wingman

Ah, FINALLY I'm caught up with this thread. Still processing the disappointment... I maybe able to go to Russia, but honestly my friend had such a bad experience with skinheads there that I'm paranoid. I know it's probably not that bad anymore, but the word still strike fear in me a bit. Plus it is SOOO FAR Why the hell do I live on the WRONG continent. Good for everyone in Europe! ETA: Feds and their placements.... Sounds like Japan fed has different people with different agendas? That happens quite often in a country with several "schools" of training. US Fed... well, at least I'm not forced to listen to their propaganda this time, unlike the Oly season. I really think that ISU hammered out the Helsinki deal with Yuzu as part of the trading cards. pps: Yuzu thrives under adversity -- so our Overlord will do fine!

FINLAND???? Sorry, I'm still digesting (just got back from dinner). What's going on - do you think the whole CoC thing threw it off, no one wants to host, and the ISU was like: "here. Whoever host this one will have Hanyu". ?????

Thanks for sharing! The world is so full of amazing people, it's heart warming.

@LadyLou LOVE YOU!!!

What's the banana reference? (This is some part of the Planet lore that I didn't get. @SparkleSalad Could you please explain?)

Man I came back to 10 pages of stuff, thinking that some news has come out. Instead there's penguin judges and trashbag boxers...????? (And while I typed this there were 4 new replies? You guys are epic! Hey, there's a whole community of people in Antartica with Tinder and all... https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/02/confirmed-tinder-works-in-antarctica/283907/ Just saying - it's not an impossible venue.

Does someone have a link to Max's comment that Yuzu's skating is like doing ski jumping while holding a tray of sweets? (I read that once somewhere but can't remember the source). That is SO AWESOME of an analogy, I can't get it out of my head.

Ohhh - the super slam is during the course of one's career. I thought it's all in ONE YEAR and I'm like... ?????!!!!! Who push for these terms really? Feel like no one use them.

Oh I can't wait to the next round of this game. Should we just do a google spreadsheet to make the scoring easy?

Oh great! Tomorrow I have a full day so I don't have to think about it at all. SC Zu. SC!!!!

Nice to share! Did you calculate that yourself? I am super glad that the podium didn't change after dropping those judges' scores. Imagine if it did, all sorts of conspiracy theories would spring up. I'm just not the "what-ifs" type (until VAR, maybe).

Gosh how EXTRA is he! Signature: (full name + wings + mushroom + 2018 + gold).

I'm sure if asked it will be a generic answer. But I'm confident that they are both super mature and nice people, so it will work out well. Having a rival is really special - it motivates you at every practice. Plus Zu can now see infinitely many perfect Lutz - I hope he will nail it one day. Thanks for the translations! My kanji is too shabby to read that quickly... I love how Japanese likes to use the double negative: "There's no reason not to try". If Brian were Japanese, it may have come out as: "there's probably no reason not to try isn't there".

@BWOZWaltz Well said! I like your colour analogies! His "gender" thing used to bother me quite a bit at the beginning, but now I totally see it as a non-issue. Like many others, I don't see him as male or female during his performances, and I don't feel the urge to question his gender identity off-ice neither. I think in the process of turning into a fanyu (and interacting with you guys on the Planet ), my world view has broadened.

So... end of the week then? (June 29 is the rumour on GS?). More talks on cheese please guys. This wait is killing me.

@Lenylan Welcome to the forum. Please refrain from personal attacks like these, it's just not nice to have a negative vibe. Yes we are extremely supportive of Zu, but we are also a diverse body of people from all walks of life and background. Sorry that you probably caught us in troll mode a bit.

Ok, now I have renewed standards for figure skating costumes. Now suddenly Dory looks very O.K.

How about we open a "manly Zu" photo thread? ETA: sorry for the double-posting, I don't know how to merge my post...

Yes, absolutely, I agree with this. Honestly, without the "murder face" (and the mentality that goes with it), it is impossible to bear the pressure as the top athlete in any discipline. So you can think of it as: all top guys and girls are the same in their "game on" personality, but their "game off" personality is their "normal" self. This is why top people can be quite annoying: sometimes their "game on" personality gets to everyday life. Yuzu, on the other hand, is a maximally sensitive guy who still stay down to earth despite all of his achievements. (Except for pockets of troll modes).

Have you tried rome2rio.com? They can suggest various options. You can also try flying to a smaller airport. Or just bookmark your favorite flight and wait for prices to go down. Airline prices work in mysterious ways...

Yes, +1 for hakama! (A modern hakama perhaps?) Or something like UA. Seriously Zu, it would be so much easier to sell you to my traditional folk friends if you just dress more... traditionally. (On the other hand, it is a true fanyu test that you can love him regardless of what he puts on...)

@Murieleirum 5AM to 1AM...??? That's pretty crazy. I'm amazed that you lasted! So do you get free tickets (or free rights to be in the stadium?) Or it probably depends on what you're supposed to do during the performances? (Imagine being a security personnel who have to wait outside, that would suck). I'm too scared of the ticket battle in Japan, so I just bought SkC ticket and hope for the best. Can't wait for GP assignment to be revealed soon enough...!!

That's super low body fat. I bet he would excel in any anatomy class (like most athletes actually).

Man, I saw that there are 55 pages and counting in the FaOI Kobe show thread, so I thought there must be tons and tons of new photos... I like the look on his face in that picture - absolute concentration and determination! As for the costume I actually think it's ok. Same category as NS, R+J2.0 etc. The colours are infinitely better than Dory, imho.