#3x 2019

[accio-victuuri]

NOVEMBER 19 : The Full Story 📝

oh well sort of, cause this is what is known and shared publicly with tons of filling in the blanks by cpfs. someone made a side by side incidents during this day and time for the past years 2017 to now 2023 and it’s good to see it all laid out. it’s hilarious to see the realization among turtles that we could be wrong about their anniversary date. for years, we always talked about the month of June but now, November is making a great argument 😂

( these freakin masterminds are so naughty! I swear!!! 🤣🤣🤣 )

source of the compilation i’m using to outline is 圣衣雪琳 cause they perfectly summed up the key points very well. I already talked about some of these in my previous post but this is for the “11/19 lore” exclusively and so we can expand on other years.

I’m a sucker for timelines so let’s go 💪🏼

2017: At this time, they already know of each other and depending on who you ask might have already been low key stalking the other. LOL. WYB’s was about Just Dance and ZZ is a selfie and hotpot ; the latter post about going home.

I don’t think that this holds much significance in terms of an actual relationship and stuff happening behind the scenes. However, it feels like fate that they both posted on this day even without that significance being there. We cpfs love to talk about how they are fated and certain things, no matter how mundane, turned out to be a piece that completed the puzzle. There is some push back with some turtles saying this shouldn’t be included cause it seems like the start of this 11/19 is 2018 but again, just leaving this here. I could probably add 2015/2016 if we really wanna back track lol

2018: THIS IS THE KEY CPN IN ALL OF THIS. I have already explained it here. The infamous Japan trip. How both of them seemingly making references to their post from this year vs today (2023) especially XZ who even posted on the same time. There are so many rumors about this timeline, even going as far as saying the next day, they started living together. How this was WYB saying it’s WYB, not LWJ. So the relationship they have now is not between fictional characters but the real one.

I’m eating this candy whole. No one can tell me otherwise. I’m sold 🤣🤣🤣

Have we been wrong? did they officially become together 11/19/2018. Some are even pointing out that one of GG’s photos shared today appears to be him traveling back from IM to Beijing.

and who is in Beijing? His home. Yibo. 🏡

We love to think about them sharing photos to each other and i’m imagining this is ZZ sending something similar to WYB and saying that he is on his way back.

2019: Bazaar video was released, it’s message being a favorite among BXGs. Going by the assumption that this is their anniversary of sorts, it makes sense to have a message like that to be delivered.

how he met his love in a dream ( presumably that summer and playing wwx opposite wyb’s lwj ) and when he woke up, his love is still there. meaning even in reality, he still feels the same. no. it was not scripted, the one who shot it said it was xz’s answer and he was shocked too.

They posted some work related stuff on that day, with WYB’s being audi’s. the part of the caption we are clowning about is : Don’t blame me for not reminding you. Which in the original post and context is about the benefits you will get if you buy an Audi. but in cpn speak it could mean that ZZ probably forget, but he actually didn’t cause that bazaar love confession was clear.

2020: I already talked in detail over here #2 with was going on at the time.

It’s also the start of the whole Thursday is a good day to see you, in reference to WYB’s vogue post. Then it snowballed into a whole CPN of it’s own.

I forgot to add one important thing tho, around this time 11/18 there schedules were public and both are supposed to go back to Beijing. WYB was from Hangzhou and ZZ was from Nanjing. The incident of WYB changing his flight 3x so he can go back to Beijing is this time 11/18. We clowned that he was so eager to be in the same city with ZZ but with what we think now, it could be he wanted them to be together badly because it’s their anniversary the next day 11/19. 🤯

2021: Both of them posting a Douyin video that involves changing clothes. Which is a very common transition trend on the app but seeing it done on the same day was a treat and unusual. GG’s was posted 11/17 and WYB was 11/19.

I wanna remind people too that this is the same month we got the mysterious “voices” both in Shenzhen Vlog ( his husband wang yibo ) and talks of ZZ being at the Luoyang press conference filming. The same month the whole Ximalaya CPN started too. So they were definitely “acting up”.

2022: No actual posts but a parallel. 11/17, Guangdian appeared on the itunes chart because of fan’s effort. 11/18, WYB released a song ( government related ) called Light Chaser. So spotlight = light chaser has similar element and theme of light. Then on 11/20 WYB’s shared a douyin with 👀.

2023: Probably making up for how quiet last year was, they decided to give us a big hint/s of what 11/19 is all about. 😂😂😂

This is all fake and cpn talk. I do enjoy when candies go years back! This journey of trying to piece things together is a bxg’s strength so we’re really thriving today— with all the possibly unrelated events we have managed to stitch together into this! 🙃

[theanticool]

USA Olympic Women's Freestyle Wrestling Squad

Finally, wrestling starts this week! August 5th, we will be getting the start of all the wrestling competition. Best combat sport at the Olympics imo. Excited to see everyone compete. Here is a quick run through of the American women's squad.

Just some context: the team to beat is Japan. The Japanese women's team won 4 of the 6 gold medals available for freestyle wrestling at the 2020 games. The only two Japanese wrestlers who did not medal at all lost to Tamyra Mensah-Stock (who won gold for the US) in the opening round and lost in the final round of the repechage for bronze. That is the level of domination the US team (and the world) was up against.

Sarah Hildebrandt - 50 kg -Hildebrandt is a returning Olympic wrestler. She walked away with a bronze at the 2020 Olympics and is a regular on the podium at the world championships, winning 2 bronze and 2 silver over the years. Unfortunately for Hildebrandt, the field has been dominated by Yui Susaki (arguably the best female wrestler on the planet) since like 2017.

Dom Parrish - 53 kg - This will be Dom Parrish's first Olympics! She won gold at the world championships back in 2022 but went out in the first round of the 2023 world championships. The odds on favorite should be 20 year old Akari Fujinami. She won gold at the 2021 and 2023 world championships and is looking like another blue chip Japanese generational star in women's wrestling.

Helen Maroulis - 57 kg - Helen Maroulis is a veteran of the Olympic games and the first woman in American history to bring home gold for freestyle wrestling back in 2016. She did it in hyper impressive fashion, beating Saori Yoshida - the 2nd best credentialed female wrestler of all time - to do it. Sadly, Maroulis had a bunch of health issues that hindered her 2nd attempt in 2020 (she took bronze) and hasn't reached the same heights since. The favorite has to be 3x world champion Tsugumi Sakurai, another 20 year old phenom who is coming off winning the 2021, 2022, and 2023 gold medals at worlds.

Kayla Miracle - 62 kg - Miracle is looking to overwrite her 2020 experience. A medal hopeful for the US in Tokyo, she ended up losing in the first round of the competition. She's since won a silver medal at the 2021 and 2023 world championships, signalling more comfort in international competition. The favorite at 62 kg has to be Aisuluu Tynybekova of Kyrgyzstan. She was the silver medalist at the 2020 Olympic games and is a 3x world champion.

Amit Elor - 68 kg - Japan is not the only country with young phenoms on the docket. 20 year old Amit Elor is the future of USA wrestling. She's won 7 gold medals at the world level (3 at the jr level, 2 at the U23 level, and 2 at the senior level). She's the odds on favorite to win at this weight class. She hasn't lost on the mat since 2019. She's only given up like 6 points at the senior level through 2 world championships. The main thing for Elor is that she's competing down in weight (she's normally 72 kg). There is some real talent at the weight class (Nonoka Ozaki, Buse Tosun Çavuşoğlu, Blessing Oborududu, etc).

Kennedy Blades - 76 kg - I called Elor the future of USA wrestling but so is Kennedy Blades. 20 year old Blades beat out Adeline Gray (6x world champion, 2020 Olympic silver medalist, and most experienced American wrestler) to earn a spot on this roster. Only reason she didn't make the games in 2020 (when she was 17!) is because she lost in the finals of qualification to Tamyra Mensah-Stock, who won a gold medal. Blades was a gold medalist at the u20 world championships and a silver medalist at the U23 world championships. I imagine the favorite for this field would be 2023 champion, Yuka Kagami.

Back later with the guys freestyle team.

[averagewriter-inthedark]

Spike It, Baby 🏐 | Javy 'Coyote' Machado Headcanon

TGM Masterlist | Content Warnings: slight canon divergence

Being a professional beach volleyball player for Team USA and marrying Javy Machado would look like:

Having grown up in Santa Monica, California in the 90s & 2000s, you learned to play beach volleyball before riding a bike. Both your parents were athletes, your mother a beach volleyball player who made it to the 1996 and 2000 Sydney Olympic Games when you were only a child. Watching her inspired you to continue the legacy, the goal of becoming an Olympian on your mind. 

You'd already been in the circuit and playing for Team USA when you met Javy in 2012 during your junior year of college. He'd just graduated from flying school, celebrating in Los Angeles before having to report to his duty station when he stumbled upon your NCAA tournament at the beach. The pilot pretty much falling in love with you right there as he saw you deliver the winning spike. Jumping for joy in the sand with your partner as y'all received the trophy. 

At the bar that night you two ran into each other, Javy offering to buy you a drink which you accepted. The two of you sitting on the outside porch where you talked the entire night. Not wanting to depart even when your friend groups were ready to leave. When it did come time to, numbers were exchanged with the promise of meeting up for a coffee or dinner. For you, it was a double win that day--securing the tournament trophy and a date with a handsome pilot. 

As your relationship progressed, a lot of time was spent a part for various reasons. Javy running missions, leading to his first assignment at Top Gun in 2014 before settling at Lemoore where he met Jake. You had tournaments throughout the year, both stateside and international. Your man--and sometimes Jake--made sure to be at every US tournament you competed it, the loudest in the stands where he was decked out in a t-shirt with you and your partner on it. "Let's go, baby! Show them how it's done" *whistles* "Best spike in the country--full of fire!"

Qualifying for the Rio Olympics was a dream come true. Falling to the sand on your knees after scoring the winning point with your signature spike. Javy and Jake were losing in their minds in the stands, the former in tears and wishing nothing more than to jump the barricade to hug you. Your partner was screaming, y'all's coaches clutched in a group hug. It was a memorable sight. You mother, the 2x Olympian, was a mess as well- considering your debut games marked the 20th anniversary of her debut. 

The Rio Olympics was the experience of a lifetime. Not to mention a silver lining moment for you and your partner. After a spectacular run in your pool play, following a successful quarterfinal, you faced off against the other team from USA, the 3x Olympic gold medalist Kerri Walsh Jennings and her partner April Ross. In a breathtaking match, leaving spectators in the stadium and watching around the world on the edge of their seats, you scored the winning point to send you both into the gold medal match. "Wow, wow, wow! Unbelievable! The #1 team in the world--Walsh Jennings & Ross--have been knocked out of the finals by their fellow Americans. They will go for the Bronze against the Brazilians, while the duo from Santa Monica, California will face off against the Germans." 

Despite losing the gold, you walked away with a silver medal and that in itself is an accomplishment. After all, you achieved your childhood dream of becoming an Olympian, continuing the legacy of your mother. Still, it wasn't over yet. You and your partner got back to the beach with your team and dominated the 2017-2019 seasons. Javy, your main supporter alongside your family, proposed and the two of you got married--on the beach of course. There were times him and Jake challenged you and your partner to a match. They were rusty in the beginning, but soon the pilots got pretty good after several games. You can expect them to kick ass against their coworkers. "Where the hell did you learn to do that, Machado? How are you guys so damn good at this?" Jake would smirk and nudge Javy, "What, have you been living under a rock? His woman is the best beach volleyball player in the country."

Following the success of the Uranium mission in 2019--which had you deathly afraid of losing Javy---the candidates became a little family. By now your relationship with Javy was known to his colleagues, not to mention your success in the world of sports drew a large following. People came up to you at the beach or stopped you on the sidewalk to asks for pictures. Natives of California in the Navy recognized Javy, "Hey, your wife won silver at the Olympics!" "That's right she did. And she's gonna get the gold this year at Tokyo--I know it."

The first time Maverick saw you play, he couldn't help but think back to his time at Top Gun. Where he and Goose played against Ice and Slider. The memory bringing a smile to his face as he watched you and Pheonix play against Javy and Jake. The boys complaining of Pete's calls as refs, citing he was favoring you and Monica. "That was totally out of bounds!" "Not from what I saw, sport."

Unfortunately, the Covid-19 pandemic resulted in the Tokyo Games to be postponed a whole year, and when they finally came it was ruled only coaches and athletes were to attend. No spectators. That meant Javy, your family, and the squad had to watch from Fightertown. It was like Deja vu when you made it to the gold medal match, facing your fellow teammates of USA again. You can expect the Hard Deck to explode when you delivered the match point, securing the gold medal with a beautiful spike, sending the ball into the sand to fast the other team had no time to react. "She did it! She fucking did it!! My baby is an Olympic Champion--Penny ring the bell!!" Yeah, you could hear the squad's cheers and screams miles down. 

When you touched back down on U.S soil, you sprint across the airport to jump into Javy's arms, cameras from the photographers flashing and the welcoming crowd cheering. Javy spinning you around, the rest of the squad joining your hug with flags waving in the background. As per tradition, you placed your gold medal around Javy and your parents, who all were beaming with pride. "Damn this is heavy." "The weight of a champion in the palm of your hand." 

The legacy of your golden run in the sport of beach volleyball would continue to the city of Paris. Where you became a 2x champion with not only your husband and parents in the crowd, but also your two-year-old daughter. Not losing a set the entire games, a beautiful scene with the Eiffel Tower sparkling down upon the stadium. Then four years later, in the Hollywood lights of Los Angeles--miles away from the place that started it all, you ended your career with another gold draped around your neck. Where your daughter witnessed you be crowned once more as the champion of women's beach volleyball, sparking the moment she became consumed with the dream of Olympic glory. 

"Mommy, I want to be like you when I grow up." "Well, you can do anything once you put your mind to it. All you have to do is set it in your sights, and spike it, baby." 

[lookingforhappy]

It’s very weird getting back into TUA after binging Merlin

Like sir Percival what r u doin in 2019 mate

The duality of man or smth

also very strange to come from Merlin, where Percival is supposed to be huge, back into TUA where Luther is 3x the size of him

[caroloftheshells]

folks, did you know that (barring re-issues/retrospectives and comedy albums, so just talking about newly released music here) pitchfork gave 8.0's and above to 3x as many rock albums as rap albums, 3.5x as many rock albums as pop/r&b (a tag.) albums, 12x as many rock albums as jazz albums, and 26x as many rock albums as "global" albums from 2009 to 2019. their genre tag system is also janky in several respects such that some albums go untagged even when they're clearly, say, metal albums from the review's description, but yeah, play review roulette on that era of pitchfork and more often than not you're going to get a warm, generous offering of indie rock songcraft from The Horny Toads of brooklyn

[danceramazingworld1]

Elite Danceworx Best Dancer Collection

2x Teen Female (Jazzmin 2012, Kelis 2018)

5x Senior Female (Banica 2011, Jazzmin 2015, Kelis 2020, Julia 2023, Sierra 2024)

1x Mini Male (Stefania 2017)

2x Junior Male (Findlay 2014, Stefania 2019)

5x Teen Male (Kyle 2012, Zenon 2013, Julian 2014, Findlay 2017, Joey 2018)

3x Senior Male (Kyle 2015, Findlay 2019, Moses 2022)

[sgiandubh]

No Liberace's smile

Warning: this will take forever to read. It didn't take forever to write or research, though. But since I will be gone tomorrow and back well, next Saturday, let it be done with a bang.

S the Actor. S the Entrepreneur. S the NYT (3x!) best-seller Writer. Coach S. S the Lover. S the Womanizer. S the Husband. S the Father.

Is something missing, in this deck of Happy Families?

S the (closeted) Gay, of course.

It doesn't really matter the man himself took the time to deny it loud and clear. Twice. This avatar, fueled by idiocy, hatred and ignorance, makes regularly the rounds, each and every time we dare to celebrate something, anything really. It serves three tribes and serves them well: the Congregation of Domestic Bliss (aka Taiters). The Data Lounge crowd. And the Disgruntled Harpies, who once were some of the most fervent Ginger Jesus worshippers, but whose hopes, dreams and trust wrecked on the shores of Quarantein Ha-wa-wee.

It is the proper of calumny to leave a pungent, persistent trail wherever it fumbles around. Calomniez, calomniez, il en restera toujours quelque chose, Beaumarchais once wrote. Calumny, calumny, something's gonna stick - in a very lazy, but dependable translation. This one is particularly vicious, because it sounds coherent: he trades in make-believe, lots of actors are, precedents exist. And my favorite: it explains everything (fun fact: it doesn't even start to cover the shitshow).

Four exhibits should put us out of this dumpster. Chronologically and comparatively:

Exhibit A: Rough Beginnings (2009)

This one is the most touted on Tumblr, by that horrible woman Queen Puff thought was the same person as Paul C. (and was probably wrong). In a nutshell, she was in London then, she often went to the theatre, she was in the know, fuck knows what else, but she has SOURCES, too: there is nothing straight about his bat.

I suppose this person must have watched Nicholas de Jongh's Plague Over England, a play essentially narrating a scandalous episode of John Gielgud's biography, with a heavy-handed focus on homophobia in Britain during the 50's.

He got naked on stage! He kissed a man! Oh, oh, oh... the rumor! the scandal! (insert domestic fire shrieks) My eyes! Quick, let's fetch the smelling salts! And chlorine! I need a good rinse!

You would imagine Sodom & Gomorrah Ltd on that stage, eh?

Tumblrettes United of the disgruntled sort, did your talkative friend ever show you this devastating Guardian chronicle, signed by their in-house critic, John M. Morrison on February 27th 2009 (https://www.theguardian.com/stage/theatreblog/2009/feb/26/de-jongh-plague-over-england) ?

Should I sign it or use a pistol flare? It wasn't exactly scandalous, the only thing is the text was really, really piss poor. S is only gracing the above picture, hovering over the article: no mention of him whatsoever. Unlike Somerset 2019, a most Unremarkable Performance.

And S himself was very interested to explore precisely this kind of progressive-ish acting, as he clearly writes in Waypoints. This sounds legit - this is business, baby:

Exhibit B: Know your Classics, bi@ tches (2010)

*channeling Tears for Fears* Data Lounge, I am talking to you/[something, something]/These are the things I could do without...

Aside the already very, very tired stock stories purporting that "my dog's aunt knew Heughan and yeah, he was so, so, so gay I could cry", all you have (I checked!) is 1 (one) absolutely dubious BTS pic taken on the set of that terrible dud, Young Alexander, shot in Egypt, circa 2010. Prominently featuring S's waxed calves (see? gay AF!), an unbecoming, supremely effeminate white tunic and *gasp* a bong (no comments were made on that one, a pity). Yeah, you got it: I am writing and I am laughing at the same time. Freak.

How the hell do you want him to look but, pardon my French, queer as a three-dollar bill? You clearly have no idea about sexual ambiguity as social norm in Ancient Greece and also no clue about that fascinating Alexander himself, his life and his yeah, blatant, documented bisexuality.

Take one of the most interesting sources (yeah, only serious ones, with FACTS) of the Late Antiquity, a guy named Athenaeus of Naucratis. He left us The Banquet of the Learned, a fifteen-volume encyclopedic compilation on the pleasures of eating and drinking and doing it in style, along with some juicy gossip. For example, this (open in separate tab, it's worth it):

What do we read? Alexander's mom, dad and tutor (Aristotle, my favorite Greek philosopher, along with Diogenes) are worried he finally might not really be into women, after all. The future of the Macedonian Kingdom itself is at stake (that watery semen made me choke on my Coke) and this is a very serious affair of the state. The most cost-effective and discreet solution is to handsomely pay that Callixeina courtesan from (famous for pin-ups) Thessaly and be done with it.

Apparently, it worked, not without some resistance. If you ever have the curiosity to go on that (in)famous Wikipedia, you will find a whole page dedicated to Alexander the Great's personal life. It reads exactly like the ABC, do-re-mi summer soccer mercato, feat. the Fitness Harem. One of the major joys of Classical studies is to realize we really didn't invent anything new.

But I digress again, so onwards to ...

Exhibit C: Jobbing Actor on the Road, nothing straight about his Bat (2011-2013)

Once the Batman show is on world tour, things are looking a bit better and it is time to try and lockpick America. Still, the struggle is real:

Also, this:

This is something no one noticed. And this is very clear: how on Earth do you expect to commit to a relationship, any relationship, when your basic needs, according to Maslow's Pyramid (a roof, a job, a steady paycheck, etc), are not satisfied? What would you offer your woman? Your precarity? Your insecurity? Your fear and shame of the bailiffs? A pint of cheap Polish beer? A futon in Golders Green?

But let's conveniently not answer these questions. Let's pretend that poverty has no impact on one's sexual life or dating history. Let's just endlessly cackle and blather on a drunk tweet stating candidly - and perfectly truly - "there's nothing straight about my Bat". I hate to quote myself - for any good speaker, this is a defeat- but, LOUDER FOR THE PEOPLE OF MORDOR:

Exhibit D: A French example - the case of Michel Serrault

The 1979 comedy La Cage aux Folles, later adapted for the US public under the name of Birds of a Feather (that Robin Williams/Nathan Lane forgettable gay movie) is absolutely representative for the live and let live French approach to homosexuality, ever since it was decriminalized by the revolutionary Penal Code of 1791. This is why I chose Michel Serrault, one of its two leads, to illustrate my Gay Anon post. Not to mention Serrault was a genius who could play absolutely anyone, from a retired hitman in Matthieu Kassowitz' Assassin(s) to Zaza Napoli.

This balding, ageing, cantankerous drag queen (sound is horrific, but you've got English subtitles - granted, you lose about 30% of the hysterical hilarity in translation, but it is what it is), as seen here in a domestic scene opposite her partner, played by notorious womanizer Ugo Tognazzi:

By the limp standards of Mordor, Serrault must have been a French LGBTQ+ institution, given his stellar, flawless acting, isn't it?

Incorrect, dolls. In his real, personal life Serrault was a devout Catholic, an exemplary father of two and a one-woman man. His wife, Nita Serrault, whom he met in drama school and never looked back.

It almost sounds like... but no, this cannot be..

The hard, gruesome life of shippers.

[metamatar]

just read someone claim they fled delhi because it was anti muslim to settle in kashmir bc it is advertised for tourism and they didn't know abt the occupation. kashmir is beautiful but the reason tourism is a major industry is because there is no other industry possible under occupation. when you travel to kashmir you need a postpaid sim and the level of security at airports goes up 3x. like how? what? the kashmiri occupation has been ongoing for decades. since 1989. regardless of political persuasion indians are quite aware of the violence in kashmir, its who they side with that changes, militants or the indian army. the exodus of pandits, the protests against afspa, the whole spectacle about stone throwing and human shields. the rounds of unrest in 2010 and 2016, mass protests in the rest of the country for burhan wani. violence after pulwama.

who the hell leaves a major city to go to one of the world's most militarized occupation to be safer? like the only reason to move to kashmir now as a non kashmiri is you buy the settler colonial ideology of replacing kashmiris with loyal indians and want to take advantage of the 2019 annexation permitting non kashmiris to buy land.

[absolutebl]

10 BLs With Bad First Impressions

BLs that sounded terrible in their synopsizes or trailers or in the first few episodes but really are worth watching.  

1. My Lascivious Boss

Vietnam (202) YouTube 

Not that we got much of a synopsis (Vietnamese BL isn’t listed on MDL) but from the trailer I was very suspicious. It’s now one of my favorite VBLs with fantastic queer rep. Yes, the seme is a drunken idiot most of the time, so you have to be okay with that, but it’s totally worth it for the uke character and his hella gay besties. They are beyond adorable. Full review here.

2. He's Coming to Me

Thailand (2019) YouTube 

I hugely dislike the my ghost boyfriend trope because China (and now Korea Peach of Time and Thailand Something in My Room) has made me expect it to be sad. HCTM is one of the few exceptions from GMMTV with two heavy hitting actors and one of BL’s greatest coming out sequences. Full review here.

3. Gameboys

The Philippines (2020) NetFlix?

Pinoy BL is not my thing. Also I didn’t want to watch anything about quarantine while in quarantine. But everyone said I should, so I did, and I loved it. (*whispers* I do like See You After Quarantine? even better, tho.)

4. My Esports Genius Brother 

China (2021) Gaga  

A strangely cute somewhat incomprehensible censored magical realism BL micro series about fated mates who balance each other out and must find the courage to stay together. Way more gay than I thought China could get these days. Full review here. 

5. Great Men Academy

Thailand (2029) ?

I HATE body swap. I love this show. Is it BL? That’s open to debate. But I liked it despite the premise and that’s real rare for me.

6. We Best Love

Taiwan (2020) WeTV 

I read the synopsis for this and I was like, really Taiwan? Have you NO imagination? Just stuffed with classic overused tropes. There is literally nothing unique about this show. Yet it worked out GREAT because WBL is a poster child for pair chemistry carrying a BL and it’s now one of my favorites of all time. Full review here.

7. DNA Says Love You 

Taiwan (2022) Gaga

Terribly weak first 3 episodes but stick with and you’ll be glad you did. As expected from Taiwan the acting and intimacy is on point it’s just the initial paranormal investigation arc is off - fortunately we switch focus to Amber and then it becomes and gloriously queer show. Full review here. 

8. Secret Crush On You

There cringiest cringe to ever cringe (and I watched 90s Japanese comedies, so I should know). Look this one was really hard for me to watch all along (I started and stopped 3x), but most watchers felt like it got substantially better after the 4th episode. The support cast is amazing, the queer rep unprecedented, and the chemistry is fantastic. But the cringe never really stops. Perhaps this is a case of “in knowing it better the cringe is better understood” (sorry Austen). Full review here. 

9. My Tooth Your Love

Taiwan 2022 Viki & Gaga 

Look the pitch was this is a “romance involving a dentist and dentistry,” and that’s true, which is hella weird. For many this was (and is) a turn off but I don’t have that phobia, and I enjoy medical dramas, AND I like Taiwanese stuff even when it gets odd. And ya know what, this is an absolutely wonderful show. My highest rated Taiwanese BL of 2022. 

10. Be Love In House I Do 

Taiwan (2021) Viki 

Apparently Taiwan really isn’t great at beginnings because a lot of them ended up on this list. The whole premise of this show is absurd and the incoming boss with his rubber gloves is creepy, but it becomes such a romantic bit of business once it finds it stride: ridiculously saccharine, domestic, and hella hot. Trust me, just watch it. This is peak Taiwanese BL, if you wanna know what Taiwan does well, this is it, this is what they do. Full review here. 

(source) 

[pickingupmymercedes]

not lewis related but just my opinion. the 2019 rookies (george, lando, alex) were one of the weakest line up ever imo. all three are prone to silly errors and mistakes even after years of racing. one cant be under pressure and is horrible in tyre management, one is fighting for the wdc in the fastest car yet makes stupid errors, and one is only seem to be a good driver when compared to his old teammate, until the new rookie comes in and smoke him. theres lot more to mention but i'll keep it.

i'm gonna break my answer into two points (btw i talked to my dad about this exact thing a while back and i think he had some good insights, hence the two parts)

1- Lewis and Seb got us spoiled with expecting talented rookies performingly suberbly well in their first season (even getting a win in their first season). But with that being said, having them do soo well as rookies have also created a "not every rookie" kind of mindset, if you know what i mean?

The best way I can explain this is by bringing back famously talented rookies that weren't stellars first season, so like Schumacher that took him a few years to get his footing into f1 but in those years you could see he had sooo much pontential and it was the "he just needs the car". Same for Alonso, same for Senna, same for Verstappen. Up until now, I'd even say same for the Piastri.

You could always tell they had it in them what it took for a championship, even if they were in their weird first two years (Piastri remains to be confirmed).

Now, as for the 19' rookies, they have been in the sport for 6 years already and I, personally, don't see any of them as 'they only need the car'. They all still have things to learn and to work on if they want to be battling drivers like Lewis or Verstappen.

That's not to say one of them couldn't become a champion someday, we have had some odd champions here and there, but they're not the drivers we're betting our money on.

which then leads us to my second point.

2 - Those three were sold to us as 'the future of the sport' when Lewis is still there, Verstappen is clearly not past his prime, some other good and experienced drivers are around (Alonso is still there too), and now another whole different batch of rookies are coming up.

Honestly, to me, selling them the way they were, is a bigger show of 'british bias' than what most people point at. Because, let's be honest here, in the exact same time frame we had Charles coming up, we had Mick (which fair, he was very crash prone in Haas but he had as much achievements in the jrs formulas as those three), we know have Piastri (with only 2 years of f1 driving at a level that took some of them 3x that)

And maybe to some extent, those three were victims of that same hype they were sold on, because clearly, all three have problems under pressure. And I know some will say 'they're only now getting the experience to fight at the front' but like, up until what point we're buying into that as an excuse? Because at his 6th year in f1, Verstappen was fighting with Lewis for 21' (and very much able to hold his own - season results and erratic moves aside)

(then again, I'm one of the spoiled ones that expects Lewis rookie levels bc - again - motorsports media and some internal personnel like to compare any and every rookie to Lewis - aka Toto with Kimi recently just to name one)

[polysprachig]

tell us more about these projects! i’ve struggled to pick up languages again after an extended break and no time and a project-based approach seems very refreshing!

Apologies in advance for the long post. I do plan on making a more detailed post on this at a later point hopefully a video but I make no promises these days.

Important note!! Before you start any short- or long-term learning projects, begin a polyglot journal outlining your objectives and check in every two weeks with an extra detailed summary of what you’ve done, haven’t done, dislike, feel needs changing, etc. either once per quarter or 2x year. Your micro-goals, methods and timeline should shift over time, showing that you can reassess the project and try out new things to suit your needs. If you don't update on time it's nbd, but at least try to write a note in your planner or calendar about what you did when because it can be extremely helpful one year later when you try to revisit where you are now and how you got there. 🧿🤍

The main projects from 2019 to today include the following

Greek - Conversational Speaking, 2019

Goal: meet for casual 30-minute lessons with a teacher, 2 or 3x per week to build up conversational skills and high frequency grammar in use as a passive bilingual (it being the native language which I actively lost growing up for various reasons).

Reflection: The real studies were repetition in speech and looking up key vocabulary I would need to use to tell my teacher about what happened in the last week, and my teacher supplied me with additional vocabulary to help me be more specific. Now I have a record of that vocabulary which I can review whenever by topic/story. Plus my family did notice my drastic improvement and asked if I had been studying.

Irish - The Merlin Project (Quarantine Project), 2020-2022 (+ ongoing, needs new methodology because I met my aims a while back at this point)

Aim: Go from A2 to B1 by learning to write so that you can have the skills to be able to read longer texts

Challenge: Rewatch an episode from the last show that you watched and write down what you see in as much detail as possible, making sure to use a grammar point you’re currently studying in your writing. Look up new words to make the text more specific and add them to the description. Correct your text. Watch the same scene again and add more detail, as in the following:

(Basically: first: do a grammar practice, then: watch 30 seconds, write using that grammar, translate dialogue if you want, consult dictionary, write again incorporating the new words and/or make the sentences more complex, at the end: correct your text yourself or with a teacher, start again and repeat until the scene or full episode is complete or you've exhausted the usefulness of the exercise.)

Alternatively just write or translate fanfiction, but I don't say that here.

By self-correcting you should become very confident on the basic skills at your level, whereas the rewriting itself allows for varied attempts at forming sentences and vocabulary acquisition in a specific context.

FYI I posted the project itself along with the notes to my website (here) and intend to share the presentation on the experience I gave in the Gaeltacht this past August soon enough.

Multilingual, select Romance and Germanic languages - The Diana Project, 2022-present

Challenge: dive deep into the rhythm, melody and sound of certain languages (which relate to a poet I’m analysing) via a slow read of poetry and familiarisation with the poet, poet-translator and poet-actor

Components: read, write, translate and recite poetry on the subject of Greco-Roman tragedy (now its shifting to satire after 1+ year or so of tragic influences) from select eras and in select styles, ex. ottava rima, rhyming verse & simultaneously learn about the rhetoric of poetics that influenced these authors and their poems or translations

These writings I’m still adding to my website as part of a translation, recitation and poetry portfolio.

Most recently, I’ve started what I call the Secret Senecan Project which requires reading certain ancient and mediaevil texts on stories I’m familiar with in the original, identifying key words based on context then extrapolating the grammar from their features (declinations, location in reference to other word forms, etc.). The next step will be to compare these predictions with the bilingual translation and consult my grammar books in those languages to confirm or improve my predictions.

If you’ve made it this far, thanks for reading! I hope to polish this up and make the details more learner-friendly sometime before 2024. (:

[myimaginarywonderland]

Here's why I will never not make fun of this situation.

2018: Ricciardo leaves RedBull because he doesn't want to be second driver to Max. Maybe he didn't say it but it was clear as day that was the reason. Max was a great driver that was slowly becoming the talent he is now and everyone knew that and everyone also knew Daniel would probably have to take the place as second driver in a season. He leaves to go to another team which is Renault eventhough there were engines problems with that engine in this year.

2019: An okay season in the midfield

2020: A great season. He is in the top 5, had 2 podiums and Cyril adores him. Him and Esteban both got podiums. And yet Ricciardo decides to go to McLaren. Everyone is surprised, Cyril saying that they had many changes and that it takes stability which he thought Daniel valued. He also though that Daniel would provide that stability. Not surprising given that Cyril made bats, got a tattoo and truly valued both of his drivers deeply. Nonetheless Ricciardo decides to go to McLaren. Cyril supposedly warns him not to trust Zak Brown. I feel it is also worth nothing that while I would argue that with Esteban they were close matched, after one season Lando was already shaping himself up to be a genuine great talent with beating a far more experienced driver.

2021: Yeah many people will say this was a good season for McLaren but looking at it the only real standout result was Ricciardo's win. But already he pales in comparison to Lando who continues to get podiums and is consistently in the top 10 in nearly all races.

2022: The final nail in the coffin. I frankly don't want to hear about how bad McLaren treated him. I truly don't. Yes, they did sometimes make questionable calls and yes they weren't kind at points. That doesn't matter though when one team-mate is scoring 3x the points off the other. There are no excuses for that big off a gap. The qualy stats speak volumes. No team-mate qualified worse in head to head than Ricciardo. There was all reason to drop him especially since he was already worse than Lando the previous year eventhough he won a race. It turns out that McLaren treated him horribly to the surprise of no one and once again, we are reminded that his former teamboss warned him about his exact same scenario.

The moment Oscar is announced Ricciardo fans twist him as a villain, accuse him of stealing someone's seat, call him a snake etc.

2023: This is even before the season. Ricciardo declines seats at teams such as Haas because he doesn't want to be in a backmarker. He then says he needs a break from racing and that for now he will take the role in RedBull as it allows him to focus on himself and have more time for everything that F1 makes difficult.

So what am I getting at?

Ricciardo leaves a team not to be second driver. He then leaves another team where he is beloved to go to a team that his former boss warns him about because he doesn't trust the dude that is plastered everywhere eventhough he is not the boss. Said team turns out to be shit and he then does not accept other team offers because the teams are so far back that he apparently doesn't consider it seat worthy. He also wants to take a break from racing.

Then, he joins the worst team on the grid this season as third driver in an environment that is notorious for throwing at anyone that doesn't perform to their ideals see a rookie that wasn't even halfway through the season.

Sorry if I can't stand him but he brought this entirely on himself.

[macleod]

I haven't taken part in one of these chains in a long time. But, @n-talia-a tagged me in a "top 5 on repeat" chain and so here we go. This is all the more recent on repeat, not in totality.

1. 3TEETH - Slum Planet feat. Mick Gordon

Do you like Industrial? NiN? Metal? Punk? Cyberpunk? and the music from Doom (2016)? Well 3TEETH has what you need, and this track was produced by the man behind Doom (2016). I am blasting this likely 3x a day, at a minimum. Warning: Video features flashing.

2. Yard Act - The Trench Coat Museum

Found this one recently, and the bass line is just addictive. Video is pretty great as well, especially the ending.

3. TURNSTILE - UNDERWATER BOI

Turnstile has been a group I've been listening to a lot since 2020 or so. Typically more hardcore, but this one is just a nice seaside vibe. They even just did a remake of their last album as a jazz album. Really good stuff.

4. Drain - Feel The Pressure

Following in the water-related theme I suppose (pretty apt for myself, personally speaking). This is a hard and heavy punk metal groove.

5. WARGASM (U.K) - Your Patron Saints

Wargasm is by far my favorite band of the last several years. I found them at the tail-end of 2019, and went deep during the early pandemic and never got out. I am addicted to every song of theirs, this is an incredible act. I highly suggest everyone checking out their entire discography. Industrial meets nu-metal (with heavy prodigy vibes). Warning: Video features flashing.

Bonus: FIDLAR (anything and everything by them)

If I said Wargasm is my favorite band of the last several years, FIDLAR is my favorite band of the last decade. I am playing their albums back-to-back multiple times a week.

Notable Mention: Seaway. Love that band. They were my most listened to in 2020 I believe. Classic pop punk style with a modern bend. I don't usually continue the chain, but I'll add @swordarmsaxelegs, @the-alex-xander, @oyeden, @tomandgeriatric @myfriendgoo94

[teaveetamer]

I am curious, I've been watching the discourse going on for a bit without getting involved and at this point I feel like I have to ask.

What is the desired result here? Why are you engaging in the discourse at all? Clearly this is not a discussion, so what do you gain from interacting at all?

(I will send this to several people, just out of curiosity)

Alright anon allow me to explain what's been going on with me on my end.

The year is 2019 (yes, we're doing this). FE3H has just come out. I play it and rather enjoy it actually. I've got a couple of ships that I'm into, some fanfic I want to write, etc.

I go onto Reddit to chat with people about the game. Now I don't really like Edelgard, but I'm chill, I'm open to discussing the game and getting alternate viewpoints. Initially it's more or less fine.

Then some posts start coming up. People start getting really aggressive about this. I'm trying to have a conversation, but it feels like their goal is just to shout me down. I get in arguments, I get in fights, I get misgendered, I get called a bigot, I get frustrated, I get ablest rhetoric spewed at me, and I waste my life.

Stop. Take a look at myself. I'm literally sitting here arguing about Edelgard von fucking Hresvelg for hours of my day. I'm annoyed, I'm irritated, I'm always in a bad mood. Ugh.

Now it's 2020, early times I think. I resolve to stop looking at Reddit so much with regard to this game. It's not worth the hassle and the frustration. I should be, like, out doing things and having fun not wasting my time arguing with a bunch of weirdos on the internet. I want to have fun again, not be angry. I delete the Reddit app from my phone and install a blocker on my web browsers, even.

Start using Tumblr for more than just shippy stuff, and find people who agree with me, who are saying the things I've been saying. I stop feeling crazy for liking the game the way I like it. I make a few posts on my main blog but you know what, I don't really want my main blog embroiled in this shit, though I want to add my voice to the conversation. So I make this side blog.

Make some posts. I get flooded with asks from other people about the game, saying they agree with me and they're thankful that they aren't the only ones who think the way I do. I think within like a month of existing this blog had double the posts of my main blog (which has existed since 2016, so for four years at that point), most of them from asks.

The blog was initially for me to vent and throw in my two cents here and there, but I figure I'll keep it around in regular use because people seem to be benefiting from it.

Early on I tried to establish a rule for myself that 1) I wasn't going to go looking in any main tags (e.g. the Edelgard or Edelgard Positive tags) for stuff to reblog or talk about, and 2) I wasn't going to go into any Edelgard specific spaces looking for stuff to talk about (e.g. r/Edelgard or even Dimitri-critical tags). However, anything maintagged that was looking for a fight (e.g. a Dimitri-critical post in the main Dimitri tag) was fair game.

I'm not perfect, but I did try to stick to that rule. I talked about things that happened on the main FE Sub or FEH sub. I did my best to encourage my anons to not go seeking out stuff to bring back to me from Edelgard spaces. After all, this blog was meant for venting and having my own personal space where I could talk about my views without getting accosted. I thought it would be petty for me to go bring back stuff from other places.

Moving into 2021, I was kind of done with 3H. I was still getting like dozens of asks a day about 3H discourse. I'd answer one and five more would pop up in their place. By now we're like, well beyond 3x or 4x the amount of posts I have on my main blog. I'm getting kind of tired of it. It's a lot of the same points over and over and over. We're in pandemic times, so I can't even walk away from it and do something else IRL for a while before coming back to it. I feel like I'm wasting my life again. I feel like I've said anything and everything I could have possibly said about the subject. I ask people to stop talking to me about Edelgard. Eventually, everyone mostly obliges.

I still chat about it here and there, but I'm chatting about other stuff too. This blog is still about venting just about venting about more than 3H. A lot more petty fandom shit in general.

Now we're in, like, 2022. I don't remember exactly, Pandemic Time makes some of this a bit of a blur. I notice a new kid on the block, doing basically what I'd noticed happening on Reddit. Going into the wrong tags. Picking fights. Posting things in the wrong tags. Picking fights.

I'm over it, I'm done, I don't want to deal with this shit anymore. I block the dude. Most people I know block the dude or ignore him. We figure he's new here, he just hasn't learned the etiquette.

He gets increasingly hostile. I'm not really paying that much attention, just getting info about it from the fringes. Again, we figure eventually he'll just go away if we ignore him.

Then Nilsh gets harassed off the platform.

My mutuals are getting increasingly hostile anons and combative reblogs.

At this point I'm relatively unaffected. I guess because I don't tag anything, so he didn't find it.

And you know what? I'm still like "he'll get bored. He'll leave eventually." We were all like "just ignore him, he'll leave eventually."

People try to explain tags to him. Try to help him curate his experience so he quits arguing with people who don't want to talk to him all the time.

Then Moonlitboar gets harassed off of the platform. They take the URL. He's bragging about having done it. He's spreading this vitriol to other platforms and convincing others to join in on the harassment.

And I'm like. Okay. This dude isn't leaving. This is what he wants. His goal isn't to talk about this game—his goal is to hurt us.

I unblock him and respond. We go back and forth. He stops... for a time.

Here's the thing. I didn't re-block him after that, and I didn't do that for a couple of reasons. First, because at this point I'm still hopeful that he's just unaware of what he's doing, and that he'll acknowledge how messed up it was and apologize. I'm all for second chances. The second, because he's dangerous and I'm worried that if I don't keep tabs on him, he's going to try to hurt me.

It's not long until he's doing the same shit again. He tries harassing BWIIDT, he tries harassing FantasyInvader, he tries harassing Ezra, he tries harassing RandomNameless, he tries harassing Emblemxeno, he tries harassing Gascon, he tries harassing people I've literally never even heard of. I keep calling him out, and he tries harassing me. He calls me hysterical, accuses me of acting like a victim. Tries to make me feel stupid and small by saying I don't have anything worth his attention to respond to.

(By the way dude, my point about that was that you were being misogynistic but treating discourse like it was only worth responding to if it came from a man. See, I noticed that you only liked to attack people you thought were cishet white men like yourself, even if we were saying basically the same things at times. The fact that you continue not "debunking" any of my posts doesn't upset me; it proves my point)

He blocks me. I can't say for certain why, but my bet is that he realized people were actually listening to what I had to say, and having a queer woman question the actions he purported to be for the benefit of queer women wasn't a great look for him.

He's still trying to harass me. He's taking screenshots, he's using my name, he's @ ing me. He's casually lying about me. He's using sexist rhetoric implying that I shouldn't be listened to because I'm just too ~in my feelings~ and he's the true victim of my hysterical victimized martyr complex (geez, you sure a a feminist ally for that one, aren't you?)

You know, I did actual research when one of my anons accused him of being a trump supporter and tried to lie about him? I burned an entire evening on that, because I didn't want to be spreading lies about people. Meanwhile he lets his anons casually and repeatedly misgender me without so much as a passing correction, and he hangs out with people who spread lies and slander accusing others of heinous crimes.

And you know what? If I knew it was going to be like this? I'd still waste that evening and correct that anon. It's not about getting a petty win or convincing people he's a bad person for me. It's about being respected.

So to get back to your question. Why am I doing this? Because I have to. Because I know that if I don't he's going to hurt someone else, just like how he hurt Nilsh and Moonlitboar. The best predictor of future behavior is past behavior, after all. We ignored him and he didn't leave, so now we have to say something.

What's the desired result? I want to be respected, like I've tried to respect them for almost the entirety of this blog's existence. I want my boundaries acknowledged. I want him to stop hurting people for no other reason than to hurt them, because they don't agree with him.

When will I stop? When he stops.

[yuzu-all-the-way]

Do you think we'll ever know why Yuzu was consistently underscored in the last few years of competing? Like, I can't fathom why they would do that - he's so well loved, so surely scoring him accurately would just draw more people toward the sport to see him? Honestly I believe that if he hadn't attempted the 4A at the Olympics that he could have won if he was scored fairly. Having a 3x Olympic Gold medalist would have made such a buzz in the news which would be good publicity, no? So... idk. I'm confused by the whole thing and my heart goes out to Yuzu for putting up with so much for so long.

Hi, anon! Oh, this is such a long story. I'll try to keep it as short as possible and make it comprehensible.

Officially, there most likely will never be an explanation given, it's just not how the sports' world works. There is no accountability since the "behind the scenes" is mostly a power play between several figure skating federations (USA, Russia, JSF - but that's a whole other story), lots of politicking going on.

However, the fans and those who know figure skating have become aware of Yuzu being underscored over the years. There were a hell lot of discussions about that too, but they literally led nowhere - there were a lot of fights and Fanyus accused of being irrational and delusional.

The narrative goes something like this:

Yuzu came into the senior competitions as a very successful junior and he actively improved his technical as well as his presentation components - he was constantly on the rise winning a world medal in his 2nd year as senior, winning everything there was to win in the 2013-2014 season - GPF, Worlds, OLYMPIC GOLD, except 4CC (I don't think he participated in 2014), achieving incredible scores at 2015 NHK Trophy and 2015 Barcelona, winning a second world title in 2017, winning a second OLYMPIC GOLD in 2018... and finally winning 4CC in 2020.

There is a huge discrepancy in scores that occurred after 2015 GPF. Yuzu was constantly improving, yet his scores don't reflect that at all - they look like he remained through his entire amateur career at the same level as he was in 2015 or that he became worse - which is a blatant lie.

Frankly, when he broke consecutive records in 2015, ISU and the feds became aware that he was untouchable. There were skaters younger than Yuzu who were bringing quads to the game, skaters like Jin Boyang, Shoma Uno and Nathan Chen. But their skating skills could NEVER get close to Yuzu's, and Yuzu was also bringing new jumps into his arsenal - 4Lo, 4Lz. USA having lots of power, started pushing Chen as the quad king and Chen was supposed to be Yuzu's rival, narrative woven like this until Yuzu turned pro.

Anyway, Chen's scores were rising although there was barely any visible improving seen in his skating, while Yuzu, obviously constantly improving, if he had the smallest mistake he was penalized. The penalizations became greater when the scoring system changed from +/-3 GOE to +/-5 GOE because there could be greater manipulation of scores.

If Yuzu was getting +3 GOE for a 3A prior to 2018/2019, he was supposed to get +5 GOE for the same jump starting with 2018/2019, but that barely happened. The average GOE for Yuzu's 3A on the international stage stayed around +3. So, on paper, Yuzu seemed to be getting worse. Not to mention the PCS... which Yuzu openly talked about after turning pro, he was no longer awarded almost perfect PCS although he kept improving.

About Beijing 2022, Yuzu was never meant to win the gold as set by the ISU. Had he went clean, his Rondo probably would've been around the same as his last WR (lower than 112 points) because of literal judging corruption, and Chen would've still had impossible inflation and set a WR.

I won't go deeper into Beijing, it was Yuzu's choice to continue skating while remaining true to himself, it was his choice to challenge the 4A, it was his choice to do everything as it went. And I respect that because there's nothing more worthy of admiration than a person who remains true to himself while undergoing abuse (because, in the end, that's what it was). He came out on the other side stronger and better than any other skater and his pro career already shows it.

ISU seems to not care that figure skating is dying, they are not doing anything to improve the circumstances in which this sport is "developing". They lowered the PC components from 5 to 3, they want to let Russia back in the game, they push quads in juniors, they continue white-washing the whole sport (look at the countries of the skaters who were given the ISU awards).

In a nutshell, Yuzu's competitive career was hell, he had numerous injuries that threated his skating life, he continued, he was getting underscored, he continued. He did try to play ISU's "jumping competition" game for a while - Aoi Honoo III reveals that - with Origin. He didn't like that and his scores didn't improve even while playing by ISU's rules. He went back to the programs that won him 2015 NHK, 2015 GPF and 2018 Olympics gold... he was awarded just a tiny bit more than his previous SP world record. So, he continued skating in the hopes of landing that 4A. He challenged it until the end of his amateur career. He showed the best he could at Beijing... but it's over and done with now. Now he continues challenging that jump, but for himself, because it's his DREAM.

Now, we focus on Yuzu's pro career - he continues changing what figure skating means. If Prologue wasn't enough to show that he is so much BETTER than when he competed, GIFT and NS will definitely cement that in. Yuzu continues pursuing his ideal figure skating, hard tech content, beautiful skating skills, all possible because of hard work and training.

FORGOT TO SAY:

ISU did use Yuzu, they used him until July 19th 2022. While we were anxiously waiting for the 2022-2023 GP assignments, ISU put the tickets on sale for all the GP stages minus GPF. There were people who went in blindly to buy tickets because Yuzu's photo was on several ticket sites (for example, the Finland GP had Yuzu on their site). People were going to buy GPF tickets, too without any concrete assignments.

Yuzu announced him turning pro in July, the Yuzu fans who had bought tickets to see Yuzu found a way to sell them or ended up not going to the GPs. ISU knew Yuzu brought in the crowds, they knew he was the favourite. They did not promote his skating, they promoted him PARTICIPATING in competitions.

[wrestlinghistorywithkay]

Joining The Family Business: Wrestlers Who Followed Their Families Into The Squared Circle Part 1

A lot of families have a business, including mine. It’s common for members of a family to take over and or follow their elders into a business after they retire. The is also a popular occurrence in pro wrestling. Over the years , there have been many families who’ve made a name for themselves within the business and have a new generation of wrestlers carrying the family name and creating their pwn legacies .

Hook ( Tyler Senerchia ) - 2nd Generation . Hook is the son of ECW and WWE Legend, Tazz. Both are currently signed to AEW , where Hook is a 3x FTW Champion and Tazz is a Color Commentator. The FTW Championship was created by Tazz in 1998 during his time in ECW.

Lexis King ( Brian Pillman Jr) 2nd Generation - Lexis is the son of WWE and WCW Legend, ‘ Flyin ’ Brian Pillman. King was signed to MLW in 2018 before being signed to AEW in 2019 and becoming a member of The Varsity Blondes alongside Griff Garrison and Julia Hart. Since 2023 , King has been signed to WWE and is currently in NXT.

Leati Joseph Anoa’i ( Roman Reigns ) and Matthew Tapunu’u Anoa’i ( Rosey) - 3rd Generation. They are the grandsons of Amituana’i Anoa’i and the sons of Sika and the nephews of Afa. Rosey is a one time WWF Tag Team Champion and Roman is the 4th longest reigning Undisputed WWE Universal Heavyweight Champion. Rosey passed away in 2017.

Leah Van Dale ( Carmella )- 2nd Generation . She is the daughter of Paul Van Dale . Paul Van Dale was mainly used an Enhancement Talent in WWE for their top stars. Van Dale was the opponent for Razor Ramon when he made his WWE debut in 1992. Carmella was signed to WWE in 2013 and is the Inaugural Ms Money In The Bank, 4x 24/7 Champion, 1x Women’s Tag Team Champion ( with Queen Zelina ) , 1x Smackdown Women’s Champion, 2019 Wrestlemania Women’s Battle Royal Winner , and part of the Mixed Match Challenge with R-Truth

Ashley Elizabeth Fliehr ( Charlotte Flair ) - 2nd Generation. She is the daughter of The Nature Boy , Ric Flair. She made two appearances in WCW in 1993 and 2000. Charlotte was signed to WWE in 2012. She is the final WWE Divas Champion, a 2x NXT Women’s Champion, a 6x and Inaugural RAW Women’s Champion, 7x Smackdown Women’s Champion, Participant in the 2014 NXT Women’s Championship Tournament, 1x Women’s Tag Team Champion ( alongside Asuka ) , 2020 Women’s Royal Rumble Winner ,5th Women’s Triple Crown Champion, 4th Women’s Grand Slam Champion

My Final Thoughts:

I’m writing this article series to explain wrestling family dynasties and how we have new stars out of each family . While working on this one , I never knew that Carmella was a second generation wrestler. I briefly discussed her father in my article about Razor Ramon. I’ll probably have part 2 up later.

Love You All,

- Kay