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mana-jjk · 5 months

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i have like 3 long posts in the drafts about a college au, hard of hearing toge and partially blind maki, and inuokko dynamic with kids but here i am, once again, not finishing my wip <3

so anyway, first and second years and how much they believed in santa, second years being a lot longer because i am actually insane. ft. inuokko and nobamaki of course

yuuji - his dad probably wanted him to have so much magic in the holidays, but his grandfather was very practical. so he probably got a singular santa christmas before being raised to know he wasn’t real. but yuuji is such a good kid that he kept it to himself and just played along with the other kids. choso still thinks he believes, probably because a small part of him is a little kid at heart.

megumi - tsumiki did her best to keep the magic of the holidays, but they didn’t have a lot of money so she struggled a lot. he’s a very practical kid so it didn’t take him long to figure it out. for a while he didn’t say anything until it slipped out in an argument that he knew and wasn’t a kid. when gojo adopted them, he took a little too much enjoyment in gaslighting them that santa was real but had been delivering their presents somewhere else. not out of being a good guardian, but because he enjoys lying to children, especially pulling off weird feats and watching megumi twitch.

nobara - 100% believed in santa the longest out of the trio and is embarrassed by it. if you ask her, she always knew he was fake and she was just trying to get cool presents. but if you ask her grandmother, she would go on an exasperated rant on how stubborn she was in believing in santa, and threw a fit every time someone tried saying he wasn’t. she still loves christmas, the aesthetic, presents, cafes, specials, etc. and gets excited like a little kid. she begs maki to match outfits and go ice skating and get the special christmas cake with her. at heart she’s still a little girl in a lot of ways, even if she won’t admit it.

panda - he stills believes in santa. it’s a long going pact for no one to tell him that his dad is blackmailing everyone to let him keep believing. Despite being a rational creature who insists human are the silly ones, he abides by traditions strictly to ensure that santa will show up. yaga has basically been enforcing his belief because he finds it cute and it lets him act like a parent for at least a small while.

maki - was never allowed to believe in santa, didn’t even know what he was apart from the glances she and mai would get in store windows and atop strawberry cakes they were never allowed to have. the most joy they stole for themselves around that day was when it would snow. sneaking out of their room, they would draw shapes into the show and making matching snowmen for each other that they hid in bushes. when taken to help with shopping, they’d discreetly awe at the shining lights and everything they weren’t allowed to indulge in. when maki came to jujutsu high, it was simultaneously difficult and gratifying to partake in everything she was denied as a child. she loves junk food, so having kfc chicken and strawberry cake for the first time was life changing. she pretends to complain when nobara drags her out, but never puts up a fight for too long before they’re interlocking hands and looking into store windows that she had only ever been able to steal glances at. despite always vying to spite her family, sometimes she forgets the simplest way to do so is in living her life happily. that’s why, when nobara insists on pulling her into the ice skating ring, gripping her arms with a wide grin and a practiced ease in the way she skates them in circles, fingertips still warm from holding the hot chocolate, and eyes sparkling, maki can feel her walls melting down. when they eventually move into together, after everything, their wounds ache in the cold. nobara no longer has the confidence to go out into the city, not missing an eye and with a scarred face. it’s maki who gently drags her out, who pulls her under the christmas lights and pushes back her hair, presses her lips to her forehead and just holds her. despite everything, despite how much they lost, despite how maki’s heart burns every time she sees the snow, despite how nobara’s heart thunders every time someone looks for too long, they haven’t lost each other.

toge - like maki, he never even knew what santa was. growing up, he was seen as dangerous from the moment he opened his mouth. teaching him how to talk was seen as dangerous because the more words he knew, the more that could be used against them. so there was no outings, no TV, no visitors, nothing beyond the grounds he grew up in. he spent his entire childhood restricted until gojo intervened. but that’s for another time on my headcanon of his backstory ✨ so, coming into jujutsu high he was experiencing these things for the first time. gojo goes all out for christmas, so it was a heck of a first impression. at night, when everyone was asleep, he’d spend hours looking at their mini tree, hands around a cup of tee. the first present gojo gave him was a blue scarf, so he wasn’t always restricted to face masks. he signed it off as santa, but it took one alarmed look from a possible intruder for maki to tell him. he has a weird relationship with the holiday, like a new person coming into an established friendship, like an interloper. he enjoys it passively, but can’t help but feel like he’s intruding within it every time it comes around. though it’s the same for most, if not all, holidays. yuuta sees it despite how toge prides himself on hiding it from his friends, and takes every opportunity to prove him wrong. toge finds himself subject to traditions that still confuse him, but he never could deny the other. so at late hours he finds himself cutting paper snowflakes, listening to japanese christmas songs, watching too many movies about the elusive santa. at early hours, yuuta physically drags him from his bed, sometimes having too carry him, to open presents at too early of an hour. when yuuta leaves, christmas is cold again, and only vaguely feels right when they video call each other from opposite time zones. despite yuuta’s excitement of the holiday, he opens his present from miguel and gojo early so they can do it together.

yuuta - he grew up in a very normal household that did actually let him have a good experience with the holiday. he and his sister would decorate together, wake up as early as possible, and indulge in as many activities as they could. rika would join them later, snowball fights and arts and crafts that ended in sticky hands and laughter. when rika died, all of the joy went with her. his parents never actually told him santa wasn’t real, after rika died it just didn’t matter to him anymore. when his sister tried to initiate a snow ball fight, rika nearly broke her arm. after that, his household lived in a constant state of holding its breath. his sister tried and tried to reach out to him for everything they used to do, but again and again rika would hurt her until his parents physically pulled her away from him. when he was taken to be executed, he thought maybe his family would be able to celebrate christmas again. of course his first christmas eve at jujutsu high ended with him murdering his teachers gay lover, and freeing his childhood friend, but they did end up having a small celebration despite it all. after that, after he came back from abroad, after the war finally finished, he finally allowed himself to enjoy the holiday again. he spent hours decorating the little apartment he and toge were staying in, sheepishly scratching the back of his head when toge looked at the mistletoe with a raised eyebrow. he takes toge to markets and to the illuminations around the plazas and districts, trying to pretend like he didn’t spend hours researching the ideal holidate. despite that it’s toge that always gives him the perfect gift at the perfect time. the one he’d never be able to forget, was a product of those times he’d whisper in tears that he wished he knew how his sister was doing, too scared to reach out himself, wishing he’d get even postcard. he would never be able to forget the way toge squeezed his hand before pointing at a girl. even after a few years, he’d recognized her immediately. she hasn’t noticed them yet, intentionally on toge’s part, he was giving him a chance to decide. breathless, he called out her name, she turned to him and smiled with tears in her eyes, and for the first time in years they were allowed to hold each other other. he loves the holidays, loves his friends, his boyfriend, his sister, and loves that after everything, he was given the chance to live so joyously.

#inumaki toge #jjk #jujutsu kaisen #yuuta okkotsu #inuokko #ottoge #jjk panda #maki zenin #megumi fushiguro #itadori yuuji #nobara kugisaki #nobamaki #jjk choso #gojo satoru

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absolutebl · 3 years

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This Week in BL

Sept 2021 Wk 5

Being a highly subjective assessment of one tiny corner of the interwebs.

Ongoing Series - Thai

Don’t Say No Ep 9 (Line) - It’s my corny af hurt/comfort soap opera that I watch at 1.5x and skip all the sex scenes and Fiat crying, but I like it that way, so there. Yes I am one of those people who only eats the outside of the peanut M&Ms, why do you ask? Episode recaps here.

Bite Me Ep 5 (Viu & Viki) - sometimes I feel like this show is skipping all the important bits, or having them occur off screen intentionally, like some ancient Greek play. Still, the depth of the feeling understood between the two leads is clearly transferred to us despite that. Are they dating? Sure seems that way. Without anything being actually said about it. It’s oddly magical. I talked a bit about the north/south divide and food as a love language with regards to kao soi in this post.

7 Project Ep 5 The Breakup Zone (iQiYi & YouTube) - another het installment, so I skipped it. Nash.

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Peach of Time Ep 10 fin - A Korean BL (maybe not BL tho) featuring Thai talent that really went beyond a lot of tropes into interesting territory and allegory in a way only Korea does. I hope we get more collabs like this, perhaps happier than this one next time? RECOMMENDED only if you are prepared for The Sad. Because it is quite sad.

x Friend or Lover (YouTube) Ep 6 - still waiting on the final of this Taiwanese indie series.

Love is Science? (BL sub plot on Viki) Ep 14 (aired ep 15) - Taiwanese drama finally got subbed yesterday, so those of us who are waiting seem to be on a week’s delay. The BL couple actually has the most interesting story arc and the most unusual character growth. I’m enjoying how unpredictable these two are. Honestly, they could have gotten their own series with this much story - and now I really want that for after the baby comes. I’m a little sad we didn’t get the coming out in the skate park sequence (LOOK I love coming out drama, especially with sporty friends, it’s a THING), but I also get why the writers are doing what they are with these boys. And the actors sure can handle it. Taiwan at it’s finest.

Love Is the series (YouTube) Ep 5 - continues to be fine for a V-BL but not all that actually good.

See You After Quarantine? (Viki) Ep 6, 7 - Taiwanese gameboys with Japanese talent stuck in, what more could we ask? AND THEN they gave us some *thirsty boi* action, great kisses, and charmed the pants off... well... everyone. Taiwan, we don’t deserve you. Honestly, you spoil us. Turns out Aaron Lai is the best wingman any gay Japanese man in quarantine could ask for. Everyone should be watching this. It’s utterly charming.

The Tasty Florida (Viki) Ep 3 & 4 - this Korean BL so fucking cute. Look it’s formless and too short but simultaneously aching and kinda special-sweet. But Korea has got to settle into something a bit longer for their BL for everyone’s sake. It’s time. Light On Me proved it was possible. I’m not asking for much, just 15 min+ of fresh content with at least a 10 ep arc.

Read more about it here.

GOSSIP!

Rumors of OhmFluke to star in new Thai BL Oh! My Sunshine Night. It’s from Newsinfinity Entertainment who announced the casting and showed the couple in workshops. This is this (small) production house’s first BL and they aim to “appeal to to general audiences* with a “broader view of BL that everyone will watch.” Which is code for LOW heat, light gay, soft boys. If this happens I think we can expect this to be Thailand doing Korean-style BL.

* GENERAL AUDIENCE? Let’s be clear no piece of media will EVER appeal to everyone. Here is the USA “general audience” is code for “families with socially conservative values and children who are still minors” AKA what used to be prime time TV watchers AKA suburbia.

The concept is analytically old fashioned and so fractured at this juncture (socially economically spatially politically) that “general audience” is actually impossible to target and it doesn’t really exist. But try telling that to the publicity department.

We also call this the “Disney live action demo.” (Think Pirates of the Caribbean.) I occasionally refer to them as “the Simpsons.” And they’re about as realistic. All that to say I am VERY suspicious of Oh! My Sunshine Night‘s production house.

To My Star does seem to be getting a second season, same director, same mains. Korea is much better about executing on its promises than Thailand, but until I see proof of filming or an honest trailer, my favorite boys are staying in the gossip section. I don’t wanna get my hopes up. (Honestly now, how many of you also want an alt reality with these two as a couple but Kim Kang Min playing his long suffering cardiologist intern character from Hospital Playlist? Just me?)

I reported on Unforgotten Night a while ago. It seems to have been fully cast now, I still think the publicity stills make it look like a joke. But with this line-up I guess it’s even more of an alt answer to KinnPorsche.

You know that thing that happens in media when suddenly we get multiples of the same style of movie or show at once? It’s now happening with BL. Love triangles. Restaurants. And now mafia.

Cutie Pie (our arranged marriage Thai BL staring Zee) dropped some wardrobe fitting photo ops. Also... fancy pants sexy suits that fit, so that’s exciting.

Starting Soon

My Mate Match from Starhunter should be starting on Line TV next Saturday. Usually, Line has subs relatively quickly and is available internationally. However the fact that the trailer is not subbed and the show is not listed on Line’s site has me nervous. No idea on length of run either.

Starhunter studio doesn’t have a great track record in general for narrative arcs and this one is not based on a y-novel so could get waffly. This is a roommates love triangle BL about a boy who is looking for one roommate and ends up with two vying for his home and his heart. Stars Jet as the uke lead which I’m pretty happy about as he’s got great comedic timing and is accustomed to BL. He’s opposite two friends/co-actors from Gen Y and other projects, so we know they’re comfortable with each other. They could do great things... if they get a decent script.

Next Week Looks Like This:

Some shows may be listed later than actual air date for International subs accessibility reasons.

Upcoming 2021 BL master post here.

Links to watch are provided when possible, ask in a comment if I missed something.

This week’s best moment?

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gwydionmisha · 2 years

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We need to talk about the Treatment of Zhu Yi.

So here's the thing, in both the elite sports and the ballet world, people have been switching countries significantly longer than I've been alive. It a thing that happens. It's normal. There are a lot of reasons for it. sometimes, as during the Cold war, people outright defect(ed) because they think they will have a better life in the other country. This is an extremely familiar narrative even to people who don't follow figure skating (or ballet, or certain other sports), but it's not the only reason people do this.

In figure skating, it's incredibly common for people who are good, but live in a country with a large number of good skaters to, you know, move somewhere where they have more opportunities. People with duel citizenship will often pick the country with less competition for top slots because things like the Olympics max out a countries entries at three. If there are say four or even five of you vying for a limited number of slots at say Worlds or the Olympics, maybe it's worth staying, but what if you have an option to grab the one spot some other country has instead of fighting your way into those limited slots?

Keep in mind, a lot of those smaller countries very much want an elite skater to help build a program in their country and for the international prestige. They will welcome a duel citizen with open arms. Similarly, the child of emigres. Some of them will actively recruit athletes who've signaled an interest in leaving despite a lack of ties. (This happens in lots of Sports. Remember that Belarusian runner who defected in a Japanese airport who got taken in by a third country?) So if your country has no potential Olympians, or only very weak contenders, it really does make sense on both sides.

Last I checked eight Russian figure skaters were expected at the 2022 Olympics in Beijing, five of them skating for other countries because the Russian women's single skate program is so incredibly dominant right now. If you are in the top four or five, might as well go be the best woman's single skater in some other nearby country.

You also get good skaters from smaller countries moving to live somewhere else without changing citizenship to be where the best coaches are. This is incredibly normal. you also get pairs and dance skaters who end up deciding to partner with someone from another country, who have to change citizenship so they can skate together. My point is, a lot of people live and train in one country and compete for another, or have moved between countries as they think is best for their development as skaters.

Would I want to pick China to switch to? No. Surveillance, genocide, concentration camps, rising anti-queer sentiment, etc., but I can see why the level of state support China gives their elite athletes might attract someone who was talented but not likely to get much support or exposure in the US. It's not the choice I would likely make, but I can understand someone who did, especially someone with her background. This really likely was her best option, possibly her only option besides skating here. Keep in mind, most athletes above a certain level have lived and dreamed and sacrificed most of their childhood and teen years to try to do this one thing very, very well. It's easy for people who never were that kind of choice to judge that choice harshly. I prefer exercising a little empathy.

Last winter Olympics, there was a Kazakhstani ladies single skater who was good enough to score two slots for her country. There were not two women at the right level to fill those slots and there was a controversy, because the second best Kazakhstani lady figure skater came anyway instead of that slot to the next eligible person from another country. and yes, it sucked that that other woman didn't get to go, but realistically, neither of these women were going to medal. So picture for a second if you were an amateur Kazakhstani skater and you had a once in a lifetime chance to travel to Korea to skate on televisions all over the world wearing your tiara. Realistically, I'd guess 99% of us would have been skating in our tiaras even if the world called us selfish. It's nice to say, oh, you'd cede that slot, but no one offered you one. I don't think any of us know we'd for sure say no.

Also, you know why Zhu Yi was skating for China in Beijing? They literally had no woman single skater better than her. No really. When I heard China was going to the team event, I thought, "Huh. Who's they get for the woman's single skate?" Because I could think of anyone this cycle at that level to take the slot. when I saw who it was, I was like, oh! I vaguely remember her from pre-pandemic. Which means she was good enough for me to have seen her and for to have made some sort of impression though not a strong one either way. If China had a woman with a 60+ short, she'd have been in that slot. Ask yourself seriously, in her place, given a chance for better coaching and a ticket to the Olympics, would you really say no? Because I think a whole lot of armchair skate fans would say yes, even with all the stuff going on in China.

And then there is the extreme cyber bullying which makes me furious. She was clearly doing her best in the short. I have been listening to Canadian skate commentators every year since I moved up here in '98 and I have never heard them as quietly furious as they were during the long program at the harm people on social media heave done to this young woman. She is nineteen. A teenager. her whole life has been about trying to do this one thing she loved. She's not a murderer, like Kyle Rittenhouse, or a monster. She is a teenager who wanted to skate more than anything in the world and now hate is pouring down on her from all sides with no thought at all to her humanity or her youth. The cruelty of it. I just have no fucking words.

Of course she couldn't skate well under those conditions. Could you? Could anyone?

I don't know her. I'll never meet her, but oh do I have empathy for her, because this is a terrible thing for anyone to have done to them, especially a young woman with all the pressures that the world piles on young women just in general.

Fuckssake, can we think before we pile on? Expend a little empathy like the Canadian Skate commentators, instead of being the gears of hate grinding up young athletes trying to do their best in one of the most high pressure situations is possible for an athlete to be in.

#Zhu Yi #Figure Skating #Olympics #Cyberbullying #Don't Be a Dick!

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anewbeginningagain · 2 years

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Some other interesting commentary from Tanith and Charlie on the RDs:

They talked a lot about Stepanova/Bukin RD lacking something but they don’t even know exactly what (Which I think most of us feel like), they were complimentary but said that going after P/C weren’t doing them favors (which again I agree, not because I think P/C are so amazing, but P/C have and RD and packaging that feels expensive and S/B’s program and packaging are like he Walmart edition...).

When talking about Gillies/Poirier they said it helps them skating after S/B (kind of shady but again kind of true as well) since they look more polished and patient in their skating. Charlie wants them to show more freedom in their skating, but he said it was strong skating they just both wish there was a punch to the end. I will said that they then started talking about versatility and how teams that are vying for an Olympic medal have to show versatility and at that point all I could think is “ARE WE REALLY GOING TO IGNORE THE GIANT ELAPHANT IN THE ROOM THAT IS P/C???” and the answer is yes, it is ignored and will forever be ignored I’m afraid.

I did listen to their commentary about Papadakis/Cizeron, Charlie talked about the consistent nuance they add with their arm movements. HE calls them skaters skaters because they make him to want to go skating LOL, talking about how they are in a good place at this stage of the season and obviously being very complimentary and talk about the overall cohesiveness of the program (which I agree with, especially compared to some of the other RDs we’ve been seeing).

#since it was just Charlie and Tanith #Tanith is the Terry Gannon of the situation so she's less commentary and more explanatory

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shinjaeha · 4 years

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itsay ep 4 (thoughts + spoilers)

idk even know how to even start this bc i feel like i’m just a big ball of emotions, and this ep was wild. so much happened. last ep was so wonderful and almost languid with how everything played out (esp since it focussed much more specifically on the shift in teh/oh-aew’s relationship). this ep had a bit more of everything, not just the two of them in their bubble anymore. societal forces at play, and hence much more angst. again, this isn’t a proper analysis, it’s just me ranting and raving as usual as i semi-rewatch this again. this is very long, and there are a lot more things i want to think about in more detail at some point bc i’m mostly just skating over a lot of what happened but i gotta get these thoughts in my head out of me somehow. and i’m not sure if what i’m typing will even make sense bc i MYSELF can barely make sense of what i’m feeling but here i go anyway.

so we start off with the both of them kind of awkward after the night before which is fair enough considering what happened. actually when oh-aew’s habit started playing up again, i thought teh wasn’t going to scratch his back bc he was trying not to ~go there again after the night before, but he did and i was pleasantly surprised like oh...maybe things aren’t that bad?? (YET). also, i can imagine that it would have been reassuring for oh-aew too. like things have changed, but it’s not like teh has completely abandoned him. the touch itself is comforting, like when they were kids.

teh’s mum talking about how she wants both of her sons to bring their girlfriends around (and hounding him about bringing tarn around again) is giving me war flashbacks to my own asian relatives and i can feel the way that must crawl under his skin. I HATE when family members do that (and they always do). but for teh it must be esp hard bc he’s already constantly feeling like he’s vying for his mum’s attention over his brother, and now hoon’s bought back a girlfriend so it’s yet ANOTHER thing he feels like he has to compete with his brother over. in the back of his mind, he knows that he can’t give his mum what she wants if he’s with oh-aew (he can’t ‘win’ over hoon bc heteronormativity). teh is def prone to jealousy fairly easily, but i always feel like his emotions on that base level are also very easy to understand. i’ve been in positions like that before where i’ve felt like i’ve constantly been compared to someone else, and it makes you feel like shit. but also oh-aew having to sit through teh’s mum telling him to let her know if teh and tarn are dating?? ouch.

cue teh trying to avoid what’s going on with them and oh-aew being sad :((( they’re both in so much pain and i feel it and thank god i am no longer a teenager that’s all i can say about this.

the guitar in skyline instrumental is just...making me feel some kind of way. they have so many versions of this song and they always use the right version at the right time how is that.

so the tarn scene!!!!!!!!!!!!!! first thought: holy shit she looks so cute i love her crop top where did she get it i want one. second thought: but why did they make her wear a dark bra under such a light top?? i love that i was thinking this and then it all unravelled in front of me and like...the brilliance. the contrast between the scene in ep 2 (i think?) where teh accidentally peeks at her bra through the buttons of her shirt and gets noticeably flustered, and then this one where she literally wears the same bra under a light shirt ON PURPOSE to get his attention, but he doesn’t even notice?? the way she expects him to colour the hibiscus purple, but he colours it red for oh-aew instead?? it’s so incredibly telling of where his heart is at, and how his feelings have changed. anyway, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that he’s just not all there with her anymore, and tarn isn’t stupid...she’s been picking up on the signals since the beginning (why was he so weirdly obsessed with beating oh-aew at the start? why was he willing to wake up at 4am for oh-aew but not for her? willing to tutor the rest of his friends but not spend time with her?). the way she sees him colouring the hibiscus red and it’s her wake up call, like wtf am i DOING bc of this guy????? i love how she acknowledges that her feelings for teh have made it so she’s solely focussed on him and that she hates the things it makes her do (like wearing the bra to gain his attention). ngl i was slightly worried with how they were going to use her character during these later eps with teh being so conflicted (since girlfriends in BLs are usually handled pretty poorly), but i appreciate that she’s still as fleshed out and full of feeling as she ever was. she’s so sweet, and i just wish she had better than this, but i’m glad she called teh out on it. i know he’s confused af rn, and tbh i don’t think he’s handled this as badly (atm at least) as i thought it could have gone, but at the same time, if he doesn’t decide and set his heart on what he really wants, he’s just going to end up hurting them all. LOVE that she basically tells him to get his shit together first before coming back to her. i like her so much. and that scene of teh just walking around and around at the back feeling conflicted while she drew? really reminds me of the squiggly line timeline(?) of how ep 4 was going to go that nadao released before this ep went live. also cmbyn vibes were real in that one.

the devastation in oh-aew’s voice when he asks teh to at least reply his messages ;;; it’s like teh wants to go back to just being friends and oh-aew has kind of accepted that at this point, but at the same time, teh’s not backing that up. he says he wants to be friends, but he doesn’t know how to act ‘normal’ about it anymore, so he pushes oh-aew away instead. good on oh-aew for not taking that shit and standing up for himself too. i absolutely cannot stand seeing oh-aew sad bc pp’s sad face/voice is so good it actually pains me.

notice how teh ALWAYS uses studies/tutoring as an excuse to get closer to oh-aew again...hmmm...does oh-aew see it for what that is now too? that “you’ve never understood me” hit me like a fucking train. to think that they were so attuned to one another last ep, but now teh’s too caught up in he’s own world to realise just how much he’s hurting oh-aew. thanks, i hate it.

i know that he’s needs to figure himself out more and i absolutely stand by the fact that he needs to do that without messing around with either oh-aew or tarn (and also that he’s using studies again to get into oh-aew’s good books instead of talking through feelings and all that), but the chinese idiom book that he made for oh-aew was actually SO CUTE and romantic. all this stuff he does for oh-aew to show that he clearly cares so much, yet he can never accept it enough to get the words out...

I SWEAR THEY PLAY THE INSTRUMENTAL SKYLINE JUST TO CHOKE ME UP. the darting around each other after the neck kiss COUPLED with the skyline instrumental?? it’s like a sad beach scene 2.0. teh making the first (intimate) move this time. every time he’s trying so hard to convince himself he’s not in love with this boy, and every time he keeps coming back. i always feel such a weird mix of happy and sad when i see them together bc i love them but i know teh in particular, is just not ready yet. like the hug scene made my heart leap, BUT they did it in hiding (under the staircase). all their big intimate scenes are in hiding and that just :(((

teh saying that he loves the seawater on his back bc it holds him up, and oh-aew saying but you have to hold your breath in that posture and it gets uncomfortable so he likes letting it go and just sinking sometimes instead (obv paraphrasing but you get the drift)?? THE WRITING IN THIS. it says so much without telling the audience directly...so poetic. everything about this show is so poetic. the way they sink into the ocean and into that space of oh-aew’s where you can just let yourself go without holding back, and then and only THEN does teh finally kiss oh-aew. and it’s beautiful, after holding back for so long, but it’s also painful bc he’s let go but only within this tiny pocket of space and time. in hiding again. that bird’s eye view shot where you can’t see them at all sealed it for me. like you want to be happy, but you can’t really bc you know that they’ve still got so much more to go...like when teh’s hand grazes oh-aew’s chest and you see oh-aew realise again...like that’s partly what stopped teh the first time in ep 3. when his hands stopped at oh-aew’s chest like it hit in for him that he was a boy. anyway, love that they gave us a skam kiss but i’m also very sad. on another note, how the hell did they hold their breath for that long?????

love that they gave us a further 2 more seconds of teh/oh-aew being cute (CONSTANTLY thinking about teh’s fingers dancing across oh-aew’s face and smushing his face in his hands...oh-aew holding the back of teh’s head...just a brief moment of carefreeness) before they went for the jugular. watching teh fight against himself in this way is what hurts. oh-aew begging him to just let go and accept what they are (the way he keeps going “what did i do wrong?? you feel it too!!”) but he’s so tortured he can’t do it. it’s downright fucking heartbreaking. the “one day i’ll stop feeling this way”...could have just stabbed oh-aew and it would have hurt less. all i know is i’m hurting for the both of them. the repression is real, and it just sucks. this whole thing fucking sucks for both of them (and tarn and bas too at that). idk it just gets me that oh-aew is coming out of this having been rejected once again bc teh isn’t ready yet. and i know this but it doesn’t make me any less upset. not at any of them bc it’s hard i know it’s hard...just at the situation. sometimes it feels like teh’s taking a step forward but then he takes two more back instead. the look on teh’s face when oh-aew was like let’s stop being friends...total devastation. i’m done. don’t want to think about it anymore.

i’m glad that oh-aew’s parents are so supportive of him though. i wasn’t sure how close they were based on their previous interaction but they really love him and i’m glad he has that stability to help him through this.

THE SCENE WITH OH-AEW AND THE BRA FUCKING BLEW ME AWAY. this show is always keeping me guessing, and again yet another thing that i wasn’t expecting but it was so visceral. the red of the bra in comparison to tarn’s bra with the purple hibiscus flowers on it...everything connects. oh-aew looking into the mirror with that bra on and thinking about how things would have been different if only :((( and then his breakdown when he realises that it’s not and that’s the reality of the situation. the feeling that gave me sits so deep within my chest i can’t even begin to carve it out.

teh masturbating when he sees that picture of oh-aew and to that picture of yongjian on his wall (idk why it only now just occurred to me that yongjian is always in red too)?? the self-hatred in this scene. the internalised homophobia. my heart feels so heavy.

he KEEPS reaching and it’s going nowhere bc it won’t ever be enough, and that’s not fair on himself and it’s not fair on tarn. like i understand what he’s going through, and i get that he’s extremely confused and needs the clarification, but when he asks tarn to tell her she loves him and he can’t do the same back for her...i just feel so, so, so fucking bad for tarn.

oh-aew hoping that the worksheets left for him were from teh (which would be very on brand of him), but then seeing bas :( maybe in another world, in another life (like teh and tarn)...but he’s such a sweetheart. bas, best boy ;;;

legit as soon as the gang came to see teh off to bangkok and talk to him about how oh-aew was doing terribly (and wasn’t planning on going to the admission exams) i knew where this was going to go. there’s been so much foreshadowing leading up to this, and this was also one of (if not my main theory) with how things were going to eventually play out. but tbh for some reason i thought it was going to play out later in ep 5...but like damn. damn. the way i understand but at the same time i kept going OH TEH :( throughout this. the utter STRESS this bit put me through. THE MISCOMMUNICATION.

anyway, teh’s love language is clearly acts of service. but it can really be to his detriment when he does things impulsively (albeit with care and good intentions), but he doesn’t use his words so things get lost in translation. sometimes actions just aren’t enough and you really do need words to communicate.

the confirmation scene was so tense...even now i’m just sitting here thinking about it and there’s a hole in my stomach at the thought of what teh must be going through and what he ends up doing. like when that last person on the list shows up and you KNOW it’s going to happen but at the same time it’s like a punch to the chest bc there’s just no doubt that teh’s going to turn it down for oh-aew...OF COURSE he would. oh-aew’s split moment of happiness before realising what teh’s done...the absolute dread i still have in me at the realisation of this.

the tension really kept increasing from here on in...teh coming home and his mum just being so fucking proud of him and telling everyone in the restaurant about how happy she is for him (all while teh is absolutely depleted), then tarn coming in and everything bubbling over when she realises what teh’s done too. realises that teh’s in love with oh-aew (smile is so great in this btw like WOW). the “you hurt me and i’m alright with that, teh, but right now you’re hurting yourself” broke my heart. absolutely love tarn as a character and only ever want the best for her.

when he tells his mum :((((((((((( and his mum just goes on about how hard he’s worked and how much he’s already sacrificed only for him to throw that away. he wanted her to be proud of him SO BAD, wanted to not be compared to his brother for once, only for him to give away his place bc he loves oh-aew more than he wants his mother’s praise. more than he wants to compete and ‘win’ against his brother. when she points to hoon and goes “why can’t you be more like him?” and he just loses it. like rubbing salt in the wound. i’m so glad hoon finally hugged him the way i’ve been wanting to this whole time. the banner congratulating him that teh’s mum made with all his materials from before :((( hoon giving him money for uni :((( you ever watch some things and feel like you’ll never be happy again...

okay the way that everything spiralled during the ig story fight?????? what gets me is that teh sacrificed his place thinking that oh-aew wasn’t going to sit the exam at all (he could have just talked to him and convinced him instead but ughhh i understand i get it). oh-aew thinks he did it bc teh didn’t believe he could get in himself (which of course then spurs him to give it up so he can get in through the exam instead). and when teh sees that, it’s like a smack in the face, like he went through all that only for oh-aew to reject it (him). it’s just layers upon layers of miscommunication and the anxiety of it all absolutely guts me. and then the anger mixing into devastation when he opens his book and sees how it’s all cut up. the remnants a reminder of everything he’s done for oh-aew. this boy that he adores but can’t accept he has feelings for. it’s just this mix of anger and sorrow and what have i fucking done?????? and how could he????? the cast were all fantastic but billkin really had to go above and beyond in this one and i could absolutely feel his pain throughout this.

TO PIGGY BACK ON THIS, like i said before, teh has always used studying/tutoring as a tool to get closer to oh-aew, but seeing that book with all the words gone was in part also him realising he doesn’t have that anymore. he can’t use that tool to get close to oh-aew anymore. the only way forward would be to actually get close to oh-aew without the pretences. and the saddest part of this all is that oh-aew doesn’t even NEED all of that (the tutoring, the book of idioms, the relinquishing of his uni spot)...the only thing he wants is for teh to ADMIT his feelings out loud. to admit that he feels the same way about oh-aew that oh-aew feels about him.

it’s funny bc in the last ep, the conversation that had me feeling the most nervous was when they’re talking at the cape, and oh-aew’s telling teh that he’s a rival and inspiration to him. i always KNEW this was going to come back to haunt them. like a constant circle. friends to rivals to friends to more than friends(?) to rivals. it’s a fine line. narratively, it always had to happen, and now they’re back to competing against one another yet again, and it’s going to be so tough bc they’ll have so much more competition on top of that as well.

next ep is going to be very, very hard on teh, but somehow after this ep, i just feel a lot more hopeful about it? i’m pretty convinced at this point that it won’t end in tragedy (which was the thing that i wanted least of all). of course i want both teh and oh-aew to end up together, but i can understand if they don’t. if this ends with them rekindling their friendship again, that’ll be enough for me. their relationship has been so turbulent and passionate that it needs some stability, and hopefully when teh’s in a better state of mind, when he’s at a place when he’s finally accepted all parts of himself, they’ll get there. so if that means it ends on them running to the cape together (even if they’re not technically together) fulfilling their promise to one another in the sunset, then that’s fine with me. i don’t mind an open ending if it makes sense in the context of the story, and i think something like that would. it’s like after such an angsty episode, you need a slight reprieve from it. i have no doubt in my mind that ep 5 will contain darkness, but i do think that there will be light at the end of the tunnel. so for once i feel truly hopeful about it.

i can’t believe we only have one more ep left to go...

#i told sunset about you #itsay #like there's more angst to come but the real climax of it was in this ep that's how i feel anyway #idk if both of them will get in. i HOPE both of them do.#but i just think that when things get angsty at this point of the story there's always a chance for it to turn around #you just need to worry when things are too happy UNTIL you get to the last ep #tbh though i would like a kiss between them out in the open when teh's finally stopped repressing himself #just so he can show the character growth of his whole arc. so he can be free.#i would obv very much like for them to end up together but there's only one ep left so idk if they can get to that point when there's still #so much that teh has to learn to come to terms with #and he's going to be so so stressed with the exam too (i saw the previews and am bracing myself for more heartbreak as he cries)#i did not mean for this to be as long as it was but i was sporadically writing it as i worked and kept thinking of things to add #and it somehow became an essay #i wrote more in this than i've ever written in any of my uni essays GOD #if you read this whole thing you need some kind of medal or something idk man #also random note but teh's mum's kebaya looks like one that my mum owns #text

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jjleroy-rp · 2 years

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Jean-Jacques Leroy Dominates in Short at Nationals

Leroy Brothers Currently 1-2

Friday, January 7, 2022

OTTAWA, ON – The Leroy brothers were in a class all their own in a mistake-filled competition at Canadian Nationals. Jean-Jacques Leroy is in line for his seventh consecutive National title, skating a clean and world-class program to score 112.41. “I feel great about how I skated today,” said the 25-year-old, a lock for his second Olympic team. “I want to prove I am capable of earning a medal in singles for Team Canada, and I absolutely am. I am going to go into the free tomorrow and kill it.” Leroy was eighth at the Olympics in 2018, and has been fourth at Worlds four times and never medaled.

Younger brother Louis Leroy had the best skate of his career to date, skating a clean and flawless program to score 97.34. “I have been working so hard since moving to Japan last summer, and I wanted to show all the hard work and why I moved,” said the 21-year-old, vying for a place on his first Olympic team. “It’s been crazy with everything going on, but I feel very good about how I skated today, and I can’t wait for the free skate tomorrow.” Leroy was fifteenth in his Worlds debut last season.

Both programs come off the heels of younger sister, Catherine, and her partner Donovan Johnson, skated a clean short program to be in a close second place after the short program in pairs, potentially putting all three Leroy siblings on the Olympic Team.

Currently in third place is former Canadian medalist Adam Arsenau. The 25-year-old popped his Axel, but skated an otherwise clean program coming off the heels of his skates not arriving until earlier today and a travel time of over thirty hours. “It’s been a crazy few days, and I know I could have skated better today,” he told reporters. “I want to reset, and go fresh into the free skate tomorrow, and kill it so that I can do my best to try and earn a post on that Olympic team.”

#fake news articles #cannats22 #jean-jacques leroy #blog canon

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macaroni-rascal · 3 years

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could you explain how p/c managed to rise from 13th to winners and then go like 3 years unbeaten in such a short space of time? and why it was them and not say an american or russian team (if the ISU really wanted to block canada out after VM and sochi)? i know france isn’t necessarily a small fed but they also don’t tend to podium in other disciplines so it seems a bit odd in hindsight

So, there are a few different theories (and conspiracies-ish) about why P/C were able to come up from 13th to 1st in such a short amount of time, then there is the general state of ice dance while they were coming up. Let’s get into it:

As is general knowledge, the previous head of the FFSG, Dider, was a notoriously corrupt, scheming, and all around total fucking jabroni, was in charge for their career while they were juniors and most during this time. Apparently he stopped them from going to the Olympics in 2014 even though they got silver at nationals, and a team that didn’t compete at French nationals (but did at Euros, and came ahead of P/C) was the second team to represent France at the Olympics. Apparently he took issue with them, they weren’t with the coaches he wanted them to be with, so he allegedly fought to keep them low because they weren’t doing what he wanted them to. Apparently he didn’t want to them to go Montreal but that the only reason they were allowed was because Romain was coming with them -- it’s a whole lot of rumours and French federation bullshit.

Personally, if you have eyes and watched their programs before they went to Gadbois, it makes all the fucking sense in the world why they were 13th. I mean, are you telling me this masterpiece deserved higher than top 10?

youtube

Some will say it was obvious they were amazing skaters already -- I have to disagree, Gabi really was quite weak with posture, toe point, and extension, and Guillaume was quite strong technically, but an emotionally empty skater -- as he still is -- he really only has one expression: constipated brooding.

During the time when they were juniors and just starting as seniors, Pechelat and Bourzat were also the top French team, and France is not a big enough federation to have multiple teams in ice dance near the top, so all of FFSG’s power was going to try and get P/B some medals, and P/C were not on their radar.

In terms of why it wasn’t an American or Russia team -- there had been a pretty intense North American lock on Ice Dance for the last quad, and the only reason Russia even got a team on the Olympic podium in 2014 was because of some intense cheating and corruption, there wasn’t much in the way of depth in Russian skating post 2014 -- Elena and Nikita broke up, Bobrova and Soloviev were always a middling team, there was no other team ready to be at the top.

This was also in a post Olympic year when the top two teams that had dominated ice dance for four+ years were gone, plus the top French team retired, and the other French team that was ahead of P/C, that went to Sochi instead of them -- also retired. So, there was a vacuum in which all of a sudden they went from France #3 to France #1 in a season.

Furthermore, all the teams that had fluctuated from like 3rd to 8th from 2010-2014 that stayed in were vying for top spots, teams like Weaver and Poje, Chock and Bates, Anna and Luca, the Shibs, Gilles and Poirier -- all teams which (imo at the time, and now) are not top of the top teams. I mean, if you just watch the Grand Prix Final of ice dance in 2014? It the saddest group of six teams there had been in a while. These were also all teams that the judges had been seeing for a while, and hadn’t seen much new or interesting from -- then: Boom! P/C show up, having been given a full glow up and actual good packaging from MF and Patch, a free dance and a song that created a moment for people, and you get the 2015 World Champions in Ice Dance.

I’m not saying I like it, but it definitely makes sense in the grand scheme of things. I don’t think it was deserved, but honestly, who else were they going to go it to? Weapo? Nah.

Then the rest, as they say, is history. Their open, boring, and easy skating became the norm, they were heralded as these groundbreaking “modern” artists for their repetitive and wholly uninspired programs and went undefeated for a couple years.

*jaws theme music plays as February 2016 and a very auspicious announcement slowly peaks its head over the horizon boards*

#another small aside #the team that had gone undefeated in 2014-15 while p/c were injured #was weapo #then at 4cc #after vm made their announcement #they had an awful awful free dance #and it fucked up their whole season #and they didnt even get the silver in 2015 despite leading after the short dance #it wasn't meant to be #but yeah!#thems are my thoughts #enjoy! I TOLD YALL THEY GET LONG #its a history lesson #alkjdhfkj #konner talks skating #Anonymous

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sleepyxcoffee · 3 years

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@sugar-and-spice-witcher-bingo

Prompt: Ice skating Title (optional): Ciri on Ice Relationships (romantic/platonic/etc): Ciri/Cerys, Geralt/Jaskier Rating: G Content Warnings: none Summary: Ciri is the daughter of the pride of Redania and Kaedwen’s White Wolf, and the champion of Cintra.

Thank you to locktea for helping with worldbuilding!

Competitions were always thrilling. Ciri knew some skaters dreaded them, but she and Cerys thrived off them. There was just something about hearing the crowd go wild, the weight of the judges’ eyes, the pounding of her heart, which gave Ciri an incomparable rush.

That particular year, the World Championship was held in Cerys’ home country of Skellige, and Ciri found the air unbearably cold - something that amused her fathers to no end. “You’re a figure skater, Ciri, you should enjoy the cold,” Papa would say, while Dad sighed and shook his head and told her she’d be warmer if she had a proper coat.

While Worlds was always the highlight of her year, there was something even more exciting that time around. Ciri had been to Skellige before, of course, both during and off season, but this was the first time she was competing against her girlfriend on Cerys’ home turf, and it excited Ciri to no end. She could hardly stay still on the plane, bouncing nonstop, much to Dad’s chagrin.

“Ciri,” he groused as she kneed him for the third time in five minutes, “stay still.”

“You can’t blame her, Geralt,” Papa scolded. “She’s seeing her girlfriend!” Dad groaned and buried his head in his arms. He hated being reminded that Ciri had a girlfriend.

“Yeah, Dad,” Ciri added. “I haven’t seen Cerys since the Grand Prix Final in December.”

“See, dear? Ciri has every right to be excited.” Dad rolled his eyes.

“You’re supposed to be on my side, Jaskier.” Papa blew Dad a kiss, which made Ciri groan and plug in her earphones. She might be seventeen, but that did not mean she had grown any less disgusted by her parents’ public displays of affection.

Ciri and her fathers were greeted by the exuberant an Craites at Skellige International Airport. Ciri caught sight of Cerys’ distinctive red hair bobbing in a sea of people first, and she immediately abandoned her parents in favour of sprinting down the corridor and out the door, past a very surprised security guard. “Careful, Ciri!” Dad called. “You’ll sprain your ankle!”

Naturally, Ciri ignored him in favour of leaping into Cerys’ arms.

“Ciri!” Cerys exclaimed in delight, wrapping her arms around the taller skater.

“Cerys!” Ciri took a moment to bask in Cerys’ embrace, and then waved at Cerys’ family. Standing several feet away were Crach an Craite and Hjalmar an Craite - a renowned hockey coach and a rising player respectively, but, more importantly, Cerys’ father and brother. They waved back at Ciri, and Crach stepped around them to shake her fathers’ hands.

“Jaskier Pankratz and Geralt Rivia, as I live and breathe!” Crach boomed. Dad chuckled and clapped Crach on the shoulder.

“It’s been too long, Crach. I hope your Cerys is in top form - Ciri certainly is.”

Ciri whined and elbowed him. “Dad!”

“You are, Ciri, and there’s no point in hiding that,” Papa chipped in unhelpfully. Ciri only rolled her eyes and linked her arm with Cerys’.

“Will you take me to the skate rink?” Ciri asked quietly.

Cerys beamed at her. “It would be my pleasure, Ciri.”

Ciri felt her heart flutter, and her parents promptly ruined it by opening their mouths. “How’re your programs coming along, Cerys?” Dad asked, and the next five minutes delved into meaningless figure skating and ice hockey small talk that Ciri tried to, unsuccessfully, shut down several times before her parents and Crach finally decided there had been enough small talk, and deigned to ask the girls what their plans were.

“Can I go to the rink with Cerys?” Ciri asked, and it then delved into a ten minute discussion that went in circles about whether it was a good idea for Ciri to go gallivanting off two days before a competition, whether Dad and Papa were alright with bringing her bags, if Hjalmar would join, et cetera. Cerys rolled her eyes dramatically, making Ciri giggle.

Once Ciri had successfully shoved her luggage at her parents and promised them, five times, that she wouldn’t try any jumps, they finally allowed her to get on the train with Cerys and head to the skate rink.

“I’m not supervising these lovely ladies on their date,” Crach said, much to Ciri and Cerys’ mutual embarrassment.

“Promise you won’t do anything I wouldn’t do!” Papa called at Ciri as she and Cerys skipped away from their families. Crach had kindly offered to drive the Rivia-Pankratzes to their hotel, and Hjalmar was tagging along to be dropped off at his friend Skjall’s along the way (who, coincidentally, Ciri had gone on one date with before they mutually agreed they were better off seeing other people).

“There’s not much that falls under that umbrella,” Ciri shot back. Dad chuckled as Papa spluttered in horror. Before they could say anything else, Ciri grabbed Cerys’ arm, and they ran off to the station, giggling.

“Your parents are nice,” Cerys said to Ciri as they stood on the platform awaiting their train. Their hands were linked, and Cerys was tucked comfortably against Ciri’s side.

“Mhm. Gets a bit hard sometimes, though, being the daughter of figure skating’s power couple.”

Cerys hummed and tucked a stray piece of hair behind Ciri’s hair. “I can imagine. Both gold medal Olympians with more world titles combined than I have fingers.”

Ciri nodded, burying her face in Cerys’ soft red hair. “Sometimes I wonder if I’ll ever be as great as them,” she admitted. “Everyone expects me to be just as great as they are. You know, my uncles Eskel and Lambert stopped hoping for first place once Dad and Papa really got going. They started vying for silver instead.” Cerys chuckled.

“Really? Well, for what it’s worth, I think you’re just as good as they are.” Blushing, Ciri turned her head away. Cerys laughed and reached up to cup her cheek, turning her face back at her. “Hey, you are! Maybe your scores aren’t as high as theirs, but that’s the ladies’ skate for you. Besides, you’re the free skate world record holder, and that’s nothing to laugh at.”

There was nothing but admiration in Cerys’ voice - not even the slightest hint of envy. On ice, Ciri and Cerys may have been rivals, but off it they were girlfriends, nothing more. Cerys was far too good of a sport to let their careers leak into their personal lives.

“You say that like you’re not the only lady to have ever landed a quad Lutz in competition,” Ciri said good-naturedly. It was Cerys’ signature jump - ever since she had first landed it in her first year as a senior skater, she had managed to incorporate it into every single one of her skates since.

It was Cerys’ turn to blush. “Look, there’s our train,” she said. Moving away from Ciri, she kept hold of her hand and guided her onto the train. It was packed full - with Worlds only two days away, the small city of Kaer Trolde on Ard Skellig was full of skaters, their entourages, and sports fans alike.

“Look, it’s Rivia and an Craite,” someone on the train whispered. Embarrassed, Ciri turned her head and put up the hood of her coat. She wormed her hand out of Cerys’, who looked crestfallen for a moment before putting up her own hood. They stood there in awkward silence until the train reached their stop, and then Cerys tapped Ciri’s hand lightly to let Ciri know it was time to get off the train.

Skating with Cerys was always fun. Even though neither was allowed to jump without supervision, they sped around the rink, spinning and practising step sequences. Cerys made the mistake of challenging Ciri to see who could perform a faster shoot-the-duck spin - she fell over after trying to outpace Ciri. While Cerys’ jumps were admired by judges for their height and form, Ciri was known for her spins.

Cerys skated up to Ciri and threw her arms around her shoulders. Laughing, Ciri returned Cerys’ hug, and they allowed themselves to skate in small circles, wrapped up in each other. Ciri let herself sink into Cerys’ warm, comforting scent, and closed her eyes. It was as though nothing else mattered.

Then she heard one of Cerys’ rinkmates’ voice. “Hey, who’s that with Cerys?” he said.

“I know that hair - is that Cirilla Rivia?” Stiffening, Ciri pulled back and turned away. Out of the corner of her eye she caught Cerys’ expression fall.

“We should go,” Ciri said awkwardly, skating to the gate. “My dads will want me back.”

“Alright,” Cerys said quietly. It broke something in Ciri to hear Cerys sound so fallen - she was meant to be bright and warm and full of energy. Ciri took the thought and forcibly shoved it away. She was Ciri Rivia, daughter of the pride of Redania and Kaedwen’s White Wolf. She was Cintra’s champion, and she was stronger than this.

***

“Papa,” Ciri said to her father later that night, “how did you and Dad do it?”

“Do what, sweetheart? You’re going to have to be more specific,” Papa said as he plaited her hair.

Ciri gestured broadly. “Do all… this. Dating, while figure skating. You were rivals. Didn’t people talk?”

“Of course they did, but that’s what people do,” Papa replied. He produced a scrunchie from his pocket and tied off her fishtail braid. “There you go.”

“Trouble in paradise?” came Dad’s rumbling voice. He was leaning against the doorway of the bathroom, hair twisted in a towel and dressed in light grey pyjamas. Whenever Papa and Dad fought, all Papa had to do was threaten to post a picture of Dad after his showers to Instagram, and Dad would be on his knees begging for forgiveness.

“\It seems so,” Papa said lightly.

Dad walked over to his family and sat on the bed next to Ciri, wrapping an arm around her. Papa cleared his throat, and, stifling a smile, Dad placed a kiss on his cheek with a smile. Ciri pretended to gag.

“What’s going on, Ciri?” Dad asked.

Ciri shrugged half-heartedly. “It’s just… well, when people see me and Cerys, they talk. ‘Isn’t that Rivia and an Craite?’, they say.”

Papa bristled. “Who’s been talking about my daughter? Let me at them!” he cried overdramatically. Dad rolled his eyes.

“Ignore your Papa. People will talk, Ciri, and there’s nothing you can do about that. What you can do, on the other hand, is lift yourself up. Don’t listen to them,” Dad said.

“But I did,” Ciri groaned. “And I think I hurt Cerys, because she probably thinks I’m ashamed of her now.”

“Change one of your jumps to her quad Lutz,” Papa said jokingly. “It’s how your Dad proposed to be - by changing his last jump to a quad flip.” Ciri groaned. Now that was a story Ciri had heard far too many times.

“Don’t encourage her,” Dad admonished, but Papa’s words set Ciri thinking. She had never landed a quad lutz before, and she didn’t want to try in competition. Changing her double axel to a triple lutz, on the other hand…

Ciri didn’t see Cerys all of the next day - they had booked the rink at different times, and what time they spent not skating, their coaches (and fathers) filled with pre-competition exercises. Dad was a firm believer in hard work, and it showed. Ciri managed to send all of one Snapchat to Cerys, and Cerys managed to send one back.

They spent supper with their respective clubs. Dad and the other coaches for the Cintran team spent half an hour debating whether a steakhouse or barbecue was more suitable for the supper before the short program, ignoring Ciri and Dara’s protests that they were more or less the same thing.

“Let him,” Papa advised in an amused tone. “It’s how he works off his jitters.”

“He’s not even competing and he’s more nervous than I am,” Ciri grumbled. Next to her, Dara continued to pace in circles, muttering his entire skate program. While Ciri was blessed with nerves of steel, Dara was not.

“Triple Axel, double toe loop - Ciri, what if I over rotate - combination spin - maybe I should have left out the Biellmann - it’s not like most men do it after all -”

“Dara,” Ciri said, a hint of irritation bleeding into her voice, “calm down.” Dara shot her a glare, but stopped speaking. “You’ll be fine.”

“Easy for you to say,” Dara mumbled. “You’re the champion of Cintra. I’m just another figure skater.”

Ciri frowned. “You’re not just another figure skater. If you were, you wouldn’t be at Worlds,” she pointed out.

In front of her, Dad and the other coaches finally finished their squabbling and broke away. “Listen up, kids,” Dad announced, and the ten or so skaters who had come with them put down their phones to face him. “Steakhouse it is. Now, you know the rules - nothing less than a medium rare - we don’t want any upset stomachs before Worlds - nothing you haven’t tried before, especially you, ladies, since you’re in tomorrow - we don’t want a repeat of the Rostelecom Cup incident -” at this, Rosa Attre cringed, and her coach Mousesack gave her a sympathetic look.

Dad continued to list off his various terms and conditions, ending with, “and if a single one of you breaks these, it’s back to the hotel with bread and tomato soup for you all.” Only then did he finally allow the increasingly antsy congregation of skaters in the hotel lobby to bundle up in their coats and walk out the front door. Dad and Mousesack took the lead, discussing how quads were destroying young skaters’ knees, while Papa and some other adults made up the back of their little party.

Ciri’s phone pinged with a notification, and she opened it to see a Snap from Cerys. She tapped on it, and Cerys’s face popped up on the screen. She was standing next to Hjalmar, and in the background was Birna Bran arguing with a red-faced Lugos Drummond. Both an Craites looked distinctly bored.

birna and lugos can’t decide where to take the team for dinner, said Cerys’ message. A few moments later, another message came through. This time it was just Hjalmar, looking mock-annoyed while Cerys grasped for her phone behind him.

Shouldve stayed w the hockey team, the picture was captioned. Ciri muffled a smile behind her scarf. She took a selfie and sent it to Cerys.

we’re having steak for dinner!! she wrote.

“Ciri,” Papa called. “Get off your phone!”

Scowling, Ciri tucked her phone into her coat pocket. “Yes, Papa,” she shouted back.

It was a shame she wouldn’t get to see Cerys, but at least she would meet her on the ice the next day. Besides, considering Worlds was the last major competition of the season before the World Team Trophy in April, Dad and Papa had agreed to let her stay with the an Craites for a few days after.

Unfortunately, between warmups and assignments, Ciri quickly realised she wouldn’t get a chance to talk to Cerys until after both their short programs, much to her annoyance. At least she would be the first to skate - Ciri hated skating last. She moved through life like a whirlwind, and she preferred to skate while her nerves were still running high.

As Ciri stepped out of the waiting room, she made eye contact with Cerys, who gave her a cheery little wave. Ciri’s resolve hardened - for Cerys, she’d try the Lutz.

How is Ciri the daughter of a Redanian and Kaedwenian, but a Cintran skater, I hear you ask? The answer is that I have no idea myself.

#the witcher #my writing #ciri/cerys #geraskier #honestly i'm not so happy with this but it's been sitting in my drafts for so long that i just wanted to get it out lol

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singofsolace · 4 years

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Madam Spellman 2020 Challenge Masterlist!

Many thanks to everyone who participated in the Madam Spellman 2020 Challenge! Over five weeks, we created thirty-four, I repeat, THIRTY-FOUR fanfics, and five pieces of gorgeous fan art. A grand total of 73,530 words were published to the collection on Ao3. I am in awe of how much content was created, and over the moon at the response this challenge received.

Since this masterlist is going to be very long, I've decided to put it all under the cut! Check out the 39 pieces of fanwork below!

Week One Prompt: New Year’s

a year has fled o’er heart and head by Singofsolace (@concreteangel1221)

Summary: Mary Wardwell has never been kissed on New Year’s Eve. Zelda seeks to rectify this grave injustice.

A Mortal Tradition by lady_needless_litany (@lady-needless-litany)

Summary: Even though months have passed since Blackwood’s massacre, everything’s still up in the air. Zelda’s barely hanging on - and now she can’t even kill Hilda as a form of stress release.

Remembered Footsteps on Old Roads by brokenmemento

Summary: Lilith asks Zelda to take a little trip, one that will prove difficult for her to do.

Happy New Year darling, for whatever is in store by Saturn_Silk

(@saturn-silk)

Summary: Mary and Zelda spend New Year’s Eve together at the cottage.

this gorgeous fanart by @bainelland

Art Description: A polaroid picture from the Spellman’s album. Taken on a New Year’s Eve night by Sabrina who accidentally walked in on a quiet moment between Zelda and Lilith. Illuminated by the Solstice Tree, with Ella Fitzgerald’s “What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?” playing in the background. It’s one of Zelda’s favorite pictures in the whole album.

this stunning fanart by @miss-spellman (aka @asterleaf and @moon-rise )

Art Description: Zelda Spellman and Lilith stand, wrapped in an embrace. They are kissing as confetti and streamers fall around them. Zelda has one hand wrapped around Lilith’s waist, and the other is precariously holding a glass of champagne. Lilith’s hand is placed on Zelda’s cheek.

Piece of My Heart by sweetdreamsaremadeoffish (@claire-de-macarune)

Summary: Yes, Lilith, I love you. Yes, Lilith, this is your home now. I could never deny you. Yes, Lilith, I want you to stay.

Week Two Prompt: Road Trip

Strangers by brokenmemento

With the coven in shambles and the Academy without a sense of direction, Zelda finds a place to start rebuilding and settles on asking an unlikely person to aid her in her mission.

this will be our year (took a long time to come) by sweetdreamsaremadeoffish ( @claire-de-macarune )

Mary’s keys in the ignition and her head lolled back on the headrest, Zelda blew a last, elegant kiss out the back windshield to her family and trundled the old Ford down the drive, onto the passing road. They disappeared in a wink of distance rather than magic.

Road Trip by AlexusOnFire ( @alexusonfire )

Poetry, written from Lillith’s perspective.

wrestling with the wind by Singofsolace ( @concreteangel1221 )

When Lilith, the skateboarding, tomato-stealing lesbian meets Zelda, the elegant, willful daughter of a mortician, sparks (and motorcycles) fly.

this sweet fanart by @moon-rise

Zelda and Lilith take an impromptu road trip and stop at a little witch friendly café. Zelda orders her black coffee and Lilith orders a coffee with 4 creams and 7 sugars. Zelda hates the colour scheme of the room but the romance of it grows on her as the sun sets and lights up Lilith’s impossibly gorgeous blue eyes.

Pulp fiction for Zelith by @jyou-no-sonoko19

(please show your support for this fabulous edit by reblogging from the original source!)

~~~

Week Three Prompt: Winter

Breathe by sweetdreamsaremadeoffish ( @claire-de-macarune )

"I think you have what it takes. It’s completely reasonable for you to have some support, but this needs to work. I need this to work. We both do,” Edward said, under his breath. “It’s this or go back home. You know that.”

Chasing Out The Chill by Jyou_no_Sonoko ( @jyou-no-sonoko19 )

After the fall of the Church of Night and its ceasing to worship Lucifer, Zelda in her new role as self-appointed High Priest has to transition them to the Church of Lilith. And while she believes in her Patron, it is a difficult adjustment to make. Lilith grows concerned for her and plans a little getaway.

Dance Under the Winter Sky by TommorowNeverCame ( @its-a-goode-day )

A year later, the coven has a winter ball. Zelda decides it's time for her and Lilith to be happy.

Double Black Diamond by Singofsolace ( @concreteangel1221 )

When Zelda Spellman gets driven off the ski trail by the Judas Boys, Lilith (the snowboarding lesbian) comes to her aid.

Fire and Ice by Saturn_Silk ( @saturn-silk )

Lilith really wants to go ice skating, and eventually, Zelda caves in and takes her.

Their Heart Grew Cold by stellastellaforstar ( @stellastellaforstar )

She looked beautiful, Zelda could tell even through the haze of snow. Her glasses were foggy and her nose was red, but every snowflake seemed to land so beautifully on her head.

These Winters Can Be Maddening by brokenmemento

Winter through the eyes of Zelda Spellman at three points in her life.

Winter by AlexusOnFire ( @alexusonfire )

a lovely winter poem!

winter and hard earth by CallmeCordelia

Zelda observes the Winter Solstice. Lilith observes her.

~~~~

Week Four: Alternate Universe

Like a fool, I fell in love with you by Saturn_Silk ( @saturn-silk )

Zelda Spellman, Greendale’s local coroner, needs a date for her sister’s wedding and who better than her colleague Detective Lilith Morningstar. Will they get away with it? Or will it turn into something more?

Lady Justice by Singofsolace ( @concreteangel1221 )

Lieutenant Lilith Demos had spent the last twenty years investigating New York City’s most sensitive crimes. She was intimately familiar with the worst humanity had to offer, but getting justice for rape victims made everything else worthwhile. There was no case too perverse or too delicate for her to handle; she always remained coolly professional, no matter the situation. But that all changed the day Zelda Spellman walked into her squad room. Bringing Zelda’s abuser to justice proves to be her most difficult case yet, and it doesn’t help that Zelda is extremely uncooperative when it comes to the investigation.

The Muse by AlexusOnFire ( @alexusonfire )

Zelda Spellman attends an art class. Lilith is her muse.

No Man is an Island by brokenmemento

Zelda and her roommate Lilith have been fighting with this thing for five years. With the rain comes absolution. AKA the Madam Spellman as Grace and Frankie AU.

Vying Off Course by Claraon ( @sheep-in-space )

Her eyes stop in their track, surprised at spotting the eldest member of the Spellman family sitting at the bar. Her frock is modest enough – a pale linen thing with a simple blue lacing, and her strawberry hair is tied back in a conservative bun – but she somehow manages to look at once regal yet perfectly at home among the buccaneers and other shady characters crowding the place.

We Lost the Sea by bainel ( @bainelland )

Their eyes locked for a second across the room, and Lilith felt her breath catch in her throat. She felt as if the whole room had faded away. For a fraction of a second, they were the only two people in the inn. But then the bartender placed a glass of amber liquid next to the redheaded woman. She turned away, towards her drink, and the moment was over.

Lilith gets dragged into a series of events that will lead her into one of her greatest adventures yet.

Wild with Adventure by stellastellaforstar ( @stellastellaforstar )

It’s a wild west AU, y'all! Sheriff Zelda and Outlaw Lilith.

Your Song by sweetdreamsaremadeoffish ( @claire-de-macarune )

Songwriter AU

And you can tell everybody this is your song It may be quite simple but now that it’s done I hope you don’t mind, I hope you don’t mind That I put down in words How wonderful life is while you’re in the world

The Spelldelaire Children by @claire-de-macarune

(please show your support of this fabulous fan art by reblogging it from the original source!)

~~~~~

Week Five Prompt: Fix It! (the list is in alphabetical order)

a little death (une petite mort) by Singofsolace ( @concreteangel1221 )

Mambo Marie intervenes when Zelda Spellman denies Lilith sanctuary. This changes many things, but not all things. Lilith proposes that the only way that the three of them will survive the wrath of both the Dark Lord and the Pagans is to perform an incredibly intimate ritual. Mary Wardwell stumbles upon this ritual, with gun in hand.

An Offering of Trust by paradox_n_bedrock ( @paradox-n-bedrock )

Zelda and Lilith try just a little harder for each other. They’re lucky Marie has an emotional intelligence greater than a potato.

Forever…(is a long time) by brokenmemento

After the events of Part 3, things are still left hanging in the balance. Lilith forges an unlikely alliance with the least likely of suspects.

From Her Beacon-Hand by CallmeCordelia

Lilith seeks asylum, but what will she find?

home in the heart of hell by sweetdreamsaremadeoffish ( @claire-de-macarune )

And all shall fade The flowers of spring The world and all the sorrow At the heart of everything

I Was Housed by Your Warmth by daisygrl ( @asterleaf )

Something about the other witch pulled her ever closer, made her ache inside. It was the strangest sensation: two parts nostalgia and one part pain. If she had lived lives other than this one, she would have sworn that they had met before. Perhaps their souls had passed one another by as they swam in the primordial muck.

The Witch’s Lullaby by marla_black ( @marla-black )

With Lilith pregnant with Lucifer’s baby, she is in need of a midwife, and who better than Zelda Spellman, the witch who has never lost a child in her life.

~~~~~

Many thanks to everyone who reblogged and commented on all of these pieces! You were as much a part of this challenge as the writers and artists!

#madam spellman 2020 challenge #zelda spellman #lilith #madam spellman #spellwell #mary wardwell

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squidpro-quo · 4 years

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“Have you seen this?” Deku asked, throwing a handful of sports fan magazines onto Todoroki’s lap as he bent over to tie his skates. The covers were full of gossip headlines, printed in vivid, flashy colors and varying sizes according to the amount of scandal each exposé

contained. It was the standard issue for the week, with Aoyama’s typical flashy pose on the front despite his article being a fairly tame side story about his latest win.

“I just read the jokes out of the middle, why?” Todoroki picked up the one on top, flipping through it without much concern for what he happened to skip.

“Wait, wait, it’s that one!” Crumpling the paper with his eagerness, Deku directed him to the right page, stabbing at the pictures and conjectures with one scarred finger. “It’s about your charity event this weekend, at the podium awards.”

“Bakugo just said the usual,” murmured Todoroki, “Why is this unusual enough to warrant an entire page? The one about Ochako breaking the record got the same.”

“It’s in all of them. Don’t know why but…” His explanation was interrupted by the sound of Todoroki’s phone, an angry Enji’s voice yelling ‘ SHOUTO!’ echoing around the empty rink. “Why did you make that his ringtone?”

“It’s a preview to the main act,” was Todoroki’s only comment before he picked up the phone with a hard press to his lips. Deku sank onto the bench across from him, reading the article again in the meantime.

“Shouto!” Enji’s normal volume could thankfully be lowered to a manageable level over the phone, but that didn’t mean Todoroki was glad to hear from him. “I’ve got news about the sponsors for this year, you’ve got a shot with a big backing. As soon as the gossip dies down, they’ll sign the deal and we’ll have the Endeavor brand as our own.”

The reminder of the impending headache that had been in the making for months now, Enji’s new bid for fame and fortune in the shape of a merchandising line of sportswear, had finally come roaring in. Todoroki frowned as his father continued, pricing discussions and production numbers flying by his ear as he contemplated his future as a prop, a walking advertisement for his father with every jump he landed and every medal he earned. It was enough to make him want to quit skating despite the joy he had managed to scrape together from it.

The only recourse he could possibly have now would to take a fall so drastic as to remove him from competition despite all the medical hurdles Enji would destroy to have him back on the ice again. Looking across at Deku, perusing the tabloid pages and trying intensely not to listen in despite Enji’s booming voice, to the rink’s perfect sheen spreading out behind him, he knew he would miss it.

Not to mention the competitions. He’d been pushed into skating by Enji from the time he could walk, but he’d found a refuge away from his father on the ice during the events. Enji could yell from the sidelines all he wanted but the music would always drown him out, offering an island where Todoroki could carve out his own path.

And cross blades with Bakugo on his own terms. The spitfire who had taken the skating world by storm over the past year, known for his explosive jumps and even more explosive temper. The tabloids called him the Jumping Shrimp a few daring times, but no one could deny the air he achieved and the frankly astounding number of rotations on his jumps no less.

Despite his bafflement at what the tabloids had divined from the podium awards, Todoroki was at least aware of what conversation they were raving about. He’d taken second, by a few fractions of a point margin, and Bakugo had pushed up close to him as they were waiting for the ceremony to start. Nose to nose, he’d hissed the usual threats for taking silver, keeping a smile on his face otherwise for the cameras watching, and the end result had been a much different result from the reality of their interaction.

And in that moment, sitting on a cold bench listening to his father’s victorious imaginings in his ear, Todoroki’s brain drew a line between the contents of Deku’s hands and the solution to his problems. Now if only he could convince Bakugo to behave.

—————-

It had to be convincing, at least to the fanatics and daydreamers that wrote the tabloids, and it had be fast. With the deal hanging over his head, Todoroki put his plan into action the very next week. Getting into Bakugo’s usual practice rink wouldn’t have been easy normally, considering the ring of paparazzi vying to get a good shot of the inside, but Deku could work wonders when it came to getting information, and far more handy in this case, loaning him the pass into the place.

“You here to go a few rounds?” Bakugo snarled, coming to stop at the edge of the rink in a shower of ice and a heated glare.

“You said you could skate circles around me. But we’ve not been on the same ice at once alone yet,” Todoroki said, shrugging. He’d gotten what he came for already, annoying Bakugo was a minor bonus.

“Tch, I’m not going to bother with someone who holds back like that in a competition.”

“It didn’t even count towards our point totals.”

“Is that your excuse for why you didn’t give your best?” Bakugo scoffed, one hand braced on either side of the opening onto the rink as if to guard it against Todoroki.

“That’s why I came.” Todoroki looked him in the eyes, the step up onto the ice and the extra height from the skates bringing Bakugo level with him despite the few inches of difference. “Motivate me.”

“What!? Why should that be my job? Motivate yourself, half n’ half!”

“You said it was a problem, didn’t you? Your words to me at the Cup. So I have the answer.” Spreading his arms, Todoroki gestured to the ice, the smooth expanse of it already drawn on by the graceful arcs and spirals left in Bakugo’s wake.

“And? What’s that?” Despite his apparent ire, Bakugo didn’t leave and instead leaned against the plastic window siding, still obstructing the entrance but allowing a sliver of ice open to slip past him.

“Keep... doing what you do. I’ll just embellish a few things.”

———————————--

“Where do you get off calling me a ‘friend’, huh!?” Bakugo snarled at the next event, in one of the prep rooms in the back. The tv was on in the corner, running commentary on the big event with Russian reporters updating viewers on the newest contenders for the world competition. Todoroki could see his father across the room, attempting to circumvent an official event manager with sheer force of will. With anyone else, it would have worked in a heartbeat but Todoroki could count his lucky stars that this particular woman had a backbone stronger than a steel girder.

Even so, it would only be a matter of time.

“You agreed to this. No ‘half-assing’ as you put it. Do you have a complaint against my performance?”

“We’ll see on the ice, won’t we?” Bakugo glared at him, stretching onto the tips of his skate-guards as he leaned in close. “You give me something worth jumping for, maybe I’ll let you slide with that ‘friend’ comment. Giving those tabloids what they’re hungry for, that’s a cold move even for you, popsicle.”

Todoroki shrugged, testing the set of his foot in his skate while he eyed his father’s approach. He’d managed to earn an angry phone-call a day for the past month and change, and the merchandising deal looked to be slipping out of Enji’s grasp. All it had taken were a few pointed slip-ups before some fans and cameras, not to mention letting Bakugo’s shoves get a little more personal, and he was set. The magazines that had started it all were eating it up, eagerly awaiting the next scoop in what had been so far described as the secret relationship “hot enough to melt the ice”.

“What bothers you is not the speculation, but that I termed you a ‘friend’?” he finally asked, just as he saw the manager creek in what he knew would be eventual capitulation to his father.

“Dirtbags that run those magazines can say whatever they like, I don’t give a shit what they think. They’re not the ones I’m pounding into the ice at every event.” Bakugo grinned, eyes blazing as he looked at Todoroki and the heat that grew inside him in response was something Todoroki hadn’t quite expected. Competition had lost its inherent appeal years ago, it was simply a refuge now, but that fire made the embers that had long since cooled inside him flare up just enough for him to ignore his father for the moment.

“We’ll see.”

In the end it was close.

Todoroki watched Bakugo’s long program and knew it would be a close call for when his turn came around. The fast staccato beat of the music had been matched and sometimes even outdone by the speed of Bakugo’s spins and footwork, whirling across the ice in a trail of green and gold. He’d wondered how Bakugo could keep up that kind of rhythm, expend that much energy into a program when he could just as easily win it with less. But watching him as the final few notes died out, the heave of his chest and that infectiously cocky smirk as he bowed, Todoroki found he’d been exposed a little too long. Even before he’d started this ridiculous plan, he’d known Bakugo was formidable and ferocious, but hadn’t allowed himself to respond to it with the strict cage around him. But now was a perfect opportunity.

He ignored Enji’s instructions as he entered the rink after Bakugo, passing him on the way and sparing a quick touch to the shoulder. The fact that Bakugo didn’t immediately shrug it off was something to think about as he got into position. And it gave him the drive to do what he’d wanted to do with his long program all along.

Switching up the jumps, he stretched his limits as far as they would go, enjoying the hiss of his skates on the ice and the cold air rushing past as he spun along the edges. His arms felt lighter, legs less chained to the ground and though he was likely just imagining it, he felt like he soared higher too with each jump. He couldn’t match Bakugo’s speed but that had never been the purpose with his pieces, he was more interested in carrying himself along on the music with a slow build, the beat increasing as his seconds stretched past until he suddenly found himself reaching the end and a smile had almost stretched itself across his mouth.

The arena might have been cold—especially in the center of the ice—but as soon as the first trill of pipes sounded, Todoroki only felt the heat flowing along his arms and down his legs. His costume might have been just another of Enji’s plows at marketing, with the fringe of sheer fabric that flowed from his wrists like a halo all the way down to his ankles in waves of orange and a pale red, but he felt the flames they were meant to be inside him too.

The curious elation carried him through his bows, all the way until he’d stepped off the ice and a hand clapped him on the back.

“That’s how it’s done, Shouto!” Enji’s praise landed around his neck like a bag of bricks. “This will sweep everything else away, the performance that will put the Endeavor line into the stores and off the shelves.”

Todoroki felt the weight returning, as if his skates had turned to concrete blocks to make up for the ease with which he’d been able to complete his program. The kiss-and-cry awaited, the inevitable suffocation under his father’s self-serving pride and he found himself walking away with Enji’s words echoing in his ears. He’d undone all his plans in less than five minutes, without even seeing the score he knew what was going to happen, could tell from Enji’s barely contained excitement: his father had an obsession with calculating scores and Todoroki knew he wouldn’t be far off.

“Took you long enough,” Bakugo’s growl was a welcome distraction, so close to his face that the puff of his breath clouded between them.

“Not afraid for your gold?” Todoroki found himself leaning closer, ostensibly to not allow Bakugo to push him off-balance but he wanted the familiar threats now, the way Bakugo never spared a glance for his father but locked horns only with him.

“Pretty confident for a slow-poke, you haven’t even gotten the score yet. But looks like you finally stood up on your own. Good enough to beat.”

Todoroki stared into those burning eyes, at the challenge in them, and took a page out of Bakugo’s book. Curling a fist into the black collar of Bakugo’s costume, he fixed the problem he’d created.

The kiss was quick, was meant to be quick, if Bakugo hadn’t surged forward too at the same time, clashing into him as if determined to not be outdone. The flash of cameras popped against his closed eyelids, thoughts narrowing down to the warmth returning to him, the same fire as on the ice fanned by Bakugo yet again.

Sensing the brewing storm behind him, Todoroki let go of Bakugo and made to head for the kiss-and-cry again, but Bakugo held him fast for another second.

“Those fuckers are calling it a ‘flash paper’ romance, half n’ half,” was all he said. And Todoroki wondered if they knew just how wrong, and maybe just how right, they really were.

AN: For the Todobaku Valentine’s exchange! Also on AO3

Prompts open

#todobaku #todoroki shouto #bakugo katsuki #bakutodo #boku no hero academia #bnha #my writing #apparently i have to make an ice-staking au for every ship i love #and it was their turn

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hope-for-olicity · 4 years

Text

Hope for the Holidays 4/6

I hope you are all still up for my holiday story in January! I’d like to dedicate this story to all those who have taken the time to read my stories - I’m so grateful! I hope you enjoy this AU where Felicity and Oliver meet over the holidays when they find love right next door. Thanks so much to @mel-loves-all for the lovely edit. Also available on AO3. 4. It Came Upon a Midnight Clear

The Queen Consolidated Holiday Party was considered the social event of the season in Star City. Oliver couldn’t deny he was happy to be home to attend. He’d hosted holiday parties in London but it was never the same.

He rushed home from work to change into his tuxedo. Oliver knew his parents would not be impressed that he was late his first year back in town. He did one more double-take in the mirror to make sure there wasn’t a hair out of place before heading out.

He shuffled in front of the elevator impatiently waiting for it to arrive. He really should have brought his tux to work this morning. The party would be well underway by the time he made it back across the city.

Oliver’s ears perked at the sound to his left. He turned to see Felicity’s door open. She stepped into the hallway wearing a bring red gown that hugged her body in all the right places. Oliver’s mouth went dry. Lucky for him, Felicity was looking down, yet to notice him. He took his precious time to truly admire the lovely woman before him. He started at her feet and worked his way up. She truly was stunning.

“There,” Felicity spoke out loud herself as she locked the door. Oliver watched as she turned to face him.

“Oh, Oliver. I didn’t know you were there.” Felicity pulled a deep green cape over her shoulders. “I’m running late, I’m afraid.”

“As am I.” Oliver smiled. “You look lovely, Felicity.”

“Thank you. You look handsome as well. I’m sure all the ladies will be vying for your attention tonight.” Felicity smiled.

“Thank you.” Oliver wanted to say the only lady’s attention was her’s but he worried it might be too forward.

The elevator dinged upon arrival and they both stepped inside.

“I have a car waiting for me downstairs if you’d like to share?” Oliver began to rub his index finger and thumb together an old habit he still fell back on when he was nervous.

“That would be great. Caitlin texted, she and Ronnie are already there.”

“Great!” Oliver smiled.

When they stepped off the elevator, Oliver nodded to the town car outside. Oliver opened the door Felicity then made his way to other side for himself. He felt better now that they were on their way.

“Oh, I can’t believe I forgot! Thank you so much for the latkes. They were amazing. Where did you get them? I’d like to buy some.”

“So they were still warm when you got them?” Oliver made the latkes for Felicity intending on bring them over to share on the third night of Hanukkah but his father called him out for drinks with clients when he was about to deliver them.

“Oh yes, I checked my door as soon as you texted they were there! They were the best I’ve ever tasted.”

Oliver blushed, “I made them myself. I found the recipe online and thought I’d give it a shot.”

Felicity’s mouth formed an “O”. “Oh my, you aren’t joking are you?”

“Nope”

“Oliver, I am impressed. My Mom tried to make them once and it turned into a disaster.”

“Well, I’m really glad you enjoyed them.”

“I did.” Felicity leaned over and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. “Thank you, it meant a lot.”

“So food really is the way to a woman’s heart.” Oliver joked.

“To this woman’s.” Felicity smiled before looking out the window.

~~~~~

They drove in silence for a while. Felicity loved that she and Oliver could sit in silence and she didn’t feel like something was wrong.

Felicity turned to face the dapper man beside her, “do you have any Christmas plans? It must be nice to be at home.”

Oliver chuckled. “It is nice to be home. I wouldn’t say I have plans as much as Thea has plans for me. She wants to recreate all the traditions of our youth. She says there will be skating, building a gingerbread house and our personal favourite, who can eat a candy cane the quickest.”

“That sounds like a lot of fun.” Felicity looked down at her dress. It really did sound like fun, she’d never done any of those things.

“It will be something. Hey, look we are here.”

Oliver’s door opened and Felicity noticed the flashes from cameras. Oh no, she hadn’t thought this through and she doubted he had either. They were arriving at the party together. The press would think they were together, together. As if he’d be interested in her. She stayed sat in her seat. Maybe she could get the driver to let her out away from the cameras.

Oliver leaned back inside the car. “Are you coming?”

“Oliver, I didn’t realize. I don’t want to give the wrong impression. People might think I’m your date. I know this wasn’t a date. You just gave me a ride. But then people won’t listen and it will become a thing and you’ve been so nice - I just don’t want to ruin things for you.” Felicity felt like such a fool. She squeezed her hands tightly together. She was not this insecure person.

She felt rather than saw Oliver get back in the car and shut the door. His hand came to cover hers. “Hey, it’s okay. We don’t have to go to the party.”

Felicity looked up with confusion. “Oh no, you need to go to the party. I just don’t want to you know, cause confusion. You getting back in the car, probably caused confusion, sorry.” She looked up at Oliver.

“Okay, I’m going to put it all on the line here.” Felicity could see he was nervous. “Can you answer a question for me, truthfully? There is no wrong answer.”

“Sure.”

“Would it be the worse thing if the reporters thought you were my date? I mean, I’d be honoured if you would be my date but you don’t have to be. I want you to know that I have no problem getting out and introducing you as my date or getting out and introducing you as my friend. But I also have no problem, getting out and letting the car drop you off separately. It’s completely up to you. What would you like to do?”

Felicity thought about it for a moment. Took a deep breath. “I want to get out of the car with you right now as your date.” Now that she’d made her decision, she felt confident. She gave him a beaming smile.

“Alright, then Ms. Smoak let’s get going.” Oliver knocked on the door and it was opened for him again, he got out and extended his hand to Felicity.

Felicity looked up at Oliver and knew she’d made the right choice. As she stepped out of the car she felt the flashes from the cameras accelerated.

~~~~~

Oliver walked into a crowded ballroom with Felicity by his side. He loved having her there. Despite her impressive heels, she was still a good bit shorter, meaning he had to look down a little. “I guess I’d better find my parents. Do you mind if I take your hand so I don’t lose you in the crowd?”

“Of course,” Felicity offered her hand to Oliver.

Oliver guided Felicity carefully through the room, Felicity seemed fine on those high heels but no need to rush her. He scanned the room for his parents.

“Ollie!”

Oliver turned to see Thea rushing toward them. “Oliver, thank goodness you are here! I’ve been telling Mom and Dad we were texting and you were stuck in traffic but I’m not sure they were buying it.” Thea suddenly turned to Felicity. “So nice to see you too, Felicity.” Thea looked down, noticing their joined hands. “OH MY GOD!” She smacked Oliver on the arm. “How could you not tell ME?!”

Oliver chuckled. “There was nothing to tell this is our first date.”

“Well, I approve!” Thea hugged them both. “Now, you better find our parents. They over in the corner near the bar.”

“That will be our next stop.” Oliver began to walk away, he and Felicity weaving their way through the crowd and servers. Oliver noticed Felicity looking at the trays. “As soon as we say hi to my parents, I promise food and drinks next.” Felicity smiled.

“Oliver, how nice of you to attend, I just about to…” Moira Queen stopped her criticism when she noticed their audience.

“Mom, Dad, this is Felicity Smoak, CEO of Smoak Tech and my date. We are sorry we are late, I texted Thea, we were stuck in traffic.”

“Of course, Felicity your reputation proceeds you. Lovely to meet you.” Oliver was impressed. Moira never acted this way toward his previous dates. He knew Felicity was amazing and he was glad to see his parents saw that too.

“Ms. Smoak, I’m Robert Queen. I’ve been looking forward to meeting with you. Our daughter Thea has told us marvellous things.

“Please call me Felicity, it’s nice to meet you as well. Both Oliver and Thea have spoken very highly of you. So glad our companies can work together.”

Oliver beamed at his amazing date. She really did make the world a better place.

~~~~~

“Felicity and I better go mingle. Lovely party.” Oliver nodded to his parents before turning them back toward the crowd.

Felicity took a breath. “I think that went well, right?” She couldn’t help but seek reassurance.

“Felicity, they loved you. I think they were happier to see you than me. You totally wowed them. Might I say it’s an honour to escorting the most impressive woman in the room.”

Why did he have to say things like that? Felicity was already crushing on Oliver hard, how could she not? There was no future here and while she would enjoy tonight she couldn’t let herself get too attached. But when he said things like that, she felt the walls protecting her heart crumbling.

“Felicity! You made it!!!” Caitlin rushed toward her and Oliver taking her out of her bubble.

Felicity hugged Caitlin. “Yeah, sorry, I was running late. Caitlin, this is Oliver Queen, my date.”

“It’s nice to finally meet you in person, Oliver. I’m Caitlin, Felicity’s partner at Smoak Tech and BEST FRIEND. Felicity has said nothing but good things about you but she failed to mention she was bringing you as her date. Just so you know, I approve.”

Felicity was going to kill her. She was sure she turned every shade of red possible. She kept willing Oliver not to look at her.

“Caitlin, it’s nice to meet you.” Oliver shook Caitlin’s hand. “Felicity has also spoken highly of you. You will have to forgive Felicity for not mentioning the date, it was a little unexpected but I recognize how lucky I am.”

“You better.” Caitlin smiled but it was clearly a warning.

“Hi, I’m Ronnie, Caitlin’s husband.” Ronnie extended his hand to Oliver.

Felicity was relieved to see Ronnie trying to defuse the situation.

“It was nice to meet you all. We will be back shortly, right now, I promised Felicity drinks and food and I must deliver.”

Oliver began to escort her away. “Sorry about that, Caitlin is just a little protective.”

“No need to apologize. I’m really glad you have someone like that in your corner. She has nothing to worry about with me.”

~~~~~

Having been to a number of these events since childhood Oliver knew the best way to grab a snack. He nabbed a large plate from one of the servers. “Okay, so here’s the plan. You grab two glasses of wine for us when you see them, otherwise point to the food you want and I’ll put a couple on our plate. Then we can stake out a corner in this busy room and fest.”

“Wow. You really know what you are doing!”

“Not my first rodeo.” Oliver loved that she loved the idea.

“Okay, I’ll try anything - but no pork or nuts please.”

“Got it. Why don’t you grab the wine from the server over there and I’ll meet you in the far left-hand corner with the food.”

Felicity looked up at him with glee. “Did you ever know that you’re my hero? You heard my stomach growling didn’t you?”

“No and no...but I am off to make your dreams a reality!” Oliver walked away, hearing Felicity’s chuckle behind him.

~~~~~~

“Okay, that was the best food EVER. Thank you so much for feeding me, Oliver.”

“Your wish is my command.” Oliver pretended to bow.

“Well, if that’s the case. How about a dance?” Felicity felt a little nervous asking but he was her date.

“Okay, but not here. The dance floor is too crowded here.” Oliver took her hand, leading her out to an enclosed sunroom that had been decorated with twinkle lights. She could see the moon and stars above through the glass.

“Oh Oliver, this is lovely.”

“Not too cold? It’s not heated out here.” He quickly took off his suit jacket, placing it over her shoulders.

“No, it’s perfect. Nice to have a breath of fresh air.” Felicity put her arms of the sleeves of the too big coat. She felt enveloped by Oliver. She looked up at him as the song “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear,” began to play inside.

Oliver took her in his arms and the two began to sway. “I’m really glad you agreed to be my date,” he spoke against her hair.

“I’m really glad to be your date.” She leaned in closer and lost herself in the dance.

Thanks so much for reading! More to come soon!!

I’m tagging people who might be interested. Let me know if you’d like to be tagged or untagged: @memcjo @stephswims @julieofrandomfandoms @mel-loves-all @cruzrogue @laurabelle2930 @lucyyh @green-arrows-of-karamel @oliverfel4 @tdgal1 @tangled23works @lageniuswannabe @swordandarrow @it-was-a-red-heeler @olicitytropes

#Hope for the Holidays #olicity fanfiction #alternate universe #oliver x felicity #MyFanfic

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izayoichan · 4 years

Photo

“Good to go I see?”

Chris smiles at the two as they come back down

“I guess so... But ehm

He looks at Vy knowing he probably won’t like portals but hoping his other idea might work.

“Maybe you can fly with Hayle?” “Fly with mister Hayle?”

He hesitates, thinking about it. At first, scared at the idea of flying with anyone but Hayden, but then remembers he has been safe with Hayle and Chris and they have no reason to hurt him, plus, even if different, Hayle is a big dragon and can keep him safe.

“I guess I can... Yes. I can fly with you mister Hayle.”

Hayden looks at Vy, smiling pretty impressed with him going with his dad, giving him a kiss, before Chris puts his hand on his shoulder and the two vanishes from sight.

“You and me then young dragon, you can fly without changing fully right, or do you want to just hitch a flight?” “Yes, I can fly without turning fully. I have never turned fully...

He whispers to Hayle- I don't know how...”

He frees wings, shaking them behind him and spreading them as they walk outside. Hayle turning into his dragon form as well.

“But I can fly like this!” “Handy, I can only fly as a dragon, but I can choose my size, off we go!

He winks lifting off the ground keeping an eye on Vy so he can follow Vy following him as best he can, turning out to be quiet the inexperienced and clumsy flier but still doing the best he can. Hayle noticing him struggling, flying a bit slower almost right next to him so he can more easily keep up, also shielding him from any side winds.

“Oh, there we are, come on, we best land a bit away from it and walk.” “Wow, it is soo pretty!!”

He leads Vy to a hidden place to land where he turns into his normal half-dragon form. He knows the people here have seen him like this before, and no one really cares, leading Vy to where he notices Hayden standing, watching two people skate.

“No falls so far?” “Sush you!” “No Rylan's doing remarkably well, Hayden“

River laughs then looks back at Rylan and kisses him gently, letting go of his hands so he can try on his own

“See, you're doing it!” “This is sooo not my thing!” “It's okay. Just hold onto me and do as I do. “ “I am NOT skating backward, which is what you are doing!” “Not backward, dummy. Just forward and bend your knees a little.” “I'm trying, but your princess is just bad at this!”

He chuckles as he tries to move the skates a little himself, bending his knees slightly as told. Vy walking over to Hayden, with Hayle following behind him, being met by Chris who gives him and Hayle a hot chocolate, before handing a cold drink to Hayden.

“Oooh! I wanna skate too!”

Vy takes the hot chocolate drinks a bit of it and kisses Hayden gently on the cheek.

“Thank you! And they seem to be having fun.” “How are you making this look so easy?!“ “You can do it, princess, see.”

He skates around Rylan so he's ready to catch him, Rylan trying his best to relax a little more and not just get pulled along by Rylan, which leads to him losing what little balance he had, his arms flailing in a desperate attempt not to fall, feeling the safe arms off River around him stopping the fall.

“Calm down. I got you princess.” “I do not like these things..”

He sighs relieved when River catches him, taking his hand and trying one more time to not seem stupid.

“Not much of a princess on skates, sorry.” “The loveliest of princesses, actually“

“He twirls Rylan around on the skate, pulling him close and kissing him and holding him tight.

“Don't do that! “

He holds on to River as if his life depended on it after the twirl, not comfortable at all with having being twirled on the ice, even if nothing happened the kiss calming him down.

“At least warn me first.. are we done with this horror soon?”

Hayden chuckles a little at the two as he watches Vy watch them skate, wishing he could take him on the ice, but knowing it is just not a possibility.

“He got him!” “He would have lost many prince points if he let him fall, do you like the chocolate?” “Yes! Very!

He smiles and kissing Hayden’s cheek gently, just watching the two with a smile.

“Wanna go walk around the market? See what they have?” “Yeah, we can do that. Leave the prince and his princess with less of an audience.”

He smiles and leads him into the small market, some food stalls, and a couple of stalls where you can win things, as well as a couple where you can simply buy mostly Christmas, themed things. They walk through the many stalls, Hayden noticing something seems to be on his mind as they walk and he looks at things.

“What? I can see something is bothering you, or well, maybe more like on your mind.” “I wanted to buy you a gift but I can't afford them... "

He shrugs his shoulders following Hayden, sighs and grabs Hayden's hand, keeping close to him as he notices people around the market.

“... Maybe we should go to play some games or... “

Hayden puts an arm around Vy, noticing him looking at the people around them knowing he’s probably a little worried about them all.

“You don't have to buy me anything, just you coming here an awesome gift.”

He pulls him into his arms properly and kisses him.

“And yes... Let's play some games, I want to win you your very first Teddy!” “There you go getting me gifts again and I can't get you any... Then I feel guilty.

He outs keeping close, then suddenly has an idea and smiles.

“Why don't we win it together and it becomes our Teddy?” “I'm sorry... “

He realizes he keeps doing just that, getting Vy things he likes and wants, without him often being able to give back.

“Yeah, let's win one together, and it is our teddy.”

He smiles, leading him towards the game area of the market. River laughs and starts leading Rylan out of the rink.

“Okay. I think I have tortured you enough. But you can't deny it was fun albeit. Bit scary.” “Thank the Lord!”

He moves along with River, but manages to stick the tip of the skate into the ice, sending him face forwards towards the ice with a loud yelp, River quickly catching him, but the momentum Rylan has gotten sends them both flat on the ice, River taking the brunt of the fall keeping Rylan on top off him.

“ you okay Rylan?” “Well... I guess if it ends like this, I don't mind skating that much, yes I'm fine.”

He looks a little bit worried at River who pretty much took the brunt of their fall.

“Are you?” “Yup. Better now that you're on top of me.”

He chuckles, sitting up, and helping Rylan to his feet as well, Rylan clinging too him like his life depends on it, refusing to let him go at all.

“I shall cling to you until we are off the ice, I had enough!”

He laughs and kisses River, who kisses him back before leading him to the safety off the bench, helping him take off his skates.

“Here we are, your highness, safe and sound like promised.” “The glory of normal shoes! Thank you for skating with me though, it was fun, even if I mostly did complain. So, how about something tasty, on me in return?” “ River: it was fun.”

He smiles at Rylan giving him his shoes and sitting next to him taking off his own skates and grabbing his shoes

“How about some games first? I can win you a plastic ring or something!”

Rylan chuckles and nods, delivering the skates back first, noticing Vy and Hayden already trying to win a bear.

Beginning - Previous - Next

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gelljc · 4 years

Note

I love your art and your ideas! Do you have any headcanons for Ondimi?

i’ve been meaning to draw more content for them! so hopefully this motivates me:

they encounter each other whenever their practices are scheduled at the same time and they gradually become friends

either kagami realizes her feelings for ondine first or meeting kim incenses her competitive nature to the point where she’s Obligated to fight him for ondine’s hand, but at some point, under the impression that ondine still likes kim, kagami sets about winning ondine’s favor

it’s all very calculated; kagami plans out ways to see ondine often (picking her up from practice, insisting on hanging out after school), buys her little trinkets (ondine likes cute keychains and has them all over her backpack), makes sure to compliment her as often as possible (kagami esp admires her positive, resilient attitude), and whenever ondine mentions something about kim (he made me laugh so hard today!), kagami will attempt to do it Better

(unless it was something dumb like sticking his toes up his nose. kagami can’t do that, and she doesn’t want to.)

kagami doesn’t hate kim (she thinks he’s a wonderful acquaintance/friend), but also she begins to eye him very coldly whenever she picks up ondine from practice

but ondine asks kagami out first, though she’s oblivious as hell to the fact that kagami had been vying for her attention for the best part of three months

(i don’t remember if kagami actually goes to a public school, but i know she doesn’t attend dupont, and i have no clue if ondine attends dupont or not, but their fencing and swimming practices are both… held at dupont? but let’s just say they both attend the same school)

they spend lunch together; kagami begins packing lunch for two people, after seeing that ondine’s lunch usually consisted of granola bars from the vending machines

they also try to study together! a week before a big exam, they begin to meet up at the library. kagami is a fairly decent student; good grades, listens well to the teachers, but her knowledge is all textbook and she’s actually a terrible study partner for ondine. she knows how to repeat verbatim from the text, but not how to break it down in a way that ondine can process.

ondine isn’t an idiot by any means, but she’s more of a visual learner and it’s hard for her to pay attention during lecture. so math? awesome. history lectures? awful. but studying is also frustrating to her, because she hates sitting still and the silence is oppressing and she can never focus on the textbook or on kagami’s explanation and inevitably gets distracted by something else. she worries she annoys kagami with her fidgeting, but once kagami realizes ondine isn’t intentionally messing around, she’s fine with it

they eventually change tactics; for the rest of the week, they study in a public place (cafés, parks, etc), bring lots of snacks, and work together to create outlines/timelines for their history exam

also kagami is shit at math but ondine is awesome at it. ondine’s pretty proud of herself for being able to help kagami at something

also ondine is fairly popular at school—an athlete and a very bubbly, friendly person? of course she’s popular.

kagami less so, because she’s new, and because she’s very unapproachable and comes across as cold. when ondine and kagami start dating, this comes as a Shock to everyone.

they both try each other’s respective sport and it goes horribly

ondine is too heavy-handed and heavy on her feet for fencing; she defaults to holding the foil like a two-handed broadsword, and, because in true kagami-fashion, kagami explains little and attacks first, ondine panics and swings a lot

and kagami has flat-out never learned how to swim; she gets floating and the doggy paddle down, and not much else. but ondine thinks it’s fun just hanging out in the pool together. kim sometimes joins.

ondine gets a stuffed dragon for kagami (not saying she knows that kagami is ryuko, but she knows that kagami is ryuko. she also knows that kim is king monkey, bc she’s not dumb). kagami sleeps with it every night

kagami gets so flustered around ondine. ondine never fails to get kagami to blush. whenever they meet up after practices, especially with ondine’s hair damp and freshly toweled, kagami is like. wow.

ondine is shockingly flirty, although it’s more genuine compliments and cute pet names than intentional flirting. ondine is definitely super affectionate, and loves dropping a kiss the top of kagami’s head and hugging her as much as possible

kagami likes pressing a kiss on ondine’s shoulder

whenever ondine is excited about something, she instinctively calls kagami to tell her about it; kagami is always the first person she thinks to share things with

they take turns planning dates, and kagami’s are usually simple (maybe just going out to café, or going ice skating), while ondine’s usually last hours and have them doing at least five different things in one day

#also thank you!#ask #ondimi #kagami tsurugi #ondine #headcanons #ml #also i fell asleep halfway through typing these out so sorry this took awhile #and for potential typos

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slowpocalypsecooking · 4 years

Text

the top 8 tracks on folklore from least to most embarrassing to enjoy

Hi I’m Anthony Fantano and welcome to the needle drop. I don’t know if he says that, because I don’t watch him—if I wanted to listen to a repulsive white man talk about music, I could just go on a date. (just kidding, covid!)

Forgoing any further introduction, here are the top eight tracks from Taylor Swift’s new album, low-caps “folklore,” ranked from least embarrassing to most embarrassing to enjoy, according to me. The whole album is 16 tracks long, but I’m only doing the most noteworthy half because 16 is too many. You’re welcome for that decision.

Methodology: To get on this list, songs had to be both embarrassing and enjoyable. There will be natural fluctuation between tracks, but as we go down the list, assume that the songs are getting increasingly better to listen to and worse to think about, like this:

The rankings:

8. cardigan

This is a song about feeling at times like an unloved trash bag, as we all do, and then being warmly reminded that you matter because you are in fact someone’s fallback. The hook goes:

and when i felt like i was an old cardigan under someone’s bed you put me on and said i was your favorite.

Beyond reveling in this pathetic status, this song serves as an admission that the speaker a. uses the word “cardigan” and b. thinks of those bland, preppy sweaters as a comforting thing to wear. In a cooler universe, this song would be called “flannel.” It is just okay to listen to.

7. mad woman

This song has big Ophelia vibes, big Handmaid’s Tale vibes, big “daughter of the witches you couldn’t burn” vibes. One of the verses contains the line “and women like hunting witches too,” because, hey, woman-on-woman misogyny is bad, didn’t you know. Strong reminder that if being called crazy is the worst form of oppression you’ve experienced, you still have it pretty good. Sometimes sounds decent, sometimes too croony.

6. invisible string

This one uses a pretty lazy, commonplace device: She opens couplets within verses by just naming colors, and uses these to create a simple repetitive structure for introducing random, useless details:

green was the color of the grass where i used to read at centennial park i used to think i would meet somebody there teal was the color of your shirt when you were sixteen at the yogurt shop you used to work at to make a little money

Sure this device is tired, but that’s only the surface of what’s embarrassing here. More embarrassing is the image I’ve conjured of a teal-shirted teenage boy smiling through his braces behind the toppings station at one of those blindingly lit American-kawaii froyo stores. I don’t know who needs to hear this but don’t fuck the froyo boy. Song is pretty catchy.

5. illicit affairs

Title says it all here: This song is about how thrilling and fun and ultimately horrible it is to be involved in a romantic situation you’re not supposed to be in, and how that forbidden sheen can get you totally enthralled with a crappy garbage man. Not a whole lot going on below the surface. This song is both very enjoyable and very embarrassing because it is very relatable.

4. seven

We are back to the aggressive levels of white woman previously seen in “mad woman,” only the case has gotten much more severe. Here’s this song’s final chorus:

Sweet tea in the summer Cross my heart, won’t tell no other And though I can't recall your face I still got love for you Pack your dolls and a sweater We'll move to India forever Passed down like folk songs Our love lasts so long

Okay let’s just skate past the part where a presumed adult is telling a fellow adult (I sure hope!) to bring their dolls when they run away together. That in itself is too big a can of worms to crack open. What I want to talk about is the line “We’ll move to India forever,” which pretty obviously uses an Orientalist fantasy of India as some nebulous, ethereal image of the East. Real people don’t live there; it’s the exotic dreamland where sweet-tea drinking southern belles bring their adult toys when they elope. This song is very catchy.

3. betty

Let me start by saying that now that we’re in the top three, all of the remaining songs are vying for the #1 slot. I could very easily see this and the next as the Most Embarrassing to Enjoy. But “betty” is clocking in at number three today.

This is a song about a teenage romance gone bad, in which a speaker named James (who is “only seventeen, I don’t know anything”) has cheated on a girlfriend (Betty) and is now considering showing up at her party, begging for forgiveness, and hoping for a kiss in the garden. We get the backstory in the bridge:

I was walking home on broken cobblestones Just thinking of you when she pulled up like A figment of my worst intentions She said "James, get in, let's drive" Those days turned into nights Slept next to her, but I dreamt of you all summer long

First of all, “figment” of “intentions” is not really a phrase? But secondly, and more importantly: Excited bloggers all over the internet have posted a smattering of theories detailing why this song is Taylor Swift’s coded revelation that she actually maybe fucks girls, too, y’know, and hey, maybe the object of this song is the supermodel Karlie Kloss, whose middle name is Elizabeth. Apparently Taylor Swift is named after James Taylor, so she could be James, or at the very least James could be a woman. I’m going to allow for the possibility that the speaker “James” is a woman, because why not; it does not change the narrative. But said narrative doesn’t make sense: who is this woman pulling up next to James and picking them up on the cobblestone? Did James really spend all summer with her, and if so, why? James is only seventeen by the time they get back to ask Betty’s forgiveness, so like, where the hell are James’s parents? Do they not care that their child has gone off for the whole summer with a person I can only picture as a cheetah-print-and-goggles-wearing divorcee driving a convertible?

Furthermore, the Karlie Kloss/Taylor Swift fan theories are gross for the simple reason that these two tall skinny white women look pretty much exactly the same. What is it with the internet’s obsession with wanting practically identical people to hook up? There might be an incest thing going on there that you guys could stand to reflect on. And on the more cynical conspiracy-theorizing side, couldn’t this just be some convenient queerbaiting? Didn’t Taylor Swift get criticized for appropriating gay rhetoric and imagery for “You Need to Calm Down,” like, 20 minutes ago? If she were going to come out, wouldn’t it have been an ideal moment to do so when she was under fire for that? I’m not saying all celebrities are shallow opportunists, but, you know, maybe.

This song is infectious. You will need to lobotomize me to get it out of my head.

2. exile

I know I originally said this was gonna be number one but I lied. It is pretty rough, though. This track features Bon Iver, and it’s not the high-pitched sad boy of “Skinny Love” renown. This Bon Iver is deep-voiced and country, like Bon Iver playing Tim McGraw in an uncomfortable SNL parody. Also, the whole song is centered around the tired and overused metaphor that a person is a place, and the person the speaker is pining after is home, and the speaker is in exile because they can’t go home to the person they love. It’s a heartache-ballad, cry-sing in your car, absolute jam.

1. the last great american dynasty

I really tried not to let this be number one. I really didn’t want it to be, which is precisely why it is. This was the track that first alerted me to the entire album’s release, because Ed Markey supporters on Twitter seized on it and decided it was about the downfall of the Kennedy family. It is not. The opening verse goes:

Rebekah rode up on the afternoon train, it was sunny Her saltbox house on the coast took her mind off St. Louis Bill was the heir to the Standard Oil name and money And the town said, "How did a middle-class divorcée do it?" The wedding was charming, if a little gauche There's only so far new money goes They picked out a home and called it "Holiday House"

This is very obviously about a real couple, Rebekah and William (Bill) Hale Harkness, who had a real mansion in Rhode Island that they called “Holiday House.” The Harkness name is on basically every building in Connecticut and a lot of the Northeast because Stephen Harkness, Bill Hale Harkness’s great uncle, was a founder of Standard Oil along with John D. Rockefeller. In 2013, Taylor Swift bought the property known as “Holiday House,” as she says in the song:

Fifty years is a long time Holiday House sat quietly on that beach Free of women with madness, their men and bad habits And then it was bought by me

The cool, fun, left-ish internet reading of this song is that it’s a revolutionary tale about toppling class hierarchy—getting a hold of wealth and bringing the institution that created it to its knees by… “fill[ing] the pool with champagne”? How much would that amount of champagne even cost? This is not a song about revolution. Taylor Swift didn’t storm into the Standard Oil house and burn it down or take it over; she bought it. It is not a song about destabilizing the ruling class. It’s a song about joining it.

It absolutely fucking slaps, unfortunately.

#taylor swift #folklore #i am putting this in the tumblr tags in lowkey hopes that a rabid taylor swift fan will see and come after me #come on that would be funny

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vspirit8 · 5 years

Text

What’s in a name?

Think I should just start this with a TL; DR and put the rest under a cut:

Weir has a job to do and he’s doing it. It doesn’t seem super harmful to anybody (except Chen maybe since he’s the one who has to bear the pressure) so why not let him?

What I’m hoping Hanyu’s end goal this season is: Clean Origin (with a layout that would give it the highest possibility, even if the BV is lower than some)

What I’m hoping his end goal for the next one is (which is not inachievable if he plays his cards right for the remainder of this season, probably): Consistently nicely incorporated 4A in competition skates.

Winning will come naturally for the second, even if not the first. :)

Elaboration under the cut, if you feel so inclined to wade through word vomit.

(Just revised the tags so as to not antagonize unsuspecting fans--well the ones I haven’t already antagonized. Realized that not everyone is going to be able to weigh my opinion, especially being a fan of Hanyu, objectively and see exactly where I’m coming from so I think I’ll respect the wishes of Chen fans to not see anything remotely negative amidst all the overreaction to his USNats scoring...which speaking of, is pretty whoa, lol.)

I know Weir’s comments can be kind of...iffy...sometimes, but there’s a marked difference between when he speaks about Hanyu and when he speaks about Chen. This isn’t going to sound pleasant to fans, especially to those who enjoy Chen’s skating, but it *is* the impression I got so consider this due warning.

Weir’s comments about Hanyu come from a deeper and more inspired place, I feel, and is almost always a breath of fresh air compared to a lot of the superficiality he spews on air. And he says them even when he’s not commentating about Hanyu’s skate. Sure, there’s always the PR element but based on tone and word choice, I do sense genuine thoughtfulness in what he says when he talks about Hanyu.

For Chen, the way he speaks seems to obviously come from a place of hype, which, you know, he’s literally paid to spread, and him bringing in Hanyu’s name in is to facilitate said hype, because Hanyu’s name has always been the one to drop in recent years in the sphere of FS if you want your words/product to hold weight and earn some $$$. Which in itself says a lot about the enormity of Hanyu’s existence in the sport, I feel, and a compliment. I also don’t recall many instances where Weir brings in Chen’s name the way he does Hanyu’s when Chen isn’t skating, which does say a lot about his personal preference given Chen is the complete opposite of the kind of skater Weir himself was in his competitive days.

All in all, drawing any form of comparison between two very different skaters with very different approaches and philosophies is dumb and does noone any favors, particularly the skaters getting compared, but the American hype machine has never been about intelligence and high roads and we all can’t help but react to it. At this point, I’m wondering if they aren’t baiting for the exact kind of reaction they’re getting.

Anyway, therein lies the difference between hype and inspiration. And I think we can all be happy about that. :) This part came out wrong and makes it sound as though I was belittling Chen, which wasn’t my intention. Although it can be hard to differentiate what with all the unfair comparison going on, Chen isn’t all hype, as far as jumps go (but him having a good balance of both the technical aspect and the performance one so he absolutely deserves his PCS is a different story because until Chen himself works to prove otherwise, this is all hype and nothing else. Guy still has plenty he needs to prove if he wants to live up to all the hype heaped onto him. He doesn’t have to, of course, since he didn’t ask for it, but that would just mean that the hype was just that, and nothing else.)

And all that being said, kudos to Chen for a skate well-done. Do bring it on at Worlds, as well, please.

Edit: Whoops, I was admittedly trying to defend Weir but some are thinking I’m putting down Chen as though the issue of America and their penchant for overhype isn’t a thing (regardless of how talented the skaters themselves really are) so before this escalates any further Imma just add this: Not saying that Chen is nothing but hype because he is more than it, otherwise I wouldn’t have been hankering for Chen to do well on the world stage along with others vying for the top spot. I want it bad so I can see once and for all how the judges would mark these skaters against one another (because that’s how judging is done apparently, and not based on what a single skater puts out) instead of speculating but Chen has yet to step up to the plate when Hanyu brings on his A game so far. I’m hoping the hype doesn’t weigh him down so much that it’ll prevent him from doing his best again because he hasn’t proven yet that he can handle that sort of pressure well (the kind the media keeps placing on him to basically beat Hanyu, which to be fair he did more than once, and so far remains the only one of the younger contenders to, but all that happened before the American media started laying it really heavily onto his shoulders). That said, Saitama 2019 is gonna be interesting*.

*I meant that in the way of scoring because I’m actually also hoping Hanyu doesn’t feel pressured to upgrade his content by piling on the higher scoring quads again because we all know what happened when he did. His ankle’s wonky now that even jumping the 4Lo is a bigger risk than it used to be. So here’s hoping he sticks to his words and focuses on skating his current content clean and see where the cards may fall. No one with half a brain would label him a coward or accuse him of underestimating the competition for it, not after all that he’s already proven he’s able to achieve despite what he’s been through. Origin clean would be a revelation in and of itself I feel. While challenging himself is admirable and all, I think this is the one time he should probably take a page from Chan’ s and Fernandez’s books. Sides, he still has yet to land the 4T+3A in a way he can be satisfied with in competition so if he wants a challenge this season there’s still that...

And if the cards somehow don’t fall in favor of him, well, losing would still be a hard pill to swallow but it shouldn’t matter as much as it did pre-PC and it would be neither his fault nor that of his lower BV’s. Maybe Chen’s brand of skating isn’t the direction people who feel FS should be more want to see the sport head towards but it doesn’t erase the possibility of what it could be as shown to us in reality by Hanyu, and the hope that it could one day move back towards a better direction. And sides, if he stays calm and allows himself to remain healthy, there’s still the 4A he could stomp all over everyone else with next season, if he manages to get it consistent and up to his standards enough.)

#men's figure skating #figure skating #hanyu's greatness isn't being threatened #nor is he being disrespected #I really don't think #plus chen did do a great job for his part #let's not take that away

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