#BOYANG I'M SO PROUD

[witchwhaat]

OKAY LAST GROUP

[golgijev-aparat]

This was a good competition.

[eggplantgifs]

Boyang Jin (CHN) performs his free skate to the Star Wars soundtrack, earning 194.45 points in the free skate and 297.77 points overall to place 4th at his first Olympic Games.

[lucereshine]

A BLESSED SKATING EVENT

EVERYONE SHOULD BE PROUD

A++++++++

THIS WAS SO GOOD FOR THE GENERAL VIEWING AUDIENCE TO SEE! LOOK AT WHAT THEY CAN DO!!!!! YESSSSSS

YAYYYY

[plisstsky]

i’m going to be crying about the mens fs until the 2022 winter olympics

[colibrie]

Sonorus

Alright! Dipping the toe into a new Fandom. Lil scary, but also fun and exciting! I hope I did the characters justice! Any mistakes are mine!

From: @karoviesart

Set at the end of 2.7. Beware spoilers

___________________________________________

"No Xiao, they were heroes," Aether consoled, reaching one hand out as though he could close the distance between them by that gesture alone.

Despite his diminutive hight, Aether had never truly considered Xiao to be small. How could he, when the Yaksha's power and grace took up so much space? Xiao in battle was force of nature, an ancient raptor plunging from the sky with talons of jade to rend the wicked. Xiao when still was a work of art, every movement executed with an unconscious grace that would make even the most talented dancers of Liyue weep with jealousy. Just as his karma could inflict madness, his rare smiles could outshine the sun itself. Xiao was simply to much to be small.

Yet now, here above Pervasus's shrine, with his face covered and proud shoulders bowed, Xiao looked truly tiny. Dirt and dried blood splattered his usually immaculate silks, smudging his porcelain skin and matting his black hair in odd patches. His usually strict posture was gone, spine bowing beneath the weight of the chasms grief even now under the free light of the sun.

The sight tore at Aether's heart. The Xiao he knew danced on the winds. This one looked as though he were chained to the earth. It was wrong. So wrong, and every fiber of his being shrieked with the demand to change it.

"They were heroes Xiao. Bonasius, Boyang, the soldiers, they died to protect the innocents of this land from danger. They made the choice and served with honor. If we regard them thus in our hearts, then they will live on."

He gazed at the Yaksha's back, silently willing him to turn and listen, to let go of his own recriminations long enough to let Aether sooth his latest hurts.

"Heroes," Xiao repeated, rolling the word slowly in his mouth in a way that set of a storm of hope in Aether's breast. That was something Xiao only did when he was seriously considering something new, a sign of him weighing its worth against what he already knew or believed.

"I like that word," Xiao finally said, and joy exploded through Aether as he watched Xiao's face slowly emerge from behind his hand. "Perhaps it is good for heroes to depend on heroes."

Silence fell between them for several long moments.

"Thank you, Aether. I do not often know how speak of things such as these, but it is easy to speak to you."

The winds stirred, the familiar precursor to Xiao's departure both comforting and saddening. Aether tried not to let his disappointment show. He knew Xiao, knew his need for space and quite, especially when he was struggling. To hold him back would be to cage a bird, and Aether had never been one for cages.

"Of course Xiao. You know I'm always-"

His words died in his throat, forming a cold knot of dread as Xiao sucked in a horrendous gasp and fell to his knees, the winds of his departure dieing out into a pitiful keen against the cliff face around them.

"Xiao!"

His legs worked without conscious thought, bounding across the space between them, his knees folding with out permission as his arms flew to support his Yaksha.

Xiao could only gasp in reply, his lungs heaving and hacking as though he's been kicked hard in the stomach.His form was crumpled in silent agony, Aether's hands the only thing preventing him from curling fully into the fetal position. One hand pressed hard into his chest, as though trying to stop his heart from escaping, while the other curled around his ribs.Something warm and tacky rolled over his fingers, a familiar sensation that Aether did not need to see to identify.

"Shit," he mumbled, pulling Xiao into his arms. "What were we thinking, coming here?! You're still injured! You've over taxed your energy! We need to get you help."

"No," Xiao gasped, groaning as Aether pulled him back into his chest. "I... will heal. No need to... to burden."

"What did we just get done talking about?" Aether groaned, scooping Xiao up before carefully picking his way down to Pervasus's temple.

"I am... no hero," Xiao countered, though his uneven gasps for air ruined the stern delivery he'd likely intended. "Not...Bosacious."

"Archons help me, you are so stubborn," Aether sighed, making his way into the rebuilt structure before gently lowering Xiao to rest against a sturdy wall. "Lay still, I need to bandage your wounds."

"That's unnecessary. I-"

"I know you will, but right now you are injured and tired and grieving," Aether gently countered, watching surprise and confusion fill Xiao's golden eyes.

"Please Xiao, let me help you," Aether whispered, his fingers moving to reverently tuck a raven lock behind Xiao's ear.

They quietly regarded each other for several long moments, liquid gold meeting tawny amber in silent conversation. Aether did his best to keep his face clear of the concern that was twisting his insides into knot, well aware that his friend would only interpret it as pity. He kept his hand where it was, the backs of his fingers gently brushing his Yaksha's cheek, but otherwise made no move. Whatever happened next needed to be Xiao's decision.

Finally, gold eyes lowered, Xiao's chin dropping to his chest.

"Do as you wish."

"Thank you," Aether breathed, wasting no time in pulling out his medical supplies. "I need to remove your outer robe to better clean your wounds. Is that alright?"

"It is not necessary," Xiao replied, even as he dutifully began to work his left arm free of its sleeve. "My body will-"

"Heal in time," Aether mimicked, shooting the half prone immortal a grin , something in his stomach melting a little when Xiao blinked back at him with a slightly mystified expression. "I know Xiao. I don't doubt your strength."

"Then, why do you insist on wasting your supplies?" Xiao queried, his head falling back to rest against the wall as he observed Aethers efforts through half lidded eyes.

"Firstly, because they are mine and I can use them on whoever I like," Aether half teased, scooting forward as he picked up a bottle of disinfectant and a clean cloth from his pile. "Secondly, because you are my friend and you deserve to be cared for."

"I do not-"

"Lean forward for me, please?" Aether interrupted, gently cutting across xiao's predictable assertion that he deserved no such thing. He smiled as Xiao silently complied. "Thank you. Fair warning, this stuff burns."

"It's nothing. I have born worse pains" Xiao replied, even as he complied.

"I believe you," Aether reassured, leaning forward to gently lay the soaked cloth against a particular nasty gash on Xiao's shoulder.

Silence fell between them once again, a comfortable one that Aether felt no need to break. Xiao had never been one for small talk, and after so much time with the chatter box known as Paimon, it was nice to simply be.

True to his word, Xiao barely even flinched as as Aether carefully carefully scrubbed the dirt and sweat away from his torn flesh, nor did he flinch when Aether packed the deepest marks with healing herbs before covering them with soft linen bandages.

In fact, the Yaksha seemed to be lost in his own world, his lids hanging low over his eyes as he stared at the pin on Aether's scarf. Exhuastion and grief hung around him like a heavy cloak, his normal fortitude overcome by the chaos that the chasm had wrought on his mind and soul.

"It's okay to rest you know," Aether finally murmured. "I know you don't really need to sleep, but resting would probably help speed up your recovery."

Xiao let out a passive hum, and Aether wisely decided not to press the point. Instead he scooted around to settle against the wall at Xiao's side.

Twilight shadows crept across the floor as the suns light bled from the sky. Paimon came and went, her attempts at conversation quietly discouraged with a gentle smile and a subtle shake of Aether's head. She had lit the lamps within the temple for him, then left them alone together with a flash of starlight. Xiao never acknowledged her, though Aether was certain that he was aware.

With nothing to do to distract himself, Aether found his mind wandering, diving back down to the dark depths of the chasm, and into the even darker depths of his visions there. The abyss, still echoing with Lumine's cries as she was ripped violently from his side. Lumine's back as she willingly turned away, walking through a portal and out of his reach. The rush of joy he'd felt at seeing Lumine's figure wandering through the mist of the chasm, the crushing of his hope that maybe she had come back to him.

Feelings of fear, guilt, and hurt warred in his heart, threatening to rip it along invisible seams. Why was she doing this? She had said he would understand in time, but he didn't. He could not line up the loving girl who had once begged to braid his hair with the one who was willing to sacrifice seven realms to tear down the gods.

A soft moan jarred him from his thoughts, pulling him back to the present, and his friend. Xiao still lay half slumped against the wall, his hands laying limply in his lap as his chin rested on his chest. His eyes seemed to almost glow in the darkness, gold richer than Mora peaking out from under lids that had sagged nearly closed.

The Vigilant Yaksha's gaze was glazed in an unfocused trance, his chest rising and falling in a soft mimic of sleep. He was still, yet every now and then a soft moan would slip past his lips, his eyes darting to a froe as though in dreams. Looking at him, Aether suddenly remembered wondering whether such a feared Adepti could sleep or what he would dream of.

"Bosacius," Xiao whispered, his voice forlorn as his hands tightened almost compulsively around his absent spear.

Apparently, the dreams of a Yaksha were far from pleasant.

Xiao let out another soft moan, pain creasing his features as he subtly curled away from the fight in his mind. His destress pulled at Aether in a silent plea for surcease, and he found himself answering it without a second thought.

"It's alright Xiao," He whispered, sliding a little closer until they were almost pressed from shoulder to thigh with the thinnest of space between them.

That his present did not immediately snap Xiao back to his usual wakefulness spoke volumes of the effect that the cavern had had on him, or the depth of his trust in Aether. He did his best to ignore the quiet part of his heart that hoped that it was the latter.

"No...brother..." Xiao whimpered, and Aether bit his lip hard at the sound.

"Shhh...It's okay," he tried again, furiously casting his mind about for something, anything to help. He had had more than his share of nightmares since awakening alone in Mondstat. So many of them had revolved around his sister and his fear and loneliness. So many nights he had lain awake, eventually lulled into slumber only by the will of his own desperate imagination.

"It's okay. He's safe now," He finally murmured, the words slipping past his lips without much thought as he focused on the memories of his own feelings. "He's safe with the other Yaksha, far from pain or battle or debts. They are living the lives they always dreamed of. Can you see them? It's warm and green, and there are flowers everywhere."

He closed his eyes, images of Lumine's smiling face rising as he spoke.

"They are sitting together, doing their favorite things. They want you to join them, but its so comfortable where you are. The grass is soft and the breeze is cool, so you'll just sit and watch them enjoy themselves."

He could feel a smile creasing his lips as the Lumine of his mind waved to him, laughter like sweet music bubbling from her lips as she turned to chase golden butterflies, puffs of pale blue pollen trailing after her like a glittering carpet.

"Everything is calm," he continued, fighting back a yawn. "There's music... flute music, the kind you could listen to for hours and never tire. It makes you want to close your eyes and drift for a while. They see how comfortable you are, so they come curl up with you. You're together, and nothing can ever-"

Something landed on his shoulder, momentarily startling him away from the drowsy edge of sleep. His eyes flew open as he turned to look at the warm weight of Xiao pressed against his side. The signs of distress were gone, erased from his friends ever youthful face by a small but peaceful smile. The gold of his eyes were gone, hidden by lids fringed by lushishly thick black lashes. His body had slipped sideways to press against Aether's, his head resting lightly against the celestials shoulder as he dozed.

The sight and feel of him stirred something in Aether's bones, something both tender and terrifying. The fierce need to protect mixing wildly with an adoration the burned with the heart of the stars. Once again his body moved with out conscious thought, his lips just barely brushing the tips of Xiao's hair as he leaned back into the animo adeptus.

"Sweet dreams Xiao."

[harocat]

with the Olympics coming up, obviously I'll be posting about FS more than usual so here are my faves of the skaters competing:

Women:

Wakaba Higuchi

Karen Chen

Alysa Liu

First and foremost it will be these three. I'm hanging on a tiny thread of hope for a miraculous Wakabronze, and I desperately want Karen in the team event (but I know it won't happen). I just want Alysa to have skates she's proud of (and also I want to fight her dad). Most likely to be discussing Wakaba, Wakaba being robbed, and how I miss Satoko. Also I will hate on Eteri, as is right.

Other skaters I like a lot: Ekaterina Kurakova, You Young, Yelim Kim, and more!

Men:

Nathan Chen

Yuzuru Hanyu

Yes, my two favorite male skaters are Nathan and Yuzu. We do exist. I will admit Nathan has become my number one, and I am rooting for him, because it's the one title he doesn't have, and because I will cry, maybe a lot. He has become the skater who I am most invested in, somewhere along the line. For Yuzu, I want him to walk away from the Olympics happy with what he did (which I'm sure will be a podium finish). He has already done everything and owes absolutely nothing to anyone. I just want him to enjoy himself, free of injury this time (I hope).

Full disclosure that although Yuzu is a fave, and in fact, he's the reason I got back into watching men's skating in the first place (I'd kind of dropped out of it before 2014ish), being a Nathan fan means that I have like a billion blogs and twitters that post about him blocked, so I do see less content of him thus might not share as much.

Other skaters I like a lot: Jason Brown, Yuma Kagiyama, Shoma Uno, Jin Boyang, Junwhan Cha, Donovan Carrillo, Adam Siao Him Fa, Mark Kondratiuk (yes I also stan the camp Jesus program), and more!

The pleasant thing about men's is that I really enjoy watching all of the medal contenders (except Bincent).

Pairs:

Wenjing Sui/Han Cong

Let me be clear; I would fight a dragon for them to win gold. If I have to see them lose to a less skilled pair of white people at the Olympics again, I will not be held responsible for my capslock posts on tumblr dot com and twitter dot com.

Other Pairs I like: Peng Cheng / Jin Yang, Riku Miura / Ryuichi Kihara, and Ashley Cain-Gribble / Timothy LeDuc.

I also wish Radford and James a very flop, because abuse apologists should absolutely be publicly humiliated at the Olympics.

Ice Dance:

Teams I like: Piper Gilles / Paul Poirier, Wang Shiyue / Liu Xinyu, Gabriella Papadakis / Guillaume Cizeron, Lilah Fear / Lewis Gibson, Kaitlin Hawayek / Jean-Luc Baker.

I just don't want Nikita to win because he is a trash abuser, and abusers should never prosper. I will even take Zach 'all lives matter' as silver medalist if it means VicNik lower on the podium or not on the podium at all. I will probably talk even more than I have already about how the JSF is clueless and loves self-sabotaging because they sent KoKo instead of KanaDai. Soran Bushi DESERVES an Olympic moment. I will talk about how I miss the Shibs.

[fs-rambling]

Time for the first group here we gooo

Aww roman ;-; seems like the nerves got to him. spins were exquisite as always though!

I liked majorov's step sequence! also the sheer joy i got from him at the end,, :D

Boyang!! I'm so proud omg he's worked so hard that was awesome

[kaoris3loop]

I'm so proud of Misha and Boyang 😭😭

[buwwito]

I'm so conflicted because everyone did great and I'm so proud of nathan but at the same time I was really rooting for yuzu and he looked really disappointed

[tsarinajissa]

Great opening for Boyang!

I'm so hoping he does a skate he can be proud of

[scatteredfangirling]

tfw your podium prediction comes TRUE

Pyeongchang was a rollercoaster, but it was worth it!

Super proud of Yuzu for defending his Olympic title - he fought through every part of that free skate.

Happy for my smol Shoma - you did it bby

Javi got his Olympic medal - if he hadn't popped that jump, he might've gotten silver

Nathan made a valiant comeback to 5th, and I could not be prouder

Vincent in 6th - wow boi

And Adam living his best life in the top 10

We've been blessed

[figureskatingask]

Hi, same anon that has been asking about the men's worlds here :) I'm still at a loss after the free so I'd like to hear your thoughts about the event, particularly the last group (which made me want to cry for all of them except Nathan who had me go Phew!) and may be some comments on Japan's Kazuki Tomono as well because I was very impressed with his performance on both days. And, again, thank you! I love reading your responses :)

Thanks for asking!

Oh my god, that men’s event. The last group was like watching a trainwreck. By the time Nathan skated I was begging him to skate well (and not because of the prospect of the US men losing three spots).

I loved Tomono! I remember loving him at NHK too. I think he has real star quality about him. He’s wonderfully charismatic and has great personality on the ice, and his jumps are pretty good too! I was so pleased for him!

I thought Uno and Kolyada got a bit lucky, which probably isn’t that surprising an opinion. I actually thought Kolyada was overall cleaner than Uno and probably should have had the silver, but that’s neither here nor there. 

If my heart had still been in one piece by this point, I’m sure it would have been broken by Boyang and Vincent. Of the two, I probably felt worse for Vincent - at least Boyang was able to smile and laugh as he got off the ice, whereas poor Vincent looked beyond devastated. I wanted to give them a huge group hug anyway!

Nathan was great (I’m side-eyeing that PCS though and suspecting the judges were just so grateful that someone stayed upright at that point the were willing to give him anything).

Brendan also did pretty well! I was proud of the way he fought for his FS.

And finally, a special shout-out to the ultimate emergency backup plan, Max. He got only a couple of weeks’ notice that he was needed for Worlds after Jason and Ross declined, and he’d already started a new job and stopped training. But when he got the call, he dropped everything, flew back to Colorado Springs, put in a couple of weeks’ intensive training, flew to Italy, and laid down a 161 FS to place tenth in the FS, 11th overall, and turn out to be the other half of the two to save the three spots.

It is almost certain he is retiring, so he saved a spot he’ll never use. But he did it anyway with all of his usual grace and humility. And finally, finally, people are appreciating him. But mod has been very weepy from the moment his music started.

Saying goodbye is so, so hard.

[catboyrome]

I'm so happy!!! Yuzu, Shoma, and Javi are the medalists!! 🥇🥈🥉

And I'm so proud of Boyang, Nathan, and Vincent too

They all skated so well!!!!

[randomsplashes]

How do you feel about Yuzuru Hanyu breaking his record and winning Worlds? I'm curious and want to know another person's feelings about it because I don't know another person to talk about figure skating with. I was so happy for him personally :'D

I got chills seeing him break his own record omg. To go from 5th to 1st is never easy considering the amount of quads and base value that his fellow competitors (ie. Boyang and Nathan) had. He never gave up and laid it all down at the end…i’m so proud of him

[figureskatingask]

Hi! Could you explain how a skater can become eligible to compete for the Winter Olympics? Because I automatically assumed that Michael Christian Martinez would go and represent the Philippines but he's not? So I'm a bit confused. (And also, are the three slots that you get for your country dependent on the division? Like did Yuzuru Hanyu and Shoma Uno secure 3 slots for the men's division?) Sorry, I just want to clarify. Thank you for taking your time to answer our questions!

Thanks for asking!

Yes, I saw this blunder by the Philippines federation. Admittedly, the Australian fed also made the same error, though not on the same scale (they explained that top 24 was enough, did not claim a skater was going when they weren’t, though). The error that both parties made was assuming that a top-24 finish was enough, when it wasn’t.

For men’s (and ladies), 24 Olympic spots are handed out at the pre-Olympic Worlds (this one). But it’s not as simple as “everyone in the top twenty-four gets a spot”. Let’s take a look at how the men’s shook out:

JAPAN: 1st, 2nd, and 19th. When there are three skaters, only the top two results count. The magic number to retain three spots is 13. 1+2=3, which is less than 13. So Japan gets three spots.

Now, we take those three spots out of the available twenty four. 24-3=21.

CHINA: 3rd (only competitor). When there is only one skater, they have to finish in the top 10 to earn two spots, or come first or second to get three. So Boyang earned China two spots for the Olympics. There go another two: 21-2=19.

SPAIN: 4th + 27th (did not make cut). Everyone who doesn’t make the cut is considered 18. So 18+4=22. Spain do not gain any spots, but they don’t lose one either. So they have two spots. 19-2=17.

CANADA: 5th and 9th = 14. So no three spots for Canada, but they retain two. 17-2 = 15.

USA: 6th and 7th = 13. They hit the magic number! So the US gains an additional spot for next year (a spot they shouldn’t have lost but don’t get me started on that). 15-3 = 12.

RUSSIA: 8th and 11th = 19. So Russia don’t gain, but they don’t lose, maintaining two spots. 12-2= 10. (See how tight this is starting to get?)

ISRAEL: 10th. Bychenko was the only competitor, and he finished top ten, so Israel gain a second spot. 10-2=8 spots left.

UZBEKISTAN: 12th. Misha Ge ensures there is an Olympic spot for Uzebekistan. However, he is retiring due to ongoing injury, so this spot may not be used. If it cannot be used, it will be put in the pool for picking up at Nebelhorn. 8-1 = 7.

GEORGIA: 13th. Moris Kvitelashvili was the only competitor. They get one spot. 7-1=6.

LATVIA: 14th. Deniss Vasiljevs was the only competitor. They get one spot. 6-1=5.

AUSTRALIA!!!!!!!: 15th. Brendan Kerry was the only competitor (HE DID SUCH A GOOD JOB I’M SO PROUD). They get ONE SPOT!!!!!!!! Ahem. 5-1=4.

KAZAKHSTAN: 16th. Denis Ten was the only competitor. They get one spot. 4-1=3. You can see where this is going.

FRANCE: 17th. Chafik Besseghier was the only competitor. They get one spot. 3-1=2.

CZECH REPUBLIC: 18th. Michal Brezina was the only competitor. They get one spot. 2-1=1.

GERMANY: 20th. Paul Fentz was the only competitor. They get one spot. 1-1 = no spots left.

So you can see that BELGIUM, MALAYSIA, SWEDEN and THE PHILIPPINES all made the cut, but did not get any pre-qualified Olympic spots, due to how they were handed out higher up the order. It is a common misconception that all you have to do is make the cut; this is not at all true. (It got even worse in the pairs.)

Additionally, it should be pointed out that the spot belongs to the country, not the skater. Brendan qualified a spot for Australia, not himself. If the ISA wanted, they could choose someone else to go to Korea (not that they would). So even if Martinez had qualified a spot for PHI, he was not guaranteed to go to the Olympics anyway. 

Now, not all is lost! The remaining six spots will go towards the Nebelhorn Trophy, where countries who have not yet qualified fight it out for those last places. Nebelhorn is the ultimate stress factor if you’re a little country supporter. It’s also a one-shot thing. If you miss Nebelhorn, you’ve missed your chance. There are no third chances.

Regarding Nebelhorn: you will generally see skaters from countries who have already qualified there. This is allowed, it’s still a regular Challenger event, but those skaters don’t count towards Olympic qualification.

I hope I answered the question and didn’t go off on too much of a tangent. Please let me know if I missed the point entirely!