#it came out in 2016 but it’s still giving 2012/13

[colors927]

nicola la - ruby the rabbitfoot

[elizaditton]

Update: The End

Hello everyone, it's with a heavy heart that I feel I must make this announcement. I have decided that Perthea and its many projects must cease to continue. This includes a great many things, such as a majority of the artwork I create, a majority of the music I create, as well as more specific projects like the Storie series of UTAU voice libraries and my book Too Small To Be Afraid. All of these projects must cease to continue effective immediately.

Lengthy explanation ahead.

I'm sure you're all wondering why I'm suddenly choosing to stop creating something I've been so passionate about for the past 13 or so years. And there lies the problem-- it's been 13 years. I used to be proud of the fact that I've been carrying this project on for such a great length of time, but I now realize this isn't something I should be proud of. Not like other creators can be. Perthea never should have been a "project." It never should have seen the light of day. It began as a coping mechanism and an escape for me, one that tied itself around my throat and began to choke me until it was all I knew how to do. I've lived and breathed Perthea every day since I created Derrick.

I created Derrick during the spring or summer of 2012 with the intent of using the character for what are known as "MMD Dramas," which, without going into too much detail, are animations using the program MikuMikuDance that usually involve Vocaloids such as Hatsune Miku among others. Derrick was originally a re-color of the model for the Vocaloid KAITO that came with MikuMikuDance. Derrick's original purpose was to be a character that could act as Miku's creator/inventor in the story I wanted to tell. Derrick's original name was Riku (no last name). For about 8 months to a year, though, I didn't use this name (probably because he's white), and he had no name. I came up with the name Derrick Drake around March of 2013. (I came up with a middle name for him, Allen, around 2018 or 2019.)

I wrote a short script of something I wanted to animate (basically Miku being created, aaaaaaand that's it!), and then decided it sucked and proceeded to give up. Except, I didn't exactly give up on the idea. I remembered when I was younger, I used to make up stories in my head. Usually to help me go to sleep. So, I decided to take all the ideas I had and use them for stories in my head. I changed Miku to my own self-insert character, Kaylin... who, at the time, was named Keitorin, which is the Japanese phonetic spelling of my real name, Caitlyn. Except it was pronounced in the most American way possible for some reason. (I was 11 years old and a full-blown weeaboo. And yes I still cringe at this.) Making up stories in my head proceeded to take over my entire life. I began to daydream maladaptively, and used my daydreams as an escape from the real world. A world where I was a sheltered homeschooled kid with crippling social anxiety and no friends (not that I was even allowed to have any).

Over time, I only daydreamed more and more. I would stay in bed as late as 5 or 6 in the afternoon just to make up stories in my head. My parents had to beg, and I mean beg for me to get out of bed. I used to have to pretend I was doing some activity like playing on my 3DS so that nobody would think I was asleep. I couldn't tell anyone about my daydreams. I knew they'd tell me to stop.

Over time, I fell in love with Derrick. I don't mean this figuratively. I mean I was head over heels in love with a guy I made up for some stupid animation project I never finished. He became my world and my everything. My safe place. The only person I felt cared about me for a long, long time. I imagined having conversations with him, I imagined the two of us going on random misadventures... and over time, I started to ignore the fact that he wasn't real. From 2013 to 2016, I believed he was real and was going to find me in the real world and basically save me from the life I hated so much.

On May 18th, 2016, I requested prayer from my small group at church for my daydreaming. Derrick's absence was hurting me far more than I could bear. This ended up leading to a private conversation with my small group leaders, where they told me there was no way Derrick was real. I was crushed. On top of this, they wanted to bring my parents into this and suggested I see a therapist.

My parents may never understand Derrick. My therapists may never understand Derrick. But the knowledge that I'm never going to really know him or ever see him or be with him has destroyed me in a way I'm not sure I can be healed from. Imagine your soul mate suddenly ceasing to exist, and nobody understanding your grief because they don't believe the person ever existed. That may not have been exactly what happened, but it's the torment I've experienced for the past several years.

That's when I began working on projects. I began working on projects to "save" Derrick. So people could know him and so I could have some tangible part of him to hold onto. But in my grief, all I did was begin digging the grave. I never buried the body, and now I'm stuck in a deep, deep hole. I wanted Perthea to be perfect, because Derrick means so much to me. I wanted to give him something to show my love, even if he doesn't exist. But Perthea has been choking me for so long. I don't really have any interests outside of it since it consumed all I do. My art, my music, my writing... everything. It's nearly all I think about. It's nearly all I do and live for. And I want it to stop. I want to be done. And I know that if I don't post this now, I'm going to let it continue to choke me until the day I die. It's going to continue to ruin me and destroy my relationships.

The thing with Perthea is that it's never going to be finished. If I let it continue, it will always be a part of my life. Even if I did finish the book (which I've been struggling to do for years now, and it's taken a huge mental toll on me), Perthea would manifest itself in some other way and continue to control everything I do.

That's why this is the end. I have to make the choice to stop, to turn over a new leaf, to start anew from the beginning. I need to figure out how to live my life without Derrick in it or I'm never going to be happy.

I don't know what Derrick would have wanted for me, but I think he wouldn't have wanted me to suffer for his sake as much as I have. I think he would have wanted me to figure out how to continue living. To figure out how to be happy somehow.

To my readers and followers, to those who have supported me, and to those who have reached the end of this document, I want to take a moment to thank you all for your continued support. Seeing how you all have enjoyed Perthea means a lot to me. Seeing you care for my characters and how you want to see them succeed has meant so much to me. I must now ask for your forgiveness for my decision to not continue Perthea.

I plan on leaving all my content online as is, for everyone to read, listen, see, and enjoy. I ask that no one try to continue these projects in any way, shape, or form. I will try to quickly tie up the loose ends of TSTBA in a summarized sort of way, since I know it must suck to be left hanging. Other than that, Perthea is over, and I'm leaving everything as it stands.

Thank you again for reading and for supporting me. I'm here if anyone has any questions or concerns.

[stillarobyn]

I understand the intention behind this post and I don't disagree with it. I don't.

If you're writing a period piece or something with a certain dark tone, then yes, you absolutely want to keep to that, give your gruff sailor a mumbled line about not being like most other men, or your scattered workaholic scientist can say she never felt like she was missing out on anything by not having a partner while they save the world.

But do not limit the reach of fanfiction by expecting it to be held to the same standards.

Because we need both. Because the target audience for a lot of works that employ this are young, they're disconnected from community, and they're lost. They think they're broken or they don't fit or they are made wrong.

I, a millennial, didn't know about bisexuality until I read about it in fanfic somewhere around 2003 (I was 13). I didn't know any out gay or queer people growing up. It was still scandalous on tv, and my parents didn't have any problem with it, they just didn't talk about it. I can't imagine how isolating it would have felt if my parents prevented me from watching anything with gay characters or spoke negatively about them.

My first discovery of nonbinary identity was in a bandom fic I read in 2010 (I was 20, for those playing the home game). It was maybe two years after that that I began to talk with nonbinary/genderqueer/genderfluid people online. I knew a couple of binary trans people in college, and one in high school, but this was my first time meeting people who weren't a binary gender. In 2012! It took another two years for me, at this point a full-ass adult, to start describing myself that way.

All of this oversharing to say...my understanding of queer identity was not hand-held by anyone in my life, but boy I learned to accept these foreign ideas I saw in myself because I had a safe fictional environment to explore these concepts and terms.

I think it was 2014-2016 when fanfic spaces had a boom of "everyone is trans" AUs and headcanons, and they were often rose-tinted and a bit twee, but that's the point of them. I saw identities I had to look up, and when I asked in follow-up "okay, but what does a person who feels like that look/act like?" it was all crickets, except in fiction, and specifically fanfic.

"But the world is different now, not knowing is no excuse" NOPE. not with anti-lgbtqia legislation passing in the US, or in other hostile countries around the world (I'm from the US, my argument is US-centric based on my experience and knowledge, but by no means exclusionary of people in other countries), or even family situations or rural upbringing or any other circumstance that isolated young queer folk from other queer folk.

A popular live-service video game introduced a nonbinary character and I saw twitch chats full of people who were just confused and uneducated. Ignoring those who were hostile was easy, but the uninformed, especially the non-English-speakers and people who didn't come from Western cultures, were largely open to learning something they never had framework for. Made all the more frustrating in a game environment where the characters didn't make a habit of having these discussions on screen, but that's a different rant.

I don't know if OP intended this in reference to original media, or toward fic, but I saw a lot of established characters in the reblogs so I just want to address that. I'm a characterization first fic reader, so I get it. "Everyone is trans" fics aren't for me, but there's a space needed for them if someone needs to see Captain Kirk and Spock debating the application of terminology of human gender and sexuality in interplanetary cultural settings...now actually I kind of want that fic so I played myself.

Dragon Age Veilguard came under attack for daring to openly and forwardly use the term "nonbinary" in its fantasy world, as though something about the word is inherently incompatible with the fantasy genre? But the game was pretty clear in its goal to create a safe gaming space for marginalized folks when so often their experiences are erased, ignored, tokenized, or stereotyped. The narrative, therefore, had to be hostile to the unaccepting, educational for the ignorant, and validating to the vulnerable. Getting to play in a world where people are referred to as nonbinary (just like me) and where people use they/them pronouns (just like me) and where no one ridicules or attacks them specifically for this? It felt comfortable and safe and the world was ending in the game, but I felt a personal empowerment in my immersion.

More complex and nuanced discussions by characters about their queer identity add to the picture. It shouldn't be in every work because every author has their own angle and their own philosophy about it, but they have just as much a right to a seat at the table. You can have your fics where Tony Stark's sexuality is a smirk and a wink, and you can have your fics where he explains that he used to call himself bisexual but the world is bigger and weirder so he considers himself omnisexual now. And if you don't like that, scroll past it. The author didn't write it for you, but someone else needs to hear that.

Maybe this is just a personal vent that escaped containment, but I feel the need to remind some folks that some people need the LGBT center brochure version because they didn't get one in the mail. It's a tough time for everyone in this community, no need to make it tougher.

he would not fucking say that but it’s he would not fucking talk about his queer identity like he was reading out of a college campus lgbt center brochure

[uniquejellyfishqueen]

Grandfather Clock - Sam Sedgman — Fevered Sleep

“For years, French clocks showed a 10 at the top instead of a 12. It didn’t catch on. It seems silly, now – but it’s no sillier than the way we measure time today, splitting hours into sixty minutes just because the Babylonians did, 4000 years ago. Why sixty? Why twelve? Many ancient civilizations divided the daylight hours into ten: one for each finger and thumb. No number is correct. There’s no right or wrong way to measure time.”

*her use of clocks everywhere, in all of her videos, in how her eggs make us go backwards and forwards in time she is the mastermind because she has taught her fandom how to manifest and how to learn that there is no right time, there is no time but now. Or as a wise man once wrote “there is no day but today.”

“Time is messy. When Big Ben was built, it was the most accurate mechanical clock in the world, precise to within two seconds a week. Today, atomic clocks measure the vibration of frozen caesium atoms, precise to one second in a hundred million years. But still these clocks need adjustment, because the earth does not keep time as cleanly as an atomic clock. It doesn’t spin at a constant speed, and its path round the sun doesn’t divide cleanly into a number of whole days. So we try to keep up, adding leap days and leap seconds and daylight savings time, like putting pennies on the pendulum to speed up and slow down the earth.”

*her use of 2 ✌️

*2024 is a leap year. Leap years in the years that Taylor Swift has been active are… 2004, 2006, 2008 (Fearless), 2012 (Red), 2016, 2020 (Folklore), and 2024 (TTPD)

*1944 was mentioned in Timeless 1944 was also a leap year.

So if this were the case in the Karma coffee cup… then the fingers being at 8 and 2 would = 10. And then there is the 10 that would be in place of the 12 on the clock its self. 2 numbers would be missing. And it’s on the 10th album.

14 years ago…. (Track 14 is Wonderland):

10/10/10 Taylor Swift tweeted “I like getting lost in the woods, my security team does not.”

10/10/2010 - 12/8/2024 = 5173 days

5+1+7+3‎ = 16

“You know I adore you, I’m crazier for you than I was at 16, lost in a film scene. Waving homecoming queens, marching band playing” - Miss Americana and The Heartbreak Prince.

— she tenchically opens Lover with “Cruel Summer” or so she says…. But it’s actually Miss Americana, thats the 1st song played on the tour.

— The Hannah Montana Movie came out on 4/10/2009 and TS was 19 years old, she wrote “Crazier” for this movie. But also her “You Belong With Me” music video features TS in a marching band with the same male lead.

The HM movie (4/10/09) and the YBWM music video (6/10/09) were released 61 days or exactly 2 months apart or 8 weeks and 5 days which = 13.

Also track 16 on 1989 is New Romantics… which now that I am breaking it down I think this is her “we don’t give a fuck era”

“Cause I could build a castle out of all the bricks they threw at me” - “Castles Crumbling”, “Me”

“Heartbreak is the national anthem”- Funny this was the title of a book that was just released.

“Waiting on trains that just aren’t coming” - in the man music video she is peeing on the subway wall, the YBWM live performance was in the subway.

“Scarlet letters” - in the book it was A for adultery, A is also the 1st letter of the alphabet…. Like “ The 1”

“Mine is better” - “Mine”, “Soon You’ll Get Better”

“We’re so young”- “Slut”

“Honey life is just a class room” - all the school hall references.

“Everyday is like a battle”- “The Great War”

“Too busy dancing to get knocked off our feet” - “Shake It Off”

Out Of The Woods is track 4 on 1989/1989 Deluxe and the T.V’s as well.

The release between 1989 and 1989 TV is 9 years.

10/10/2010 - 10/27/2014 = 48 months and 17 days

4+8‎ = 12

1+7‎ = 8

12/8. Which is also a mirrored date of 8/12

I think this article I read about Big Ben answers the Pittsburgh question I had about why so many hints towards that city… besides the Rust. During the Roethlisberger sexual assault case the deputy police chiefs last name was Malone…. Like Post Malone was the male voice on Fortnight? Oh and the Steeler spokesman’s name was Dave Lockett…. Like the necklace/locket she has sung about in 3 songs. The girl that made the claim said the incident happened on 5/5/2010…. 158 days before 10/10/2010.

Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger accused of sexual assault - ESPN

[itsrattysworld]

Without Prejudice Mervelee Myers Chart Journey In Glare Of Public 2004 South London Press Barclays Defraud, 2010 Participant Dr Maria Hudson Research Paper, Did A Voice Of A Child June O'Sullivan 2021 Richard Harty Panic Call Mobile Kick Me Out UEL Realise He Is Mastermind MIC Abusers HOC Nursery Equality Act Made Law, 2011 Nursery World Mag, Sky News Cost Childcare, Michael Gove LEYF Keynote Speaker, Only Staff Shortlisted Lead Early Years Practitioner, 2012 Community Playthings Partnership Work 2016, 2014 Transfer BIB Fronted Ofsted CEO Long Service Award Sanction Discrimination Labels UURICA-LE, 2015 Letter HR Dilys Epton Am Depressed Slowly Tortured To Death Transfer HOC Hilda Miller To Be Colonised Sent Medical Suspension, Dr Laura Crawford Advice Get CBT Find Out Why I React Way I Do Certain Situation, Resign 2nd Nervous Breakdown Toxic Workplace, Open Letter PM David Cameron Response David Chapman, 2016 Sessions Maudsley NHS With Trainee Counselor Laura Tinsley, HCT Group Impact Report 1 In 5 Of All Suicides Associated With Unemployment, 2017 Meet Winsome Duncan Gerry Robert Sign Engagement Agreement, Groom By Ryan Clement To Find Vulnerable Black People To Scam, Extinction Rebellion RCJ Caul Grant Wendel Daniel Street Mic, Walk For Parkinson's Brochure, Globe Theatre, 2018 Page 1 ITV News Windrush 70, Macmillan Cancer Interview, 2020 Beaten By Holly Sweeney Led Thugs Under Cover LEYF Margaret Horn Lecture Made Criminal Need ERT, 2021 Kicked Out Of UEL Richard Harty Panic Call Mobile, Barclays Take £1000.00 Counter, FOS Emma Martin-Hamilton Target Me Got YouTube Trustpilot Remove Posts, GP Surgery Decima Street Breach Rights, 2022 Targeted Samantha Gibbs Coerce Neighbour Meeting ASB Trina Philbert Candy Smith Mediate Survey Ask If Want To Discuss Concerns, Barricade On Christmas Eve, 2023 Target Of Devonshires Solicitors H4W Refer Me To Maudsley NHS Southwark Council Adult Social Care Work With Mimi Owusu Send Police To Home Welfare Check Witness Statement Set Out Defamation After H4W Sent Letter July If Mediation Offer Still Open Had 1st High Blood Pressure Blood Vessel Burst Amly's Head Dostan Died Cancer Served With Bundle Sunday Evening Take Husband Diabetes Eye Check Record Am Stressed Online Came Home To Find Letter Call Number Told About Hearing Behind Back Label Violent Nuisance By Name Linked Ms Duncan Telephone Mediation Stole Manuscript Strike Out Times I Had To Call Police Since 13/12/23 Neighbours' Partner Target Me As A Social Media Influencer Cover Stories Home Abroad Why Should I Be Made Voiceless Victim To Hide 22 Years Of Hate Crimes I Asked H4W To Keep On Record Customer Portal Wiped Was Minute Taker For H4W Panel 10 Years Of Life Ruin Husband Traumatized Whilst Am Pushed Over Edge To Become Statistics Did Cultural Ambassador Social Butterfly Get Targeted To Cover Abusers In Reviews During ET/EAT Petition Theresa May Inquiry In Early Years Sector 13/1

Without Prejudice Mervelee Myers Rise Up From 10 Years LEYF June O’Sullivan Discrimination Sanction Share Stories Of Miscarriages Of HMCTS CPS CJS Metropolitan Police Involvement In Hate Crimes Came To Section Murder Kidnap Me Sir Mark Rowley Must Give Account Of What He Wrote In My When Seb Adjei-Addoh Fail To Accept Offer To Volunteer Yet They Advertise For YouTube To Benefit Whilst Blocking Me…

[surreality51]

Fedal and Injuries

Reposting this as its own post so it doesn’t get buried, because I think this is an important point in understanding the Federer-Nadal dynamic: 

We’ve all seen the stat that Federer had zero retirements in 1500+ matches. In Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, Sebastian Fest interviews Feliciano Lopez, who is a friend of Rafa’s and admires Roger, about this:

“It’s unreal, absolutely unreal, that the best tennis player in history has never left a match….Aside from taking care of yourself and leading a healthy life, not damaging or punishing your body, you also have to have a little bit of luck, to have a genetically strong body.” Lopez has been watching Federer play for almost two decades. ”You see him, and he is very physically gifted, very coordinated. I’ve seen him play when he was fifteen, sixteen years old, and you could see that he was physically fit for tennis. He’s flexible, tall, coordinated, he’s not lacking in any area; his movements on the court are perfect. That helps, too.”

So not only does Roger’s build, coordination, technique, and movement make him perfectly suited to tennis and help him win matches, it also prevents injuries. Outside of bad back problems in 2012-13, a bout with mono in early 2008, and probably other minor injuries we don’t know about, Roger never had major problems until he tore something in his knee in 2016. That’s 18 years of professional tennis without major injury. Eighteen years without facing the challenge of medical procedures, extended absence, rehabilitation, reconditioning, and the mental battle to return to match fitness. 

Compare that with Rafa, who has been plagued by injuries since the beginning. A congenital problem with his left foot (later diagnosed as Mueller-Weiss syndrome) nearly ended his career in 2005 at age 19, just four years into his professional career. Rehab, rest, and orthopedic inserts to cushion his foot improved the situation and he was able to resume playing. But as detailed in Rafa, he and his team knew full well that taking pressure off his foot via orthopedic inserts was going to fuck up something else down the line–knee, back, hips, something.

Turns out it was his knees, because in 2012-13, he had to have plasma injections in the ligaments of his knees because they had deteriorated badly–another potentially career-ending injury. Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal details the injury, treatment, and Rafa’s view on his inherent disadvantage when it comes to injuries compared to Federer:

[He] didn’t just experience how the injections made his knees feel better: while the needles were injecting the enriched plasma into a sedated Nadal’s joints, the tennis player was overcoming an almost built-in disadvantage he had against Roger Federer. “Federer hasn’t had injuries from excessive exertions, and he’s been playing tennis for years,” Sanchez remarked. [Sanchez is the doctor who performed the injections.] “Nadal has fantastic physical qualities, better than average; he’s good in every aspect. If he had a bad physique, he never would have gotten so big, but the fact is that if you have worn down a tendon that is still degenerating, and you keep doing what you’re doing, you’ll have to keep getting injections.”

[Sanchez on] Federer again: “His style of play and his physique give him a good balance.” That the doctor who gave Nadal’s knees their life back would compare him unfavorably to Federer was a bit noteworthy. “Don’t tell poor Nadal that,” the reporter joked. And then, Sanchez adds surprisingly, “No, he was the one who said that about Federer.”

^^Here’s an interesting video from a foot doctor (not Rafa’s actual foot doctor) explaining Mueller-Weiss.

So Rafa was always aware of his disadvantage when it came to injuries. I think the injuries aspect is an important part to understanding how the relationship between Roger and Rafa evolved over time, for two reasons in particular:

1. their political falling out in 2011-2012 was in part driven by their different experiences with injuries. Says Rafa in January 2012 when he aired some of his grievances from the ATP Players Council discussions:

“I say a lot of positive things now about tennis. I can’t complain about tennis, it has given me the opportunity to experience things that I might never have even dreamed of. However, is ending your career with pain in every part of your body positive? No, it’s not positive. Maybe he just has such a great physique that he’ll finish his career like a rose. Neither I, nor Murray, nor Djokovic will end our careers like roses; we will finish physically affected. Tennis is an important period in our lives, yes, but with how focused the game is, and how it’s spread out on the calendar… how old will we be when we finish playing? Unless you’re super privileged like him, who has an ease, and I don’t doubt his efforts, but for him the game comes easy. The rest of us all have to put in just a bit more effort than he does and we physically wear our bodies out more than he does.” (from Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal by Sebastian Fest)

Many of the changes that Rafa was pushing for on the ATP Players Council was rooted in his experience with frequent injuries: a 24-month ranking system instead of the 12-month ranking system, a shorter season, etc. Rafa made multiple attempts to get Roger to see his side, collected signatures from other players, but Roger was naturally more conservative, preferring to implement changes from within the existing system rather than making drastic changes. (But also keep in mind that up to this point, Roger had never been seriously injured, and thus probably didn’t understand Rafa’s perspective as urgently as he might have otherwise.) Finally, after banging his head against a brick wall for over a year, Rafa decided to resign as vice president of the ATP Players Council. Again, from Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal:

“I think he was a little frustrated by the end, and maybe he didn’t have enough time either, some of the injuries came back…” suggested [Eric] Butorac [a member of the ATP Players Council], who remembers perfectly well the day that Nadal told them he was leaving. “He gave us a good explanation, ‘Guys, I’m very frustrated with some of the things that are happening. And that frustration that I have is turning into aggressive conversations with some players, or here in the group. Instead of continuing to pour out my frustrations here, I would rather resign.’” Two years after that resignation, Federer, now the father of four children, also left the council.”

2. When asked when they started getting closer as friends, Roger once said in an interview that it was after his own injury in 2016 that he began to better understand Rafa’s perspective and experience. (Ugh, I can’t remember which interview it was, help? ETA: found it!) 

You know, especially being injured, for me, as well, seeing what he had to go through. I could never really relate to injured players, to be quite honest, because I never really was that hurt like he was. I think the last year was a good reality check for me to maybe understand what he was going through so often.

So it was their unequal experiences with injuries that drove them apart in tennis politics, and it was their shared experience with injury that finally brought them closer together. It was in Fall 2016, when both Roger and Rafa were doing rehab, that Roger helped Rafa open his academy. A few months later, in January 2017, they faced each other in that legendary Australian Open final. That year, 2017, they split the four Grand Slams in a remarkable comeback year. The first Laver Cup was also that year, and the prospect of Roger and Rafa on the same team drove a lot of the publicity and ticket sales.

So they definitely had phases in their relationship. I’d say that they had turning points in 2008 (Wimbledon), 2012 (falling out), and 2016/17 (Fedal forever), but underneath it all was always a mutual respect. Even during their falling out in 2012, at the height of the tension between them, things never turned nasty. Things were tense, there were frustrations on both sides, and Rafa made the mistake of airing his grievances to the media, but even then Rafa took responsibility:

“I said what I said. I regret saying it, especially in front of you all [reporters]. Because when I say things like that, I should say them to him directly,” Nadal emphasized, thus bringing to an end the “damage control” that he had begun many hours before through mediators on both sides, basically between Tony Godsick, Federer’s agent, and Carlos Costa, the Spaniard’s representative.

Good job, Rafa. Rule #6 of in the Handbook to Successful Marriage is “if you have a disagreement, always talk to your spouse about it directly and work it out between the two of you, instead of complaining and bringing other people into it.”

[mercurygray]

So, I Hear You Liked: 1917

More World War One Films

I was very excited about 1917 when it first came out because it almost perfectly coincided with the 100th anniversary of the First World War, a conflict that I love to read about, write about, and watch movies about. This period is my JAM, and there's such a lot of good content for when you're done with Sam Mendes's film.

Obviously there are a lot of movies and TV shows out there - this is just a selection that I enjoyed, and wish more people knew about.

Note: Everyone enjoys a show or movie for different reasons. These shows are on this list because of the time period they depict, not because of the quality of their writing, the accuracy of their history or the political nature of their content. Where I’m able to, I’ve mentioned if a book is available if you’d like to read more.

I'd like to start the list with a movie that isn't a fiction piece at all - Peter Jackson's They Shall Not Grow Old (2019) is a beautifully produced film that allows the soldiers and archival images themselves, lovingly retimed and tinted into living color, to tell their own story. It is a must watch for anyone interested in the period.

Wings (1927), All Quiet on the Western Front (1930), A Farewell to Arms (1932, 1957), The Dawn Patrol (1938), Sergeant York (1941), and Paths of Glory (1957) are all classics with a couple of Oscars between them, and it's sort of fun to watch how the war gets changed and interpreted as the years pass. (The Dawn Patrol, for instance, might as just as easily be about the RAF in World War 2.)

All Quiet is based on a famous memoir, and A Farewell to Arms on a Hemingway novel; both have several adaptations and they're all a little different. Speaking of iconic novels, Doctor Zhivago (1965) based on the Pasternak novel of the same title, examines life of its protagonist between 1905 and the start of the second World War.

I think one thing historians agree on is that the start of World War One is worth discussing - and that there's a lot of backstory. Fall of Eagles (1974), a 13 part BBC miniseries, details the relationships between the great houses of Europe, starting in the 1860s; it's long but good, and I think might be on YouTube. The Last Czars (2019) takes a dramatized look at the Romanovs and how their reactions to the war lead to their eventual demise.

As far as the war itself, Sarajevo (2014) and 37 Days (2014) both discuss the outbreak of hostilities and the slow roll into actual battle.

The Passing Bells (2014) follows the whole war through the eyes of two soldiers, one German and one British, beginning in peacetime.

Joyeux Noel ( 2005) is a cute story - it takes place early in the war during the Christmas Peace and approaches the event from a multinational perspective.

War Horse (2011) is, of course, a name you'll recognize. Based on the breakout West End play, which is itself based on a YA novel by Michael Morpurgo, the story follows a horse who's requisitioned for cavalry service and the young man who owns him. Private Peaceful (2012) is also based on a Morpurgo novel, but I didn't think it was quite as good as War Horse.

The Wipers Times (2013) is one of my all-time favorites; it's about a short lived trench paper written and produced by soldiers near Ypres, often called Wipers by the average foot soldier. The miniseries, like the paper, is laugh out loud funny in a dark humor way.

My Boy Jack (2007) is another miniseries based on a play, this one about Rudyard Kipling and his son, Jack, who served in the Irish Guards and died at Loos. Kipling later wrote a poem about the death of his son, and helped select the phrase that appears on all commonwealth gravestones of the First World War.

Gallipoli (1981) is stunning in a way only a Peter Weir movie can be; this is a classic and a must-see.

Gallipoli is a big story that's been told and retold a lot. I still haven't seen Deadline Gallipoli (2015) an Australian miniseries about the men who wrote about the battle for the folks back home and were subject to censorship about how bad things really were. For a slightly different perspective, the Turkish director Yesim Sezgin made Çanakkale 1915 in 2012, detailing the Turkish side of the battle. Although most of The Water Diviner (2014) takes place after the war is over, it also covers parts of Gallipoli and while it didn't get great reviews, I enjoy it enough to own it on DVD.

I don't know why all of my favorite WWI films tend to be Australian; Beneath Hill 60 (2010) is another one of my favorites, talking about the 1st Australian Tunneling Company at the Ypres Salient. The War Below (2021) promises to tell a similar story about the Pioneer companies at Messines, responsible for building the huge network of mines there.

Passchendaele (2008) is a Canadian production about the battle of the same name. I'd forgotten I've seen this film, which might not say very much for the story.

Journey's End (2017) is an adaptation of an RC Sheriff play that takes place towards the end of the war in a dugout amongst British officers.

No look at the Great War is complete without a nod to developing military technologies, and this is the war that pioneers the aviation battle for us. I really wish Flyboys (2006) was better than it is, but The Red Baron (2008) makes up for it from the German perspective.

One of the reasons I like reading about the First World War is that everyone is having a revolution. Technology is growing by leaps and bounds, women are fighting for the right to vote, and a lot of colonial possessions are coming into their own, including (but not limited to) Ireland. Rebellion (2016) was a multi-season miniseries that went into the Easter Rising, as well as the role the war played there. Michael Collins (1996) spends more time with the Anglo-Irish war in the 1920s but is still worth watching (or wincing through Julia Roberts' bad accent, you decide.) The Wind that Shakes the Barley covers the same conflict and is excellent.

The centennial of the war meant that in addition to talking about the war, people were also interested in talking about the Armenian Genocide. The Promise (2016) and The Ottoman Lieutenant (2017) came out around the same time and two different looks at the situation in Armenia.

This is a war of poets and writers, of whom we have already mentioned a few. Hedd Wynn ( 1992) which is almost entirely in Welsh, and tells the story of Ellis Evans, a Welsh language poet who was killed on the first day of the Battle of Passchendaele. I think Ioan Gruffudd has read some of his poetry online somewhere, it's very pretty. A Bear Named Winnie (2004) follows the life of the bear who'd become the inspiration for Winnie the Pooh. Tolkien (2019) expands a little on the author's early life and his service during the war. Benediction (2021) will tell the story of Siegfried Sassoon and his time at Craiglockhart Hospital. Craiglockhart is also represented in Regeneration (1997) based on a novel by Pat Barker.

Anzac Girls (2014) is probably my favorite mini-series in the history of EVER; it follows the lives of a group of Australian and New Zealand nurses from hospital duty in Egypt to the lines of the Western Front. I love this series not only because it portrays women (ALWAYS a plus) but gives a sense of the scope of the many theatres of the war that most movies don't. It's based on a book by Peter Rees, which is similarly excellent.

On a similar note, The Crimson Field (2014) explores the lives of members of a Voluntary Aid Detachment, or VADs, lady volunteers without formal nursing training who were sent to help with menial work in hospitals. It only ran for a season but had a lot of potential. Testament of Youth (2014) is based on the celebrated memoirs of Vera Brittain, who served as a VAD for part of the war and lead her to become a dedicated pacifist.

Also, while we're on the subject of women, though these aren't war movies specifically, I feel like the additional color to the early 20th century female experience offered by Suffragette (2015) and Iron-Jawed Angels (2004) is worth the time.

As a general rule, Americans don't talk about World War One, and we sure don't make movies about it, either. The Lost Battalion (2001) tells the story of Major Charles Whittlesey and the 9 companies of the 77th Infantry division who were trapped behind enemy lines during the battle of the Meuse Argonne.

I should add that this list is curtailed a little bit by what's available for broadcast or stream on American television, so it's missing a lot of dramas in other languages. The Road to Calvary (2017) was a Russian drama based on the novels of Alexei Tolstoy. Kurt Seyit ve Şura (2014) is based on a novel and follows a love story between a Crimean officer (a Muslim) and the Russian woman he loves. The show is primarily in Turkish, and Kıvanç Tatlıtuğ, who plays the lead, is *very* attractive.

Finally, although it might seem silly to mention them, Upstairs Downstairs (1971-1975 ) Downton Abbey (2010-2015) and Peaky Blinders (2013-present) are worth a mention and a watch. All of them are large ensemble TV shows that take place over a much longer period than just the Great War, but the characters in each are shaped tremendously by the war.

[swiftgronmasterpost]

Late Stage Swiftgron Part 1

Update from November 2021 - I really don’t believe much of this is meaningful at all.  I don’t think they’re sitting around referencing one another on social media or anything but some of Dianna’s interactions with Karlie are interesting Dianna shows up explicitly in Taylor’s life a couple more times so I’m leaving these sections here.;

From here on out everything but the 2014 AMAs and Dianna’s somewhat shocking appearance at Taylor’s 2019 SNL performance are just odd social media shenanigans (or subtweets) between the two, and Taylor appearing to release at least one more song about Dianna (Babe in 2018) (and let’s be honest you can make a strong argument for The 1 being about Dianna as well other post 1989 songs.)

Some of this might be complete crack or coincidence but as you all know I want this to be the most thorough Swiftgron document possible.  

If anything it proves they both certainly still have similar interests and they really do seem to be in touch.

There are some interactions claimed by others to be Swiftgron related that I’m not going to include because they’re just a bit too reachy for me (though I completely support the theorizing!) but in general, if I personally can see the hint of a Swiftgron connection, I’m going to include it here. Draw your own conclusions and take everything, particularly the alleged subtweets/social media shenanigans, with a grain of salt.

And yes there’s tons of Kaylor and other Gaylor/Gaygron content that will be left out of this segment because this masterpost is focused on Swiftgron.  Someday it would be cool to make a giant masterpost/timeline that documents all of it, but for now it’s just going to be Swiftgron stuff. August 26, 2014 - Dianna tweets, and then deletes “Withdrawals, clearly…we had fun.” 

There’s no screen shot of this tweet but some retweets/responses of it remain:

If Dianna is indeed referencing the song Clean (in which their relationship is compared to an addiction hence, “withdrawals” from it) then Taylor would have had to give her advanced knowledge of the song since 1989 did not come out until October 2014.

Taylor did claim she ran 1989 by the muse that inspired it and they were both in LA in late August 2014. Maybe this is when.

November 1, 2014 - Taylor posts about Clean

November 19, 2014 - The 2014 AMAs Kaylorgron Explosion Extravaganza:

Taylor, Karlie, and Dianna are at the event.  Taylor and Karlie are clearly on a date and Dianna is there to present Sam Smith’s performance of I’m not the only one.  Dianna seems a bit out of her element/gloomy when interviewed on the red carpet and Taylor flexes Karlie hard, dancing with her throughout the night and even sitting on her lap during an interview.

Click here for photos, video, gifs, and a live L chat reaction to the night.

December 28, 2014 - The writer for the tv show The Originals, Carina Mackenzie, tweeted that 1989 was about Dianna:

It’s of course notable that someone in the industry is “confirming” Swiftgron on main (particularly before gaylor went mainstream with Kaylor being so obvious in 2015/2016) however what’s even more interesting and notable about this tweet is that an actor named Michael Trevino was on the show The Originals and he dated Jenna Ushkowitz from 2011-2014.

Not only that but Michael was at Dianna’s 26th birthday when Taylor was in attendance as well.

It’s possible that Michael witnessed Swiftgron in real life and spilled a bit to the writer of the TV show he was on.

January 5, 2015 - Taylor likes a Swiftgron related post on Tumblr of Dianna saying she’d go on the road with Taylor and carry her bags at the Giffoni Film Festival in 2012:

February 9, 2015 - Style is released as a single

February 13, 2015 - The Kaylor “Best Friends” on a road trip Vogue Spread comes out.  You’re probably familiar with it but if you aren’t google it.  It’s incredibly romantic and pda filled.

The Style music video is released on this day as well.

We don’t have to go through the whole video but one egg I just have to note is the cave pictured in the MV is in Morocco the same country Dianna seemed to flee to after Swiftgron was outed:

February 14, 2015 - Dianna tweets 143 remember those days (for some reason it has not been deleted) seemingly in response to the Kaylor vogue shoot:

143 is a code that means “I love you” that originated from Mister Rogers.  Both Taylor and Dianna have publicly shown that they are fans of his.  Taylor has even made certain songs 3 minutes and 41 seconds long seemingly referring to this number and wore a Mister Rogers pin on a jacket for a photoshoot once.

Here’s a bit more in depth analysis on the significance of the 143 post.

This tweet is how we know that it is 100% in Dianna’s character to occasionally subtweet Taylor and why a lot of this social media analysis has been done.  

February 16, 2015 - Just two days later Dianna attends a fashion show in which Karlie walks and is noted to “have kept a smirk on her face” during.  Dianna doesn’t clap at the end of the show and looks miserable in photos of the event:

February 17, 2015 - Taylor releases Wonderland

I’m going to pause here and discuss the song Wonderland for a brief moment because it is some of the most incredibly airtight evidence for Swiftgron available.

Dianna’s favorite book of all time is Alice in Wonderland.  She brought it up in interviews all the time, tweeted about it, auctioned off a signed copy of it for charity, her private Tumblr and instagram account are called whosirmesir which is a reference to it, her private Tumblr is filled with reblogs about Alice, and her public Tumblr was called fell down the rabbit hole.

So the fact that Taylor writes an entire song describing a relationship through the lens of and packing full of references to Alice in Wonderland is incredibly interesting.

Let’s take a look at some of these lyrics:

Flashing lights and we, took a wrong turn and we Fell down the rabbit hole (literally Dianna’s tumblr name and url)

Didn't you flash your green eyes at me (Dianna is famous for her beautiful almost hypnotic green eyes and yes they are green)

Haven't you heard what becomes of curious minds (queer coded)

Too in love to think straight (queer coded)

But there were strangers watching And whispers turned to talking And talking turned to screams (seems to reference when they were outed) You searched the world for something else (Dianna very publicly went travelling around the world right after April 2013 when they seem to break up)

Taylor literally put Dianna’s Tumblr URL in the song.  Frankly I’m kind of shocked she released this song at all it is so obviously and clearly about Dianna.  Truly a Swiftgron anthem!

Back to the timeline...

March 8, 2015 - Taylor posts Flamingos for her dad’s birthday:

The caption was “Happy Birthday, Dad. Thanks for all the unconditional love, sarcastic comments, and interesting Christmas presents.”

May 1, 2015 - Dianna posts a flamingo for her birthday (post is now deleted):

The caption was “This is 29. Spoiled rotten. Funny enough, at work they were painting the hallways white and the roses (hallway doors) red, then I actually went to Wonderland (@AliceUnderLdn) and came home to a surprise flamingo. Here we go. Another year around the sun…feeling lucky and loved and loved and lucky.”

Taylor also gave Emily, another rumored ex, a flamingo bandana for her birthday.  i also think it’s odd that Dianna mentions Wonderland specifically in the post.

January 15, 2016 - Dianna’s engagement to Winston is announced and Kaylors notice Taylor is liking sad posts on Tumblr including several posts related to Clean:

November 7, 2016 - Lorde’s birthday party where Kaylor is together in public for the last time for 20 months.

January 5, 2017 - Claire (who is still very close with Taylor) comments on one of Dianna’s Instagram posts):

March 2, 2017 - Dianna posts her James Dean inStyle UK photo to Instagram:

This is actually the second time she has posted this as a throwback photo.  She also posted it on February 4, 2016 with simply the caption “TBT” and did not include the “rebel without a clue” bit which is a reference to James Dean (Rebel Without a Cause). She’s never posted the same TBT photo twice before or after this (as of the writing of this post in October 2020).

It I may be permitted to go real far out on a limb here it’s almost as if she wanted people to connect that photo of her in the UK InStyle magazine to James Dean.  James Dean is of course the way Taylor describes her lover in the song Style.  

At any rate it’s very odd that it’s the only photo she’s posted twice whether it’s related to Taylor or not.

April 25, 2017 - Fans notice Dianna is having her script tattoo removed:

This is significant because a part of the tattoo was dedicated to Alice in Wonderland - it said “We’re all mad here” 

Tattoo removal is a years long process:

So it’s possible she started getting it removed around the time that Wonderland came out.

It’s also possible part of the tattoo was dedicated to Lea (the part that said “here I am”) so this whole removal situation is very interesting.

In 2019 she was still getting it removed and commented this at a Cafe Carlyle session:

"i was like i don't know i wanna explain all my tattoos or the one that i'm getting removed on my side...you know you're like...WHATEVER we're stopping we're moving on"

February 13, 2018 - Dianna attends the Carolina Herrera fashion show, so does Karlie. Dianna is introduced to Karlie by Derek Blasberg and very audibly calls Karlie “gorgeoouusss” as they meet. 

Kayda play “Gorgeous” by Taylor Swift.

Click here to keep reading!

[burkymakar]

Hi my favorite athletic reader. If possible could you post anything important from Baughers new article on Gabe?

lol i feel so used. it's under the cut haha

Gabriel Landeskog rolled up to the Avalanche practice rink, a 19-year-old figuring he was heading into a meeting about the upcoming 2012-13 season. A potential lockout loomed, and he wondered if he and his teammates were about to get information on what would happen next.

But only one teammate was there when Landeskog got inside Family Sports Center in Centennial, Colo.: captain Milan Hejduk. Then-Colorado coach Joe Sacco was there, too. They wanted to speak to Landeskog privately.

At the time, Hejduk was entering his 14th season with Colorado. The veteran was the only player left from the Avalanche’s 2001 Stanley Cup team, and he knew his career was winding down. He was no longer a top forward on the team and didn’t feel it would be right to remain captain. Someone else needed to take the role, Landeskog remembers Hejduk telling him that day.

“And I think that person is you,” Hejduk said.

The young winger was caught off guard. He let out a stunned laugh. At the time, no permanent captain in league history had ever been named at so young an age. A tornado of emotions followed: shock, excitement and — naturally — nerves. He called his dad immediately after the conversation.

“You’ve got to this point being who you are,” Tony Landeskog told his son. “Don’t try to be somebody you’re not.”

That advice stuck with Landeskog, and from that day forward, his “C”-embroidered jersey has been a constant for the Avalanche. It was there through the promising years with Nathan MacKinnon, Ryan O’Reilly and Matt Duchene, and it was there when that core fell apart. It was there through the pain of rebuilding, and it was there as the Avalanche emerged as a league power.

Now, its era in Denver could be coming to a close.

For the first time in his NHL career, Landeskog is a pending unrestricted free agent. And after a decade in Denver, he doesn’t know what’s coming next.

“The uncertainty is something I’ve never dealt with,” Landeskog says. “I’ve always known that come September, October, I’m going to pull on that Avs jersey.”

Landeskog has repeatedly said he wants to stay with Colorado, and the Avalanche want to bring him back. But with star defenseman Cale Makar set to receive a massive raise in restricted free agency and the Avalanche up against the salary cap, general manager Joe Sakic is facing tough decisions this offseason.

Landeskog wants long-term security. Currently, he’s in limbo.

“I can’t help but be honest with you that I’m a little bit disappointed that it’s gotten this far and it’s had to come to this point,” Landeskog says.

Now 28, Landeskog could be looking at his last chance to sign a major, multiyear contract. The Avalanche, meanwhile, must decide how much they are willing to spend — and for how many years — on a physical, two-way forward approaching 30.

Teams must submit protection lists Saturday for the July 21 Kraken expansion draft, and if Colorado doesn’t protect Landeskog, Seattle will have a window to bargain with him before free agency begins July 28. Landeskog’s reputation as a leader and production (52 points in 54 games this past season and 171 in 181 over the past three) will make him a popular target should he reach the open market. Teams like the Kraken, Blues, Kings, Flyers and Oilers jump out as potential suitors.

Talks between the Avalanche and their captain have increased in frequency in recent days, but the sides are still far away from an agreement, according to a league source.

“We’ll see what happens,” Landeskog says. “I’m still hopeful that we can agree on something and come to terms, but if it was up to me, I would have liked it to be done eight months ago, 10 months ago.”

In the nine seasons since Hejduk handed over the captaincy, Landeskog has gone from a green-but-mature up-and-comer to the calming presence on an elite team. He’s now a parent, one of the older players on the Avalanche and their unquestioned leader.

“It’s been a constant learning curve,” he says.

He’s grown, and he’s growing. The question is if that will continue with the Avalanche.

One day during his first season as captain, Landeskog stood in the Family Sports dressing room for a players-only meeting, taking note of teammates in their 30s, veterans who had spent more than a decade in the NHL. In only his second season, Landeskog could hear his voice shake.

“It probably was pretty laughable how nervous I was,” he says.

The Avalanche were in the midst of a rough stretch in what amounted to a season of rough stretches. Landeskog leaned on older players — Hejduk, Jean-Sebastien Giguere, Paul Stastny, O’Reilly and Erik Johnson, to name a few — and one suggested a team meeting.

Landeskog doesn’t recall what he said that day, but he remembers the nerves — that quiver in his voice — and how the older players had his back. Others chimed in, and the team dissected what was going wrong.

Ultimately, the group was simply a transitioning team without enough talent to contend, and though Landeskog was captain that year, the team used a leadership-by-committee approach. Landeskog credits his teammates’ support for making the job easier, and Stastny remembers him being unafraid to ask questions.

Landeskog says he asked about everything from travel-day logistics to organizing team functions. The communication didn’t translate to on-ice success that year, as the team finished 16-25-7, but it laid the groundwork for how Landeskog still views his role as captain.

“That’s how leaders learn, too: They learn from other guys,” former teammate Greg Zanon says. “I think he was born for the job.”

Before giving Landeskog the “C,” Sacco and then-Avalanche general manager Greg Sherman both reached out to Hejduk, wanting to know what he’d think of the young Swede taking over the role. Landeskog, who had just won the Calder Trophy, hadn’t been a name on Hejduk’s radar for the captaincy because of his age, but the more he thought about the decision, the more it made sense.

So he voiced his approval for the player 17 years his junior.

“What can you say negative about Gabe?” Hejduk says today.

“It was only a matter of time,” Stastny adds. “If it was fast-tracked a year, I don’t think anyone really cared. Everyone knew it was coming.”

Still, Landeskog was nervous. He’d played in only 82 NHL games and was still trying to figure out the league himself. He didn’t know how his teammates would react to such a young captain. Part of him still thinks he might not have been ready.

Despite Landeskog’s concerns, the announcement went over well with the team. Duchene and winger David Jones tweeted their congratulations, and defenseman Ryan O’Byrne remembers liking the decision when he read the news on TSN’s website.

“The only conversations I had with teammates were, ‘Gabe’s the captain. That’s so great,’” O’Byrne remembers. “Why would we wait to give him the captaincy? There’s no reason to wait. He (was) ready. He’s just that type of person.”

“Even the older guys on the team looked up to him,” adds former Avalanche left winger Cody McLeod.

Landeskog’s makeup had begun earning praise from the second he arrived in North America from Sweden. He played major junior hockey for the Kitchener Rangers in the Ontario Hockey League and became the team’s first European-born captain. Sherman praised his confidence after drafting Landeskog second in 2011, saying he was mature beyond his years.

“It was like he was 30 years old already, the way he handled himself, the way he talked to us, talked to the media,” says Ryan O’Reilly, now the Blues captain and still a friend of Landeskog’s. “Everyone respected him right away. It’s rare. It’s why he was named captain so young.”

Adds Hejduk: “I had half the maturity Gabe had at 18.”

Shortly after learning he’d become captain, Landeskog came to the Pepsi Center (now Ball Arena) for a passing-of-the-torch ceremony. Hejduk presented his successor with a burgundy Avalanche sweater featuring a white “C,” and Landeskog pulled it over his white button-up shirt. The two shook hands and posed for cameras.

When Landeskog looks back at those pictures, he can’t help but notice how young he looks. His beard had yet to grow in, and he’d fashioned his hair — lighter than it is now — to be spiky in the front.

“I feel old when I look back at those pictures, because I was definitely a little kid standing there next to (Hejduk),” he says.

“The first year, year and a half, with him, if we went out for dinner, it was like he wasn’t even allowed to have a glass of wine or a beer,” says former Avalanche center John Mitchell, adding that Landeskog struggled to win poker games on team flights.

Landeskog, who has gone from too young to drink to now sponsored by Bud Light, believes he might have been too uptight early on in his captaincy. He’s learned to relax a bit more — that a season is long and sometimes the best approach is to focus on himself. He can’t expect others to work hard or play well if he’s not doing it himself.

The Avalanche’s decision to toss Landeskog into the fray as a teenage captain allowed him to learn the role before the team entered the win-now mode it is in currently. But Colorado’s progression hasn’t been linear. In 2016-17, the Avalanche finished last in the league by 21 points. Landeskog frequently had to face tough questions from reporters when he didn’t have answers.

“It definitely takes a toll on you when you have to do that,” he says. “But at the same time, I always knew that was part of the responsibility and part of the job. Playing in the NHL, being able to wear the ‘C’ in the NHL, it’s a dream not many people get to experience.”

And in 2017-18, tides began to shift for the Avalanche. MacKinnon had his first superstar-level season, finishing second in Hart Trophy voting, and Landeskog and winger Mikko Rantanen both scored more than 20 goals. The trio ascended to become arguably the best line in hockey, and smart drafting and savvy trades gave Colorado a deep defensive core, led by Makar, the Norris Trophy runner-up as a 22-year-old this past season.

As expectations have risen, the team and its captain are still searching for a deep playoff run. The pieces are in place, and the Avalanche reached the second round each of the past three seasons. But they haven’t broken through.

This past season, the Landeskog-captained Avalanche reached the regular-season pinnacle, winning the Presidents’ Trophy, given annually to the team with the best record in the league, and they were a consensus favorite to win the Stanley Cup entering the playoffs.

Landeskog dominated the Blues in a first-round sweep, igniting the Avalanche with a Gordie Howe hat trick (fight, assist, goal) in Game 1.

“He’s the captain for a reason,” Makar said after that game.

But Colorado faltered in its next postseason matchup, against Vegas, letting a 2-0 series lead slip away and losing in the second round for the third consecutive year. The most complete Avalanche team of Landeskog’s career couldn’t get over the hump.

“I’m proud of this group,” a dejected Landeskog said after the game. “I’m excited to be a part of this group. I love all the guys in there.”

And they love him, too. Ahead of the season, MacKinnon called him “the perfect captain,” and Avalanche coach Jared Bednar described the captain as their emotional leader, someone who drives them into the fight on a nightly basis.

“Usually those types of guys, top-three picks, are franchise players,” Hejduk says. “It seems like that’s the case with Gabe. I hope he’s going to finish his whole career with the Avalanche.”

That’s what Hejduk did, spending all 14 of his seasons with Colorado, but it’s not a common path in today’s NHL.

After 10 years with the Avalanche and nine as its captain, and with so much shared history, Landeskog could be the exception.

Since he was 19, it’s felt like he would be. But the coming weeks will show if that reality has shifted.

[majorpenalties]

Hello.

Since MR and SN are no longer with SPG since their shitty behavior has come to light- I want to share my story since I’m seeing a lot of people saying “it was just them being friendly, who cares?”

I was a fan of SPG back from like 2012(?)-2015(?) maybe 2016. I remember that SPG was coming to my town in 2013 for a holiday special and I was SO excited to have a chance to possibly meet the band.

I was friends with the host of the event and asked if I could help out which was granted. During the setup for the meet and greet the band had come in to sit down. I was busy walking by to get everything set up but apparently SN and MR had asked me to come over. I just assumed they needed some of the waters I hadn’t put out yet, so I obliged.

The conversation started out casual: just the simple “how are you? What’s your name? Do you live around here? What’s your favorite song? Etc” before the guys eventually asked “how old are you?” Now, I have a baby face. At the age of 17 I probably looked about 13-14 with makeup on. Cheekily, I asked “how old do I look?” Since people usually guessed wrong. I was told that I had to tell them so I did. 17. 5 months away from 18. I was met with a laugh and a “too bad.” Before being shoo’d away to work. I didn’t think much of it because I was a DUMB TEENAGER. Later, I was asked by SN if I would be attending Y*umacon, the local convention. I said yes and he said he would “make sure to visit me there.”

Finally it’s October and Y*umacon has come. I’m 18 now. SN had kept his word and immediately recognized me working. He called me over to their booth where I greeted everyone before starting a conversation with him. I don’t remember much as this was 6 years ago and it was a loud convention dealers room. But I do know this ended with him giving me his phone number and asking to hang out after the show. I agreed.

I attended the show that Friday night and we talked until nearly 5am as I was on patrol duty. He walked with me. At around 4:45am he asked if I wanted to come back to his hotel room, which at the time i said no. He insisted and said “it’s only me staying there. I always get my own room.” I reminded him that I was working until 8am. He tried convincing me to skip out on part of my shift which again, I declined. Before he left, he kissed me and told me not to tell anyone. I, of course, texted all of my friends who were fans. They were supportive- except one who thought it was weird that a grown man would go after such a young girl. But I didn’t want to listen.

The night that followed was the same, but instead my shift ended early. The difference was: had sex that night. This would become a regular occourance at that covention each year until they got banned from the convention for hooking up with convention staff. At least that’s what the rumor was.

In between conventions we would text regularly. Talked about me going out to Cali to stay with him for a week or two. I said I wouldn’t unless I was his official girlfriend or he paid for me to fly out. He chose the latter. But I was in college so it never happened.

Eventually I got a boyfriend and SN and I stopped talking. As an adult in her mid-20s I now know how disgusting this was. How I was not the only person. I’m glad (ugh) that at least they waited until I was of legal age, but was there anyone they didn’t wait for? I can strongly and safely say that as an ADULT at the age of 24 I view anyone under the age of 20 as a child still and I would NEVER look at them in a sexual manner. That’s gross. Because the emotional maturity isn’t there. It isn’t. And it isn’t right what happened to me. I didn’t understand I was being taken advantage of. That’s disgusting.

And I know I’m going to be met with backlash for telling my story. I know some people are going to call me a liar because they don’t want to see their “faves” in a negative light, even if it’s their true colors and not the ones you’re seeing in rose-tinted glasses. I know some people are going to say “why would you come forward now?” Because I was scared and it took me years to process that I was taken advantage of.

I’m sorry to anyone else that this has happened to. And I’m sorry to anyone that really enjoyed the character those two people portrayed to the public and are now finding out who they really are.

I literally came back on this app to post this. That’s how strong I feel about this subject and my story.

I think the band has done a phenomenal job addressing this and moving on without those members. I do sincerely want to thank them and apologize for any trouble.

[alightwhendarknessfell]

Dear Andy,

I have debated posting this for a while, mostly because I wanted to get it right. With the WSTW re-record release approaching and things coming to light about the actions of a former member I feel that now is as good a time as ever. I don’t know if you’ll read this, but it is something that over the past year I have wanted to do. I have been unfair and overcritical and at times, downright mean. I was judging you and your actions based on my own interpretations. The events of the past few weeks have shown me that those interpretations were wrong. So here it goes…

I have been a fan of not only Black Veil, but of you going back to 2008-2009, when everything was still on Myspace. I vividly remember eagerly awaiting the release of WSTW and making my mom drive me to the local Hot Topic to pick it up the day it came out. I remember going to my first show in a small little bar in Raleigh, NC that sadly is no more, and I remember being dressed in war paint along with my best friends. I know that it may not seem like it, but I to this day consider myself a fan. The band that you created was pivotal for my teenage years and to this day the community you helped build means the world to me.

I will admit that it was my passion and love for that community that was the root of my criticism. Despite what you or others reading this may think, I do not hate you, not at all. There have been times that I felt let down, cheated, and disappointed as a fan, but the events of the past few weeks have really opened my eyes. I will get that to that point, but I did not and do not hate you. As a person I speak up, at times when I probably shouldn’t, but I do when I feel strongly about something. I have certainly made the mistake too many times of speaking before I had all the information or trusting my own judgement on things, I knew nothing about. I am trying to get better at not doing that.

I can see how some of the things I have said, condoned, or even given a platform to were mean, uncalled for, hurtful, and regrettably untrue at times. I have had this blog and been in this fandom for over a decade. I was 13-14 years old when I first made this blog, and I am almost 25 now. I look back on some of the things I said, and I deeply regret them. In 2015 this blog was accidentally deleted, and honestly it was probably for the best that some of my earlier posts are gone. Regardless, I have let myself get carried away or swept up in drama perpetuated by others (and sometimes myself). I have said things, even in the past few years that I shouldn’t have, things that could be hurtful. While my intention was never to hurt you, I think it’s safe to say that myself and others lose sight of the impact of our words when they are said behind a screen, to people we think will never read them. As a teenager or even in my early 20’s I didn’t think that someone ‘famous’ would see what I wrote, surely it would all get lost in the sea of tweets, posts and comments.

That does not make saying those things right.

I would like to personally apologize to you for not considering the fact that you might see some of those words. That you are a person with emotions just like everyone else, that could be hurt by them. I am sorry for letting others get away with saying cruel things, even if I pushed back on them or didn’t directly comment. I would be lying if I said that the fame (or infamy), status and notoriety I got for my words didn’t affect my actions. It’s sad, but true that often times more attention comes out of negativity than kindness.

As someone who has been bullied and suffers from mental illnesses, I should have left some things unsaid. I do not know you personally, I only know what you have shared. Seeing you speak about your own struggles with mental illness over the recent years has really given me a much-needed reality check. I have related to some of the things you’ve talked about more than you know. Some of the things that others and I have been critical of were clearly not the result of malicious intent but of your own hardships that we were blind to. 

I think people forget, and I know I did, that when this band took off you were just a teenager yourself. To think that at 18 or 19 someone in your situation would act ‘right’ all of the time and never make mistakes is ridiculous. Not only were you a kid trying to figure the world out, but I think it has become clear that you were dealing with people who used you for their own selfish gains. That would be hard for anyone, regardless of their age. 

I have never dealt with addiction on a personal level, but I emphasize with whatever pain you had to endure in your own struggles with it. You are right when you said that no one sees themselves becoming an alcoholic at twenty years old, and I am sorry for not being more sympatric in the past. One of my biggest regrets in all of this was hearing that during the time that I was probably the harshest to you (around 2016) was when you were struggling the most with trying to be sober. 

I am happy that you are sober, I am glad that you were able to make it out of that cycle that consumes so many people. I hope that others who are struggling are inspired by your dedication to living a healthier life. In an industry where it is too easy to fall back into toxic behaviors and coping mechanisms, I am glad you have found strength.  

I would like to speak on why I have been so negative in the past (and at times hateful). As I said, what you created in Black Veil meant a lot to me and so many others. This band has been a part of my life for so long and I have met some of the most amazing people through it. I have met people that I can honestly say I love because of this community. This fan base gave me a home when I felt alone and gave me something to identify with as a kid. That’s why I started cosplaying as you, sure it’s a hobby of mine and aesthetically I am a fan of 80’s glam metal, but it was mostly to pay tribute. I am not a ‘traditional’ artist in the sense of paintings and drawings, my media is makeup and costume. The WSTW/STWOF era is what I consider my era as a fan, the one that I identified with the most. 

I admit, I was upset when it ended. That’s a stupid reason to be upset, obviously all bands change and there’s nothing wrong with that, but that’s how I felt. The source of my jadedness was not the adoption of a new look, it was deeper than that. Around 2016 was when I had the most animosity because I saw what I thought at the time was you ‘giving up’ on Black Veil. I felt like the ‘old’ fans weren’t wanted anymore and like most people, I felt the need to protect and defend what I loved.

With the introduction of your solo act, it felt like the community I cared so much about was being destroyed and I couldn’t understand why you were doing that. I was blinded by my own judgements. What came off as hate was really just hurt. I know I am not the only ‘OG’ fan who felt that way, and I took that to mean I was justified. In hindsight it is clear, none of us had any idea what was really going on with the band and certain individuals who were bringing it down. At various times it seemed like you hated the old era and as a fan who stood there from the beginning that felt like a gut punch.  I let my own feelings make me bitter, and that was wrong. I let others fuel that bitterness, including ones who were actively stabbing you in the back. 

I remember around 2012 I made a very critical post of an article you did in Kerrang talking about your struggles with alcohol. I criticized you for not saying more and even said that what you shared was nothing in comparison to a former member’s struggles with addiction. When I received this DM from that individual saying that they approved of my words and that I was ‘spot on’ I felt embolden. I deeply, deeply regret letting such a toxic and horrible person influence me. That post I wrote was wrong, ignorant and immature. That post was one that got deleted in 2015, but I still regret having written something so heartless. 

(screen shot is from 2012, this was a Twitter DM from said individual. I did not share that post with them, they found it on their own and contacted me. ) 

I see now that you were not turning your back on Black Veil, you were trying to save it. The interview you did with Ryan Downey brought me to tears. I cannot imagine what it feels like to have something you spent your whole life fighting for be taken over by an abusive, evil, and selfish person. I feel like I have gained a better perspective of where you and the band were at over the past three weeks and I am sorry you are not free to say more. I am sorry for defending this person because they did not deserve a single fan.

Some who takes advantage of another’s passion and youth because they lack the creativity and ability to do it on their own is stealing, plain and simple. I am sorry that you have been tethered to such a horrible person for so long. I deeply admire your perseverance, strength and determination in taking back what that person tried to take. To be willing to destroy something you love and care about to keep it from the hands of evil is an incredible act of dedication to it. 

I would like to end this with a few more things. I know I have been critical of people that you love. I do admit I have taken those criticisms too far at times where they crossed into bullying. I am sorry to Juliet for being unfairly harsh, I am not a hateful person, but I have allowed myself to act that way. There are certainly things that I have said that I stand by, and there are things that I may not agree with or understand, but I think there are ways that I can voice my own opinions respectfully, without being mean. 

In an ideal world I would love to sit down with you, or anyone else I may have hurt and have a discussion about it, but hopefully this gets my point across well enough. I do not intend to delete my blog or stop accepting posts (although I will try and make an effort to get rid of toxic posts. It will just take a while to sort through them all). While I can’t promise to never say anything critical again, I can promise to stop the hatefulness. I am promising to make a real effort to clean up some of the toxicity towards you that is unfair and unwarranted. To facilitate a more respectful, yet still honest and open dialogue. I do take pride in my blog being one of the last places of discussion and community for fans, but perhaps without the cruelty that been allowed to fester. If you are someone reading this who comes here to be mean and hateful, I’m sorry but it has to stop. This was never intended to be a ‘hate blog’, but I will openly admit I understand why people thought it was.  

If you take anything away from this, or if you even read this, please let it be this. I consider myself a supporter of you and what you have created. I want nothing more than to see you succeed and be happy. I hope that you are able to overcome the struggles in your life and that you are able to find meaning and true happiness if you have not already. Although it may not appear so, I have always routed for you. It may seem like nothing you do is ever good enough for the fans (or at least some of them) but for me at least that is not true. You have been given an impossible task of trying to please thousands of people, of never being allowed to fuck up, and having past transgressions brought up again and again. For that I am sorry, and I am sorry for having played a part in that. 

You deserve to be treated as a person, not as an object or persona. I whole heartedly believe you are a decent person, who maybe has flaws and room for improvement, but so do I and so does everyone else. I do believe there are fundamentally bad people out there, people who deserve the karma they have coming. Those are the people that purposefully hurt, lie, manipulate, cheat and deceive others for personal gain. I think especially in the past few weeks we have been shown who those people are. Yet, I don’t believe you are one of those people. 

To everyone out there who is reading this, please give people the chance to change. Be okay with admitting when you are wrong. Allow people to grow and become better. Over the past year my mentality and perspective on the world has shifted dramatically. Two years ago I couldn’t have written this post, but as I enter my mid-twenties I am able to look back and say ‘this is not the person I want to be, this is not the person I want people to think I am’. So all I can do is admit my shortcomings, apologize, and be better. 

Andy, if you read this and made it to the end, thank you. You are in no way obligated to respond to or accept any of what I said. I just wanted to put this out there with the hopes that it in some way, or that some part of this, lessened some of the hurt I regrettably have caused. 

- Ren <3 

P.S the banner of my blog is not calling you or the band trash. It’s a fan term for when someone is really into something. Saying “I am ______ trash” means you love that thing. I know it’s weird, but it’s supposed to be an inside joke for other fans, it’s a positive thing. So, when I say “I am 100% 2010 Black Veil trash” I am talking about myself being a massive fan of that era. I don’t think you or the band is trashy, if I did, I wouldn’t be spending money on tickets, merch and shoving blue contacts into my eyes for 10+ years. 

[wrestlingisfake]

G1 Climax 31 preview

The G1 Climax is an annual heavyweight tournament in New Japan Pro Wrestling. It's typically one of the top events in Japanese wrestling, because the biggest stars in the biggest company try to deliver their best performances. The tournament runs from September 18 to October 21.

All 19 shows (!) will stream live and on-demand at njpwworld.com for 999 yen ($9 US) per month. Because of the billing cycle, you have to pay for 2 months to see it all as it happens, or you can wait till October 1 and try to catch up in one month. Watching all 91 tournament matches (!!!) can be kind of grueling (especially if you're trying to keep up with other wrestling at the same time), so it's not for everyone. But there are bound to be some highlights worth going out of your way to check out.

The G1 is a round-robin tournament, with 20 wrestlers separated into two blocks. Each man wrestles everyone else in his block, and the one with the best win-loss record is the block winner. The winner of A Block then meets the winner of B Block in a final match to decide the winner of the tournament. The winner of the G1 Climax receives a trophy and a contract for an IWGP world heavyweight title match at Wrestle Kingdom 16 in January 2022.

Ordinarily the G1 would be meticulously planned out to ensure the most marketable main event at Wrestle Kingdom, so only a handful of guys have any real shot at winning the tournament. However, the pandemic has thrown off a lot of New Japan's plans. Also, since Wrestle Kingdom has expanded to a multi-day event, more and more wrinkles have been added to the traditional "#2 guy wins the G1 to challenge the #1 guy for the belt" formula. So this year's G1 has a lot more potential to surprise us--whether such surprises will be good or bad remains to be seen.

A Block

Shingo Takagi - The reigning IWGP world heavyweight champion. If he wins the tournament, he'll have the right to choose his opponent for Wrestle Kingdom. If there was ever a year to book the champion to win the G1, this might be it. Amid some tumultuous booking this summer, Takagi came from out of nowhere to capture the title, and they've put a lot of effort into making him look worthy of the honor. So it might be cool for him to run through the field, and choose a challenger that couldn't be here, such as Will Ospreay. However, the smart money is on Shingo losing two or three matches to fall short of winning the block and to set up challengers for other shows.

Kota Ibushi - The winner of the last two G1 Climax tournaments, in 2019 and 2020. Few wrestlers have won the G1 three times, and no one has done three in a row. But if anyone can do it, it's Ibushi. He was crushed by losing the world title right after he unified it, and he's clearly in Shingo Takagi's sights (they'll square off on October 3). If he doesn't win the block, I expect him to get very, very close.

Tetsuya Naito - He won the tournament in 2013 and 2017. Naito started 2021 by losing the IWGP heavyweight and IWGP intercontinental titles to Ibushi, who unified them into the current world title. Since then, he's been on the back burner; if he's going to be back on top in 2022, this is where we'll find out. He's the leader of Los Ingobernables de Japon, and Takagi is a member, so their match on September 26 will be particularly interesting.

Zack Sabre Jr. - One of the IWGP heavyweight tag team champions, Dangerous Tekkers. Sabre's technical wrestling presents a challenge for any opponent in the G1, so he can easily play spoiler, but he's probably going to finish in the middle of the pack. I'm particularly looking forward to Sabre vs. Yano on October 13, because their match in last year's G1 was a fun mix of chain wrestling and dirty tricks.

Tomohiro Ishii - One of the NEVER trios champions. Ishii is never going to win the whole thing but he reliably delivers solid performances throughout the tournament. His matches with Ibushi (September 18), Ibushi (September 23), and Naito (October 9) should all be must-see for hard-hitting, what-the-fuck intensity.

KENTA - He can go, but he relies heavily on stalling and other cheap heel tactics to slow down the action, so it's hard for me to get into his matches these days. I'm sure he'll really cut loose for some of his block matches, but it's hard to guess which ones. My main interest is in seeing him go up against his Bullet Club teammates Yujiro Takahashi (September 23) and Tanga Loa (October 13).

Great-O-Khan - This is his first G1, after doing a run-in last year to help Will Ospreay and form the United Empire faction. O-Khan's got an interesting look, but his in-ring work hasn't been blowing anybody away. This should be the clearest test of his upside--if New Japan thinks he can be a serious headliner, he should pick up at least five wins, and maybe even six or seven. I'm not confident that will happen.

Toru Yano - The KOPW 2021 champion. Ordinarily Yano is the comic relief guy, whose block matches are built around silly spots so that the other participants each a get sort of a night off. However, Yano's recent feud with Chase Owens seems to have reawakened the brawler gimmick he had years ago, so it's not clear which Yano is going to show up for the tournament. Either way, I would expect Yano to pull of some key upsets to throw off everyone's predictions.

Tanga Loa - Loa is making his G1 debut. Since joining New Japan in 2016, he's been almost exclusively a tag team guy. It's not unusual for tag teams to compete in the G1, but Loa and Tama Tonga seemed determined to stay out and focus on the tag division. So his appearance here is a little surprising, and probably indicates that New Japan didn't have a lot of other options. He should do well in the ring, but some guys are going to finish 4-5 or worse, and I think he'll be one of them.

Yujiro Takahashi - Yujiro went 1-8 in last year's tournament, because somebody's gotta lose a lot, and that's his role. He's almost certainly going to to do the Bullet Club bit where either Kenta (September 23) or Loa (October 3) will talk him into laying down for the good of the team, but then he'll refuse at the last second. The most interesting thing about Yuje right now is he's a part of the "House of Torture" subgroup emerging within Bullet Club, but I don't expect that to matter much in his block matches.

B Block

Kazuchika Okada - The winner of the 2012 and 2014 tournament. Okada hasn't held a championship in nearly two years, and that's unlike him. So he's an easy pick to win this block and perhaps win the whole G1. The only problem is that he's got some stiff competition from other favorites like Hiroshi Tanahashi (September 19) and SANADA (October 4). He probably needs to win at least one of those two matches to make it to the finals--if he loses both, I'm not sure a 7-2 run is enough.

Hiroshi Tanahashi - The IWGP United States champion, and the winner of the G1 in 2007, 2014, and 2018. This will be his 20th appearance in the tournament, so he's got the decisive edge in experience. Tana is always going to be presented as a strong contender to win the block. But the only reason to have him win the whole thing would be to do an "aging legend makes one more run at the top" story, and they already did that three years ago. So look for him to have good matches, but don't count on him making it to the finals.

SANADA - He was the runner-up in last year's G1, which was a little baffling because I felt his booking that year was designed to build to a huge victory. He's felt like an afterthought since then. Will New Japan give him a lot of wins to remind everyone he's still a rising force? I'm really not sure.

EVIL - On paper, he's a big deal because he betrayed Los Ingobernables de Japon to win the IWGP heavyweight and intercontinental titles last year. But after Evil lost those belts his stock dropped. New Japan still trots him out like he's a major threat to the top champions, but he just does a bunch of low blows and then loses anyway. I think they'll protect him, because they're going somewhere with this "House of Torture" stuff. But I can't believe he'll win the block, except possibly to troll the audience.

Taichi - One of the IWGP heavyweight tag team champions, Dangerous Tekkers. I was always down on Taichi but he grabbed my attention with his weird kicking contest against Kota Ibushi last year. Since then he's been more fun to watch, although that's mainly been in tag stuff. If he's truly set aside the boring stalling tactics, then his block matches this year could be fun. But he's probably going to wind up right around that 5-4 or 4-5 range.

Jeff Cobb - Cobb should be a big deal, but he's basically the #3 guy in the United Empire (and there are only four guys in the group), and he hasn't had a lot of chances to score big wins. By the time he got to beat Okada a couple of weeks ago, I'd kind of lost interest. This is his big chance to remind everyone he's a beast. It'd be cool as hell if he went to the finals, but I'm not holding my breath on that.

Tama Tonga - This is his first G1 in three years, and before that he always seemed to be over the whole thing, so it's kind of weird to see him back here. Even when he wasn't focused on tag team wrestling, he was always a 4-5 guy, and I don't foresee a big singles push changing that this time.

Hirooki Goto - One of the NEVER trios champions. Goto's career arguably peaked when he was the runner-up to Kenny Omega in the 2016 G1. He should have good matches with everybody in the block, but he's not a game changer, and I don't see him getting to 5-4.

YOSHI-HASHI - One of the NEVER trios champions. Yoshi has always been a loser, to the point that winning the trios title (which has always been kind of a joke) was actually a huge deal for him. Goto, Ishii, and Yoshi have managed to defend the title nine times over 400 days, so it feels like Yoshi is finally on track. But there's a big difference between that and doing well in the G1, against top guys like Okada, Tanahashi, Evil, and Sanada. He could very easily go 2-7 in the block. Just getting to 3-6 would feel like a major milestone, honestly.

Chase Owens - The self-proclaimed "Texas heavyweight champion," for some reason. Owens has been the bottom guy in Bullet Club for years. I don't know if they decided it's time to push him a little, or if they literally had no one else to put in this thing. Not that it matters, since he's in the same "lose a lot" spot as Yujiro. The difference is that Yujiro might win a match to justify putting him in next year's field. Chase might actually go 0-9. So at least it'll be kind of fun wondering when (if) he can post his first win.

[thecollegefootballguy]

2021 Big Ten Coaching Power Rankings

Hello everybody, welcome back to the Coaching Power Rankings. I’m rating coaches against their peers conference by conference. Remember, with power rankings I weigh both recent and overall career success. Let’s see where each man stands.

Check out last year’s rankings here.

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The Big Ten had a strange season in 2020. Regular powers Michigan and Penn State both had crippling losing season while Wisconsin took a step back. This vacuum allowed Indiana and Northwestern to flourish. Ohio State still won the league, of course. The Buckeyes don’t seem to be going anywhere and should be expected to run the conference for the foreseeable future.

The only coach that was fired was Lovie Smith at Illinois. I’m not sure if that was the right call, especially since the Illini finally made a bowl in 2019.

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14. Mel Tucker

Record at Michigan State: 2-5 Overall Record: 7-12

Movement: Same

It was year 1 for Mel Tucker in East Lansing so I’m not too concerned about the 2-5 record. The Spartans managed to beat Michigan so I think you can still call it a successful season.

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13. Mike Locksley

Record at Maryland: 6-17 Overall Record: 8-43

Movement: Same

Maryland showed some signs of life in 2020, especially with their road win over rival Penn State. If Locksley can translate that improvement into more wins he’ll start moving up the list.

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12. Bret Bielema

Overall Record: 97-58

Movement: N/A

Welcome back to the Big Ten, Bret Bielema! Bielema was of course the coach at Wisconsin from 2006 to 2012 and he led the Badgers to three consecutive Rose Bowls. I have my doubts that he can replicate that kind of success at Illinois, but here’s to hoping.

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11. Greg Schiano

Record at Rutgers: 71-73

Movement: Down 1 spot

It took Greg Schiano 5 years to get to a winning record at Rutgers the first time he was a had coach there, so we need to give him some time to turn things around in Piscataway.

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10. Tom Allen

Record at Indiana: 24-22

Movement: Up 1 spot

Indiana had a hell of a year under Tom Allen. The Hoosiers went 6-2, finishing 2nd place in the Big Ten West. It was their best season in decades and if a full 12 game schedule had been played there’s a decent chance that IU would have gotten to 10+ wins. I hope Allen can keep things running smoothly at Indiana, it’s always great to see long downtrodden programs rise up to compete with the big boys.

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9. Scott Frost

Record at Nebraska: 12-20 Overall Record: 31-27

Movement: Same

Is Scott Frost the guy who can turn around Nebraska? I don’t know, he’s starting his 4th year and is still attempting to make his first bowl as Cornhusker head coach. I know the program has taken a nosedive and realistically will never be on Ohio State’s level anymore, but in the Big Ten West you should be able to find 6 wins in a season. Any day now.

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8. Jeff Brohm

Record at Purdue: 17-21 Overall Record: 47-31

Movement: Same

I have half a mind to move Brohm and Frost even lower given their specific circumstances, but I’ll trust in them a bit longer since they both did so well at their previous stops. Brohm’s Purdue Boilermakers have been struggling in the past few years despite their initial success. I honestly have no idea if Brohm can right the ship a second time, I know fans are disappointed how things have played out considering the promising start of his tenure.

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7. P. J. Fleck

Record at Minnesota: 26-19 Overall Record: 56-41 Division Titles: 1 (2019)

Movement: Down 1 spot

Minnesota regressed in Fleck’s fourth season at the helm. Given the 11 win season in 2019 I think Fleck has earned some patience. He’ll rise back up in the rankings as long as the Gophers continue to build up their program under his careful guidance.

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6. Jim Harbaugh

Record at Michigan: 49-22 Overall Record: 107-49 Division Championships: 1 (2018)

Movement: Down 1 spot

Jim Harbaugh tumbles out of the top 5 after Michigan suffered their first losing season under his leadership. I know the dramatic regression came as a surprise to Wolverine fans, many of whom are concerned with the direction things are heading with the program. It’s a tough position for the coach and the administration, who will struggle to beat Ohio State no matter who is coaching the team. We’ll see if Harbaugh can turn things around in Ann Arbor, he might not get too many chances if things don’t break his way in 2021.

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5. Paul Chryst

Record at Wisconsin: 56-19 Overall Record: 37-13 Division Championships: 3 (2016, 2017, 2019)

Movement: Down 1 spot

Wisconsin was fine in 2020. I expect them to compete for division titles every year and they did, the Badgers just didn’t win this time. Better luck next year. Wisconsin hasn’t gone two years without at least tying for the West title so I am confident that they’ll be competing in 2021.

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4. James Franklin

Record at Penn State: 60-28 Overall Record: 84-43 Division Championships: 1 (2016) Conference Championships: 1 (2016)

Movement: Down 1 spot

Much like Michigan, Penn State suffered from a similarly horrible year. James Franklin has done much for the Nittany Lions, bringing their program back into regular competition with the top flight of college football. However, losing seasons don’t come out of the blue very often to a well run program. We’ll see if this downturn is just an aberration. Franklin certainly still seems like he’s capable of turning things back around.

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3. Pat Fitzgerald

Record at Northwestern: 106-81 Division Championships: 2 (2018, 2020)

Movement: Up 4 spots

Pat Fitzgerald really outdid himself in 2020. The completely unheralded Wildcats went out and beat both Iowa and Wisconsin to win the Big Ten West for the second time in three years. NU continues to punch above its weight and it’s all thanks to the hard work of Pat Fitzgerald and his staff. I don’t know if Northwestern can ever really be a year in and year out competitor in league play, but if anybody can do it Fitzgerald can.

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2. Kirk Ferentz

Record at Iowa: 168-106 Overall Record: 180-127 Division Championships: 1 (2015) Conference Championships: 2 (2002, 2004)

Movement: Down 1 spot

The longest tenured coach in FBS football has slipped down one spot. It’s not really his fault, it’s hard to keep pace with a guy who’s making the Playoff every year. Ferentz is a living legend and as long as he’s around Iowa is going to be just fine. The Hawkeyes continue to battle it out with Wisconsin for West Division supremacy and I don’t think that will change for the time being.

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1. Ryan Day

Record at Ohio State: 23-2 Division Championships: 2 (2019, 2020) Conference Championships: 2 (2019, 2020)

Movement: Up 1 spot

Ryan Day hasn’t crashed the Ferarri yet. Ohio State was the second best team in the country last year after an Alabama squad that might have been the greatest ever. That’s not bad competition. The Buckeyes seem well served by Day so far and will compete for Big Ten and national championships for the foreseeable future as long as he’s in Columbus.

[emilythornegrayson]

▪︎Sokovia (2012)

Sharon Carter was assigned to a mission outside Sokovia.

She knew that she could only count on SHIELD extraction and that would take too long.

When her cover was discovered, it was all or nothing, inside the shed where she was.

The blow to her head came and she collapsed on the floor.

Then, the place started to catch fire.

Heike Zemo, who was walking arm in arm with her husband, noticed the fire.

"Helmut, look!"

She pointed to the burning place.

The Baron took out his phone to call and, looking out the window, saw someone inside.

“There is someone there! Call the fire department, I’ll come in!”

He said, putting his coat over his head, entering the room.

Heike made the call and seconds later, she saw her husband leave with a blonde girl in his arms.

"She is still alive, but she needs a doctor as soon as possible!"

▪︎Sokovia (2015)

Agent 13 learned of the disaster in Sokovia with the Avengers' fight against Ultron.

As soon as she stepped into the rubble of Baron Helmut Zemo's old house, Sharon put her hand to her mouth.

"They are dead!"

She heard a voice behind her and turned.

"They're all dead!"

Baron Zemo told her.

Sharon looked at him with tears in her eyes and then hugged him.

"I'm very sorry!

She whispered when she heard him cry.

"I'm really sorry!"

Zemo was devastated, and so was she. Once she had been saved and cared for by that family and now, they were gone.

As the months went by, she found herself obliged to check on the Baron and why not, try to bring some comfort.

But the reaction was always the same:

Apathy.

Except, the last time.

Ozenik shared with Carter that his boss was quieter than usual and full of secrets.

And it was there that, she discovered her plans against HYDRA.

"How will getting revenge on HYDRA help you?"

She asked.

"They caused all of this!"

He said fiercely.

"Sokovia?"

She asked quietly.

"That was the Avengers!"

He said listlessly.

"To protect the city!"

Sharon defended.

"How dare you come into my house and defend them?"

Zemo asked angrily.

"They are my friends!"

She defended herself.

"Your friends are murderers!"

Zemo said, looking into Carter's eyes.

"The hell they are!"

She faced him, without taking her eyes off.

"Why do you keep coming here?"

He was harsh.

"Because I care about you!"

Sharon replied seriously.

“So, you can turn around! I don't need your pity, Agent 13! Keep it to yourself! ”

Zemo said it again when he looked the agent in the eye.

"So, go to hell!"

She replied and turned her back on him.

"You are so annoying!"

Zemo, pulled her by the arm and forced Carter to look.

"What did you say?"

Sharon tried to pull her arm out of his hand and Zemo moved her closer to him.

"Let me go!"

Zemo, resting his hand on the girl's neck and pulled her into a kiss.

She, looking into the Baron's eyes, wrapped herself around him and then, kissed him back with lust.

It was something she had never imagined before, but it was also something she liked...

▪︎Berlin (2016)

“All this time, you used me to get revenge on the Avengers! How stupid I was to trust you, Helmut!”

Sharon Carter, told him as she stood in front of his cell.

“I never hid what I wanted from you! I didn't want to get you involved in that, but it was necessary!”

He replied back.

"It was necessary?"

She asked hurt.

“You slept with me and you cheated on my back! What kind of man are you?”

Sharon was disoriented and angry.

“The kind that does everything which needs for what want and after today, my dear, you will be like that too! Or do you think that giving the shield to Captain America will have no consequences?”

He asked with a half smile.

"I will never trust you again!"

She answered between her teeth and left the cell.

“You will have a big surprise, my dear! And you will see that in the end, I am more reliable, even than James Barnes!”

Zemo said quietly.

Sharon turned to him in surprise.

"Ah yes! I know your little secret, Doloris!”

Zemo smiled with satisfaction.

“You chose Barnes and HYDRA took it from you! Now, all you have to do is take good care of that child you waits! Von Strucker will not be pious if he knows that she is alive inside you! You will thank me later!”

Sharon came out of the room and watched as some CIA agents came in the distance. It couldn't be for Zemo, and it certainly wasn't.

She started to run and turned the long corridor.

As soon as she saw someone she knew in front of her and, stopped.

"Ozenik?"

She asked in surprise to Baron Helmut Zemo's butler.

"I have orders to get you out of here safely!"

He told to her.

"I'm not going anywhere with you!"

Sharon said seriously.

"I'm afraid you have no choice!"

Sounded Fury's voice from behind her.

"Director Fury!"

Sharon turned to the man.

"He's your best chance to get out of here alive before Von Strucker's agents find you or worse, the government!"

"Where are we going?"

She asked, following them both.

"Where would master Zemo wish he would have taken you!"

Sharon looked at Ozenik without understanding.

“The Zemo's safe mansion in Madripoor! It's yours now, Miss Carter! Along with a title, of course! ”

Ozenik explained, opening the car door for her.

Sharon got into the car in the back seat, with Fury at his left side and put on her belt, looking at him.

"What title is that?"

"The Power Broker!"

Ozenik replied, starting the car.

Sharon looked at him in surprise and at Fury.

“Master Zemo said that, this will ensure your daughter's safety! And I would trust him, if I were you!”

▪︎Madripoor (2023)

Sharon looked at Sam's letter. The government was willing to see her.

Early, she would be able to get home.

"When I go out that door, I will let the Dora Milaje find me!"

A familiar voice came from the back of the ex-CIA agent.

Sharon turned and saw Helmut Zemo there.

"Are you sure about that?"

She asked putting her hands in her pants pockets.

"I have nothing more to lose, Agent Carter!"

Zemo said as he looked at her.

“I lost everything I had! Barnes is a lucky man! ”

And, he left.

Sharon stopped to hear him and then, decided go out after him.

"Helmut, wait!"

When she went, no longer saw him.

Looking up at the sky, she spotted his plane departing from there.

▪︎New York (2023).

Sharon was looking at Daniel Von Strucker in the SHIELD cell. Now she understood the meaning of the words that Zemo had uttered years before:

{The type that does everything needs for what want and after today, my dear, you will be like that too!}

"Did you come here to brag about me?"

Strucker's voice was clear and hateful.

"No! I came here to look at you and say that I won!”

And show him a picture.

In it, were Sharon and Maggie and, the baby had a circle on her face. Then, she showed him an envelope.

"I never sent this to you!"

Sharon, who was wearing a glove, took Daniel's hand and pressed it against the photo.

"Now, you did!"

She smiled a revengeful and kept the photo in the envelope.

"You are not going to get out of this!"

Daniel said angrily stucking to the bar of the cell.

"Watch me!"

She whispered and gave a panicked cry.

“COULSOOOON! FURYYYY!”

Instantly, Nick Fury entered the cell corridor to help Sharon and pulled her out.

"He... He..."

Sharon was in tears and her hands were shaking, it was then that she handed the envelope to Nick Fury.

The SHIELD man took the photo from inside and looked furiously in the direction of Daniel's cell corridor.

Sharon put her hand to her mouth and took a deep breath.

Fury then left to call Strange.

The redhead, listening part of the conversation, turned away and left the place.

After waiting a few hours, she returned to SHIELD, under the excuse of asking for got out, and spotted Strange there.

"Doctor Strange, what are you doing here?"

The man looked at her in dismay.

"What did you do?"

Sharon asked, entering SHIELD headquarters quickly.

When she reached Daniel's cell, she saw the black hole there and turned to Strange.

"Sharon..."

"What did you do?"

She asked angrily and walked away with Strange following her.

"Sharon, wait!"

He caught up with her.

[pochapal]

rank every year of the 2010s from best to worst i want some pochapal lore

[warning for discussion of my fucked up mental health and my myriad traumas. we’re really opening the pandora’s box here gang]

ok time for me to overshare on the internet again! super long post because i can’t shut up and you asked for it. anyway, by objective ranking: 

#1: 2012 - halcyon era, my personal peak. spent the whole year writing hunger games oc fics with my deviantart fanfiction besties whom i still think about all the time and always hope are having the best possible day. if you were here for this era understand i still hold you so closely and dearly in my heart <3. 

#2: 2013 - god i was such a good example of a human being back then. was the year my writing like actually took off and i had a healthy balance between creative stuff and a social life (said social life consisting of spending lunchtimes at school breaking into classrooms and discussing fandom shit with five other people. reading homestuck updates in the music room on one person’s really shaky mobile data...legendary). highlight of the year and maybe my life was in the april of 2013 when i got out of failing to submit a hard deadline essay by telling my english teacher i wrote a whole novel over the two week break and then producing said novel. god i wish i had that level of like. fucking confidence back me back then knew what i wanted and how to get it. 

#3: 2010 - the last year of childhood. i was 12 and played pokemon all the time with my friends and went places and had a moderately successful youtube channel and it didn’t matter that i was bullied so badly at school because i was basically high off life. summer of 2010 was so good specifically. i’d used to get the bus with a friend and go see movies and break into historical sites and get into normal childhood mayhem and maxed out my pokewalkers twice a month and i was buzzed because i had two (2) whole friendship groups to choose from and that was such a huge deal to me the terminal social outcast. it was so simple and carefree and even though everything and everyone involved in this era grew up to suck except for one specific person i kinda really miss it.

#4: 2018 - this was the first year i wasn’t depressed to the point of nonfunctioning. it was 20gayteen, i was on antidepressants, i was as close to thriving as i got at uni (going into town with people once a week, attending art and culture events, getting good grades across the board), i started to write for fun again, i got my cat whom i love dearly, i was exhibited in my uni’s city’s literature festival, GOD i actually nearly attended a pride event that year can you imagine. this year was basically my life’s second peak. miss getting the 8am train and daintily sipping on a cherry coke to keep me from passing out. wish this time could have lasted longer.

#5: 2019 - kinda absolute middle of the road year not for lack of anything happening but because the overwhelming amount of good and bad things cancelled each other out. so like there’s the fact that i was at the top of my uni game this year, was basically making the first steps into a professional writing career (covid i will never forgive you for killing all that dead </3), finally saved up enough to buy myself a gaming pc, and the summer after the homestuck epilogues, but equally 2019 was the start of the Pochapal Gender Fiasco which is by far the most horrible thing i am still currently undergoing and i burnt myself out mentally about halfway through the year (being stuck overnight in a hospital for a panic attack absolutely horrible horrible irredeemable) and then got like super death plague flu that i was sick with for three months (literally recovered less than a month before rona hit. god’s cruel karma.). so like...it kind of averaged out? the good shit was good but not as great as other years and the bad shit was awful but nowhere near as terrible as it could have been. gotta give a shoutout to 90% of my current mutual cohort for following me in 2019...omelette route gang make some noise !!

#6: 2014 - oof. this year essentially marked the start of a four year long downward mental health spiral because everything fell into awful alignment. i’d just turned 16, finished secondary school, had all my friends up and ditch me at once, was home alone for a whole summer, and was hit with Sudden Intense Body Image Issues that i couldn’t explain until uh. after very recent developments lmao. this one goes out to the me of july 2014 who did nothing but lay in bed and listen to the same two marina albums on a loop because fuck i’m attracted to men and also my facial and body hair are really starting to come in and if i think about this for too long i will literally kill myself because oh god i can’t handle getting older which is clearly and definitely the issue going on here. my brain fucking broke super hardcore and it’s a miracle that an overeating disorder was like the worst thing i walked away with. 

#7: 2015 - downward spiral year two!! i was so volatile this year it was such a mess. i was totally socially isolated after a brief stint of falling in with a group of people at the start of my first year of sixth form until january where in quick succession a) it turned out every single one of these people was friends with the person who sexually assaulted me whom i obviously had a lot of complicated feelings towards and b) baby’s first crush came out as bisexual but in the “women and also trans women” kind of way which tore me up so terribly in ways i couldn’t begin to understand. no words for the experience of seeing a girl kiss a boy and crying so hard at night you threw up because you could never be her no matter how much you wanted it. actually kinda get the sense what was going on there was bigger than just some crush lmao. then after that i was so mentally ill i basically attended school less than half the time and it was the only year in my life i failed my exams. i ended up having to resit my entire set of first year a level exams because jesus christ was i in such a bad way it was a miracle i even showed up to them. all i did was either have anxiety attacks or enter bedbound depressive slumps for weeks at a time. but it’s okay because it gets worse.

#8: 2016 - downward spiral act iii: the spiralling. prefacing this by saying that i actually had two whole good months (april - may) in that i was functioning enough to do my exams and finish school with decent grades. the rest was super extra mega terrible. my school attendance for year 13 dipped below 65% and literally the only thing that kept me from being kicked out was the fact that i was naturally smart at the subjects i took and also because the school would have a lot to answer for after letting me get to that state despite having a hefty file on how damaged i was. keep in mind every single part of this was fully untreated btw - i was just floundering around and letting it all fester. i spent three solid weeks going to school but locking myself in the bathroom all day every day and having mental health episodes then going home like nothing else happened only to continue the breakdown that night. then things got kicked into fucked up overdrive when i moved out to uni and was cut off from what little support structures i did have. it was so bad all i did was cry all the time and never went anywhere to the point where three separate sources recommended me to the wellbeing and crisis counselling service that i stopped going to after two sessions because i was fucked up in ways cbt techniques could not even touch. at least i tried to make an effort for the first two months of uni which like. good for me?

#9: 2017 - what lieth at the base of the spiral. helltrench year. i was at literal rock bottom. i stopped going to class, i didn’t hand in a single piece of work. i lied to my parents and would book trains each day only to go back to my student flat and sit there and contemplate suicide. like i would just slump on the floor in a catatonic state and vividly contemplate one of four or so ways i could end my own life. i only didn’t because i wanted to wait until the summer to collect my last student loan and transfer it to my parents as an apology for my death which obviously didn’t end up happening. honestly i can’t remember much of the first half of 2017 that’s how bad it was. i remember taking a gender studies class and the teacher made it Weird that i was the Only Male Student in the room and then she sent me a scolding email after i walked out halfway through a class and never returned. apparently i got into a lot of online discourse in this year but i don’t remember anything other than being put on a blocklist by the milkfic author over ace discourse which is funny if you have the context. mostly i just baited terfs and weirdo freaks to get them to say horrible things to me as what i guess amounts to some kind of digital self harm. anyway breaking point came in late august when i got kicked out of university and then nobody could ignore it any more so there was no choice left but for me to seek out help and recover enough to function which luckily i did. i really Do Not remember 2017. you could tell me anything about that year and i’d probably believe you.

#10: 2011 - extra circle of hell for this little fucked up gem of a year. on the surface it wasn’t actually that terrible, until the Summer 2011 Domino Effect Of Bad Shit. up until like may/june it was a pretty all right year! i was 13 and had a surprisingly successful youtube channel uploading pokemon soundfont remixes to an audience of i think ~350-400 subscribers at my peak? anyway then i got hit with the early summer triple combo of childhood friends moving away, cute and quirky sexual assault at the hands of a person in my friend group, and then having some Really Great and Super Appropriate interactions with adults on deviantart. like obviously there’s the actual ptsd-inducing event which totally disrupted and killed the person i was right up until that moment and reshaped every facet of my life for better or worse (there’s an alternate timeline where that didn’t happen and i got into electronic music and/or coding instead) but really it’s the events that followed in its wake which were kind of more fucked up. so like all of a sudden i was super aware of my body and me growing my hair out and being mistaken for a girl in class suddenly became this Less Innocent thing and i ended up spending hours overnight going to transgender questioning forums and looking up hrt timeline videos and having the wikipedia article on tracheal shaving saved because it was a life raft to me whose voice was imminently gonna deepen and i was simultaneously reeling with constant trauma flashbacks and the whole thing was so so fucked up. then i was on deviantart and i don’t remember exactly how but a small group of furry guys ten to fifteen years older than me started messaging me and encouraging and requesting me to produce nonsexual fetish stuff for them and talking to me about stuff like if i’d ever thought about growing up to be gay and i didn’t think anything of it for a long while because they called me a very talented writer and it felt so good to have someone be nice to me after being so alone and isolated for months on end. anyway the only reason i got out of that before it got bad was because they invited me to one of the big furry sites and i was weirded out because i thought it was a porn site and thinking about sexual stuff was a huge trauma trigger so i just ended up blocking them all and pretending like it didn’t happen. at the time half this shit didn’t bother me but in retrospect holy fuck 2011 was such a damaging year. to think if like three events didn’t happen i wouldn’t be the fucked up mess you see before you today.

god fuck this turned out super long but i’m not apologising because this was a therapeutic exercise for me and also constitutes as one of the biggest pochapal lore dumps of all time. come get your food or whatever.

[geckomoon]

Yuri!!! on ice as irl skaters (part 1???)

Its 2020 and I miss yoi so here are my personal headcanons about which irl skater the you cast skate &/or act like because why the hell not.

(photos at the bottom of the post because I couldn't get the format to work the way I wanted it to)

Yuri Katsuki ➡️ Boyang Jin (China)/Evgenia Medvedeva (Russia)

Yes, 2 people because PARALLELS.

So my reason for saying Yuri is like Boyang is because, his step sequences are always gorgeous and his jumping power, oofttttt, and that one scene where Yuri tries a jump and lands in the wall, you know the one. Boyang Jin is known for jumping super close to the boards and scaring the hell out of us all, seriously, just watch one of his skates, it's amazing and terrifying. Also Boyang is a bit of a nerd and Yuri is canonicaly pretty into video games, nuff said.

Boyang is a two-time World bronze medalist (2016–2017), the 2018 Four Continents champion, a two-time Four Continents silver medalist (2016, 2019), the 2017 Asian Winter Games silver medalist, and a five-time (2014–2017, 2019) Chinese national champion.

Evgenia however, this is more of a parallel in how her 2018/19 season went and how Yuri kinda flopped. Zhenya had a crappy start to the 18/19 season, she'd just switched coaches and mover halfway across the world, for the 1st time in her senior career she didn't make the gpf. However by the end of the season she had bounced back and won bronze at worlds and my god what a skate that fp was. Remind you of anyone huh???

Evgenia has a lot of medals (and actually made a cameo in the end credits of episode 10) She is a two-time Olympic silver medalist (2018 ladies' singles, 2018 team event), a two-time world champion (2016, 2017), a two-time European champion (2016, 2017), a two-time Grand Prix Final champion (2015, 2016), a two-time Russian national champion (2016, 2017), silver medalist at the 2018 European Figure Skating Championships and bronze medalist at the 2019 World Championships. Also, she is a huge Anime fan and has a sailor moon exhibition program and its adorable.

Victor Nikiforov ➡️ Yuzuru Hanyu (Japan)

I know a lot of people compare Yuri to Yuzu but I think Victor is a better fit.

Yuzuru has a legion of super duper dedicated fans, they are pretty scary at times. If you watch the 2018 Olympics, the ice literally was covered in Pooh bears after his skate. People love this man, and rightly so. Clearly Yuri isn't the only one who loves Victor, he's very popular in the yoi skating world and almost everyone loves and looks up to him.

His skates are almost immaculate every time. Not only is his technique amazing but his artistry is what really sets him apart from other skaters who may have higher bv on jumps etc. Not that he dosent have high bv, seriously he tries combos that are super wierd just for the bv (see the wierd 4t-3a combo thing he does idk). Plus he's dead set on doing a quad axel. See Victor's super high bv with all the quads and also the fact everyone goes nuts over how his skating is 'like no other'.

Also his medal collection is absolutely mad, he is a two-time Olympic champion (2014, 2018), two-time World champion (2014, 2017), four-time Grand Prix Final champion (2013–2016), Four Continents champion (2020) and three times silver medalist (2011, 2013, 2017). Just like how Victor is canonicaly an Olympic champion and 5x world champion and probably many time euros champ.

Also, he's a sweetheart, he literally crawled behind Shoma Uno because he didn't want the attention taken away from Shoma. I love him.

Victor Nikiforov gives big Yuzuru Hanyu energy.

Yuri Plisetsky ➡️ Yulia Lipnitskaya (Russia)/Alexandra Trusova (Russia)

Again, 2 people.

It's canon that Yuri P was modeled after Yulia for the flexibility and artistic portion of his skates so I feel like I don't need to elaborate much in it however his determination and his wanting to back load with quads reminds me a lot of Sasha Trusova.

Sasha only started juniors the year after yoi came out (she had a Makkachin tissue box which was given to her by Evgenia M which is adorable) so she was not really that popular when the show was being made but she really made a statement when she became the 1st woman to land 2 quads in 1 program (4 salchow and 4 toeloop) at the age of 13 at 2018 junior worlds.

She has just started senior and this season she had 5 quads in one program and I think I cried. She now has a quad sal, toe, flip and lutz and is apparently working on a loop. On top of that she can land a 3 axel but has yet to do so in competition. Did I mention SHE'S 15 AND I'M TERRIFIED.

She currently holds the world record for the free skate (166.62 points). She is the 2020 European Bronze Medalist, the 2019 Grand Prix Final bronze medalist, the 2019 Skate Canada champion, the 2019 Rostelecom Cup champion, the 2019 CS Ondrej Nepela champion, the 2019 Russian national silver medalist, and the 2020 Russian national bronze medalist.

Her determination to win and high TES reminds me of Yurio a lot.

Phichit Chulanont ➡️ Nam Nguyen (Canada)

This one is fun.

I love Nam with all my heart, he's actually my favourite male skater and not just because of his skating. However his skating is great. He is the 2014 World Junior champion, 2019 Skate Canada silver medalist, and two-time Canadian national champion (2015, 2019). He has placed as high as fifth at the World Championships, in 2015. He's not the best skater ever, kinda like Phichit but his personality shines through so much when he skates and I love it.

My main comparison to Phichit is the fact that Nam Nguyen is a huge meme. His Instagram is one of the most hilarious things I've ever seen (@ namnamnoodle). I can't explain it with words seriously just go look at it, he makes memes using professionnally taken skating photos of himself and honestly it's just a giggle. He's almost always posting on his story and half the videos he takes end up on fan twitter and everyone freaks out.

Also he's good friends with Evgenia, thought I'd mention that seeing as who I compared her to :)).

Yeah, Phichit and Nam are memes and I adore them both.

Jean-Jacques Leroy ➡️ Nathan Chen (USA)

Jj is definitely more of a technical focused skater. He tends to put all his eggs in the '800000 quads' bucket and isn't as artistic, in my humble opinion.

Just like Nathan surprisingly, though Nate isn't as egotistical (not a dig, just an observation).

Nathan is compared to Yuzu a lot, and had actually scored higher than him a few times in competition. He is an amazing jumper and is the first skater to have landed five types of quadruple jumps in competitions: toe loop, Salchow, loop, flip and Lutz. Currently he is two-time World champion (2018, 2019), a 2018 Winter Olympic bronze medalist in the team event, the 2017 Four Continents champion, three-time Grand Prix Final champion (2017, 2018, 2019), and four-time U.S. national champion (2017, 2018, 2019, 2020).

So yeah, he's good.

However at the 2018 Olympics (he was only 18 at the time) he bombed under pressure in the team event and in the sp, only to come back with a WR free skate, but didn't medal because of his sp score,kinda like how Jj bombed at the GPF. (Ngl, I cried in school when I saw Nate bomb at the Olympics, I was so upset).

Also, Nathan is super smart and is training to be a doctor. Not related to Jj but I thought I would point it out.

Christophe Giacometti➡️ Adam Rippon (USA)/Javier Fernández (Spain)

Chris is a hard one to pin to an irl skater because he's just so... Chris.

The closest comparison I can get is Adam Rippon but dialed up to 11 because Adam is quite a bit more tame than Chris is. However he did have a point in his sp where he literally beckons the judges to him in a way that can only be described as vaguely sexual. Seeing that at the Olympics was an event I'll tell you that.

Adam was the first openly gay man to make a U.S. Winter Olympic team, and the first to win a medal at the Winter Games. (team bronze).

Plus, I'm pretty sure he owned a Chris plushie at one point or another.

However other than the obvious Chrissness, his technique and medal winning achievements most closely match up with Javier Fernández (who may I add is pretty much Yuzuru Hanyu's best friend). He is the 2018 Olympic bronze medalist, a two-time World champion (2015, 2016), a two-time World bronze medalist (2013, 2014), a seven-time European champion (2013–2019), a two-time Grand Prix Final silver medalist (2014, 2015), a three-time Rostelecom Cup champion (2014–2016), a two-time Grand Prix in France champion (2016–2017) and an eight-time Spanish national champion (2010, 2012–2018). Javi is an amazing skater but usually ended up playing 2nd fiddle to Yuzuru on the world stage, but with euros, he literally won 7 times consecutively. Anndddd, he was the flag bearer for Spain at the 2014 Olympics and I still cry about it.

Otabek Altin➡️ Denis Ten (Kazakhstan)/ Matteo Rizzo

So it's canon that Otabek was based on Denis (rip Denis) so like Yuri and Yulia I do not feel like I need to elaborate much as you can read it on the wikia page. But Otabek also reminds me of a less talkative version of Matteo Rizzo. Matteo is the 2019 European bronze medalist, 2018 NHK Trophy bronze medalist, 2019 Winter Universiade champion, and 2018 Italian national champion.

The reason he reminds me of Otabek is that they just joth exude the same level of cool and I can't explain it any further than that. That's it. Just watch him skate and you'll see.

So that's all I have for now because this post got pretty long so if this gets enough attention I'll do a part 2 :)).