#Mikhail Makarovich Nitori's

[haru-se]

Medley Relay Win P.2 🏅

[badpostureart]

Message in a Bottle (pt. 1)

For anon, who asked my thoughts about secondary characters in Free!

Without Gou working her magic in the background, none of the conflict of season one could have been resolved. She became the Iwatobi swim club’s manager (primarily) because she wanted to reunite her brother with his old friends and hoped that in doing so, he’d start smiling and opening up again. Despite having no sports background and never having put a training regimen together before, Gou improvised with the resources she could find and did the proper fieldwork. All this is to say that she took her managerial responsibilities seriously for Iwatobi’s sake as well as for Rin. She’s earnest and hardworking (albeit a wee bit too ambitious where muscles are concerned) and made a great coach despite her inexperience. She’s a great sister to Rin who she never stopped reaching out to even when he neglects to answer. I do really wish we got to learn what Gou’s secret plans for the future were though! How’re you just going to tease a secret and then not tell me?!

Kisumi serves an interesting function in the series because he doesn’t swim and yet he’s in the loop about what virtually everyone else is up to. He’s a bit of a smartass, often trying to get a rise out of Asahi (by making fun of him) and Haru (by being in the vicinity), but he’s a good guy as well as a reliable source of information. As something of an outsider, Kisumi has also said things I was thinking while watching the show in real-time. For example, in Dive to the Future when Makoto is to race Hiyori for the “right” to be Ikuya’s friend, Kisumi says, “Is there really a point to this? Isn’t it kinda childish to bet things in contests like this? I don’t get it.” Indeed, although Kisumi is right that it’s really fucking juvenile to race for the “right” to be someone’s friend, swimming is like its own language to these guys, so Makoto will learn something important about Hiyori if they compete—and frankly, so will we, so I’m glad Kisumi asked!

I wasn’t terribly fond of Sousuke at first because of his hostility towards Haru and his bad attitude more generally. Instead of using the word “reminiscing” when thinking about his childhood in season two, he says he’s recalling “phantoms of the past.” Like, you wanna lighten up a little there? Sheesh! You could almost see the dark cloud hanging over his head! And while I can totally understand wanting to protect his friend, it still isn’t his place to tell Haru to stay out of Rin’s way or to say having Rin participate in Iwatobi’s disqualifying relay in season one was “idiotic.” Over time, however, we see Sousuke soften up in his interactions with others. He comes to appreciate the value of swimming together instead of soloing and he spends a good deal of time mentoring his juniors. It was lovely to see his recovery over the course of the series and how he came to accept that although his timeline may look different than others, there’s nothing wrong with doing things at his own pace.

My first notes about Ai were that he was “an insecure first-year,” and that I didn’t know for sure what stroke he swam. He reminded me of a remora with the way he followed Rin around. Of course, I couldn’t help but feel bad for the poor kid because his encouragement fell on deaf ears and most of his attempts to reach out were dismissed—what with Rin often refusing to dignify him with any answers to his questions. It was good to see Ai gain confidence in himself over time though! Leadership looks good on him. I also appreciate that despite his ability to plan itineraries down to the minute, his living space is in a constant state of disarray. (Though, I still can’t fathom what would compel a person to bring their umbilical cord with them to boarding school…or anywhere for that matter!) He’s a bit of a disaster, and maybe a bit too earnest for his own good, but he’s a nice kid through and through.

Momo is a joy. He may not be the smartest and may not have much of an attention span, but his enthusiasm is unmatched. The kid scores a 7 on a test and instead of thinking anything remotely negative or self-deprecating, he instead believes the number is a sign of good luck. What a joyful way to move about the world! He’s equally unapologetic about the things he likes (which include but are not limited to stag beetles, capibaras, Gou, hot springs, and Dangerous Ookuchin Hosoeson-kun, among other things), and remains a good sport in the face of defeat. I don’t think there’s a negative bone in his body. He’s “joie de vivre” incarnate!  

Much like his little brother, Seijuuro is boisterous and kind of dumb, but he has a heart of gold. Initially, he maintained a pretty cutthroat swimming culture at Samezuka, saying that “the past doesn’t matter. Performance is what counts here. The fastest swimmer wins. That’s all there is to it.” But by the time he enters university, he says instead that “there are many ways to get stronger! Past teammates and friendships can contribute to your strength in the present. There are lots of things that are important besides just practising.” For a meathead, he can be awfully wise, huh? He also doesn’t use a swim cap at all for some reason���but to be fair, most (if not all) of the other characters that do use one wear the damn thing incorrectly anyway. And I’m sure it’s to help us at home distinguish who’s who more easily, but that’s why you give them all different jammers and goggles tinted in different colours!

Isuzu is undoubtedly the coolest of her siblings, though I would have liked to see more of her to get to know her better! She compliments Haru on his triceps the first time they meet, which were what Gou had described as his charm point in high school—meaning that Isuzu and Gou are something of muscle-fanatic soulmates. The two of them proceed to induct Ayumu into the muscle cult and I’m frankly left sitting here waiting for my invite! Sure, I can’t confidently identify biceps from triceps or quadriceps from…hamstrings(?), but I promise I have the spirit!  

Nao is refreshingly no-nonsense and calls it as he sees it. Wise beyond his years, Nao’s advice is always astute and pertinent. He’s someone I’d look up to if I ever got to meet him. I just think he’s really cool! His adeptness at observation made him a hell of a coach even back in middle school and he’s only gotten better at it as he’s gotten older. And maybe I’m a wee bit biased because he’s said some of the things I’d like to say to other characters, but that’s neither here nor there.

Asahi is another goofball. He likes to show off and talk about how great he is, he’s highly reactive, and also an idiot. It’s quite easy to get under his skin and get him riled up if he feels like he’s being made fun of, hence his need to boast. His plight in Starting Days was one of the most baffling in the entire series: he “forgot” how to swim the front crawl. I’m not sure that’s something a person can forget to do, but that’s probably because it wasn’t that he actually forgot, he just lacked the courage to try out of a fear of looking silly/not being the best. Frankly, that’s something a lot of people can relate to, me included! His willingness to look inward (instead of continuing to blame Haru) is perhaps what I appreciate the most about Asahi. He took accountability and was able to grow as a character. It was also really sweet to see that as a young adult, he still says positive words of affirmation to himself in the mirror! While it may feel silly, it’s important to treat oneself with kindness regardless of if one feels they’re actually the best or not!

Mikhail, while a bit out of the loop concerning whatever’s cool with the youth these days, is a delight. He gives helpful advice (saying cute things like “having a lot of baggage is what makes life richer! [Even if] sometimes that baggage weighs you down too,”) and understands that sometimes what a person needs isn’t to be told what they did wrong and could instead benefit from some time to hurt. Meanwhile, Ryuuji tears into Rin and Ikuya’s performances at Sydney’s prelims to Haru—deliberately singling out the people he knows are important to him even though they swim different strokes—dismisses hard work that doesn’t yield the desired results, and then he sends Haru to bed saying, “all that matters is how you do in free tomorrow.” I’m not even supposed to be talking about Ryuuji yet and here I am getting pissed off at him in advance! Mikhail, in contrast, is kind in that he gives Rin the space to figure things out for himself while offering his support in the meantime. I also find it incredibly amusing to imagine Ai and Mikhail corresponding back and forth about how well-built Rin is—they couldn’t not have, right?

[good-memories-found-here]

Free! - Dive to the Future

[ladysunamireads]

Silver Wings, Wet with Dew

Silver Wings, Wet With Dew by extraordinary

Aside from an absolutely incomprehensible ��The ocean exacted a heavy price today, Matsuoka-kun.”, nobody tells you what happened. Your mother — pale-faced and red-eyed — clearly can't, and the members of the coast guard currently swarming the Centre simply won't.

All you know is that your father is gone.

Words: 7187, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: Free!

Rating: Mature

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: M/M

Characters: Matsuoka Rin, Nanase Haruka, Azuma Ryuuji, Mikhail Makarovich-Nitori

Relationships: Matsuoka Rin/Nanase Haruka

Additional Tags: Alternative Universe - Marine Mammal Rescue/Aquarium Setting, Half Fish-Man!Haruka, Aquatic Veterinarian-to-be!Rin, Ryuuji/Mikhail (Implied), POV Second Person

Read Here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/47621386

[paltitasalvaje]

OMG I just saw the new Kyoani video on YT where we can see a very young Mikhail, if Mikhail and Ryuuji are about the same age, it's biologically impossible to Ryuuji being the grandpa of Shizuru. I think maybe he's hes sexy uncle. It might be.

[the-chikyuu-times]

[freefangirlproblems]

Im watching you, Azuma Ryuuji 👀

Dazzling Sparkling MIKHAIL!!❤❤

[dragonwolfs]

[allbluesanji]

Ryuuji! It’s been so lon--

Who are you? 

[kinbari14]

[ellayuki]

thinking of

Free!  //  Post-Season 3

Rin POV   //  Hints of RinTori

620 words

Rin and Mikhail talk a bit about Ai during practice one day.

~

“Are you texting my kouhai again?” Rin asks his coach from the edge of the swimming pool. Mikhail has been texting for a few minutes now, entirely absorbed by his phone. Rin really needs to make sure the man never meets his sister. He doesn't need that kind of headache.

Mikhail looks up, a good ten seconds after Rin's question. “Huh?” he says, the confusion of someone clearly not paying any attention obvious on his face. Rin feels a vein throb in his temple.

“Ai,” he says, pointedly, raising an eyebrow. “He told me you texted him about me.”

The confusion clears almost instantly at that. “Oh.” The smile that appears on Mikhail’s face is so bright it’s almost annoying. “Yes. I keep forgetting that Aiichirou-kun is actually your kouhai, for all that he's always all ‘Rin-senpai this, Rin-senpai that, Senpai, Senpai, Senpai.’ whenever you come up.” His words take on a slightly teasing note towards the end there and Rin can feel an embarrassed flush creep up his face.

He clears his throat. “Anyway,” he says, and wills the damn blush away. “What, exactly, are you telling him about me?” He knows he must look a bit like a brat, hands on his hips, defiant look on his face, but quite frankly he doesn’t care. What he does care about is what weird stuff his coach might be telling his favorite underclassman.

“Don’t worry, don’t worry,’ Mikhail says, waving a hand. There’s a particular glint in his eyes Rin doesn’t like. At all. “It’s nothing bad, I promise.” And hah, as if Rin would ever trust that. He’s sure the look on his face makes his disbelief clear. “He just wants to know how you’re doing, how your training’s going. You don’t keep in contact all that much with your high school friends, it seems, and he’s a bit worried you’re working yourself too hard.”

At that, Rin has to bite his lip, and look away. Damn, he thinks, I made Ai worry. He hates the thought. He hates the sense of guilt washing over him even more.

He sighs, deciding a break is in order, and pulls himself out of the pool. Mikhail is right; Ai, too, for that matter. He does have a tendency to forget about everything and everyone else when he gets into a certain headspace.

He walks over to where his coach is sitting on a bench a few feet from the pool’s edge, and sits down, takes a sip from his water bottle. For a few long moments, he just lets himself breathe, and his mind wonder.

“I’ll call him after I’m done with practice today,” he says after a while, more to himself than to the man sitting next to him.

Ai is… well, he’s Ai. Haru is his rival and what keeps his competitive spirit burning, and Sousuke is his best friend and he can’t wait for him to be done with his recovery and start competing again. But Ai, Ai is the bright spot, the calm moment. Whenever he talks to him, Rin feels like some weight lifts from his shoulders, if only for a little while.

Mikhail hums, eyes glued to his phone, a touch of a smirk on his lips. “You should,” he tells Rin, and if Rin hears traces of ‘Stop making him sad, you idiot’ in the words… well. He knows.

“I will,” he says, firm. He has no reason not to.

He has every reason to.

(He misses Ai, he realizes, quite a bit, though he’ll be damned if he actually admits it to anyone but himself.)

He takes another drink, and stands. Break time is over. Calling Ai will have to wait a bit.

[haru-se]

Friendship bracelets made by Rei and Nagisa in support of Haru and the team

[datheetjoella]

Nitori Aiichirou out here casually dropping the biggest plot twist of the entire series

[schnooglepuffs]

Last Terribad Puns of the Festive Holidays!

Xmess ends today (5th Jan) its 2315hrs right now so I’m just on time, enjoy and/or groan!

There were other characters I had hoped to edit, but no time left! Hope I didn’t disappoint anyone :3 Hope everyone had a good winter and festive period, whatever religions/traditions you do or don’t follow. Happy new year also! :D for more awful puns/seasonal Free! edits, links are here! Kisumi Nagisa Rei Rin Momo Makoto Haru Miho Albert Ikuya Aiichirou Chigusa Ren & Ran + Special Guest! Hiyori Ayumu Uozomi + Minami Natsuya + Bonus New Year Nao Gou + Isuzu Seijuro

[sansan9]

[sharkinlovewithadolphin]

You’re Russian, Nitori?!

Bonus: