my soul knows otherwise

This official art is so fucking important to me and informative of their dynamic you have NO idea

The official art btw:

for victor that idea is that of banquet yuuri

for yuuri it's childhood idol victor

they're both infatuated with a version of the other that's only conditionally present, short lived, made up or exaggerated. and the story makes a point to actively THWART the possibility of love at first sight. it keeps insisting that it's not love. not yet.

but it's not nothing. they are unquestionably drawn to each other. esp bc the other represents to them something they're yearning in themselves: yuuri is to victor connection, passion, and the feeling of aliveness that he'd become so numb to, so devoid of. victor represents a voice for self-validation, of acceptance from an opinion that seems to matter well above yuuri's own.

but just bc they want that doesn't mean they know how to get it or even accept it for what it is. they constantly miscalculate their moves and misunderstand and upset each other.

but they keep at it. and it grows into something more. the shift is so evident as they go through the motions of GPF. we see their relationship become one of easy familiarity. and you can tell what it is now, without them having to say it to each other or to us. they show us a love story just by building a special relationship and showing why it should matter.

NEW DONGHUA FOOTAGE OF TAIZI-DIANXIA AND HIS HONG HONG ER!!!!