#sometimes it's fun to exaggerate his happy-go-lucky personality for comedy

[canisalbus]

Since your boys have a lot of traction now, do you feel like people have misinterpretations of them?

Hmm h, not that I've noticed?

Sometimes I worry that since they have a lot of contrasting traits, people might end up thinking they're polar opposites in every way, which isn't true. For example, Machete is melancholic and brainy so of course Vasco should be foolish but happy. Vasco is light-hearted and gregarious and doesn't always think things through as carefully as he perhaps should, but I'd say he's just as smart as Machete and heaps wiser. His intelligence manifests as high social skills, wittiness and fast, practical thinking. Whereas Machete is a glass cannon that excels at one or two things and gets stuck in paper bags the rest of the time, Vasco can resolve and overcome almost any obstacle that gets thrown his way thanks to his broader and more well-rounded skillset. He doesn't frolic through life unaware and unaffected by pain and hardship, he just makes it look easy because he has better tools to deal with them.

[isadorastarotcards]

Reading the Court Cards -Jobs and characteristics of each court card

Court cards can represent people or you in a reading. There are four groups of court cards with four different characters. Depending on how many court cards are in a reading and how they are facing each other can tell you a lot about your answer to your question. They can also represent characteristics in a reading. Many readers use court cards in love readings to figure out the zodiac, physical attributes and other characteristics of a future lover. Now let's go down the list of what each court card represents.

King of wands

Zodiac: All fire signs more commonly for Sagittarius I've noticed, also common to come up for Scorpio placements due to the s*xual nature of the king of wands.

Planet: Mars

Jobs: Father, Teacher, Politician, Marketing, Producer, Businessman, Relator, Agent, Motivational speaker or Manager.

Characteristics: S*xual person, athletic, outgoing, optimistic, innovative, competitive, magnetic, impulsive, protective, magnetic, obsessive, honest, charismatic, domineering

Queen of Wands

Zodiac: Leo in the traditional deck there are lions decorating her throne. Pisces as well.

Planet: Sun

Jobs: Counselors, Exotic dancers, Dancers, Artist, Performer, Art director, Interior design, Aerobics, Business women, Human Resources, restaurant, hotel, Actress, someone who works with animals.

Characteristics; Loud, proud, extroverted, confidently different, exaggerated expression, passionate, ambitious, warm, kind, fun, opinionated, rash, bossy.

Knight of Wands

Zodiac: Sagittarius, occasionally July leos/cancers

Planet: Jupiter

Jobs: Soldier, Construction worker, Marketing, Promoting, Electricians, travel guide, travel influencer, waiters, Day trading, working with cars, horse stables, stage actor, stage man, startup, sports, activism.

Characteristics: Charismatic, Adventurous, Energetic, moves around a lot, Fearless, foolish, happy go lucky, cocky, Superficial, Restless, Confident in his actions, believes more in people's actions than words. S*xual card as well.

Page of Wands

Zodiac: Aries

Planet: Mars

Jobs: Gym coach, trainer, sneaker designer, improv actor, entry level job, band member, stage hand, yoga instructor, taxi/Uber, someone who works with a lot of hot food, dog walker/caretaker, veterinarian assistant.

Characteristics: Outgoing, childish, lively, someone who needs a lot of stimulation, someone who falls in love easily, young soul, immature, optimistic, loves trying new things, takes chances, gambler, rash, easy going, impatient, doesn't keep mouth shut, naive.

King of Swords

Zodiac: Capricorn/Aquarius

Planet: Saturn

Jobs: lawyer, judge, mediator, CEO, tech industry, crypto, banker, telecommunications, accountant, insurance, brain surgeon, newspaper writer, tax office, news reporter, high government job, politician, math professor.

Characteristics: Cool tempered, business oriented, analytical, conservative, ambitious, authoritative, ruthless, dishonest but also blunt, high standards, disciplined, cruel, direct, introverted, mature, intellectual, integrity.

Queen of Swords

Zodiac: Libra can sometimes represent a 1st Deacon Virgo.

Planet: Uranus/Venus

Jobs: Lecturer, executive, working in prisons, editors, journalists, coding, business women, quantum physics, statistics, lawyer, politics, publishing, medicine field, chemist, mediator, divorce lawyer.

Characteristics: Crone, critical of herself and others, analytical, direct, intelligently charming, truthful, just, constructive, single women, witty, pessimistic, realist, sharp, independent, sophisticated, can get a read on people very easily, women whose into psychological tricks.

Knight of Swords

Zodiac: Gemini/libra

Planet: Mercury

Jobs: Radio station, media, stand up comedy, attorney, Translator, military, detective, game developer, para-educator, teacher, EMTs, administrator, analyst, people who work with weather. Jobs with a lot of communication or speed.

Characteristics: assertive, communicator, dashing, brave, speedy, talkative, opinionated, intelligent, determined, ambitious, sarcastic, comedic, impulsive, arrogant, self confident, dashing, over estimating themselves, goes into situations very quickly.

Page of Swords

Zodiac sign: All air signs

Planet: Mercury

Jobs: Entry level communication jobs, Customer service, apprenticeship, maybe tattoo apprenticeship cause swords could be needles, technician, spy, blogger, flight attendant, leasing agent, student, IT person.

Characteristics: Curious, childish, thinking outside of the box, puzzle solver, quick thinker, complains a lot, nit picks, good writer, frank, alert of their surroundings, quick learner, agile, innovative, abrasive, observer and takes mental notes on people and their environment, lively, scholarly.

King of Cups

Zodiac sign: Pisces/Aquarius

Planet: Neptune

Jobs: High level entertainment or art industry, Doctor, photographer, stay at home dad, therapist, psychiatrist, marine biologist, veterinarian, working around water or boats, fisherman, teacher, CEO, owner of a club or bar or restaurant.

Characteristics: Kind, fatherly, stays in control of their emotions, family person, passionate, romantic, delusional, liar, exaggerates, creative, intuitive, opportunist, may like alcohol or drugs, passive aggressive, caring, charming, empathetic, flexible.

Queen of Cups

Zodiac sign: Cancer

Planet: Moon

Jobs: Stay at home mother, nurse, nursing home worker, zoologist, creative therapist (music, art), nutritionist, cosmetics industry, detective, party planner, actor, LPN, herbalist, case worker, massage therapist, physical therapist, seamstress, someone who cares for others and is creative.

Characteristics: Warm, maternal, heart of gold, loyal friend, imaginative, not punctual, intuitive, empathetic, can notice "vibes" very easily, nurturing, creative, sensitive, psychic, emotion over logic, peace keeper, bystander unless it's their children or family, illusions, dreamy, soft.

Knight of Cups

Zodiac sign: Scorpio/1st decon pisces

Planet: Pluto

Jobs: Diplomat, babysitter, health care, musician, writer, stylist, fashion designer, hairdresser, may have a job in spirituality, politician, graphic designer, zoologist, doggy daycare, daycare worker, groomer(pets), costal guard, pharmacist, graduate.

Characteristics: mediator, emotional, charismatic, idealizes everything around them, good at taking care of themselves, loyal, supportive, creative, jealous, possessive, moody, affectionate, love language might be gift giving, dreamer, polite, good with animals.

Page of Cups

Zodiac sign: All water signs

Element: Moon

Jobs: student, life guard, entry level jobs, counseling, art therapy, mental health worker, fisherman, model, artist for commissions, seamstress, content creator, retail worker.

Characteristics: Sensitive, fashionable, vain, nice, sweet, easily gets in relationships, obsessive, dreamer, gentle, loves love, positive, childish, cries easily, imaginative, good with animals, may have lots of pets, intuitive, intuitive dreams, optimistic

King of Pentacles

Zodiac sign: Taurus, Capricorn and Aries

Planet: Saturn

Jobs: Finance, Big CEO, banker, accountant, Stockbroker, financial advisor, something to do with the earth (landscape, plants, building, oil...), Lawyer, carpenter, landscaper, bodybuilder, executive, consultant, real estate, investor, flipping houses.

Characteristics: Strong willed, steady, responsible, calm headed, stubborn, authoritative, hard worker, if he has money he will make sure his family are taken care of, presents well, persistent, professional, solid, successful, dependable, reliable, provider, protective, determined, loyal, work ethic, good taste in food, good with money.

Queen of Pentacles

Zodiac sign: Taurus, Capricorn

Planet: Earth

Jobs: interior decorator, real estate agent, finical manager, business manager, business women, CEO, investor, angel investor, jeweler, personal shopper, someone who works with nature and animals, mother, private cook, business in the home, designer, psychologist.

Characteristics: Down to earth, calm, stable, knows herself and her surroundings, organized, materialistic, micromanager, green thumb, nurturing, silent, luxurious, compassionate, devoted, doesn't do flimsy relationships (friends and romance), knows what she wants and how to get it, dresses to impress, business minded.

Knight of Pentacles

Zodiac sign: Virgo, Scorpio, gemini

Planet: Mercury

Jobs: Retail manager, quality control, explorer, herbalist, zoologist, biologist, blue collar worker, carpentry, potter, wood carver, soldier, landscape, works with horses, veterinarian, mechanic, security guard, works with safes and safe keeping stuff, works with metal and land, waiter.

Characteristics: Hard worker, grounded, efficient, diligent, ambitious, considerate, influential, has your best interest at heart, quiet, not a complainer, ambitious, good taste in food or cooking, patient, forgiving but if you cross this person most likely to play the long game, methodical, young person but old soul.

Page of Pentacles

Zodiac sign: all earth signs

Planet: Earth

Jobs: Cashier, entry level, beginning level business or accountant job, someone who makes a lot of money off small gigs, entrepreneurship, generally a good sign for careers as it means the person has a lot of potential and is going on the right path career wise.

Characteristics: Studious, focused on their goal, loyal, might be overworking themselves with too many goals and not enough balance, practical, methodical, rational, can indicate a person who is a little lazy but has potential, young at heart.

[dothewrite]

breaking down my volleyball squad into thought-sized pieces

In a way, you could treat this as a character analysis. Perhaps even as unpopular headcanon, but here are some of my thoughts on the personalities of my favourite Haikyuu characters, past the first, second and third layer into their depths. Not entirely pulled out of my ass, these are just thoughts I’ve gathered from observing them in both anime and manga. Am I right, or am I wrong? There’s no answer, but you’re free to disagree.

Kuroo Tetsurou.

He’s my absolute favourite, but I’m not above picking at his flaws- one of the biggest reasons why I love this character so much. There’s so little revealed in the anime or manga, usually just as the ‘Captain’ or ‘Rival’ figure, but there’s so much underneath that gets glossed over very easily.

How much strength does it take for someone to pull together (and lead) a team that seems to be a gathering of strange misfits? Through in-game dynamics they seem to flow seamlessly, but if you think about it- the personalities of these people wouldn’t be the type to click together in a classroom or anything. Who binds them all? It’s Kuroo. There’s this solid, grounded feeling to him, when he needs to be. The keyword being need.

I have absolutely no evidence of anything I’m going to say next, but it’s a general feeling. Anyone with such prowess at provoking people, yet managing to admit their mistakes (e.g. pissing off Tsukishima), there’s definitely something. To me, Kuroo feels like the type of character that’s been there. He knows what to say, what parts hurt the most and when he needs to apologize because he’s said all these things to himself a thousand times in his head. He remembers the time when he chose not to apologize, or was too afraid to, and the consequences stung afterwards. He’s not a natural born genius at anything, but he has talent, and he’s honed his personality to fit what he has, over time, come to expect for himself. Kuroo Tetsurou knows what kind of person he doesn’t want to be- not necessarily the person he wishes to be- and he works to avoid it.

There’s a solid determination to him that’s malleable. He doesn’t seem to be made out of steel and rock, like Daichi, and he’s not insanely inspirational, like Oikawa. He’s just... him, and he rises to the challenge the best he can when it’s posed to him. He’s not the type to be different on and off court either- I think he just tackles everything with the same frame of mind ‘to do his best, and to solve the problem’. Amidst his moments of insecurity alone, where he probably sits on his bed in his room and wonders what he’s doing with his life and if he’s really good enough, he brushes all those away because he knows that it’s not important. Things he can’t change aren’t important, and what he can do is make the best of things. He doesn’t believe in himself as much as other people thinks he does, and he’s nowhere near as cocky when he’s being truthful, but the thing is, he’s okay with magnifying those aspects of himself when it makes things easier, when it makes people happier. He’s not lying, not pretending to be someone else he’s not, but there are things he exaggerates because it’s better for everyone. I wouldn’t say that he’s untrusting, or untruthful. In fact, he seems like the type to, if he decides you’re a decent person, to answer all the questions you ask him depending on your motive (he’s not going to tell you anything that will affect your performance, e.g. his teammates).

To me, what’s most admirable about Kuroo is the fact that he seems like the type to have moments where he falters, where he doesn’t think he can do it anymore, but he picks himself up, or asks for help when he needs it (thank god for Kenma), and he keeps going. It’s this sense of persistence and a combination of wicked humour and a laissez-faire attitude that keeps him sane, that makes him who he is. So, where does his confidence come from? Is it genuine? Absolutely. He has the ability to be the best middle blocker, he has the ability to rise up to life’s challenges as they come. He knows this, and that’s what makes him confident. He’s quite fine with the kind of person he is right now, and that is more than enough for him to go on.

Bokuto Koutarou.

This boy is probably youth personified. There’s so many people who reduce him to the ‘happy-go-lucky’ character, and it’s such a shame that neither the anime nor manga fleshes out his character much. Bokuto is so much more than just happy. This is a guy who has actually fought for happiness- and for that, you have to choose happiness first, and that’s a difficult choice to make. So many people with any sort of ambition chases it for their own reasons, sometimes it’s success, sometimes it’s fame, sometimes it’s glory and sometimes it’s pride, but I think that because Bokuto has never griped about not being ‘the best’, he honestly plays volleyball because he wants to enjoy the sport for what it is. He wants to feel happy and excited when playing it- and what did he do when he wasn’t feeling that in his junior years? He just kept on practicing, until he finally, finally said ‘volleyball is fun’.

Don’t mistake me, Bokuto has heaps of ambition. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be practicing so much, wouldn’t be fighting so hard for nationals and groaning about Ushiwaka. He just wants to be good! He doesn’t need to be better than everyone else, he wants to get to Nationals because being good is fun, beating people is fun, and everything is just fun. He’s not proving anything to anyone. Would you agree?

Just because someone likes having fun, doesn’t mean they’re utterly high on excitement all the time. In fact, solid practicing until he enjoys it is what Bokuto says, not any other character. Who gave the speech to Tsukishima? Bokuto. Life hasn’t been all great for him, and the fact that he’s able to say all this, to advise someone is because he’s been there too. He’s overcome those obstacles with who he is and his work ethic, and now he’s in a better place to be the happy guy he is. Unless it’s because of sheer luck, there is no character who can be happy-go-lucky and have things go perfectly for them, because then that’s either a comedy, or a mary-sue. We can probably all agree that Bokuto isn’t either.

He isn’t prideful, he doesn’t overestimate himself. You all probably have gathered this from his ‘don’t toss to me anymore!’ drama. He does say ‘I’m the best!!’ and it’s funny, because he’s such a great guy when he’s confident, but do I really think he believes he’s the best? Far from it. Honestly, I don’t think Bokuto cares about being the best. He just cares about being the best version of himself, and that kind of mentality is far beyond his years.

Bokuto Koutarou is an honestly inspirational character. Although everyone in this series is very admirable, he’s a clear picture of what it’s like to power through yourself, power through all the things you can think that will drag you down (he doesn’t mope because his spikes were blocked, he practiced the fuck out of his spikes until they just couldn’t block him anymore). He’s incredibly kind and probably lacking all judgmental tendencies; asking a first year, a stranger from another school to practice with him on equal terms (in Asia, I think that’s a flippin’ miracle), and he has a silly, endearing sense of humour that has his entire team gravitating towards him. They all know what he’s like, what he’s capable of- all the good and bad- and what do they think? They obviously love the shit out of their captain, and it’s high time we were all told why.

Akaashi Keiji.

Here we’re brought to someone who’s often misunderstood and is tied tightly to Bokuto. First, I gotta address all the things people say about him being cold and calculating. I don’t want to diss anyone, but firstly, Bokuto isn’t stupid. He’s a combination of emotion and intelligence that brings him to where he is (volleyball strategy is hard, dude), and someone like that would not be friends with a cold and calculating person. Someone like that wouldn’t give Bokuto shit either, because that’s counterproductive to their goal. Does Akaashi give Bokuto shit? 99.9%, like detergent.

And why settle for Bokuto? Why not move on to someone bigger, someone better? If he’s that ambitious, I think the intelligent thing to do is to make friends with absolutely everyone. Feed them what they want, what fluffs their feathers, latch onto the best people possible. Akaashi, has very few friends, I think, outside of his own team. Every time he appears, it’s with Bokuto (this might be because of panel limits and screen time limits, but I don’t like to think so) and it’s clear that they’re nigh inseparable. Calculating and ambitious? If I were that intelligent and ambitious, I’d take the train to become Sakusa’s next bff. Akaashi literally never caters to Bokuto. He is never shown doing something he doesn’t want to do, and very rarely do you see him actually agreeing with someone, I’ve noticed. He just doesn’t object, or actually does object. 101 for sucking up to people- always agree, even if it’s bullshit. Bokuto has obviously been shot down so many times by Akaashi it hurts. I mean, aKAAAAAAAAAAAshiiiii, it’s a practiced plea. There’s even a compilation on YouTube.

What kind of guy do I think he is? Honestly, just a pretty socially disinterested high school dude who happens to like tossing balls at people. He makes friends, he talks to new people easily, just that he sounds like he doesn’t really want to. He doesn’t avoid people, but he’s not the social butterfly. He talks to Kuroo literally because he’s always around Bokuto, and he talks to Tsukishima ‘cus he’s there. He includes Hinata very quickly in their 3v3 too- there’s none of the ‘you’re short’ or ‘you’re an underclassman, I must address this’ glance. He just goes ‘oh, another person’. Sure, you can call that cold, but sometimes I’m like that too, not because I’m mean but because you’re literally just another human being I will get along with.

Akaashi is pretty much the definition of down to earth. He’s not so down that he’s underground and on the other side of the world, fitted with a VR system like Kenma, but he just gets on with his shit. He’s clearly not slow and steady from the split second decisions he makes on court and the way he sets, but he’s a no-nonsense kind of guy when it comes to himself. Clearly he doesn’t mind with other people, like Bokuto. It’s really cute, actually, because these two characters bring out the best in each other. They’re not a conventional pair, but they’re the opposites attract in every successful way possible. They make each other normal, they make each other human. Without Bokuto to put some silliness into his life, Akaashi would be too serious. Without Akaashi to drag him back down from the clouds, Bokuto would probably forget himself sometimes, and his school bag that he’s probably left in the classroom three days in a row.

If anything, I’d say that out of all the dynamics in the show, Akaashi and Bokuto would be one of the healthiest and happiest out of all of them. Friends or lovers, they don’t need to be shipped. This ship will sail on its own, even in reality.

Oikawa Tooru.

Lastly, the great king appears! The character to end all characters, Oikawa Tooru is, to me, the most fascinating character out of the entire cast. The most facets (even though I’d probably need some new meditating techniques to deal with him irl) and the most interesting backstory, this guy is literally made out of the dreams of fanfiction writers who bash their OCs lovingly with painful pasts.

There are very few people who misunderstand this guy, he’s so well loved because he’s so damaged. Still, I want to include him because he’s like a maze, and even though the end’s been found already, it’s always worth to give it another run through.

So. Quite the legendary character with existing angst about his abilities, he’s got one of the most relatable dilemmas out there: I’m not a genius, and I’m not talented. All I’m doing is trying my best (why, I don’t know), but you’re telling me I’m still gonna be overtaken by some kid prodigy? Fuck that. Okay, the fuck that I added, but that’s that. Yes, it makes a great premise for a complicated character, but the thing is, Oikawa might be less complicated than a lot of people think. Rather than the bad things, I think Oikawa is honestly quite pure at heart. I mean, think about how much dedication you would require for you to, in the face of this truth being a part of your team every day of middle school, relentlessly work yourself to the bone because you want to prove it wrong? Because, despite how unfair life is and how much shit everything sounds, he loves volleyball, it’s what he’s good at even if he can’t be the best, and he’s going to die before he stops working at it. This man is made out of a core of tempered steel, and a single-track mind. I think this character is literally the representation of ‘hard work trumps natural genius’ that gets passed around often. Whether it’s true or not is a different story- one that Oikawa clearly doesn’t believe in- but it’s not stopping him. Nothing is stopping him, because I think he knows that he can’t control anything in this world except for himself, and what he chooses to sacrifice.

Another important thing to note is his specialty. You’d think someone like Oikawa would want to work towards having the best serves, or the most complicated set-ups, or the highest success rate, right? Try to beat the prodigies with what matters? No. He comes up with his own methodology, the same one that makes Ushiwaka tell him he ought to have gone to Shiratorizawa, because he brings out the best in the people he plays with. Kind of strange for someone who seems so selfish, right? That brings us to the next point.

Yet, the thing is, it seems that the only thing he’s solidly believing in are his choices. There’s heaps of insecurity behind the playboy, the arrogant, the petty and mean guy that he literally crafts himself out to be. Is it just an image? Honestly, I think so, because it would be impossible to maintain such cognitive dissonance between his decisions and his behaviour. It’s a coping mechanism, a defense mechanism so practiced since a young age that Oikawa probably believes in it sometimes. Perhaps he has moments in bed alone, when he breaks down because he’s such a mess of opposing things and he becomes disillusioned with all the things he pretends to be because he really isn’t. Oikawa is very kind to the people he plays with, and for someone to ‘cater’ to a play style you have to be intuitively empathetic to predict their preferences. He doesn’t try to bring Kageyama down because it makes him feel better about himself- no, he just gives Kageyama shit ‘cus he thinks he’s allowed to be petty sometimes with the lemons life has given him, and honestly, it doesn’t make him feel a bit better. That’s why on the sidelines, he just bitterly admits that Kageyama’s a good fucking setter, because he really is. Oikawa doesn’t deny the truth. In fact, he just simply breaks through it, because it’s the only thing he can do.