Consider: After a long time away from each other, Din embracing Luke from behind and kissing the tip of one of his scars
I was going to ramble a little bit, then decided this is a great art prompt... and then realized just how fucking useless my art brain is after napping for 3+ hours after a full workday after 2+ months of not drawing for shits & giggles.
STILL DID IT BECAUSE I NEEDED THE EXERCISE.
Anyway, Anon, I have thought about these immaculate vibes on and off for years... but specifically for fic reasons, not the general "for the vibes" reasons.
I make no promises about randomly turning asks into art prompts.
460 notes
·
View notes
Viktor: "The time to seduce me with beautiful women and katsudon is over. You can fight with your own charm now."
Yuuri (suddenly all possessive): "Don't take your eyes off me!"
Viktor (utterly clueless): He's so different today. I wonder what has flipped his switch.
Recently, I've found myself coming back to this scene over and over as I was reconsidering the link between the progress of Viktuuri and Yuuri's understanding of Eros. For years, I was convinced that Yuuri had grasped the concept of Eros in episode 6, but (and this is probably controversial) I no longer believe that is true.
So, what happens in episode 6?
While the events during the weeks between the press conference and the Cup of China are open to speculation, the subtext of episode 6 us some cues as to where Yuuri and Viktor currently are in their relationship (the hugging, the cuddling, you know).
In this sense, the short dialogue before Yuuri's short programme, tells us that:
So far, Yuuri hasn't seduced Viktor as himself.
Viktor thinks Yuuri is ready to do exactly that.
They are dating (note the lover's bind aka the lacing of the fingers, which is an expression of romantic intimacy in Japan)
Yuuri's reaction is untypically fierce and possessive.
Viktor has not the slightest clue what triggered Yuuri's response. When put into the context of the whole story, this gives us another hint that Yuuri possibly can't have seduced Viktor prior to the competition. If he had (be it on or off-ice), Viktor would no longer react surprised. (You can actually see the difference in episode 8).
However, Yuuri and Viktor are in entirely different headspaces, which becomes obvious if we think back to the events in the mixed zone. Viktor feels that it's time to gently nudge Yuuri towards a more intimate stage of their relationship. However, Yuuri is upset because just learned that everyone wants Viktor to give up on him and return to competition. He is convinced that Viktor's fans will deem him a poor replacement for Viktor if Viktor keeps coaching him. He thinks that he would disappoint his own fans if the returns to where he was before Viktor. The only option left is pressing ahead on the path he's already on and thus works himself up into wanting to be hated as the man who took Viktor Nikiforov from the world.
With that mindset, Yuuri steps onto the ice.
Viktor's confused reaction when Yuuri storms off shows us something else: He doesn't have the slightest clue that Yuuri is upset because of things that happened right before the short programme. The subtext of the scene implies that he interprets Yuuri's reaction as a sign that Yuuri is indeed ready to seduce him. The lip-licking and all the sensuality Yuuri pours into his immaculate performance must seem from his perspective as if Yuuri truly wants him. He's not entirely wrong about that, but he isn't entirely right either.
Yuuri's eros is dominant and possessive. Several months have passed since the first time he skated Eros to seduce Viktor, but their relationship and Yuuri's understanding of Viktor has deepened since. His eros has evolved into a violent force of nature. His skating no longer is about "seducing" Viktor to stay his coach, he's showing the world (and Viktor) that Viktor is his and his alone and that he is all that Viktor wants ("I'm the only one who can satisfy Viktor. I'm the only one who understands Viktor's love"). And he goes out puling all the stops. And at the next competition, he's going to double down on that. Sounds kinky? It absolutely is.
Ever wonder why Viktor is so flustered right after Yuuri's skate? That's why. This precious boy felt seduced through-and-through by Yuuri's performance.
Viktor: "Yuuri, did it feel that great?"
Yuuri: "I was hoping everyone else felt great watching me."
Viktor (basically talking about himself): "Of course, they felt great watching a performance like that."
Remember that I said that Viktor has a totally different grasp of the situation than Yuuri because he doesn't know what Yuuri is going through? Viktor projects his own state of arousal from watching Yuuri on Yuuri. But Yuuri is not a second Chris and his response reinforces the implications made above based his inner monologue before and during his performance: He wanted to give "the audience" a good time aka making Viktor feel seduced and convincing the skating world that he is worthy to skate in Viktor's stead.
Learning that "everyone" (and most of all Viktor) had a "good time", is an important step for Yuuri in mastering his short programme:
In episode 6, Yuuri truly understands the power he has over Viktor and what he can do to Viktor with his skating alone.
So far, Yuuri has had a hard time grasping eros, using all kinds of workarounds (food, women etc.). He has refined this understanding as his relationship with Viktor deepened, he has learned to express himself in a sensual manner, but it doesn't come naturally to him. In episode 6, he finally understands that he has the power to turn Viktor on and what exactly he must do to achieve that. He's still using workarounds and these are 100% Yuuri, and because of that, they are successful. Even if he never understands eros beyond the abstract theory, he now has acquired the set of tools to hone is performance and to seduce Viktor if he sets his mind on it. (Yes, this anxious katsudon fatale has some massive kinks and they work for him and Viktor, and I will die on that hill.)
But what about the banquet?
Drunken horniness due to dancing physically with his celebrity crush. Friction is a thing. And let's be honest: otherwise, the whole "grasping eros" story arc would make no sense. Either you have an innate sense of that concept or you don't, and memory gaps can't explain that away.
(No, I'm still on a break from posting meta, but I've been agonising over this for quite a while and had to get it out of my system because I'm currently fixing some stuff related to this in my novelisation.)
If you like my meta, please check out my works on AO3 (link in bio).
Last but not least many thanks to cecebeanie for a discussion that set this thought process in motion 💜💙
230 notes
·
View notes