#Swim for me Haru

[edenfire]

💞😭 "oh, haru-chan...." 😭💞

whoo!! time to kick off @nanaseharukabirthdayexchange with some sappy makoharu!!🎉🎉💚💙

I had something else in mind, but I drew this on a plane and didn't have access to the reference I needed^^ I might revisit this sometime and redraw it.

but for now, I really hope you like it!!🥰💗💞

[partrin]

sometimes haru looks at rin with the sort of look a person who likes their friend has when they don't believe the person they like will ever reciprocate their feelings.

it makes me kind of sad.

(in specific, i'm talking about that scene in the ova about rin's farewell party where they're both sitting on a bench and rin is like "if you swim with me that'd be a good surprise" and haru's like "...something like that is enough (for you)?" and idk i'm probably reading too much into it with angst-tinted glasses)

[anianurst]

girls who liked rin back in 2014 like sae now in 2024. try to change my mind...

[bloodsbane]

watching sports anime has got me thinking about free! again so on a whim im watching compilations of scenes of makoto and haru from the movies (which ive never seen)

and like, man. dude. really? i just watched a scene from the movie where they're in middle school, where they get in a fight about how they're drifting apart from each other but obviously neither wants that, and it ends with them breaking into(?) the pool building so they can swim together without changing out of their normal clothes, also they literally orbit each other underwater, also they hold hands

i get that free! is one of the more obvious examples of aggregious queerbaiting in sports anime but idk what else to say at this point other than: this bait is queer as hell

[choccorin]

[temporaerthaervaerk]

Reasons why I headcannon Haru from Free! as autistic (some aren't diagnostic criteria but I'm autistic and I relate, so bite me):

He only eats fish (mackerel) ("You like mackerel too much" is a running gag)

He loves water because of the way it feels (sensory seeking)

He's the only one who sees a difference in his swimtrunks (he likes some better because the way they feel/they fit differently) (hyper sensitive sense)

His special interests are swimming and mackerel

When trying to convince others to swim, he mimics the way he thinks you should do it (with no regard to social cues) (masking)

Limited facial expressions (unless it's about swimming)

He doesn't care about swimming time, records and winning

He has a set routine

"I only swim free."

Is often seen providing support by sitting quietly beside people // or engaging in a conversation with his back turned to the group.

Tendency to give entities human feelings ("Maybe the water hates him" // "I thought I should ask water about matter that involves the water.")

Appears blunt but cares deeply (asks outright if people are okay /// "we're not going to discuss it (about something another character finds uncomfortable)" // gives things freely to children)

Straightforward

Takes his promises very seriously

"He's actually looking at the camera for once."

"Knowing Haru he probably doesn’t want to talk to anyone right now."

Trying to understand his feelings through thinking // struggling to name feelings

He never uses his phone // doesn’t bring it with him // "Haru usually doesn’t carry his phone around with him."

He remembers small things about his friends and then gifts really meaningful gifts

When he knows how he feels he shares his feelings openly and without shame (and with an abundance of eye contact used to drive home his sincerity)

He notices people when they're sad // really perceptive // notices differences in behaviour (pattern recognision)

"You're supposed to smile for pictures." // "Haru is always smiling on the inside."

My man does not care about social norms (is always ready for a dip, no matter where he has to strip).

"I don't care about winning," (i love this boy)

"You're too easily impressed, Haru-chan." (Once again, I love him)

As kids Haru sometimes wouldn’t talk, and instead Mokoto would "translate" how he felt (i almost cried 😭)

"You're so cold," (i hate this)

He litterally just went to Australia because Rin asked him to without knowing the language + without doing any planning just trusting Rin– and then felt panicked when he thought Rin left him (... I once went to Italy with a girl because she said she wanted to and I didn’t get that it was meant to be a joke... until we were already in Italy and she told me she it was a joke but she was glad I took it seriously. She planned everything and I just followed along because I trusted her. Rin also said he didn’t expect Haru to agree, so yeah. I don't know)

"It was my first fight (with him)" (relatable dude)

"Hey, c'mon. You could look a little happier... But I guess that reaction is typical Haru." (Seeing someone for the first time in a long time)

"That’s really impressive," Haru says. "Hey," someone else says. "You're supposed to laugh at that!" (Once again, relatable dude. I don't get the joke either)

"What did you talk about?" *Haru answers truthfully* *the other person makes noises of disbelief*

I love him

[dragon-of-timeless-blue]

Literally every time I see the famous "romanchiku darou?" i ceased to be a rational being and I become an eternal scream that cant help but explode with tenderness.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH

my honest reaction:

[beldaroot]

i'm sorry but i'm rewatching free! the final stroke part 1, and it's actually hilarious how haru practically confessed to rin by saying that his reason for still fighting to win was because of rin and that he always wants to compete with rin next to him.

and rin's response was just like, yeah... so about that... i'm not gonna race with you anymore :/

i mean, i too would let world-renowned swimmer albert wåhlander possess my body so i didn't have to deal with that rejection!

[confusedpandabear]

Once Haru learns how to use a phone and I learn how to colour skin, there's gonna be no stopping us 😤

[dirkxcaliborn]

The urge to completely fuck up my sleep schedule every weekend is so strong. Yes it's 2:30 in the morning. Yes it's going to be impossible to wake up at 7:30 am on Monday. Yes I have a midterm and oral exam coming up and missing assignments I really need to catch up on. But what if I start rewatching Free! and then sleep until 3pm tomorrow??? c'mon it'll be fun

[ryuuseini]

It had always been a dream of Rin's to swim in a cherry blossom filled pool...

[selkies-song]

Give me more of this spin on the misunderstandings trope

[reikunrei]

DO YOU EVER JUST think about the final iwatobi relay in eternal summer and start crying uncontrollably?? how haru was so scared for his future and this massive pressure that everyone had been putting on his shoulders that he just kept ignoring until it got bigger and bigger and bigger?? how he started to feel so distant from his friends because he felt like they kept ignoring him and what he really wanted? how he felt betrayed by them all? but they swim together and all that pressure just... vanishes. none of it matters when they’re together. because they’ll always be together, always connected, always loving one another, no matter the circumstances. they’re the ones who give haru strength and courage. they’re the ones who opened the door to his future. and they’ll be there to open every door afterward,,

[cookie4hope]

Never forget the moment in the LN when Haru gets jealous because Rin could be a worthy rival for his love for water.

He feels the water more than me, wth?!

haruka nanase will always be the funniest sports anime protagonist in my eyes bc the crux of the show and the driving force of the cast is his magical autism. his connection to water is literally just his stim. in the show haru never gives a reason for his love of water beyond “i like how it feels”

he doesnt even give a shit about the actual sport and only chooses to give a shit bc of his separate love for his 17 boyfriends. and those 17 boyfriends will fight to the ends of the earth to explain why haru’s swimming will bring world peace end world hunger and it makes everybody horny immediately

rin matsuoka who has had ambitions to be an olynpic swimmer since before he knew his ABCs literally saw some kid stimming and without knowing anything abt him first was like “omg that guys going to be my consort at tje top of the world” and haru responds with “i hope your bike falls into the river with you in it”

[siinlight]

I block most mh blogs cause I don't need that negatively in my life but they always find a way to slip past my radar and then I see some shit take about how haru in final stroke is out of character 😅what a dumbass

[dragon-of-timeless-blue]

GUYS GUYSSSSS I was watching the latest video of Illymation and immediately my eyes managed to capture this small detail in the background:

and i was like: OOOSJKDJFKFBD THOSE ARE MY BOYS, MY SPECIAL GAYS!!! ～⁠(⁠つ⁠ˆ⁠Д⁠ˆ⁠)⁠つ⁠｡⁠☆