#ghiaccio is a speed skater

[industriallyinsecure]

Could I please please PLEASE get some headcannons of la squadra and where they took their partner on their first date/favorite date?

I went with first date for this request :)

Risotto is planning this extremely detailed date that he believes is worthy of you, but at the same time brings him out of his comfort zone

(He has never been on a date before)

He’s genuinely surprised (and relieved) when you suggest a stay in date with little to no interaction with anyone except maybe the person who delivers the food

The two of you snuggle up on the couch, completely intertwined as you wait for your food to arrive

While chatting about the things he originally had planned , you called him chiocciolino (little snail) and praised him for trying something different and coming out of his shell

He’s never had a nickname outside of the affectionate shortening of his name or the horrible things he was called in his youth, so you earn a rare, yet small, smile from him

You spend the rest of the night nibbling on and sharing your food together while watching one of his favorite shitty horror movies on his old VHS player

(Everyone else comes home to see the two of you gonked out on the couch with the TV on and food on the low table. Formaggio calls dibs on not cleaning up)

Ghiaccio takes you to his favorite skating rink so he can show off for you

He only mentions he used to be a professional ice skater mid-way through your date

(Comes off a bit assholish, but he really just wants to impress you)

If you don’t know how to skate, or can’t very well, he uses the opportunity to hold you close and teach you

If you’re pretty good, he tries to flex on you

Either way, it ends with one of you busting your ass on the ice

Ghiaccio will be mortified, but you just laugh it off

When you ask him to do one of his old routines, he’ll blush furiously and claim to not remember any

Which is a lie

If you keep pressing, he’ll do it, but he’ll complain the whole time

He’s absolutely beautiful and graceful to watch, a far cry from the choppy, fast pace of Ghiaccio’s actions that you were used to

Melone takes you to a local contemporary restaurant

He likes new experiences and trying new things, especially with new people!

Absolutely makes small talk, compares zodiac signs, natal charts, etc.

Asks very strange, but thoughtful questions

They’re not the normal questions, but things like “What is your opinion on the housing crisis?” And “If you could be any plant what would you be?”

For lack of a better word, the first date with Melone is quirky

He shares his food with you, but just passes the plate over rather than holding out a spoon/fork like a creep

100% pays for your meal regardless of the price (his wallet is crying)

After, he takes you to get gelato and makes you pick a flavor you don’t normally get, and he does the same

All in all, a very traditional, vanilla date, but fun

Prosciutto plans the most extravagant date possible just to impress you

He dresses to the nines (not that you can tell the difference from usual) and wears his best cologne. He even puts on several of his favorite rings.

It’s too bad that the date goes awful

The exhibition he had taken you two had been taken over by environmental protesters

So he tries to take you to the restaurant he made a reservation at

Only for them to have never reserved a spot for the two of you

(He doesn’t blow up on them because you’re with him, but God does he want to)

With the date ruined, he decides to just take you back home and reschedule

As he walks you back to your apartment, a car speeds by and drenches both of you in a respectable amount of rainwater

When Prosciutto sees your shoulders shaking, he fears the worst.

But when your giggles get louder, he just gets confused

“I hope our next one goes better, Pro.”

You pull him into a brief kiss (and he imagines steam coming out of his ears and comical train whistling)

Pesci is trying to plan a date with you, and suggests almost everything but what he wants to do

So when you suggest renting a boat from the closest marina and to go out fishing, he’s over the moon!

He’ll grab all of his fishing things, much to the behest of Prosciutto, and the two of you head off

The two of you sit with your legs through the railing, the fishing rods casted

The day is filled with lots of catches and releases, and lots of pleasant conversations

If you have no experience, he takes the time to properly set everything up, carefully walking you through each step

If you do, it just makes him like you even more!

(Women want him, fish befriend him)

He almost drops the fishing rod when you lean your head against his shoulder

All in all, a very successful date

When he gets back, Formaggio and Illuso absolutely make some foul comments about how he smells like fish

(I don’t have the courage to write any here)

Illuso plans to take you to one of the only places he liked to go with his family as a child

Insists on getting ready with you, even helping you with your hair and makeup to the best of his ability.

(If you beg, he might let you style his hair)

The train and bus rides to Teatro La Fenice is fairly uneventful

His refined upbringing shows when he starts to talk to others in the theater, which is as shocking as it is interesting

You try not to stare as he puts on this rich person persona, but it’s genuinely amazing that he schmoozes an older couple into giving him their box seats

But the Illuso you know comes back during the orchestra tune up, snickering and making snide comments

The opera is long, and some of the nuance is lost on you, but Illuso had a way of picking it apart that made it funny to listen to

His ability to simultaneously make fun of it but also provide insightful commentary made the date a success

At least in your mind

You did fall asleep on him during intermission though

Formaggio honest to god forgets you have a date

So you end up at his apartment cuddling with his cat while he rifles through the phone book for delivery places

He considers himself lucky that you don’t rip him a new one

And, luckily for him, you’re very low maintenance. He would take offense to you not really having a high standard of him, but he doesn’t really mind

You don’t protest when he puts a football match on (a welcome surprise since he didn’t take you for a sports fan)

The two of you (and his kitty) snuggle up together as you wait for your food to be delievered

He’s only mildly betrayed when his cat moves away from him to soak up all of his attention

She’s always been fickle

But it’s a good sign that she likes you

The takeout is just okay, which both of you note, and definitely not worth the price

You end up falling asleep on the couch, and he doesn’t really know what to do. Does he move you to his mattress? Would it be weird to move you?

He ends up covering you with a blanket and sleeping propped up in the other chair because he felt guilty about using his own bed while you slept on the couch

[dragonwishes]

Hey everybody, just a reminder that I do a lot of fic and I love sharing! Here's some examples of my work, please feel free to comment or check.

Worm fic, based entirely around "chasing people is sexy", where Taylor attempts to flee from Dragon and Defiant post-Arcadia.

Barriss/Ahsoka fics that just. Ignore how she became Sith. It's fine.

Aloy character study.

My series, about JJBA, but gayer and with less dying. Anything from Jotaro/Kakyoin in P4, Kakyoin/bullying Rohan, and Avdol reverse pranking the Gangstars to the long-term project Take the Stars Home, about Giorno being invited to a Joestar family reunion.

What if the assassins mostly lived and Ghiaccio competed as a speed skater in the Olympics?

It is what it is.

My completed Jane Crocker/The Midnight Crew fic (she is part of the Felt, there's a whole Thing.)

My Finished mystery story about post-canon Homestuck, but something has Gone Wrong. A fix-it. And a mystery. And everything else, all at once. This is probably the best thing I've ever written. I'm so proud of it.

I take requests and commissions! I hope someone enjoys something I've written recently xxx

[yoslavkage-kira]

Ghiaccio x reader

//Request: "i would like...  ghiaccio but its an au and they’re ice skaters- jk jk...unless?"

"So... how fast can you really go?"

The blue-haired Italian looked up quickly, surprised to see you looking over the ice-rink railing at him with interest. Even though you were both set to be on the Olympic team, he barely ever talked to the figure skaters like you. Although, he admitted to himself that he'd spent many a day admiring the grace you exhibited on the ice. "...what?" he asked, still a little stunned that you were actually talking to him.

You giggled a little, which made his ears heat up. "How fast can you go? I watch you guys sometimes, and it's a little scary to see you go so quickly."

"Oh!" Ghiaccio quickly stood up from where he had sat to take his skates off. He crossed his arms and pouted at you. "I think my highest speed was about 35 miles an hour-"

"What?!" Your stunned exclamation cut him off. "That's crazy! Are you sure-"

"Yes, I'm sure," he snapped, realizing that he was a little harsh when you suddenly fell silent, mumbling an apology. "Oh, er- sorry, I just wasn't finished." He cleared his throat and gave you what he hoped was a pleasant smile. He wasn't good at this type of thing. "Anyway, we speed skaters basically run on the ice, and try and stay as aerodynamic as possible." He held up his skate to show you. "See? The blade is only a millimeter thick."

He smirked to himself internally as your eyes widened. "Wow... My skates are a lot thicker, I don't think I could balance on those."

Ghiaccio shrugged. "Well, you need to balance... you guys do some pretty amazing stuff too. Those twirls? Yours are always perfect..." His voice trailed off and he realized that you were avoiding his gaze. Oops, maybe I just made things awkward! Gah! Why do I always do this! She's pretty, too.

He let the silence sit just a moment longer before speaking again, looking down sheepishly at his feet."Well, I could tell you more about it over dinner."

You looked up immediately. "Really? Sure! Let me take my skates off. You're Ghiaccio, right?"

"Yeah, that's me. And-"

"I'm (name)."

Ghiaccio was a little surprised that it worked, but eagerly went and packed his things as you did the same. He knew that he was a difficult person to deal with. The other speed skaters were a little afraid of him, as he would sometimes have violent, angry outbursts on the turn of a hat. He hated being embarrassed, or losing, and that was how he dealt with it. But now, he felt oddly calm as the two of you walked out of the building and down the street, looking for a place to eat. You ended up settling on a burger place a few blocks away, and spent the entire time chatting away happily. It wasn't often that Ghiaccio let his guard down like this, but you were so friendly and inquisitive, he couldn't help it. Eventually, he was comfortable enough to tease you.

"A lot of first-time speed skaters go flying head over heels, I'd like to see you try," he taunted lightly, sipping at his drink.

"Oh? That sounds a bit compromising," you shot back cheekily. You didn't manage to get a blush out of him, but the small furrow of his brows did not go unnoticed. "I bet you'd trip over your own feet if you tried figure skating."

Ghiaccio raised an eyebrow from behind his red-rimmed glasses. "Oh yeah? I doubt it. I can be graceful, too, you know."

"Really? You have yet to offer up any proof of that." She openly smirked as he opened his mouth and started ranting about how he didn't need to, his performance as a Speed skater would certainly translate into a goo figure skating performance as well. "But you can prove it to me later," she cut in, silencing his words. "Walk me home?"

A lot of the skaters here training for the Olympics were staying in hotels in the area, and yours wasn't that far. You and Ghiaccio kept up your banter as you walked, but eventually fell into a comfortable silence, one that you eventually broke as you stopped in front of your hotel. "So... I guess we'll be seeing a lot of each other. They're keeping all the skaters together."

Ghiaccio nodded, glancing over at you. "Yeah... seems like it." He gulped. After today, a gold medal wasn't the only thing he would be after... "Is that a good thing?"

You turned your gaze over to him, and his heart jumped a little at the eye contact. You stared at him with suspicious eyes for a moment. Shit, she didn't like that, did she?

Then, she broke the facade, letting herself smile brightly, more brightly than anyone had smiled at Ghiaccio before.

"Of course! Between you and me-"  She smirked and leaned in a little, lowing her voice to sound a bit sultry. "I'm looking forward to knowing you really well, Ghiaccio." With that, she planted a quick, innocent kiss on his cheek and turned away before he could process what was happening. His mind had shorted out for a moment, but then the color returned to his cheeks.

"Hey, wait a second! You can't just say something like that and then leave! What were you thinking? Hey! At least give me your number! HEY!"

You giggled and disappeared inside, leaving an indignant yet ecstatic Ghiaccio behind.

[yrpreciousmoon]

Ghiaccio HCs let’s fucking gooooo

Alright gang it’s that time again. I’m stuck in the Swamp of Sadness called “writer’s block” where headcanons are the only thing I can manage. And y’all seem to appreciate my Ghiaccioposting so let’s do this CW: Mentions of violence, abuse, drug use and sex, but nothing explicit.

BACKSTORY

First of all, why yes I DO have a hc for his legal name~ But if I told you he would kill me.

He is on the autism spectrum but undiagnosed; his difficulty communicating with/relating to others and his frustration with figurative language often get mislabeled as him being a dick. He’s learned to lean into that label.

When he was very young, he was taken away from his abusive family for his own protection and put into foster care.

He was constantly being moved from home to home because of his difficult nature and violent outbursts. His anger issues were never addressed, only pushed onto the next caretaker.

He grew up always feeling like a burden, like no one wanted him, and so he developed a fierce drive to be the best at everything. As a wise woman once said, “I feel like I’m the worst so I always act like I’m the best!”

Being shuffled around also instilled in him a lone-wolf sensibility, a distrust for getting close to anyone.

He was an extremely good student, at least in terms of grades. He studied multiple languages and had a special interest in the sciences.

He was also an incredibly dedicated athlete,  participating in track & field, hockey, and soccer (football).

He kept getting ejected from matches for his anger issues, even when dealing with his own team mates. Some schools refused to play against them unless he was removed from the lineup.

He then sought outside sources to get his adrenaline fix and wound up becoming a speed skater. He was exceptionally talented and became obsessed with being number one. He was actually on track to compete for his country in the Olympic games…

However… a particularly violent outburst had him disqualified and had him permanently barred from competitive skating.

This was the inciting event that awakened his Stand abilities.

He withdrew from school, and never went to university.

Has a series of short-lived and distant “relationships.” tends toward hookups and flings.

He is a drug-user, indiscriminately; whatever his teammates put in front of him.

LA SQUADRA ESECUZIONI

He’s one of, if not the youngest member of La Squadra.

He doesn’t need to be “liked” by the team, but wants to be respected and feared.

His opinions on…

Sorbet & Gelato: Finds their PDA annoying so he tends to only engage with them for work. Probably is also jealous of what they have.

Formaggio: He appreciates being able to drink beer and watch sports together and not have to talk.

Illuso: Sees him as a necessary part of the team, but they both tend to keep to themselves, so they’re not especially close.

Prosciutto: Respects him quite a lot, aspires to be more like him in many ways. He’s slightly more open with him than the others, because he knows Prosciutto won’t try to “fix” him.

Pesci: Sees him as a “little brother,” wants to mold him into a fearsome assassin. Surprisingly, he is not as critical with him as Prosciutto is. He is the team mate Ghiaccio is least likely to lose his temper with, and most likely to let down his guard down with.

Melone: Fascinated by him, highly respects him as a team mate. Prefers to work with him because they weirdly understand each other; they absolutely share a folie à deux. Early in their professional partnership he was annoyed by Melone’s incessant and aggressive sexual innuendo, but quickly figured out that this could be resolved by adrenaline-fueled, post-mission hookups. (Spoiler alert: these men are kinky.) Afterwards, it’s all business. Eventually Ghiaccio begins to experience what scientists refer to as “catching feelings,” but he doesn’t have the emotional intelligence to know what to do with this.

Risotto: Has a deep respect for him of course, but also a low-key resentment that he feels towards any person of authority. He tends to push back against orders and treat him more as an “equal” than the others do, but it’s mostly for show. He’d happily follow Ris into any battle. MUSIC RECS Admittedly, I haven’t gotten into this as deeply as I’d like to, but I have couple of suggestions that I am absolutely rabid about.

“This is Love,” Air Traffic Controller Obv I see this through a Meloghia lens, but the romantic angle could be x anyone (or no one.) Oh, I was hit as a kid, I was good, but then I quit. Everyone that tried to fix me Knows that I can't change a bit. I've got no shame, got no pride, Only skeletons to hide. And if you try to talk to someone, Well then someone has to die. Once you chase me down the hole, Yeah, once you think you're in control, You'll believe that we are partners And you'll feel comfortable. Oh, then the darkness rolls in And you'll forget who I have been. But you'll love, love, love it. This is love.

Literally all of “M A N I A,” Fall Out Boy Don’t give me that look, I will fight you on this I stg. A couple of highlights--

“Young and Menace” We've gone way too fast for way too long. And we were never supposed to make it half this far. And I’ve lived so much life I think that God is gonna have to kill me twice. Kill me twice like my name was Nikki Sixx. I woke up in my shoes again, but somewhere you exist. Woke up on the wrong side of reality. And there's a madness that's just coursing right through me. And as far as the time, Not sure I'm there yet, but I'm certain I've arrived. Oops I did it again. I forgot what I was losing my mind about. I only wrote this down to make you press rewind And send a message: I was young and a menace. I'm just here flying off the deep end. I'm just here to become the best yet. I'm just here for the psych assessment. I’m just here for the fall.

“Champion” I'm calling you from the future To let you know we've made a mistake. And there's a fog from the past that's giving me Such a headache... And I'm back with a madness. I'm a champion (Of the people who don't believe in champions.) I got nothing but dreams inside. I got nothing but dreams. And I'm just young enough to still believe, But young enough not to know what to believe in. If I can live through this, if I can live through this... If I can live through this, I can do anything.

[theclockworkkidart]

I wanted to doodle White Album, one of my favourite stands.

Ghiaccio and Melone show up to where the target should be according to an informant. Who may have lied or was mistaken. Either way that informant won’t make that mistake again.

I’m sure anyone tagging along with Ghiaccio on a mission needs to bring some warm clothes. 🥶

Bonus doodles:

First is from a pose he does on the reference sheet that makes him look like an aggressive cat. Bottom one is like… he must’ve taught himself to walk properly in skates but would’ve done this awkward walk. Especially with long speed skater blades. Do you think he needs to sharpen those blades? How would he do it? Do you think Metallica could manipulate the blades or are they not necessarily true metal/steel because it’s a stand- Much to think about.

[melonpyonpyon]

Sooooo I’ve been thinking about a possible backstory for Ghiaccio so this is just a hc

I posted this on my fb profile originally so I’m just posting here too  So, after a long ass day of me watching and listening to athletes related crime cases (I'm looking at you Jennifer and Tonya) it came to my mind something for a possible backstory for Ghiaccio because I'm tired of the "my parents abandoned me when I was a child" thing So, what if Ghiaccio used to be a speed skater??? But like, retaking some stuff from the Jennifer and the Tonya cases he ended up doing something that affected his career forever???Ghiaccio being pressured by his parents and having to deal with them and how poorly they treated him, one of their parents discovering that he had talent for ice skating, making him take figure skating and ballet lessons and starting to become more and more strict with him and his trainning, not being satisfied when he got in second or third place, making him go into a lot of pressure and stress since he wasn't as good as their parents would have wanted him to be in figure skating, but him getting interested into speed racing and slowly leaving figure skating behind, specially now that his parents became aware that he was better at speed skating than figure skating and pressuring him even more.Ghiaccio with the time would start to get these outbursts of anger between practices or when something didn't go as he wanted or after he ended up in a second or third place in the competitions. In one of his competitions, after not getting on first place he gets in a fight with the guy who surpassed him, making him lose not only the second place, but making him have to take a temporal suspension from the skate ring (I don't want to say a permanent ban 'cuz I'm not rlly sure about it, sorry) and his parents getting just angrier at him and making him have an even more strict regimen and basically making him train day and night with no rest until one day while he was having an argument with his parents things went too far and he ends up murdering them with the blade of his own skates and after calming down realizing what he just did, losing it all. When he finally joins “La Squadra” he is already well know as “Ghiaccio”, the same name people used to call him when he was in the skating ring, a nickname he gained and meant the world to him, a name that was admired for thousands of people and now it was just the name of a kid who murdered his parents in cold blood, the name of a kid who shatered his own dreams and now was seen as a monster, he went from having a promising future as a skater to being no one

[jjba-hell]

Don’t Pass Me By

Honestly I could give a whole speech about how far I’ve wandered from canon with this guy but I mean the prompt IS AU- so I mean... my canon now, right? 

This is a fluffy mess with a slight surprise twist at the end- by far a piece I enjoyed writing without being crazy about the results so well and truly- good luck.

This is a twist on the whole college AU. Ghia is a bit younger, had pitch black curls before acquiring his stand and a tiny bit more mellow (and taller but I’m not opening that discussion).

Triggers? Other than some financial insecurity on reader’s behalf, anxiety-inducing info near the end, possible bullying and Ghiaccio’s signature loud mouth this is an EXTREMELY fluffy piece...

Tags for @giogio-gucci-gangstar​, @lasquadraweek2020​

3,5 K words, Gender Neutral reader

“My thighs are on fire! Can I please take a break?” You whined as you skid in wide circles around the centre of the ice with the momentum you had built up a few seconds before.

“I thought you were athletic. Your time is still too slow.” Ghiacchio called back from the rink edge behind you.

Doubling over your own legs with a groan you moved back to the starting point.

“Still don’t get how you can get fast enough to spin around the air three times but can’t make a good lap.” He grumbled before signalling for you to start.

You knew the position you were in was strange- were you really selling your time and training for the sake of a university scholarship? Yes. Could you only HOPE it was worth it? Also, yes. But you had your reasons.

By the suggestion of your scholarship manager- you had to come under the tutelage of Ghiacchio, an ex-ice hockey star that wasn’t handling rehabilitation very well.

You weren’t exactly sure what you were getting yourself into when you walked into that practice session but one warning stuck out above the rest- “His temper is a bit overactive.”

You had figured this out pretty soon when you first met Ghiacchio- you were walking through the bleachers as the team was mid-practice, more specifically a mock game, with Ghiacchio standing on the side-lines, drumming his fingers on the open edge of the rink.

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d swear you were itching to be on the ice.” You spoke when you finally finished coming down the bleachers and stood beside him.

He looked down at you with a scowl that would have scared you, if you hadn’t seen worse. You didn’t pay it any mind as you watched the game unfold in front of you.

The players skating by closest to you and Ghiacchio were on their way to the opposite goal when someone’s stick slid in front of the carrier’s skates and caused a trip. You only knew from having to sit down and watch hockey games with your dad back home, that it was a foul. But you figured if you were going to at least pique his interest in training you, you needed to start somewhere. So, you called it.

“Foul!” Which seemed to get him to divide his attention between you and the game in front of you. The whistle blew.

“What the hell are you-“ Ghiaccio started, but instead you decided to explain to the coach was you’d seen.

“That was an intended trip, penalty to the reds.”

The team stopped to look at you, some of them smiling stupidly with their mouth guards like they were trying to get your attention- couldn’t have been because you knew how to play their game, right? Sure you didn’t look the part but they couldn’t just assume.

The coach skid by on the ice between you and the team and blew the whistle again. “They’re right. Get in formation for a penalty.”

The team collectively groaned as they moved away from you and to the goal for a penalty shot.

“Ah, just the person I wanted to see. Ghiacchio, this is Y/n L/n, they need some hockey coaching.” The coach gestured to you, letting you wave in a mock friendly manner.

Ghiacchio angrily turned to his coach. “Do they even skate?”

“You know you could just ask me yourself.” You interjected. You turned around to lean with your back against the rink, looking at Ghiacchio who was facing forward. He scowled down at you- somewhat taller than you but not by much with the tightest curls you’d ever seen on a guy.

“Can you even skate?” he practically spat in your direction.

“I can but only figure skate. That’s why I need you to coach me.”

Ghiacchio grunted. “Why now?”

The coach chipped in this time. “It doesn’t matter, Ghia. At least teach a new player to get on the ice since you’re too scared to get back on.”

You winced, that was harsh, even for a coach. Ghiacchio’s scowl became darker, he opened his mouth to say something, but the coach stopped him again.

“That’s not a request. Your scholarship is already in hot water with the board.”

The anger seemed to steep even more over Ghiacchio’s face- radiating heat you could feel through the air conditioning in the rink and turning red over his face.

He reached his hand up and beckoned the coach closer- it took you a moment to realize what he was going to do- so instead of letting it all unfold, the second Ghiaccio’s hand grabbed the front of the coach’s jacket, you grabbed hold of the hand that he had balled up in a fist at his side.

“Ghia, come on you don’t wanna do that.”

He whipped himself out of your grip and let go of the coach. “Don’t tell me what I don’t wanna do!” He yelled right in your face which you didn’t really take personal, not even letting you say anything else as he was already on his way up the stairs to the exit before you could do anything else. “You wanna get the shit beaten out of you so bad, be at rink 4C, tonight at 8.” He shouted back as he walked out the door.

You looked back at the coach and the rest of the team who stood in shock, still at their previous positions. “Am I gonna get the shit beaten out of me?” You asked and it seemed to bring a laugh out of everyone.

“Just be on the ice and he’ll be too scared to go after you.” One of the team members called out and let the others laugh.

The coach sent them to drills as he spoke to you one more time. “They’re not kidding. He won’t lift a hand to anyone he doesn’t know but you should still steer clear- he’s got one hell of a temper on him.”

You nodded and thanked the coach for the opportunity before heading off to get some homework done before what you could only assume was gonna be a no-show from Ghiacchio so with your skates tucked away in your duffel bag, over your shoulder and a pack of cigarettes in your jacket pocket you head down the courtyard stairs towards the back entrance of rink 4C- where you were instructed by the coach to wait to be unlocked.

You were surprised to find Ghiacchio already there, the door to the rink open and beating you to lighting a cigarette to decompress after a long day.

“You’re early.” Was all he said with an annoyed frown. Straight off the bat you were grateful he wasn’t already shouting at you.

“Gee, I wonder why.” You grumbled back as you closed the door and lit your own cigarette.

Ghiacchio straightened and walked over to you. “You probably got those dainty skates, don’t you?”

You pinched your cigarette between your lips as you opened your bag to let him see- it only made sense to cooperate with him to keep up this strange peace you thought you’d have to earn but surprisingly, he gently brought your skate out of the bag to scrutinize them, cigarette poised between his teeth.

“Average shoe size but slightly more narrow than I expected- you’re probably gonna end up having to add padding to compensate for that.” The phrase was said with no angry undertone, so you assumed his anger was directed more at the coach when you tried to talk to him at the rink before. “I’m guessing you know from personal experience?” you asked- perhaps too sweetly.

He nodded as he removed his cigarette from his lips. “The fucks that make our skates think we’re built like oxen.”

You took a drag of your cigarette and then asked. “I’m speaking out of inexperience here, but don’t you need to be able to take a body slam?”

He frowned down at you. “What do you think all the padding is for? Speed is more useful anyway- trying to push your opponents out of the way is stupid- the game suddenly turns into a wrestling match on ice.”

You shrugged at that. “I’ll take your word for it.” You knew you were not much of strategist anyway.

You bent down and killed the cigarette on the pavement and then proceeded to throw it away in the trash. “I’m guessing there are some spare skates I can try on?”

Ghiacchio nodded as he followed your example then stepped inside. “You can warm up in your own skates first.”

You didn’t really argue that. Some of your own skate fittings were after practice so the swelling from the exercise was considered. You had snuck up to the booth to slip in your mix to play over the speakers- admittedly you’d never gotten opportunity to have a rink to yourself despite your rank in the figure skating team. You were always practicing with your Walkman in your pocket and headphones over your ears.

So, to be skating on your own with just your music blasting without the pressure of competition on your shoulder was refreshing. Ghiacchio stood at the skater’s entrance with a pair of skates hanging from his shoulder. Your first skating instructor would have had a stroke at anyone waiting for you outside of the rink but Ghiacchio didn’t say anything- letting you finish your warm up and then gliding over to Ghiacchio who directed you to the bench where you sat down and untied your boot.

At the appearance of your socks or rather- the lightweight tights- made him frown.

“How old are those shoes?” He pointed at your skates.

“About 5 years, why?”

Ghiacchio sighed as he started undoing the laces on the new boots. “Because those socks are not gonna survive these-“

“I brought another pair.” You reached over to your bag beside you to pull out some fluffy socks- mismatched of course.

Ghiacchio’s gaze was focused somewhere else, his jaw set in an obviously angry glare at the floor.

“I’m sorry for interrupting you.” You tried to smooth things over with your heartbeat clambering into your ears.

In your nervousness you unraveled the socks to reveal their mismatched beauty even more. Ghiacchio’s gaze fell on your hands and you could swear a small smile cracked his scowling demeanor. “Those’ll work better.”

You smiled with him as you pulled them over your first pair.

He knelt down and helped you slip your foot into the new boot- something you were definitely not expecting. Was it weird? To feel special to have him tying your boot like this? Too Cinderella-y?

Getting up felt wrong- you had your balance but true to Ghiacchio’s guess your feet WERE too narrow for the boot but with no space behind your ankle or in front of your toes.

He seemed to understand as you sat back down on the bench and without another word he sat cross-legged in front of you pulling out some tape and thick plastic padding. Holding your booted foot across his knee he asked you- “So where would you say the loose fit is the worst?”

You pointed out to the sides of the ball of your foot. It was a quick fix and watching him peel the boot open to expertly insert the padding and then re-lace the boot was almost therapeutic to watch. The second fit was nearly perfect save for side of your bridge which you deemed you’d fix later but he stopped his work. “Still not right?” he asked. Were you breathing too much into it or was that some crazy intuition?

“Just the bridge needs a bit more on the outside.”

Without even complaining, he added the padding to both boots and helped you lace up again. “Perfect.”

“Good. Now get on the ice, you’re gonna need to adjust.”

He was right of course- it seemed simple at first. Moving around and skating around was easy enough but your first turn was met with a chin on the ice.

“Those blades don’t do that.” Was all he said as you got up with a groan.

You took a few laps, feeling like a new born deer every time you tried to make a turn- eventually figuring out how to make a proper straight lap.

You started taking a few laps with Ghiacchio holding the stopwatch until a groundskeeper waved the two of you to wrap it up.

Taking off your skates with a hiss at the scrapes from the inside of the boot you looked at Ghiacchio who was studying your new wounds under the socks with disinterest.

“They just need to be broken in.” You said as you slipped on the blade protectors onto your new skates.

Ghiacchio only nodded, seeming tired as you made your way out of the building towards the campus dorms in silence until it seemed like he couldn’t hold it any longer. “No jokes, why do you want to join the ice hockey team anyway? Aren’t you successful enough in figure skating?”

You could swear your heart skip a beat at his interest in you. It’s not exactly like high school where everyone’s accomplishments are shared with the rest of the school. He probably had to go ask around to figure out who you were. “I’m starting a post-graduate course, but my sponsors aren’t THAT generous.”

“Geez, you have sponsors?”

“Just like your teams do, except you know- your sponsors cover for gear and mine pays for my gear and hostel and class expenses.”

Ghiacchio turned to look at you with a confused scowl, standing stock still under a street lamp. “I said no jokes.”

You stopped and looked back at him, with a raised eyebrow. “I’m not. My parents didn’t have money to send me here, the university wanted me but even with scholarship my parents didn’t want to spend anything on me.”

Ghiacchio let a flicker of sadness over his eyes. “That’s bad.”

“It’s not that bad- my job covers anything else I want.”

Giving a loud, drawn out groan he started walking again- “Fuck! Classes, a job AND two sports. You must be insane.”

“Ah come on its not that bad. I actually enjoy being on the ice- it gives me some time to do as I please.”

He scoffed at that. “Naïve.”

“And when did you start playing?”

“Since high school, as a matter of fact.”

“Got you beat- I started in elementary school.”

You arrived at the dormitory courtyard and stopped at the centrepiece. “Yeah well you didn’t have to get your kneecaps removed because of an accident.”

You were about to tell him you were sorry about his injury, but he had turned around and walked away- unbothered and with just a simple. “Sleep well- same time tomorrow.”

So, you kept up the routine- figure skating in the morning, classes, homework and then laps. Countless laps under Ghiacchio’s supervision.

Until one day you angrily stomped your way off the ice and sat down with a groan.

“Get back on.” Was all you got as he closed in on you from the opposite side of the rink.

You laughed up at the ceiling as you panted for your breath back.

“Why don’t you teach me, by demonstration, how to reach that speed?”

“I don’t skate anymore.” He growled back.

You picked your head up to look at him, “So you’re retired from your glory days?”

“Yeah! So?”

“So! How about you stop hiding how badly you want to get on the ice and just get on?”

“I don’t want to get back on the ice.” He hissed back through gritted teeth.

“Oh please, I could see through that lie from day one. You miss it! You miss putting on your boots and fixing up the padding, you miss working on your turns, you miss the bit of excitement you feel when you hop over someone’s stick. And you know how I can tell? Because you’re trying to make me like it too.”

He looked over you, leaning in low to be face to face with you. “I hate skating- nothing you say is going to change that.”

“You don’t hate it- why else would you be at a rink with me every day. You don’t hate skating, Ghia- you hate running laps until you throw up, you hate games, you hate the pressure, you hate the scrapes you get into. And I can prove it.”

“How?”

You started undoing the laces on your boots. “Put some skates on and just- just glide with me.”

His angry scowl softened quickly- watching in almost confusion as you replaced your skates.

“Come on, I know you still bring your skates to practice.”

With a resistant huff he sat down and started putting his skates on. You didn’t wait up, hopping onto the ice with a happy sigh.

You could admit that your new training regime wasn’t really easy on your body- you felt tense after training with Ghiacchio and joining with your soon-to-be team showed you how unnecessarily he pushed you to be the best.

He stood at the precipice with his skates, one foot on the edge and the other still on the ground- looking awfully unsure.

“Stop worrying! If I can figure out how to skate on those horrendous things in a week- you can at least try to get back on.” You called back, turning around and waiting, watching as he took one step onto the ice and pushed himself forward gently. You moved forward to skate alongside him- running your hand along the rim of the rink while he took it closer to the inside.

“You know I’ve never seen you show off your speciality.” He spun around, leaning back to glide backwards.

“You never asked.”

“Teach me something then.”

Stopping a little way just to slow down you continued to speak. “A spin is pretty basic but not as easy as it looks.”

You built up some speed and moved to the center of the rink, you set your foot at the angle and twirled calmly- fixing Ghiacchio as your spotting point.

“What are you doing with your head?”

“Spotting.” Is all you said before kicking your other foot out and stopping. “So you don’t get dizzy.”

Moving back to Ghiacchio who was moving towards you, he laughed- something you’d never heard. “Yeah I don’t think so.”

Then he did something you couldn’t quite believe. His hand latched around your wrist and for a moment you thought you’d lead but he was the one that took you for a lap around the rink. You had decided not to say anything- you knew how much it took simply for him to be on the ice. So you waited until he popped the question.

“So you’re telling me, in all your years on ice, you’ve never been injured?”

“Oh I’ve had a few injuries. Worst was also a pretty big knee injury, then it was an ankle twist but that was because my skates were too big, then a blade gave out mid performance once and slung itself into my arm.”

Ghiacchio hissed, entwining his hand with yours. “And who pushed you back on the ice?”

“Myself. You may call me naive but skating is all I’ve ever had.”

By then you two were just gliding- you backwards and him forward. His face fell- his other hand found yours. “What about home? Family? You said you had parents.”

You smiled through swallowing the lump in your throat. “Yeah but I mean life stays stressful, doesn’t it?”

Ghiacchio slowed you down, his hand tugging you back to a slow stop. He seemed to survey your face with a stern sadness in his eyes. “I won’t force you to tell me. But your silence says allot.”

He let go of your hand and was about to go but you held onto his other. It hurt that he had wormed his way into you so quickly- you weren’t sure if you wanted to go there but...it hurt more to let him go. “Don’t- don’t go.” There was a tense moment of silence as he gazed down between your hands. So you sought to fill it. “Wanna go out for coffee? Saturday morning? I have off from work.”

He laughed softly. “Don’t take off from Figure practice for me.”

It hurt so bad to watch him move off, running a hand through his tight dark curls as he walked back off the ice.

Life took a sudden turn, overwhelmingly quick- Ghiacchio didn’t show up at practice anymore, but coach had told you he “finally got over himself” and was back on the ice again and the board had informed you your sponsors had a sudden change of heart and would be sponsoring your course fully.

The next time you had seen Ghiacchio you had hardly recognized him, sitting at the campus diner with a blonde friend of his. His own hair however was dyed a powder blue.

“Ghia?” You frowned down at him, confused. “I haven’t seen you in a long time. How is everything.”

Beside him his friend smiled at you with hooded eyes. “Ghiacchio, you never introduced me to your friend.”

“Keep your lecherous thoughts off them, Melone.” He warned his friend before looking up at you. “I actually came to talk to you about something. You think you can give me a minute?”

You called one of your co-workers over to help Melone as you snuck around back with Ghiacchio.

“I’m sorry I disappeared. But I do want to give this one more shot.” His hands reached for yours, stepping closer to lean down to bring your faces together. “Only if you’re willing.”

“I’m willing,” you smiled as you wrapped your arms around him. “Only if I can get an apology kiss.”

He complied with a soft laugh- the minty taste of his mouth making your head spin and your heart do a flip in its chest.

If only it had been so simple. If only you didn’t share your pasts and found out that he had orchestrated your exemption from the ice hockey team- your sponsors increase in allowance. You wish you didn’t know how much contact he had in the mafia because now you had one too many things on your plate- a target on your back being one of them.

[moody-blues-requiem]

What are the Nero Children doing right now?

It’s summer, so school is out! Unfortunately Risotto is out on a mission for the time being, so it’s just the kids and mom. The rest of La Squadra likes to drop by when Risotto’s gone, both to update mom on the mission (”Risotto called last night, he said the mission is going well, and he should be home in a day or two.”) and to see their favorite kids! The girls like going to the beach, playing games in the cool ocean waves and sometimes fishing off a boat dock with Pesci. Plus they’re both signed up for kickboxing classes! Emilia is more excited than Vittoria. Elia is working hard on his ice skating lessons with Ghiaccio! They find a pond far away from prying eyes that Ghiaccio can freeze over with his stand, and they run drills together. Elia has the makings of a champion speed skater! Ghiaccio is so proud of his little protégé. 

[wri0thesley]

you fools, ghiaccio has cake. have you seen guy ice skaters? the BUNS. it's not just anger that fuels his stand's speed it is the sheer power of glutes. plus he's constantly exercising them due to Rage Clenching. the tradeoff is that they're almost constantly rock hard because of the Clench and no fun to touch unless he's asleep and relaxed, and in that case, it's your funeral

i mean. you’re valid but i REFUSE to admit it. ghiaccio just has Flat Ass Vibes to me. but also i’m imagining you sneaking around on some pink panther nonsense just to gently poke a sleeping ghiaccio’s butt. la squadra field trip for ghiaccio butt touches

[fyeahitalianskaters]

Fire on the Ice (Fuoco sul Ghiaccio) - Anna Cappellini and Luca Lanotte

Anna and Luca pre-Olympic documentary requested by @soyouthinkyoucansleep​, translation under the cut.

Milan, 6:30 a.m. 

(01:50) Anna: from what I can remember, all my life has been dedicated to skating, to this feeling of dancing, but also the speed, the wind, the fresh air. Being alone at the centre of a rink with everyone else far away, outside of the boards. It’s a bit of a feeling of freedom.

Luca: I think my destiny was already written, I started around 6-7 years of age which is actually pretty late, but I thought that skating seemed very easy for me: I skipped three groups on the same day, because for me was very easy staying upwards and doing the simpliest things, so I thought “oh yeah I can be pretty good at this lol”

(2:50) Anna: Luca and me met for the first time when I was 13 or 14, I don’t remember precisely, but we were already figure skating enthusiasts, even though we were still kids and not even that good yet. We already loved this sport and we knew we wanted to be champions in this sport. It was really the beginning of the dream.

(3.20, trying out jewels) Luca: is it heavy? Anna: a bit, haha but anyway it’s him that lifts me lol!

Luca: it was difficult at the beginning, it was a bit... weird, as teenage sweethearts, that teenage love that rips your heart, you think you’ll never find another person like her... that kind of love lived at 100 miles per hour, at 100%. At the beginning of our career it was a bit... it was a bit awkward. Then, after years we managed to create a familiar friendship, more than ever now, that she’s married and I have a child, a family. Things that go beyond friendship.

(4:30) Anna: some days we are like Sandra and Raimondo (TN: famous old married couple of TV), falling in certain habits and corny arguments, but we can also understand what the other really needs, almost everytime. Luca: we support each other... we also slapped each other. We went through all sort of things. She’s an indelible presence. Anna: actually, discussions were born form all of the conflicts and differences and new motivations came out of it. It’s something you can’t create with peace, sometimes it takes confrontation, telling each other everything in the face to reach something new together.

(5:37) Anna: my husband too, Ondrej, is a skater of Italian Team, despite being born in the Czech Republic. When we met I was in a particular period of my life: sadly, my mum had passed away recently and I was surely living a sad, depressive moment in which I had closed myself off the world. Ondrej slowly earned an important place in my heart because with sweetness he was able make me hope again that life still had a lot of happiness in store for me.

(6:28) Luca: Giacomo gave me a lot of peacefulness, much happiness. I was a bit... how to say... I was anxious, I didn’t know how a child could affect my career. I was a bit wary to the idea of performing everyday, keeping up with any kind of physical efforts, because being a parent also means a lot of effort, not only a matter of responsibility. Instead, he gave me a lot more energy! They told me: “a child gives you much more energy, more than you think, they push you towards limits you didn’t know you could reach!” It’s the truest thing!

(7:20) Anna: effort is the essence of sport. It’s your friend because your capability in a sport depends on how much fatigue you can endure, on how much physical pain you can stand. Luca: the biggest sacrifice you live everyday is the resignation to exertion, the sooner you accept it, the sooner you face your life and career without fear and without excuses. Excuses are the worst enemies of an athlete. Exertion may become an excuse.

(8:38) Luca: our training is generally based on repetition, we have technical parts and choreographic parts and parts that worth a lot of points because they are athletic moves that have to be done with incredible precision. A feature of ice dance is precision. So everything is manic repetition, we repeat the same three or four moves hundreds of times a day.

(9:50 - inside the car) Anna: well, training early in the morning will help us for PyeongChang, because competitions start around 10 a.m. so we’ll be WELL trained for this situation!

(10:10) Anna: costumes are a beautiful part of our sport in my opinion. I’m sure that when I was a child it should have been one of the reasons I started skating, for the wish, one day, to wear those fantastic dresses like the greatest skaters.

(10:41) Luca: I think figure skating is a great miracle of the sport because it’s not only athletic but it allows you to discover different worlds connected to the music that are not part of the sport, like theatre or movies, soundtrack... fields of art that enrich you not only to become a stronger athlete, but as a person. The music we picked this season is “La vita è bella” soundtrack from Nicola Piovani. Italian composer, music, movie. We’ve always thought that for the Olympics it is a great honor to bring the best of Italy. Life is beautiful is a simple sentence, but sometimes people forget about it.

Anna: the theme of the movie is a difficult situation lived with the lightness you need in life to overcome the most impossible situations. It also has this melancohlic note that fits the end of our career that was long, beautiful, but it’s at its final chapters. We’d like to leave an important emotion in the hearts of everyone who watch it, of people who always supported us, in the hearts of Italian people who will warch it at the Olympics.

Luca: everything concerning the sport is sport, but there is something that goes beyong, to leave something in the hearts of people.

The Dream

Anna: My night is a torment. I can’t sleep and so I watch TV series on my computer, often I fall asleep with the screen still lit up. I dream that I do an examination of conscience: did I prepeared well, did I do everything I had to do? So why to be scared?

Luca: I dream that I am tranquil, that I don’t have weights anymore, I freed myself from false expectations. I dream that life is beautiful, that we manage to express beauty, that I don’t make mistakes, because when it happens I feel bad and blame myself.

Anna: because when it happens I would want to sink through the floor “sorry, sorry Luca” and he answers me “come on! I didn’t even notice”. I dream that I sing the anthem with pride, that I think of all of my journey.

Luca: I dream that on the podium I tell myself “bravo Luca, you made it!”. An intimate moment of lone satisfaction in which you think of all your efforts done to be up there. And then to share with the others. Thank you, Italia Team.

Anna: thank you Italia Team, and thank you mum, you are not here anymore but I can feel you here and I hope you can see me from above. You’ve been the first to believe in me and to fight for me.