The Beauty Of Accidental Marriage Proposals

The beauty of accidental marriage proposals

Yuuri very likely didn't intend to propse to Viktor at the airport but his heart knew what it (and he) truly desired and twisted his words into a proposal—or rather something akin to a proposal that resulted in a spontaneous engagement.

Let's unpack this.

The Beauty Of Accidental Marriage Proposals

Yuuri returns from the Rostelecom Cup with his mind full of things that he wants to tell Viktor. While we don't learn the details, his inner monologue in the previous scene gives us a good idea of the things he's mulling over.

Yuuri has convinced himself that Viktor will abandon him after the Grand Prix Final. Thus, that competition is his final chance to win gold and he's determined to fulfil the promise he made in his speech in ep. 5 and win that medal. But even if doesn't win gold, there is one thing that he feels he needs to do after seeing skaters and skating fans react to Viktor becoming a coach at two consecutive competitions.

Regardless of how much Yuuri has profited from Viktor's support, he is very conscious about the fact that Viktor belongs to the ice. Or at least that is what his anxious brain has convinced him of. In this sense, giving up his own career so that Viktor can resume his own is an act of love and the only possible solution for them to stay together (in Yuuri's brain).

We never learn about the end of Yuuri's contemplation, but the subtext of the next scene implies that breaking up with Viktor is not an option. Or if it was an option, it was off the table once he was back in Viktor's arms.

Since Yuuri has anxiety, it's safe to assume that he has been overthinking his talk with Viktor over and over during the flight, going through all kinds of scenarios based on Viktor's imagined reaction. After hours on the plane, his brain must have been on the verge of exploding, casting poor Yuuri into a state of total overwhelm. If you have anxiety, you can possibly relate.

However, the moment that he spots Viktor, his mind goes blank and instinct takes over as he runs into Viktor's arms and instead of whatever speech he has prepared, he just blurts out the following line:

僕も考えてた。引退まで僕のこと—　お願いします！ "I've been thinking, too. Please take care of me until I retire!"

The English translation is a bit messed up here. In the original, Yuuri never uses the word coach in that line. "Please take care of me" is Japanese proposal language. The translators probably didn't recognise this nuance and sadly, the nuance is still lost in the Bluray version.

But that's why Viktor recognises the proposal in Yuuri's words.

However, based on the details given and the illogical ways anxious brains work, Yuuri intended to inform Viktor about his retirement plans and to voice his desire to make the most of the little time he thinks they have left. But that's not what his heart wants. And since episode 5 we know what that is:

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

A more accurate translation of that line is "The first person I want to tie myself to and never let go is Viktor" 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).

Of course, Yuuri doesn't want his relationship with Viktor to end and no matter if his anxiety his skyrocketing in the face of the GPF looming ahead, that desire has taken root in his heart and brain. However, his anxiety stops him from proposing actually and turns his addition "until I retire" into a gentle prodding to find out whether he and Viktor are on the same page.

And of coruse, they are.

And it's all Yuuri has wished for. He's been anxious the whole time. Until Viktor recognises the proposal and response with a yes in the same fashion that Yuuri has asked.

To wrap all of this up:

Absence nurtures desire and in this case, the time apart has shown Yuuri and Viktor how much they want to be by each other's side. Because he missed Viktor so desperately, Yuuri's heart wins over his anxiety for once and enables him to tell Viktor his deepest desire. By recognising said desire, Viktor is able to accept the proposal and the two boys are now officially engaged. And that's yet another beautiful aspect about this show.

Unfortunately Viktor didn't really catch the part about the retirement, which will result in him thinking that Yuuri wants to break up when Yuuri announces his retirement plans in Barcelona. On the other hand, knowing that Viktor wants to stay by his side forever is a huge relief for Yuuri and allows him to enter the GPF without any emotional baggage.

Bonus: look at that cute tiny smile right between Viktor recognising the proposal and the second hug.

For further readings related to this please check out:

Japanese dating culture in YOI

Unwrapping "Let's end this"

On Yuuri's top-secret love life

If you enjoyed this meta you might like to check out my YOI canon works on AO3 or just support me by reblogging this post.

the power of love snippet(s)

usually i just use this blog to aggressively (and mutely) stalk other yoi blogs, but.

for @kiaronna! a tumblr post of the snippet i wrote in ao3 comments to console myself after chapter 6 in her very very very awesome story, The Power of Love.

“Yuuri,” Victor gasped, pulling abruptly pulling away; he didn’t make it far. He was still leaning into Yuuri, their foreheads pressed together, and he seemed as short of breath as Yuuri felt. “Yuuri,” he repeated, desperately, still so close that Yuuri could feel the way Victor said his name. “Yuuri, Yuuri… I can’t do this to Yuuko.”

Yuuri, already angling for another kiss, froze. He struggled to process what was Victor was saying.

“Um,” he finally managed. “You wouldn’t be – Yuuko would want this!” She and Phichit both would be over the moon.

For some reason, this just made Victor tense even more in his arms. “I can’t be your celebrity exception,” he tragically insisted, voice a pained rasp.

Yuuri choked. “W-what? Victor, n-no,” he stuttered, stumbling to get the words out. He wished Victor would go back to saying his name, so he wouldn’t have to admit this. “Victor… If I were in a relationship, my celebrity exception would be Stéphane Lambiel.“

When Victor didn’t say anything, Yuuri swallowed hard. “I’m sorry… but. Have you seen his spins?” he tried.

“Yeah,” Victor breathed, and it was almost a whine. “Actually, yeah.”

(and then also from chapter 6: reimagined)

“Yeah, would you mind if I stole your true love away from you someday? The love of my hamsters is great, but our apartment says I’m only allowed to have three of them, and it’s not enough.” Yuuri flicks him in the forehead, light.

“Phichit, you don’t even really like dogs.”

“Yuuri,” Victor said in a pinched sort of way. “You’re calling Yuuko a dog?”

Yuuri and Phichit turned twin frowns of confusion on him. “No?”

“Yeah,” Phichit said, sounding sly all of the sudden. “Yuuri’s one true love is Vi–”

“–My dog! My one true love is my dog!” Yuuri interrupted, flailing his arms like that could distract Victor’s ears from hearing the embarrassing truth.

Victor brightened considerably, because he was a perfect human who loved dogs too. “You have a dog!” he exclaimed. For some reason, his excitement was underlined with… relief? Yuuri was imagining things.

“Who’s name is Vicchan!” Phichit chirped, this time before Yuuri could stop him. Yuuri wished he was just imagining things now. “Hey Victor, you know how Japanese honorifics work, right?”

Yuuri was going to kill him. Yuuri was going to kill him, right after he melted into a puddle and disappeared forever. Slumping forward, he hid his face in the table. Victor already knew how Yuuri felt about him, and had already rejected him. Yuuri didn’t know if he could bear the shame of Victor knowing just how long Yuuri has been obsessed with him.

“Shh,” Phichit soothed, not even looking at Yuuri as he patted his head consolingly. “Just let it happen, Yuu-chan, my sweet son.”

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yoibrainrot

10 months ago

Morning practice

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yoibrainrot

10 months ago

hi yuri on ice fans uhm- can i still be accepted im still drawing Victuuri!!

Tags

yuri on ice viktor nikiforov god this makes me miss them beautiful fanart

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yoibrainrot

10 months ago

MORE REVERSE AU This Took A While Im Blaming Thesis Again Most Of These Go Up On Twitter Though! Click

MORE REVERSE AU this took a while im blaming thesis again most of these go up on twitter though! click through for captions as usual

EDIT: here are the first two i forgot to put the links last night sorry, part 1 part 2

Keep reading

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yoibrainrot

10 months ago

#6 Friendship

True friendship makes sure you don't share your food.

Happy 7th anni to Yuri On Ice!

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yoibrainrot

9 months ago

I would love to see that spy au of your au ;)

(this is from this post yes??)

#……#inspo#tmfu au#??#an au of our au#oh myg oodness#picture: vitya as the spy#yuuri as the quote unquote normal person#yuuri is just honestly thrilled that this cute boy wants to socialize with him#meanwhile vitya#is like !!!!!! yakov u didnt tell me my contact was HOT#yakov: i… i gave the intel assignment to alexei……… vitya he his twice your age….. vitya what..

we are currently having technical difficulties but look at these hilarious msgs that @thecookiemonster77 sent me

OKAY SO:

Yuuri is at his favorite cafe

he just finished teaching his last class of the semester

its a study of how pop culture influences and portrays political issues, with a special focus on the cold war and red scare propaganda

its his favorite class to teach

in walks: Viktor Nikiforov, world renowned secret agent, so beautiful he’s been blessed by Aphrodite herself, ready to get in & get the intel & get out again, quote unquote heartbreaker of the international espionage community

(he’s actually a massive dork but shhh yuuri doesnt know that yet. he doesnt know anything yet, except that this world-shatteringly cute guy just stormed in through the cafe doors and––

–– and he’s making a beeline for Yuuri?

“Illya,” Viktor says very seriously, “we have a situation here that needs your special talents. Are you free?”

“No man is free who works for a living. But, I’m available,” Yuuri replies automatically.

they both stare for a second

Yuuri, because holy shit this hot guy just marched up to him and quoted the man from UNCLE, yuuri’s favorite TV show???

Viktor, because holy shit his intel officer is cute

they spend the next three hours together, during which neither of them figure out that they’re having two different conversations

and yeah, sometimes viktor says something weird, but he’s also very cute and he blushes a lot whenever yuuri laughs, which. is very endearing.

they agree to meet at the same place tomorrow because viktor has somehow never heard of From Russia With Love and so Yuuri needs to lend him his own copy

(its a digitally remastered dvd and it came with a collectors tin and a poster. phichit got it for him for his last birthday)

yakov doesnt understand why alexei calls him screaming about how vitya never showed up.

“What do you mean? He says the meeting went fine. He also seemed…. rather…taken with you. Um.”

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