I will go down with my ships

Let’s Talk About:

Aoba Johsai (and a lot about Oikawa Tooru)

Okay, so whether you’re a Seijoh fan or not, I’m pretty sure the whole fandom is counting down to this week’s episode. Whether you’re readying party poppers and the celebratory cake, trying to horde as much duct tape as you can in an effort to keep yourself together, or sitting in front of your laptop with a party hat, tissues, and tears streaming down your face, we all know that shit’s going down tonight. After three full sets, several of Oikawa’s killer serves and Yams’ float serves, intense plays from both teams, a lot of Kyouhaba/Iwaoi/Kagehina/Tsukkiyama, double setter plays and some revelatory Tsukki action, we come to this heart-wrenching defeat.

Major spoiler: Aoba Jousai lost to Karasuno today.

For those who follow me, it’s pretty obvious that I’m a full-fledged Karasuno supporter. I’m sure a lot of you guys are, too! So why is the fandom freaking out about Seijoh losing if it means Karasuno winning? Why are people playing “Fix You” on repeat if the main team that was portrayed as Karasuno’s “rivals” were the ones defeated?

There are numerous reasons, but here are a few things to think about that cause heavy inner turmoil.

1. Oikawa Tooru

“Great, great, Tooru! Push it, push it Tooru! One more time!”

The school cheers him on by his FIRST NAME. That kind of love doesn’t come overnight.

Oikawa Tooru possibly did not go to Shiratorizawa because of two people: Ushijima Wakatoshi and Iwaizumi Hajime. Nevertheless, he lived with his decision and continued to utilize his talents to make Seijoh one of the top schools in the prefecture.

For three years, he worked his ass off (possibly overworked, with all these headcanons about Tooru’s knee supporter hiding an injury) to make Aoba Johsai amazing, but not once has he stepped on a National stage. There was always a school stronger than his—whether it be Shiratorizawa or Karasuno, Tooru’s hard work and pristine skills as a setter were seemingly ‘never enough’ for it to be the best.

However, there is absolutely no doubt that Oikawa was an amazing captain, friend, mentor and setter. The evidence is in the way his friends, coach and schoolmates support him. Perhaps a part of it would come from his pretty face, but I’m sure that Oikawa’s hard work and perseverance did not go unnoticed. This was especially true for the case of Kindaichi and Kunimi. I remember reading a meta about this dynamic that explained it a whole lot better than I can, but case in point, Kunimi and Kindaichi had to work with the snooty “King” Kageyama for a year, which was probably filled with screaming and never feeling good enough. But here came Oikawa Tooru who believed in the capacities of his teammates—who was able to bring out the best in his team without being forceful and mean about it. Here was a refreshing senpai who was able to make Kunimi smile on the court and Kindaichi more than eager to spike. Not to mention that Oikawa was Kageyama’s role model–and Kageyama is skilled beyond measure.

However, as brilliant as he was—despite his innate skill and ability to bring out the best in any team, there just always had to be a team better than his. I think people love Tooru not only because he’s pretty, a little petty, cute, and talented. People love him because he’s a symbol of the product of hard work and how it can amplify talent. Unlike Kageyama or Hinata who was born with talent, Tooru’s skill was borne out of his perseverance and endurance, and I’m sure that as human beings, we know that this is often the case. Oikawa was seemingly the representation of hard work surpassing talent, and despite the outcome, a part of us still wanted him to win.

“Talent is something you make bloom! Instinct is something you polish!”

He worked so hard for everything he is today, but it still amounted to a defeat… and a heart breaking montage that gave us a glimpse of his intense insecurities and the mental picture of how he feels when people “step on him.” But in the end, he faced his fear. He faced Tobio-chan like a man.

THAT MONTAGE. THAT FUCKING MONTAGE. OH GOSH OIKAWA TOORU, PLEASE KNOW THAT YOU ARE ENOUGH. YOU ARE ENOUGH. YOU’RE AMAZING ENOUGH TO GET ON THE NATIONAL TEAM IT WILL BE OK.

2. The Team 

“A team with six strong players is stronger.”

From that quote alone, it’s obvious how much Tooru. Loves. His. Team.

Similar to Karasuno, Seijoh is extremely team-oriented. To be honest, I think seeing how well the “Aoba Johsai” gears worked was one of the factors that pushed Kageyama to understand that no one is alone in volleyball. There was a line in one of his flashbacks when Oikawa blatantly told Iwaizumi, ‘There are six players on the court’ and surprisingly, that stayed with Kageyama until the end.

This team was pristine and the members were so very strong, despite what Ushijima thought. There’s that one part of us that wanted Aoba Johsai to win just to show Ushi how strong they really were—however, it can be said that battling Karasuno in full three sets was proof of this already. Then again, their strength and smooth flowing gears (despite the initial interruption of Kyoutani) was seemingly a level below what was needed to win.

I HATE THIS SO MUCH DAMN FUQ MY BABIES WORKED SO HARD RIP

3. They work fucking hard

I have no words. I have Zero words for the amount of effort I’ve seen all the players in Seijoh give. From Iwaizumi’s strong receives, Kyoutani’s spikes, Makki, Matsun’s and Hana’s plays—no doubt that this team worked hard to the very end. We’ve seen them work hard from the beginning, from that very first practice match, to the Interhigh prelims, to this match, Seijoh has always given their 100%, no matter how “flightless” their opponents might have been. I have so much respect for them as a team, and as much as I love Karasuno, seeing Aoba Johsai lose hurt me to the core.

4. IwaOi

Oikawa gave his last official high school set to Iwaizumi. 

No words. I have no words. I’m not even going to explain the angst and how sad this makes me fucking feel. Their last year. Help us. 

Rest in pieces.