Well... NHK was
bad. I remember Orser talking about it in the Olympic feature — that when he first saw Yuzu again, Yuzu was on crutches and in a cast, and Orser told him (paraphrased), “If you want to set world records, lulzno, but if you want to win the Olympics, that’s doable.” (Brian Orser: please adopt all of us. You are the world’s boring-but-invaluable uncle.)
As far as Nationals go,
Yuzu doesn’t need to compete (he’s going to Worlds). And I can’t see a situation in which the GPF is a bad idea but Japanese nationals are a-okay — they’re too close on the calendar, plus conditioning loss from time spent off-ice, etc. As much as it hurts, it’s probably best to shelve both (assuming that’s the medical advice) and focus on 4CC and Worlds instead.
I’m just absolutely gutted for Yuzu. I was watching a livestream of practice and saw the fall in real time — I was up late myself and sobbing/screaming in pain because autoimmune — and I kept trying to tell myself he took his time getting up because he was sulking. You know. Because that makes sense. But it’s just... yes, some of this is a natural consequence of training quads for 8+ years, and this is a brutal sport. And yet seeing Yuzu so
happy and
comfortable with himself this season, it feels like yet another round of some twisted “good news/bad news” joke.
Good news: you’re going to be born with a body that’s aerodynamically perfect for figure skating! Bad news: have this asthma.
Hearing him speak English so proficiently was such a dead giveaway in terms of how much more confident and at peace he was this season. (This is also why you speak a foreign language more freely after a few drinks. Not even joking.) I was just so happy
for him.
I understand what he means about each unhappiness being the start of a new bit of luck... but it’s also a terrible way to live. (Darkly:
I would know. I’ve been using that line as a “joke” since the moment of birth.) At this point, I know better than to hope for good news, but maybe, just maybe, Yuzu can catch a break and the news will be “the least worst of only bad options.” That’s ... luck.