#one thoughts

[ID in alt]

i genuinely believe that asahi and ushijima would balance each other out and complement each other in a really interesting way while also having a fun parallel and thematic question around what it means to be The Ace at the core of their relationship. i mean my main thing in the simplest terms is that i think asahi really benefits from being around straightforward people, and ushijima really benefits from being around people who are willing to take the step to realize that his bluntness isnt malicious, its just. bluntness.

to explain a little more, though: asahi is the kind of person who hyper analyzes and overthinks everything; on one hand, it feeds into his anxiety and makes him second guess everything, but on the other, it makes him really good at trying to figure out what exactly the people around him are thinking, and it means that when he isn’t anxious out of his mind, he really takes the time to think about what he wants to say and do.

ushijima, conversely, doesnt consider very heavily what other people might be thinking, or how his words might be misconstrued, because why would they be when he says exactly what he means? frankly, that’s kind of on other people for reading into subtext he really isnt adding, but it also results in him not initially understanding a lot of what other people do and say, because he expects them to be exactly like himself—straightforward and no-nonsense. but when he's around people who either are like him or at least understand his nature, he's able to really connect.

the interesting thing comes in that, well, i dont think they would necessarily get along at first. asahi would be doing exactly what he shouldnt—reading too far into ushijima’s words, and assuming they’re somehow malicious—and ushijima wouldn’t understand or like asahi’s flightiness and anxious rambling. but i think given some time and interaction, they would actually benefit a lot from being around each other. once asahi could realize ushijima only ever says what he means, and really isn’t rude, he just holds strong beliefs and defends them with full confidence, he’d probably really appreciate knowing for certain that he doesn’t have any reason to overthink it. and once asahi gets comfortable, i think ushijima in turn would appreciate that asahi takes the care to really think about what he wants to say, as well as being observant enough of him and other people to be able to kind of act as a second perspective in a way that isnt hostile or condescending. even if ushijima doesn’t necessarily agree with everything, i think that he would find asahi interesting rather than inscrutable. they'd be able to take each other seriously, not belittling or dismissing each other's quirks, but because they aren't, like, the same, they also wouldn't take it all too seriously; they'd just be able to kind of spot each others weaknesses while acknowledging their strengths, if that makes sense. maybe not even weaknesses and strengths, just. differences. points of view. that kind of thing, you know? just… being able to pick each others brains about their differences, without that confrontational aspect.

and when it comes to volleyball…

i mean, their takes on each other wrt to volleyball would largely depend on when they started interacting, but. i think in general, ushijima kind of represents what asahi thinks he should be as the ace, and asahi represents a strength in the midst of chaos that ushijima really respects. you could say its as simple as the core conflict between karasuno and shiratorizawa as a whole—simple, pure power vs innovation and evolution—but i think it goes deeper than that, too. while ushijima cares about pure power for powers sake, it isn’t necessarily just, like, a pride thing. it kind of is, but it also has to do with a core belief that a team is as strong as its ace, and a desire on his part to be the last resort, the paragon of strength, the pillar his team can rely on no matter what. and that driving force, that need to be strong for the sake of the team, is what asahi tries so hard but feels he fails at. But on the other hand, asahi doesn’t actually fail at it—he just doesn’t have the confidence to see that. but to make up for it, he’s able to adapt with the rest of the team and keep growing and growing so he doesn’t get left behind. I think ushijima would be able to see asahi’s simple, pure strength and help him see it for himself, and I think asahi would be able to show ushijima a different kind of strength without being so directly confrontational about it as, say, oikawa or hinata.

honestly i guess i just really really really like the idea of ushijima seeing asahi as, like, the only member of karasuno who's normal, and then having that idea turned on its head and needing to reevaluate what it means to be Strong. and asahi seeing ushijima as everything he ever wanted to be, and then actually interacting with him and seeing the human behind that and coming to understand him as just, like, some guy who really, really, really likes volleyball instead of some untouchable monster on the court, and that making him reevaluate how he thinks.

also. final and arguably most important point for my case: