EisElle

mh, depending on how JGPF will go for Koshiro (and likely on how SrNats will go), I can see fed leaving Shun at home and sending Koshiro (especially if he manages to grab a gpf medal)...despite Shun having the highest scoring potential...I guess they want to see how consistent these boys can be, they want those 3 spots back... How consistent is Tatsuya? btw I like his FS costume, it reminds me of a mix of Yuzu's Etude+MR anyway, congrats to the medalists and to those who will go to SrNats, and congrats to the ladies! I'm happy that both Yuna Aoki and Tomoe are in top six, and Tomoe on podium and of course Nana! Happy for Yuhana too (tho weird to see her in jr considering the age of some of current sr ladies..tho I understand the field was way too crowded already...) Japan really has some very great jumpers...they only need some more polish, which will come with time, and most important they need to land those beautiful jumps they have... sad for Rion tho and for Moa...but no surprises there. If only she could have someone to help her improve those jumps...

Ladies has been particularly wild thus far...and men too.... well, at least reverse-jinxing worked for Mai...but I've jinxed ladies gold again and men silver and bronze again too

Thanks for the stats @sallycinnamon maybe this could go in the general skating subforum tho, I see tech talk +other skaters too Back to the topic Question: by clean you mean full BV+positive goe? (Asking because I don't remember if there were URs with positive goe) Ouch poor Yuzu doesn't have the highest goe on 3A despite having the best 3A with hardest entry (ok Misha has a great 3A too when he's not popping it ) With the axis issue due to twizzle entry and the stamina issue in fs that's probably the most kuyashii Yuzu jump atm 😅 followed by 4Lo Also, mmh say what you want about the new Origin chsq being too short or having too little, but I fail to see what top two goe chsq have more and better than that... (and I've already commented on stsq goe) Re: Nathan I'd say 3F3T placement is highly suspicious there...imo he'll probably upgrade it to quad and try again the 4S or repeat 4F instead of 4T....tho with recent issues on flip (and the ! he got) maybe he won't go repeat F and keep stable and reliable 4T as repeated jump in second half (I suppose the bonus and goe make it as good as a 4F and with much higher consistency)..but I really have hard time believing Nathan will try less than 5 quads at WC...let's see if in gpf he'll go for cleaner skates again, even if Yuzu wd there will still be Shoma with similar BV in both sp and fs and imo clean vs clean the goe on 3A and maybe 4T (apparently 4F too?) and pcs will give it to Shoma...likely goe on spins too, if Shoma manages to keep spins centered, they're usually better At the moment I'd bet my money on Nathan being cleaner, but despite being much more messy Shoma got higher total scores... so really he just needs to land all his combos...

I like programs of younger Plushenko more than those of the wiggling-hips Plushenko so I can relate tho to be fair he wasn't the only one doing that (tho maybe he contributed to popularize it?) Re: that image of fans kneeling It kinda reminds me of what Javi did in Barcelona so I don't think it would make Yuzuru that uncomfortable, IMO he would understand it's a joke, and really, most people knowing the context would take that just like it was meant (heck that's a typical example of hyperbole and I read it as healthy self-deprecating humour, we know how intense we can get and also how sometimes we are viewed, imo it's positive that we can laugh at ourself like that, regardless of how antis will try to twist things. It's bad when people take themselves too seriously). Re: the video of Yuzu signing I haven't watched it so idk, if Yuzuru didn't know he wasn't being filmed I don't like that, and I hope next time (if there is a next time) people would ask for permission as sign of respect. If Yuzu was aware if it was fine for him it's fine for me too. As for wanting to film that moment...I can understand both views, being busy filming or taking pictures always takes away something from live experience, but you get a more lasting and reliable 'memory' than your own memory, maybe even capture details your brain was too overwhelmed to take in (take a fs program, first watch is about impression and emotion, second third and so on you take in the details and little nuances more) Re: Plushenko calling Yuzuru "better': that's a huge thing tbh, one he doesn't need to say and not many top skaters and legendary skaters would say. IMO it's true, but Plushenko is still entitled to think he is the best, or at least to claim that he is. But he goes out there and says that. Well, I guess he still thinks and says he's the best in some things, but still... (btw one thing I'd recognize to Plushenko is that he gas been able to deliver repeatedly and for a long time. Regardless of the reasons, it isn't Easy, as we know). Re: Johnny's words They warm my heart And that's the beauty of FS, isn't it? That different skaters can brings different things even with same music and every generation adds something to be inherited by next gen, and next gen won't just erase or exploit what's there but build upon that And yes, french commies should really read that. If the man who is being 'copied' doesn't feel bitter at all or worries about being overshadowed (because that's not how FS works, unless they think every lady skating to Carmen wants to show she's better than Witt ), if he feels proud and finds beauty and 'typical Yuzu'in that (so he himself recognize a different style from his own), why on earth they would be entitled to say all that.... sorry, I'm trying not to swear but some people make it hard Sorry for mistakes my phone is dying and the post is too long I'm too lazy to re-read rn 😅

Uhm...checking the spreadsheet on phone, I think I have placed J/C as gold and bronze LOL maybe they can clone themselves The funniest thing would be if they end with silver...

Let's hope we won't get again a deluge of LLL... and MR... and Les Mis... and Chicago... and POTO... please Icedancers, there are so many musicals out there, please help me discover new ones!

thank you for compiling fancams too, I'll see if I'm missing some from those I've watched I love Otonal fancams those from Language of skate (Gladi?) are awesome too...(also those from practices) And in fancams you get also to see Yuzuru's face during stsq, and he's smiling, I wanna gif one of those because it's so beautiful! Also, 4T3T looks better in fancams I can understand why judges showered it in points despite the issues... (I was going to be snarky and say it was because of the SE exit and maybe it was LOL judges really love all kind of SE) I was also quite surprised at how many details of arms and hands were still visible from afar... I thought most would be lost but for example spins are still so gorgeous

Brian's face in the last pic is doing things to my poor heart

yeah, I saw that, I'm so relieved at least this one thing is solved...tho it looks like he'll arrive only tomorrow but I guess Boyang ishappy, better arrive late than being stuck at home

oh my, I thought the results would be worse (and I'm totally surprised at the outcome of the 'biggest point difference' question... so weird it was ID) I've gone back on podium yay still sad for so many things that happened in COR tho... well, now I should think about which lady I want to jinx predicting her gold..till now the only lady I haven't royally jinxed is Alina and even Alina hasn't performed at her best sadly in this field I have so many faves one of them would still be out of podium even if all skate at their best, like happened in NHK On the contrary I've always guessed Men gold right (tho COR was all the same), but at this point I give up with trying to predict anything in the men field based on previous scores and layouts and I'm just gonna put those I like for silver and bronze...tho I've always royally jinxed my predicted silver man, so I'm a bit at putting anyone there...who to sacrifice? Boyang, I really want you to be the silver (well, I'd like a gold even more but 0.00001% chances it's gonna happen) so try not to bomb too hard this time, all right? And afaik at the moment he is still having VISA issues, so who knows if he'll manage to even be there why can't he (and us fans) catch a breath?

that was was made me go really the choice of the tweet and especially how it was framed are...not what I would have liked to see. Maybe they were trying to be funny but it came out as quite judgmental the rest is basically the same old story about 'japanese' people following him (which is of course correct, but limited) and Pooh... they could have tried a little more... I mean, Olympic Channel did much better, they finally let people from all the world speak and they choose some very good comments too... I still appreciate the effort tho, it's a sign of how much all our little (and not-so-little) shows of support (in what is still a minor sport) have become notable to the point it's worth doing a fluff piece on it (or several fluff pieces) I hope next time they'll do a better job tho

has this been shared? also, yes for FS broadcast on Rai being seriously lacking...I think they didn't even broadcast OWG men SP, or if they did they hid the schedule so well I couldn't find it on replay I think even the broadcast for euros and Worlds wasn't full... and I had to search really hard to find it... tho, that one time they did stream live Zu's FS from Sochi on non-pay-per-view channel I...well...I wasn't appreciative back then I'm still both laughing and cringing at myself and my karma everytime I think about that...

ok, I personally lolled hard at Plushenko being oblivious, it looks like poor Zu couldn't get his point across that well well, at least now he knows (and will stop asking for more Nijinsky ) but I'd like to add this: feel what you want about Plushenko (on and off ice), but at least he has always supported Yuzuru, and he's been doing so for a long time... actually, he's also one of the few skaters, past and current, whose fame exceeds the limited circle of FS, and he has enough fame and money and personal influence to his name that he could be talking badly about Yuzuru without caring that much about backlash. He doesn't need to worry about being invited to shows in Japan, he has his own shows in Russia and he takes part in many shows in Europe anyway (and I bet Japan would still invite him because he has his own fanbase there too)... he had no need to support Yuzuru so strongly...and repeatedly... even a generic praise once in a while would have been enough and no one would have demanded or expected more. So I think Plushenko is honest when he says he admires Yuzuru. Maybe, when time will come for someone else to be the man at the top, Plushenko won't be saying anymore "Yuzuru is the best" (I feel bringing results is, in his eyes, necessary requisit to call someone as the best), but I think his support is sincere, even if maybe he still doesn't understand all of Yuzuru. And it's ok that he doesn't understand all of Yuzu because 1) neither of them is native english speaker, so communication isn't the best and 2) I don't think the two of them get to talk heart-to-heart that much, I mean, we've seen how Yuzu turns into mush when Plushy preaises him I think Yuzu would still be a bit shy to talk for long and in depth...in english and 3) Plushenko's schedule is at least as hectic as Yuzuru's, so I don't think he gets to be updated on what Yuzuru says to press, and that would be the only other source where he could have got the message that Origin is a tribute to his skating (tho again it's more of a tribute to how his skating inspired Yuzuru). Of course someone else could have said him, but it's not like everyone knows Plushenko as 'Yuzuru's hero' so I guess usually people don't go to him and say: 'whoa, must feel amazing to have Yuzuru Hanyu pay tribute to you' Also, when Plushenko talks about Yuzuru, he actually points out qualities that are distinctly Yuzuru, so it's not like he gives empty praises just 'cause he has to say something (e.g. when he said "Because the movements of his arms and wrists are very beautiful and soft"x). He's an athlete and he's been where Yuzuru is. He's likely one of the people who can understand Yuzuru better(*) if we talk about competitve experience. He knows what's like to aim for the top and always fight to stay up there, for years. He has felt the pressure and the expectations of a whole nation and sometimes he has let his people down, too, and he had to live with that (like when he WD form Men's single in Sochi). He's tasted the bitterness of defeat and he's skated through pain. Not to talk about all the injuries he had. He knows what's like to fight to come back every single time (which is why it's so heartwarming to think Yuzuru will read Plushenko's words, they mean a lot more coming form someone he admires and who he knows what it feels like) (*) btw I feel the same about Yagudin (I would actually have thought of PC YuzuruVsShoma showdown as a Yags vs Plushy 20 years later, senior competing against a younger and very hungry countryman... well, of course the contenders to the gold were many more than two in PC, so the comparison wasn't really 100% accurate, and then there was that injury). I'm happy both russian legends are supportive, and I'm happy Yagudin was on Yuzuru's side in the FS too...it's easy to lavish someone in praises when he wins, that yagudin was still so suporitve when Yuzuru struggled is even more significant...and it's impressive that he liked a program that is meant as a tribute to is rival. tho Yuzuru has always counted Yagudin among his faves, too. Yuzuru is a certified Plushy fanboy and he rooted for him in Salt Lake, but he admires both Yags and Plushy and he loves programs from both. After all, he knows Winter's steps by heart... on a lighter note this is the wrong hour to get hungry I'm gonna go to sleep and hopefully that will quench my sudden need for soup and stew

Re: JackG.'s article iirc it isn't the first time Jack's gone down the 'tough men' route (or being tough in general). It makes me go when, after mentioning Yuzuru's motivations, Jack wraps things up with an ode to true manliness (whatever it is). While parts of the article are good, others missed the point. IMO what Yuzu said in press-con, about his choice and why he made it, made the meaning of that skate crystal clear and for sure it wasn't to be the tough man, tho Yuzuru is, without doubts, tough. Tbh it makes me sad that people would take Yuzuru's skate as display of manliness or example of what people must do to be worthy (and exalt/criticize him because of this view). I have no idea about what's happening in NBA, so maybe Jack could have a point or maybe I'm just misunderstanding him, but sure as hell I don't want people to look at the many times Yuzuru skated through injury and think they need to do the same otherwise they aren't good enough. To me, it's all about awareness, goals and choices. Maybe in the end the results are the same as "just acting recklessly". But the point is that, if there are reasons and weighting options and deep feelings behind a choice (not just blnd stubborness), it's different and that's where I have to step back from talking as the one who knowes better. But, while it is a skater's choice to compete despite injury (tho, if skaters are underage, parents and coaches should be majorly involved in the decision-making), meeting someone else's idea of manliness shouldn't factor in that choice. I don't really want to see skaters break themselves in fear of backlash if they choose to preserve their health...if it's their own choice I'll support them (while worrying and screaming in frustration and wishing they had made a different one), but it has to be their own choice, not the choice of someone else Also, I'm pretty at when Jack claims Yuzuru's coaches should step in and protect Yuzu from himself... man, Yuzu isn't stupid or inexperienced, he'll listen to all opinions, weight his priorities and act accordingly. Like he did in Russia. Re: the football example

awww Kazuki is so sweet, I hope this is the first of many podiums to come nice words, I was worried it would be a 'you should play no matter what, even if your body breaks', but it was about hard work to hone talent and achieve results always aming to give his best, fighting for what he chose and pursuing what he wants with unyielding spirit... this is why I think Yuzuru's Origin in Russia is a legacy. Not to push others to disregard their health (as some people have said somewhere else, entirely missing the point) but owning one's choices and not letting adversities defeat you I am again reminded of Tennyson's Ulysses "To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield" btw, @SparkleSalad

that was so sweet and heartwarming thank you! While reading I was picturing everything as runrun's drawings too, and it was so perfect, I'm supersoft now Which reminds me there was a whole video of runrun pics on YT, I need to find it again re: choosing battles I'm not sure if winning Worlds in Japan is really what he wants the most this time, or if he's just gonna try to fullfill his childhood dream of a 4A..it's hard to predict anything...I guess we'll know in due time... but sure, they are Worlds in Japan...and if he'll be there, it will likely be the first time he'll be competing in his home country since... WTT17 (what's happened to Japan being a lucky place for him to compete?) he'll want to skate his programs at their best tho, and especially Origin... since I saw the Origin costume, I had the image of a phoenix raising from the ashes. I've always seen Yuzuru as a bit of a phoenix, and gosh, now with the new injury I hope he'll be back skating as he wants, like the phoenix once more raising from the ashes, like in PyeongChang (tho hopefully without the need to take painkillers this time) Today I'm definitely relieved that at least it looks like the injury is not as bad as last season...(tho I'd like to know how much less bad it is) still a bit gloomy about what's next... but I'm in the acceptance&looking forward phase (who am I kidding, I'm gonna tear up again at the next video of victory ceremony, people saying sweet things about Yuzuru, and Yuzu being hugged by kids) Now my wish for Yuzuru is...well, I have a lot of wishes for him but I'm trying not to be greedy, so I'm choosing just one, the most important: my wish for Yuzu is that he'll be able to do what makes him happy Yeah, I know it's a bit like cheating, because skating is something he deeply loves and I really love his skating, so it's also a selfish wish... but whatever makes him happy, truly, I hope he's able to do that

now it works, thanks eta: ouch I had forgotten bonus question included landing all 3As...poor 3A

😂 he's one of a kind please never change! Re: new jsf statement I'm glad they spelled out that what matters the most is for Yuzuru to focus on long term. A WC spot was likely but it's still good that they are already saying that, of course no guarantee yet (It will only be when they officially announce the team alter JNats) but it still lifts some undue pressure from Yuzuru and maybe there's enough time to make haters chew on the idea and get used to that. I guess JSF learned from the past that long term is better than rushed short term. Realistically, Yuzuru on a bad day can still do better that most, even with watered down layout, so he is half of JSF's safer bet for WC in Japan (the other half of course is Shoma who has reliably got on podium in almost every comp of his senior career, too). Realistically, Yuzuru also draws the higest views and raises the ratings, which I guess JSF likes... Eta: hence I'll pray that Yuzuru can recover and get back to form by Worlds

aw, thank you fellow satellites when I saw it on screen I though 'what a beautiful message, it could be from the Planet' and it was! thank you thank you this sounds a good plan, now I'll try to image-training it into existance LOL I could totally believe this...what does this say about me? or him? RE: chances of GPF I don't put much trust in that JSF statement, I think the weeks of rest are probably going to be more than 3 in the end (and last season recovery was delayed because he healed slower than expected), so I'm just gonna focus on praying for Yuzuru to recover well and fast enough that he can start on-ice stroking by January or something... tho I hate that he's going to be away from the ice again for so long listen to music and play videogames if you want Yuzu, no need to deny those little pleasures now... of course, if it could turn out the injury wasn't as bad and it's safe for him to aim for JNats, I'd be super happy...and I'd be super happy if it could be matter of only one week of rest...that's the only way he and his ankle could be reasonably ready for GPF... but right now that JSF statement really sounds like the many from last season....before they announced his WD... I know Yuzuru will try his best if he thinks he has a half a chance, but now he really has no rush to get any title and when he chose to skate on saturday he basically chose to go all out in the present (well, not blindly go out, he simplified his layout) instead of pulling back for the slim hope to be ready enough for Nats... Now it's done, he can focus on the future with a bit of sense of accomplishment(*) and plan his next steps one by one... he's aware of all the pressure from sponsors and media and he hates to let anyone down, but I believe Yuzuru will keep choosing his own path from now on (*) and I hope that, if he ever were to doubt himself, people around him will keep reminding him that it was amazing

it asks me to request for access, is that normal? and yes, on friday it felt pretty good to be a trusty Yuzu fan Actually it still feels pretty good, basically he's single-handedly saved my men predictions and likely part of bonus questions too...it still sucks on so many levels that he had to sacrifice his ankle for that but the Yuzu fan experience is all of this, highs and lows, so I'll bear the lows if I can get the highs too

whoa my scores really sank in the NHK round... half of what I did the other times I'll take this as sacrifice to the skating gods in order to get again my Men gold prediction right this week! It looks like that to have that one name right many sacrifices are needed and I'm more than willing to sacrifice all my predictions for that one name if I must! But not the bonus question on Zuzu's jumps...becuase this time I'm really gonna fly or sink with him so, skating gods, please, grant me this wish! Gimme Yuzu gold beaming from the top spot of Rostelecom 2018 men podium! As for the ladies, Yuna and Polina are welcomed to ruin my predictions relatable LOL I had written down on paper all my prediction before the start of the GP series and I still have those notes: NHK Ladies: 1.Rika (I changed idea after SA) and now when I watch it it mocks me (well, I said Rika could make me bomb and she did, can't be sad about that but Mai!) ETA: I also fault tech panels, how could one guess they'd call all the Lz but no F? I hope the fake F calls won't come back for RC!

I'm dying, those snippets are only 6 seconds long but they are so Zuzu™, I can't this kid also, 7 revolutions, Zuzu, really?... now we know what he dreams at night...we though it was Nessie and quints, but, you know, those are merely things that he will jump I foresee many memes & yuzumoticons out of those CMs...

I wanted to go in more depth re: choreo changes, but I need to keep my word fast, so I'll leave the musings to when I don't have to rush. But in the meanwhile: I'm here to keep my promises, in hope jumps actually care about my gifs (LOL) and feel encouraged to better themselves in Rostelecom Here we go: a few more gifs: I really felt the lack of proper HD footage and fancams this time, the HD fancam from ACI was my fave footage of that FS...Origin costume was so sparkly this time, even official HD footage looked a bit...idk, foggy? a pity

sad for the YT channel disappearing one by one... rant under spoiler Well, I hope they won't start chasing down tumblr and private GD and Mega accounts...it looks like we're gonna revert to private sharing and it's gonna hurt the sport so much... Now I'm worried about all the video with on screen subtitles, I usually download anything Yuzu whenever I have connection but those were the ones I've left bookmarked waiting for when I've got time to screencapture the video with the subs, but I believe some were on channels like lorandomuffin and now I won't get to see subbed videos anymore like the one about Seimei making of

quoting myself 'cause I need to keep my word in hope Zuzu's jumps will behave again (and even better, hopefully) ok, twizzle-3A sandwich wasn't top notch and 4T3T didn't give me a beautiful rippon, but I'm giffing them as encouragment for COR and because those were some very smooth saves here we go: more gif 'cause each and every second of Otonal if suited for gifs and I had hard time choosing which one to post also, thank you to whoever is responsible for the replays, they were truly awesome thank you also, I've watched only now the slow-mo video of the whole SP (I think the link has already been posted somewhere) and gosh now I feel the urge to gif the whole thing I love Yuzuru's arms, and his hands oh gosh! I mean, take the camel spin, his fingers look already awesome in normak speed, but in that slow-mo video...