#aus and nz can finally marry!!!!

[daenystheedreamer]

need to bring back marriage of state. like trudeau and biden marry so canada and the US can merge. hell it doesnt even have to be that big. senator for virginia and west virginia can unite the virginias through matrimony

#polish-lithuanian commonwealth..... texan-mexican commonwealth<3 #aus and nz can finally marry!!!!

[jadelotusflower]

June 2021 Roundup

It's been a month of highs and lows. Every year my city holds a cabaret festival, and I've seen some truly amazing acts over the years - including Lea Salonga, Kristin Chenoweth, and Indina Menzel. This year's Artistic Director was the great Alan Cumming, and although due to covid he didn't quite get to curate the program he wanted to, the opening night Gala was still a highlight, as was Alan's DJ set at the pop-up Club Cumming afterwards, where there was much singing at the top of my lungs and dancing to pop anthems and theatre tunes. At one point Alan, dressed in a onesie and perched on the shoulders of a man wearing only sparkly short shorts, was carried around the dance floor while Circle of Life blared. Reader, I was delighted.

I was also able to see his solo show Alan Cumming Is Not Acting His Age, which was hilarious and damn, he can sing!

As for the low, I was meant to fly to Sydney for the weekend to see Hamilton, a trip I have been looking forward to for almost a year, but had to be cancelled because of a covid outbreak and border closures. The tickets have been rescheduled, but I'm still kind of bummed about it (while completely appreciating the need for covid safety, especially when our vaccine rollout has been completely botched by our incompetent, corrupt federal government)

Anyway.

Reading

The Hundred and One Dalmations (Dodie Smith) - With all the bewilderment over Disney's Cruella, I decided to revisit the original novel which I first read as a kid. It's funny, I had very vivid memories of this book, or rather thought I did, particularly the scene where Roger and Anita have dinner at Cruella's house that fixed in my young mind as utterly disturbing with all this devil imagery and the implication Cruella was literally some kind of demon, which must have been either a) my overactive imagination or b) an illustration, because it's not as clear as I thought it was. The strangeness is there (food with too much pepper, Cruella's inability to keep warm, the walls painted blood red) but not the explicit demon imagery I had remembered. There is a part later in the book recounting the history of Hell Hall and the rumors of Cruella's ancestor streaking out of the place conjuring blue lightening, but clearly child me was reading far more into the book than was on the page.

But I still wish they'd gone with this version of Cruella's backstory, because to me an aristocratic, ink-drinking, heat-obsessed, possibly-demon spawn, high camp villain is more interesting and rings far more true than plucky punk against the establishment.

Smith clearly had Facts About Dalmations to share, and she does really craft a wonderful animal-based story that the Disney animated film is largely faithful to. Key differences include: Roger's occupation (he doesn't have to pay tax because he wiped out government debt somehow?!?), Pongo's mate and the puppy's mother is called Missis, Perdita is another dalmation who acts as a kind of doggie wet nurse, Roger and Anita both have Nannies who come to live with them (Nanny Butler and Nanny Cook), Cruella is married to a furrier (who changed his last name to de Vil). Also odd, on her first description Cruella is described as having "dark skin" but later in the novel her "white face" is mentioned, so I'm chalking it up to 50's descriptors not having the same meanings they do today.

The Duke and I (Julia Quinn) - After being just whelmed by the tv series, I wasn't really planning on reading the books, but I saw this on the top picks shelf at the library and damn, the top picks shelf is irresistible. This is very much Daphne's book (and I had known each in the series dealt with the different sibling) so many of the characters and much of the plot of the show is absent, as are some of the more baffling elements of the show like the Diamond of the First Water nonsense, which I always thought was a strange character choice in that it stacks the deck for Daphne when her character arc is better served as somewhat of an underdog (in her third season, the kind of girl who is liked but not adored), and the Prince subplot which was always far too OTT even for soapy regency romance.

It's a breezy, fun read (that scene excepted), even if the misunderstandings are contrived and I'm never going to take "I'll never have kids because I hate my dad" as a credible romantic obstacle deserving of so much angst.

Faeries (Brian Froud and Alan Lee) - A lovingly detailed and illustrated compendium of Faerie and its inhabitants, drawing from a range of European (but primarily Celtic) folklore and mythology. Froud was a conceptual designer on The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth, and the link is clear in the art as well as the focus on faeries as mysterious but oftimes sinister beings, where human encounters with them rarely end well. Lee has illustrated several publications of Tolkien's novels, and was a lead concept artists for Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings and Hobbit trilogies, and there is a touch of Middle Earth here as well, or rather the common inspiration of the old world. A useful resource for my novel!

Watching

The Handmaid's Tale (season 4, episodes 4-8) SPOILERS - So when I last wrote about this show in the Roundup, I was complaining it wasn't going anywhere. Well, I'm happy to be wrong because they finally changed things up with June finally escaping to Canada. That part of the plot following the survivors and their trauma has always been far more compelling than Gilead, and so it was a welcome development even if I side-eye some of the choices (none of these characters is seeing an actual licensed therapist why?).

This show has always been difficult to watch given the subject matter, and that has not changed after the shift in power dynamics. I will give the show credit for showing a broad range of trauma responses, from Moira wanting to move on and not let it consume her, to June, a ball of rage and revenge on a downward spiral, to Emily, trying to follow Moira's path but being drawn to June's, to Luke, trying his best but utterly unequipped to deal with what is happening.

But it is very hard to watch June go down this path - raping her husband (I concede the show perhaps didn't intend for it to be rape, but that's what is on screen and framing it as just "taking away Luke's agency" doesn't change that), wishing death on Serena's unborn child, and orchestrating Fred's brutal murder by particulation, then holding her own daughter still covered in his blood and it getting smeared on Nicole's face (an unsubtle metaphor in a series full of unsubtle metaphors).

There are interesting questions being asked of the viewer, and the show (perhaps rightly) not giving any answers. I can certainly appreciate the catharsis of Fred getting what he deserves even if I personally find the manner of it horrifying, but where is the line between justice and revenge, is revenge the only option when justice is denied, when does a trauma release become cyclical violence/abuse - the show is, for now, letting the viewer decide.

Soul (dir. Pete Docter and Kemp Powers) - In a world full of remakes/reboots/sequels, Pixar is perhaps the lone segment under the Disney umbrella committed to original content. However, there does seem to be a Pixar formula at work directed to precision tugging the heart strings, and some of the film feels like well-trod ground. On the other hand, it's hard to criticise the risk of centering a kids film around the existential crisis of a middle aged man, even with the requisite cutesy elements (and of course, the uncomfortable pattern of yet another film where the black lead character spends a great deal of the runtime in non-human form - herein, an amorphous blob or a cat). But the animation is stunning, it successfully did tug my heart strings, and the design of the Great Before and the Jerrys is original and fun.

RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under - Drag Race is somewhat of a guilty pleasure for me, since I generally don't watch reality shows, and this is something I really enjoy even if I'm not invested in the fandom (which like many fandoms can be very yikes). This year it was time for the Australian/New Zealand (Aotearoa) queens to show their stuff, although it's been met with mixed reactions. Covid restrictions didn't allow for guest judges, relegating them to mere cameos via video calls, and its clear that Ru and Michelle really don't quite get all the cultural nuances - Aussie judge Rhys Nicholson was however always delightful. But it wouldn't be Australia without a racism scandal, with the great disappointment of the two queens of colour eliminated first, and one queen having done blackface in the recent past yet making it all the way to the top four.

In the end, the only viable and deserving winner was last Kiwi standing Kita Mean, and it was pure joy to see her get crowned. I do hope they fix the bugs and indeed do another season to better showcase AU/NZ talent.

Writing

A far more productive month - to try and get out of my writing funk I had a goal to try and write every day, even if it was only 100 words. While I didn't quite achieve a consecutive month, I did get a pretty good average, at least got something posted and two others nearly there.

The Lady of the Lake - 2441 words, Chapter 4 posted.

Against the Dying of the Light - 2745 words

Turn Your Face to the Sun - 1752 words.

Here I Go Again - 1144 words

Total words this month: 8082

Total words this year: 35,551

#personal #long post #roundup #june roundup #reading watching writing #here's to the second half of the year #I really want to get to at least 100k written #so we'll see

[bartholomewmacmillan]

You'll need a boutonniere. Actress Kathryn Harrold is 66.

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[doomedandstoned]

Conan Share Earth-Shaking Set at The Live Room in Belfast (plus Interview!)

~Doomed & Stoned Debuts~

Doomed & Stoned is proud to partner with CONAN and The Live Room Belfast to share this striking live studio performance of the band playing three of their standards: "Total Conquest," "Satsumo," and "Gravity Chasm." This comes just weeks ahead of Conan's new album, 'Existential Void Guardian' (2018), releasing September 14th on Napalm Records.

Start Together Studio recently launched The Live Room Belfast to invite touring bands in for special recordings, usually between 3-5 songs, as a way to capture the intimacy of a live studio performance. This set was recorded, mixed, and edited by Niall Doran, with help from Assistant Audio Engineer Paddy McEldowney, and filmed by Ciara McMullan. The team did a fantastic job of capturing the massive weight of the Liverpool trio's legendary riffs and especially the fearsome caveman vocals of frontman Jon Davis.

This all took place on May 16th, the morning before Conan took the stage with Monolord and Elder Druid at Voodoo Belfast for an unforgettable show. Jon also sat down with Elder Druid guitarist Jake Wallace (who organized our recent Doomed & Stoned in Ireland compilation) for an in-depth interview.

And now, it's time for Jon Davis (guitar/vox), Chris Fielding (bass), and Johnny King (drums) do their thing! Enjoy...

Conan On Tour

10.08.18 PT - Moledo / Sonic Blast Moledo Fest 11.08.18 UK - Winchester / Boomtown Fair 16.08.18 IR - Galway / The Loft 17.08.18 IR - Cork / Cyprus Avenue 18.08.18 IR - Limerick / Dolans Warehouse 30.09.18 UK - Sheffield / O2 Academy 02.10.18 NL - Eindhoven / Effenaar 03.10.18 DE - Bochum / Rockpalast 04.10.18 DE - Hamburg / Logo 05.10.18 DE - Berlin / Musik & Frieden 06.10.18 PL - Wroclaw / Firlej 07.10.18 PL - Warsaw / Poglos 09.10.18 LT - Vilnius / Rock River Club 10.10.18 LV - Jelgava / Melno Cepuriso Balerija 11.10.18 EE - Tallinn / Sveta 13.10.18 FI - Helsinki / Blow Up 4 Festival 15.10.18 SE - Stockholm / Kraken 17.10.18 SE - Malmo / Plan B 19.10.18 DK - Copenhagen / Stengade 20.10.18 NL - Leeuwarden / Into The Void Festival 07.11.18 AU - Canberra / The Basement 08.11.18 AU - Melbourne / Max Watts 09.11.18 AU - Sydney / Manning Bar 10.11.18 AU - Brisbane / Crowbar 12.11.18 NZ - Wellington / Valhalla 13.11.18 NZ - Auckland / Whammy Bar 16.11.18 RU - Moscow / Aglomerat 17.11.18 RU - St. Petersburg / Zoccolo 23.11.18 UK - Nottingham / The Loft 24.11.18 UK - Leeds / Temple Of Boom 25.11.18 UK - Newcastle / Byker Grave Festival 26.11.18 UK - Glasgow / Audio 27.11.18 UK - Manchester / Rebellion 28.11.18 UK - Coventry / The Arches 29.11.18 UK - Cardiff / Clwb Ifor Bach 30.11.18 UK - Milton Keynes / The Craufurd Arms 01.12.18 UK - London / Boston Music Rooms 02.12.18 UK - Oxford / Buried In Smoke X-Mas Weekender

Interview with Jon Davis of Conan

~By Jake Wallace (Elder Druid)~

Recorded May 16, 2018 in The Live Room Belfast

Do you enjoy being on the road so much?

Yeah, we do. We have always tried to tour as much as possible, ever since the very beginning. I remember the first time we played outside of Liverpool with Charger in late 2010, and that was a really big thing, something we were pushing for to try and breakout of Liverpool gigs. We almost immediately started getting opportunities to tour and play, and for a year or so it was just weekends here and there, I really loved that. Then we got the opportunity to go touring around Europe. Of course, that brought its own problem then, because we had to get a van, so we invested a bit of money in an old Ford Transit. And I remember spending nearly £600 on installing a cool sound system in there, so that we could listen to Iron Maiden on the road full blast. Like with speakers right by our heads in the bulkhead.

There's something about being on the road, and everyday just looking forward to playing the music that you've written, and the law of seeing the reaction of people who are listening to your music, that you've written sometimes easily, sometimes songs have come together when they've been difficult to write. I've always found it really rewarding to play music, whether I'm on my own, or whether in the practice room with the lads, or whether onstage. And I remember when I was 16, promising myself I would do this, telling myself that I'm gonna play music cause I saw playing music as a long term thing that I would be in charge of. I never really wanted to work for anyone else, I always wanted to do music, and I remember as a shy and less than confident teenager, thinking this is a path that I can grow, and I really enjoy, something I could do for the rest of my life, hopefully.

When I get too old to lug cabs then I'll just pick up an acoustic, and do something with that. So getting on the road has been something we've loved from day one, and now were touring all over the world. This year already, we've had a US of 5 weeks, we've been to Japan for a week, and we've got more far-flung shows lined up for the end of the year, not announced yet, plus European tours, another UK Tour, and we've got an album out soon. I mean it's just -- we love it. I couldn't do anything else now, if I had to have an office job, I'd probably commit suicide, seriously. (laughs)

What make Monolord the perfect match for this tour, and will you be back in Ireland anytime soon?

I mean, we wanted a band as physically attractive as us, and we've finally done it with Monolord. Seriously though, they are a really cool band, they are really good people to tour with, they're professional, friendly, really interesting people, and they come from a different culture to ours, and we enjoy being on the road with them. We're not sharing a van with them, although we have done, we shared a night liner with them in October last year. And we didn't know what to expect then, as we didn't know them very well on that tour, but we got along really well. They're from a different culture but very similar people, at the same time, at the core of what we all are in a love for music, and they put their money where their mouth is, in terms of that. They also like to tour a lot, they release really great music, and they're a really good live act. So when you are choosing a band to tour with, our booking agent puts forward bands and it was really natural, that us and Monolord tour together. It's cool that we get to this joint headliner, switch headliners every night. Yeah, they're just great. I mean, I don't think we've ever toured with a band that we didn't really like, some more than others, obviously, but they are cool as fuck.

I suppose it's an interesting parallel, between both bands having three members, you get to see how another band performs as a three piece as well every night. Tell us about the origin of the band name, and how you guys have created a genre known as 'Caveman Battle Doom.'

Well, Conan could have been called anything, really, from '70s and '80s science fiction movies. You know, Krull was one idea that I had for a band name, very briefly I thought about that. We were called Elf-Beater for a time in our practice room -- that's obviously an awful name so we were never going to use that one long term. Conan just came to me one day, you know, I was going through some personal stuff and I'd had to move into my parent's for a little while, and I started this band up with an old friend of mine who was a bass player, but he played drums a little bit. So we started and we actually wrote and recorded "Satsuma." We had these songs, and we didn't really have a settled name. We were going to call ourselves Pazuzu for a little while or Demon-Demaro, as like a Bebo page in that name. There's some really old demos if you can search for that.

Initially, I wanted it to be a little bit occult-ish type of stuff, and then quickly I realised the lyrics weren't really going in that direction, and we were more about Sword & Sorcery, Science Fiction, and Mythology. Then I remember sitting there one day just kind of thinking, "What do I for a band name?" and then it just came to me. And it stuck, there wasn't really any other bands, well there was an Argentina metal band called Conan, but I think they had expired in the '80s, so there was nothing, no current bands within our scene, with that name, or anything close to it, so we grabbed it with both hands.

How did the name 'Caveman Battle Doom' come about?

The very first show that Conan did in Liverpool was with friends of ours, John McNulty and Gemma McNulty. They weren't married then but they are now, and they're really close of mine, and the band, they recorded at our studio. But they put us on our first ever show, when it was just me and Paul O'Neil, a two piece, and on the poster for that show, I think it said "primitive battle doom," "caveman battle doom," or "caveman doom." The label we were on, fast forward a couple of months, we recorded Horseback Battle Hammer and we released stuff on CD with Aurora-Borealis Records. They used that phrase as part of their sales pitch, on the website, taking it from that first ever poster, and then we thought we’d put that on a t-shirt because it looks cool and it sounds cool and those t-shirts just sold like hot cakes. So we thought, that's a cool name to make a joke about. Obviously, we haven't created our own genre; it would be awesome if we did cause we'd obviously make loads of money then, but it's just a bit of fun.

I know yourself are involved in Black Bow Records and Chris is involved in Skyhammer. How did both of those projects come around? Was it through the band that this became something you were interested in, or what was the path towards a label and a studio?

When I moved into a large house in a rural location, not far from Liverpool/Chester, there was a couple of extra buildings. One of them was a large coach-house and I actually wanted to turn that into a rehearsal studio initially. But it needed a lot of building work, which would have cost a lot of money, so I thought, "I wonder if I could somehow turn this into something that would repay some of that investment? So I'll do a practice room and then I may be able to rent the practice room out to bands." And I thought, "Nah, I don't think that will make generate enough money to make it worthwhile, unless we have people in there all the time." And if we did that, it could just be people in there 2-3 hours at a time and it would be a bit of a nightmare to manage, with it being a home. I then thought of, "Well I could turn it into a recording studio." So I got a couple of quotations for layout and stuff like that. It became obvious that it was going to be really expensive to do. So I thought, "I'll do that and see if I can maybe learn the ropes, I might work in there myself as a recording engineer."

For an extremely short-lived time I recorded bands in their practice rooms. I had one band ask for a refund, so then I thought, "Maybe I need to practice a little bit more." So I was going to set up the studio and decided not to, in the end, when Chris got in touch. Me and Chris had been friends and I'd been asking him what microphones to get and what stuff do I need really to set up a studio. We got chatting then one day out of the blue, and he wrote to me saying he had a really crazy idea and could he ring me. So I said okay. He gave me a call and Chris' idea was that he would come and work in the studio and take over and run it, and I waited a little bit and spoke to my wife. Then in the morning, we chatted again and it became obvious that yeah, it was going to be a great idea. Chris and I started working in the studio from August 2013, the build started in May the same year. We had a company called Studio People do it and they were brilliant.

The first band in there were called Bast and they came into the studio. They didn't have a label, I think they had been in talks with Candlelight Records, but nothing had been agreed at that point. So they recorded this album called Spectres and I said, "Why don't I just release it for you?" It was cool to release the first thing we ever recorded at the studio and that album did quite well. I had to repress it and then another band came in and I released theirs, as well. Then I spoke to Fister and Norska from America, I did a 7-inch split. Before you know it, I'm releasing music from bands all over and it's just snowballed. I didn't expect it to and I didn't really try very hard, to be honest.

I'm still learning all the time about running the label, make mistakes all the time, but I love it and it fits in nicely with the band, fits in nicely with the studio. I'm able to really diversify within music now, because obviously everyone has to earn a living somehow and unless you're very lucky, you can't earn a living from just the band. Some people can, but I can't, so I have to add other things on to make it possible to have a career in music. So that's all I do now, thankfully.

You guys feature heavily in the upcoming documentary 'The Doom Doc' which is due out this summer. How important is a documentary like that in promoting the underground?

I think it's cool, because it engages with people who may not have necessarily have checked out the bands that are being talked about on it. It gives a good overview of what the scene is like and it's something that you can take all round the world. We're friends with Joe Allen, one of the lads who made the documentary, and we played in Japan with him recently and his band Kurokuma. We played a sell-out show in Tokyo in a venue called Earthdom, which hadn't sold out for ten years or so. And part of the reason why it sold out so well was because the documentary was really popular over there. It's really cool, because it's shone a light on the very grassroots level of heavy music in the UK and beyond, and I don't think a documentary has done that really for UK heavy music, the very grassroots level, or I've never seen one that does it. Obviously, in America you have Such Hawks, Such Hounds. It's good that something like that has been made in England.

Finally, you've got the next album 'Existential Void Guardian' coming out in August. What can you tell us about that?

Well, it's all recorded and mastered now. We're just waiting on a video getting done for one of the songs and I'm not going to give any of the songs away, but it's cool, it's heavy as fuck, and we're really proud of it. It's the first album that we've done with Jonny on drums and it was quite a challenging album to make, because if we'd had anyone else on drums I don't think we'd have been able to manage it. But fortunately, Jonny being as professional as he is, he came in after touring with us for one month, just practicing a riff or two here or there in sound checks, and we sat down in the studio and we kind of wrote the drum parts of the album within a week -- or a weekend event, maybe 3-4 days -- so it came together. It wasn't easy, but the fact that it came together at all was a miracle, because we didn't allow ourselves the usual amount of time to write an album. So we pushed ourselves to the limit to get it written and get it to a level that were really happy with, because we wouldn't have released it otherwise. We wrote the drums and the guide guitar in the first few sessions, and then we went back and recorded guitar and bass, and when we got back from Japan we recorded vocals.

It came together in a different way to all the other albums. Maybe Revengeance was a bit like that, but everything up until then was the product of weekly practices, an hour or two every week. So we're kind of getting into this vein now, where we're writing music almost like as soon as we sit down. We get together and we can all play and write music together. It's really cool. I think a lot of that is to do with Jonny, because he's got a particular style that really blend in with what me and Chris are doing. It comes out mid-Sept. Tony Roberts is doing the artwork, as many people would expect, the artwork's cool. And we've got a really good video coming out, it's been done by the same people who shot the "Foehammer" video, and I gave them this idea of what I'd like them to do with this next video, and it's insane. It's everything I would ever want from a Conan video -- it's so sick, it's amazing.

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[picturebookmakers]

Sara Lundberg

In this post, Sara talks about the creation process for ‘Fågeln i mig flyger vart den vill’ (The Bird Within Me Flies Wherever it Wants), and she shares some beautiful development work and final artwork. The book was originally published in Sweden by Mirando Bok, with the English edition due to be published by Book Island in Spring 2020.

Visit Sara Lundberg’s website

Sara: ‘The Bird Within Me Flies Wherever it Wants’ is a story about being true to yourself, to follow your heart. It’s inspired by the life and childhood of Swedish artist Berta Hansson.

The story takes place in the north of rural Sweden, in the 1920s. Berta grows up on a farm and she wants to be an artist, but her father wants her to follow the tradition and marry someone in the village, to take care of the home and the family. Just how things have always been.

Berta is different and she doesn’t fit in. Her mother is the only one who sees and understands her. But her mother has tuberculosis and eventually dies from it, leaving Berta alone and in despair.

This is a story about a young girl with the bravery and willingness to take the consequences of living her own truth and following her own path, despite the protests of her father and the society at the time.

That kind of courage fascinates me.

I am eternally thankful to the many forgotten female artists who have trodden the path before me. Those who had the guts to live an unconventional life and sacrifice so much. If they hadn’t, I wouldn’t be where I am today in my profession. Berta Hansson, not known to many, is one of these women.

First I wrote the text, then I did a lot of sketching, storyboarding and research. I decided not to be a slave to history or reality, but to have a free and open mind to my fantasy and inner-imagery.

I worked in close communication with my publisher Jenny Franke (Mirando Bok). We would go through the story and the sketches, discuss symbolism, the images, the text. Then I would go back to my studio to rewrite, redraw, change scenery, etc. It was very challenging, but creative and fruitful work. And it was quite scary too, because I had never done this kind of project before. The book is about 130 pages, with an illustration on every spread. It took two years to finish it.

The story of Berta revolves around the myth of creation. The image of Adam’s creation by Michelangelo is central. It’s a postcard that’s given to her by her uncle. The image makes her reflect on God, on the biblical story, Adam and Eve’s roles, on herself and her role in society.

Who is the creator? Is she in fact the actual creator of her own life?

Berta reflects on the magic of her own hands and how they are able to carry out her thoughts. Her hands that can create drawings and sculptures out of clay. Things that she gives to her mother.

Berta believes that what she creates has the power to cure her mother, because of the joy it gives.

Through the story we come back to her hands. The action of her hands, the expression of her hands when she gives up after her mother dies.

And then, through her hands, she rediscovers herself.

The style and techniques of the illustrations vary from spread to spread. Sometimes I use realism. For the character of Berta I used a live model. I wanted to create the feeling of vulnerability, pulsating life, the blood underneath the skin. How it varies in colour, shadows, temperature. How the skin is sometimes glowing.

In other illustrations I simplify, using collage and thick paint. Characters go towards the abstract. Broad strokes with the brush. Only expression. Here, the goal is imperfection, almost towards the ugly and unfinished.

It was important for me to allow myself to be inconsequent. The characters didn’t have to look the same on each spread, I didn’t have to stick to a specific style or technique. So I just did each scene intuitively, and with the intention of bringing out the most interesting – the essence in each.

I felt confident that everything would tie up in the end anyway, so I might as well have fun on the way there, and avoid trying to do something perfect.

Illustrations © Sara Lundberg. Post edited by dPICTUS.

Buy this picturebook

Fågeln i mig flyger vart den vill / The Bird Within Me Flies Wherever it Wants

Sara Lundberg

Mirando Bok, Sweden, 2017

What do you do when it feels impossible to live up to everything that is expected of you? What do you do when the only person who really understands you suddenly disappears?

‘The Bird Within Me Flies Wherever it Wants’ is based on the life of Swedish artist Berta Hansson, but it’s also a universal story of grief, longing, intransigence and the power of the imagination to change things.

Swedish: Mirando Bok

English (UK, NZ, AUS): Book Island (published in 2020)

English (North America): Groundwood Books (published in 2020)

Danish: Straarup & Co.

Croatian: Planet Zoe

Belarusian: Koska

Korean: Sanha

Arabic: Dar al Muna

Hindi: A & A Book Trust

#sweden

[min-minn]

Symphony - Chapter Three

A03

Summary: Viktor Nikiforov, tenor prodigy and top student at the Salchow Institute of Music, is looking for an accompanist.

And word around campus is that Yakov Feltsman, Head of Music and conductor of the prestigious Institute Band, is looking for new members.

Yuuri Katsuki is just looking to survive his next Piano recital

OR

The Yuri on CONCERT Music School AU that we all deserve

Pairings: Viktor Nikiforov/ Yuuri Katsuki

Rating: Teen And Up

Content Warning: Anxiety

A/N:

YIKES, so this was actually SO much longer than I'd anticipated. And I had even planned to add a whole other scene, but it's already stupid long~ Next time~

Also, I was thinking about it, and so many fics have Viktor texting with kaomoji and it just makes me so happy that everyone kind of unanimously agrees that that's how it would go. Especially since Viktor can put the little hearts for mouths and it's just *wheeze* adorable. And I figured Yuuri is the kind of guy who never keeps up to date with things, and even though he's Japanese - since he's from a more rural Japanese town and never texts - he probably missed the whole kaomoji thing entirely. And Phichit would probably just use stickers I think... I don't know. HC thoughts~

There's a bunch of music in this one so I'll just list it all off in order of appearance:

Lazy Bird, the piece that Phichit suggests, is a famous modern Jazz piece by John Coltrane. It's pretty brutal, but also just so, so amazing. I can see Yuuri playing it somehow~ And it makes me so happy~

The Ravel piece that Yuuri plays at the start of their practice is just *wheeze* stupidly beautiful. Again, it just screams Yuuri to me. I could listen to it for hours~

And finally, this Muse song is one of my all time favourites. Such a cool, creative concept, and with three exceptionally talented musicians (or five, WHEN THE REST OF THE SQUAD SHOW UP) I can hear it in my mind palace already. SO COOL. GOOD GOD.

ALSO *SPLUTTERS* THANK YOU. For your stupidly kind comments and kudos and all the things. I've been basically vibrating with happiness and motivation for the last few days~ It really does encourage me in every way. And I like to reply to every comment, so feel free to ask questions, though the NZ time zone might make it a bit weird~ Anyway! Thank you, thank you, thank you.

I'm going to jump straight into the next chapter, but it probably won't be done until this time tomorrow~ Bear with me~

Much awkward, muso love,

- Min

Yuuri heard Phichit yelling at him before he’d even opened the apartment door.

“…think you can just waltz in here at 11:30 at night without so much as a text, you’ve got another thing coming! You piece of shit!” Yuuri winced as he turned his key in the lock, opening the door. He knew Phichit was just teasing him, but he couldn’t help feeling guilty all the same.

Phichit and Yuuri’s apartment was small, cramped enough without the massive Yamaha keyboard that Yuuri had managed to squeeze into the corner. When they’d moved in, it was a toss-up between either a table and chairs or a practice corner. Both had agreed that a table and chairs were entirely optional when there was a perfectly good sofa to eat on, so most of the far side of the room was taken up by Yuuri’s piano and a series of cheap bookshelves fit to bursting with books, music, and various folders. Phichit’s saxophone case and music stand were against the wall next to the piano as well.

Phichit himself was sitting on the couch, some kind of sappy rom-com playing on the tv across from him, though the volume was quiet, Phichit not even looking at the screen. He had one earbud in instead, with a bunch of charts strewn across the couch and the little pile of crates that served as a coffee table in the middle of the room. Yuuri still couldn’t quite wrap his head around Phichit’s obsession with overstimulation – if he didn’t have some kind of movie on and music blaring in his ears, he couldn’t concentrate on his study. Yuuri often had to lock himself in his room or use the school’s studios just to make sure he had absolute silence.

Yuuri gave Phichit an apologetic smile, and Phichit glared back with all the venom he could muster.

“Eight!” he said suddenly, folding his arms and huffing as Yuuri slowly set his coat on the hooks behind the door.

“Eight…?” Yuuri asked quietly before one of the couch cushions was hurled at his head. He ducked with a little noise, blinking in shock.

“Eight missed calls!” Phichit yelled again. “I even called Minako! She said she’d left you at the studio after practice… with Viktor.”

Yuuri winced, ducking his head as he unravelled his scarf. “Yeah…”

“Don’t yeah me. Details. Now,” Phichit reached over and paused the movie, yanking out his earbuds and shuffling over on the couch so that Yuuri could sit next to him. To anyone else, Phichit’s behaviour would probably come across as rude, but after three years of friendship, Yuuri knew this was just Phichit’s way of showing he cared, even if it felt like it was shortening Yuuri’s lifespan.

“Can I at least get some dinner first?” Yuuri asked exasperatedly. Now that he was finally in the safety of his own home, he’d suddenly realised just how hungry he was. And tired. His eyes had grown heavy on the bus ride home, but it was even more prominent now as he realised he’d have to explain everything to Phichit before he’d be allowed to go to bed.

“In the pot on the stove. It’s probably cold by now since you’re, like, three hours late coming home,” Phichit narrowed his eyes. Yuuri found himself laughing despite everything.

“I thought we went over this. We’re only married if neither of us finds someone by the time we’re 50,” Yuuri grinned, feeling triumphant when he saw Phichit’s frown twitch into a little smirk.

“I feel like I’m 50 after worrying about your ass all night,” Phichit threw back at him, but he seemed to have cooled, smirk turning into a smile that Yuuri returned easily.

He moved into their little kitchen, finding a big pot of noodles on the stove and throwing some into a bowl before he chucked it in the microwave. He opted to lean on the counter and wait, watching the bowl spin as his mind wandered.

“Did you kiss at least?” Phichit called from the couch, now turned to face him, leaning over the back. Yuuri groaned.

“No, Phichit, I didn’t kiss the dude I only just met today,” he sighed, reaching for a set of plastic chopsticks that were resting on the dishrack. “I’m not like you,” he added with a teasing tone. Phichit stuck out his tongue.

“Honestly Yuuri, at this rate we will end up married.”

The microwaved beeped, Yuuri taking the bowl and feeling his stomach rumble as he smelt the familiar spices. He cradled the bowl in one arm, taking it with him down to the couch, mentally bracing himself for Phichit’s questions.

“But first,” Phichit said, face ridiculously serious… and he suddenly flung himself at Yuuri, crushing him in a bear hug that was quite impressive despite Phichit’s slightly smaller frame. Yuuri smiled as he held the noodles out of the way.

“I’m proud of you for surviving today,” Phichit said softly, all trace of his grumpy act disappearing. “I know it must have been really stressful.”

“Thank you Phichit,” Yuuri said warmly, breaking out of the hug a little sheepishly. “I’m sorry it took me all day to fill you in.”

“Not even one text Yuuri! Come on!”

“I know! I know … I kind of zoned out on the bus …” Yuuri rubbed the back of his head, glancing down at his lap.

“You’re forgiven,” Phichit said with a mock serious expression. “Now, start at the beginning.” He was shuffling away and sitting cross-legged on the couch, posture stiff as he waited expectantly.

“There’s not much to say, honestly…” Yuuri began, picking at his food with his chopsticks, blowing gently on the noodles with the bowl on his lap. “Madame Baranovskaya is a dragon lady and she hates my guts,” he said matter-of-factly, focussing on picking up as much of the delicious noodles as he could. “The cashier at the café hates my guts, too,” he added, looking up with a thoughtful expression.

“And,” his voice lowered, eyes trailing down to the floor. “I’m probably the worst accompanist in the world since Viktor hates my guts now as well,” and then he stuffed his face, eyes downcast as he chewed, trying to add some sense of finality to what he’d said. He knew Phichit would try and argue with him, but there was no use. He knew it was true. “That’s it, basically.”

Phichit sighed next to him, leaning back on the couch. “Yuuri, they don’t hate your guts. Well… Lilia might, but she hates everyone and everything, so don’t go thinking you’re too special,” Phichit tapped him with his foot to get Yuuri’s attention and they both laughed a little.

“Viktor definitely hates me though,” Yuuri said quietly, hand stilling as he stared back at the floor.

“Yuuri,” Phichit said with a warning tone, “Remember what we talked about? Try and imagine the opposite of what your brain demons are saying. Imagine that’s the truth.” Yuuri scoffed in response.

“But it’s not—” Yuuri began before Phichit shushed him.

“Shh! No. Just pretend it’s true,” Phichit nudged him with his foot again.

Yuuri sighed, taking another mouthful and chewing slowly.

“He asked me to help him practice his aria,” Yuuri said around the food in his mouth, knowing full well that Phichit was still expecting a full recount of the events of the day.

“That’s good, Yuuri,” Phichit said a little excitedly. “Easy, too, since you’ve been playing it since you found out he got the part,” he added, waggling his eyebrows. Yuuri smiled and ducked his head.

“I thought so too, but…” he trailed off, the memory still a little too bitter in his mind, drawing his eyebrows together.

“What?” Phichit frowned before he let out a little gasp. “Oh no, don’t tell me,” he was sitting up now, eyes wide. “Is Viktor one of those singers? Did he nit-pick your playing like he was a piano major? Was he rushing? Oh my god,” he clapped a hand dramatically over his mouth. “Yuuri, was he out of tune?”

Yuuri rolled his eyes. “No, of course not. He was perfect. It was all me,” he sighed, suddenly finding he had no appetite despite feeling starved just seconds before. He put his bowl down on the coffee table, careful not to let it touch Phichit’s charts.

“What did you do?” Phichit asked gently. “It started well,” Yuuri said softly, leaning back in the couch and staring at the ceiling. “He’s a great singer, and easy to follow. I hardly had to think about it at all, it kind of just … worked.” Yuuri chewed on his lower lip, bringing his arm up to cover his eyes. “And then I fucked it all up.”

“You can’t have fucked it up that badly if it was going so well,” Phichit pointed out. Yuuri groaned.

“No, it was like… you know Minako’s studio, right? With all the mirrors? Well… I could see him singing and I kind of got…” Yuuri felt his cheeks begin to burn.

“What, you got distracted by his ridiculously good looks?” Phichit said with a smirk.

“Pretty much,” Yuuri sighed.

“So what? You missed a few notes?” Phichit seemed confused.

“I stopped playing entirely, like, right in the middle. Which would usually be fine but…” Yuuri winced, the memory all too fresh. “He looked at me so strangely. And it wasn’t just that I stopped, I completely zoned out…”

Phichit giggled, “Carried away imagining Viktor’s strong tenor voice, and strong tenor arms, and soft tenor lips…” Phichit was wriggling around on the couch, doing his best impression of a love-sick teenager. Yuuri jabbed him with the back end of his chopsticks and Phichit cried out through his giggles.

“I’m serious!” Yuuri said desperately. “I totally fucked up! And it was so awkward afterwards.”

Phichit let out a rush of air. “I mean, it was your first session together. I’m sure he didn’t mind. It’s just practice, after all, you’re not meant to get it perfect first try.”

Yuuri sunk lower in the couch, wanting nothing more than to let the cushions swallow him whole. “He totally hates me.”

“Yuuri…” Phichit said gently, reaching over and rubbing his shoulder. “He doesn’t hate you, ok? Remember? Imagine the opposite of what you’re thinking is true.”

Suddenly, Yuuri’s phone vibrated in his back pocket and he jumped. Why was his phone vibrating? Was it a text? That was pretty much impossible. The only person who texted him was Phichit and Phichit was sitting right there. He seemed to be just as surprised as Yuuri, gesturing for Yuuri to get his phone out, sitting up slightly with a curious look on his face.

Yuuri leapt to grab his phone, yanking it out of his pocket and scrambling to hold it up in front of him.

And all the colour drained from his face.

Phichit leant over with his brow furrowed, expression quickly morphing into a sly grin as he looked at the screen.

“See what I mean?” he said with a very distinct I-told-you-so tone. “The opposite of what you’re thinking.”

Yuuri could barely breathe.

They were staring at the lock screen, and there in the middle was a notification for a text message.

A text message from Viktor.

“Shit…” Yuuri breathed, glancing up to Phichit with wide eyes. “What do I do?”

“You open it Yuuri, you dumbass!” Phichit squealed, leaning closer to get a better look.

Yuuri swallowed, slowly unlocking his phone and tapping open his messages. Sure enough, there was a text from Viktor. The number hadn’t been saved yet, obviously, but Yuuri could tell who it was from the first line, which had conveniently shown up on his lock screen as well:

           > Hey, It’s Viktor ( ⁀ ♡ ⁀  )

“Is that … fucking kaomoji?” Phichit hissed, face all but pressed against Yuuri’s as he eyed the screen with a squint.

“Kao… what?” Yuuri whispered, thumb still hovering over the text, not quite able to bring himself to open it properly. He felt his cheeks flushing ever so slightly as he looked at the little face Viktor had added. Yuuri distantly wondered how he’d even made it.

“Honestly Yuuri, are you even Japanese?” Phichit rolled his eyes, bumping Yuuri’s shoulder with his own impatiently. “Open it already!”

Yuuri swallowed thickly, trying to stop his hands from shaking. He hit the message with his thumb, screwing his eyes shut as it opened.

“Oh…” Phichit gasped, voice quiet.

After a beat, Yuuri dared to open his eyes, peeking at the screen…

           > Hey, It’s Viktor ( ⁀ ♡ ⁀  ) Thanks for tonight! You play so beautifully~ How have I never heard you before! ( ≧ ♡ ≦  )

And there was a noise. It sounded kind of like a buzzing – or a droning… then it came into focus and Yuuri realised it was him. He was making the noise. His mouth was open and he was just…

“Holy shit, Yuuri,” Phichit breathed, glancing up at him, eyes sparkling. “The dude’s in love with you.”

“N—N—No he’s not!” Yuuri gasped, all but dropping his phone as he suddenly lost control of all of his motor functions at once. He somehow managed to still hold the phone in his grip, bringing it right up to his face and reading the text over and over.

“H—He’s just being nice,” he whispered, fixating on the little faces and thinking he could almost imagine Viktor making those exact expressions…

“Uh huh. Sure,” Phichit leaned away slightly, looking at Yuuri expectantly. “What are you gonna say?”

Yuuri swallowed. “I … I have to reply?��� he breathed.

“Oh my god Yuuri,” Phichit slapped his hands over his eyes – a perfect rendition of a facepalm.

“I don’t … I can’t…” the thought of replying had Yuuri’s stomach doing somersaults. What would he say? He hardly ever messaged people, except the few friends he had online, but that didn’t count. They were all gamers with their own jargon and inside jokes. And most of the conversations he’d had were in group chats or Discord servers where he could stay silent most of the time.

This was different.

This was Viktor.

“Just start with ‘Thank you,’” Phichit offered, leaning back over Yuuri’s phone and watching patiently. Yuuri tried to concentrate on stopping his hands from shaking.

Thank you. Yeah. That sounded like a good idea. He typed it out slowly, careful not to put his fingers anywhere near the ‘send’ button.

“Okay…” Yuuri let out a huff of air. “Now what?”

“Compliment him back,” Phichit said quickly, gesturing to where Viktor had told Yuuri he played … beautifully. Yuuri felt his brain try and kickstart itself back into life.

He managed to punch out a few sentences, testing the waters, before settling on something simple.

           >Thank you. You’re a great singer.

“Is that too much?” Yuuri whispered, reading over the words again and again. Phichit groaned beside him.

“Just stop thinking for two seconds, okay?” he said, reaching his hand out and waving it. “Give it here.”

Yuuri swallowed, clutching the phone closer to his chest. “I don’t trust you.”

“Yuuri, please, you wound me,” Phichit clutched at his chest with a mock pained expression. “I won’t send it, I promise. Just let me write it for you and you can check it afterwards.” He waved his hand again.

Yuuri had to admit that sounded like the better option. He could barely make his fingers work, let alone think about what on earth he should say. He handed the phone over slowly, giving Phichit a look.

“Don’t send anything,” Yuuri warned, and Phichit nodded seriously.

“Okay, Okay,” Phichit flexed his fingers before he gripped the phone, fingers flurrying across the screen as he typed. “Gotta come across as casual… but interested enough that he has to reply. Keep him guessing—” Yuuri shoved his shoulder and Phichit giggled.

“Okay, how about this?” Phichit flipped the phone around to show him what he’d written.

           > Thank you. You’re a great singer. I’m looking forward to accompanying you again (⌒‿⌒ )

Yuuri just about passed out.

“I can’t send that. Oh my god, I can’t send that,” he buried his face in his hands, feeling his blush creep up and over his ears. Phichit was laughing like a maniac.

“Yes, you can! It’s super casual – I send texts like that all the time. Totally platonic!”

Yuuri groaned. “Yeh but you’re you. It’s just weird coming from me,” He peeked out from under his hands, wincing at the little face Phichit had added. “And I don’t use those … faces,” Yuuri pointed to the emoji with a wince. “And it’s too forward! I can’t just assume he wants to practice with me again,” Yuuri snatched the phone back, ignoring Phichit’s little cries of indignation as he hurried to delete the message.

“Yuuri no! Okay, okay. How about without the emoji?” Phichit offered, still trying to snatch the phone back as they wrestled on the couch. Yuuri sighed.

“Okay… without the emoji,” Yuuri gave in, Phichit rolling back off him as Yuuri hesitantly typed out the message again. As he read it over, his mind whirled with all the implications the words could hold – all the hidden connotations. But it actually seemed pretty good. He could hardly think of anything else to say, anyway.

He swallowed.

“Are you … sure it’s not too forward?” he asked again, breathless, glancing up at Phichit with a worried look.

“It’s fine Yuuri. Go on. Just send it,” Phichit’s eyes were sparkling again and he was leaning towards Yuuri in his excitement, glancing between him and the phone screen. Yuuri couldn’t help but laugh.

He read it again, for good measure. Making sure the punctuation was correct. Yes, he was sending it to the right number. No emojis. No exclamation marks. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, thumb hovering over the send button.

“Its not a nuclear warhead, Yuuri,” Phichit said after a while, the silence dragging out as Yuuri hesitated.

He let out a little squeak, slamming his thumb down and wincing as he felt the phone vibrate. He’d sent it.

It certainly felt like he’d just sent a nuclear warhead.

“Oh…” Phichit said in a low voice, shoving his face closer to the screen once again. Yuuri glanced down.

Viktor was already typing a response.

“I think … I think I need to go to bed,” Yuuri whispered, leaning back in the couch and letting the phone fall as he felt all of his emotions completely steamroll him. God, he was so tired.

“You can do this Yuuri,” Phichit said with an encouraging squeeze to his shoulder. “Don’t you dare take that phone away, I want to see what he says.”

The pair watched the little dots in the speech bubble bump around, indicating that Viktor was in the process of typing. Phichit looked like he was having the time of his life. Yuuri felt like he was seconds away from an aneurysm.

His phone vibrated.

           > Aaaa~ Complimented by Yuuri (´ ♡ `  ) I can’t wait to practice again too! When are you free next?

Just when Yuuri thought his heart couldn’t lodge itself further up his throat, he saw Viktor was typing again. Phichit all but screamed next to him.

           > And I meant to ask earlier! Have you heard Yakov’s scouting for his band? („• o •„ ) You should totally audition with me!

“Yes, Yuuri!” Phichit all but screamed. “Oh my God!” he was standing now, leaning over and shaking Yuuri’s shoulders a little too violently. Yuuri thought he could almost feel his soul leaking out of his body entirely.

“We can all audition together! Please say yes! Holy shit!”

Yuuri distantly registered that he’d dropped his phone, but couldn’t bring himself to care, rocking back and forth as Phichit shook him in his excitement.

All he could think of was throwing his phone off the balcony and never leaving his room again.

*                       *                       *

Yakov Feltsman’s Institute Band was, indisputably, the most esteemed Music School Jazz Band in the country. They’d won countless competitions, performed at nearly every worthy event, and anyone who was anyone knew that only the best of the best were granted a spot.

Yuuri had heard enough about the band – which most students just called ‘Institute Band’ – from Phichit, who was planning on auditioning this year. He’d tried in the final year of his degree but missed out in favour of another alto-sax. This year, however, so many of the students had finished their studies that Phichit was certain he’d get a chance this time around.

Up until now, Yuuri had always imagined the band was Phichit’s thing. Yuuri’s main focus in his degree was on classical piano, though he’d taken a few Jazz papers as well, and often accompanied Phichit for his recitals. But he’d never once considered auditioning for the piano position in the band, content with just being an alternate pianist for the SIM Orchestra. Besides, he hardly had time around Minako’s performances and his own studies to focus on anything else.

And yet here he was, standing in the library, printing out Jazz charts and organising a whole new folder of potential pieces.

Phichit was with him, eyeing his choices critically.

“This one should be your main piece,” Phichit said matter-of-factly, pointing to a chart named Lazy Bird. Yuuri winced when he saw the tempo.

“I still don’t know, Phichit,” he said slowly, grabbing the next stack of papers that had just printed, filing them carefully. “I’m hopeless at jazz.”

“That’s not true and you know it,” Phichit said in a sing-song voice. “Half your ideas for your composition are jazz-based. And think about it,” Phichit pointed to the charts. “Learning stuff like this is sure to impress Lilia—”

“Madame Baranovskaya,” Yuuri corrected with a smirk. Phichit rolled his eyes.

“Besides,” he continued, “It’s just an audition! You’ve got nothing to lose – if you get in, you get to hang out with me more because I’m definitely getting in this year,” Phichit mock flicked his hair and Yuuri giggled. “And if you don’t, you lose nothing and go back to doing whatever normies do when they’re not in Institute Band,” Phichit grinned wickedly.

Yuuri sighed, chewing his lower lip. Phichit had a point. There was little he could lose. If anything, at least it was an excuse to see Viktor again.

Yuuri glanced at his phone for the millionth time, checking the overhead library clock on the wall just in case. Phichit watched him.

“We’re meeting at two, right?”

Yuuri swallowed thickly. “Yeh.” Half an hour. He still had half an hour…

“Did he say anything about what to bring?”

“No, he just said we’ll …” Yuuri flicked his phone to his messages again, glancing at the latest one and wincing. “ 'Make like Louis and wing it.’ Phichit. Who’s Louis? What does that even mean?”

“Oh my God, Yuuri,” Phichit all but threw himself on the ground in disappointment. “It’s pronounced Loo-ee. And he’s only the most famous Jazz musician known to man.”

“This is a bad idea,” Yuuri groaned, leaning on the desk near the printer and clutching his chest. “I’m so out of my depth.”

“That’s why you’ve got me,” Phichit said with a wink, grabbing Yuuri’s folder and flicking through it with an appreciative nod, eventually handing it back to him.

Yuuri’s hands were shaking slightly as he took it, carefully placing it in his satchel. That familiar feeling of his mind spinning out of control was starting to take hold. Why had he agreed to this? Maybe he could still pull out – or at least come up with some excuse. He could say he was sick … or that Lilia wanted to meet with him again? No, that wouldn’t work, Viktor knew Lilia somehow, he’d surely find out, and—

“Yuuri,” he heard from somewhere. “Breathe.”

Oh yeah. Phichit. Right. He was in the library. He glanced up, realising he’d doubled over, blinking slowly as he came to. He glanced up at Phichit, trying to convey as much desperation as he could as he looked him directly in the eye.

“I can’t do this Phichit,” his voice was weak, coming out like an out of tune violin. Phichit sighed, but he creased his brow in concern, all the same, touching Yuuri’s shoulder gently. “Yes, you can, Yuuri,” Phichit said, voice soft, rubbing his shoulder. “I’ll be there with you the whole time, remember?”

Yuuri swallowed, feeling his chest grow slightly less tight at the thought. Yes. Phichit would be there. They were all going to practice together. Perhaps Phichit and Viktor would spend the whole time talking and Yuuri could just hide behind the piano…

“Come on. Let’s go get coffee on our way,” Phichit said with a small smile. “My treat.”

Yuuri laughed nervously. “You must be desperate for this if you’re sucking up to me that much.” Somehow, Yuuri found he could breathe a little better. He straightened and reached for his satchel. “But let’s split it. I know you’ve got no money after that game came out.”

Phichit shrugged with a sheepish grin. “You know me too well.”

They made their way to the café – the cashier from the other day absent, much to Yuuri’s relief – and with coffees in hand, they wandered aimlessly towards the practice studios. Yuuri glanced at his phone again – fifteen minutes to go.

Suddenly Phichit’s phone started ringing – his ringtone an 8-bit rendition of one of his favourite songs from that movie he was obsessed with – The King and the Skater. He let it ring for a while, humming along with the tune and Yuuri laughed. He answered it with a wink.

“Oh hey, I was wondering when you’d call,” he said with a glance back to Yuuri. “I can’t talk right now, but we’re still on. Yep. Mmhm. And I’ll grab it on the way out. Alright, see ya.” Yuuri watched him curiously.

“Who was that?” he asked.

“No one important. Someone asking for some of my music,” Phichit was still staring at his phone, tapping out some kind of message. But then he shoved it back into his pocket and flashed Yuuri a grin.

“Are you excited yet?”

Yuuri sighed, taking a sip of his coffee. “No. I’d still much rather be practicing on my own,” he glanced back at his phone. Thirteen minutes to go.

“Well, maybe you still can while we wait? We’re nearly there anyway,” Phichit glanced up the hallway and Yuuri looked with him. The studio they were scheduled to use was a larger one on the ground floor. They were maybe a corridor away.

“I might go to the bathroom quickly first,” Yuuri said in a small voice, familiar dread gnawing away at his stomach. He didn’t actually need to go, he just wanted some alone time to try and mentally prepare himself for what was about to happen.

Surprisingly, Phichit didn’t comment on it. “Oh sure. I’ll meet you there then?” he offered a small smile and Yuuri narrowed his eyes.

“You’re not going to tell me off…?” Yuuri questioned, and Phichit was suddenly on his phone again, taking little sips of his latte without meeting Yuuri’s eyes.

“Phichit…” Yuuri made his voice stern, watching him intently. “What are you planning?”

Phichit glanced up at him nervously, glancing away. “Nothing, Yuuri!” he said with a little laugh, eyes still fixated on some point on the wall beyond Yuuri’s head. “Sorry, I’m just distracted with this guy … person. Who wants to use my music. The one from before. Anyway, I’ll meet you there!” and suddenly he was sprinting down the hallway, leaving Yuuri alone with his suspicions.

Phichit was definitely planning something. Yuuri almost let himself get swept away with his worries – was Phichit scheming about him and Viktor? Did he have some sort of dreadful surprise waiting for him at the studio?

But then he remembered that Phichit was going to be practicing with them, and his heart rate slowed ever so slightly. He couldn’t be scheming something if he was going to be there himself. Yuuri took a deep breath, making his way to the bathrooms, setting his satchel down and running the faucet. Yuuri took his glasses off, placing them on the bench as he tried to focus.

He was about to practice with Viktor again.

They were practicing Jazz.

But, he reminded himself as the panic tried to settle in, Phichit was going to be there.

That helped.

He cupped his hands and splashed some cool water on his face, relishing the way it was almost painfully icy thanks to the weather. That helped a little too.

He could see himself in the mirror in front of him, hair a little wet, eyes slightly fearful as he stared back at himself.

He could do this.

He could do this…

*                       *                       *

Viktor still hadn’t arrived by the time Yuuri joined Phichit in the studio, and Yuuri let out a sigh of relief. Phichit was standing by the windows fiddling with something. Yuuri frowned.

“What are you doing?” and Phichit all but squeaked in surprise, spinning around quickly.

“Nothing! Just … texting,” and Yuuri felt his suspicions return. But then Phichit wandered towards him and Yuuri could see the phone in his hands. Yuuri thought for a moment. Maybe Phichit was texting someone he was interested in?

“What’s his name?” Yuuri asked with a playful smirk. Phichit frowned, and then seemed to cotton on, laughing nervously and glancing down at his feet.

“Oh, just this guy I met at a recital…” he laughed again, scuffing his feet. “He’s super cute. You’d like him.” Yuuri smiled.

“Guess we’re putting that marriage on hold after all?” he tossed back over his shoulder as he moved toward the piano, Phichit laughing again.

“Such a shame,” and he was moving towards the corner where he’d rested his sax on one of the chairs, taking it out and preparing his reeds. Yuuri filed through his folders that were tucked into his satchel, pausing over a familiar one at the back.

“Hey,” he said in a small voice, “Do you mind if I practice some stuff for my solo first?” he asked gently, taking the folder out and flipping through it. “The concert’s not for a while, but the piece is pretty tricky…”

Phichit paused with one of his reeds in his mouth, blinking for a moment. Yuuri narrowed his eyes as Phichit glanced towards the windows, then back again.

“O—Of course not!” Phichit said quickly, sucking the reed and popping it out of his mouth before working to fix it to his sax. “Go for it. I’ve got some music I need to read anyway.”

“Thanks,” Yuuri said slowly, something nagging at the back of his mind, but he squashed it. Now wasn’t the time to be freaking out over Phichit’s weirdness. He was probably just nervous about Mr. Recital. Yuuri took out the familiar piece of music and a small pencil, setting them both on the stand.

It was a rather tricky Ravel piece that one of his teachers – the SIM Orchestra conductor – had suggested he learn for their performance later that semester. Yuuri usually declined solos, but after listening to the piece he found he couldn’t say no, eventually agreeing, much to his conductor’s delight. Thankfully, it was only going to be one solo, unlike the last end of year showcase where Yuuri had had to perform three solo pieces, back to back. He’d messed up, of course. Luckily his set was just before the first years, so nobody even noticed alongside their messy renditions of Flight of the Bumblebee or Beethoven’s 5, the crowd going wild for the familiar pieces. He rolled his eyes. One day they’d scrap those sorts of pieces from the curriculum entirely. The day he didn’t have to play Flight of the Bumblebee to impress his family at CNY, or show off at a party was going to be the best day of his life.

Yuuri scanned the sheets briefly, grabbing his pencil and adding a few more notes to the margins. He was having a bit of trouble with some of the tempo changes, so he wanted to make sure he drilled them in as early as possible. Putting the pencil down, he opted to perform a few quick stretches, twisting his hands and bending his fingers back one by one. He glanced back to Phichit who already had his headphones in, mouthing his reed again and glancing over some music of his own.

Yuuri sighed, closing his eyes for a moment. He could hear the piece playing through his mind, and as he let out a steady breath, he let himself drift along with it, moving his fingers into the correct positions over the keys.

The music began.

The piece always prompted a very clear image in Yuuri’s mind. A creek and a forest. Yuuri tried to imagine the stream as he played, bubbling and swirling over rocks and moss, twisting its way through the quiet forest like honey. He let his fingers fall lightly on the keys, foot tapping on the pedals at just the right moment to let the notes linger where they should. He opened his eyes to glance at the music, registering where he was up to and taking note of the upcoming change, letting his body rock slowly as it came to the fore. His fingers flowed along the keys, the muscle memory allowing Yuuri to close his eyes and let the sounds carry him.

He made a few mistakes, but he hardly noticed them.

The piece was beautiful – intricate, challenging, surprising. There were flourishes and changes that made Yuuri’s chest swell with excitement, shifts in tempo that left Yuuri aching, deep resonant chords that had his brow creasing and his mouth opening slightly.

Something in the back of his mind registered a change in the room, but with his eyes closed and his ear so focussed on the sounds he was hearing, he could hardly bring himself to care.

A nearby flick of paper had him opening his eyes, and he glanced to the music. The paper had turned, and something told him he should be concerned about that fact, but as he registered where he was up to, he felt himself get swept away again, dipping his shoulders and leaning into the piano as the notes swelled into a crescendo.

He picked up speed, fingers dancing furiously over the keys, his right-hand cascading down as he performed the intricate scales and tremolos with ease.

He knew he was close to the end, body adjusting as he shifted his hands higher, back to where he’d begun. The last passage was similar to the first, with a softer sense of completion and finality in each note. Yuuri tried to convey what he was feeling – a bubbling stream that surged into a river, and then fell, settling itself into stillness as it bled out across an ocean.

He had his eyes closed, hair dishevelled and tickling his brow, breath coming in short gasps.

In the silence that followed, reality came crashing back to him and he flung his eyes open.

There was a pale hand with long fingers resting on the stand in front of him, an arm caging him in on one side. He followed it up, seeing it meet a broad shoulder, a slim neck, silver hair …

“Amazing,” Viktor whispered, eyes huge and shimmering in the low light of the studio, fixed on him. He was distantly aware of Phichit’s loud clapping nearby, though he suddenly found he couldn’t tear his eyes away.

“Th—Thank you…” he breathed, swallowing thickly as his mind raced to keep pace with reality.

“Perfect timing Viktor!” Phichit called loudly, causing Viktor to flick his eyes away from Yuuri’s. His face was close, and Yuuri was painfully aware of the soft sensation of warmth emanating from Viktor’s chest, which hung behind him as he leaned on the piano.

“Every prodigy needs a good page-turner,” he replied, flashing Yuuri a quick wink before straightening and moving away. Yuuri let out a long breath.

Viktor really needed to stop surprising him like that. He liked having a functioning heart.

Yuuri frowned.

What had he meant by page-turner?

Yuuri gasped, turning toward Viktor with a look of pure shock.

“You turned my pages?” he blurted out, awkwardly scooting the stool back with a loud screech as he stood. Viktor turned back, face expressionless.

“Of course,” he said, furrowing his brow. “Was I not meant to?”

“N—No!” Yuuri stammered, feeling his cheeks grow hotter and the tips of his ears burn. “I didn’t … I didn’t even notice…” he trailed off, staring at his feet in embarrassment.

Phichit laughed, slinging his sax across his shoulder and shaking his head. “That’s Yuuri for you. Always lost in the music.” Yuuri swallowed. He still couldn’t quite believe Viktor had shown up already – was still coming to terms with the fact that they were about to practice together. Again. He was grateful that Phichit was there to fill the silences, but he also really, really didn’t need him pointing out such embarrassing things to Viktor.

But Viktor was giving Yuuri a strange look. Something like … awe?

“Incredible,” he said softly. “I wish I could do that,” and his tone was genuine.

Viktor wished he could … what?

“Th—Thanks,” Yuuri mumbled, unsure how to respond. Having Viktor’s eyes on him, staring at him like that, it was…

“Shall we get started?” Phichit asked brightly, interrupting his train of thought and blowing a few notes into his sax, adjusting it on his shoulder. “What was it you said? Make like Louis and wing it?” he laughed, and Viktor turned back, laughing too.

“Did you know,” Phichit said slowly, still focussed on his instrument. “Yuuri called him ‘Lewis,’” Phichit continued, flashing Yuuri a smirk. Viktor laughed again, the sound unfairly melodic despite how it made Yuuri’s stomach drop.

“Adorable,” Viktor said, flashing Yuuri his grin again. Phichit was watching on with a teasing expression, and Yuuri suddenly felt like he could have strangled him right then and there. He made eyes at him to try and get him to stop, only making Phichit’s grin wider.

“I wasn’t too sure where to start, or what piece we should even do for the audition, so I figured we could improv a bit?” Viktor said after a beat, reaching into his pockets and pulling out his phone. He tapped the screen for a moment before settling on whatever he was looking for, flashing the screen to Phichit.

“Oh, yes,” Phichit’s voice grew higher in excitement “I love this song,” and Phichit was pretty much bouncing on his feet. “And it has parts for all of us! It’s perfect.”

“Mhm, that’s what I was thinking,” Viktor walked back towards the piano, flashing Yuuri the screen. The little poodle charm was still there, twinkling in the light.

Yuuri looked at the screen where Viktor had opened Spotify. At the centre was a big, eye-catching album, a chromatic hexagonal colour wheel on a white background that looked vaguely familiar, though Yuuri couldn’t quite place it.

“I … Belong to You?” Yuuri asked with a quizzical brow as he read the title. Phichit snickered in the distance and Yuuri shot him a warning look. Viktor made a strange noise at the back of his throat.

“Y--Yeah. It’s one of my favourites,” Viktor said, voice sounding a little strangled. “It’s quite a simple song, but maybe we could spice it up a bit?” he seemed to be looking at Yuuri expectantly.

Was he … asking for permission?

Yuuri swallowed, adjusting his glasses and nodding. “Sure thing,” he said quietly.

“Okay!” Viktor’s shoulders relaxed. “I brought the music with me,” he started walking over to the chairs, rummaging through a rather expensive looking bag, producing a very shiny looking folder and waving it proudly. Yuuri couldn’t help but smile.

“You actually took care of your sheet music this time? I’m impressed.”

Viktor laughed again, grinning and rubbing the back of his neck. “I couldn’t bring myself to let you down a second time.” Yuuri could see Phichit making faces out of the corner of his eye, and he resisted the urge to pull the finger, smiling back at Viktor.

He realised, after a moment, that that familiar sense of ease had returned. Of coming home.

It was … nice.

Clearing his throat, Yuuri glanced back to Viktor’s phone. “I have a speaker if you want to play it for us?” Yuuri offered, making his way to his own bag where his Bluetooth speaker was tucked into one of the pockets.

“Oh, sure,” Viktor said eagerly, flicking through his phone. “It has two parts – the more poppy beginning and ending, with lots of fun piano and a sax solo,” he glanced to Phichit who gave him a knowing nod. “And then there’s an adorable French Operatic solo in the middle. With piano. It would be better with drums, but maybe I could ask Otabek to help…” Viktor trailed off as he focussed on his phone, Yuuri setting the speaker on the windowsill. He noticed something tucked under the curtains out of the corner of his eye, almost reaching to check what it was before a loud crashing noise had him turning around.

“Shit, my bad,” Phichit said with a nervous laugh, reaching for his music stand that was sprawled on the floor. Yuuri laughed, snapping his fingers in Phichit’s direction.

“Earth to Phichit. Stop thinking about Mr. Recital,” and he laughed as Phichit looked up at him with an annoyed expression.

“Hey, I’m the one who teases in our relationship, thank you very much,” he shot back, though he was grinning in response. Viktor made another one of those strange noises at the back of his throat and Yuuri glanced back towards him. He seemed to be eyeing Phichit warily, brow creased. Like he was trying to figure something out. Like something was upsetting him.

“L—Let’s hear it then,” Yuuri said quickly, finding he wanted to distract Viktor from whatever thoughts were making his face do that. It didn’t seem natural. He didn’t like it.

Viktor snapped back to reality, beaming with another smile that simultaneously made Yuuri feel relieved and overwhelmingly excited. He took in a sharp breath, gesturing that the speaker was ready for Viktor to use.

The song was catchy. While it played, Viktor handed both of them their charts, and as Yuuri glanced over them, he was sure he’d heard the song somewhere before. When the saxophone solo came in close to the end, his brain managed to put two and two together.

“Oh, this one,” he said, glancing and smiling at Phichit.

“Yeah, remember that concert?” Phichit was laughing now, “Oh god, I don’t want to think about it. I was such a fanboy.”

“I remember,” Yuuri said with a little laugh. “You even wore the shirt. That’s why the album was familiar.”

The song came to a close, Yuuri distantly aware of Viktor’s eyes on him as it did so. He glanced back, blush creeping across his cheeks as he noticed how intently Viktor was staring after him. Was he gauging his reaction? Surely not. Surely he knew that whatever song he chose, Yuuri would be more than happy to play. Would probably be adding to his playlist after practice and listening to on repeat for the next month. At least.

“Is it okay?” Viktor asked, brow slightly creased.

“Yeah,” Yuuri said, a little too quickly. “It’s beautiful. And it’ll sound much better if you sing it, I’m sure,” he smiled, turning away and glancing to Phichit who was giving him a discreet thumbs up. Yuuri rolled his eyes. Viktor cleared his throat.

“Since we’re meant to be showcasing our jazz talent, we should probably improv some of it, right?” Phichit offered, testing his keys and flicking through the charts that Viktor had given him on his music stand. “The sax solo is great, but I can do a bit better than that,” he smirked. “And Yuuri can definitely do better than Matt Bellamy, no matter how godlike he is.”

Yuuri ducked his head, though he had to agree. The piano was great – fun to listen to with just the right number of flourishes – but Yuuri knew he could do more. He was already mapping out a few ideas in his mind, going over some of the glissandos and calculating whether he could add a few tremolos…

“Definitely,” Viktor replied levelly, his face oddly serious, one finger tapping on his lips in a curious gesture that Yuuri hadn’t seen before. It was quite difficult to stop himself from staring...

“Let’s give it a try and …see where we can go from there?” Viktor offered, reaching for his own music stand and moving to set it up on the other side of the piano.

They ended up talking for a while about the different passages, Yuuri suggesting Phichit play along for most of the song instead of waiting for his solo, Viktor suggesting a few extra bars for a jazz piano solo in the middle of the Operatic part. Phichit suggesting they form their own Muse inspired band, everyone laughing.

Eventually, with a few pencil notes scrawled in the margins, Yuuri had a rough idea of what to play. He tested a few bars while Viktor warmed up, offering some scales and chords every now and then which Viktor seemed to appreciate.

Their first run through was a bit of a mess, though Phichit eased the tension immeasurably. Yuuri was sure he would have run out the door by now if Phichit wasn’t there to laugh or swear or offer some sort of joke every time one of them made a mistake. And somehow, since all three of them were coming at the piece so fresh, their slip-ups soon turned into new ideas. Viktor even missed a few cues, much to Yuuri’s shock and Phichit’s delight.

After running over the song for the better part of an hour, Yuuri could hear that something was still missing. Their own parts sounded amazing – Viktor’s solo in particular, though Yuuri was a little biased. But even once they’d worked in a few “spicy parts” as Phichit had taken to calling them, there was still that essential sense of grandeur lacking. They’d listened to the song over and over, pausing and rewinding little pieces, trying to come at it from a different angle or change the tempo slightly.

Phichit suddenly stopped them a few bars before Viktor’s solo, letting his sax fall and grabbing their attention with a whistle.

“Bass and drums,” he said levelly once they’d stopped playing, rubbing his chin as he thought. “That’s what we need.”

Viktor nodded solemnly. “You’re both playing wonderfully, but we’re missing that classic Muse sound.” He suddenly flicked out his phone, tapping it for a moment and then pressing it to his ear.

“Hello? Yeah, what are you up to right now?” Viktor started pacing the room, Yuuri and Phichit watching as he spoke with someone animatedly. He seemed to be trying to convince whoever it was to come and drum for them.

“Yeah, it’s a Muse song. Yeah, exactly. Piano, Sax, and me singing. Uh huh. Oh…” Viktor suddenly looked very thoughtful. “I hadn’t thought of that. Good idea. Okay, I’ll see you soon,” and he tapped his phone again, hanging up.

“I’ve got a friend who’s an excellent drummer,” he explained, giving Yuuri a small smile. “He’s actually already in the Institute Band, but he said he’d be happy to help us. And I might…” Viktor turned his attention to his phone again. “I might have an idea for a bassist…”

Viktor seemed to be sending a text instead of calling, turning back to them after a moment with a smile. “He said he’ll come! Though, apparently, I owe him now,” he shrugged, tossing his phone back onto his coat and moving back near the piano, flicking through his music that he’d set up on a stand. Yuuri wondered distantly what kind of people he’d found – if they were Viktor’s friends, they were sure to be professionals. Yuuri wasn’t too sure how he felt about having more people in the room…

“We might have to meet them at a different studio though. We’ll need a kit,” Viktor said slowly, putting his finger up to his lips again in that same gesture that entranced Yuuri so thoroughly. Part of him wanted Viktor to stop since whenever he did it, all Yuuri could think of was how soft Viktor’s lips looked and it was ridiculously distracting…

Another secret part of him wanted to watch him do it forever.

“When are they coming?” Phichit asked casually, blowing into his sax and cleaning it out, spit splashing onto the floor. Yuuri winced. As much as he loved the sound of woodwind, he was glad he’d chosen an instrument that was a little bit nicer to clean and didn’t involve any body fluids.

“Next 20 minutes or so I’d imagine,” Viktor said slowly, finger still on his lip. “Let’s take a break maybe? I’ll sort us a studio,” and his phone was out again, fingers dancing across the screen. Yuuri swallowed.

“A-Are you sure it’s ok? Won’t you have to pay…?” his voice was small. Something about the thought of suddenly changing all their plans and meeting two new people had him on edge. Viktor turned and flashed him a brilliant smile.

“It’s no trouble,” he said, swiping his thumb across the phone screen and placing it back in his pocket. “Yakov owes me anyway.”

Yuuri blanched. Yakov owed him. The Yakov? After the last hour of easy banter between the three of them, it suddenly came rushing back to Yuuri that Viktor was pretty much a celebrity. The concept of Yakov owing anyone anything might seem strange to normies like him and Phichit, but he supposed for Viktor, it was probably normal. Probably normal for them to go and get coffee, too. Like old buddies.

It was suddenly quite difficult to breathe.

Phichit let out a low whistle. “What I wouldn’t give to have the Yakov Feltsman owe me a favour,” he said with a laugh, moving to pack up his gear. “Must be nice.”

Viktor laughed at that, glancing at Yuuri with a strange expression that was gone as quickly as it had come. Yuuri frowned.

“It’s okay,” he answered. “He’s actually a total softie, once you get to know him,” and Viktor said it so casually that Yuuri just about choked on his own tongue.

Phichit let out a strangled noise before doubling over in laughter. “Oh, God, that’s an image,” he wiped at his eyes. “What, is he like … a bear? But a Yogi Bear?” he snorted and Yuuri tried to cover up his own little giggle at the image.

“Oh, Yakov’s a twink, for sure,” Viktor said, face serious, moving to pack up his own gear as if he hadn’t just said the most ridiculous sentence known to man. Phichit and Yuuri both froze, glancing to each other, then back to Viktor.

“Didn’t you guys know?” Viktor said again, glancing up at them. But Yuuri could see a tell-tale smirk twitching on his lips, and suddenly all three of them were laughing like school kids, Yuuri having to wipe at the tears suddenly forming in the corners of his eyes.

“Oh my God, please, don’t make us imagine it,” Phichit was gasping for air, rolling around on one of the chairs. Viktor seemed pleased with himself, turning to Yuuri with a dazzling grin. His phone buzzed in his pocket, and Viktor grabbed it quickly, smiling and giving the two of them a thumbs up.

“The favour’s been cashed in, we’ve got a studio,” Viktor said gleefully. “Let’s go, Yuri’s on his way now.”

Yuuri frowned. “I’m right here…” he said softly. Viktor glanced back at him.

“Oh, no, the other Yuri,” he explained.

“The worse one,” he added with a wink.

#yoi #yuri on ice #yuri!!! on ice #yuuri #viktor #phichit #music school au #alternate universe #minminnsfics #fics #FLUFF #victuuri #slow burn

[minute20]

Ironman World Championship: Lucy Charles second behind Daniela Ryf

Daniela Ryf (centre) additionally received the occasion final yr

Britain’s Lucy Charles took silver within the Ironman World Championship behind Daniela Ryf who received regardless of being stung by a jellyfish simply earlier than the beginning.

The 31-year-old Swiss mentioned the ache was so dangerous that she thought-about pulling out of the race in Kona, Hawaii.

After the swimming part, she was 9 minutes off the lead however fought again to win in report time.

Within the males’s race, Patrick Lange retained his title after which proposed to his girlfriend on the end line.

Germany’s Lange, 32, set a course report, breaking the eight-hour mark for the primary time, whereas Britain’s David McNamee completed third.

“This was essentially the most intense, most lovely, most superb factor that I’ve ever skilled in my life after simply asking Julia to marry me,” he mentioned.

‘I advised myself I could not hand over’

Ryf, who received for the fourth successive yr, mentioned she was stung within the armpit by the jellyfish moments earlier than the race started.

“I did not know if I might make it via the swim in such ache – it was horrible,” she mentioned.

“I believed, ‘I can not hand over,’ as a result of I am the defending champion, and I knew little youngsters can be watching the race.

“However I advised myself that I could not hand over since you by no means know what can occur out right here.”

She claimed a course report of eight hours 26 minutes 16 seconds, beating the earlier finest time by 20 minutes.

Charles, 25, broke the course swimming report on her method to matching the second place she recorded on her debut on the occasion final yr.

The Ironman triathlon sees opponents full a three.8km swim adopted by a 180km cycle part and at last a 42.2km run.

After the race Lange proposed to his girlfriend Julia Hofmann

Classification

Males

1 Patrick Lange (Ger) 7hrs 52minutes 39secs

2 Bart Aernouts (Bel) +4mins 2secs

three David McNamee (GB) +7mins 30secs

four Tim O’Donnell (US) +9mins 38secs

5 Braden Currie (NZ) +12minutes 2secs

Girls

1 Daniela Ryf (Sui) 8hrs 26minutes 16secs

2 Lucy Charles (GB) +10minutes 16 secs

three Anne Haug (Ger) +15minutes 41secs

four Sarah True (US) +17minutes 26secs

5 Mirinda Carfrae (Aus) +24minutes 28 secs

Why I really like triathlon – Ironman athlete Lucy Charles

The post Ironman World Championship: Lucy Charles second behind Daniela Ryf appeared first on Breakig News.

source https://www.20minute.info/ironman-world-championship-lucy-charles-second-behind-daniela-ryf/

[kichaelming-blog]

kevinthefinkpanther vs the UTA100

It’s been ages since I last posted so the comeback had to be something special. And I think it is. Earlier this year I got wind that an old mate from New Zealand, Kevin Fink, was competing in an event I’d never heard of before – The UTA100. I was intrigued by the name alone and, knowing that Kevin was a keen runner, my interest was piqued well and truly. The UTA100 is a 100klm ultra-marathon through the ranges of the Blue Mountains outside of Sydney, Australia. It’s an intense endurance event which tests every aspect of the runner – physical, mental, spiritual – and the chance to speak to someone I know personally who had completed it was too good an opportunity to turn down.

Kevin very graciously gave me his time a week or so after completing the UTA100 and I thank him dearly for it. I will be eagerly watching Kevin’s future achievements.

Follow Kevin and his running adventures on Instagram: @kevinthefinkpanther

 NB: Some of the place names and/or events mentioned have been linked to for further information.

 MKMT - Has the enormity of what you've achieved sunk in by now? 

KF - Honestly at the time it felt like a big deal, like something that I had been working on for a long time, was clearly nervous about and was in the balance for the majority of the event, but now looking back it feels like no big thing. Like its time to set my new goal and start another adventure

 MKMT - How long have you had your eye on this event?

KF - My mate and I used to watch a TV show that aired on ESPN called "Search4Hurt". They would go to different high-profile sports teams and try and train with them. We would then take those techniques and use them in our workout regime. It was something that kept me sane and focused during a difficult personal situation. Anyway back in 2015 they did a highlight in what was then called the North Face 100 in the Blue Mountains (Aus). It just blew me away that people, ordinary fit people, could run 100k in the mountains. A seed was sown, and I started running more and lifting less

 MKMT - How long have you been running long distance events for?

KF - That’s a really good question. I ran a series of half marathon road races without really pushing my limits. When I advised my partner that I was planning on running an ultra at some stage she laughed and said I hadn’t even run a marathon before so it was a silly goal.  Next day I got up and ran 42k….It took five and a half hours and I felt stuffed at the end of it. That was late 2015. In March 2016 I ran with a group of guys around the Karapoti Classic course which is around 48k and has 2000m of elevation gain. I was really nervous about that one, was worried that I would hold everyone up but, although it was hard, I needn’t have worried. That was probably my first proper big run

 MKMT - Were you able to - or was there a need to - work training for this event in with other events you were running in? For example - were there any other races which you competed in and used as part of your over-all training for the UTA?

KF - I was supposed to, yeah, that was the plan. I was to attend the Shotover moonlight marathon which takes place in February in Queenstown (NZ). Unfortunately, late last year I managed to injure myself completing a north- south traverse of the Tararuas (NZ) so was unable to attend. It also meant that I couldn't start running until mid-February.

  MKMT - How did you develop a training plan for a run of this size? Did you work on upping your total miles each week or did you work on more of a length of time training schedule?

KF - Until I healed my training was really dictated by my injury. Lots of time at the gym on the spin cycle and lots of time building strength (single leg deadlifts, pistol squats, core strength work etc). When I could finally run I aimed for distance over the week - my goal being 100k. In reality I only ever hit this a handful of times. My other focus was obviously plenty of hill work and stair repeats, lots of high intensity style workouts to bring my overall fitness up. The idea being not only could I cover the distance, but the constant elevation changes wouldn’t affect me and when the track became runnable again I could run as fast as possible

 MKMT - Onto the race itself.

Can you talk me through your pre-race preparation?

KF - Mental or physical? Honestly this felt like any other big run I had been on. It was a little daunting not knowing the course at all but I knew that there would be good on course support if something went wrong.

Because the Blue Mountains is a good few hours out of Sydney I stayed in bunk beds at a cheap hostel the night before. Made sure I had all my mandatory kit laid out the night before and ate my usual breakfast of porridge and yoghurt the morning of. I didn’t get much sleep but again because of the nature and location of the big runs I often attend staying in DOC huts etc is pretty standard.

 MKMT - Did you have a support crew during the race? If so, can you say who they were and what their roles were?

KF - I did not. Unbelievably despite paying for my fiancé to come and support me she decided that a day shopping in Sydney was more fun than standing around in the middle of nowhere to give me food.  They had 3 drop bag locations which I used and my partner came out to cheer me through the finish line chute and bring me chocolate milk which was pretty awesome.

 MKMT - Were there any essential items you HAD to pack for during the race - either as instructed in the race rules or simply from your own requirements?

KF - Yeah the UTA rules are hardout. Thermal top and leggings, waterproof jacket, beanie, two headlamps, mobile phone, compass, whistle, emergency space blanket, dry sack, first aid kit, minimum water carrying capacity of two litres, waterproof map case, food portions, gloves, map of course. All these things were included and are pretty standard on long runs but we also needed a compression bandage, firelighter block, windproof matches, waterproof pants, polar fleece top, High viz top which had to be worn after four-thirty PM.

 MKMT - Can you talk me through the race itself. What were the other competitors like? Is there a sense of camaraderie during the event?

KF - Yes! Everyone is in it together, there is no place for massive egos. I find in trail races especially people have a really good understanding of letting faster people through until you are naturally running with people at a similar pace as yourself. It’s going to be a long day so naturally you get chatting, "Where are you from? Have you been here before? Target times? What do you do for a job?" etc. Then at about the 60 odd k mark you run through the Katoomba township again and people come out of their houses and line the streets. Pretty awesome vibe! You get high fives from all the kids and the old boys sit there with their box of Fosters cheering you on. Great work from volunteers in the aid stations too 

 MKMT - Would you consider massage to be an effective/complimentary training and recovery tool for someone considering a run of this distance and/or ANY long-distance events?

KF - I always thought it was a little bit silly until one day at the end of the first day of a 3 day race. One of the participants partners who was staying with us gave me a massage. From that day on I’ve been a convert. I think it’s easy to get caught up in a training regime mentality without thinking of the larger picture which is we want out tendons, muscles and joints moving as efficiently as possible. I also find having an expert look over your body for issues or tightness that you should work on very beneficial. I often find things that I’m concerned about are non-issues and things I didn’t know about are a much bigger deal overall.

 MKMT - Have you used massage specifically for running before? 

KF - Yes

 MKMT - What’s next on the agenda? Do you now go even bigger or do you aim to wind it back a little?

KF - Next is getting married, that’s the greatest adventure of them all right?  Running related goals though I’m probably looking at Taupo 50k later this year. Going into summer I really like to get some big adventures knocked off - run the Northern circuit, that’s the sort of stuff that really gets my adrenal glands flowing, self-supported missions. Next year I want to complete the Shotover moonlight marathon. I’ve got unfinished business there. Long term though I really want to get into a long European mountain race. I’ve got enough points for CCC now so it’s a case of getting through the lottery stages. If I can’t do that then maybe Laverado Ultra or similar.

#MKMT UTA100

[ahx1]

A New Beginning

As many of you know, I closed Baoism last month. A difficult decision, but one with no regrets. I’d like to think we went out on top, I learned an immense amount, but most importantly, we made many people happy with our food. Baoism was my first experience managing, and my first time starting a business. I built a team that took on running a restaurant together, and of course all the crazy challenges associated. I learned where my strengths are, where I need to improve, and also where I need help. I learned how to conceive and design a product from scratch, and I learned to love the iterative process of development. Baoism lives on in the memories of our fans, but in also in all the things it’s given me. Certainly, I am a better person for my three years of Baoism.

This new project started, like for many others, with a deep love for wine. August, 2015 I was in the midst of opening my restaurant (clearly, I'm prone to crazy ventures), after two years of pop ups around Shanghai and searching for a location. As a last bit of rest before going down the rabbit hole, I went down to Yunnan province, where my family maintains a small holiday home at the foot of the Yulong Snow Mountain, about 20 mins from Lijiang.

Kind of looks like Central Otago doesn’t it?

Like many winemaking regions it's a stunning place, with an indescribable energy. I'm not one for new agey stuff, but coming back to this place always left me feeling alive and rejuvenated. Maybe it's the alkaline drinking water from a glacier atop the mountain, or just the incredible food, but for all these reasons and many more, Yunnan is my happy place.

On this particular trip, I noticed local workers digging out fist size granite looking stones from the ground surrounding our village to pave roads and build walls. I reasoned that these must be quite free draining soils. I asked a friend from the village if ever during the rainy season (July-August, before veraison thankfully, but more on that later) there might be any puddling on the ground, his answer, "never".  With my limited knowledge of winemaking/viticulture, I reasoned that these soils, combined with cool temperatures, and intense sun from our elevation (2800m) might allow for some decent wine to be made. My interest was piqued.

I started asking around in Shanghai for expert advice and was quickly introduced to David Tyney and NZ based Australian, who won both the red and white portions of the Ningxia Wine Challenge a few years back. David expressed interest in this project immediately, having made wine for another winery in the same province that had planted 33 ha of Vidal before his arrival (only in China - but that's another story).

After my restaurant had found it's feet, David and I flew down to Yunnan to dig up some soils samples from unused land on slopes around the village, and to put in a weather station to collect data throughout the growing season. Oh, we also drank a lot of wine. I call this "benchmarking". All in the name of education right?

After a year and half of working furiously in the kitchen, building a business, and also finishing my wset 3s, I turned my attention back to the vineyard project as we had gathered enough data from our own weather station, and the local 5 year averages to paint a general picture of feasibility. In an otherwise a very dry area, our biggest challenge is looking to be a large rain spike in July, which comes down significantly in august, falling to ~25mm in October during harvest (this year and also 5 year village average). As a reference, the 5 year average of rainfall in beaune in October September is above 50mm, and Bordeaux is between 80-100mm. Our average growing season temperatures are very closely aligned with Beaune, with a good and wide diurnal range. Sunshine hours are a little down relative to other regions in July/August due to cloud cover, but they grow to match 5 year Beaune averages in September, and even to surpasse 5 year averages in Beaune, Bordeaux, and Marlborough in October. With the intensity of our high elevation sunshine, we feel that this won't be a problem (I get a nice tan with just 20 minutes of Yunnan sun, even when it's cloudy, maybe a light toast in wine speak?).

Soils look good - our soil analysis confirmed the presence of stones, primarily chert from being on a layer of glacial deposit, as well as loam and clay. One potential site had low PH, but otherwise all had the right levels of organic matter, CEC, phosphorous, nitrogen, zinc, copper, manganese etc that, on paper, equate to free draining, infertile soils, which will help to control vine vigor in the rainy season. Most importantly, the rains are most concentrated before veraison, which means that (fingers crossed) our fruit won't be affected by plumping or dilution.

David, Simon Clark (a viticulturalist friend of David's in Marlborough) and I flew to Yunnan again this month to take a final look at soil composition, and to finalize site selection. We spent some time walking through the potential sites and digging in.

As you can see from the photo that there's only a thin layer of topsoil, below that is a layer of loam mixed with rock, then a clay bedpan laden with small stones below. Simon's reaction upon seeing this was, "this is amazing, you can't ask for better soils, especially with the rainfall here." Sweet music to my ears!

With the rainfall, disease will be our biggest challenge. Seeing the sites, Simon and David believe that we can combat this with an organic spray program, good canopy management, and arranging the rows of vines in an SE orientation, allowing beneficial airflow through the vines from the northerly wind that comes through the region. I'm sure we'll learn much much more about the challenges and solutions as we progress. Of course, we drank plenty, this time our benchmarks were a 2010 Chambolle village from Taupenot Merme, a 2012 1er Beaune du Chateau from Bouchard pere et fils, a 2013 1er Chassagne Montrachet by PYCM, a 2009 JJ Prum Wehlener Sonnenuhr Spatlese, and a 2007 Thierry Allemand Cornas Chaillot. Delicious!

So what's next? I've decided to start with first experimental plot of 3.5-5 hectares broken into smaller blocks (depending on how negotiations go in securing land). I want to compare terraced plots on gentler slopes, to a steeper plot behind the house. Importing vines is looking to be quite bureaucratic, with distinct challenges specific to a country that does not have a developed wine industry nor established channels to import vines. We've found a Kiwi who's lived and worked in Yunnan for the last 10 years on government related orchard and table grape projects, and has experience importing agricultural products of this nature. As you can expect, legal regulations aren't always well defined in China, and enforcement can be variable. Experts with relationships, who know how to most efficiently navigate the system become crucial. But as nurseries aren't well stocked this time of year, it looks as though our first planting this year (fingers crossed) will be a patchwork of imported grafted vines, cuttings from other vineyards in China, maybe some from Chinese nurseries, and maybe cuttings from other places (you get the idea).

My first love is my wife, (we got married this fall), followed by Red burgundy (surprise, surprise! Dujac is my favorite) and PN in general, followed by Syrah of the Northern Rhone. I love White Burgundy in the style of PYCM and in the last two years I've also fallen for German Riesling, Barolo, and Chenin from Savennieres. I want to focus on Pinot, Chardonnay and Syrah, but as an untested region, I want to plant a few rows of Riesling, Chenin and Nebbiolo just to see how they turn out. We're keeping things small and equipment/capital expenditure limited as this first plot is primarily a viability study. Everything looks promising on paper, but my dream is to make a Chinese wine that one day might change people's minds about my country - a wine that is delicious, elegant, balanced and unique all at once. Long term, I want to learn to make wine with its own sense of confidence, that can reflect the amazing place that Yunnan is. As an untested region, I need to carefully study what varietals will survive, which are viable, and which will thrive.

As a trained chef, I also know that I need to further study the craft of winemaking. I've closed my restaurant to focus on this full time. I plan on working harvests in France and Aus/NZ each year as the plots are established, as well as starting my WSET diploma this fall. 

Currently I’m busy sourcing vines from Chinese nurseries (a challenge in itself), and I’m headed to Aurum Winery in Central Otago, NZ in April to work this year’s harvest, pick some grapes and hopefully make some good Pinot.

#wine #winemaking