#skating fans who hate YOI: sorry for not sorry for pointing this out

[thegirlwhorideslikeasamurai]

This year's Grand Prix Final is taking place at the same venue as the Cup of China in YOI (Capital Indoor Stadium, FYI Beijing Olympics was held there, too) and this adds so many amazing and nostalgic vibes to the utter thrill this event gives me. It's so great to see the venues from YOI live and in technicolour in an irl skating competition and inhale the atmosphere and ponder about how much more realism this will add to YOI during my next rewatch. Only actually being there could beat this.

[pineapple-lover-boy]

Can- can I just talk about the Victuuri relationship? Pretty please?

I just…. I’ve never seen a healthy relationship that starts from idolization and a need to get out that has ended in a satisfying way.

Let me elaborate:

We all know that Yuri idolized Victor. It’s why he was so nervous in the beginning and why it took time for them to build on their relationship, he saw Victor as a god.

Victor? He was depressed. He loved the ice so much but he longer found excitement in competitions. He didn’t have any worthy opponents that had a chance of beating him (sorry Chris).

I believe Victor “fell in love” at the banquet. He was attracted to Yuri but, even though he lost, he also saw potential in him. That night was probably the most exciting night for him in a long time. I think he felt genuine affection for Yuri but also saw a way to get out of his predicament.

Then, of course, Yuri didn’t show up the following season (a year had passed before the present timeline). He was most likely annoyed that someone who had gave him excitement didn’t show up. Did he think Yuri had a chance of beating him at first? Probably not. Did he see potential or at least someone he could have fun with during the season? Hell yes!

And then when he saw the video of Yuri skating Stay Close To Me, something that awarded him a gold medal. That’s all he needed. He saw how Yuri not only skated it perfectly but I bet he thought Yuri skated it better. Let’s not forget that emotion is a huge part of skating. If you don’t skate with the passion your supposed to hold for whatever theme you have, your performance can almost seem futile. Victor obviously won because he perfected it but if it was based on how he presented it alone, he would’ve lost. He saw someone worthy of skating an gold medal piece while also having the heart to do it. That’s talent.

Anyways, because of this, their relationship doesn’t hold well in the beginning. He’s passive aggressive towards Yuri because he doesn’t see his own talent and Yuri is just going along for the ride because holy shit it’s Victor fucking Nikiforov.

As they get to know each other and Yuri opens up more (plus Victor getting info on Yuri from the others) Victor starts to see Yuri as an actual person and not someone he can use to project himself onto and then later skate against. And Yuri starts to see him as an actual person too.

I saw on another post talking about how we didn’t see them during the summer and how the end credits of every episode suggest they got to know each other better as both in the credits and in the show they (Yuri) are able to touch each other more. I 100% believe this.

I also believe they might’ve had an argument or two on this topic. It’s not easy to switch from inadvertently seeing someone as anything but a person to an actual person with emotions and feelings. I believe Victor would’ve tried to back away from this subject but Yuri wouldn’t let him. It wasn’t big arguments like in episode 7. It was probably little quarrels that annoyed them both but after having a long conversation they finally started to become more comfortable with each other.

Yuri started letting go of the notion that Victor was a god like creature and Victor saw him as something other than a pawn. Yuri stopped getting as embarrassed with Victor touching him and Victor stopped trying to seduce him as much just so he could see the man from the banquet.

This most definitely leads the way towards a healthier relationship but episode 7 was inevitable. Yuri’s anxiety was at an all time high when he comes out on top. The fact that he needs to stay on top and not mess up is getting to him. As a person with anxiety, it’s pure hell. The thoughts of failing won’t get out of his head and even as he turns off all the monitors he can still hear everything.

Victor takes him away from prying eyes and has no idea what to do. Despite an obvious change that would’ve had to include some emotions from both occurring over the summer, he still has no idea how to help someone in distress.

Then he makes his first mistake. Yuri is visibly shaken by someone’s scores (can’t remember who) and Victor, who is at his wits end, yells at him to stop listening and puts his hands over Yuri’s ears. This tells Yuri how nervous Victor is too and despite knowing that Victor wouldn’t leave him now it shows to him that Victor doesn’t have faith in him (even if he does).

Victor tried to shatter Yuri’s heart. He must’ve expected Yuri to maybe sign heavily but tell him that he’ll do everything in his power to win (probably something that’s happened with him and Yakov). Instead he see’s the consequences of his carelessness. Yuri rightfully lashes out at him and even through all that Victor stills says “should I kiss you?”. Idk what Yuri was thinking but if I were him I would be extremely offended that Victor would try and use me like some doll he can play with and can assume that physical affection and love can fix everything, which was probably what Yuri was thinking.

There’s something off about Yuri and Victor when they emerge but Yuri is surprisingly better now. Cathartic crying can do wonders, kids. There’s also my favorite part of the entire show (couldn’t find a gif):

*head jab* “Hey, fuck you.”

*more head jabs* “Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you. I know you don’t like this you unempathetic dicknip.”

*head pat* “You’re forgiven.”

We all know what happens next: Yuri ends his love story with Victor’s signature move and Victor kisses him out of joy and the need to one up him (with love, of course).

I’m gonna get a little sloppy here with the timeline because I have the memory of a female protagonist that needs to go back to work to get something only to accidentally bump into the jerk CEO of which she will develop a toxic relationship for fan service, so forgive me.

Gonna skip ahead to the scene where Yuri tells Victor that he’s leaving skating, and basically Victor too. (At this moment I realized I’ve been spelling Viktor with a c and not a k which is really fucking with my brain but it’s too late to go back). Victor starts crying and realizes just how Yuri felt when he was rejecting him.

I believe Yuri found some light in the situation because of that fact, which Victor was not having. They’ve been closer than ever now. They’ve kissed, they’ve also announced they they’re getting married, so what the hell?!

Yuri, as we know, feels he’s keeping Victor from the ice. Victor, while he misses the ice and wouldn’t mind being competitive again, has found meaning and if he’s going to be Yuri’s coach to stay where he is than so be it.

He wanted to coach Yuri because he wanted a worthy competitor and while he still wants that, what matters most now is his relationship with Yuri. If he stops being Yuri’s coach and Yuri goes off the ice he knows it will be the end. Yuri loves the ice too and I’d bet he’d try to distance himself from Victor as to not feel regret from leaving without actually knowing that he’s doing it.

They’ve grown so much at this point. But that doesn’t mean it’s over. After all they’ve been through Yuri doesn’t realize that consequences of parting from one another. While being too dependent on your spouse isn’t good, it’s what they both need right now. They are what caused the other person to be happy again and while I hate those types of storylines this one executed it perfectly.

I find Victor’s silent plea to Yurio absolutely heartbreaking. He knows it’s bad to put pressure on people but now he’s doing that to a 15 year old boy. He’s putting his relationship and his life into this child’s hands because he knows there’s nothing else he can do.

I do think Yurio had a crush on Yuri but even if he didn’t: Yuri has taught him so much. He, although being an ass most of the time, has really come to love Yuri as family. It’s clear that Yurio was always lonely (Otabek being his first friend and all) but once he came to Japan and lived, truly lived there, he wasn’t lonely anymore.

Yurio wins, Yuri gets silver and all’s well that ends well.

I guess my point of this was to show how well the relationship in YOI was. I could’ve included some more detail on some points but I usually write stuff in one take (it’s very hard to revise without my mind shutting on itself).

I just love how an implicitly toxic relationship can come out so healthy. They don’t do any of that miscommunication bullshit and when they do it’s because the characters don’t know what to do or how to handle something. Like humans do!

They could’ve easily made this the hot famous guy thinks the kawai girl boy is just so adorable and the kawai girl boy is absolutely infatuated with the hot guy. Hijinks ensue which includes the kawai girl boy thinking the hot guy is in love with someone else. She He gets pushed into thinking that she’s he’s more independent in the end and happily ever after for the couple that will divorce in less than five years! Yay!

Seriously, I thought that was what was going to happen but YOI subverted my expectations so much. They are people that grew from their bad mindsets. And you know what? Yuri still has anxiety! Victor is still bad with handling emotions! And that’s ok! We don’t change that quickly. It takes time and hopefully another season.

I’m definitely using this show as a template for healthy relationships. It’s so hard for me to properly write them when I’ve never been in one and I’m not given the chance to see it happen in different environments (when searching it up all I get is “they trust each other. They blame each other. They’re compassionate.” Like ok but can you show me how?)

Yuri!!! On ice…. I love you so much. You have done so much for my mental health and my writing. Thank you.

[ice-tigress]

Queer Self-Presentation and Burlesque Auto-Sexuality in Yuri Plisetsky’s “Welcome to the Madness”

PHEW! It’s finally ready for ya! 

Thanks to everyone for patiently waiting. I was overwhelmed with the response to my teaser post about this meta. I’m sorry it took so long to finish... I had to write the academic version for class, then rewrite it to be tumblr-appropriate (I’m still not sure that it is, constructive criticism is welcome!) I’m hoping that this will contribute to the ongoing conversation about underage characters in fandom, and am looking forward to your asks. I’m a little nervous to be tossing my hat into the Otayuri discourse, but I hope I won’t catch too much hate. I took out footnotes but included the bibliography at the end. If you have any questions about specific references, send me an ask or DM :) Enjoy! (2272 words)

This meta considers how we might safely and healthily engage with Yuri Plisetsky’s sexuality and consequent YOI fandom shipping practices. I am interested in Yuri’s self-presentation as a sexual subject “Welcome to the Madnes,” taking seriously both sides of the Otayuri debate (because I think it’s unavoidable with WttM). I will analyze WttM as a kind of burlesque performance that highlights his auto-sexuality and provides opportunity for him to express his developing (queer) identity.

 WttM presents gender, sex, queerness, and adolescence in conversation together, and these categories must be recognized as social constructions. Because the intersection of sex and adolescence is plagued by anxieties about violence, I deliberately approach sexual activity as generally positive in the absence of explicit abuse to avoid essentializing adolescent sexual experiences.

 I take a cultural studies approach in this meta, recognizing that representations of fictional characters can have real-life effects, in this case meaning that both YOI and fandom practices have consequences for people IRL. Popular culture provides opportunities for individuals to understand and mediate their own intersecting identities, and this process can also have negative effects when problematic and even dangerous activities and relationships are normalized.

 Therefore, any discussion of popular culture must foreground a social justice-oriented approach that points out connections to political and social contexts. We all conform and rebel against mainstream culture through our engagement with popular culture, and along with the potential negative effects mentioned above, this can also provide opportunities for self-empowerment.

 Adolescents are expected to rebel against authority figures and engage in subcultures, all while navigating their way to an acceptable, stable identity by the time they reach adulthood. Yet their behavior is safely contained by adult authority. Yuri subverts this authority by producing his own exhibition skate.

 As @otayuribekayura​ puts it:

 @otayuribekayura​ posted this before we found out from the PASH! Interview how accurate it actually is. As predicted by much of the fandom, Yuri produced the exhibition himself, and as a result, this is the first time we see Yuri’s punk/emo aesthetic reflected in his skating.

 Emo, as both a youth subculture and personal aesthetic choice, is a rebellious, sometimes anti-social, and attention-seeking mode of identity presentation (Sound like someone???). It relies on mutual rejection between the emo individual and mainstream culture, resulting in stronger bonds to and greater authority for the individual within the subculture. Emo also provides opportunities for expressing desire, typically coded as queer, by rejecting both heteronormative and homonormative expressions of sexuality.

 The emo boy’s androgyny and visible otherness stands in for the invisibility of his sexuality. A number of the skaters, including Yuuri and Viktor, demonstrate a somewhat fluid gender presentation as well, but Yuri’s masculine-yet-androgynous emo/punk self-expression is unique in the anime.

 Given the sexually suggestive nature of WttM, I characterize Yuri’s performance as a kind of burlesque, which I am defining as a conscious performance of gender and sexuality, set to music, that typically involves the performative removal of clothing. A key reason for this is the choice of music. Otabek chose for Yuri an electric, screaming, hard rock number that sounds like it is based on “Welcome to the Jungle” by Guns ‘N Roses. Burlesque performers similarly choose music based on their own personal tastes, using the signifying power of music, both as a contained object and its broader cultural context, to reference specific identities and orientations.

 In choosing this song, Yuri shifts the character for his skating repertoire along with expectations for his future programs. In this way, Yuri’s burlesque performance gives him a kind of authority that previously belonged to his coach and choreographers. Yuri’s choices for this exhibition connect his on-ice performances to his off-ice punk/emo personality. The effects of his burlesque also cross this divide; Yuri demands recognition as a sexual subject off the ice.

 Deborah Tolman defines sexual subjectivity as “a person’s experience of herself as a sexual being, who feels entitled to sexual pleasure and sexual safety, who [can] make …active sexual choices, and who has an identity as a sexual being,” and emphasizes the importance of sexual desire. For some fans, Yuri’s age brings his sexual agency into question.

 Age, as a social construct, imparts false narratives of natural and normative development on youth, who are expected to perform their age in particular ways. These performative acts and behaviors are supposed to correspond to the physical development of the body. As a result, an adolescent’s maturation may appear exaggeratedly fast or slow if they behave in a way that is out of line with this normative timeline, especially in relation to their physical growth and maturity.

 Despite these inconsistencies, adolescence is known to be a period of sexual awakening regardless of one’s physical development, yet adolescents are denied access to this sexuality and its expression. Adolescents’ sexuality is systemically controlled by adults, as the responsibility for their welfare has extended and expanded both in time and scope. Adults are conditioned to continue seeing young people as children even when they are mid- and post-puberty.

 Adolescent sexuality, therefore, threatens the adult/child binary and the “invention of childhood,” which relies on the assumption that sexuality necessitates the end of childhood, therefore children should be prevented from expressing any sexuality at all. Children are expected to follow a supposedly natural progression from asexuality to heterosexuality, and they may be considered queer not only if they defy heteronormative standards of desire, but also if they display sexual desire too early in the progression, regardless of whether or not said desire manifests as homosexual. With asexuality as the norm for children, any expression of sexuality becomes queer.

 Jack Halberstam’s book In A Queer Time and Place considers the ways in which expectations of reproduction impact individuals’ progression through life, especially during young adulthood. Queer folks defy these timelines, blurring the divide between adolescence, young adulthood, and adulthood. Navigating sexuality, a priority for most adolescents, becomes an even greater necessity for queer-identifying youth seeking authentication and community.

 Community is key for queer identity development, as Jason Torkelson speculates that “less conforming individuals’ understandings of their own adulthood might be affected by predominant standards, since the extent to which they may or may not even perceive the ability to obtain adulthood in the first place can potentially be brought into question.” Access to queer community allows for young people to discover possibilities for their futures.

 The intersection of adolescence and queerness, therefore, presents enormous challenges to teenagers who are coming to terms with their sexuality and navigating their personal expressions of sexual subjectivity, especially if they are prevented from entering queer spaces while they are still expected to be “asexual” “children”.

 Ultimately, the inability to recognize the sexual subjectivity of queer adolescents may stem from individual or cultural queerphobia.

 As a professional athlete and performer, Yuri’s understanding of his own identity is tethered to what he presents on the ice. By taking control of his exhibition program and defying the expectations of his mentors and the audience, he skates WttM as an act of auto-sexuality, “an expression of free sexuality which has no object but itself.”

 Though he performs for an audience—therefore subjecting himself to the gaze of both the audience at the Grand Prix Final and the anime audience behind their screens—Yuri exerts power and control over his self-presentation in performance, subverting the vulnerability that usually accompanies the gaze of spectators.

 Yuri’s defiant auto-sexuality is characterized by a healthy commitment to self-care, the act of prioritizing one’s own wants and needs. By expressing himself honestly and completely, Yuri presents an accurate portrait of himself to his fans while demonstrating an intimate self-knowledge. Notably, establishing relationships with others is a primary ingredient in self-care.

 I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Yuri gains the confidence to pursue his own interests in his exhibition skate after making his first friend. In other words, Otabek’s influence is present in more than the selection of music. Their mutual interests allow Yuri to gain greater confidence in his identity and, therefore, sexual subjectivity (even if their relationship is strictly platonic). It is this intimate contribution to Yuri’s sense of self that I think makes the possibility of romance between these two characters so appealing, rather than merely a desire to see them interact sexually.

 Concerns about adult-child sex in fandom are subject to extremes of moralizing and condemnation. A number of studies have shown, however, that assumptions that sex between adults and minors is inherently, necessarily harmful are unsupported by scientific evidence. This does not deny the ever-present possibility for abuse in such relationships, a possibility that is statistically higher than in other kinds of sexual and romantic relationships. But in the absence of abusive behaviors, these relationships are not necessarily problematic (regardless of legislation, which I’m not even going to bother discussing here).

 The stigma of adult-minor relationships is especially strong for queer communities, due to accusations of pedophilia, fear of the seduction of young boys by queer men, and the implicit homophobic assumption that an individual can be “turned gay” through forced sexual activity. Lydia Kokkola confronts this provocative issue by arguing:

 For many, both within and outside the queer community, ‘man-boy love’ is simply an attractive name for sexual abuse … For others, the majority of whom enjoyed their first sexual encounters with someone considerably older than them, it is offensive to assume that these acts were not volitional. In the end, the matter comes down to the issue of what constitutes informed consent, and at what age a person is capable of informed consent. Since individuals mature at different rates, the latter issue cannot be resolved, which places even greater onus on us to discuss what constitutes informed consent. It takes a very brave individual to face the public scandal of supporting adolescents’ right to choose to have sex with people much older than themselves, but we must do so—at least provisionally—if we are to understand what ‘informed consent’ means for those making such decisions. Blanket assumptions that teenagers cannot make informed consent about sex affects adolescents’ autonomy in ways that may have far reaching consequences.

 If we accept that minors are capable of giving informed consent, we must accept that they are also capable of enjoying their consensual sexual experiences with adults regardless of age gap. Instead, these accounts are often ignored and assumed to be the result of manipulation or trauma.

 As adolescents’ understandings of their own sexual experiences are ignored, leading to the kinds of “far reaching consequences” to which Kokkola alludes. When narratives “are grounded in discourses that rely on un-safety, the possibilities for even imagining what safety might mean are constrained by the discourses.” We do a disservice to young people when we deny them appropriate agency and ignore accounts of their experiences.

 Infantilizing adolescent characters often emerges from the assumption that all children are affected by media in the same way. While the normalization of child sexual abuse is of course detrimental, so is the assumption that all adult-minor relationships necessarily constitute abuse. Thus, the presentation of a variety of possibilities can be beneficial, especially for those navigating queer identity.

 The reasons behind the Anti-Otayuri movement are clear: fans are earnestly concerned with the depiction of relationships between characters whom they believe are at life stages that are too far removed from one another to be healthy. While I disagree for a number of reasons, I understand these anxieties. I too harbor some discomfort with art depicting Yuri in sexual situations when he is still underage.

 I think the less obvious question is: What is at stake for fans who ship Otayuri? What is so meaningful about this ship that they continue supporting it despite backlash?

 The answers will of course be different for each shipper. And I’m not sure I have anything good to say about this because my analysis is mostly about Yuri as an individual. But here are some closing thoughts.

 First, it is important to recognize that the narratives told and images shared by fans should not be assumed to be based on actual events and are not indicative of a desire to pursue such behaviors in real life.

 Second, many Otayuri shippers are in fact quite young, perhaps around Yuri’s age, so interest in his sexuality is entirely appropriate. Young fans’ interests in sexual narratives is healthy and educational, and fans “in the interstitial stage between age of consent and age of majority are inhibited … from exerting ‘control’ over representations of their bodies,” leaving fandom as an important space for exploring such representations. Further policing of sexual desire online may have harmful effects on young people’s maturation.

 Third, adult fans may mediate their readings of underage sexuality autobiographically, processed through their own memories of adolescent sexuality. Age, as a social construction, does not inhibit identification, so a fan may relate to a character like Yuri regardless of age, or through their remembrances of themselves at his age. I certainly see in Yuri a lot of what I experienced and struggled with when I was a teenager.

 While the conflict over Yuri’s sexual subjectivity is unlikely to be resolved, a more nuanced cultural studies-based understanding of media engagement and adolescent, queer sexualities may allow for more empathetic interactions between fans of differing opinions.

 Regardless of how you feel about Otayuri, I hope that we can all at least acknowledge Yuri’s auto-sexuality in WttM and beyond. The point of sharing this analysis is to give Yuri his rightful agency in fandom, and in WttM, he is insisting on it. And something I think we can all agree on: nothing good can come from ignoring Yuri Plisetsky.

 Thanks so much to everyone who sent encouragement and thoughts. I really appreciate it. Thanks to @otayuribekayura and @kobuta-katsudon for giving me permission to use their posts (although I didn’t end up using the latter’s, sorry about that)!!

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[shslshortie]

Okay I'm going to make a post because I can't deal with everything that got asked/shat out my way

I am sorry for this rant, but I am legit ready to leave tumblr again. Like I forgot why I hated it so much, but lord is this an unhealthy environment for so many reasons. Mainly, because of discourse/call out culture. And I'm obviously not talking about being "PC" or anything, but just being an all around mean spirited person if anyone says anything that either 1) doesn't agree with you/your views/your fandom, 2) if anything is even slightly false or not entirely fact-checked, or 3) goes against most popular opinions without writing an entire graduate-level thesis about why you believe your opinion/view/observation is valid. Like if you want to complain or voice an opinion about anything, or even joke about something that you think is funny, you could very likely almost immediately be called out or even be sent WAVES of hate that usually is completely undeserved. Especially since people are hiding behind a screen of anonymity or at least behind an online persona, they don't think about the person on the receiving end of it. They don't think how their mean spirited comments or backlash could effect them mentally, and they don't even stop to think what else could be going on in their lives. Yesterday, (was it yesterday? I think it was yesterday, but GOD was it a long fucking day if it was) I made some posts after recapping through the Rost. Cup after I watched each medalist's short and long, as well as all the US skaters, big names, and for the men and ladies, almost all 11 skaters honestly. I love figure skating, and NO, unlike a lot of people wrongfully assumed, am not a part of the "fandom" and did not get into it because of YOI. Was a passion reignited from like a barbeque level flame to a bonfire with YOI's help? Yes. But would it probably have gone to a similar level with the Olympic season going into full swing? Highly likely. But anyways, I made some posts because I wanted to voice some observations, complaints, and things I thought were funny because tumblr is the only place I ever really rant/voice theories/talk about a lot of my interests, since I don't have any irl friends who are interested in almost half of the things I am. So, tumblr is usually the place that I dump these feelings/thoughts. Sure, one of them was a little off-color, and posted without thinking, but after about an hour (and like 3-4 replies I think), I looked back on it, and realized it didn't need to be posted out there, even if I didn't mean it to be mean. Does this mean I owed every single person who "called me out" for being uninformed, or for being mean, or for being whatever the hell I am a reply? No. Did I know that some things were answered over Twitter, or weibo (sp?) or Reddit, or whatever other gd social media that I don't use? No. Does that man I am uniformed and spreading lies or whatever? I don't think so, and that doesn't make me a fucking villain. I also deleted it, because I realized I was wrong. End of story, part 1. But then, the figure skating fandom found some of my posts/commentary/rants. (god forbid they somehow find this and attack me ALL OVER AGAIN, except for y'all that were part of this whole issue. I hope y'all see this, because it's not like I blocked you. Except for one tumblr user who blocked me because of my post? Like you do you, except don't reblog my post and block me so I can't see what you said, presumably about how I am a terrible person). And apparently 1) if you insult/don't like/say Y***** H**** didn't do his best/were disappointed in him, or if you like the person who won over him more... Then you deserve to die. And 2) if you even make a post about YOI or other anime, you are a fake fan who knows nothing. And 3) even mirroring almost the exact words of sports (specifically figure skating) commentators in your posts means nothing? Like it OBVIOUSLY means that you are making up bullshit to hate on skaters that are popular and are misinformed, right??? Or if you say one thing that was similar to an APPARENTLY problematic broadcast group, that nothing (including any commentary from official other broadcasts, because GUESS WHAT: it's hard to find recordings of all of the programs and exhibitions with English commentary, and there are usually 3-4 networks that have it, and SO MANY people upload different ones to YouTube) else you say matters or has any merit. I haven't even read all of the hate mail and submissions I received from this debacle. My mental health can't take it. I literally woke up for school the next morning, saw my notifications and couldn't get myself to stop crying from the anger/upsetness/trauma/depressed thoughts that bubbled up with all of it, and I couldn't even get myself to go to class because I was so shaken. Like visibly, physically shaken, to the point where I couldn't think straight and I literally had tremors from how upset and unstable it made me feel. Tumblr should be a place where I can voice my opinion on something I am passionate about without all this hate. I literally have no other place. Right now, irl, I got dragged into drama (not mine, I swear, I was just a witness and got pulled into the mess) with my honor society, and the girl who started it all is trying to pit the entire organization against me. I can't post anything on my finsta, and God forbid I even tried to post anything in Facebook. (Not like I would). I am already in a very dark place mentally and emotionally because of the trauma this is putting me through, and how unwanted, useless and disgusting everybody is making me feel. I shouldn't be getting that from strangers who just decided to make my life even more miserable on top of it. Legitimately, out of the 30-40 comments/asks/replies/submissions I recieved, only one person even tried to realize where I was coming from or to educate me on what I had done wrong or missed in my analysis. But some of their wording just mirrored all the hate l had recieved, or even other things I had been told in real life that just made me cry even harder and I still can't bring myself to reply to even the person who was civil. My one big point to anyone who sees this is (besides don't be a dick/cyber bully/create and stir up unnecessary discourse) is don't assume that people don't know what they're talking about? Or don't assume that they are fake fans? And don't make people spell every letter of their opinion out for you in a 12 page thesis if it doesn't comply with the tumblr norm. Cuz here are some fun facts about me that I don't normally publicize / post about on tumblr: Yes, I am an anime fan, but Jesus Christ I love/am a huge fan of WAY more than I am in the fandom for. I am honestly only in like 4-5 anime fandoms. Same thing goes for other things I like, such as Harry Potter or marvel. I can like things, A LOT, and be passionate about them without being in the fandom. That doesn't mean I don't like it or I'm not knowledgable on the subject. That doesn't mean that I am an idiot for not knowing a fact/opinion/theory that has made its way around the fandom, that I'm not a part of. YES, I am a HUGE SPORTS FAN. It was legitimately also my fucking career (as a sports reporter/journalist/broadcaster). Do I post on tumblr about Baseball or Football or Hockey? Almost never. Does that make me any less of a fan, or does that make me any less knowledgeable about teams and rules? No. Does that mean that I didn't play/participate in almost every sport growing up? (baseball for 6 years, I still play Intermural football, tennis for 3 years, volleyball for 4, soccer for 1, swimming for like 5 years, I tried track, even karate and some other random stuff.) YES, I AM FUCKING KNOWLEDGABLE ABOUT PERFORMANCE SPORTS. I have participated/competed/trained/still watch almost every kind of performance sport. Of course color guard and marching band has been the longest, and the thing I was best at (7 years), but I grew up doing all kinds of dance and I still do lots of dance, as well as TONS of my own choreography. I've done baton and cheer for about 1-2 years each too. I did gymnastics for 4 years — was I very good? hell no. But do I know about it and appreciate it? Yes. SAME THING GOES FOR FIGURE SKATING. I only had like half a years worth of lessons, and like 3 routines that I ever finished and performed with figure skating, but that is because it is an expensive af sport, and I had way more activities and sports that I was better at, more passionate about learning, and were more accessible. BUT did I grow up going to figure skating shows like Disney on Ice or Stars on ice? Did that stop me from waiting in line for hours to get Michelle Kwan and other famous figure skaters autographs? No. Did that stop me from watching almost every single minute of the 2014 and 2010 Olympics? No. Do I still remember watching parts of the 2006 Olympics with my parents and absolutely being ENTHRALLED and wanting to do that too? YES. I still remember watching the 2014 Olympics from my aunt's house when I was staying on a cot in her living room because my mother was in the hospital and CRYING when I saw Y* H* perform, break world records, and win the gold. It was a sense of normalcy and awe because everything else going wrong in my life didn't matter while I was watching these amazing athletes perform. And GUESS WHAT, since I'm not really a part of the Figure Skating fandom (just like I'm not in the musical theatre fandom, or in anything regards to hair or makeup) I don't post about my own hype or plans regarding how excited I am for things to come out. So nobody here on tumblr, or almost ANYONE knew how excited I was for this upcoming Grand Prix season for the first actual competition of the Olympic season. I watched almost every challenger series video, as well as the autumn winter classic and competitions of the like. Even the JGPF events in anticipation. But guess what: I literally have a note on my phone that has all of Team USA's competition schedules, and their scores that they have gotten so far (like at the COR), along with a list of my favorite international skaters, and other new skaters to watch. I was so hype, so excited, and I thought that maybe, since figure skating had boomed in popularity, thanks in part to YOI (but also, helped people be more vocal and open about how much they love the sport even if ex already did) I would be able to discuss the excitement with other people. But no. Instead of being able to say "omg I'm so excited for blah blah blah, I hope they make the Olympic team. But I also love this show concept and this other persons costume, and you also can't count out blah blah blah" and being civil with conversation among other fans... They instead will say " wow you like blah blah blah? But you said this about them, and that offends me so you're wrong, and you forgot this tiny detail from 3 years ago, and you like anime so you OBVIOUSLY only care about figure skating because of YOI. Take your bandwagon fan bullshit away from me and go kill yourself". So now, I am staying the fuck away from the figure skating fandom, I've literally left half of my choreography untouched for almost 2-3 months, don't want to read/finish any of my YOI fanfics, and will probably even have a hard time watching Skate Can this weekend (even though like 6 of my favorite skaters are competing, and I was so excited before). Guess I'll just have to annoy my snapchat friends with videos of skating and me screaming because of skating. Fuck you tumblr, and I doubt I'll make any more original posts outside of APO planning and reblogs in the foreseeable future,

[toraonice]

I don't think you're homophobic, a bad person, or any of that and am sorry you're getting outright hate BUT I think you're missing a lot of the point. I am not going to presume that you aren't LGBT, but I am unsure if you understand how LGBT people are irritated at how het pairings as "overt" as v*****ri are typically accepted as they are (/cont)

(cont) yet so many gay pairings portrayed in the same vein are “ambiguous” or argue that it isn’t canon. The “they’re DEEPER than romantic love” is also hurtful as people aren’t discriminated against for friendships and erases what makes them so special to LGBT fans.

(cont 3/3) Essentially, I think although you have good intentions in trying to be objective, with what I said in mind when you add separate commentary such as pointing out that soulmates can be platonic or the late night drama thing it does deeply hurt people, because it sounds like you’re trying to downplay them—intentionally or otherwise

Hello! First of all, thank you for making a concrete example and articulating your point logically!

I’m taking this occasion to write a long reply that encompasses my view of Victor and Yuuri’s relationship also with regard to heterocentricity. It’s long, but hopefully it’s exhaustive… 

I think some people may be a bit wary about this topic and interpret my words in a negative way. For example, by saying that their bond is “deeper than romantic love” I am not trying to say that romantic love is a bad thing or that they cannot be or become lovers. I actually see it as something positive, not negative. There are people who know each other, start dating, have a passionate love story and then break up within a year. I believe that, since the bond between Victor and Yuuri is not limited to romantic love (which can be included) but also includes respect, friendship and other feelings, this makes their relationship deeper than two people only bound by romantic feelings.

Also, when I said that soulmates can be platonic and that the Japanese Monday dramas are not necessarily centered on love stories, I was trying to be fair to all interpretations. I don’t mean “so this proves that Victor and Yuuri cannot be in a romantic relationship”; it just isn’t something that proves either theory.

Regarding Japanese dramas.. Not sure how many people are familiar with it, but in the 2nd Tiger & Bunny movie there is a scene with the 2 protagonists on the roof of a building that is commonly referred to by fans as “gekku” (the same kind of drama as the scene of Victor and Yuuri at the airport). Usually this kind of scenes, in the TV dramas, feature a man and a woman, but when “gekku” is used to describe something unrelated to dramas, like scenes from an anime, it often includes a slightly humorous nuance, very similar to when two people are fighting and someone tells them “you look like a married couple”. (The scene itself is usually serious and when fans use “gekku” they don’t mean to make fun of it, but at the same time they don’t seriously mean to imply that the characters are romantically involved)

I agree on the fact that if Victor and Yuuri had been a man and a woman everyone and their dog would think that they’re in love with each other, while part of the reason some people are skeptical about it is that they are both men. I myself don’t really it like when, especially in series where the sexuality of characters is not clear, two characters of opposite sexes are seen as more likely to fall in love with each other than characters of the same sex. This happens because some people think that unless a character is declared as homosexual they must be heterosexual because “that is the standard” (these people in many cases are not even trying to be homophobic, they just do not realize that what they are implying is heterocentric). I don’t think that there is a standard, and of course there are many more possibilities than just “heterosexual” and “homosexual”, therefore if a character’s sexuality is unconfirmed I am usually open to any possibility.

I will stray a little from YOI. I was an enthusiastic X-Files fan at the time the series was still airing and the protagonists weren’t officially lovers yet (yeah it’s a long time ago but I might not be as old as this makes you think lol). I was also a member of the official forum and identified myself as “intellishipper”, fans who shipped the protagonists but didn’t necessarily want them to become romantically involved in the series unless it was relevant to the story (normal “shippers” just wanted them to get together). This is because I liked X-Files for what it was — a sci-fi thriller drama — and I didn’t want it to suddenly become a love story or focus too much on the romantic relationship of the characters. In fact, to this day I still don’t really like how their romantic relationship was handled in the series… (even though I’m a shipper!) X-Files taught me that sometimes, even if the characters you ship officially get together, depending on how it’s portrayed it might be disappointing, and in that case maybe it’s better that everything is left vague and that you keep on fantasizing on your own… (Sorry if someone disagrees about the protagonists’ relationship in X-Files, this is just my opinion)

The reason of this digression is to explain that the way I view Victor and Yuuri’s relationship and its portrayal within the series is very similar to my experience with X-Files. I personally like them together, but since the series is fundamentally a sport anime about figure skating, to me it’s fine if they don’t confirm whether they are romantically involved or not, because either way there are enough hints to be perfectly able to perceive them as in love with each other even if it’s not stated out loud. At the same time, I respect people who want them to officially get together and people who prefer to see their relationship as platonic too, because in the end everything is open to interpretations and therefore I don’t think it’s correct to force one interpretation on others.

I understand that people who see this anime as important for the LGBT+ community would prefer that they are confirmed as lovers because we would have a “regular” (non-BL) anime featuring an official homosexual couple with a strong, healthy relationship, which would be a step forward in the portrayal of LGBT characters in Japanese anime too. However, exactly because it’s a Japanese anime, as I tried to explain in a previous post a few months ago, the local cultural background is an obstacle to that, therefore I wouldn’t be surprised if even in future works they never confirm anything. Also, what Yamamoto said about “relationships without a name” too makes me think that maybe she doesn’t find it important to give a name to their relationship but she just wants to portray a very strong bond between two characters which viewers can interpret how they prefer. Kubo too made a few tweets last August that suggest how one of the reasons they didn’t use a man and a woman is that they did not want people to automatically interpret their relationship as romantic “just because they’re a man and a woman”. If you read that negatively you might think “does she mean that if they are both guys they cannot be seen as romantically involved?”. I don’t know what she meant in detail of course, because I’m not inside her mind, but I also think it can be interpreted in a positive way: if the characters are a man and a woman people will see them as automatically in love only because of their genders, regardless of the deepness of their relationship; however, if they are guys the average viewer cannot apply their heterocentric point of view to them and they will only see them as in love because their relationship really suggests that.

By the way, I still think that YOI, even without confirming anything, is an important step forward for the portrayal of LGBT+ characters in Japanese anime because it shows two male characters having an intimate relationship (however you want to interpret it) without their surroundings going “eww gross” or making jokes about them. In the series, no one says anything or questions Yuuri’s sexuality when he decides to interpret the role of a woman in his early version of Eros, no one ever makes fun of Yuuri and Victor’s relationship, no one looks grossed out when they see them with wedding rings (Phichit even congratulates them for their “wedding”). As Kubo said, within the world of YOI no one is discriminated for what (or who) they like. Everything is just portrayed as normal. In a way, the fact that any possibility is viewed as normal might also be the reason why they don’t feel the need to declare anyone’s sexuality or whether they are romantically involved or not, also because in the end whether Yuuri and Victor are engaged or not, or are having sex or not, is not really relevant to their performance as figure skaters. The aspects of their relationship that are relevant to the story are what has already been shown to us.

To sum it up… I understand the various points of views, including the fact that a part of the fans would prefer to see Victor and Yuuri in a confirmed romantic relationship (be it because of their personal liking or because they would like more outspoken LGBT+ representation), but as long as the creators don’t confirm anything I will stay open to any possibility. I’m sorry if some of the things I said were taken the wrong way and I hope that what I wrote above was enough to explain that they weren’t meant as something offensive or negative but were just my attempt to be unbiased toward any possible interpretation. I myself am generally annoyed by the heterocentric view of the world (which in Japan is oh so popular..) and to me whether a pairing is het or homo makes no difference, therefore in my mind Victor and Yuuri in their current stage are very much like Mulder and Scully when their romantic relationship wasn’t confirmed in the series: no matter how you look at them they must be in love with each other, but it’s not confirmed, therefore fans who think their relationship is platonic have the right to think so (in the X-Files fandom too there were fans who didn’t ship them or were indifferent, but this didn’t stop the creators from making them a couple later on).

As a translator, I’m striving to be unbiased toward any interpretation and therefore to translate official material so that the original meaning/nuance is preserved and in English it doesn’t end up sounding more/less suggestive than it was in Japanese. Since they are very different languages, sometimes it’s hard to keep the exact same nuances as the original text, and of course if you ask 10 people to translate a line they will translate it in 10 different ways, but I’m trying to be careful especially with parts that might be easily misread (I mean, it’s useless that I translate something as sounding shippy when the original doesn’t… If the original does, of course I would keep that nuance).

In any case, if anyone ever thinks that one of my translations doesn’t sound right or that something I said sounds homophobic or hurtful, please let me know and I will explain more in detail what I meant. I always try to write my opinion without being offensive to anyone, but sometimes it’s impossible to write something so that all the people who read it will interpret it the exact same way, especially when talking about topics where readers have contrastive views. I respect all opinions (people who like Victuuri, people who dislike Victuuri, people who are indifferent, etc) and I just wish for everyone to live in peace without attacking each other.

Final notes:

1) Sorry for mentioning series unrelated to YOI, but since X-Files contains a het pairing I thought it would make a good comparison to show that my view of YOI isn’t influenced by the fact that Victor and Yuuri are both guys.

2) I was trying to be very neutral when I wrote my short review of the original drama at the YOI event, but to be honest some parts sounded just like a BL drama and it would take a genius to manage to “no homo” all of that… Of course the scriptwriter made it so that if you want to see their relationship as platonic you can still justify everything with “they were drunk”, but yeah…

3) Adding sources: 1) “What Yamamoto said” comes from the May Febri interview which I’m currently translating; 2) Kubo’s tweets from last August are something that wasn’t explicitly related to YOI but were definitely referring to YOI; 3) What Kubo said about no one being discriminated in YOI’s world is also a tweet from the end of last year, I made a post about it too.

[just-themys]

@fukiko replied to your post “Piece of advice, when you write a meta, tries to : Understand the...”

That meta was an utter trainwreck, y i k e s. Angry fan throwing a tantrum over things not being spelled out for them. Also like it is fine for a creator to be ambiguous?? It allows for viewers to enjoy things without having an interpretation shoved down their throats? Japan likes ambiguity, the whole damn language is rooted in vagueness; if you start being too militant about how art is meant to be consumed you'll ruffle a lot of feathers. Siiiigh

It was honestly. And I totally agree. I like having some parts unsaid, that’s the same reason I’m happy when a series is ending, and why for example I’m not looking forward too much for a yoi season 2. Because now we have a whole thing left to imagination. We have the season 1 as a story, where not everything is said, but from which we can imagine ton and ton of things. It’s the holes in a media that actually make fandom live. If everything in the smallest details were said, we would have a harder time to come up with headcanons and such fore example. And as much as I like learning little canon details about my fave characters / series, I don’t want EVERYTHING to be told.

So yeah, I really hated the “LADY YOU’RE THE AUTHOR YOU SHOULD KNOW BETTER” when the person themselves didn’t understand half of the interview (like the “confident” prat, or the irony of the “selfish Katsuki” where it was obvious to me that Kubo was saying that from Yuuri’s pov, from what Yuuri perceive of this decision).

Not to mention what you probably felt in it, aka some good old JJ hate. Sorry that Kubo actually like this complex and whole character she created (oh my god, an author liking one of her character ??? how dare !), and yeah, he won bronze because she wanted him to, but that’s how everything happen in fiction ? I have a character who is trans and decides not to transition, but ultimately it’s because I decided it ?? that’s how fiction work. And she did it in a way that’s coherent with what we saw of JJ since the begining : he’s talented, hard-worker, and -on the contrary to what this person said in their “meta”- a threat to the other skaters to the point at least two of them change their program to raise the difficulty (quad flip at the end of the SP for Yuuri, added jumps in the second half of his FS for Yuri + arms raised during the jumps of both of his programs). So yeah, even if he fucked up his SP, he managed to catch up with his FS (where he did a jump only Seung Gil Lee placed in competition… just saying). So sorry your fave isn’t as good, but he won because of reasons.

Anyway, this is shitting super hard on the author, not understanding her context, her country, her culture, deeply misunderstanding her intention (she made an anime on ice skating, not on queer representation, even if you can find it (I myself did, but I know it probably wasn’t her intention)), and also being super subjective by letting their own character hate appear.

[todokori-kun]

(sorry for disappearing, I had to go to bed ^^;;)

It says the video’s unavailable in my country ;-; gah. I’ll go search it up on youtube later and see if there’s a different video

You might not believe this, but I don’t cry while watching anything. I FEEL the pain on the inside and it hurts a lot but I just can’t cry XD like, the closest I got was when I watched the last movie of the Hobbit trilogy and that was only because the Hobbit/LOTR series has been a part of my life since I was tiny and my mom got me to read the books. And even then I didn’t actually cry; my eyes started stinging a bit but no real tears. I also got close while watching Inside Out, which was a little annoying because I didn’t even like the movie that much- I just related to the ending scenes (the family feels) and suddenly got all emotional because of that.

This is gonna make me sound like a heartless monster but I didn’t even cry during the last episodes of Your Lie in April…

(I’m a crybaby in real life, though LOL seriously anything can make the tears start falling to the point where it’s actually kinda frustrating)

Hisoka’s the trash LORD. Almost equal with Furuta, really.

It’s weird, though: a lot of people call him a pedo for his reactions to Gon but I don’t think that’s what it is…it’s not an attraction to Gon himself as much as it is an attraction Gon’s abilities and what he’s capable of? (which is still pretty creepy tho lol)

Yes, you should be done with him. Throw him back in the trashcan where he belongs. (he does have a really good voice though)

TYSM ;-; I’ll send you some soon, then! <3

Oh, my sister’s too little to watch most anime, but I’ve let her and my cousin (who’s just…seven? Eight? I think?) watch a little bit of Attack on Junior High. They ship Annie/Bertolt and both of them are huge fans of Annie and Mikasa. Also Levi, sorta.

I also let my sister watch the first episode of YoI (I forgot about the naked Viktor scene until it was actually happening but decided that it’s probably ok since it’s nobody makes sexual comments on it and besides, stuff like Doraemon shows 100% nude characters anyway). She didn’t get everything that was going on other than the fact that Yuuri lost and had to go home but Viktor was going to teach him how to skate again, but she liked it a lot and she kept singing ‘History Maker’ non-stop for a LONG time. She’s learning cello right now and she also kept making me show her cello covers of History Maker on youtube.

I’ll (probably) try to take it slow :) and I’ll definitely let you know when I start playing/finish a route!

DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU’RE DOING TO MY HEART WITH THOSE PICTURES. NO. STOP IT. I REFUSE TO STAY IN THIS FLASK- I REFUSE TO ADMIT DEFEAT-

(seriously though wth that middle picture is adorable)

Idk how it ended up that savage. I swear I wasn’t trying to be mean *innocent smile*

TYSM, Luna. What would I do without you?

But wait, you had a hard time writing Evans/Kimblee headcanons? Here- 

‘Evans: KIMBLEE NO

Kimblee: Kimblee Yes ;)’

that is literally the only headcanon you need for this relationship.

I just think Nishiki/Luna would make such a cool, sassy couple. Like, all other people and ghouls are just peasants next to the two of you, step aside Touken- bow down to the real king and queen

Still gonna try tho because tbh Greed/Luna keeps turning into a bigger OTP :) (I’m seriously really happy you’ve enjoyed all my headcanons up ‘til now though <3)

I used to 'like’ (‘like’ as in 'you’re a fun character to analyze and make headcanons about but you’re also sorta terrible’) and still find him an interesting character, but not as much as I used to…probably becase I’ve been losing interest in Kuro itself lately? Like, I still like it and I’m not going to drop it, but this arc dragged so much that even the plot twist couldn’t completely save it for me ;-; and nobody can deny that Seb IS trash. So on second thought, I ship Seb/Luna as more of a frenemy/enemies thing LOL please destroy the trashcan demon Queen Luna

I actually really liked Pietro and I’m still not over the fact that he had to go and DIE

Hange-Luna friendship would honestly be amazing. You’d always be joined by Evans-Moblit though lol

(Ok ok ok but after realizing that some of Tatsuo’s earlier designs look a LOT like an even leaner, meaner version of Kimblee…what if Kimblee was Tatsuo and Naomi’s oldest sibling. Imagine that messed up family. Oldest child is a mad bomber who’s been in jail for years. Second child is an bloodthirsty sloth who just DOESN’T CARE, ok. Third child is screaming on the inside 24/7 because her brothers suck.

Tatsuo likes his big bro’s style but thinks the explosions are a bit extreme. Naomi hates both of them. Just, I’m having so much fun imagining the family reunion when Kimblee gets out of jail.

Also if Kimblee actually DID care about his younger siblings to some extent, let’s go back to that Hamilton AU. Shuu, if you thought Tatsuo’s reaction to the Kaneki Pamphlet was scary…)

Tysm for answering my random, sorta creepy question ;-; that’s a good way to deal with things :) I just asked hoping to maybe get some advice because I’ve been having trouble expressing/dealing with anger lately and it’s just kinda painful XD

OMG. I’ve always wanted to do aesthetic edits but I still don’t quite get how to do them (I don’t have photoshop and it seems you have to pay to download it so I have to figure out how to do it on Gimp (which I do have) or somewhere else…). These are AMAZING! The masquerade is lovely, really reminds me of some sort of fairytale, the Ballerina one is beautiful and has a 'classic’ feel to it, if that makes sense? (Also loving that Hamilton reference, it fits perfectly.)

Luna’s mood board is so pretty though. Love all those pastel colors and that 'seductively takes off glasses’ XD Also just from the pictures I guess you like sweet food?

And wow. If the Blue one was really inspired by me, it’s creepily accurate (though those sneakers are too nice for me, I’d probably ruin them lol). Especially that 'overthinking always’ pic. It's amazing, I could stare at it for ages, tysm <3

Um, for ideas/suggestions…aesthetic edit for Saiko/Urie, our shared OTP? Or one for Shuu/Kaneki? Maybe? If it’s not too much to ask? ^^

btw, do you have playlists you listen to nowadays? Like, I’ve gotten obsessed with a ton of songs lately so

No worries, I went to bed shortly after that as well ^^ I completely understand that there’s a big time difference between here and Korea ;)

Ah, that’s a shame :/ Hopefully you’ll find a version that plays, because it’s a really tranquil song ^^ 

We’re opposites XD I can’t remember the last time I cried because of something that happened irl, but anime gets to me very easily (however, none of my friends know that and I always feel a bit smug when we’re watching sad movies and they’re bawling their eyes out while I’m unfazed). Aw, that’s actually adorable! I’ve never read or watched LOTR, but I’ve both read and watched The Hobbit ^^  At this point I can’t even say I’m surprised at that… What’d I expect anyway XD (about Your Lie in April)

Speaking of trash, I recently read a book that landed on the top spot of ‘Trashiest books I’ve read in my life’ and I’ve read a lot of books, so that’s not an easy feat. The whole time I was reading it, I was more or less like ‘Is this girl (protagonist) for real?’ Basically, she’s the typical ‘perfect, beautiful’ girl and her character flaw is supposed to be that she’s cold, but since she’s so intelligent and pretty, everyone worships her like a fucking goddess. Of course, she’s also skilled in combat and intrigues everyone, including the hot love interest, his hot friend, their hot enemy and probably all of the other males in the world. Most irritating thing about it? The book ends with the sentence ‘Let’s go home’. Obviously, that sentence has a lot of emotional value to me (Hideeeeee), so seeing it used in a supposedly bitter-sweet scene in such a bad book really makes me irritated. Do not underestimate the number of people you’ll reduce to tears with that sentence!

It’s… it’s still creepy as fuck, even though it’s not directly pedo… Yep, I’ll just return him to the trash can. He belongs there. ((I haven’t even watched the anime XD))

Ah, by the way, completely random, but do I curse too much? I’ve noticed I started cursing a bit more lately ^^;; So if it makes you uncomfortable, just say so!

Aw, that’s so cute! Junior High is actually a pretty good anime, though a lot of people I know would disagree with me. My favorite part was probably the one where they summon Levi by throwing a plastic bottle into the paper bin. The only thing I wonder about: Just what were the writers smoking when writing the script? It’s nowhere near as random as Hetalia, but it’s still very random. Worryingly random. I can’t believe I actually spelled that word correctly on my first try. Wow. 

I ship Berthold with happiness. Actually, I ship that whole universe, especially some individuals (ARMIN) with happiness. I ship Annie with Armin more, though. The blond OTP is cute~

That’s adorable! You probably know all the lyrics by now :P Did she ever learn the cover or nah?

Well, no one’s gonna blame you if you do route after route ^^ That’s what I did anyway *looks away with guilt* How’s Rod so far?

This is the moment where I put even more Urie/Saiko pics but the internet here is so shitty that I’m pretty sure it’ll die before I manage to load a single one. Yay.

I know, I almost melted while searching for those pics T^T Urie/Saiko gives me life. Ishidaaaaa come ooooh

Yeah, suuure, I totally believe that. Evans never meant to roast the flame alchemist. Nooo

Ahahahah, yeah, probably XD Who knows, maybe you could stop him from blowing up a building or two. Maybe. 

I cry. What did I ever do to deserve a friend this sweet? The last time I saw something that almost gave me diabetes was when I was watching Sweetness and Lighting, and it still wasn’t as cute as you! 

Honestly, I’m not exactly in the Kuro fandom, but the manga is intriguing enough for me to keep reading. Also, the art style is really pretty! And some of the arcs are my all time favorites. Not to mention, the little shit that is Ciel has somehow become my adopted son XD The thing Bassy would hate the most about me: I’m allergic to cats. I get a rash and start sneezing when near them. It’s gotten better in the last few years, but I’m still weary near them. Not to mention, getting red and itchy all over as a kid hasn’t really made me develop much liking towards the furballs. 

Well, what about the X-Men timeline? He appears there as well, right? I mean, I haven’t watched those movies, but I hope he’s alive there. I hope. 

We’d be the duo everyone is scared of, because we probably blow the lab up on a daily basis. You and Moblit have to take away the explosives XD Levi would (seemingly) hate me even more than Hange, cause I’m full 5cm taller than her, which makes me 15cm taller than him. Wow. He’s tiny XD And that just made me realize Armin and I would have that cute couple height difference, only I’d be the taller one :P I’m one of those people who are convinced puberty does wonders to him, though. Seriously, just google ‘Older Armin’

That’s... a very messed up family to say the least. Just. Wow. How can so much tragedy be crammed into genes?  Shuu better watch out when Kimblee hears what happened with his sis XD Somehow, I think that Kimblee’s version of Congratulations would involve shit blowing up.

It’s no problem ^^ If you want to ask any similar questions, feel free to! They’re not creepy at all. You should hear some of the shit I ask at times...  I hope you find a good way to deal with anger soon ^^ The only thing with my answer is that I rarely get angry, I mostly get frustrated. I’d recommend drawing as a way to express feelings. Bring out the red colors and murder that paper XD

Aah, I’m so glad you like them! I was really satisfied (ha) with them, since they were done in a rush ^^ Most of them were born from me finding one pic and thinking ‘I want an AU based on this pic’. For the masquerade, it was fans and ballroom, ballerina History has its eyes on you and the shoes. 

If you offer enough chocolate and/or cookies, I’m willing to sell my soul. I wish I was joking. I’m not.  I’m glad you like yours ^^ I was thinking about showing you the ones I made and was like ‘Why not make one for you?’ I remembered you saying you like blue, found some pics and ta-dah! It’s really fun to do, and it’s nice artistic expression for someone who can’t draw for shit XD

I’ve only managed to do Shuu ;-;

((It actually looks more like it was meant for Kanae XD))

Tbh, I’ve tried to do the other ones as well, but it’s pretty hard to find pics that fit =3= I’ll keep trying tho ^^

Also, I made one for Rod, since he’s your first route, but it’s actually spoilerish, so tell me when you’re done and I can show it to you ^^

I mostly make my own playlists, and the ones I have right now have a lot of Ed Sheeran, a shitton of soundtracks, a few idol songs and probably more remixes than it would be considered healthy.  Also, while looking at my playlist to answer this, I realized what I liked in a song: The beat.  Which actually explains why I always seem to prefer remixes more than the original song and why I’m a sucker for Woodkid songs, especially Run Boy Run and Iron.  Also, I adore soundtracks. I’m content listening to just those, especially if they’re fantasy or medieval XD

I get my pictures from Pinterest! A lot of artsy pics are uploaded there, so it’s easy to find what I’m looking for ^^  I hope you’ll start making your own edits soon! I’d definitely love to see how that’d turn out ^^