u/darylroams

I just did a bit of bing watching of Roman and Tatiana's competition programs and I'm just blown away by them. Gorgeous high jumps. Tatiana is so expressive with her hands and upper body. Roman's spread eagle is beautiful. But knowing their back story and the grit and determination they had to have in training each other with no external coach for a period of time while also coping with moving to a new country and to skate as beautifully as they do reflects an incredible bond and determination. Yes, I can see how those elements were important in shaping Ilia, but I just wanted to take a moment to honor Tatiana and Roman for who they are themselves.

A few weeks ago there was this wonderful stream where a bunch of fans gave surprising sums of gifted subs, and both Ilia and Jacob started hyperventilating, back flipping and simultaneously losing their minds. It was very fun, and I think left a glow for everyone who was there. But I also noticed that a number of people on the chat seemed a bit sad that they couldn't give subs themselves and certainly not of that size. And, unwashedmoose, iliastoothlessplushy, iliasjointinsurance and the others who gave sizable amounts do not have endless amounts of money. So it struck me that maybe we could accumulate small bits of cash into a gofundme, then take the whole thing and drop it - equal amounts to both Ilia and Jacob - at an opportune moment from "All_of_us." That way, we get to recreate the moment, and everyone feels they took part. Bad idea, good idea? Happy for anyone to raise concerns that I might not have thought of. By the way, Ilia doesn't REALLY read these posts, right?