#Pyeongchang Olympic Games

[more-flotsam-and-jetsam]

[fangod9624]

Ladies and gentlemen... I have an imagination...

Since my world accepts fictional characters from cartoons to video games and more, I don't really accept mascots to be real in my world because mascots are mascots and they must protect their rights.

If I'm able to do so, here are some scenarios from mascots I like if they were in my world. Some are fake, some are for fun, some are basically true...

[fridayiminlovemp3]

the beijing 2008 mascots and the 2010 vancouver mascots are soooo cute but then you get this disgusting little rat for london 2012 and the whole thing is just ruined

[yesyoutubeisruiningmylife]

happy 5 years to the masterclass of what figure skating actually is

[moon-soo-ah]

[thunderfrommyheart]

breaking down the misinformation in @afronerdism post about me.

Debunked by Stuart Semple himself. 

I’ve taken the time to do this because nobody wants mis-information bouncing around the internet. 

The key thing to know - in the artworld rich people have access to processes and companies that most artists don’t. That’s how they get to create giant beans which cost $20million. At the top the rich get richer, and at the bottom artists struggle to make their mark with what they’ve got. 

Vantablack is an example of a group of rich, entitled people getting together to pat themselves on the back, whilst the rest of the world watched horrified at the tone-deafness of the whole thing.

it's also worth noting whilst OP is clearly educated and understands politics they are not in any way an expert in the artworld, art discourse. I however have been in the artworld for 25 years, have written for the guardian, art of england and vogue. I have presented art programs for the BBC and have a properly published book on art history - it's out in June called 'Make Art or Die Trying'. I have studied art and art history and spoken at Oxford University, The ICA, Denver Art Msueum, Dublin Art Museum and at Frieze. I have lectured at the Royal College of Art in London. I have curated over 20 contemporary art exhibitions internationally, I have directed two galleries. I am by definition an expert.

MY BREAKDOWN: OP is @afronerdism - I've gone below them point by point

A: What Vantablack is not: a pigment. A paint. Vantablack is not something that you were supposed to use to paint with. 

SS: CORRECT - However nor is glass, chrome, powder coating, sandblasting, booze casting, tar, concrete or steel yet they are used by artists everyday. 

Whether the material/process is a paint or pigment or not doesn’t matter. 

A: Who creates and distributes Vantablack: an engineering company named Surrey NanoSystems.

SS: True. And many artists work with engineering companies every day, notable examples are Jeff Koons and Damien Hirst. Lots of artists collaborate with industry to get their work made, that is what fabrication is.  You go to Surrey NanoSystems - not to buy paint but for them to coat your work in Vantablack. 

A: Who does not do those things: an art house. A distribution company. Any kind of company that creates and distributes pigments on a massive, artistic scale. 

SS: Which is totally true and fine. However they do coat things in Vantablack for a series of clients in many different industries including fashion designers, jewelers, brands, car companies, and watch companies. They will coat anything for anyone who has the money unless they are an artist. They only accept work from Anish Kapoor as he has an exclusive license with them for art. 

A: Who was Vantablack made for: Vanta Black was made by aerospace engineers for aerospace engineers, looking for something to coat the insides of massive NASA telescopes. 

SS: Initially, but quickly was used by a lot of other industries including architects, fashion designers, bands, brands, car companies and even a deodorant. 

They are able to make it in quantities large enough to coat whole buildings as we saw when architect Asif Khan used it to coat a whole pavilion during the Pyeongchang Winter Olympic Games. 

(If had told Surrey nanoSytems he was an artist - not an architect, this would never have happened)

A: Who it was not made for: artists.

SS: Except the one with the license. (Anish Kapoor)

———————————-——————————————

A: Hopefully already just by understanding what Vantablack is, what it was made for, and who it’s made by you and other people are beginning to see what the problem is with Stuart simples narrative around Vanta black. 

SS: It’s Semple not simple. 

SS: The narrative was not created by Semple as for a few months before he shared his pink the world media was criticizing Kapoor for his Monopoly with major articles in the Guardian, Daily Mail, and BBC news. Each featured reactions from a broad spectrum of artists who spoke about the unnecessary license and the elitism in the artworld. 

A:  But you may be wondering if Vanta black is a highly toxic unstable substance made out of carbon nano tubes by aerospace engineers for aerospace engineers, working in space, then how did we get here? well, Vanta, black 2.0, if you will was created in such a way that it could be sprayed onto substances in a certain way meaning that theoretically it could be used artistically.

SS: Yes VBX2 can be sprayed, and Surrey Nanosystems have training days where they teach in-house teams how to do that. The VBX2, however, arrived quite late in the story and Kapoor’s rights started with the first version. 

A: Surround nanosystems held an exhibition where they displayed Vanta black and when artist saw this, they were inundated with calls from artist, wanting to use it in their work. 

SS:

Surrey nano systems (not surround)

They actually debut it at an airshow in England, it was all over the world media, many artists saw it. They then went on a massive PR mission and the material was seen on CNN etc. 

Kapoor became aware of it and approached them to see if he could use it in his work. 

Together they struck up an exclusive deal which would mean if any artist asked them to coat a piece of work with the stuff they would be turned away. 

That deal was something Surrey and Kapoor were initially proud of. They couldn’t see the inherent elitism in the exclusivity so they went on another PR pr to tell he world Kapoor was signed up to use it. 

It was then the artists of the world really became aware of it, and sure enough, when any of them wrote to Surrey - even really huge ones with plenty of money, they were turned away. These artists including Christian Furr and Ron Arad, amongst others were all featured across the media. =

A: But as we’ve already established surrey nanosystems is not a distribution company. They’re an engineering company. And they made the decision that they could only work with one artist, because they simply did not have the physical ability to produce Vantablack at a scale that allowed them to work with more than one person. 

SS: They did say that, but a lot later. They were always a fabrication / engineering place and there was never an idea that they would distribute the material. That’s not the problem any artists ever had with it, they all fully understood what the material was. The issue was that even if the artist had the money and could ship their work to Surrey, they would not coat the object with it, but they would serve other industries. This is seen as deeply prejudicial towards artists. 

A: (To this day, vanta Black has to be distributed by a specialized robotic arm that creates it in painfully small amounts in an enclosed box that can then be given to someone in a lab. ) 

SS: This is untrue - the arm is used to spray the objects that Surrey have agreed to coat. 

It does not make the material. The material is made by growing carbon nano tubes on a surface. 

And the spray version contains nano particles. The robot arm is used for precision when coating. 

You often see a robot arm spray cars for example. The arm is used like this. 

A: Enter Anish Kapoor: Anish Kapoor, at this time was already a world, renowned artist, and the creator of many public facing pieces, such as cloud gate, a.k.a. the Chicago Bean. His entire life‘s work was dedicated to how light is refracted and interplays with the void, making him not only the perfect person to be chosen because of prestige but also because his life‘s work spoke to the engineers who created Vanta black.

SS: Whist as an artist he has dealt with reflection and the void at length, it’s a stretch to claim his entire life’s work is dedicated to it. 

SS: It is true that as a figurehead for Vantablack he is a good choice, he’s very rich, extremely famous, he’s a Sir (i.e knighted by the queen and a turner prize winner). Plus he makes work that would look good in Vantablack. 

SS: None of this means that he needed exclusivity to do it, the company could simply have collaborated with him and if any other artist asked to have something coated, they could have easily said they were too busy or didn’t have enough of the material. 

SS: The issue is the way they couldn’t see the prejudice, elitism and lack of access in the exclusivity. 

A: Now this should’ve been seen as an incredible accomplishment and honor for this Indian artist to be chosen as the soul licensor of Vantablack as this company was only able to choose one person and people were really excited about this for him and that’s where the story ends, right? Right? Right? 

SS: It’s unclear why his race matters. He is one of the richest, most well known, most famous artists in the world. The fact he has exclusive access to a material/process like this is not a reason for people to be excited for him, people are free to be excited or not. This is purely your opinion not a fact. 

A: Enter Stuart Semple: Stuart simple was a 25-year-old man in the UK living with his mother when she came into his room and told him about Vantablack. 

SS: Stuart was born in 1980, which would make him 36 at the time. 

SS: He was not living with his mother, in fact he was living in London with his own family. 

SS: His mother did not come into his room however on a phone call she spoke to him about an article she had read in the guardian about how artists were upset by Kapoor having Vantablack. 

SS: Stuart was (and is) a well-known contemporary artist, very embedded int hat world. He has had over 20 solo exhibitions dedicated to his work all over the world and his pieces are in major collections and museums. He’s not in the league of Kapoor but in the artworld is well known as an artist. 

A: As an artist himself, Stewart simple wanted to try Vanta Black, and was told by the company that he could not.

SS: This is untrue - Stuart did not want to use the colour, nor did he approach the company. 

A:  It was then that he discovered the only person on earth licensed to use Vantablack was Anish Kapoor. 

SS: This is untrue, he was aware of this when his mother told him what she had read in the newspaper. 

A: Please keep in mind that Vantablack is not a paint, and it is so difficult to work with that Anish Kapoor has only ever produced one singular piece of art with Vantablack. 

SS: This is untrue. Tens of thousands of items have now been coated in VantaBlack, from soda cans to watches. Initially, Kapoor used his rights to create a series of limited edition wrist watches that sold for $100,000 each, and then went on to create a whole series of large sculptures that were initially shown at a huge palazzo in Venice that Kapoor bought, during the Venice Biennale, and then at an exhibition at the Lisson in NYC where there works were for sale with an average price of $500,000USD.

A: So like a child who has just been told by their mom that they can’t use something, Stewart simple decided to throw a hissy fit. 

SS: It’s Stuart Semple (not stewart simple) - and there is no evidence of any kind of Hissy Fit. However he did create a piece of internet performance art, where he put a jar of pinkest pink paint on the internet, humorously, and asked anyone who bought the paint to sign an agreement that they ‘weren’t Anish Kapoor and Associate of Kapoor and that to the best of their knowledge information and belief, the material would not make its way into the hands of Anish Kapoor’. Semple has always explained it was a tongue-in-cheek piece of performance art, and that he was never expecting anyone would actually buy any pink. The best source for this is an article in Wired in which the journalist concludes with the piece being a powerful piece of online performance art. Bearing in mind Semple is an artist who works with performance, that is extremely likely. 

A: He created a pink pigment that he conditionally said everyone could use except Anish Kapoor and then launch this pigment with the hashtag #ShareTheBlack. 

SS: He created the pink pigment in 2010 - and has made his own paints to use in his own work since he was a child. It was not made in response to Kapoor. However he did not make them public they were for his own use, and the Kapoor situation made him question his own exclusivity in keeping the materials he was making for himself. He decided to share his pink as a gesture and a piece of art in it's own right.

A: This caught the attention of the news media, and when asked about this situation, that was previously relatively unheard of, Stuart simple,

SS: Neither Stuart nor the Vantablack situation were unheard of. The media was already reporting on the controversy around vantablack long before Stuart put the pink up. Stuart was also well known which is why the media wanted to talk to him about it. 

When GQ came to do a 5 page feature on him they were clear it was because he was an established and well-known artist in his own right. 

He had already been hosting art shows for the BBC, had written for the guardian and Huffington post and had collaborated with major musicians. 

A: went onto describe Anish Kapoor as this tyrannical elitist who “banned“ the use of Vantablack to keep other artists from using it. 

SS: There’s no evidence that Semple said that, however, he was critical of the exclusive license and did feel the story opened up a well-needed discussion about access to art and the trend in which those with the money could afford to have works fabricated when others couldn’t. He is at heart an egalitarian and has made free art studios, his Designs for humanity charity, his creative therapies fund at Mind (a mental health charity) etc.. and a major free art gallery in his hometown that shows some of the biggest living artists. So Semple’s opinion is allowed, to him Kapoor epitomizes an elitism that is dominated by the super-rich, after all, Kapoor is getting close to being a billionaire. 

A: But hopefully you can already see how that is Literally not true. Anish Kapoor does not make Vanta black. Anish Kapoor cannot sell Vanta black. Anish Kapoor cannot give you permission to use Vanta black. And Vanta black is not even a paint. 

SS: He does not make it, but he does hold the exclusive right to use it in art. 

SS: No other material or process has been exclusively licensed by one artist in the history of the world. 

SS: Jeff Koons does not make his own giant steel sculptures, a factory does. Jeff can’t book your work into the factory, and steel is not a paint either. He doesn't have an exclusive agreement with the steel fabricators. If they aren't too busy with Jeff, and you've got the cash, they'll make something for you too. This is standard with art fabrication.

SS: I didn't physically make the giant steel and foam smiley sculpture of mine for the city of Denver, fabricators helped with that, and engineers. They work with several artists.

SS: This makes no sense given it is understood vantablack is a material and a process of application. 

SS: However Kapoor could surrender his exclusive right and Surrey would then be able to take bookings from artists. 

A: meanwhile Stuart has launched an entire very lucrative career around slandering and smearing Anish Kapoor 

SS: Untrue, Semple had a very successful career and his day job is as a contemporary artist. Actually speaking up about elitism in the artworld is a risky move for someone who relies on that artworld to pay his bills. 

A: when Anish Kapoor literally never did anything but be qualified enough to be the one person chosen by a company that is literally only able to work with one person at a time. 

SS: He did do something, he signed an exclusive agreement and he felt he was entirely justified in doing so. He also went out in the media and with surrey nono systems and gloated about it.

SS: They can’t only work with one person at a time, we have seen whole buildings covered in vantback, jewellery, cars and soda cans and many sculptures by Kapoor. Surrey have collaborated with thousands of brands, designers, architects and companies. 

A: The fact remains Stewart simple, very intentionally allows this narrative to continue because it makes him money. 

SS: It is unclear how it makes him money as the pink was sold for $3 which was what it cost to make, and his website which researches and distributes cutting edge materials is a non profit that collaborates with artists. They even did a crowd funder to make Black 3.0 - a super black acrylic that any artist can use. It's also unclear how he is perpetuating this narrative, when he's clearly moved on to other projects many years ago and rarely mentions it. In Semple's world it's a very small thing.

A: He has made a ton of money off of slandering Anish Kapoor as if Anish Kapoor is the reason he can’t use Vanta black when the reason he can’t use Vanta black is because no one can use Vanta black, and the only person who might be able to use it is Anish Kapoor and that is not Anish Kapoor‘s fault. 

SS: There’s no evidence at all that he’s slandered Kapoor. Kapoor being extremely wealthy, and the level of media that covered the story back in 2016 would never have allowed it. It would have been a legal nightmare. All the publications who write about the story GQ, BBC, The Guardian, Wired, have journalistic laws and it would not have happened. 

SS: There’s no evidence that Semple has made a ton of money. 

A: It is not lost on me that there are racial connotations to the story as well. There are actual companies and artists in the world who have trademarks around certain colors that they do not allow other people to use in public showcases. 

SS: There are colour marks or if you like 'trademarked colours'. The public showcases point doesn't make sense in this context - colours are protected in classes i.e certain uses on Serbian products are prohibited. EG - Tiffany blue cannot be used on jewellery boxes. 

A: But we really as a community allowed this white man to smear and slander an Indian artist,

SS: Again it’s unclear what the ethnicity of the artists has to do with the core issue. 

SS: It’s a little bit of a leap given Semple has also liberated Klein Blue (made by a white French man), Barbie Pink (owned by Mattel a corporation), and created the Brightest White. 

 A: based entirely off of misinformation, and to this day people jump on the Internet, saying fuck Anish Kapoor because of it. 

SS: Kapoor secured the rights to the blackest material ever made. Everyone else who can afford to, can use it, unless they identify as an artist. 

SS: Many people feel like that is wrong. 

A: Now, Anish Kapoor is not some struggling person. He is probably a multibajillionaire 

SS: He’s worth about 800 million according to Forbes, he’s within the top 5 most wealthy living artists.

A: And doesn’t necessarily need our sympathy. But I think the story of Vantablack is a really good case study of how misinformation spreads, and how people never bother to question the framework of a story. 

SS: In my opinion, your post is misinformation, that has been spread unquestioningly. 

[mythos-writes]

Olympian

Daniel Ricciardo x Gretzky! Reader

Plot: Daniel's girlfriend is an Olympian, but not in the sport that you may think... (This takes place at the end of the 2017 racing season + 2018 Winter Olympics)

Formula 1 Masterlist

Word Count: 2.1K

Warning: Swearing, Canadian slang, hockey terms, clueless Daniel and clueless drivers (except Lance)

It was the last race in Abu Dhabi. The long-awaited race was coming into place. Before the weekend started, they all decided to go out for a grid dinner at a restaurant. As the night went on, they started to talk about their winter break plans. Many go skiing in Europe, while others make stops at home to see family. 

“Danny, what are you going to get up to?” Max asked him. 

“I’m going to go home and visit the folks, and in February I’m going to PyeongChang,” he states, everyone’s eyes falling onto him. 

“Korea? What on Earth are you going there for?” Nicko asks, finishing off his Heineken.

Daniel and (Y/N) had decided very early on to keep a private and low-key relationship. With (Y/N) showing up to the Montreal and Austalia races and him going to her most important games. But he never really discussed his relationship with the young hockey star with the other drivers. They knew he was dating someone but they didn’t know who he was dating. Daniel wanted to gush about how his girlfriend is going to the Olympics and this would be the only time he would do it until they go full public with their relationship. 

“Isn’t that where the Olympics are this year?” Valtteri asks. This started to make many of the driver's mind race.

“Daniel, why are you going to the Olympics? Are you a super athlete and you never told us?” Seb asks in a joking way.

“Oh, I wish, but I’m more of a Summer athlete than a winter one. My girlfriend is taking part in the games and I’m going to support her,” he finally reveals. Many eyebrows were lifted at the revelation. 

“Oh? We didn’t even know she was an athlete. What sport does she play?” Lewis asks, him thinking he might make a change of plans to go also. 

“She’s playing for Team Canada’s women’s hockey team,” he states, catching the two Canadian driver’s attention. 

“What’s her name, I wonder if Stroll knows her,” Alsonso jokes, causing a couple of drivers to chuckle. 

“I don’t know if you would know her, but I would think you would know her father,” he says. 

“Oh yeah, and who would that be?” Lance asks, being a little cocky. 

“Wayne Gretzky,” he replies while taking a spit of his drink. Lance’s face fell like he was just told that his girlfriend was pregnant. 

“I think you broke him, mate,” Carlos says, waving a hand in front of the Canadian’s face. 

“You’re dating (Y/N) Gretzky?! As in Wayne Gretzky’s daughter,” Lance stresses, making sure he heard the Austrailian correctly. 

“Why are you so surprised that he is dating this person's daughter?” Pierre asks, not knowing much of anything about hockey. 

“Wayne Gretzky is one of the most famous hockey players of all time. He won 4 Stanley Cups, which is the trophy that the NHL plays for. He also broke every record set for points, goals, and assists. It's like him saying he is dating Pele's daughter!" he explains, blowing away many of the drivers. 

“If that is the case, how the hell did you two meet?” Seb asks the Austrailian. 

“They came to the Montreal Race a couple of years ago, and we ended up bumping into each other. We started talking and ended up exchanging numbers; the rest is history,” he explains.

“Wow, I didn’t know you had that much game,” Max says into his drink, earning a smack from the Australian. 

Race weekend came and went, and the travels of the drivers began. (Y/N) accompanied him to Australia to visit his family Australia, as a small vacation before all of her focus goes into the Olympics. It was one of the last days before she was going to fly back to Canada to get prepared for going to training camp. (Y/N) decided to take a step outside and enjoy the warm air.

As she sat on the deck, she was starting to feel the pressure that was being placed on her. She was ‘The Great Ones’ daughter, and Canada is a shoo-in to win gold this year. (Y/N) was so in her head that she didn’t hear the back door open, or notice someone sitting beside her. They pulled her into their body. Daniel’s cologne filled her nose, and she relaxed into his body.

“What’s going on in your head of yours?” he asked. She looked up at him a replied,” Everything.” Daniel lets out a breathy laugh, before placing a kiss on the crown of her head.

“Oh love, everything will work out in the end,” he replies.

“Yeah, I know, but what if people decide that I’m not as good enough? What if I can’t live up to the expectations of being Wayne Gretkzy’s daughter?” she spews out just some of the anxiety-filled questions. Daniel sat there for a moment, trying to formulate an answer. 

“Those are very common feelings to have. I know that these feelings are common for kids of sports stars,” he states while playing with her hair. “But do what I always say, Fuck ‘Em All.”

She looks up at him and smiles. “Thanks, Danny.” He leans down and kisses her lips. 

“Come on, let's get you back inside, it's starting to get cold out here,” he states, helping her up. 

“I love you, Danny,” “I love you too (Y/N/N)” he replies before placing a kiss against her lips. Before they could continue their moment, it was broken by a distinctive “EWWW” from a little boy. They turned to see Daniel's nephew standing at the slightly opened glass door. 

“Come here ya bugger,” Daniel says while he starts to chase the boy back inside, leaving (Y/N) behind, laughing at his antics.  

Time flew by, and before either of them knew it, they were in Korea for the fateful Olympics. Canada breezed through the round-robin rounds. They then fought their way through the quarters and semi-finals, leading them to the long-awaited finals. The United States of America vs. Canada. The well-known rivalry goes back decades. 

(Y/N) was listening to music while she was getting warmed up. A playlist that Daniel made for her. As she was stretching, her phone pings. She sees Daniel's picture pop up. It was a text. (Y/N) opens and smiles. 

DannyRic❤️

   You got this babe! Remember, Fuck Em All

“Awe, that’s so sweet!” a familiar French accent grounds her. She turns to see her friend Marie-Philip Poulin standing behind her.

“I see lover boy is taking the boyfriend role seriously today,” she states while sitting beside (Y/N).

“Yeah, he knows that I get in my head a lot when it comes to things like this,” (Y/N) states, fidgeting with her necklace that holds her hockey number and a little F1 charm. 

“You’ll do fine chérie. And if people start to question your skills, we’ll have your back to prove them wrong,” Marie-Philip says while wrapping an arm around (Y/N)’s shoulders.   

“Thanks, M.P. and I know that Danny would be beside you in that defence,” she says while returning the side hug. 

“Now, come on, the game is in 30min, let's start getting out gear on.” 

It was go time. (Y/N) had walked out onto this pad many times in the last two weeks, but tonight was different. It was for an Olympic gold medal. Marie-Philip Poulin was hyping the girls up, getting them ready to face the fierce rivals. As they skated out onto the International pad of ice, the cheers of Canadians and Americans shake the nerves a little. She looked up at the jumbotron and saw that the camera was on her dad. Daniel was sitting beside him, and they were talking. What shocked her was seeing some of the other drivers sitting beside them. 

Lewis Hamilton, Valtara Bottas, Max Verstappen, Sebastian Vettel, and Lance Stroll were sitting in the stands. They looked out of place, which made her laugh a little. She knew that if she had the TSN stream, the focus would be on her and her ‘cheer squad’. Sarah Nurse tapped her shins, getting her attention to set up for the start of the game. (Y/N) moved to the center ice for the face-off. 

As the game unfolds, the rivals play each other hard. There were hard hits and solid goals. (Y/N) scored one of the two goals for the Canadian team, and she could hear Daniel from the ice level. With the 110% effort that was brought by both teams, it lead them to a shootout. 

(Y/N) was the first shooter for Team Canada. She was getting ready to go, her nerves returning as a result. She looked up to where her squad was sitting and all she thought were Daniel's words to her. Fuck ‘Em All. She looked to the refs and gave them the nod, signalling to the refs that she was ready. The whistle blew, signalling for her to go. To (Y/N), it went deadly quiet. She blocked out all the fans, all the players yelling, everything. She skated down, went left to right, and then popped it over the blocker side of the US goalie. 

When the puck hit the back of the net, she tuned back in to hear the roar of the Canadian fans. She felt that all the weight is off her shoulders. Her work in getting Canada the win is done. But it wasn’t enough. The United States ended up getting the upper hand in the shootout and earning them the gold medal. (Y/N) felt defeated. She felt numb. 

They did the award ceremony, they consoled each other on the ice and in the changeroom. She would comfort them, just trying to be there for them. Her teammates would ask her how she was feeling and she would detour the questions. She got changed into some comfy, but still presentable, to walk out of the arena and back onto the bus to the Olympic Village. When they crawled off the bus, just wanting to get into their beds for the night, she saw Daniel and Wayne standing by the unloading spot. She gave them a small smile before walking into the open arms of her father. 

“I am so proud of you,” he says. Those words made her break. Tears started to fall and her body shakes in her father's arms. Daniel wanted to take her into his arms, but he knew that she needed it. 

“But we lost,” she murmured into her father's chest. Wayne moves her off him, so he can look at her properly. 

“It doesn’t matter that you won or lost. You went out there and showed the world how great you were. Unfortunately, shootouts are awful ways to end games, and they got the puck in more times. But you guys kept them in the game and made it such a great game. That’s what makes me proud of you,” Wayne praises. More tears fall on (Y/N)’s face, but now they were happy tears. 

“I love you, Dad,” she says, bringing him back into a big hug. “I love you to kiddo,” he replies while placing a kiss on her forehead. Reminders of when she would come off the ice upset from the game and Wayne comforting her exactly like this. 

“Now, I think someone is wanting to talk to you,” Wayne says while turning her to see a fidgety Daniel standing behind them. She giggles at his antics before thanking her dad again. Wayne walked off into the village, leaving the two love birds alone. Daniel opens his arms up, and (Y/N) falls into his arms quickly. 

“Sorry for not giving you guys the best performance,” she whispers against his Team Canada jacket. 

“Are you kidding, the boys first couldn’t believe that we were dating. Then they couldn’t believe that you had moves like this. Minus Stroll of course as you both are maple leaves,” Daniel states. Giggles erupt 

“If you’re up for it, the boys invited us to a restaurant just outside of the village and they would love to meet you. But if you’re not up for it, it is totally understandable and we can arrange something during the racing season,” he word dumps. 

“You know what, I’ve avoided meeting your fellow racers for this long, why not meet some of them properly,” she says with a smile. “And I could go for some good Korean food.” This causes Daniel to laugh. 

“Well, I’ll make sure Lewis pays then, come on,” he states while walking her towards the rental he got. 

(Y/N) felt disappointed that she didn’t get Canada the gold, but Daniel and her father made her feel that she wasn’t a failure, and she felt the most confident she had ever been.

[yuzurujenn]

[2024.07.19-2024.07.21] Yuzuru Hanyu: Interview two years after turning professional (Hochi)

Figure skater Yuzuru Hanyu (29), who marked two years since announcing his decision to turn pro on the 19th, agreed to an interview. He spoke at length about his two years as a professional, his present and the future, his fateful encounter with a program, and the "ideal" he is pursuing. We will be publishing Hanyu's words, who continues to evolve as an athlete and artist, for three consecutive days. The second and final instalment are a stand-alone interview. (Interviewer: Takagi Megumi)

Part 1:

Hanyu-san appeared dashingly at the studio in Sendai. As soon as he arrived, he started the interview by saying "Thank you." His quick thinking and agility were as good as ever. His black jersey looked good on him as always.

"Honestly, my first year as a professional was a bit of a trial-and-error state; I was constantly thinking about whether I should do this, whether I should do that, what I should do. But this (second year) has been a year in which I have clearly understood what I want to express, and what I want to do as a professional."

Though he was thoughtful at times and carefully choosing his words, he was smiling throughout the interview. Looking back on the past two years, his expression showed how contented he has become as a professional.

It all started with a one-man show “Prologue”. “GIFT,” the first solo Tokyo Dome performance by a skater in history, lasted two and a half hours in which he skated alone. In "RE_PRAY", the second instalment of the ice story following "GIFT", he took on his first national tour.

"In the second year, with 'RE_PRAY', the ice story was completely formed. I think the big thing about the second year was that I was able to properly establish what pieces existed in the story and what kind of story I wanted to tell."

He wrote the story himself, served as executive producer, and performed "Ice Story" by himself. With "RE_PRAY," he created a new form of entertainment that combines gaming and skating.

"It's the same when I choreograph various programs, but I think that the essence of what I want to express is always the idea of 'living' and the constant presence of something like a 'prayer' towards 'living'."

He has changed the concept of a professional skater. He can perform quadruple jumps and perform programs in a variety of genres. His evolution as an athlete and an artist continues in his third season.

"I have finally established the foundation for what I want to do, so as an extension of that, I am wondering how I can improve my skills in terms of expression. In order to convey myself, I believe that I cannot improve my level unless I have a strong technical foundation, as I have always said since my competitive days. I feel that my third year will be a time when I will be working on improving both my technique and my physical strength."

He will be turning 30 in December. He says that his present life is different from the future he envisioned as a teenager. He was supposed to have turned professional after the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics and retire from skating in his 20s.

"The way my stamina and technique have developed is completely different from what I had imagined, but it gives me a real sense of how much more I can achieve, and a sense of great potential for the future. I now feel that humans can achieve much more than I had thought."

He won consecutive Olympic gold medals in Pyeongchang and after his third Olympic Games in Beijing, he turned professional. He had an incredibly intense 20s. What will his 30s be like? "Nothing in particular has changed," he continued, tilting his head.

"While still cherishing who I am, I think that showing my skills and facing skating are a big part of what makes me happy. I want to always have within myself a reason for my existence, a meaning to the past 30 years for everyone. It's not just because my fans watch me, or because skating is all I have, but I want to create more clearly within myself the core of my life in my 30s."

Skating with soul. "Pursuing the ideal," he wrote on his coloured paper. The story of professional skater Yuzuru Hanyu has just begun.

-What have the past two years been like since you turned professional?

"As an athlete, I have really thought about many things in a stoic way up until now. Of course, this is true in terms of technique, but I think I have always been thinking about victory in particular. To be honest, in my first year as a professional, I was feeling my way around; I spent the whole year constantly thinking about whether I should do this, whether I should do that, what I should do. I think this (second year) has been the year in which I have clearly understood what I want to express, and what I want to do as a professional."

-What have you come to understand clearly?

"In the first year, I had 'Prologue,' and I was feeling my way around whether I could skate solo. I was also working on 'GIFT' at the same time. At the time, I wanted to write my own story, and I wanted the audience to experience how the programs they had seen up until then would change as they watched them. This was something I had vaguely thought about since my competitive days. I was able to make this a reality in my first year. In my second year, I had 'RE_PRAY,' and I felt like I had completely formed the ice story. It wasn't just about trying to figure out how to skate by myself or changing perspectives by putting what I wanted to express into a story. I think the big thing about my second year was that I was able to properly establish that this story has these pieces, and that this is the story I would like to convey."

-What kind of year will your third year be?

"I have finally established a foundation for what I want to do, so as an extension of that, I am wondering how I can improve my skills in terms of expression. As for conveying myself, I have always said since my competitive days that I can't improve my level without having strong technique as a foundation. I feel that my third year will be a time when I will be working on improving both my technique and my physical strength."

-Memories from the past two years?

"There are a lot, of course. I can't really say just one, but I've had so many different, precious experiences. Most recently, the completion of "RE_PRAY". I had that feeling that it was received well. I'm currently in the middle of the production process (laughs). It's my motivation to keep working hard, it's my driving force."

-Are you currently working on any new projects?

"I've been creating new programs and other things. I've started digging deeper into what I want to express. Because I've been working alone for so long, the emotions that come out of me tend to be biased. My ideas haven't fundamentally changed that much, so my repertoire hasn't expanded that much. But I do feel that my experiences with 'RE_PRAY' and other such things are the driving force behind the birth of new emotions and new expressions."

-Will Ice Story continue to create themes by asking itself these questions? 　

"Whether it was when I was creating 'RE_PRAY,' or when I was choreographing programs like 'Goliath,' 'Aqua,' and others, I think that at the core of what I want to express is the idea of 'living,' and the constant presence of something like a 'prayer' towards 'living.' So, what I want to convey on top of that and what I want to dig deeper into may affect the way I present myself depending on the program at hand."

-You'll be turning 30 in December. How does it compare to how you imagined your 30 would be?

"When I was 18 or 16, to be honest, I imagined I probably wouldn't be skating anymore by 30 (laughs). I would turn professional at 24 immediately after the Pyeongchang Olympics, and I thought I'd be active for about five years and then be done with skating. But the way I've developed my stamina and technique is completely different from what I imagined, and I feel a real sense of realization that I can still do so much, and a great sense of possibility for the future. Right now, I feel that humans can still do much more than I thought."

-What kind of person do you want to be in your 30s?

"Nothing has changed in particular. However, the more I polish my way of expression and the more time I spend constantly practicing and facing myself, the stronger my sense of self is becoming, and I feel like my foundation is becoming more and more established. In this way, I will continue to cherish myself in my 30s. But I think that showing my skills and facing skating is a big part of what makes me happy. I want to always have a reason for my existence, a reason for living for the past 30 years. Not just because my fans watch me, or because skating is all I have, but I want to create a clearer core for myself in my 30s."

Part 2:

It has been two years since figure skater Yuzuru Hanyu (29) announced his professional debut on the 19th. In the second part, he spoke to Sports Hochi in an exclusive interview about his "fateful encounter" with a certain program. (Interviewer: Megumi Takagi)

-Does time pass differently now compared to when you were an athlete?

"When I was a competing athlete, I could just keep thinking about things like building my physique or practicing skating. But when I'm creating something or choreographing a program or doing things like that, I don't have time to just practice. So, I thought, 'I won’t be able to practice during this period, so I'll just try to maintain it’, or ‘I'll try to keep it to a certain level, and since I'm currently in the production period, it can't be helped if I cut down on sleep.' I want to provide something good, and when I think about all sorts of things, I can't sleep. To begin with, I'm the kind of person who tends to live an unhealthy lifestyle (laughs). I know I should sleep more for my skating, or eat more of this or that, but it just keeps falling apart."

-How much sleep do you get?

"It depends on the day. If I feel like I can't take it anymore, sometimes I'll sleep for eight or nine hours straight, and sometimes I fall asleep without realising it. On the other hand, there are also days when I'm awake all day. It's normal to stay up all night even though there's no need to. But it's at times like those that stories are born. It's hard to put into words. It's not that different from writing lyrics or composing music. I guess that's just how it is. I've accepted it and thought that this is just my style." 　

-During the rehearsals for "Notte Stellata" in March, you said you were "nervous about the new program."

"Of course, I felt nervous about performing it in front of everyone for the first time, wondering if I’ll make a mistake or if everything will be okay, but if anything, I thought it's great, and the people around also thought it's great. But when that circle expands from me to people who are close to me, and then to my fans and to the general public, honestly I'm really scared about what people will think. People have completely different values, and there's no doubt that the impression people get when they hear a program or a song is different for each person. So I do feel a bit scared that it may go in the wrong direction."

-How have you felt about that over the past two years?

"I've created a lot of programs, including 'RE_PRAY', and it makes me happy to see that people have different preferences for the programs they like. Some people say they like my self-choreographed programs, and others say they prefer programs that are properly choreographed by a choreographer. Some people say they prefer programs that are more like traditional figure skating, and conversely, some people prefer programs that are more over-the-top, like 'MEGALOVANIA', so it really varies. That's also one of my strengths. I'm really happy that everyone has different interpretations of the programs and likes them."

-What programs would you like to try in the future?

"I actually want to make a 15-minute program, but I'm worried it might be difficult."

-Is that a physical thing?

"Of course, it's physically demanding. For example, even if I don't jump that much, I don't want it to become boring. I want to create something with so-called contemporary movements, but I don't think I can keep up."

-There’s a concept.

"I have a vague idea, but I'm not sure if I can go that far yet. I don’t know. I haven't found a song that I want to skate to yet. I just don’t think I’ve found a song that I want to skate to for 15 or 20 minutes."

-"Danny Boy" (※1) has a more empathetic and gentler feel than ever before. Is this due to the fact that your range of expression has expanded over the past two years, or is it a change from within?

"I do feel like I've become able to express emotions that were already there in new ways. That's true when I skate to 'Notte' (Notte stellata) or 'Spring' (Come, Spring). I've been able to express things like compassion or prayer through the melody, the way I use my hands, the way I use my upper body, and so on. Up until now, I've been doing classical, pop, and instrumental pieces, and 'Come, Spring' was originally a pop song. This time, I used a jazz melody, which was something I hadn't done before, and I think the biggest difference is that I feel like I've finally become able to do it. Of course, I think part of it is that I'm getting older and becoming more mature, but I feel like I’m catching up a bit in the way I use my body to express that, and in my thought processes."

-"Danny Boy" was recommended to you by Hoshino Gen.

"That's right. I met Gen-san (※2) on the show and he said, ‘This is a good song’. At that moment, I had a feeling that this was it. I decided almost immediately that I was going to skate to this song."

-Did it come easily?

"It's hard to find songs that inspire me and songs that, when I first listen to them, I can imagine myself standing there and skating to them. I've been searching really hard for songs, but it's not easy to find one. But that song just came to me. I had a feeling that this was it. The melody was not something I could choreograph by myself, and I felt that this song needed to be skated over and over again to mature, so I immediately thought of David (Wilson, ※3) and asked him for help. It was a quick development with the song, and I felt like it was a fateful encounter."

[※1] Performed by Keith Jarrett. Debuted at "Yuzuru Hanyu Notte Stellata 2024" in March this year. [※2] He appeared as a guest on Hoshino Gen's show "Ogen-san's Sabusuku-do" (NHK, broadcast last August). He played the role of "Ogen-san's younger brother" and talked about music. [※3] Canadian choreographer. Choreographed "Romeo and Juliet" for the free skating at Sochi Olympics, "Notte Stellata," and "Spring, Come", among others.

Part 3:

The final episode of an exclusive interview with figure skater Yuzuru Hanyu (29), who announced his professional debut two years ago on the 19th. He talked about "full effort," "mind, technique, and body," and his "ideal" as an athlete. (Interviewer: Megumi Takagi)

-During a press conference for "RE_PRAY," you said, "I can still improve the composition."

"Originally, in practice, I was practicing 'Messenger of Ruin' with the final axel as a 3A3T (a triple 1/2-triple toe loop combination jump). Sometimes I would also practice the first toe loop in the second half as a 4T3T (a quadruple toe loop-triple toe loop combination jump). I probably wouldn't be able to do it in a real performance, but I was practicing it as a way to build up my stamina and improve my skills. I had some time to spare, so I thought I'd like to do it if possible. I tried it on the final day of the Miyagi performance, and there were some flaws. I guess I was hoping that if I practiced more, I'd be able to do it."

-Will there be a composition as difficult as that (※1) this season as well?

"I would like to do it. However, I think the composition will be completely different depending on what I want to express. Is the challenge a quadruple jump, or something more physically difficult? Also, I think the way it is presented will be completely different depending on whether I am challenging myself expressively. If possible, I would like to improve the composition. However, when it comes to a tour, I wonder if I am really 100% confident that I can deliver something good to everyone. I think it is necessary to always consider the balance and make sure I am not overestimating myself."

-It was the same in the ice shows and exhibitions when you were competing, and of course it's still the same now. Why are you able to give it your all every time?

"On the contrary, I feel more uncomfortable if I don’t give it my all. Performing in front of people is in itself something that may or may not please them, but in that moment, it may also be a catalyst for a change in someone’s life, even if just a little. If it were my own performance, I don't think I could show a half-hearted performance."

-Is that always the case?

"Always. I think I've been like that since I was little. I think my physical ability is pretty high, but if I didn't give it my all, I wouldn't reach that level. Therefore, I had to remove that limiter and try to catch up with my sister (Hanyu started skating because of his sister, who is four years older than him) or try to reach her level, since I couldn’t get that far unless I gave it my all. For example, when I was a novice and I couldn't jump the triple or double axel properly. Other kids could jump them, but I was flexible, didn't have much muscle strength, and wasn't blessed with a body that was so good in terms of explosive power, but when I thought about wanting to be better than everyone else, or wanting to catch up with everyone else, that's why I kept giving it my all. I removed my limiter more than other people. Because I didn't want to lose. I wanted to be praised (laughs). So, removing the limiter is normal for me probably from a young age. I have an older sister, so there’s always someone at home to aspire to. So, I guess I had to remove the limiter in everything. And now I have a sense of responsibility. Because I am Yuzuru Hanyu, the question of how far I can go in my pursuit is gradually coming into play and giving it meaning. If I were to talk about my childhood, I think that's probably what it was like."

[※1] In "RE_PRAY"'s "Messenger of Ruin," he completed a highly difficult routine just like in a competition, including a single quadruple Salchow and toe loop, five consecutive quadruple toe loops, and two triple axels.

-How do you increase your concentration before a performance?

"In my case, theoretically, I think that if I can get excited or create a situation that I find enjoyable, I will naturally be able to concentrate. So, although I don't sing it out loud, I think that getting into music is what turns on my concentration switch. It's like my blood gets pumping, or like the switch in my brain changes. I guess it's the song, the music."

-You are still a complete athlete. Athletes often use the phrase "Shin-Gi-Tai” *," but where does ‘mind, technique, and body’ fit into your perspective, Hanyu-san?

"In the end, I think there's no point if you can't find a balance. If you excel in one area… For example, if your heart becomes very strong at one point, but your technique is not strong enough to match the size of your heart, then the heart itself will probably be destroyed and you will be swallowed up. So you definitely need the technique to express your heart. Even if you spread that heart and technique widely, if you don't have the physical strength, if your body itself isn't functioning well, then you will be swallowed up by your technique and your heart. In the end, I think if you really want to level up, you have to make everything bigger."

*心技体 (Shin-gi-tai) – Shin = mind/heart, Gi= skills/technique, Tai = physique/body

-What is an athlete?

"Now, I have the opportunity to work in various professional fields and have more opportunities to come into contact with people whom I really respect, I think that the people I consider to be the very best are all athletes. For example, there is the NHK programme ‘The Professionals’, and people like that are really athletes. Personally, I think the way they use their time, or the way they use their heart and soul, to achieve a certain goal or ideal is what makes them athletes. I don't know whether to call that an athlete or a professional, but that's how I've always been since my competitive days. I think that's what I would like to call myself, an athlete."

-You've often used the word "ideal" since the latter half of your competitive days. It sounds like a declaration of determination not to compromise on that.

"The reason I started talking about my 'ideal' towards the end of my competitive days was because, well… To be honest, I wanted to perform a certain way, but after all, it didn’t always lead to positive evaluation. That's when I decided to shift towards pursuing my ideal."

-Perhaps around Autumn Classic?

"The most significant was Autumn, I guess…Autumn 2019…? At that time, I had no choice but to reconsider and realise that the most important thing was to do what I wanted to do and perform the kind of performance I was aiming for, rather than worrying about scores. I felt that this was equal to making the fans happy. From then on, I am still on that same path. After I become a professional skater, I have to pursue it even more. Because I am skating for the fans. The ideal is getting higher and higher, and I am chasing that ideal."

Post-interview notes:

Last year, one year after turning professional, Hanyu-san sent a message to his fans to Sports Hochi. "I will continue to strive for my ideal and continue to constantly renew that ideal," he wrote. I think that this past year has been exactly like that.

The path he should take must have become clearer now. His expression was bright and full of contentment. We asked him to write down his aspiration for his third year on a coloured paper. He wrote, "Pursuing the 'ideal’”. "I'm skating for my fans, so the ‘ideal’ will get higher and higher," he said. Beautiful skating that blends in with the music. A range of expression that can only be achieved with advanced technique. I hope that Hanyu-san will continue to cherish the "ideal" skating that he has carefully cultivated. (Takagi Megumi)

Source: 1. https://hochi.news/articles/20240718-OHT1T51180.html?page=1 2. https://hochi.news/articles/20240718-OHT1T51181.html?page=1 3. https://hochi.news/articles/20240719-OHT1T51148.html?page=1 4. https://hochi.news/articles/20240719-OHT1T51151.html?page=1 5. https://hochi.news/articles/20240720-OHT1T51200.html?page=1 6. https://hochi.news/articles/20240720-OHT1T51199.html?page=1

[harocat]

Title: Don't Stop Me Now ('cause I'm having a good time) Rating: T, no archive warnings apply Additional Tags: Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, Katsuki Yuuri wins gold, romance, fluff, post-canon, married Victuuri Relationships/Characters: Katsuki Yuuri/Victor Nikiforov, Phichit Chulanont Summary: Yuuri Katsuki had been to three Olympic games now. In Sochi, he’d watched Victor Nikiforov take gold, while he finished an (in his opinion) underwhelming eighth. In Pyeongchang, Victor Nikiforov had watched him take gold; as his coach, as his husband. Now, in Beijing, he was surely at his last Olympics. He was twenty-nine, older than all but a couple of his competitors, and if it weren’t for sheer will, he’d probably have retired by now. Most expected he would.

But he was Yuuri Katsuki, and he’d made a career, since that fateful spring day Victor Nikiforov had come to coach him, of surpassing expectations; of being full of surprises. He came in as the reigning world champion; he’d been the reigning world champion since 2017. As had been the case for years, all eyes were on him.

Written for @opalescentlesbiian for the @yuri-on-ice-action event!!! You really gave me a prompt that was right up my alley. 😆

[the-olympics-olympics]

Pyeongchang 2018

Obverse: Abstract design resembling ripples in a field of snow. Reverse: Hangul messages "symbolising the effort of athletes from around the world" Edge: words "Olympic Winter Games Pyeongchang 2018" in Korean (stylized) and English

Athens 2004

Obverse: Nike of Paionios with Panathenaic Stadium and the Acropolis of Athens in the background. Reverse: The Olympic Flame, the opening lines of Pindar's Eighth Olympic Ode, and the Athens Games logo

[ottawacharge]

hello pals! here is transcript ft photoshoot shots ‼️ @ohe-ohe @verb925

If Marie-Philip Poulin is the legend, Laura Stacey is the superstar. Where one is soft-spoken, reflective and intensely magnetic, the other is intuitive, forthcoming and absolutely electric. As they shatter records in their sport and lead change far beyond, these world-class athletes are writing a page of history, together.

At first, they fought it. Centralized in Calgary with the national team for months before being thrown into the pressure cooker in PyeongChang, Poulin was the seasoned captain and Stacey was vying for a spot on the roster for what would be her first Games. They shared teammates and friends and were apprehensive about upending the intricate and delicate alchemy it takes to win. They did everything they could to push their feelings out of their minds, all the while finding every way possible to spend time together. "There were so many emotions, and we just got very close during that time. It was a kind of snowball effect," Laura explains.

At the Olympics, Team Canada ultimately fell to the US to take home silver medals. Devastated, the pair parted ways. Laura went home to Toronto and Marie-Philip to Montréal. They didn't see each other and tried not to text. But hockey is a cyclical sport in which every ending yields a new beginning, so when the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL) started up again in the fall, Poulin returned to Les Canadiennes de Montréal and Stacey to the Markham Thunder. "The first real moment was when we played against each other in Montréal," Stacey says. "We were still talking, and we knew there was something between us. After the game, she followed our team bus back from the rink, picked me up at the hotel and took me back to her apartment. Her parents were there, and I met them for the first time. It all felt really serious. When I asked her, she said she was done fighting it."

As it turns out, what came as somewhat of a surprise to Laura was anything but unexpected to Marie-Philip's mom, who'd understood the moment she saw her daughter look over at Laura at Canada House back in South Korea. A mother knows: Marie-Philip and Laura had found home.

At their next Olympics in Beijing in 2022, Team Canada triumphed, and Poulin cemented her legend by becoming the only player -- female or male -- to score in four straight Olympic gold medal games.

Marie-Philip Poulin is the greatest of all time, although she flashes a reluctant wince when she hears herself referred to as such. In her home province of Québec especially, she is a beloved, virtually untouchable figure. She is the quintessential sports hero -- wholly exceptional and genuinely approachable. Despite her countless appearances and endless interviews, she's always remained very discreet about her personal life, the furthest thing from a celesbian one would ever imagine. Only her most intimate circle (and perhaps her most avid fans) would have noticed two-time Olympic medallist and three-time world champion Laura Stacey flow seamlessly into her public life and crack open the window ever so slightly. But when they each posted sets of their idyllic engagement photos on Instagram in May 2023, their low-key romance made national headlines. "We just wanted to be ourselves, and we didn't realize how much of an impact the photos were going to have. They really blew up!" says Marie-Philip. Laura adds: " When we first posted we were engaged, people didn't even know we were together, so it hit us a little harder. But the way everyone has welcomed us is amazing. So many athletes feel uncomfortable coming out. For us, it happened organically. And there's so much positivity in the way everyone supports us."

That summer, Mark Walter Group and sports trailblazer Billie Jean King announced the establishment of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) and six charter franchises. For women's hockey players, it was the culmination of a dream after years of struggle. A month later, PWHL Montréal confirmed it had signed three-year deals with goaltender Ann-Renée Desbiens and forwards Marie-Philip Poulin and Laura Stacey. "I didn't want to sign and play in Montréal as a package deal because the team wanted to get her for sure," Stacey admits. And she made that very clear to the team's management. "The conversation went so well, but it was still scary for me because I knew I had something to prove." Since then, her intensity, heart, skill and dazzling plays have put any doubts to rest. "Looking back on these past few months, I can say it's been amazing."

When the puck dropped on the team's first-ever game on January 2, 2024, Laura scored her very first goal in the league and unintentionally went viral. It all happened in a split second: drive to the net, snipe, celly. The subsequent shot of her marking the moment with Marie-Philip, which became one of the most viewed photos from the PWHL, was swiftly reposted on X with the caption "score a goal and celly with your fiancé," prompting user MarcusA9393 to pointedly (read: homophobically) ask where the said fiancé was in the crowd since he "didn't see him behind the glass." Then came an impeccable reply that turned Marcus' mudslinging into an incandescent ray of sheer queer joy: "Her fiancée is #29 poulin. She's gay, Marcus."

The floodgates opened, and in no time there was a tidal wave of "She's gay, Marcus" bracelets, apparal of all sorts, stickers and fan art. Sellers started offering Stacey and Poulin's hockey cards as a pair. Did she realize her love would be the first person to throw herself in her arms? "No, we had no idea! It all went so fast. But what are the chances?" It was an instance that opened their eyes to the fact that there was a place for them as a couple and as professional hockey players. "We realized it was welcome. That respect for us together and as individuals has helped us open up a lot more. Our teammates, our coaching staff, our fans all support us. And Montréal has embraced us as a couple in a beautiful, crazy way," Stacey reflects. Her fiancée concurs: "At first, it felt like a lot after the engagement photos, but we took a step back and we saw we could connect with people. We quickly learned that it helps people be themselves. Fans are so happy to show us their bracelets and t-shirts and ask us to sign the photo. That connection happens because they feel they can be themselves around us. They cheer for us together, and that's very emotional for us."

Even so, there's a paradox, since they both make very conscious efforts to keep their hockey lives separate despite their matching collections of Olympic gold and silver medals and world championship titles. They don't have adjoining spaces in the dressing room; they don't room together on the road; they don't sit together when travelling with the team. Does that benefit them? The team? "That's actually something we take a lot of pride in," says Poulin. "When we get to the rink, we're there to work: to play hockey and win. There's a time and place for everything." Laura echoes the sentiment: "It's about respect for our teammates. When they're taping their stick and getting ready, they're not there for us as a couple. They want teammates who are ready to go to war with them. We're there to do the best job we can. If people want to spend time with us as a couple, they can come over for dinner."

Meanwhile at the rink, without getting deep into the the analytics, the sometimes linesmates ended the regular season tied as PWHL Montréal's highest scorers with 10 goals apiece (23 points for Poulin, 18 for Stacey) and proved to be a game-changing duo. But what happens when the puck isn't bouncing their way? "We didn't start on the same line, but we ended up playing together as time went on. That was a challenge," says Marie-Philip. "We're leaders on the team and we're very competitive so we want to be perfect. When one of us misses a play, we definitely take it out on the other." Laura nods emphatically and laughs: "Sometimes I tell her ' I can't make that play! You know who I am!', and she'll go 'No! You have to if you're playing with me!'" When asked if they're harder on each other than their other teammates, they reply "110%" in perfect synch.

On top of the ebbs and flows in their respective games, having to execute perfectly at critical junctures can take a toll. "There's a lot of pressure, and I feel it. It's on me, on her and on us," says Poulin. Her demeanour is unfailingly even keeled and, in many ways, true to the player she's shown herself to be in competition, naturally offsetting the challenges and perpetually rising above. "The fact that the pressure makes me stay on the ice and practice with my partner -- that we're always pushing each other -- just makes us better and more balanced players and people."

And what about the physicality of the women's game? While there's nothing that makes the game unsafe, there's a lot of jostling, body checking and contact along the boards. "When one of my teammates gets caught, I get fired up. But when it's Laura, my heart drops. I want to react and it's hard not to, but I can't," says Marie-Philip. Do they get chirped? "Oh yeah, for sure," Laura confirms, just as Marie Philip points out: "Less now."

In season, they're never apart. "We do everything together, but we like it," says Marie-Philip, who then turns her entire body towards Laura, reaches out to her and quietly asks with a smile: "You like it, right?" Laura beams at her and replies: "I love it." All captivating affinity aside, the fact remains that they constantly put their bodies on the line, and the grind can wear them down. Camps started in October and the hockey didn't stop until June. The many highs and upward trend of prepare, prepare, prepare was so physically demanding that there were times when all they could do was crash.

Having all eyes on them means they've learned when to ease up and when to zoom out. "We get on the bus together when everyone else is leaving their significant other. We travel the world together. We get to hear fans in Montréal cheer for us both together. We fight and push each other in the hard moments but when we get home, we close the door and realize how lucky and how happy we are," says Laura.

The talk eventually turns to April 20 at the Bell Centre in Montréal, when PWHL Montréal and PWHL Toronto set the world record for a women's hockey game in front of 21,105 fans. For the players and for so many in the crowd, the pregame introductions unfolded into a moving "I see you" moment. Under the lights and amidst tens of thousands of twirling white rally towels, the players stood at the blue line to finally take in the resounding ovation they'd earned and deserved. It was a powerful acknowledgement of their excellence, their hard work, their sacrifices and their fight. Their win was everyone's win, in hockey and far beyond. On the ice, Marie-Philip and Laura were standing side by side. "The sentiment that we all win together and the feeling of success cemented the fact that we're here to stay. It's so much more than a hockey league. It's a movement," Laura says. When Marie-Philip Poulin's name resonated in the arena, a deafening roar rose all the way up to the rafters: "It was all surreal. It was so loud, and I thought 'Wow, we did it.'"

But like all things, hockey careers -- even the most brilliant ones -- come to an end. With respect to their sport, they're both adamant about leaving it in a better place than they found it. At the same time, with their wedding only weeks away, Laura Stacey and Marie-Philip Poulin are just beginning to shape their family legacy, one whose reach is much broader than hockey and touches on representation, visibility, equality, diversity, women's rights, 2SLGBTQIA+ rights and human rights. It's something we tend to take stock of in retrospect, but they're writing their own page of history today. "We want people to have the same opportunities we've been given to be themselves and chase the dream of whatever it is they love," says Laura. That authenticity has become their hallmark. "W're always ourselves," says Marie-Philip. "People remember how you made them feel, not what you did. And that only happens when you're truly yourself."

[triptychgrip]

Impact of figure skating politics on post-canon Yuri!!! on Ice

So, even aside from the rampant doping, I think many people are familiar with how the politics within the sport of figure skating really suck -- whether that's in terms of how skating federations meddle with their athletes' careers in ways these athletes clearly don't want or don't even know about, the way regulatory bodies -- the International Skating Union (ISU), and its various Commissions -- can and do remain silent when it comes to speaking out on abuse or corruption, or the complete shit-show of bias within judging, sometimes on a ludicrously visible level.

After all, this is a sport where a judge that showed clear bias at the PyeongChang Olympics was not only invited back to judge at the Beijing Games, but was given the position of being the technical controller!

Sheer madness...

It makes sense why Yuri!!! on Ice didn't delve into this stuff in a 12 episode season b/c the reality is: it's a major bummer.

But I work in public policy and am a social justice researcher whose career focuses on institutional change. So I often find myself asking the question "what would cause institutions/people/movements -- especially with a lot of history and influence behind them -- to change for the better, whether by 'force' (public outcry, insider advocacy, etc.) or their own volition?" It's a question I started thinking about a lot almost as soon as I got into Yuri!!! on Ice a few years back, and specifically, thought about in a post-canon context.

Some of the politics-related questions that surfaced for me, included:

-When Viktor returns to skating, how would his federation (the FFKKR) choose to treat his absence? Would they, perhaps, "make an example" of him at the Rostelecom Cup, purposely underscoring his performances? Or, would they have "given up" on him, trying to focus all of their attention/resources on Yurio's obvious rising star potential?

-Further, would they (with tacit or explicit media support) take a negative stance regarding his and Yuuri's highly public relationship -- perceiving Viktor's romance as a "threat" to his ability to return to the field as strong and focused as before -- or would they choose to ignore it, altogether?

-How would Yurio's growth spurt (which is hinted at in canon) impact the FFKKR's treatment of Viktor if the former is no longer able to put out the kind of performance that he did at the Barcelona Grand Prix Final? Or if Georgi retires from the field?

-How would skaters that wish to skate independently of corrupt federations -- something that is currently not possible under the way the ISU is structured with 'member nations' -- navigate their careers, and what avenues would they have at their disposal to avoid burn-out from the shitstorm of pervasive corruption?

-How would politics affect our favorite characters at an event as globally visible as the PyeongChang Olympic Games, and in its aftermath? (I say this with the caveat that I generally write yoi fic w/ the premise that it took place during the first half of the 2016 skating season, though there is no way to pinpoint the actual season).

All of these questions kept circling about in my head, and I felt highly motivated to begin writing a multichapter, post-canon "future fic". Specifically, a fic that would tell the story of married Yuuri/Viktor at the 2022 Olympic Games, but jumping back in time at various points over the previous five years to showcase how a particular scandal -- other than doping -- at the 2018 PyeongChang Games has "followed them" throughout the years (and has deeply impacted the sport/our other favorite characters).

This fic turned into a series called "Gold's On The Inside, Elevated My Feet", which currently is at 293K total words, and is being updated 1-2 times per month.

I know a lot of people aren't into long, novel-length works, especially if they're WIPs, but if you, like me, are fascinated by some of the real-world issues that might impact Yuuri/Viktor/Yurio and others post-canon, I hope you'll consider checking my work out.

I've included a spoiler-free excerpt from Chapter 11 of part 1 of the series, below, that I feel hints at the politics while encapsulating the Viktuuri fluff, friendship antics, and overall supportive themes that I've tried to weave into my stories.

I hope it piques your interest and encourages you to check the series out, or my other Yuri!!! on Ice fics!

---------

“First of all, how the hell would you have even managed to contact me from all the way over in the Kiss and Cry?” Phichit went on. “Did they imagine you had waved a wand to send a carrier pigeon flying through Gangneung Ice Arena to land directly on my head ? After which, it would peck an intimidating message in Morse code straight onto my scalp?”

Yuuri was now hiccuping giggles, and he was pleased to see that he’d begun to wipe a profuse quantity of tears from his cheeks.

When his best friend had told him that he wanted to hear all the nitty-gritty details of his International Court of Arbitration for Sport (ICAS) hearing, Phichit had definitely had some misgivings; Yuuri and Viktor had flown to Lausanne for their own proceedings directly after the latter’s retirement party in Milan, and given what they’d told him about each brutally long-winded 4 hour session, he’d known fun things were not in store for him.

“But Yuuri without his glasses on can be very intimidating…very sexily intimdating,” Viktor said with a grin, prompting a playful slap on the arm from his fiance; thanks to Yuuri’s thirsty fans, the hashtag #Yuuri’sNearsightedSexySquintTally had become a staple on the competition circuit, and both he and Viktor had taken to alluding to the phrase as much as possible.

“Yes, I’m sure that’s exactly what permanent-frown-dude-arbitrator was referring to,” Yuuri responded, sarcastically, “my nefariously sexy squinting that so very clearly spelled out that Phichit better file a claim, or else.”

He and Viktor both laughed, and he shared a few more snippets from his hearing before conversation moved along to discussion around the other Olympics claimants’ hearings.

“Oh my god, just imagine Christophe during his,” Yuuri said, before giving Makkachin a kiss, right to the top of her fuzzy head.

The poodle was splayed out across both of her dog-dad’s laps, taking up much of the bench directly in front of the rink boards at Hasetsu’s Ice Castle. After their hearing, the couple had flown to St. Petersburg, spending just a few days there to get Makka and Meni and do a round of cursory packing. They’d then taken off for Japan where they planned to stay until mid-June, which was the beginning of the rainy season.

Even from afar, Phichit had been able to keep tabs on Yuuri thanks to Nishigori Yuuko. After thoroughly bonding with her at Viktor’s retirement party – after all, a willingness to drunkenly act out the unhinged plot of The King and the Skater 3: Because Time Loops Are A Thing tended to solidify people in Phichit’s mind as lifelong friends – she had been messaging him through Instagram as well as contributing heavily in the “Yuuri Support Squad” chat.

Soon enough, he’d be able to keep tabs on him in-person, as his own trip to Hasetsu was just three weeks away.

“He’d be all: ‘And then, my esteemed arbitrators, I got distracted from calculating Yuuri’s grade-of-execution, because my eyes were too busy lingering on his delectably muscled thighs as he came out of his triple-lutz, triple-toe combo’,” Viktor said, in a deliberately put-upon Swiss accent, while lasciviously licking his lips.

Phichit barked out a laugh while Yuuri grinned at him.

“Are you sure you aren’t just verbalizing the thoughts you wish you could have expressed during your hearing?” he asked his fiance.

Viktor gasped, theatrically, and clutched Meni even more closely to his chest before responding.

“I would never think such a thing! I’ve become an expert at admiring your beautiful thighs while simultaneously calculating your GOE,” he said, sounding proud. “As any good coach should be.”

[affectionteaming]

Olympic Park, Stellarton, NS

Blayre Turnbull used to play hockey on the pond at this park so the town renamed it and put up this plaque in her (and Babe Mason’s) honour after the 2018 Olympics. transcription of Blayre’s side under the cut:

Blayre Turnbull

“No matter what you are doing, try your best….… homework, practice, work, you will not be disappointed for your effort”. —Blayre Turnbull, Olympian, 2018

Dedication to the above words of wisdom have brought Stellarton’s Blayre Turnbull a rewarding career in her chosen profession of hockey. From the lasting memories as a young child of four learning to skate on this very Olympic Park Pond, to playing the game she so loves, with the best in the world.

Growing up in Stellarton, Pictou County, Blayre had great encouragement from family, local hockey organizations, community and a variety of people. She would state “The credit most importantly goes to my family, which continues to support my dreams; my coaches at Shattuck - St. Mary’s and the University of Wisconsin, who taught me to believe in myself; and many of my teammates, who challenge me to get better and be the best player I can be”.

Hockey Career 2001-2018

Pictou County Minor Hockey (Novice)

Pictou County Minor Hockey (Atom AAA)

Pictou County Minor Hockey (Peewee AA)

Pictou County Minor Hockey (Peewee AAA)

Nighthawks - Northumberland Regional High School (Pictou County, Nova Scotia)

Northern Storm (Nova Scotia Female Hockey League)

Shattuck - St Mary’s

University of Wisconsin

Calgary Inferno (Canadian Western Hockey League)

Team Canada

International Debut: August 18, 2010 vs. United States

Canada’s National Women’s Team (2014-17)

Canada’s National Under-18 Team (201

Olympic & World Championship Experience

2018 Canada’s Women’s Olympic Hockey Team (Winter Olympics Pyeongchang, South Korea.)

2017 International Ice Hockey Federation (Women’s World Championship)

2016 International Ice Hockey Federation (Women’s World Championship)

[virtchandmoir]

Considered one of the greatest skating pairs of all time, Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir spent nearly a decade at the top of their sport to become the most decorated ice dancers in the world. Over more than two decades of extraordinary athletic partnership, Tessa and Scott became the first and only ice dance team to win every major international junior and senior skating competition. At the height of their success between 2008 and 2019 they took home a record-setting five Olympic medals, three World Championships, eight Canadian National Championships and won the Four Continents Championship three times. The pair first skated into the hearts of Canadians at the Olympic Winter Games in 2010, thrilling crowds in Vancouver as they became the youngest athletes and first North Americans to win Olympic Gold in ice dancing. Nearly a decade later Tessa and Scott secured their iconic status with a beguiling Gold medal performance that smashed the world record for overall score in free dance at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang.

Growing up in London, Ontario, Tessa took to the ice at the age of six after deciding she didn’t want to be the only student in her class who couldn’t skate during a school field trip. Raised in a figure skating family in nearby Ilderton, Ontario, Scott had been skating since he was three years old, coached by his mother Alma and his aunt Carol. First collaborating in 1997 when Tessa was seven years old and Scott was nine, the pair were initially so shy they could barely talk to each other. Building confidence while developing undeniable on-ice chemistry, Tessa and Scott shared a commitment to excellence that continually helped them overcome adversity. The two made enormous sacrifices to hone their craft, embracing success and failure as equal opportunities for growth and turning vulnerability into compelling artistry. Training rigorously to perfect innovative choreography, they pushed boundaries by approaching ice dancing as both creative expression and high performance sport, skating with an emotional sincerity that captivated audiences around the world.

After raising the profile of ice dancing to breathtaking new heights, Tessa and Scott retired from competitive skating in 2019. Since then, Scott has served as head coach and managing director of the Ice Academy of Montreal’s satellite program in London, Ontario. He has also been a vocal advocate for diversity and inclusivity in skating. Tessa completed both an MBA from the Smith School of Business, and a Master of Applied Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania. Tessa is an executive advisor at Deloitte, where she helps to unlock the potential of the Canadian workforce in the realm of high performance and wellbeing. She also serves on the board for Her Mark, a charity that empowers young girls through the power of sport, and Motionball, an organization that fundraises for Special Olympics athletes.  

Considérés comme l’un des plus grands couples de patinage artistique de tous les temps, Tessa Virtue et Scott Moir ont passé près d’une décennie au sommet de leur sport pour devenir les danseurs sur glace les plus primés du monde. Au cours de leur partenariat sportif extraordinaire qui a duré plus de deux décennies, Tessa et Scott sont devenus la première et la seule équipe de danse sur glace à remporter toutes les compétitions majeures internationales de patinage artistique junior et senior. À l’apogée de leur succès, soit entre 2008 et 2019, ils remportent un nombre record de cinq médailles olympiques, trois Championnats du monde, huit Championnats nationaux canadiens et ils remportent également le Four Continents Championship à trois reprises. Le couple a conquis les cœurs des Canadiens lors des Jeux olympiques d’hiver de 2010, enthousiasmant les foules à Vancouver en devenant les plus jeunes athlètes et les premiers Nord-Américains à remporter l’or olympique en danse sur glace. Près d’une décennie plus tard, aux Jeux olympiques de 2018 à Pyeongchang, Tessa et Scott consolident leur statut emblématique en donnant une performance enlevante qui leur vaudra la médaille d’or et qui pulvérise alors le record du monde pour la note globale obtenue en danse libre.

Tessa a grandi à London, en Ontario et a commencé à patiner à l’âge de six ans après avoir décidé lors d’une sortie scolaire qu’elle ne serait pas la seule élève de sa classe incapable de patiner. Élevé dans une famille de patineurs artistiques, non loin de là, à Ilderton, en Ontario, Scott a commencé à patiner dès l’âge de trois ans. Sa mère Alma et sa tante Carol ont été ses premières entraîneures. La première collaboration du couple survient en 1997 alors que Tessa a sept ans et Scott neuf ans. Ils sont alors si timides qu’ils arrivent à peine à se parler. Gagnant en confiance au fur et à mesure qu’ils développent leur complicité indéniable sur la glace, Tessa et Scott partagent un engagement envers l’excellence qui les a constamment aidés à surmonter l’adversité. Ils ont tous deux fait d’énormes sacrifices pour perfectionner leur art, en embrassant les succès et les échecs comme des opportunités égales de croissance et en transformant la vulnérabilité en un style artistique saisissant. S’entraînant rigoureusement pour perfectionner des chorégraphies innovantes, ils ont repoussé les limites en abordant la danse sur glace à la fois comme une expression créative et un sport de haute performance, patinant avec une sincérité émotionnelle qui a captivé les publics du monde entier.

Après avoir élevé le profil de la danse sur glace à de nouveaux sommets époustouflants, Tessa et Scott ont pris leur retraite de la compétition en 2019. Depuis lors, Scott occupe le poste d’entraîneur en chef et de directeur général du programme satellite de l’Académie de glace de Montréal à London, en Ontario. Il a également été un ardent défenseur de la diversité et de l’inclusivité dans le patinage. Tessa a obtenu un MBA de la Smith School of Business ainsi qu’une maîtrise en psychologie positive appliquée de l’Université de Pennsylvanie. Tessa est conseillère exécutive chez Deloitte, où elle contribue à libérer le potentiel de la main-d’œuvre canadienne dans le domaine de la haute performance et du bien-être. Elle siège également au conseil d’administration de Her Mark, une association caritative qui autonomise les jeunes filles par le biais du sport, et de Motionball, un organisme qui recueille des fonds pour les athlètes d’Olympiques spéciaux.

Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame is honoured to be presenting Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir with the prestigious Order of Sport award on Thursday, October 19, 2023 as a member of the incredible Class of 2023.

—Order of Sport

[for-yoongi0309]

EVENTS SCHEDULE (16-17)

2016

160103 | Bundang fansign

160204 | Pyeongchang winter festival

160206 | K-Pop Festival Zepp Sapporo

160315 | KBS ONE Open Concert

160325 | KCON in Abu Dhabi

160511 Synnara gangnam fansign

160513 | Sinchon fansign

160604 | Smart Uniform 'Day of Family Love' Campaign 161001 | Busan One Festival

161014 | Synnara fansign

161104 | Yongsan fansign

- rest of 2016

2017

WINGS Tour

170112 | MAMA in Hong Kong

170114 | Golden Disk Awards

170116 | Idol Star Athletics Championships

170119 | Seoul Music Awards

170124 | Global VLIVE TOP10 Event

170222 | Gaon Chart Awards

170223 | Aladdin fansign

170224 | Mokdong fansign

170225 | Sinchon fansign

170226 | Hongdae fansign

170317 | KCON in Mexico

170510 | Blood Sweat & Tears JPN ver - release event

170602 | Hanshin Tigers Baseball Game

170613 | HOME PARTY

170804 | Music Bank in Singapore

170902 | Seo Taiji 25th anniversary concert

170921 | Cultwo Radio Show

170922 | Aladdin fansign

170924 | SBS Inkigayo Super festival

170928 | m!countdown comeback special

170929 | Kpop World Festival

170930 | Sinchon fansign

171007 | Seocho fansign

171008 | Hongdae fansign

171019 | PUMA fansign

171101 | Pyeongchang Olympics G-100 K-POP Concert 

171115 | Jimmy Kimmel mini concert

171119 | AMAs

171201 | MAMA in Hong Kong

171202 | MMA in Seoul

171225 | SBS GAYO Daejun festival

171229 | KBS GAYO Daejun festival

other lists and events

[luvhughes43]

https://www.tumblr.com/luvhughes43/761180375823319040/things-that-happened-in-the-blake-universe-this

As a figure skating enthusiast i am so excited for blakes podcast !! I like to imagine it being a bit chaotic and she shows the more fun personalities of skaters who are usually shown in a more serious light!!! Lol she might even talk about some competition scandals like the 2014 olympic scandal 👀👀 and she like gives her POV on it as someone who knows more behind the scenes!! anw blake is amazing and shes def getting a renewal

ugh loveee that youre a figure skating enthusiast !! i literally love skating sm which is why i originally made this au <3

her podcast is def a bit chaotic and she has the best interviews with other skaters !! esp since she was such a successful, well-known skater herself, the interviews flow so easily if that makes sense?

some episodes include:

Off-Ice With Blake - In the first episode, Blake Hughes discusses life as a professional figure skater, talks about why figure skaters retire from the sport early, and the extreme practices skaters go through to be on the top of their game.

PyeongChang Olympics 2018 - Black Swan - Blake Hughes talks about her iconic olympic performances, her rigorous training schedules, behind the scenes, and her gold medal.

Lets Talk About It... - In todays podcast, Blake talks about her injuries sustained from figure skating, her early retirement, what could've been, and her future in the sport.

Team Tutberidze - Part One - Join Blake as she discusses and explains the world of Team Tutberidze. Eteris harmful practices, pushing the limits, and the 2022 Olympics.

The Beijing 2022 Olympic Games - Part Two - Blake explains the Olympics that sent shock waves through the figure skating community. Valieva doping scandal, Sasha Trusovas silver medal, Adam Rippons comments, and Anna Shcherbakova's gold medal win.

The Quad God (with Ilia Malinin) - In this light-hearted episode, Blake sits down with Ilia Malinin and discusses all things Team USA, Quads, and variety shows.

The Sochi 2014 Olympics - Blake explains the controversy surrounding Yuna Kims silver medal and Adelina Sotnikovas gold medal win, and gushes about Yulia Lipnitskaya's iconic red dress performance.

i clearly got carried away😭😭