Cerunias

Also, from previous documentaries and interviews, it sounds like although each athlete works primarily with one coach, this is interchangeable - I remember specifically a comment that if one coach was busy or away, another coach would take over in a seamless fashion. Meanwhile, Mr Orser maintains overview of the whole system. So if they are to add a coach, I can't imagine that TCC would just add any coach - they would need to ensure that the coach they add complement the skillsets of the existing coaches, and that this interchangeable system can still work. If they have a coach with a different philosophy, it would wreck havoc to their current system! It strikes me that the philosophy that Mr Orser and his group at TCC have is relatively unique (compared to other coaches and coaching groups), so I can't forsee it being that easy to just "add coaches". The TCC team (from their publicised comments) also seem to me to be pretty careful that it's not the tail wagging the dog (ie they don't add students for the sake of it, and they're not necessarily after trophy- and medal-winners, but that trophies and medals are a byproduct of the passion for figure skating they and their students have).

According to some Russian media, apparently a deal was being negotiated whilst Ms Medvedeva was out for part of the season with her injury - or at least she started exploring her options during her layoff time. I'm not sure how accurate my understanding of those reports are (as I relied on Google Translate) and I'm not sure how reliable those reports themselves are (since inevitably, a sense of that is lost with Google Translate as well). Bear in mind, according to a Spanish documentary re Mr Fernandez and his arrival to TCC, it sounds like things can move pretty quickly - in fact, it sounds like Mr Orser wanted things to move faster than even the Spanish Federation expected back then. And in that same documentary, Mr Orser briefly describes how he got asked to secretly go to Japan, only to find that it was Mr Hanyu asking to go and train with him and Mr Fernandez at TCC - based on the timeline describes, it sounds like things happened quickly, possibly even within a month.

Formal announcement is reportedly tomorrow - Russian media saying that Ms Medvedeva returns from her holiday 7 May, and will make an announcement alongside her Federation. I'm beginning to think this picture needs to be added as an emoji!

Olympic channel coming to full realisation that Hanyu is hot property currently and a reasonably bankable name especially in FS, and so happily making as many mentions as possible? On the topic of bankability, I read previously that Hanyu was valued at approx $2m - with the PC success, I would have thought that's a bit undervalued now?

I go back to my previous comments about the love/hate relationship of celebs and media, which is something that Mr Hanyu himself exhibits. This tweet is likely completely innocent, and like others have said, Ms Medvedeva just enjoying a holiday and been off Twitter, or that she's just another person who enjoys the same manga. But these actions are a perfect illustration of my point. If that's the case, why the particular text that she tweeted, and why now at this particular moment? That's all speculation, indeed, but speculation arises if it is allowed the chance (at best of times, people speculate even if a celeb doesn't feed the trolls). I mentioned in my previous comments that there those celebs who have been in the game a long time have tips and tricks to manage the media, and insulate themselves from the more damaging aspects of it, and still use the media to promote their causes/products/etc. And I would daresay that lesson 1 is "don't feed the trolls". As another poster pointed out previously, it's almost like Ms Medvedeva is inviting speculation. Given the trouble that Mr Hanyu has had with the media, I hope that he finds a way within himself to deal with it in a positive manner, because unfortunately, it's not exactly possible to stop the media speculating, and so all he can do is find a way within himself to deal with it and not suffer from the deleterious and ruinous effects of the speculation of others. Unfortunately, now one site has started the speculation, let the deluge begin with every other news website picking this up and carrying it on. I remember a parable about rumours, likening them to a fistful of feathers let loose into the wind...

Fair to say, most celebrities have a love-hate relationship with the media for that reason. The media loves speculation to feed the imaginations of their readers (and bear in mind that we have some of the blame to carry too, since without us lapping up what the media dishes out, the media wouldn't exist). The celebs use the media to promote their cause/products. They need each other, but it's not exactly a relationship of "love" and/or "friendship", nor is it necessarily equal in power. Someone like Mr Hanyu will be no different I imagine - he clearly is affected by the negative comments carried by the media, as well as the erroneous speculations (I refer to his comments at CiONTU); but he is also a user of the media eg to promote Japan and Sendai, and to raise awareness for the ongoing post-earthquake reconstruction efforts. Those celebs who have been in the game for a long time have clearly found a way to manage this relationship that can otherwise be ruinous (and have ruined many other celebs along the way). Undoubtedly, there probably are "tips and tricks for the new players". One would hope that Mr Hanyu can pick these up and fortify himself against the emotional baggage that speculative media can create (and certainly, avoiding feeding trolls is the most obvious first step!). And one would also hope that we, as media consumers, take care to not "encourage" the media to overstep boundaries of courtesy in their zealous chase of their "quarry". Princess Di, sadly, was one of the most prominent and extreme example within the past generation of the destructive nature (and power) of this relationship.

Hah! I wasn't even thinking about shipping etc...I was more thinking that with Mr Fernandez gone from TCC now, someone like Ms Medvedeva might be good for Mr Hanyu in terms of pushing him to one-up and keep improving (not that Mr Hanyu doesn't have that drive internally himself, based on his own publicised comments; but to have that kind of external stimulus helps too, in my experience). Although, that said, I guess the friendly competition in practice that reportedly existed between Mr Fernandez and Mr Hanyu is somewhat a rarity amongst high-level athletes, as Mr Orser himself pointed out.

Interesting because in one breath, the article states she's staying in the same club but with a different coach; in the next breath, speculation of a move to Canada starts - almost like a desperation attempt to link the two skaters together and somehow draw Hanyu into the story. I guess the Olympics YT channel figured that Mr Hanyu draws in the views (as evidenced by the recent clips featuring him), so perhaps this is trying to do the same?? Well, if we are going to speculate, please forgive me for throwing this into the rumour mill as well: this came up in the last 24 hours (along with a post saying "hello"), after some 2 or 3 months of zero posts. A conspiracy theorist would join a lot of dots to this tweet! (But we aren't conspiracy theorists are we? ) "Are jokes about the vegan Ghoul still relevant? Or am I late?"

One with his Seimei costume, but with special effects, to make it look like there were magical glows/sparks around. I was actually hunting around for ideas and tips to create such graphic effects when I came across it, and it was well-drawn enough to resemble Hanyu - whom I recognised from the Sochi games (historically I only followed FS during Olympics). But then after seeing more fanart, and the links to video clips, I signed up to the Planet, and started watching more and more of Hanyu (and some others) for the artistry. Now I hope I don't get lynched for some of my almost-blasphemous comments above I couldn't help but notice there are many (active) Australians on the Planet!

Too long... I started when PC started - that's when I first found this forum (via fanart).

Pleased to report: "new" to the Planet; been there, done that. And here I am now (finally)!