#writing yoi

[chatdae]

I'm watching ep3 of Yuri on Ice again and wow, Viktor having Yuuri skate Eros really is so fucking wild to me. On the one hand: reasonable choice. Viktor wants Yuuri to surprise the audience. He knows Yuuri can perform like this (cough banquet cough) and he knows that Yuuri capitalizing on this potential could win him the season.

On the other hand: oh my God. Does Viktor want to torture himself.

Listen: Yurio says Viktor was contemplating choreographies for himself during the past season. So, Viktor's been thinking about Love as a theme for himself. Man is 27. Everyone's asking him if / when he'll retire. He's considering his future. He's been thinking about love. He's considering his future he's been thinking about love He takes a season off, flies to Japan -- for Yuuri--,, he has Yuuri (who ran away from Viktor's flirting in ep2!) skate Erotic love. (aka the emotion he didn't return to Viktor during Viktor's first days in Japan ((aka an emotion that Viktor's been thinking about for a while (((aka an emotion Viktor believes Yuuri can pull off (because he's SEEN Yuuri pull it off (((at the FUCKING BANQUET where he flirted on Viktor THEN DISAPPEARED))))).

TL;DR this Russian knows how to pine.

[thegirlwhorideslikeasamurai]

On Yuuri's "top-secret" love life

Edit: Due to turning this post into a thread for the dead-bird site, I gave it a complete overhaul because some parts were wordy and confusing.

I took a deeper look into the information YOI gives us about Yuuri’s history with love and the implactions for his character arc.

Let’s start with when Viktor introduces the two Yuris to their new short programmes:

A first examination of the subject of love usually happens in puberty when the average person experiences their first crush. However, 23-year-old Yuuri just cluelessly shakes his head when Viktor asks whether he’s ever thought about love.

Since Yuuri has an evasive nature when feeling pushed or embarrassed, we can assume that he’s not hiding things here. Also interesting in this context, is his interpretation of Agape:

Yuuri is projecting his own experiences with love into his interpretation of On Love: Agape and Eros and his answers reflect where he’s currently at in his journey of exploring love. (for further discussion please check this meta).

Japanese language distinguishes general love 愛 (“ai”) from romantic/passionate love 恋 (“koi”). These terms roughly approximate the Greek concepts of agape and eros as they are utilised in YOI. However, YOI doesn't draw the distinction between 愛 and 恋 but uses 愛 (“ai”) as the overarching concept that includes other forms or love, e.g. せいてきな愛 (“sexual love”).

Until Viktor introduces the two Yuris into On Love: Agape and Eros, Yuuri has never wasted a thought on love. Which means:

Until the end of episode 2, Yuuri has never had romantic feelings for another person.

Why can we be so sure of that?

Even a first crush inevitably inspires an examination of love to some extent regardless of whether you’re happy in love, whether your feelings aren’t reciprocated or whether you decide not to act upon them.

If Yuuri had experienced such feelings before episode 2/3, he would know. And we would know, too, because it would impact his views on love, how he tackles his season’s theme, and how he goes about his relationship with Viktor. It would notably impact his character journey.

Instead, YOI introduces us to the extent of Yuuri’s parasocial obsession with Viktor that despite the gay-coding is too abstract to qualify as an actual crush. The Japanese term for “idol” that YOI uses for the people Yuuri idolises is the neutral 憧れの人 = “someone to look up to/admire”.

For the story of YOI to work as it does, Yuuri never having had romantic feelings is crucial.

Yuuri has one-track-mind that makes Viktor the fulcrum of his existence since he discovered Viktor at the onset of puberty (aka when young people start experiencing attraction for the first time). He has every poster of Viktor at least twice, he copied his programmes and he even named his poodle Katsuki Viktor (yes, that’s canon). In his endeavour to face Viktor as an equal on the ice, he move abroad to train with different coach. The show portrays Yuuri as being more interested in skating [to pursue Viktor] than in spending time with his friends, not that he'd be great at forming relationships in the first place because he's super awkward. Doesn’t sound like someone who even has the mind to notice potential partners around them, does it?

Now let’s move on to the press conference at the end of episode 5 that comprises Yuuri’s journey of exploring love and gives us some more insight into his views on love.

Since the subs are low-key confusing, I’m not quoting them, but you can check this translation to educate yourself on all the nuances that the official translation misses. Particularly interesting is this part:

My love. It’s not [general] love or romantic love that is easy to understand, but my bond with Victor, and the lukewarm way I feel about my family and my local community.

Note that this is the only time the anime uses 恋 ("koi"), probably because he's speaking to a Japanese audience.

Note that this is the only time the anime uses 恋 (“koi”), probably because he’s speaking to a Japanese audience.

This line give us clear idea on how Yuuri feels about the people in his life that are not Viktor, confirming what we’ve could already guess from context: that his relationships so far never reached a level that is intimate enough to enforce an examination of the subject of love. We tend to take our friends and family for granted, but crushes and falling in love are feelings that take over our lives.

Yuuri’s speech about love as a whole showcases that he has come a long way from utter cluelessness to the matured and nuanced idea of love that he now explaines to his audience. He was able to arrive at this point because his time with Viktor sparked the examination of the subject. Yuuri draws a clear distinction between his feelings for his family and friends and his feelings for Viktor, which aren’t lukewarm at all.

A more accurate translation of that line is: “The first person I want to tie myself to and never let go is Viktor” ( 初めて自分から繋ぎとめたいと思った人、それがヴィクトルです) because 繋ぎとめたい means wanting to tie someone / something to you and never let it go (see this translation error masterpost).

After months of getting to know Viktor intimately, Yuuri has fallen in love with Viktor at last. This feeling is bigger than any emotion he has experienced before because it’s greater than 恋 and 愛 and because of that:

This feeling doesn't have a name, but I decided to dare to call it "love".

Yuuri is awkward and anxious, but he’s determined to pursue a goal he committed himself to. For half his life that goal was Viktor, first as an abstract concept and as an ideal to strive for, later as a romantic interest, and he makes sure the world knows.

If Yuuri had had romantic feelings for someone else, he would have pursued this person or ruled out the idea because Viktor was more important and it would have impacted his views on love either way.

Or in other words:

Viktor is Yuuri's first love.

I will discuss the gay-coding of how Yuuri idolises people that inspire him in another post because this seems to be one of the lesser known facts.

For this analysis I've reviewed the entire context of Yuuri's history with love and ruled out everything that doesn't withstand scrutiny or makes no sense in the grand scheme of things (aka the canon of YOI as a whole). You are free to headcanon Yuuri as having had crushes or relationships before Viktor, but keep in mind that this would alter the plot of YOI.

Friendly reminder: friendship, admiration, and aesthetic attraction are often misconstrued as romantic attraction due to allonormative/amatonormative paradigms. When interpreting fictional characters, the entire context must be reviewed to check whether there is more to that.

[bumblenbees]

How do I tell them the news?

[triptychgrip]

Viktor and Yuuri Answer The Web's Most Searched Questions

“I’m Viktor Katsuki-Nikiforov!”

“And I’m Yuuri Katsuki Nikiforov!”

They turn to look at each other and grin, attempting to speak in unison.

“And this is the WIRED Autocomplete Interview.”

They’re a little off on the wording, but what is simultaneous is the way they break out into giggles right after saying ‘interview’. It’s only been a few seconds since the cameras have begun rolling, and Viktor is already feeling charmed by the pink tint staining his husband’s cheeks.

“Aww, and we even practiced that a few times!” Yuuri says, now donning a cute little pout.

“It was my fault,” Viktor automatically pipes up, before letting his heart-shaped smile take over his face. “I started speaking a half-beat too late because I was too busy admiring your pretty eyes, love.”

Giggles and hushed whispers immediately break out on the WIRED filming set, but Viktor only has eyes for the way Yuuri’s lips instantly morph, curving into a pleased, albeit shy smile. 

“You’re sweet, Vitya,” he murmurs, before reaching over to hold his hand. 

There’s not much space between them to begin with on the bench they’re seated on, but Yuuri closes that miniscule gap so that their thighs are pressed right up against each other. Viktor hopes the audience is grateful; the slight tension his love is now holding in his leg will give the cameras a nice view of his immaculate, muscular thighs, outfitted in the sleek trackpants that Mizuno specifically designed for him. (After some sleuthing, Phichit had informed the two of them that Kenjirou had gone ahead and bought four different pairs.)

Nyala – the WIRED production assistant in charge of this episode taping – then hands them the show’s distinctive looking question tableau. On it, are Google’s top ten most searched questions containing their names. They’re partially covered, which adds to the fun: they’ll be taking turns reading them aloud, while unpeeling the adhesive covering to reveal each query.

As they’d agreed earlier, he will read and answer the first question, so Yuuri holds the board steady.

“What did Yuuri and Viktor…”

Viktor pauses to draw out the suspense, and then whips off the adhesive in one rapid motion, his enthusiasm almost causing Yuuri to topple over.

“Oops! Sorry, Yuranya!” he exclaims, feeling a bit flustered as he helps his spouse right himself and presses a kiss to his temple. 

Nyala’s eyes are glittering with amusement, so he aims a sheepish smile at her before facing forwards.

“What did Yuuri and Viktor do before they met?” he reads off, feeling quite pleased with this clear opportunity to extol Yuuri’s praises (and, additionally, to lambast certain International Skating Union officials for not recognizing how talented he was prior to that silver medal win at the Barcelona Grand Prix Final).

“Well, the short answer is that we were both competitive figure skaters, but the long answer is more interesting! Let’s start with my Yuuri, because my side of things is boring, not to mention quite sad,” he chirps, not even batting an eye when his husband begins to splutter in protest next to him (“Vitya! Five gold medals at World’s is not sad!”)

But Viktor feigns an inability to hear Yuuri’s counter, and whips his phone out. 

One of the first things he’d done after they’d met at the banquet was to look up as many of Yuuri’s Senior division competitions as he could, hungry to expand his personal archives with any video or photos he could get his hands on. By now, his love is aware of his meticulous culling efforts, because he wears a pained expression as Viktor begins to talk and flip through his photo gallery.

“Where to even begin?” he says, allowing his voice to slide into that grandiose tone that Yurio claims “makes you seem even more punchable than normal”.

“Since we only have an hour for this taping, I will unfortunately have to limit myself to the year of Yuuri’s skating career before he and I met,” he continues on, making sure his annoyance is plain. “And, for those that don’t know, we met in December 2015 at the Sochi Grand Prix Final.”

It’s a testament to their many years of being together, because Yuuri doesn’t even tense at the mention of Sochi. He knows Viktor would never try to embarrass him by contextualizing the event in a way that makes him uncomfortable, and, besides, his spouse now shares the opinion that pole-dancing into your soulmate’s life is a pretty badass meet-cute. Even so, it had taken awhile to convince Yuuri’s anxiety of this, and Viktor owes a lot to their couples’ therapist for that mindset change. 

“Look at this picture of my beautiful Yuuri on the podium at Four Continents’ in February 2015!” he exclaims in triumph, holding his phone up so that the camera operator gets a perfect view. 

Taken in Seoul’s Mokdong Ice Rink is a photo of an adorable, 22-year-old Katsuki Yuuri, wearing a shy smile and holding a bronze medal. Next to him is an obviously ecstatic Celestino Cialdini.

“Now, no offense to anyone, but take it from me: my husband was severely underscored at that competition and should have been standing higher on that podium. Well before he ever broke my World’s winning streak, Yuuri was commanding audiences the world over with his stunning artistry. Particularly, his dazzling interpretation skills,” Viktor states declaratively, his tone brooking no argument.

Well, almost no argument. 

Yuuri makes a barely perceptible noise of disagreement, but it’s enough to make him turn and bestow his most unimpressed expression onto him, as if daring him to issue a rebuttal. 

“Something to say, Yusha?” Viktor prompts, a bit goadingly. “Do you wish to argue with “Living Legend” Viktor Katsuki-Nikiforov, who, I daresay, might know a little something or two about judging politics and biased scoring?”

His love gives him a light smack on the bicep, and when he replies, his tone is prim.

“If you want biased scoring to be the focus of this question, then I’ll have to bring up your European Championships score from 2013, where you were unfairly beat out for gold by our good friend, Christophe Giacometti.”

An “oooohing” sort of taunting sound ripples around the set, but far from flustering Yuuri, he just raises a brow and sets his jaw. (Viktor feels quite turned on at the look, as well as his protective instincts.)

“I know how the internet loves to spin things but there’s nothing to spin,” Yuuri continues, dryly. “Christophe, himself, made a big stir at the post-skate press conference about judging bias, and he still regularly tweets at the officials from that competition…so much so, that two of them have blocked him on Twitter.”

Viktor gasps with delight at the memory of this juicy event and his spouse’s answering smirk is all the permission he needs.

“Ok, let me set the scene for you all!” he eagerly volunteers, sitting up straighter on the bench. 

He makes a big show of clearing his throat and Nyala – who, evidently, has the patience of a saint – hides her smile behind her hand. It’s a wonder that she hasn’t redirected their attention back to the question list, yet.

“January 2013: Zagreb, Croatia,” he continues on, in the grave “I’m narrating a documentary” tone that he knows will make Yuuri laugh. “Twenty-three-year old Viktor Nikiforov takes his starting position on the ice of Dom Sportova arena. Unlike present-day, his hair is much more lustrous, and he has not yet needed to start using thickening oil as part of his nightly primping regimen.”

Yuuri smacks his bicep a second time.

—

Hope you enjoyed this ficlet! I adore writing post-canon interview/game content featuring sappy/extra married Viktuuri, so if I get the energy (and need the distraction from my WIPS *nervous laughter*) I may expand this into a proper fic.

If you’re also a fan of this type of thing, you may like my story on ao3 featuring their joint appearance on Vanity Fair’s Lie Detector Game series. It’s one of my favorite things I’ve ever written :)  

[capsensislagamoprh]

Because I am god damned shipping trash and you can't stop me, I started looking up things. When I saw this:

I had a hot moment of: BWAHAHAHAHAH! Then I was like: I wonder what the other names mean. The rabbit hole.

I found a twimbler by jikooksubunit that basically summed up to : Katsuki Yuuri means ‘student of a victor who benefits from courage’ and I think that is beautiful. And I was like: Fuck yeah.

Then I went further down, because fuck you, you can't stop me.

Yuri Plisetsky means (first name) farmer [unless he's Jewish, in which case it means Light of God] (last name) Influencer/Freedom Lover/Charisma. Which, I mean, humble origins, willing to suffer for what he wants, and damned if he's not an influencer with his own style and everyone wants a piece of him (for good or ill). Also a fucking demonic angel. So... yes.

And as you know, shipping trash don't do half. So I looked up Otabek Altin. We all know Altin means gold. What dose his first name mean, google? Fucking help me! So it did. It's actually an Uzbek name. It can be translated as "The Father of all Dukes" or “The Greatest Duke”. In middleage it was also a title for all the heirs coming from a certain lineage of Taimur. MY MIND FUCKING BLOWN.

Fucking ICE KING Winner-Winnerson

his Queen/King consort SIMPAI TAUGHT ME HOW TO KICK YOUR ASS

there feral ice child some times called princess to the determent of everyone with the sheer chutzpah to try it HO, I'M GONNA AND MAKE YOU PAY THE BILL RESPECT MY ETHEREAL, DAINTY, TOUGH AS NAILS ASS, YOU BASIC BITCH

and his BFF/prince charming : LITERALLY A FUCKING ROYAL BLOOD LINE MADE OF GAWD DAMNED GOLD, A.K.A. original 'Daddy of them All' (it's in the fucking name!), called a hero of his home country (rescue Yurio, on your modern day steed, daddy?). [Calmly exert your 'dad energy' in that 'you have awoken the beast' way that the wild cat some times needs?] Ether way, mah dudes. Ether way.

No wonder his ass can afford to ship that bike where ever he wants. Yurio is gonna get so damned spoiled. I love this fucking fandom.

[cosmiclion]

Based on this self indulgent post I wrote the other day, about a Kuro AU feauturing 5 years old Ciel and a new demon dad who's doing his best. Suddenly this little scene popped into my mind, then I remembered my talented fren @grelleswife's Dadbastian fanfic The Wolf (link here!) so I guess that, even though it's not exactly the same setting, I must have gotten subconsciously inspired by it 😅

During his days in the cult all little Ciel could do was try to survive the best way his young mind could think about, and when he had just been rescued by the demon he was weak and sickly, barely alive even, and then pretty much catatonic. Once the dust has settled, however, the realization that his family won't come back dawns on him, and he starts having nightmares about monsters with deformed faces that laugh while hurting him. Moreover, even though he's supposed to be back at his house the place doesn't feel too familiar. The first night the demon hears the child screaming and crying, they try to comfort him as best as they can with the scanty knowledge they have about comforting children. After a while they have an idea, based on the partially burned portrait they found from which they could make out the shape of the family pet.

(You ain't foolin' anyone trash demon, you're starting to care about the smol).

When Ciel wakes up the next morning, he's still surrounded by the borzoi's slender but fluffly body. He yawns and rubs his eyes, and then sits up and just stares at the creature that looks so much like his late pet. "Good morning, child." the voice coming from the dog says, without really expecting an answer, "Did you sleep well?" After a pause, the child that up until this point hadn't spoken at all utters a single word, albeit almost in a whisper. "Hm? I am afraid I could not hear that. Come again?" Ciel lifts a little hand, points a finger at the animal and raises his voice a bit. "Sebastian." "Ah. Well, yes, I guess you can call me that from now on, if you so wish." the demon answers with a small nod, and Ciel could swear he sees his snout twist into a faint smile. Sebastian then sleeps on Ciel's bed, in the form of the soft borzoi, every night until the child is a little older and can be alone at night.

[diedraechin]

Chapters: 51/? Fandom: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime) Rating: Explicit Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply

Chapter Summary: (From Io because he gives the best summaries)

In which the ice is no one's friend (except maybe Chris's-but it's Chris, sooooooooooo) and a pole dancer lucks out.

[thereallycoolmonsterithoughtup]

my comic i made

[blonndiec]

🍃 Of Murphy's Law (of Destiny), Grieving and the Duality of Luck 🍃

With the re-release of Murphy’s Law (of Destiny) and gearing up for Yuuri’s day one-shot, I figured it’d be a good time to share how this story came to be and what inspired it. You could say that this is part of my creative process, as sometimes my brain works as if creating a 365 pitch or putting together a mood-board with colliding ideas to create a concept.

Some of the context: I officially joined the fandom this January (unofficially, it’s been about a year), and in March, something massive hit. Everything I knew felt like it shattered, and I turned to writing and making art as a way to get through it.

Murphy’s Law (of Destiny) came out of that moment—a really low point, the lowest in all this life process. It was the time when I kept thinking —and hoping, desperately— about how sometimes the absolute worst days might actually be leading to something way bigger and better, like the universe’s twisted version of a “double butterfly effect.” That whole concept of the worst things happening before something better was a bit of hope I held onto. But at the same time, life, as cruel as it may seem, just keeps moving on for the rest of the world while you’re stuck in this phase, going through it. To some other people, what feels like your lowest point could even be their best time, and feels like you’re watching their joy on the other side of a glass. It’s so crude, yet it’s real—life doesn’t stop, and that reality can be both harsh and grounding.

I was in the thick of grieving, constantly thinking about those concepts and life experiences, especially because you have no control, and it feels totally random.

Writing was my way of handling the mix of numbness and tangled-up thoughts I was feeling. I tried to get a grip on my emotions by grounding everything in logic—facts, science, data, numbers...whatever made sense—because what was happening inside was a mess of thoughts and empty feelings that didn’t.

This contrast of grounding something as abstract as “destiny” in logic isn’t new to me, either. I grew up binge-watching documentaries and reading science books (it’s also how I learned English, go figure). At the time, looking at destiny through a scientific lens just made sense—like a buffer against all the chaotic feelings I was dealing with.

Murphy’s Law (of Destiny) became my way to explore this idea: sometimes, the worst things in life are just one side of the coin, leading to something better on the flip side. By examining fate through logic, Viktor’s world is reframed as a series of catalysts and reactions, making even the worst experiences stepping stones toward an unseen “other side.” Viktor’s chaotic day, filled with humiliating stumbles and unforeseen disasters, symbolizes a struggle to piece together meaning from seemingly senseless pain.

What surprised me most was how much people resonated with it.

Since writing Murphy’s Law, I’ve been working on stories about “the other side of the coin”—how I’m slowly finding my way out of that dark place and noticing the bright spots again. There’s something comforting in realizing that even the worst moments we go through can end up opening doors we didn’t know were there. So if Murphy’s Law (of Destiny) resonates with you, maybe it’s because sometimes, what feels like a disaster might just be the start of something you end up grateful for, even if it’s wrapped in the messiest package.🌠

Have you ever had a moment that felt like that, only to realize later it opened up something unexpectedly positive? 💖 I’d love to hear your thoughts on those 'other side of the coin' experiences. 💖

Also, if you haven't read it yet, you can read Murphy’s Law (of Destiny) here.

[soupysuki]

i have a lot of feelings about the adolescence announcement specifically going through all the stages of grief at once but you know what have some cute hamster boy instead

[thegirlwhorideslikeasamurai]

"The Madonna of Ice Castle Hasetsu" is literally the gayest thing an anime character has ever said about another anime character

Every time I rewatch YOI and Yuuri arrives at Ice Castle and reminisces his childhood, my brain goes like, "boy, this is so gay" and I love it!

But seriously...

Yuuko ticks off all the boxes for being a female gay icon—or at least for Yuuri she used to be exactly that. She was also the best support he could possibly get growing up as a queer kid who was dreaming big, and he still confides in her years later when he tries to revive that dream.

She deserves more appreciation.

[autisticlancemcclain]

“C’mere, squirt.”

The great pine forests of East Texas have been, for the most part, miraculously spared of Empire destruction. The American Southwest was largely destroyed, along with countless other hugely important geographic landmarks on Earth, but East Texas — and all the memory it holds — seems to have fared just fine.

They will rebuild, anyways.

His son straightens immediately at Keith’s gentle beckoning and toddles over, climbing on top of his bent knee. He smiles softly, placing a balancing hand on his back — his palm spans the entirety of the kid’s back, holy shit, he’s so tiny, how was Keith ever placed in charge of something so tiny — and uses the other to point at a brown smudge high up in a Loblolly. Cory squints. Out of the corner of his eye, Keith sees Lance press his hands to his face and muffle a scream. Goober.

“That’s a red-tailed hawk,” he murmurs. “That’s the bird you hear in movies.”

Cory hums in understanding, although he probably doesn’t. They don’t watch a lot of movies. Keith once read about how detrimental screens are for developing children in one of Shiro’s many parenting books, so they don’t watch a lot of T.V. (Back when Cory wasn’t even with them yet, and Keith was panicking nightly. Lance had to fish all their devices from the garbage. It was a time.)

“Caw,” says Cory sagely. Keith snorts.

“Yes, buddy. Caw. If you sit real still, the bird might even move.” He hears the echo of his father’s voice, decades old, in the back of his mind; a memory, frayed at the edges, of Keith in this very forest, held in the same way he’s holding his own son, listening his Pa quietly name all the birds and rocks and trees. Hanging on his every word, even though he didn’t get it all. The smell of the pine trees, the rumble of Pa’s low voice. He swallows the lump in his throat, brushing a kiss into Cory’s hair. “That’d be cool, huh?”

Cory babbles something Keith can’t understand. A sticky hand comes up to pat Keith on the cheek, making him smile despite the sting of his eyes. “Daddy, caw. Birdie! Caw.”

Keith turns his head to press a kiss to Cory’s palm. He giggles. Keith wiggles his eyebrows, blowing a raspberry, just to make him laugh harder. The pain in his chest begins to loosen, ever so slightly.

He catches Lance’s gaze over Cory’s head, and takes the time to memorize his dark eyes all over again. Lance lets him. He always does, even though it makes him blush and fidget, lets Keith trace his thumb along his lash line and study the flecks of Earth brown and ash black in his eyes, of sun gold and deep amber; he likes Keith’s attention on him as much as he refuses to admit it.

That’s Lance, though. Tries with every inch of him to be cool and mysterious and suave and can’t manage to save his life. His twitchy enthusiasm sparks in everything he touches, no matter how hard he tries.

When he started digging through Keith’s collection of atlases and running around the house with stacks of blankets and sleeping bags and camping supplies, Keith had said, “Planning something, sweetheart?” and Lance had stuck out his tongue and responded, “Blah blah, nosy.” But Shiro had texted him to let him know that Lance had asked for Keith’s old photos, and one day Keith caught him with a bulletin board and dozens of pins of pictures of pine trees and booking receipts and dorky sticky notes until Lance screeched and kicked him out.

Lance is bad at secrets. And he is a dorky and kind weeper who loves to do anything but mind his own business and muddle things up.

And Keith knew that all when he married him, and loved him for it then, too.

“Hey, mijo,” Lance suggests, “how would you like to sit on daddy’s shoulders so you can see the birdies better?”

Cory gasps, looking rapidly between his parents. He bounces excitedly in Keith’s lap, attempting his own cawing noises, pointing up at the nest.

Keith smiles wider, quickly swiping under his eyes before straightening. He shifts his hold on Cory and winks at his husband, who rolls his eyes in fond understanding, and then his tilts the boy back until he’s giggling, leaning in close until their noses are brushing.

“Munchkin,” he says, playfully nipping the tip of his nose, “you know how you can get even closer to the birds?”

Cory gasps. “How, Daddy, how?”

Lance chuckles. When Keith glances over at him, his smile is so wide it forces his eyes near shut. Keith’s chest aches, it aches so good, and the little Keith that lives in his chest holding himself tightly and swallowing past the perpetual lump in his throat is soothed and comforted and held lovingly. Something cracks and heals in his heart.

“Like this!” Keith shouts through all the emotions bubbling up all over him, and tosses his son in the air, careful not to go too high out of his reach.

Cory shrieks with laughter, tiny fingers scrabbling for purchase on Keith’s jacket on his way down. Keith hardly lets him settle before he’s tossing him up again, higher this time, laughter louder and squealing. The bird has long since flown away, disturbed by the sound, and probably every other animal within a thirty foot radius. But Keith can’t bring himself to care. The bugs can’t move far, and no doubt Cory will want to dig around for worms with his Papa like always. (Keith knows for a fact that Lance has three spades in his backpack and several see-through containers.)

For now, he has time to toss his son in the air. He has time to lean into the hand his husband slides into his back pocket. He has time to smell the pine trees, to think of his father, to feel the bounce of packed Earth under his feet.

To the tiny him that lives buried in his chest, he whispers, we made it, ace.

———

keith and cory in the forest

[yuurikatsukienthusiast]

Victor, when I catch you, Victor...

Yuuri was so happy at first too ☹️

[triptychgrip]

Story Preview: Yuuri's family secretly learns Russian in order to surprise Viktor at their wedding 😭

Preview of my most indulgent story yet, written for the upcoming Viktuuri Week 2024 prompt 'Happiness'

I've always head-canoned that Viktor is estranged from his parents, so I imagine the process of planning his and Yuuri's wedding might be a bit painful when he has to contribute to the guest list. Even if Yakov and Lilia are there as his stand-in parental figures, the absence of a large external family (cousins, aunties, uncles, etc.) might really sting.

So, in a wildly ambitious effort to remind his fiance that chosen family can be just as meaningful as blood, Yuuri implores his immediate family/childhood friends to be part of a secret scheme to learn Russian in time for the wedding. On the day of the festivities, they all gather to give a moving speech welcoming Viktor to the family that brings even Yurio to tears (though he'll lie and say a cherry blossom petal got in his eye). Yuuri plans on paying for these lessons with his earnings from his recent 2018 PyeongChang Games Olympic gold (and some new lucrative sponsorships)

I'm really excited about where this one-shot is going, so I hope I'll be able to finish it in time for posting this Saturday! You can expect a good amount of happy tears

[silvercap]

Piers horse name....?

[leather-field]

three healers