#about Eros' fans getting to be too much for Gil

[softquietsteadylove]

How about the 5+1 times thing? :D

5 times Gil protected Thena and one time She protected him

Up to you wich AU :)

It was his job to protect Thena. Technically speaking, it was his job to keep her safe and at an appropriate distance from anyone who could be a threat to her or any event tied to her or the label's reputation.

That was how his contract phrased it, at least. But his job was to protect Thena; that was how Gil phrased it.

And he took that job very seriously--always had. And there were different ways he protected her than just being her bodyguard, like most thought.

He could protect her image.

It was early on in his time working for her. They were at some awards show, and neither he nor Thena wanted to be there. But it was part of her job, which made it part of his, too. At least he didn't really have to talk to anyone, he could admit. Thena was forced to socialise with the odd interviewer or contact in the industry, much to her chagrin.

"Are you okay?" he frowned as Thena made the same pinched expression he'd seen a few times now. She kept rolling her shoulders in a way he'd never really seen her do before.

She scrunched up her mouth, obviously debating whether or not to tell him what she was thinking. They were still somewhat new to each other, after all. But she nodded him closer.

"I have to fix my dress, but these goddamn cameras are going to see every move I make."

Gil wasn't too proud to admit he blushed (just a little). He was...aware of how attractive Thena was--beautiful, really. That was part of her job, after all, and he wasn't breaching contract just by noticing that. But he didn't think of her in that way. She was a client, and also the boss of him, even if the label was technically in charge of them both.

Thena huffed quietly to herself, rolling her shoulders again.

"Here," Gil whispered, guiding her off to the side as a few other stars walked along the carpet ahead of them. He moved her in front of him, which was technically behind him, as far as the cameras were concerned. "Just hide behind me."

Thena gave him a questioning look for it, but he put his hands on his hips under his suit jacket, creating a curtain of sorts for her to fix the sparkly and skin tight dress she was wearing. He glanced over his shoulder too, just so she could have as much privacy as possible.

"Thanks," she whispered as she fidgeted with the bust of the dress. Or did whatever she had to do, because Gil was mortified at the thought of even looking at her in the moment.

He could protect her peace of mind.

"Thena, it'll be fine."

"Hey," Gil walked over to them, slipping his phone back in his pocket. Thena was on the defensive, arms crossed and angling herself somewhat away from the rest of the management team. "What's going on?"

Kingo held out a hand at her, "she just gets nervous about transportation sometimes."

Gil wondered what exactly was missing between the way Thena was acting and Kingo's vague statement. He looked at Thena, trusting that she would tell him more specifically what she needed and what had to happen to make it better. "What's wrong with what we've got?"

Thena shrugged, "nothing."

Kingo sighed, "Thena-"

Gil moved in front of her, which he could tell irked her manager/stylist greatly. But he focused on the singer folded in on herself. He nodded his head, asking her to speak in not so many words.

Thena squirmed and pursed her lips, like a kid who didn't want to go home yet. Or maybe wanted to go home right this minute. "The limo has to park on the main street. If we walk to it, there will be fans, and paparazzi, and-"

"And you can ignore them," Kingo suggested with a shrug of his shoulders.

But Gil held a hand out to him, which irked him even further. But he wasn't Gil's client (his priority), Thena was. "She's had a long day, man. And you know how they can get after a performance."

"Well, what do you suggest?"

Gil tilted his head, looking at Thena, who was both being very stubborn and trying not to make a big deal out of it. But her battery was completely empty, that much was certain. She looked ready to drop, and she probably was going to ask if they could go get greasy burgers or cheap tacos or something anyway.

"I've got an idea."

"What?" Kingo asked, but continued to go ignored by the bodyguard. He huffed, leaning past his massive shoulders to peek at Thena. "Just get home safe, and text me when you do, okay?"

She nodded, waving him and the rest of the team away. She looked at Gil, on his phone. "What did you think of?"

"You're hungry, right?" he asked her with a smirk. It stretched into a full grin when she perked up like a flower in the sunlight. "Ubers will take you through the drive-thru if they don't have another ride waiting."

That was one of the first instances of what had since become a tradition for them.

He could protect her physically.

He had done so plenty of times, obviously. He would always remember the first time that not only was he on the job, but rather when Thena actively sought him out for protection.

She wasn't even out as Athena: Goddess of Song. She was just out as Thena, with Makkari and Sersi. They were also in the music industry, of course, so it wasn't as if they could go around completely anonymous. But at the very least, they weren't at a music event, they weren't at a concert--they were just three friends out for drinks.

Thena had asked if he could be on call for the night, for when they had to get to and from different locations. He had easily agreed, not just because it was part of the job, but also because it was Thena; she would be socially exhausted by the third bar anyway. If anything, he was prepared to pick them up and get them all drive-thru on the way back to Thena's penthouse.

But Thena called him from the bathroom of the second bar. Apparently someone in there had recognised her and was being pretty aggressive about getting a photo - and her number - and meeting her friends. Without a proper escape route, she had called him.

And Gil arrived ready for a fight. The nerve of some creeps in this part of town astounded him. He easily found the guy, leaning against the wall outside the bathrooms, just as Thena had assumed he would be. Didn't the club have any security of their own?!

"Hey brother, I'm just waiting for my girlfriend t-"

Gil gave him a swift crack in the jaw, his fist sending the guy to the floor in the blink of an eye. He shook out his fist afterward, although his knuckles were well conditioned for impact. "Prick."

He knocked on the door, leaning his ear close, "Thena? It's me. Are you-"

She pushed the door open, nearly pushing it right into him. But she rushed right to him, her forehead pressed to his chest at the earliest opportunity. "Thank you."

Gil heard her loud and clear despite the head-rattling music from the dance floor. He folded his arms around her, knowing that no matter how much she didn't want to show it, that it was one of her worst nightmares to find herself in a situation like that. He pressed his cheek to her hair, "it's okay. I've got you."

He could even protect her from herself--in a way.

"Thena," he called her name for the umpteenth time, watching her pace the floor of her dressing room so consistently he was worried the rug would go bald. "It will be fine."

She wasn't listening to him. She wasn't listening to anything but whatever her head was screaming at her. And it was never kind things, Gil had come to learn.

She was picking at the cuticles around her press-on manicure, since she couldn't chew the fake nails. If she were sitting her knee would be bouncing a mile a minute. In not time at all she would start muttering aloud to herself.

"Thena," he tried again. He had been trying since he got her in the car, though. There was almost no winding her down from this point before a performance. Almost.

Thena grumbled as he planted himself directly in the path of her pacing. She tried to move around him but he trapped her in his arms against him. She huffed. "This is a little over the line, no?"

"So file a complaint," he chuckled, still holding her to his chest. He took a few deep breaths, deliberately letting his chest expand and contract against her.

Despite her attempt to remain cranky, she slowly fell into the same rhythm, her heartbeat slowing and her breathing becoming more even and more in sync with his.

"That's it," he whispered, running a hand over her hair. There was nothing he could say to comfort her in these moments. They would be as good as empty words to her anyway. The only thing that mattered to Thena were results. But to get the results she wanted, she had to be in the right mindset to perform in the first place. "You'll be great."

Thena sighed, dropping her head to his chin with a slight bonk. She would be burying her face right in his shirt if not for her full face of makeup. "You don't know that."

"You've got a pretty good track record so far," Gil shrugged. He didn't have to argue with her with false promises; Thena believed in results, and her popularity spoke for itself. "I'll be here waiting."

But his favourite part of the job was actually the part that was taking care of her. It wasn't actively protecting her from anything--maybe protecting her from burnout.

But it was things like carrying her after a long day in ridiculously tall heels when she was exhausted. It was knowing exactly what her order was at every fast food place in town, or coming over to make her breakfast when he knew she was sleeping until two in the afternoon after a performance. It was buying her medicine when she was sick; it was even running regular old errands for her.

He had come to like tucking her in when she was asleep and already snoring by the time he got her in bed (he had never told her she snored, just a little). He liked running hot baths for her so she could have a soak while he made a nice nutritious dinner for them (fast food was only for after performances). He liked that he spent more time at her place than his, these days.

He liked protecting her from the job.

Gil frowned as Thena's phone buzzed on the coffee table. She was in the shower, losing track of time as she sang to herself with the help of the steam stretching out her vocal chords. "Hello?"

"Gil?--I called Thena."

"Yeah, and I'm answering," Gil set down his breakfast burrito and got up for his own phone, left by the stove. "It's her day off--what's going on?"

"I know, I know, I'm sorry."

If he were really sorry then why was he calling?

"The label got a call from Ikaris' management team. Remember that piece she recorded with him?"

"Yeah," Gil murmured. He knew the piece personally--he had helped Thena rehearse it in this very spot.

"They want her to make a guest appearance at one of his shows he's doing on his tour--over in the UK."

Usually artists would just contact each other personally and let management figure out the details for them once they were or weren't in agreement over it. But then again, Thena and Ikaris weren't exactly friends. Friends through Sersi, and perhaps frenemies with a playful rivalry between them. But it made sense that Ikaris knew better than to slide into Thena's DMs. Not that she would know what that meant.

"We can talk about it tomorrow."

"Gil, come on, I wouldn't be calling if they weren't expecting an answer today."

"So tell them she's sick, or she's on vocal rest or some shit," Gil argued. He could hear Kingo getting frustrated with him. It wasn't that they experienced friction that often, and they were both part of Thena's team, and her friends. Gil considered Kingo his friend.

But if it was between Kingo or Thena, obviously he chose Thena.

"Gil-"

"Kingo," Gil pressed, his voice softening as he heard the faint fluttering of Thena's voice. She had left the door cracked; her trust in him was incalculable. "She's exhausted from the show this weekend. She really needs today to just...chill, okay? I promise first thing tomorrow, I'll get her on a call with his label. But today is all hers."

Kingo sighed loudly - dramatically - into his end of the phone. "You're a little too good at your job, you know that?"

Gil smiled to himself, "I take that as a compliment."

"I'm sure you do, Gil. Fine, I'll tell them she's on doctor ordered silence. Just make sure to bring it up in the email so it doesn't sound like uncorroborated bullshit."

"Will do," Gil promised before the call ended. He swiped the notification of it away. It was still in the phone's logged calls, but Thena never looked at that anyway. He set her phone down again, resuming his task of finishing his burrito.

"Who was that?"

Gil smiled, licking his lips as he finished up his last bite. "Just Kingo--nothing that can't wait until tomorrow."

"Are you sure?" she tilted her head, but she hadn't knotted up at the mere mention of work.

She had come a long way since he had first started working for her. "I'm sure."

She could even protect him.

"What the hell is going on here?!"

Gil was being visibly mauled by a horde of fans. They were mostly young, all significantly smaller than him, most of them appearing female. And of course Gil wasn't in the habit of fighting children.

"All of you!" Thena barked at them, storming over without a second thought to her initial desire to find their ride and go right home. "Get off him!"

Gil groaned as Thena pulled him from the grips of the crowd previously shaking and clawing at him. He even had a few scratches on his face.

"What the hell happened here?" she asked him, although the crowd around them was still rioting at them. She backed up with Gil tucked against her side.

"They're fans of Eros'," he sighed heavily, leaning against her. At least, he was until she moved him behind her. "Thena?"

"Get the hell away from him!" she bellowed, knowing exactly how to shout at them loudly and with a sustainable strength in her voice. "I cannot believe you would attack him like this!"

"He deserves it!"

"He punched Eros right in the face!"

"You should've had him fired!"

Thena's back raised, her shoulders tensing. She took a step forward, ready to get in a screaming match with a child.

"Thena, come on," Gil held her hand in his. He was spent from defending himself (which meant letting them tear a strip off of him and not fighting back at all). "Leave them be."

Thena all but growled at the gaggle of little monsters glaring at them. She had no concern what they thought of her. "You should be ashamed of yourselves for attacking an innocent man."

"He's the one who attacked an innocent man!"

"Come on," Gil urged Thena again, before she could argue that Eros was the instigator, which would be a pretty clear and direct breach of their agreement with his team to keep the whole thing quiet. "Just ignore them."

Thena did finally turn away from his assailants. She raised a hand to his face, brushing over a slightly swollen cheek, "what did they do to you?"

"Please," he chuckled, brushing off literally being mauled by a riot. "They're just a bunch of kids."

"If that's his most devoted fanbase, it does nothing to increase my confidence in Eros' character as a person," Thena scoffed.

"This will all blow over soon," Gil murmured, not that he was entirely sure that was true. He looked back at the crowd still booing him as they walked back to the car waiting for them. He walked closer to Thena, pulling her ahead of him--which was technically behind him to them.

Thena reached behind her, finding his hand naturally and slipping her fingers against his. "I'm sorry."

He gave her hand a squeeze in return, smiling despite the soreness of his swollen lip. "You have nothing to be sorry about."

"Still," she whispered, pulling him to walk beside her properly. She squeezed his hand even harder, "are you okay?"

"I'll be fine," he promised her, smiling genuinely despite his little scratches and scrapes. She frowned at him, openly doubting him. But he leaned forward, pressing a kiss to her forehead, "I'm sure."

[sinematically]

I watched eternals and ok I have THOUGHTS so I’m putting it here and I’m in a cab frantically typing this so it’s basically unfiltered thoughts kay thanks

- it’s different. It got a very obvious mainstream look. It is still a high budget, heavy CGI or like “comic book hero’s” movie but the more I think about it, the less I find a movie from the last few movies in the MCU to compare it to. So, it’s still very super hero movie, just not like the MCU.

- it’s felt a bit like watching Captain America Civil War. We know all of them, and we know they’ve interacted with each other.

- Something felt incomplete, I think it’s the limited amount we know about each of the eternals on their own? But it’s not really a problem

- seeing Kit Harrington and Richard Madden interact, with a sersi involved? The GoT/SOIAF fan in my has died. KINGS OF THE NORTH BABY!!!

SPOILERS-ish AHEAD

- Ikaris’s storyline was somewhat unpredictable, but also if the fate of his character is sealed, I just need to see what they do.

He’s also hilarious and Richard Madden has wonderful comedic timing

Also, seeing a super hero cry. Shed tears. Kill him self because he loves Sersi too much to kill her, but I’m not killing her is going against everything he believes in? I love Ikaris he is my favourite idiot boy.

- as a desi, everything about Kingo just… worked. PROPER HINDI BEING SPOKEN HAS SAVED ME AND I DONT EVEN LIKE HINDI!!!??? & THE dance sequence, the BHARATNATAYAM?? 12 year old me would learn that choreography in 5 min flat. 22 year old me will need an hour but I know I can do it.

HE SAID DISHOOM. DISHOOM.

- Sprite is such a fucking mood. Her relationship with Dane??? With Kingo?? Kingo and Dane need to meet now too, properly.

The illusions

Also when Kingo said he worked in the movies because he missed Sprite’s story telling

- Thena, my moon and stars and my favourite goddess of war. I want to hug u and hold ur hand and kiss ur knuckles baby you are loved. She can do no wrong and will do no wrong

- GILGAMESH DESERVES BETTER. I’ve concluded that Gilgamesh is a fun house husband who would make the best dad jokes. Also thena and Gil are my only OTP from the eternals. When he dies, the fkn crying.

- When Thena killed the Deviant, everyone in the room felt so much fkn relief. She’s so cool

- I really love Gilgamesh and thena so much. On their own and together

- Salma Hayek did such a WONDERFUL job, the mothering and the nurturing. GOD

- PHASTOS!!! Hilarious & romantic and a good father!! Dude just seeing him KISS A MAN on the big screen?? A MAN OF COLOUR!! GAY MEN KISS IS A MARVEL FILM GODDAMN IT. and the way he talks about his HUSBAND BEN? Wonderful. This is essentially the exchange between him and other eternals

“I thought u lost all hope in humanity”

“They remind me that there’s good left”

- Druig is a himbo I think. I like him. If I could control the minds of people, I too would contemplate taking over humanity to get rid of greed and violence etc etc

- Makkari and Druig are cute. I want more Makkari content because She is so fun. She is every quirky incorrect Marvel quote but in actuality. Also something about her signing her words brings in so much personality to her whole character

- HARRY STYLES IS EROS CONFIRMED

- MY BABY MANS DANE WHITMORE IS BACK

Overall? Imma need to watch it again to decide how much I love it but it’s a 3/5.

[lattetimes]

Latte Talks About: Y//O//I

okay, fuck it, let’s go.

for context, i use to be a fan of the show in the beginning. i thought it was kind of interesting, and the main character being in his 20′s and coping with constant anxiety was something i can 100% relate to! that being said, i have a shitton of issues with the show and the fanbase itself by extension. 

i’m gonna put all this under a readmore and separate this by categories. before that, i’m gonna start off with a quick summary of what Y/O//I is (for anyone that’s kinda curious and have 0 idea wtf this anime even is about). i tried to keep everything as brief as possible so it won’t be too much to read through, but i have a lot to say about this entire anime that i didn’t get to say last year, soooo.

PROLOGUE: WHAT IS “ YOI ” ?

if you already know what YOI is, you can skip right over this and jump right into PART ONE. 

ok, so. Yuri!!! on ICE (a.k.a. YOI) is a sports anime series that was produced by MAPPA, directed by Sayo Yamamoto and was written by Mitsurō Kubo. it ran from October 6, 2016 – December 22, 2016, with 12 episodes under its belt for one season and talks of a possible second season. 

the story goes that 23-year old (turns 24 in episode 9) Yuuri Katsuki is Japan’s top figure skater and he fucks the fuck up at the last Grand Prix Final (GPF) he participated in. he decides that he might as well put this career on hold or just quit altogether. while he’s chillin’ back at home (which is a hotel-bath house, keep that in mind for a lil’ bit), he recreates an advanced performance done by his idol Victor Nikiforov during that same GPF (Viktor was in first place, Yuuri was dead last). 

well, this performance was secretly recorded by his friends’ triplet daughters and put up on YouTube, getting the attention of Victor and prompting Victor to stop skating for an entire season to coach Yuuri (much to the dismay of Victor’s coach, Yakov). this event sets off Yuri “Yurio” Plisetsky, a 15-year old skating protege that worked with Victor closely and was promised Victor’s help years ago.

the two compete for who gets to be coached by Victor in this season and Yuuri beats Yurio, leading to the rivalry between the two and Yurio returning to Russia without Victor. the anime goes through the entire skating season revolving around these three characters- along with a revolving door of side characters in order to keep the competitions interesting- going through physical and even mental obstacles to kick their opponents’ asses. 

...and this is where my issues with the anime starts.

PART ONE: THE STORY IS AWKWARD

i have a lot of issues with this anime. a lot. 

for one thing, the entire story hinges on this one accidental night that was revealed in episode 10 after Victor and Yuuri trade matching golden rings: Yuuri got hella wasted after his fuckup in the GPF, and basically gave Victor the time of his life. they danced, and Victor had fallen hard for drunk-off-his-ass Yuuri. (pole dancing was also somehow involved. don’t ask me how.)

Yuuri forgot the entire night, presumably because he dropped off the face of the earth in social media. my main issue with that is how was this never brought up again with any of the other characters?! how was Yuuri completely unaware of this happening?!

Yuuri’s friend, Phichit, being unaware of it makes a little bit of sense due to his absence during that GPF. but not Yuuri? there was a small segment in the first episode that shows that he had his phone notifications off for a long period of time after he recreated Victor’s routine. 

but, i still find that to be a bit too convenient. and after he’s back into skating how did no one else mention this? i know Chris, Victor and Mickey alluded to it at separate points and that makes sense- it’s a good way to get the shock of what episode 10 dropped on us to be even better.

...but no one’s bothered to straight-up mention, “hey, Yuuri, remember when you spun on a fucking pole and beat a 14-year old in a break dance competition? yeah, what the fuck was up?”

my main issue with the entire story would be the ending, so...

PART TWO: THE ENDING KINDA WAS MEH IMO

the end of the series has Yuuri coming in second place (a huge improvement from the last year) and Yurio in first place in his first senior-division GPF. oh, also JJ gets in third place somehow, but we’ll get back to that in a second. 

now, i get why they made Yuuri get second place since he promised to quit skating competitively once he wins gold and to also “allow” Victor to go back to skating (there’s a huge internal conflict with Yuuri since a lot of people assumed Yuuri “stole” Victor from competing). what could’ve happened instead of Yuuri getting second is the following:

Yuuri wins gold, and he either stays in the competing world as a competitor for another year because he gained his love for the sport back and wants to go for one more year. or, he decides to teach Minami (an upcoming Japanese skater that greatly admires Yuuri). this would help create a new dynamic with Yuuri and Victor (if Victor coaches Yurio if Yuuri starts coaching), along with introducing Yurio to a new competitor for the next skating season. 

Victor stays as a coach, for either Yuuri or Yurio (since Yuuri does move in with Victor after this GPF). he really enjoys coaching people, and learns how to improve his coaching skills with extra help from Yakov. 

Yurio comes in second. he’s devastated at first, and he’s disappointed in himself. but then he remembers: he’s only 15. and he got second place in his first senior division GPF. and that itself is fucking incredible. 

JJ gets dead last. after an incredible season of completely crushing all of the other competitors and even showin’ Yuuri up by perfectly executing Victor’s signature move (that Yuuri struggled to replicate), he fucked up. he messed up both his skate routines. with the promise he had made is fiance, Isabella, that winning gold means they’ll get married and he fucks it all up. but, Isabella is still with him after he fucks up; his parents- that are also his coaches- still support him; the crowds still chant for King JJ! the king may have fallen, but he’s not gonna give it up. and he becomes stronger from that!

give Phichit or Chris bronze, dammit.

PART THREE: THE CHARACTERS THEMSELVES ARE MEH AS HELL TOO, NGL

so the character design was handled by Tadashi Hiramatsu, working off of Kubo’s original sketches of how the designs would look. and overall, i think the designs are alright. they don’t stem too far from reality (with a few exceptions, because this is a fuckin’ sports anime so fuck it!). 

i’m only gonna specify a few characters, because tbh almost all the characters are very flat or not interesting. if they didn’t have nice designs  or hella bomb music for their routines i wouldn’t even give a flying fuck about them. but they have that goin’ for them, i guess.

Yurio Plisetksy

oh, we’re gonna get back to this character don’t worry. 

Seung-gil Lee

i personally don’t have much to say about Seung-gil, but the issue of racism against this character was brought up multiple times while the show was airing. 

Seung-gil is a South Korean skater that competes against Yuuri once, and was unable to make the cut. the issue with this character is that he’s rude to a lady skater that seems to have taken some interest in him (and she was being polite and sweet to him) by ignoring her calls and outright saying he has no interest in being her friend. he also is calculating his scores as he’s performing.

Otabek Altin and JJ

god, i wish Otabek was introduced earlier ‘cause he probably would’ve been a much better character. his entire existence was basically just to contrast Yurio, and not in the way JJ does with Yuuri.

Otabek is a large and powerful masculine man, while Yurio is constantly called the “Russian ice fairy” due to his more feminine appearance (which was stated in the anime). and Otabek admires Yurio’s grace while Yurio admires his strength.  but, other than that, Otabek is basically only a prop for Yurio. his entire character revolves around Yurio, and that’s it. you can’t really talk about Otabek at all without even mentioning Yurio.

with JJ, he’s got his own character arc goin’ for him. he’s always been at the top, he’s incredibly skilled and everyone fucking bows for King JJ. fuck, he has an entire song called Theme of King JJ! and this contrasts amazingly with Yuuri!

whereas Yuuri is constantly questioning his self-worth and skill, JJ owns that shit. but with Otabek and Yurio, it falls flat, and in the next section i’m gonna delve into the character of Otabek a bit more.

Makkachin

the dog is objectively the best character and no one can say otherwise.

PART FOUR: YURIO IN GENERAL TBH

honest to god, i think Yurio was the character that was hardest for me to get use to. 

and i’m just gonna start right off with my biggest issue here: Yurio was incredibly sexualized. and not in the way that would be Yurio owning his sexuality.

nope, Yurio’s performance for his exhibition skate Welcome to the Madness was very... uncomfortable to sit through. his performance was like this:

(CREDIT FOR THIS GIF)

there is absolutely NO FUCKING REASON to show off one of the youngest characters in this show in this way. there’s ZERO REASON FOR THIS BOY’S SHIRT TO RIDE UP LIKE THIS, OR FOR HIM TO REPLICATE THIS SPECIFIC ICE SKATING MOVE. you want one of your characters to perform that kind of move as a homage to Stéphane Lambiel? HAVE YUURI DO IT- HE WAS THE ONE THAT SKATED TO EROS- A LITERAL SKATING ROUTINE ABOUT PASSION AND LOVE-MAKING AND ALL THAT JAZZ.

yeah, Yurio was the one that wanted to go for that spicier routine (basically personifying lust) over Agape (personifying wholesome love), and you can argue that having Yurio do shit like this was for the character to show everyone that he has control over his own sexuality, but that isn’t the case.  having his arc be about how he’s coming to terms with his sexuality or how he feels pressured into being more sexual while still being a minor- leading to him being uncomfortable and having a new friend step in and say “hey you do wtf you wanna do” would’ve made this shitshow better. 

no, the creator made this routine in order to get more sales (which duh), and to garner more interest from the side of the fanbase that wants to see Yurio get together with Otabek by throwing him in the routine.

Otabek’s part in the routine was only for a decoration, like icing on the cake for Yurio’s performance! he was only there so they could upstage Yuuri and Victor’s duet!

this isn’t a character taking charge of his sexuality or even an arc about how figure skaters. no, they only had Yurio doing this performance because a lot of people wanted to see Yurio and Otabek end up together (which is something I’ve already stated i have a few issues with). 

a really good way they could’ve taken Yurio’s arc was to show him being pressured by the adults in his life into having to sexualize himself, and constantly showing Yurio being uncomfortable with this. he just wants to skate his own way, but then the fear of the judges and other competitors looking down on him because he’s the youngest competitor in this year’s GPF (everyone’s in their 20′s, minus JJ who is 19) he falls into a state of depression because he’s not doing things on his own terms. have Yurio combating with this inner struggle and have him overcome it by saying, “hey fuck you, stop staring at me like this.” have Otabek back him up- have Otabek (who is 18) be someone that isn’t confident with himself and have him be the one that tells Yurio, “hey, this is hella gross, are you even okay with any of this?”

or, y’know, don’t sexualize kids just for money, just sayin’, that’s a better option.

another issue i’ve seen with Yurio is that he’s fucking everywhere. 

yes, Yurio is a main character and i get that he’s gonna get a shit ton more merch than Georgi or Leo, but he’s overshadow the other two main characters. and honestly, i’m sick of seeing him. it’s upsetting, but true. i’m sick of that character entirely. 

PART FIVE: THE ANIMATION REALLY ISN’T GOOD

so, another issue i have is that the animation really isn’t jaw-dropping. 

the only time i was fucking impressed by the animation was episode one, showing off Victor’s performance of Stammi Vicino! 

the show’s animation was subpar at best, and it wasn’t anything revolutionary or stellar at all. it was very flat and static, and even the ice skating routines were boring in that regard. there’s barely any real effort that is put into the animation of the anime, and it’s a real let-down!

y’know what anime had crazy-good animations? Mob Psycho 100.

this character is just talking to people, and he’s incredibly animated and overall interesting to watch!

this show has very interesting use of squash and stretch when it comes to making characters emote. even the smallest of expressions are easily magnified due to the solid execution by the animation team at Studio Bones!

YOI could’ve better attempted at doing this with at least the skating routines, and the bare minimum with the main three characters. it would’ve made the anime a lot more engaging instead of having everything be so damn static or consist of shot reverse-shots. having more interesting angles in the show would also help with the expression of feelings, as this show is very heavy on emotional weight when it comes to Yuuri and Yurio’s struggles to compete against the other.

and i’m so not upset about MP 100 losing to YOI in the Crunchyroll anime awards because it was totes not biased. which, by the way...

PART SIX: THE FANBASE ITSELF (OH BOY)

these are a few examples of the issue i take with the fanbase. for this section, i’m going to list off what problems i have with the fanbase, and why i now have the entire YOI tagged blacklisted.

Victor and Yuuri’s relationship (homophobia!!): this is one of the biggest reasons why i don’t associate with the fanbase anymore. the fanbase constantly takes this couple and tries to add toxic “relationship problems��� to them. this includes (but is not limited to):

threatening to divorce each other

doting “wife” Yuuri

“playboy” Victor

Yurio’s “constant disgust” with the two being happy together (Yurio seeing “sin” if the two so much as cuddle with each other)

basically calling two men that are together “a dirty sinful ship”

“Victor is the man of the relationship” “no, Yuuri is” (basically the application of heterosexual standards onto a gay pairing, and having a “power struggle” with them instead of them being happy together)

fanfics (which i will make a separate part for)

Yurio’s sexualization (OtaYuri): i’ve went well into depth about this, but there’s another point i would live to bring up. there are actual minors that don’t want to see Yurio in a sexual way because they’re around the same age as him and don’t like the idea of having people having sexual fantasies about a teenager. that thought genuinely makes them uncomfortable. well, the side of the fanbase that ships OtaYuri (the ship name) will go well out of their way in order to make them uncomfortable. some OtaYuri shippers join anti-OtaYuri discord servers or skype groups, and then spam them with OtaYuri content until they’re permanently banned from the chats. 

Killing Stalking (also referred to as “KS”): i already can’t stand the fucking online series called Killing Stalking, and it’s horrid to sit through. the fanbase of KS already has a fucked up vision of shipping the two main men- one of them being a homophobic serial killer that breaks the other guy’s legs in order to keep him trapped in his home and another his obsessive stalker that broke into his house. and the Yuri!!! on ICE fanbase flocked right into that the second the anime ended, and decided it was okay to take Victuuri (the ship name of Victor and Yuuri), and try to come up with their fucked up headcannons and AU’s with KS.

The YOI Fanfics: okay. this is honestly a huge part of why i’m very cautious of interacting with YOI fans. there’s a multitude of fanfics that incorporate homophobic, non-consensual aspects into their writing just so people can get their rocks off to it. and that really bugs me. i’m going to talk about the kinds of fanfics that really seem to bug me the most. WARNIING: this is NSFW-related, since that’s the most kind of fanfic i’ve seen of them. 

Alpha/Omega/Beta Fics: this category for fanfictions involves an AU where occasionally characters will go “into heat” and have the uncontrollable need to breed with either their partner or anyone nearby. and usually it’s the “uncontrollable, lusty, submissive Omega” (which is commonly Yuuri) that needs their “dominating and powerful Alpha” (usually Victor) to give into desires and screw. a lot. now, this is wrong for a coupe of reasons: it portrays these gay men as people that cannot control their desires at all; this isn’t always consensual sex at first; there’s always a focus on a power dynamic between the two+ characters involved due to being “presented” as an Alpha, Omega, or Beta. 

THE POSITIVES: YES, THERE’S A FEW POSITIVES I SAW

its music was composed by Taro Umebayashi and Taku Matsushiba, and they did a fucking great job workin’ with the music. On Love: EROS will remain as my favorite song from the entire album that YOI released.

seeing Yuuri attempt Victor’s move in episode 7 and then successfully master it in episode 12 was something amazing to see. it was an incredible thing to see Yuuri land on his feet as opposed to him hitting the ice again, and it really shows how far’s he’s come. 

another positive would 100% be the fact that figure skating had gained a lot more popularity. it was so nice seeing so many people become more interested in the sport itself, and i loved seeing pro skaters even love the show! Stéphane Lambiel even had a cameo in episode 12!

the characters’ designs are really not all that bad. and the voice work is great! i don’t really watched dubbed anime often, but the dub for YOI was over-the-top and ridiculous! and the VA for Yuuri in the English dub (Josh Grelle) was at SuperCon this year, and he kept talking about how much he loved Yuuri’s character. he loves the fact that the story of YOI takes place in a world where no one has to be afraid of loving who they love, and that’s something he wants to see in the near future, and i find that incredibly sweet.

the dog is immortal.

CONCLUSION

so. there you go. that’s all i have to say about the entirety of Yuri!!! on ICE. 

did i enjoy it? well, yeah, a little bit. i was a part of a YOI skype chat when it began because i was so excited that we were getting a sports anime about figure skating!

was it worth all the Internet-breaking hype? eeeeh, not entirely, no? episode 7′s kiss was something special, yes, but the show itself wasn’t allowed to be critiqued that often while the show was still riding the high of popularity it had. 

and if you liked the anime, that’s awesome! i’m glad you did! i can 100% see why the show was very popular and why a lot of people still love it! 

i don’t label every YOi fan a homophobe for liking the show, but seeing this kind of behavior way too often has made me lose my love for the show overall. i can’t even look at the show anymore, and that’s really upsetting to me. but, it did make me happy for the time being. it’s just a fucking shame that the show had a shit ton to work with, and they didn’t go for it. 

i’m sorry this got very long, but there were some areas that i needed to delve more into than others and i got carried away.

[lazuliblade]

History of YOI fandom

As a YOI fandom grandparent, I felt it was my duty to write out all the fandom explosions for the newer fans who weren’t there to witness the big bang and gradual week-by-week creation of this universe. All the arguments, people blowing things out of proportion, blaming characters, death theories, awesome fans clearing up miscommunications, YOI breaking the internet... 

This isn’t a post to call out specific people on their arguments and theories - I’ll stay respectfully away from restarting flames and picking fights, thankyouverymuch. Rather, this is an overview of the topics and conflicting views that swept across hundreds and thousands of people and prompted strong reactions. I’m doing this now, because I know that 6 months later, 1 year later, 3 years later, etc. there will be new fans who will have many of the same exact arguments. We’ve been there and done that. I see fans now who say things without knowing where the spelling/quote comes from, or who don’t realize how much has changed, or don’t know why there are certain perceptions of characters. So here’s a little bit of passing down history.

I also don’t want to forget the crazy ride this was. Laugh with me at the silly theories; smile with me at how deeply YOI has impacted our lives. For those of us old-timers, let’s take a trip down memory lane. Remember when...

---------------- (Large arguments will be italicized or bold. Special thanks to @sachiro for reminding me of a bunch of stuff I missed, and looking over the draft in its various stages of being written and edited.)

Pre-series

Idea that there would be a love triangle (Yuri P.--Yuri K.--Victor)

Some fans started spelling Yuri Katsuki with two “u” in order to tell them apart.

Victuri ship name created for Victor x Yuri K. (in a comment to the PV)

The title

“lol ‘Yuri’ on Ice? Where are all the lesbians?”

“When it said Yuri on Ice, I thought we would get girls. Y’know what I mean?”

“Yuri on Ice? More like Yaoi on Ice! amiright?”

etc.

J.J. misspelling (English spelling “Jean Jack” instead of French Canadian “Jean-Jacques”)

you can see the remnants of this in the audience banners during the episodes, but it was corrected to “Jean-Jacques” on the official website and the in-show text

Phichit x Seung-gil ship created (there was more art for this than for Victor x Yuuri)

Episode 1

Victor vs. Viktor spelling arguments 

Although “Victor” is the official spelling and seen in-show, people argued that the creators are wrong and that we fans know better than them about Russian culture - thus the “Viktor” spelling was born.

People argued back that spelling is subjective and you can spell a name multiple ways and still be correct - thus transliterating his Russian name into English as “Victor” would be just as acceptable.

The YOI wiki held fast for a time on using official spellings and information from the official website, but the transition of power led to a new team that started using agreed-upon info rather than solely using official info. “Viktor” replaced “Victor” on the website.

this change from “Victor” to “Viktor” on the wiki happened around episode 2~3, but the arguments were in the page comments since episode 1 -- with moderators explaining their reasoning with sticking to official sources.

Victor is a flirtatious over-the-top character who will seduce Yuuri

Victor is the overwhelming seme and Yuuri is the shy whimpering uke.

People dropping the anime because Yuuri is overweight; people commenting that they don’t want to see an overweight main character

in addition, some people dropping YOI due to feeling that the series was “fat shaming” by using Yuuri’s weight as a point of comedy.

Conversely, some people praising that we have a main character that gains weight and actually has an overweight appearance. 

“Japanese Yuri” &“Russian Yuri” or “Yuri K.” &“Yuri P.” were used to differentiate between the two characters since they shared the same official English spelling “Yuri”.

Starting with ep1, “Yuuri” spelled with two “u” became more widespread due to convenience when typing.  

Japanese fandom simply used kanji for Yuri Katsuki and katakana for Yuri Plisetsky. 

Some fans argue that Yuuri is more correct because in Japanese his name is ゆうり(yu-u-ri). Other fans argue that “Yuri” is still acceptable transliteration because there are multiple spelling systems (Hepburn, etc.) and an alternative correct spelling would be with a macron (Yūri).

Fans point out that Yuri’s name would be spelled “Yuri” in official documents anyway due to lack of macrons on many keyboards.

Spoilers for episodes 1-3 were out because of the two Western fans who witnessed the first three episodes of YOI in a Tokyo preview screening.

fans relied on a certain blogger for info on YOI. 

“WHERE DID YOU SEE EPISODES 2&3???” was asked every 5-10 minutes (literally) and became an inside joke with us old-timers.

Yuuri = Yuzuru Hanyu, Victor = Evgeni Plushenko.

Some fans link characters with real-life skaters to encourage anime fans to watch real skating. 

Some fans saw these as one-to-one connections without considering that characters are a mix of various real-life skaters, and then went onto YouTube videos and spammed about “real-life Yuuri.” 

YOI fans being rude to skaters and sending emails to ship these real-life skaters (emails sent even to skaters who are married with kids)

Amazing researching fans:

find Victor’s apartment and the beach from the ending credits Instagram roll.

Love hotel

Makkachin’s name found in magazine Yuko was holding 

speculation starts on what “Makkachin” means and how it should be transliterated (Makkatine, Mocatine, Makkatin, etc.)

Comparisons of Yuuri to the main character from Parasyte due to similar appearances (Tadashi Hiramatsu, the character designer who adapted Kubo-sensei’s initial designs for animating, was the main character designer for Parasyte).

Speculation on the year in-series starts. 

Yoyogi for Worlds doesn’t match with Sochi as the GPF location.

Yuuri’s iPhone model is seen as a clue.

“Yuri on Ice” trends for 6 days on Tumblr

Episode 2

Victor is manipulative:

He’s a playboy and flirting all the time 

In episode 1 Minako mentions that he is desired by millions. 

His wink in episode 1 shows that he casually flirts with fans.

He will break Yuuri’s heart. He came to romance Yuuri, then drop him later.

He’s already pushing into Yuuri’s space with the chin-touching. That MUST mean he’s suave and planning to seduce and drop him.

“Victor calling him ‘piglet’ is so mean!” -- an extension to the fat shaming debate of episode 1.

Yakov’s angry comment to the press = more fodder about Victor being selfish and only there in Hasetsu for his own pleasure.

Victor is horrible because he broke his promise to Yurio x-number of years ago.

All of his happy smiles are a facade and he can’t actually be that nice. 

Counterarguments to trust the creators and wait to see more about these characters because it’s only been 2 episodes.

Koibito translation nitpicking (it’s not “girlfriend,” Victor is saying “lover.” It’s a gender-neutral term.)

people calling this queerbaiting

“It can’t get any gayer!” line starts to make its appearance.

Ship name “Victuri” cemented. “Victuri sounds like victory!”

Arguments about spelling it “victuuri,” because of the trend with spelling Yuri K.’s name as Yuuri to differentiate the two Yuri’s. 

Counterarguments that “Victurio” would be for Yuri Plisetsky, so therefore “Victuri” would be fine for Yuri Katsuki.

Evgenia Medvedeva starts watching around this time and posts comments on her twitter account.

The livestreaming IRC group is started. There were about 15 people tuning in (this grows to the hundreds by the last episode).

Mira makes her appearance (more of an appearance than the brief flash in ep1). Her name isn’t announced yet so some people nickname her “Natasha” (after the Marvel comics character Natasha Romanova/Black Widow)

Episode 3

Yurio was robbed. 

and all the counterarguments against this.

score calculating posts begin to show up.

“Victor is manipulative” evolves into “Victor is evil” 

“he didn’t keep his promise to Yurio”

people ignoring that he actually did keep his promise to choreograph a program

Eros story Yuuri tells Nishigori = parallel to how Victor will abandon Yuuri in the end. Victor is the evil playboy, confirmed!

People fighting this with meta about how Yuuri is the seductress keeping the playboy, and this was all Yuuri’s interpretation -- Victor may have had another story in mind and we’ll never know what it was. (<---until episode 10)

He forgot Onsen on Ice was about the competition and was there playing around as Hasetsu ambassador. He doesn’t REALLY care about the two Yuri’s.

“he didn’t notice when Yurio left and was having the time of his life with Yuuri on the podium”

Victor’s super-serious expression when Yuuri hugged him means he doesn’t care.

“Make a man pregnant” - the start of the ABO fic influx

“Katsudon ga daisuki da yo” is how we say “I love you” in YOI.

Boyfriend shirt has taken on a new level: boyfriend costume.

Yuuri and genderfluidity 

quite a few fics were spawned from this topic too

YOI is not yaoi -  how genre is not the same as tags. Posts clarifying what yaoi actually is and why Yuri on Ice doesn’t fit that genre at all.

Yuuri getting more confident by episode 3 already - initiating hugs and contact with Victor. “How much more gay can we get!? They already said ‘I love you’!”

Fanfic explosion 

due to Victor’s character being slightly more fleshed out, and the relationship between characters becoming more established

Top!Yuuri starts to make appearances

Going in blind to the episodes from here-on-out because the fan report from the screening was only through episode 3.

Real life skaters are noticing and posting on social media about YOI. 

Evgenia Medvedeva, Denis Ten,  Deniss Vasiļjevs & Stéphane Lambiel, Ashley Wagner, Danny O’Shea and many others from here on. 

Masterpost soon created to document all these skaters.

Kubo-sensei tweets about episode 4 being her favorite

Episode 4

Victor has cancer/is dying.

He was so dramatic and playful when he joked about balding. That means he’s hiding something. Balding = cancer. Therefore Victor is dying! (Note that cancer doesn’t cause balding, although it’s treatment with chemotherapy does.) 

Victor being that out of breath must mean something is wrong.

Victor’s comment about injuries = 

he’s hurt but hiding it

we can expect someone to be injured later

Rise of fanfiction featuring Victor with large past injuries he’s kept hidden.

Celestino getting annoyed at Victor = more fodder for Victor being evil. 

No coach likes him - that means he must be untrustworthy and there must be something that he’s hiding that we don’t know yet.

The Old Man in the onsen becomes a fandom celebrity for a while (captain of the ship)

Victor’s comment on Yuuri’s stamina = fic fodder

“You meet me where I am” - fans exploding at how meaningful this all is and how far they’ve come in four episodes.

“What do you want me to be to you”

---Victor said “koibito” but subs say “boyfriend”

---Daddy kink: “A father--” “Yes!” 

this is when we start to see this kink in fics and fanart/comics

Phichit makes his appearance. Fandom explodes with glee. People pointed out his appearance in episode 1 and more explosions of “no detail left behind”

Aeroflot

Enter Lilia and her teaching Yurio.

Evil Lilia and Yakov

“Yurio should have stayed with Victor”

Kubo-sensei laughs at the rumors of Victor dying.

Everyone and their mother tries to learn to make katsudon - various recipes float around; Crunchyroll releases recipe (Nov 4). 

Jokes and critique about YOI dub (Gru!Victor; Russia(Hetalia)!Victor)

Episode 5

Victor obviously knows no Japanese at all vs. Victor obviously knows a little Japanese after living there for 6 months (about whether or not Victor understood Yuuri’s love declaration due to him commenting about the tie and not the confession)

Fan comics/art and fanfiction about burning Yuuri’s necktie

JARAN jacket (that one scene with Yuuri’s jacket misspelled)

Lots of flailing and dozens of gifs of the lip balm scene

awesome fans finding the exact Chanel lip balm

Yuuri’s confident walk = flailing and keyboard smashing moment (gifs with explosions behind him)

Hug meta (back hug; “do the hands on neck mean anything?”)

Minami is a chicken nugget (McDonald’s colors + being small)

First time we hear Victor’s thoughts - people discussing this

Victor’s image shifts away from “evil Victor” towards something a little more positive

Leaks of the Oh! Skatra!!! Tracklisting (Nov 6).

Duetto title makes people freak out

Speculation on who will skate what piece.

Speculation starts on who will appear in which GP series competition.

Pre-episode 6

Jealous/Possessive!Victor due to the ending image in ep5 of him wrapping his arm around a flustered Yuuri.

speculation on where that is and who took the picture

Dengeki, the website that posts teaser pictures and text of various anime’s next episodes, posted a teaser summary on their site that used quite a few innuendos.

Starting from here, YOI episode previews start to be released later and later. This becomes a running gag among fans who stay up to wait for previews. 

Episode 6

Chris makes everyone uncomfortable.

wet ice comments

People freaking out about the hand holding (“koibito tsunagi/lover’s hold”) then about the lip licking

Victor’s innuendo and lewd mouth animation

Victor actually is sexually attracted to Yuuri

Paired with Yuuri being comfortable with Victor clinging naked to him at the restaurant, and worrying that people would think he’s not serious about the competition = fans arguing how far they’ve gone

Queerbaiting arguments still continue ( “fujoshi bait” and “fanservice”)

“Ai ha katsu” (Love wins!)

Georgi is an Evil Witch

Leo = awesome representation (non-white character representing the U.S.A.)

Phichit meme ( “scandalized” with hand on mouth)

Phichit is captain of the Victuri ship

Kubo-sensei posts summary of The King and The Skater 

Pre episode 7

Dengeki, what in the ever living F is that preview summary (twitter)? Along with the shortened version.

Another preview summary wtheck comment - this time from a YOI animator, Itou Noriko

“Drastic measures”??? Will Victor hug Yuuri? Violence? Harsh words? Kiss on the forehead or MAYBE the cheek?

fanfics, comics, lots of speculation

Episode 7

Kiss vs. Hug

drawings/charts/tracings to prove it was a kiss

queerbaiting comments continue

Western fans ask Kubo-sensei for a direct answer; she’s amused that Japanese fans didn’t need confirmation yet Western fans did

Yuri on Ice trends on Tumblr for two days at #1 (previous episodes had trended in top 3 for about a day).

“Japanese censorship is what made them cover the kiss!” -- and the subsequent posts that stopped this misinformation.

“Victor is evil” continues - he was cruel in the parking garage and the queerbait lip hug was obviously just consolation

Chris, stahp! (more wet ice comments)

Guang-Hong is badass, Leoji ship sails further

Georgi is creepy, some people hate Anya, some feel sympathy for her

Georgi’s outfit = figure-skating Elsa (photoshopped pictures)

Head boop

Aired after the U.S. election - “episode 7 is the only good thing that happened this week”

“YOI singlehandedly saved 2k16”

Watchers dropping the anime because Victuri became canon.

some people liked the anime as long as it was still ambiguous. This kiss/hug scene made it much less ambiguous and left them feeling awkward.

some people liked it as long as the pairing was not mainstream - they liked being a niche shipper.

Conversely, more people started watching once they heard it was canon and not queerbaiting/fan service.

Johnny Weir homage with young Victor’s outfit and rose crown at European Worlds.

Johnny hears of this and adds YOI on his to-watch list.

Kubo-sensei tweets about a certain scene - confirms and does not confirm it as a kiss

pre-Episode 8

Will YOI talk about homophobia and LGBT hatred?

They’re going to Russia next - lots of fanfiction about Victor dealing with past and current homophobia, and how Yuuri and Victor would act during their stay in Russia.

Magazine had the titles for episodes 8 and 9 - “Victor returns to Japan” has people theorize about what could be drastic enough to have him return.

Kubo-sensei strikes again:

tweets about looking forward to Dengeki’s summary this week and ends up trolling the fandom.

being one of us and wanting them to get married already.

Makkachin’s name revealed to have no meaning.

Dengeki posts 5 hours later than normal.

Episode 8

Angry fans yelling “Why didn’t they use this chance to address hatred?”

People arguing about how this is nice because we already have so many other series about hatred and would it kill them to let us have ONE nice thing in life? Let’s just appreciate that we get a happy relationship with no prejudice or hatred from the world for once.

Kubo-sensei defending the hate-free world she created.

Seung-gil feather duster/parrot/swiffer comments and comparisons.

Sala vs Sara

official site and subs romanized her name as “Sala” but a more natural spelling would be “Sara.” (sala means living room in Spanish and Italian) 

wihin the week, the spelling was corrected on both the website and subs to “Sara.”

Mila Babicheva was also changed to Mira Babicheva at this time.

Makkachin-related tags and comments

#Don’t die Makka!

#SaveMakka2k16

#Makkachoked

Speculation on what Yuuri will place - and who will make it to the GPF.

J.J. and the cross - many understood it as a religious motion, but it was soon linked by figure skating fans to Yuzuru’s cross motion to check body axis.

Kissing the ice - seen as “J.J. is so narcissistic and kissing himself,” then disputed by other fans as a sign of respect for the ice much like real-life athletes do with the ice, track&field, and court.

Yurio x J.J. shipping starts

Sub!Victor fanfic boom, BDSM, foot fetish, and other related body worship fics

YOI trends over Barack Obama (Nov 24)

Katsudon recipe released by Funimation on Yuuri’s birthday (Nov. 29)

Preview images for ep9 of Sara encroaching on Yuuri - some people worried that this would be in-series drama or that fans would ship it.

Dengeki still posting way later than they used to. This leads to lots of waiting and loss of hope for future episodes until…

Episode 9

Freaking out over the airport scene:

“What did Yuuri’s tears mean???” 

relieved/touched Victor cares for him and returns feelings? All the emotions catching up from their separation and the hard skating? 

guilt over hiding that he will retire soon? Sadness that this will only last 2 more weeks?

Clarifying why Victor brought up “proposal” (“Why does what Yuuri said sound like a proposal?”)

People “fixing” the subs (mis)translate the word “koto” as if it was the word “mono” and end up making Yuuri’s line to Victor sound super possessive/cheesy as a result.

Yuuri mentioning that he’ll win gold prompts discussions about “Does Yuuri need a gold medal to be happy? Is a gold necessary for his character?”

Fandom exploding over Yurio’s pure smile and friendship with Yuuri

People uneasy over Sara and Michele’s sibling relationship.

Mira x Sara ship gains steam and sets sail.

“Hug zombie” - the term given to Yuuri’s hugging spree

Johnny Weir planned to watch YOI “one episode per day,” but failed and watched two episodes the first day. Then binged the rest within two more days and caught up in time for episode 10 on Wednesday.

Naked Victor on the front page of NBC due to Johnny’s tweets

Crunchyroll releases Katsudon Pirozhki recipe (Dec 7)

pre-Episode 10

“Something round and golden” -- gold medal, wedding rings, cock rings, onion rings, golden snitch

Kubo-sensei fanning the flames

we were losing hope for teasers until... our saviors, Animate, took over for posting them. Dengeki still posted the identical teaser pics on their site, but did so at a later hour.

Preview lines about Yuuri recalling the previous year’s nightmare banquet.

Translation confusion led to people thinking it was a “nightmare bucket” “nightmare baguette” (and other attempts to find the correct foreign word) until someone pointed out that figure skating competitions have banquets.

Theories about what happened at the banquet. 

Episode 10

Rings

Yuuri buying one ring (with Victor buying the other) vs. Yuuri buying pair rings as a set 

would later be confirmed in a magazine post-series that Yuuri bought both rings

Are they really engaged or not?

Best plot twist ever.

The ending changes everything we ever knew about this series 

 people analyzing all the interactions since episode 1

“Poor Victor” comments and tags appear

“Victor was pining all along!”

Victor seen as super patient and willing to let Yuuri drive the pace (because he never brings up the banquet in order to respect Yuuri’s shyness). 

Victor flying to Japan with his dick out. 

Victor had a crush on Yuuri since the beginning.

“Victor is a dork who would do anything for love” mentality sweeps away previous malaise.

fanfic and fanart explosion of dorky, loving Victor 

This is when the loving!Victor image squashed any lingering remnants of evil!Victor 

Eros parallel re-interpreted as Yuuri being the playboy and Victor being the woman seduced and left behind. 

Victor is savage for making a program based on the banquet and thinking to skate it for a season. 

Pole dancers comment that the moves in Yuri on Ice reference actual moves (Yuuri is pretty good and has great grip strength; a couple of Chris’ moves are incredibly hard)

Otayuri (Otabek x Yurio) becomes a pairing

Beach scene discussion - was Victor angry or not, and why?

Hype for Kubo-sensei revealing that the GPF would have the most realistic animation of all the episodes.

Animate posted late (only a few hours before airing), but Dengeki even later.

Episode 11

“Scoring system is broken!”

Yurio’s score is literally impossible using the current real-life ISU scoring system (he’s about 5 points too high)

Yuuri scored low despite low number of technical mistakes

J.J. given a higher score than should be allowed because of his huge errors.

Discussion on Victor looking out at the ice during Yurio’s SP (“what was he thinking?”), and discussion about his flashback and burden

Chris’ mystery man ( “Chris’ boyfriend”? “Who IS that guy???”)

Half the fandom dies with Yuuri’s last sentence; half the fandom trusts Kubo-sensei (and comforts the other half)

Evgenia posts a tweet trusting everything will be alright

People’s view of J.J. changes - some sympathy and “??? I never expected to actually care for this guy!”

It seems everyone pitches their predictions about who will be on the podium.

“Phichit’s hamsters predict the podium?” theory

pre-Episode 12

We give up on teasers because they’re so late. Animate releases them a few hours before the episode airs.

Oh!SkaTra!!! Yuri!!! on ICE Soundtrack released about a day before the final episode aired.

“Spoilers” (but not really, because we had the tracklist since episode 5). We confirm the last two songs are the exhibition skates. People avoid Tumblr until the episode airs because of the “spoiler threat.” 

Episode 12

Breaking Tumblr, Crunchyroll, and Animate.

Crunchyroll released a statement on Twitter about YOI’s high traffic breaking it.

Tumblr crashed (traffic volume too high) right after the CR simulcast/subs came out around 4PM EST. It wasn’t fully fixed until several hours later.

Animate’s website crashed for the same reason as above.

“It wasn’t gay enough”

People feeling disappointed about the relationship between Yuuri and Victor because there was no second kiss or explicit “I love you.” People wanted something that could not be denied (wanted an “uncensored” kiss).

Others counter-argued that relationships can show deep love without needing an “I love you,” and point out how the relationship was built steadily throughout the series.

People feeling betrayed because Yuuri didn’t win gold.

“Otabek was robbed!” and “J.J. overscored!” complaints circulate

“I won’t kiss it unless it’s gold” prompted a legion of pictures/comics, and fics.

Gushing over the liberate use of ring flares

“History Makers” in the end credits - the extra “s” felt like an Easter egg to some.

Ice dance vs. Pairs - many fans mistake the final Duetto exhibition skate as Pairs when it’s actually based on an Ice Dance routine

How will Victor do both skating and coaching?

Will we get a Season 2? “See You Next Level” means a second season, right? 

After the series, we saw Oh!SkaTra!!! and the DVD/BD volumes sell ridiculous amounts - easily placing in either 1st or 2nd place on Oricon’s charts for DVD, BD, CD, and CD digital release. The Blu-ray and DVD volumes continue to hold high sales. Magazines continue to be translated. Some ideas/meta are confirmed and others become defunct.

It was a wild ride from way back when YOI was only a website and PV. Every week brought new ideas, writings, meta, art, and discussions. It was to the point where some weeks you would get in-depth meta and polished art just hours after the episode aired. In fact, there was so much made that you could easily reblog hundreds of posts in a day for the more explosive episodes, and meta would either get hundreds of notes or be lost in the current of new stuff appearing every few minutes. At the rate that it’s still going with new campaigns, events, and merchandise, Yuri!!! on ICE will be active for quite some time.

[rainbowravioli]

YOI questions: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 11, 16, 18 (I know this, but I need to hear it about 5,000 times more), 19, 21, 24. (Sorry I have so many, I'm just curious!)

Yay! So many! :D 

2. Favourite episode and why

This one is really difficult…episodes 7 and 10 are the ones I have rewatched the most. I think episode 1 is the best episode overall when it comes to structure, pacing and art. But mmmmm my favourite might be 3. This can easily change though but for now I think…yeah I think 3. Because while I already loved the series and characters by that point (Stammi Vicino scene got me and never let me go), this was the episode where I just knew this series was special. I don’t want to make an entire analysis of the episode so I’ll leave it at that.

3. Favourite character and why

YUURI KATSUKI IS MY SUN MY MOON MY STARS! I love Yuuri so much, he’s not simply my favourite YoI character, he’s one of my favourite characters across all media. He just resonates with me very deeply, I love everything about him, flaws and quirks and all. 

4. Least favourite character and why

I don’t dislike anyone, but I have a…complex relationship with Chris…for obvious reasons. Whenever it’s something related to Chris I brace myself. 

5. Favourite rare pair 

Phichit x Seung Gil. I don’t know how it happened, I never ship crack ships but the fans make the cutest content and just the entire concept of the ship is really appealing to me. 

6. Favourite costume

Stammi Vicino costume is still my number 1. 

11. Favourite line of dialogue

“No commento.”

“When I open up, he meets me where I am.” gets to me every time

16. Who would you want to be your coach

Honestly, I think Victor would work really well. Ok so once upon a time I was actually an athletic person, so I know what works for me in terms of coaching and what doesn’t. Victor’s style is well balanced and would work for me because he is strict and serious when it comes to training and very blunt in his criticism but he is also very supportive, openly affectionate, open minded (”Oh sure Yuuri, we can work with eros of the katsudon”), and believes in the importance of you having creative freedom of your own.

18. Who do you think should have won the GPF

YUURI KATSUKI WAS ROBBED HE SHOULD HAVE WON THE GPF IN A NARRATIVE SENSE AND A SCORING SENSE!

19. What are you expecting/hoping will be in the movie

Oh boy…it’s difficult to know what to expect when apparently there is absolutely no plot for the movie yet. There’s my expectation of it possibly finishing off the rest of the skating season, so covering Four Continents and Worlds. (x) My current greatest hope is just to watch Yuuri take gold and Victor take silver and then they get married. I don’t dare to think about it too much until we have any info but god, I just want gold for Yuuri, Victor retiring with silver and Victuuri wedding.

21. Headcanon for Victor’s level of education 

I think he has a degree, maybe in something History or Literature related. He seems to be really into stories. 

24. Headcanon for how Vicchan died 

I think it was simply old age. Vicchan was a puppy when Yuuri was 12, so he would be really old by the time the series starts. 

[shoujotraveler]

Yuri!! on Stage Part 1

Sooo, I was able to watch the evening show of Yuri!! on Stage. I'm gonna share some highlights, but these are all based on my memory and messy notes. It's difficult to function when you're 30+ hours awake, need to understand what everybody is saying (especially when they all start talking at the same time!!), and write in the dark. OTL Anyway, here it goes. The event started with a VTR, then the seiyuus went out one by one while saying a line from their character. Mitsurou Kubo-sensei was also introduced. The most memorable introduction was, of course, done by Suwabe Junichi. He did the skating pose of Victor's figure many times lol. "Hello everybody! Hello to those who are at the living viewing... I can't hear you. (laughs)" Ono Kensho greeted everyone with "Sawadika." Nojima Kenji did another word play and said "Everyone, tanoshimi Seung Gil masu ka?" Murase Ayumu caught everyone off guard because he started introducing himself in English, "Hello, boys and girls. Maihama Amphitheater..." then somebody stopped him, but I can't remember who. Fukuyama Jun purposedly said a word play too, "Everyone, yoru desu kara, yarushi-- yoroshiku onegaishimasu." First Corner: Favorite Scene MC: Hatano Wataru (The problem with this corner is they compiled and showed all the scenes in one video. It was difficult to recall. They could've done it one by one, but that's just me complaining. OTL) They were divided into 3 teams. → Tada Tada Kawaii Team → _____! My Pace Team (I missed the first part of their team name. Sorry.) → Gap ni Doki Team ① Tada Tada Kawaii Team When Tada Tada Kawaii Team went on stage, everybody was saying "kawaii" then Murase Ayumu said in a feminine voice "Everyone is also cute." The funny part is when Yasumoto Hiroki came out because his face was like "What am I doing in this team?" As he proceeded to his seat, he faced back and emphasized on his ass like his character. Even the MCs were confused. LMAO. For Murase Ayumu, he said something about "Is this shoujo manga?" because Minami's eyes always have sparkles and he admires Yuri so much. Afterward, Hatano Wataru tried to do Minami's steps. Murase Ayumu said "Hatano-san is also cute." Sorry, I skipped the other two (Yutaro Honjou and Shunichi Toki) because I was trying to find an extra paper to write on, but in the end, I only had the envelope -- the one you get when you print your tickets at 7-Eleven. OTL Anyway, as for Yasumoto Hiroki, he introduced himself with "Domo, kawaii Yasumoto desu." Everybody laughed, then he said to call him cute again lol. For a while, their topic was "What's cute about Yasumoto-san?" and Ayumu said it has to be his voice. I think it was Shunichi Toki who said that "It has to be the clothes." For some reason, they started talking about Chris' ass again then Yasumoto said that he needs to take care of his (ass), too. ② ____! My Pace Team When My Pace Team entered the stage, they literally stood up for their name lol. Suwabe (with Makachin) and Ono Kensho went in front of the stage to greet everyone and waved instead of going directly to their seat. Hino Satoshi went beside Hatano Wataru, acting like a co-MC. Hino Satoshi mentioned how his character kept on mentioning Mickey (Michele Crispino) and Sara. I think because that's where most of his lines go. ww For Ono Kensho, he said that it's very Phichit-like to say "Kekkon, omedetou!" Kubo-sensei said that even she is surprised by the fans' reaction because at the live viewing (not sure what kind of live viewing this), she said that a lot of fans stood up and clapped. It's like, "Yesss, that's all we wanted to hear. That's all we wanted you to say." For Suwabe Junichi, if I remember correctly, he said he can't choose a favorite scene so he chose Makachin instead. It's the scene when Victor and Yuri was leaving Hasetsu, the one with the lines "Don't go overeating manju again." (?) or something like that. Afterward, he said that some of the audience brought a Makachin with them as well. Makachin fell and Suwabe said sorry and I love you to Makachin. ♡ ③ Gap ni Doki Team Toshiyuki's favorite scene is, of course, Yuri's eros performance. The one when Victor whistled. Nojima Kenji chose the scene when Seung Gil cried. As for Uchiyama Kouki, he chose the scene when Yurio gave Yuri a tonkatsu pirozhki. He was actually conflicted because he wanted to choose the scene with Yurio's grandfather, but he said that it has be the pirozhki scene. He added that "Yurio is really cute" because of that scene, especially the smile. Fukuyama Jun's part was interesting. The favorite scene he gave... wasn't found by the staff. Why? Because it wasn't part of the story lol. He made up his own story. It was long, so I wasn't able to catch it, but it has something to do with naming children: Accel, Toeloop, and Lutz. (Corrections are welcome! Will post the second half of the event when I'm not busy here.)

[softquietsteadylove]

Could you do little thing in the Actors AU where Sprite and her salad have had enough… but there is an actual salad involved

Why did she agree to this lunch, Sprite had to wonder.

Oh, because she wanted to see their cousin Sersi, of course. She was in town for discussions of a few possible upcoming projects she was considering. And she wanted the chance to get together with Sprite and Thena.

And somehow Gil ended up coming too.

Of course, he had tried to insist politely that he didn't want to interrupt their time visiting with their cousin as a stranger. But he and Thena had made quite a habit of having lunch together.

Ultimately, it was Sersi who insisted that he join them.

"You should'a seen her," Gil chuckled, nudging Thena next to him as he cut his steak. "Really told him off for it."

"I did not," Thena shook her head with a smile, picking a piece of chicken out of her salad much more discreetly.

"Okay, you didn't curse him out or anything," Gil conceded quickly, "but for you to snap at anyone during an interview is pretty rare."

Except in instances that involved Gil, Sprite kept to herself. She had the same salad Thena had, while Sersi had opted for one with mandarin in it. She looked at her cousin, who gave her a wink.

Sersi had heard all about Thena's chemistry with her co-star--had seen for herself, in a few of their interviews together. And having further evidence from Sprite as a witness was more than enough to have her interest piqued.

"I think he's allowed a few too many liberties because he's young," Thena murmured, flicking another crouton from her salad cleanly onto Gil's plate.

Gil happily snapped up the crouton and popped it into his mouth. "I think he's just jealous I got to sit next to you."

"Yes, jealous," Sersi mused aloud, making the other actors' heads snap over to her. She smiled at her cousin with a certain glint in her eye. "I daresay you're onto something, Gil."

Gil swiped at his mouth with his napkin, "what was it like working with him on that thriller?"

"Admittedly, I didn't actually have many scenes with him, so our schedules were quite separated from one another," Sersi set down her fork, also dabbing at her lips. "Although when we did work together, he usually just asked me about you."

"Me?" Thena asked, while Gil just rolled his eyes (as did Sprite).

"Yes of course you, Thena," Sersi voiced what Sprite was thinking, although with a pleasant smile to go along with it. "He found out somewhere that we're related and made it his mission to make it quite known to me how much he fancies you."

"Fancy makes it sound kinda nice," Gil scoffed aloud at the subject, sharply contrasting how pleasant he had been acting with Eros in their interview together not long ago. "I think the punk just has a crush on her and doesn't know how to stay in his lane."

"Yeah!" Sprite put in, raising her hand for a high five, which Gil delivered with a firm but appropriate amount of strength put into it.

"Gil, don't encourage her," Thena gave him a look, tucking back her hair to take one of the last few bites of her lunch.

"I don't need encouragement."

"No, you certainly don't," Thena glared at her sister, who grinned back at her with all the menace she had to offer. Thena sighed, setting down her fork. "That was quite nice."

"Liked it?" Gil smiled at her eagerly. She nodded and he turned in his seat, "I discovered this place when I first got to LA. The owner was all excited, asked for my picture and everything."

Indeed, there was a picture of the owner and Gilgamesh shaking hands behind the front counter.

"I thought it was kinda silly," Gil admitted sheepishly, "since I'm sure there are big celebrities in here all the time."

"You are a big celebrity," Thena laughed in a velvety tone, nudging his arm with the heel of her palm. "And perhaps he's a fan of your action work."

"Either way, it's always nice and quiet whenever I've been in-"

Thena's eyes caught Gil's hand drifting to the inside pocket of his blazer, "don't even think about it."

"Thena-"

"No," she pulled her napkin off her lap and tossed it over her plate, "I'm paying."

"Really, it was nice of you to invite me," Gil argued, leaning forward in his chair as he tried to convince her of his position, "and I know the owner--it just makes sense."

"I'm paying," she corrected, leaning even closer with a smirk, "for my cousin, and my sister, and my co-star."

"You know, some guys find it emasculating to be paid for."

"You're not that insecure."

"No, but still!"

Sprite looked at Sersi, who was just letting this happen--right in front of their salads! They were going on and on, and getting closer and closer. And as much as she wanted her sister to actually deal with her feelings and maybe have a real conversation about them, that didn't mean she wanted to see them flirting like this in front of her. And she swore to all that was holy, if she ever had to see them have some big, passionate make-out in front of her-

"Thena, really," Gil laughed, but Thena was physically trying to pull his wallet out of his hand, tugging at the lapel of his jacket as he stretched it out behind him and out of her reach.

"Oh my god, both of you!" Sprite burst, shaking her head at the gross idiots and their cutesy play-fighting. "Go up and split it or whatever, just stop doing whatever this is."

"Sprite!" Thena hissed at her, although her hands did release Gilgamesh and snap back to her lap, prim and proper. She had plenty more to say but as soon as she let go of him, Gil shot up out of his seat to rush to the counter. "No!"

Sprite shook her head as the two continued to wrestle with each other jokingly all the way to the front register. She poked at her salad, having eaten all her chicken and bacon bits and croutons and now left with the 'salad' part. "Unbelievable."

"Aren't they always like this?" Sersi asked with a grin as she offered Sprite half the chicken from her plate, "in your own words?"

"Yeah, I guess," she sighed, happily accepting Sersi's offering to her. "But, I dunno, maybe it's less embarrassing when we're all hanging out at Gil's and not in public."

Sersi simply smiled, though, watching as her cousin laughed with the man beside her. He even wrapped an arm around her, picking her up off the ground so he could state that he would be paying the bill for them all.

Sersi had left her card with the host as soon as they had arrived to pay, of course. But neither Thena nor Gilgamesh had noticed because they were too busy flirting for all the world to see.

[softquietsteadylove]

Let’s do a possessiv and jealous Gil in Thenamesh Pokémon AU.

Eros flirting with her. Thenas Pokémon don’t like it because he is absolutely checking her out and invades her personal space too much. And Gil is not a fan of him, his attitude and his behavior. And maybe he takes some action when Eros pressed her against his body and touches her a bit too personally.^^ Thena and her Pokémon seeing him truly angry for the first time!

Gil kept his head down as he walked into the Great Hall. He always felt out of place when he was visiting the League Plateau. Thena said she did too, but at least she was a trainer. She was the top trainer in Victory Road, in fact. That was the entire reason she was at the Plateau today.

They were 'mingling' the various trainers in Victory Road, gym leaders, Elites, anyone high ranking enough to be an authority figure to the average travelling child.

Gil was just here to be a supportive boyfriend...not that he knew if that was what he was - they were - yet.

The date had been great, of course--revelatory! They just...hadn't had the chance for another one since. They still spent every possible moment together, but between both their work schedules, and managing pokemon, and having a young cub--it just wasn't easy to find the time to schedule for themselves.

Thus the point of surprising her here for a lunch date.

Dragonite was waiting outside on one of the benches, holding onto a picnic basket for them.

Gil blinked against the bright lights of the training stadium. He supposed he didn't really expect the League to have a ballroom or anything. But it was funny to see the mixture of League office administration in their suits mingling with the trainers in their gear.

"Ursa!"

"Buddy?" Gil blinked as a familiar voice bounded over to him and even scrambled right up the leg of his jeans and onto his shoulder. He looked his little cub in the eyes, seeing the frustration in them. "Hey, what're you doing here?--where's-"

"Teddiursa!" the little bear pointed a long claw across the room.

Gil scowled. He would recognise that head of hair and obnoxious red suit from a mile away. "Eros."

"Teddi," the pokemon sighed, laying himself over Gil's shoulder as they started the long trip over to Thena and the Rich Boy trainer. Apparently, Eros had found them almost as soon as they had arrived, and had not given up on talking to Thena since.

"And you snuck off to find me?" Gil asked the Little Cub pokemon, who nodded so hard his ears flapped. Gil ruffled his fur, "how'd you know I would be here? I'm trying to surprise Mama."

"Teddi?" The little guy had just assumed Gil was always somewhere close unless he was at work.

Gil just sighed. They could talk to him about not wandering off on his own later. He looked through the crowd. "What about Gallade and the others?"

"Ted," it replied. Trainers were allowed to let one pokemon of theirs be free roaming, and by default, it had to be him because he didn't have a pokeball to stay in.

"Okay, come on," Gil rubbed the little bear's back as he continued weaving through the crowd. The closer they got to the little corner Thena had tucked herself away in, the more he could hear voices.

"You still have Ninetales, I see," Eros commented lightly, continuing to chat and chat and chat, completely oblivious as to whether or not he was a wanted presence. "I've recently procured an Arcanine, actually. He's a beautiful specimen--perhaps they should...become acquainted."

He was trying to set up their pokemon? How desperate could this guy get?

"Eros, I assure you, she's not interested," Thena grumbled, pushing herself closer and closer to the wall in an attempt to drown him out. She looked around her, "where is that bear?"

"When did you get the little," Eros rubbed his hand. He had attempted to put his hand on her shoulder only for the sweet seeming cub to use fury swipes on him. "Fellow."

"Gil found him about six months ago," Thena said, finally smiling somewhat, at least at the topic of choice.

"Ah, yes, your ranger friend," Eros mumbled, tugging at his suit and sliding another few centimetres closer. "How is valley duty?"

Thena glared at Eros, rising to the bait of his dismissive tone. "He does a lot more than just 'valley duty', Eros. This entire Route wouldn't be able to function without him."

Eros held up his hands, as if she was the one needling him. "No one is saying otherwise, my sweet. I have every admiration for his work with wild pokemon. If they weren't in prime condition, what would we trainers do?"

Thena rolled her eyes. She would never judge another trainer's methods or choice in pokemon...mostly. "You and Gardevoir do just fine."

She had met the Rich Boy's partner pokemon once or twice. She seemed a lovely enough pokemon. But, like her trainer, she didn't seem too keen on personal space, which did not work for Gallade.

"Have you been tracking my progress, my Poffin?" Eros smirked at her, edging even closer until she had to turn to avoid the shoulder pad of his suit jacket. "I've risen a few ranks, you may have noticed. I'm this much closer to standing at your side in Victory Road."

"Hm," Thena avoided commenting on it. She was here out of obligation to her job, and getting fired for attacking another trainer wouldn't do her any favours. She already had to explain that Teddiursa wasn't a battling pokemon and didn't need to be added to her record.

Eros moved until he literally had her up against the wall, his head close to hers, his shoulders forcing her back. He unclasped his hands from behind him to steady her in place.

"Gallade!"

"Stop it," Thena glared up at her partner, who had taken the liberty of letting himself out of the luxury ball at her hip. He was just being protective, but there was a reason she hadn't let him out yet.

But Gallade held onto the hand of Eros' that was attempting to land at his trainer's hip.

Another flash of light drew even more attention, and now Gardevoir was also getting involved.

"Now, now, Gallade, old chap," Eros chuckled, at least taking his hand back and away from Thena. "I meant nothing untoward."

"Gallade."

Thena winced. He had most certainly learned that particular profanity from her. She put a hand on his arm, but her abnormally tall partner pokemon stood his ground, slightly in front of her. "It's okay, but you are going to get boxed if you cause trouble, so get back in-"

"Hey!"

Thena, Eros, Gallade and Gardevoir all turned at the loud bark. They clearly expected it to be a League official, coming over to inspect what the ruckus and the self-freeing pokemon were about. But instead, there was a massive set of shoulders - with a very cute little bear on them - walking over. "Gil?"

Gil wasted no time, though. He pushed past Eros without even looking at him, landing right at Thena's side and wrapping his arm around her back. His hand secured itself at the bend of her waist. "What's going on, here?"

Eros ran his eyes over him, tugging at his suit again. "I almost didn't recognise you without the hat."

Gil looked at Gardevoir first, with much more respect for the pokemon than her trainer. "Look, we don't want any trouble. This is all a misunderstanding."

"I'll say," Eros huffed, ignoring Gardevoir's attempts to mother him back in line. "We were having a conversation between trainers, my good man. Although I do appreciate you taking that off her hands."

Gil and Thena both bristled at their disdainful reference to their little cub. But he could speak up for himself, now, and stuck his tongue out at the nuisance of a trainer.

At least he hadn't picked up any of her profanity yet.

"Eros, I know this is hard for you to wrap your gigantic head around," Gil scoffed at him, pulling Thena closer to his chest and glaring at the other man. "But I never took you for the type to pursue someone else's girlfriend."

Both Eros and Thena looked up at him and his choice of words. But Gil didn't even blink, holding onto Thena and daring Eros to argue with him over it.

Eros sniffed, swiping a hand over his coif. "I never took you for the 'this my woman', Machoke-brained type, Ranger Gil."

"That's a stereotype," Gil pointed back in Eros' face. "The Machop line are all deeply intelligent, and the film industry's attempts to make them seem like rogue Primeapes is responsible for rampant mistreatment of-"

"Okay, okay, all right," Eros droned, rolling his eyes and shoving his hands in his pockets. He turned halfway away from them, giving Thena one last wink, "if you tire of the walking Bulbapedia, do come find me, my sweet cheri berry."

Thena shook her head at the retreating back of him, "cheri berries are spicy."

Gardevoir turned to blow a kiss at Gallade, who 'caught it', only to throw it on the ground and stomp on it.

Gil wilted against her (not usually one for confrontation), "I'm sure he doesn't know the difference."

"Teddi!"

Gil blinked as Thena's hand came up, gently - almost shyly - grasping the edge of his bomberjacket. He tilted his head to look down at her, raising his hand to hold hers, "are you okay? I know you can handle yourself, but-"

"I don't mind," she admitted quietly, peeking up at him through her sandy lashes and a curtain of blonde hair sitting loose around her shoulders. She rubbed her thumb against the ridges of his zipper as colour rose in her cheeks. "My boyfriend, are you?"

Gil also blushed, his previous bravado leaving him like a Pidgey flying the coupe. "W-W-Well, I-I just didn't want him t-"

Thena leaned up, leaving a little peck of a kiss on his cheek before returning to the warmth of his chest. "I think I rather like it."

Gil certainly had no complaints, happily holding her to his chest in a rare, quiet moment for them. He pressed a kiss to her forehead, wrapping both arms around her waist. "I brought a picnic. I thought maybe you could sneak away for a little lunch date."

Thena sighed against him, practically purring, "that sounds wonderful."

Gallade took the liberty of letting himself back into his pokeball.

"Shall we?" Gil chuckled, giving Thena's shoulder a squeeze and making their way back to the entrance. He kept his arm around her shoulders as she carried Teddiursa in her arms. "Maybe I should surprise you at work more often."

Thena snorted. "The next time I have to come to one of these insipid events you're coming with me from the beginning, end of story."

Gil tipped her chin to plant a kiss on her cheek, "I have no complaints about that."