#6 Friendship

Thank you for the amazing update! I'm curious; while you gave us a good idea of what drunk Yuuri was yelling about at the party with the 'you' and the observation that it sounded like a series of insults, did you have in mind exactly what Yuuri was saying? Or just the general gist since nobody in the fic knows (and will never find out anyway)?

Lol will Yuuri’s yelling in Japanese forever remain a mystery?? ;)

Are we ever going to know what yuuri said when he was drunk?

———-

I wont write it out exactly but the general gist of it was:

Yuuri’s face contorted in an instant, eyes narrowing and mouth twisting into an almost snarl as he called something sharp and harsh in an unfamiliar language across the room, eyes still looking directly at Viktor. Despite not understanding a single one of the few words that Yuuri had just said, from the tone and his accusatory pointing finger Viktor was pretty sure that the words would translate into something very similar to a version of ‘you’ that was very far from polite.

This is pretty much exactly what it looks like, Yuuri is pointing at Viktor and saying something along the lines of ‘you! Hey, you’ in a rude way.

“Ignoring his hesitant words of greeting Yuuri snapped out another tumbled string of syllables in the same foreign language as his first.”

Here Yuuri is telling a brief summary of why he hates Viktor, something along the lines of ‘yeah, you! you called me fat and didn’t think I could be a skater. How do you like me now asshole?’ 

At Viktor’s lack of response Yuuri yelled something else that sounded suspiciously like a series of insults

Again, this is exactly what it looks like. Viktor isn’t responding so drunk!Yuuri is just generally insulting him like ‘you’re so arrogant and I hate you’ etc

Viktor turned back to Yuuri who was still slumped in his arms, glaring up at Viktor, mumbling something in Japanese and poking Viktor sharply in the chest

Here Yuuri’s kind of mellowed out slightly because he’s yelled most of the actual insults his drunk mind can think of so now he’s saying more along the lines of ‘I hate you and your stupid skating and your pretty face’

After some manoeuvring he managed to get Yuuri back on his feet again but the other man ended up clinging to his shoulder, half draped over Viktor as he continued to drunkenly rant at the man he had plastered himself too, feet too unsteady to stand on his own.

“Here Yuuri is ranting about his feelings basically. Something along the lines of ‘I hate how you always beat me and now I beat you and you didn’t even stick around to see it and it’s not fair, why did you just leave?’

Yuuri mumbled something else that was definitely not in English and finally stopped ranting, resting his head on Viktor’s shoulder with a yawn and sounding considerably less angry than he had a few seconds before.

But at least you’re here now

Every now and again he tossed another couple of words at Viktor but they sounded as though they had much less bite to them as before.

‘I still hate you, you know.’ etc but much less mean and more of an afterthought

Instead he simply wound his arms around Viktor’s neck and buried his face into his shoulder, muttering something else that Viktor couldn’t quite make out.

This is where he started to get into sappy territory, when Viktor picked him up. Something like ‘you feel really nice’

And then obviously he finally starts talking in English

Important screenshots from Yuri on ice, i would be overjoyed if people added their own important screenshots in rbs

We need to talk about this

because Yuuri's reaction here is a result of his anxiety disorder and his tendency to self-deprecation and having depressive thoughts. That he ends up here is being carefully foreshadowed throughout the series:

First, Viktor said a couple of things that made Yuuri believe that Viktor only wants to coach him until the GPF:

This

and this

is enough to convince and anxious person like Yuuri that Viktor has no intention to coach him beyond the GPF. Note that Viktor never explicitly states that he will coach Yuuri only for the first half of the season - it's the natural conclusion an anxious brain will draw. And that's neither Viktor's nor Yuuri's fault.

And then this, while Yuuri is within hearing distance:

I'm getting a queasy feeling in my stomach just from watching this scene because I relate to Yuuri so much. If I had eavesdropped on this interview, I would have freaked out internally. Like what does that even mean? Is he talking about his career or is this a carefully crafted answer to convince the press to leave him and Yuuri alone for the next couple of weeks? This secret is probably between Viktor and the YOI creators alone (I have theories, but I'm not going to discuss them here because this post is about Yuuri).

Second, although he becomes more confident throughout the show, the self-deprecating part of Yuuri has a low opinion about his own skating. From his perspective, his contribution to the sport seems less valuable than Viktor's, even when he starts to understand that he's far more than a dime-a-dozen skater. The realisation that he is as least as talented as Viktor, only drives home the moment he breaks Viktor's world record.

Because Yuuri has such a low opinion of himself, he doesn't understand how much Viktor enjoys watching him skate, which is another aspect factoring into his decision.

Third, Yuuri genuinely believes that Viktor wants to return to the ice and would rejoice when Yuuri retires. Having seen Viktor watch the other skaters at the GPF cements the decision he made at the Rostelecom Cup. The fact that basically everyone has told him throughout the last 11 episodes that he's keeping Viktor from skating gives more weight to the idea.

Yes, you got that right. Yuuri deided to retire, before he proposed to Viktor and before he bought two matching rings and put one of them on Viktor's finger. However, now Yuuri knows that Viktor would coach him for as long as Yuuri wants to keep skating, which forces him to release Viktor from his duties at the point he believes Viktor wanted to stop coaching him initially.

"Let's end this" is not about breaking up. Yuuri is releasing Viktor as his coach. He is sacrificing his career so that Viktor can keep pursuing his own career which Viktor once sacrificed for him.

Of course he's surprised that Viktor bursts out in tears.

Yuuri has the right to retire whenever he wants. He doesn't need to consult Viktor. If he thinks (for whichever stupid reason) it's time, he can make this decision on his own.

Is it selfish?

Lol no. Only Viktor thinks it is because he's conflating the coach and the partner and takes it personally. He's hurt and feels rejected because he doesn't understand that Yuuri did it for him and that causes a drama Yuuri was not prepared for.

Is it stupid?

Absolutely. But poor communication skills, Yuuri is too caught up in his mental issues to even think of having a discussion that would lead them to a solution with which both would be happy (both training in St. Petersburg *wink* *wink*). It's not malice, insensitivity, or shitty behaviour that drives Yuuri to this point. It's all about his mental issues. And love.

it's missing viktuuri hours

Checking the YOI tag and every now and then seeing the same kind of post from ppl who are watching it for the first time be like

LONG POST I’M SORRY I NEED TO STOP DOING THIS (Reads left to right, top to bottom)

This is…. bad. Like, I did not format this well AT ALL and I apologize. For everyone in the dark, on 4/29 there was a seiyuu event for YOI wherein the voice actors acted out this scene (more or less, I took A LOT of creative liberties. I just wanted to get the basic gist.) That said, my entire experience with this whole thing was just based on a heavily condensed series of tweets, so my interpretation may well be WAY off. Also, I hate how choppy it is >> I didn’t write it so you can’t really… blame me (yes you can)

For anyone on whom the joke is completely lost (it was for me too at first), this gold fish ornament called a shachihoko is on top of a castle in Karatsu- a real Japanese town that the fictional town of Hasetsu is heavily based on in YOI. During this scene, everyone is drunk in Hasetsu and Yuuri drunkenly says that Victor isn’t as flexible as Shachihoko on top of Hasetsu Castle. Victor, being drunk himself, only hears “Chihoko” and interprets it as a woman’s name, one he thinks is Yuuri’s ex. Jealousy ensues lmao.

{My Twitter}

Destined to last for a lifetime and beyond...

True love and loss can crack even the most perfect facade —discovering that true strength lies in embracing life and love. 👑

Far Longer Than Forever

READ HERE

The beauty of accidental marriage proposals

Yuuri very likely didn't intend to propse to Viktor at the airport but his heart knew what it (and he) truly desired and twisted his words into a proposal—or rather something akin to a proposal that resulted in a spontaneous engagement.

Let's unpack this.

Yuuri returns from the Rostelecom Cup with his mind full of things that he wants to tell Viktor. While we don't learn the details, his inner monologue in the previous scene gives us a good idea of the things he's mulling over.

Yuuri has convinced himself that Viktor will abandon him after the Grand Prix Final. Thus, that competition is his final chance to win gold and he's determined to fulfil the promise he made in his speech in ep. 5 and win that medal. But even if doesn't win gold, there is one thing that he feels he needs to do after seeing skaters and skating fans react to Viktor becoming a coach at two consecutive competitions.

Regardless of how much Yuuri has profited from Viktor's support, he is very conscious about the fact that Viktor belongs to the ice. Or at least that is what his anxious brain has convinced him of. In this sense, giving up his own career so that Viktor can resume his own is an act of love and the only possible solution for them to stay together (in Yuuri's brain).

We never learn about the end of Yuuri's contemplation, but the subtext of the next scene implies that breaking up with Viktor is not an option. Or if it was an option, it was off the table once he was back in Viktor's arms.

Since Yuuri has anxiety, it's safe to assume that he has been overthinking his talk with Viktor over and over during the flight, going through all kinds of scenarios based on Viktor's imagined reaction. After hours on the plane, his brain must have been on the verge of exploding, casting poor Yuuri into a state of total overwhelm. If you have anxiety, you can possibly relate.

However, the moment that he spots Viktor, his mind goes blank and instinct takes over as he runs into Viktor's arms and instead of whatever speech he has prepared, he just blurts out the following line:

僕も考えてた。引退まで 僕のこと—　お願いします！ "I've been thinking, too. Please take care of me until I retire!"

The English translation is a bit messed up here. In the original, Yuuri never uses the word coach in that line. "Please take care of me" is Japanese proposal language. The translators probably didn't recognise this nuance and sadly, the nuance is still lost in the Bluray version.

But that's why Viktor recognises the proposal in Yuuri's words.

However, based on the details given and the illogical ways anxious brains work, Yuuri intended to inform Viktor about his retirement plans and to voice his desire to make the most of the little time he thinks they have left. But that's not what his heart wants. And since episode 5 we know what that is:

初めて自分から繋ぎとめたいと思った人、それがヴィクトルです

A more accurate translation of that line is "The first person I want to tie myself to and never let go is Viktor" because 繋ぎとめたい means wanting to tie someone / something to you and never let it go (see this translation error masterpost).

Of course, Yuuri doesn't want his relationship with Viktor to end and no matter if his anxiety his skyrocketing in the face of the GPF looming ahead, that desire has taken root in his heart and brain. However, his anxiety stops him from proposing actually and turns his addition "until I retire" into a gentle prodding to find out whether he and Viktor are on the same page.

And of coruse, they are.

And it's all Yuuri has wished for. He's been anxious the whole time. Until Viktor recognises the proposal and response with a yes in the same fashion that Yuuri has asked.

To wrap all of this up:

Absence nurtures desire and in this case, the time apart has shown Yuuri and Viktor how much they want to be by each other's side. Because he missed Viktor so desperately, Yuuri's heart wins over his anxiety for once and enables him to tell Viktor his deepest desire. By recognising said desire, Viktor is able to accept the proposal and the two boys are now officially engaged. And that's yet another beautiful aspect about this show.

Unfortunately Viktor didn't really catch the part about the retirement, which will result in him thinking that Yuuri wants to break up when Yuuri announces his retirement plans in Barcelona. On the other hand, knowing that Viktor wants to stay by his side forever is a huge relief for Yuuri and allows him to enter the GPF without any emotional baggage.

Bonus: look at that cute tiny smile right between Viktor recognising the proposal and the second hug.

For further readings related to this please check out:

Japanese dating culture in YOI

Unwrapping "Let's end this"

On Yuuri's top-secret love life

If you enjoyed this meta you might like to check out my YOI canon works on AO3 or just support me by reblogging this post.

surprise it's yuri!!!in 2024

Silly little screencap redraw. I agree that the tie-grabbing scene is great but the seconds before it always crack me up, I love it when Yuuri is a jealous little freak 💙