Something Round and Golden: Yuri!!! on Ice is a Winner For Me

Yuri!!!! on Ice was something amazing, but I think to experience it fully, you had to go into it blind.

The first time I heard of Yuri!!!! on Ice, was from an American living in Japan, who’d seen the first three episodes early. She was hyping it up for ages after that, talking about how gay it was, especially the third episode. But, she’s a straight girl, so I had my doubts, it was shoved to the back of my mind as a “someday maybe I’ll watch that show.”

And then others started encouraging me to watch it, heck, it made me reconnect with a couple old friends. So I waited until episode three aired to watch them all, and boy, she was right. From the breakdown at the very start, to the anxious skating, and the pre-skate anxiety-I was immediately in love with Yuuri, I saw so much of myself in him. I had no idea what was headed my way, the weekly “how much gayer can this get?” bar just kept going higher and higher- it was an amazing journey.

Then came episode seven. The kiss, and before that, the anxiety attack that I felt in my very soul. An anxious, canon gay boy with glasses, I’d never seen myself so strongly in any character before. To me, the anxiety attack before is almost as important as the kiss, sometimes I struggle to put the kiss above it for best moments. And he’s with Victor, who meets him where he is, and doesn’t understand but more importantly, never belittles his anxiety. Victor himself is an homage to several real gay skaters, an amazing little detail, and clearly loves Yuuri with all his heart.Episode eight came next, setting them up for short term separation, and nine once again showed Yuuri’s anxiety-and then the outtro was gone, replaced with the airport scene. Everything about it was amazing, Victor disheveled with his dog, seeing each other, the frantic run to each other! Yuuri bounces eagerly in place waiting for the door to open and throws himself into Victor’s open arms for the hug he’s been wanting. It goes even beyond that with a pseudo-proposal. I thought that was it, the “how much gayer” bar had hit its max, but I was wrong.

 


The teaser for the next episode was “something round and golden” everyone wanted it to be rings, but nobody believed it, not even myself. Even as Yuuri went into the jewelry store, even as he took off Victor’s glove, I didn’t believe it. “He’s buying a necklace,” I told myself, and then “He’s going to put a bracelet on him.” I didn’t want to set myself up for heartbreak when it wasn’t rings. Then I saw the ring. My heart soared out of my chest, I started crying instantly. An anxious, gay boy with glasses, and recognized just a few minutes later in the show itself as canonically engaged. I couldn’t believe it, this, coming from the horrible year that had been 2016.

I immediately bought myself a gold ring, it rests on my right ring finger almost daily. It is a reminder of Yuuri and Victor, and the show that kept me on cloud nine for a month straight, curing my depression for that time. It reminds me, life isn’t always as bad as it feels, and brings me hope that one day, I’ll find my own Victor.

 

This #MVPride guest post was contributed by Chrome T. Thank you!
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