littorella

[littorella]

That’s too bad to hear but I get it :) I was hoping you’d one day put out the sequel to House at Row’s Edge, but very much agree about both (1) the uncomfortable expectation of smut and (2) the toxicity. Good luck with the skating!

Bless you! a truly loyal reader!

That story is different, I will definitely post the continuation. It has been on my mind for years and years, I just have not settled on what it is I want to say yet. There’s been a sudden interest in all things multiverse (thanks Marvel), and I’ve been giving it some new thought recently. it’s getting close—I’d say maybe expect something within the year.

[littorella]

Have you left fandom?

I don’t draw fanart anymore because:

1. It takes a long time to complete a drawing. I was literally spending 9hrs a day working talking on zoom, then sitting at the same desk and drawing into the night and getting up at 7AM to rinse and repeat. I don’t want to spend all my waking hrs at my desk and computer. I want to hangout with friends and cook elaborate food and watch mindless tv.

2. As fandoms age, hardcore fans and niches grow dominate. In fandoms of mostly adults, it almost always becomes dominated by nsfw. I am not interested in nsfw and was seeing plummeting engagement (not likes, actual just views) with the type of sfw content I prefer to create. It’s not bad or wrong, and I don’t take it personally. It is just very demotivating to put loads of time and effort into art nobody wants to see.

3. I injured my wrist training the axel and it’s painfully uncomfortable to draw on a tablet.

I’m also not a consumer of fandom these days because there’s a toxic culture of validation seeking. People turn on you or think you are a “bad mutual” if you don’t gush heart emojis/retweet/kudos/etc on every single thing they post. I’m sorry but I don’t have the energy or time for it. So yeah, I’m out for now.

[littorella]

So you want to start figure skating

You've seen the tiktoks, now you want to be in one. It's getting cold in northern hemisphere and that means it's time for you to get into skating. WINK

If you want to start, it's important to make careful decisions and to know what you're getting into. Skating is honestly a kind of meh community—people (actual skaters, not the fandom) mean well but they’re snobs.

I feel like I got super questionable advice when I started. Most of it straight up were LIES. I am a pleb, a low ambition skater. I find most of the experiences and advice originates from the context of elite-competitive skating. And it's mostly from parents of skating children. I don't know about you, but I am not a preteen trying to get to the olympics by age 18.

TLDR;

Just do whatever the fuck you want.

Age

No, you’re not too old to skate. If anyone said that, they're a lying sack of shit.

I once joked with a girl who was jumping doubles that if I lived at the rink all day maybe I’ll do that too. Her teenage eyes looked at my old ass self, and said “I don’t think so. You kind of have to start little”. Yeah ok bitch, you'll never learn anything new in life with that attitude.

Confidence

So yeah, um, not gonna lie. You will feel pretty awful about yourself. There will be an 8-year old who zooms by you and dominates and your inner shame will explode. But you get over it. Don't feel bad about feeling bad. It's natural and it will go away. I have written a lot about this before.

Money

Figure is expensive AF. just a true fact.

Ice time is 5-25 USD per hr, and you pay that EVERY time. You can choose wheels to cut cost, but nice skates are $400-1k no matter what discipline you pick. And as a grown ass person that weighs a reasonable amount, you need nice skates if you want to feel secure and not like you might break an ankle. Group classes run 10-25/lesson usually. Private coaching is more like 75-100/hr yikes.

You can try to cut costs by buying second hand, start on cheap skates, or use tiktok and instagram tutorials instead of a coach. That can only go so far; it will limit your level. If that's ok, cool, but know it's not realistic to learn to jump an axel on your own with a pair of $30 pond skates. If you get serious, it's pricey no matter what.

This is why skating is snobby. It's full of privileged rich bitches.

Injury

You will fall. Often. Don't be scared. In the beginning if you aren't falling, you aren't taking enough risk to learn. As you progress, it will stop. It hurts to fall, but it’s rare to seriously hurt yourself. Get some padding (crash pants for butt, knee pads, elbow pads, etc). Ice, you tend to slide so falls aren't bad. Ground, you get road rash so gear is way more important. Volley ball pads are great because they still allow you to move. You won't look cool, that's fine.

Expectations

Be realistic. If you want to be an elite skater like Nathan Chen, it ain’t happening. The fact you're reading this means you're not a toddler. There are rare exceptions (start ~12), but mostly, you just don't have enough time to learn the moves you need to be competitive before you acquire shitty incurable body, aka aging.

With that said, you can still accomplish amazing things. I find the tripleJumpOrBust! mentality damaging to the sport. It's as inaccessible and unpopular as it is because we can't just be cool with amateur skills. Nobody starts learning guitar expecting to be a chart topping musician--we're satisfied if we can play a song. So why not that with skating...

You don't even need to be able to do extremely difficult elements to be a professional (shows, teaching, etc). You decide what feels fulfilling for you. All you can really do is to master the next skill as it comes.

Inline vs. Quad Roller vs. Ice

These feel different, but you can accomplish almost all the same moves. Inline/ice are transferable skills. Quad roller doesn't really transfer to either. Be strategic and consider your access when you pick.

Ice is expensive and not always available, that's the only downer for me. I tend to prefer the glide feeling of it and the more forgiving falls. It is also the most "established" so there are more resources and coaches available, etc.

Wheels...people will try to convince you that you can roll anywhere. That's like a total fucking lie. These are not designed for textured surfaces like streets. You vibrate with chatter from bumpiness, and if you hit a crack, you're going down. To practice figure moves, you will need a large flat surface: parking, plazas, roller rinks, etc. And access is surprisingly hard--do you know where you will skate? I have lost count the number of times security guards have asked me to leave. Idle abandoned pavilion? I’ll take it.

Boots

Chatter everywhere on boots. Grand debate about quality, angles, ankles, whatever. If you're just starting, none of that matters. You aren't skilled enough to appreciate the diff. However, do not buy those shitty skates on Amazon. You will sprain your ankles. Try to buy your first pair in person so you know it will fit. Beginner skates like Jackson Softskates are around 60USD and a great way to try before committing more money. Impalas are pretty reasonable for roller.

If you have the dough to buy nicer ones (you're all in!) or are upgrading, ignore the pearl clutching about overbooting. This advice originates from fitting tiny children. You obviously don't invest in boots above a kid's level because their feet grow faster than their skill. Lucky for me, my feet don't grow! I most certainly invest in boots that last longer.

You don't need to jump doubles to wear a boot for doubles. There are some top level boots that might be uncomfortable, but again, you'll know if you try it on. I get told I am overboot in Edea Ice Fly all the time. Like, wtf dude, can you not keep that unsolicited opinion to yourself?

Look at these beauties, so drip.

Blades / Wheel frame

Same old story as boots. If you're starting out, whatever blade/frame comes with the boot is fine. As with boots, until you are advanced, the nuance is lost on you. You won't appreciate rocker differences unless you are doing like...camel spin. I have tried different blades, some fancy, some not. Honestly all freestyle blades feel similar.

The best blade is the one you skate on regularly and learn how to work with. Don't blame the equipment for your own lack of practice. There's lore and fuss about how magical John Wilson blades are. They're nice, a flex, that's all. If you suck, JW ain't going to make you not suck. (RIP me, I have JW CoroAce)

Same story with wheel frames. (I'm on Goldenhorse avant)

Coaching

Everyone insists you absolutely need a coach or you will learn things wrong, develop bad habits. Myth, bullshit, awful elitist lies. You can absolutely teach yourself the basics with resources on IG/YT (Adam Jukes for inline, Coach Julia, Michelle Hong, etc for ice are all amazing).

I have met so many skaters with coaches that have terrible form and habits. I have also met incredible self taught skaters. Bad habits and form is from your own lack of discipline and effort.

What you need is not coaching, it is feedback. And feedback you can get from fellow skaters, from filming yourself. Film and compare yourself in slo mo to other skaters and then see what you need to adjust. It's painful, but works. Most other skaters are also happy to help you with tips or a quick demo.

HOWEVER, I will say some advanced elements are going to be really hard on your own. Toe loop is one of these. You inevitably teach yourself a toe waltz and can see it but don't know how to fix it. Coach 1 told me to curtsy, fucking useless. Coach 2 told me to kick a soccer ball sideways and that worked. You have no idea what that means, but see, even coaching is a crap shoot sometimes.

If you can afford a coach or lessons, go for it. If you can't, you can still be ok. I have a coach for the tough stuff but I teach myself most things first so I can optimize the coaching time. Taught myself this bad ass move.

Testing / competitions

This is mostly for ice. I haven't seen too much organized roller / inline events. I personally find most events to be kinda scams. You don't need to do them to be a "real" skater. Tests and competitions are for you to participate in the community if you want. They're great ways for you to show off your skills if you want to be a performer, but they're not gates.

Test guidelines (just google them) are a great curriculum because they are organized in terms of difficulty. Some people find it useful to have a goal post motivator like a test event, that’s valid.

What's awful is that some people are super snooty about test levels. There was a rink director who refused to let me book freestyle ice time because I never tested FS to prove my level. Thank you for making your rink welcome and inclusive, Karen.

DIY Upkeep

I love the skate shop, but it's far away. I don't have the luxury of being able to drive 2hrs to go every time something bothers me. Every post online insists you cannot DIY without ruining your skates. Big fucking privileged lie.

You can and should DIY if you are comfortable. If your boots feel tight, use a shoe stretcher. If it feels too big and you can't exchange it, stuff some cotton/wool into the loose places. If your blade/frame feels off, get your screwdriver and move it around. I have done all of these things successfully. There are video and blogs for just about all issues.

#figure skating #advice #start skating #dispelling bullshit

[littorella]

Do you accept commissions? If yes, do you have a price list? :) Love your art style

Hey, thanks for the interest in my art! I never want drawing to become “work” to me so I do not accept commissions.

However, if you are dying to see something, feel free to make a request and we can see what happens.

[littorella]

Zi Xi, you never have to be cold again

#changgu #sha po lang #chang geng #gu yun #杀破狼 #art

[littorella]

Shrine priestesses

#x clamp #x/1999 #x manga #yuzuriha nekoi #Arashi Kishu #sketches

[littorella]

#victuuri #yuri on ice #yuuri katsuki #victor nikiforov #skating #art

[littorella]

Don’t mess with BELOVED

#loveless #loveless manga #art #Agatsuma Soubi #Aoyagi Seimei #Akame Nisei #beloved is a bunch of psychos #Yun Kouga

[littorella]

BELOVED now and BELOVED before

#loveless manga #Loveless #Akame Nisei #Agatsuma Soubi #Yun Kouga #art

[littorella]

Happiness Write White is almost complete!

The colors were a little bleached from overexposure, but the warmth in Yuuri’s smile was palpable. Georgi was right. It was a nice picture.

Last chapter posting tomorrow :)

#Yuri on ice #victuuri #yuuri katsuki #victor nikiforov #art

[littorella]

#zhenhun #weilan #guardian #zhao yunlan #shen wei #art

[littorella]

If SPL were a fairytale

#sha po lang #SPL #chang geng #gu yun #changgu #art

[littorella]

For Leareth’s classic, In My Line of Work

#Seishirou Sakurazuka #Subaru Sumeragi #tbx #x/1999 #clamp #x clamp #art #Seisub #Tokyo Babylon

[littorella]

Happiness Writes White

a fic about how love gives meaning to even nihilists

Yuuri falls asleep after his first day in St. Petersburg and wakes up in a strange hospital room. To his dismay, the last year of skating has all been a dream simulation designed to wake him from a long coma. Viktor Nikiforov is, in fact, not a figure skater at all, but the creator of the program, and this real world Viktor is nothing like the one he knows. 

[Read on AO3]

#yuri on ice #fanfiction #victuuri #victor nikiforov #yuuri katsuki #art #writing #I've been writing this for 3 years and just finally got around to finishing geez

[littorella]

#victor nikiforov #Yuri on ice #ice adolescence #ref: daria usacheva #art #yoi movie

[littorella]

The future is not yet decided

#tokyo babylon #seisub #Seishirou Sakurazuka #Subaru Sumeragi #Hokuto Sumeragi #x/1999 #CLAMP #tbx

[littorella]

I...

You...

(we’ll never know)

#tokyo babylon #X CLAMP #seisub #Seishirou Sakurazuka #Subaru Sumeragi #clamp #tbx #art