analysis (part one): if i’m never your hero chapter one
the Great Braveten has posted another fic so as the leading Braveten/Actualyuuri/Maddie Katsuki fanblog it is naturally my duty to get into the nitty gritty of their latest literature
buckle up folks
ok so right off the bat we see the tags,
“blind character”??? heck me up!
“vigilante au that nobody asked for” um, excuse me, but when it comes to the Great Braveten fics there is nothing to ask. we will simply just accept it, and let it drown us, take over our lives, take our souls,,
“in which yuuri leads a double life and victor falls in love with him in both” oh my god here we go again the trademarked Miscommunication Issues that rears its head in every single one of maddie’s fics yep yep i can feel it coming already
and now, the summary:
their lives revolve around each other
[starts sweating already] o god here we go
[immediately opens daredevil wiki because i haven’t watched it whoops]
see i only know the MCU so this is going to be a team effort, okay guys? when you see an allusion to a DC/superhero show that i don’t catch you need to make it known, alright y’all??
alright now that that’s clear let’s take a look at two details: (1) title of the fic and (2) title of the chapter
if i’m never your hero i can never let you down
we are already seeing some katsuki yuuri low self-esteem vibes here y’all. this is so yuuri. this is so yuuri we’re not even gonna question why i’ve already assumed this is yuuri speaking. we were all thinking this
‘for what i’m about to do’ is not, in fact, a line off of ‘explode’ nor is it a daredevil episode title. so what does this mean??? let’s break it down:
[blank] for what i’m about to do.
possible fill-ins: ‘i apologize’ for what i’m about to do? ‘prepare yourself’ for what i’m about to do?? a precursory glance at the chapter tells us this is victor’s pov, so is this chapter title victor speaking???
(wow we haven’t even delved into the chapter yet. i just --)
so let’s actually dig into the chapter shall we??? we’ll return to this chapter title situation in a jiffy
EXT. ROOFTOP IN NEW YORK CITY — NIGHT
already we are seeing a slight divergence from braveten’s writing style what with how she is setting up the scene much like one would in a comic book. the superhero vibes are settling in already. and we’re in new york city, no less -- y’all seen that post about how new york city is always the first city to fall whenever there’s an apocalypse in movies?? so we already know it’s about to go down. new york city; the perfect backdrop for a vigilante.
also, also. on the topic of the apocalypse. let’s go back to that patrick stump song and ohohoho. what do we have here? the opening lines are:
HMMM... REAL INTERESTING YES YES... REAL INTERESTING...
another thing of note: the sirens. sirens are incredibly important to Young Victor.
He hears sirens, sometimes, and starts writing about those. What could be happening across town, if somebody’s hurt, if a life is being saved. He wonders if his father is there, since Yakov had just gotten a job as the chief of police. Whenever he hears those sirens, he’ll grip his favorite book just a little bit tighter. (from scene 1)
Victor stands and dusts off his knees, but then hears a siren go off. It’s nearby. He steps closer to the edge of the roof, and hears Yakov call his name again, with concern thick in his tone, this time. Victor squints to get a better look and can only see ambulances gathering a few blocks away. (from scene 1)
Yakov assumes that Victor is the same unruly teenager who had wanted to look out over rooftops and daydream about sirens with a child’s naivety. (from scene 2)
sirens also appear in stump song right after the line from which the title of the fic is taken
REAL INTERESTING... things the sirens could mean: danger, crime, someone in need, someone being rescued... in any case we’re filing away this info for later
INT. HISTORY MAKER TRIBUNE BUILDING — DAY
victor is a journalist! a Very Serious one!! he chases around stories with seemingly no regard for his safety!!!!! ahhhh
(But the fact of the matter is, as everyone knows, that the intimate details and photos he’d gotten have lead to the exact type of article needed to revamp the newspaper’s business. One dangerous expedition at a time, Victor is saving not only his own job, but dozens of jobs.)
ohohoho and now we have a lil snippet of a subplot: perhaps in the future victor will need to make a decision between unmasking a certain vigilante and saving the paper???
Just because Yakov is the chief of police doesn’t grant Victor immunity from bullets, blades, and crime—he knows that.
and here we have our first allusion to a superhero show other than daredevil!!!! like barry allen in the flash, victor’s adopted father is the chief of police.
(unlike barry allen, victor is not in love with his adopted sibling)
[Celestino] understands that what Victor is doing isn’t storytelling—it’s an unconventional method of catharsis.
another noteworthy piece of victor’s character
what could his work -- his desire to take note of everything, his keen attention to detail -- be emotionally relieving him of?
So... Im reading 'If I'm never your hero' because just yesterday I found out about it. It's great, Im hooked! (though I spill my drink every time Victor says Eros lol, seriously Victor?). I was hoping to have a Yuuri lawyer though sniff, need more lawyers, why noone likes us?!?? (Don't answer that question). I want moaaaaarrrr!! Are you planning on updating it anytime soon? I NEED MORE MORE MORE!!!
AHHHH THANK YOU SO MUCH! I’m really glad you like it! :D :D Haha yea Victor is pretty extra calling his superhero crush Eros ;p ;p
As for Yuuri being a lawyer -- I was actually originally going to have Yuuri and Phichit as Nelson & Murdock! The reason I didn’t was because I wanted Phichit to be a nurse and couldn’t really picture Yuuri being a lone lawyer.
I will be updating it soon! My writing has been on a bit of a hiatus for a while because of school but I have more free time now and am hoping to get back to writing ASAP! Thank you so much for reading it! <3 <3
“What can I say?” Victor drawls, and pauses, as though letting the words settle. He leans forward, the chair creaking, the scent of his cologne growing more prominent, the warmth of his skin searing as his fingers brush against Yuuri’s, a ghost of a touch. “I just so happen to be extra hungry today. So an early lunch only makes sense. It’s completely unrelated to my desire to spend as much time with you as possible as soon as possible, of course.”
“Completely unrelated, of course,” Yuuri teases back, but it comes out breathless, so, embarrassed, he leans forward to poke him. His finger lands in Victor’s chest—bullseye, probably—and then he spins his own chair back around to face the computer, simultaneously reaching for his earphones. “See you at eleven.”
AWWW I MISS IT TOO!!! Luckily, though, I may have more free time in the future since exams just ended! I’ve been working a bit more and still have a project in every class (OTL) but I’m going to try and get back into the swing of writing regularly! You can expect an update in a week or so!
HELLO!! SPOUSE 14 HERE TO SAY HI AND I STILL LOVE YOU AND YOUR BLOG! (Also asking if iinyh is going to be updated soon?)
AHHHH WHAT UP SPOUSE 14 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 ILY2 AND I’M GLAD YOU LIKE MY BLOG!! :D :D IINYH should be updated soon! My summer just started, so I’m planning on getting back into writing regularly as soon as possible!
