#i'm also gonna just straight up say that tanaka is actually WAY more of a foil to amos and clarissa and filip than to bobbie

[mobiusstripper]

So I just finally finished Leviathan Falls a few days ago, and I've already mentioned that I was really pleasantly surprised by the way Tanaka was written. Now part of that is just that I'm a big sucker - as both a reader and a writer - for taking apart characters who are irredeemable bastards and seeing what makes them tick. I was really curious to see other fans' takes on her, and it looks like she was pretty polarizing as a POV characters - some of you guys, like me, really loved to hate her (and maybe even dip a tentative toe into feeling sorry for her), and some of you just plain hated her (and that's fine - some people prefer being able to like their POV characters. I'm not one of those people) or thought her chapters were boring (what book were you reading?). However, I haven't seen anyone really say much about the significance of her interest in (love of, really) art and art history. So I wanna talk a little about that.

The takes I've seen have largely come down to either, "It didn't fit with her character and felt really random," which I'm about to disagree with HARD, or "It served as a device to show that there was more to her that meets the eye, and that she could have gone down a completely different path." This one, I agree with, but I also think there's a lot more to it.

(1) So let's talk about why art history specifically. Why not something else seemingly 180 degrees away from being a Marine, like gardening or culinary science? As an artist who takes myself unapologetically seriously, I have had a lot of conversations with an artist friend of mine lately about the intimacy of art. Art is both an expression of individuality and a vehicle of profound, often terrifying, connection. The former is what Tanaka regards as the core of her being, while the latter is anathema to her. She is drawn to art precisely because it exists in a space of tension between her comfort zone and her deepest fears. It is the razor edge that she loves to walk.

I've said before that I think of art as a form of telepathy - you are trying to capture something inside your own mind and externalize it in a way that it is transmitted into the mind of another person. When Tanaka begins experiencing this very literally in a manner she can't control, it's her worst nightmare. But she loves art because it is a version of this that she can control. It's an outlet for her to fulfill the fundamentally human need for connection when it's never been safe (both literally and psychologically) for her to do so through any other means. She learned that as a child when she sought a hug and got a slap in the face instead.

A number of the art pieces she contemplates are emotionally intense. The Third Miko in particularly is memorable because it is a heavy piece, full of vulnerability and grief and dread. These are the kinds of pieces that not only did the artist have to rip themselves open and pour their soul into in order to produce, but the audience is required to do the same to some extent in order to fully experience them. Turning soul-crushing sadness into usable rage isn't alchemy - it's more like a refinement process; it takes a lot of energy, and there is a lot of waste runoff that still has to go somewhere. For Tanaka, that's where it goes. That's the safe place to put it. Inside of someone else's pain, where no one will ever know it's yours.

(2) The other thing I wanted to talk about hinges on a "blink and you miss it" detail that, for me at least, completely reframed the whole picture regarding the "two roads diverged" aspect of Tanaka's life, and that's the casually dropped revelation that she never actually had a choice in the first place. The way this was written, I'm absolutely certain it was a very deliberate choice by JSAC to undermine the assumptions we as readers had been previously led to make.

The "two roads" framing comes up explicitly three times in the book. The first time is in Chapter 24: "Tanaka hadn’t thought about that painting in decades, or about what a very different life she would have lived if she’d made a few different decisions at the start." The next mention is in Chapter 31, when Dr. Ahmadi is reviewing Tanaka's file. She says, "You refused an advanced scholarship in order to enlist." Both of these references frame it very explicitly as a choice. But then, a few pages later, it's revealed that it actually wasn't: "If Aunt Akari had let her study art history instead of enlisting in active service, where would she be right now? And who would be tracking down the high consul? What else—how many thousands of other things—would be different?" (emphasis mine).

This detail and the way it was just slipped in there actually made me feel terribly sad for her because it reveals that this was, in fact, never where she wanted to be at all. This is more a matter of interpretation, but my takeaway was that the whole thing about her preferring a repressive society might be less the truth and more of a narrative she tells herself because she has spent her entire life deprived of any kind of real agency. It's true that someone who has never experienced life outside a pressure cooker environment might rapidly decompress like a blobfish upon being removed from it (I'm reminded of the memoir The Girl With Seven Names, where the author's mother and brother can't adapt to life outside of North Korea and want to go back), but that's less about being naturally well-suited to it and more about being deeply and maybe irreversibly maladapted.

When Tanaka tells herself she loves life under the boot because it gives her something to push back against, she's making the best of a bad situation by pretending her lack of agency is actually just a really sophisticated form of agency. It's because the only love she has ever known is the threat of consequences, with the only realistic alternative being complete apathy. It's the same mentality that makes abuse victims blame themselves - because, in some ways, the version of events where you were totally helpless and at the mercy of a cold, uncaring universe and the passing whims of other people is more distressing than the version where you brought it upon yourself through your own choices and actions. Wanting (and presumably asking her aunt's permission) to study art history, only to be forced to enlist in the marines instead is just another variation of her reaching for a hug and getting a slap. But if someone cares enough to slap you in the face, at least that means they care, right? "Laconia would put two in the back of my head because they care about what I think and do" is still a nicer story than "Laconia would put two in the back of my head because I'm nobody and nothing and completely disposable to them." It also made me wonder what was meant earlier by "if she’d made a few different decisions at the start." What does she tell herself she could have done differently to change a fate that was never in her hands to begin with?

TL;DR Tanaka loves art because it's the only way she can safely experience human connection and emotions besides anger, and it's implied she would have chosen to study art history if her aunt hadn't forced her to enlist.

[fortheloveofkuroo]

HAIKYUU AU:

Part 1 Part 3

Karasuno boys are having a sleepover in your place, their Manager!

4. Nishinoya Yuu

Yea boi he's excited.

Yuu have been always a fan of yours. Sure he loves Shimizu Kiyoko more than anyone (expect Tanaka lmao) But you, you're just so different that you shines in his eyes.

"Sleepover at (Y/n)'s home?! Not Bad!"

He is excited as hell.

"(Y/n)! (Y/n)! Is your house bigg?" He excitedly asks. "Well, you'll see." You answered.

He cannot calm down geez. Unlike Asahi, who's nervous as hell he's very excited and everybody can tell.

"You guys can dry yourselves here, i'll shower first and prepare your dinner!"

Something about seeing your domestic self seems very unusual to him. He's not used to you who's not yelling and controlling people in the Gym.

You seems very famous for your strictness to the boys. But they're not complaining though.

He waits (strangely) patiently and being his usual self, with Tanaka he guards the bathroom.

"We, as a real gentlemen we have to guard our lady from danger. Especially when she's in her vulnerable state." Nishinoya explained. Tanaka answered with his nods.

Ofc you can hear everything from inside. "OI YOU TWO GET OUT FROM THE DOOR!" you opened the door, with bathrope on and wet hair.

Ofc these two guys arestunned. "Omg (Y/n), you're actually so hot-" "GET OUT!" you kicked both of them to the living room and quickly change to your clothes.

Doesn't took too long before you finished cooking dinner with Sugawara and bring them to table.

They all eat so much. You barely eats. That's alright, they worked so hard. It must be tough for them.

This guardian deity noticed that you don't eat much. So he gave a few portion of his Karaage to you. Without you even noticing.

"Eh,? I'm sure i finished mine though." You wondered. Nishinoya grins, "It seems like the Kaarage fairy likes you, (Y/n)!" Followed by cheering from Hinata asking if Kaarage fairy is real or not.

You know it's from him. It's not rare for Nishinoya sharing his food but it warms your heart.

"Um.. Due to lack of the space, one of you have to sleep with me."

"I VOLUNTEER MYSELF!" Nishinoya shouted before Sugawara holds himself. "No you're not! I don't trust you!"

"Nishinoya-senpai is tiny so i'm sure he can sleep with the others just fine." Kageyama adds. "HAAH WHAT DID YOU SAAAYYY?!"

Omg the chaos. You had enough for some point.

"Geez! I'll sleep by myself. Don't make a ruckus and Good night." You snaps while closing the door. Leaving some of them guilty.

You can't lie that you feel a little upset. Maybe you're tired. Yeah, you're prolly tired. You're gonna apologize to everyone in the morning.

It's been hours since you turn off the light. Hell it's already midnight and you can't seems to fall asleep. You're mentally and physically tired but your eyes don't want to close even an inch.

So you left your room. Moving around a little hoping you'll get (even) more tired. You move slowly, making sure you don't make so much noise that loud enough to wake everybody.

A glass of water is enough to calm yourself down right? Nah it's not. You're still hungry.

"Psst. Hey."

You turn your head around, a boy with dark drown locks and a little golden blonde highlight on his bangs. It's undoubtly him.

"Noya? You haven't sleep yet?" You whispered to him. He shakes his head, but both of your movement is too loud for the first year that ate sleeping in the living room so you dragged him somewhere else.

Should you bring him to your room? Dang it but you're still upset. So you dragged him outside to terrace. Letting go of his hand as you two sits.

"Why are you still up?" Noya shrugs. "I don't know. How about you?" You shrugs back. "Idk. Prolly-" your stomach suddenly shrieks, cutting your words and Nishinoya cannot help but laugh.

"D-Don't laugh! You'll wake everybody!" You hit his arm as he coughs. "Um, wait here 'kay" he left. You have no idea what he's planning but oh well.

You hug your knees as you looks up, the sky is so clear. Thanks to the rain and storm earlier.

You nose picks up something. A savory delicious smell coming from inside the house. Wait is this his plan?

Not so long, Noya came back with two noodle cups. He gave one to you and place himself right next to you. He only give you a grin before you two busy enjoying your instant noodle.

Not only your stomach but your heart warms up now. It's the little silence that you two in.

You smiled. After putting your cup of noodle away you chuckles.

Nishinoya confused. "What? You still hungry??"

You shakes you head, "I just don't remember keeping instant cup noodles though.." "Oh it was mine. I brought spare food everywhere, because y'know i eat a lot." Nishinoya grins.

You thanked him as you ruffles his golden bangs. And your hand quickly got snatch from his head before you know it you already cornered between him and the cold concrete wall behind you.

Is this what kabedon looks like?

He slowly release your hand and apologize. Very ashamed of what he have done. He excuse himself but you stopped him.

"...Stay for a while."

God how can he say no?

Being in the same grade as you provide him with a lots of opportunities. Not only he can see you everyday outside the club activity, he's given the opportunity of interacting with you because you two are in the same class ans apparently, you sat beside him.

He nods and sits back while you quietly watch over his side profile. Damn, you never knew that Nishinoya is actually.. Pretty good-looking.

"Sorry, i acted without thinking earlier."

"Nah, it's fine. Don't worry about it. Also, gotta admit though, you look cool with your hair down, Noya."

You can tell he's surprised. A girl? Tell him he looks cool? What? In? The? World? Is? Happening???

It seems like the cold air and the full stomach is now making you drowsy. Noya notices this, he grabs your hand and leads you to your room.

"There there. Sleep tight kay?" He spoke as he cover your whole body with blanket. It's warm.

But it's not enough.

"Hnnh.. Noya, cold." You whine.

"Haa?? Then what do you want me to do? Cuddle you up?" He jokes. Well suprisingly you nods.

Noya shocked, but why not right? He smiles as he enters the soft blanket of yours and sighed.

"Fine i'll spoon you."

5. Tanaka Ryuunosuke

OMF THE CHAOS

He's literally dreading to go to your house.

"Oh shit nvm Kiyoko-san is number one- ...but sleepover at (Y/n)-san's house though, BUT KIYOKO-SAN!! B-But (Y/n)-san.."

Yeah that's what his mind probably looks like. He obviously loves Kiyoko but heck, when you appear infront of him. It's like another flower has bloom.

He swear to himself that he only devotes himself to Shimizu Kiyoko and not do anything weird but protect you as Karasuno's manager and that's it.

But when he enters your house, and seeing everybody so relaxed, he thinks "heh why not?"

Especially when he saw you getting out from the shower. He feels like he just cameback fro a long day at work and his wife is serving him-

WAIT NO THINK OF SHIMIZU KIYOKO.

Dang it, he hates himself. He can't pick. He loves Kiyoko so much but you.. You keep disturbing him.

And ofc you don't even know that this is what's going on. You only think that Tanaka loves Shimizu-senpai so it's cool he acts very defensive to the managers especially when they're outside the school.

But why is so nervous yet so happy when he sees you?

You cameback from the kitchen, placing the dinner on the table with Suga-san helping you out.

The entire scenario of you being his wife serving him right after he cameback from his work is very vivid.

He shakes his heaed as he stuff and chomps down his rice. Secretly stealing a gaze over your direction. Everybody's attention is slightly moves towards you too.

The way you eat, the way you speak, the way you smiles..

He ignores those all and focus on his meal and moves his focus elsewhere by teasing another member whose embarassed or flustered just because they're in your house.

But he's secretly overwhelmed too.

And not so long it's sleeping time.

"Um.. Due to lack of the space, one of you have to sleep with me."

"I'LL DO IT!" "NO YOU DUMBASS! STOP COCKBLOCKING ME TANAKA!" "STOP IT YOU TWOO!!!"

Sugawara was quick to respond. But you already sighs and shakes your head. "Nevermind i'll sleep by myself.. Goodnight Guys."

Shit. He felt guilty now.

He tried to erase his feeling of guilty away, Nishinoya and the others are very quick to fall asleep. They left him alone. Awake in the darkness.

He can't sleep with this guilty feeling on his chest. As a true man, he must deal with his problem straight away.

So he brace himself and lightly knock on your door.

No answer. "Shit, she's probably already asleep. I should just wait untill tomorrow-" and the door opens.

Revealing you with a sleepy face and messy hair. So you did already sleepy.

"S-SORRY! I DIDN'T MEAN TO INTERRUPT. PLEASE GO BACK TO SLE-" "Tanaka shhh.. Not so loud.." you yawns as you rubs your eyes.

"It's fine, what is it? I'm awake now." You smiles. He want to say something. Tanaka is a simple guy, if something is interrupting him, he will told you immediately.

"No ah.. I'm sorry (Y/n)-san. You should probably go back to sleep-" "Geez.. Be quite!" A shout suddenly startled both of you. Causing you to quickly drags Tanaka inside and shutting the door.

"Okay, what do you want to say?"

Man, Tanaka Ryuunosuke is stop working.

He's inside your room, he always wonder what a girl's room looks like. (His Onee-san's room is a very different one in his perspective)

"Hellooo? Earth to Tanaka? Ya there?" You wave your hand infront of him as you tap his bald head.

"A-Ah yes! It's.. I want to apologize about earlier." "Huh? Oh, that's alright. I was just tired so a little ruckus kinda bugs me. But that's okay, i'm sorry too for sounding so annoyed, eheh."

Your awkward pure genuine smile moves his heart.

He smiles. Is that it? Is this his choice?

"Say (Y/n)-san.." "Geez Tanaka drop the suffix. We're in the same year." You protest. Tanaka awkwardly chuckles and nods.

"What is it?" You wonder. Anticipating an answer from a boy who's sitting infront of you.

"Do you.. Have someone in your mind?" He looks down. Didn't even that brave to look at your eye. Untill he feels a little thud in his shoulder. He looks up..

You fell asleep on his shoulder. Oh my God.

The panic.

He's panicking inside and it shows. You, who's now asleep and sound on his shoulder suddenly slides to his lap.

He quickly carry you to the bed and tugs you in.

"This is bad this is bad this is bad this is bad"

Poor boy lol.

But one things he notices, your hand.. It won't let go of his hand. Even though he relase your hand, you kept looking for his hand.

"How adorable," he think to himself.

"...Don't leave."

"..I won't. Because, i think i love you.."

6. Kageyama Tobio

Honestly, this boi can't behave himself when he's near you.

HE ADORES YOU AWWW.

Y'know ya boi Tobio never really cares about the outside world of voleyball. So he never notice any stuff that's going around even if A LOT of girls in his class are crushing on him.

In the middle school everybody seems so distant from him because of his past attitude, but he's willing to change when he came to Karasuno and boom, he met you.

What a spark of fireworks.

So now his world revolves around two things. Voleyball, and you.

Kageyama doesn't want to bother you, so he decline. But his poor self didn't bring umbrella. He already made up his mind that he'll sprint to home untill he (accidentally) heard your quarel with Daichi.

Well, why not?

So this boy tags along, and being the polite boy he is he behave SO POLITE IT HURTS YOUR EYES.

"Jesus Kageyama, you don't have to be so polite." You laughs as the other members starting to notice. Kageyama's forehead form a confused expression.

He's actually pretty quiet and calm in your house. Your house remind him a lot of his Grandma's house. The atmosphere, and the living room is practically almost identical.

He tried to enjoy the moment but ofc Hinata Boge will annoy tf outta him.

When you distribute the towels, something struck your mind and he snaps you out of it.

"(Y/n)-senpai? Is anything wrong?" You shakes your head and gave him a thumbs up, i forming everything's fine. He's happy with the little interaction that you're both having.

That's just enough for him.

It's almost his turn to shower, some of the member that showered first already back, and Hinata decided to go ahead and shower first. Taking over Kageyama's turn and leaving him behind.

He was about to chase after him but Daichi pulls him back. "Don't make any ruckus." He advised Kageyama.

But Hinata strangely came back with a pale face. As if he runs to a ghost or something.

"Oi what happened? You run to a ghost or something?" He asked, mocking him.

Hinata face turns to serious yet doubtfull. Oh shit something serious must have happened. Kageyama nudge him. "What happened?"

Hinata gulps, "... I saw Suga-san and (Y/n)-senpai in the kitchen.. They were.." Kageyama scoffs. "Yea they were cooking. What else they should be doing, huh?"

"No! Listen.. They were.. Ugh.. S-Suga-san.. Cornered (Y/n)-senpai.." Hinata whispered to him. Kageyama's heart almost stopped. So it's true.

A while ago, while he was practicing his jump serve, his ear caught something rather interesting. The third years were discussing about the managers. Including you.

"How about (Y/n)?" Daichi asked. "Aaah, i think everyone in the team atleast have a crush on her though. I mean ofc i had a crush on her, who wouldn't?" Sugawara jokes. Bur Asahi agreed too.

What? So he against the senpais too?

And the first years and second years too. Wow you sure are popular.

He gets up, clenching his towel between his fist and walked to the kitchen. While Hinata tried to hold him but poor guy he gets thrown away :(

Once he stepped to the Kitchen, he saw you and Suga. But both of you are blushing. Shit, he doesn't want to admit this but he think Hinata's not telling a lie.

"Oh Kageyama? The bathroom's that way." Sugawara's finger gesture over the bathroom and helped you with the meal. He can see a glistened of rivalry in his kouhai's eyes.

"Thanks." As Kageyama shuts the door. He curse to himself. Now he have to compete with Sugawara too? Not only the setter position but.. Girls too?

He spent his showering session by collecting himself. He must not show any emotion of upsetness. Then he gets out and surprise surprise he bumped into Sugawara.

The silence between them omg.

"Excuse me-" "Hinata told you, didn't he?"

"Shit. He knew. Now play dumb Tobio."

"H-Huh? What did you say, Suga-san?" He lies. Sugawara know from the start that Hinata will run to Kageyama and spill everything. And Kageyama Tobio is bad at lying.

"You know, that me and (Y/n)-" "Food's ready!! Everybody let's gather aroundd!" His words were cut off by Daichi's announcement.

The whole dinner session are spent well, Kageyama's usual quarell with Hinata about the food and you being so wholesome and kind about it.

But the way you and Sugawara's movement after that kitchen incident keeps bothering his mind. What if Sugawara..

And dinners ended. It's turn to sleep now. He's kind off sleepy already because of his routine. So after the room division, he will go straight to bed, he think.

"Um.. Due to lack of the space, one of you have to sleep with me."

What

"I VOLUNTEER MYSELF!" Nishinoya shouted. But he gets hold back by Sugawara. No no no. He cannot let anyone especially Sugawara to sleep with you.

"Nishinoya-senpai is tiny so i'm sure he can sleep with the others just fine." Kageyama adds. "HAAH WHAT DID YOU SAAAYYY?!"

"Let's go to the distributed room first and see, who's the one left. He gets to stay with (Y/n)-senpai." Kageyama proposes. Actually not a bad idea.

At first everyone doesn't want to take their place but their tired body forces them too. One by one, they all collapsed on the futon or matresss once they saw one. And that left us with Sugawara and Kageyama.

"You should choose, (Y/n)." Sugawara smiles.

Kageyama's almost lost because of his consciousness running out. He's THAT sleepy yall.

"Well then, i think i'll pick.." "Sugawara! There's one spot left here!" Before you can decide, (again) Daichi interrupts. And Kageyama's eyes almost rolled back because of his sleepiness.

"Fine then. Goodnight (Y/n), Kageyama." Sugawara smile as you both walk back to your room. Holding back his emotion.

You told Kageyama to wait and prepare his bed. You feel sorry for him, he must be so tired and yet he still force himself to fully awake.

"There, Kageyama. You can sleep now- Ehhh!" Whaddya know sis, he falls down. Face first to the matrass luckily not the floor.

You chuckles a little. This boy is very adorable. You know how he adores you when you help hin with his set practice. You ran your fingers trough his jet black hair, combing his hair.

"...Nyam, i like you.. (Y/n)-senpai..."

WOW. Didn't expect someone will confess to you trough sleep talking but sure i guess. A little laugh burst from you lips. Cheeks a lil' warm.

"Sweet dreams, Tobio.."

Part 3 coming upp~

[kenmasgameboy]

PIPSQUEAK

a kuroo x gangmember!reader

summary;

" you like to cause a bit of trouble, pipsqueak?"

" pipsqueak? seriously?"

Life for you got turned upside down after your first year at Nekoma high. Realizing it was too dangerous, your parents sent you back to live in Miyagi and attend Karasuno with your old friends. Kuroo Tetsuro, the Police Chiefs son, comes into contact with you in the most unexpected way possible, bringing trouble wherever you both go.

—————————-

Prologue.

      High school was never that interesting to you. Though, you'll admit that it was a good way to help the days pass. You always found different games to help.

At first, games to you meant sneaking out of the house, slashing tires, almost getting arrested, going to parties. You had a bad reputation. You had been mixed up with all the wrong people before at your old school. But now you were going to turn your life around. Even if that means that now games to you would mean studying. Kind of.

         The closest you'd probably get to your new life would be getting in trouble for minor things at school. For example, falling asleep in class was a specialty of yours. Truly, an art form. Waking up to that sweet slap of a ruler against your desk was better than any alarm clock you'd ever hear. The rush in your chest, the heat to your cheeks, the sweaty palms. Incredible. But that is it. You promised your mother that this year you would be making her proud at Karasuno. You wouldn't be hanging out with those "thugs" as she liked to call them. You would keep up, maybe pay attention, and maybe make some more real friends.

       The truth was that school never felt like a real challenge to you. Sure there were plenty of difficult subjects that made you feel stupid but you always kept out of the drama, minded your business, and kept your head down. It was fine. There really was a target on your back now that you were the new girl at school though, and you had adjusted week by week meeting new people and reuniting with some old ones, too. But ultimately you decided the social system just wasn't made for you. There wasn't really a good place for you to fit in, or maybe it just wasn't comparing to the kind of family you made before.

      Today was one of those days where your motivation was at its peak, you were taking good notes. Studied for a quiz, been overly diligent. Then that sweet beautiful sound of the lunch bell rang, you pulled out your food, grabbed your skateboard, and left the classroom in a bit of a hurry. As you were leaving you started to hear a conversation:

      Dude, don't worry, I have it completely handled. Watch...

      "(Y/N)!" Narita, your classmate called for you once you exited the room and into the hallway. He stood next to Ennoshita who looked like he would explode any second. You knew Narita, him and Ennoshita were in Class 4 with you and you really didn't have that many real friends at school but you wouldn't mind calling them that. They were some of the friends you were reunited with from middle school, they were a big comfort to you when you transferred in.

      "Hey, how's it going?" You slowly walked over, trying to find your excuse to leave and take a nap without seeming impolite.

      "Great, good. Thanks, yourself?" Narita answered for him and Ennoshita. He also seemed in a hurry for some reason but was much worse at covering it up.

      "Pretty tired, but uh, for the most part—" You started but your sentence didn't last long.

      "You should come to my party! Uh— Our party. We're having a party it would probably wake you up. It's in Tokyo! I mean—" Narita came in strong.

       "Nice, buddy. You really do got this handled." Was all Ennoshita followed it up with, "Gotta go, see you guys in class."

       "A party?" You laughed a little, just because these guys were anything but the partying type. You started walking and Narita was following you like a hawk, "Don't you guys have volleyball practice or something?"

        "Yeah, of course. But not this Friday night! I mean technically we do but we'll be done at 6:30. Party can start at 7:30." Narita followed up, "All the volleyball guys will be there, too. We have a summer training camp in Tokyo starting on Monday so this is kind of the only day we can get everyone together. We already had our friends from Nekoma invite pretty much everyone they knew."

       "N-Nekoma, huh?" Your smile wavered, "That sounds like it'll be really fun for you guys. Thanks for the invite, but I don't really know anyone on your team. Plus, I can't get to Tokyo by 7:30." You said, declining as well as you could without making your answer too suspicious.

       "Well, yeah about that. Um, by 'it's in Tokyo' what I meant to say was Tokyo guys will be there. They're volleyball players, too, actually." He explained, rubbing the back of his neck and adjusting his satchel, trying his best to act cool and lean against the vending machine you were using.

       "So, it's a Volleyball mixer with you guys and a bunch of guys from Tokyo but it's not in Tokyo? Where is it, then?" You asked for the elaboration, kind of liking this dancing way to get to the point.

        "Yes, well and other schools in Miyagi, too. It's a lot of schools, I mean I'm talking Nekoma, Fukorodani, Aoba Johsai, Johzenji, Date Tech, Shiratorizawa.. maybe.. Inarizaki.. and more.. again maybe. But it's at Kinoshita's house. Which is still kinda far, but it has a pool! His family is loaded and they'll all be gone this weekend." Narita finally got to the point.

        "Sounds like it'll be a good time for you guys. I'm happy for you, sounds like you've made a lot of friends from other schools." You cheers'd your milk to him and started walking again to find a place to eat.

        "No, no. Girls will be there, too. It's kinda the whole point."

        "You really have to work on your pitch." You said plainly.

        "Please, I need your help (Y/N). I was put in charge of getting girls to come to this party." Narita begged, you couldn't help but let out a laugh at his desperation. In all your years of knowing him and being in the same classes you had never seen him talk to a single girl who wasn't in a group project or something related to it.

        "Why you?"

        "It was either me or Tanaka."

        "Oh, then definitely you are the better choice." You agreed, having known just from the previous stories he's told you. "Interesting proposition. I'll think about it."

       "You'll think about it and say yes?" He tried, "Every time I talk to a pretty girl I feel like I'm going to throw up, I can't talk to groups of girls and invite them to a party. But you're likable, more well known now since you're the new girl."

       "First of all, rude that I don't make you want to throw up. I'm pretty, sometimes."

       "Fair."

        "How about, I'll say yes if you tell me who it is you have a crush on, which girl you most want at this party then I'll help out." You offered. Narita thought for a minute as you started eating your lunch.

       "Fine." He nodded, "This is my duty to my boys." Then he leaned into your ear and whispered the name of the prettiest and smartest girl in your class: Ichika Yua. Ichika was going to be a tough sell.

       "Alright. A deals a deal. You've given me a secret and I will do what I can do. How many girls do you need, anyway? Are we going for a 1:1 ratio or..?"

       "No, these guys need a much higher chance I think. Let's try a 4:1 ratio."

       "Yeah, actually you're gonna take what you can get."

       "Yes, ma'am."

        "Now give me the rundown on your team. I don't really know any of them and I need to know for my pitches I have to do this week. And don't think because I'm doing some work means that you can slack off okay. I really only know 2nd-year girls, if you want 3rd year or 1st you have to go to them. You need to try too. Also, will there be alcohol?" You listed off your demands and were straight forward. Narita made a slow nod,

        "Oh, I almost forgot. Do you know any girls from Nekoma who could come?" He asked you the dreaded question.

        Yup, you were originally supposed to spend your high school years at Nekoma High School. When you were entering high school your dad got a job offer in Tokyo, forcing you to move out there after middle school. Then after everything happened, your Mom knew it was too risky to let you live out in Tokyo still and she shipped you back here to go to Karasuno and live in a small apartment by yourself. You have family friends who come to check on you and your parents visit when they can. It's not horrible, at least now you get to come back to streets more familiar.

      "Um, I think the girls I knew from Nekoma aren't exactly the girls you want at a party. Besides, you should just ask your volleyball brethren to ask some girls and pull their weight. Or are they too pretty for you to talk to?" You teased Narita and knocked his head.

      "Hey, girls are girls." Narita held his head from where you knocked it.

      "Sure, if thats the case then the next time you see me I better be seeing some chunks."

     You and Narita continued to eat lunch together that day. Until you realized you only had a limited amount of time left and had to use the bathroom before class so you excused yourself. You skated away around the outside of the courtyard with a bun in your mouth and around some of your other classmates, waving.

        "Dude, uh. Who was that?" A guy with an aggressive appearance walked up to Narita, having walked past a few minutes before but stayed just to gawk.

        "Huh? (Y/N)?" Narita clarified, innocently.

        "(Y/N)... wow. What a beautiful name." Tanaka sighed in simp, "Is she our year?"

        "Yeah, man. She's in my class. You never noticed her before? I'm surprised she was the talk of Karasuno guys for like the whole first week of this year." He laughed. "She is technically new to Karasuno this year. But she's from Miyagi, I've known her since grade school."

        "My babe sensor has been reserved for Kiyoko only recently. Trying to be loyal." He humphed, "You guys a thing?"

       "What? No, no." Narita laughed, "No, we've just been friends for a while. She's helping me get girls to come to the party on Friday."

       Tanaka jumped up with optimism, "Yes! This is going to be the best party of our high school lives!"

       "I hope so." Narita rubbed his neck to try and tame his nerves again.

       "(Y/N).." Tanaka sighed again, "You know who's gonna go nuts when they get a look at her, right?"

       "I know."

———————————-

next

Thank you so much for reading!! Please let me know what you think and keep reading!!

[cannot-decide-on-a-fandom]

Part 2 of this way too long already crusade

This time, manga match ratings! Same rules as last time. Here's part 1-

Nekoma Vs Fukurodani Tokyo Qualifiers

Can I just appreciate how there's an entire arc in this series where our main characters only appear a couple times, about completely different teams playing matches they are not in any way involved with? It's so cool to see this, especially because Fukurodani isn't really Karasuno's rival as much as Nekoma's. Haikyuu really, really does give the spotlight to every single person at one point or another. And we see this happening in the nationals too, we don't only see Karasuno play.

Specifically for this match, I loved seeing the inner workings of all their plays, and it was such a great thing, as this was the first time we saw an official match with high level teams where it still remained relatively friendly, without removing from the competitiveness. I'm so glad we're getting the OVA of this.

Also, Akaashi having a numbered freaking list of Bokuto's weaknesses...I just can't deal with this

I love those dorks so much

And we met Akane and Alisa!

7.5/10

Nekoma Vs Nohebi

Alright, so I completely DESPISED Suguru at first. The first character I thought negatively of.

But...dammit Furudate, why are you such a great writer? How can you make me love him eventually?

Anyway, let me talk about the MVP of this match (in my eyes anyway!)

My boy!

I'm so sorry you got hurt! But you did so well!

Do you know what? When I was reading this and heard it was a sprain, I was like "oh, that sucks. But hey, it could be worse"

Then I sprained my own ankle in a competition and... damn, that hurts! I couldn't walk properly for like a week, and I couldn't exercise for 6. It's so much worse than I expected. My poor boy.

But we got Shibayama playing due to this, and that was great. And the moments with Lev. And HUGS!

I also liked the backstory for Yaku and Kuroo.

They're just...nerds. I love them so much.

I need to reread this match soon.

8.5/10

Okay, there weren't really any "matches" as such I could comment on during training camp, and Karasuno/Dateko practices we didn't see enough of, so! Jumping straight into nationals!

Karasuno Vs Tsubakihara

I have to apologize to Tsubakihara because for like a month, every time I tried to think of their name I couldn't remember it.

But still, this was a nice match. It brought us some new things like the ceiling serve, and the characters on the opposition were nice. It wasn't extraordinary, but you know what? I'm glad it exists.

Also! We started getting Kinoshita development! Yes, baby! He was always the least explored person on the team and I'm glad Furudate didn't ignore him (like they ever would, though, they're too great for that)

It was also the start of Hinata's improved receives, at least in official games. And I really liked how there was exploration of how the arena effects plays, because that is definitely the case. you perform in anything better when it's more similar to your own regular location. I love it.

7/10

Karasuno Vs Inarizaki

HELL YEAH!!!!!

This is my second favourite match of the entire series

It's so good! The Miya twins are stupidly chaotic, Kita is just wonderful, the entire team is great, and as for the actual match?

ARE YOU KIDDING ME WITH THIS?

How can I not love it? Hinata, I'm so proud baby! The twins version of the freak quick? Awesome. Tanaka's backstory? I LOVE IT!

Showing mistakes and screw ups by each player was fantastic, there was a lot of humour as well without detracting from the seriousness of this game, the freaking declaration of Atsumu tossing to Hinata one day, I just....I can't deal with this game

9.5/10 Would be 10 if the next match didn't exist

Karasuno Vs Nekoma Nationals

Okay. I'm not gonna say much, because I could honestly rant about this game for like 2 hours straight no problem. But....YEAH!

This is EASILY my favourite game of the entire series. It was the most emotional game of any of them, the freaking symbolism of the birdcage and all, seeing Kenma planning and Hinata being frustrated is so weirdly satisfying, Yamaguchi and Tsukki celebrating together, the HUGS!

KENMA!!!!!!!

I'm so proud of you! Are you kidding me?

Like, I know we say Tsukishima has had the best development, and I'm not necessarily disagreeing, but can we for a moment appreciate my precious boy?

He grew SO MUCH! IT'S SUCH AN AMAZING THING SEEING HIM SAY HE'S HAVING FUN! I JUST ABOUT DIED!

There's so much more, but I think I might burst if I talk about this more.

10/10. If I could give it 1000 I would but that would destroy the point of the scoring system.

Fukurodani Vs Mujinazaki

Oh, boy. How are we gonna follow up the best match of the series?

I'll tell you how, by more backstory, this time of Akaashi, hell yeah!

...I say that too much.

Anyway, this arc is what cemented Akaashi's place in my top 10 characters. I love seeing usually calm and collected characters struggling and feeling frustrated, but he handled it so well. He tried so hard, and he overcame it, and I love the little glimpses of his past with Bokuto.

I'm pretty sure the line "no matter what other people may say, we are the protagonists of the world" came from this match too (though I could be wrong), which is the rawest freaking line possible

I just...I really enjoyed seeing a Fukurodani match like this. As I said earlier, Nekoma and Fukurodani are rivals more than Karasuno and Fukurodani, but because Nekoma and Karasuno are strongly correlated, they were kind of tangentially related to the qualifiers, and they were mentioned a few times too.

But this was purely about Fukurodani. We got character arcs entirely about a team who we never actually saw Karasuno face

The entire game was great. It was good enough to not feel like a let down after the previous match, but also a nice cooling off period. I do adore this match

8.5/10

And, Finally

Karasuno Vs Kamomedai

...oh boy. Why not just hit me with a brick while you're at it?

Gonna be real, Hoshiumi is my least favourite rival (again though, that doesn't mean I dislike him, I love every character in this series) and when reading this match at first, I was like...I won't be able to get into this, will I?

...I need a clown mask or something.

This match made me cry so much! Hinata abandoning the name "Little Giant" and aiming for the title of "The Greatest Decoy", and how mature he was throughout this match, and everything alongside it...I can't deal with it without feeling things.

Actually, and I swear I'm not adding this just as a self promotion or something but purely because it's a lot faster to just link this than describe my thoughts here again, I made a video pretty much about this match, so check it out if you want my thoughts

9/10

And we've come to the end

This was...way too long

But oh well. Do you agree?

[somepinkthing]

wrt to tsukki and kags never getting along, i feel like the animosity is more from Tsukki's end? Like Tsukki may seem lowkey, but Kags even said something like "you can underestimate him," and even when they first met all Kags did was ask for his height before Tsukki suddenly started to get rude to him. Maybe Kags is extra rude to Tsukki as his way of defending himself? idk, some silly thoughts. Also, i really love ur meta's and analysis! i always find myself like :) when i'm scrolling thru

Eeeeeeeehhh idk about that. Not anymore anyways. The one who started it was definitely tsukki but at this point they kind of have this uneasy truce that’s equally as uneasy on both ends. Also, it’s not like they actually have any real animosity between them anymore. The part I always fail to mention is that their relationship has made quite a bit of progress; it’s not like the two of them are actually totally incapable of getting along. It's more like they're currently stuck in this weird mix of being friend-ish teammates and mortal enemies and they haven't quite figured it out yet.

Tsukishima pushed kageyama abnormally hard in their first meeting and honestly the reason that makes the most sense would be that furudate had to expose kageyama’s past somehow and tsukishima, a newcomer who happens to dislike kageyama anyways, was chosen to do the exposing. And also, tsukishima and yamaguchi’s characters weren’t yet set in stone (which I think furudate might have said somewhere) because by the seijoh practice match they’re already kind of different people than before. But yeah, whatever the case the starting point came from tsukishima, but neither of them have any intention of doing anything about their relationship so it’s kind of settled into the uneasy truce I mentioned. Like they don’t fix it, but they also don’t make it worse–immediately following their first meeting/match tsukishima pretty much backed down on any heavy topics and won’t say anything terribly out of turn anymore (lending credibility to the theory that part of it was just a writing thing), and on the other end kageyama hasn’t physically attacked tsukishima since then either. So it is a truce, but they definitely still push at each other’s buttons.

As far as who pushes each other’s buttons harder, I wonder. Tsukishima pushes them with more frequency but I feel like kageyama is more likely to go for the things that really irk tsukishima (whether he means to or not). Tsukishima pushes and teases, but he’s careful not to make an impact. Even in the recent chapters where he straight up called kageyama out for reverting and being admittedly rude, he didn’t step too far out of line; he wasn’t saying something tanaka or hinata wouldn’t and it wasn’t anything that struck too deep, which is the pattern. Tsukishima is still abrasive towards kageyama but he hasn’t really overstepped since their first meeting. And on kageyama’s part, he is allowed to be every bit as abrasive right back. So, intentional or not, I can’t really say who makes the other angrier.

The difference really is in the fact that while loud and abrasive is sort of kageyama’s default, this new level of ill-temperedness is really abnormal for tsukishima. Meaning that kageyama is pushing at tsukishima’s buttons in part because that’s who he is and he doesn’t see anything wrong with it (which might actually just make tsukishima angrier at him tbh). However, tsukishima has to know to some degree that his behavior is totally out of character for him and he either doesn’t care or just loses control. Either way, for some reason kageyama bypassed all his normal rules of interaction right from the first meeting. Kageyama doesn’t like tsukishima so he turns his intensity up around him. Not ideal given that his normal intensity is already pretty intense but what are you gonna do? But with tsukishima it’s basically a total switch.

Tsukishima manages to get along with just about every other character. He is distant and still has an attitude, but his default is polite and respectful. Around others, he’s happy to play the role of an observer, occasionally throwing in a snide yet mild taunt or maybe his own carefully worded opinion. With kageyama, that’s not the case at all. Around kageyama he is blunt, vindictive, and more talkative than I ever see him anywhere else. On their bad days, if he’s not avidly avoiding kageyama, he's arguing with him. I have actually never seen tsukishima in an altercation that did not involve kageyama in some way. Again, that’s abnormal. Kageyama picks fights with others all the time. Tsukishima does not. So its odd that a lot of their fights are picked by tsukishima and it’s odd that he perpetuates the fights when he’d usually choose to back off or limit them to trading simple taunts. So even if tsukishima dislikes kageyama, it’s weird that he’s so insistent about it. I mean, he didn’t like tendou either but that was totally different (though he also spends a lot less time with tendou so). He should be able to be satisfied with just judging kageyama from a distance and keeping his distance. So I can’t really judge who makes who angrier, but I can say that tsukishima is the one acting weird here.

Why? What about kageyama generates such a strong reaction in tsukishima? That’s anyone’s guess. We don’t know yet. Honestly, I do think it’s got a big part to do with personality. If you think about it, they perfectly clash.

BUT I feel I should give the two of them more credit too. Their current truce is uneasy but it also works extremely well and hasn’t broken yet. They respect each others’ skills and have a strong on-court relationship that can endure some pretty rough shit: kageyama’s little fit and subsequent change after the national youth training camp didn’t break it, tsukishima’s initial attitude and his change didn’t break it, none of their matches so far have broken it. And tbh they are (very tentatively) getting along better personally too. They even spend downtime together, albeit with a group. And all they needed to get to where they are was time. Maybe all they really need is enough time to settle in with each other. I know I keep making it sound like they absolutely hate each other’s guts but idk if it’s that simple; their relationship just keeps improving with time and we have multiple examples of them actually getting along in canon. So its not like their relationship is unsalvageable. Rather, I think something about kageyama rubbed tsukishima the wrong way right from the beginning and somehow, despite the fact that he can allow their relationship to move forward and has even bonded with kageyama, he can’t seem to get over whatever it was about kageyama that made him so reactive. And for kageyama it’s a little bit of their shared dislike and a little bit of his own natural reactiveness. Those things started and continue to perpetuate their squabbling even though they’ve managed to move their relationship forward. It’s almost like they’re holding onto their initial reaction to the other just to be stubborn at this point. But whatever it is that they refuse to drop for whatever reason, I don’t think their interactions can be classified as animosity anymore. They still don’t always like each other and we still don’t know why it started, but they definitely don’t hate each other anymore.

And thank you for liking me rambling on and on! Always appreciated!