So when's the wedding

That's not a dare. I completely believe we'll hear there was one. I'll double down and bet we "see" there was one. It'll sort of trickle out, "uncovered" by an enterprising fan.

This tweet made me laugh because the first
time I was clued into this Jackie 
thing (right here in the comments
section of this blog) I could hear
the guffaws and smirks in Ilderton
from here. And maybe also picture one of
W Network-Tessa's small, malicious smiles (the
creepy ones she used for the bot-version
of herself in their mockumentary.)
 Team VM's development is still arrested.
Still prefers to punch down. They experiment with
maturity/a facsimile of mutual respect,
then revert to douche after getting bored.

I looked at the Skate Canada/Skate America figure skating results and it's just as if figure skating has been cancelled and the skaters still training, prepping programs and getting themselves out there to compete missed the memo. Are figure skating competitions still a thing?

AND I looked at the Virtue Moir fandom where not a lot is going on either (although there's a good chance I'm not surfing the right social media hot spots). The buzz seems to have hit a wall (or gone "private") after quite a bit of flailing at the end of summer. I'm not sure why it is that - after Jessica, Cassandra and Kaitlyn - Jackie Mascarin seemed to push some fans over the edge. I get the impression some of the most ragey fans were new, but I also believe that on an instinctual level many of the newer fans as usual KNOW they're being fucked with, so they script a scenario to incorporate that feeling, but have somehow blocked themselves from considering the actual ways they've been fucked with and exploited. I really would recommend that anyone who persistently has that feeling towards a situation (not just a fan one, as shamed as fans may be made to feel), to stop taking a personal inventory of yourself in some effort to signal maturity and "objectivity" to yourself (i.e., I'm overinvested, I'm projecting, I'm I'm I'm I'm) and use some freaking common sense. Is projection and overinvestment a recurring issue in your life? No? Then you're being fucked with. When it comes to gaslighting, I would always advise someone struggling with things that "don't add up" to just go ahead and reject whatever basic premise you've been given. Things will clear up fast.

Plenty of celebrities have taken to scripting their lives for the public as if they're in a reality show.

But, in addition, with Virtue and Moir and their team, terrible acting and collateral offense-giving are still intact after all these years, not to mention Scott's habit of working both sides of the street.

Then cue general interest/lifestyle reporters who step in to lecture fans over the fan reaction to a situation the reporter either knows is a lie fed to the fans being targeted, or the "journalist" doesn't know either way, hasn't checked it out, but just kicks into fan-abuse autopilot because that's how our transactional celebrity/media - celebrity/celebrity ecosystem functions. I have no no no no no more patience for that on any level on any topic in any sector.

A distinguishing and extra obnoxious facet of Virtue and Moir's shenanigans has always been how the media and the ten-years-married duo incite the fans to react, and then proceed to patronize them (at best) or attack them (not atypical) for this strong-armed, prompted reaction. It really does borrow from the classic abuse cycle template.

****

Switching gears, this gif of Katia Gordeeva on Battle of the Blades:

Showcasing a more pleasant eternal verity.

Speed, immaculate stroking, impeccable body control. She's been doing this for over 35 years. She calls back to an time when Olympic champions in figure skating were legitimately and consistently extraordinary.

I want to mention that this is someone who for ages gave the impression of wanting to be left alone. A professional, considerate person, clearly a quality human being, as they say, but not much of a self-promoter. I'm not a fan of Dave Lease (the Skating Lesson), but once he described Gordeeva's impatience at a post-show corporate meet and greet as, "She was beginning to not understand English."

She was completely genuine, and did not suffer fools. One day she turned up on social media (twitter). Kristi Yamaguchi basically virtually fainted. "Is that actually you!!!!!???" Ever since, Gordeeva has routinely posted, supporting her daughters, supporting skaters she assists, showing off something someone she loves has cooked, showcasing accomplishments of those she loves and supports, showing us adventures and outings. It's a very generously managed account. What she doesn't tweet about? Her divorce. Her dating life. She figured out that she wanted to use the spotlight on her to turn the spotlight on other people, to engage with the world and open up that way.  To be accessible without violating her own privacy, and without ostentatiously making a show of her boundaries. She decided to be a person, not a very unique snowflake. (And if she's not very very unique, and refuses to handle her public life as if she is, who in skating has the right?) From what I've read about her, she's always tried to teach herself gratitude, and now she's putting that into practice in public (reports are she's always done so in private). She's clearly from a bygone era.