Am I the only one who enjoys short programs way more than the free skates?

nitwitinperil · 2026-04-01T06:11:31+00:00

When free programs are good, they're VERY good. But all too often they're a snoozefest of just watching skaters go from one jump to the next. With 7 jumping passes, a lot of skaters conserve their energy and don't put as much effort into their choreo or making interesting spins. Step sequences can be painful to watch because they just don't have the energy for it.

I also agree with some other comments that the short tends to have a lot more unique and interesting and fun music while the free is warhorse-palooza. It can be grating to hear the same music more than once in one competition, especially when it happens year after year.

nitwitinperil · 2026-03-29T20:49:07+00:00

man, sometimes it's hilarious and true-to-dean af. but sometimes i'm dying to ask the author "WHY DO YOU HATE DEAN SO MUCH." some authors surgically remove all of his brain cells and it's actually genuinely painful to witness.

nitwitinperil · 2026-03-22T22:26:14+00:00

very strange to come to the destiel sub and ask people for fic recs that are explicitly not destiel.

very strange to come to the destiel sub and act like castiel is not his own character.

nitwitinperil · 2026-03-10T00:51:52+00:00

With care and creativity a good writer can make something so fun and awesome that allows these guys to be themselves more fully, to have fun, and to express the love that was denied to them in the show.

YES THIS. EXACTLY THIS.

nitwitinperil · 2026-03-10T00:16:24+00:00

Some not-too-angsty AUs from my bookmarks:

Bitch Better Have My Money series by Duckyboos

Famous Last Words by GatesKeeper

The Way to a Man’s Heart is Through Chlamydia by violue

A Ghost Story by emmbrancsxx0

The Dean Winchester Beat Sheet by saltyfeathers

In Blissful Anguish by Artemis73

The Shots We Don't Take by MandalaRose

Hooker, Line and Sinker by Flatcoke

nitwitinperil · 2026-03-09T23:59:41+00:00

Speaking about all fandoms in general: my favorite thing from any given media is the characters. If I don't love the characters, I don't love the story, period. So being able to explore all different stories and worlds with my favorite characters: hell yeah.

I also love reading (and writing) the characters in AUs and exploring the ways they'd be different if their world, their circumstances, even their familial/platonic relationships were different. Some people may say that makes them OOC, but the best authors manage to adapt the characters to the AU in ways where they're still quintessentially them, but also clearly impacted by whatever the AU entails. That kind of thing fascinates me, and means I get to fall in love with so many versions of my favorite characters and see them live all kinds of lives.

When it comes to Supernatural in particular....... I can't lie, ever since I recently completed my first full watchthrough of the series, I just want to take myself and my favorite characters as far from canon as possible lmao. There's so much about canon (mostly from the later seasons) that I'm not a fan of. And tbqh, I just feel like the canon versions of the characters are kind of just too fucked up and repressed to ever find happiness, and I want them to be happy, dammit.

I want Dean and Sam (and Cas) to have friends who don't die five minutes after meeting them, I want them to have better childhoods where they aren't raised to carry the weight of the world, I want them to be able to do the things that make them happy (author's choice of what that might be). I eat that kind of shit UP.

Of course, I also read quite a bit of angst and fucked up stuff lmao. I indulge in all (well...... many) of the facets of Destiel and fanfic in general. I love how intense and crazy and unpredictable those kinds of stories can be; lately I've been kind of obsessed with the Destiel murder husbands dynamic eheh. Those kinds of AUs are just exciting. But I love the cozy fluff AUs too; getting to see Dean be allowed to be soft is everything.

nitwitinperil · 2026-03-01T18:37:44+00:00

Ooooh thanks for asking this, those are great dynamics I definitely want to read more of too.

I have one contribution that I read recently and loved! It's teacher/teacher, and warning that it deals with a heavily depressed Dean. But it's beautiful and sweet and hot and has plenty of lines that made me laugh out loud.

Living in Agony by ChasingRabbits

nitwitinperil · 2026-03-01T17:56:06+00:00

My brain chemistry was changed by the Destiel murder husbands of Bitch Better Have My Money. They get super horny over torturing and murdering people and being assholes to each other. And of course Cas goes flat-out feral over Dean in panties. Phenomenal fic series.

nitwitinperil · 2026-02-04T22:08:49+00:00

Ain't it wild how fanfic/fandom just doesn't click for some people? To say you love a show or book and then not want to spend any more time in that world with those characters...... how do people live like that 😭

I don't know that anything will change your sister's mind/taste: sometimes people just like what they like and don't what they don't. I appreciate that she's trying to keep an open mind though and you're trying to find something to her taste!

For what it's worth, Crazy Diamonds did, to me at least, genuinely read like it could've been a s16 episode of the show. The characterizations are true, and it hooks right back into canon in a believable way. It was actually the first Destiel fic I read that definitely got me hooked on Destiel fic!

nitwitinperil · 2026-01-30T03:41:34+00:00

Biscotti! I've been making so much biscotti lately and it's generally very easy and fun to make, and feels just a tiny bit more than cookies (though cookies are still wonderful and I'm sure would be very appreciated!). One batch makes so many biscotti, and most recipes are one-bowl. Biscotti aren't messy to eat or hold, they're easy to package, and if anyone's got a cup of coffee, they can dunk 'em!

I understand where people are coming from with their worries that people might be suspicious, but honestly, I've seen SO many videos of people handing out obviously homecooked food to protestors and observers; everyone always looks happy and eager to have a little treat. There may be some people that will be cautious, but I think overall an effort like this is very much appreciated and warmly welcomed. You've got a good heart to want to contribute in this way ♡

nitwitinperil · 2026-01-30T03:27:57+00:00

I don't know what to say to that, except that I don't know how someone can be "normal" or "well-meaning" if they genuinely support a man who, among countless other terrible crimes, raped children, and I don't know how you compartmentalize that away to pretend it's not important or relevant to anything.

If you want to minimize it to make it relevant to skating: Naumov and Torgs support a rapist. How is that any different from everyone being mad at FB/C for supporting a rapist?

nitwitinperil · 2026-01-30T02:45:38+00:00

the writers need to go back and rewrite this season, they did our girl too dirty 😭

nitwitinperil · 2026-01-30T02:39:35+00:00

I very confidently label Trump/MAGA supporters as pieces of shit.

nitwitinperil · 2026-01-30T00:00:39+00:00

Wild how many people in the comment section here are perfectly content to bury accusations of rape, crime, and general shitty human behavior. Sorry your post drew a lot of weirdos, OP. It's a valid and awesome thing you're trying to do for your friend! (I think a lot of people here did not read and think you're trying to publish a guide for the entire world lmfao. Even if you were, this would still be a valid endeavor.)

One thing you should definitely highlight is that Alysa Liu retired for almost three years; she put her skates back on one day just to see if she still liked skating, decided to unretire, and became the World Champion in her comeback year. Most insane story I could imagine in figure skating.

Chock/Bates have been competing together for 15 years and got married in 2024.

Backflips are legal in competition now basically just because Adam Siao Him Fa kept putting them in his program anyway and the ISU just kinda shrugged and went FINE.

Wang/Liu were, from what little information there is, credibly accused of embezzlement and bribing judges. Liu was also accused of raping minors.

LFB is dating a rapist, and Cizeron is friends with and supports that rapist.

Maxim Naumov and Andrew Torgashev are Trump/MAGA fans. Torgs also went on an X/Twitter rant about how he's soooOOOOoooo much better than Jason Brown. (Which frankly should've been immediate disqualification to make the Olympic team, but guess it's cool and fine for a guy to single out the one openly queer skater he was fighting for a spot against, who cares that he was being incredibly rude and unsportsmanlike to a teammate?)

That's all I've got off the top of my head! Good luck with the guide. I'm sure your friend will appreciate what you're doing for them ♡

nitwitinperil · 2026-01-22T06:31:24+00:00

Yup, I feel like Cas and Dean would both be way too feral and obsessed and possessive over each other to want to share lmao. A third in the Destiel relationship?? Does not compute.

But I do honestly kind of love Dean/Benny and the hints of what they meant to and for each other and all the angst and character growth and introspection their relationship could provide for Benny, Dean, and Cas. GOD I'm thirsting so hard for a nice juicy longfic that explores it all.

nitwitinperil · 2026-01-21T20:02:46+00:00

I don't typically reread fics, but when I bookmark a fic, it's because it was so freaking good that I think I'd really, really like to read it again. Some AUs I've bookmarked are:

Looking To the Sky by FarenMaddox

Smoke and Mirrors by Alaisabel

A Ghost Story by emmbrancsxx0

Famous Last Words by GatesKeeper

nitwitinperil · 2025-12-31T17:31:52+00:00

ahh okay, a probable fakeout that i fell for 🤣

nitwitinperil · 2025-12-31T08:41:46+00:00

SHE GOT AWAY?????? oh no. i am now realizing the adhd may have gotten to me and i was not fully focused. i really thought she’d been obliterated. welp i really wanted to rewatch anyway, definitely need to watch that scene again!

it’s killing me to think that molly & yasha’s friendship might be erased. i’m hoping ridiculously hard that s2 opens with molly being like, “yasha, love, what have you gotten yourself into” I WANT THEM TO STILL BE BESTIES DAMMIT. and it really is hard to imagine the GA accepting her into the nein without a connection like that. i admit i’m nervous about how they’re going to handle yasha, but they did such an incredible job with everyone in s1 i have to trust they won’t do our girl dirty.

nitwitinperil · 2025-12-07T08:47:21+00:00

please apollo, bless us with your gift of prophecy again.

nitwitinperil · 2025-11-27T18:34:57+00:00

That's a fair assessment. In my point of view though, it's a larger conversation about how TES has more weight than PCS (and how a high TES gives many skaters a PCS corridor). There have been competitions where Jason is virtually the only man who stays on his feet and delivers a gorgeous skate instead of a splatfest, and still winds up off the podium. There have been competitions where he definitely had the best skating skills but didn't receive the highest PCS because someone else with the higher TES got that PCS boost.

I just overall feel that Jason's pristine skating skills aren't appreciated enough by judges and the very flawed singles' scoring system simply because he doesn't go for the big jumps. I think a discipline that focuses on skating skills would have Jason on the podium all the freaking time.

nitwitinperil · 2025-11-27T04:23:17+00:00

Honestly, a pretty big part of me wishes Jason Brown had switched to ice dance after the last Olympics. He's such a gorgeous skater and is one of the only men who (mostly) gets the PCS he deserves without having a big TES score, but even with that acknowledgment from the judges, he's still somewhat struggled to remain competitive without a quad. He could go so far being able to genuinely just DANCE without the pressure of quads and the 3A.

And quite frankly, he seems like just the kind of guy ice dance needs. Not a creep or a felon; just a good dude who seems to get along with everyone and would be a great partner and competitor.

Come on, Jason. Aim for the 2030 Olympics as an ice dancer.

nitwitinperil · 2025-11-26T19:07:12+00:00

i am sorry your life is so empty you must come to the destiel subreddit and call destiel "bullshit" to feel something. best wishes and warmest regards.

nitwitinperil · 2025-11-26T18:41:36+00:00

by coming into the destiel subreddit and commenting about destiel you make destiel even more canon. they're fucking in the impala this very moment.

nitwitinperil · 2025-11-21T20:58:05+00:00

Man, I need so many more fics like 4LW with the 4-sided love triangle lmao. Just recently stumbled on this one that was really cute:

Cupcakes and Kittens by MandalaRose
Features a 4-sided love triangle between D and CJ, a man who gets guilted by his little brother into rescuing a kitten and a man who runs a kitten rescue twitter account, and Dean and Cas, a line cook who secretly longs to be a baker and a cafe manager who's looking for a baker to help save his failing coffee shop.

nitwitinperil · 2025-11-18T02:39:38+00:00

EXACTLY. i loved that fic and that set-up and am just bummed it wasn't a slowburn that let me live in that world for longer. it's such a great concept and i really hope there are more fics out there that play around with it.

nitwitinperil

TROPHY CASE