In the context of the latest chapter of my YOI novelisation, I subjected the scene in which Yuuri flaunts a big portion of extra sass by blowing that kiss at the start of his short programme a closer examination.
There are two ways to interpret that move. Each one has different implications for the plot as well as for Yuuri's characterisation and motivation. And one is more plausible than the other.
Let's take a closer look at each interpretation!
Such a move would neatly join the ranks of past performances of Eros. What strikes me here as unusual, however, is that how anticlimactic the blow-kiss feels compared to the sensual lip-licking Yuuri did at the Cup of China because so far, he became flirtier with every performance of Eros. One would naturally expect him to double down on that as an escalation to an even lewder gesture.
In a continuous escalation of the Eros intro, the blow-kiss would happen after the flirty nod and before the lip-licking. But that doesn't happen. A blow-kiss for Viktor at this point in the story would thus imply that Yuuri no longer needs to seduce Viktor because he accomplished that at the Cup of China and focuses on keeping the love alight. However, the flippancy of the move contradicts the current stage of Yuuri and Viktor's relationship as them being madly in love and only days away from Yuuri blurting out a proposal at the airport reunion. It also contradicts Yuuri's intention to form a bond with Viktor because it stands in stark contrast to the committment Yuuri has been showing regarding his relationship for the last couple of episodes.
Just by looking at Yuuri's characterisation, this scenario seems not that likely to me.
Yuuri's short programme at the Rostelecom Cup has one main theme:
Before the crowd can intimidate me in enemy territory, I must intimidate them.
Skating in Viktor's homeland and in front of the people whose hero he has stolen, puts immense pressure on Yuuri that forces him to skate better than ever. Flirting with Viktor is no longer enough, Yuuri must seduce convince the audience that Viktor didn't waste his time on him and that includes seducing convincing the judges. He is freaking out internally over the possibility that this might be the last competition with Viktor as his coach. Unlike at the Cup of China where his inner monologue during his skate revolved around his prowess of seducing Viktor, his thoughts are centered around the audience. Every skater knows that an excited crowd generates power that motivates them to perform even better, and the effect of that is not lost on the judges, either. By flirting with the judges, Yuuri can increase his chances for a high placing and gets rewarded with a new personal best. Figure skating is a crazy sport and athletes can be quite eccentric, but a direct flirt probably isn't on the list of things the judges see that often—and if they did, they rather saw it from the likes of Chris. (Performing to the judges has become popular in the 2023/2024 season, but only a small part of the skaters bold enough for that move, actually used it to flirt with the judges. Right now I can only think of Loena Hendrickx in her free programme.)
It really takes guts to flirt with the judges like. Yuuri is known to show guts in the most desperate situations and when the stakes are highest, and the Rostelecom Cup puts him to the test. He has grown so much that he no longer needs to rely on performing to Viktor to deliver a perfect skate. He now has the confidence to achieve with his skating any goal he sets his mind on and by doing so in episode 8, shows the world that coaching him wasn't a waste of Viktor's energy and time.
However, at the same time, Yuuri is sending a certain message to his coach and boyfriend. Paying no attention to Viktor in a moment in which Viktor anticipates to be the centre of Yuuri's attention is a small but sweet revenge for Viktor ignoring Yuuri earlier when he was supposed to send him off. This little gesture of saying "I can flirt with the audience, too" has the power to stoke Viktor's desire and make him even more devoted to Yuuri than he already is. It makes me wish that Makkachin was less greedy.
In a way, Yuuri's flirting with the judges is also a reference to the story he used in the beginning to get an idea of Eros: "...and then the woman casts aside the playboy she seduced and moves onto the next man." Not that Yuuri would ever cast Viktor aside for another man, he just knows how to pay him back in kind and get the message across. Beware, Viktor! This extra-large serving of katsudon his spicier than you can take.
Like Yuuri, Viktor has come to Moscow with a goal "I want everyone to focus on Yuuri" that is supplementary to Yuuri's goal to convince the audience of himself. Except for that one time when Viktor greets his fans like an overexcited puppy, all his words and actions strictly adhere to his motto, starting from the interview in the beginning, to lacing Yuuri's boots and kissing his blade. But he didn't reckon with Yuuri's eros that is quick to remind Viktor and the world that Yuuri made this man his. (How fortunate that Viktor forgets his coaching duties when Yuuri needs him most!)
These two kinky dorks absolutely deserve each other.
That Yuuri blows the judges a kiss is more in line with his characterisation and the themes in this episode than Viktor being the recipient of that kiss. The cut towards the judges right afterwards supports this theory from a technical viewpoint. The Rostelecom Cup SP is the first time that we get a glimpse of the judging panel during Yuuri's performance. We've not been shown the judges' shocked expressions right after Yuuri blew the kiss because that move was so scandalous. Yuuri has been more scandalous in the past and the creators didn't bother to show us the judges then and preferred to show us a blushy Viktor and a stuttering commentator instead. The cut towards the judges seems to be a deliberate choice to drive home whom Yuuri was flirting with.
It's amazing how much meaning the YOI creators poured into even these couple of seemingly insignificant but hilarious seconds. And that deepens the love and appreciation I feel for this beautiful show.
A personal note below...
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Happy anniversary Yuri on ice! Here are a few of my favourite pages from the Yuri on Ice Select book MAPPA brought out and I treated myself to because I am weak and I love them 😂
Russian guides: masterpost | patronyms | terms of affection | answered asks
I’m going to start by swearing this isn’t me just complaining but a general resource for the Yuri on Ice fandom because I’ve noticed some mistakes in the naming conventions used among the fandom and want to help correct them. Especially in how the fandom treats diminutives. I absolutely love seeing the huge amount of interest in Russian diminutives, etc. in fanart and fics and hopefully this breakdown will help continue that trend and interest and even spur some more ideas in fandom content.
So let’s go through some important details below the cut!
Keep reading
YOI didn't just give us actual queer rep in mainstream anime, great unique story, amazing animation and beautiful tracks. It also gave us some rare realistic representation of an anxiety disorder with Yuuri. That it can't just be loved away, that it returns in the most inopportune times, that it makes you irrational and blind to what's in front of you. And to people that didn't see the show, this isn't some fanon interpretation, it's pretty damn clear cut. If you haven't seen YOI, you definitely should give it a chance. The cancelled movie actually doesn't take away from the show at all since it was going to be a prequel and the anime ended in a pretty satisfying note, no cliffhanger or anything.
I wont go easy on you, that’s my love after all.
More Yuri on Ice fanart.
I'M GONNA BITE SOMEONE
Info
Well, I fulfilled a crossover with the two things I love the most: Yuri On Ice and Resident Evil 💗⚡️⚡️⚡️ AND FEELS FREAKING AMAZING. Might repeat it next year, just to see how much I’ve improved. And because who else will give you this strange crossover, than me? ✨🫢
“I’m Viktor Katsuki-Nikiforov!”
“And I’m Yuuri Katsuki Nikiforov!”
They turn to look at each other and grin, attempting to speak in unison.
“And this is the WIRED Autocomplete Interview.”
They’re a little off on the wording, but what is simultaneous is the way they break out into giggles right after saying ‘interview’. It’s only been a few seconds since the cameras have begun rolling, and Viktor is already feeling charmed by the pink tint staining his husband’s cheeks.
“Aww, and we even practiced that a few times!” Yuuri says, now donning a cute little pout.
“It was my fault,” Viktor automatically pipes up, before letting his heart-shaped smile take over his face. “I started speaking a half-beat too late because I was too busy admiring your pretty eyes, love.”
Giggles and hushed whispers immediately break out on the WIRED filming set, but Viktor only has eyes for the way Yuuri’s lips instantly morph, curving into a pleased, albeit shy smile.
“You’re sweet, Vitya,” he murmurs, before reaching over to hold his hand.
There’s not much space between them to begin with on the bench they’re seated on, but Yuuri closes that miniscule gap so that their thighs are pressed right up against each other. Viktor hopes the audience is grateful; the slight tension his love is now holding in his leg will give the cameras a nice view of his immaculate, muscular thighs, outfitted in the sleek trackpants that Mizuno specifically designed for him. (After some sleuthing, Phichit had informed the two of them that Kenjirou had gone ahead and bought four different pairs.)
Nyala – the WIRED production assistant in charge of this episode taping – then hands them the show’s distinctive looking question tableau. On it, are Google’s top ten most searched questions containing their names. They’re partially covered, which adds to the fun: they’ll be taking turns reading them aloud, while unpeeling the adhesive covering to reveal each query.
As they’d agreed earlier, he will read and answer the first question, so Yuuri holds the board steady.
“What did Yuuri and Viktor…”
Viktor pauses to draw out the suspense, and then whips off the adhesive in one rapid motion, his enthusiasm almost causing Yuuri to topple over.
“Oops! Sorry, Yuranya!” he exclaims, feeling a bit flustered as he helps his spouse right himself and presses a kiss to his temple.
Nyala’s eyes are glittering with amusement, so he aims a sheepish smile at her before facing forwards.
“What did Yuuri and Viktor do before they met?” he reads off, feeling quite pleased with this clear opportunity to extol Yuuri’s praises (and, additionally, to lambast certain International Skating Union officials for not recognizing how talented he was prior to that silver medal win at the Barcelona Grand Prix Final).
“Well, the short answer is that we were both competitive figure skaters, but the long answer is more interesting! Let’s start with my Yuuri, because my side of things is boring, not to mention quite sad,” he chirps, not even batting an eye when his husband begins to splutter in protest next to him (“Vitya! Five gold medals at World’s is not sad!”)
But Viktor feigns an inability to hear Yuuri’s counter, and whips his phone out.
One of the first things he’d done after they’d met at the banquet was to look up as many of Yuuri’s Senior division competitions as he could, hungry to expand his personal archives with any video or photos he could get his hands on. By now, his love is aware of his meticulous culling efforts, because he wears a pained expression as Viktor begins to talk and flip through his photo gallery.
“Where to even begin?” he says, allowing his voice to slide into that grandiose tone that Yurio claims “makes you seem even more punchable than normal”.
“Since we only have an hour for this taping, I will unfortunately have to limit myself to the year of Yuuri’s skating career before he and I met,” he continues on, making sure his annoyance is plain. “And, for those that don’t know, we met in December 2015 at the Sochi Grand Prix Final.”
It’s a testament to their many years of being together, because Yuuri doesn’t even tense at the mention of Sochi. He knows Viktor would never try to embarrass him by contextualizing the event in a way that makes him uncomfortable, and, besides, his spouse now shares the opinion that pole-dancing into your soulmate’s life is a pretty badass meet-cute. Even so, it had taken awhile to convince Yuuri’s anxiety of this, and Viktor owes a lot to their couples’ therapist for that mindset change.
“Look at this picture of my beautiful Yuuri on the podium at Four Continents’ in February 2015!” he exclaims in triumph, holding his phone up so that the camera operator gets a perfect view.
Taken in Seoul’s Mokdong Ice Rink is a photo of an adorable, 22-year-old Katsuki Yuuri, wearing a shy smile and holding a bronze medal. Next to him is an obviously ecstatic Celestino Cialdini.
“Now, no offense to anyone, but take it from me: my husband was severely underscored at that competition and should have been standing higher on that podium. Well before he ever broke my World’s winning streak, Yuuri was commanding audiences the world over with his stunning artistry. Particularly, his dazzling interpretation skills,” Viktor states declaratively, his tone brooking no argument.
Well, almost no argument.
Yuuri makes a barely perceptible noise of disagreement, but it’s enough to make him turn and bestow his most unimpressed expression onto him, as if daring him to issue a rebuttal.
“Something to say, Yusha?” Viktor prompts, a bit goadingly. “Do you wish to argue with “Living Legend” Viktor Katsuki-Nikiforov, who, I daresay, might know a little something or two about judging politics and biased scoring?”
His love gives him a light smack on the bicep, and when he replies, his tone is prim.
“If you want biased scoring to be the focus of this question, then I’ll have to bring up your European Championships score from 2013, where you were unfairly beat out for gold by our good friend, Christophe Giacometti.”
An “oooohing” sort of taunting sound ripples around the set, but far from flustering Yuuri, he just raises a brow and sets his jaw. (Viktor feels quite turned on at the look, as well as his protective instincts.)
“I know how the internet loves to spin things but there’s nothing to spin,” Yuuri continues, dryly. “Christophe, himself, made a big stir at the post-skate press conference about judging bias, and he still regularly tweets at the officials from that competition…so much so, that two of them have blocked him on Twitter.”
Viktor gasps with delight at the memory of this juicy event and his spouse’s answering smirk is all the permission he needs.
“Ok, let me set the scene for you all!” he eagerly volunteers, sitting up straighter on the bench.
He makes a big show of clearing his throat and Nyala – who, evidently, has the patience of a saint – hides her smile behind her hand. It’s a wonder that she hasn’t redirected their attention back to the question list, yet.
“January 2013: Zagreb, Croatia,” he continues on, in the grave “I’m narrating a documentary” tone that he knows will make Yuuri laugh. “Twenty-three-year old Viktor Nikiforov takes his starting position on the ice of Dom Sportova arena. Unlike present-day, his hair is much more lustrous, and he has not yet needed to start using thickening oil as part of his nightly primping regimen.”
Yuuri smacks his bicep a second time.
—
I wish I could draw all my favourite scenes from the Harry Potter AU fic Entwining Fates! Yuuri being Ravenclaw makes sense to me and I love that his Patronus is a Japanese crane.
Belatedly realising that Russia canonically has its own wizarding school (Koldovstoretz) but until Rowling fleshes it out a bit more - if ever - I guess for most writers Team Russia stays in Durmstrang.
EDIT: Because I keep seeing people whispering that Yuuri shouldn’t be in Hogwarts but Mahoutokoro ^^”. In the fic, he WAS originally in Mahoutokoro but things happen (it would be a huge spoiler) and he has to be transferred to Hogwarts. All right, I hope that clears it up.
happy valentines day!!
Hi, I'm mae! I made this after re-watching the anime and crying over the movie and falling in love with reiya's rivals fic
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