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uniquexusposts · 19 days ago

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Her || Charles Leclerc

Main characters: Charles Leclerc x OC Genre: fanfiction, fluff Story type: novel Part: 38/45 Word count: 2635 Co writer: @mistrose23

Story summary: Matilde Jørgensen, the new Scuderia Ferrari team principal, faced the nerve-wracking challenge of reviving the team's fortunes and aiming for a championship. Leading a historic team as a 'newbie' and separating her work and personal opinions posed a significant challenge. The big question: is she capable to do so?

Previous chapter

Chapter 36. Confidential Matters

"Alright, but what is your deal with signing people? According to many people you have signed enough people to Ferrari to fill the entire grid," Kevin asked Matilde.

Kevin and Matilde sat in a restaurant in Austin, Texas, USA. It had been a while since they had spoken to each other. They both had some free time in Austin, so they decided to meet and go out for lunch.

Matilde took a sip of her coffee and nodded impressively. "Well..." She took a deep breath. "Who did I sign?"

"Hamilton, Max, Mick, Ricciardo..."

"I wish," she replied. "I have to admit, I had dinner with Hamilton in Singapore to talk about it, but that's all. And the others... Nah, didn't talk to them." She smiled. "I can add you to the list as well. I am talking to you now."

"I am flattered." He shook his head. "But is someone leaving then?"

She leaned back in her chair, a playful smirk tugging at her lips as she stirred her coffee. "Now, now, Kevin," she teased. "Do you think I would spill Ferrari's secrets that easily? I like to keep people guessing."

He chuckled, leaning forward slightly. "You always were good at that. But seriously, the rumours are flying. People are convinced you're building some kind of super team."

She shrugged, a glint of amusement in her eyes. "Let them talk. It keeps things interesting, doesn't it? But for the record," she added, her tone more serious now, "our current drivers are phenomenal. I wouldn't trade them for anyone. And who says I'm not building a super team? We are in the race to become world champions, Kevin, of course, I'm building a super team."

"You proved them wrong, you know. Almost everyone thought Ferrari made a massive mistake and now you are ruling the grid."

Her expression softened, her usual confidence tinged with gratitude as she met Kevin's gaze. "Thanks." She took another sip of her coffee, her fingers absentmindedly tapping the edge of the cup. "But proving people wrong isn't the goal. It's just a nice bonus. What matters is making sure Ferrari is back where it belongs; at the very top."

He leaned back in his chair, his lips curving into a grin. "And you've managed that in record time. I'll give you credit; I didn't think it would happen this quickly, no one did. You've shaken things up in ways no one expected."

She chuckled, although her eyes held a flicker of intensity. "I like to stir up things."

He raised an eyebrow. "It seems like you are the only one who keeps to a promise. I don't know what all the others said to your team, but you're the only one who actually does it."

"Oh, man, I didn't make a promise to them."

"What?"

"I don't make promises. All I told them was I would do and try my best to give them the best result we could get. Why would you make promises if you're not sure about it? Everyone can fuck it up in just a second, even now."

A thin line came between his eyebrows by squeezing his eyebrows together. "Why don't you make promises?"

She looked outside and licked her lips. "Because... I don't know for one hundred per cent sure if I can make it happen, so rather than be safe than sorry, I will say I will try and do my best. If I promise anything and won't make it happen, then I lose more than anything."

"Woman, who hurt you?" The words rolled over his lips. "A little bit of faith is healthy."

"I have been promised a lot of stuff and none of it happened, so yeah."

"Such as?"

"Parents who didn't stay together, brothers who ran away, opportunities that were taken away," she said, like it wasn't a big deal.

Her words silent Kevin, he wasn't aware that it was that deep.

"It took me years to understand why I was single for so long, but I just have the trauma of being a child of divorced parents. I remember thinking, during high school, when two classmates got into a relationship, that they would never be together once they turned eighteen years old. Turned out that wasn't a normal thought, but a trauma thought," she continued to speak as if it was nothing.

"I can see where it's coming from," he mentioned. "But it's not normal, indeed. When was your last relationship?"

"Two years ago."

"And it ended because?"

She took a deep breath and looked around. "I don't know. He was not the right person, I guess."

"Hmm, do I know him?"

"Billi, from the medical team. Well, Bill, Billi, whatever you call him."

He began to laugh and shake his head. "And I introduced him to you the other day in Miami, I believe." He took a sip of his drink. "For how long were you together?"

"Two years," she replied and let out a short laugh. "Don't get me wrong, he is seriously one of the kindest, sweetest, romantic men out there, but not for me. We are still friends and yeah."

Kevin slowly nodded. "But you're not seeing someone right now? Not even a crush?"

"You know who my crush is?" An amusing smile came on Matilde's lips. "Patrick Dempsey, finest man alive." She gave him a nod. "And I will be meeting him in Las Vegas. That's all I need in my life."

"Oh, come on," he sighed and shook his life. "Fine, if that is what you want."

"What? Look, I love to be auntie Mattie and the kids give me all the love I need. I have enough people around me who care about me, who I care about. Sometimes I see you with Louise and the kids and... I want that too, eventually. But I don't know how to find the right person, you know?" She took a short pause. "And... Why am I justifying myself to you again?" She squinted her eyes and tilted her head.

He crossed his arms in front of his chest, looking at Matilde like she was his little sister he had to look after. "Because..."

"Give me a reason." She raised her eyebrow. "Well?"

"Because whatever is going on with Charles, red flag."

Her eyes grew. "Kevin, how the fuck- Who told you- Did Lars tell you this?"

Kevin smirked like he had just hit the jackpot. "I have my ways," he teased, tapping the side of his head. "Come on, Matt, you make it easy. You were wearing his paddock pass the other day. You were lucky I saved you, what might have happened if someone else saw it."

"Jesus Christ," she groaned, burying her face in her hands. She removed them from her face. "But why didn't you say anything about it back then?"

"Your reaction now."

"For fuck's sake."

Kevin laughed, clearly enjoying her reaction. "Relax."

"I swear, nothing is going on. I called it off, it's the most stupid thing I have ever done in my career-"

"So? Look, don't make a big deal out of this and don't let this fling involve your job. It's your life, but be aware of every step you take. Besides, this is such a classic story: he hates you at first because he's in love with you, but can't be in love with you, so to hide his feelings, he will act like an asshole. Beautiful story, isn't it?"

Just when she wanted to reply to him, someone sat down next to Kevin. Max dropped into the seat beside Kevin, exhaling sharply as if he had just sprinted across the entire city to find them. His tousled hair and slightly dishevelled shirt suggested he had been in a hurry. "Sorry," he said, glancing between them. "Am I interrupting something?"

Kevin smirked, leaning back in his chair. "Not at all. We were just discussing Matilde's love life."

Matilde's eyes widened, and she glared at Kevin. "Kevin, I swear to-" She stopped herself, shooting an apologetic glance at Max. "Don't listen to him. He's just trying to stir up drama.

Max raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "Oh? Love life? That's interesting. I thought your life revolved around racing and making stupid jokes."

"It does," Matilde shot back, crossing her arms defensively. "Unlike you, some of us actually focus on our careers." Her eyebrows raised. "Playing FIFA the evening before a race, like, in the middle of the night."

Kevin chuckled, clearly enjoying himself. "She's deflecting. Classic move."

Max tilted his head, a sly grin forming on his face. "So, who's the unlucky guy? Or girl? Should I be worried?"

Matilde groaned, rubbing her temples. "You two are insufferable. I'm not talking about this. Can we focus on something else? Like, I don't know, the... new night train between Copenhagen and Amsterdam?"

Kevin and Max exchanged amused glances before Kevin raised his hands in surrender. "Fine, fine. We'll drop it. For now. And what's up with the new night train?"

Max leaned back, smirking. "But just so you know, Matilde, if it's Charles, I'm taking bets."

Her jaw dropped, and she pointed a finger at Max. "You're unbelievable. Why is- You know what, no, I'm not gonna do this. You two can fuck off. Since when are you even talking to each other?"

"What about Monza?" A grin spread over his face.

She raised her eyebrows. "What about it?"

"Oh, my god," he giggled and looked at Kevin. "She's denying it, but I saw her having a walk of shame."

Kevin's eyes grew round. "Please say from Charles' room."

"Absolutely."

Matilde's eyes widened and her lips parted. "Go fuck yourself, really."

"And in Amsterdam, I saw you kiss."

"Max," she sighed.

"What? I'm not kissing Charles or having sex with him," he casually replied. "Besides, Charles is madly in love with you. You can tell it from kilometres away, Mattie. The way he looks at you... I've never seen someone be in love as much as he is with you," Max grinned. "Ever since you had to go to the hospital, he looks after you." He shrugged, unbothered. "Just saying. People look. Anyway, I was looking for you, Mattie." He looked at Kevin and stuck out his hand. "Whatever is being said right now, is confidential, okay?"

Kevin shook his hand and gave him a nod. "Sure."

As Matilde took a sip, she raised her eyebrows; some weird things were happening in front of her. Her eyes narrowed at the exchange between Kevin and Max. "Okay, what's going on?" she asked, her tone sharp with curiosity. "Since when do you two need secret handshakes for confidential matters?"

Max leaned forward, clasping his hands together on the table, his expression serious yet calm. "It's nothing dramatic," he started, glancing briefly at Kevin as if to gauge his trustworthiness. "But there's something I need to talk to you about. Privately."

Her eyebrows shot up even higher. "Privately? In front of Kevin?"

Max smirked. "Kevin has already signed the verbal non-disclosure agreement. Kevin is a Dane, you are a Dane, he practically is you." His back straightened and his tone dropped slightly. He cleared his throat. "I need you to sign me to Ferrari."

She spit out her drink on the table when she heard the words coming from his mouth. She coughed, hurriedly grabbing a napkin to wipe the table and her chin. "Excuse me?" she blurted, her voice a mix of disbelief and amusement. "Sign you to Ferrari? Max, have you been drinking before noon, or did I miss a memo?"

He leaned forwards, his eyes scanning the restaurant around him. "I am deadly serious, Matilde."

She blinked at him, still processing his audacious statement. "Max, you're literally leading the championship. Red Bull has given you a rocket ship. Why on earth would you want to leave that?"

"Are you trying to say you won't sign me?"

Her lips parted and she looked at Kevin, who had the biggest question mark above his head. What was just happening? Of what was he part of? She shifted her gaze back to Max, her brow furrowing. "I'm not saying I won't - I'm saying this sounds completely insane." She leaned forward slightly, lowering her voice. "Do you understand what you're asking?"

"Mattie, it is a mess out there and I can't face it anymore, I can't do it anymore," he blurted. He started to tell every single thing that had been bothering him and why switching teams would be the only solution. "And you know that every contract has a loophole."

"If I sign you..." Matilde lost her words. She leaned back on her chair and she looked perplexed. "Dude, what the fuck. Just act normal, man."

"Hey, don't drag me into this. I'm just here for the lunch drama," Kevin said.

Max looked at him. "What do you say?"

Kevin parted his lips and he looked at Matilde, who had a massive internal error. "Then who is leaving Ferrari?"

"Carlos, obviously," Max shrugged.

The eyes of Matilde grew round. "What? Carlos is leaving?" she whispered sharply, not quite believing what she was hearing.

Max shifted in his seat, his fingers tapping nervously on the table. "I - look, I... You didn't know?"

"Not until now," she shot at him. "Hello, what is happening? Max, tell me everything. Now." She looked at Kevin. "Did you know about this?"

"No," Kevin replied straight away.

Her eyes shifted back to Max, waiting for him to answer.

"There are rumours that Carlos has been talking to Williams for over a year," Max slowly replied. "And that he might be leaving Ferrari at the end of the season. It's because of Audi."

She blinked at Max, her mouth slightly open as if trying to form words but failing. "What the fuck," she mumbled. "Leaving for Williams?" She leaned forward, lowering her voice even further, her disbelief practically vibrating off her. "Are you serious?"

He nodded "I don't know if it's true, but I've been hearing it from enough places to think there might be something to it." He hesitated, searching her face. "I thought you would have been the first to know. I mean, you're always so transparent on supporting everyone to talk to other teams."

"Yes, obviously, intending to be transparent with me as well, not to hear a rumour from another driver." Her hand found its way to her forehead, her fingers pressing against her temple as if that would somehow help her process the information. She sighed. "No, Max, I'm definitely the last to know, apparently," she muttered, her tone sharp but laced with exasperation.

Kevin whistled low, leaning back in his chair. "Williams? That's... quite a jump."

"Tell me about it," she said, more to herself than to anyone else. Her gaze snapped back to Max. "And this is why you want to talk about Ferrari? Because of some rumour that Carlos might be leaving?"

He straightened slightly, his nervous energy simmering into a more controlled determination. "It's not just a rumour, Matilde. It's about what comes next. If there's even a chance that the seat opens up, I need to be in that conversation."

She stared at him for a long moment, her initial shock starting to fade into something else - something closer to understanding. She glanced at Kevin, who was watching the exchange with a mix of amusement and curiosity, then back at Max.

"Well," she said finally, leaning back in her chair, "this just got a hell of a lot more interesting." She took a deep breath. "I'm going to talk to Carlos. Anyway, we are not signing anything. But if you are serious, very serious, then I want you to talk to your lawyers and advisors, sort everything out and I know you will be taking your people with you, so come up with an offer." She paused for a moment. "And know that I won't possibly sign you because you are a friend, but because you are one of the best out there. And be aware that it won't be fun and games. I will be your boss and you will be my driver, Max."

Next chapter

Taglist: @itsjustkhaos @crashingwavesofeuphoria @maryvibess @ironmaiden1313 @sltwins @heart-trees @npcmia @llando4norris

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azzifudd · 10 months ago

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An old article right before Azzi moved into her summer as a Freshman at UConn. Talks a lot about recruitment and her decision making which honestly is very revealing on why she didn't pick west coast schools + this bonus section:

"About halfway through Fudd’s workout, one of her friends slowly makes her way into the gym on crutches.

Most of the dozen or so people in the gym at least steal a glance, but Fudd barely acknowledges Paige Bueckers as she moves along the baseline and sits down on a nearby bench.

The young face of women’s college basketball, the first freshman to win national player of the year, Bueckers met Fudd years ago through Team USA. They have grown close in the time each has grown famous.

“We just sort of get each other,” Bueckers said.

Bueckers had been spending more time at the Fudds’ house on her summer break. The girls were at a sleepover the night before and woke up early to go to Bueckers’s physical therapy. (She had surgery on her right ankle in April.) Fudd did virtual school on a laptop in the car as they bounced around town, stopping at Starbucks before heading to the nail salon.

They will see plenty more of each other in college. Bueckers had been lobbying hard for Fudd to join her in Storrs, despite visits to schools all over the country: Maryland, Louisville, Oregon and Texas, among others. In the fall, the Fudds told Bueckers they had exciting news and had some fun at her expense by dragging out the reveal.

“She had to pull up the receipts and show me the proof for me to actually believe her,” Bueckers said."

https://www.phillytrib.com/sports/basketball/azzi-fudd-one-of-the-most-celebrated-high-school-players-ever-prepares-for-a-new/article_461fcdbb-f0e8-5a7b-b8b6-84a400935906.html

'“We just sort of get each other,” Bueckers said.' Yeah.

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fudgetunblr · 8 months ago

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Some of my favourite moments during the Olympics that had nothing to do with the actual sport performance — Gymnastics Edition

- Carlos Yulo immediately congratulating Oka Shinnosuke when he won the AA because he’s trained with some of the Japanese gymnasts. Same with Daiki Hashimoto who looked just as happy passing on the torch of AA champion to someone else from Japan. We love athletes solidarity.

- when two of the Chinese gymnasts in the male team final just shared a little snack as they were waiting for their score or something. Sharing is caring and snack time is important. Shoutout to all the squeezies we’ve seen this Olympics.

- Simone Biles goat neckless that she apparently got from her fellow Team USA members. So fucking cute.

- Biles and Chiles bowing for Andrade. It was the moment.

- Zhou Yaqin learning in real-time about the medal biting tradition. We’ve all seen it and we all love it still 🥲❤️

- Zhang Boheng’s puffy white coat as you enter the arena, you will always be famous.

- Also, just Boheng and Chia-Hung gossiping on the podium about to receive their shared bronze. Bonus was watching Chia-Hung realise that despite of his fall, he’d still receive a medal 🥺 sad that everyone fell, cute that his dream still became a reality.

- Carlos Yulo posting a video of his fall from the pommel horse and saying “unfortunately I was selected for the Olympics” 💀💀💀 we love when people keep up with trends.

- ✨ Flavia Saraiva’s eyebrow tape appreciation time ✨

- when Zou Jingyuan finished his parallel bars routine and everyone was just congratulating him before he got the points / the last people had done their routines 😭 they really said “alright let’s wrap this up”

- Kaylia Nemour and Qiu Qiyuan celebrating together over the fact that Kaylia took the gold. Truly the Andrade/Biles of the uneven bars.

- also shoutout to every single athlete that just went up to each other and was like “great job” or shook their hand etc etc. it was beautiful.

- ok last one last one, and probably the funniest and sweetest one: Lorenzo Minh Casali from Italy just vibing with everyone once the results were done at the male team final. One second he is congratulating Japan, the next he is chilling with team Canada. It was really funny. I’m pretty sure they caught him in the middle of a call as well. It was all very sweet. Like our own version of where’s Waldo.

#olympics #Olympics 2024 #paris 2024

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delilaahh9 · 5 months ago

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Fictober day 14! 🤎

Flannel shirt - will smith

November 19th, 2022

8:49pm

Team USA ended up winning their game and y/n had gone to see her brother, she heard the cheers leave the locker room as the boys exited and Luke came out next to a boy with a mop of blonde hair.

“Hey I’ll see you tomorrow for practice” Luke says and walks to his sister.

“Hey Luke” she smiled and the two walked out, will had walked out and all he could keep his eyes on was the girl in the black and white flannel walking beside Luke.

October 6th, 2023

10:14 am

She was walking on campus looking at all the trees when she saw a blonde boy on a bench, he had a white and black flannel over a white hoodie and jeans which is almost exactly what she was wearing. he was cute, but she had no idea who he was.

As she walked by, will saw her flannel and smiled when he noticed they were wearing the same one, then he actually looked at her and noticed how beautiful she was. One problem, he didn’t know who she was.

They made slight eye contact as she walked past and a pink tint rose to both of there faces.

2:37 pm

Will was running very late to his next class, it has not gotten easy to navigate Boston college but he’s getting the hang of it. As he walked in, a couple people turned to look at him before he scanned the room and looked for a seat, then found the only open seat was next to y/n, the flannel shirt girl from earlier.

He softly smiled when he walked up and took a seat, then without him asking, she passed him her notes she took for him to copy down.

“okay class, i want you to pair up with the person next to you for the semester project, you will be selecting players from the nhl and on Friday we will do a draft, by the end of the semester, you will have learnt how to manage a team. You will also be getting a bonus 10% on your final if your team gets the most points.

Have fun!”

Y/n looked to her right, and saw the people had already paired up but the boy to her left was alone.

“Wanna pair up?” She asks, he looked unsure but nodded his head.

“what’s yo-” he started but the bell rang and she looked frazzled.

“Sorry I really have to go- uh- here’s my number” she slid him a sticky note and flew out of her seat.

*xxx-xxx-xxxx*

Hey, are you the girl from my sport management class.

Flannel shirt?*

blondie?

Maybe : Will

Names will

But yes.

I prefer Blondie :)

Will 🦈

Then I’m calling you flannel girl

I’m okay with that

But my name is y/n

Will 🦈

Pretty name

Can we meet up tonight

Yea for sure.

Chipotle? It’s right by the library

Will 🦈

Sounds good.

4? I have practice at 6

Sounds good to me

3:50pm

She got there a little early, to get some dinner before they started their project. Will didn’t know what to expect, he didn’t know if she knew hockey or not.

But he also didn’t know that she grew up in a hockey family, so he arrived and had no expectations. The first thing he saw was her wallpaper, a photo of her and Luke Hughes, she was in a Hughes 43 jersey while Luke was in a suit. Will immediately thought she was a fan and got nervous, but just sat down anyway.

“Hey” she smiles.

“Hey, I’m just gonna go order something really quick” he says and retreats back to the counter. An ad of Jack Hughes came up on the screen because he’s recently done a brand deal with them, but as he looked at the screen closely, he realized that y/n and him looked similar, then it clicked, he remembered Luke saying he had a younger sister once but never mentioned her again.

He looked back and she was peacefully typing on her phone, so he decided not to bring it up.

8:49 pm

They had been there so long a chipotle employee had to ask them to leave, so they did but somehow they talked about skating and ended up in skates on the Boston college rink.

“Who taught you how to skate?” He asks when she comes to a stop infront of him.

“My brothers, they loved hockey since I was born so they wanted to teach me. My oldest brother was.. 9 around the time I learnt so he held onto me the most”

“That’s awesome, I kinda wish I had brothers. I love my sister, she picks on me though but I wouldn’t trade her for the world”

“That’s me with my brothers, I know I’m the youngest but I’m so proud of them”

“I’m gonna ask you something but I don’t want this to change anything” he says and slides in-front of her.

She freezes and knows exactly what he’s gonna ask. Silently nodding her head he takes a breath before asking.

“Your Luke’s sister?”

She smiles a little, but then realizes she remembers seeing him play with Luke.

“Yea- wait fuck your *that* will!” She laughs a little and he smiles but they continue to skate.

“I remember seeing you at the arena, once. You were in a purple flannel” he smiles at the memory, she cringes about her style a year ago.

“I remember seeing the boy with a mop of blonde on his head, parts of it was straight and parts of it was curly”

“Yea my sister made me a curl routine.” He sighs and they come to a stop again.

“Funny how every-time I have seen you, you had a flannel on”

“Well I might need to buy some more”

Okay so I know I’ve been late posting but I’m on vacation and can only get wifi at the hotel … :(

I’m also in a different time zone now so the timing will be weird but I should have todays and tomorrows our by 11pm EST

#hockey #luke hughes #jack hughes #new jersey devils #umich hockey #ethan edwards #quinn hughes #mark estapa #jh86 #jackhughes #boston college #will smith hockey #fictober🤎

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toasttt11 · 1 year ago

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octavia hughes

Octavia Wren Hughes

Number: 8

Season: Second

Position: LW

Height: 5”10

Hometown: Manchester, New Hampshire

S/C: L

NHL: TOR

Prev School: University of Michigan

NHL

• Selected 2nd overall (first round) by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2021 NHL Draft.

International

Team USA

• 2023 World Junior Championship- Bronze Medal, 9 G, 8 A, 7 GP

• 2022 World Junior Championship- 8 G, 6 A, 5 GP

•2022 IIHF World Championship-13 G, 13 A, 10 GP

• 2021 World Junior Championship- Gold Medal, 13 G, 11 A, 6 GP

•2021 IIHF World Championship-14 G, 12 A, 10 GP

•2019 World U-17 Hockey Challenge- Silver Medal, 6 G, 7 A, 6 GP

Second Season (2023-2024)

Toronto Maple Leafs

36 G, 41 A, 77 P, 40 GP

Rookie Season (2022-2023)

Toronto Maple Leafs

65 G, 52 A, 117 P, 78 GP

Received the Rookie of the Year award.

Third in most points in the whole NHL.

Signed a Contract for 12 Million dollars for three years and a 1 million dollar signing bonus.

Freshman Year (2021-2022)

•First and only Year at University of Michigan, 45 G, 31 A, 41 GP.

•Big Ten Freshman of the year.

Before University of Michigan

• Played two seasons with the USNTDP.

• Totaled 224 points (138-97--235) in 124 games with the USNTDP, the most points and goals ever in USNTDP history.

• First on the team in scoring in 2019-2020 with 69 goals, 47 assists for 115 points in 61 games with the U17 and U18 team

• Scored 110 points (71-48--118) in 63 games with the U18 team in 2020-2021, First on the team in scoring.

Personal

• Born September 9, 2003

• Daughter of Jim and Ellen Hughes

• Has three siblings, Quinn, Jack, Luke.

#octaviahughes #octaviaxsimon #oh8 #jack hughes x reader #nhl x reader #jack hughes #jh86 #luke hughes #quinn hughes #quinn hughes x reader #luke hughes x reader #simon nemec x reader #simon nemec #vancouver canucks #nj devils #auston matthews #mitch marner #toronto maple leafs

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dystini · 5 months ago

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Time for a history lesson, folks.

Josef Newgarden and Conor Daly's lives have been intertwined since they were barely teenagers. The first met at New Castle Motorsports Park in Indiana, racing go-karts.

2005 Mooresville, Indiana Grand Prix ( r to l ) Art Raney, Elliott Bachelart, Conor Daly, Josef Newgarden

Newgarden drove his first kart at the age of 13, and was a regular at the Kart Racers of America (KRA) series at the New Castle Motorsports Park. It was in 2006 that Josef claimed his first titles, winning two Yamaha Junior championships that season. From there, he jumped back and forth between karting and Skip Barber, where he excelled quickly and won a number of races. Daly began karting earlier, hitting the track at the age of 10. In 2005, Daly won the two Yamaha Junior championships and moved on to racing nationally in the sport of karting. Daly scored three WKA Manufacturers Cup Series victories, including a Grand National event. The following year, he moved up to the Senior level, where he earned the Stars of Karting Eastern championship in TaG driving for Top Kart USA.

2008 would be a year to remember for both as they competed in the Skip Barber National Championship. The two swapped victories with Daly earning five – along with the championship – while Newgarden took home three wins and finished runner-up in the standings. That September, the duo was named to the Team USA Scholarship program to compete at the Formula Ford Festival and the Walter Hayes Trophy Formula Ford event in England. Newgarden became the first American to win theFormula Ford Festival, while Daly took the honor as the first North American to claim victory at the Walter Hayes event.

Credit: ekarting news

Conor Daly and Josef Newgarden, currently first and second, respectively, in the BFGoodrich/Skip Barber National Presented by Mazda, were awarded the prestigious Team USA Scholarships for the 2008 season.

Daly, 16, from Noblesville, Ind., and Newgarden, 17, from Hendersonville, Tenn., will fly the Scholarship’s patriotic red, white and blue colors in the Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch, England, on the weekend of October 18-19, and the Walter Hayes Trophy Formula Ford event at Silverstone, England, two weeks later (November 1-2).

Prior to Daly and Newgarden racing against each other this year in the Skip Barber National – Daly has four wins and two poles, “Newgy” two wins and a series-leading six poles – the two were competitors in the Stars of Karting ranks. The pair are separated by just five points at the head of the SBN championship standings with just two races remaining at Virginia International Raceway next month.

The pair will drive identical Ray chassis prepared by renowned Cliff Dempsey Racing, a multiple championship-winning team based in Ashbourne, County Meath, Ireland.

credit: Skip Barber Racing School

Newgarden and Daly were selected to race as part of the 2008 Team USA Scholarship program

The latest in a long line of Team USA Scholarship winners, Conor Daly and Josef Newgarden, dominated proceedings this past weekend in the final two rounds of the BFGoodrich/Skip Barber National Presented by Mazda at Virginia International Raceway.

Daly, 16, from Noblesville, Ind., won from the pole on Saturday at VIR and added a second-place finish Sunday to clinch the championship and a $350,000 bonus that will enable him to progress along the MAZDASPEED Motorsports Development ladder system and compete in next year’s Star Mazda Championship Presented by Goodyear. Daly hopes to follow in the footsteps of fellow Team USA Scholarship winners Dane Cameron (2006), who went on to win the Star Mazda title in 2007 before graduating into the Cooper Tires Presents the Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda, and Joel Miller (2007), who leads the 2008 Star Mazda points table prior to the final round at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

Newgarden, 17, from Hendersonville, Tenn., won Sunday’s race to secure second in the championship standings. Newgarden also claimed two other race wins and a series-high six poles during the 14-race season.

Credit: autoracing1.com

Friday, October 17, 2008 BRANDS HATCH, England – Expectations were high for Team USA Scholarship drivers Conor Daly and Josef Newgarden as they went into today’s official qualifying sessions for the Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch. Each was in a different group and when their 15-minute sessions were checkered, ”Newgy” was on pole for Heat One while Daly just missed (by .07) pole for Heat Two.

credit: Skip Barber Racing School

Daly and Newgarden each scored victory in Formula Ford action in Europe

BRANDS HATCH, England – Josef Newgarden made history by winning the famed Formula Ford Festival (1600 Kent class) at Brands Hatch – the first American to ever do so. Past winners of the event, which dates back to 1972, include current Formula 1 stars Mark Webber and Jenson Button.

His Team USA Scholarship teammate Conor Daly also played a starring role, rising from the back of the grid in his heat race to finish a sterling sixth in the 25-lap Final.

credit: Skip Barber Racing School

Josef Newgarden Wins For Team USA

SILVERSTONE, England – Conor Daly capped an extraordinarily successful Team USA Scholarship foray to England by winning the Walter Hayes Trophy at Silverstone on Sunday, November 2. The victory came just two weeks after teammate Josef Newgarden won the Formula Ford Festival Kent Class at Brands Hatch.

Never in the history of Formula Ford, long considered the seed bed of future F1 drivers, has an American — let alone two — made such an impression in Europe. That Daly and Newgarden found this success as an outgrowth of their Skip Barber experience speaks for itself.

Daly, who started fourth on the 36-car grid for the 15-lap Walter Hayes Grand Final, held in cold, wet and extremely treacherous conditions, took the lead at half distance when Scottish Formula Ford Champion Graham Carroll slid off the road at Luffield corner.

Daly, 16, from Noblesville, Indiana, controlled the remainder of the race and set the fastest lap for good measure. He became the youngest driver ever to scoop the Walter Hayes Trophy, which is named after one of the originators of Formula Ford. The presentation was made by Walter Hayes’ widow, Elizabeth, in the Clubhouse of the famed British Racing Drivers Club.

credit: Skip Barber Racing School

eKartingNews: Josef, what do you remember about the first time you met Conor?

Josef Newgarden: I think I met Conor the second or third time at New Castle. He was racing Junior Can, and one of the bad ass drivers, along with Eric Morrow and a few others. I was just getting into the sport, practicing and understanding more about the sport. New Castle was the first and closest place to our home. It’s one of the best facilities in the sport and the KRA series they run was pretty packed when we raced there. It provided a great opportunity to race without having to travel to other programs like WKA or Stars of Karting.

EKN: Conor, what do you remember about the first time you met Josef?

Conor Daly: I don’t even know if I remember the first time I met Josef. I think it was at New Castle, racing against each other in Yamaha Junior Can. He was one of my main competitors, so we got to know one another and now have raced against each other for so many years. I won the championships one year, and then he took them both the following year, then we moved up together, and in Skip Barber and Team USA Scholarship together. After time apart, we found ourselves racing against each other in Indy Lights, and now at the Indy 500. It’s been a long road.

Credit: ekarting news

Conor Daly

2005 - Kart Racers of America - Junior Yamaha Can 1 - 1st place 2006 - WKA Manufacturer's Cup – JICA - 2nd place 2006 - WKA Manufacturer's Cup - Yamaha Junior Supercan Lite - 2nd place 2006 - TAG World Championship - Senior Pro - 1st place 2007 - USA Karting Championship – TAG - 2nd place 2008 - BFGoodrich / Skip Barber National Presented by Mazda - 1st place 2008 - Walter Hayes Trophy - Silverstone – FF1600 - 1st place 2008 - Formula Ford Ontario Championship F1600-A - 3rd place 2009 - Pro Mazda / USF Pro 2000 - 3rd place 2010 - Star Mazda Championship Presented by Goodyear - 1st place 2010 - 200 Miles of Newcastle – Karting - 2nd place 2013 - MRF Challenge - Formula 2000 - 1st place

Josef Newgarden

2005 - Kart Racers of America - Junior Yamaha Can 1 - 3rd place 2005 - Kart Racers of America - Junior Yamaha Can 2 - 2nd place 2005 - TAG World Championship - Junior Revised - 1st place 2006 - Kart Racers of America - Junior Yamaha Can 1 - 1st place 2006 - Kart Racers of America - Junior Yamaha Can 2 - 1st place 2006 - TAG World Championship - Junior Revised - 1st place 2007 - Skip Barber Southern Regional Series - 2nd place 2007 - 200 Miles of Newcastle – Karting – 2nd place 2007 - Kart Racers of America – TaG – 1st place 2008 - BFGoodrich / Skip Barber National Presented by Mazda - 2nd place 2008 - Formula Ford Festival – Kent - 1st place 2009 - British Formula Ford - 2nd place 2011 - Indy Lights - 1st place

#indycar #conor daly #josef newgarden

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racingliners · 1 year ago

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Livery Watch 2024: Special Editions

Breaking News: Local woman still isn't done yelling about car liveries.

idk how many one-off liveries the teams are going to do this year, but in any case I love McLaren's livery for Japan, so if there's any more across this season I'll be updating this post as they appear throughout the year!

McLaren - Japanese GP Vuse "Driven by Change" livery

I LOVED this when the promo images dropped at the start of the week. The livery was designed by Japanese artist MILTZ and is inspired by Edomoji (a style of Japanese calligraphy), the design reminds me a lot of The Great Wave off Kanagawa but I'm pretty sure because they both have a wave motif.

I absolutely love the splashes of blue and white, I wish they were on the black portion of the car instead because the livery would look so much brighter, but I still love how it looks on the car regardless.

9/10

Ferrari - Miami GP Blue livery

Adding list to the very long list of the ways that Ferrari have disappointed me, and ngl I'm so tempted to put it right at the top.

After all the hype Ferrari had been putting out on socials I was expecting the car to be all blue (which, is in recognition of the 70th anniversary of Ferrari selling cars in the USA) and instead we have... this.

Like, no one would have forgotten that Ferrari's are meant to be red just bc the car went all blue for one race, especially because the team kit and overalls are all-over blue for this week (I am extra mad bc the shades of blue that's on the car are so stunning and would definitely have stood out compared to the other blue livery cars).

Also don't get me started on the silly amount of HP logos on the car, if I was a tifosi I would be beyond embarrassed rn

2/10 and that's me being nice.

Racing Bulls - Miami GP livery

Ahhhh. That's better.

I LOVE the multi-colour gradient (even if it does slightly resemble the instagram logo). I would have loved to see it all over the car because the chrome silver bull would look so nice against it.

But apart from that it's so bright and fun and it's going to look fantastic on track this weekend. I'm not even mad that it's matte.

9/10

McLaren - Monaco GP Senna livery

*shouting in the general direction of Maranello* You see this Ferrari? THAT'S how you do a special livery!

Yes, it's incredibly yellow (to the point it looks like a Benson & Hedges sponsored Jordan if you squint) but that's the whole point. (Also bonus points for the car pretty much being completely painted!!!)

As an ode to Ayrton Senna, it's pretty much spot on. For me the first thing that always sprang to mind when Senna is mentioned is his helmet design featuring the colours of the Brazilian flag. I also love the diagonal lines as a nod to the Marlboro McLaren livery.

Oh and did I forget to mention that IT'S NOT MATTE!!!

10/10

Red Bull - British GP "REBL CUSTMS - Stallion Red" livery

Like last season, we're getting three fan-designed RBR liveries this year in honour of the team's 20th anniversary and this is the first!

And god, I wish it was the main livery. The brushes of neon red are so bright and actually look interesting instead of the super corporate unchanged livery we've seen since 2016.

Usual 'I hate that it's matte complaints' but spart of that, it really looks great.

8/10

Williams - British GP livery

So in the design stakes, I definitely prefer last year's white accents design. However, on the sentimentality stakes (of which I will never be immune to), I love it so so much.

As it's been mentioned a lot in commentary already this week, the car features the names of all 1005 Williams team members - and founder Sir Frank Williams, which is just so so lovely.

6/10 for design, 10/10 for the sentiment behind it.

Alpine - Belgian GP "Deadpool & Wolverine" livery

ngl friends I have spent the whole time since this dropped staring at this going 'hmm'.

I definitely don't hate it, I think I once again find all the exposed carbon very off-putting, but at least there is more paint on the car this time compared with their core blue and pink liveries. (And, tbf, given how Deadpool's colour scheme is red and black, it does make sense from that pov)

The concept behind this is very fun, I genuinely cannot remember the last time we had a full promotional livery for something (Aston Martin did run the James Bond logo on their cars when No Time to Die came out, but that was it).

I think it would have been nice if there was more yellow (as cool as the Wolverine claw marks are), but overall it's definitely very fun. I really want to see how it's going to look on track.

7.5/10

Mercedes - Singapore GP "Petronas 50th Anniversary" livery

Not gonna lie, after the well documented events of the 2019 German Grand Prix, I honestly never thought we'd see Mercedes run a one-off livery ever again, so seeing this upon opening Instagram this morning was a nice surprise!

Might be worth saying that this livery is in honour of Petronas' 50th anniversary as a company (their title sponsorship with Mercedes only dates back to 2010), and the choice of debuting this livery at Singapore is that it's the race closest to Petronas' HQ in Malaysia.

(Powers that be pleeeeeeeeease bring back the Malaysian GP in Sepang!!!!!!!)

So, all that aside, I do very much like this livery. The Merc colour scheme of black, silver and teal is super iconic and works in pretty much any iteration. Design wise though I wish there had been a tiny bit of effort put in because they've literally just swapped round where the silver and teal is on their core livery.

I do think the car will stand out on track really well against the dark tarmac of the circuit, and the fact that from this picture at least the teal portion of the car looks glossy so it should look stunning under the floodlights at night.

8/10

Racing Bulls - Singapore GP "Hugo Boss Denim" livery

I want to get on board with this, I really really reaaaaaaaally do.

I just can't because they didn't properly commit to the bit and do the whole car in denim.

Unlike RBs Miami GP livery in which they got away with keeping the dark blue engine cover and halo because across the whole car the colour scheme still felt cohesive, on this livery (or, as we're all calling it, jivery) the saturated blue does not feel very put together with the rest of the denim. And I am a little bit mad about it bc if the denim had been all over the car I think it would have looked both amazing and really different on track. And for once, I don't mind the matte finish bc as we all know denim is not ultra-glossy - another reason why keeping the dark blue engine cover from the core livery just makes the whole thing look odd.

Love the concept, really not on board with the execution - 6/10 overall.

McLaren - Singapore GP "OKX Legend Reborn" livery

oh this FUCKS.

It's somewhat turned into a tradition of McLaren debuting a one-off livery in Singapore. In 2022 the sky blue accents on the core livery were swapped out for a stunning hot pink, and last year we had the mostly carbon stealth livery (you can find my thoughts on that in my Livery Watch 2023 tag).

And this year, as the name suggests, McLaren are running a livery inspired by the iconic Marlboro McLaren livery of the 1980s, with papaya orange in place of Marlboro red.

and to repeat myself, it FUCKS.

I love the stripe of white down the middle of the car, it really stands out compared to the slash of exposed carbon on the core livery and combined with the orange the car just looks so much brighter and is really going to stand out on track.

Is it a little bit Finding Nemo? Yes. Do I care? No.

For the tiny bit of exposed carbon it loses a point so - 9/10

Red Bull - Singapore GP "REBL CUSTUMS - Camo Bull" livery

I will update if I find a better picture, the RBR website is silly.

The funny thing about updating this post as the year goes on instead of doing a reblog for each new livery is that all the various off-track (ie. Red Bull scrapping their two remaining fan designed liveries because the paint they were going to use made the car too heavy) happenings do get a bit lost within the passing of time.

But, as this is my house and I can do what I want on Livery Watch, I'm gonna yell about what would have been RBR's Singapore GP livery anyway, as it has thankfully been put onto Hamda Al Quibaisi's F1 Academy car (plus matching overalls!!!) for this weekend.

And as I said on a post earlier today (as I write this) I am mad that RBR chickened out bc this is SUCH a sexy livery. It pays tribute to the og Camo Bull livery from 2015 pre-season testing so well and it's just DIFFERENT and FUN and is gonna look SO good on the circuit and the pops of neon red are just stunning. I love it.

10/10. no notes.

Haas - United States GP livery

Not only are Haas going to be arriving at the Circuit of the Americas with Toyota Gazoo Racing logos on the car after the announcement of their new technical partnership with Toyota, they are also as seems to be turning into a tradition running a stars and stripes inspired livery for what is 'officially' the team's home race.

(I say officially as while the F1 calendar does have 3 US races, the race in Austin is the only one branded as the United States GP).

I do very much prefer this livery compared to the one they ran last year. The brighter, more saturated colours, work well against the predominantly black base, though I find the red driver numbers a bit hard to read as the white outline is a bit too thin. But I love the scattered star motif on the front wing and sidepods - I think it's very fun!

While I do get why the main emblem on the car is a hybrid of a lone star (bc Texas is the lone star state) and the head of an eagle (ca-caw, wtf is a kilometre) it does slightly give off 'concept art for an NFL team logo' vibes, and I think running with just the star motif would have gotten the same message across just as well.

(I will say though, I think the eagle art itself is pretty good! It just feels ever so slightly too much.)

7/10

Alpine - United States GP "Indiana Jones and the Great Circle" livery

As the semi-official Livery Watch reporter for f1blr news, I do feel it's my journalistic duty to point out that Disney have not managed to pay Harrison Ford even more money to come back for another film, but that this livery is actually promotion for the upcoming video game of the same title.

My second thought upon seeing this livery (my first, like everyone else, was that it looks like a McLaren cosplay) was that I felt quite mad Alpine have painted more of the car for this one-off livery than they have done for their pink and blue core liveries, and I'm once again mad at the missed potential for what we could have had.

(My thoughts on the Alpine core livery can be found in my Livery Watch 2024 tag).

I did have to do some digging, and thanks to this video posted on Alpine's twitter feed and this post by one of Alpine's graphic designers, I am fairly confident in saying that the car is not in fact all over orange, and like the Indiana Jones logo is more of a yellow to orange ombré with a really cool looking treasure map motif on top.

I think the concept is fun (despite the promo images making the car look more orange than what it seemingly is) and it's been executed fairly well, but I may need to wait to see it in daylight before properly deciding if I like it or not.

7/10

McLaren - United States GP Chrome livery

As first ran at the British GP last year, McLaren have once again brought back their chrome silver livery of the late-00s and 2010s, in partnership with one of their main sponsors Google.

And, before I go in detail, I want to show my initial reaction via the tags on a post of this livery I reblogged earlier today because I think it sums up my feelings very well.

I cannot begin to express how delighted I am that McLaren have given this livery a second attempt, because the first version they ran last year was quite a big miss.

This version feels so much more thought out in terms of where the chrome silver paint will actually go and what this livery and the original Vodafone McLaren chrome livery do well is having a really bright pop of colour against the silver so the car doesn't look too bland (unlike the team's 2014 chrome and black livery).

Honestly? This is yet another banger of a McLaren one-off livery. It's silver chrome done stunningly well. 10/10.

Williams - Mexico City GP & Sao Paulo GP altered Core livery

The delay in the latest addition to Livery Watch is partially due to life stuff, and also due to me contemplating whether or not it actually counted since it's a sponsor driven change as opposed to a "let's do this for funsies!" change. BUT we have seen sponsor driven liveries this year so I have finally decided that it counts, so onwards!

The addition of the Mercado Libre logo and yellow colour splash for the two Latin American races of the year is definitely fun (it stands out on the car from a mile away) and either intentionally or otherwise evokes the classic blue, white and yellow Williams liveries of the 80s and 90s.

Obviously there would have been a limitation on what shade of yellow they could put on the car, and I am somewhat bummed that it covers the original Frank Williams Racing logo, but a lot of what I love about the 2024 core livery remains.

Solid 6/10

Sauber - Las Vegas GP Flame livery

I want to like this. However, I don't think I do.

My favourite part of this livery is the nose cone, I think the white to neon green gradient is actually quite nice and had it been done all over the car would have looked very striking on track (especially in contrast to the exposed carbon areas of the car).

I'm just... really not a fan of the flame motif. It looks fine on the front end of the car, but on the engine cover where it's just a flat line before the rest of the flames just makes it look so harsh and for me anyway it's the first thing my eyes are drawn to because it look so slapped on and out of place.

5/10 (mainly for the nose cone)

Alpine - Las Vegas GP, Qatar GP & Abu Dhabi GP 'Al-Pink' livery

When I tell you that upon opening my instagram and saw this I literally threw my hands into the air as if I myself had just won a Grand Prix (please also refer to my all caps post from earlier as an additional first reaction that sums up my general feelings nicely).

oh BWT, I could literally kiss you on the mouth for this. I genuinely have never been happier for a sponsor requiring that a team run a specific livery for a set number of races per season. Pink Alpine they could NEVER make me hate you.

And I am so utterly thrilled and delighted to say that thanks to one of the Alpine livery/graphic designers confirming in this post, IT'S A GLOSSY PINK 😭🙌

Previous BWT-pink liveries have been a much softer pink, but I just love the brighter in your face almost Barbie pink. I think they've gone in this direction since all the races this livery will be ran at are night races, so the slightly darker and brighter pink will definitely stand out against the dark circuit under the floodlights.

Yes, there is sadly more exposed carbon than I would like. But I honestly don't care. IT'S A SHINY PINK F1 CAR!!!!!!

10/10

Racing Bulls - Las Vegas GP "Glitter" livery

Gonna keep it short and sweet, and share my initial reaction to the livery via the medium of a screenshot of Discord DMs.

We could have had it all... truly. Racing Bulls were literally stood in front of an open goal and instead kicked the ball outside the stadium. My disappointment is beyond immeasurable rn.

3.5/10 - for the cohesive colour palette at least.

#Formula 1 #Livery Watch #2024 #Livery Watch 2024 #(doing the one off liveries in their own post just to keep things tidy)

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rwrbficrecs · 2 years ago

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Sport Recs Part 1

Pumped by @myheartalivewrites (Climbing)

Recently moved to London, Alex meets Henry at a climbing wall, where accidental rudeness and misunderstandings keep them apart, until they don’t.

There's pining, there's climbing, there's stupid boys falling for each other, and smut towards the end.

Faster, Higher, Stronger by @everwitch-magiks (Figure Skating)

When Alex fails to qualify for the 2022 Winter Olympics, it’s all too easy to blame Henry Fox, the dual citizen who’d switched from Team GB to Team USA and snagged the last spot for men’s figure skating. After Alex is abruptly thrown back into the games, he forms an unexpectedly deep connection with Henry. But no athlete who aims for the top of the podium can afford any serious distractions. Will Alex be able to keep his flaring emotions in check and take home the Olympic gold medal he’s always aimed for?

Hit (My Love) Out of the Park by bleedingballroomfloor (Baseball)

“It’s just — I’ve had such a hard time feeling like I really belonged. I think that’s what got me in the slump in the first place. But coming back here, seeing all the love I still got even though I’m not on the Rangers anymore… that really helped. And being on the Mets, being in New York — you helped with all of that. More than you’ll ever know.”

Or, Alex and Henry are dumb, horny disasters. With an added bonus of baseball.

the winner takes it all by @stutteringpeach (Cycling)

In theory, this shouldn’t be a thing. Alex has spent his whole life around other cyclists, on the track and the road and off both, and he’s never had this sort of visceral reaction to any of them.

(Well. Kind of. Maybe he let his eyes linger on a teammate once or twice. But like—Alex is an athlete. He appreciates the human form.)

But the way the muscles in Henry Fox’s thighs stretch and ripple as he urges his bike up the mountain—

Yeah.

It’s a lot.

And if Alex weren’t so determined to steal that yellow jersey off his back he’d fall off his bike.

Love-Love by @livinginrhythm (Tennis)

“I hear Alex Claremont-Diaz is available,” she says, and while the idea is terribly appealing, he knows that it is incorrect.

“Alex is an incredible tennis player. If he wanted to pair up, I’d be open to that.”

It is not often Henry’s mouth gets him in trouble. Years of media training and growing up with a celebrity for a dad have left him very practiced in the subtle art of the spin.

Apparently the mere mention of Alex had all that leaving his head entirely.

#sport #athlete #red white and royal blue #rwrb #firstprince #firstprinceficrecs #alex x henry #alex claremont diaz #henry fox mountchristen windsor #rwrbficrecs #fic rec list #rec list

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sunskate · 10 months ago

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I don’t doubt that the environment was toxic at Canton.

But I’d like to gently push back on the idea that Marina was giving them lesser material or wasn’t invested in giving them material that could win. They might feel that way and I don’t blame them because it’s all wrapped up in the negativity of that era but it doesn’t match what was actually put on the ice. Carmen was groundbreaking, has influenced many a program since, and was beyond difficult. Too difficult - they never skated it cleanly. But had they gone clean that season and won Worlds, they’d have had the momentum into Sochi. The music of Seasons never clicked in their minds, but the actual skating content is more sophisticated and more nuanced than any other free program they’ve done, and far far more intricate than D/W’s programs. Marina put in a counter clockwise circular step just to prove they could do it and nobody else could! The transitions are stunning! And V/M say themselves they should’ve stuck with Carmen for crowd appeal - a Marina program. So it’s not like that quad they were stuffed by bad material. They were stuffed by inconsistency, the feeling that they’d had their turn, and the USA desperately wanting a champion.

The fact that Marina didn’t manage their emotional distress is her fault. But *both* their 2014 programs WERE good enough to win gold, and should’ve won. The judges didn’t go with it because ice dance is a fake sport - not because D/W skated better or because their programs were better. But the judges failing to go with it now gets used as the posthoc justification by the V/M fandom for stating unequivocally that Marina didn’t give them the material. Except she did. Moonlight Sonata wouldn’t suddenly become a superior piece of choreography to Moulin Rouge if Gabriella’s costume hadn’t split and V/M only got silver in 2018. The same principle applies here.

i didn't say she gave them bad material. i think it's more like Marina put a finger on the DW side of the scale and gave them the A+ package and VM A- in the FD. it's not the choreo that's the issue, and certainly not the performance. it's the concept and the music. at the end of the day, difficulty and intricacy don't win the Olympics. you can't get higher than level 4, and you don't get a GOE or PCS bonus for that unless there's a big impact from it emotionally or through a wow factor

the comparison to 2018 is useful because again, VM had the same coach/choreographer as their rivals - Marie-France choreographed Moonlight Sonata too, and clearly both were vehicles that could have won their team gold - it almost went the other way

if Marie-France gave PC a program not to Beethoven but to Weber or Salieri - that would be like what Marina did to VM - Glazunov and Scriabin are respectable and even admired but Moonlight Sonata and Scheherazade are in the standard repertoire and played frequently all over the world for a good reason, while the music for Seasons is really not

i'm not saying whether the judges would have gone for VM or not. more that Marina didn't give VM the best FD vehicle to persuade them

#prokofiev tchaikovsky shostakovich were right there #it wasn't just vm that didn't click with the seasons music

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