separated a bit more...there's probably a decent demographic shift between the two ends of it. 11-17 and 18-26 are fundamentally different IMO because it differentiates between "probably in a school system" and "has probably graduated high school and is doing something more independent". For example, I'm 22 and an entirely different person than I was 5 years ago. I'm curious what this by itself tells us. I guess I do understand a takeaway (I'm assuming, younger people prefer visual input so that might be a valuable direction for recruitment to take) but I think we'd be better off with more info. Things like...where were you recruited from? Where do you spend most of your time online? Is there a space where you spend time online other than our traditional VHL recruitment spaces where you could see an ad working? I'm also not sure "we should do more videos" is even a valid takeaway from this either as Reddit recruitment used to be easily the best option back when we were allowed to mass upvote (and YouTube ads became the thing more so as a response). So it largely depends on the circumstances of our ads, how visible they are, and whether people are going to be willing to take a look instead of scrolling by.

I think it has something to do with the situation that the E has an extremely limited TPE range, and that keeping active players in this range isn’t something that happens for extended periods of time per player. If E GMs see no reason to support their actives, then perhaps it’s time for the E to start taking some “cut your IAs” measures (and if the response to that is “that would get rid of too many players,” then perhaps it’s time to start wondering whether there’s a need for the E). In general, and as applies to any league, I’ll never understand GMs who don’t scout anyone. It’s a direct benefit to YOU to know whether the player you pick is going to be willing to help your team, whether they’re planning to stay active, or if they’re about to go backpacking through Kyrgyzstan (or if they just don’t really like your team). I’ve seen early picks backfire severely because the GM didn’t take 30 seconds of their time to reach out. It’s a shame that I have to frame this as “here’s how you can win more games” too—ideally we should just recognize that there’s a need for players to feel valued.

After spending years trying to learn and trying to like it, I'm finally doing science and liking it. I'm doing things that are worthwhile and I hope they'll make a difference. I think I'll go with 24 because it was my little league football number. Also--a surprisingly high number of things come in 24s. I'm trying to like the Reds right now. I like baseball but didn't have a team growing up; moved last year and they're the closest team to me by a little bit. I watch games occasionally and mostly in the background, but that's more games than I watch for anyone else. 1. Who's your favorite athlete that has never played for a team you like? 2. If you could guarantee that you could make money with anything, what would you do for a living? 3. Give any one person in the VHL a nickname and explain its meaning.

Good luck with (and welcome back to) Malmo! Looking forward to seeing you continue to write your history with the team--some of us haven't forgotten the first GM.

"U mfs are all evil I didn't do shit", says @jhatty8. "So Lync me--whoever it was ptyrwll eagles and all theny them" @Subject056, not being quite sure what's up with that but feeling a bit uneasy nonetheless at being called evil (even though she is--she's the NECROMANCER), decides to kill Hatty, who intentionally or not has honestly declared himself to be a JESTER. She turns around, relieved to have rid the Coven of one more disturbance, and upon seeing someone...unexpected...in the exit out of, you guessed it, Wawa, says: "OMG, it's him!" And dies to @omgitshim, the town's resident PESTILENCE. And then there were two. @Doomsday, who's finally successfully scrolled INVESTIGATOR after literal real-life years of trying, has no way left to tip the scales. CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR ONE AND ONLY WINNER--FOR ONLY THE SECOND TIME HERE EVER--THE PESTILENCE! I want to take a moment to say that this may have been our best game ever. It's always a shame to see one faction or another almost completely eliminated within a few days, and to see multiple potential outcomes remain very possible all the way into D7 is awesome. To add to that--the lies! The deception! The complete lack of a moral compass! It's what we here in the VHL's secret society of cool-colored roles strive for every day. So, as I say at the end of every game, but especially at the end of this one: thank you for being part of it. It's one thing for me to run it and try to do something that's fun for you; it's another thing entirely for you to have fun with it in a way that also makes it fun for me. I'll see you next time! Yes, I was serious about trying out the ToS2 rules at some point in the near-ish future. The game spreadsheet is here. If the last few days aren't tracked perfectly, I'll get them eventually when I do stats. Player list: @Adrest245 - SPY @Advantage - BODYGUARD @Alex - POTION MASTER @Doomsday - INVESTIGATOR (!) @eaglesfan036 - POISONER @GoodLeftUndone - MAYOR @jacobcarson877 - TRANSPORTER @jhatty8 - JESTER @Lemorse7 - TRACKER @omgitshim - PLAGUEBEARER/PESTILENCE @Ptyrell - DOCTOR @Ricer13 - VIGILANTE/VAMPIRE @rory - VAMPIRE HUNTER/VIGILANTE @Spartan - JUGGERNAUT @Subject056 - NECROMANCER @vincentlg2007 - VAMPIRE @woog - COVEN LEADER

Gustav has been partying to a very mild extent (ever done Jello shots in your local science museum? Yes, I swear it was legal/legit). With apologies for the lateness, it's time to close out our day phase. No one dies! On to the night phase. That was fast. Gustav will be up around the same time tomorrow. What happens at that point is up to our players. List of living players (4)

Hide yo kids, hide yo wife, potentially hide yo self as Night 7 was dangerous. @Adrest245, having claimed to be targeted by the POISONER yesterday, turns out to have been telling the truth. He was a SPY. Last will: We also find that the town's MAYOR, despite being quite effective, seems to not be universally liked. @GoodLeftUndone was killed by the NECROMANCER's ghoul. Last will: Day 8, deeper in the game than we usually get, starts now. But before we do, @Doomsday sneezes so hard that a piece of hoagie comes out of his nose. These damn seasonal allergies. Except, it isn't...with a dead Doctor (who specialized in all things poison-related, anyway), everyone failed to recognize the disease that has slowly been spreading. A plague has consumed the Town, summoning PESTILENCE, Horseman of the Apocalypse. Gustav will again be potentially late and will try to not make it super late. Funnily enough, the past few days have all said that for different reasons. List of living players (4):

I'll add that we're thrilled that we're able to get candidates who will step in on extremely short notice to do some extremely important things! As much as I like to think we can influence the culture of the VHLM, the GMs are the ones who truly make it what it is. As long as we continue to have people who are willing to put in the time, we can accomplish great things.

Gustav spends the majority of his work day weighing an endless stream of things on a weighing balance. He then confirms that the new Spiderverse movie is, in fact, pretty decent. And, after all that, goes home to kill @eaglesfan036. Eagles was the POISONER. Two days, two alcohol-fueled lynchings of Coven members since this Town's surprise special election. Last will: Gustav will be up and at 'em tomorrow as per usual. List of living players (6)

It's time for Day 6, under Gustav, with liberty and justice for all, and the town wakes up to all the signs of a JUGGERNAUT attack. This time, it's @Ptyrell, who's claimed to be a VETERAN. Ptyrell was not a Vet. Gustav may also be mildly late tonight, but again is not sure. List of living players (7)

The day is over! For you, and for Gustav, who finally gets back home after a good minute. This day has had an interesting twist on it, with some endgaming being interrupted by a "not so fast" from our probably-still-drunk-but-now-legit Mayor. When all is said and done, the Mayor has successfully led a charge against @woog, who some believe is acting like an esterjay. Esterjay? For some reason, hitting ctrl+I is not italicizing Gustav's text tonight but opening up the Mail app and copying and pasting the entire contents of this thread into a blank message. Gustav has no idea why. Gustav will also be up around the same time tomorrow as today. Prepare thine actions. List of living players (8)

GLU vomits into the trashcan next to the cash register (yes, he’s still in Wawa) and finally stands up. The town drunk is officially the town MAYOR. As much as that may explain about the state of the town, the extra votes still count and the good citizens of Salem may well remain in it.

Ready or not, here I come! The sun rises in the morning, and so do...all of our remaining residents. Somehow, no one died last night! More news at 8. Or 10, whichever you'd prefer. Gustav will likely be a little bit late tonight. List of living players (9)