lazuliblade

Oh wow. I was going to head out and see if I could be productive with a change of scenery, but if there really is a broadcast, then I guess I'll stick around.

I'll do my best to give an idea of the atmosphere of the time. The 2014-15 season was just overall distressing. It wasn't just the injuries, but the wait in between them, the general unease that the entire season held, and the hope and re-injury that made it tough. It's like the unease that we had this past Olympic season, but worse in a sense, because we would get snippets of info on his healing, and then another setback. He was training long-distance with Orser through emails, and sent videos that he would receive notes on. I'll put the rest in a spoiler because it's somewhat long and some people probably don't want to relive it. So it's not just the collision, the surgery, and the sprain, but also the lack of training, the separation of Yuzuru from his main training base, the updates creating a cycle of hope and despair, and the disappointing silver finish after such a hard struggle. All mixed in with the whirlwind of media following the new Olympic Champion's first season after earning the crown. (Sorry this got so long-winded, but hopefully it helped piece things together?)

Joining this forum, the atmosphere reminds me of an old Yuzu forum that used to exist about 4 years ago. It was kinder than the bigger established fs forum, and I remember some dedicated fans who would upload dozens of high quality pictures - everything they could get their hands on - whenever an ice show or competition happened. I spent my first off-season going through the old competition threads, collecting pictures from the 2012-13 season, and the 2013-14 season, and learning all sorts of tidbits (I remember there was a doctor who worked with young athletes and explained to us the type of inhaler and medication Yuzuru would probably be using). The forum went under when the hosting site changed domains and servers - I was pretty sad that all the conversations and links were lost, but at that point I had caught up on all 656 pages in the Yuzu specific thread (it used to be so small!) of the other forum, and it then became my chatting grounds for the next few years. At any rate, with the mess the big forum ultimately underwent, I was tired of the forum cycle where flames would erupt and then simmer, erupt and then simmer.... so I knew this Planet was made but decided to take a step back and stick with a small group of figure skating fans that I made a couple of seasons ago. I'm so glad that I finally gave this place a look, and have been able to "listen in" on conversations. I'm glad that we have such amazing fans who keep up with the most recent news and create new threads to keep up with events. I'm amazed at the dedication it took to find links and create an archive of performances, interviews, and documentaries. While I know forums are inherently going to have their ups-and-downs due to conflicting views and the sheer number of people, it's still wonderful to see new and old fans together in one place again. Happy Birthday, Planet Hanyu! I hope the years to come will be just as fruitful, fun, and kind.

Woah. I've seen his shins before, but I've never seen his thighs. So this is what let's him fly. And yoooo those veins!? He's a pencil with a titanium core and these legs jump the world's best 3A and a delayed rotation 4Lz.

We all know how much Yuzu loves gold...

I hadn't checked the Gen chat since CiONTU, and I finally caught up! Since we're talking about his name, I have my own anecdote. I got back into watching figure skating sometime around early December 2013. After JP Nationals, Youtube flooded the recommended videos with those programs, and I actually saw Daisuke's skating first. His valiant SP and FS left such an impression, and I was going to check on more of his programs, but on a whim I decided to scroll down the recommended videos. There were a bunch of Japanese names and Yuzuru's caught my eye because it's such an odd name. Among the Machida, Kozuka, Takahashi, etc. there was this super thin beanpole with a name that stood out ("Yuzuru" and "Hanyu" are not common names). I thought he was just some young up-and-coming skater -- a new lanky Senior (perhaps 16/17 years-old) who is trying to make it among the big skaters. I was debating whether to give the video a chance or go watch someone else, but his name was just so intriguing and tempted me to click it. Plus his form looked pretty in the blue shirt and black pants....So I made the excuse to myself "I may as well give him a chance, that way I can confirm just how far-and-above Daisuke is." ....... but GPF 2013 SP Yuzuru stole my heart and ran away with it. Never underestimate Mr. Hanyu. So basically, the reason I started watching Yuzuru is because his name is so unique.

+3GOE across the board. As perfect as could be. And is that a delayed rotation I spot??? I know he did it in competition, and it seems like he did it here too if my eyes aren't mistaken. This is such a pretty jump what even are you Yuzu.

That sounds familiar. I might need to go hunting through the GS forums to see if I can find this. Otherwise, it might have been on the old Yuzuru forum that used to exist.... I'm sure it'll turn up somewhere.

All this talk of Yuzu's pronouns and manliness reminds me of the same questions 4-ish years ago. There was an interviewer who asked Nobu who was the most manly of Team Japan, and he said "Yuzu" which shocked the interviewer (I think they were expecting Daisuke to be the answer). The interview cut to a scene where Yuzu half-way bridal carries Daisuke when they're introduced on stage during Fantasy on Ice 2014. That's also the interview where Nobu says that Yuzu is a do-S type of person which is why he works well with Nobu since he admits to being do-M. To put it in the simplest way, Yuzu is the type that enjoys teasing/making-fun-of friends, whereas do-M enjoy being teased or making the comeback remark. Basically, he would be the dominating one in a relationship. I seem to remember other skaters agreeing on Yuzu being the most masculine in Team Japan despite being the youngest... I should go dig up the interview.

New ISU communication: "Turandot is cancelled for the 18-19 season. Competitors should politely use some other warhorse in the event they wish to skate to an overused piece. However, respectfully choose something tasteful and family appropriate. Bonus points if it's interesting. Good luck, skaters, and may the odds be ever in your favor." (I wish)

Red carpet? You know who strolls in like he's walking on a red carpet? (post here) This enabler should go to sleep soon. The sun is up already.

Well, given Yuzu's apparent desire to be eaten, maybe being into vore isn't too bad of a tendency to have. XD Then again, you might have to dye your hair white first in order to appeal to Yuzu.

So that's my notable contribution for today. I'd say it's a decently nice debut onto this forum -- sharing links and some banana art.

(Oops. A few seconds too late. I was figuring out why the link wouldn't embed.)

There you go! It's both amazing and vaguely terrifying.

I should probably also say "hi" while I'm at it. I can't say I'll be around too much because I'm involved in various other groups and projects (as well as real life stuff), but I'll pop in to check on any news. And if you need links, I've been collecting a bunch of them into a doc recently because I'm always referring back to this-or-that and finally got fed up with scouring through videos and interviews. I've been around since December 2013 (between GPF and Japan Nationals iirc), and lived through the post-Sochi madness until present, so I'm used to dry spells and sudden downpours of news. My favorite part about following forums is finding out all the weird stuff that becomes associated with Yuzuru. Like the eyebrow award he won one year, and the giant tuna that was given to him as a gift... Or the banana sculpture someone made of his face.

I came out of lurking to post the interview in which he talks about some thoughts behind both LGC and H&L (as well as many other thoughts before the 2016-17 season): https://yuzusorbet.tumblr.com/post/153073329397/part-2-of-ice-jewels-vol4-special-interview Relevant quotes include: Let's Go Crazy: "I like this kind of songs. Although I had not listened to Prince before, this is the kind of song used for ice show opening or finale. I myself enjoy it, and I want to show it in a cool way, and I really like to be in unison with the music; it suits me." Hope&Legacy: "It has some Japanese melody line, things that are in nature, the wind, the trees, the water; I would like to express these things of nature. In this sense, it is also connected to last year’s exhibition 'Requiem of Heaven and Earth’; so for the free, I want to gather together all the things I have experienced until now, and level it up further." "Inside me, I have clearly decided the theme but it is not conceptualised in words, it is not something concrete but something abstract, it can be taken in any way." and it looks like someone else got the link to the post about gender presentation before I could!