deadlykitana

[frobby]

So I saw a piece of oofuri fanart on my Tumblr dash and it charmed me so much I had to look up what it was and consume it immediately

[therainroguefanfiction]

⚾ Adversary; Yuuichirou Tajima (Sportember #008)

📑 Table of Contents | ⚾ Challenge Post

Genre: Slice of Life, Angst, Fluff, School

Word Count: 2,796

Pairing: Reader x Tajima

World: Ookiku Furikabutte

Prompt: Adversary

Sport: Baseball

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Your eye twitched as you looked down at your test, seeing a bright red 90 written at the top of the page. Sako, your seatmate, smirked at you as she pushed her test to the edge of the desk, allowing you to see the perfect score.

“Damn, another one-hundred. I’m just way too good at school work.” She sighed dramatically, flipping her black hair over her shoulder.

“Wow, you’re so smart, Sako-chan!”

“You’re the smartest kid in the whole year!”

Sako laughed loudly, covering her mouth with the back of her hand. “What can I say? I’m just so perfect! Ahaha!”

Your jaw clenched, hand fisting around the test and nearing tearing it from the force. ‘What can you say? How about nothing.’ Stuffing your things into your shoulder bag, you stood up and left the room. Ever since Sako transferred to your class during your second year of middle school, she had made it her personal goal to beat you at everything you did and, no matter how much effort you put in, you were never able to beat her.

Not even once.

Academics, sports, art – she truly was amazing at everything she did and that pissed you off to no end. It made you feel insignificant, useless, like your efforts were completely pointless.

“What’s your problem?” Abe questioned after rounding the corner, nearly running into you.

Since both of you were heading for the baseball field, you fell in step with each other. “S’nothing.”

“Clearly. Was it the test?”

“…”

“Did you fail?”

“No.”

“Then, what’s the problem?”

Your lips parted but you quickly clamped them shut, choosing to shrug off the question instead. No one knew about your feud with Sako and, honestly, you worried that people would find it stupid. Even you found it stupid sometimes and, when you started high school, you had made a vow to yourself not to let her get to you, but you had long since broken that vow. It’s as if he knew exactly what buttons to press to get under your skin.

“No problem, just tired.” You finally answered.

Abe shrugged, silence falling over you. You heard the rest of the team before you saw them and that helped to lift your spirits. They had grown to be like family to you and you cared so deeply for them. ‘Well, I can’t consider Tajima family, though…’

Your cheeks heated up as you thought about the first-year. For you, it had been love at first sight, but you knew he just considered you as one of the guys. That was fine, though. Being friends with him was enough for you, as long as you got be close to him.

“Y/N~” Mizutani ran up to you, throwing his arms around your neck. “I want to show you this new technique I’m working on.” He started to explain, but you had already zoned out, eyes focused on your crush as you passed him by. He had his back to you, talking excitedly to Mihashi about one thing or another and you couldn’t help but chuckle at how excited he was.

‘He’s so damn cute.’

“You should just tell him,” Mizutani stated when he realized you weren’t paying attention.

“Nah, I’m not even his type. It’d be a waste of effort.”

He deadpanned at your excuse. “People can have a type and still fall in love with someone that doesn’t fit that type.”

“When the hell did you start sounding so smart?”

“Rude!” He bumped his shoulder against yours, making you laugh.

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“Y/N, wait up!” Coach Momoe jogged toward you with a smile, making you pause. “I need a favor.”

“Sure, what can I do for you?” You smiled politely as you turned to her, readjusting the books in your arms.

“Well, Tajima and Mihashi are failing several subjects,” she stated with an annoyed look on her face. “If they don’t get their grades up soon, I can’t let them play anymore!”

You realized what she was asking, forcing a soft smile. “Don’t worry, I’ll see what I can do to help them out.” It’s not that you didn’t want to help the boys, and you certainly wanted to spend more time with Tajima, but next week was the History pop quiz and you had to study harder. You were sick and tired of feeling inferior to Sako and you were determined to finally beat her at something. Just once, that’s all you wanted.

Lurking around the corner of the building, though, was Sako, listening in on the conversation. A plot was quickly forming within her mind and she smirked when she thought about your reaction.

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When class ended, Sako shot up out of her chair, rushing out of the room with her black hair swaying behind her like a cape. Your brow furrowed in confusion as you paused, staring at the door. ‘What the hell is up with her? She never leaves without insulting me at least once… maybe that’s a sign that things are getting better for me.’ With a soft smile, you gathered your things and headed for the baseball field. What you found, however, made your heart clench painfully.

Tajima and Mihashi were sitting in the dugout on the bench, facing each other with their notebooks between them. Sako stood behind Tajima, one hand on his right shoulder while she leaned over his left, her chest pressing against the back of his head.

‘Why… is she here?’

“Y/N,” coach Momoe sent you a concerned look as she approached you. “Sako told me that you weren’t feeling well. Why didn’t you tell me that you’re stressed out about school? I would have understood.”

“N-No, I’m fine.” Your mind was spinning in overdrive, trying to process the current situation, unable to tear your gaze away from Tajima.

“Don’t lie to me,” she scolded lightly, putting her hands on her hips. “You look like you’re about to pass out. Go home and get some rest, Sako will tutor them in your place.”

‘No, no no!’ You wanted to scream, to cry about how she had lied to them. ‘But they won’t believe me. Why would they?’

Tajima glanced up, his reddish-brown eyes meeting your own. Sako also looked up, giving you a victorious smirk as she leaned closer to him. Tears welled up in your eyes and you lowered your head, biting down hard on your lower lip to keep them at bay.

‘This isn’t fair… damn it!’ The books you were holding slipped from your grasp as your arms fell to your sides. ‘She really won’t be happy until she takes everything from me…’

“Y/N, what’s -”

You turned on your heal and took off running, ignoring the concerned calls of your name. Tears trailed down your cheeks, warm in the summer breeze. It felt like your heart was slowly cracking within your chest, a pain filling you like never before. Everyone loved Sako, so you knew Tajima would be no different.

‘This is your own fault, Y/N. You shouldn’t have been so obvious about your feelings!’ You always knew it would hurt if Tajima ever expressed an interest in someone, but you were sure you could get over it as long as he was happy, but… why her?

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A loud banging sounded on your bedroom door for the third time that morning, but you ignored it once again, staring blankly at the wall, wrapped tightly within your comforter like a burrito.

“Y/N!” Came your older brother’s voice, slightly muffled by the door but still quite worried. “It’s been a week, you can’t keep missing school! You’re gonna get held back, you know.”

But you didn’t care. If you were to get held back, then you wouldn’t be in class with Sako anymore which meant no more competitions, no more losing, no more feeling inferior. It sounded like a good option to you.

Your brother sighed and you heard feet shuffling down the hallway followed by a thick silence, the kind of silence that makes your ears ring. You tried so hard to go back to sleep, but your mind kept going back to the team. Did they even miss you? You doubted it since none of them had stopped by to check on you. Had they replaced you with Sako? Jealousy mixed with pain and anger, making tears well up within your eyes, but you wiped at them furiously because you were so damn tired of crying.

There was another knock on the door, softer than before. It wasn’t your brother. “Y/N, open up.” Mizutani’s voice floated to you, much softer than your brother’s had been so you had to strain yourself to hear him properly, but you could hear his concern. “It’s been so long, I forgot what you look like! Come on~ don’t you want to see your bestie?”

Your hand clenched around the covers because you did want to see him, but there was something inside of you that kept you in bed, preventing you from reaching out.

“I brought you a llama plushie!”

For the first time in a week, your spirits lifted slightly, eyes gaining a bit of life. Your body felt heavy and sluggish as you forced yourself up, toes flexing on the white carpet. The lock clicked as you turned it, stepping back as the door swung open. Mizutani’s usually cheerful smile was flipped into a worried frown, eyes searching your face, but you refused to look up from the carpet.

“Here.” He held out the small, purple plush to you and you accepted it gratefully, pulling it against your chest as you closed the door behind him before slinking back to your bed. He followed, plopping down onto the end, leg pulled up so he could face you.

“Thank you,” you mumbled softly, rubbing at your swollen eyes.

“Don’t thank me,” he grinned, folding his arms over his chest. “Tajima bought it for you, but your brother wouldn’t let him see you.”

Your cheeks burned at the thought, holding it tighter. “Really?”

“Yup! The whole team came to see you, but since your brother didn’t know what happened to you, he refused to let any of us see you, not even me!” He huffed, as if the idea offended him. “Finally, he agreed. Took him long enough.”

“I see…” you chewed on the inside of your cheek, feeling guilty for doubting your friends.

“Did you really think we forgot about you?” He quirked a brow, an amused grin upon his lips. “The team loves you, idiot.”

“Don’t call me an idiot, you idiot.”

Mizutani laughed, but then he sent you a serious look. “You want to tell me what happened? You know I’m here for you always.”

You frowned, lightly brushing the curled fur atop the llama’s head. “It’s… Sako.” As soon as the words left your lips, they refused to be stopped, tumbling from your mouth like rain from a clouded sky. You ended up telling him everything from the moment she entered your life and it felt so amazing to get everything off of your chest. You felt so much lighter, even with the tears sliding down your cheeks. “It was so stressful, but I could handle it all. At least until she… she…”

“She started hitting on Tajima,” Mizutani stated as he started to piece it together. He had thought it was strange how Sako suddenly showed interest in the baseball team and especially in Tajima himself. Everyone had thought the same thing, really, but no one could have suspected what the truth was.

You nodded. “I don’t know how she found out about my feelings. It’s probably my fault for not being more careful, but I know she was planning to take all of you from me, to prove once again that people will always choose her over me. I know that because she did the same thing back in middle school.”

His eyes widened a bit in surprise. “Really? What happened?”

“When she first transferred, I tried to befriend her and even brought her into my friend group. One of those friends I had a crush on and we had a date on the weekend, but he stood me up. I later found out that she had convinced him to leave me and go out with her instead. When I confronted her about this, my friends got angry at me for accusing her of such a thing. I don’t know how she did it, but she turned everyone against me, made me out to be the bad guy. I… Mizu, I’m so scared that she’s going to do it again.”

He frowned sadly, placing his hand over yours. “Y/N, that’s not -”

The door burst open with enough force to bounce off of the wall, making you nearly jump out of your skin. Tajima stood in the doorway, looking angrier than you had ever seen him before. Your face burned, knowing that you must look horrible with your red eyes, swollen from crying, and your hair sticking up in all directions.

“Tajima!” Mizutani scolded, turning to sent the boy an annoyed look. “I told you to wait outs -”

“That won’t happen!” He declared loudly, his reddish-brown eyes boring into your own. Like a magnetic pull, you couldn’t force yourself to look away. “No one can replace you, Y/N, especially not someone like Sako!”

“Oi! You can’t just -”

“Listen to me!” Tajima interrupted him again, closing the distance without ever breaking your gaze. “There’s only one you in the world and no one can compare!” A grin slowly slid onto his lips as he held his hand out to you. “Besides, she’s too late because I love you already!”

“N-No shame!” Mizutani cried in disbelief. He couldn’t imagine just blurting that out without fear.

Tajima laughed, rubbing the back of his head. “Besides, you’re the only one that really gets me going when I masturbate, Y/N.”

“Are you an idiot?!” The orangette cried, jumping off the bed and grabbing the front of Tajima’s shirt. “You can’t just say stuff like that!”

“Eh? Why not?”

“Because it’s weird!”

“What do you mean weird?” He huffed in response, putting his hands on his hips. “It’s completely natural!”

You suddenly started laughing, hiding your face in the soft fur of the llama.

Mizutani’s face fell as he turned to you. “Don’t encourage him, Y/N.”

“I’m sorry,” you chuckled, smiling brightly as you reached for Tajima’s hand, still outstretched toward you. His fingers curled around the back of your hand, his eyes shining as they met yours. “Thank you so much, guys. I… I’m sorry for causing you trouble.”

With a relieved sigh, Mizutani sent you a smile. “No trouble at all, that’s what high school is for, right? Drama is the essence of life.”

“No,” you wrinkled your nose. “This is not an anime, Mizu.”

“Whatever.” He rolled his eyes. “Are you gonna come see the others? They haven’t stopped messaging me since I arrived.” To prove his point, he pulled the phone from his pocket and showed you the screen where the notifications were constantly scrolling as new messages came through.

“Yeah, just… give me some time to get a shower?”

“Sure thing.” He headed for the door, pausing to wait for the black-haired boy.

Tajima leaned forward so he could whisper in your ear, voice lowered. “You finally beat her at something, Y/N~” He then pecked your cheek and headed to the door. “Man, I’m starving!”

“You just had breakfast, how can you be hungry?”

“I’m a growing boy!”

Their voices faded as they got further down the hall. You glanced down at the plush in your hands, unable to stop smiling. He was right – this time, Sako wasn’t going to take away the people that you cared about. ‘I don’t think my heart has ever felt this full before… what a strange feeling.’

“Y/N, hurry up~!” Tajima whined as he stuck his head back into the room. “Let’s go get food!”

“Ah, I have to shower, hold on!”

“Shower later,” he pouted. “You look gorgeous just how you are!”

“F-Fine,” your face heated up as you headed for the door. “At least let me change into some clean clothes.”

With a nod, he headed back down the hall and you shut the door, locking it for good measure. You quickly changed into some comfortable, clean clothes and tried to make yourself look as presentable as possible before heading for the living room. The entire team was there waiting for you, smiling brightly when you arrived. They pulled you into a tight group hug, telling you how much they missed you and asking if you were okay.

You had never felt so much warmth in your entire life.

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[sportsanimebreakdown]

Breakdown: Ookiku Furikabutte (Big Windup or Oofuri)

SPOILER FREE

Big Windup: High school baseball anime (studio is A-1 Pictures) and manga (Asa Higuchi), ongoing.

Production: Solid. Production IG and Madhouse still dominate in terms of quality, but A-1 is sure as hell head and shoulders above the clusterfuck team that did Eyeshield (which was a combo of TV Tokyo, NAS, and Gallop).

Tropes: Low Self-Esteem Hero, Fudanshi Bait, “I Will Make You A Hero”, Slice Of Life

Not-Your-Wikipedia-Summary: Ren Mihashi is a total wuss because his middle school baseball team utterly destroyed his self confidence. They always lost because the catcher never knew how to use Mihashi’s insane ball control to their advantage. Now Mihashi is in high school and a nervous wreck and joins the baseball team. The catcher, Takaya Abe, (voiced by the extremely talented and easy-to-pick-out Yuichi Nakamura), sees Mihashi’s potential and decides he’s going to make Mihashi into the best damn ace that’ll take them all to Koushien. Cue slow-paced, feel-good, team-coming-together-against-the-odds 

TL;DR Review: It’s cute. It’s low stress. If you want to watch the friendship between boys be pushed and pulled and strained and celebrated all in the frame of high school baseball, and if you want that satisfaction that comes from a low-self-esteem hero showing everyone up, it’s a fun trip. Yes, all the character blush too much and the queer baiting between several characters is so obvious it borders on fetishization. But it’s not a bad thing to have different kinds of boys represented: scared boys, crying boys, boys who aren’t sure of themselves but are teaming up to try their best. We need to show that no matter what kind of person you are, you’re still a valuable part of the team. 

"Objective” Score: 6/10 (for those who like/need a slow pace and can overlook the problematic coach [more below])

Personal Score: 4/10 (too queer baity [make it gay or don’t, just stop with the fucking baiting], too slow, too problematic with the coach character)

Full Thoughts: So it’s been awhile since I watched this series. After watching One Outs I thought I’d go watch its exact opposite while still in the baseball genre. I have to say, it didn’t really age on me well. I think it’s a good series for 13-15 year-olds. It has all that blushing queer baiting that, if you’re in the closet or still figuring yourself out, might be tantalizingly close to validation. Also, like I said above, it’s great to see boys who aren’t chock full of toxic masculinity. You can be a scaredy cat and still be a good athlete. It has enough humor and embarrassed-youth moments to make it relatable/more dramatic for younger viewers or those who are still capable of being embarrassed. For those of us who are older/cynical/naturally-prone-to-being-an-asshole, watching it is more irritating than anything else. 

But let’s talk about something else...

Author Insertion Characters: Now, let me make it clear at the outset that this is NOT limited to female authors/creators. Pretty much every series has The Inserted Author, and more often than not it’s the protagonist. This is especially apparent where there are multiple female characters all in love with one boring ass dude. But what about when the Inserted Author isn’t the protagonist? What about when they’re a side character who is vicariously enjoying some exploitative scene? Usually, with male authors, we get side male characters who “happen to” see panty shots, etc. They’re so common to any series that they hardly need mentioning. I admit, I don’t even mention it, I’m so used to it; I just roll my eyes and watch on. But in the case of Oofuri, we get the team’s coach, Momoe. As soon as I saw her, I knew the series had been written/drawn by a woman, in good ways and bad. She’s got big boobs, has a strong personality, and the team is intimidated by her insane baseball skills and general strength. If she’d been written by a man, the team would’ve been drooling over her big breasts and there would have been a nonstop “comedic” tension over how sexy she was. But she’s not sexualized in any way. For that, I'm super grateful. (The bar is low for my gratitude, I admit.)

But there’s a couple of things about her that threw major red flags for me: one, that it’s made clear that she pours all of her money into this boy’s baseball team. Now, she’s a woman with insane baseball skills and a clear passion for the game. So why the fuck didn’t she start a GIRL’S softball team? They don’t even cover it, as if it’s not even a real question. And why is she pouring all of her everything into serving these young boy’s needs? Talk about gender role stereotypes. Why isn’t the school providing funds for all this equipment? Or if not, why aren’t they finding a way, as a TEAM, to raise funds for it? Why is she, the only woman on it, pouring all of her money into it? That’s one red flag. The other red flag basically answers all of those questions and can be seen below:

I’m sorry, is that woman orgasming over team bonding between adolescent boys?  If you don’t have a problem with the above screenshot, if your brain is saying some shit like “but no, it’s pure! Because she’s a woman! And they’re boys!” then I want you to do a mental experiment: imagine that screenshot above with the genders switched. So an older man is clutching himself, blushing and sweating like that, saying “this is so good” behind the backs of a bunch of oblivious 14/15-yo girls. Is your mental reaction a little different? Good. Now readjust your previous opinion. This answers the question of why she’s coaching a boy’s team. Because the author wanted to vicariously jill off on the emotional bonding between young boys, all under the excuse of the Female Purity Myth. What am I talking about? It’s the pervasive idea that women can’t be sexual/perverted. That womanhood somehow makes women “naturally” pure. This is damaging to men and women: To women because we’re shamed when we ARE sexual beings (which is a one sentence understatement of a very complicated issue), and to men/boys who are sexually abused by women but feel that they can’t come forward about it.

So. I’m conflicted. I like her character because SHE isn’t sexualized... but I’m angered by how the series validates the fetishization of queer relationships between boys by older women. I’d rather watch a series that has no female characters than a series that has one who is this problematic. I’ll be passing on re-watching any more of this.