#i just wish i could write about kagehina the way furudate does because they are so very perfect the way they are

[thawthebeez]

ah yes, home at last... ON TONIGHT'S SPECIAL: What The Hell Is Tumblr User Thawthebeez Going Crazy Insane About Today?

The winning point Karasuno scored against Inarizaki.

Let's discuss this real fast, because this is once again another VERY IMPORTANT MOMENT that is overshadowed because "omg kagehina touched hands for like 2 frames."

For those who have NO IDEA what the hell I'm talking about and care for a summary: Karasuno is at match point against Inarizaki, a powerhouse school that's favoured to win the Spring Tournament. Stakes are high and the tension in palpable. The ball is on Inarizaki's side, and they're about to send it over. Now, what attack do they choose? Well, it's none other than the Miya twins with their minus-tempo attack. You know, the same one that Kageyama and Hinata do.

This attack is fast. Like, very fast. It literally occurs within the blink of an eye. This isn't an attack that can break through blocks. Speed is its main weapon. It's also an attack that relies on trust. You know, a certain bond between the two players. Because of its speed, the setter and the spiker need to have absolute faith in one another.

All throughout the series we see Kageyama and Hinata figure this out. Hinata isn't a heavy hitter, but he is fast, making this kind of attack perfect for him. And it works for a good long while. It's faster than all the other fast attacks and can evade blocks pretty well. Until it doesn't. And that's when they regroup, developing this attack so Hinata can have some more freedom.

Essentially, Hinata and Kageyama learn that while this freak quick they do is strong, it's not invincible. It's fast, but not unstoppable.

Now what gets me is the fact that the only characters in the ENTIRE SERIES to pull off the minus-tempo attack are Hinata & Kageyama, and the Miya twins.

Just two guys, and twins.

Atsumu and Osamu have known each other their entire lives. That's sixteen years of bonding for you. Not to mention the fact that they're bounded by blood, too. Of course the chemistry they're going to have on the court is going to be insane. They literally have, like, twin-telepathy. Of course they can pull off an attack that happens within the blink of an eye. Of fucking course. The faith that's needed between the setter and spiker has been established since the dawn of time for them.

Kageyama and Hinata met for the first time in Junior High. Their third year of Junior High, by the way. They were also on separate teams, and they played a whopping 31 minute game against each other. They were reunited again at Karasuno, but were immediately at each other's throats. They saw the other as a rival (and they still do now, but it's more of a friendly rivalry as opposed to "I need to utterly destroy this guy"). They weren't even officially on the same team until after they pulled off their freak attack. At the point in which Karasuno plays against Inarizaki, Kageyama and Hinata have only been playing on the same team for less than a year.

The freak quick was developed in a single day. By this point, they don't even have faith in one another, just the point, the "I trust that the ball will come my way" and "I trust that he'll score," and even then, the trust Kageyama put into Hinata was iffy.

Allow me to state this again: the only people to have pulled off the minus-tempo quick attack in the entirety of the Haikyuu series are the Miya twins, and Kageyama and Hinata.

To put this into absolutely utterly batshit insane speak: HINATA AND KAGEYAMA HAVE A BOND AS STRONG AS BLOOD, DARE I SAY STRONGER, BECAUSE IN A SINGLE DAY THEY WERE ABLE TO PULL OFF THE SAME ATTACK THAT LITERAL BIOLOGICAL TWINS CAN. THE ATTACK IS BUILT ON TRUST, AND WHILE THEY MAY NOT HAVE PUT IT INTO EACH OTHER AT THE TIME, THEY WERE STILL WILLING TO GIVE FAITH TO ONE ANOTHER. WHY? SOULMATE SHIT, MAN, IDK.

Like, if we're going back to the first ever quick attack, we're dealing with a Hinata that has been told all his life that a guy like him playing volleyball is a waste, and we've got a Kageyama that's still coping with the events of Junior High. They have absolutely ZERO REASON to trust one another, even if it's just for the single point, but they do anyway because there's at least a subconscious voice- an instinct, maybe, knowing how much these two rely on instinct- that this one, for whatever fucking reason, is okay to trust.

And I think that Tsukishima sums it up perfectly when he mentions that only Hinata and Kageyama could have blocked that attack- that out of anyone, they were the only ones who truly understand that while the attack is strong- while the speed of it is an absolute weapon- it's not invincible.

(the fact that it was both of them, too- the fact that both of their hands were on the ball in that moment- the fact that after everything was said and done they still bickered about who scored that point because that's just who they are, and the fact that in the reality it was both of them who scored. ugh. they just. you get it. you understand)

[ffamranxii]

Hello! Here from Ao3 :) (@bokashi is my side blog)

As mentioned in a comment on your iwaoi story, which ships do you see as legitimately being canon? (a link for the silly geese who haven't read it yet)

For me, I honestly think bokuaka could be canon (we just need the confirmation </3). But for like iwaoi (I get really intense friendship vibes, but like so unabashedly proud and happy to be friends with the other person in canon) or kuroken (maybe like a heather situation, where one of them is in love, but the other isn't; but also, they really teeter on the edge for me) or other ships (I could go on forever), it's a bit more up in the air for me. I indulge and thoroughly enjoy all ship content, but I try to separate the two worlds of fandom and canon too.

I also think it's really easy to enjoy shipping. They're fictional men (thinking manga timeskip here), so it's kind of hard to self-ship (for me), but I want them to be happy in the romance department. Plus, when there are so few women and non-binary people in the show, naturally that shipping is gonna happen between *the bois*. (Although, based on all of the content we get, even with women, I'd still ship them all with their teammates.)

So yeah, I'm really curious about your thoughts on this jumbled mess about shipping and canon vs fanon, etc! Really enjoying your content, thanks for replying to my comments! :)

Hiiiii! Ffamran is a sideblog too, I followed bokashi on my hiatused chibimonkey main.

So tbh, given Japan’s general stance on homosexuality *side eye intensifies* I’d have to say regretfully nobody could be legitimately canon except Tanaka/Kiyoko the token heteroship. HOWEVER, some mangaka (looking at you, CLAMP and Yamaguchi Tsubasa!) dgaf about heteronorms and have written gorgeous and CANON LGBTQ+ characters, so it’s within the realm of possibility that Furudate-sensei intended some of her characters to be gay and maybe her editor or the magazine said “uh, fuck no?” because, I mean, have you READ the manga? Some of it’s pretty fucking gay.

My top 5 ships are the ones I could most likely see being canon: daisuga, iwaoi, kuroken, asanoya, and bokuaka. I’d also add kagehina to that. The evidence is just THERE.

Daichi and Suga are VERY close. They’re always shown together, were introduced together, have been referred to by Furudate-sensei as Karasuno’s parents, Daichi talks Suga up a ton, Suga is very physical with Daichi especially, etc etc. In one panel of the manga, Suga is literally slapping Daichi’s ass. (Under the #ffamran reads manga tag.) Like what? But they’re also the least in your face on this list.

Asanoya is just... a lot of what daisuga is but more obvious. Also introduced as a duo, usually around each other, physical, etc. Noya ONLY sets for Asahi (though once in the anime he set for Tanaka) - that’s HUGE. He learned to do this crazy fucking technique all to better ASAHI. He refuses to play without Asahi. At the very least, Noya is bisexual and has a thing for Asahi. PLUS they travel the GODDAMN WORLD together at the end of the manga.

Iwaoi might as well be official. There’s the whole Iwaizumi milk bread thing (like SERIOUSLY, how much more do you NEED?), the nicknames/name-calling/teasing, the constant touching, the complete trust and connection. Oikawa relies overtly on Iwa, and Iwa is constantly checking on and reassuring him. These two blatantly love each other.

Kuroken is another where at least one of them has a thing for the other. Kuroo is SMITTEN with Kenma. He’s constantly taking care of him, checking on him, monitoring his comfort. When he, Kai, and Yaku are discussing Kenma, Kuroo’s face is just so in LOVE with this fucking boy. Kenma is up in the air - he’s not as expressive as Kuroo, or as emotional. He keeps his feelings firmly inside. But I’d say it’s safe to assume he cares very deeply for Kuroo and loves him, and it’s a 50/50 toss up if it’s romantic love.

Bokuaka. Bro. At first I was gonna say “ehhhhh, it’s probably wishful thinking on our part,” but then I remembered: Akaashi decided to attend Fukurodani SOLELY because he saw Bokuto play. Bokuto honed the fuck in on him the day they met and basically staked his claim. These two embody the love at first sight trope and they are comfortably settled in a serious relationship. Why else does Akaashi know him so well, and vice versa? Akaashi made and MEMORIZED a list of Bokuto’s weaknesses, and knows exactly how to get him out of every slump, and Bokuto is intrinsically aware of when Akaashi’s at his limit, and pushes past his own weaknesses to support him at that time. Out of everyone, these two are the most likely to have started their relationship before the manga.

Kagehina. I watched the first episode (I saw the anime before I read the manga) and I distinctly remember my overall impression was “these two are gonna fuck, aren’t they?” They’re dumb. They’re SO fucking dumb, and I respect Furudate-sensei SO MUCH for making both her protagonists stupid as fuck. These two would be a vicious slow burn. They don’t get together during the manga. They’re too busy competing with each other. Their flirting is competition. They’re SO into each other beyond a normal friendly rivalry but they both think it’s just a friendly rivalry because they’re SO DUMB.

Honorable mention to Tsukiyama, because while these two are easy to write off as just good friends, there are very subtle hints that they may be more than, the biggest being Tsukki’s distaste if anyone but Yamaguchi calling him Tsukki (and Yamaguchi hates when other people say it too) and their “tough love” type of support for each other. They seem to be a very private couple, if they were intended as such.

Also: Yachi. Yachi is CLEARLY a lesbian.

It could also be argued that Ushiten was hinted at being canon, since Tendou clearly loves Ushiwaka. It’s not a ship I like but I very easily see why it’s a popular ship. I think I posted about it before somewhere, but the tl;dr of it is Tendou is ALL OVER Ushiwaka. Supports him 1000% in the face of anyone and everyone, clings to him (not physically, but like... emotionally?) at school, and just everything he does is FOR Ushiwaka. Like, did Ushiwaka even have friends before Tendou started talking to him? And Ushiwaka softens around Tendou, becomes more human and likeable. He doesn’t act that way around anyone else. They might just be the bromance to end all bromances, or one of them has a crush, or maybe they do love each other - their relationship is ambiguous in that regard. But I will add: Ushiwaka did fly all the way to France to see Tendou, and I don’t see anyone else (except Asanoya) making worldwide trips for each other.