#yuuribirthdayweek

[bullsfish]

Happy birthday Yuuri! ♥

[starrysushi]

Yuuri Birthday Week | Day 2: Leisure 

Any time I can indulge in the fact that Yuuri is into video games is a good time. I’m sure he’s just as talented at it. 

He ended up practically dressed like the latest official art but that was completely accidental, I just dressed him up in my own sweater. Worked out well though.

[joeys-piano]

Inspired by @paluumin ‘s compilation illustration of Yuuri and his growth throughout the first season, and inspired by all the warm and fuzzy feelings that have brought millions of individuals closer to each other because of love, skating, and stories.

Happy Birthday, Yuuri, we’ll be celebrating your many more.

[scribblingsky]

For @yuuribirthdayweek  ‘s Day 2! 

When Yuuri has free time, he tries to translate magazine articles that feature Victor~ He got pretty good at it but sometimes the grammar gets better of him. Here he is at a public library in Detroit with Phichit.  

[rehsunshine]

☆ Yuuri Birthday Week ☆

Day 1: Beginnings (Option: Kid!Yuuri)

Precious moments in Yuuri’s life as a kid ♥

[dragonaeve]

Have a wintry Victuuri. Happy birthday to the best boi.

[ellemarchen]

#yuuribirthdayweek Day One: Beginnings (Option: Early Years in Skating) Headcanon: I like to imagine that Yuuri has always expressed stories through his skating even when he was younger since the anime shows us Yuuri reinterpreting the story behind his SP “In Regards to Love: Eros” and mentioned how his program for the Swan Knight tale of “Lohengrin” inspired Minami Kenjirou. A game Yuuri plays as a child is creating his own story based on other stories he has heard and then figure skate to it. “Rosethorne’s Revenge” is similar to the fairytale of “Sleeping Beauty” except the princess who was cursed by the wicked fairy pricks her finger on the thorn of a rose instead of a spindle and she doesn’t fall asleep but becomes fairy who is able to use rose thorns to trap the one who attempted to curse her.

[anonbaph]

*struggling with pens*

[staary-eyes]

YuuriBirthdayWeek Day Two: Leisure (Option: Skating)

I like when my son feels warm inside

[ninamyyly]

Why I Love Yuuri

I’ve always been drawn to characters who are somewhat insecure and possibly shy, but very kind, emotional and loving. My weakness for these types of characters gets even more predictable if those characters grow into their own skin and find their voices and confidence as the series progress. I tend to relate to those characters the most, seeing as they struggle with the same insecurities I have and learn to get past them in their lives. Those kinds of characters give me hope for my own life. If they can be heroes even with their own self being their worst enemy, who is to say I can’t do it too?

So is it any wonder I love Yuuri the best in Yuri on Ice?

I love how brave Yuuri is and how he doesn’t give up even when he’s at the lowest point of his life, even if he may need some time to recuperate. I love how he can push past his own limitations and surpass even his own expectations. I love how hardworking he is and how he takes nothing for granted. I love how kind he is and how much love he has and how selfless he is in that love. I love how he grows to realize his own self-worth and gains confidence. I love how relatable he is in his melancholy, insecurities and even his weakness for good food. I love how contradictory and complex he is as a character, going from bouts of boldness and impulsiveness one moment to gentle and shy softness the next and never seeming any less like himself. He just feels real. Perhaps that’s what I love most about Yuuri. He’s so real. He’s multi-layered and complicated and more than he seems at first glance, just like a real person. He’s not that different from someone you could actually meet in real life. I see myself in him and his struggles, but I also see someone I could care very much about as a friend if we lived in the same universe.

And that’s just some of the more major reasons why I love Yuuri so so much.

Happy birthday to my darling beautiful best boy, and here’s to many more <3.

[starrysushi]

Yuuri Birthday Week | Day 1: Beginnings

Yuuri showing off his first gold to Vicchan, who is a very proud puppy.

[joeys-piano]

Prompt #2: Other skills

After ballet lessons with Minako and training out on the ice, Yuuri liked to amuse himself on the piano. Fingers trailing over the black and white keys, wondering what tune he’ll play today. Right now, something soft after a long day was exactly what he needed.

Closing his eyes, Yuuri let his fingers explore.

[scribblingsky]

For @yuuribirthdayweek Day 1!

Kid Yuuri copying Viktor’s poses from his posters for practice~

[nordicsymphony]

Why I Love Yuuri - a Birthday Dedication post to our favourite Katsudon Fatale

Who knew that my favourite fictional character would eventually be a figure skater who embodies all of us in many different ways? Even though his birthday’s already over, I’d just like to say several things in tribute to our lovable Sweetheart on Ice.

This is going to be long, so hop on to the Read More:

I didn’t get into Yuri!!! on Ice until Episode 5, and even then it was someone else who drew me in. But the moment I caught up with all the then available episodes, Yuri Katsuki eventually became my favourite character of the series (and by the time the series was long over, my all-time favourite, which says a lot). 

Sometimes when I see him, I kinda find myself thinking, “I think I did that too.” His nervousness before taking to the ice, his anxiousness and how proud he felt after his Free Skate at the Barcelona Grand Prix Finals took me back to when I was in Show Choir. Even his hugging spree in Episode 9 made me think that I might have done the same thing too, now that I think of it. In a way, just like how Madoka Kaname from Puella Magi Madoka Magica was written very differently from other magical girl anime protagonists, Yuri differs a lot from other sports anime protagonists. Except that his setting was more ideal and positive than hers. And to date, there are very few modern anime protagonists who are our age - most of them are teens/kids (who hardly seem to age). With him around, all of us have someone to look up to. 

One very important thing: he is a lot stronger than he looks. Yuri!!! on Ice is about him overcoming his anxiety to be the best that he truly is. His journey is a very spectacular one to watch. From 6th in Sochi (and even then, he wasn’t at his mental best) to 2nd in Barcelona, all while having his idol fall in love with him. Yuri is capable of overcoming his adversities in a way that all of us can imagine ourselves doing the same and being inspired to do it.

His personality and appearance also makes him endearing. A Determinator who gives it his all, really loves food... we all know at least 1 person like that in reality. From an awkward ball of cute to a sexy embodiment of sin, all the while retaining his soft appearance. I especially squee everytime his eyes go really big and wide, because that’s when he’s at his peak of cute. On this ice, his elegance and grace is a destructive force to be reckoned with, especially his choreographic sequence in his Free and his step sequence in his Short. Viktor really brought it out in the best way possible. And then his exhibition in episode 12. The affection he and Viktor feel towards each other makes even the most cynical believe in love again and kick Despair to the curb. No really. It’s because of him that most of the despair I suffered from DR3 was gone. Yuri may be fictional, but he’s so real in so many ways. 

In short, he is us and all of us are him. And I love him for that. Happy 25th, you (S)Cinnamon Roll. 

[muttthecowcatridesagain]

Fic for Yuuri’s birthday!

Author: @muttthecowcatridesagain Rating: T Notes: This doesn’t really fit one of the prompts, but incorporates several of them. I hope it’s fine to submit it on the last day though.

Today, Yuuri is eleven.  He blows out the candles on his birthday cake.  It takes him two breaths to extinguish them all.  The ten or so skaters who practice at Ice Castle surround him.  They sit on the benches encircling the rink, each with a slice of cake of their own.  Yuuri’s favorite part of the cake isn’t the actual cake itself but rather the fresh strawberries that decorate the top.  Yuuko and Takeshi know this and donate all of their own strawberries to Yuuri.  Even the other skaters that he rarely talks to donate their strawberries and wish him well, both for his birthday and for his upcoming novice competition.  Bright red strawberry juice drips off his chin and stains his shirt when he smiles. His mom and Ms. Minako smile as they watch from the corner.  He feels happy; he feels like they all care about him.

Today, Yuuri is eighteen.  He plucks another strawberry from the top of his slice of cake and licks it clean of icing. An empty bowl sits on the table beside him that still faintly smells like the katsudon that filled it a few minutes prior. Yuuko and Takeshi sit close to him, his dad and Mari further down the table, as his mom runs back and forth between them and the kitchen.  It’s a quiet birthday, just the way he likes it, more of an excuse to eat his mom’s delicious cooking than anything else.  He remains quiet, allowing Yuuko and Takeshi to discuss the rink and their plans to marry in the spring.  He wants to remember this: his friends, his family, the onsen, all of Hatsetsu.  He might never see everyone together like this again.  This time next year, he’ll be in the United States.  It’ll all be worth it, he tells himself.  It will be worth it.

Today, Yuuri is nineteen.  He’s eating a plate of steamed broccoli at a small table in the university cafeteria. The broccoli tastes incredibly bland. He’d like to add more salt to it, but he can’t seem to find a salt shaker in the entire room.  At least it’s hot; the steam fogs his glasses if he leans in too close.  Flocks of students pass his table in both directions, where he sits by the doors.  Some of them look happy; most of them look tired, bent over from stress.  He decides to call his mom.

Happy Birthday, Yuuri. Her voice sounds winded but warm.

“What are you doing? Do I need to call back later?”

No, no.  I just finished mopping the floors.  I need a break anyway.  Do you know that Mari bought strawberries today and is eating them without you!  I told her I wasn’t making katsudon, not without you here.

“Mom! Don’t tell me that!” Yuuri says, while smiling beneath his phone. He talks with her for the remainder of his meal, learning the latest news about who all had moved to Hatsetsu and who had moved away, about Yuuko and Takeshi, Ice Castle, business at the onsen. It feels nice, easy, to speak in Japanese again.  When she finally lets him go, Yuuri is one of five students remaining in the cafeteria. The silence picks at him, and he stands up to leave.  He recognizes three of the five students from his classes, but none of them even turn to look at him.  He hasn’t told anyone in America that today is his birthday after all.

Today, Yuuri is twenty.  He expects his birthday to pass similarly to the year before, with a single phone call from his mom.  He is perched on his bed trying to finish a paper before he walks to the cafeteria for dinner, when the door to his dorm room swings open.

“Happy Birthday!” Phichit yells.  He’s balancing a plastic carton of strawberries atop a box of cupcakes from the supermarket.  

“How did you know that it’s my birthday?”

“You may try, but you can’t hide anything from me, Yuuri Katsuki!”

“That’s terrifying.”

They eat the vanilla cupcakes in their shared room, crumbs and rainbow sprinkles accumulating on the floor.  Phichit’s hamsters scurry across the tile, sniffing out most of the larger crumbles. Yuuri flips over the carton of strawberries to find the bottom layer of berries covered in fluffy, green mold.  He laughs to himself, then openly at Phichit, who grimaces back at him.  It’s the thought that counts.

Today, Yuuri is twenty-four.  He sits on the carpeted floor near his flight’s gate at Sheremetyevo International Airport. The airport is crowded, all the seats taken and swarms of people flowing between the different gates.  The muted light of an overcast sky streams into the terminal from the large floor to ceiling windows along both of the walls. Victor hasn’t called, and Yuuri doesn’t expect him to, not until he has a report on Makkachin.  

He never told Victor his birthdate.  Yuuri almost forgot about his birthday himself, his worry for Makkachin overshadowing everything else.  It’s better if Victor doesn’t know anyway.  Yuuri cherishes everything that Victor has already given him.  He can’t bring himself to ask Victor for any more of his effort or his time.  He boards the airplane in near silence, content to listen to the bustle around him, and sits by the window.  Mari nor anyone else from his family has contacted him either.  His worries about Makkachin drain away as he falls asleep to the rocking of the plane.

–

Victor can finally sigh in relief when the vet releases Makkachin, alive and energetic as ever.  He holds her in his lap as Mari drives them back to the onsen.

“And to think that today is Yuuri’s birthday.  Mom didn’t even call him, for the first time,” she says.

“Today is Yuuri’s birthday?”

“He didn’t tell you, did he?”

“No, he didn’t.”  The admission waries Victor.  He should have asked, or Yuuri should have told him – or something.  He’s too tired to think.  He knows he’s missing something.

Mari shakes her head, just slightly.  “He never tells anyone.”

–

When Yuuri finally touches down in Japan, Victor and Makkachin are waiting for him, healthy and alive.  Yuuri almost cries when he sees them – almost.  Victor is beautiful, warm, and kind, his eyes weary but bluer and brighter than Yuuri has ever seen them.  Victor acts like he never wants himself and Yuuri to ever be parted again.  

Before they leave the terminal, Yuuri walks over to Victor’s abandoned seat to pick up any bags that Victor might have brought with him.  Instead, he finds one of his mom’s homemade birthday cakes sitting in a box in the chair.

“Happy Birthday,” Victor says quietly from behind him.

And, what is Yuuri supposed to do?  Why does Victor act like this?  Victor staying with him will never work out in the long term.  Yuuri knows this.  He’s already decided. He’s decided.

He stares at the cake for a minute before he notices that something looks off about it.

“Half of the strawberries are missing,” he says.

Victor wraps an arm around his waist from behind and leans his head on Yuuri’s shoulder.  “Makkachin and I might have gotten a little hungry while we waited.”

Yuuri laughs.  He loves Victor.  He loves only eating half of the strawberries.  That night, when they finally lay down in the banquet room at the onsen, Victor still tastes like the other half of the strawberries, or rather, the few extra strawberries he slipped away on the train.  

It’s going to be so difficult to let him go.

Today, Yuuri is twenty-five.  Only by a few hours, though.  He wakes up freezing cold in the pitch dark, as a searing 2:00 beams at him from his phone. A lump of every blanket and sheet on the bed lays beside him with a tuft of silver hair peeking out one end.  

Yuuri pats the lump.  “Victor, give me at least one blanket.”

The lump grumbles then goes silent again.

Yuuri rocks the lump with both hands.  “It’s my birthday! You can’t let me freeze!”

Victor shifts loose from some of the blankets, rubbing his eyes.  Yuuri quickly grabs the first one his hand wraps around and drapes it over his legs.

“You deserve a birthday kiss, then,” Victor says as he rolls to face Yuuri.

“Eww, no, your breath smells.”

“Yuuuuri,” Victor whines and takes a quick lung to kiss Yuuri on the cheek, even as Yuuri tries to push him away. Yuuri laughs then lets silence fall around them again as he holds Victor in his arms, brushing his fingers through his hair.  Victor falls asleep again with his head on Yuuri’s shoulder.  As Yuuri lays down with Victor in his arms, Victor’s hand lands on the pillow next to him.  The dim streetlight outside the window outlines his long fingers and glints golden off of his ring.  It’s surreal.

Yuuri’s dreamed of a birthday like this so many times.  He’s not alone.  He’s finally not alone, only after realizing that he was never alone to begin with.

He buries his face in Victor’s hair for a moment before wrapping the blankets around them both and closing his eyes once more.

Notes: I may or may not have played around with the timeline to my advantage.  Also feel free to leave me a comment!  Thanks for reading!

[ellemarchen]

#yuuribirthdayweek Day 2: Leisure (Option: Other Skills)

❤ ♡ Yuuri’s cake ♡ ❤