#yoi 12

[bullsfish]

Yuri!!! On Ice but make it Studio Ghibli.

Kind of... I tried.

[leather-field]

three healers

[s0ap-bubbles]

Shout out to mappa for giving one LESS reason to live by cancelling my gay ice skating movie

[cathalbravecog]

another hi rollar but ms paint color palette

its these colors btw

[this-is-krikkit]

here are the (intelligible) notes i jotted down while watching the finale:

if you think i'm gonna buy into that ridiculous arc of "yuuri being all noble and sacrificing his career so that victor can come back and then victor crying his eyes out bc yuuri's telling him he wants to break off their working relationship and that's the last thing he wants and he can't believe yuuri would make that decision without consulting him first because they're a partnership and he can't imagine himself deciding anything without talking to his fiancé mentee friend WHATEVER THEY ARE TO EACH OTHER first"

well, congrats. you were right, and i am in tears.

victor's hand staying put long after yuuri's started sliding away on the ice, like he doesn't want to let go… uggggh, my feels.

sidenote, "i want to kiss your medal" is amongst the greatest gayest subtext i've ever heard, and not to brag but i could probably win gold in a gay subtext contest myself. well fucking played.

i knew he'd nail the quad flip, you knew he'd nail the quad flip, everyone who's watched this anime knew he'd nail that godforsaken quad flip when he set out to do it.

so my question is:

WHY AM I UGLY SOBBING IN UTTER SURPRISE AND JOY THAT HE DID MANAGE TO JUMP IT????

and finally, that ending was the most perfect series ending i've ever seen. the two of them dancing together (WITH THE DAMN RINGS AGAIN AAAAAH) on the ice and living together, knowing what awaits them…… i got literal chills.

this has been a short but intense and wilf fucking ride, that completely took me by surprise with how quickly and easily i fell in love with the characters.

i'm gonna rewatch the shit out of it any chance i get.

[touchlikethesun]

i think if you haven’t rewatched yuri on ice in a while you should. however good you remember it being, it is better.

if you haven’t watched yuri on ice before, you should you won’t be disappointed.

[altruistic-meme]

I'm already very sorry for the person I will become March 11 - 17.

[porkcutlett]

05/31/22

[greetings-humans]

iceado fic update: 5.3k words in and viktor just landed a two-footed quad flip. he's supremely happy with himself<3

it's funny cause it took him like half a year to get here (i hope that's at least vaguely plausible but if you have any expertise in figure skating I'd welcome the input) but he's not gonna debute a pristine 4F for at least another year and it ain't gonna be reliable until at least a few years after that, but I'm so elated for him!

imagine being within striking distance of the 4F in fucking 2007. what in the fuck. irl, shoma uno landed that shit in 2016. irl, the first quad jump to get ratified after the 4S in 1998 was the 4Lz in 2011. vitya calm the fuck down.

to quote yuri plisetsky, viktor nikiforov is insane.

also I feel like I'll forget to show this to you if I don't tag you so here @athenov hi co-conspirator! while you were sleeping someone was feeling those viktor nikiforov feels and writing

[kon-konk]

I saw someone say a red flag for anime is if it only has 12 episodes because "it'll probably never see the light off day again and probably won't get a season 2" like 90% of the 12 episode animes I've seen haven't been an entire story encapsulated in that one season

[thegirlwhorideslikeasamurai]

YOI meta: How the beach scene solves the conflict in episode 12

Ever since I first watched Yuri!!! On Ice, its ending has been bugging me because the conflict between Yuuri and Viktor never felt truly resolved. It was during yet another rewatch when I finally discovered that Yuuri and Viktor indeed make up in a way that doesn’t require any further elaboration between the two of them. And it happens right before Yuuri's free skating.

But let's first make a short trip back to episode 4 when Viktor drags Yuuri to the beach after avoiding him. Their conversation reveals that Yuuri hates it when people pressure him and treat him as if he’s weak. Viktor then asks what kind of persona Yuuri wants him to take on, indicating that he's used to that kind of thing. Yuuri strongly rejects the idea of Viktor taking on any role for him at all because he wants Viktor to be himself.

“I want you to stay who you are, Viktor. I’ve always looked up to you. I ignored you because I didn’t want you to see my shortcomings. I’ll make it up to you with my skating!”

While Yuuri is unaware of his feelings for Viktor at this point in the story, these words are nothing but his love language. For half his life, he admired Viktor from afar and wanted to get to know the man behind the dazzling façade. There are recurrent hints throughout the series that Viktor was lonely and depressed before Yuuri and that Yuuri is the first person showing an interest in the human Viktor Nikiforov. Thus, Yuuri telling Viktor to be himself is big because he gives Viktor the space to be himself.

From the conversation on the beach, Viktor can infer two things that will become important later:

Yuuri deeply cares for Viktor's well-being.

Anxiety and self-esteem issues prompt Yuuri to act in ways that defy common sense and might result in Yuuri denying himself what he desires most (at least at first glance).

Viktor's insight boils down to the following line, which represents his love language:

“I won’t let you off easily, then. That’s my way of showing my love.”

The beach scene defines their relationship and their unique love language. Technically, it's the pivotal point of their love. The promise they give each other enables them to thrive as human beings: Viktor needs a space where he can be himself and Yuuri needs someone who stops him from denying himself his dreams, and both find this in one another.

Now fast-forward to episode 12!

In his misery, Viktor is blind to Yuuri’s true intentions (I explore certain aspects of Viktor’s reaction to Yuuri's declaration to retire in greater detail here). Whether he doesn’t want to return to competition because he found a new purpose in coaching or only wants to come back if Yuuri continues skating, or his reasons are a convoluted mess that includes these aspects is of little relevance in the face of the anguish Yuuri’s decisions unleash. Viktor is hurting because the idea of returning to a sport that caused burnout and depression while never seeing Yuuri skate / never coaching Yuuri again kills him from the inside.

However, Yuuri is gloriously unaware of Viktor’s struggles. In addition, his core issue “never being enough” caused by his short programme scores distorts the conclusions he draws from Viktor’s behaviour, which cements his decision to retire. He’s well aware he stole Viktor from the sport, as numerous people pointed it out to him throughout the series. He knows Viktor dodged all questions about comeback and retirement. He saw Viktor watching the other skaters with interest. He feels (or believes to feel) that a part of Viktor wants to return to the ice. And no matter how strongly his mental issues influence him, he isn’t entirely wrong.

“I don’t want to end it here, Viktor. I want to be in figure skating with you forever. But your staying on as my coach means slowly killing you as a competitive skater.”

Viktor once had a love for the ice, it only needs to be reignited. No one knows this better than Yuuri who months ago, was close to retiring himself - a sentiment that stuck with him for a long time because he thought he isn’t good enough for the sport. He only kept going because, through Viktor’s help, he started trusting in himself. Yuuri doesn’t want Viktor to neglect his own passion any longer because of him. Even though Viktor can’t see it right now, Yuuri’s decision to sacrifice his career for his love issues from his agape. However, by choosing retirement, Yuuri acts against his own desire.

Before his final skate, Yuuri reaches out to Viktor, resorting to their conversation on that day on the beach. (Note that in ep. 4 Viktor reached out when Yuuri was in distress—oh how I love the symmetry!) On a surface level, his words refer to Viktor’s pep talk, but like so often in Yuri!!!, there are layered meanings. As Yuuri reminds Viktor of the promise they gave each other that day on the beach, Viktor finally understands that Yuuri made his decision out of love.

However, eight months with his nervous katsudon have taught Viktor to recognise when Yuuri is self-sabotaging and he has gained a basic understanding of how Yuuri’s mental issues impact him. He knows Yuuri loves the ice and so he doesn’t let Yuuri take the easy way out.

This is an appeal to Yuuri's competitiveness and I will die on this hill. With that free skating Yuuri just delivered, he threw down the gauntlet and Viktor accepts the challenge, appealing to Yuuri's ambition and competitiveness as competing against Viktor has always been Yuuri's dream. Ingenious bastard!

Here, Viktor ignites the spark in Yuuri to stay in competition. I don't buy that he used Yurio for this. He's not manipulative. Yurio only infers from Viktor's distress that his greatest rival plans to retire and gets mad. Yurio beating Yuuri by a hair's breadth is the last straw to make Yuuri change his mind.

It's the promise from the beach scene that ends Yuuri and Viktor's conflict and elevates their relationship to an even higher level where Viktor can thrive as his true self as coach and competitor while Yuuri doesn't need to forgo his greatest dream of competing against Viktor. It's a perfect ending for each character arc as well as their arc as a couple and all it required was a reminder of the pivotal point of their love for each other.

Episode 12 portrays both the inner struggles of Yuuri and Viktor as well as their love with painful acuteness. Even though they know each other well, even though they share life and love, their situation at the end of episode 11 ignites a conflict that brings both their issues to the front. Given the circumstances, they handle the entire situation with amazing maturity whereas other adult couples would have split up. And they solve it beautifully by using their unique love language, thus giving each other what they need. "I want you to stay who you are" and "I won't let you off easily", indeed.

This discovery totally reshaped my conflicted feelings about the ending into a sense of satisfaction and closure, knowing that Yuuri and Viktor will continue growing and thriving together and that they have the means to solve every crisis that might occur. As a fan, I couldn't wish for a better ending and I have the greatest respect for the creators that they solved the conflict so swiftly given the limited time frame.

Every time I think it's impossible to love this show even more, I discover something that proves me wrong.

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!

[dracolucius-abraxusmalfoy]

Im stuck without access to wifi for the next week and a half, and if anyone has any recommendations for some Massive podfics I can download, I would be forever grateful. I’m talking 10-20 hours.

[emma-d-klutz]

And you had!! @frostbittenbucky

[saddragonhours]

methinks it should be illegal for eepy dragons to have to go to work

[lesbian-moon]

Ive said it before I’ll say it again I know in my heart the mavis/rapunzel lesbo edit was the true original I don’t believe for a second that woody/bolt propaganda was made first.