#special olympic artists

[vestaignis]

Осень в картинах русского художника-пейзажиста Шильдера Андрея Николаевича.

Андрей Иванович Шильдер (1861-1919) прославился как пейзажист, причем слава его вышла за пределы России. Он не получил специального образования, но занимался в мастерской у Ивана Ивановича Шишкина, влияние которого заметно в лесных пейзажах Шильдера. Но речь не идет о подражании. Ученик в духе века делает шаги от строгого реализма к игре со светом и тенью, к условности красок, но сохраняет при этом шишкинские традиции. В 1903 году Шильдера избирают академиком пейзажной живописи, но к тому времени он уже прославился, участвуя в крупнейших промышленных выставках: на Нижегородской Всероссийской выставке 1896 года он с большим успехом представляет панораму заводов Нобеля, названную «Город», а в 1900 году на Всемирной выставке в Париже Шильдер получает золотую медаль и диплом за панораму «Сбор каучука на Амазонке», написанную по заказу Российско-американской резиновой мануфактуры. Любопытно, что Шильдера приглашали даже на Олимпийские игры, и только наличие большого числа заказов удержало его от поездки на Олимпиаду. Шильдер много работал в иллюстрированных журналах: «Север», «Живописное обозрение», «Всемирная иллюстрация», «Ласточка», «Новь» и «Артист».

Работы Андрея Николаевича Шильдера представлены во многих областных художественных музеях и галереях: в Треть��ковской галерее, Русском музее, Владимиро — Суздальском художественном музее — заповеднике, Ставропольской картинной галерее.

Autumn in the paintings of the Russian landscape artist Andrei Nikolaevich Shilder.

Andrei Ivanovich Shilder (1861-1919) became famous as a landscape painter, and his fame went beyond the borders of Russia. He did not receive a special education, but studied in the workshop of Ivan Ivanovich Shishkin, whose influence is noticeable in Shilder's forest landscapes. But we are not talking about imitation. The student, in the spirit of the century, takes steps from strict realism to play with light and shadow, to the conventionality of colors, but at the same time preserves Shishkin's traditions. In 1903, Schilder was elected an academician of landscape painting, but by that time he had already become famous by participating in major industrial exhibitions: at the Nizhny Novgorod All-Russian Exhibition of 1896, he presented a panorama of Nobel's factories, called "City", with great success, and in 1900, at the World Exhibition in Paris, Schilder received a gold medal and a diploma for the panorama "Rubber Harvesting on the Amazon", painted by order of the Russian-American Rubber Manufactory. It is curious that Schilder was even invited to the Olympic Games, and only the presence of a large number of orders kept him from going to the Olympics. Schilder worked a lot in illustrated magazines: "Sever", "Zhivopisnoye Obozreniye", "Vsemirnaya Illusion", "Lastochka", "Nov" and "Artist".

The works of Andrei Nikolaevich Schilder are presented in many regional art museums and galleries: the Tretyakov Gallery, the Russian Museum, the Vladimir-Suzdal Art Museum-Reserve, and the Stavropol Art Gallery.

Источник://eaculture.ru/picture/4203, //www.stydiai.ru /gallery/ shilder-andrey/, /artchive.ru/artists/28445 ~Andrej_ Nikolaevich _ Shil'der,/vsdn.ru/museum/catalogue/exhibit2310.htm.

[blonndiec]

Yuri Plisetsky Ice Prince 👑

This was illustration was intended to for the cover of a magazine -that you can find in the previous link, please go check it out if you want- mentioned at the closing of my one-shot 'Well, Good Luck! (Babe)' part of a series before and during the Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics taking pace in 2026. Yuri is supposed to be 25 years, and prior to this, he had long hair and Coach Viktor had the idea to hard launch Yuri's new look and make some noise prior the Olympics. You could say this is only the photoshoot for the cover...

Viktor: Yura, you're so camera ready. Even your scowl looks amazing! Yuri: ...Ugh, I'm never leaving you in charge again. Viktor: But I'm your coach! It's my job to make you look good after a makeover montage.

Explanation of the creative process and chaos leading to this, below:

This idea sat on my Clip Studio Paint WIPS for a long time - I had all the sketch and line art done, though things in my art/creative process and style changed over the past 6 months. So between redoing part of it, base color and mostly rendering I worked non-stop on this for my last 5 days of holiday break.

And the layout design for the cover had been on my brain also, for months (which is here and you can go and give it some love if you want) and I had so processed already (the concept) that I spend an hour doing, at 3 am. all in Photoshop -though I really wanted to do it on InDesign for a full experience (for me) and maybe I will if I decide to print a copy on a nice paper for me-. Anyway, I wanted to share my creative process. If you read this far, thank you!

Edit: @ korruptbrekker’s tags made me think it would be good to mention my style inspiration and that indeed are Korean Manwhas. Specially the artists P (Under the Oak Tree), Spoon (Who Made Me A Princess and King The Land), Roal (Father, I Don’t Want This Marriage!) SUOL (Villains Are Destined to Die) and Cheong-Gwa (The Broken Ring.) But also I want to mix it with Japanese anime/manga style, so I’ll be exploring this style further 💖✨

[rhysdarbinizedarby]

Our Flag Means Death season 2 shot a crucial scene in the Avatar 2 tank

A behind-the-scenes look at how Taika Waititi and Rhys Darby shot their big merman moment

[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for Our Flag Means Death, Season 2, Episodes 3]

Season 2 of David Jenkins’ pirate comedy-romance-drama Our Flag Means Death has finally premiered on Max, with an opening three-episode arc that’s guaranteed to get the series’ fandom buzzing. The third episode in particular ends with a sequence that feels like it was intentionally crafted to inspire the crowds of fan artists who have turned the series into an obsession. Polygon talked to the series’ VFX supervisor, David Van Dyke, about what went into shooting that sequence — and how James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water helped out.

At the end of episode 3, Ed “Blackbeard” Teach (Taika Waititi) is in limbo after being assaulted and nearly killed by his crew. There, he meets his former captain Benjamin Hornigold (another of the series’ historical pirate characters, played by Mark Mitchinson), who tries to help him through his emotional crisis over being abandoned by Stede Bonnet (Rhys Darby). Except Hornigold mostly helps by pointing out Blackbeard’s failings, then tying a stone to his waist and throwing him off a cliff into the sea — where he sees a vision of Stede as a fish-tailed merman, coming to save him.

“Just so you know, Rhys and Taika did very well underwater,” Van Dyke told Polygon about shooting the scene. “Rhys is not an Olympic synchronized swimmer, but he’s a strong swimmer. They were both very comfortable underwater. They both did a really good job of being mermen.”

Van Dyke says he was originally asked whether he could do the scene with CG versions of the two men, for safety reasons. He explained that it was possible, “but that’ll cost millions and millions of dollars, and we don’t really have that.”

Instead, he ended up shooting the scene practically. Season 1 of Our Flag Means Death was shot on a soundstage in Los Angeles, but for season 2, production moved to New Zealand. That gave Van Dyke a lot of advantages in terms of shooting natural backdrops to use on the production’s giant virtual environment screen, and in using experienced crews from past special-effects-heavy productions, from Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings movies to James Cameron’s Avatar movies.

“There were definitely a few pieces that were serendipitously to our advantage,” Van Dyke says. “New Zealand was where they shot a lot of Avatar stuff, and there just so happens to be an enormous tank on the lot. There are a bunch of Avatar crew who are SCUBA certified, because they’ve been shooting in that tank forever. This was not something we had to figure out — we didn’t have to send a bunch of grips and lighting technicians off to SCUBA school. So they were there, they had really amazing underwater photography teams, and obviously a really good stunt team that was able to train up Taika and Rhys to make sure the scene was working.”

Van Dyke points to New Zealand’s thriving mermaid freediving community as a boon when it came to designing Darby’s merman outfit. “There are a lot of incredible mer-tails out there,” he said. “We were able to take those, and [costume designer Gypsy Taylor] and her team brought them together to make these beautiful physical pieces, so Rhys was able to actually sell it and do the performance underwater.”

For Van Dyke, the sequence really started with the cliff-jump sequence, which actually used considerably more CG than the underwater shots. “That cliff sequence was a great culmination of effects, merging physical photography and our LED wall, because you can’t really put those two guys on a thousand-foot cliff,” he said. “The insurance alone would be out of control. Also, we’re not really in the business of having people fall to their deaths.”

The cliff sequence began with sequences shot off New Zealand’s Bethells Beach, using drones to capture images looking inward from the ocean and photogrammetry of a specific ledge for production designer Ra Vincent and the art department to reproduce in the studio.

“The wide shots use production plates of those cliffs, and the tighter shots use photography we shot specifically to build out the stitching of the cliff sequence,” Van Dyke said. “Hornigold and Blackbeard are standing on a cliff set. We tied in drone plates of the actual cliffs so we can see the ocean and really set up how terrifying [the drop would be]. Then he falls into the ocean, falls into our tank.”

Once Waititi was in the tank, the next step was the shot where the stone tied to a rope around his waist pulls him deep underwater. That part of the scene required more conventional, practical production trickery than the rest of the sequence.

“The tank is massive, but it’s not 300 feet deep. It’s pretty darn big, but it’s never big enough, as they say,” Van Dyke says. “So when Taika is being tugged by the rock, we actually shot that sideways. By turning the camera sideways, you get more length to the shot. The problem is the bubbles — they should be streaming off him and then rising to the surface, but if you’re going sideways, they’re going to come off him and then go up, perpendicular to him. So we took over with CG to make sure our bubbles were traveling toward where the surface was supposed to be.”

The CG in the underwater sequence was mostly used to hide the lighting and rigging necessary to shoot it, Van Dyke says. “Anytime you’re shooting anything underwater, there’s gonna be a lot of gear. There’s no way you can get around that. So we’re making sure we have [convincing deep-sea] lighting and the bubbles. And then there’s his performance — that’s a real performance.”

For Van Dyke, the real complication was the costuming and makeup for both Darby and Waititi. “Taika’s wig — I was amazed that thing stayed on so long. It’s a long shoot. He was shooting all day, all weekend. But things stayed on. It’s a heavy weight. And Rhys is really working underwater, so his tail has to be working, so it all feels seamless.”

The shot in the underwater sequence that seems most likely to be a CG creation has both men just floating deep in the sea, facing each other above a seemingly endless abyss. Again, Van Dyke says, he used very little CG for that shot, and it was mostly to hide the tank walls.

“In that case, we were not shooting sideways,” he said. “It’s essentially a locked shot. It was about getting them at the right depth underwater, and making sure the shafts of light above them were working properly. We don’t have to track as much, we don’t have all these moving elements, we don’t have to worry about where the bubbles are going. That one was really just about cleaning up the tank, doctoring out the sides of the shot, where we can see the water receding into blackness, then giving the base of the tank true depth, so it really feels like they’re suspended a hundred feet below the surface.

“Obviously, a fair amount of CGI and visual effects had to go into it. But at the same time, it was a moment where we really needed to let the story take over, and have the visual effects just get out of the way, man.”

The first three episodes of Our Flag Means Death season 2 are now streaming on Max.

Source: Polygon

[accio-victuuri]

HAPPY 27th BIRTHDAY WANG YIBO 👑 !!!!

What a year this was for our Bobo, before crossing into 27 we saw him go through so many things and i’m proud to see him rise above it all with grace. We met Chen Shuo, Yang Zhen and Wei Ruolai. Each characters showing his strength as an actor and how versatile he is. Allowed fans to see him and interact with the Yibo they only see on screen. With the films, he has established himself as a stable actor who can pull in box office numbers and still deliver quality. Wei Ruolai, truly introduced him to a new set of audience and fans and proved that he is someone that the industry should watch out for in terms of talent. No matter the drama that came after, what i’m thankful for is that no one can take away how much this role showcased what he is capable of. if there is anything we know of WYB, absolutely no one can question his acting skills anymore. We saw him dance for the Asian Games, combining both modern and ancient — later on, we found out that WYB himself pulled in resources to make the promotions work.

He went to different parts of the world to promote his partnerships with Chanel, Lacoste and Loewe ; establishing himself as an international influence. He attended various events towards the end of the year and wowed us with his presence — picking up awards, the most important one being nominated for a Golden Rooster Award. He gave is 2 amazing songs : Bystander & Everything is lovely, which showed his versatility as an artist. Amazing magazine covers. Valuable partnerships with brands. Excellent stage performances — special mention to his SDC hiphop stage.

A definite highlight would have to be him being an Olympic Torchbearer, bringing pride to his fans and his country. Finishing the filming of Mermaid/Intercross, Doing the Pangolin Documentary, Starring in a discovery channel documentary, racing cars, learning to play tennis and whatever else that he does that we don’t know. There is really no stopping him. Despite the noises bringing him down, in true wang yibo style, he will always shut them all up once his projects are out.

He deserves every bit of recognition he is getting and i can only hope that in the next couple of years — more people will see the side of Wang Yibo that we all love. I’m so grateful to be celebrating yet another year of life with WYB, and i shall remain for as long as I can. it’s tripping me up so much how fast time has gone by that he is already 27. But one thing is for sure, he is still the same WYB. He is still that sweet, earnest and hardworking yibo we have come to know.

Yibo, my only wish is that you can continue to do the things you love and try whatever it is that takes your interest — Also that you remain healthy & energetic. This world is so much better with you in it. ✨✨✨

[ladyxgaga]

@ladygaga: I feel so completely grateful to have been asked to open the Paris @Olympics 2024 this year. I am also humbled to be asked by the Olympics organizing committee to sing such a special French song—a song to honor the French people and their tremendous history of art, music, and theatre. This song was sung by Zizi Jeanmaire, born in Paris a French ballerina, she famously sang “Mon Truc en Plumes” in 1961. The title means “My Thing with Feathers.” And this is not the first time we’ve crossed paths. Zizi starred in Cole Porter’s musical “Anything Goes” which was my first jazz release.

Although I am not a French artist, I have always felt a very special connection with French people and singing French music—I wanted nothing more than to create a performance that would warm the heart of France, celebrate French art and music, and on such a momentous occasion remind everyone of one of the most magical cities on earth—Paris. We rented pom poms from Le Lido archive—a real French cabaret theater. We collaborated with Dior to create custom costumes, using naturally molted feathers. I studied French choreography that put a modern twist on a French classic. I rehearsed tirelessly to study a joyful French dance, brushing up on some old skills—I bet you didn’t know I used to dance at a 60’s French party on the lower east side when I was first starting out! I hope you love this performance as much as I do. And to everyone in France, thank you so much for welcoming me to your country to sing in honor of you—it’s a gift I’ll never forget!

Congratulations to all the athletes who are competing in this year’s Olympic Games! It is my supreme honor to sing for you and cheer you on!! Watching the Olympic Games always makes me cry! Your talent is unimaginable. Let the games begin!

[cottoncandytrafficcones]

10 Cool Jewish Women from Modern Day: Part 4 as a Shabbat treat

Siona Benjamin, an author and artist. Born in Mumbai, she is an Indian-American artist living in New York City. Born to a Bene Israel family, she was brought up in a predominantly Hindu and Muslim India. Her work has been featured in a variety of media including The New York Times and The Chicago Tribune. Most of her work figures women, including Miriam, Rachel, Leah, and Esther, and often features Indian themes and clothing. She is the illustrator of children's books On a Chariot of Fire, The Blue Butterfly of Cochin, and I am Hava, as well as the semi-biographical Growing Up Jewish in India.

Becky Albertalli, an American author and former psychologist. Raised in a Reform Jewish household, she has a BA and a PhD in psychology. In her practice, she specialized in working with Queer youth. Her first book, Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda, was published in 2015. She came out as bisexual in an essay in 2020. She has received acclaim from several reviewers. One of her books was named a Stonewall Honor Book.

Rabbanit Sally Mayer, Rosh Midrasha at Mideshet Lindenbaum, as well as a teacher of Talmud and Halcha. She has worked as an editor for the new Korean translation of the Talmud. Born in America, she chaired the Talmud Department and Israel Guidance center for Ma'ayanot. She holds a BA from Stern and an MA in Medieval Jewish History from YU.

Aly Raisman, a retired American artistic gymnast and two time Olympian who participated in the 2012 and 2016 Olympic games, winning gold and bronze medals, as well as the 2011 and 2015 World Championships, where she won bronze and gold medals. Born in Boston, she takes pride in being a member of the Jewish community. She was awarded the Arthur Ashe Courage Award for coming forward as a victim of sexual abuse, and has participated in a documentary about it. She finished fourth place in season sixteen of Dancing With the Stars, and has worked to empower women.

Tali Golergant, an Israeli-born Luxembourgish singer, songwriter, actress, and vocal coach who represented Luxembourg in Eurovision 2024. Born to a Peruvian Jewish father and an Israeli mother, she lived in several countries including Chile and Argentina before settling in Luxembourg. She began playing the piano at 7, and singing and acting at 12; she is fluent in Hebrew, Spanish, French, and English.

Marissa Avram, the first Thai soldier to serve in the IDF. Born to an Israeli father and a Thai mother who converted, she has an MA in Counter-Terrorism, Intelligence and Cybersecurity from Reichman University.

Alysa Stanton, American Reform rabbi and the first African American female rabbi and the first African American rabbi to lead a majority-Ashkenazi congregation. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, she converted to Judaism at 24. She earned a BA in psychology and an MA in education from Colorado State University, and used to be a psychotherapist.

Alison Levine, a Canadian boccia competitor and Paralympic athlete. Diagnosed with idiopathic muscular dystrophy as a teenager, she threw boccia for the first time in 2012. She made her Paralympic debut in 2016, and won her first gold medal at the Montreal World Open in 2019. She has won medals in both singles and pairs boccia.

Dalila Bela, a Canadian-American actress of English, French, Brazilian, Panamanian and Spanish ancestry. She is publicly bisexual. Appearing in her first commercial at age five, she is known for her work as an actress in Anne With an E.

Leigh Bardugo, an Israeli born author known for the Grishaverse. Of Sephardic, Russian Jewish and Lithuanian Jewish heritage, she graduated with a BA in English from Yale. She had published several books, including ones with Jewish protagonists.

[max1461]

I think something that many people of the high-modern bent (leftists, rationalists, etc.) tend to forget when they talk about society is this: many people (I would conjecture, most people) are not hedonists, either in philosophy or practice. There exist many things which people value inherently, above and beyond the capacity of those things to produce pleasure.

One ready-to-mind example is morality: people will often sacrifice their happiness significantly to do what they believe is right. If they happen to have a hedonist ethics, then we might say that they're still trying to maximize net pleasure overall, but if they don't have a hedonist ethics this is certainly not the case. They might, for instance, have a virtue ethics or a deontological ethics, and make great sacrifices to their own happiness in order to behave in a way they believe is just.

The above example is, I think, a special case of a broader class of example, whereby people make sacrifices to their own happiness in order to embody their ideal self. If your ideal self is very skilled at something, you may forgo a great deal of pleasure in pursuit of that skill. Think if Olympic athletes, who I frankly doubt tend to recoup the total lost pleasure of all the strict dieting and regimented lifestyle and so on via the pleasure they get from training and competing. Think of anyone who makes great personal sacrifices for achievement. Or think of the tortured artist, the virtual archetype of a person who cares more about the quality of their work than their own wellbeing. But cases need not be so extreme: I can think of many people who I would consider normal, healthy, happy individuals, who just happen to be a little competitive, and who I suspect are not pleasure-maximizing by spending so much time practicing at their skill of choice. Am I meant to tell them they are wrong for doing this?

There is a tendency in contemporary society to pathologize this way of interacting with the world, even among people who don't conceptualize themselves as hedonists, but I reject the idea that it is something to be avoided. I myself value my own pleasure, of course, and other people's pleasure too. But I also value things above and beyond the degree to which they give me pleasure: I value knowledge, I value success at my endeavors, I value aesthetics, I value the wellbeing of my friends and loved ones. All of these things I would gladly sacrifice some amount of net pleasure to advance. It is furthermore the case that I have been happiest in life, experienced the most pleasurable existence, when I have felt that I was successfully advancing these goals. It is possibly the case that I could experience more net pleasure by abandoning these goals and totally changing who I am (through, perhaps we can imagine, some sort of brainwashing), but I would of course be vehemently opposed to this. And so it is notable that maximizing satisfaction of my non-hedonic goals is also the state which achieves the local maximum of pleasure. Anything greater would involve greater changes to my psyche—wireheading, in short. I think this too is true of many people.

Anyway, I'm not a utilitarian (for mostly nitpicky philosophical reasons), but to a first approximation I am a preference utilitarian. To me, acting justly towards someone means working to make it that their preferences are satisfied in addition to your own, in some sort of appropriate balance where the two conflict. This is not, to a first approximation, hedonic utilitarianism, which differs obviously in how it handles wireheading but which I think also disagrees in more nearterm ways, like (perhaps) "whether we should pathologize highly competitive people" and so on.

Anyway, if you are a local high-modernist dreamer (affectionate) (self-recognizing), and you find me on your post grumbling about something, I think there's about an 80% chance that something amounts to "not preference utilitarian enough!". Or whatever.

[sad-endings-suck]

Mizu’s Period

I’m getting kind of sick of the weirdly agreed upon headcanon within the fandom that stipulates Mizu simply must not menstruate very much if at all, solely because Mizu is often injured, possesses a slender build as well as an athletic lifestyle, and in many ways is androgynous in appearance (but that last point is always unspoken ofc).

There also seems to be an odd obsession with using fanon theories that are not directly disproved nor proved in the canon, such as “Mizu never eats enough” as evidence for the Mizu’s Uterus Is Not Like Other Girls Reproductive Organs™️ headcanon, that presumes Mizu is just so special she’ll bleed from everywhere except her pussy.

Like… is it perfectly possible that Mizu does not often get her period due to her extremely active and dangerous lifestyle? Yes, of course! Does Mizu’s slender and athletic frame make this seem like more of a possibility? It could, but her physique in of itself is not “evidence” per say, especially since Mizu’s body looked exactly the same when she was living a much easier and more comfortable lifestyle on the farm with Mikio, and they clearly had plenty of food. Mizu also wasn’t training intensely if at all for the 8-12 months she was married to Mikio. Yet her build remained the same. So it’s perfectly probable that Mizu’s physique is most greatly impacted by her genetics and thus not greatly affected by physical activity.

And for everyone that’s about to shout “but women athletes that compete at the highest levels often loose their periods for a while!” yes absolutely, some of them do. They also work out for 2-6+ hours a day six to seven days a week, use treadmills, bench press, and eat ridiculously curated diets that specifically target certain macronutrients and involve carefully curated portions that must be eaten at the right times on the right days. The fuck makes you think Mizu is doing all that?? My girl inhales whatever food is put in front of her as long as she has good reason to believe it is safe (i.e not poisoned). Do you really think modern day Olympic power lifters, track and field runners, artistic gymnasts and rhythmic gymnasts are all slurping down full servings of soba or dumbplings just whenever? Fuck no. Also, the current top women athletes in the world from the aforementioned Olympic sports I just mentioned, all have vastly different body types. As well as extremely different dietary needs, training routines, workouts, and just plain genetics that would have naturally given them certain bodies regardless of sport.

as evidenced by the above photos of various female olympic athletes: power lifter (top left), track and field runner (top right), artistic gymnast (bottom left), and rhythmic gymnast (bottom right).

Mizu is not a power lifter, or a sprinter, or an archer, or anything of the sort. Mizu does not train to be incredible at one thing, nor does she base what she eats or how she trains on when she will be preforming at a specific event (such as Olympians do). She is a swordsman, a blacksmith, and an all around athletic person that needs to stay in a state of constant readiness for any physical activity. Such as climbing, swimming, horseback riding, using acrobatic techniques, performing martial arts, working on a farm, and so much more. All of which is presented as such in canon. Not to mention Mizu lives as a lower-class individual in Japan during the 1600s. What ever gave you the idea that she was dieting and training like a modern athlete? Mizu is not a sportsman, she’s a killer.

So can we just stop, please? Plenty of people menstruate. Its perfectly normal and natural. And as someone who has been at a much lower weight at different points in my life with less than desirable health conditions (to say the least), menstruation does not magically halt just because you (stranger on the internet) thinks it “logically” should under such circumstances. That’s not how it works. Bodies are weird, and everyone’s body works a bit differently. And if Mizu actually was as sick and muscular and thin as everyone seems to have headcanoned her as, then how the fuck is she mopping everyone she fights? If Mizu is “so active and low weight that she can’t be getting her period” then how do you explain the fact that she is able to preform at peak physical level while being so active? Make it make sense.

And for the love of god, please stop acting like menstruation is “special” or “other” or “weird”. It’s not. Get educated, and get over yourself.

[yuzurujenn]

[2024.12.29] Nikkan Gendai Special Interview: Hanyu Yuzuru’s Challenge at 30

Two and a half years since turning professional. "I’m always doing it with the mindset of trying to break my Olympic records." On December 7, 2024, he celebrated his 30th birthday. He has reigned at the top of the world as an athlete, including becoming the first man in 66 years to win back-to-back Olympic gold medals in figure skating at the 2014 Sochi and 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics. In July 2022, he announced his transition to professional skating. Even though he stepped away from the competitive arena, he remains a unique figure in the world of figure skating, holding an unprecedented solo ice show as a professional skater. We took a closer look at Hanyu's current state as he continues to evolve, remaining steadfast amid major changes in his environment.

[Researching Basketball Movements]

– It's been two and a half years since you went from being an athlete to an artist. What has changed the most for you as a skater?

"When I was a competitive athlete, I had muscles focused on explosive power but lacked endurance. Now, I've started building muscles that provide the stamina to skate for longer periods of time. At the same time, I need to maintain the high level of technical skill I had when I was competing, so it’s about balancing both. I’m training to build endurance muscles while also maintaining the explosive power from my competitive days. I've been studying and researching the type of training that would benefit both aspects, and I’ve been developing my body accordingly."

– Did you start this research during your competitive years?

"No, I didn’t go that far. In the past, I only skated once a day, and the performance time was at most 4 minutes and 40 seconds. After the Pyeongchang Olympics, the men's free skate was shortened to 4 minutes starting in the 2018-2019 season, but I had been used to performing for 4 minutes and 40 seconds. When I was a competitive athlete, being able to complete a program that lasted four and a half minutes was sufficient, but now I have to complete the program 14 to 15 times a day. I have to consider my mental strength, technique, physical stamina, and even lung capacity. It became a necessity, but simply practicing recklessly doesn’t work, so I decided to research it. In figure skating, the scientific study of training theories and how muscles are used hasn’t really been done because it’s a minor sport. I felt that I needed to take the initiative to research and develop training methods, and I’ve been working hard on it."

– What kind of research?

"Of the major sports, basketball is the one that I think has movements most similar to figure skating. In basketball, players use the ball as a tool and compete against others, but there are many similarities in terms of quick turns, the need for jumping power, and not only the forward movements but also side-to-side and backward movements, as well as the need for peripheral vision. In particular, I think the defensive roll movements have a lot in common with the turning movements in figure skating."

– How have you changed mentally since turning professional?

"Honestly, I don’t think there’s much change. For example, in this show, I've decided to include a program that is almost exactly the same as the one I used to do in competitions. Moreover, whereas in my competitive days I only had to perform it once, I now impose on myself the requirement to 'perform a program that can win,' both as an expression and as a competitive piece. So it doesn't really matter that I'm no longer competing against an "opponent" or that I don't get any points. Now, I focus on the challenge of how much I need to practice and train to execute this program perfectly, and the joy that comes with achieving it. And because we are all creating the show together, I constantly battle the pressure that falls entirely on me, so I approach it with the mindset of trying to break my Olympic records every time."

– During your time as a competitor, the more results you achieved, the bigger the presence of 'Yuzuru Hanyu' became. Have you ever felt uncomfortable with the public's image of "Yuzuru Hanyu"?

"That’s true. When I was young, I watched the Olympics and thought, 'If I win this competition, everyone will be happy,' and 'The person who wins this competition is the coolest.' I had a dream to push forward with that, but I never imagined I would be under this kind of attention. There were definitely times when I felt like I couldn’t breathe. Honestly, when I was little, I never imagined that I would be constantly followed by cameras from the preparation stage, like during warm-ups, and that every move I made would be watched. There are times when I feel suffocated, but there are also people who look forward to it.

- Is it the feeling of being watched all the time?

"Yes, it's as if all the camera lenses are constantly aimed at me, and the shutters keep going off. It was really nothing but pressure. Even during practice, it felt like everyone’s attention was on me, and it was quite scary. But the number of people watching is also a sign of their expectations. I think I became able to push myself forward, thinking that I must live up to those expectations."

- When did you start to feel that way?

"After Pyeongchang (2018), there was a time when I thought, 'Don't watch me anymore,' but gradually, I think. I feel like I became more determined."

– Your shows actively incorporate technologies like projection mapping to create a unique worldview. On the other hand, there are concerns that the field of art may be threatened by AI and other such technologies.

"Indeed, I am proud that we are doing cutting-edge things in our shows. We are working hard to express the fusion of art and sports, but there are emotions you can only experience through sports. For example, watching high school baseball players giving their all at Koshien, you can't help but feel moved and excited, but they aren't trying to make you feel that way on purpose. On the other hand, the world of art expressed in a show holds a sense of sacredness and emotion precisely because it is something that has been created. I believe they can coexist, and I will continue to do my best."

Source: Nikkan Gendai Special Issue "New Year Special Issue 2025" Info: https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B0DRFRJ6DC

[hargreevesenterprises]

WELCOME (☂︎︎) | ABOUT US | RULES

Welcome to the (un)official Hargreeves Enterprises account! This is your personal gateway to learning everything there is to know about Sir Reginald Hargreeves and his extraordinary legacy!

Here, you’ll hopefully be able to gain some insight into the legendary inventor, decorated entrepreneur, Nobel Prize Winner, Olympic Gold Medalist, and (most importantly) the brilliant mind behind The Umbrella Academy. From crime-fighting triumphs to intense training regimens, this is your special and exclusive look at the lives of the six remarkable Hargreeves siblings!

Have questions for the Umbrella Academy? We’ll do our best to get them answered. At Hargreeves Enterprises, we believe in both heroism and curiosity - so don’t hesitate to reach out! Remember, we're here to help you.

General Introduction - Hello! You can call me Vee and welcome to my non-official blog for TUA.

As made clear by the introduction above, this is an “in-character” ask blog for the Hargreeves’ Siblings - specifically from when they were still operating as the Umbrella Academy. I got inspired by the blog @asktheumbrellas who runs a similar type of project based on the adult versions of the characters from the TUA show (it’s super cool and the writing is incredible - please go check it out) as well as the multitude of other ask blogs that I’ve seen on Tumblr over the years (though since I have no artistic ability whatsoever this project will stay complete text-based).

I mainly made this as a fun side project that I could work whenever I started to get writer's block or lost connection with my "muses" but I hope that some other people could get enjoyment out of it as well.

Context/Setting - As I mentioned before, this blog is primarily set when the Academy was still active - though it exists in an alternate universe/timeline in which Five never ran away and Ben never died. Here, the siblings are around 19 years old and have (similar to the show) been operating as a “superhero” group since they were thirteen. You can read more about the general world-building behind this blog here - but really the ages and timeframe are all you need to know.

The End (?) - Even if you don’t send in an ask, I hope you at least can enjoy having a “hub” of sorts for a bunch of the extra content from the series! Feel free to also ask questions about that and any source material you may be interested in seeing posts from.

[historicity-was-already-taken]

This is not an Oppression Olympics Post. Do not even.

If I could write poetry, I'd write about the intensity of emotion I feel when, as a Holocaust historian, I turn towards Black American Histories. I don't think any other medium could express it.

Doing deep dives into those pasts...the only sensation I can compare it to is when your seatbelt goes into SAFETY mode and gets really tight around your gut. Or like looking into the eclipse without the special glasses.

Putting the rest of this....pondering beneath a cut, for traumatic histories and images.

every mother who couldn't protect her teenage daughter from the predations of their "owner"

every beautiful, loving old man treated with thoughtless disdain by the white folks across town

every veteran coming home from ww1 only to find themselves surrounded by a crowd of hateful, white folks. forget Verdun; these fuckers are the real danger.

with their post-cards about barbecues.

After looking into the darkest corners of the Holocaust, these black American histories, they....their horrors render me wordless.

Polish Jewish artist Arthur Szyk was in the UK when WW2 began. He left for the US in late 1940/early 1941. In 1949, he drew a piece titled "Do Not Forgive Them, O Lord, For They Do Know What They Do."

[illdowhatiwantthanks]

Home for the Holidays

Casey Novak x autistic fem!reader Warnings: some explicit language, mentions of sex, mostly just fluff on fluff on fluff Prompt(s): From novelbear, thank you! 😊 Word Count: 2.3k

Summary: You bring Casey home to meet your parents and siblings. Adorableness ensues.

Casey's leg bounced up and down as she stared out the passenger window of the rental car. You were only a half hour away from the Nashville airport, and already the crowded city streets had given way to fields, barns, and the occasional herd of cattle on a hillside. Bluegrass played softly through the speakers. You sighed contentedly, knowing just when to turn, just when to slow around a curve, just when to watch for deer crossing the road. You were almost home. Casey let out a shaky breath and you took her hand, pulling it to your lips for a quick kiss before lacing your fingers through hers. "Casey," you sang, trying to get her out of her head. She didn't answer.

"Honey, you're gonna be fine."

"God, I hope they like me," she muttered, her breath fogging up the car window.

"Of course they'll like you. What's not to like?"

"Oh, I don't know," Casey replied sarcastically, throwing up her hands. "I'm a lawyer. I'm blunt as shit. I probably swear too much. And I'm fucking their little girl."

"Okay, first of all, I'm not little. I'm almost thirty. So that'd be a dumb thing for them to care about." Casey said nothing. "Secondly, you're the only person I've ever brought home. If anyone's gonna be scared, it's them! They don't want to scare you off. Chances are not good that I'd ever bring someone home again." Casey bit at her fingernails. You batted them away from her mouth. "Quit with that, you just got them done."

"I'm just saying it's a lot of pressure!" she said, pulling at the strings of her hoodie.

"This is a lot of pressure!?" You laughed. "You made me meet your parents two months in! And you gave me one day's notice!"

"Yeah, but they live in the city, so it wasn't a big deal. I see them all the time. And it wasn't Christmas."

"Oh, don't even start. You were so butthurt when I went home for Thanksgiving without you."

You pulled down your street, houses twinkling with holiday lights, and waved at a neighbor walking a dog.

"Who's that?" Casey asked.

"I don't know."

"You just wave at people you don't know?!"

"Here? Yes. In New York? No."

You pulled to a stop in your family's driveway and grinned at their decorations–a giant pride flag, made entirely of Christmas lights.

"Wow," Casey said, gawking at the display.

"What can I say? They're aggressive allies."

You sat silently in the car for a moment, then took Casey's hand. "You ready?"

You nearly leapt out of your seats as two hands slammed on the driver's side door.

"Y/N!!! Come on, come on, come on!"

You smiled big, eyes sparkling, stimming quickly at your ears and shaking your head. It was your baby brother, Eli. Not such a baby anymore–16 years old. You threw open the car door and he barreled into you, squeezing his arms around your neck as tightly as he could.

"Who's here?!" he said, bouncing up and down with his hand on your shoulders. "Y/N's here!!!"

Casey watched you from a distance. You'd told her all about your youngest siblings–the twins. That they were, quite literally, one in millions. Fraternal twins, both born with Down syndrome. Casey knew, from you, that Eli loved Mario Kart and Les Misérables and called once a week to sing "One Day More" with you. She knew Winnie was a hotshot in the local Special Olympics basketball league (even at 4' 10"), a budding artist, and "kind of a bitch right now," as you'd told her on the way over.

"Can you say that about someone with Down syndrome?" Casey had asked.

You'd scoffed. "People with disabilities can be bitches just as much as anyone else."

Now, as she watched you with your brother, she got it. She got it when you said that they were your favorite people in the world which, until now, had made her ridiculously jealous. She got it when you said that you would give up everything to take care of them when your parents weren't able to anymore. Your face was alight with so much joy, so much connection. Connection that Casey knew you didn't get many other places, aside from her. And she knew then that she'd give up everything for you to have that, even if it meant moving to help you take care of your siblings when the time came.

When you and Eli finally separated, he turned his attention to Casey.

"Hi, Eli!" she said, bending down to be a bit closer to his height. "I'm Casey."

Unlike Winnie, who could talk the ear off a donkey, Eli was mostly non-verbal. He had autism, too, like you, and for this reason, you'd always felt a deeper connection to him. You knew you weren't supposed to have favorite siblings, but Eli was yours. So when he decided to use his limited words to talk with Casey, it was a big deal.

He looked first at Casey, then at you, and asked, "Girlfriend?"

You nodded, beaming. "Yep! Yeah, Casey's my girlfriend."

He stepped closer looking Casey over. After a moment, he seemed to decide that he liked her.

"Casey, big squeeze," he said, and wrapped his arms around her waist. Eli pronounced her name "kissy." You thought your heart might explode. She patted his back and looked to you for a translation.

"Big squeeze means he wants you to hug him as tight as you can. Like, really tight, to the point that you're afraid you might hurt him." She obliged and he laughed in her grip. When she let him go, he patted her on the back and jogged inside.

"It helps with, uh, autism stuff. The deep pressure," you explained.

"Does it help you, too?" Casey asked as you took your luggage out of the trunk.

"What?"

"The big squeeze. Do you like those, too?"

You smiled at her, quick and bright. "Yeah. Yeah, I really do."

"Come here." She pulled you into her and squeezed as hard as she could, using every muscle in her body to put pressure on you, flexing so hard you could feel her shaking. Your body, on the other hand, felt light as a feather, as if all the stress, all the tension in it was seeping out. When she let you go, you sighed happily, your body tingly. You felt almost high.

"Yeah, we're gonna do a lot more of that," Casey decided, observing how much you'd relaxed.

Tennessee wasn't cold, not like New York, but the warmth from inside hit you hard anyway. "Come on," Eli urged, impatiently motioning you toward the living room, where you knew your parents would be sitting. You helped Casey out of her coat, then took off yours, hanging them by the door.

"Mom, Dad!" Eli yelled. "Who's here!?"

Your parents walked into the kitchen, absolutely beaming at you. They'd never say it, but they'd given up on you dating. You just hadn't been interested. They'd gotten used to the idea that you could be happy without a relationship, after years of you sending them articles about asexuality. But you could tell they were happy to see you in love.

"Hey, y'all," your mom said, wrapping Casey in a huge hug that took her off guard.

You smiled as your dad did the same to you, kissing the top of your head. "Hey, sweet pea," he whispered. "Glad you're home."

Casey cleared her throat and reached out to shake your dad's hand. His biker-style beard and imposing height always made him seem scarier than he really was. "Mr. Y/L/N, it's very nice to meet y–" Once again, she was cut off by a bear hug.

"Welcome," your dad said, nearly smothering her. "We're so glad you're here."

"Where's Winnie?" you asked, looking around.

"Upstairs on her iPad." Your mom rolled her eyes. "Want me to get her?"

"Nah. She'll figure out I'm here eventually."

You all made your way to the living room, where Eli promptly got on his own iPad, put his headphones on, and proceeded to perform a series of silent, choreographed dances in front of the Christmas tree. Casey watched him, amused and delighted that neither you nor your parents seemed to find this out of the ordinary at all.

"How was your trip?" your dad asked, lowering himself into a seat next to your mom.

"Good," you said, taking Casey's hand in yours when you noticed she was picking at her fingernails again. "The airport wasn't even too bad."

"I bet it'll be a shit show tomorrow..." your dad mused, thinking about Christmas Eve flights of years past.

"So, Casey," your mom started, clearly eager to get to know the only person who'd ever managed to turn your head. "Tell us about yourself. Y/N says you're a lawyer?"

"That's right." You squeezed Casey's hand as she spoke. "I'm an Assistant District Attorney at the Manhattan DA's office. I prosecute cases for the Special Victims Unit."

"Special Victims?" your dad asked. "Like victims of assault?"

She glanced at your brother who shimmied in the background. "Uh..."

"He can't hear," you told her.

"Yes. Assault, rape, sexually-motivated homicide, child abuse, things like that."

"That's gotta be such a hard job," your mom empathized.

"It's admirable work." Your dad nodded approvingly at Casey, and she seemed to relax a bit. "Those pieces of garbage deserve to rot in hell. But jail's a start."

You rolled your eyes. Your dad was a passionate man, with a tendency to turn more aggressively passionate at any mention or hint of violence toward women and children. Come to think of it, Casey reminded you of him in that way.

"I couldn't agree more," Casey told him.

"You met playing softball?" your mom asked, clearly trying to redirect the conversation.

Casey's face brightened. "We did!" She wrapped an arm around your shoulder and you leaned into her, blushing a little. Your parents shared a glance; they had never seen you this close to anyone. "We're on the same rec team. Y/N's the catcher and I pitch."

"Still got that catcher's gear?" your dad joked, winking at you.

You shot him a glare. "I know I'm not that much taller than I was when I was twelve but, no, Dad, the gear from my middle school team doesn't fit anymore."

"Ooh!" he exclaimed, sitting up and pointing at Casey. "Has Y/N ever told you about her softball nickname?"

"No, she hasn't," Casey said, smirking at you.

"I coached her team when she was little. She played catcher, of course." Your dad leaned forward, as if he and Casey were in on a delightful secret together.

"But she would jump forward to grab the ball," he continued. "Which was obviously a terrible idea because–"

"She's gonna get hit," Casey finished, nodding.

"Exactly. She was really good, but she always jumped out and we kept telling her, 'You can't be pouncing like a tiger, you're gonna get hurt.' And one day, sure enough, she leaned forward and bam! She was laid out. Thank god she had the helmet on, or it probably would've cracked her skull."

Casey laughed, but placed a hand absentmindedly on the side of your head, as if checking to make sure you really were okay, all these years later.

"After that," your dad chuckled. "Word got around with other parents and the girls on the team, and they started calling her El Tigre. For the rest of her softball career–El Tigre!"

Your cheeks were burning as Casey and your parents laughed together, but your heart was warm, too.

"Okay, okay," you said, "I'm gonna go say hey to Winnie." You looked at Casey. "You want to come?"

"Sure!" she said, standing next to you and placing a hand on the small of your back as you moved toward the stairs. You looked back at your parents to see them watching you intently, holding hands, nearly bursting with happiness. They liked her. You could already tell.

As you emerged upstairs, you gently grabbed Casey's waist and pressed her lightly against the wall.

A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. "I thought we were going to see your sister."

"We are," you said, standing on your tiptoes to kiss her softly. You felt her body melt into yours, the stress of the day dissipating. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay first."

Casey sighed contentedly and brushed your hair behind your ears. "I'm good. They're really nice people, your family. They really love you."

"Yeah, well," you scoffed. "Wait until you meet this one."

You knocked on Winnie's door and threw it open when she called, "What!?"

Winnie sat at her desk in all her diminutive glory, Special Olympics medals hanging from a cork board and Usher's "Yeah!" blaring from the speakers.

"'Sup, nerd," you said, standing in the doorway.

Winnie gaped, looking from you to Casey.

"What are you doing here, Y/N?" she finally said.

"Uh, it's Christmas?" you responded.

Winnie pointed at Casey. "Who are you?"

You could tell that Casey was holding back laughter. "I'm Casey."

"You're Y/N's friend?" Winnie asked, leaning back and swiveling in her desk chair.

"No, I'm not her friend. I'm her girlfriend," Casey said as the two of you took a seat on the edge of Winnie's bed.

Winnie seemed to think very deeply about this. "Her girlfriend?"

You both nodded.

"Like, when you have a crush?"

You blushed.

"Yep," Casey nodded, patting your leg. "I have a big crush on Y/N."

Casey shot you a cheesy grin. She was loving this.

Winnie smirked and waggled her eyebrows. "Do you kiss!?"

"Oh my god," you groaned, rubbing your forehead.

Casey on the other hand, seemed to be living for this conversation.

"Oh, absolutely," Casey told her. "I do kiss Y/N. I love to kiss her."

Winnie scoffed and turned back to her desk, fiddling with her iPad.

"What about you, Winnie?" Casey continued, crossing her legs and getting comfortable. It blew your mind that Casey seemed to be getting along with Winnie so well. Or maybe Casey just liked pushing people's buttons. God knows, Winnie was nothing but buttons to push these days. "Do you have a girlfriend? Or a boyfriend?"

The look of absolute condescension on Winnie's smug face finally drove Casey to the edge. She burst out laughing. "Why are you looking at me like that!?"

"I don't have time for that," Winnie said. "I have to work out." She pulled up her sleeve and flexed her bicep.

"Damn!" Casey exclaimed, standing up to squeeze Winnie's arm. "You are strong!"

Winnie pulled her sleeve back down. "Yeah, I know."

"I hear you're really good at basketball," Casey said conspiratorially, squatting down next to Winnie's desk. "I'm more of a baseball girl myself, but you wanna play tomorrow?"

"Yeah!" Winnie exclaimed, genuinely excited before she remembered she was too cool for us. "But I'll win."

Casey raised her eyebrows. "That's some big talk."

Winnie shrugged. "I can't help it that I'm the best."

"You got me there."

You gestured to Casey and she followed you to the door.

"Y/N can't play, though," Winnie added, glancing back at Casey.

"Aw, why not?" Casey protested. "I love playing with Y/N."

Winnie shook her head. "She is really bad."

"Ouch, Winnie," you said, glaring at her.

Casey cracked up again, and you elbowed her in the stomach.

"Good night, loser," you called as you shut Winnie's door.

"Good night, dork!" she yelled back.

Casey had tears in her eyes from laughing so hard.

"See?" you whispered to her. "I told you. A little bitch."

Casey grabbed your face in her hands and pressed her forehead to yours. She kissed you quickly, then laughed, a wide grin on her face.

"What's this for?" you asked, as if you needed a reason.

"Oh, it's nothing," Casey said, serious, before giggling, "I just have such a big crush on you."

"Ugh, stop!" You pushed her away. "That's so dumb."

"It's cute!" she protested, and you didn't know if you'd ever seen her this giddy. She came up behind you and wrapped her arms around your waist, pressing her face into your neck. "Come on, you say it, too."

You rolled your eyes, but a smile tugged at the corners of your mouth. "I have a massive, huge, heartstopping crush on you, Casey."

She buried her face into you, planting kisses up and down your neck as her fingers tickled your stomach. You squirmed and giggled and shushed her as you both headed back downstairs. You didn't want to seem too in love. Your parents would never let it go.

[talbaquix]

A layman's guide to olympic fencing—

for writers, artists, olympic fans, or the otherwise curious.

disclaimer: i say layman for a reason! i'm not at all a professional, or even good, but i have been fencing (very) recreationally at an amateur level for ~7 years. also, my exposure to sabre is extremely limited, and i am speaking from an american POV, so please feel free to correct me on any points you see necessary. :)

long post incoming...

So, what is "Olympic fencing?"

First and foremost, it is a sport. Not a fight, not a duel—a sport. One of five that have been permanent fixtures since the very first modern Olympic games, actually—hence the name! While other similar sword-wielding activities (such as historical European martial arts (HEMA), kendo, or wushu for example) may occasionally be referred to as "fencing," most people (me included) define fencing as this specific sport, and use other classifiers to categorize the rest.

Originally, fencing began as a form of military training in Germany and Italy, before spreading recreationally across more areas in Europe. Currently, the fencing scene is almost uncontestedly dominated by Italy, France, and Hungary, though both China/HK and the US have had some pretty stellar wins more recently.

In addition, French has a pretty large influence on fencing terminology and language, at least in the West. Be prepared!

The Basics

Three Weapons

Fencing is divided into three disciplines, each with their own equipment, strategies, and ruleset. They are as follows:

Épée: The classic. The heaviest and most defensive of the three blades, épée's simple ruleset allows for more elaborate strategy and really lives up to fencing's moniker of "physical chess." In épée, the entirety of your opponents body (including face, toes, etc!) counts as valid target area and all hits must be scored with the tip of the blade. In case of a double-touch (relatively simultaneous hits from both opponents), both opponents score points.

Because there's no need for specific target areas, épéeists enjoy minimal equipment, forgoing lamés (electric jackets, pronounced luh-may) and mask cords in exchange for a larger bell guard to protect the hand (that big bit of metal at the end of the blade). Épéeists can use pistol grips for more point control (molded to fit a hand), or a french grip to get a little bit of extra distance (red stick grip).

Épée bouts are stereotypically known for being slow and boring, since the absence of right-of-way (explained later) allows more freedom in trying to sus out opponent reactions and strategize, and the whole-body target + double-touch system means there's more benefit to fencing slowly in comparison to sabre or foil. It's not uncommon for épée bouts to begin with both fencers being carded for passivity! There's a lot of bouncing back and forth in the middle.

Saber (Sabre): Fast, slashing, and aggressive. The fencing you see in movies? Sabre. It's the only cutting weapon, where the entire length of the blade is able to register contact with the opponent. In sabre, the target area is the upper half of the body (including the face, but excluding the hand) and their lamés reflect that. Sabre also employs what is known as right-of-way/priority/advantage (from here on abbreviated as RoW) which, in the case of a double-touch, essentially gives RoW—and therefore the point—to the "aggressing" fencer at the referee's discretion. RoW is pretty complicated, but is very influential in how both sabre and foil play out.

In their ready (en garde) position, sabreists also hold their blade vertically to protect the face (as opposed to foil and épée, where the blade is held horizontally to keep the point towards the opponent). Sabreists also need special masks to register hits, as well as a mask cord to connect it to the rest of the electric circuit. Sabre bell guards are kinda swoopy and extend downward (think pirates) and are always "french grips" (aka just a stick).

Sabreists are generally known for being (respectfully) batshit insane and dramatic as hell. Bouts are extremely fast (rarely more than a few seconds) and look simple, and rely much more on pure athleticism and fast reaction times than épée. Most bouts consist of the two fencers running towards each other, maybe a parry or two, then both fencers scoring hits with a fair bit of screaming and angrily pointing at the ref. Oh wait, did I say running? Sorry, I meant advancing, since sabre is also the only discipline where crossing-over with your legs got banned because people just started sprinting towards the middle instead of actually fencing. Love them for that.

Foil (Fleuret, rarely): Oh, foil. The artistic middleman. Originating as a practice weapon, foil tends to sit in the middle of épée's careful point-control and elaborate strategy and sabre's split-second reactions and fuck-it-we-ball energy. Yet somehow, it ends up being more nit-picky and complicated than both. It has the smallest target area of the three, only covering the torso, as well as the lightest blade. Touches are only registered from the tip.

RoW's influence is noticeably large, since, compared to sabre, the longer bout times actually allow for opportunity for RoW to be traded between you and your opponent. Foil can almost be thought of as turn-based combat. Fencer A initiates the attack first, now has RoW, lunges and misses, which gives RoW to Fencer B. Fencer B attacks, gets parried (back to Fencer A), A extends, B counterattacks, A gets the point.

Foil stereotypes aren't as strong as épée or sabre stereotypes, but foilists are generally known for either being super pedantic and arguing w/ the ref about RoW or whipping their blade around constantly & being flowery (hence, "fleuret"). Because of how bendy the foil is, foilists can also do cool stuff like flicks (snapping your wrist so that the blade bends around, oftentimes to hit your opponents back) and can also get into pretty funny in-fighting situations a bit more often than sabre/épée (since corps-a-corps contact isn't allowed in fencing, and stepping back means you lose RoW, there's a lot of awkward up-close poking).

Some Positions

En garde: the basic fencing position. In essence, a squat, with one foot facing forward and the other turned out, roughly one and a half foot-lengths apart. This is the basis from which all other movements—the lunge, the advance, the retreat—should be executed, and the position fencers return to once an action is completed.

Lunge: the quintessential fencing attack. From en garde, extend your dominant arm, kick out your front foot, land forward, and extend your back arm for balance. To recover, bend your back leg and return to en garde.

Parry: the most basic piece of defensive bladework that every fencer learns, with the "beat" serving as its offensive counterpart. Consists of hitting your opponents blade to prevent a touch. There are nine different parries in classical fencing, but the most common (in foil/épée) are the four and six, which defend the inside and outside lines respectively.

Ettiquette & Other Fun Facts

All fencers must salute their opponent, referee, and audience (if there is one) before and after the bout. Usually just consists of "nodding" at the salutee with your blade before the mask is donned. At the end of bouts, a handshake with your opponent using your non-dominant hand is also expected. Many people substitute/add on to the handshake by tapping blades instead.

Unlike in tennis, seeing a fencer hold up a one on their hand after a touch is an acknowledgement of the opponent's point, whereas a closed fist is a claim of theirs.

When fencing without a ref, many people will slap their thigh to indicate the start of a bout.

Fencers may not speak while the mask is on.

Fencing clubs are also sometimes called salles.

While electrical equipment can vary between disciplines, all fencers are required to wear knickers, a plastron (under-arm protector), a body cord, a jacket, a glove, and a mask. For women, a plastic chest protector is also required. In sabre and foil, fencers also wear a mask cord and lamé.

The first safety rule most fencers learn is to never raise your blade towards someone without a mask on, and it's taken pretty seriously. Because the back of a mask is exposed, its also a big big no-no to turn your back to your opponent during a bout or otherwise lower your head.

Common Terminology

En garde, prez, allez! - On guard, ready, fence! Used to signal the start of a bout.

Halt! - Said by referees to. halt the bout.

Strip/piste - The surface on which fencers fence. Usually around 2m wide and 14m long, the lines on the piste also dictate where fencers must move to to begin bouts, and where they're considered out-of-bounds. Sometimes, they're on raised platforms. Yes, people have fallen off, yes, it's extremely funny.

Feint - Probably what you think it is.

Disengage - Moving your blade in a little circle to avoid contact with what is usually an incoming parry/beat. On a very basic level, straight attacks beat disengages, disengages beat parries, and parries beat straight attacks.

Fleche - An explosive running attack. Due to not being able to cross-over, sabreists use "flunges" instead, a mix between a fleche and a lunge that essentially entails flinging yourself at your opponent in a flying lunge.

Balestra - hop :)

Riposte - An immediate attack done after a defender's parry. Usually heard as "parry-riposte."

Tempo - A kind of nebulous concept, but very similar to the musical definition of the word. The pace of a bout, sorta. Often used when someone is advised to break tempo or if one fencer is controlling the tempo of a bout.

FAQ

Why are the blades bendy? To keep us from dying, mainly. What, you want the metal pole people can throw at each other at the same speed as a bullet (literally) to be solid? Also, blades break a lot already, especially in the hands of the inexperienced—they'd snap a hell of a lot more if they weren't flexible. Ouch.

Does it hurt? About as much as getting poked really hard with a steel stick would. Leaves bruises often, but cuts very rarely. You get used to it. The real kicker is staying in en garde for that long. Trust me, your quads will be screaming.

Is it- No, it's not dangerous. If you follow the rules, fencing is actually extremely safe, especially compared to contact sports.

Does a red light mean no touch? No. One fencer is assigned a red light that lights up whenever a touch is made, and the other is given green. In sabre and foil, yellow (sometimes white) means whatever the fencer hit was off-target, and should not be counted as a point. Épée doesn't have an off-target light, since épéeists don't wear lamés.

How do the masks know when a point is scored? Often asked upon seeing the little lights on the side of masks light up upon touches. Unless you're "dry fencing" (no electricity), you're typically hooked up to a circuit. If you fence épée or foil, there's a little button on the end of your blade that registers when pressure is added onto it. When a hit is scored, the signal goes through the wire in your blade, up your body cord, and eventually to "the box" (and your mask if you're fancy), and the corresponding light is flashed.

Why hold your hand behind your back? Most people don't! Some beginners do it to prevent themselves from reflexively moving their non-gloved hand in front of them when being attacked (which is against the rules), but most fencers either keep their hand relaxed at their side, raised in a t-rex pose, or occasionally above the head.

Helmet? Mask.

Sword? If you want.

Touché? Often "touche," actually. No accent.

Paralympics? On (stationary) wheelchairs. Extremely cool, actually, and very hard. Check it out!

Expensive? To get all your own stuff? Yes. But most clubs will rent you equipment, or sometimes lend it for free! But yes, more expensive than, like, soccer. :(.

Is it fun? Absolutely. To quote some random internet user, "it's like chess, at 90 miles an hour, oh and there's swords!" I would 100% recommend it to everyone, especially if you're on the older side (fencing isn't super age-restricted at all—seeing a 12 y/o and a 70 y/o facing off on a club piste isn't uncommon!) It is exhausting, exhilarating, and super, super fun. Give it a shot!

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Please feel free to send any and all questions, corrections, or musings my way. Thanks for reading—I hope this was interesting and/or useful!

[15-lizards]

loved your asoiaf characters and their olympic sports post!

do you have any more thoughts for other characters?

So many

Theon is in skateboarding but he couldn’t compete in the last games bc he failed his drug test. When he finally makes it he talks big game but gets nervous during his actual runs and busts his ass like twelve different times. Also he has beef with the twelve year old skaters. Also he sees Tony Hawk and the crowd and almost pisses himself then eats shit again. Safe to say he does not medal

Meera is in archery, she gets her first gold when she’s like 15. A modest prodigy. Kinda like that Turkish Olympic shooter who’s going viral rn for having no special gear just vibes. Has no fancy lenses or gloves or anything she just shows up, shoots a bunch of bullseyes, goes :], gets her gold medal, and disappears off the face of the earth for another four years.

Bran is in the Paralympics for archery, cause he watched Meera on tv when he was younger and freshly wheelchair bound, and was inspired 🥺 gets lots of love online for being such a wide eyed cutie. All of his interviews are precious. His siblings are in the stands at every match screaming for him (especially Robb). Robb never misses a chance to promote his brother to the cameras after his own rugby games, and literally runs onto the field to hug him after bran wins his first silver

Oberyn is a beach volleyball veteran, and goes viral without fail every four years. Lifts up his shirt to wipe the sweat from his face and suddenly everyone’s rooting for a Dornish gold medal. Insanely talented and more than a little bit cocky about it, but he still funds volleyball programs for underprivileged youth (good for the pr). Messy personal life, his Wikipedia page is like a gossip tabloid for his drug and sex scandals. Also raises up all his daughters to be olympians of course.

Renly does fencing and the international committee literally banks on his pretty boy looks to get people invested in the sport. Very quick on his feet, and usually darts around to avoid getting hit. Twitter artists love using him for drawing references for some reason. Twitter fujos ship him with whatever other hot fencer they see him talking to. Which is fair bc he usually is fucking them but his main boyfriend is rugby player Loras 💜

[pleasantglitterflower]

Power Couple (Joe Burrow x Simone Biles)

Joe was very excited to land in Paris, after all he was going to surprise his girlfriend, who is simply Simone Biles. Simone didn't know, but I was already going to surprise her and was going to watch her performance in the final of the artistic gymnastics vaults at the Olympics.

  Joe was very sorry about not being able to accompany Simone in person at the Paris Olympics, as the training camp period before the NFL preseason would be taking place at the same time, and this season will be decisive for Joe, after months of treating a serious hand injury.

Simone was super understanding and understood the fact that Joe couldn't be in Paris, as he also needed to focus on his preparation to return to playing at a high level. The gymnast was like a compass for Joe's recovery, for the quarterback, if it weren't for Simone supporting and encouraging him, his recovery wouldn't have been so successful.

Joe did not give up and spoke with the Bengals board and coaching staff to get permission to travel to Paris, in return he would do extra training when he returned. Simone had no idea that her boyfriend was going to surprise her, Joe already had everything planned with the US artistic gymnastics team and Jade Carey, one of the American gymnasts competing in the Olympic Games, wished one day to have a boyfriend like Joe.

Bercy Arena - August 3,2024

The day of the competition finally arrived and Joe was very nervous. Although he was not very religious, he kept praying silently, asking the gods of gymnastics that Simone would perform her lifts very well and that no adversity would befall her.

First came the men's artistic gymnastics performance, and with each movement, he found it fascinating how those men executed their jumps with perfection. Despite knowing his whole life that he wanted to play football, he had always admired the entire concept of artistic gymnastics, so much so that whenever he had a break from a game, during his time at LSU, he would always go and watch the performances of the college's women's gymnastics team, led by Olivia Dunne. He laughed, thinking that if it were him trying to do one of those jumps, he would probably have broken all his bones. If you're going to get hurt, you might as well do it at the intensity of football.

The men's performance ended and finally the women's vault solo performance arrived. The main favorites for the gold medal were Simone and Rebeca Andrade, who are the two main references in artistic gymnastics today. Simone was the fourth gymnast to perform and her performance left no doubt that the gold medal was hers. She landed the vault that bears her name, the Biles II, and despite taking a 0.1 penalty for stepping off the jump, she received a spectacular 15.700 - 6.400 for the start score, 9.400 for the execution and -0.100 penalty.

Burrow couldn't contain himself and celebrated a lot when she performed Biles II, he was very happy and excited. On her second vault, Biles went for a very well-executed Cheng, which earned her a score of 14.900 - 5.600 for difficulty and 9.300 for execution. With that, she had an average of 15.300. Joe screamed so much, he probably wasn't as happy with the Bengals' victories as he was with Biles's jumps.

The other performances took place and then they waited for the results, and finally it became official: Simone Biles was the vault solo champion and broke another record. Joe couldn't control his emotions and cried with joy, he saw how hard Simone was on herself and how intensely she trained, it's always special when hard work is rewarded. He celebrated happily with other American fans, who fortunately, when they saw that Joe was very focused on watching the performance, didn't ask him for photos and autographs, because for those present there, he was a fan like any other.

Simone, Rebeca Andrade and Jade Carey took their places on the podium, respectively, and Joe was smiling very proud of his beloved. After all the formal celebrations, Simone began to interact with some fans, until she had an unexpected surprise, with Joe going to her and hugging her tightly. —Joe, I can't believe you actually came - Biles says shocked to see her man face to face with her

-I wouldn't miss the chance to see you win eye to eye my love, in person it's much better, the same way when you go see my games - Joe speaks, giving her a little kiss afterwards.

-I'm so happy you came my love, but what about training and the team?

-Honey, they really understood how important the Olympics are and allowed me to be here, but let's not talk about that, today is all about you and we have to celebrate, especially because the whole team is watching the competitions right now.

-I love you so much Joe, thank you so much for always being with me and supporting me in everything - she kisses the quarterback

-I am lucky enough to have a woman like you in my life Simone, you are so important in my life that if it weren't for you, I would be very lost, I love you forever - they give a movie kiss to the delight of everyone present in that gym, just proving that the Paris 2024 Olympic Games are already in history as one of the most iconic Olympics of all time.

[magickman1234]

She’s Unwitting Escape Artist

I think the most joyous look you can get from a feedee is that a mixture of embarrassment and arousal when they catch you looking at their recent escape attempt. Unwitting escape artist is their fate as a slight movements lets out a red stretchmarked roll on a side or at a tight waistband poorly covered by a too small sleep shirt. That old part of panties rip or her favorite top does and bloop their ironically agile flesh gets free. Even as she gets lazy and her fitness dies those evil bits are more fast than an Olympic runner now. So fat and heavy every inch is specialized in escape artistry. More than ever as they keep eating all the same. That half inch turned inch that used to sneak free when she started to let herself go oozes free 3-4 inches thick with ease and pokes out nearly as far. You both know she’s too fat for her clothes now but she still has her pride. Not enough awareness to stop eating but she has pride. Fights with waistbands and adjusting shirts make her squirm those old habits to deny weight gain still there. The struggle to keep waistbands, shirts and panties from hooking into rolls and folds in the wrong way is real. Tighter the clothes the more denial though. Maybe it’s a favored shirt or a linger desire to pretend she’s never going to get that fat. Yet there’s this more powerful excitement under it. The freedom. The abandonment of restraint. The slow lose of mobility and ease. It’s like chocolate to her. She admits it’s all delicious in choked aroused breath when confronted. You can see it building in her with each time this happens. A little bit more helpless, another size sacrificed to her hunger, her slow spreading, and the very real need for restaurants being scoped out with maybe a second chair needed soon. The true humiliation of her giving into a life style you know on the surface she tries to resist but quietly gives into. She can’t help put smile sometimes as she pulls her shirt down or something rips. The red burning round cheeks, the honest gasps at rips and those humiliating moments when she realizes she’s truly too fat for something. All accelerants to her eating in reality. Suddenly she’s up for more food after one or starts eating faster. She’ll escape her old limits and assumptions with each bite.