#sorry it's a great show fr but my heart cannot handle what is happening there

[sachi-pon]

free! dive to the future episode 8 liveblog/review thing

the new episode is finally here!!!! i waited a week to see this haru/ikuya race. ;___; but i also want to see ikuya and hiyori make up. <3 idk if that'll actually happen in this episode. ^__^U

[note after writing this whole post: i wrote a whole lot this time!!! this is a loooooong post. this is like episode 6, where i also wrote a lot. wow, i am so talkative when it comes to these episodes, haha. if you are willing to read this entire post... THANK YOU!!!!!!! =) ]

my previous liveblogs: (episode 1) (episode 2) (episode 3) (episode 4) (episode 5) (episode 6) (episode 7)

watch this episode on crunchyroll!! http://www.crunchyroll.com/free-iwatobi-swim-club/episode-8-metamorphosis-of-the-soul-775639

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okay, here's hiyori now...

wait why is mako there???

omg, look what just happened. hiyori instantly went into "pretend to be happy" mode. but that's so sad.

sweetie makoto trying to give helpful advice ^__^

mako is watching hiyori start to have a breakdown and he's like "uuuuhhhhhhh this is getting weird"

um, idk if hiyori is interested in hearing more about how great haru is. that'll probably make him mad. ^__^

mako was smart enough to end that convo quickly!!!

let's go haru!!!!!!! you have to win!!!!! ^___^ why am i nervous to watch a swimming race between fictional characters??

haru has magical powers. when he swims, beautiful music starts playing. XD

"can someone really be this free?" YES, IT'S THE TITLE OF THE SHOW.

"all along, i was afraid of ending up alone again. i thought everyone would end up leaving me." awwwwww my heart hurts.

ikuya is having this amazing epiphany just by swimming next to haru XD

"HHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH" ikuya's battle cry??

wow!! asahi noticed immediately!!!! o__o

mako and asahi cheering for both of them is so nice and wonderful. they want ikuya and haru to be friends, and that's more important than either one of them winning. (but i still hope haru wins lol)

AWWW HARU KINDA SMILED A BIT!!

haru didn't win??? ;__; but asahi is happy. lol, haru should dramatically pop his head out of the water and say "I LOST!!!!!" like mako did last season.

i just want to say that this whole scene with the race and ikuya's epiphany was done beautifully!!!!! it looked beautiful, it sounded beautiful, it was written beautifully. (rei would approved)

haru finally kept his promise! he really does care. what a sweetheart <3333

NO STOP I CAN'T HANDLE IKUYA CRYING. noooo don't cry don't cry... okay he's crying.

OMG THEY ARE HUGGING. THEY ARE ACTUALLY HUGGING RIGHT IN FRONT OF MY EYES. I CANNOT WATCH THIS, I WILL DIE, this is just too heartwarming. (i have this weird thing about guys hugging each other. it's just too cute)

haru's surprised face when ikuya hugged him hahahaha

so if everything's cool now between haru and ikuya, well isn't that this season's whole plot? hmm oh yeah, there's hiyori. is he happy that ikuya and haru are friends now? because logically, he should feel happy that ikuya is finally feeling better. but i'm sure he's frustrated because... haru.

just seeing ikuya finally smiling and being cute and happy is so precious to me <3333

"it was---" *interruption happens* what was it??????? ugh

i love how haru just immediately answers makoto's question like it's no big deal, lol.

ikuya's embarrassed face is priceless. XD

he wants to become like haru??? let me guess: haru is going to say that ikuya should be himself.

haru is so confused hahahaha

"you might be someone's hero already, ikuya." hmmmmm, who could it be???????

haru didn't say what i guessed he would say. oops lol

as soon as i saw asahi's line appear in the subtitles, i immediately paused and thought, "there, that's going to be the picture for this post." XD i love that line!!

once again, the music is really nice!!! ^__^

haru, of course you're ikuya's hero. you not only literally saved him (when he almost drowned), but you just helped him have his magical swimming epiphany.

awww makoto you are the best <3333 somehow makoto always knows the right thing to say.

hiyori turned around so slowly and dramatically.

hiyori is doing the "pretending to be happy" thing again, which isn't a good sign.

hiyori's like "you love nanase and not meeeeeee *sob* *cry* *wail* "

i love how ikuya's like "i want to swim relays" and then the captain comes up to him and says "hey guess what, i'm giving you a chance to swim in a relay." why can't my life be like that?

see hiyori, ikuya loves you =) <33333

the subtitles said "swim with me, hiyori," but i think that was a mistranslation and the proper translation is "marry me, hiyori."

omg i missed you iwatobi people ;__;

lol, rei and nagisa are stunned because haru (supposedly) only swims free!!!! they cannot comprehend the concept of haru swimming other things. actually, i can't comprehend it either, even though it just happened. XD

gou is like a mother thinking "how did i get stuck with these two crazy twins..."

chappy-senpai???????????????????????????? lol

let's show 100 screenshots of the audience before starting this race.

bazooka? that's the toughest, most intimidating-sounding name you could come up with???

ikuya teasing asahi like they are longtime friends who have never had any trouble in their friendship. awww.

"i don't need you to tell me. i do trust him." awww again. it was kind of a snarky line, but it was still so sweet.

swimming with haru? it's epiphany time!!!

"HIYORRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

hiyori looks cute without glasses. (well actually, he also looks cute with glasses)

yay!!! i was going to be so upset if haru didn't win that. XD

an ominous shadow appears...

WHAAAAAT. WHY ARE THEY DOING THE MAKOHARU THING. don't they know that makoharu has trademarked that?!?!?! XDDDD lol no really, that is too cute.

ikuya remembering the friendship moment from the past is so important! it's a reminder to him of how much friendship he has with hiyori.

haru looks at makoharu copycats hiyori and ikuya and nods in approval. lol

this is such a happy episode so far!!! =) =) =) it must be the end... oh... no, there's still some more left. but, but, i don't want anything bad to happen!!! can we just have a happy episode for the rest of the episode?? and the rest of the season???? no more drama!!! (yeah, like that's gonna happen.)

ugggghhh that moment where hiyori and ikuya both smiled shyly at the same time. please just stab me in the heart. it would hurt less. (i need a gif of this moment immediately!!)

"we'll just have to look forward to seeing what [haru] transforms into." if you've read my previous liveblogs, you know that i'm about to make a joke about haru transforming into a merman. so here you go: haru is going to transform into a merman. hahahahaha

ikuya telling hiyori how beautiful his smile was. this show is trying to totally destroy me.

hiyori telling ikuya that ikuya's smile was his salvation. this show is trying to totally destroy me AND IT'S WORKING.

see, ikuya???? you are a hero <333

oh yeah, the brothers haven't reunited yet!! finally, it happens.

shoutout to whomever it was who painted that cloud in the background. you're a great artist! ^____^

okay seriously. why is this episode so happy??!?!?! i am getting suspicious!! this is a season finale level of happiness. and it's not the season finale. something strange is going on.

natsuya is crying?? once again... i am saying "awwwww."

"i'm sorry for leaving you to look after ikuya." YES!!!! i am so glad that he acknowledged that!!! i mean, i know that he was sincerely trying to help ikuya, but he unintentially put pressure on hiyori, and that added additional strain on hiyori and ikuya's relationship.

aaaaand the scene ends. i am so scared right now. i kinda just want to stop watching the episode right here. it's a good stopping point!! but *sigh* i must continue...

a wild very realistic waterbottle appears.

hiyori makes a new friend ^__^

and here's a scene with haru, mako, and the others. i am sitting here trying to predict what bad thing is about to happen, but i can't think of anything.

haru smiles a bit!! i remember way back when haru used to be that character who never smiles. (mostly back in season 1) so i like that he is smiling more these days.

oh wait... that's the end? i thought there was a bit more time left in this episode. i guess i just estimated the time wrong.

interval. interval. interval. interval.

so that was the preview. wait... there seems like too much time left for just the ending song. *skips to the end of the song* THERE'S ANOTHER SCENE AFTERWARD. i didn't estimate the time wrong after all!!

who is this mystery person with the hat over his eyes? just kidding, i know it's rin.

soooo is rin the bad thing i've been dreading?? XD uhhh well, i don't know what bad thing he would do though. but he will certainly make things interesting. can't wait for next week!!!

ummmm well i just feel kinda tired after that episode. that was a lot to write and a lot to think about!!!! it's just hard to explain how much this show emotionally destroys me. they really did it this time. ouch!!! >__<U yes, i am saying "ouch" even though i'm happy!!! it's just so overwhelming and heartwarming!! <3333 i expected haru and ikuya to get over their conflict in this episode, but i didn't expect ikuya and hiyori to get over THEIR conflict within this same episode! i thought it would be like one or two episodes after this. but no, all the happiness and wonderfulness was stuffed into this one episode. =) i love these writers. they really know what they're doing. since it's the third season of free!, they have become used to the consistent writing style of free!, and by that, i mean that the writers show that swimming means so much more to these characters than just the physical act of moving through the water. it's a symbol of friendship. we (the viewers) know this because we're used to watching free!, and the writers are used to writing free! and they are used to writing about how swimming is a symbol of friendship. haru really does have superpowers!!! he makes everyone have epiphanies just by swimming next to him!! i am so proud of my lovely angel, haru!!!! but... does he have room to "improve?" i wonder what that meant.? ..idk.

i said in one of my previous liveblogs that i kinda wanted to ship hiyori and ikuya, but something was off about their relationship. i had been hoping that they would be able to solve that problem, and then i would be able to ship them. well, it happened. their relationship is no longer "off." now, they're on the same page. they're on the same wavelength. they're literally in the same swimming lane. ^__^ the point is, i saw how closely they connected in this episode, and it was like the connection they had a long time ago. it was so great to see this connection, and now... i ship them!!!!! =D seriously, i do. they are super, super cute. now i want to see fanart, fanfics, comics, you know. i loved the part when ikuya asked for hiyori to be included in the relay, right at the exact moment that hiyori was thinking that ikuya had completely chosen haru over him. hiyori was really, really touched by the fact that ikuya specifically cared about HIM!!! ^__^ but the part that absolutely killed me was their romantic conversation overlooking the pool. they were talking about how much each other's smiles meant to them ever since that long time ago... and clearly, those smiles still have the same importance today... it was just... i don't know what to say. ;___; i don't know what to say about that part except that it was one of the highlights of this entire series (all three seasons) for me.

the next four episodes are going to be a bit strange since it seems like this episode was a good stopping point that wrapped up some major plotlines. it's exciting to see what'll happen in the next four episodes. i don't really know. except... there's sousuke and his injury, so that plotline hasn't ended. and rin's going to do... something. and the iwatobi people are going to do their thing. and of course, haru is going to keep swimming, makoto will keep being perfect, asahi will keep being funny, and hiyori and ikuya will keep being in love. it's going to be a fun rest of the season! =)