Deep in the dark and unsettling back alleys of St. Petersburg, a network of crime rings and rival families makes up the heart of the mafia that runs the city's underground. Of these, none is more feared than the Nikiforov family, an infamous group that is said to be led by a man of cold blood and steel. Viktor, the son of the previous boss, knows only too well just how frightening and unstable this man is. He is, after all, married to him.
Separation Anxiety is a Yuri!!! on Ice fanfic written by Okaeri_Kairi, which can be found on Archive of Our Own
and FanFiction.net. A doujinshi, spanning chapters 1 to 15, is in the works.
This fanfic contains examples of:
- Action Girl: There's one in every group. Mari, Yumi, Mila, Antona...
- Affectionate Nickname:
- Yuuri and Viktor refer to each other as "zolotse moyo" (my gold).
- Katerina calls Yuuri "pryanichek" (gingerbread man, the Russian version of "sweetie pie").
- Ambiguous Gender: Antona, though she uses she/her pronouns out of convenience.
- Animal Motifs: Viktor, and the henchmen in general, is often compared to a well-trained dog. But mostly Viktor, and with sexual subtext.
- Big Brother Instinct: Vitya wanted to protect small, helpless Yuuri from the get-go.
- Book Ends: Chapters 1 and 15 both have a standoff between the Nikiforovs and a yakuza group led by a woman related to Yuuri. Only the second time didn't go as swimmingly as the first.
- Brains and Bondage: Enjoyed by the pakhan and sovietnik of the Nikiforovs.
- Break the Cutie:
- Yuuri. From adorable, dewy-eyed Japanese boy to Russian pakhan who talks about murder and torture like he's discussing the weather.
- Arguably, Viktor. He's not truly broken per se, but adult Viktor is considerably more traumatized and has lost some of his idealism and self-absorption along the way.
- Cliffhanger: The end of 15, the halfway point in the story and cutoff point for the doujinshi, delivers a big one. Just when it looks like the main characters are about to get off scot-free from yet another standoff... Viktor gets shot, presumably fatally.
- Cold-Blooded Torture: Part and parcel of the bratva life.
- Covert Distress Code: "Ina Bauer" - the skating move - is code for an emergency protocol.
- Creepy Blue Eyes: The Nikiforov eyes look like this on Nikita. (Well, technically Syanov eyes, because Nikita is related to Mikhail rather than Katerina.)
- Defiled Forever: What Yuuri thinks of himself.
- Did You Actually Believe...?: Part of the Breaking Speech that Yuuri's inner Nikita gives after Viktor is shot and lies comatose. It fits because he's a treacherous/self-serving mentor, but it varies slightly in that he isn't discussing his own betrayal."What a foolish creature you are, Yuratchka. You fancied that it was love, didn't you, you poor, misbegotten thing? You thought, perhaps, just maybe, there was something small and real at the core of this whole farce. You forced him to play that part. You forced him to be yours. You are a poison, Yuri Mikhailovich. You should not exist."
- Empty Eyes: Yuuri has these by the time Viktor returns from New York.
- Faking the Dead: Yuuri was this thanks to Mikhail deciding to save his friend's son.
- Flashback: The story does this constantly between the present storyline and the past.
- Foreign Cuss Word: Nicole calls a Nikiforov henchman "hijo de la gran puta". note
- Four Eyes, Zero Soul: Yuuri wears prescription glasses, which emphasizes his coldness and calculating nature.
- Averted with Hiroko, who is just a yakuza mother, and whose glasses make her look ditzy instead.
- Freudian Excuse: Nikita was himself maltreated by his family and raped, the latter of which he visits upon Yuuri.
- Generation Xerox: Grown-up Yuuri Nikiforov is startlingly similar to his mother Katsuki Yumi, in both temperament and looks.
- Glasses Pull: Yuuri does this and pulls his hair back to demonstrate his status as Katsuki Yumi's son, owing to the aforementioned Generation Xerox.
- Gratuitous Foreign Language: Russian, Spanish, Japanese, French, and Chinese being peppered between English.
- Happily Married: Mikhail and Katerina. To some degree, Viktor and Yuuri.
- I Am Not Pretty: Yuuri hates being called "beautiful", thanks to Nikita.
- I Have Many Names: The Russians, per Russian Naming Convention. For example, Viktor Nikiforov might be referred to as Vitya, Viten'ka, and Viktor Mikhailovich in the course of a single conversation.
- I Let Gwen Stacy Die: Viktor carries the death of Lucía, the girl at the shop, and the boy at the raid with him.
- It Gets Easier:
- As part of his training, Yuuri becomes desensitized to murder and torture.
- Averted by Viktor, who hates killing and only does it when necessary.
- It's All My Fault:
- Nikita leads Yuuri to think that it's his fault for being tainted and tempting.
- Viktor blames himself for Yuuri's transformation, and the aforementioned deaths.
- Kids Are Cruel: Being raped by bullies is part of Yuuri's Start of Darkness.
- Last Request: Katya, slowly dying from cancer, wishes for her sons to find out who killed Misha and avenge him.
- Living Emotional Crutch: Viktor is this to Yuuri. Well, when Yuuri's not being convinced by his inner demon to think otherwise...
- The Mafiya: The Nikiforov group.
- The Man Behind the Man: Outside of the inner circle, no one knows Yuri Mikhailovich is the real pakhan. Viktor poses as the boss instead.
- Meaningful Name: In-universe, Yumi named her son Yuuri after the characteristic she wishes him to have: courage.
- Madness Mantra: Yuuri's form of "prayer" in chapter 16. "You should never have touched me."
- Mentor Occupational Hazard: Even though his tutelage did more harm than good, Nikita's brutal death counts.
- Morality Pet: Per
Word of God, Yuri Plisetsky is this to the bratva. - Necktie Leash: Used by Yuuri on Viktor a-plenty.
- Odd Friendship: As lampshaded in canon, Antosha and Petya.
- Orphan's Ordeal: Yuuri has to contend with:
- Trying to fit in a Russian society in general, and the bratva life specifically.
- Investigating an upstart taking control of the thought-to-be-defunct Katsuki group.
- His conflicting feelings over whether he wants Viktor as a brother or lover.
- Looking into Agape, the mysterious group responsible for Toshiya and Mikhail (his biological and adopted fathers)'s deaths.
- Red Baron: Katerina Ivanovna Nikiforova, the Silver Devil.
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: Not literally, but it's noted that Yuuri's irises look almost red in the right light, in a scene where a subordinate was being disrespectful to the Papa.
- Replacement Goldfish: Viktor fears, and Yuuri's anxiety manifesting as Nikita taunts him, that he is this to Yuuri. In reality, it's the reverse. Yuuri clings to his mentor partly because he wants Viktor to protect him, yet fears tainting his brother, and sees a safer choice in Nikita.
- The Runaway: Viktor in New York, with tragic consequences.
- Sadist: Yuuri. And quite possibly Nikita, too, given that Viktor found him sexually assaulting a Bound and Gagged Yuuri.
- Spell My Name With An S: The fic uses culturally-appropriate spelling, rather than YOI canon spelling.
- Taking the Bullet: What Viktor does for Yuuri.
- The Triads and the Tongs: Appears via Ji Liuxian's group.
- Tyke Bomb: Well before he turned 16, Yuuri was trained to maim, kill, and torture, in order to serve as Viktor's future right hand. Underlings of the Nikiforov group were already scared of the "demonic yaposhka".
- Ultimate Job Security: Alexei, despite being an annoying avtoriyet (per Viktor), has this because he's a genius in his field and joined the bratva voluntarily, which is a rarity.
- Uncanny Family Resemblance: Katerina, Nikita, and Viktor have the same blue eyes, despite Nikita being related to brown-eyed Mikhail.
- Vocal Dissonance: Lithe Roma Plisetsky has a gruff, low voice.
- Would Hurt a Child: This is, after all, the criminal underworld we're talking about. As Katsuki Yuuri and Lucía Martínez can attest.
- Wrong-Name Outburst: A drunk and sleepy Yuuri accidentally calls Viktor by Nikita's name.
- Yakuza: Yuuri is the heir to the once-defunct Katsuki group. Other groups make an appearance as well, such as the Okukawa group, led by Minako.
