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still ia but furusawa. FURUSAWA. at least get to the finals. reasons are as follows—
ACT 1:
- furuya and eijuns meeting. what the heck furuya. "are you like me too?" furuya pLEASE. and eijun knowing instinctively that furuya would be someone to look out for. + https://twitter.com/msbyhazey/status/1357564133235851265
ACT 1:
- furuya and eijuns meeting. what the heck furuya. "are you like me too?" furuya pLEASE. and eijun knowing instinctively that furuya would be someone to look out for. + https://twitter.com/msbyhazey/status/1357564133235851265
someone SPECIAL. A RIVAL.
- furuya not saying anything (or at least to us audience) of the same thought but showing us how he thought the same. the way he tried to get eijuns tire. tried to outrun him. be a few steps ahead, if not on the same path. furuya acknwoledged him too. +
- furuya not saying anything (or at least to us audience) of the same thought but showing us how he thought the same. the way he tried to get eijuns tire. tried to outrun him. be a few steps ahead, if not on the same path. furuya acknwoledged him too. +
- but furusawa arent just rivals! its true the rivalry was more in-focus for act i if vs act ii BUT the beginnings of friendship was there: furuya trying to make conversation with eijun (moon is pretty tonight scene); trusting eijun enough to lean on him when dying from heat; +
furuya sticking a lot to eijuns side, if not between harusawa, in different social situations (especially when eating); following eijun's lead when eijun would shout his dislike for something (see: when they trained under chris together and when they shouted at miyuki at night);+
when they bonded in the bath together and played with miyuki (something that happened in the drama cd if iirc? do correct me if im wrong /gen); furuya being more open to eijun when it comes to emotions and thoughts in general (see: when he said it pissed him off that eijun+
was saying to trust him to connect when he was replacing furuya; opening up to eijun randomly when it comes to feelings like when he told him he ddint want to feel like he did when they lost vs inashiro, etc); and of course, the EDs. furuharusawa EDs. hello, yeah? yeah.+
- i can talk about this for days but the vs teito match was something so furusawa. the "out of order" chap. i havent moved on. the way furuya has kinda like always acknowledged eijun to be a rival for the mound and a friend but not both TOGETHER. especially so when the yips hit+
eijun and we see it: furuya still seeing him as a rival for the mound but not really focused on eijun the way he is later on. when the vs teito match ended and furuya ran on his own, thinking about eijun? yeah look at this i was more coherent here: https://twitter.com/sagikaashi/status/1281636181000679427 +
and after that? when eijun comes barreling right behind and past him? hello? the message? the way furuya has a whole ass MOMENT to himself, realizing that eijun is both a friend AND a rival, a teammate to be wary of in a good way. now he can empathize with eijun and +
understand him a better, putting his focus back on eijun once again but better now because now hes come to realize hey, this guy? yeah? he has the yips and hes down, but hes crawling up. fast. and that INSPIRES furuya same way it threatens him. chef kiss
https://twitter.com/sagikaashi/status/1281636207391207424?s=20
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https://twitter.com/sagikaashi/status/1281636207391207424?s=20
+
i have so many feelings over this chapter cover. the parallels. the distance. i talked abt it three times. what the heck.
https://twitter.com/sagikaashi/status/1281248595719553025?s=20
https://twitter.com/sagikaashi/status/1296130087746596867?s=20
https://twitter.com/sagikaashi/status/1302232436000972801?s=20
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https://twitter.com/sagikaashi/status/1281248595719553025?s=20
https://twitter.com/sagikaashi/status/1296130087746596867?s=20
https://twitter.com/sagikaashi/status/1302232436000972801?s=20
+
- the fall finals when furusawa had one braincell to name their own players and yakushis players. eijun telling furuya to stop butting in but then they debate on who's what. also the beginning of mochi accepting his cheetahness lol +
- the end of yakushi finals. can we just. hello. furusawa smile?? yes? eijun declaring LOUDLY that he was gonna take the ace number from furuya. instead of holding bitterness against him after eijun was doing so well yet was still subbed out for the ace, he watched on with some+
annoyance and a lot of pride and excitement; annoyance at being subbed, and pride and excitement because yeah, that's HIS rival out there. his rival who also views eijun as a rival back. god. and the way furuya welcomes it all with the first real smile we see on him, and +
it just HAD to be directed at eijun. just had to be all this warm and excited too. what the heck. their friendship and rivalry culiminating in this moment: a challenge issued and its met with excitement. thats it. thats furusawa. +
- winter camp. the extra chapters. what else do i need to say (also the fact its canon they stick to each other in the bath. its in act ii too AND always when theyre tired. i)+
- ALSO that extra in the anime between s1 and s2 where furuya runs past eijun and they roll on the grass? yeah i teared up because therye so cute and dumb for what /lh /pos +
MOVING ON TO ACT 2:
- act 2 starts in koshien and we see furuya shining as ace with eijun as his relief pitcher. eijun who cheers furuya on and furuya who starts answering back. the change in dynamic was even commented on by the rest of the team as they got closer after winter+
- act 2 starts in koshien and we see furuya shining as ace with eijun as his relief pitcher. eijun who cheers furuya on and furuya who starts answering back. the change in dynamic was even commented on by the rest of the team as they got closer after winter+
(which again begs me to ask: what HAPPENED in winter camp that had them so close? the teianing? the suffering? was it the start of getting close in the bath and carrying each other? what. happened.)
- this moment where furuya hit 154 and eijun was all...whatever this is /lh +
- this moment where furuya hit 154 and eijun was all...whatever this is /lh +
- this wasnt to say eijun wasnt jealous; it was even exaggerated for comedic effect multiple times BUT. eijun never tried to sabotage him or say he was better. instead, he kept working hard so kataoka would use him. eijun was still supporting furuya regardless. hh. +
- furusawa's relationship in act ii takes a more complicated yet wholesome route. instead of it being mostly about rivalry and the occasional inspiration, act ii shows how their friendship has changed. being classmates probably helped strengthen their bond too like them sharing+
a book (and a braincell) and then this gem like eijun really is furuya's extroverted friend. furuya just trusts him to speak for him and he trsuts in what he'll say. i. +
- furusawa parallels in act i were wild but then act ii comes in and you get furuya falling into a slump of sorts while eijun rises, which is not unlike how furuya climbed the ladder while eijun scaled up a rokcy moutnain the year before. like: + https://twitter.com/sagikaashi/status/1312948869047541760?s=20
and this one...can you not get any more obvious we get it tj furusawa parallels /lh+ https://twitter.com/sagikaashi/status/1322599723115503616?s=20
and then these. bit more subtle but so so good bcs 1) eijun thinking abt the future while furuya is on the past and 2) furuya finally getting what it means to rely on a team and telling eijun, whos slowly thinking like furuya did+
https://twitter.com/sagikaashi/status/1327982395845316608?s=20 https://twitter.com/sagikaashi/status/1355809020175675394?s=20
https://twitter.com/sagikaashi/status/1327982395845316608?s=20 https://twitter.com/sagikaashi/status/1355809020175675394?s=20
- honest to god, i remember having a full-blown moment over this. i still have a moment thinking about it because theres so much to unpack. i dont have enough time or wrist energy for it, sorry +
- the furuya injury v2. im going to scream. the silence. the concern, and even then, the drive to keep going was alivei n bothj of them. the motivation. how do you even begin to explain this moment when it feels so? intimate, like only they would understand its weight. +
- speaking of, furusawa has a lot of things that are unique to them only. the way only they can feel and convey certain things. i think the best example of this is the hakuryu match please they looked like they were gonna deck it out but eijun—he understood furuya. +
- also furuya complimenting eijun. im. shaky breathing. this was the first one—the first OUTWARD and OBVIOUS one. i know hes implied compliments/praise before but this was the first AND it was with furuya as ace. let that sink in +
- going back a bit: furusawa's relationship made a turn for the better in act ii, right? i said that it got more complex but like wholesome i forgot my exact words but i think that complex thing comes into play here because furuya says this, like he LIKES that they compete. like+
its something he looks forward to and if it were to suddenly stop, he'd be displeased. maybe its pride; after all, for some, there's a different kind of happiness when you beat other people and rise to the top vs being given the top from the start and maybe tahts how it goes+
for furuya—maybe he just wanted to beat eijun and say once and for all he was better fair and square. and i think that train of thought has merit because it kind of is what's happening here. furuya wants to beat eijun fair and square; their first fight for the ace number was+
in a way, unfair because of eijuns yips, right? and in a way after koshien too because furuya was given everything, which was so obvious in the spring vs ichidai too. he liked it, we all know that, but maybe it was boring for him. or maybe it just wasnt as fun as it wouldve +
been if eijun was in top form, because before the yips, furuya had a taste of what it was like to go against him just like that. different backgrounds (furuya having a proper team but being outcast vs eijuns ragtag team but tight), playing styles, but same starting line in seido+
whether its pride or what motivating furuya to want to keep the rivalry alive, he, and probably everybody on seido too can say that theres no better feeling that beating someone when your both at your best. its why seidou and other sporst teams still tell their enemy teams+
"hey, good luck! we'll beat you but gluckie!" because of that exact thing. following this logic and the narrative presented, furuya WANTS to keep going against eijun, and whatever the result, furuya will take it. he just wants to keep going because not only does he have a chacne+
at coming out on top and better, but also becasue he KNOWS this is for his own good as well. having a rival, a teammate to be wary of in a good way, also pushes him to better heights. AND this rival is a friend too who looks after him; literally furusawa best of both worlds.+
- i messed up the thread's timeline but anyway! "best of both worlds" means here that furusawa, in each other, found inspirations to be better and what/how not to be like. furuya knows not to be loud if he didnt want to be wrstled like eijun (lol), but in eijun, he also saw+
what a player who leads with his heart is like (which i forgot to mention but furuya leading with power and eijun with heart? furusawa complements what the heck) and what a player his opposite—not one to use brute force but instead a more flexible (haha) approach—is like. +
in eijun, furuya sees what a team's moodmaker should be like. in eijun, furuya sees what kind of pitcher he probably wanted to be like in order to be accepted by his peers, but WITH (not in) eijun, he learns that the right team will love him anyway, flaws and all. +
in furuya, eijun sees everything he wants to be as an ace from a perspective closer to him as theyre both freshmen (vs mei and sanada). eijun sees the speed and pwoer that could take down teams in one fell swoop but he sees too how power alone isnt enough. he sees that power in+
pitching may not necessarily translate to power and strenght against mental stress and the expectations you set upon yourself in addition to the expectations set on you by others. in furuya, eijun sees what the world is like TO the top, from the pov of someone there.+
but most of all, i know i sound cringey, but furusawa found a friend in each other.
- please furuya thinking eijun is the best in japan AND his entire spiel on how he's always admred eijun. furuya found a player he ADMIRES in his rival. +
- please furuya thinking eijun is the best in japan AND his entire spiel on how he's always admred eijun. furuya found a player he ADMIRES in his rival. +
the fact that its mutual makes me so emotional every single time. i wouldnt say im a sports anime/amnag veteran or what but really this kind of rivalry is just so wholesome to me. so good. so. so good.
- my body hurts. furusawa cute break. which leads me to: furusawa supporting each other is so cute like. in act i the real collaboration/helping each other out happened when sharing grip techniques (and fighting miyuki lol) but in act ii its transcended that and im. im so soft+
- this thread was supposed to follow a timeline but i lost it. rip but for now, have some furusawa pretty and again, furuya being open with eijun. im choosing to read this as furuya thinks eijun is his best friend or something of the sort. hm. +
- canon furuya smile 2. again with eijun. tehres no susnet to look into so they look practically straight into the field lights which is probably bad for their eyes but very them: go big or go hom (furuya would probs go home first tho). also..."that was in synch" "yes it was" i +
- genuinely tearing up right now i love furusawa so much im a multishipper but furusawa is so precious to me ok im just trying to air out my bias while i can. ft tiny furusawa stretchy buddies +
- anyway so, eijun becomes ace, right? and furuya goes back to 11. understandably, knowing furuya spersonality, he wasnt gonna throw a fit about it. he was gonna flare his aura, which he did later when the number was pinned on eijun, but the congrats he gave. im just+
i have no doubt that this is genuine for furuya. furuya, who calls only eijun by first name (based on canon), is a bit awkward but is so very earnest. it shows in his pitching (as said by miyuki that furuyas emotions kinda affect his pitching control) and as of act ii, in his +
teammates (still makes me very emotional because he looked at the team to calm himself down. the team. shaky inhale). so while he's surely dismayed by the outcome, he isn't holding it against eijun. instead, he'll use this to reflect and like the title says, "no pain no gain"+
(also, parallels again. furuya looking back while eijun looks forward because now furuya has to revisit his fundamentals as he did with his recuperation period and eijun looks to where furuya was and this is not the focus of this thread but i have many things to say)+
- haruno said it best. furuya is using his dethroning as a chance to work on himself and eijun understands that (see: yips). same way furuya sees how eijun wants the ace number but bears it with a shaky form, aware of what this new responsbility entails now and in the future+
- now idk tj and idk if they also do that thing where even the placement of people in a panel matters but id like to think they do (see: my ramblings on amahisa panels and power) and that theres a meaning furusawa specifically was like this: +
besides wanting to show that yeah, furuya wasnt ace anymore, id like to think theyre both still carrying the team together. like what oota said, maybe furuya can take the 11 as a double ace or something i forgot but thats the point. furursawa double aces. you dont carry the team+
alone and now that theyve both been aces, they know this better than anyone (which goes back to my point of furusawa undersanding each other in a way unique to them). so, double aces. i cry over eijun being ace AND double aces. yes. +
- short break: look at how aceijun cover looks side by side with furuyace panel/page. its the same pose. but flipped. im. IM. + https://twitter.com/sagikaashi/status/1322603038003982338?s=20
- on carrying the team together: furuya, as we've established, is kinda awkward. means well most times, but awk. but he's making the effort to meet eijun halfway, to encourage him, to help and make things easier for him however possible now that hes the relief for him. see:
- giving water can be so personal. remember in act i when people were so surprised that eijun willingly reached out to give furuya water and its their thing? yeah. small shows of support!!! (see: https://twitter.com/sagikaashi/status/1322836791888498688 ) it started with a cup of water+
and eijun going "mhmp." and later on furuya goes "mhmp" too and its cute so you know full furusawa bias and glasses on, i lost my marbles at furuya giving eijun a whole bottle of water. ill spare yall from that ramble dw. https://twitter.com/sagikaashi/status/1330173296109817869?s=20 +
- "i connected it" furuya says. its a big change from when he didnt want eijun to connect because he wanted to be on the mound longer. and now hes saying it tothe same guy he didnt want taking his place. yes. +
- eijun. i cant find the other panel too but theres this time where furuya tells eijun "somehow, if you say it eijun i believe it" (non-verbatim) and i just. furuya thats some trust you have there. what the heck. (affectionate). +
- furusawa, as act ii goes alone, gets less direct interactions which is kinda a given considering this is aceijun's fully-feldged ace time. but i still live for the little furusawa bits like furuya flaring his aura and all but also pushing eijun to keep going no mater waht.+
** i once said that i could write an essay on furusawa and i think i just did. im not sure what to feel about it, i feel like i look weird now lol but okay clearing this up now: im a multishipper, i love all eijun ships. so much. holy crap i love eijun ships, and im not like, +
mad or anything if furusawa doesnt win or what and i wont hate yall if you dont ship it lol /gen but i have very strong feelings over furusawa and i will do my best to spread the furusawa agenda. your call what to do with this haha (also i love kurasawa im hurting rn)+
** i kinda have to go bck to my work so i guess ill leave this thread like this (for now, or not who knows...not me).
FINAL (?) NOTE:
furusawa, whether you ship them or not, have chemistry. they have a bond thats solely theirs. furuyas bond with other people are obviously not+
FINAL (?) NOTE:
furusawa, whether you ship them or not, have chemistry. they have a bond thats solely theirs. furuyas bond with other people are obviously not+
like that with what he has with eijun, as furuya is different with eijun in general (see: furusawa rivalry throughout the series), but even on eijuns end, his bond with furuya is special.
eijun, as the mc, has many rivals. and sure, we can argue that furuya is a rival from+
eijun, as the mc, has many rivals. and sure, we can argue that furuya is a rival from+
WITHIN the team so of course the relationship would be different from, lets say, vs amahisa. but his bond with furuya really stands out vs the other rivals he has because he too, like furuya, wants to keep the flame and tesnion between them alive WITH their friendship. +
and sure, theres no concerte proof of that, but id like to think eijun letting furuya near him in the bath, sharing tips with him, stretching with him, and him remmebering the little things about furuya like how he likes to buy the snacks for people...i think eijun cherishes+
what he has with furuya in his own way. and maybe it'll all come to pass after they leave seido, who knows—but right now, in their present, they want to keep playing together AND against each other and keep their little furusawa thing alive. +
as miyuki kazuya put it, furuya is incredibly lucky and blessed to have been in the same batch and school as eijun, because so many great things in his life wouldnt have happened without him, same with eijun to furuya. they really drive each other to be their best selves;+
make of that what you will but its kinda true. and also, furuya's classic: "not once did i think i was better than him." yeah, he never did; maybe even if he wins over him, he'll never really think he's better, because he KNOWS eijun can catch up, just like furuya will to him.
thanks for coming to my mini ted-talk. my net/twt is wonky so this part is coming in late. i think i finished all my last braincells to write this character/relationship study.
additional old tweets to follow!
additional old tweets to follow!
i found the "if its you, eijun, then ill believe" moment: https://twitter.com/sagikaashi/status/1322897197042606080?s=20
NOTE, AGAIN:
reiterating that this thread DOES NOT aim to put down other ships or to prove why furusawa is superior, okay? and you dont have to ship them if you really dont see the appeal in them romantically. just here to say that furusawa special and
reiterating that this thread DOES NOT aim to put down other ships or to prove why furusawa is superior, okay? and you dont have to ship them if you really dont see the appeal in them romantically. just here to say that furusawa special and
im a sucker for eijun ships pls but i just really love furusawa i needed to let out WHY i love them. lets all have fun with the poll (vote buying /j) :))
