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Tobio didn’t make fun of shoyo when he said he was a ball boy bc he fully supports his boyfriend’s wrongs.

also bc he would have done the exact same thing.

He would sneak into a camp uninvited, he would go to Brazil just to learn and get better at the sport. He’s just as driven, just as dedicated he simply had more opportunities. As in the chance to start playing vb and working towards his goals earlier.

I know the whole natural talent vs hard work discourse in this fandom gets tired so I’d like to avoid talking about it further but I still wonder how do so many people underestimate how dedicated Kageyama is to volleyball

when this is him

I do think the fandom is aware that kageyama is a volleyball freak but many don’t see him as inspiring in the same way they view characters like Hinata or Oikawa because his story isn’t told through an underdog perspective.

He succeeds really young and continues to succeed even bigger which often gets read as being handed things on a silver platter rather than perseverance.

In contrast we see oikawa struggle “for longer” he doesn’t make it to nationals, he doesn’t get everything he desires. So the audience feel for him, they project onto him. They admire him for “working harder” precisely because he doesn’t get to win until the very end.

Kageyama gets to Nationals, he becomes an Olympian at 19, wins countless time with his team. He even get to achieve his dreams of becoming Japan’s best duo with hinata when Iwaoi could never (I’m joking but not really)

seriously tho tobio’s success shouldn’t make his story any less compelling than Oikawa’s especially since they are basically two sides of the same coins. if you think oikawa’s arc is amazingly done? well…

More importantly the same qualities that people admire tooru so much for are traits tobio carries as well : they are both resilient, passionate, determined etc etc

Yes tobio has an advantage of playing vb since he was basically 0 years old but he also had a very challenging childhood, went though so much isolation and rejections, from not having anyone to keep up with him to losing his support system to his teammates abandoning him but he never once became discouraged or thought about giving up.

He always shows up at the gym to practice every single time despite EVERYTHING he went through.

It’s only a fair to note that Oikawa had his own kind of privilege. He always had his childhood friend by his side and never experienced the same kind of loneliness tobio did.

Kageyama’s serves are so amazing and that’s because it’s one of the few skills he could practice completely on his own. He became so good at serving because he didn’t have anyone to practice everything else with.

Oikawa also is naturally charismatic which makes it easier for him to communicate and connect with any of his teammates… a huge advantage for a setter and that’s something Kageyama inherently lacked. He had to work hard to develop those skills.

I could go on bc I do enjoy oikawa and kageyama dynamic a lot but I’ve talked too much already so here’s my favorite official art of tobio to ever exist

“kageyama who can afford to look up at the sky even in the extreme cold” FURUDATE LOVES HIM SM

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Kageyama does not care about girls at all 😭😭

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hinata is kageyama translator hehe

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reading ball boy arc from manga and

kageyama had no idea abt what hinata has been up to, probably also clueless that Hinata is actually in throuble for barging into a training camp he wasn't invited to. (i figure he doesn't bother with such things, more focused on did you improve, or did you do something while I went ahead?)

but this panel! i love how there was no judgment in Kageyama's head. He didn't question it for more than a second, because if Hinata's got that look on his face, that gleam in his eyes, then obviously he's not wasted a week.

HDJKFHSLDFL i cant. I guess kageyama needed that reassurance, that Hinata hadn't just been sitting idle, or jumping up and down a court. he doesn't know what hinata's been up to yet, but being a ball boy better be worth the week kageyama spent moving ahead. and knowing that is satisfying enough (for now).

his face looks like he's saying 'good.' but prideful, and 'i won't be outdone'

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it says "people to watch out for" 😭

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when panic disaster meets bad timing 😓

[read from left to right]

all credits to the original artist @tsukkishookt on X

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I've been thinking a lot about Kageyama's mindset when he first meets Hinata and when they first start playing volleyball together.

Even at Kageyama's most demanding and unreasonable (playing on his middle school team), we really don't see him be as harsh with anyone else as he is with Hinata.

Caption: Kageyama is bluntly honest about his teammates not being good enough to make it off the bench, and he shouts instructions on the court - but he's not calling people names or antagonizing them in the same way he does with Hinata.

But, at the same time, Kageyama starts out, from day 1, taking Hinata more seriously than anyone else does.

So what's going on? What's with this attitude from Kageyama (that extends through the high school arc) that's so unique to how he views Hinata?

I think Kageyama has his hopes up about Hinata from the very beginning, and that really scares him.

Way down the road in chapter 387, we learn that Kageyama's childhood has been pretty lonely. He doesn't connect with his classmates at school, and even the other kids who like volleyball are so far behind him in skill that he has to intentionally throw games, just to stay on the court. His sister gives up volleyball, too.

At Kitagawa Dai, he's supposed to meet other kids on his level, but most of them still aren't as dedicated to volleyball as he is, and the ones who are (Oikawa) shun him.

Caption: Tobio Kageyama's never-ending parade of loneliness.

So, Kageyama, understandably, holds onto the words from his grandfather - an assurance that he will meet "someone better" one day; that he won't always be alone.

Kageyama holds onto that hope, but does he really trust that it'll come true?

Every time Kageyama has ever thought that he'd met people who could be that "someone better" or someone he could connect with, he's been let down.

Then he loses his grandfather, and he realizes just how alone he really is.

It's scary and isolating to get your hopes up over and over, so - by the time he meets Hinata - he must be wary of believing in someone else, yet again. Especially someone who sucks so bad at volleyball.

But Kageyama does believe in him.

He kind of can't help it, when Hinata is like this:

But, again, this is scary for Kageyama.

It's why he already feels cheated by the fact that Hinata isn't better - that Hinata hasn't been trying harder or practicing more.

Because Kageyama can already see how good Hinata could be.

(He could be, but will he?)

This is maybe clearest to me in chapter 2, where they meet again at Karasuno.

Hinata claims that he's improved a lot, and Kageyama is fully ready to believe him. He is visibly excited to see this new and improved version of Hinata.

I mean, look at Kageyama's face.

He's fired up.

Then Kageyama hits a nasty jump serve at him.

It's a vicious enough serve that Tanaka says to Suga that he probably couldn't have received the serve either.

So, it's not like Hinata failing to receive this serve means he really sucks. But, Kageyama looks surprised, disappointed, and angry that Hinata can't do it.

Did he really think that Hinata had improved enough that he might be able to receive that serve (one that even Tanaka couldn't have gotten)?

Tellingly, Kageyama gets mad because he feels stupid for believing in Hinata. He feels "like a dope" for believing Hinata when he said he'd gotten better.

Caption: Unless I'm wrong, this is also the first time Kageyama calls Hinata scrub (/boke). That feels significant to me.

And I think this is really the really illustrative moment for how Kageyama thinks about Hinata through the rest of the high school arc. He instinctively and reflexively believes in Hinata, but logically he knows that Hinata just isn't that good (yet). He knows that there's a risk Hinata might let him down, too.

It's scary and frustrating and disappointing each time Hinata shows how much he has left to learn, so Kageyama tries to make himself not believe in Hinata so much, while (at the same time) pushing Hinata to do better.

Because there's just something about Hinata that makes it impossible for Kageyama not to believe in him.

Kageyama has been let down over and over - every time he's wanted to find that person he can connect with, who's on his level, who's better.

I think that he wants that so much, but he doesn't want to be made a fool of again by getting his hopes up over something that won't pan out.

It's why he pushes Hinata so hard.

It's why, even when he's secretly impressed with Hinata, he doesn't want to to acknowledge it.

It's why he's "scared of change" (as Oikawa says) when Hinata wants to push their freak quick to be even better, and why he's "convinced himself that what they're doing good enough."

He thinks Hinata is his someone better. He wants Hinata to be his someone better. But he's scared that he's wrong.

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Can't wait to see how gay this is gonna look animated

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“If you get really good, someone even better will come and find you”

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day 4: facetime calls

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my classic piece for @kagehinabigbang in collaboration with @confuzzledsani, @morgendaemmerung89, and @/ermdelconcrete on twitter!

you can read the fic by confuzzledsani here

and more art by morgendaemmerung89 here!

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🫴🏼💫 hands...

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We focus too much on brazil! Hinata's phone wallpaper of the five friends but if you zoom in a little bit to the side panel...

His phone cover literally says 'Milk' ! Like Kageyama's favourite drink!!

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Guys I’m unwell. Hinata shaking on his tip toes, THE FACT THAT EVERY OLYMPICS WHEN THEY PLAY TOGETHER THEY CHOOSE THE 9/10 JERSEY NUMBERS!! Goodnight happy olympics

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hurry!!