#especially with kao’s speed issues

[triplelutzmoreliketriplecry]

fuck the isu, fuck altitude, fuck covid, fuck appendicitis, fuck axels. but also, Keegan messing’s beautiful free. Kao’s AMAZING free. Skate of the night for me, imo; there’s performing and there’s being and Kao was THERE. 4CC 2023 really is the roller coaster comp

[kyojurokoibito]

"There's A Baby In There!"

Pairing(s): kyojuro rengoku x reader

Genre: fluff

Synopsis: kyojuro feels your baby kick for the first time

Warning(s): rengoku being a precious baby

Kao's Note(s): got this idea from an episode of the big bang theory and i thought it was the cutest moment; i wrote another version of this earlier today, but i accidentally deleted it. that one was a lot better than this one, so now I'm kinda salty

part 2

okay, so this man is the most loving and affection lover alive

and if you say otherwise, you're wrong

but he smiles SO MUCH whenever you're around

he smiles enough as it is, but it's 10x as big once he's anywhere near you, it can honestly be a little frightening to see if you don't know any better though

he is always so excited to see you, anytime you were anywhere near him, his smile would become that much brighter, putting the sun itself to shame and he'll immediately rush over to you

even if you just saw each other moments ago, if you're in the same room as him again, he's by your side in an instant and quickly scooping you up into his arms

your relationship with kyojuro is a lively one full of nothing but love, warmth, and plenty of laughs

he's an extremely doting lover too

since you're also one of his fellow pillars, he has no issues with showcasing his feelings on the matter of your training; telling you if you're training too hard or too long, even though it was just and excuse to get you to cuddle with him

"my love, you have trained far too long! come, you must rest now!"

"kyo, i haven't even picked up my swor–"

well it doesn't matter because he's already scooped you up into his arms, running full speed towards his private quarters for one of his much appreciated cuddle sessions

but it wasn't uncommon for your "cuddle sessions" to turn into something more

so it didn't come as a surprise when shinobu had confirmed your pregnancy at the butterfly estate after one morning of feeling sick

but kyojuro did give you quite the scare because when you initially broke the news go him, he let out a gasp, and was quick to run away, but all of your worries went away when you heard kyojuro shout from at the top of his lungs to every pillar that crossed his path, "MY BEAUTIFUL Y/N IS PREGNANT!"

soon, he returned to you and when he did, you were immediately scooped up in his arms, lifting you off the ground and spinning you around in circles

"we're having a baby! my love, you're pregnant!"

a lot of laughs and cheerful tears were shed that day, but you and kyojuro were over the moon with the news

kagaya was happy for you both as well, he was sure to postpone both your missions during the duration of your pregnancy and well after the little bundle of joy arrived

you and kyojuro gave the master your warmest thanks, and he wished you a healthy pregnancy

kyojuro wasted no time sending a letter back home with his exciting news, senjuro wrote back in an instant and expressed his excitement for becoming an uncle

kyojuro's father took a little longer to write back, but his letter was short, sweet, and to the point, not that it surprised either of you, but you were pleasantly surprised when he congratulated you both on the new addition that'll arrive in nine months

now, kyojuro's more doting than he's ever been

kyojuro listened intently to every word shinobu said, remembering every word that the she was telling you to expect during each trimester of your pregnancy; telling you what to eat and what not to eat, providing a warning for the morning sickness, mood swings, etc.

he won't let you lift a finger now

kyojuro makes sure you're always getting enough rest, doesn't allow you to get up for any reason especially once you're farther along into your pregnancy

one time he felt you move an inch, and he immediately snapped his head to you, "where are you going, my love," you gave a gentle smile, "just getting some water, kyo"

no you're not, because before you could even get up, kyojuro already raced out of the room, and came back with gallons of water just so you wouldn't have to worry about running out

although, his favorite thing to do was talk to the baby in your belly

nearly every morning, you'd wake up to kyojuro's soft whispers to your growing baby, "we can't wait to meet you," and, "you must stop causing your beautiful mother's back to ache so much, little flame," and "oh, let me tell you of the time your mother...," and he'd proceed to tell your growing baby about a fond memory of you

it was definitely a heartwarming sight to wake up to

he absolutely loves spooning you and your baby, he'll wrap his arm around your waist and caress your swelled belly, just barely containing his excitement for becoming a father

but nothing could beat the night he felt your little baby kick for the first time

it was a beautiful night.

the fireflies were a great addition to the twinkling stars above, the deep songs of the toads filled air, and the moon cascaded a beautiful, soft spotlight on the couple.

you were fast asleep, sleeping peacefully. well, as peacefully as you could with the added weight of a baby. but even with kyojuro's waiting on you hand and foot, pregnancy takes quite the toll on your body. and you've come to appreciate sleep now more than ever.

but kyojuro was wide awake.

try as he may, and do as he might, sleep wouldn't come easily to kyojuro tonight. he was far too excited thinking about his son or daughter growing in your swelling belly. last week, the insect hashira had informed you both that you had four more months left before your bundle of joy would around. if they chose to arrive on time, of course.

but that's all kyojuro could think about.

as soon as he witnessed your nurturing nature towards tanjiro, zenitsu, inosuke, and most importantly, towards his little brother, he knew you'd make a great mother. you'd even taken care of his father once before when he was far too drunk to get around himself.

kyojuro shifted so that his cheek rested atop your head, his arms draped over your waist with his hand gingerly rubbed circles on your swollen stomach. a gentle smile formed on his lips at the mere thought of your baby being born.

abruptly, kyojuro let out a quiet gasp.

quickly shifting to his knees, which caused the bed go shake a little, kyojuro hovered over you placed both hands onto your stomach and waited.

feeling the sudden motion behind you, your eyebrows furrowed as you began to stir awake. "kyo? what're you doing?" he gently shushed you.

"shh, shh...wait just a moment, my love," you both waited, and it happend again.

kyojuro felt the small thump against his hand.

he gasped again, "my love, did you feel that?! it was a kick!" kyojuro pointed to your stomach and looked to you with child-like wonder. "there's a baby in there!" you couldn't help but giggle.

"oh yeah, that's where i put 'em," you joked groggily while smiling fondly at kyojuro's excitement.

"forgive me for waking you! i am just so excited," he paused for a moment to pulled you into his side, placing a kiss onto your forehead.

"i know, kyo, i'm excited too," you snuggled into his side, feeling your eyelids grow heavy. "but you must get some sleep, shinobu asked to see us again in the morning."

"yes, you are right!" kyojuro pulled the warm blanket over your bodies. "comfortable?" you softly nodded, already feeling sleep starting to overcome you.

finally, kyojuro felt himself grow weary and his eyes becoming heavy, and he was able to find sleep with soft thumping of feet against his hand.

[jennibeultimate]

Personal recap Skate America 2022 - Men SP

GP series is back! And I am back to personal recaps! I emphasize the word "personal" as in it's not something anyone has to agree on...I just catched up on the Men SP much later...

Kao Miura was amazing! He is a force to be reckoned! His jumps are tremendous, he obviously needs some work on expression and spins but the speed and energy of his program is really fun to watch. 🔥 🔥 🔥 Kao in first place at the end of the day, who would have guessed?

Junhwan Cha, my love ❤️ This Michael Jackson program has everything you want from a skater. It's fun, it's has brilliant choreography and it's very difficult with the connections between elements (except for that 3A setup that is still much too long for my liking) and on top he excels in execution. He had some minor jump issues, that's why I think 2nd place is completely fine. (Last season Jun really turned me into a huge fan of him, I hope he makes the GPF!)

Btw happy birthday! 🎉🎂🥳

Daniel Grassl...anyone who read my previous personal recaps is aware of my dislike for Grassl's skating...but I think he improved drastically in the performance department and skating skills department and the choreography by Jason Brown suits him quite well. I will probably never be a huge Grassl fan but he did well. Bravo.

Ilia Malinin...where to start? I really thought that this SP could go two ways, clean or failure simply because of the huge pressure he is under. Still I was kinda surprised that he was left with place 4, which should not be surprising judging the performance. Ofc he can still win with his arsenal of quad jumps but I am pleasantly surprised at the judges not giving him higher PCS than Roman Sadovsky or Junhwan or anyone...I still think he would deserve less, but contrary to what I was expecting (judging him on top of everyone) I take that as a good sign. Don't get me wrong, Ilia is not a bad skater but he lacks the connection to the music in most parts of the program and you can clearly see the jump focus. Also if he does difficult steps like in his step sequence he is pretty slow and reminds me of Alexander Majorow who also always got Level 4 on his step sequence but was just really slow to hit all the right edges. The strategy is not per se wrong, but for me it just lacks the flow and connection to the program as this seems more of a check off of requirements. Ilia is young and he can learn, I just hope that his PCS scores give him a reason to improve. (We all know that with high TES the PCS are quite whack especially coming from a political powerhouse country, but atm I am ok with how it turned out, it's not good but better than expected and this is the mindset I have for judging atm 🙈...my standards are very low by now 😅)

Ilia is without a doubt one skater with a possibility to be the leader in this cycle with his technical content, but I think the pressure is too much and I fear that he may not live up to the expectations that are set on him. No other US man has the capability to get medals at world stages and I can see it go two ways...he can live up to that in the competitions leading to Worlds or he crumbles...I just think it's not fair to have a 17 year old with that burden, no matter if you personally agree on his attitude or not. I personally don't like his attitude but I guess much of it is for show and because of his age and the hyping of his persona as a "quadgod". (Btw I am also sceptical he will maintain that easiness on his quads because he is far from done with growing and puberty I fear with the way he is build, let's hope I am wrong though)

Roman Sadovsky is a great skater and this program is so good. I saw his clean performance at Nebelhorn Trophy live and can tell you Roman has everything you want in a skater, BUT he so seldomly gets it together. 😩😩😩He always makes stupid mistakes. It's not even the quads that aren't working, but the rest is bound to be mistake ridden as well, which is such a shame. I really love Roman's skating but his huge talent is overshadowed by stupid mistakes. *sigh* Still managing 5th place is a small consolation prize.

Sena Miyake has a nice program and I liked the movement of his costume. Pretty skater. He definitely needs a bit more consistency but you can say that about almost everyone. 😊

Mikhail Selevko is a great jumper. Shame about the mistake on the Axel. I think on the European level, he can get very far. Still needs polish on his performance and skating abilities, but he is young and I am sure he can learn that.

Liam Kapeikis played safe. At Nebelhorn he went for a quad in the SP,but he fell. I think this strategy works better for him. He skates lovely but isn't one that I will remember much. The US men except for Ilia don't look as if they could make a name for themselves in the season... Liam definitely has more capability than Dinh Tran but still this isn't the level the US men used to show in the past years with Nathan, Vincent and Jason. And ofc they are all still young and can improve but I just feel like it makes the pressure on Ilia to leave off were Nathan left even more difficult. (I mean I love Camden Pulkinen's skating but he isn't reliable either and also lacks the difficulty for winning medals, same goes for Jimmy Ma...)

Wesley Chiu has lovely lines and good skating skills and nice interpretation of music, but he definitely lacks the quads and consistency. Still knowing how bad his skates in the most part of the year were, I think this one was one of the better ones for him.

Donovan Carillo is just fun to watch. I always have a smile on my face watching Donovan. ❤️ He came so far in the last years. You cannot help but wish him well.

Koshiro Shimada...he still sold that program well, but last place is really yikes especially in a field like this. As much as I like Koshiro he is very lucky that so many skaters left the field (intentionally or unintentionally) that he can compete at the GPs. And I fear with performances like this he will have a hard time to get selected for anything at all...Koshiro is very charismatic and also fun to watch, but all of that won't help if you can't deliver and I really don't know why he still went for two quads? You could say he has nothing to lose because he is not considered a favorite anyway, but I do think he loses reputation inside Team Japan to get selected for big events and also on scoring. Not sure how his practices are, but this doesn't seem to work...I really hope he can redeem himself a bit in the free...🙏

Good luck for the free skate to all skaters! 🙏🍀

This was a very typical men SP, many mistakes and some good performances...it can only get better...

Actually I wouldn't mind if the SP results would be the final results tomorrow...sorry Ilia...

[nanoka12]

Kaori Sakamoto “I want to see the view from the podium”; Mai Mihara “Even so, I will not lose heart”

Their thoughts upon the Olympics-- Together they aimed for the grand stage of the Olympics, as close friends, and also rivals who devoted all their youth to figure skating. One of them grasped her dream, while the other did not fulfill her dream. Both of them overwhelmingly full of words of gratitude towards the other. And then once again, they will start their journey towards their respective dreams. 

(Translator’s note: for context, this article was published in early February 2018, just before the PyeongChang Olympics)

They are always smiling when they are together. Meeting when they were in elementary school, for 10 years they have encouraged each other along they way and worked hard together in training until now. 

This season, both of them envisioned the same target, and had moved forward with the vow of standing on the grand stage together.

“My only full day of rest was on 1 January. The solid sense of becoming Japan’s representative welled up greatly within me, and I began to think “Let’s do it”. ”

Two weeks after the Japanese National Championships, on 6 January, Kaori Sakamoto said this with a laugh.

The Japanese National Championships last December had also served as the selection for the representatives to the PyeongChang Olympics. Sakamoto, with a perfect performance in the SP had headed into the FS in 1st place. In the FS, amidst the further pressure of being the last to skate, she skated cleanly except for an underrotated jump and finished in 2nd place overall. Splendidly, she had won one of the spots to the PyeongChang Olympics.

“I thought there was no greater pressure than to be the last to skate. While thinking that I’ll definitely be nervous, and in reality, in the interval until the FS, unknowingly I had become very nervous, to the extent that I thought I’ll surely fail if I continue like this.  However, when the time came for my coaches to send me off at the rink, the moment that Nakano-sensei said to me “Kao can definitely do it. You have practiced for it, haven’t you?”, I thought to myself “Ah, indeed, because I’ve worked hard in practice it will be ok if I perform it just like in practice”, and the excess energy just fell away.”

Last season she had won bronze medals at both JGPF and Junior World Championships. For this season in which her Senior debut overlapped with the Olympic year, Sakamoto set her eyes on “Going to the Olympics” as her goal.

“The Youth Olympics (in 2016) was the first time I saw uniforms, bags, and the ice rink with the Olympics symbol on them, and it brought forth thoughts of “Ah, this is the atmosphere of the Olympics. I want to compete at the real Olympics”.”

Within herself, the sense of anxiety was tremendous. What bewildered her the most was the atmosphere of Senior competition.

“It’s completely different from Juniors. For example, at last season’s Junior World Championships, the two Men’s skaters and the three of us Ladies’ skaters, as well as the representatives in Ice Dance and Pairs, all of us would gather together and go for meals, and it was all very friendly. However, in Seniors everyone does things on their own. When I go to the rink, the atmosphere felt prickly and it was difficult to get used to it. I could not focus at all, was unable to move as I intended and was swept away by other skaters and so on...”

As Sakamoto was not exempted from having to qualify for the National Championships, she had no other option than to start competing at regional competitions within Japan. As she was also competing at international events, she competed at more events than anyone else this season. Looking back at it later, this had the beneficial effect of making her get used to competitions.

“I became able to think that “I will also perform it” and made my way here. However, although I pretty much got accustomed to it...”, she said with a wry smile. 

For Sakamoto who felt a sense of loneliness during competitions, she had a friend who became a support. This was Mai Mihara. Being together at their daily training became strength for her. As the competitions they were assigned to were different, they were separated when either traveled to compete. During those times, they exchanged messages via SNS, sometimes they were congratulations, and sometimes they were words of encouragement.

 “I think I am here because Mai-chan is here.”

The first meeting of the two of them who have formed such strong bonds traces back to 10 years ago. When Sakamoto, who had started skating at age 4 was 7 years old, Mihara who was one year older joined the same club she was in.

“A child with a strong spirit has come here.” In her words, this was her first impression (of Mihara).

“She had extremely strong feelings of hating to lose, ever since she was small Mai-chan was a child with the sentiment of absolutely wanting to be number one. As for myself, at that time I really did not have any such feelings of “I absolutely must win”, and was just skating without any purpose. (laughs)”

Mihara’s presence induced a change in Sakamoto’s attitude.

“Although she entered the club later, she became skillful earlier than me. One of the barriers in figure skating is whether one can master the 2A or not. Although I took two and a half years, Mai-chan got her 2A after just slightly more than a year. At that time her speed of improvement was totally different from mine, and as she was also the one who got her five triples first, since then I’ve been chasing after her.”

She describes Mihara who made her take skating seriously in these words,

“We are always training together, she is a rival who is always close by. There isn’t a more beneficial environment than this. Although she is a rival, at the same time she is a friend. I really think every day that it is great that Mai-chan is here.”

She had changed her hairstyle after the Japanese National Championships. 

“I think it was on 29 December, around that time I had it cut. I got my fringe cut by about 20cm. As there’s no parting, it felt fresh. Perhaps I cut it as a fresh start.”

Mihara who said these words smiled wryly at Sakamoto’s description of her as “ A child with a strong spirit”. 

“I wasn’t that strong in spirit. Although I don’t know why she has that image of me. (laughs)”

Her first impression of Sakamoto was “Someone who rotated with ease, a skillful child.” She also wanted to become similarly skillful.

Last season, Mihara as a first year Senior achieved her debut and first victory at the Four Continents Championship. At the World Championships, despite starting far behind the leaders in 15th place after the SP, she finished in 5th place overall after a performance in the FS that brought the arena to its feet in a standing ovation. Along with the fact that she very rarely made mistakes, she had left a striking impression.

However at a turn, this season had become a year of struggles.  What had become the source of her stumbles was her SP. She would make mistakes in it during competitions, and even though she would make up some of the lost points in her FS, her results faltered.

She had thought since before the season began that the SP was an issue to tackle. The level of difficulty of transitions between elements had been raised, and so had the overall level of her programme. Separately, she struggled with expressing the genre of tango. Although her choreographer requested for her to express “the psychology of an adult woman”, for her “I couldn’t really visualise it...”. When asked whether it was a case of there being aspects she could not engage with despite trying hard, she denied it, saying “The choreographer chose it as he believed I could do it; it’s only that my level is too low.”

After intense practice following her 4th place finishes at both the Cup of China and Internationaux de France on the Grand Prix Series, she was determined to have “no mistakes” at the Japanese National Championships. However, she made a mistake on her 2A in the SP, and was not able to fully overcome it.

“I think I rushed into the jump. I was extremely anxious. It wasn’t even the first jump, and moreover I had not made a mistake on the axel previously, and I wondered why (I made this mistake).”

She was in 7th place after the SP.

“I was really frustrated, and thought about a lot of things. It was difficult to put it out of my mind and refocus. But the theme of my FS was the image of an angel skating and hoping for peace, and from the moment I thought that there isn’t any angel who would skate with a sad face I calmed down.”

She said she had only one thought in her mind as she went into the FS,

“I thought that not just the Olympics, but I probably would not be sent to the Four Continents or the World Championships as well, so the FS at the Japanese  National Championships will be my last performance this season.”

With a superb performance, she was 3rd in the FS, and finished in 5th place overall. 

“But I was regretful. Especially about the SP. I wanted to do this season over again. Once again, from the time we started choreographing the SP.”

Mihara murmured these words softly.

The moment the Olympic representatives were announced, Sakamoto looked fixedly at the ground

For the two of them who had set their eyes on the same goal, their paths separated on the final day of the Japanese National Championships, 24 December.

At 10 pm, the competitors from all the events were gathered in one room at the venue. Sakamoto recalled that the top 6 finishers in the Ladies category were told to be there.

“The skaters, their coaches and JSF officials were all there in one room. I waited nervously while thinking hurry up, hurry up. My confidence regarding being chosen or not was fifty-fifty. I had not really achieved great results to date, and it was also my first year in Seniors.”

The announcement of the representatives to the Olympics, the World Championships, and the Four Continents Championships began.

“It felt like which competition, Ladies’ singles, who and who, were read out briefly without waiting for the words to settle.”

The announcement started with the representatives for the PyeongChang Olympics. After Satoko Miyahara whose spot was already confirmed as she had met the criteria (of winning the National Championships), she heard “Ladies singles, Kaori Sakamoto”. However, a smile was nowhere to be seen on Sakamoto’s face.

“I was like that before my name was called, and also after my name was called.”

She kept her eyes on the ground. Because skaters who were not chosen to be the representatives were in the room. And Mihara was also there. 

“I could not look directly at Mai-chan.”

As the skaters selected to the Olympic team were to be presented to the audience at the venue, they were asked to quickly prepare to go onto the rink. 

“As I rushed to get ready, I thought it was good that there was no time and I had to return to the rink. In the end, I did not see her expression even once.”

Mihara had the following recollection of the same scene,

“I was happy just to be able to go to that room, and very happy when I was chosen for the Four Continents Championships.”

But there was something that made her even happier.

“It was when Kao-chan’s name was called. I thought it would be great if Kao-chan was chosen.”

Mihara called out to Sakamoto who was putting on her skates in the backstage area behind the rink. She said “Congratulations. I am happy that my friend who trains together with me will go to the Olympics.”

Sakamoto’s reply to these words were “ “Thank you.” In any case, there was only thankfulness.”

Sakamoto describes her thoughts regarding the Olympics in these words,

“I don’t have any pressure. It’s a lie, there totally is. (laughs) I was chosen as I did not make major mistakes at Skate America and the Japanese National Championships and this was regarded well in appraisal. Therefore I think it is unacceptable if I don’t perform well. Just like at the Japanese National Championships, I want to be able to be joyful together with Nakano-sensei and Graham-sensei in the Kiss and Cry.”

And then, she said “Just for one day, I would like to try becoming Hanyu-kun. I want to know how the view that can be seen from the podium is like.”

As for Mihara, she revealed her ambition for the Four Continents Championships. “I think the reason why until now I have not really been able to get into my SP in competitions is more due to emotional rather than technical aspects. I am really weak. And I think I don’t have strengths that other skaters do not have.”

She let out the word “weak”. This was a word I had never heard her say in any of her past interviews. However, at the moment someone admits their weakness, they are no longer weak.

“However,” Mihara continues, “no matter how weak I am, I will probably not lose heart. I think that will only happen when I’m near death and am dying. I think if skating is taken from me there will be nothing left.”

She added with a tranquil expression, “I will not lose heart. If I continue not losing heart, perhaps one day I will even enter the Guinness book of records? (laughs)”

During official practice at competitions, Mihara always climbs to the highest row of the spectator stands. 

“At the time when I was not certain whether to start skating, I went to watch a competition. I have the memory of the rink looking very small from a seat in the higher sections of the stands, and I climb up each time in order to verify how the people seated at the seats furthest from the rink see the performances. I want to convey the joy and happiness of being able to devote my life to skating, and to become a skater who can give a performance that touches people. I think if I can give performances I am able to be satisfied with the results will come, and I want to go to the Beijing Olympics (in 2022). But first, I want to skate my SP perfectly at the Four Continents Championships.”

And then, she talked about Sakamoto in these words, 

“I am always able to laugh when I’m with Kao-chan. Although I think we look like a comedy duo (laughs), she is kind and considerate, and therefore I can smile whenever we are together.” 

Sakamoto thinks of Mihara in the following way,

“To me, she is someone I cannot do without even from now on. If Mai-chan did not come to Kobe, I would not even have become a JSF-funded skater*. It is great that she is here.”

At the Four Continents Championships in late January, Sakamoto made her debut at the event and won it for the first time, proving that her performances at the Japanese National Championships were not just momentum. Mihara gave her best performance of her SP of the season, the SP she has struggled with, and with an overall 2nd place finish, etched out a start towards four years later.

This time, their paths parted. Nevertheless, what is unchanged is their believing in their respective futures, supporting each other, and encouraging each other along the way as they continue their journey. With thankfulness for meeting the best companion.

*The original term is 強化選手, which literally means skaters to be strengthened/developed. As far as I am aware this involves funding from the JSF so have chosen to use the less awkward phrase of “JSF-funded”.

Original article by Takaomi Matsubara, published in Sports Graphic Number vol. 945