#GPF 2016

[yuzu-all-the-way]

|| Let's Go Crazy StSq - GPF 2016

[eggplantgifs]

may the 4th be with you » satoko miyahara, the planets / star wars

[tutuandscoot]

This has got to be some of the most raw, emotionally beautiful practice footage there is of them. Is it even a practice? or is it a performance? or is it the most human, physical visualisation of two intrinsically connected souls communicating with each other??? I honestly don’t know, but I love it.

I’m the first to justify literally everything they do that seems unconventional for a supposed platonic relationship with the basic facts of the work and care they put into building trust and respect. But the amazing thing about what they do is you can not know all that, or know it all and just ignore it and watch them dance. Believe whatever you want to believe-whatever story they themselves are seemingly entranced in.. so let’s do that this time.

The way she falls on that 4th piano key. A legitimate trust fall- she falls so far off before he makes contact with her. The actual reaction in both of them, feeling the heavy weight of struggles they are navigating. How once she falls and he takes her weight, that causes his blades to slide open and back, his head inclined to look at her as if there’s nothing he can do but carry her through her pain.

The dynamics of the first lift. I’ll confidently say their lifts are so stunning because T is doing so much more work than any other girl does in lifts, she literally initiates the whole thing with her momentum, then the almost, stormy ocean current-like shifts in dynamics between the spin to her throwing and almost falling again back in his arms to again thrown up over his shoulders.. but it happens so seamlessly because they are both so strong.

The freaking dancing in their circle step sequence.. I don’t give two fucks about the skating they are doing- I know it’s amazing and I have all the respect in the world for them as technically brilliant skaters, but the skating is the blade in contact with the ice, above that, and the way they skate.. they are dancing. They are Ice. Dancing. Even when they don’t have their eyes on each other their eyes are still somehow on each other.. when thy look away they are still connected.. it’s so god damn intimate. What audience? If there was ever a program that proved they shut all the 7billion or so people on this earth out when they dance it’s this one. The suspension following Scott’s twizzle at the centre back of the rink and he reaches out to the front, only momentarily entertaining the idea that anyone else is actually there to save them. The way they play with the music as if making certain notes freeze in time, then race to catch others like their lives depend on it.

Even when they break.. the way they take a good 5 seconds to stay in that bubble, the way he gently fondles with her.. like with their hug just settling their heart beats back down, coming back to each other to refocus while still connected to the yearning violin drawing them back to start again.

Then just as they dipped briefly out of character, letting the story overtake them and they phase back into it in that beautifully soft little cradley hug, spinning in their shared energy as the lyrics start to emphasise what their bodies are yearning for each other, the movement signifying them stumbling over their own two feet as the other is their save them.

The exquisite, time standing still pause as the whole arena breathes with them, realising the euphoria flooding them as finally their stunning smiles emerge.

I don’t know if anyone has noticed at this point, but this pause, only along with twizzles are the only times they have been out of contact with each other. They stretch and intertwine like elastic silks, their limbs only an extension of each others.

That minuscule throw where Tessa becomes airborne, only for her feet barely to touch the ice as she’s intentionally dropped back, not at the mercy of his control, but their own energies saving each other’s whether in the air or on the cold ice.

Then taking off, he like an eagle with her flying on his back. Landing again and her being tossed around because euphoric happiness isn’t all light and gentle- the essence of their love is that physical expression of which part of the fun is seeing how far they can push the boundaries of movement together.

Joining in an expansive waltz hold which should look so out of place in a contemporary routine but instead represents how their closeness and bond remains as they navigate through life taking them all directions- holding each other close just to almost completely release, only their fingertips left in contact, to pull each other in again as they grasp for their person.

That brief moment where he has to chase after her in the middle of a required technical step sequence, they are now just dancing. What audience? what coaches? what other skaters? are they- TS even here? As if dna under a microscope- they are just two lost souls who found each other in this big wide world.. communicating the best way they know how, doing the thing that brings them the most passionate joy in this life.

Tessa arching up to the heavens in their straight lift, thanking whatever powers brought them together.. embedded in music the slightest sound of angelic choir voices during that lift as she exhales.

The music then settling as they too quieten down. That last spiralling lift, expansive to nestled.. them both almost folding around each other in a foetal-like position as she hangs on closing off the world around them. Wanting to be as close as they can he reaches down to give her the most gentle little kiss on the first spot he reaches.

It truly brings tears to my eyes.. how special they must feel in a moment like that. Her unable to do anything but hang on and he confirms the magic of that moment with a gesture far too intimate to be considered platonic. But in these moments that label means nothing to them.. what is any label you can put on a feeling this special?. In the middle of a rehearsal for a competitive program, at a competition with a result so important in their plan for 2018.. let alone completing their gold collection. In this moment none of that matters, nothing else in existence matters except them in their little world. I can only imagine, for her in that moment spinning in her lil tucked position, being met with a kiss she has no control over receiving. Receiving it from someone she trusts with her life, she knows exactly what that kiss means in the context of who it’s coming from, but also in that moment it has no meaning, it is just an expression of overwhelming love.. how freaking loved must she feel in that moment??

As they come to a stop, not reaching the end of their journey, but just another step in realising their essential role in each other’s existence, these two.. sometimes emotionally disturbed (borrowing that from their description of Stay), maybe even by their own emotions together, have made it though another chapter alive, safe, still in each other’s arms.

Laying her back she takes one last exhale, him resting on her beating chest, hopefully in time with his own.

Yes, this was just a practice.. just another run of their FD. These two great athletes, this terrifying, formidable team… so good their practice just becomes a conversation.. just them communicating, synchronising, feeling anything and everything they want to feel.

[arom-antix]

I don't know if I'm missing something but why are people saying the GPF in YoI happened in the 2016-17 season? Like, it's very obviously held in the same arena as the real 2015-16 gpf down to the placement of the exits so where is the 2016 argument coming from??? I hear Viktors win in Sochi happened in 2014 (which I cannot find anywhere in the series, please tell me where it says so) which would mean Yuuri takes silver in 2015.

And there isn't a gap year. When it in episode one supposedly says "March one year later" what it actually says is "March the following year" because the GPF happens in December making Yuuri's return happen the following year. Viktor is also never described as a six-time Grand Prix Champion, only ever five-time and we know he won his fifth gold in Sochi, leaving for Japan after the end of the season. Stéphane also says that Yuuri "showed us a performance that no one would have expected after last year's Final." firmly placing it one year after Sochi, aka Yuuri's only other GFP at that point.

Please tell if I'm missing something, I know the qualifiers are a whole mess with them matching none of the seasons but this show is also so internally inconsistent it hurts, with skaters' ages changing from episode to episode (not because of birthdays mind you) and the Japanese dub and English sub contradicting each other (as far is I've heard).

Please, I just want my gay ice anime to be internally consistent T_T

[shipposttt]

The ship of the day: Victuuri

Names: Viktor Nikiforov and Yuuri Katsuki

Ship Name(s): Victuuri

Original Content: Yuri!!! On Ice series (2016)

Ship info:

Yuri!!! On Ice is a series which follows pro figure skater Yuuri Katsuki, who is on the verge of retirement, on his route back to pro skating and recovering his competitive abilities.

Yuuri K returns to his hometown after a string of losses within competitions, going back to his family’s hot springs. World renowned skater Viktor Nikiforov, Yuuri’s long time motivation for skating and childhood obsession (?), crush (?), wins his fifth consecutive World Championship, inspiring Yuuri to practice the routine he used to win. Unbeknownst to him, his performance is recorded and uploaded to the internet, going viral, and causing Viktor to travel to Japan to request to be Yuuri’s coach for the next Grand Prix series- baring in mind said conversation takes place in the hot spring, with Viktor as naked as the day he was born and Yuuri as red as a lobster. Yuuri accepts and so starts the series of Viktor training Yuuri, growing closer as he realises its Yuuri’s emotions, not his physical abilities which make him struggle in competitions.

Between this, Yuuri and Viktor grow close and, within episode 5 (following his win at the Japan Figure Skating Championships) Yuri announces his Grand Prix programme theme to be ‘Love’, inspired by his feelings for Viktor. Despite feeling the pressure of expectations following his good performance in the first Grand Prix assignment, Viktor is able to help reinstall Yuuri’s confidence as he promises to have faith in him and to not worry about his own reputation. During his skate, Yuuri changes his final jump to Viktor’s signature move, a quadruple flip. This surprises Viktor, who runs to Yuuri as he leaves the rink, tackling him onto the ice and kissing him in front of everyone ‘because it’s the only way to surprise him back’. Later on, at another competition destination, Yuuri gifts Viktor a gold ring which matches his own- later on, Viktor refers to them as engagement rings, though its unclear whether this was in jest or meant seriously. He also states that he and Yuuri would get married when Yuuri won gold at the Grand Prix Final.  After this, they invite the other skaters to a dinner, where it’s revealed that during the previous year’s GPF banquet Yuri got drunk and started a dance off, also begging Viktor to come to his family hot spring and be his coach- though Yuuri had no memory of this event.

In the end, Yuuri and Viktor agree that whilst Viktor would return to skating for the next season, he would remain as Yuuri’s coach. With hat, they perform a pair ice dance edition of Viktor’s routine in the GPF exhibition event. Following the event, Yuuri moves to Russia to train alongside Viktor, finishing off the series there.

Type of Ship: Queer

The fandom at large regards the kiss, rings, and marriage comments as confirming their relationship canonically and I am inclined to agree, kissing someone is a bit extreme as being purely for a surprise without any romantic involvement- especially considering Viktor is representing Russia, which is known for its anti-lgbt+ views. Hence, I believe this relation is canon queer due to the actions of the pair throughout the series, which could be argued to not be platonic from the get-go, as Yuuri ran to see Viktor in a hot bath, which are traditionally enjoyed naked.

Thanks for reading!

Admin🦇

[triptychgrip]

What if a drunken/accidental livestream led the public to find out about the Sochi banquet, four years after the fact?

MOTHERing_Heights commented: 12-09-2019 at 07:15am Love your posts, as always.

Regarding theories as to how the ISU kept banquet details from leaking…we all know the organization is all but broke, so they probably didn’t bribe any of the skaters to not mention it through $$$. More than likely, Viktor “I Have Gorgeous Eyes But Cross Me And I’ll Shoot Laser Beams Out Of Them” Nikiforov probably made every banquet attendee swear not to leak anything, realizing Yuuri might not want that level of media attention.

We now know Viktor didn’t realize Yuuri was that drunk, so his desire for discretion back then was probably more along the lines of “well I’m so famous and this level of scrutiny is something Yuuri probably isn’t used to, best to keep this quiet” and less of the “Woe is me! My future husband was trashed the night he captured my soul, gotta keep this hush hush” variety.

1 response to MOTHERing_Heights Lets_Get_You_To_Bed_Grandma commented: 12-09-2019 at 07:25am ajldkfjlskdaldkflskdf “Woe is me! My future husband was trashed the night he captured my soul…” This honestly sent me to the moon....why is this totally something Viktor would have thought?!

I’m now imagining him pacing and hand-wringing in his/Yuuri’s hotel room at the Barcelona GPF the night he found out that Yuuri didn’t know (the same night of their engagement, apparently?!). Oh, to be a fly on that wall…

And speaking of hand-wringing, can we all spare a moment of silence for the freaking PINING Viktor must have undergone during that 4 month gap between Sochi and hauling ass to Japan?? I’m wondering if he consoled himself in the meantime by commissioning a fanfic writer to bring to life all of his lovelorn fantasies on the page? Or, perhaps he went the route of us mere mortals and stalked Yuuri’s (formerly nonexistent) social media outlets? LMAO

---

Ahh, in-universe social media freak-outs: I love writing them, and the above excerpt/text message image is from my latest one-shot: part 1 of an eventual 3-part series about the aftermath in the event that the public finds out about the Sochi GPF Banquet shenanigans, four years after the fact.

As in: well after the Yuuri of my fic-verse wins gold at the 2018 Winter Olympics, as well as after he and Viktor get married.

The ensuing chaos has the potential for humor, of course, but also major feels, which is what attracted me to wanting to write about it in the first place

In my fic-verse, our YOI faves are having a hell of a time in Turin, Italy, enjoying themselves at the 2019 GPF Banquet, which ends up being a celebration of Yuuri winning his second GPF title (just a few points ahead of Yurio).

Due to Mila and Sara's peer pressure, Yuuri and Yurio drink far too much of the locally reknown grappa, which leads them to 1) set off together in search of more substantial food than the slim hors d'oeuvres pickings, and 2) accidentally go live on Instagram while discussing what went down in Sochi (well, it's more like Yurio slurring in his explanation and Yuuri interjecting now and again with incoherent "wait a secccc, tha' wuzz me? I did that?!" exclamations)

Needless to say, when a few Yuri's Angels record the live and upload it online, the internet EXPLODES; up until this point, everyone had believed Yuuri and Viktor's relationship origins to be pretty straightforward: they've been together since October 2016 and since then, they've never hinted at anything even slightly chaotic happening in Sochi.

Part 1 focuses on everyone's initial reactions the morning after Yuuri and Yurio's livestream; part 2 will be hurt/comfort-focused, as both Viktor and Yuuri grow insecure (though, for very different reasons); and the final part will feature Yuuri and Viktor hosting their own (sober) livestream to "take command of the narrative", as Yuuri's extremely stressed publicist suggests

I hope this overview piques your interest in my story, or encourages you to check out my other Yuri!!! on Ice works

[ynkfva]

im gonna answer this questions as my "dr self"

ib to @55maddox !!

1. In what reality do you live:

Yuri!!! On ice. ive never saw anyone shifting to there and its really amazing

2. What is your name:

Yelena Dmitriyevna Nikiforova. big ass name i know. fun fact: thats where my username came from

3. How other people call you? What are your nicknames, if you have any:

My russian friends and family usually call me Alyona, and my international friends call me Lena. My fans use both, but the media started calling me the "Ace of Skating" 😭🫶

4. How old are you:

Im 15 in that reality. Its SOOOO good being back at 2016. I didnt know i missed those times sm. but i miss tiktok

5. How tall are you:

1,70m or 5'8 (ig not sure tho)

6. What is your skin color:

White

7. Your body type:

Uhhh idk??? pear or hourglass

8. Your sign/birthday:

im a gemini and i was born in may 28th, in both universes

9. How do you describe yourself and your personality:

Very autistic /hj. i chose to not change my personality, but i dont judge those who do so. im usually quite and i like to read and paint. As much as im a figure skater, i hate off ice training. YAKOV LEMME GO BACK TO THE ICE ALREADY I TOLD YOU IM FINE-

10. Do you have living parents/siblings?:

I do!! Both parents and a brother who annoys the shit out of me. but i love vitya. my parents not so much. i just dont process them cuz of their money

11. What is your gender/pronouns:

Im a female and use she/her pronouns!

12. What is the color of your eyes:

Blue. very blue. like the sky. im not poetic.

13. How do your hair looks like, is it long or short?:

VEEEEERY long straight white hair (or platinum according to vitya). more than one meter of hair. it keeps beating yura on the face when we are training. dont let him know i do it on purpose

14. Do you have any scars/unique visual traits?:

I think not? i do have a mole under my left eye but i dont think thats unique

15. Do you have tattoos or piercings?:

Not yet but i want to do it!! At least a few

16. Signature scent?:

Idk? but its sweet. im terrible with scents

17. Do you have any powers/species abilities?:

Not in this universe

18. Were do you live, how does it looks like?:

I live in Saint Petersburg!! i really like the city, its a city with sm history and knowing that such great people used to live in there in the past makes my heart warm

19. Is there other people living with you right now?:

Yesss i live with my brother viktor

20. What do you do for a living?:

Im a professional figure skater. very hard but artistic job

27. Is there magic in your reality?:

No :(

22. How much money do you have?:

...a lot.

23. Who are your friends/best friends:

YURI PLISETSKY :DDD hes my everything yknow idk what i would do without him. im also friends with mila

24. Are you older or younger than them?:

Im the youngest on the ice rink 😭😭 but im only one month younger than yura so that really doesnt count

25. Do you have a crush on someone?:

No! Im aromantic :)

26. How did you meet everyone for the first time?:

Okay so theres a lot of someones in this dr. most of the people i met was because of figure skating and viktor already being famous when i started skating but lets talk about specific ppl.

I met yura when he moved to spb and started ballet classes with lilia. he was so cute and determined and i HAD to be his friend. i was doing ballet w him btw

Did you think I would meet yuuri along with yura in sochi gpf? cuz i didnt. not in person at least. i already knew yuuri from name cause im curious and i wanted to know everyone who was competing in senior and his artistic skills were REALLY good (he kinda reminds me of adam siao in this reality). you also thought i would meet yuuri in the banquet. but i didnt. well i DID saw him DRUNK DANCING WITH MY BROTHER and giving him a LAP DANCE but i was too busy filming and taking photos of it to talk to him. i only officially met him when me and yura traveled to japan

i met chris in one of vityas competitions when i was little. im like 13 years younger than viktor remember that. and i. i was jealous of chris taking my brothers attention. and i. i spat on him. yeah.

27. What are your hobbies:

Ballet, reading and painting

28. What do you like to talk about with friends:

We talk a lot about music and ice skating ofc but we talk a lot about everything tbh 😭 we dont shut up

29. What is your favorite food and drink:

(yuras) dedushkas pirozhki 🤤🤤🤤 ONE CHANCE TOLYA ONE CH- *yura's interdimensional slap*

uhhh drink? whatever i have to drink ig some soda. i dont like vodka

30. Your favorite color:

PINKKKKKK

31. Your clothing style:

i dress whatever i feel in the moment. i can dress coquette or gothic it depends

32. Your favorite place to spend time on:

Ice rink :)

33. Favorite sport, if you have one:

Ice skating duh

34. Favorite weather:

Rainy cold gray days

35. Favorite time of the day:

dawn

36. Favorite season:

Winter. but russias winter is ROUGH

37. Your biggest fear:

This is too deep to post on tumblr lol i dont even know

38. What makes you very angry?:

When im almost done w the routine and i miss a jump and YAKOV MAKE ME DO IT ALL AGAIN-

39. What makes you very happy?:

Whenever all of my friends have time to spend together

40. Do you have any pet?:

Its vityas but shes also mine. makkachin <33 good girl

41. Do you consider yourself a good fighter?:

I do! I made sure to script that i know how to fight lol

42. Is there any people you dont like?:

I would say jj but he just annoys me. OH. SARAS BROTHER. THAT GUY GIVES ME THE ICK

43. Do you have a favorite song that describes yourself, or just a favorite song in general?:

Gladiator by jann. really one of my favorite songs and it describes perfectly my dr

44. Can you play any instrument or dance?:

I can play piano and cello. i know how to dance waltz but thats it

45. Do you like to take risks and make new friends, or you are more reserved?:

Im more reserved

46. What do you do when you get very bored?

Reread crime and punishment

47. Are you a great leader?

No autism goes brrrrr

48. How is your daily routine?

wake up. hygiene. eat breakfast while watching tv. ice rink. skate. lunch w whoever is at the rink. skate. skate. skate. home. shower. read. sleep.

49. Your favorite smell

That one chocolate chris gave me in 2014

50. A big secret you have/know

yuri on ice fans might want to know what happened to viktors hair. i know.

vitya was celebrating after the banquet with some other skaters, drunk after winning gold in the olympics for the second time. he black out. he then woke up in the next afternoon, after missing his flight back home, with four other figure skater and three hockey players, all of them in the ground, wearing only underwear. his hair was a mixture of vomit, alcohol and dirt from the floor. there were even a few gum stuck to it. he was not the only one.

so he had to cut it yeah

[nattyontherun]

I did a thing!!!

seek me with dead eyes (embody me)

- Yuri!!! On ice - interview with the vampire (2022) AU

- wherein Yuri is some kind of Claudia, Yuuri is probably Louis and Viktor is DEFINITELY Lestat

- not a shot for shot retelling, not even going to re-trudge canon on either end of the AU spectrum,,,, this is a secret third thing (the shameless amalgam!!!)

- one shot, for now!

Summary:

Yuri Plisetsky ratified the first-ever quad axel in competition in the GPF Marseilles, 2016. He died that very same day.

Otherwise known as The Introduction to a Very Unconventional Interview (Spoiler Alert: it's with a Vampire).

[allekha]

Figure skating in colors: lovely violet

Featuring:

Axel Médéric (1988 Olympics FS)

Jane Torvill & Christopher Dean (1984 Olympics FD)

Pooja Kalyan (2021 USNats SP)

Madeline Schizas (2021 Skate Canada SP)

Maé-Bérénice Méité (2019 Universiade FS)

Akiko Suzuki (2013 JPNats SP)

Yuzuru Hanyu (2016 GPF SP)

Mao Asada (2010 JPNats FS)

Starr Andrews (2020 USNats FS)

[myjunkisyuzuruhanyu]

May I say it again??? I think I did it last year as well...😅

Now that Shoma and Nathan had such a nice collab for the 2nd time...

I'll never stop dreaming of a Shoma and Yuzu collab....maybe one day 🙏🙏🙏

I mean this was as close as it got and it's years ago 😭😭😭 (GPF 2016)

Bonus:

Love you two 🥰😍 (easier days back when *sigh*)

[fishshit]

i truly think the "a good show makes you crawl on the floor, cry and suffer" mentality tumblr (2010-2016) created is STILL affecting our perception on what is a blorbo or not.

so first of all, let's look at the urban dictionary definition of blorbo:

NOWHERE on this page is saying a blorbo should be:

toxic

miserable

chaotic

dumbass

you should have a love-hate relationship with them

i'm definitely NOT saying that a blorbo shouldn't be all those things, but these are not necessary for a character to be a blorbo. [Miette (from real life) is a perfect example of this. she's our beloved blorbo and yet she's strong, a genius and non-toxic.]

now, i know most of yall know why i'm writing this. we all are aware of the active warzone tumblr has got going on. now to get to my point,

i know voltron fandom went apeshit over ships, created langst tags and stuff. (tbh i've learned all of these recently) but let's sit and think why. i've mentioned in one of my posts or rbs that the only thing i vividly remember about voltron is the queerbaiting and i know for a fact that queerbaiting was one of the biggest factors of these... actions. now when we look at yoi, we see a rather more peaceful fandom. is it because the show had a weaker chokehold on its fans? absolutely not.

i can assure you if yoi queerbaited us the way voltron did, there would be a chaos. and i'm not saying it in the way fans going crazy is funny or shit, no. i'm saying this as in real life chaos, like fans would threaten the creators or create their own reality. they WOULD remake yoi. there aren't any ship wars because victuuri (victor nikiforov x yuuri katsuki) is the ultimate ship, like there aren't any other possible options. nearly every single fan fell straight for victuuri. now think about how many fans are there and how many of them ships victuuri like they're praying to god itself. victuuri made me cry for DAYS, the plottwist was absolutely brilliant and no, none of these emotions were negative but god knows no show on earth made me feel the way yoi did. i'm not saying yoi is the best show ever or it's flawless. we all know our shows (blorbos are from) are generally not the best medias ever. but the way me and so many other fans bonded with this show, these 2 characters (or maybe 3, i don't like yurio that much) and that ship is indescribable. after watching yoi, i've realised that your favourite show doesn't necessarly need to make you feel like you've been stabbed in the chest bazillion times and suffer. no, it also can make you feel like you're on the verge of exploding with the white and shining happiness and love. i'm also pretty sure that's what most of the yoi fans feel, and also sure that no other show would make me feel the same way i felt while watching yoi.

yuuri katsuki, the man who made me feel all those things along with his husband victor nikiforov, is:

a canon bi king who had a crush on probably the prettiest girl in his childhood town and then got engaged to his lifelong idol (also probably the prettiest man in figure skating and,, the world)

anxious disaster (like, it's canon that he has anxiety and he was quite relatable and important for the fans with anxiety) who manages to say the MOST ridiculous stuff and yet tries his best to communicate with people about his needs and weaknesses

world's one of the best skater yet he's unaware how much of an pride he is for his country, fans and family and how good he is. STILL breaks his idols (literal legend of the figure skating) score

made irl queer people cry over him and figure skaters fall for him

got drunk af on the banquet of the gpf which he lost (BECAUSE HIS DOG DIED) and drank over 16 flutes of champagne AND DID POLEDANCE WITH THE SLUTTIEST MAN EVER, DANCED WITH HIS IDOL, WON A BREAKDANCE COMPETITION WITH HIS SOON-TO-BE RIVAL AND THEN DRY HUMPED HIS IDOL WHILE ASKING HIM TO BE HIS COACH

my point is, just because a character doesn't go through hell or make you feel like shit doesn't mean that he isn't a blorbo. you still can think that lance is more of a blorbo, good for you! but i really don't think we need fantasy to feel good.

[seafood-33]

In the days of waiting for notte stellata, we miss Javier and Yuzuru-swan.

Worlds 2017, GPF 2016, Olympics 2018

Source : yuzumi7 Shibsibs Ninny others from pinterest.

[tutuandscoot]

I’ve watched all the moulin rouge practice vids I could find. What are some of your other favorite practices of theirs other than those?

Yeah I don’t think you can really beat the 2/17 practice.. that shit is the holy grail. I mean a full uninterrupted- no cut aways of VM being VM, practicing THAT program… for 30 mins… than camera man new what we fkn wanted and gave it to us.. i truly cant believe we have the “thats how you win the olympics” practice in beautiful high quality video!!!! . I mean I could be greedy and say I want that for every practice there has ever been but I’ll forever be grateful we have 2/17

As for others:

Obvs this one for… reasons x

SD practice at worlds 2017- so many cute moments, i also like that its a kinda weird camera angle, kinda feels like how it might be at some skating comps if you are right at the boards x

Fd practice at gpf 2016- i did a whole sappy babbly post on this bc i was in my feels one night, but its so beautiful x

Sd practice in sochi, its just fascinating.. i remember them saying once that in sochi the relationship with marina had become so toxic they hardly went back to the boards at all during practices to consult with her but in this one they are back there bc T cut her finger. There’s kinda this erie, quiet quality to how they are going about it all, they are confident but also so alone and at times seem so fragile x

Theres a few fan cams of them practicing at COR 2012. I remember a few years ago.. in my kinda second round of obsessing over them i watched all these videos, then when i came back (and stuck around this time) i went back to those practices and remembered watching them, but now with a new obsession appreciation. The way they handle having to emergency stop the rotational lift bc a team was in their way, when S holds out his hand for T to take their bows, the pre practice hugs x x

Practicing Aint No Mountain at worlds and S not remembering the chore x

Oh and of course them choreoing/ running LTR for the first time at SCI 2017 x

Theres many many more and theres lots i haven’t watched in a while so i forget how good they were

[dreamsburntdown]

After very silent months in the summer of 2016, we got news that Yuzuru was back in training, and a bit later, that he would skate to two new programs in the upcoming 2016/17 season. Yuzu chose 'Let's Go Crazy' by Prince for his new short program, which was again choreographed by Jeff Buttle. For his new free program he chose Japanese contemporary classical music, View of Silence and Asian Dream Song by Joe Hisaishi and he named his program 'Hope and Legacy'. It was chorographed by Shae-Lynn Bourne.

Yuzu started the season at the Autumn Classic International in Canada where he became the first man who landed the quadruple Loop at a competition when he landed it in his short program. We could see his quad Loops at galas before, but it was finally time to introduce it at competitions, too. It was Yuzu's own decision (as opposed to Brian Orser's), and later it turned out that it was a very smart decision from him.

His new SP was fun, intricate, with extremely difficult step sequence, or spins. Even if the 4Lo was a new jump for Yuzu, he put it in both the SP and FS. He also changed to 4T-3T combination to 4S-3T in the SP. His new free program was beautiful, elegant, and very complex from start to finish with great choreography, transitions in and out of the elements and great spins as well. Yuzu increased the difficulty of his jumps, he not just added 4Lo, but he had 4 quads and 2 triple Axels overall, from which there were two quad Salchows, the second one in a combination in the second half of the program. The triple Axels were also in the second half.

In the Grand Prix Series, Yuzu won the NHK Trophy. It was this competition where he changed his white costume in the SP to a purple one, which was even more form fitting than the white costume. The NHK Trophy short programs were in the morning on Friday in Europe so it meant that I had to watch it at my workplace - in secrectly, of course! I still remember vividly when I saw in the warm-up that he had purple pants on, and seconds later he took off the jacket and the top of his costume was also purple. I smiled so much but I had to contain myself there. The program was very rock starish but in a different way than Parisienne Walkways, when Yuzu was still a teenager. The SP was great choice and the costume looked great on him. Not many could wear a costume like that, but Yuzu could do it!

So, at the Grand Prix Final Yuzu became the first (and so far only) male skater who won four consecutive gold medals. His SP was the best there in the season even if the landing from the 4Lo wasn't completely perfect.

Yuzu decided to compete at the Four Continents too, which was held in PyeongChang, in the arena which would host the Olympics in 2018. The last time Yuzu was at 4CC was in 2013. He again collected a silver medal, albeit he would have deserved to win this time. The sudden rise of points, especially the components of the young American Chen raised eyebrows.

I was a bit sad that I couldn't watch Yuzu in person in 2015/16 especially because GPF was held in Barcelona then. So I decided not to miss the opportunity and I traveled to Helsinki for the World Championships to watch Yuzu and cheer for him. It was a really important competition, firstly because it was the qualifying Worlds for the 2018 Olympics and also because Yuzu didn't win in 2015 or 2016 either. The pressure on him was so much.

Helsinki Worlds was the most exciting competition of my life and I won't forget what I saw there. The rollercoster of emotions was overwhelming.

In the SP, Yuzuru kneeled down from the landing after his 4S, so he couldn't add a Triple Toe-loop on it (the 2T he added got invalidated as well), and he was only 5th after the SP. Oh no.

I felt sorry, really sorry for him. I even cried a bit later, because I didn't find it fair after what Yuzu went through in the past months, years. Javier skated a good short program and he got 109 points for it, so the difference was 11 points. Then I remembered that the situation was a bit similar a year before and anything could happen.

On the day of the free skate, snow was falling in the cold streets of Helsinki. I headed to the arena with a newly found optimism, while I was walking I was listening to the epic music of Yuzu's Romeo and Juliet 1 program and I remembered his roaring he made during the program at Worlds 2012. I thought: 'Fight, Yuzu, fight, you can do it!'.

Yuzu skated first in the last group. And what he did on that day will never be forgotten. He was completely in the zone and he laid down the most gorgeous performance ever. Everything was perfection from start to finish, the 4Lo, the spins, the the quad Salchows, the step sequences (the StSq as well as his spins all got level 4), everything he did was in the highest possible quality. The complexity of his program, the elegance of his performance can be barely described with words. It was magnificient and magical. The spectators were in tears, there was standing ovation for Yuzu. He got a new world record for his performance (223.20) which was - despite being the highest score - still a bit underscored compared to what he showed on the ice there. With this fantastic performance, Yuzu finished from 5th to 1st, and he became a two-time World Champion. It was so well deserved for Yuzu! He could bring out his best at such an important competition.

I was so happy and grateful that I could witness this and that I could cheer for Yuzu at this competition.

On the last day, Sunday, I met some photographers from my country who had media accreditation for the competition. One of them was an elderly man, who proudly showed to me that he got a signature from Yuzuru before the gala rehearsal. We had the same flight back home so he gave me Yuzu's signature for the duration of the flight. I was really cautious not to make it dirty etc. (the batter of my camera was empty but I could take some pictures of the signature with my not so good phone). What an end was it for my trip! I was really happy.

After Worlds, Yuzu also competed at World Team Trophy where he won the gold medal for Japan.

This was a very successful season for him. Firstly I was happy that Yuzu came back after his very bad injury and he did so well. The first man who landed the 4Lo, the 4th GPF title, the second Worlds title, two fantastic programs, etc.

I was very looking forward to the Olympic season and I hoped everything would be okay for Yuzu.

[Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4] - to be continued soon.

[harocat]

Anon here who is trying to cope with MAPPA being assholes by planning out a teenage years YoI fic (dunno if I'll ever write it, but hey, it's the first thing to break my years-long writer's block, at least). Anyway, I was wondering: if Yagudin and Plushenko didn't exist, how do you think the Russian men's figure skating would have looked in 05/06? Basically, Plushenko can't be around for obvious reasons, and since Yagudin is a bastard I might exclude him as well, so what would that look like?

YEAH. In a world without homophobia Yagudin simply would never have existed.

Victor would probably have looked up to skaters like Ilia Kulik and Alexei Urmanov growing up. He may have looked up to Viktor Petrenko too. He would have been stepping onto the scene right after Alexander Abt was the top Russian skater. Alexander was mega-talented, but super inconsistent and could never break through to the very top.

Victor's domestic competition at the time would have been Ilia Klimkin, who I don't think he'd have had much trouble surpassing. Russian men would definitely have been in kind of a dearth from 1999-2006 without Yags and Plush there, so it stands to reason that in YOIverse, Rusfed would probably have seen someone as promising as Victor as like, the second coming lol.

During the Soviet Era, Russia's medals mostly came from pairs and ice dance, without the kind of dominant men we saw from them in the 90s and 2000s, so if he were looking back before his time, there's a decent chance he'd be admiring American, Canadian, and British skaters. I feel like Stephane would have been the it boy at the time Victor started competing, and I have to think teen Victor may have had a bit of a crush.

If Yags and Plush weren't there, the quad race may have been sped up by Timothy Goebel winning Olympic gold in 2002 with his quad salchow, quad toe, and three quad fs. No one else had close to that level of difficulty, but since even with that tech, Tim was still placing below Plush and Yags, it stands to reason that perhaps the rest of the field wasn't rushing to catch up. This would track with YOI, where the quad race does seem to be a bit ahead of where it was in real life in fall of 2016.

In my mind there was a very dominant man (or multiple men) in YOIverse from the mid-2000s to 2012ish, and he was from Asia, Australia, Africa, or the Americas (fun thought: maybe this was when Japan really broke out in men's singles in YOIverse). The reason I say this is because despite Victor being a senior in 2006, he did not win his first world title or GPF title until he began his streak in 2012. However, we know he was winning European titles, so there must have been at least one (or more) huge skaters that he just couldn't break through at worldwide ISU championship level. Being said, he was obviously already a huge star by then, so apparently the lack of those did not halt his popularity!

[anewbeginningagain]

So I was watching some old Canadian nationals and world championships videos from 2015-2018 quad during the holidays and it was the first time I noticed how weaver poje became really successful in 2014/15 but then after VM came back they were dropped like stones so fast that I can only imagine how much they resented VM for it. How was it back then? Was there resentment from w/p and their fans toward VM?

LOL feels like everyone is feeling nostalgic post holidays.

Basically, it was all pretty wild. WeaPo had a surprising success in 2014/15 winning both their GPs and GPF over P/C, then winning 4CC and looking so strong for worlds only to drop to 3rd. P/C's questionable rise aside, WeaPo did what WeaPo always do and lost a lot of points over levels and while looking at the protocols shows they had no chance of beating P/C (their win was all but predetermined at that point), they still lost to C/B over levels. Then during 2015/16 they once again won both their GPs and GPF (in the absence of P/C who were out because of a concussion) but then completely fucked up at 4CC again over lost levels and bad twizzles (which will become a recurrent habit for them all through the quad) getting level 1 lift, level 2 twizzles and level 2 spin, it was a miracle they even got 3rd tbh. Coincidently or not, 4CC dance event finished on 2/19/2016 which is exactly one day before Tessa and Scott announced their comeback which WeaPo knew was going to happen. Then at 2016 Worlds they dropped hard finishing 5th again due to lost levels and bad twizzles.

Those results basically halted any momentum they had and really set them back. Add to that Tessa and Scott's comeback and WeaPo choosing bad material and changing at least one program 3 years straight and also switching the (according to rumors) the only coach willing to take them - and they really had no chance to rise after that.

As for how they took it - not great, they gave an interview that sounded really bitter and unkind at first claiming they were blindsided which was a joke considering basically everyone and their mothers suspected TS are coming back since like at least November 2015, and TS also mentioning that they told them before it was announced. Then they also gave some kind of how the comeback is not related to them and they will always be Kaitlyn and Andrew or something of that sort which even made the reporter be kind of mean to them tbh... They seemed friendly during the second year of TS comeback but it was always clear there was resentment there at least to some degree.

As for how their fans took it - not great either LOL. They were frustrated and kept saying TS had their time and now it's WeaPo's turn and they are ruining it for them. It was all very much the opposite of what sport is about. One anecdote that really stayed with me is a TS fan who was on tumblr and really loved them and also became a WeaPo fan and for a while even after TS announced their comeback she was ok with it all, but then she decided it will be great to lie that she saw TS kiss during Boston Worlds (not a single soul bought that) and then when WeaPo had a really bad season in 2016/17 (and after in 2017/18 too) she decided that it was TS fault and completely turned on them. Fun times LOL. Long story short, most WeaPo fans resented TS too and were mostly bitter about their success in the comeback.