a cover of “next to you (i’m all better)” by @forovnix, my actual hero, written for the fic the fundamentals of caring, by @actualyuuri, my other actual hero :’) both the fic and the original song are both so so brilliant pls check them out!!
psst jus i guess there’s no way to record this song without a cold haha i am quite stuffy ^^;
For my dear daughter @actualyuuri, who probably thought I was exaggerating when I said this was my favorite line of all fics I’ve ever read: Obama agrees with me, and this is definitely hanging on a wall of the Oval Office. Not even Trump would take it down.
Paiting: Diamonds Line from How The Mighty Fall (In Love)
Artist: Braveten
Date: March 19, 2017
how the mighty fall (in love) by braveten / @actualyuuri
Every Victor Nikiforov fan has three things in common.
1. They have unrealistic expectations for romance.
2. They mark their calendars with the dates of his newest book releases and the premieres of his latest movie adaptations.
3. They either passionately hate or love his greatest rival, a mysterious author whose pseudonym is only two letters: “KY.”
Inspired by KY’s novel! For those who actually want to know, my “I wish I was like this while I was in school” thought process while making the cover is under the cut ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ It’s long, though. Whoops.
First off, never Google “romance novel covers” for inspiration LOL. That was an experience. If Christophe was an author, I can totally see his covers being like that. Victor, maybe, just because he’s Victor.
Anyway, I wanted the cover to be simple, but not too simple (e.g., skates against a coloured background) since it wouldn’t really capture the story KY was writing if it was (I know KY’s name isn’t really a spoiler since, c’mon, but let’s just go with it).
Eventually I settled for screenshots from—surprise, surprise—the actual History Maker OP. Changing “Marcus”/Yuuri’s expression was a toss-up between making him stare at the outreached hand, almost longingly, and having his eyes closed. If anyone wants the original screenshot for whatever reason (who doesn’t want more stills of Yuuri?), here you go.
As romantic as the first expression was, I ended up choosing the latter since I kind of imagined him, hm... closing his eyes as if searching within himself for the confidence he needed to keep going. If I made him focus on the hand reaching for him, I felt as if it wasn’t balanced—as if the person behind that hand was the sole reason he was able to keep going.
By closing his eyes, he seemed to represent the character behind the story more. To me, by not looking directly at the hand, it conveys hesitance in accepting the support being offered to him, as if it’s almost too good to be true. At the same time, when I look at his entire face, it’s almost like he’s mentally preparing himself to make a big decision. Like... I can accept this person into my life. I can do this; I can actually win. That kind of thing.
Hopefully this rambling makes sense, lmao. There were other random things that went into making this cover, too.
You can’t see “Victor’s” face in the back cover to emphasize the “mystifying” quality mentioned in the summary. He’s also not the main character, so I wanted the focus to be on “Marcus.”
I actually debated on whether or not to make the hand being extended to him transparent or not since “Victor” isn’t the main character of History Maker. In the end I wanted “Victor” to be a solid presence in his life. Heh.
The background behind the hand is somewhat lighter than the rest at the top—almost as if there’s a glow emitting from it. I didn’t want it to be too obvious, so I don’t think you can really tell without me mentioning it. At any rate, it’s supposed to represent the light that “Victor” brings into “Marcus’s” life.
The skates in the background of the front cover are faded a bit, though they’re still visible to represent how “Marcus” isn’t quite ready to let go of his passion just yet.
I think it’s obvious what the fuschia (is that the right colour?) on the back cover represents. Fuschia = “Victor’s” FS costume. It purposefully bleeds somewhat onto the front cover to show how “Marcus” and “Victor’s” lives become intertwined.
The barcode amuses me more than it should. Also, if anyone doesn’t know, 143 = I love you. I don’t really see that a lot nowadays, but that was super popular during the Myspace days, lmao. Am I dating myself by saying that?
tl;dr: This explanation was unnecessarily long, and I spent way too much time thinking about this! Thanks again, Maddie, for inspiring this with your amazing story ♥
Welcome to Victuuri Writers Collective’s ‘Author of the Month’ posts! On the 1st of every month, we will choose a fanfic author to feature on our blog. The author will get an aesthetic graphic and a “blurb” about their top fics and writing, along with being featured on our navigation for the month. Ready? Let’s go!
APRIL PICK
braveten (@actualyuuri)
FEATURED FICS
centripetal force
Victor speaks seven languages.
(Physics isn't one of them.)
Luckily, though, he ends up rooming with his antithesis: a shy, black-haired boy who just so happens to be a physics major.
all the world's a stage
Everyone has a guilty pleasure.
For Yuuri, it just happens to be romance movies starring famous heartthrob Victor Nikiforov.
(And, honestly, on the spectrum of guilty pleasures, he figures that his is on the far, far more innocent side.)
if i'm never your hero (WIP)
Yuuri Katsuki is familiar.
(Maybe it's his eyes, maybe it's the scar on his wrist.)
But no matter what life either of them are leading on that particular day, one thing is the same—they revolve around each other.
REVIEW
If you’re new to fandom, there are a few authors that are considered your “gateway” into Victuuri fic. Maddie is one of them. Her writing style is so fun and her stories are so engaging that you’d have to be in a terribly bad mood not to enjoy her work. I’ve never read a fic of hers that I didn’t enjoy. Wether she’s writing accidental college roommates or vigilante AUs, Maddie’s work will always be on point. Check her fics out! You won’t regret it!
“I… I wanted to write about you. I don’t know, at some point. Maybe a character inspired by you. You’re just…” He pauses, and when he continues, there’s a newfound confidence to his tone. “You’re interesting. The way that you act. The things that you do. If I were to write you, it’d be hard to capture that, because the way that you are is hard to explain in words.”
Victor doesn’t say anything—isn’t sure what to say.
“It’s like you’re drowned in diamonds,” Yuuri explains, “but the materialism—the diamonds themselves—they aren’t what truly make you happy. What makes you happy is watching the light reflect off of them. Does that make sense?”
braveten, how the mighty fall (in love)
yes ppl @actualyuuri updated htmf and i promise im not crying I PROMISE
