#BRINGS THE SAME 10 EXAMPLES UP OVER N OVER AGAIN AND CALLS THAT ANALYSIS

[kerorowhump]

isn't it extremely fucked up how even though he says this was a joke right after this truly is the real words he would say to them if he was about to sacrifice himself to protect earth and humans to which we can infer also that 1 he's grateful for the knowingly limited amount of time he had with them and that he was able to be their friend (specifically fuyuki) so he is aware at the Very Least on a joking level that this is a chance which time will inevitably run out 2 he feels on some level guilt for his being a "freeloader" and living under their roof and obviously more in general getting them involved in the invasion stuff he can't walk out of, so in the back of his mind somehow he's trying to make up for and remedy this fact 3 most importantly, despite KNOWING that his position is fickle and he would've been required to choose sided eventually and lose all he has as he feared, he's not sacrificing himself by being platoon leader, because he also got to achieve happiness under this plan and within this platoon.

see, I say that because not too long ago I even discussed with friends that keroro was sacrificing some of his own happiness doing something he very extremely doesn't wanna do anymore (invasion) not only because he has to but also because it allows everyone around him to thrive in these conditions even if HE doesn't. they're all happy to be on earth, keroro is super lax with the way he treats them, barely scolds them for real or perceived mistakes

["you went a bit overboard" he says as he's literally dying buried in snow. great boss!]

(and when he does "scold", it's more average bickering what they do, and he doesn't come out on top a lot or anyways lacks that aura of respect you'd have to give any other military superior which allows for a more relaxed environment where they can thrive as themselves. you ever seen ofmd? think stede). and consistently ive seen so far that keroro is willing to put his life on the line for the mission and also step up when it comes to protecting his teammates specifically, but I think he's like, aware of what being a leader entails. and I know he does because he had this fuckin SPEECH ready to drop, joke or not!! like he pondered this stuff, he knows how he feels about the situation and... he concluded that he's happy the way things are. and that may be why it's so hard for him to commit to something and he's kinda stuck between sides, because it's not like keron bad earth good to him

he likes keron and he likes earth and while he's allowed to live in a way that allows him to betray neither, he's happy. that is his goal, so that makes sense. he's not without guilt and shame for his choices, but he's grateful they led him to where he is. a still moment in time where he can pretend he's on the right side on both parts.

I mean... IS that why he wants to be included with them as family so bad?

is that why it hurts when his teammates lose faith in his leader abilities?

could that be why he has semi-frequent (I would say...) breakdowns about the state of the mission despite not being motivated to do it, because this fickle balance he's created still hinges on it, let alone his reputation? HQ loves to remind him so. to tell him to hurry up.

it's all about enjoying the time you have with the people you love, and also give them a chance to find their own happiness in a way they couldn't have under normal keron rules. taking the brunt of everything that might go wrong for this.

but he's happy because they are, because he was able to achieve this, because he loves them, because he could at times believe they love him back, like he always wanted, I think, despite the circumstances that he's the reason for. it's a burdened happiness, hence why he also needs to apologize in the same breath, "for all the trouble he caused".

maybe in an ideal world there is no invasion, and he really could've gotten to be just that pleasant and cheerful freeloader alien, no guilt attached

but if that's the price to pay for having met the hinatas and having been able to give everyone in his platoon a second chance at a peaceful life, I believe that makes him happy. a peaceful life with the people he cares about, even if just for a while, and he's well aware of how fragile it is.

he really is often like "is the invasion all you can think about?" but then it's always weighing on his mind as well. it stings when that costs him the respect of his peers. it stings when that causes the hinatas to doubt him even when he's innocent.

but what choice does he have?

[bubsthebee]

Can’t Say It.

Aizawa x Reader

Word Count: 3,541

A/N: Fluff, dragged out but it’s a happy ending. One shot. Age difference (9 years) Reader is 22 while Aizawa is 31. Mentions of alcohol.  

Reader is a young teacher at UA who has a unique relationship with Pro Hero and coworker Eraserhead. After a while of getting to know each other, will they realize their feelings? OR will they let self doubt get in the way. 

CHARACTER REPORT

Position: UA SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION 

Job Description: Quirk Analysis and Evaluation Processing. 

Name: (L/N), (F/N)                Power: 2/5 D    Intelligence: 4/5 B

Birthday: (5/10)                     Speed: 2/5 B    Cooperativeness: 5/5 A

Age: 22                                 Technique: 5/5 S

Sex: Female (She/Her)

Quirk: Analysis 

-(Y/N) is able to instantly analyze a person and their abilities after observing them, familiarizing themselves with their qurik. This also includes evaluating/predicting situations with higher than average accuracy. With this ability, she can use this information with or against a subject. She can keep up to three peoples' worth of information perfectly memorized at a time. Anymore, her analysis starts to create more errors and her accuracy decreases. 

--

Ever since (y/n) started working at UA, everyone knew that Aizawa’s single streak was in danger. 

While the scruff chined 1-A homeroom teacher taught his bustling young hero course, she supported the admin staff! Specifically falling under processing and evaluating every student's quirk and how to help progress their potential. This means every homeroom teacher ran their notes and evaluations about their students through her every quarter, possibly more depending on how active and intense their training has been. She and her small team are a key to the school’s successful hero and support course. No matter how a quirk was used, they would find the best way to help them improve it. 

Classroom 1-A currently holds the record for most updates and changes to analysis (surprise). With an increase in updates, (y/n) has spent more sleepless nights making sure her work was perfect than she originally thought she was going to. Not that she minded of course! She was young, and found that it helped drive her to improve her passions and skill. Besides her administrative work, she also works as a substitute teacher for English, and Hero Strategy lessons twice a semester. If needed she is more than happy to help with summer lessons. 

Aizawa has had more than his fair share of interaction with the young lady, more than others if one was keeping track. After the hero noticed (y/n)’s sleepless nights because of his students, he offered to stay and bring her coffee. When (y/n) noticed extra heavy bags under his eyes, there would be a nicely wrapped lunch on his desk with a cute thank you note in return. 

Over time a unique relationship developed between the two that anyone looking in could clearly see. Including the students. 

“Mr Aizawa! Your lady friend left ya another lunch, you’re so LUCKY.” Denki and Mineta whined without hesitation. 

“Why don’t we get cute lunches made by cute girls?” 

“Shut up! That’s Ms. (L/n) you’re talking about, not some side chick you dumbos. I think it’s really sweet.” Mina cooed alongside some of the other girls. 

Their homeroom teacher could only sigh, carefully tucking away the lunch box into his work desk as he partially ignored their scattered comments. “Lucky or not, you all should have your notes out and study. Your test scores from  last week clearly tell me I haven’t given enough in class work time. Do I have to cut down on our outside training hours?” The instant shuffling of paper and pencils brought a small smirk to his face. Nothing got his students off his back faster than less training hours. As he took attendance and organized his schedule, the small peeks at the lunch box reminded him about his last encounter with his….coworker. 

--

“Midoriya is such a strange boy you know? I’m surprised his quirk doesn't instantly tear his body apart every time he uses it. I’m glad he’s getting a handle on it, I hated seeing him hurt himself so often.”  You were sat cross legged in your office chair, typing away at your laptop underneath a bright desk lamp. 

“I agree, he needs to learn how to use his body with his quirk.” 

“Exactly!- Well, it looks like his rate of injuries compared to training has decreased. Based off of Recovery Girls records, his quirk usage deteriorated his arm muscle effectiveness. This means he’s got to either limit his usage on his arms, or learn how to use the rest of his body to compensate.” Rubbing your eyes shifted your reading glasses off of your face, exposing the bags that were starting to grow underneath them. 

“You shouldn’t be getting such heavy bags under your eyes like that, you’re too young for those (L/n).” He always notices them, no matter how well hidden. 

“Ya, okay GRAMPS. You’re not that much older than me and YOUR eyes are just as bad, if not worse. And call me (y/n), we’re friends aren't we?” 

Rolling his eyes, Aizawa gets up with a huff to pour some coffee from the nearby coffee pot. “Midoriya is your last report tonight right? Go home, you’ve got Hero Strategy classes tomorrow.” as if on cue, he hands you the cup of warm coffee while you reach out for it with a quiet “Thank you”. 

The way you hold the cup in your hands and let the warm steam brush against your face leaves him staring at you with a soft look. 

“I guess I could leave a little earlier than I thought....” blowing cool air onto the coffee, you slowly take a sip of the warm beverage. Every time you see that look on his face, you can’t help but wonder what he’s feeling. 

After a short while, you both clean up and close the office up. It’s 1 AM and both of you are more than ready to get at least a few hours of sleep in. Like usual, he walks you halfway to your home before bidding his own goodbye. 

“Goodnight (L/n).” As Aizawa turns to walk away, he feels a small tug at his sleeve. 

“I uh-” Turning to look around, he sees you with pinker cheeks underneath a streetlight. How do you always look so...nice? No matter the light you always look nice. 

You slowly slid your hand down his arm to gently hold onto his hand. It was so soft, not just the hold but your skin. You couldn't even look at him but your voice was clear as day. 

“Thank you, for staying with me. I know how tired you must be too….so I feel honored that you decide to spend your important time with me- er, to help me. You’re a great teacher and man Aizawa. Good night.” Just as quick as the moment had started, your touch was gone and you made your way home. 

He was alone, yet he could still feel your touch on his skin. Aizawa stood there for minutes, looking at his hand in awe and strange curiosity. His coworkers and friends told him multiple times, “You two aren’t a thing?”, “It’s obvious that you fancy her Shouta.”, 

“She has to feel the same, you don’t see how she looks at you when you aren’t paying attention.” 

--

         The school bell alerting the start of their first class was what pulled Aizawa out of his mind, looking up to see (y/n) walk into the class with your information tablet. ‘Ah, right. Hero Strategy.’          “Good Morning class! Great to see you all again.” She was chipper as always, her makeup easily covering her endeavors from the night before. The young teacher wore simple black tights with her training sweat jacket, everyone murmured in excitement because this meant that there would be out of class training and demonstrations          Rubbing his exhaustion from his face, the black haired male stands up to go stand near (y/n). “You all have ten minuets to change and get to the field. Any longer and you’ll be stuck in cleaning duty for the week.”

         Iida is quick to stand and grab his fellow classmates attention. “Quickly but in order, please gather your things and head to the gym! No RUNNING!” As valiant as his efforts were, everyone rushed out of the class in fear of being put into the cleaning crew while it was out of their turn. 

         The small smile he saw on your face was sobering, calmly following behind you as you made your way to the gym. 

         Usually, Aizawa would sneak into his sleeping back and nap during other teachers' lessons. These ones were different for him. He would sit off to the side and observe how you worked with the kids.

 While some students could take simple suggestions and immediately apply them, others needed physical examples. You were more than happy to adapt to all their needs as they all trained with their new plans and teachers notes. While Tokoyami nodded and talked with Dark Shadow about your observations, Uraraka carefully mimicked your moves as you slowly countered her attacks explaining how they affected her opponent's momentum even more. 

         He knew you were a natural when it came to children and hero work. The obvious proof was right in front of him. That and he was nine years older than you, yet you both were doing almost the exact same job. That's where everything starts to blur for him. 

         After a quick practice round with Shoji, a rundown with Bakugo about his quirk usage along with Midoriya and the rest of the class, their first class of the day was over. 

         The rest of the day went normal, and (Y/n) left to finish the rest of her lessons while Aizawa did the same. 

 --

         After a long week, you were more than happy to have the weekend to yourself, or so you thought. 

Incoming Call: Keigo <(‘v’)> 

“Keigo?”

 “Hey tiny, sorry to bother but I felt like I should call in and see how you were doing.” 

 “I’m fine, just getting ready to watch some movies and order take in. Had a long week. You?” 

 “Gonna be heading out to an event soon! Glad to hear you're doing good. Any luck with your crush on the office grandpa?”

 You roll your eyes as you wiggle yourself into more blankets, clicking through the different documentaries you could find on YouTube.

  “I don’t have a crush on Aizawa, and even IF I did he is NOT a grandpa. He would probably want someone closer to his age anyway. The whole life experience gap and everything.” 

 “Yeah okay, whatever. Don't get mad at me when you realize I’m right and you're missing out on not being single anymore.” 

 “You’ll be the first person I call when you’re actually right. ” “Ouch-” 

 “Pfft, talk to you later Kei. I have an hour long video about the origin of heroes and it’s calling my name.” 

 “Bye bye!” 

-

         No matter how relaxed you were or how interesting the documentary was, you couldn't get you know who out of your mind. Could you have a crush on Aizawa Shouta? Silver Fox hero of the night? Grumpy man who likes taking naps in the middle of the day? You couldn’t lie, he was attractive and his personality was more than pleasant to you at least. It always felt like something was there between you two..between late night talks and having lunch together sometimes. It felt like there was a connection, and the only thing keeping you two from connecting was a waterfall of hesitation and doubt. 

 “Whatever…”

--

         “WoooOO! Staff Party, this is gonna be a blast Listeners! Present Mic here to keep your evening thrilling with an amazing music selection!” 

         Upbeat music with minimal words played through the old speakers of a rented out ballroom. It was the end of the first semester staff party, everyone was dressed semi formal with their hair done nicely and makeup to match. The decorations were nice, and tables were laid out with food, drinks and chairs to relax and chat. 

         Aizawa was one of the first to show up since he and Yamada came together like usual. Although he socialized with other teachers as they passed by, he stayed closer to the walls and talked with Kayama most of the time. He was dressed fairly well, a simple fitted dark g suit coat with normal slacks. The usually wild and wavy mess of locks was neatly tied back into a very clean half knot that showed off his handsome face. 

         “No date Shouta? I was sure that pretty young thing would be with you tonight. (L/n) Right, she’s such a lovely girl.” Kayama’s hair was curled beautifully around her, a long fitted dress with a deep V cut showing off her lovely charm. Aizawa only rolled his eyes, sipping on his Champaign class to avoid talking even if it was just for a second more. 

         “It would make more sense for her to come in with someone closer to her age or with a friend. She is the youngest person on staff you know.” 

         “Age this age that blah blah BLAH. I know love when I see it-” 

         “Not love, this isn’t some romance film Nemuri.” 

         With a small and understanding smile, Nemuri reaches out to gently pat her dear friend's shoulder. “Someday, you’re going to realize that the things that are holding you back are nothing but a reflection of your own worries. I know you’ll figure it out. You both will. Now try to have fun-” Her attention was stolen away for a moment, a glint of excitement in her eyes clear as day. “If you’re worried about how she feels and how she’s doing, why don't you go show her around and make sure she feels welcomed?” 

         Turning around, the first thing Aizawa see’s is you. A cheesy thing to say, but he almost feels his heart skip a bit.  

         You wore a black turtleneck underneath a midnight blue spaghetti strap dress that fit you just right. Knitted knee high socks and stylish black heel boots finished off your look along with a beautiful pearl pendant necklace. Your hair looked soft and styled in a way he had never seen it before. Your eyes were done up just enough in a way that made them shine even more than they usually do.

         He’s trapped, and he is slowly realizing that he never wants to be set free. 

         When your eyes scan the room for anything familiar, they finally land on a set of eyes that are looking right back at you. You have to stop yourself from visibly gasping, why did his eyes feel so intense? What was he thinking as he made his way across the room to you. 

         Like Moses and the sea, everyone carefully parted to let you both have your moment. They all knew the chemistry between you too, and were more than happy to leave you  alone as they carried on with their conversations and laughter. 

         “You look beautiful.” His voice was low, and held a sense of hesitant tenderness even he was unsure of. You knew he meant it. 

         “And you look very handsome, you even shaved for the party.” With a small laugh you gently ran the back of your fingers across his shaved cheek. This wasn't new, you had done this exact touch multiple times before when you made fun of his stubble yet- it felt more intimate than it ever had before. Aizawa knew he didn't mind it. 

         Carefully sliding his hand into yours, he lifts it up to press a soft and long kiss to your knuckles. “It is a special occasion. Would you like to join me tonight?” He was never a man who cushioned his words, straight to the point and expressing just how he felt was never an issue. You were different. 

         Accepting his offer, you move to accept his offered arm. The night starts slow as you both walk around and chat with other faculty members you work with. With Aizawas help you were confident that you were able to make some new friends, maybe going to this party wasn't so bad after all.

         Everything else almost felt like a breeze. Laughs were shared, drinks were drank- and barriers were being broken down. You and Aizawa found yourselves slowly standing closer and closer together, close enough to where your fingers would brush against each other when one of you moved. All of Pro Hero Eraserhead’s friends could only watch with warm and excited smiles for him. 

         Like always, nights must always come to an end. 

         While some people left to retire for the night, others stayed longer to help clean or help more than drunk coworkers make it home safe. “I’m helping Nemuri make it home Sho! You gonna be okay making it back tonight?” Yamada had Nemuri balancing into his side, laughing as she drunkenly waved some of the others goodbye. “Oh! You all can head back home together if you’d like. I’m just helping clean a bit before I head back home.” you politely cut into their little chat, holding a medium sized black trash bag in your hands. 

         Taking a moment, Aizawa starts to shrug off his coat as he takes the garbage away from you. “I’ll stay behind to help clean. If you’re alright with it I can walk you home.” with wide eyes, the younger teacher could only nod before she turned away to hide her reddening cheeks to pick up more trash and plates. 

         “No worries, now get em TIGEr. RaaArW-” As Kayama tried to cheer her friend on, Yamada tugged her away with an amused laugh of his own. 

          Not even an hour later, everyone was out and the sky was as dark and it could be. The only stars you could see were the large ones as the light pollution shrouded out the smaller and weaker stars. 

         This time around, Aizawa's coat was wrapped around (y/n) shoulders, her head resting on him as they linked arms on the walk back to her house. Instead of splitting off halfway, he walks her all the way up to her front door. It was silent for a moment, the events from tonight silently washing over them. 

         “Thank you Aizawa, this...was a really nice night. I don't think it would have been as enjoyable as it was without you.” (y/n) broke the silence, turning to face and look up at the man she knew she would never look at the same again. Rubbing his mouth in thought, his eyes flicker between the young woman standing in front of him and the road. 

         “I want to thank you as well. I-.” He paused for a moment. 

         “I would like to kiss you, but I understand if you wouldn't. I think after tonight you know what my feelings are for you. I didn't even know about them fully until tonight. Kayama- Midnight was right. I was letting my worries hold me back when I should have been forward like I always am-”  

         Time freezes when he feels your hands pull down his face, your lips eagerly pressing into a kiss with such raw love and desperation. Instantly his arms move around to gently lift you up into him. One minute, two..three. You both only break apart for air and your warm breaths mingle against each other. “I’ve wanted to do that for a while now I think. My friend was right haha...maybe I do have a crush on you. I was just worried because I had no idea if you would even be interested in a relationship, let alone with someone as...young as me. I feel like a high schooler again haha.” 

         The fact that you were able to laugh the way you did and still hold him in your arms brought flutters to his chest. He knew now that he more than just saw you as a coworker or a close friend. He wants to be more. “I know what you mean. Who would want to be with someone as old as me? I would never want to make you feel like I was holding you back.” He would never admit it, but he felt like a young adult experiencing love for the first time...it was a bit embarrassing (in a good way.) 

         “You make me feel so helpless sometimes you know that?” pulling his head down again, (y/n) presses another soft kiss to Aizawa’s forehead. “What am I gonna do with you Aizawa?” 

         “Shouta.”

         “Huh?”

         “Shouta, call me Shouta if you want.” Thankful that it was dark out, he could feel himself heat up at the intimate suggestion. 

         With the way your eyes sparkled while you said his name, he knew he was hooked. There is no going back.          “What am I gonna do with you, Shouta?” 

         “You’ll figure it out eventually. I’ll help you along the way as long as you’ll help me too.” The shared silence was an unbroken promise to do the best you both can. 

         After sharing your final kiss good night, you watch Shouta walk down the street and out of view before returning into the comfort of your home. The jacket around your shoulders smelt strongly of the stoic man you now called yours. Enjoying the warmth and comfort his coat brought you, kicking off your boots you hop over your couch and settle into a comfortable position. 

 Calling: Keigo <(‘V’)>

 “WHY are you calling me at….2 in the MORNING. You gave me a damn heart attack-” 

 “You were right.” your voice was soft and held no regrets. 

 “Right? Right about what?” 

 “You were right, I did have feelings for Shouta. I said you would be the first person to call if you were right. And well, you were right.”          The next hour was spent catching your best friend up on everything that happened tonight. 

-

         On the other side of the story, Aizawa finally made it home and had no problem finding sleep that night. He felt as ease knowing that things weren't going to turn out as bad as he thought it originally was going to be. 

         He can't say it, not yet. 

         But he is in love. 

         And so are you.

[youknowmymethods]

Content Creator Interview #10

We’re back after a not-quite-as long-as-Sherlock hiatus to bring you @theleftpill‘s interview with @kstewmanipulation, well known amongst Sherlolly shippers for her beautiful photo manipulations, and her distinct romantic - even dreamlike - style. Together they chat about inspiration, @kstewmanipulation ’s favourite pieces, and what it is about Sherlock and Sherlolly that’s so compelling. 

kstewmanipulation: Hello theleftpill! I also wish you a very happy New Year! Let it be full of wonderful and amazing moments. Thank you for your questions, I'm so excited. So come on!

theleftpill:  What are your inspirations?   Do you pull only from the show, or do you find inspiration in your day to day life?

kstewmanipulation: If we're talking about Sherlock, I'm inspired only by the relationship between the characters and the connections that are built in the show. Also I'm often inspired by music: when I hear a particular song, there becomes an image in my head with my favourite characters and then I transfer it all into a digital version.

theleftpill:  Do you work professionally in graphics?  How did you learn photomanipulation?

kstewmanipulation: I'm a designer, so I can say: Yes, I work professionally.

I learned photomanipulation during the constant practice. Working, working and working. But even now I don't always like the end result.

theleftpill:  How did you develop your trademark look: the glowing auras, the silvery outlines?

kstewmanipulation: It was a very long search, but it's also a very popular technique in works of digital photographers. In addition, this technique makes it possible to create more realistic and voluminous works. Glare creates light, and light helps create volume, it's simple.

theleftpill:  How do you choose when to add text?  How do you decide how to incorporate it within the image?

kstewmanipulation: I'm adding a text when I realize that it's impossible not to add it. I do it 'cause I want people to see what I put in a particular image. You need text when you need to enhance the perception.

theleftpill:  Most of your work is the Sherlolly ship; what draws you to this pairing?  To the characters?

kstewmanipulation: Many people have already written a lot about this couple. A lot of analysis, theories and other things. I don't want to write about the same things again. I love them for the same things that all of the Sherlolly fans do for. I'll only say that I'm very impressed with how the writers built their line of relations in the show.

theleftpill:  Do you ship them yourself, or do you just enjoy creating for that ship?

kstewmanipulation: I'm a huge fan of them. I almost never do works with pairings that don't inspire me, that I'm not interested in.

theleftpill:  Do you create the images with a story in mind, a full narrative, or are they just a moment in time?

kstewmanipulation: More often it is a thoughtful moment of time. But sometimes there is the whole story that I wanted to reflect in the work. For example, here are two works which main idea can be safely used by someone to write a fanfic:

http://kstewmanipulation.tumblr.com/post/179956510018 

http://kstewmanipulation.tumblr.com/post/179144947428

I've lined up a whole chain of events and the development of relations between the characters. There's another work in this collection that I've not posted in my blog yet, and I really don't know why. Or Molly's images in Sherlock's Mind Palace. There's a story for them too, but everyone sees his own something and that's fine. This is why pictures are created: to make us see in them our own stories.

theleftpill:  The “…passion…” series: what inspired that?  What sparked the visual look of it?

kstewmanipulation: I've been wanting to do something passionate with this couple. Passionate, but not vulgar and frank. And then I came across the images from the promo for the play "Romeo and Juliet" with Lily James and Richard Madden and the whole puzzle came together for me into a single picture.

theleftpill:  Do you have a favourite work of yours?  Is there one you wish you could do over?

kstewmanipulation: It's always hard to choose something best from your own works. But for me the most beloved ones are those that I made immediately after the end of the Season 4 of the show. When all the people were still under the impression of what they saw and discovered.

I like to fantasize about how Molly and Sherlock might have met after that fateful call from Sherrinford. And I have a lot of works on this subject. But I think the favourite one is the one I did as the cover for the Russian-language fanfic of Eleanor White ( @lady-elora ), just about this meeting. Here it is:

http://kstewmanipulation.tumblr.com/post/169741195788/kstewmanipulation-the-final-problem

I gave a lot of energy and emotions to this work, so it's dear to me. Also I advise you to see the post, which also marked my favourite works and explained why exactly:

http://kstewmanipulation.tumblr.com/post/165115224643/tagged-by-elennemigo-thank-you-dear-repost

theleftpill:  What do you find so motivating or inspiring about the show Sherlock?  When did you first start watching?  What keeps you interested in the show?

kstewmanipulation: I started watching Sherlock from the very beginning of its translation on the TV. Thanks to God, it had been shown in our country at the same time as in GB. (Thanks to our channel-owners for buying the rights to the show). First, like all of the people maybe, I was interested in the unusual portrayal of Sherlock, then in his relationships with John and others. But the more I watched the series, the more I felt involved in what was left behind the scenes. All of those little things between our favourite couple.

And the most inspiring thing in the series for me is how characters changed and developed. Sherlock, John, Molly, Mycroft. It's a pleasure to watch the characters open up to us. There's a very very good development of the characters in this show indeed. And I love all the characters very much. Not only Sherlock and Molly, but also John... no matter how controversial he was in the last season... and Mycroft, who turned out to be able to suffer and love.

 As Sherlock said, "We're all just human", and that's fine.

theleftpill:  What do you like about the fandom?  What keeps you motivated to create for this fandom?

kstewmanipulation: Personalities. I'm inspired by personalities and relationships between them. By the development of their characters. In this respect, the show is brilliant, honestly.

Questions from other bloggers:

@writingwife-83 asked: I’m curious, are there any other forms of art you enjoy creating as well as photo manips? Like drawing or painting? And thank you for all your amazing contributions to the ship! Your photo manips for Sherlolly are some of the best I’ve ever seen, and so inspiring!

kstewmanipulation: Thank you for such a question! I draw in real life with acrylic and pastel. Artistic creativity is both my profession and hobby. If you are interested in it you can see my Instagram, all of my works are there: https://www.instagram.com/olyatwin/ 

In digital art, I sometimes do manipulation for some other fandoms or just on a free theme.

@ohaine asked: What’s your starting point for a piece? Do you begin with a definite idea, or do you wait until you find inspiration in an image?

kstewmanipulation: I always start with an idea. They are constantly in my head - all the things I want to show the world. And only after I decide what an idea I want to implement, I begin to search for suitable material. But sometimes the opposite happens: first you find some image that inspires you, and the story begins to build around it. It always happens in different ways.

Thank you for your interest in my creativity! It's very nice when it finds a response in someone's minds and hearts.

Next week, Friday  03 May 2019, @likingthistoomuch puts @ohaine (eek!!) under the spotlight.

[kookakie-blog]

Answer

PART ONE

a/n sorrryyyyyy for the long wait but hope you guys enjoy and we’ll try to post more regularly since its summer. Anywayyy here’s the first part of Jongdae’s au!1~yoyo y kookie

Acacia is a girl in highschool only trying to readjust herself to her new surroundings, while keeping her brother out of trouble. Everything has been a boring routine till she ends up on the wrong side of town at the wrong time, this is where she first meets Chen, although the circumstances aren’t the best.

Acacia’s POV

“Acacia Wilson. Acacia Wilson to the front office.”

I groan as I hear the all too familiar sound of the principle calling me down to the office. Ever since my family moved to Korea me and my brother have fallen victim to any type of stereotype there is. We were both quiet. Extremely. Neither of us liked to draw attention to ourselves. That’s why I was mortified when our mother told us we were moving to Korea with her boyfriend.

I pack up the book I was reading and slip my bag onto my shoulder before hurrying down to the long hallway towards the office. As soon as I walk into the office I’m greeted by the only person who treated me and my brother with any sort of kindness in school. Lucky for us his name was Principle Lee.

“Acacia how are you?” I give Principle Lee a small smile mumbling something about being tired but good. “Makes sense you’re still top of the class even with the language barrier. I’m quite impressed Mrs.Wilson. If I didn’t know better I’d say it was magic.” I giggle before following Him into his office. “No Principle Lee it’s just a good memory.” That was an understatement. My  Eidetic memory was a blessing and a curse. Depends on who you ask. I will never forget anything. Meaning I’ll ace any test I’m given and learn any language, Korean for example. But I will never forget my parents fighting or the taunting from my foreign peers. At least Andrew would be able forget.

Which brings me to the boy sitting right in front of me. “Andrew what did they do to you this time?” All he does is hang his head blood from his busted nose leaking on to the front of his shirt. I shake the tears from my eyes as I move to grab some tissues from Principle Lee’s desk. “A group of girls found him in the courtyard. Of course he still won’t tell me who’s doing this. I couldn’t get a hold of either of your parents. I’m sorry but I didn’t know who else to call.” Principle Lee gives me a sad smile. Pity.

“No it’s ok. Is it ok if I just take Andrew home a little early today?” Principle agrees and escorts us out of the school locking the school gates as we walk out onto the busy Seoul street. “Won’t mom be mad we missed school?” I let out a sigh of relief as soon as I hear Andrews small voice. He just started 6th grade but he was still so tiny.

“Hey I’m the big sister here. Leave all the worrying to me little man.” Andrew gives me a small smile before taking my hand as I lead him towards our house. I swing our arms as I look around. Seoul really was beautiful. As much as I hate my mom for moving us here I couldn’t deny that. I look at my phone to see it was now 3 am and an idea pops into my head. “Andrew what do you say we go on an adventure?” Andrew frantically nods his head causing me to let out a giggle.

“Sounds good little man.”

It was currently ten minutes to midnight and I was carrying a sleepy Andrew in my arms. After getting him cleaned up at home and texting my mom to tell her where we were going I took Andrew on a full tour of downtown Seoul. Two months we’ve lived here and Andrew still hadn’t been to a park. My mom was always too busy with her work. Our step dad too. So I’ve adopted being Andrews much needed mother the past few weeks. A week before we moved here I memorized as many maps of Seoul as I could so that came in handy when giving Andrew the full experience.

“Are we almost home?” I smile when I hear Andrews voice obviously trying to fight off sleep. “Almost little bro just close your eyes and oh how time will fly.” Andrew gives me a tired laugh before snuggling into my neck. I think back to the maps and decide to take a detour through a small neighborhood. It was on the tougher side but it was a quicker less noisy way home.

I tense up a little when we pass a dark alley....something wasn’t right. It wasn’t safe. I don’t know how I know but I just know. As if the world wanted to prove me right I hear a gunshot go off further just behind Andrew and I. I quickly turn around and look wide eyed. Under a light I could make out three figures. One on the ground unmoving the other two standing over the third. I could hear my breathing getting considerably louder as I try not to draw attention to myself and Andrew. They were so close and our house was so far.

“Acacia why did we stop?” My heart stops beating when the two men look straight at us. My body was on high alert now as the two men come towards us a flash of metal flashing  as they leave the light of the lamp post. I quickly estimate the time it would take for me and Andrew to make a run towards the house. With both of us running it would take at least 13 minutes and with Andrew half asleep we’d risk him falling behind. But if I could distract them....Andrew could make it in 10.

“Alright little man time to be brave.” I slip Andrew off of my back and speak quickly as with each passing second the two men get closer. “You need to run there’s no time to ask question. You go straight home. Straight home you hear me? Stop for no one-“

“But-“

“Go!”

I cringe as Andrew flinches at my loud voice but he takes off towards the house nonetheless. “I love you!” I yell after him as he rounds the corner back towards downtown Seoul. “Please get home safe.” I whisper as I drop my backpack on the ground and turn around to face the two men.

“Well well well. What do we have here?”

I cringe at the mans icy voice. “Look I don’t want any trouble-“

“You don’t want any trouble? You wouldn’t have been in this part of town if you didn’t want any trouble.” I look around to find any visible exits. If I took the alley to the left I’d find a dead end. If I went the way Andrew did I’d risk leading the pair straight to him.

“Wait doesn’t she look like the bosses daughter?” I could go towards the man...the man. He wasn’t under the street light any more. “Boo.” I let out a loud gasp when the two men in front of me are shot. No no no this can’t be happening. I look down at the two lifeless bodies their faces burning into my brain. Don’t look at him don’t look at him.

I slowly back up closing my eyes trying to forget. Just forget come on. “Hey.” I stumble back when I hear the man's voice. It was sharp and calculated. Nope don’t look at him Acacia.  “Shit Jongin what the hell happened we left you for not even two- who’s that?”

Shit there’s another one. “You know Suho isn’t going to like witnesses.” ...another one. Alright Acacia time to get out of here. Without looking at any of them I take off running past the group. I still needed to protect Andrew.

“Shit grab her.” I run as fast as I can down the same dark alley Andrew and I passed early. All I could hear was the sound of footsteps running after me and the feeling of my lungs burning up from the lack of oxygen. I turn around to see how close they were only to run into something.

“Damn she’s fast.” I groan as I keep my eyes closed. “What should we do with her?”

“Well Jongin how much did she fucking see?”

“Umm all of it.”

“You gotta be fucking kidding me.”

I block out their conversation and keep my eyes closed as I try to visualize an escape. But my brain was confused by two bloody bodies and Andrew running into the dark.

“Is she unconscious?”

“No her eyes are moving.”

“Please just let me go. I haven’t seen any of your faces I’ve kept my eyes closed please. Please.”

All I’m met with is silence before I feel someone sit me up. I whimper when I feel them grab my chin forcefully. “Open your eyes.” I continue to keep them closed. “Please please I kept my eyes closed please-“

“Stop whining and open your eyes!” My eyes open wide to look at the man in front of me. He was young. Not much older than me. His hair was faintly dyed blond and he had a bloody nose. He was probably the guy on the ground. STOP. I quickly close my eyes again.

I try to wipe the analysis away but it was still there. It will always be there. “There now we can’t let you go.” I begin to sob at his words. “Now why did the Tarins recognize you?”

Tarins?? My mind frantically searches for any information on the subject. Where have I heard that before??? Think Acacia. You were reading about Seoul. Think. “Well?”

“I- I don’t know. It sounds familiar but I can’t-“

“She has to be lying they clearly knew her.”

“No no I don’t know them I swear I would remember!”

My sobs only get louder as I pull my knees up to my chest.

“Well clearly you’re lying sweetheart you just told me you couldn’t remember.” I flinch as the man switches to a sweeter tone. He was trying to bait me into telling him something. It was an interrogation tactic created in in the early 90s-Stop Acacia this isn’t the time.

“I have no idea what you are talking about.” Please believe me please.

“Knock her out we’re taking her to Chen.”

No. I open my eyes again but it was no use all I see is who I assumed was Jongin, a wide eyed guy and a guy smoking a cigarette before I see Jongin’s fist come towards my face......

-------

[varemosa]

Asking

A/N: When I started writing this a week ago, I thought it would be less than half this long, but it just kept growing. I hope you like it. Word count: 1,692  |  AO3 link

Spencer held the door open as you exited the restaurant. This was your first date, but you had the feeling he would still be just as chivalrous on your tenth date and after. He seemed like a really nice guy, and you had been pleasantly surprised when he asked you out.

---

The two of you had been attending a 10-week book discussion series at the library. You glanced at him a couple times the first night and thought he was fairly cute, but you’d really noticed him the second week when he went into a five-minute monologue about an obscure historical topic that was briefly mentioned in that week’s book. Everyone else had started shifting in their seats and shooting glances at each other, but you were enthralled by his enthusiasm, the sound of his voice, and the way he moved his hands. You smiled encouragingly when he looked your way and, when he was finished, came up with a comment (which you hoped sounded relatively intelligent compared to everything he'd just said) to show him you’d been paying attention.

You were disappointed when he missed the third session and hoped he hadn't been put off by the others' reactions to his contribution. You approached him the next week to ask how he'd been.

"Hey. Spencer, right?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm Dr. Spencer Reid. And you're Y/N."

"That's right." You smiled. "Good memory."

"Eidetic actually. I remember almost everything I read."

"Oh. Wow." You were impressed, but also a little embarrassed that you'd thought he was paying attention to you specifically, instead of just reading everyone's nametags from the first night.

He noticed your discomfort and quickly added, "I remember you though. You had really good insights into the character motivations from the first week's book."

"Thank you. I was surprised not to see here you last week."

"Yeah, I hated to miss it, but we were called away on a case."

"A case?"

"I'm a profiler with the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit, the BAU. We work on serial killings, kidnappings, those kinds of things."

"Oh wow! Well now I'm especially flattered that you appreciated my character analysis. I guess you know almost everything about human behavior."

He looked like he was about to say something else, but the librarian moderating the discussions called for everyone's attention and the group quieted down and settled into their seats, cutting your conversation short.

You and Spencer exchanged a few comments at the following sessions. He would be kind of awkward at first, but you made an effort to bring up things you thought he'd be interested in, and then he could go on talking excitedly for a while and not be so self-conscious. When he ended up missing another week for work, he arrived early the next time and was waiting for you.

"Hey Y/N."

"Hey Spencer! Did you have another case? How'd it go?"

"It ended well, thankfully. We found a missing kid and were able to get her home safely."

"That's great! My brain was coming up with all kinds of crazy ideas of what you might be working on." You hesitated for a minute. "I wished I had a way to contact you and make sure you were doing okay."

"Oh. Oh, well, um, I'm not very techy but I could give you my cell phone number. And if you wanted to give me yours I can maybe let you know next time, if I can't make it."

"That sounds good," you said with a smile. You were glad he offered and you hadn't needed to ask for his number outright. You usually left it up to the other person to ask you things like that early in the relationship, but you were afraid Spencer would be too shy and you really liked him.

There were only two weeks left in the discussion series after that though, and you and Spencer hadn't needed to contact each other over any absences. As the final discussion session was wrapping up, you were contemplating how to say goodbye to him, unsure if you would get to see him again. Deep in thought as the other attendees were gathering their things and filing out of the room, you didn't notice Spencer walking over until he was right in front of you. You'd barely registered his presence when he blurted out, "I was wondering if you might want to go out to dinner with me next week? Maybe this same time?" He bit his lip and shifted his eyes around nervously, but looked back at you and smiled after you said yes.

---

Your conversation over dinner tonight had started much the same as usual, but it was nice to have more time one-on-one without interruptions and you did get into learning more personal information about each other. It was a very different atmosphere with the two of you in the candlelit restaurant compared to the group setting under fluorescent lights in the library community room. Someone at the table next to you knocked over the salt shaker and threw a pinch over their shoulder. You voiced your surprise that someone would do that in a nice restaurant, and Spencer went into a detailed explanation of the old superstition.

"You probably didn't want to hear all that though..." he finished.

"It's fine. I'm always amazed at the things you know. And I like listening to you talk."

"You're really the only one," he said with a nervous chuckle. "Even my coworkers, we're like family, but they all just kind of joke about it when I talk a lot unless it's directly necessary for the case. But you always listen, Y/N."

Eventually the waiter came over to ask if you needed anything else and gently reminded you that the restaurant was about to close.

"I've had a really nice time tonight, Spencer."

"So have I, Y/N."

Now you and Spencer started walking up the street from the restaurant to the downtown parking lot, close enough to each other that your arms kept brushing together. You hunched your shoulders up a bit in the chill night air.

“Are you cold?” he asked, unfolding his coat from where it had been draped over his other arm.

You nodded and stopped at the edge of the sidewalk. “Mostly my back. There’s a cutout in my dress.”

He moved behind you to put the coat over your shoulders and you pulled your hair around in front of you.

“That’s very nice,” he said softly from behind you.

“Thank you.”

Spencer gently brushed over a piece of hair you had missed and his fingertips grazed lightly over your skin, lingering longer than they needed to. He rested that hand at your shoulder for a moment and his other hand traced across your exposed back, the collar of the coat hooked over his thumb. You smiled, though he couldn’t see it. Then he cleared his throat and settled the coat around you.

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be,” you replied.

“I touched you without asking.”

You turned around so you could see each other’s faces. “Well, I appreciate your awareness of the issue,” you said genuinely. “You don’t have to ask about every single thing though."

He still looked uncomfortable.

"Consider the context here.”

He raised an eyebrow at you.

“Think through it, Mr. Profiler,” you teased gently.

Now he was in analysis mode. “We're not strangers, we’ve known each other for a while, and we’re on a date."

You nodded. Spencer shifted his weight between his feet and unfocused his gaze as he was thinking.

"You already said when we finished dinner that you enjoyed the evening.”

“I have.”

“Your body language was open and engaged during dinner, and just now we were walking closer together than people usually do. That was some touching there, actually, kind of.”

Another nod as he looked up at you again.

“You mentioned the cutout in your dress and you let me see it instead of saying you didn’t want the coat or leaving your hair down over it like it was.” He paused for a brief moment, thinking back. “You didn’t tense up when I moved your hair; your shoulders actually relaxed a little bit. And then you didn’t move away at all when I touched your back.”

“All true,” you replied. “And it was a gentle touch on a fairly innocuous part of the body."

You reached your arms out toward him but paused, waiting until he looked at you and lifted his hands before taking them in your own.

"See, as long as you’re mindful of the other person, you can often use nonverbal cues to determine consent.”

Spencer was nodding now, and seemed to be feeling better about the situation.

“Of course, there are certainly times when it’s better to communicate more directly.” You moved a bit closer and faced him straight on. “For example, you still look a little tense, so I’m going to ask first... Can I kiss you?”

He hesitated for a moment, chewing on his lip. It seemed like a nervous habit; he’d done the same thing when he asked you out.

"You’re allowed to say no,” you said, catching his eye.

He shook his head and rocked slightly back on his heels before settling down. “I’d like it if we kissed,” he said firmly. You smiled and leaned closer, and he moved an arm to your waist.

The kiss was slow and soft, but warm. You felt him smile as he pulled back. He kept his arm at your waist as the two of you resumed the walk to your cars.

"Is it too early to ask you for another date?" Spencer asked.

"No."

"Would you like to keep meeting at this time? Um, maybe every week whenever I'm in town? Is that too much?"

"No, that sounds great."

"Good. I would hate to see you any less than we have been."

"And Spencer?"

He turned his head toward you.

"Just so you know, I really like having my back traced."

His arm slipped up under his coat on your shoulders, his fingers finding the cutout in your dress again.

[the-a-factor-fs-blog]

Kiss & Cry - Episode 5

Welcome to the fifth Episode of “Kiss & Cry”, Max&Angelo’s Podcasts.

If you missed previous Episodes, you can catch up with it here (x).

This fifth podcast is 121:06 minutes long, and it’s available to be listened in Italian here: https://www.spreaker.com/user/talk-sport/puntata-5

In the following translation, (M) indicates when M. Ambesi is speaking, (A) indicates when A. Dolfini is speaking.

Translated by The-A-Factor Team. Please do not repost without permission.

Table of Content

1. Rostelecom Cup 2017     1.1   -    Overview

As usual, the Olympic season started with a bang, as most of the top contenders showed to be in good shape already       - [M. Ambesi]

   1.2   -    Ladies

Is trying the 3A really worth it? Let’s talk about it.

10 means perfection. If you fell, then you weren’t perfect. -[A. Dolfini]

   1.3     -   Men

Hanyu did a 4Lo, judged underrotated and with a saved landing, but he did it out of steps and choreographic movements and you got to ask yourself: “Is he a fool?” He takes a risk, then maybe he does a mistake, but it’s only fair that GOEs (for him and others) reflect what they do on ice.    - [A. Dolfini]

It’s to his [Nathan Chen] credit that he can execute five different quads and he can handle his layouts (what to do, what not to do, how to change his program) based on his condition, but this also makes his program less matched to music, less complex.  - [A. Dolfini]

Shoma Uno opened a door [to 4F attempts]. Showing that nicking something away from the take off, you can bring home high GOE.      - [M. Ambesi]

   1.4   -  Ice Dance & Pairs

Regarding Shibutanis, a choice in Short Dance that is really a Rhumba, and that can play to their favour. About the Free Dance, I dare say it was something “already seen”.     - [M. Ambesi]

[ Tarasova/Morozov put] great attention to the quality of each element; and increasing TES with high GOEs, rather than going for a higher base value than the rest of their competitors. This, in particular, was the key to Volosozhar/Trankov’s success in Sochi.    - [M. Ambesi]

2. Skate Canada Preview

Wagner['s result]… it’ll depend a lot on the technical panel at Skate Canada.  - [A. Dolfini]

3. Q&A Session

[Regarding Max Aaron’s new programs] Well, anything is better than Footloose to be honest.   - [M. Ambesi]

They need to reform the anti-doping rules completely, with the help of international legal experts who’d make sure the new set of rules won’t have any grey area.  - [M. Ambesi]

[T/n: This translation starts at 1:30] 

Part 1: Rostelecom Cup

Events’ Analysis, Judging, Trends & Others

Part 1.1 - Overview of the whole event, trends & other things

(M): Rostelecom Cup has just ended, so let’s start by looking at the competition as a whole.

(A): Yes, well, we’ve seen an intense competition, the level was really high, with high scores and some great performances. Actually, in some cases, the competition was even more intense than what we thought it would be, but most of these results were expected. As usual, the Olympic season started with a bang, as most of the top contenders showed to be in good shape already.

(M): Exactly. To give you an idea, men reached the highest score we’ve ever seen in the first GP; we have to thank Nathan Chen for that, but the same can be said for Hanyu Yuzuru. In pairs, it was the second highest score for the first GP, and it was the highest score ever achieved for both dance and ladies. How can we explain that? As you said, the level was really high, but it was also due to the technical panel and the judges’ generosity.

(A): Yes, it’s true, but not for all cases. Overall, we actually saw some rather harsh calls during the men’s competition – more in the SP than the FP – while we did see some high scores for PCS. In the other disciplines, we saw more generous scores - especially in the ladies’ competition, I’d say. Although the level was very high and the competition itself was very exciting. We’ve already mentioned how high the scores were: all the girls in the top 7 reached 185 points, and the 8th was very close to that score. So, maybe the panel was more lenient when it came to underrotation calls for the ladies, but that doesn’t take away the fact that these girls had great performances. It’s different when it comes to ice dance, as we saw some really high scores even with mistakes, so maybe we should look deeper into this. Yes, in ice dance we have seen some “interesting” calls, while we usually don’t see couples reach so many high levels so early in the season.

(M): Very high levels, and even three level 4’s in the StSq. Before CoR, we had seen only one level 4 during the Challenger Series, reached by the Parsons for the NtCiSt (no touch circular step sequence) – they competed in Minsk, they’re a really solid team when it comes to technical elements, but they struggled quite a bit. But here we saw three level 4’s: in the CiSt (circular step sequence) in the FD for Bobrova/Soloviev – who then managed to lose the competition because of a mistake on a spin – and then two level 4s in the SD, one for Bobrova/Soloviev and the other for Shibutani/Shibutani. It’s not something trivial, actually in ice dance they usually struggle to reach level 4s in the StSq in their first competition.

(A): Yes, actually Shibutani/Shibutani got level 4 for the PSt (partial step sequence) and Bobrova/Soloviev for the NtDiSt [in the SD]. Considering Bobrova/Soloviev’s level 4 in the FD also, well, it’s quite rare to see so many level 4’s in the first GP of the season. This means that they are already in good shape, but the panel was probably quite generous too. I think we’ll have to wait for the second/third GP to see what the actual standard is: only then we’ll see if the panel was generous or if it’s because the top teams are already in good condition.

(M): Let’s not forget that we usually see the host country win the highest number of golds in their own GP, see CoR, SA, SC, NHK, CoC – maybe I should check again for CoC, but it can be said for the other four GPs. In France it’s more difficult, the ladies haven’t had great results lately, they haven’t won pairs in a while, while they’ve always had good results for ice dance. When it comes to men, Joubert almost did it – he was close to winning a gold in every GP after all – but in this case the host nation isn’t the one who won the most.

(A): Well, it’s almost inevitable, we need to remember that France, in spite of having a strong team, isn’t one of the top 3 countries overall. Not even one of the top 4 maybe, so winning competitions in a GP is quite difficult. When they had Joubert…they’ve always had a good tradition among men, but it was difficult even then. They are still able to reach good results, but overall it’s difficult for them to win most of the gold medals. They struggle a bit more, but it’s understandable.

(M): “s I said, they haven’t won in pairs lately – we need to go back to Abitbol/Bernadis in 2000…at the German GP, back when there wasn’t a GP in China yet. They even won twice in their home country, in ’98 and ’99, but afterwards, French pairs struggled quite a bit. And I’d say they kept struggling until…James/Cipres, who are now among the top medal contenders at the Olympics.

(A): Yes, we’ll see if they manage to win. They can certainly reach the podium, but winning won’t be easy. They will compete against Tarasova/Morozov in Grenoble…they might be able to reach a score high enough to beat them, but they can’t make mistakes.

(M): Exactly. Also, we’ll see them this week at Skate Canada – we’ll talk about it later – but the pairs’ competition will be of the highest level: there are six pairs who could reach the final and the seventh would be Denney/Frazier, who aren’t bad either.

Part 1.2 - Ladies’ Event

(M): Now, let’s start analyzing the results from CoR, starting with the ladies’ competition, which was won – as expected – by Evgenia Medvedeva. Kostner finished second, with a great performance, and a good Higuchi was third. Let’s start with the SP, in which Medvedeva ended up being far superior to the others in five elements out of seven. Which is extremely impressive, and even more so considering that Medvedeva doesn’t have the Lutz in her combo, nor as the solo jump. How can she reach higher scores than the others then? Easy, the quality of her elements is so high that she can make a difference through that, even when compared to those who have the Lutz in their layouts.

(A): Yes, it’s an example of how much of a difference GOE can make. You can add to it that she executes all of her jumping passes in the second half of her SP, which makes her BV higher – and therefore she’s able to reach higher scores. That said, she’s also a complete athlete: at the moment, she’s the most complete when it comes to technical elements and consistency, which makes her unbeatable for the others. Kostner reached one of the highest scores of her career and yet she was over 15 points behind Medvedeva, who had even made some mistakes. The others were even more behind. As you said, at the moment it’s impossible to get close to her scores, especially in the SP. It’s up to her. If she skates clean, the others can’t compete.

(M): Which ones were the elements in which someone managed to do better than Medvedeva? There are two elements; let’s start by mentioning that Radionova received higher GOE [than Medvedeva] for her layback spin – an element that’s always been among her best. That said, she has been struggling with it lately, but her layback was textbook in this occasion.

(A): Yes, she’s always gotten high GOE, but lately she has lost quality on it – and on other aspects of her skating – mainly due to the fact that her body has changed. Here she managed to do a layback reminiscent of old times.

(M): We’ll talk more about Radionova later, as she’s always beloved among Italian fans. The second element [where Medvedeva wasn’t the best] was the Axel: because Mirai Nagasu landed a 3A that, although underrotated, received a higher score than Medvedeva’s 2A. To be honest, if Medvedeva gets more points than the others for an element that was never among her best, then her rivals should start worrying. Especially Higuchi.

(A): Yes. Higuchi got just a bit less than Medvedeva for her 2A, but she should try to make a difference with that jump. Nagasu tried to do that by taking a risk, we’ve got to give her that. Trying a 3A is a huge risk and she managed to land it, even though she received negative GOE because it was underrotated. This risk partially paid off, but then we also have to analyze how that 3A affects her PCS. She also paid the price on her other technical elements, especially in the SP, with some underrotation calls. How much of her energy goes into that 3A attempt and how does that affect her [other] elements – now that’s something we need to think about.

(M): Is trying the 3A really worth it? Let’s talk about that: its BV is 8.5. With a fall, you get 4.5 (t/n -3 for GOE and -1 for the fall) for it. A 2A’s BV is 3.3, and with the maximum GOE you can achieve, it can get up to 4.8 points. You can get 4.5 for a 3A with a fall, so it’s worth the risk if you can rotate it. But that’s a big if.

(A): Yes. The only alternative is to do an underrotated one but without a fall, as you can still get something more than what you’d get for a double. This was Nagasu’s case. It’s always a big risk, such that it’s almost better to do it underrotated rather than to fall on it, since a fall would affect your PCS as well. Overall, we also need to take into account how much it could affect the PCS – it could affect the scores in TR, especially if you need a long setup to do it. Or even when it comes to CO.

We’ve talked about this before, even when it comes to other disciplines, like for the throw 3A for pairs, or quad throws; if you need a long setup for it, then it can affect the flow of the program. Doing this element can also take its toll mentally and affect the rest of the technical elements. Then you can see if it’s worth it or not by judging the success rate in practice, as it’s still a jump that can make a difference, especially in a ladies’ SP, like it happened in Tuktamysheva’s case.”

(M): Exactly. This also explains Mao Asada’s low PCS. She was an extraordinary skater, but the first part of her programs was usually affected by the 3A, and therefore the judges correctly gave her lower PCS.

(A): Yes, that’s exactly what I meant, and the same could be said about Nagasu, both in the SP and the FP. Anyway, I think that it’s good for Nagasu to try it. We’ve seen videos from her practices in which she rotated it, so it’s worth the risk for her.

(M): Yes. I’d say so, especially considering that she struggles with the other jumping passes, like rotating a 3-3 combo. She often underrotates the second triple of the combo, so she has to make up for it with something else. She might even plan two 3A in the FP throughout the season; we’ve seen videos in which she managed to complete 3A3T – although it isn’t a clever strategy, as it would be smarter to attach a double Toe Loop there – but that seems to be the route she is probably going to follow. Talking about combos: Even there, Medvedeva was the best, as she managed to get a higher score for it than those few skaters who executed a 3Lz3T. Only three girls got more than 10 points for their combo: Medvedeva, with 3F3T, Sakamoto, who did 3F3T too – and both of them had it in the second half of their program – and Valeria Mikhailova with 3Lz3T – not exactly a beautiful 3Lz, but keep in mind that a 3Lz3T combo has a BV that is already higher than 10 points on its own: 10.3, so you can usually reach 10 points even with negative GOE. The others didn’t manage to get 10 points for their combo. Let’s take Kostner for example: she did 3T3T and its BV is 8.8, so you can get 10 points for it only if all the judges give you +2 GOE. If you don’t get all +2s, you can’t reach 10 points.”

(A): And that’s what happened in Carolina’s case, although she got 9.70 points for it, which was still pretty good; it means her GOEs were +1/+2. Then, truthfully Medvedeva reached over 11 points, almost 12, for that combo. As did Sakamoto – let’s not forget that both of them did 3F3T in the second half of the program.

(M): Regarding Kostner: she skated a clean SP. This time she didn’t do a 3F – we’ll see if this will be her strategy throughout the season or not. However, she has improved a lot on spins, which are now built more carefully; and some rule changes throughout the years also allowed her to reach level 4 on the layback spin – a spin she’s always struggled with in the past, as she’s never been as flexible as some of the other ladies. Can’t say anything about the StSq – it’s always been one of her best elements – the jumps were good, so…well, it’s not easy to beat her in SP. True, Medvedeva easily reaches more than 80 points, but she’s on another level, while it won’t be so easy for the others to beat Kostner in the SP.

(A): Yes, I’d say so, even without a 3F, she still reached 74 points. Higuchi skated well – although she got an underrotation call on the 3T of her combo – and yet didn’t even reach 70 points. Carolina usually gets very high PCS in the SP and, as you said, she can now reach level 4’s on her spins because of how much she has improved on those elements. She isn’t easy to beat. At this point, I’d say that this is the right strategy. She doesn’t need the 3F.

(M): Yes, she doesn’t need it, in the SP. The difference between a Flip and a Toe Loop, in terms of BV, is a point, so…at that point, it’s better to do an easier element but with better execution [therefore getting higher GOE]. It might also help her in terms of PCS, and that’s where Carolina Kostner is trying to make a difference, compared to the others, Medvedeva aside.

(A): Yes, exactly: interpretation of the music, choreography…we’ve already highlighted that she’s the most mature skater in this field, when it comes to interpretation. We’ve already talked about Carolina’s feat in Moscow, which is even more impressive if you think about how long her career is, and her age, especially if you compare her with her rivals. I mean, Kostner is really a rare case in ladies’ skating, if you think about it.

(M): If I remember well, we need to go back to 1924 to find a lady older than 30 on an Olympic podium. That’s almost a hundred years ago; if we look at the latest events, we often see teenagers on the podium. Of course, you can find more mature skaters too, like Arakawa, but we see teenagers more often than not: Sotnikova, for example, who wasn’t even the youngest winner, but also Lipinski – and going back to 2002, there’s Sarah Hughes, who was also helped by the system back then. She would definitely have struggled with the current rules.

I just came back from the ceremony in which they announced Italy’s flag-bearer for the Olympics, and the CONI and FISG’s presidents both had kind words about Kostner. Italy has had a good start to the season so far, when it comes to figure skating and short track – let’s not forget Matteo Rizzo’s victory in Egna.

We also received a question about Kostner: “Carolina might have lost speed, but don’t you think that her jumps were flawless? The 3F and 2A were perfect.”

Well, regarding Kostner, I invite you to look at her current FP and then go back to watch her FP from the 2010-2011 season. These two programs have one thing in common, Angelo. Which one?

(A): The music was the same.

(M): Exactly. If you watch that program, you’ll notice her speed at first glance. Her speed was definitely superior back then, you can’t even compare.

(A): I’d say that’s understandable. Kostner has always received very high PCS – first few years of her career excluded, but she was not mature then. Let’s not forget that Carolina was already on many people’s radar during her junior career, and that she rose through the ranks among seniors before her 18th birthday after all. She was very young. And back then, she was by far the fastest lady – at least before Kim started competing as a senior, as she was the only one who could compete with her in terms of speed and fluidity. But Kim wasn’t a senior yet. When it came to certain aspects of her skating, she was already excellent – and afterwards she started improving her choreography, her interpretation, etc. She started working with Lori Nichol only after her breakthrough, and that’s when her programs started to becoming more complex. There was a time when Carolina was the best in terms of skating skills and interpretation. She’s lost some speed now, despite still being excellent, but I think that’s also quite normal. But she has improved even more when it comes to interpretation and expressiveness.

(M): And today, Medvedeva aside, she’s the only one who holds a record in PCS: the 9,71 she achieved for interpretation in Japan in 2014 has never been reached by Medvedeva. It’s the only record that Medvedeva hasn’t broken yet – which truly says something about how great Medvedeva is, but that also says something about Kostner. Regarding her Flip: I’d say she executed them flawlessly in competition, which is actually surprising because we saw her struggle with this element in practice. The fact that she managed to do it in competition speaks volumes about her: she has probably found the way to approach the competition with the kind of maturity she often lacked in the past, when she often struggled with her toe jumps, the Flip and the Lutz. At some point, she even stopped putting the Lutz in her programs, but she also used to make mistakes on the Flip, which has always been an element she executed with a lot of quality.

(A): Yes, she has a lot of quality on that element, but this is a complex topic. Were Flip and Lutz the problem? Or maybe her mindset going into the competition – which gave her problems especially when there was a lot of pressure on her, like in Turin in 2006. Or maybe it was even due to an unsuccessful coaching change, see Los Angeles, 2009. There may be a lot of reasons behind this, but yes, there were times in which we could have asked ourselves if it was due to technical problems with jumps that she had always executed well as a teen, or not being able to approach the competition in the right way. It’s an interesting topic, but difficult to address…we could say that these aspects might have been intertwined, even though she has won a lot of medals throughout her career.

(M): Regarding Medvedeva: she dominated the competition, but we didn’t see the best Medvedeva. Evgenia has had some physical problems in the last few weeks. The execution of some was a bit more conservative: she planned to execute a 3Lo rippon, and she didn’t do it. She planned to execute all the jumps in her combos with at least one arm above her head, and she didn’t do that either. She was probably afraid of going into the competition in imperfect physical condition. She still beat the others by a big margin – which says something about how great she is. We’ll see where she can be at her best: as a matter of fact she can’t do much more in terms of GOE, as almost all of her jumps always get +2. She even manages to “hide” the issues she has with the 3Lz, by doing it in a side of the rink which makes it more difficult for the technical panel and the judges to see, therefore almost always receiving positive GOE for that jump too.

(A): Yes, true, although she did receive a wrong edge call for it this year. It’s obviously her most critical jump in the FP. We can add the Axel too – this mistake was an exception, but it certainly isn’t her best jump either. In this case, she fell on it, although it wasn’t expected, to be honest. When it comes to her FP, there might be something else to say as well. It was a great performance – one of many great performances from her - even more so considering she wasn’t at her best. That said, she received three 10s in PCS.

(M): Yes, three 10s that she shouldn’t have received, because the current rules say that if there’s a fall, the judges can’t give 10s in PCS. We can discuss about whether that is right or not, because you could say that it’s a rule that links the PCS too much to the technical aspect. But that’s how the rules are, and that’s not what happened here.

(A): I’d say it’s reasonable. 10 means perfection. If you fell, then you weren’t perfect.

(M): Maybe not for composition though. (t/n meaning that maybe CO isn’t a mark that should be affected by the fall)

(A): Well, I imagine the fall wasn’t meant to be part of the choreography. So you shouldn’t give a 10 even for choreography. I think it’s correct – if you fall, then it isn’t a perfect program. Absurdly, if someone did a program full of single jumps without falling, they could receive a 10. Because it doesn’t undermine the complexity of the program, whereas a fall does undermine it in terms of choreography and transitions. Therefore you can’t reach perfection. I think you could even give 9.5s – which would already be a lot for a program with a fall in my opinion – but 10? I agree with this rule. And yet, there were three 10s in spite of this rule.

(M): I’m sure ISU will intervene, as it was a mistake in terms of judging. The rule is rather new –

(A): The judge from Belarus…definitely a fan.

(M): Now let’s talk about Higuchi. Overall a good performance, as she exceeded 200 points. The strategy isn’t exactly convincing though – her first jumping pass was meant to be a 3A, and that’s why her program was built like that (t/n 2A is the first jump), but it should probably be revised. She is slowly finding the consistency she often lacked in her first senior season, and if she found some confidence, she could even become the leader of the Japanese ladies, since there aren’t many skaters with the kind of quality she has in the ladies’ field. That said, it’s impossible to say which Japanese girls will go to the Olympics at the moment: in the end, only the Nationals will matter, there won’t be another way to go to the Olympics. There are 4-5 athletes at the same level, how can you choose between them without considering the Nationals? There would be too many controversies. It will be a peculiar season for the Japanese ladies, because they will need to be at their best at the end of December; they might even think of the GPF as a stop-over before Nationals, unless a miracle happens and one of them wins the GPF, or ends up finishing second.

(A): Yes, the Russian ladies will be the favorite for the win, and Carolina won’t be easy to beat for many of the Japanese ladies – of course they can beat her, but it isn’t so trivial. Higuchi didn’t skate clean, true, but she still got one of the best scores of her career – although she did reach higher scores this season. True, she popped a 3S to a double, but those 3 points wouldn’t have been enough to beat her. Then, of course, Kostner hasn’t qualified for the final yet, but she is well on her way to it. Being first or second at the GPF would be extremely difficult – but it’s also difficult to say who might be the n.1 among the Japanese ladies. I think that Higuchi might become the leader of their ladies’ field, but Marin Honda also has a lot of talent – and might even have something more on certain aspects of her skating. We’ll have to see if Miyahara can come back to her best condition. Her participation in this GP isn’t to be taken for granted either. There are also other notable athletes: Sakamoto, Mihara etc.

(M): Well, Sakamoto might have even reached 200 points [in Moscow]; she made a mistake on her best jump, the 3F.

(A): The first jumping pass of her FP. Incredible.

(M): She fell on it, which doesn’t happen so often, and then did an amazing 3F3T well into her program. Sakamoto hasn’t done so well in her first competition of the season in Salt Lake City, but she was fifth in this case, just behind Radionova. Well, the fact that Radionova managed to beat Sakamoto is debatable. The difference between them – especially in terms of jumps – was huge. Radionova managed to bridge that gap thanks to her PCS…she can certainly make a difference with her interpretation, but she struggles more when it comes to the other aspects of [PCS]. It’s obvious that she’s far from being at her best, and the Russian field is certainly very competitive.

(A): Yes, honestly, even the best Radionova would struggle with this kind of domestic competition. She is struggling with the Loop, and even though she has improved a lot – I’ve always admired Lena a lot, for her fierceness in competition and her charisma – she still doesn’t have the best skating skills. It makes me chuckle a bit that she got 0.5 points more than Sakamoto [in terms of SS], because even though Sakamoto isn’t the most expressive skater, she does have quality in terms of skating: great knee bend and fluidity. We can discuss about other aspects, but in terms of skating skills, there isn’t this difference between her and Radionova. Even though there are many factors behind these marks, some of them might seem puzzling to those who watch, because honestly Radionova got some 7.5s – truthfully, one – for SS, some 7.75s…and then 9, which was definitely inappropriate, in my opinion.

(M): Yes, she could get 9s for some aspects of her skating…not for others. Many people asked me who might try to beat Medvedeva. Zagitova can probably try. But how? She needs about 35 PCS in the SP and almost 70 in the FP. Then she could definitely put pressure on Medvedeva, more in the FP than the SP, because there’s a bigger difference there. Zagitova plans to execute the three most difficult triples – Axel excluded – in the second half of her SP, but Medvedeva plans to do her jumping passes in the second half as well. The only difference in terms of overall BV is the difference between a 3Lz and a 3T’s BV. And Medvedeva can make a difference with higher GOE and PCS, so even the best Zagitova can’t beat her in the SP. But if she manages to be near her, she can put pressure on her in the FP. And in an FP, things could go in a different way, because Zagitova plans to do two 3Lz and two 3F and all the jumps in the second half of the program. In her senior debut, she got the second highest TES ever, by reaching 80 points. She could probably reach 82-83, and with 70 PCS, she would get about 152-153 in the FP. Only Medvedeva was able to reach similar scores lately, and Zagitova’s the only one who can try to put pressure on her. We’ll see if it is possible, because those 70 PCS seem quite faraway…but we’ve also seen skaters get 30 PCS at the start of the season and then get around 35 over the next months – in the SP – so…at that point, beating Zagitova would be difficult. Only Medvedeva could do it.

(A): And it wouldn’t even be that easy for her too.

(M): Exactly, beating a rival that has scored over 230 points isn’t trivial. So she is probably her main rival. Someone asked about Osmond, but Osmond lacks consistency in the FP to try to beat Zagitova and Medvedeva.

(A): Yes, Osmond has never reached those scores. She could try, but even with a perfect skate at the Olympics, she would still lack the kind of consistency that allows you to increase your scores throughout the season. Medvedeva’s consistency and all the clean skates she has had…her scores slowly improved because of how much confidence they gave her and because the judges started holding her in high regard. It’s difficult to reach those scores without this kind of consistency. Obviously she could put pressure on her, but it’s Zagitova that has the highest potential. We’ll see about Tsurskaya’s condition, as she has the potential to hit a high score. These girls aside, we would need to have a lady with an element that can make a difference; Nagasu, if she had three 3A’s and didn’t have underrotation problems, could try, but she seems far from that.

(M): Yes, far from it. Anyway, the highest score of the season was reached by Medvedeva. Zagitova has the second highest score, then Higuchi – both competed at the Lombardia Trophy – Osmond is fourth, Kostner fifth. It’s obvious that none of them was close to 230 other than Medvedeva – actually no one out of the current ladies has ever reached 220 points, which speaks volumes about Medvedeva.

(A): Yes, she’s dominant, the clear favorite. We’ll see if Zagitova manages to put pressure on her.

Part 1.3 - Men’s Event

(M): Let’s go to Men’s Competition, won by Nathan Chen. First GP win for him, winning the event over Yuzuru Hanyu. Hanyu won the Free Program but not by a big enough margin to overcome the deficit he had after the Short Program. A Short Program in which there was an arguable call on his first element, the 4Lo. At regular speed, it seemed underrotated, but watching in slow motion, it wasn’t so. There he lost a significant amount that allowed Chen to bring the win home.

(A): Because the gap he had after SP wasn’t totally recovered the day after, despite him having a better Free. I also want to add the high GOE that Nathan Chen got for his 4F in his short program. A jump not landed in the best way - despite him saving it - but especially a jump without any kind of step before it (t/n Chen’s 4F is his “solo jump preceded by mandatory steps” in SP). Three judges gave him 0 as GOE, something out of this world, absolutely. And even those -1 are frankly way too generous. Even -2 would have been too generous.

(M): Theoretically, by the rulebook, it should have been -3 without question, at least starting from this season (t/n Max is referring to a rewording of negative GOEs in ISU rulebook which, for this season, says that a jumping pass that doesn’t meet requirement in SP must have -3 as FINAL GOE. Theoretically, steps into solo jump are a requirement). It’s obvious that a discussion needs to happen about this, because GOE - especially for quads (t/n quads and 3A have the highest coefficient for GOE: a +3 on a quad means 3 points, a +3 on a triple that’s not 3A means +2.1) - makes a big difference. And for a quad, the gap between a -3 GOE and a +3 GOE is 7 points, because let’s not forget that a -3 GOE means -4 points, +3 GOE means +3 points, difference between lowest GOE and highest GOE is 7 points.

(A): Exactly, and I meant that Nathan’s 4F should have been -3 GOE, meaning -4 points, instead he brought home -1 point for the element. Those are three points that weigh a lot in a total score.

And I think it’s very important that judges pay attention to this. Because Hanyu did a 4Lo, judged underrotated and with a saved landing, but he did it out of steps and choreographic movements and you got to ask yourself: “Is he a fool?” (t/n: for doing his solo jump according to rules). I mean, he takes a risk, then maybe he does a mistake, but it’s only fair that GOEs (for him and others) reflect what they do on ice.

Then perhaps Nathan turns out to be the rightful winner of the competition anyway, but that’s another topic.

(M): Going from the technical side and GOE to PCS, a difference that has no bearing on reality stands out, because the gap there should have been bigger. And here we have a question from one of our listeners: “Skating Skills and Transitions have precise bullets to consider: multidirectional skating, one-foot skating, knee bend, complexity and variety of steps and turns, etc, etc. Is Chen’s Free Program really worthy of 9 on average in Skating Skills and 8.6 on Transitions with the highest mark of 9.75 and 9.50 given by a judge? Or - in other terms - is his Free Program more complex compared to his Short Program, which got 8.60 in Skating Skill and 8.40 in Transitions?”

This is a good question, because if you ask me, it’s the Short Program that is the more complex program of the two.

(A): It’s an interesting question. You rightly observe how the Short Program is the more complex one of the two. And another observation needs to be stressed upon Chen’s FP: there has been more room left for - I don’t want to say “improvisation” - but for more flexible management. It’s to his credit that he can execute five different quads and he can handle his layouts (what to do, what not to do, how to change his program) based on his condition, but this also makes his program less matched to music, less complex. That said, I maintain my opinion that, in the Short Program, Hanyu - for the transitions and the general complexity of his program - has no rivals. Nathan is no exception. We spoke about the Flip without a step, but we have the combo without a step while Hanyu’s combo has a difficult entry. It is not even worth it to try and talk about (their difference) in the 3A, even if - in the Free, but not in the Short - Nathan tries to do it from a spread eagle… But in the end - the Short Program for one reason, the Free Program for another - neither of them are so complex in terms of skating, transitions, et cetera. It’s true that Hanyu simplified a bit on his FP too, on the Axels especially - the first one he takes off from a spread eagle, not the second one, which is the last jump of his program and it’s already sensational enough that it is a 3A. But there have been free programs in the past in which he had an Axel from a backcounter and an Axel from a spread eagle. So he is not at that (past) level, but there is quite a pronounced difference (compared to Chen) in terms of transitions. In terms of Skating Skills, it’s a bit different. Hanyu is superior but the difference is less marked than with Transitions. Chen has good upper body movements, quite elegant and with correct and fluid movement. Passable interpretation. He is a good skater, but he still lacks something to be on the same level as Hanyu, and not only Hanyu at that.

(M): Regarding Hanyu, another question: “What does Hanyu’s Step Sequence lack to get level 4?” To be fair, lately he usually gets it, and then from time to time a level 3 call can happen. Good question, the answer’s not so simple.

(A): Usually Hanyu is penalized in the Step Sequence for not enough upper body movements. But I also want to point out a rule change for this season. Up to last year, you could do as many “clusters” (sequences of three difficult turns) on one foot and the other, and one on each foot would have been counted to get the level, now only the first attempt on each foot is considered. You can execute more clusters, but they are not counted. So you just need to miss a turn in the first of your clusters for your step sequence to lose a level, something that hadn't been the case up until this season.

(M): Same listener also asks, “Why is it so hard for an athlete to give up, even just temporarily, a jump that’s not consistent enough, in favour of a more secure but simpler one? It would seem a logical choice, but it’s not always the choice they opt for.” I would add on this topic. If Yuzuru Hanyu keeps having difficulty in improving the consistency of his Rittberger, it’s more probable for him to switch it out for a Lutz than to go back to the Sal. Which can also be a debatable course of action, considering how much more similar Salchow and Rittberger entries are, compared to the Rittberger and the Lutz. To switch to a Lutz, he would have to change, even if just partially, his choreography.

(A): Well, quite radically, to be honest.

(M): We are speaking of those few seconds immediately preceding the element. Then if he can execute a 4Lz from steps… we can call it a day and go home.

(A): I do agree. I’ve shared my opinion often enough about it. I keep repeating it: Hanyu is the World Record holder and he got that WR with the Salchow and the Toe Loop. I don’t think there’s anything else to add.

That said, we know his character, we know what his goals are, so let him go with the Rittberger, let him go with the Lutz, let him do whatever he feels is right. He will always have my estimation and admiration, but if I could decide what kind of layout he has to execute at Olympics, I’d suggest that strategy to him…

(M): But how would you be able to convince him?

(A): [laughing] Good question. If he doesn’t convince himself, protocols in hand, I really wouldn’t know what to say to him.

(M): Also because, after Rostelecom Cup, he let out that he is considering to start and try the 4A (in competition) after the Olympics. This is an element that he has already tried in practice, from time to time. This is even an element that he landed in training, without the help of a harness. (If he did execute it in competition,) it would further mark his entrance into Olympus, not only Figure Skating Olympus, but Sports Olympus. The Quadruple Axel is something mythical. It’s already significant that someone is thinking about it. The fact that someone can even actually do it is striking. Although considering his jumping technique, it would be possible for him to complete the four and half revolutions.

(A): To be honest, I don’t know what to say about it. It seems to me like Science Fiction. Then, if it’s really possible to nail such an element… if it’s possible, then he's probably the one who can do it. I wouldn’t know who else to name.

(M): We have seen the attempts of some other skaters. In competition, Artur Dimitriev maybe tried it once, but it was very far from being close to complete it. Max Aaron was close to rotating it with the help of a harness, but he gave up on his attempts. Yuzuru really cares a lot about being the first in history to land that element. It would be the culmination of an incredible journey for an athlete who, including the Rostelecom Cup, managed to land 4 different quads with positive GOE in his career. Only Nathan Chen did more, with 5 different quads with positive GOE landed in his career. [This development] is something that you couldn’t have imagined three or four years ago. Men’s Figure Skating has pushed the technical limits to inconceivable heights in very little time.

And - a topic we discussed among ourselves in our recent dinner together - the “problem” is that the International Federation, in assigning the Base Value to various jumps, didn’t think that one or more athletes could easily execute a 4Lz. Because the 4Lz BV is disproportionate compared to other quads (t/n a 4Lz with a fall is worth more than a 3Lz with +3 GOE, even taking into consideration the deduction for a fall. This doesn’t happen for other quads). What does it mean? That a skater has all the interest of trying a 4Lz, even if he or she has very little chance of not falling on it, because it will still be worth more than the best 3Lz.

(A): Which is not easy to start with (to get a final +3 on a 3Lz).

(M): Not easy at all. Kolyada at the Rostelecom Cup was a perfect demonstration. Kolyada, who fell three times - and that means -4 on deductions - was really close to his own Russian National record in the FP. And he scored a very high TES that allowed him to finish in third place. Maybe something [in the scoring system] needs to be reviewed.

(A): It’s a bit bizarre, if you think about it. The first quad landed in competition was the Toe. Then the Sal. But the third one was the Lutz, not the Flip nor the Rittberger.

(M): Indeed, and back in the day, Mishin said he didn’t understand why the Rittberger wasn’t the quad with the highest BV because, according to him, it would be easier to complete 4Lz and 4F. If we go and look at stats, there is interesting data: there have been more athletes landing 4Lz than 4Lo.

Who did land 4Lo with positive GOE? Yuzuru Hanyu, Shoma Uno, Nathan Chen. Boyang tried but fell. American - but of Russian origin - Krasnozhon managed to rotate it, but at best he landed it with a step out. And that’s all.

If we look at 4Lz, we have a much longer list: starting with Mroz, then Russian Sezganov, Kolyada, Chen, Zhou, Jin Boyang clearly - who probably in terms of distance, still has the best Lz, closely followed by Hanyu. Let’s add Samarin who landed it in a National Competition in Russia (t/n Samarin landed 4Lz again at Skate Canada, some days since the recording of the podcast) and Aliev, who was very close to fully rotating it at the Rostelecom Cup. We are very close to reaching double digit. If we look at Rittberger, we can count with one hand.

(A): What about Flip?

(M): Flip we have Nathan Chen, Uno Shoma, Vincent Zhou, Ukrainian Paniot - the first European Skater to land it. And I suspect we will see more and more athletes trying it because Shoma Uno opened a door. Showing that nicking something away from the take off, you can bring home high GOE. And there are many athletes who are trying to add that element on their repertoire. Patrick Chan did try it in the summer too. As far as I know, results haven’t been great, but the idea was to add it in his program. It must be said that the Flip is a jump that many male skaters find not so easy to handle.

(A): Because of the inside edge.

(M): Exactly. Usually a more powerful and explosive athlete is more at ease with the Lutz. And many of those athletes who execute a perfect Lz have great issues in handling a Flip. 80%, more or less, of the Russian men’s skaters fall in this category. If we look back at Russian champions from the recent past, Plushenko and Yagudin included, their Flip was very bad.

(A): Let’s say [those Flips] were Lutz’s. There are few skaters who don’t try and find a way of entry they feel the most comfortable with which to realize one of the two jumps. And that entry they are comfortable with often gets replicated in the other jump. It’s a very, very, very common mistake. Then there are those who can execute both the Lutz and the Flip correctly. Nathan Chen is one of those skaters and that is another of his weapons, but there really are few of them. Hanyu can now execute both a good Lutz and a good Flip, but he struggled with his Flip for a long time, before decidedly improving on his entry edge. But the case to the contrary really are many. I don’t think we even need to speak about Uno and his Lutz – a jump that is aesthetically ugly and taken off on an inside edge.

(M): One of the best examples of a “Flutz.”

(A): Indeed. I’d say it is quite impossible to miss.

(M): Looking at scores, Chen and Hanyu got the highest scores ever in the first event of Grand Prix Series. Hanyu never started (Grand Prix Series) so well. Not to mention he did throw away points in quite a banal way. See the fall on the combo after rotating and landing both jumps. And without risking too much on it, because he didn’t try to rippon the 3T after a not-exceptional landing on the 4T. So yes, Hanyu brought home 290, but how many points did he leave on the table here and there? In the Short and Free programs both.

(A): Oh, in the Free, between the Loop popped into a triple and especially the combo with highest BV missing, 4T-lo-3S… how many points did he left out there? 15?

(M): Considering he did a 2T there, we are over 15 [t/n: Combo BV is worth 16.72 points, 2T was worth 1.43]. As you said, what’s impressive with Nathan Chen is how he can freely change his layout, mixing and changing the placement of his jumps. But again, as you said before, this is proof of a free program that is less polished on details. And this sort of “approximation” should be better reflected on many of the components included in PCS. That’s not what’s happening.

(A): No, it isn’t.

(M): Because in the end, the gap with Hanyu in the Free Program is not that much.

(A): Six points, more or less. A little less. I repeat, Nathan Chen is not a mediocre skater. He is a good skater, and one of the most accredited rivals for Hanyu for the Olympic title, but it would be fair to see him judged correctly on his various components. With a different gap, component by component, so to reflect correctly also the components where the gap is very big and those where the gap is less. That (t/n scoring the various components independently from each other, to a point) is something we don’t really see yet. But we also have to keep in mind that those judges - even if they know the skaters and their strengths and weaknesses well - only have 1.5 to 2 minutes to judge, and a performance with three or four different quads may leave more of an impression upon them at first glance, and that may push them to raise their scores. It’s relatively easier to judge more objectively with a cool head, after watching and rewatching programs and highlighting all the details and differences. That is what we are trying to do now, but it’s also fair to try and look for justification for scores that can be influenced by many factors when you are there live and have to decide in few minutes. Then yes, the program is less refined, but that flexibility is a real strong point in his favour. And I also want to add: two triple Axels, as proof of the hard work he is doing on that element.

(M): Indeed. One of the most interesting theme of the men’s event has been the comparison between Misha Ge - Uzbekistan skater, who doesn’t try any quad - and Mikhail Kolyada, leader of the Russian men’s field who tries three quads in his FP. Why is the theme interesting? Because Misha Ge skated perfectly in both programs. Hard to ask him to skate better than that. He got personal bests for Short and Free programs both. Kolyada made a lot of mistakes. In the free program, he fell three times and, nonetheless, finished third with a huge margin over Ge. For some people, such a result is not admissible. It’s also true that it’s not so easy for ISU itself to explain the reason for such a significant gap. Before letting you speak about this, I just want to say that we are talking about two athletes who are basically doing two different disciplines.

(A): Yes, that’s exactly the point. Kolyada’s program wasn’t the most extreme we saw in Moscow, he wasn’t even close to being the most extreme, but it still included three different quads, two triple Axels - a very good one, the second one attempted, not so good that first one. And regardless of the error on the landing of the first, Kolyada’s quality on 3A is significantly superior to Misha’s - it’s also fair to stress on this. The technical content of those two programs can’t be compared. Mikhail’s program was infinitely more complex (technically speaking), and he got over 100 TES. Misha skated a program that - technically - is reminiscent of the late 90s, early 00s. An excellent program, with two 3As, but both of them executed in the first half… all these differences put together made up for that gap. The second 3A and the 4T for Kolyada were in the second half, for example, and all of this meant that Kolyada’s TES was way, way, way bigger. That’s the path that men’s skating took. Whether or not that is right, I’d let people watching the sport decide. I can see how it could be difficult to understand how a program with three falls can be scored so much higher than a clean one. That [perplexity] I can see. But the one who fell three times did try much harder things. And he is also a skater superior to Misha in terms of speed, power, and ice coverage. Then Misha, whom I adore, is a skater with exceptional charisma, very detailed choreography - although in terms of transitions, his programs are not so complex even though they are not as technically challenging, relatively speaking. It’s not so banal an evaluation. We look at two programs and we see three falls vs zero. A great interpreter vs a good skater but not an exceptional interpreter. So to ask how it is possible the difference is so big is just natural. But if we go and check all the details, we can see that the difference is there, and it’s not even that small.

(M): Let’s not forget that on some elements, Kolyada is one of the best in the world. Few skaters have a better 3A. And the same can be said about his 4T. And even the 4Lz he fell on has its own merits. It’s also important to notice how he rotated all this elements (even if he fell on them). He seems to be close to successfully landing the 4S. He fell at the Rostelecom Cup, but the rotation was complete and the landing not that bad. Let’s see. He can be dangerous, with that BV. In the last few years, Fernandez had no opposition whatsover in Europe, let’s see if Mikhail can try to put some pressure on the Spanish skater. It’s something necessary for European skating, so behind in the men's discipline compared to North America and Asia. Kolyada’s TES score, with three falls, has been the highest ever recorded by a European man, Fernandez excluded.

Part 1.4 Ice Dance & Pairs Events

(M): Let’s now go to what happened in Pairs and Ice Dance. Everything or almost everything as predictable: results may be expected, but we can comment on the way those results came to be.

For example, Shibutanis won in Ice Dance, but it wasn’t an easy win. Bobrova/Soloviev weren’t that far off and they threw away the chance to finish with a head-to-head on razor’s edge because of an inane mistake on the spin. We often said that you can’t win a World Championship on Spins, but you can totally threw it away because of them.

(A): It wasn’t a World Championship, but it was what happened here.

(M): Anyway, they - a couple defined by many as quite “old-fashioned” - brought two programs that looked very competitive, this season. That doesn’t mean they are a lock for GPF, since their second event will be very challenging, with Papadakis/Cizeron and Chock/Bates, but they left a good impression.

(A): We expected high scores for them, and so it was. They showed a great and energetic performance for well over 2 minutes in their free dance, before that fateful error costed them, if not the win, at least the chance to fight for the win. I am curious to see them in next event, against those couples you mentioned. It won’t be easy for them to reach the Final, but Final aside, I’m curious to see their scores there compared to these other couples. Of course, it will also depend on the performance on the day, but while the home event tells us they may be in the race for important placements, I’d like to wait for the second event before giving a more complete appraisal (on them). I’ve to admit that while I do admire their technical level, I’m not a big fan of them. I’m one of those who think they are “old-fashioned”, as you said earlier. They don’t manage to grab me on an emotional level. So there's another reason to see them - next to a couple like Papadakis/Cizeron, who have exceptional projection skills, and see how close they can be.

(M): Regarding Shibutanis, a choice in Short Dance that is really a Rhumba, and that can play to their favour. Points wise, it was a good debut for them. Let’s remember they didn’t take part in any competition prior to the Rostelecom Cup. About the Free Dance, I dare say it was something “already seen”. An “already seen” that brought important results quite recently, though.

(A): We can group Shibutanis and Bobrova/Soloviev together on this. They are very different, physically and technically, but in the same way as B/S, S/S is another couple more solid on TES than what they can express under PCS, especially in terms of projection and interpretation. The Shibutanis struggled a lot (in the past) to find their way. They managed to find the right path, they got very important results with their old program on Coldplay music - a program that I loved very much - but this one… it seems stale. And in the end, even if they are couples with very different traits, we can group them together for the choices on their programs and for having a greater mastery on technical part of Ice Dance than on components. So it was a close battle also because they are, in a way, similar ice dancers, and it’s right that Shibutanis won since they were decidedly better technically. We still need to wait and weigh them against Virtue/Moir, Papadakis/Cizeron but also the other couples. Cappellini/Lanotte, Chock/Bates, Weaver/Poje, et cetera.

(M): For bronze, we thought we could have a closer competition, but Stepanova/Bukin got the bronze medal quite comfortably, with a good margin over Gilles/Poirier and Guignard/Fabbri both. The latter had good skates nonetheless, scoring a Personal Best there. It must be remarked that never before had a couple finishing fifth in a GP event scored as high as G/F did. It’s a good signal for the rest of the season (for them).

(A): It’s cold comfort, because they could have fought for a top-3 finish, even though we knew it wouldn’t be easy to defeat S/B in Russia, and there was a bit of curiosity to see - let me put it this way - how much [Russians couples] would be held up. In the end, the margin with S/B wasn’t that small, while the gap with G/P was really close. That’s a very important acknowledgment for Marco and Charlene and their future. For them, the goal is not to reach the Final, clearly, but to skate well, improve their scores, to get closer and closer to reach what could be the goal in their career: to get near European podium.

(M): Or to get a GP medal… it must be said they didn’t have the easiest of assignments this season. We talked at length (t/n in previous podcasts) about the quality of the Rostelecom Ice Dance field, and keep in mind: the sixth here, Popova/Mozgov, are a team that the Russian Fed is really counting on for future seasons. And if we look at G/F, in their next assignment they will find Stepanova/Bukin again, Chock/Bates, Papadakis/Cizeron, Weaver/Poje… the podium is really out of reach.

(A): I can’t disagree. But they can play their cards, trying to raise their scores even more. It’s important to put together a series of impeccable performances. They can be satisfied with the way things are going. They can still improve: They had a level 3 lift and one of the step sequences was only level 2, and considering how solid they usually are on steps, they can gain some more points there. Had they gotten those levels, they would have overcome the Canadian skaters. They can still be happy with their results, though.

(M): In Pairs, Tarasova/Morozov won with a huge lead. Their scores show how big their potential is, and it’s interesting to highlight that they achieved their personal best in the free skate, the segment they’ve always struggled the most with. In Moscow, they showed good consistency on side by side jumps, and great quality on every single element. With this consistency, they are indeed very tough to beat for everyone, even more so because their quad twist is becoming more and more solid with each week. (A): I’d say it was the highlight of the competition, to be honest. With that quad twist they created a 3-point gap between them and their closest competitors, training mates Stolbova/Klimov, on that element alone! That’s really an element that can shift the balance, especially when performed in a program with a high coefficient of quality and lots of positive GOEs, as the Russians’.  They are indeed nasty rivals for everyone. I think they are clear favourites for gold at European Championships, together with Savchenko/Massot. The battle for Olympic gold will be harder, since it will include Duhamel/Radford and Sui/Han too, but the Russian pair has all the right characteristics to go for it, in my opinion. We compared them to Volosozhar/Trankov many times, after all. Right, Massimiliano? (M): Yes they have many things in common, like side by side and throw jumps; great attention to the quality of each element; and increasing TES with high GOEs, rather than going for a higher base value than the rest of their competitors. This, in particular, was the key to Volosozhar/Trankov’s success in Sochi, and the silver medalists there were Stolbova/Klimov, who came second here as well, although they seemed very far from their top condition. They were a lot slower, even though speed had always been their trademark, and made many mistakes on various elements. And this has been happening for two seasons already. (A):“They made mistakes on side by side jumps, on throw jumps, there was a fall on their throw 3S… There’s a lot of insecurity, instability, it’s clear that they couldn’t train well in the last two years, since both of them went through tons of injuries, and you can see they lack consistent training.They couldn’t find their pace in the competition, they were really struggling in both programs. Their strongest points have always been the great speed, great quality of execution, and even difficult side by side jumps as they’ve landed a triple-triple combination. Now these traits are gone, they make many mistakes. Clearly, there’s something wrong. (M): Third place for another Russian pair, Astakhova/Rogonov. They skated a near-flawless free program, only one small mistake on a throw jump, but the rest was very good. They had never skated such a good free skate, and it seems that here they were able to make that final step to reach the maximum of their potential. With their free skate, they managed to surpass the Italians, Marchei/Hotarek, who were third after the short program, but lost many points in the free because of Valentina’s fall on the 3T - which was also marked as under-rotated. They lost around 5 points with that mistake and that’s what costed them the podium in the end. Nevertheless, their season debut in the GP was positive, they scored more than 190 points with a big mistake, so they showed they can reach 200 points again when clean. It’s not enough to win an event anymore, but depending on the entries, a podium finish is doable.

(A): Yes, although we did predict a possible third place for them, Astakhova/Rogonov had the best skate of their career, and that’s why they beat Marchei/Hotarek. Clearly, it’s hard when you come so close to the podium and then wind up in fourth place, but the Russians really skated at the top of their capabilities and completed the podium sweep. Regardless of the missed medal here, both Italian pairs are doing really well in international competitions, and the preparation towards the Olympics is going really well. (M): Highly anticipated Canadians Seguin/Biloideau had to settle for fifth place, without showing anything remarkable. This pair looked really strong until last year, and it seemed they could have reached the elite of the discipline, then at some point, they had a sort of blackout. They started making many mistakes, and it’s like they lost confidence on their strongest elements. Probably their attempt at raising the bar technically, going for more difficult side by side jumps like 3Lo, backfired and made them lose the solidity they had on the rest. At the moment, I don’t think they can be considered the third Canadian pair.

(A): And that’s a surprise. We expected them to be fighting for supremacy in Canada, given their constant growth over the years, but right now they are way behind the top three Canadian pairs. It’s a real pity though, they’re both complete skaters, with very nice basics, great speed and flow and good interpretation. They had strong side by side jumps too, yet they made mistakes on these very elements at the Rostelecom Cup. They’re still young and their talent is unquestionable, so in my opinion, they can still come back and be competitive, even in a highly competitive and demanding field, such as the Canadian pairs.

Part 2: Skate Canada Preview

(M): Let’s focus on Skate Canada now, and let’s start with Pairs since the quality in this event will be sky-high. I can’t really tell who the favourites for gold are here… We have Savchenko/Massot, Duhamel/Radford, James/Cipres, Ilyushechkina/Moscovitch, Zabiiako/Enbert, and Peng/Jing. In theory, all these six pairs could aim for the Final. Savchenko/Massot are seed n.1, since they were second at last year’s Worlds; Ilyushechkina/Moscovitch are seed n. 2, thanks to their sixth place in Helsinki; Duhamel/Radford were seventh in Helsinki; James/Cipres had a top ten finish; Zabiiako/Enbert came close to top ten, and Peng/Jin couldn’t be at Worlds because China only had two spots - but they could have aimed at top ten had they been there. Too much quality to make a solid prediction, in my opinion this will be the highlight of the entire event.

(A): A spectacular competition, really. I’m very curious to see who will win here, in my opinion the clear favourites for podium are Duhamel/Radford, Savchenko/Massot and James/Cipres. But nothing is set in stone: Zabiiako/Enbert have many qualities, and they can take advantage of the smallest mistake by their competitors; I believe the Chinese pair is the “weakest” among those you mentioned because of Cheng Peng’s inconsistency on side by side jumps; and then of course, Ilyushechkina/Moscovitch, who were amazing at Worlds in Helsinki. In my opinion, they are a step back from the top three pairs I mentioned, but the competition will be tight and it’s really very hard to make a prediction. (M): “In the Ladies’, Osmond is the clear favourite, but there will be two interesting challenges: Pogorilaya vs Sotskova, and Wagner vs Chen. Pogorilya vs Sotskova is very interesting for many reasons; let’s remember that Pogorilaya wanted to move to Buyanova two years ago, but she turned her down and took Maria Sotskova; moreover, they will be fighting for the third spot in Olympic team. I’ve been told that Pogorilaya seemed to have lost motivation to train at some point this summer, she’s also on bad terms with her coach, so I really don’t know what to expect from her at Skate Canada. Among the others, there will be Marin Honda, who is a candidate for the top of the field in Japan. Hard to make a prediction here as well, there are at least five athletes who aim at the Final, and maybe two of them will be able to qualify in the end. (A): Hard call to make, the level will be high in this competition as well. Osmond is among the favourites, Marin Honda is a contender as well, for me. Russia doesn’t have its top skaters here maybe, but Sotskova is undoubtedly dangerous. Pogorilaya is a bit of a question mark, but last season she had very good results in the Grand Prix, as a matter of fact, she was the one who got closest to Medvedeva, back then. In my opinion, the Americans are a step lower, even though Karen Chen did fairly well at Worlds last season, and the US federation relies a lot on her. Wagner… it’ll depend a lot on the technical panel at Skate Canada. (M): This is true for Karen Chen as well, though, because they are very similar on some aspects. (A): I agree. (M): Then of course Karen has a good Lutz, which Ashley lacks, but overall they’re a step behind their competitors in my opinion. Maria Sotskova did pretty well at Finlandia Trophy, where she was arguably underscored in both short and free program, but she made very few mistakes. Her jump quality improved, she even added some features there. Pay attention to her, because Buyanova is able to bring her skaters to the top of their game for the most important events. Probably, CSKA’s coaching team isn’t on par with Sambo70’s yet, but there are some remarkable coaches there too, like Maxim Zavozin. I expect Sotskova to make further improvements, depending on what her limits are obviously. I think she can reach 210/215 points, and achieving these scores now would be a good sign for her future this season - even if the battle for Olympic medals will start from 220 points. (A): With a score between 210 and 215 she can even win this competition, to be honest. (M): Well, Osmond already went beyond 215. She’s hard to beat in the short program, but she’s more vulnerable in the free. Speaking of Osmond, we have a question. “Do you think Osmond could reach 77/78 points with a clean short program?“ (A): Hard for me. (M): You think so? But she has Lutz and Flip both, good quality on spins, she’s getting very positive scores on program components - even if some people disagree with this, but we’ll have time to discuss it better next week. Taking all of this into account, I don’t think 77/78 points in a short program is an impossible goal for her. (A): It’s a very high score. It’s true that she proved she can skate a clean short program many times, because this is the biggest issue when we talk about Osmond - consistency. I don’t know, 78 is still too high, for me. Theoretically, she may have the capabilities to get there. Theoretically. I do like her a lot, she has nicely choreographed programs, good charisma on the ice. I really hope she can become more and more consistent, I’d be delighted. (M): At the Autumn Classic International in Montreal, she succeeded in landing her jump-nemesis, the triple Loop. If that jump becomes consistent, then she can be a skater with two 2A and seven triples, which was never her thing, same as Kostner. They are comparable skaters somehow, as Osmond is arguably one of the fastest skaters right now and she does remind [us] of ‘old times’ Carolina. (A): Yeah great speed going into the jumps, great height, explosive and spectacular skater, no doubt. She does remind me of Kostner, particularly in the way she goes into her triple Flip and for the quality on that element. She’s skating on home ice - she did win Skate Canada in the past if I’m not wrong - and winning here would be very important, as her next event is in France and the competition will be tougher there. (M): Yeah she won Skate Canada some years ago, and was second last year behind Medvedeva, but she did skate very well there.

As far as Ice Dance is concerned, I’d say the table is set for Virtue/Moir, and it will be interesting to compare their results with the top two teams from Rostelecom Cup. The battle for second place will be between Weaver/Poje and Hubbell/Donohue: it’s hard to make a prediction here. Americans killed themselves in Helsinki and lost the chance to make the podium there, but that podium was very far for Weaver/Poje, at that time. (A): I think they still have nightmares of that free dance, they were doing great and then they made that mistake… Although, it was really naive of them, they only needed to skate clean to medal, even holding themselves back a little bit, but they rushed headlong and ended up far off that podium. That said, their potential is huge and there is no doubt about it of course. Weaver/Poje had a rougher season with lots of changes, you could see Morozov’s hand on some aspects already, different programs compared to the past… I’m very curious to see them now, I’ve always liked their skating, they have great presence, interesting programs, good speed and technique too. (M): Well, he does have some problems on the technical elements, twizzles in particular, and you can’t afford mistakes there, especially when you have to catch up with the top of your field. (A): For sure. Twizzles and pair spin are elements that can make you lose a competition, we’ve witnessed that many times. (M): Men’s competition will be interesting too, since we’ll have Shoma Uno as seed n. 1, and local idol, Patrick Chan who has already won Skate Canada countless times. Chan recently said he will be lowering his quad content for this competition - we know he was also trying quad Flip earlier this summer - and we have yet to see in what physical condition he is now, since he withdrew from a few competitions before this one, like Nebelhorn Trophy. Keep an eye on Orser’s Korean pupil, Jun Hwan Cha, the youngest skater in this competition. He has huge potential and his life coach is Yuzuru Hanyu, for better or for worse. We will have Alexander Samarin, from Russia, who will attempt the 4Lz in both his programs, and there will be Takahito Mura from Japan, who is coming back from a highly complex season. Overall, Men’s competition will be exciting as well, with many talented athletes, some of whom have yet to reach their full potential. Oh, and there’s Jason Brown too! (A): Yes many talented skaters indeed, but in my opinion, the battle for success will be between Uno and Chan and I’d say the Japanese is the favourite. Third place is quite open, we have Samarin, Brown and Cha, while Mura is behind these skaters in my opinion.

Part 3: Questions & Answers

(M): Time for our Q&A now, first question is about Max Aaron:

What do you think of the last two free programs by Max Aaron: The Lion King and The Phantom of the Opera?

Well, anything is better than Footloose to be honest.

(A): Really, anything. Erm… ok I’d say Phantom isn’t too bad a choice, considering the skater we’re talking about. I think The Gladiator could suit him too. (M): That’s it! That’s what I wanted to say, Gladiator. Something by Vangelis, like Alexander soundtrack, for instance. These are Max Aaron’s music c’mon, instead, he skates to Italian opera, or picks improbable American movie soundtracks like Footloose... (A): Which is very questionable and, yes, Footloose was the worst, I agree. (M): It’s clear he has been penalized by such wrong music choices. This season, it seems he’s trying to raise the bar, he looked good at the US International in Salt Lake City. For sure he has some limits, and his choreographies don’t really help him. (A): Surely Footloose didn’t help him, and I do think wiser music choices and choreographies could better help him hide his weakest points. That said, he is trying to up his ante by jumping two different types of quads, and if you recall, we described him as one of the most extreme skaters, already 4-5 years ago. (M): Yes he was already doing two different quads back then, but he lost the Toe Loop at some point, since he’s more of an edge jumper. Nevertheless, now he should be going for three quads and two triple Axels. Should he manage to land those jumps, he could be a contender for the Olympic team. Rippon and Brown should definitely keep an eye on him, to be honest. (A): Yes, Nathan Chen aside, he can definitely compete with the rest. With Zhou, they’re basically on par on PCS, because neither of them is exceptional in that aspect. With Rippon and Brown, it’s totally the opposite: he’s behind them on PCS, but he can beat them, thanks to the higher TES he has, as long as he lands the jumps of course.

(M): Next question: Do you think someone will attempt a tano or rippon quad? I think it’s almost impossible to be honest, better go for other bullets to raise the GOE. (A): I don’t know how to answer this one since I’ve never landed a quad myself, but from what I see it seems nearly impossible. Although I had never imagined we could see so many complex and “quad-packed” programs, so never say never.

(M): Another one: What are Medvedeva’s physical problems?

She has some problems in the ligaments of an ankle that are keeping her from training to the fullest. She usually trains a lot and really hard, paying attention to the tiniest details, so for now, she’s not able to train as she’s used to and that’s why she simplified her programs at the Rostelecom Cup.

(M): On with the questions, the next one says: What do you think of McLaren’s Report? Do you think there’s a chance we won’t see Russians skaters at the Olympics? As far as I’m concerned, McLaren’s Report has the same value of the toilet paper I have in my bathroom. It’s certainly not an investigation that could change the rules of the game. Not seeing Russian skaters at the Olympics would be a great damage for this sport and for the Games in general. I truly hope someone will realize it’s absurd to damage a whole country, like it’s happening for Russia. Sure, mistakes were made there, some crimes were confessed, someone was disqualified, but what happens in Russia happens everywhere. No kidding. (A): I think it’s really complicated separating politics from sport in this incident. It’s indisputable that Russia (and all former USSR countries, like East Germany for instance) has a sort of “tradition” in State doping, but among all sports, figure skating is the one in which doping has the least impact, in my opinion. But Russia aside, I think we should reflect upon what we’re seeing lately in the Men’s for example, because given the complexity of the programs, I think somebody might start suspecting possible doping in figure skating as well. It’s a mystery for me, too, how more and more skaters can jump quads almost towards the end of their programs, so probably the ISU should reflect upon this, and consider intensifying anti-doping tests. Obviously, this involves all the federations, not just one nation, just as you said. In our sport in particular, I think that training methods on children should be investigated as well, more than drug-related doping.

(M): Another question: “Artistic Roller Skating is trying to catch up with Figure Skating, introducing a new judging system similar to COP, do you think it could be a breakthrough? Could it finally become an Olympic sport?” Well there’s no certain answer here, you would need the Olympics to be hosted in a country with a big tradition in artistic roller skating, like Italy for example, but I don’t think the judging system is a factor. (A): No indeed, it’s a matter of the sport’s geopolitics.

(M): I just want to go back to the doping topic for a moment. Taking a position is really difficult. I’ve always said McLaren’s Report was useless, and even though there are disciplines where Russia passed the limit, nothing was proven beyond any reasonable doubt.

The Report stated that some test tubes were sabotaged, but that’s not enough to persecute an athlete for doping. It’s true that we had way too many doping cases in some disciplines lately, like biathlon, cross country skiing, and many athletes were disqualified. In my opinion, that was the right occasion to reinforce the rules, because when you have 12 athletes disqualified for doping, then you must punish the entire nation. Only in that particular sport though!

I think figure skating has nothing to do with doping in biathlon or skiing, and the McLaren Report is full of names and data, but nothing has been proven so far. Even more unsettling, there were athletes who were indefensible according to McLaren's Report, but have changed nationality and will compete at the upcoming Olympics! That’s why I have strong doubts on this document’s truthfulness.

(A): As I said there was too much politics involved, and it really turned into an open trial for an entire nation, which is simply unjust. Moreover, since nothing has been proven so far, there was also a damage to the image of some athletes, because doping accusations can really ruin your career. They can even end it, it’s like a life sentence basically. So you really need to be serious, careful, and unbiased when discussing these matters.

(M): To close the topic, there’s no doubt that the current system has flaws: an athlete who tests positive gets disqualified for two years, and during that time, they can still train and eventually come back. So, in some cases, they could intentionally risk to be disqualified in order to win, and then come back after two years, because the punishment is too light and somehow it’s worth it, if you win.

So, first of all, they need to adjust punishments, but most importantly, they need to reform the anti-doping rules completely, with the help of international legal experts who’d make sure the new set of rules won’t have any grey area.

As a former attorney myself, I can tell you that the current laws are full of flaws and really vulnerable. A good legislation has no grey areas and mustn’t leave room for interpretation. That’s fundamental, in my opinion.

And that’s all for Podcast #5!

Thanks and cheers for anyone who reached last line. As usual, we hope you enjoyed!

Cheers,

The-A-Team

[bitcoinfreenews-blog]

New Post has been published on http://bitcoinfreenews.com/2018/07/04/ausgeraumter-myth-why-bitcoin-never-to-zero/

Ausgeräumter myth: Why Bitcoin never to Zero

Bitcoin can go”has a polarising effect on people, that there are two mounts. for additional storage. To those who say that he is en through the ceiling, shooting, , and on the other, those that say that he is nothing more to be worth it. The future of the volatile, unprecedented and revolution—ren, W—the design of the system, the the Kryptow—present designs, köcan not a lot of accurate predictions. But over time, the idea that Bitcoin goes to Zero, seems to spread more and more.

A number of commentators have made recently, as Bitcoin has boomed – the darkest forecasts and warned investors that this new money system – and Investitionsmövenues – vö’m going to completely be worthless.

Bitcoin is not even 10 years old and has increased from Zero to a value of 17,000 euros. Now, as we stand now, and the price is lower than many had hoped, it is to believe nonsense, that he come up on Zero-kömight?

“He goes to the bottom”

It does not matter whether the Nouriel Roubini, of skeptical friends at the dining table, or Dr. Doom himself, n—namely: The prediction is that Bitcoin will go to Zero, often comes as a backlash to all of the steps to the front, the Kryptow currencies<. to=”” observe=”” p=””>

As a new and never before been before Öecosystem functioning in the established &Nbsp;in ecosystems such as the financial accounting and money, it is fascinating, how the volatile Vermögene value. One day, he and the n&mdash increases;next again on the slides – but what gives people the reason to think that he is a total failure?

at the beginning of February, as the Bitcoin, in the direction of 5.153 Euro, the Chairman of Roubini Macro Associates Nouriel Roubini – also known as “Dr. Doom” because of its pessimistic economic forecasts – a kühne statement:

As expected, fäBitcoin llt now on under $ 6,000 (5.153 Euro). Now the mark of 5.000 US-Dollar (4.294 Euro). And the US Kongressanh to crypto-Affected–is gereien a day. HODL-R–was to be lying down to keep your melted in the Bitcoins until they are worth ZERO, wäduring Betrüger and Bitcoin whales to Dump and run…

— and Nouriel Roubini (@Nouriel) 6. February 2018

Dr. Doom had been given to this Bitcoin-low – point-Support–up by Joe Davis, the global Chefökonom of Vanguard and head of the investment strategy group. This wrote in a Blog Post:

“I think it is für it is very likely that the price of the llt to Zero f”.”

He indicated, however, that he Blockchain is bezüglich optimistic. But this separation of the Blockchain and Bitcoin investors and institutional lenders has your Tücken, and is always wrong according to the Motto “block chain über Bitcoin”.

Goldman Sachs has also über Kryptow—currencies and the Möurgency you to go to Zero, geäußert. However, with the Caveat that the größeren – and, therefore, stämore powerful – develop and –survive. The head of für Investment research Steve Strongin said:

“appears That one of the today’s Kryptow—pertaining to in the long term –to survive, to me unlikely, even if parts of it develop, and –survival köcould. Due to the lack of intrinsic value of the W&mdash will go;currencies, not –to survive, hölikely to Zero.”

Gründe, the call these people that Bitcoin – or in Strongins case, other Kryptow—currencies go to Zero, ranging from market manipulation über Vermögene value bubbles up to the Lack of intrinsic value. All of these examples, and Gründe seem to be a bit outdated by now.

The fast-paced Kryptow—the design of the world is grown out of a number of distractions, especially the Tulip-comparison, compare a Joe Davis ‘ Favorite. In the last few months, there was a große acceptance-shaft with respect to the use of Blockchain and Kryptow—currencies, although the market is in a depression.

The Blockchain Revolution

Bitcoin and Kryptow—currencies are a financial and monetäres Phänomen, but are classified thanks to the underlying Blockchain technology, as the technological progress. This means that there is a große acceptance wave, the über the various sectors of the Blockchain and Kryptow&mdash can take place;pertaining to the use of köcan.

The acceptance that has taken place lately, was seen at the top level of some sectors. Including, for example, banks, Large companies and even governments.

Some global Großbanks have done a große steps to try to develop an effective crypto-Trading Desk, your customers köcan, and such in your regulären köcan. The banks want to jump on the Kryptow—hrungszug, because customer demand is so high.

Farzam Ehsani, a former Block-Leader in the case of the Rand Merchant Bank and now Mitbegründer and CEO of VALR, told againstüber Cointelegraph:

“All the banks realize that you need to on these Blockchain-hop mü. I do not think that many banks do not necessarily understand where this train fährt, but you realize that this is a development that arises and that is if you want to be on this trip, with everyone on the train müshot”.

Darüber addition, companies are in the Größe of Microsoft, Amazon, IBM, and Oracle, customer-oriented Blockchain-Lösungen – often Kryptow—currencies tied to möbring a question as the first effective and the revolutionäres product on the market.

Schließlich, the governments, the Bitcoin and the Kryptow—currency acceptance is often weighed in on this one. The Dutch—foreign government is a good example of dafür what that looks like. Just last month, it was reported that the Dutch—foreign Ministry für the Economics of climate policy has established a unit, which is tasked with exploring the further development of the Blockchain über the technology.

so What does all this mean für Bitcoin, and the idea that he has to go to Zero, kömight?

Much of this hängt, on the Belief that Kryptow—currencies and Blockchain köcan. There is a großen thrust at the Blockchain-acceptance – as described above – but the same applies für the Bitcoin and Kryptow—the design of acceptance.

will be Discussed, however, is that both of them are definitely connected to each other. Those surprisingly, most of the Blockchain – and Kryptow—the design of space to argue that the two facets of k&ouml not be separated;, and therefore, if there is a Blockchain-acceptance, it must, consequently, there is a correlation of benefits to the Kryptow—the design of the room.

There are so many facilities, with the Größe, and the dominance of global banks, Large corporations, and even governments, to enter into the Blockchain-space, it seems hard to imagine that you are progressing without the Kryptow—the design aspect.

The CEO of Lightning Labs – the developer of the Blockchain scaling Protocol Lightning – Elizabeth Strong has dafür pronounced that Wall Street and the traditional financial sector challenge, the on the Blockchain, and not to Bitcoin, by trying to separate the two clearly.

“As we my company Lightning Labs gegründet, we have taken the word “Bitcoin” from our Deck and in our marketing material, because it went so much to the Blockchain. Now I have the Gefühl, that we have come into a “Bitcoin, Blockchain,” world in which people understand the value of the Kryptow—the design of technology and what it can bring. It also has Proof-of-Work in Bitcoin, you have the Public/Private Key cryptography. There are other things that make Bitcoin special. Somehow the Blockchain was separated-a part of it and to be a successful thing.”

Customizable Kryptow—introduction

Emin Gün Sirer, an außerordentli cher, a Professor at Cornell University, ore,—selected againstüber Cointelegraph some über the robustness of Kryptow—pertaining to, and how difficult it is, that this is completely”disappear fully.

“We have seen that these technologies are quite robust. Chains don’t just disappear, they are greaterähig, and will remain, präsent. Many of us have, for years, advertised für these technologies in General and Bitcoin in Particular. The result is the development of an immense benevolence and a high level of brand awareness. So there will always be a Community around the brand, the dafür that this Chain is making progress.”

Gün Sirers point of view – in particular, to Bitcoin is, in a way, the Blockchain technology and its current state. The acceptance of Bitcoin and the Blockchain has almost reached a critical mass, where it is difficult that you all Support–will lose the plöuseful up.

The brand of Bitcoin has exploded recently and there are indications that this popularity of theät für its growth and &Quot;survival is important

source: Google Trends

There is a correlation between Google search trends für Bitcoin, and the price of Bitcoin, which shows that the höhere the interest and the popularity of the”t of the Coins inseparable from his course, and thus, in many ways, his success is connected to.

The has been already found in the so-called “Satoshi-cycle”.

However, Gün Sirer fügt:

“you will have perhaps a Hard-Fork perform to him after a Chain-a spiral of death to breathe new life into, and he cases, kömight be a niche function, erfü, because his Medium was the transmission and storage of value functions absorbed by others. But nevertheless, I suspect that there will always be a Bitcoin brand and a niche Community dafür.”

Intrinsically unstoppable

Wäduring his acceptance wächst, and as a technology and financial system in everyday life is established, it is becoming more and more difficult, Bitcoin and Kryptow—pertaining to – as well as Blockchain – just to get away.

But even more than the shows, too, that it is now, where he has established, is more difficult to can him töten, than, for example, a share, a technological fad, or countless other comparisons, the die kö.

Many compare Bitcoin with a company or stock that can go to Zero, to not have a reason to invest. Bitcoin is a decentralized and Autonomous. There is no Individual, no group and no Board that can drive him to Ruin.

In this sense, it is also possible to stop him – as well as Regulierungsbeh would be so slow to remember. By L—such as China and others that try to ban Bitcoin directly, you’ll notice that they fight something Tangible bekä.

But Bitcoin is also able to develop and adapt – and, in turn, on the basis of its inner values. He is ruled by a majority, and if things change and problems arise, wählt Community in a way that the für Üsurvival is best. It battles and &quot may be;Bürgerkriege”, but in the end, the progress of Bitcoin are only für Üsurvival.

Ultimately, köcan even the größten of the critics of Bitcoin and the Kryptow—the design of space, the potential of the Blockchain technology hardly bem—defects. Some like to try to distinguish Kryptow—pertaining to the Blockchain, but you’re wrong in this sense.

Jehan Chu, Mitbegründer of Kenetic Capital – a company that the distribution of the Blockchain technology, is committed für – is also of the opinion that this new System, the problems of the past, löst. Chu said againstüber Cointelegraph:

“Bitcoin will never go to Zero, because there are economies as a hedge against falling in the currencies, inefficient people, and, increasingly, systemic inequality. Bitcoin repr—presents the the design of a better future für the society and people will always invest in their future.”

Too many vested parties

Bitcoin, Kryptow—currencies and Blockchain: widths of all these inter-links–connected parts slowly in the society in all the different Ökosysteme. And since you hide, it’s hard to eliminate this.

Regulierungsbeh authorities have tried and come to the realization that you can Kryptow—pertaining to vödigit extrusionängen kö. So you are now trying to work with them. This has opened the Tür für the traditional sectors of the world geö, to enter the market and Kryptow currencies to make it more a part of everyday life.

This System of decentralized, adaptableähigen, Autonomous and democratic money has too many vested parties and many strong characteristics. These make it difficult to create the System in its current Form complete—completely from the world.

[tendaifmp-blog]

Jonda cynecki hasn't seen her twin sister Wanda in 13 years and doesn't hold out much hope that she ever will. Their last contact came at a family gathering in Ohio for Christmas, after which Wanda returned to her home in Key West, Fla. Then she disappeared. She didn't call, didn't write and couldn't be reached. When her parents died several years later, her siblings had to use intermediaries to get through to her. She called to borrow money about a year ago. Since then, the only sign she's still alive is that no one has heard anything to the contrary. And yet Jonda, 54, a school librarian, says wistfully of Wanda, "There isn't a day that goes by that something doesn't remind me of her."

Usually that something is doing the laundry. Whenever Jonda goes down to her basement to wash clothes, she sees, tucked under the stairs, an old tandem stroller. Her father crafted it from spare parts, painted it white and wrapped rubber around its wooden wheels. Jonda won't get rid of the stroller, even though it provokes sorrow and anger toward the sister who walked out on her family. What Jonda doesn't know--and might never know--is why.

Estrangement from siblings is a powerful ache not only for Jonda but for millions of other Americans as well--especially during the year-end holidays, when the absence of relatives is most poignant. Many of the 77 million baby boomers, now well into middle age, live farther from their brothers and sisters than did previous generations. And with each passing year, they face more of the life passages that often trigger splits with siblings, particularly arguments over the care of elderly parents or over their estates. At the same time, boomers have more divorces and fewer children and are less tethered to neighbors than were their parents and grandparents, so they are more in need of strong relationships with sisters and brothers--the most-enduring ties many of us have in our lives. Eighty-five percent of adult Americans have at least one sibling, yet an estimated 3% to 10% have completely severed contact with a brother or sister.

Such absolute estrangements may not be the norm, but experts who study family relationships believe they are on the rise. Psychologist Carol Netzer, author of Cutoffs: How Family Members Who Sever Relationships Can Reconnect, thinks that today's broader cultural freedoms have made it easier for people to say goodbye to traditions and to relatives. "The nuclear family is not as tight as it once was," she says. Some rifts reflect larger trends. The Woodstock generation, Netzer explains, was full of young people leaving their families to lose themselves in drugs or join religious groups, political movements and communes. "Often, when that ripple in the culture passes," says Netzer, "people go back to their families." Terry Hargrave, family therapist and author of Families and Forgiveness, believes that while the psychological self-help movement has been largely positive, "it teaches the individual that 'you're the most important thing; family is not.'"

The origins of a sibling breach often can be traced to childhood. Psychologist Stephen P. Bank, co-author of The Sibling Bond, observes that eldest children who are expected to care for younger siblings may feel overburdened and resentful. Children born too many years apart, says Bank, may never share common interests or developmental stages. For them, slender ties are sometimes easy to cut.

Nancy B. (who asked that her full name not be used) is a management consultant with a sister older by six years and a brother older by 12. She doesn't speak to either of them but for differing reasons. "The age gap was so significant," she says. As a child, she worshiped her brother, whose trips home from college were cause for celebration. A few years ago, he stopped returning her calls. She doesn't know why.

On the other hand, she was never comfortable with her sister. "There was always tension between us," Nancy, now 52, says. "I couldn't figure it out." Nancy ended contact after the sister attached herself to yet another violent man, and Nancy felt relegated to the role of caretaker--for someone who didn't want to be helped. The three siblings were last together 25 years ago at their mother's funeral. Nancy still feels the loss, she says, "but my heart isn't breaking anymore. I've figured out a way to be in the world without trying to make love happen where it isn't."

Yet in other families, psychologist Bank says, large age differences can help alleviate competition for toys, friends and parental attention. Some older siblings enjoy being caregivers, often in exchange for adoration. Studies show bonds among sisters tend to be strongest, epitomized by Bessie and Sadie Delany, co-authors of Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years. And when parents are absent, neglectful or abusive, siblings often fill the void by forming tight bonds, as did the brothers in the movie Radio Flyer.

Major life changes such as marriage, divorce, birth, illness or death can trigger a separation, Netzer says, but usually only if tensions have been building for years. Consider, for example, the case of Michael Carr, 42, a money manager, and his older brother Steven, who ended contact with each other two years ago. When they were growing up, Michael saw Steven, two years older, as his best friend and guardian angel. "We were really close," Michael says. "He was the ringleader in the neighborhood. He was my hero." (Steven did not respond to requests for an interview.)

http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,91424,00.html

n the early '70s, Michael says, Steven became temperamental and less reliable, no longer resembling the person Michael had admired. Steven wasn't crazy, Michael says, just increasingly moody and self-centered. About six years ago, their father was hospitalized, and the brothers went to Florida to see him. They stayed with their stepmother, with whom Steven had a quarrel. Steven told Michael he was going to the hospital to tell their father about it. "It was ridiculous," Michael says. "My father was at death's door, and my brother wanted to complain to him about my stepmother! I had to physically restrain him from going."

Their father died that night, and Michael hasn't seen his brother since the funeral. "I wouldn't be surprised if I never see him again," Michael says. "If I saw him on the street I would talk to him, but I wouldn't let him back in my life. I don't know who he is."

Money issues are a common source of strife between brothers and sisters: Why wasn't that loan repaid? Who can afford the bigger house? How should the family business be run? Behavior outside the family's value system can also trip the switch: coming out of the closet, marrying interracially or converting to a new religion. Then there are cutoffs linked to extreme emotional states, the reasons for which--such as untreated mental illness, substance abuse, incest and violence--may never be brought out into the open.

Wanda's older brother Charles Bucklew has only a few clues as to what might have caused his sister's self-banishment, including her drinking in the midst of their nearly teetotaling Lutheran family. Wanda, who no doubt has her own analysis of the split, never explained; her siblings never asked. And she could not be located by TIME reporters in Key West and New York. "There may be some reason out there that if you knew, it'd bring you to your knees, and you'd say, 'Oh, my God!'" says Bucklew. "But I don't know."

The drive to create sibling bonds or something like them is to some experts primordial--even for an only child. Parents always have a disproportionate power over offspring, but siblings teach peer-level tolerance, loyalty and constancy--qualities that later apply to colleagues, friends and lovers. In moderation, sibling discord is useful, says psychologist Bank. "If the frustration is too great, it cripples you. But we all need a level of frustration in our lives in order to move ahead."

In a 1996 study of people ages 18 to 86, 33% of those surveyed described their sibling relationships as "supportive," and only 11% were "hostile," with the rest falling somewhere in between. "I understand that there is sibling rivalry because I have two brothers and a sister," says Robert Stewart, chairman of the psychology department at Michigan's Oakland University. "But if something came up, and I needed to be on the other side of the country because one of them called, I'd go. There's not a whole lot of people in the world I'd do that for." Most people think of "rivalry" and "siblings" as synonymous and negative, he says, "but I think of it as a close affectional relationship where affection is not necessarily shown in a Hallmark card kind of way."

The sibling relationship of D.B. (who asked that her name not be used) won't ever be confused with a greeting card. As a child, she looked up to her brother, 3 1/2 years older. After his marriage broke up, though, D.B. didn't like the way he treated his ex-wife. Well after the two divorced, he abandoned their original settlement agreement, demanding half the house and full custody of their daughter. D.B. saw his demands as unfair--and didn't think much of his parenting skills. "I just felt he was such a pig," she says. So she stopped talking to him--for seven years. "I come from a long line of grudge holders," she says. "They like their grudges. They air them and walk them and make jokes about them--embellish them."

The silence ended, though, when an aunt died, and D.B. and her brother were the only relatives left to arrange her burial. "I remember thinking, Damn, now I have to see my brother." But the two reconciled somewhat and now talk occasionally on the phone. D.B., now 54, says if she ever needed money, she wouldn't hesitate to ask him for it. She has no money to offer him if the situation were reversed but says, "I would give him lots of time."

Often, estranged siblings are struck by a sudden yearning to reconnect. Says Bank: "Your children leave home, your friends are sick, the leaves fall off the trees, and you say, 'Well, what do I have from my past?' And for better or worse, you've got this sibling who might have been a pain in the neck but who probably knows more about what it was like to live in your childhood home than anybody else."

http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,91424-2,00.html

Yet even for siblings who wish to reconcile, breaking the ice is hard. "The difficulty most of us have is how do you pick up the telephone after so many years?" says Stewart. "People get into a pattern, and even though they're not comfortable in it, they can't imagine an alternative. Or the amount of courage and energy it would take to try to change may be beyond what they're capable of doing right now."

The ability to overlook imperfections for the sake of a relationship is one hallmark of maturity. Siblings may decide to forgive one another once they have their own children. For Mark Horton, 44, a recent falling-out he had with his eldest sister still baffles him. He's not sure what happened or why. Now that they are back in tentative contact, they still haven't talked about it. "It was kind of a Twilight Zone episode," he says. But he does hope things heal. Horton (whose sister declined to be interviewed) says she has done remarkable things for him--sending him money when he was a poor college student and then being the only one to show up at his Harvard graduation. And he wants his four children to know their aunt. "It places them in the world," he says. "They're not comets flying through space randomly; they're part of a solar system."

Reconciliation, experts say, is almost always worth an attempt. But about 40% of the families in Hargrave's clinical practice fail at reconciliation, mostly because when difficult issues get stirred up, no one is willing to take responsibility for what happened. Says Hargrave: "The person who has left just seals off again."

For Douglas Matthews, 49, a human-resources consultant, finally breaking off from his parents and three brothers three years ago brought immense relief--and not just to him. "I see it as the best thing he could have ever done for himself," says his wife Teri-Ann, "and for me and the kids."

Matthews has always been reluctant to discuss his family situation because he felt that well-meaning people just wouldn't get it that his parents and siblings were harmful to his happiness. "I learned early on that very few people understand the positive aspects of estrangement," he says. For decades, Matthews waffled between trying to be part of the family and retreating. He would try to initiate changes but says no one was willing to join in. Over time, and with therapy, he discovered that the yearning he felt was based on an unrealizable ideal of what his three brothers might have been to him. "A real brother would be there no matter what," Matthews says, "and not have an agenda for you--just accept where you are and listen. But it would be unconditional--nothing could break it. And also do the stupid things, you know. Go to a ball game together." But what Matthews has with his wife and two sons is no fantasy. "I have a home," he says, "and that's what I didn't have before. And I cherish it."

Cutting off can be beneficial in some cases, says psychology professor Stewart, if what you're getting is nothing but negativity or grief. But it's "escape learning," he says, and if the other people involved are ever willing to work on the problem, "you won't know it because they're gone."

For 15 years Keith Bearden, 33, had given up on his family, including his elder brother Dean, 38. Their parents' divorce cleaved the family into separate camps, and Keith wanted no part of either one. "I was really angry," he says. He also felt that he, a self-described "meek intellectual," had nothing in common with his tattooed, motorcycle-riding, machinist brother. Then Dean started telephoning a couple of years ago, just to see how Keith was doing. Keith, to his surprise, was happy to get the calls. Dean says he had no particular plan, that he had never even thought about the years when they were out of contact. "If you were never close," he says, "you never miss it."

But becoming a parent got Dean thinking about family, and as Keith says, Dean was never judgmental or bitter about what had happened in childhood. Now the brothers talk regularly. They visit each other every few months and have realized they have the same sense of humor, the same taste for adventure, and they notice the same things--someone's weird shoes on the subway or a cute woman in a bar.

Keith says he's much happier accepting rather than resenting the differences in his family, that it's helped him with all his relationships and that Dean deserves the credit for helping him reconnect. "Dean kept the door open, and I eventually walked back in," he says.

Jonda Cynecki hasn't closed the door on her sister but is at a loss as to how anyone can pass through it. Since the death of their parents, Jonda has felt an increasingly acute sense of the irreplaceable nature of family. "There's that line that connects you," she says of her missing twin, "and I don't know if it'll ever be broken. Certainly when one of us passes away--and she could be gone now--I don't know if I'll ever know that." Cynecki pauses, wipes away tears, and collects herself. "Someday, I really need to find her. But just not today. Not today."