LadySnowblood

Did anyone vote for "Hello, I Love You"... I did Re: Yuzu not singing "Hana wa Saku," I feel like part of that is the flip side of being such an audiophile... Loves hearing every detail and nuance in music he enjoys, how could he evaluate himself fairly (especially considering his perfectionism and not wanting to disappoint others)? I think it would be very painful! For this he would have had to be OK with "good enough" which I can't imagine happening for something like this. I think at the start of the video he's supposed to be feeling comforted by the song again, as always, then the drums kick in and now he's taking strength from it. Both of those qualities are carried through to the end, which is nice. The way it's done is terribly corny but that's on the director... I only expected Yuzu to be smiling & holding the flower, but I guess they just had to get more from him.

Bittersweet! Good interview

Sharing this because it has the voting link

I really like the part about breaking out of his shell: Hanyu: I've learned how much versatility I have in performance, what movements I like, what kind of movements enable me to skate with my heart. I still have room for improvement in my jumps and landing of the jumps. I'm trying things with my spins too. So I want to break out my shell more than I did going through the Olympics, though I might have to do it by breaking thin shells one by one, and become a new me. As you know, the song I skated to this time was a song about "wings". I skated to it with a hope to become the new me who can spread its wings to the full. ETA Tumblr link for the translation, forgot it wouldn't show from quoting like I did: https://notebookfilledwithscrabbles.tumblr.com/post/174536816642/362018-faoi-kanazawa-interview-with-yuzuru-hanyu

This might be my favorite "Wings of Words" picture so far! Excited to see this performance Don't know if this is a good English translation but the words are quite fitting: Found this for the full song (more lyrics): https://alexicography.wordpress.com/2018/01/08/wings-of-words/

I was hesitant to watch this one, so thanks!

Um wow this is a sad example because I still love Kaneshiro but was so confused when his face changed... Also funny because I did think of him when Yuzu complained about the "ideal type" thing. He seems to have a very clear view of how people see him, for good and bad, so I think he wouldn't permanently change himself in any way that wasn't also functional (like fixing teeth/bite was). In that view, scientific explanation for monolid advantage would probably make him even less likely to change! I do think he is beautiful, and I'm fascinated by the extreme and never-ending variability in his appearance, while always being himself. With so much depth and so many facets to his character, he really is a gem.

Found this too late! And rather embarrassed that this was the first thing that came to mind: Followed closely by: Ended up poring over silly videos for another 45 minutes, overwhelmed by all the superlatively cute and ridiculous Yuzu content...

Could there be a separate thread for the anti/hater stuff? Or putting it differently, maybe something like "Fighting the good fight," "Don't let the bastards get you down," or "Please keep supporting me!" Whenever these discussions come up in Yuzuru General Chat, it feels out of place because they ultimately aren't about him. They are still tangentially related to Yuzuru, but I was thinking a dedicated conversation under one of the above topics might help keep the focus on Yuzu and be more constructive. Hope that makes sense! Thanks for your consideration and all that you do.

Sharing this because I didn't see it posted before... Wish fulfillment "perfect edit" of LGC. It's bittersweet that this had to be created but I'm glad it exists: I love LGC so much, truly inspired in every way and such a joy to watch... Literally no one else could do this without making it a sorry joke. It's playful and masterful all at once, which is very like Prince and makes it even more weirdly, perfectly fitting to me. I'm so giddy from watching this again, might have a new step added to my morning routine. Better than caffeine for sure!

This thread has been moving so quickly, but the main reason I hesitate to take any action or even comment re: Yuzuru's remarks on CiONTU is that he never said he wanted fans to do this. He expressed his appreciation for everyone's support and acknowledged the shared suffering due to haters. It was obviously emotional for him but the main point was that he was able to continue in spite of overwhelming negativity, thanks to the positive messages he received. I also feel his words on Day 3 are off-limits until/unless he decides to explain precisely what he meant. Just transcribing to/from the same language can end up in literal nonsense, or simply fail if what came out of the person's mouth was the opposite of what they were trying to say, or parallel but still totally different. Translating into other languages confuses things even more. Thinking of what he has actually said he wants people to do, seems to be a short list: Keep dreaming, keep trying, keep supporting him, stay strong.

Actually can someone explain what is supposed to be funny about the cosplayer? He was presented to the contemporaries of the person he is mocking, with the joke being...?? If it's a "so bad it's good" thing then I hate this even more

The one good thing is Kozuka's face in this picture. Exquisite mastery of the absolute minimum polite "smile"... Almost a smirk, yet totally not

He seemed to be grasping for words and couldn't find an exact match, so he ended up with this clunky phrase that's almost meaningless... I think he's drawing a parallel to Javier only because he was the closest competitor there, but the main point is how Yuzuru is on another level and this performance captured that. Kind of like trying to compare a fireball and a snowball: OK they share a form (ball = skating), both are perfectly shaped (well trained, highly skilled), but there is still no comparison! Snowball will never be a fireball and vice versa. Or maybe pretend that skating = creating fire... Yuzuru the fireball can do this without even trying, it's his nature. His challenge is to contain and control the flames, while Javier is just a regular human being who had to learn how to build a fire, light it with a spark, and keep it going, etc. Got chills watching that video!

People can be weird about adults living with parents. My mother & I live together but she is the one living "with me" since I am the breadwinner (plus she did literally move into my home). If she still wants do mom-like things for me, why should I stop her? I like to cook occasionally but I do think of the kitchen as her territory now; it seems to even the power balance between us a bit. Yuzuru was a child when he moved to Canada with his mom, this seriously cannot be considered the same as "living at home." It's a situation that works and I think it would remain essential as long as he is competing... Too disruptive to change at this point. I also think if he wanted to cook he would go totally overboard with it! All or nothing at all, there is no in between for him... Like he would want to learn great knife skills and show them off, etc.

My immediate thought: Self-care, good for him!! Heartwarming to imagine him taking a break from the post-Olympics craziness and just geeking out over new earphones, even if only for a minute. Whatever makes you happy, dear boy... On the weighing, I figured he didn't have a scale in his bedroom but in a shared area (bath or kitchen) so it was more convenient that way. I wanted to know what cereal he ate! Probably something pretty boring ("healthy") though.

I resisted reading this because the previews made my gut twist with anger & disgust, then decided I should read it to be fair... Seemed wrong to reject it with prejudice (what he did to Yuzuru) but now I can honestly report that it was NOT worthwhile. This was too self-absorbed, and not self-reflective enough. So, it's a blog post on a Catholic website meant to encourage thought & discussion about faith... One man's meditation on envy or other similar unvirtuous feelings he uncovered watching Yuzuru for the first time, I get it. My problem with it is that it's too shallow and he seems to think that his reaction was essentially normal/reasonable... There is a whiff of "white man's privilege" which never sits well with me (mixed race woman), so I'm trying to set aside my feelings about that but it's hard. Like, if I observed myself wishing failure on a completely unknown person for no apparent reason, I would start by questioning that instead of just going with it. And if I'm telling people about this hateful & confounding reaction in order to share what it's taught me about myself and my beliefs, I would be very, very clear about that! But he's not. Would help if it was noted that while the writer is describing his own uninformed, irrational feelings at a certain point in time, since then he has learned about Yuzuru's own hardships and blah, blah... Basically emphasizing the author's shortcomings which seems to be the intent, but lazy bad writing makes it look like he's just normalizing or rationalizing these negative, misplaced feelings (I think he is still doing that, but it's not his main point). Then again, it's addressed to a limited audience of regular readers who are presumably familiar with this person and better able to fill in the blanks about where he's coming from, etc. It also looks like he researched Tonya Harding a little bit, but not Yuzuru because it didn't fit his narrative. The comparison to Tom Brady is SO off-base... If he had done any research at all that wouldn't be there! I understand that also was simply based on his feelings, but yuck. That might have been the most offensive part for me. Generally people should form their own opinions, but specifically I don't think anyone needs to read this. It's self-indulgent navel-gazing "inspired" by Yuzuru's performance at the Olympics. There is no considered opinion or judgment of Yuzuru because the writer is only concerned with himself... And then he fails to examine himself in a way that might actually make this valuable to other people. I'm kind of disgusted with myself that I gave it a click!

This is very much my view & feeling! Since Yuzuru has been so careful with his answers, it seems best to take them with as little interpretation or speculation as possible. Even if he wasn't still recovering from injury, he is at a major crossroads. Learning how to live with his forever-dream goal finally behind him, I really can't imagine what that's like. I was rewatching CiONTU and got teary all over again at how perfectly complete it is, from beginning to end, and he is still so young. It's like a beautiful gesture of laying down his original dream, and the self that was sustained by it, to rest before starting on a new path. And of course not forgetting any of the gifts or hardships that he earned along the way. But he is also so very mercurial & changeable that really anything could happen! Which is just a natural part of the excitement/terror of being a fanyu... another good reason not to speculate too much (heart palpitations)

Is anyone else now unable to read the word "continue" or "continues" without hearing Yuzuru's voice? I've been anxiously checking my bank account to see if a certain payment went through, the last step every time is a "Continue" button... Feels like I'm haunted (in a good way)

Thanks, I'm glad! I hesitated because of the repetitiveness, had that problem when listening through her songs for this. It seemed the most immediately "accessible" so I was thinking of that too, but maybe just feels that way to me because it was my own introduction to her. I have no sense for editing, but I just listened to the other 2 again, it's a neat idea to put them together. I was just thinking of them all separately! I was listening to "Frozen Angels" a lot but it's on the dark side...

I believe it is Yuzu because the wailing goes right along with his kicking... It always sounded to me like he was making fun of himself because he was so embarrassed that he ruined his cool exit!

Does anyone have ideas for an alternative or "new & improved" Parisienne Walkways? After seeing so many old costumes revived in CiONTU and looking even better than before, it struck me that PW is always kind of saggy and blah. That it was the only costume not improved by Yuzuru's greatly evolved beauty & physical development over the years says a lot! Although maybe I'd take it all back if he had skated in it... Plus it is historic after all. My ideas sound terrible even to me (jumpsuit with a belt, rock & roll mime, Hello I Love You??) which is why I'm curious. Just for fun!

Thanks, I just sent payment with my username in the note

Sorry if this is a dumb question, but should PayPal be sent as "friend/family" or "goods/services"? Don't want to mess anything up for you, just show my appreciation for all your work and this beautiful safe haven

I was thinking about flute because it hadn't been ventured yet but didn't know where to start! Excited for suggestions After learning that he was interested in string music because of his name I thought of Zoe Keating and started listening to her with him in mind... I can really see this working: It's not violin like he mentioned, but the album it's from is called Into the Trees