#YOI Episode 10

[this-is-krikkit]

FUCK ME, I'M REALLY GETTING A VICTOR POV EPISODE RN??? BISHHHH THAT IS LITERALLY ALL I WANTED AAAAAH

[crickets-lovely-place]

I think about this CONSTANTLY. Poor Viktor. Yuuri saying this reset Viktor's WHOLE understanding of the past year!!!

Katsuki "[Last year] I didn't even have the courage to talk to Victor" Yuri

The last year:

Totally not grinding against Victor:

[blended-ice]

What if they made it a pair skate?

[frebbyfazballz]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY YUURI KATSUKI!!! one of my most fave characters ever…. here r some of my fave banquet screenshots to celebrate 🕺🕺🕺

[k-kizkhalifa]

I KNOW I KNOW YOURE ALL SICK OF SEEING ME.. but i just need to let it out. sue me.

okay okay ep 10. (i have some time right now and watching a few) boyyyyyy the absolute gold(excuse my pun) of this episode. victor narrating *chefs kiss*

we start with the “L Words”: Life and love. Here we go, if we hadn’t guessed it already, we’re knowing it now. Yuuri is Victors love. We knew Victor was Yuuri’s love, he done told the whole world in that press conference and on the ice but baby we knoooooow Yuuri is Victors love.

Chris scenes… if you follow me you know I love me some Chris. And just the shopping, is perfect, not only do we see some domestication there (eyyyyy) we get the rings. The church, the choir, the gold rings… is there anything better.

My point is this: Yuuri is soooo soft, almost too soft, but then we see this fire in him. He buys the ring, he takes Victors glove off (swoooon) and he places that ring on his finger. He owns it, and him, in that moment. Baby we need this Yuuri, but we wouldn’t have had this Yuuri if Victor had not entered his life.

Dinner with the boys(tm). Haha at Yurio looking at Otabek saying, “how much do i have to pay you?” Also, aweeeee at Victor getting them all together for Yuuri’s family/friends.

But, Chris, “what’s with the rings?” And Phichit, “my friend got married!” Okay, hold up, first off can we just enjoy how perfect it is that their friends don’t give a shit. “They got married. Obvs.” As if there was anything else that could have happened??? No. That is soo perfect. I mean makes my gay heart hopeful for the day, my guys. But more than that, Otabek clapping. He ain’t even know these ppl and he is FOR IT.

And Victor, oh him and those “L Words” “no, this is an engagement ring.” Boy I see you. Play that card, baby.

But, still my favorite scene is Yurio and him at the ocean. Yurio kicks him in the back bc he is dramatic (tm) and we see a side of Victor we hadn’t really got to glimpse. “You wanted to compete against me?” Hm… Victor doesn’t mention that often, huh? He uses it at what he thinks is motivation at times but this time we see it as a hurtful remark: you wanted to compete against the best. How many times this whole show we watch this man ignore and walk away the moment it is brought up, the moment it’s brought up about him returning to the ice. TONS. But then? I can only assume it’s because Yurio is insulting Yuuri, and their love. And Daddy Victor is saying: “try me again mfer”

Alright I’ll stop myself from this ted talk.

And leave it as this: “BE MY COACH VICTOR” Half naked Yuuri, dancing with the fkin looooove of his life and Victor, darling, he blushes.

oh ps victor didn’t sleep in that bed once BYEEEEEEEE

[lines-on-ice]

On the tracks of Yuri On Ice in Barcelona - Day 1 Part 1

@tony-dreams and I have been planning this trip for months. We've been talking g about it almost since the day we met so obviously, going to Barcelona and chase down all the good spots we see in the show would be our first big trip together!

And obviously, on our first day out, we went on the less touristy spot ever to take a ton of picture in a place nobody was taking pictures - but everyone looked at us weirdly for doing so.

Yes. We are weird. Deal with it. We regret nothing.

So we brought our numerous Screenshots and our nendroids and found the first scene of episode 10: the Convention center, official event hotel and beach!

Obviously, in 8 years, things have changed, and trees have grown...

It is the place! So excited...

I will spare you the 100 pics, we found it!!

Part 2 of this exploration is the beach!!!

That is what we had the most screenshots from!

[thelastcherry]

Victor woke early the morning of the first skate for the Grand Prix Final to go on a walk by the ocean, leaving Yuuri to sleep peacefully in the hotel room.

He heard sound of seagulls and the waves crashing on the shore. He felt the sea breeze and the early morning sun on his face as he stared out at the beach from the boardwalk. Wordlessly he raised his hand to look at the golden ring he acquired the night before.

Suddenly he was kicked aggressively in the back.

*Kick, kick, kick, kick, kick, kick* “Victor Nikiforov is dead!”

He turned around to look Yuri in the eyes.

“Why do you look so happy to be looking after that damn pig?”

He took a step forward to confront the angsty teenager. “Did you want to compete against me?”

“Don’t be so full of yourself. Not all skaters look up to you. Just go away already, geezer.”

Victor grabbed the teen’s chin to take a closer look at Yuri’s face. A gust of wind blew through, rustling their hair around as they looked at each other.

Victor’s hand trembling, Yuri muttered, “The ring you got from that pig is garbage. I’ll win just to prove how incompetent his owner is.”

Victor cooly smiled as the younger skater pushed him away, “Let me go!”

Yuri slapped away his hand and took a few steps back.

A dog barks in the background on the beach towards the sun. The pair looks at the man and dog walking along the beach. Almost resembling the future Victor could have with Yuuri and Makkachin.

Victor narrates ~ If I’d stayed in Russia as a competitor, Yurio wouldn’t be this motivated to fight. And neither would I…

Seagulls cry as they fly in the air and Yuri walks away. He turns once again to talk to Victor, “This place reminds me of Hasetsu’s ocean.”

Victor smiles, “I thought that, too.”

He stares back at the waves and the rising sun in the distance. Yuuri, you may not realize this, but many others besides me got their “L words” from you.

[clearancecreedwatersurvival]

Just got a note from a very long yoi Victor character analysis meta I wrote in 2017 that I absolutely do not remember writing. Episode ten of Yuri!!! On Ice did something to my brain I think that is unlike almost every other television experience I have had. The way the end credit scene of episode ten changes the entire context of the rest of the narrative. PLUS it’s following the motherfucking chapel front wedding scene????? What the fuck. It’s the whole thing though, cause it’s also the one episode that Victor narrates out of 12, and his narration is Like That. Best episode of television ever?? Yes.

Yuri!!! On Ice is a comedic masterpiece you cannot change my mind.

[babysgarage]

i'm gonna assume ice ado would've had victor and makkachin glued at the hip

[yuurikatsukienthusiast]

Another thing that I love about YOI is that Victor and Yuuri's love goes beyond your average idol/fan relationship

Because typically, a plot line like Yuri on Ice's is almost always a recipe for disaster. They had every opportunity to make Victor this huge egotistical asshole who cares for nobody but himself, therefore turning his relationship with Yuuri into something toxic and unhealthy.

But they didn't.

Instead, they decided to make Victor one of the silliest, lighthearted characters on the show. He's a supportive, energetic, loving character who spends the entire series being over the moon about helping his lover reach his full potential.

Victor isn't perfect. He has many flaws. His emotional intelligence lacks in many areas, and he isn't great at comforting people. His pep talks can be tone deaf and he tends to like the attention he gets a little too much at times. and yes, he may be a bit overconfident at times (even if that confidence is earned).

But never once has his 'living legend' status ever affected his love and desire for Yuuri.

He truly sees Yuuri as his equal, and he loves him like breathing.

This much is obvious throughout most of the show, just based on Victor's actions, words, and open affections for Yuuri (more of this is talked about in my previous post). But it becomes even clearer in episode 10, when we get insight on the real reason why Victor showed up to Hasetsu to coach Yuuri.

All it took for this man to fall head over heels for Yuuri was a drunken dance (and maybe some dry humping...)

Their relationship is so perfectly set up. All of Victor's flirting, instead of being something creepy and predatory in nature, was just him being oblivious to the fact that Yuuri had no recollection of the banquet. He'd been trying so hard to get Yuuri to acknowledge what had happened that night by teasing him and making moves on him, and Yuuri was clueless the entire time.

It's such a silly concept, but it really does change everything.

I'm so glad that Victor and Yuuri's relationship didn't turn out to be something toxic and uncomfortable, and I'm glad Victor doesn't follow the stereotypical idol/celebrity character norms. They made his character extremely likable and easy to love, and made Victor and Yuuri's relationship into something so incredibly beautiful. The entire show was so well done, and the amount of thought that was put into each and every detail is evident.

There is so much to love about Yuri on ice, and this is just one small example of that.

[anodymalion]

ok I am in fact using this as an excuse to make a long post about this thank you thank you asjksdjfaljdf

---

Interpreting Yuri as asexual is my very very favorite type of headcanon, which is one that 1. is compellingly coded in the source material (even if that wasn't the creator's intent), 2. is thematically relevant to what the piece of media is Trying To Do as a whole, and 3. just means a lot to me, personally, because I said so.

Coded in the source material

Yuri’s short program is “eros”, aka desire (you can interpret what “eros” means in various ways, but YOI itself explicitly refers to sexual love, at least in the English translations). Yuri struggles with this. Hard. He can’t come up with an answer when asked what eros means to him. His big revelatory moment about desire is that it’s how he feels about wanting to eat his favorite food (omg… boy). Even as the season goes on and the way he views the Eros program changes, the program doesn’t ever really embody the idea of eros as sexuality or romance (which was how the other characters expect him to interpret it) but rather as a desire to keep Victor in his life.

Like look. I’m obviously not going to say that the creator intended any kind of ace subtext to be there. I kind of doubt it was her intent. But goddamn is the subtext there.

2. Thematic relevance

The central theme throughout YOI is “love”, and especially loving people in a way that inspires you both to be your best selves: Yuri learning that the people in his life truly love and support him; Victor finding someone who makes him feel joy about skating again.

Like, Yuri’s whole skating theme for the Grand Prix is literally about him exploring what love looks like to him, even when it takes a form that other people don’t totally understand. Viewing all this through a lens of him being ace is really compelling. It adds depth to the idea of learning how to express the way you feel love even when it looks different than what other people expect. I think it’s a really delicious layer that adds even more nuance to what the show is getting at.

Besides, it’s an interesting way of viewing the criticism of the show that occurred for it not being 100% explicit about them being a couple (aka people getting mad because the kiss in ep 7 is blocked by Victor’s arm lmaooo). Like, ok, did you see the ending scene of ep 9? Did you see ep 10??? They definitely, definitely love each other, in whatever way that means for them. Their relationship takes a form that’s pretty different than the other way people in the show are going about romantic relationships, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t real for them. That is very much in line with the main themes of the show.

3. Means a lot to me

In the final scene of the penultimate episode, Yuri tells Victor that they should end their coaching relationship after the Grand Prix ends. This is because he thinks he’s holding Victor back, that Victor would be happier being free to go back to skating on his own instead of being Yuri’s coach. When I watched this (and, I’ll be honest, this is completely me projecting here) I REALLY interpreted this as an ace thing. I think it’s pretty easy to internalize the idea when you’re asexual that you just won’t be… enough, for other people. In my case I ended up a strong impulse to self-sabotage relationships because I would rather be the one to end things than to let someone else tell me that who I am as a person is fundamentally lacking. Yuri destroying a connection he desperately wants because he thinks there’s something about him that is holding Victor back from a life he’d be truly happy with? Oh yeah. I can fucking relate to that.

Also: YOI came out in 2016, which was the absolute peak of hostility to ace people I was seeing on this site. It was bad here. At the same time Tumblr was going wild over this show. Everyone was watching it. Seeing a whole site of people absolutely adore a character I very deeply in my heart believed to be ace? Extremely vindicating.

---

In conclusion Yuri is asexual because it is fun and interesting that way, and also because of this:

[melodiusicons]

Icon commissions available!

Hello, and good evening! I have a vacation coming up next month where I need to raise about $500 before then, so, I figure- what better way to help raise money for my trip than spreading the word of my comms, as I'm getting back into iconing again!

I specialize in making simple 100x100 RP icons. I do not make PSDs or borders, I enjoy making large quantities of RP icons, on some good days of upwards 50+ for a single episode or chapter. I like making enough expressions for threads. Basically, my goal when I make my RP icons is so less on things like borders or their edits as opposed to giving RPers enough expressions so that they can respond to most situations in their RPs.

For example: for my icons of Miku Okazaki from Gal Gohan, I have made over 1220 icons. For Ann Takamaki from Persona 5 I have made 966 icons from the anime (I still need to do the Dark Sun specials) and 137 icons from the manga. For Maggie Lacivi from Ava’s Demon (on request) I made 396 icons. For Cardia Beckford from Code:realize (only iconed episodes 1-6), I made 347 icons. For Milly Ashford from Code Geass I made 377 icons. For Doona Cheon of Sadistic Beauty I have made 945 icons. Basically, when I make icons, I make a lot, and that’s what I’m offering for you if you consider my services!

10 cents per icon, so $10 for 100 for example (I might consider adjusting this number if I make a ton of icons to be slightly lower, but this is unlikely). These icons will be published publicly; if you want this to be private (available only to you) I will up-charge you 5 cents per icon (so $15 for 100)

In order to make the time worth my while, I am currently only accepting commissions where I feel I can at least earn $10, so 100 icons at minimum!

Icons from games such as Genshin Impact, Final Fantasy XIV, etc are on a case-to-case basis. These are more time consuming for me to make as I must find cutscenes on youtube, and make use of both a screenshot extension and a frame-by-frame extension, and as such these icons take much longer for me to make than television or manga/comics. And as I'm trying to get icons done quickly, please understand to take these comms means I will have to take more time than I normally would for other. I will likely accept them, but be aware I will likely request an upcharge per icon due to the extra time taken.

I am willing to icon virtually any source, including that of most “problematic” media or N/$/F/W things like an h-manga or films showing graphic scenes (I’m not stranger to iconing things most dislike just for a FC, so I understand what you want) and even full out dead dove content. I however have a personal right to icon something that does not make me feel comfortable. If you’re going to be ask me to do something extremely sketchy please understand for my own personal comfort and for the sake of reputation I might reject it entirely. We will discuss this on a case-by-case basis, I will likely accept most commissions but I have my personal right to reject business I feel will make me uncomfortable.

I will give you periodic updates on what’s going on, the quality of your icons, etc.

I care greatly for the quality of my icons and your icons as well. When in the process of iconing JJ from YOI I was dissatisfied with the quality of my torrent and halfway through redid the process with a new torrent to ensure my customer had the best quality icons I could make. Even for my personal iconing projects I care about using the best quality possible so that the icons look good. If you want an anime (my specialty) or tv show quality I will look for the absolute best quality, 1080p or better to ensure you have the best quality icons you can have once I’m done cropping and resizing to 100x100.

In addition to the 100x100 icons I keep the original sized expressions as well. So once I take a screenshot and crop and resize, you will still have the original sized icons as well. This is not an upcharge or anything; I always do this. Good for expressions for personal use, I believe.

If your source is an exceptionally long-runner (like HxH, One Piece, or Yu Yu Hakusho) I will not icon the whole thing most likely; somehow I doubt most people are willing to pay for an icon commission that might be hundreds of dollars if you asked me to icon Gon or something. Most likely I will icon a specific arc of your choosing.

I do not icon fanart. If the character is very obscure and there is little official media, then I likely can’t make much. I am only willing to icon official media (such as anime and tv shows), official art, and perhaps doujins that were already being sold for money.

I can now make icons efficiently from youtube videos, so video games and the like provided there’s an LP of decent quality can now be iconed!

I do not do extensive editing, but with manga icons, I try to do very minor cleaning such as removing kanji from the background and and removing speech from speech bubbles. Basically, whatever I can do with Paint’s erase button, but that’s it.

If your source is a youtube series or the like, something I cannot easily torrent and convenient download in order to take screenshots and icons, there is a chance I might upcharge.

Below are examples of icons made from me from various sources, 100x100 and some full size icons! For the sake of length those (the full-sized ones) will go under the cut. I hope to hear from you soon! Please send me an ask or IM (IM preferred) to discuss business, and I will use the IM feature to keep in contact with you!

I hope you’ll consider me, and consider hiring me!

[frebbyfazballz]

everyday i chase the highs of watching YOI episode 10 for the very first time. the episode that changed EVERYTHING

[thegirlwhorideslikeasamurai]

Why does JJ freak out in the Grand Prix Final?

(I never thought I'd write a JJ meta, but here we are)

JJ has competed in the Grand Prix Final before. One season ago, he finished in third place, right behind Viktor and Chris. The pressure of competing against only five other skaters in the final round of what has the vibe of a deathmatch, is not new to him.

There's a huge difference to last time, though.

For many seasons, Viktor has dominated the men's field. In Sochi, he won his fifth GPF gold medal. No skater could get past him and this was a well-known fact among male top skaters. It's a bit akin to what the current situation with Ilia Malinin will likely develop into, although comparing him to Viktor is a capital crime. Skaters are starting to accept that this one skater scores so high that they can't surpass him wihout breaking their bodies. In YOI, Viktor has cemented his reign with a sublime combination of technical skill and artistry and every top male skater had to face this reality.

And now he's gone off to coaching.

Suddenly, the field is wide open. Everyone's motivation suddenly spikes up. Everyone wants to be the one who claims Viktor's title. Most of all Yurio, Chris, Yuuri. And JJ.

JJ sees himself as king and the rightful heir to Viktor's throne (watch his monologue in episode 9 and roll your eyes). Of all the skaters, he's the one with the least respect for Viktor, not that he respects the other skaters, and his ego is bigger than all the egos of his rivals combined. And this defines his mindset.

In addition to that, JJ is the only skater who won both qualifying events and thus goes into the final as the top contender for the title. Suddenly, dethroning Viktor has turned from a wet dream into a real and likely possibility. Add his own expectations to the expectations of fans and press and you get crushing pressure. Not even JJ is immune to pressure (I suspect that he covers up his own insecurity with arrogance).

There's another aspect that could affect JJ, but it's based on speculation:

Considering JJ's age, he can't have competed at the GPF too often. Depending on at which age he had his senior debut (not every skater pushed into seniors at the tender age of 15 before the ISU raised the age limit) and his development (growth spurts, skating skills etc.), he competed at the GPF between one and four times before Barcelona.

My personal guess is that Sochi was JJ's first GPF, but my only clue that supports this theory is Viktor struggling with his memory when he introduces the finalists in episode 10. Maybe JJ just isn't that memorable to him. But if my guess is right, JJ likely approached his first GPF with innocent fearlessness. JJ totally is the type who would do that. It's JJ style. However, when he qualified again, he already knows how tough the GPF is and that makes him vulnerable and prone to lose his nerve, especially since he is going into the event as the favourite and he wants Viktor's throne for himself. Ironincally, that's JJ style, too.

The Grand Prix Final is a tough competition. It's tougher than Worlds or the Olympics. The fact that only six skaters per discipline can qualify for the final raises the stakes. Unlike at the end of a big event with six groups or more, the judges have a very keen eye on every skater. That's often reflected in stricter scores and mistakes being punished harder, especially when the skaters are equal in skill. It's nerve-wrecking to watch and I imagine it to be more nerve-wrecking than any other competition for the skaters as well.

[rikeijo]

With the announcement of the movie cancelation I didn't get surprised because of what you said, you were right all along people just didn't want to accept it :/ is still sad tho

Thank you for you message!

Excuse me, as I will use this opportunity to vent.

It wasn't really hard to predict that the situation with IceAdo wasn't good at all since 2019 even by just looking at what was going on... Like the sudden lack of any effort to promote the show/movie after the trailer flopped (because of "you either give us what we want or you deserve to die in a plane crash" mentality that *a part* of YoI fandom had and still has...).

Later the same year, the rumor that IceAdo project was once reset to 0 dropped, then they announced the postponement, and the whole IP was just completely ignored from that point onward. (For people who speak Jp, I recommend searching for Yamada Reiji's video from Sep 2019 that he posted on his paid NicoNico channel just a couple of weeks after the postponement was announced... I'm 100% sure he recorded it right after going out to drink with Sayo - while he only says vague things, imo, it gives you a good idea that Sayo was most likely once told at that point that IceAdo, as she has wanted it to be like, just isn't going to happen.)

That, and on Japanese side of Twitter, you can find eg. share holders of various companies that do business in anime industry if you look hard enough, so based on info from such people, it was known that it isn't being worked on at all.

It's still a shock, though... It really is, to see that in writing.

There is also the thing that Jp news sites and so on chose to report it with "the news was met with 'well, it was inevitable' reaction from fans" blah blah comment, and while, sure, maybe in 2024 it was inevitable, but the history of IceAdo started in 2016, when Sayo had the idea when working on episode 10. It wasn't 'inevitable' at all that such an incredibly talented creator as her can't even finish making a movie in peace... I don't even know, but it just feels to me so deeply disrespectful... 😭😭😭 I'm genuinely devastated.

[cosmiclion]

Btw love how in the first episode of YOI, right before we learn that Yuuko is married to Takeshi and has kids with him and all, for a tiny moment we're made to believe that Yuuri has this huge crush on her and is going to confess or something. They really did the opposite of queerbating there 10/10.