Existing

I can’t tell if this is an unpopular opinion or not, because even 6+ years later, the Yuri on Ice fandom is rich and wonderful. It’s a fandom where there seems to be something for everyone.

But one thing I do see a lot of, and at least if @rikeijo​‘s takes are correct (and given her translations, I believe them), there is a rabid subset of YOI that firmly stand in the uke!Yuuri and seme!Victor camp, to such a degree that there was backlash about seeing long-haired young Victor because it did not fit the mold of perfect masculine boyfriend assertive Victor and soft feminine timid Yuuri.

Which… <points to canon> Yuuri has something to say about that.

When we first meet Yuuri, he’s a ball of anxiety and self-doubt. He’s had a horrific debut at the GPF, and his dog has died.

Yet, his first encounter with Victor Nikiforov, his idol, is him turning away from an offer of a commemorative photo. Turning down and walking away are already not behaviors of someone who is timid. Ashamed and depressed that his idol didn’t even seem to recognize him as a competitor? Yes. Timid and uke? Nope.

I often wonder if the timidity idea came from the other first encounter, yes, that one. Naked-and-confident Victor in the onsen declaring himself Yuuri’s coach. Yuuri shell-shocked and overly accommodating. On top of that, Yuuri lets Yurio bulldoze him, lets Victor set the terms of the Onsen on Ice, and goes along with it all with nary a complaint.

At least at the beginning, we know Yuuri thinks of Victor as a god. We see him do a dogeza for being late, see him flustered with the touch and attention that Victor gives him, see the way his face goes moony each time Victor speaks.

And then… as Victor is telling Yuuri to remember sometime how it felt being with a lover, Yuuri reacted like this:

Yup. That is the face he made as he shouted “huh?!” at Victor, before he came back to himself and apologized profusely. That “huh?!” is not timid.

Personally, I think this Yuuri, the “huh?!” Yuuri is the real one, sliding behind the mask of deference because his idol is coaching him, scared that Victor might lose interest and abandon him.

And from that “huh?!” moment onward, we get more and more of the real Yuuri.

We get eye rolls when Victor changes into a suit for the regional competition.

We get full on insubordination when Victor says to cut some of his quads.

We get battle-mode Yuuri letting Victor apply his lip balm.

And it all goes downhill from there.

In Beijing, Yuuri scolded Victor for interrupting his interview to talk food. He refused the food that would turn his stomach (as well as the alcohol), and finally… when Victor totally fumbled on coaching Yuuri through his panic attack, Yuuri… unleashed.

(gif source here)

You know who acted like the experienced and assertive one after this conversation? I’ll give you one hint. It wasn’t Victor.

Yes, Victor absolutely was the one who initiated that kiss. But even Yuuri’s reaction to it (after the initial shock of kissing Victor on live TV) was “oh!”

Yet, these moments are not even the cream of the crop. There is one moment that stands above them all. Yes, I am referring to the tie.

Victor is hamming it up for the audience in Russia. He is not paying all of his attention to Yuuri. Yuuri takes issue with this.

There is nothing timid or uke about that tie tug. That is the type of tie tug that awakened something in Victor Nikiforov (if it had not already been awakened by his gorgeous chaos goblin boyfriend already.)

This is not to say that Yuuri has no shy and tender moments, he absolutely does. This is not to say that Victor is actually the uke, he absolutely is not.

This is just to say that the thing about Yuuri and Victor that make them compelling and wonderful is that they cannot be fit into obvious little boxes like uke and seme.

It’s what is so wonderful about Victor and Yuuri. That we can imagine them in whatever configuration we want to, and it works!

Raven

Cauliflower jellyfish (Cephea cephea)

Today's wet beast is: Blanket Octopus

Olive's Wet Beast Fact: these venomous beauties range drastically in size, with the males around the size of a walnut, and the females up to 6 feet long. Personally, I think they look more like Cinderella's torn up dress than they do a blanket, but whatever.

❀ CHERRY BLOSSOM ❀

Can you hear my heartbeat?   You set my heart on fire!