#victuuri meta

[neutronice]

Vitya

I sometimes (a LOT) think about Victor. I think about that bone-deep exhaustion we see come across his face when not even a minute after the gold medal ceremony, he's being asked about his next program.

I think about how lonely it must be, being an untouchable idol held to a standard with no one there to share it with him.

I think about those moments, his dog the only being in the world he lets in all the way, wondering when his world started to look gray. When "strength must be found on your own" became a slow and monotonous march toward misery.

When skating stopped feeling like a passion.

I think about Victor wondering what ever happened to Yuuri Katsuki, who got drunk and danced with him, who proclaimed be my coach only to disappear into the ether again, even though Worlds was in Tokyo.

I think about that trudge, when Victor is looking at two programs that both don't feel quite right, hearing about Yuri Plisetsky the new Russian phenom, who Victor obviously would be passing the baton to. How much more lonely that would be.

I think about Victor, sitting by himself at his apartment, snuggling his dog and watching Yuuri Katsuki suddenly blow up his phone again with a rendition of Stay Close to Me.

And remembering Be My Coach

I think about Victor's butterflies leaping from his stomach as he rehearses the perfect opening line, naked in the Katsuki onsen.

Then I think about Victor, adopted by the Katsukis and Hasetsu, falling in love, and watching as Yuuri falls in love in kind, not with the mask, not with the idol, not even with the skater.

With Vitya.

#yoi meta #i've been sort of down in the dumps today #thinking about happy victor helped #victor nikiforov #vitya #victuuri #yuri on ice meta #viktuuri

[jewishvitya]

Yuuri's ambition and determination? The best thing ever.

He's so strong. Anyone reaching his level would have to be.

We meet Yuuri at his lowest point in the series: grieving. And he was spiraling from there, and still grieving. We meet him when he's experiencing a crisis, not his normal baseline.

I feel like that initial image makes it easy to characterize him as being saved by Viktor, but this would be wrong.

Viktor didn't save Yuuri. He didn't save Yuuri from his anxiety, Yuuri had working coping mechanisms. We see him going to skate and reconnect to his motivation with the help of a friend. He didn't save Yuuri from retiring, Yuuri's mindset is "I want to skate on the same ice as him" before Viktor reaches Hasetsu.

Viktor supported his growth, and Yuuri showed him how. Viktor didn't make him better.

#old meta-ish thing I wrote on twitter #maybe I already moved it here but I can't remember #so have it again #unless I didn't move it and then this is the first time it's on my blog #yoi #riki babbles #victuuri #viktuuri #yoi meta #yoi thoughts

[alexseanchai]

so on the one hand, Yuuko's massive nosebleed in ep 3 is an obvious example of the anime trope in which nosebleeds indicate sexual attraction and/or arousal, and the comically large volume of blood is equally obviously an indication of the strength of that attraction, exaggerated for effect

on the other hand, there's no scientific basis for sexual arousal to relate to nosebleeds:

and I'm not sure how to estimate the volume of blood Yuuko is shown losing, but it's plenty enough that Yurio shouting for help (in the English dub) or asking Yuuko if she's sick (in the Japanese dub) is an entirely reasonable reaction:

and after all, Yuuri and Yuuko would both be well aware of this anime trope, and there's no reason to think Yurio would be; it makes sense that neither Yuuko nor Yuuri would be concerned, but the fact Yurio is, and he's making no effort to pretend otherwise—Yurio, who until now has made such a point of growling at Victor and hurting Yuuri in order to not look like he cares about either—

and a week later, when Yuuko sees Yurio in what must be a costume from one of Victor's first two seasons as a junior, age thirteen to fifteen to Yuuko's eleven to thirteen at the time:

ah, so someone told Yurio about the nosebleed-indicates-arousal trope

fascinating characterization all around

...speaking of nosebleeds:

and I'll link to both these metas as soon as I find them again, which I'd appreciate assistance with since I'm blanking on who posted either:

one observed that Victor noticed Yuuri flubs his jumps when there's something on his mind, and that we don't hear Yuuri's thoughts for most of his free skate in ep 5, but we do see him screw up the last jump, and the final scene in the episode is Yuuri's love confession to Victor—which suggests Yuuri realized on the ice that he loves Victor, the mortal human he's been learning the past five months, even with all the ways Victor frustrated Yuuri earlier in ep 5

the other observed that Victor was wondering who Yuuri's defiance of his coach reminded Victor of, and he was surprised to realize it's himself, a thought he had only after Yuuri took his final pose—which suggests Victor was also surprised by Yuuri's final pose

connect those two dots and we get, Yuuri changed the final pose on impulse, same as he changed the final jump in ep 7 on impulse, because he realized on the ice he loves Victor

can't help but suspect, given the nosebleed and everything, that he's thinking of sexual as well as romantic love

(which yes also has the Watsonian explanation of he bounced his face off the boards, which might say something about Yuuri being ace or demi given Yuuko did not injure herself in ep 3 and was definitely banging at least one man as a teenager, but like)

#yuri on ice #nishigori yuuko #yuri plisetsky #yuuri katsuki #victor nikiforov #victuuri #yoi meta #by alexseanchai

[pre-reform-voice]

A plea for imperfection

Warning: Random rambling ahead.

A friend of mine is beta reading my YoI fan fiction and in the second part (Love Aims At One Scope) she got really mad at Viktor. She's only seen the anime once, and when he makes a rather nasty, off-hand statement to an OC who is trying to make him feel better, she couldn't see it.

But here's the deal, Viktor isn't as clean as he seems. He is the epitome of a person who has no filter.

In the real world, a lot of people who say that about themselves use it as an excuse to be cruel. They put others down intentionally and enjoy it, and when that person has the audacity to tell them they're hurt, they claim they were only joking or gaslight the person in some other way.

Mind you, that is NOT how I see Viktor.

He's a great guy, he cares, he's affectionate, he can be incredibly kind and understanding - and sometimes he talks before he thinks through what effect his words will have. And that sentence in my fic - as bad as it is - I think is completely in character. I really contemplated changing that, or at least have him say something that isn't THAT bad, but it's something I can see. That sentence will stay.

I love Viktor. He's a wonderful human being. But he's also an incredibly flawed deuteragonist who hides his shortcomings behind his charms so well it works in the real world, apparently, not just within the universe.

My friend has since decided she has to watch it again for several reasons, and she'll keep a lookout for this. Currently, she has Viktor as much on a pedestal as Yuuri did, it seems. But for me his less-than-wonderful traits are what make writing him so amazing. It makes him feel real to me, and relatable, and even if I sometimes want to whack him with a wet towel (the original version in the anime and my own), I still think he's a walking green flag. Most of the time. When he actually uses his brain.

#yuri on ice #victuuri #yuri!!! on ice #yoi #viktor nikiforov #yoi meta

[thegirlwhorideslikeasamurai]

The role of Japanese dating culture in YOI

Disclaimer: This post is based on my research on Japanese culture. If you are Japanese and note that I missed the point, please enlighten me. I’m always happy to learn.

At first glance, Yuuri’s behaviour is rooted in awkwardness, anxiety, and low self-esteem. Whereas all of this is true, his cultural upbringing engenders some of his demeanours as well. It adds nuance to his character and to his relationship with Viktor.

Let’s break this down chronologically.

Inappropriate physical contact

When Viktor shows up at the onsen, his advances weird Yuuri out. Viktor’s courtship behaviour is totally over the top even beyond the borders of Japan, but it definitely isn’t how things work in Japan. Touching, for instance, is quite an intimate thing. It’s rude to touch a stranger in the ways Viktor touches Yuuri. No wonder Yūri has a flight or freeze response and doesn’t seem comfortable with it at all. That having Viktor’s hands on his body causes a visceral reaction doesn’t help the matter at all.

Hugs are uncommon unless they happen between people close to each other, such as friends or family, and they tend to don’t last long. Long hugs usually happen between people who are in love. Thus, it’s a big deal when Yuuri hugs Viktor before his performance at the Onsen on Ice. Yuuri is very anxious and determined to make Viktor stay in Japan. He is desperate and doesn’t know if he can win against the other Yuri. And he’s super awkward, even more so when interacting with Viktor. This hug is a desperate attempt to show that Viktor means something to him.

Kissing in public is widely frowned upon in Japan, although this view is slowly coming out of fashion. Traditionally, kisses were considered a long-term promise—you don’t kiss if you’re not serious about your relationship. When Yuuri and Viktor kiss at the end of episode 7, this is very serious. The shocked expression on the faces of Yuuri’s friends and family reflects the prevailing reaction of Japanese people to such a public display of intimacy.

Yuuri’s kokuhaku

A kokuhaku (告白) is a love confession, usually phrased along the lines of “I like you. Can we start seeing each other?” However, there are no rules on how a kokuhaku should be carried out. Some Japanese get very creative or explicit in voicing their feelings. If you google kokuhaku, you’ll find many examples of successful kokuhakus and such that backfired. People voice a kokuhaku when they want to date someone. If the other person’s response is positive, they start dating and are in a romantic relationship henceforth. Just hanging out with someone you have feelings for doesn’t qualify as dating until you’ve voiced your kokuhaku. I like this custom because it follows a rule set that minimises confusion and defines what both people can expect of each other. According to my research, many Japanese start relationships this way, although more and more prefer the “Western” way.

Until the end of episode 5, Yuuri struggles with the concept of love and identifying his feelings. I believe realisation strikes him when he crashes into the barrier at the Chugoku, Shikoku, and Kyushu Regional Championship. This finally enables him to act on his feelings.

Yuuri chooses the press conference in which the skaters of the Japanese team present their season’s themes to voice his kokuhaku, and he is very explicit about it. Luckily, he knows Viktor is in love with him, for otherwise, his confession could have easily resulted in losing face as it was broadcasted nationwide.

This line is the most important part of Yuuri’s kokuhaku:

For the first time in my life, there’s a person I want to hold on to. That person is Viktor. I don’t really have a name for that emotion, but I’ve decided to call it ‘love’.

Note the usage of 自分か 繋ぎとめたい. As pointed out here, a more literal translation would be “Viktor being the first person I want to reach out to and bond with, and with those bonds, bind us together so that we will never part.” It’s a reference to Stammi Vicino (Non Te Ne Andare). If this isn’t a textbook kokuhaku, I don’t know what this is!

After this public kokuhaku, Yuuri and Viktor can finally start dating and get into relationship mode. Although we don’t get to see them dating, their interactions reveal a level of intimacy at the Cup of China, that leaves no doubt that they are boyfriends. It’s obvious to everyone around them, too. It’s mostly Viktor who initiates public displays of intimacy because, due to his own cultural upbringing, he’s less reserved, whereas Yuuri expresses his feelings in subtler ways. This turn in their relationship eventually prompts Viktor to instruct Yuuri to skate Eros as himself.

Like so many things in Japanese culture, love language is subtle. “I love you” (愛してる) is not that commonly used in a committed relationship as people prefer to express their affection less directly, although it is gradually gaining popularity. A key aspect of Japanese storytelling is “show don’t tell, but do it subtly and with nuance”. We see a lot of this in YOI, and those scenes say so much more about the love Yuuri and Viktor share than “I love you” ever could.

The (accidental) marriage proposal

Traditional Japanese marriage proposals are a rather formal matter (e.g. “I like to make miso soup for you every day.”), and this is exactly what makes Viktor assume that Yuuri just proposed to him when they reunite at the airport. The actual phrasing is highly ambiguous (and I believe the creators did this on purpose), so when Yuuri says “Please take care of me”, a marriage proposal is a valid assumption for Japanese people. And apparently, that's also the case for Viktor who has been living in this country for almost eight months and familiarised himself with Yuuri's culture.

By now, the thought that Yuuri might need to let Viktor go very soon is in conflict with Yuuri's heart which wants Viktor to stay by his side forever. He has already decided to retire after the GPF (so that Viktor can return to skating) and has successfully convinced himself that his time with Viktor is borrowed.

While we can't know for sure if proposing was Yuuri's true intention, if he was ambiguous on purpose to test waters, or if he blurted out the line because his desire to be with Viktor formed a subconscious wish to marry him - the moment Viktor takes it for a proposal, Yuuri's features soften.

He neither denies it was a proposal nor panics, he just blushes and smiles fondly, which implies to me that he is perfectly fine with the idea. Viktor keeps his response ambiguous as well and, taking the next three episodes into account, it's not a stretch to assume that he refers to both. (Interestingly, marriage would solve Yuuri's conflict: he can give Viktor back to the ice without needing to let him go as his friend and lover.)

However, the next episode verifies the proposal part when the two get officially engaged.

For a deeper dive into the translation and interpretation of the dialogue, I refer to this post.

Engagement party

Traditionally, an engagement must be finalised in a ceremony that the couple’s families attend. It’s like a dinner party with gifts and a presentation of the rings. Only when the rings are presented, the engagement is official.

When Yuuri and Viktor get officially engaged in Barcelona, they actually break with tradition for the sake of giving the rings an additional spiritual meaning, which is deeply rooted in Japanese culture. They create omamori of their rings to bestow good luck on Yuuri for the Grand Prix Final. Since their love for each other and their love for the ice are tightly intertwined, this makes a lot of sense. This post explores in great depth what Yuuri tries to explain very awkwardly about the multiple meanings of the rings.

Even though Mari is the only family member around Yuuri and Viktor celebrate their engagement in Barcelona with her, Minako, and their skater friends.

Final words

The evolution of Yuuri and Viktor’s relationship is driven by Japanese customs. Awkwardness, anxiety and his aversion to being pushed aside, there is little progress until Yuuri figures out his feelings and voices his kokuhaku. Yuuri values and adheres to the traditions of his culture, and he only breaks them when being heavily inebriated.

Speaking of traditions, I picture Yuuri and Viktor having a traditional Japanese wedding, including a Shinto shrine ceremony and kimonos.

2023/06/14: I've edited the proposal section based on a recent post that translates and discusses the airport reunion.

If you enjoy my meta posts, please consider giving my blog a follow or checking out my works on AO3(link in bio). You will find the results of my meta musings in there!

#yuri on ice #yurionice #yoi #katsuki yuuri #victuuri #viktor nikirofov #yoi meta #katsuki yuri #katsudon yuri #anime #viktuuri #japanese culture #I write about this in detail in CYHMH #my yoi meta

[itsbeahoney]

I could speak endlessly about the things that make Victor and Yuuri an amazing couple, but this one really stood out to me: their insecurities.

(some of this is kinda headcanon, but it’s based on what is implied in canon)

It’s evident from the beginning that Yuuri sees himself as not enough. He doesn’t think he’s good enough, attractive enough, sexy enough, or talented enough to be Victor’s student. These fears introduce his struggle with anxiety long before he enters his first Grand Prix competition. He doesn’t think he’s good enough to deserve Victor’s attention, he doesn’t think he’s talented enough to beat Yurio, he doesn’t think he can keep Victor in Hasetsu with him when the world wants him back in Russia, competing.

And although his confidence grows throughout the series, his self-doubt is still very evident in their argument in episode 11. Yuuri doesn’t think his career is worth more than Victor’s career. Yuuri doesn’t even consider the romantic value of their relationship, only comparing the success of their careers, because even with all the validation he receives from Victor, he doesn’t know just how much his love means to Victor, and he’s scared of overestimating it. Yuuri’s ongoing fear is not being enough.

Victor, on the other hand, is an enigma. Throughout the show, Yuuri’s unreliable narration makes it difficult to know exactly how Victor feels. Victor is scared of being too much. When he arrived in Hasetsu, he was expecting a very different welcome— something akin to the sensual, sexy, confident dancer he encountered at the banquet— and is instead greeted by a shy, unconfident skater, who can’t grasp why Victor would be there to coach him of all people.

Though Victor initially tried to coax Yuuri out of his shell by being extremely forward, he realized that he needs to give Yuuri his space, and meet him in the middle— not force Yuuri to let him in when he’s not ready. Yuuri challenges Victor in episode 4 by telling Victor to be himself. For so long, Victor had been performing in every aspect of his life; every season wiping the slate clean and beginning again, constructing a new persona for himself. He was seen as a force of nature, a whirlwind, a god. Nobody has ever asked him to be himself before. He’s afraid he’s too messy, too impulsive, too Victor to be what Yuuri wants, which is why he asks Yuuri to give him a role in the first place.

Although Victor’s extra-ness is far from lacking in the following episodes, he’s significantly toned down how direct he is, and instead motivates and challenges Yuuri through his small touches and words. When Yuuri is crying in the parking garage in episode 7, Victor doesn’t know how to react, and slips back into a suave bachelor persona— “Should I just kiss you or something?”— in order to keep his messy self hidden; the kind that doesn’t know how to handle when people cry, the kind that acts impulsively, the kind that really doesn’t know what he’s doing. And Yuuri challenges him again. He doesn’t want Victor to be fake, to hide his true self behind a mask. He just wants Victor to stand by him, as himself. This could be another reason why Victor was so angry when Yuuri wanted to end things for the sake of Victor’s career. Victor had given himself, all of his whole, messy, impulsive, imperfect, balding self to Yuuri, who wanted to give it up for the sake of Victor’s suffocating career, his persona as The World’s Most Eligible Bachelor, God of Figure Skating, Victor Nikiforov. It felt like a rejection of his true self, the one that was shown to Yuuri after he painfully tore down all the walls he had to protect his fragile heart. Victor is afraid that his true self is too much.

But together, they fit together like a puzzle piece. When Victor is afraid he’s too much, Yuuri embraces all of it— all of the messiness, all of the tears, shattering those masks one by one and letting them pick up the pieces together. When Yuuri is afraid he’s not enough, Victor helps him build himself back up, showing him that he is strong and deserving of everything he has.

They are perfect for each other.

#i love them sm u don’t even know #victuuri #victuri #victor nikiforov #katsuki yuuri #yuri on ice #yoi #yoi meta #yoi analysis

[piracytheorist]

So yesterday I found out my phone ships Victuuri.

#I was just typing a note about an sxf meta tho!! #it was sxf Yuri I was taking a note of!! #but it was hilarious lmao #victuuri #yup this post's going in the tag enjoy it 💕 #nette speaks #for clarification I've never typed those two names together on this phone #it was the autocorrect from the device itself #probably having collected data from the internet and stuff #so yeah. Yuri and Victor

[musings-on-aching-flowers]

Another YOI opinion inbound, this time on the ending scene of episode 11/first scene of Episode 12!! (I’m sure this has been done a bunch already but I found this in my notes so I thought I’d just throw it out there)

I don’t think the ‘ending’ that Yuuri OR Victor was referring to was ending the romantic interpersonal relationship that they had. To me, after that episode 9 scene where we get to see Yuuri running into Victor’s arms, it’s just a given that they would stay connected in whatever capacity they could, because they can’t stand to let the other go.

No, to me, the ‘ending’ he is referring to is the ending of Yuuri and Victor’s relationship as skater and coach, and the ending of Yuuri’s career as a professional ice skater. We can see from how the comments the other skaters make about Victor’s career, and the emotional impact this has on Yuuri when he overhears them that Yuuri is upset at the idea that he could potentially be ending Victor’s career, Victor’s raison d’être as it were, and in doing so taking away his whole passion away from him. 

Also, interestingly, I’ve seen a lot of people/fanfic writers take Victor’s accusation of Yuuri’s ‘selfishness’ at face value, but what Yuuri is doing here seems objectively selfless. To Yuuri, he is making the altruistic choice of relieving Victor from being his coach, as the entire skating world thinks that to keep him on would be selfish. However, it just doesn’t take into consideration Victor’s own feelings regarding returning to skating or staying by Yuuri’s side as his coach, which is why Victor calls him ‘selfish’. It especially doesn’t take into account Victor’s feelings on Yuuri leaving the skating world, which has long since become Victor’s raison d’être, instead. In my opinion, this is why Victor is so upset - he desperately doesn’t want Yuuri to retire. 

So yes - Yuuri is not necessarily being selfish, even though that’s what Victor says, (and what Yuuri agrees with) because this decision goes against his own personal feelings about keeping Victor on as his coach. Although he does want to see Victor skating professionally again, he also really wants Victor to stay, so this decision actually went against his own personal interests. 

#yuri!!! on ice #victor nikiforov #katsuki yuuri #victuuri #yoi meta #my meta

[blonndiec]

Yuri!!!On Ice Podcast??

Hear me out.

Just THINK ABOUT IT

I need to hear people speculate about the characters past, to create our own fandom lore and meta. I need more on their families -like I've read a lot of people saying they wanted to know about Viktor's family- their motives beyond skating. More Victuuri, more pairings…

Also, all the merch. The campaigns. Brand collaborations. The collection books. Give recognition to the talented independent artists and creators that had been making YoI content (illustrations, doujin, fanzines, YouTube content) for years.

and MUCH MORE.

I need this. NEED. THIS.

#yuri on ice #yoi #yuri!!! on ice #yuri!!!on ice #victor nikiforov #katsuki yuuri #yuuri katsuki #viktor nikiforov #victuuri #viktuuri

[ziezie13]

My first completed fanbinding! There were so many fun typesetting elements I had trouble narrowing the photos down but I didn't include everything. My favorites are definitely the music QR codes and the meta AO3 fics.

Until My Feet Bleed and My Heart Aches by @kazliin

‘…Of all the rivalries in the world of sports over the years, perhaps none has become so legendary as that of Russian figure skater Viktor Nikiforov and his rival, Japanese Yuuri Katsuki…’

A single event changes the course of Yuuri’s life, throwing him into a bitter rivalry with Viktor Nikiforov that spans across his entire skating career. But as the years go on, rivalry and hatred begin to develop into something very different and Yuuri doesn’t seem to be able to stay away, no matter how hard he tries.

Hatred and love are two sides of the same coin and even though everything changes, some things are still meant to be.

Technical stuff and bonus photos below the cut.

General

197,692 Words / 11 x 8.5 Paper / 500 pgs

Title Font & Chapter Number Font: Just Signature

Chapter Title & Body Font: Adobe Caslon Pro

Misc Fonts: Georgia, Lucida Sans, Zilla Slab, PT Serif, Segoe UI

Designed, typeset, and bound by me.

Programs used: InDesign and BookletCreator.

Anyone who knows me knows I am a sucker for enemies to lovers and this fic executes the trope beautifully. It was one of my very first fics on AO3 and since then I have read it countless times. The fic diverges from canon in a single moment and what proceeds is one of the best Victuuri fics of all time.

Materials

This was the first ficbinding project that made it off of my computer. The original plan was to keep the book thinner by scaling the page size up to 11 x 8.5, but obviously that didn't work. I ordered short grain 11 x 17 sheets from Nicole Nikolas Modern Paper Goods and printed with my large-format inkjet printer (which used more cyan and magenta than I would have expected).

Once my signatures were printed I realized just how massive this thing was, and in that moment I decided the casing was going to be leather. I ordered Royal Blue leathers from Peggy Sue Also Leather's Dutchess Collection. And while I waited for that to come in I hand-painted the chapter numbers using Dreamland Watercolor's Beta and a fluid writer. The color changing effect wasn't as dramatic as I hoped but it still turned out gorgeous.

I decided not to complicate things too much and left the spine flat and the edges deckled. I used the basic method of sewing tapes and spaced five of them out across the spine. The headbands are actually Vintage Petersham Grosgrain Magenta ribbons from Fini Ribbon that I folded over some string I had laying around. I also made my own endpapers from Strathmore drawing sheets and more of the Beta watercolor which I sprayed over the sheets using a cheap paintbrush.

I created an embossed frame on the cover by layering chipboard on top of the 0.098" Davey Binder's Board I ordered from Talas. Then I cut out a window so that I could do the title out of watercolor. I didn't have a pairing knife for the leather so I tried sanding down the edges to help minimize the thickness of the folds. I am actually not sure if this helped or not but the leather turned out better than I thought. The only issue was that I didn't have enough of an overlap at the top and bottom on the inside of the book board, and the endpapers couldn't cover the seam properly. I came up with the solution of adding a second layer of chipboard that I covered in light blue construction paper. I made it to the same dimensions as the Davey Board and then glued everything together with pva. I really like the effect it has and it also worked out as a base to paint the title onto.

Typesetting

Typesetting this fic was a lot of fun because of all the social media aspects included in the fic. This included articles, Reddit threads, Twitter posts, Instagram posts, Youtube videos, Tumblr posts, and even meta AO3 fic summaries. I did my best to match the real-life counterparts as best as I could. I ended up using Segoe UI for most of the social media typesetting. The articles used Zilla Slab for the title and PT Serif for the body. The AO3 summaries were the most complicated as they used Georgia and Lucida Sans fonts and jpeg graphics.

The other really exciting element I incorporated was the music. Kaz used music throughout the fic as a very imporvictant part of the storytelling. Yuuri and Victor communicate through their skating and their routines and the music is what brings those routines to life. I placed QR codes in the margins at the start of each routine. It is so cool to hold your camera up and suddenly have the music playing from your phone as you read! I also included an appendix of the music so that when QR codes become obsolete the music is still accessible.

#bookbinding #ficbinding #yoi #victuuri #my work #first fic bound

[harocat]

(prev anon here. First of all, thank you very much for their sources! It definitely made a bit more at peace. Second, I am very sorry if this goes very long, or if it makes you uncomfortable (feel free to ignore this if it does, I am just kind of venting))

Okay so basically. I finished yoi like a couple of weeks ago and I was so giddy with happiness! (Though there were a few things I could have wished went differently, overall it was such a pleasant, feel good show) HOWEVER I made the mistake of searching for meta on tumblr because I wanted to see what other interpretations were. Because I came across a lot (and I mean A Lot) of posts form when the show aired (2016-18) about people either being disappointed by it being a queerbait/ multiple posts saying it was y//a/o/i fetishizing everything/about how it was just a generally shitty/mediocre show and that it's fandom was delusional or whatever and like. On one hand I do understand that the rep isn't perfect, and that there were various fandom drama that resulted in the wank (namely the crunchyroll award thingy, kubo's confusing interviews(?)) But also it's just. I was obviously not there so I still do not know the full context and it was all OVER years ago and presently, the show is mostly remembered by people with love and nostalgia. But now, I guess I just read too many negative comments about it and I just. Am very upset since I feel like I've lost the happiness the show gave me when I first watched it? I just don't know how to or what to do to like. Not take them seriously?? Obviously people have different opinions, they HAD different opinions but it also feels very draining to read something very, very negative about something you are emotionally connected to. On my first watch, I was almost 100% sure victuuri were canon? (Especially with Yuuri saying he's going to show his love to the world multiple times, and just. The whole show with every episode) and on one hand I get that people wished they could get explicit confirmation, an on screen kiss without it being hidden and everything but I just. I feel so confused and low-key stressed about this, especially since I KNOW all of this discourse is in the past and the fandom doesn't really have any of it now?? And it's been seven years since everything happened and it's over!! But. I just. I saw you've been here right form the start and I really wanted to know if you really had any advice (in lack of a better word) on how to just get over all of this? (Again: please ignore this ask if this is kind of out of nowhere because I am *this* close to chickening out and not sending it fjdgd. But I think I really need to talk about this and put it down because it's bothering me too much:( )

OKAY this is super long. tl;dr corporations and some fans are evil and homophobic, Kubo and Sayo are queens, and YOI is and always will be 100% canon gay.

First and foremost the main reason that the show is remembered largely fondly now and that all those meta about it being queerbait and all are ignored now is because 90% of them were bad faith criticism. There were a fair amount of people who REALLY hated this show, and most of their reasons were pretty petty (seriously I remember them calling themselves the YOI salt squad? lmao)! And they wrote really disingenuous meta that has not stood the test of time because of that. So I know it may be hard and some of their posts might get to you, but do your best to ignore them. They're not done in good faith. They're not done because these people legitimately care about representation. Most of them were done because a show they didn't like was popular and was being heralded as very special. There was actually even a big anti-Kubo movement on 2chan Japan that aimed to basically destroy the popularity of her work and of YOI by doctoring fake tweets, making accusations of plagiarism, etc. Mind, this was not just because of YOI. Before YOI, Kubo did a popular radio show with her best friend, who is one of the most famous trans women in Japan, Mineko Nomachi. She also occasionally discussed lgbtq+ rights in the workplace. You can imagine this annoyed the very conservative users of 2chan.

Secondly, one thing that caused issues in the fandom was mistranslations. There were two translators famous for taking interviews with the creators and basically 'no homo-ing' them. If you ever see translations floating around from Tora on Ice or K@rice, please just ignore them. Even the translations they did that weren't inaccurate, it's not worth digging through the mistranslations to find them. The problem with this ended up being that their mistranslations upset A LOT of people. People ended up really heartbroken over them because YOI and Victuuri meant a lot to them, and though it's mostly ebbed by now, there's still some damage caused by their homophobia.

Just to give perspective, K@rice said that if Victuuri were ever 'confirmed canon' (because according to her, despite making out and getting engaged they weren't canon), she would sell her blu-rays and leave the fandom. Well, I don't know if she sold her blu-rays, but when Otsuka said that quote I linked in the previous ask, where he used the indisputably romantic word 'renai', she did make a post about how 'disappointed' she was and never talked about YOI again. Both of them had a history of doing this in canonically lgbtq+ fandoms before, and have continued to do it in other fandoms since. But yeah, they caused a lot of damage.

Next up, CENSORSHIP.

When Sayo Yamamoto pitched YOI, she couldn't find a studio to take the project on. Although she was considered somewhat of an auteur, neither of the anime she'd made before were hits, and she was trying to sell a show that no one thought that would be popular. Studios that were interested in the project suggested she make it about teenagers in a high school club, which she refused to do. She brought Kubo on to help, and eventually they were able to get Mappa to take the project. At the time Mappa was considered an experimental studio that took on really creative, inventive projects that other studios might consider too risky. Otsuka (Mappa's second in command) at the time thought the show could be a hit, but probably not many other people felt the same. Indeed, there was almost zero buzz for the show before it aired in Japan. They always do big polls for most anticipated anime of the season, and YOI didn't even rank in fall 2016.

So Sayo and Kubo wanted it to be a romance, but Avex (the parent company above Mappa) didn't want this. She had to push for it, and she said that 'all parties' tried to stop her from putting the kiss in, but she insisted. To note, as a woman in the anime industry without any popular shows under her belt, this is hugely badass of her. She and Kubo both could have lost their jobs and lost control of the show they wanted to make so easily. She would NOT compromise. It was amazing of her.

YOI comes out and ends up being like... the biggest hit ever in both Japan and internationally, but while Mappa is pretty happy to embrace the gay (which you see with all the merchandise they directly produce; it's very overtly romantic), Avex gets cold feet (I'm assuming BECAUSE it's so popular). They want this to be a super marketable franchise, but because they are stupid they don't grasp that the romance is part of what makes it that. They stop doing a bunch of magazine spreads of just Victor and Yuuri looking romantic, and start shoving Yurio in there as an awkward third wheel. They try to market the series as a cast of bishounen where you 'pick your fave boy' instead of focusing on what fans are wanting. It's all very messy.

And then, this might not be Avex's fault, but magazine publishers get in on the censorship. In order for YOI art to be accepted in these magazines, they force Mappa artists to remove the rings from Victor and Yuuri's fingers. Although this at first is excused by fans because 'well the rings are spoilers', by a few months post series, fans begin to outcry, and even Japanese fans are growing very angry. One Mappa artist comes forward after the spread she drew is criticized for lack of rings, and says 'she never would have left them off, and that they were there when she submitted the art.' And this is how fans find out what's happening. This happens again when YOI animation director Noriko Ito expresses surprise that the design page for the rings is not included in the YOI setting book released by a publisher, because she knows it was supposed to be in there. The publisher removed it. Later art, as in post 2018, has more often featured the rings, but there's so little of that art that it's hard to know if it would be a permanent thing if YOI ever continued. Plus, that art has been specifically for YOI collabs and merch as opposed to magazine spreads.

After that we find out that Kubo and Sayo are being censored in interviews. Please don't criticize Kubo for being 'vague.' She did the best she could in a situation where she wasn't allowed to talk super explicitly about the romance. We know for a fact that when Kubo and Sayo were interviewed, Avex SPECIFICALLY told interviewers that they were 'not allowed to be asked questions about lgbtq+ aspects of the series.' I know! It's so upsetting. We also found out that Kubo and Sayo brought character designer Tadashi Hiramatsu on the project because they did not think they were being taken seriously as a team of two women (no hate on Hiramatsu though, he's amazing and he totally loves YOI). Avex didn't believe in YOI as a romance, even after it proved so successful. It's the saddest thing on earth.

So the end conclusion is that Kubo, Sayo, and yes Mappa (though I have plenty of criticisms of them now) were pretty cool about YOI. Kubo and Sayo pushed for and wrote a gay romance into a sports anime, something that had never been done before, at constant risk of losing their job and status in the industry. They were badasses and they're both writing heroes of mine because of that, and it actually makes me love YOI more knowing how much they cared and how much they were willing to risk to tell the story they wanted to tell, that of a romance between Victor and Yuuri. And it is a romance, indisputably so, and anyone who disagrees is frankly giving them a slap in the face.

#anonymous #yuri on ice

[neutronice]

Yuuri's free skate music.

Imagine you're Ketty Abelashvili, the composer who put together the music for Yuuri's skating career back in Detroit.

You're in school, trying to tease out of him anything that could help you, but he's so shy and withdrawn and seems to be completely allergic to talking about himself in ways that don't sound lukewarm and hard to parse.

So you do your best. And are not all that surprised when Yuuri apologizes (profusely) that he can't use your composition for his skate. He's gone with something that Celestino gave him.

You're actually sort of relieved.

Then imagine, a year later, getting a message from Phichit Chulanont--you were friends with him in Detroit, because everyone was friends with Phichit--about Yuuri Katsuki. Apparently he wants to give you and your composition another try. He's offering to pay you this time too.

You're out of school now, and you're trying to make it professionally as a musician. It's interesting to hear Yuuri wants to try again, but you're definitely sweating bullets. Then again, you figure you have enough experience now that you can take what he's saying and fill in the blanks with themes and inspiration elsewhere.

So you say yes.

You set up a chat, fully expecting the same downcast eyes and shy expressions of the previous Yuuri, the one you knew from Detroit. And sure, it starts out like that, because you're rehashing Yuuri's skating career. The one you knew about, and the one that is hard to talk about, when he crashed and burned.

Then though, comes the first mention of a name: Victor. You know he's talking about Victor Nikiforov--everyone knows that name, after all.

But what you're not expecting is the change. The way that the slumped shoulders straighten, the way that the quiet mumbles of replies are suddenly dancing from Yuuri's mouth, and he's smiling. No, it's more than that, he's lighting up. It's like he can't contain the joy that is exploding out of him talking about training with Victor, skating with Victor, planning with Victor, showing Victor around. It's so apparent that you almost mention it, but decide instead just to let Yuuri talk.

You can already tell your composition is changing. It's not about Yuuri's skating career anymore, per se, it's about love now. Because Yuuri is exploding with it.

You wonder if he hears himself, smiling and chuckling about "how Victor must not know how intimate putting his arm around a Japanese person is in an Onsen!", as if he truly does not understand that this probably goes both ways. In fact, you're sure of it.

Love that can explode out of someone talking about cleaning up stinky dog poop because a poodle snuck some fish speaks to two sides feeling love.

You thank Yuuri for the chat. You let him know that you will send him your composition in a couple of weeks. You tell him you'll be in touch if you need anything else.

But you don't think you do. Yuuri's love was abundantly clear on his face.

You can't wait to get to work.

#yoi meta #victuuri #viktuuri #it was even obvious to the musician who wrote yuri on ice #that's what i like to believe #its why the music was so gorgeous #inspiration. it hit ketty just like it it yuuri #mel this is your fault

[sebbyisland]

The re-contextualization of Stolitz basically confirmed what existed in subtext. It made everything about their dynamic come full circle in a self-destructive snake-eat-tail way. The re-contextualization of Victuuri completely side stepped what anyone assumed/understood about those characters until that moment, immediately adding an unexpected layer of depth to the relationship.

I love both narratives equally, it's just interesting to see different attempts at "putting their initial impression of each other at the end," in romantic stories. So many romances rely on grabbing the audience with an interesting meet-cute moment at or near the beginning, and when they don't, their pacing might become choppy (Miraculous Ladybug Origins I'm looking at you).

There isn't a point to this lol it's just something on my mind. Not in the mood to actually write polished meta

#i like the contrast between #this relationship is more toxic than you thought #vs #this relationship is more romantic than you thought #helluva boss #stolitz #seb out #ወሬ

[actual-changeling]

So I'm rewatching Yuri on Ice (yes, again, I know), and I just can't get over Viktor's facial expressions during his skate at the Worlds.

This first screencap is right at the beginning of his performance, which isn't based on the happiest song you've ever heard, sure, but it's about longing and heartbreak, but also love and being so in love with someone it hurts. Maybe he chose this song based on the banquet, maybe he didn't, but either way, he doesn't look in love or even like he's yearning for something.

He just looks incredibly tired.

A bit further into the performance, still nothing. It's interesting, Viktor almost looks sad during the first few moments of it; tired, sure, but mostly sad.

He lands his first quad, as expected, and he should be happy about it, confident at the very least, but he isn't. To be honest, I think Viktor is almost angry that he executed it perfectly the way he was supposed to. Before the next one, his signature move of all jumps, his face is different. Less sad, more distressed, bitter almost.

I think something a lot of people forget about Viktor (especially when they only see his mask) is the fact that he isn't content with his life while skating this, rather the complete opposite. He hates where he ended up, hates that he has, and is nothing but Figure Skater Viktor Nikiforov, Russia's Legend. Maybe he wanted to fail his jumps, just to feel more human, but he didn't. Honestly, I don't think he could do it even if he tried.

After that jump, his face goes mostly blank. Some residual sadness, some acidic taste in his mouth, but this is where he becomes defeated. He knows he'll skate another gold medal performance, his streak will continue, and nothing will change.

Viktor lands his jumps, performs perfectly, and all he probably feels is numb, dissociated from the reality of his situation. No nerves, no joy in his skating, just superficial boredom and no idea what to do with himself.

Now, let's have a look at how Yuuri is skating this performance.

As small as it is, this is a smile. He talks about the joy he found within this program afterward, tells Yuko that this is one of his fondest memories.

Yuuri doesn't look bored or detached like Viktor, he has his eyes closed, is at peace. His facial muscles are relaxed and there's a microscopic smile in the frame before this one.

Once again, he is smiling at Yu-chan, enjoying himself, his skating, the program. Sure, he also looks sad at times, but he has a reason to be. He lost confidence in himself as both a person and a skater when he failed at the Grand Prix Final and the Nationals, lost part of his love for skating. So he turns to the one person who has caused him to fall in love with it in the first place - Viktor.

This is Viktor after landing his last jump combination. Still dissociated, still bitter and upset at everything and himself, lost on the ice, the one place he found comfort in.

And this is Yuuri after finishing. Happy, overjoyed that he managed to skate his idol's program perfectly, slightly embarrassed by Yu-chan's enthusiasm.

I think this scene is so, so important for the rest of the anime. It shows where we start off: Viktor may have saved Yuuri's skating career and also had a major influence on his personal development, but Yuuri saved Viktor. Yuuri is the reason Viktor found his joy for skating again (another point that is super important at the end of the series but this post is already way too long), he is the reason Viktor started smiling real, personal smiles again. Viktor was so detached from the world nothing mattered to him anymore; finding Yuuri, finding a person that mattered to him more than anything else, that's what saved him.

It wasn't love, wasn't a magic cure for his issues, but it was a purpose to find joy for himself again.

#alex yells at the void #yuri on ice #yoi #viktor nikiforov #victor nikirofov #meta #character analysis #yoi episode one #yuuri katsuki #yuri katsuki #victuuri #viktuuri #no image descriptions #this is mostly just me writing my own writing references but feel free to reblog/interact as much as you want lol #i literally cannot shut up about viktor and this show anymore

[littleholmes]

Sometimes I think back to the moment when Victor is practicing with Yuuri and he finds himself out of breath and tired while Yuuri wants to keep trying, and Victor speculates that Yuuri’s stamina is because he’s younger and hasn’t had major injuries, and it always makes me wonder what major injuries Victor had and recovered from throughout his career.

Like, we don’t hear anything mentioned about Victor having any major spills or disastrous programs, just that so many skaters looked up to him. And, sure, that’s partly due to the moments the narrations and internal thoughts of various characters focus on, but I wonder how much of that is because, whenever Victor was injured, he was pressured to recover quickly and continue as though he wasn’t seriously hurt. Or, if he did have an awful injury and it wasn’t downplayed, then it’s because it happened before he became Victor Nikiforov™

Yuuri was a Victor fanboy, so if Victor sustained a major injury after he became a well-known skater, surely Yuuri or one of the other skaters or even a coach would have mentioned it, or we’d have gotten a scene where Yuuri and Yuuko are crying while watching a press conference/interview or reading an article where Victor says he’s okay. (Yuuri seems like the type to write a ‘get well soon’ card and send it or maybe even be too nervous to send it, but I digress). So if Victor’s major injury was something he bounced back from while he was Victor Nikiforov™ surely someone would have said something along the lines of “If he can win gold after that ankle injury…” or even a commentator would’ve mentioned, “You might have forgotten when he hit the ice after that lutz in the short program when he was 15, and since then…” etc.

I’m rambling but I just wonder what injuries Victor had over the years, how bad they were, but mostly when he got them in the course of his career

#idk i’m rambling #yuri!!! on ice #yuri on ice #yoi #yuri katsuki #victor nikiforov #yuuri katsuki #victuuri #yoi meta #yuri on ice thoughts #viktor nikirofov #katsuki yuuri

[thegirlwhorideslikeasamurai]

The kiss

I can’t stop thinking about the face Yuuri makes just after the kiss. His expression is something between disbelief and surprise while his mind is trying to process what just happened, like “Did I make this up or did he really just kiss me?”

It’s kinda cute. And relatable.

By the end of episode 7, Yuuri and Viktor have become very close. They hug and cuddle, and they are comfortable sleeping huddled against each other, which suggests that they have been doing this already before the Cup of China. It was only a matter of time until they kiss, but a kiss was the last thing Yuuri expected to happen right after his free skate.

Only minutes before, Yuuri had a panic attack. Instead of supporting him, Viktor screwed up because he has no clue on how to deal with Yuuri’s anxiety. Yuuri has every reason to be mad at Viktor. But once he’s on the ice, his anger dissipates and he accepts Viktor’s flaws. In fact, Yuuri’s entire free skate in episode 7 sings of his love for Viktor—especially that quad flip (and the ending pose, of course). However, Yuuri is still oblivious to how much impact his skating has on Viktor. He just made it plain that he won’t accept a kiss to make up. By now, Yuuri has figured out his feelings for Viktor; he knows that what he’s feeling is love. He won’t accept anything less from Viktor, and through his skating he makes Viktor see. And thus, albeit unexpectedly for Yuuri, their first kiss happens right after his free skate, and it issues from nothing less than true love.

#yuri on ice #yoi #yurionice #katsuki yuuri #yuuri on ice #katsudon yuri #viktor nikirofov #viktuuri #victuuri #yoi meta #anime #I write about this in detail in CYHMH #my yoi meta