#I wanna see stuff that alludes to him being not completely regular

[just-rainbow-thoughts]

So like, either this whole world runs on cartoon physics, the tower Just Does That to those who reside in it, or something’s definitely up with peppino

Man can run at possibly mach speeds though that may just be an exaggeration and can keep running indefinitely, can survive ramming headfirst into a wall at said speed and possibly not even do lasting damage to himself, can run up walls, is able to pummel someone up into the sky, can survive hitting the top of the tower at terminal velocity, and do whatever the frick that superjump is

Now I’m sure we can chalk this up to cartoon logic but come on man, a middle aged man can only take so much, even with cartoon physics

And sure, we can say the tower did it, but we still see him running frickoff fast in the intro cutscene before he even gets to the tower, and continues with the ascending pizza pummel even long after leaving proximity of the tower, so something ain’t adding up

So like, yeah, to reiterate, cartoon/game physic copout explanation, the tower greatly exaggerates already present skills, or peppino truly is built different my vote is one of the latter two

[soldatbarnes]

Comfortable

Summary: You buy some new lingerie as a surprise for Bucky, but he doesn’t react the way you thought he would. 

Bucky Barnes X Reader

Word Count: 1592

Warnings: alludes to sex. fluff!

A/N: This is far better written than my last fic, if I do say so myself. Which I do. This fic was inspired by Troy Barnes, in an episode of Community. 

It was 3 am, and you were wide awake. The window was open, a cool gentle breeze blowing through, the curtains billowing. The glow of the moon was overshadowed by the street lights below. You couldn’t sleep. The events of last night were settled in the front of your mind and you couldn’t stop going over every single detail of the last couple hours before you’d called it a night. 

Warmth soothed the chill in your bones, as an arm draped over your waist and you were pulled back into a firm chest. You held your breath, hoping that he wasn’t awake, and listened. His breathing was even, you could feel the rise and fall of his chest against your back, his heartbeat steady. 

Good. 

Sometimes it seemed he had a sixth sense for when you were upset, or having an episode of some kind. He’d often awoke from a dead sleep, somehow knowing that you were restless and hadn’t even closed your eyes yet. 

Thankfully tonight wasn’t one of those nights. You felt awkward enough as it was, sleeping beside him, you didn’t need any more tension sprinkled on top when he’d inevitably coerce you into confiding in him what was bothering you. 

The truth was he was. He had bothered you, although he technically didn’t do anything wrong. Your ego was just bruised. You couldn’t hold it against him, but part of you wanted to. It all started last week, while he was away on a mission. 

“Hey, what are you looking at?” Wanda’s voice had startled you, as she leaned on the couch behind you. You snapped the laptop shut, and turned to face her, heat in your cheeks. 

“It’s nothing…” you waved her off, hoping the conversation would stop there. It didn’t. 

“Were you looking at lingerie? Something special for when a certain someone returns home?” she’d wiggled her eyebrows at you. You didn’t normally stay at the compound, being a civilian and all, but your pillows had stopped smelling like Bucky, and it was causing you to have insomnia. So you’d headed to sleep in his bed, something he had suggested for when he’d be away for extended periods of time. At first you’d disagreed, but eventually it became like a second home, the Avengers a second family. So you came around. 

“Yeah I mean… I don’t really own anything like this…” you opened the screen. “And Buck’s never given me any indication that I should go out and buy something.” 

“But you miss him, and want to give him a special treat when he gets back?” there was nothing but cheer in her voice, understanding for where you were coming from. 

“Yes! My goodness, I love him so much. I don’t know why I’d never thought to do something like that before..” 

“Because he never pressured you into something he may have felt you didn’t feel right in? Since you don’t own anything like that right now?” 

“He’s such a good man..” you sighed. 

And here you were. Already regretting your decision to try something new. Every time you thought about his return last night, you wanted to shrink further into yourself. You were mortified. 

Bucky was due home any minute. You’d opted to stay at your apartment tonight, instead of the compound for what you had in mind. You’d texted him earlier, and he promised to be home by Seven. You couldn’t wait. You missed him so much. The mission he was on was longer than the usual ones. 

You missed how he made you laugh, how he made you feel, how attentive he was. You’d always been so independent, and letting somebody else in your life always seemed so difficult, until you’d met him. And you’d never do this for anybody else. 

You were laying on your bed, dressed up the sexy lingerie piece that Wanda had helped you pick out, and had assured you that you looked amazing in. Your hair was done, your makeup was perfect. You were ready to blow him away. 

“Baby, I’m home!” he called out, as you head the front door unlock. 

“I’m back here!” you shouted back, nerves making your voice shake. You heard the sound of his boots and his bags hitting the floor. He always dealt with them the next day. 

“He-“ His voice stopped dead as he stepped into the doorway and saw you. His eyebrows raised, his jaw dropped open, and he looked completely stunned.

“Hi Darlin’” you cooed, crooking a finger to beckon him to you. 

“What’s all this?” he asked, taking a seat on the edge of the bed. 

“Wanted to do something special for you Buck.” you got up on your knees beside him, wrapping your arms around his shoulders and placing kisses on his neck. 

“You look really beautiful, Sweetheart, but you didn’t need to do all this.” He turned his head, looking into your eyes. You shifted uncomfortably when you didn’t see lust reflected at you. In fact his eyebrows were furrowed, looking a little concerned. 

“I know Baby, but I wanted to, for you.” you leaned in, capturing his lips in a kiss. You intended the kiss to be fierce and fiery, but he turned it soft and sweet. “What’s wrong Bucky?” you asked, sitting back. 

“Nothing’s wrong. I really appreciate all this,” he gestured up and down your body, “But.. I umm… I’m just tired I think. The mission was super gruelling. I know, I KNOW, you put in a lot of work but it would make me so happy if we could just hang out y’know?” he kept his voice soft, trying not to upset you. It didn’t work. 

“What do you mean ‘hang out’?” you asked, a little more harsh than you meant to. He flinched slightly before explaining. 

“I mean, I would love it if we could just snuggle in bed, watch a movie?” 

“Uhh, sure. I’ll go, change and stuff.” you huffed, getting up off the bed. You heard him groan a little and flop back as you headed to take your makeup off. 

So here you were, at 3 am, trying your best to figure what went wrong, and why he wasn’t into you anymore. Shifting in bed, trying to get comfortable, you moved your head back too much and smashed it into the man sleeping next to you. 

“What’s wrong, what happened?” his sleep filled voice croaked out as he attempted to get up. 

“Nothing’s wrong Bucky, go back to sleep.” you snapped, not glancing at him. Fingers danced along your cheek, until your jaw was gently turned. His eyes still managed to be bright and beautiful, even in the dark, and the concern in his features made you weak. 

“With that tone, something’s definitely not okay. You gonna tell me about it?” he asked, tucking hair behind your ear. 

“No..” you shook your head as much as you could in the position that you’re in. He didn’t respond, but pulled you further into him, placing your head on his chest. He ran his hand up and down your back, warmth seeping through your pyjamas. “I just can’t sleep. Not tired.” 

“Well, if you aren’t tired, there are some things I could think of doing that could wear you out?” his tone was suggestive, as the events of yesterday ran through your mind and suddenly you were standing beside the bed pacing. 

“I don’t understand you..” you mumbled, knowing he’d still hear you. 

“What do you mean? Darlin’ what’s going on?” he was genuinely confused at your behaviour, sitting in the middle of your bed looking like a kicked puppy. 

“Yesterday! You didn’t wanna sleep with me! Bucky you have every right to say ‘no’, but I felt so embarrassed after all that! I thought you weren’t attracted to me anymore!” he opened his mouth to speak and you held your hand up to stop him. “And now, in the middle of the damn night, when I’m wearing my oldest fucking cozy clothes, you wanna go for a round?”

“There’s no way in hell I’ll ever not be attracted to you!! You’re the most beautiful person inside and out! And not to mention sexy as hell, Baby!” 

“So what’s going on then?” you felt exasperated, the innocent look on his face not helping. 

“I… I am more turned on by you in your regular pyjamas than when you’re in sexy lingerie.” he shrugged, not making eye contact. “You looked so damn beautiful, don’t get me wrong, but this-“ he motioned up and down your body, “Is what really gets me going.” 

“These mismatched pyjamas. These are what get ya there?” you shook your head in disbelief. 

“Yeah. Definitely. Good to go.” 

“Why??” you almost shouted. This was the exact opposite of how the majority of men you’d known would react to lingerie. 

“Because you’re comfortable.” 

“Pardon?” 

“I think you’re sexy in your regular pyjamas, because I know you’re comfortable. You’re not strapped into something, you’re not in an uncomfortable material. And mostly you’re comfortable enough to be around me, in old as hell pyjamas, and that really gets me going.” 

“So these get you going?” 

“Oh yeah.” 

“You’re ready to go right now?” you asked, biting your lip. 

“Why don’t you come back to bed and see?” he smirked. 

Within seconds, he was flat on his back with you above him. You couldn’t believe him. He was one of a kind. 

“I love you, Bucky.” 

“I love you too, Baby.” he said, before pulling you into a toe curling kiss.  

[eryiss]

10 / 20 / 24 / 31/ 61 / 92 / 96 / 102 one of those in case you wanna explore some bdsm themed stuff maybe? there's a lot for dom!laxus and sub!freed and more dom!freed content would just be really 👌🏻👌🏻 maybe youve got a specific kink for them in this set up that you can see nut havent gotten to write yet 🤔

Prompt: ‘I’m waiting’, ‘Behave’, ‘Say it’, ‘I’m not going to touch you unless you beg’, ‘I know for a fact that you can be a hell of a lot louder than that.’  Prompt List here

Pairing: Fraxus

Raiting: Explicit N S F W

Read it Elswhere: AO3, Fanfiction

Warning: Contains minor public humiliation, sadomasochism and rough sex. 

"I'm not going to touch you unless you beg."

"Come on Laxus," Freed said with a smirk, tapping his finger against the table. "I'm waiting."

Laxus was blushing red, fidgeting where he stood. He was in the guildhall, surrounding by almost all of his male guildmates in various states of undress. They were holding a guy's night, and somebody – Loke – had suggested they all play strip poker. The hall was a mass of muscles and underlying sexual tension between men, which was most obvious between Laxus and Freed.

The two were the final men playing, being the best at the game. Freed had somehow managed to only remove his coat during the process, whereas Laxus had been stripped to his trousers only. The trousers he had just lost to Freed.

Which was where the issue lay. Laxus wasn't wearing his regular boxers. Or regular underwear at all.

He and Freed's schedules hadn't aligned well over the last few weeks, meaning their sex life had taken a hit. This was the first night they would have together and Laxus was going to make the most of it. To make sure it happened, when dressing himself in the morning, Laxus had swapped out his boxers for the sexiest underwear he had. He knew that Freed would be driven wild by the knowledge Laxus had been wearing them all day. He regretted that as much as he regretted being forced into playing the damn game.

But he couldn't get out of it, everyone was looking at him. They were taking the game seriously as well. Once a piece of clothing was discarded it was put in one of Freed's rune traps; Freed himself had to give his clothes to Grey so they were frozen solid. Nobody would allow him to get out of his forfeit. So he took an unsteady breath, pulled down his pants, and stood with his blush.

He was now wearing nothing but a leopard print jockstrap in front of his guildmates.

The reaction was loud and instant. Most people laughed, someone wolf whistled at his expense, and the dragon slayer was flushed completely red. He looked down at the floor to avoid anyone's eyes, hands covering the bulging pouch between his legs. His hands were pulled away, almost instantly. When he looked up, it was Freed.

"Hands behind your head," He said, authoritatively. Laxus complied. "There was a clear intention when you put this on. Tell me what it is."

"C'mon Freed," Laxus murmured, embarrassed. He couldn't deny he was turned on though.

"Say it, Laxus," Freed demanded. "Although, if you'd rather walk home dressed like this than have me teleport you home, you can remain quiet."

"I just fuckin'… I wanted to turn you on," He confessed, and again people laughed. "And I knew this would do it. And I knew you get pissed off when I wear leopard print because you think I look stupid, and that'd get you to take charge and... and dom me."

Freed was looking at him with predatory eyes, and Laxus' cock started to harden at the sight of it. He wanted to cover himself, but he didn't.

"Good day, gentlemen," Freed said. "I hope you enjoy the rest of your night."

A moment later, Freed pushed his hand against Laxus' chest. A rush or runes enveloped the both of them and a moment later Laxus saw that they were in their home, in their living room. A little overwhelmed by the teleportation, Laxus could only stand as Freed quickly cast further spells, all of which bound Laxus in place. Hands cuffed together high above his head; legs spread wide with a bar of purple magic and shackles around his ankles. He was fully trapped at Freed's mercy, exactly what he had wanted.

His cock was fully hard now, watching as Freed walked to a small chest and pulled out a long leather stick; a riding crop. The blonde's cock lurched at the sight; the crop was something Freed only brought out when he was going hard as a dom. After the last time it had been used, Laxus had been left with whip marks, a limp and wet dreams that plagued him for a week.

And Freed looked more determined now.

"I'm disappointed in you Laxus," Freed commented, gently dragging the metal tip of the crop against Laxus' bare stomach. "When you entered that game, you accepted the risk of having your little secret exposed like this. And I'm not happy with that. Because seeing you like this – flushed and horny and humiliated – is a privilege for me only."

With three quick hits of the crop to Laxus' left thigh, the blonde hissed and gritted his teeth. He could take much more than this, and both knew it.

"You, for the rest of the night, you're going to behave, correct?"

Fully knowing that it was only going to make whatever Freed had planned for him more painful, Laxus looked him directly in his eye and said nothing. Freed gritted his teeth a little in annoyance, took a step forward and pushed the crop against Laxus' bulging jock.

"I said will," He punctuated the word with a hit to Laxus' thigh.

"You," The next hit was on his stomach.

"Behave?" The final hit was to Laxus' balls.

A groan of pain left Laxus' lips as he tried to double over and protect his manhood, but the magic cuffs around his wrists didn't allow him. He breathed in heavily in an attempt to adjust to the pain settling in his gut, and Freed allowed him a moment of respite. He made sure to rub the crop over Laxus' hot skin as he did so, making sure that Laxus couldn't forget the potential for further pain if he disobeyed Freed. It was fucking indescribable how much that turned Laxus on.

Once Laxus was looking up, his balls now just radiating pain rather than stinging from it, Freed was crossing his arms. He was looking at Laxus with a patronising expression, and it sent blood to the blonde's already hard dick.

"You want me to touch you, don't you?" He demanded, and Laxus nodded.

Freed didn't say anything. But the magical bounds keeping Laxus in place started to tug at him, stretching his limbs and making an already uncomfortable position worse. Laxus gritted his teeth at the feeling and couldn't help but let out a moan. Freed really knew how to make a masochist out of Laxus.

"I'm not going to touch you, Laxus, until you're fucking begging for it."

It sent a thrill down Laxus' entire body , and he bucked his hips into the air without intending to. Freed saw this, and gave him three strikes with the crop across the chest. They all stung and Laxus let out a shuddering moan in response.

"Touch me," Laxus whimpered, voice quiet and wavering. "Please touch me. It's been weeks and I've not felt you and its been driving me mad."

So Freed did touch him, in the form of punching him hard in the gut. Laxus cock leaked with precum at the rough treatment; Freed was going so much harder than he had the last time they'd played with dom and sub roles, and Laxus was fucking enjoying it. Being able to put himself at Freed's mercy completely, with him in control of everything Laxus felt and did, was indescribable. And the pain he was in, the feeling of subservience, replaced everything.

There was no stress. There were no other worries. There was just Freed and him.

"Was that what you wanted?" Freed teased in a whisper. "Because if you want something else, be more specific."

Laxus opened his mouth, but Freed punched his stomach again. Laxus could take more and they both knew it, but Freed left his front and started to walk around the bound man. Laxus couldn't see him, but knew that he would be looking him up and down like he was a piece of meat. The degradation sent a thrill down him; only Freed could make him like this and it was hot as fuck.

"What time did you put this on," Freed demanded as he hooked his finger under the elastic waistband of the jockstrap, snapping it against Laxus' waist.

"About eight," Laxus mumbled, arms aching a little.

"So, it's been about fourteen hours of you wearing it without me knowing. Fourteen should be enough," Freed said.

Just as Laxus tried to understand what Freed was alluding to, his eyes widened. Freed had just slapped his ass hard with the palm of his hand; he had just spanked him! Laxus had never been spanked before, and the feeling was both unfamiliar and exhilarating. It sent ripples of sharp pain through his body, and to know that his lover was the one to cause it made the entire situation so much hotter. The pouch of his jockstrap was straining around his dick now, and Laxus could barely handle it.

Another slap hit his ass. Then another. Then another.

"I don't hear any begging, Laxus," Freed snapped, and the blonde moaned. "If you don't want me to touch you, I can stop and leave you here."

"No, don't stop," Laxus whined. "Please touch me. Spank me, fuck me, I don't fucking care. I just wanna feel you."

Another slap hit his ass. Then another. His ass was stinging hard now.

"Please don't stop," Laxus begged. "I just wanna feel you all over me. Hurt me, make me feel good. Do whatever the hell you want form me, just don't stop!"

"Louder," Freed demanded with another slap.

"Fucking hit me!" Laxus shouted. "Make me hurt all over. It makes me so hot and I want it so bad."

"Louder!" Freed demanded again, slapping Laxus' ass harder now. "Forget your pride, embrace your need. Because I know you can be a hell of a lot louder than that."

"Fucking spank me!" Laxus yelled at the top of voice. "Make me a hole for you to abuse. Make me full of cum. I don't give a shit what you do to me just keep fucking going."

"Count them out for me," Freed demanded.

Slap. "Nine!"

It was both exhilarating and embarrassing to follow Freed's orders. It made him feel powerless in the best way possible; he would always relinquish power to Freed.

Slap. "Ten!"

His ass was stinging hard now, and no doubt looked red as hell. It was the last thing in his mind, the constant pain was intense and brilliant.

Slap. "Eleven!"

He spoke with a quiver in his voice, and his dick was pushing against the leopard print silk covering his dick.

Slap. "Twelve."

Slap. "Thirteen."

Slap. "Fourteen."

The final three spanks had come in quick succession, and it drove Laxus over the edge. The intense pain flooding through him went straight to his dick, and an orgasm rocked him. He shot spurt after spurt of cum into his jockstrap, his weight only being carried by the magical bounds as he collapsed into them, moaning.

Freed was watching him with a raised eyebrow, and Laxus tried to recover from the hard pleasure that had overtaken him. The rune mage placed his hand on Laxus' left pec from behind, kneading his chest and toying with his nipple.

"You got more in you?" He demanded, voice hard. Laxus knew this was Freed offering him an out if he wanted it.

"I can't stop until you say so, right?" Laxus whimpered back.

That was more than enough for Freed to continue. He made a quick gesture with his hands, runes flickering around his fingers, and Laxus found himself dragged by his bounds to the floor. His knees hit the hard wood with a crack, and he winced at the pain. A band of magic formed tight around his waist, suspended from the ceiling. Laxus was now positioned on all fours, ass in the air, and his dick was already hard again.

"I wouldn't want you to spoil these further," Freed commented.

Laxus could do nothing but stay still as Freed slid the jockstrap from his crotch, drops of cum hitting the floor. Freed walked before Laxus, crouching in front of him with the cum stained jock in his hands and a smirk on his face. He tilted Laxus head up a little with his finger, forcing eye contact.

"You want me to fuck you, don't you," Freed stated. It wasn't a question.

"Yes," Laxus admitted, red. "Yes, sir."

Freed's smirk became more obvious at the use of a title. "Well, since you've been so good, I'll do just that. But if you can come that hard and scream that loud from something as little as spanking then I fear you might even break through my soundproofing runes when we get to something really intense. But I have a remedy for that. Open your mouth."

Laxus did as instructed, and his cum stained jock was forced into his mouth and tied behind his head.

He gagged a little around it. The smell of his cum mixed with the sweat of the day filled his sensitive senses, and the minor humiliation of the situation made him moan into the impromptu gag. A small slither of drool slipped out of his mouth as he looked to Freed.

His husband took a moment to admire Laxus' state. Then almost teasingly, Freed began to remove his clothing. His actions were slow and calculating, and all that was missing was music to make this a strip tease. Laxus wanted nothing more to crawl to the man and ravish him; but of course he couldn't do it. He just had to watch as Freed teased him, until he was fully naked in all his sexy, strong body.

If his mouth wasn't gagged, Laxus would have moaned at the sight.

Freed stood over him, looking down at him with a patronising smile. His dick was hard, inches from Laxus' face, and the blonde strained to feel it against his lips. The bounds kept him in place, and he blushed as Freed laughed at his neediness.

"So impatient," Freed taunted.

With a smirk, Freed lowered himself to his knees behind Laxus, positioned himself behind Laxus' reddened ass, and pushed himself in. Laxus moaned loudly into his jock, more drool leaving his lips as he was fucked doggy style. Freed was relentless with his thrusts, caring little for Laxus' comfort as he rammed his dick deep inside of him again and again.

Laxus tried to push back against Freed, but the band of magic around his waist made him completely still. But the feeling of Freed filling his tight, stinging ass was orgasmic, and Laxus' cock was quivering again. It was so overwhelming, so degrading and empowering at the same time. Laxus couldn't handle it.

Freed came first, roaring as he pushed deep inside of him

Laxus followed a second later, practically seeing stars as his eyes rolled into the back of his head. His cock shot hot streaks of cum onto the floor as he shivers in pleasure, a gurgled moan being muffled by the gag in his mouth.

Overwhelmed by the feeling, Laxus almost didn't feel himself being released by the bondage spells. He collapsed onto the floor, with Freed panting while lying above him.

"You are," Freed panted as he removed the gag. "You are categorically wearing this thing again."

"If this is what happens," Laxus grinned a horny grin. "I ain't wearing anything else again."

[gcldveins]

HELLOOOOOO everyone !!!!!!!! i just wanna say .. thank you SO MUCH for joining misty hollow with jin and i , you have no idea how happy it made us to see so many people interested and join and like .. just clearly so in love w their own muses so like i just wanna say i love u all with my whole freaking heart !!!! ok enough w the sappy stuff let me introduce to u all literally the worst muse i have ever created .. malcolm o’sullivan. but he goes by sully bc he was ur og e-boy who goes “ oh ? my favourite band ? you wouldn’t have heard of it .. they’re called the rolling stones uwu ” and i rlly do hate him for that... it’s okay tho i punish him accordingly :~)

overview

✎⌠paul rudd. cismale. he/him⌡❝ — well, look who’s just arrived ! if it isn’t the one and only malcolm o'sullivan. though, around here they’re known as the harlequin. don’t tell ‘em i said this but the forty-seven year old owner of o'sullivan’s books kinda has a reputation of being stubborn and irresponsible. but y’know, they can be creative and analytical too. typical aquarius. anyways, welcome home and stay safe sully ! ❞

statistics

full name: malcolm eamon o’sullivan

nickname(s): sully, anything else and he twitches ..

date of birth: february 2nd, 1973

hometown: misty hollow, connecticut.

gender identity: cis gender 

preferred pronouns: he/him

sexual orientation: bisexual

hogwarts house: ravenclaw

aesthetic: an old leather jacket thrown over a wrinkled t-shirt, dog-eared pages, the smell of alcohol and cigarettes, untied laces, the soft rumbling of a motorcycle engine, messy handwriting, calloused fingertips

distinguishable characteristics: is looking homeless a distinguishable characteristic..

pinterest board: here.

their song from the sigh no more album bc i love this album and it makes me Sad™ : little lion man 

background ( murder tw )

— born in the town of dingle, a small port town in ireland, malcolm and his family immigrated to america when he was ten years old. they moved into misty hollow after his father opened up his own bookshop and the o’sullivan’s have been there ever since. 

— always having been a rebellious child, malcolm ( slowly gaining the nickname sully in school ) seemed to have a knack for doing anything that pissed his father off. his greatest act ? moving out as soon as he graduated without so much as a goodbye.

— malcolm was only a wee lad when the misty hollow murders were happening. his older brother, his only brother, was unfortunately one of the victims, being eight at the time. he’s not too torn up about it, he was only two years old. but his father reminded him everyday growing up, how much smarter and accomplished and just overall better his brother was than him.

— the only thing that sully was grateful for about his father was the love for books he had ingrained into him. growing up, he developed a knack for writing and he ended up going to the university of pennsylvania for journalism. after that, sully moved out to new york where he worked as a journalist for the new york times and wrote articles on political updates and reports. 

— he met his wife in new york and they had three children together, two girls and one boy. sully was living the classic american dream. until, of course, it was all ruined in a single camping trip. 

— it was just sully and the three kids, except the trip was cut short and he had to come home with two kids instead of three. sully’s youngest, nancy, was taken at the campgrounds and evidence of her murder was found in a nearby cabin.

— this tore sully’s family apart. the tragedy forced him towards a downwards spiral, an endless cycle of destructive habits. it got to the point where his wife decided to divorce him and to take the kids with her. 

— sully eventually, reluctantly, made the decision to return to misty hollow. there, he stayed with his parents for a bit until he got a job at o’sullivan’s books and was able to take a couple months to get back on his feet. 

— his parents initially pushed him towards trying to work at the mystic herald but sully hasn’t written a single sentence since his daughter died. now, his father has essentially left him to run the bookshop for him, which sully doesn’t mind. it’s quiet work that doesn’t require too much effort.

personality

— to sum it up in one sentence .. sully has essentially has regressed into a man-child in the more recent years of his life, but the inferiority complex is a tried and true constant. 

— he hasn’t really properly dealt with his daughter’s death ( even though it’s been over a decade.. ), just lives in a constant cycle of whenever he does try to think about it, he feels like shit and just thinks about all the things he could’ve done differently so he stops immediately. 

— sully always wanted to be a dad, to prove that he could be a better one than his own father. so he feels like he really failed in that retrospect. he’s like a human pity party. though he does that classic thing where he glosses over his sad feelings with destructive behaviour and inappropriate humour.

— very self-indulgent, does whatever he wants, whenever he wants. as long as it makes him feel better, even just for a moment, he’ll do it. doesn’t take anything very seriously, just kinda jokes around all the time. is one of those people that just give off.. kinda pathetic vibes you know? like you look at him and you’re like ?? what are you doing with your life dude ?? and he’s like idk

— but, on the bright side, this makes him pretty easy-going and down-to-earth. definitely a roll-with-the-punches and no bullshit type of guy, isn’t discouraged by much and doesn’t care a whole lot about what others think of him. it’s easy for him to engage in conversation and be all charismatic when he feels like it. 

— despite all .. of that, sully actually comes across as a relatively okay guy. he can be friendly and crack a few jokes while he’s at it, he’s one of those people that, as long as thinks you’re chill, treats you like you guys have been friends forever. but he can be pretty crude / vulgar at times, sooo how others react to that is kind of a gamble !

wanted connections

his one true bro <3 just someone that’ll be a complete idiot with him and they are definitely a bad influence on each other. this person probably hangs around the bookshop alot and they just spend all day with each other doing and saying stupid shit. like you know that gif set of seth rogen and joseph gordon-levitt where one’s like “ i’d fuck you ” and the other goes “ thanks :3 ” that’s it.. those are the vibes..

drinking buddies ! these two just get really drunk off their ass together and probably don’t even know each other that well despite of like.. several years of sort of friendship. one night they’re probably five drinks in and sully goes “ when i was married — ” and they’re just like “ wayment .. what the fuck . ” and ! maybe if your muse has something to get emo about ! maybe they can get drunk AND emo together <3

casual relationships ? he could have one or two of these ! sully.. does not date. tried being in a serious relationship once after his divorce and it ended... terribly. like imagine asking your adult boyfriend if he wants to move in together and his response is essentially just “ ... yeah i’m ok thanks tho. ” and you never hear from him again ndijgnk

that being said... if anyone wants that plot alluded to above .... let me know......

for the younger muses out there ! anyone that he’s kind of ? taken under his wing. pseudo-children essentially. i can’t promise that he’ll be a good influence.. he’s probably not even aware that he’s done this lmao but deep down, sully’s still a dad. he’ll probably be protective over the youngins but shows it in the form of tough love, y’know ? probably tells your muse to stop being a shithead all the time, cute stuff like that.

and some more casual connection ideas that we can further flesh out through some plotting / brainstorming:

old friends from misty hollow

regular customers

co-workers

an unrequited crush ( either on sully’s end or your muse’s )

a good influence on him .. please... i’m begging you

someone that can nerd out over books with him !

friends !!! everyone needs friends and lucky for sully, he’s pretty good at making them !! in a pushy and annoying way..

enemies / frenemies pls ... these are always so much fun

anything and everything else !! if we can’t figure out a plot between sully and your muse, we can always just do it old school and throw them at each other in a random thread and see what happens !!

[generallyspecificblog]

  I watched episodes 1 & 2 of the new season of Stranger Things on Netflix this weekend, its been a long time coming. I’ve been waiting patiently for this season since the last one ended. The show grew on me in a big way, i did not like it initially. Something about it is mysterious and innocent and this season looks to have more of a suspenseful and scary vibe. I’ve only watched two episodes thus far so this is an incomplete project but I felt I needed to write about it because i haven’t blogged a long one in a few days. What follows are my hot takes, conspiracy theories, and honorable mentions of “Stranger Things” Season 2.

Ah, the ’80’s, things were slower back then i’m sure, i wouldn’t know though because i was -10 in 1980. The fact that in one of the opening scenes the boys are scrambling for quarters to go play arcade games just tells me that those were the good days. Reminds me of the movie/documentary, “The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters”, if you haven’t seen that i suggest that you stop reading this blog and go watch that documentary, you will not be let down, you will also have your masculinity tested by a man named Billy Mitchell. Also that is probably the only time i’ll suggest that you stop reading the blog so you know its worth it. Anyways, quarters are king and Mike robs Nancy of her piggy bank which i think is just great, but also i feel like Nancy is a bit too old for a piggy bank.

So the boys (Will, Mike, Lucas, and Dustin) rally at the local arcade room, Those for sure were only around for laundering money i imagine, and get to playing. At some point Will hears something and wanders off and somehow he is pulled into the upside-down place, his home pretty much the whole 1st season, and sees a dark sky with red lightning and a shadow demon thing with tornadoes for arms and then snaps out of it. First off i would like to say that i do not completely understand what the show writers are going for with the existence of the “Upside-down” place. I guess the easiest way to explain it is an alternate dimension that’s evil and terrible, but i just don’t know how it all works. I will admit that i think that if i were to somehow be instantly teleported to a place like that, i would for sure only be able to cry and close my eyes until i inevitably died because that place, and that monster thing seem completely terrifying. With all of that being said i think that calling it “The Upside-Down Place” is a rookie move and who ever came up with it needs to go to prison. It’s like calling it “Creepy Avenue” or “Elm Street”, how about a better name for the place that your main characters fear and where pure evil resides. As a matter of fact i will no longer refer to it as the “Upside-down” place and from here on out it will be called the “Thunderdome” or “Satans Basement” or “Oklahoma” ANYTHING but “Upside-down” place.  So, Will snaps out of it somehow and his excuse to his friend for being outside is that he needed some air, I found that funny because this show is set in the 80’s and no chance kids were as messed up and snowflakey as they are now. “Needing some air” in the 80’s was just something you said when you wanted your 3rd cigarette from your 2nd pack of the day, i assume. Be more dramatic Will.

The cameos in these first two episodes were very interesting and i didn’t hate them, i’d actually be excited if they all stayed on as regulars. First we have Brett Gelman playing Murray Bauman, aparrently some kind of private investigator with suspicion of Russian assistance in the events that transpired last season. Gelman is killing it lately with the cameos and honestly is just a really funny guy, i will never forget him in The Other Guys as the Arnold Palmer obsessed wanna-be swinger who begs Will Ferrels character to bang his wife.

Next and my favorite so far is the incomparable Mikey Walsh, the lovable Samwise Gamgee, Rudy HIMSELF, Sean Astin playing Bob “The Brain” Newby. Sean Astin is top 10 in my favorite actors, all around good dude, and just as lovable as they get. His character in Stranger Things is Joyce Byers’ new love interest it seems, and he does a fantastic job. The dynamic between him and Joyce is weird but i am fully invested after 2 episodes. Sean Astin nerding out about video cameras and radio shack is grade-a television folks.

Other than that there is a new pair of sibling characters in the show, Billy and Maxine AKA MadMax, that i just don’t know about yet. Billy is an absolute psychopath that resembles a younger Zac Efron who is fond of younger Zac Efrons who drives like a bat outta hell. This Billy dude is like a cross between Kurt Cobain on a bender and Jack Nicholson from The Shining. Pure crazy, but an entertaining character. His sister, i’m assuming, Maxine (or Max as she so rudely corrected the zany teacher at the school) is a very boyish little girl who is apparently good at arcade games and skateboarding, possessing some of the same crazy traits as her aforementioned brother. Some subtle yet understandable misogyny is featured in a scene where the boys are spying on her and say something along the lines of “girls cant play video games”. There is a new psychiatrist guy that talks to Will too but he is very boring and on the bad guys side so i don’t particularly care for him. Out of the new characters i mentioned above i would rank them accordingly: 1. Bob 2. Murray 3. Billy 4. Maxine 956. Doctor Boring D.O.

As for our returning characters a lot has changed in good ole Hawkins and its nearing the one year anniversary of the finale of last season some time around Halloween, obviously. The iconic Reagan Bush ’84 Campaign signs make an appearance in these episodes a couple of times in peoples yards and i love it, shout out Rowdy Gentleman.  The boys are still up to their nerdy shenanigans riding around on bikes and talking on their giant walkie-talkies. An exciting part is that they dress up as Ghostbusters for Halloween and being the season is set in 1984 i give 1,000 kudos to the kids for being such trailblazing fans of the film, and 2,000 kudos to their parents for making the costumes from scratch. There is a pretty comical argument between Mike and Lucas on who gets to be Venkman, Bill Murrays character, with an awkward reference to the only black Ghostbuster, Winston Zeddemore played by Ernie Hudson, being lame because he was late to the team.

  Mike is emotionally invested in 2 boxes of toys for some reason and misses the hell out of his superhuman girlfriend, 11, just being an emo little baby pretty much the whole time. Will and Mike make some weird pact while trick-or-treating where Mike says “If you’re weird, I’m Weird” kind of like Ryan Gossling does in the Notebook (If you’re a bird, I’m a bird). Lucas and Dustin fight over who is gonna date Maxine.

Our guy Will, who spent the majority of last season in the Thunderdome, has turned into a monster in the eyes of the kids at school. He gets bullied a bit, being called “Zombie Boy” and getting notes put in his locker saying the same thing, thank god Twitter or Facebook didn’t exist back then or this dude would of 13 Reasons Why’d his way through the rest of this season, probably. He takes it with stride though, animating his new nickname pretty artistically, wouldn’t be surprised if he creates a comic book about his Zombie alter ego and becomes a millionaire.

Steve and Nancy are still an item, probably my second favorite couple behind Johnathan and crippling loneliness. Nancy has become annoying because out of the clouds she starts actually caring that her friend Barb is dead, probably because she feels guilty, i mean you’d have to be an idiot to not blame Nancy for the demise of our homely heroine, Barb. There is a scene where Nancy and Steve go have dinner with Barbs parents and enjoy some KFC #fingerlickingood. Barbs parents are delusional at this point, in denial that Barb is dead. They are not in good health, mainly because of the fried chicken, and have plans to sell their home to fund a wild goose chase led by the wacky ex-journalist, P.I. Bauman. That should be successful. R.I.P Barb. Some how Steve has become more likable. Probably because of his hair which has some how become bigger, the higher the hair the closer to heaven, i see you Steve. Nancy and Steve go to a Halloween party together where she gets tipsy on some jungle juice, or as the raging toga bro, who is later seen yakking his brains out, calls it, “Pure Fuel”. Nancy, in typical white girl wasted fashion, says “bullshit” 9 million times after getting a cup of hunch punch spilled on her and brings up the past (Her and Steve basically murdering Barb, gone but never forgotten). Surprisingly Steve peaces out instead of taking advantage of Nancy like he did last season. Johnathan, in typical lonely guy fashion, swoops in like a sad pigeon and saves the day by taking her home and tucking her in. I feel it is necessary to say that i think Johnathan looks like an anorexic Bill Hader from SNL and i hope other people see that too.

  My favorite character, 11, or Elle as Chief Hopper adorably calls her, has taken up residence in a cabin out in the sticks. Chief Hopper is my 2nd favorite character in the show and he has become some type of father figure to 11 letting her stay in his cabin and is keeping her safe from the Russians or whoever is trying to get her. 11 is still a super hero and controls stuff with her mind. She has grown her hair out lookin like a jerry curl gettin real high up there, watch out Steve. Hopper is still whippin around in that dope ass Trailblazer and totin that 6-shooter like a rootin tootin cowboy, they should call him Sheriff instead of Chief. The interaction between Sheriff Hopper and 11 is perfect and comical. 11 is still very robot-like and says “five one five” instead of 5:15 at one point alluding that she hasn’t become much more normal than the first season. There are a few flashbacks to season one including one where 11 is breaking through some gooey womb-like substance out of Thunderdome and it reminds me of Jim Carrey being born from a rhino in Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls. In another scene 11 kills and begins to cook a squirrel to eat and then beams it at some hunter dudes face in the woods because i guess that’s what Russian cyborgs do. Sheriff Hopper misses hanging out with Elle for Halloween and that broke my heart, do better man.

As usual the soundtrack for the show is the absolute best, the beginning credit song that sounds like Daft Punk time traveled back to the 80’s is up there with Game of Thrones intro song. So far the show is fantastic and there are a lot more witty references and noteworthy things to say but i have just realized that i have written 2,000+ words and most of this was just mindless stammering on and so with that i give my superlatives and predictions thus-far:

Most likely to die alone: Jonathan Byers

Worst Father of the Year: Sheriff Hopper

Most likely to Smash for sure: Hopper and Joyce

Most Improved: Barb

Best Hair: Steve

Probably Gonna Finish Last: Bob “The Brain” Newby

Most Athletic: The Bike Boys

Life of the Party: Yoga bro

Most Likely to Become President: Reagan Bush ’84

Biggest Twist: Barb is alive!

Token Black Guy: Lucas

Least Likely to do Anything, Ever: The dumb psychiatrist guy

Most likely to end up in jail or an insane asylum probably: Billy

Most Likely To Confuse The Millennium Falcon with the Starship Enterprise: My Fiance while watching the show with me.

      Stranger Things: Season 2 Return of Barb, Maybe. I watched episodes 1 & 2 of the new season of Stranger Things on Netflix this weekend, its been a long time coming.

[murasaki-murasame]

Yuri on Ice Rewatch: Episode 3

Time for episode three! I remember this being when I got even more invested in the show than I already was before, so this will be fun to revisit.

Thoughts under the cut.

Not much to say before I sit down and watch the episode itself, other than that this was the episode that fully hooked me into the show, as I said above, but I’ll get more into that later in this post. I can’t remember exactly what my feelings and expectations were going into this the first time around, but I imagine that I was pretty curious to see how the whole Onsen on Ice competition would play out, and how it’d handle the already-emerging themes of love. 

This was also around when I got really into the fandom, or at least when the fandom really took off, especially in terms of discussion and analysis and whatnot.

Anyway, time to sit down and watch this.

----

I imagine that most of this post will be me talking about Yuri and his Eros performance, so I may as well talk about the other parts of the episode first.

As yet another part of the show taking on a whole new tone once you get to the ep10 twist, I can’t help but laugh at the entire concept of Yuri saying that his eros is katsudon, and Viktor then doing out to drink until dawn that same night. That must have been a bit of a whiplash-y moment for him. But he took it in stride.

It’s interesting to look back at Viktor saying that to him, agape is ‘just a feeling that he doesn’t know how to put into words’, and in general being kinda flippant about it, considering how depressed and listless we now know he was. I wonder if agape was a difficult concept for him to truly engage with and understand, at the time.

I still quite like the part where Viktor says that his role is mostly to help Yuri with his self-confidence, since he’s already a perfectly good skater who’s just hampered by his emotions. It’s a really important part of their dynamic as coach and student. I’ve always found it interesting how, even among the anti-YoI crowd, I’ve never seen anyone genuinely complain about their relationship on the basis of the power imbalance they have as coach and student, and I think this is a major part of it. They might be coach and student, but their dynamic is much different, and much more balanced, than that of a ‘regular coach and student’, for lack of a better term. For one thing they’re both adults, so that erases like half of the problems that come with most ‘power imbalance’ relationships like this, and most of all, they’re at a similar level of knowledge and skill. Viktor isn’t really teaching him anything about skating itself, in terms of skills and abilities, he’s just there to mostly be an emotional support for Yuri. So their relationship as a whole has basically none of the bad parts you usually get out of stuff like ‘teacher-student romances’ or whatever. And I really think it’s a testament to how well the show’s written, and how much it sells the idea of them being on more or less equal ground as people, that even the antis don’t complain about it. Also, if you’ve ever seen that one interview quote from Otsuka, the CEO of Mappa [I think it was him] where he was like ‘Yuri and Viktor are coach and student, but they’re also partners’, that’s basically the gist of what he meant. They might have a relationship that’s technically defined by a fundamental power difference, but they’re still equal partners. And of course this is also all further supported as the show goes on by the fact that not only is Yuri emotionally supported by Viktor, the reverse is also true, so even on an emotional level they have a two-way relationship.

It’s also interesting, in hindsight, to look at everything he says about the Eros routine, and how he made it. To put it pretty simply, it’s a fairly common fan theory that aspects of the Eros choreography, if not the entire concept of it, were based on Yuri’s whole pole-dancing routine at the banquet. In general, the whole context of Eros, and Viktor’s desire to see Yuri’s true Eros, changes a lot, and becomes more clear, when you understand that Viktor has already seen his Eros, in all it’s champagne-fueled glory, and is actively seeking it out again.

Oh, and while I remember, on the general topic of Viktor, I still love and adore the post-credits episode preview where he says that he’d be happy to see Yuri naked on the ice. It’s so great. Although part of why I love it, beyond the obvious part of how incredibly gay it is, is that I have no goddamn clue what the context for it is meant to be. Like, where did it even come from? Nobody ever suggested Yuri be naked on the ice, so him talking about it comes out of absolutely nowhere. So it just exists as a canon conversation in the show even though it has no real reason for being there, and that’s amazing. It feels almost like it was meant to be a reference to a part of the episode’s script that got cut before the episode aired, but they kept this part in even though it didn’t make sense anymore. I can imagine how the concept of Yuri being naked on the ice COULD have come up in this episode, but it didn’t. I might sound like I’m criticizing it, but I’m really not. I genuinely love this damn conversation and how completely out of nowhere it is. Yamamoto didn’t need to have Viktor canonically say that he’d love to see Yuri be naked on the ice, but she did that, for all of us.

I don’t think I have a whole lot to say about Yurio in this episode, but I actually really like his scenes in this episode, since he’s at his most introspective, isolated, and vulnerable. That’s basically when his character’s at it’s best. Which is part of why I’m really sad that the show leans more into validating his cocky attitude rather than knocking him down a peg. The whole ‘tell him that I’m gonna be the one to win at the GPF!’ line comes across kinda weirdly when you know in hindsight that he DOES win the GPF. It feels like he was meant to sound petty and defeated when he said it, and that tone gets kinda warped when it turns out he was right about it.

I really do love his relationship with his grandpa, though. It’s a consistently heartwarming and adorable aspect to his character, and it goes a long way to make him sympathetic. I kinda wish we got more insight into his childhood and home life in general, but there wasn’t time for it, and I’m honestly glad that the show cut out a lot of his backstory in order to focus on more relevant and important things. I know we’ve learned a few details about his backstory via staff interviews and such, but I only have a vague memory of it since I don’t really seek out extra info on his character, and I don’t usually care enough to remember, if I’m being blunt, but I think that his mother is some sort of a famous singer, or at least was one, and that she doesn’t have much time for her family, which is vaguely alluded to in this episode.

His whole thing of being frustrated with himself during his agape performance because he’s putting too much energy toward performing the physical actions of the routine, and being unable to focus on the emotional side because of it, was also nice. It’s good to see him at least striving to improve upon himself.

Anyway, time to talk about the real star of the episode, Yuri! I dunno if this’ll actually be the biggest part of this post since I talked a bit more about Viktor than I thought I would, but still. I’ll try.

I should probably say in advance that I kinda struggle at times to talk about my positive feelings toward something I like, because I feel embarrassed about the idea of seeming overly obsessive or dramatic or obnoxiously pushy with my raving, so I tend to hold myself back and talk about things from the most analytical and ‘objective’ perspective I can, which I think leads to me seeming overly critical at times, and it also kinda sometimes leads to me not talking much about the things I like about something. So I just wanna make it absolutely clear, while we’re still relatively early in this rewatch series, that I fucking ADORE Yuri Katsuki. So much so that I would honestly call him my favourite fictional character of all time. He means the absolute world to me. Which means that I might end up not talking much about him or his scenes because I don’t want to spent Literal Hours [tm] raving about this wonderful, incredible man. But I still love him to pieces, and even though I loved him from the start, this was the episode where I began to feel truly invested and connected to him to a degree that I hadn’t been expecting.

The Eros sub-plot/theme/whatever-you-want-to-call-it is where we really start to get a deeper look into Yuri’s feelings, and it’s also where the show begins to really get into the overarching themes and concepts that it’s going to explore over the course of the story. It’s no wonder that this is where there was a bit of an explosion of meta and analysis and speculation within the fandom. This episode provides us with ideas and frameworks that are explored throughout the rest of the show, and at the time, they really got the fandom thinking about how it was going to go. From the very start people had their apprehensions about Viktor, mostly because in the early episodes he has an aloof and emotionally distant playboy vibe to him, and the whole playboy/beautiful woman story presented in this episode really ignited people’s fears and concerns, and sparked a lot of discussion in general. Especially since the Eros story explicitly mentions the idea of the playboy abandoning the beautiful women once he’s done with her [which, yet again, gains new context when you realize what happened during and after the banquet. Not that Yuri himself could have known about it]. I still kinda wish the show could have explicitly brought up the Eros story again later in the show, but oh well.

But we can’t talk about the Eros story without also talking about how Yuri actively subverts it by choosing to adopt the role of the beautiful woman and spin it into a seductive force that can go up against the playboy. It’s no surprise that this was around where it really dawned on us all that this show had a lot of things to say about romantic narratives and interpersonal dynamics. A lot of it is explored somewhat implicitly, in the ways that Yuri and Viktor’s relationship naturally plays out, and how it subverts expectations and narratives and tropes, but there’s still some explicit discussions of and references to these concepts, like in this episode. I definitely think it was very intentional on Yamamoto’s part that this show explored and subverted a lot of romantic narrative and tropes, which I’ll get into as I get through this rewatch. This is a good time to recommend her earlier anime, The Woman Called Fujiko Mine, which very actively and VERY explicitly discusses and subverts the way that we create narratives about women, and how damaging they can be. The wonderful Vrai Kaiser has their own series of posts about each episode of that show on their blog, where they go over the themes in that show much better than I ever could. Their posts are made with the entire series in mind, though, so don’t read it if you haven’t watched it all. They also have a really good essay about one of the characters in that show, and how, through that character, the show explores the negative and stifling ways that we create [or don’t create] narratives about gay men. The latter in particular being a topic that I think is very interesting to explore in the context of Yuri on Ice. I’d love to make my own essay post about the concept of ‘how we write stories about gay men’ in relation to Yuri on Ice, and how Yuri on Ice compares and contrasts to The Woman Called Fujiko Mine in that area, but that’ll be it’s own separate post I do later.

That was kinda off-topic and half of it was just me giving a shout out to Vrai because I love their posts and want to have more people read them, but the other half of it is that it supports what I mean about how Yamamoto seems very intentional about how she writes about the idea of narratives, especially narratives to do with gender and sexuality. I’ve also heard similar things about Michiko and Hatchin [the first anime she directed], but I haven’t seen that so I can’t comment on it.

The basic idea of how it’s subversive for Yuri to both adopt the feminine persona in that narrative and to also frame it as an active, dominant sort of role, is pretty obvious. I don’t think I even need to go too deeply into it. But I do like the way that the show as a whole explores and embraces the idea of men, well, exploring and embracing their feminine side. We also see in this same episode how Yuri’s Eros outfit, which was itself previously worn by Viktor, was intentionally designed to evoke both male and female genders. I think it’s a really wonderful and positive message to send. Framing femininity as something that can be empowering is great, and fits in nicely with Yamamoto’s other works and their messages [from what I’ve seen at least]. But, as I’ll get into in episode six’s post, it’s sort of a crutch, or a stepping stone, for Yuri in this episode. He steps into a very actively and aggressively feminine role in this episode, to the point of using the pretty much exclusively-feminine pronoun ‘atashi’ during his performance, and later on he dials back on it a bit and reaches more of a middle ground that reflects his more true self. It’s a part of the story that I truly love, and I’ll have a lot to say about it during episode six. [In general I’m probably gonna have a lot to say about episode six, and I want to give it a lot of attention, especially because it’s by far one of the most under-appreciated episodes in the show, which is still sad to me, since it has one of my most beloved scenes in it]

It’s also worth noting, in terms of what the fandom was talking about back then, this episode sparked a whole lot of headcanons about Yuri [and to a lesser extent Viktor] being a trans woman, or nonbinary to some degree. I think that headcanon kinda died out as the show went on, though, to the point where I feel like more people at this point headcanon Yuri as a trans man. Either way I don’t really think it’s my place as a cis guy to comment on this much, so I’ll just move on.

I really love Yuri’s entire Eros routine here, and his confident and sexy attitude in it. I remember the fandom as a whole being really surprised to see that sort of a seductive side to him as well. In general a lot of the fandom experience as the show was ongoing involved people being continually surprised by Yuri’s many layers as a character, and the escalating ways in which he gets more and more seductive. I still love the little kiss he blows Viktor at the start of it, and Viktor’s wolf whistle that he does in response. It’s great.

I don’t really want to get too deep into movie speculation until my episode twelve post, at least [I’ll probably make a separate post afterward about my speculation for it], but I’m really interested in seeing it again, at least if the movie covers what I think it will and thus he’ll be doing the same routines. Each new Eros performance we got in the show was different in some way to the last, and reflected certain aspects of Yuri’s growth throughout the show, so I can’t help but be curious about how it’d go in the movie. Not gonna lie, I kinda desperately hope that at least one time he just straight-up kisses Viktor and leaves him blushing and breathless before he does an Eros routine. Even if it’s a bit of a pipe dream. At least we got an indirect kiss of sorts during episode 11′s Eros routine, lol.

I also really like how Yuri asked Minako for guidance, and employed his history in ballet, in order to figure out how to go about performing Eros. It ties in nicely with what I said above about him connecting with his feminine side.

I know I basically haven’t said anything at all about the whole katsudon topic in this episode, and that’s just because I don’t have a whole lot to say about it. It’s another aspect of how he explores certain ideas on his road to understanding his true eros, which comes to a head in episode six, but I feel like the aspect of him connecting with a feminine role is more interesting to talk about. The katsudon thing is more of a running gag than any serious plot point worth discussing. Though it does kinda highlight how much Yuri hasn’t really thought about sexuality before, and is really clumsy about figuring out how to explore and express his own sexuality. But I also mostly feel like Hot Topic’s aggressive approach to plastering the ‘I’m a sexy pork cutlet bowl’ line on like 90% of their Yuri on Ice merch has kinda left me burned on the whole thing to some degree. [They didn’t even use the ‘katsudon fatale’ line! That’s, like, the one genuinely interesting and discussion-worthy part of the whole katsudon thing!]

Anyway, since I’m running out of things to say, I’ll just comment on the whole resolution of the Onsen on Ice competition. It caused a whole lot of discourse in the fandom about whether or not it was a case of favouritism, with the competition being rigged against Yurio because Viktor already had a vested interest in Yuri. I think I mentioned this in the last post, but this discourse still comes up from time to time, but thankfully not as much as it used to, especially after the minor resurgence it got after ep10 when it became even more clear how much Viktor was into Yuri by this point in the show. Either way, my stance is that it wasn’t rigged, and that if Yuri had truly been unable to find and express his Eros, Viktor probably would have packed up his bags and left, though he obviously wouldn’t have been happy about it. I think that, mostly, Viktor wanted to make sure that he wasn’t mistaken about that inner flame of passion and Eros that he’d seen in Yuri. He wanted to know that he’d made a good choice in disrupting his career so much in order to pursue it. So if he had ended up feeling that he wasn’t going to be able to find it, and that Yuri wasn’t going to be able to give him what he wanted, he would have been fine with leaving, though I doubt he would have actually left unless an option like Onsen on Ice came up, even if Yuri hadn’t been able to express his Eros. I’m not entirely sure about it, but I imagine that he would have stuck to his word and continued to coach Yuri for the rest of the season.

I guess my way of phrasing it might come across badly, but I don’t think that Viktor was being, like, shallow or manipulative in wanting to rediscover Yuri’s Eros, and basically creating a scenario for it to happen in. I think it was fine. I can’t blame him for being kinda desperate about finding passion and love and happiness.

Oh, and that reminds me, the scene in the rink where Viktor gets up in Yuri’s personal space with his thumb against Yuri’s lips and says that he wants to see Yuri’s Eros is kinda interesting, since it was used at the end of either the first or second PVs, and was one of the main, if not the only, ‘fanservice-y’ scenes used in the PVs. I still feel like the framing of it is kinda weird, like they were trying to make it seem sorta uncomfortable and almost predatory, and so it’s still a bit weird to me that it’s the main fanservice-y scene they used in the PVs. It kinda created a bit of a misleading atmosphere that made me think that the show was going to be more weird and exploitative about it’s portrayal of sexuality. I’m glad that wasn’t the case. Either way, I feel like it’s the sort of scene that really illustrates the gap that existed between them at the start of the show, and how so much of it was about Viktor being aggressive with his flirting while Yuri didn’t know how to respond. It kinda superficially plays into stereotypes and tropes, but it’s one of the things that gets subverted and flipped on it’s head as the show goes on, so I can’t help but wonder if it was intentional, in terms of showing these trope-y and kinda unhealthy and unbalanced scenes at the start, to contrast them with how their relationship develops as the show goes on.

Anyway, next week we’ll be getting to episode four, which is a real turning point in Yuri and Viktor’s relationship, and is the beginning of them truly connecting as equals. So that’ll be nice to revisit.