the curious case of kuroo tetsurou being bokuto koutarou's diehard fan (in canon)
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warnings; this post is largely self-indulgent and will have my personal (bokuroo!) feelings floating around in between points. i've been struck lately with a lot of thinking about how supportive kuroo is towards bokuto in canon. and so. i have vomited out all the canon things i can think of to back the thought up.
it's a very rough post, because i feel there will be more things to be added as i go along in the future, especially as i have not yet read the manga. please take it with a pinch of salt and don't take it too seriously!
now then. without further ado, i present to you: one (1) kuroo tetsurou and his canon tendencies of support, indulgence, and attentiveness towards one (1) bokuto koutarou.
evidences below:
case in point #1
the first instance bokuto and kuroo are seen together, they're trying to convince tsukishima to block for them during training camp. kuroo does this by hyping bokuto's abilities, saying he's a top 5 spiker in the nation:
(bokuto's obviously pleased by this)
kuroo has no qualms and is very willing to divulge that information. in fact, i personally feel the whole thing was for bokuto's (and maybe even akaashi's, but i think we all know it's more likely bokuto's) sake because kuroo at that point was preoccupied with teaching lev and wasn't supposed to be practicing with bokuto anyways:
he didn't need to participate in recruiting an additional blocker. but he did and he was the one doing most of the convincing — for a practice session that he wasn't even meant to get involved in (obviously he still did but it's the principle of the matter). bokuto literally just stood there preening while kuroo was hyping him up... please see the vision with me, kuroo talking for bokuto all the time while bokuto just proudly stands there.
that's not to say bokuto is incapable btw please don't get me wrong, we've all seen him badger and ask tsukishima himself but for that first meeting... oya mr. tetsurou you were really eager huh? very intriguing.
case in point #2
kuroo's surprising number of nicknames for bokuto. this amazing sheet tabulates the number of times a character has been referred to by another character (on top of many other things!), and for two characters who aren't on the same team and don't interact that much on screen, this is quite something:
(Mr. CoolestMcCool??? kuroo who are you)
on this topic btw, kuroo also has called bokuto's name a lot (again, for two characters who aren't on the same team):
nineteen times, only losing to the tokyo audience. for the sake of comparison only, kuroo doesn't even call tsukki's name that often despite having more interaction with him:
i think maybe our kuroo-kun really likes saying bokuto's name / calling him by nicknames, it's cute. also fanboy behaviour (i'm joking) (or am i)
case in point #3
'don't let them break you, bokuto' i need only refer to this other post i made but just to be holistic, i shall showcase this here once again:
kuroo attending bokuto's match and having a whole monologue in his head going 'don't give up bokuto!' he is supportive. and fiercely confident in bokuto's abilities in my opinion. also pairing it with the shot of bokuto's back is so shoujo-esque—
anyways. i think this is quite self-explanatory about how this is fan behaviour. literally sitting in the stands and all.
jokes aside though it's really pretty sweet and i adore this little moment with my whole heart. they better add this in when they animate the fukurodani vs mujinazaka match because i'm already on my knees constantly over how they didn't add the bokuroo hug in for the movie. cries softly
case in point #4
during the zombie apocalypse short radio drama between bokuto, kuroo and (shortly later) kageyama, bokuto suddenly brings the topic up out of nowhere. now, i'm going to break this down into bits and pieces because i'm currently going crazy over it, while attaching the translation someone so kindly made (please check it out, it's a nice fluffy little read! appreciate the translator lots):
right off the bat, kuroo shows that he is attentive towards bokuto. bokuto only needs to make one (1) (unhappy) noise and kuroo's immediately like "what is it??? are you thinking about that fried chicken set meal? this isn't so bad though is it, it helps to boost stamina btw i think more fish could be good for you..."
kuroo is pretty attentive and indulgent towards bokuto (especially, the things bokuto says or thinks about) even when they come out of nowhere, he rolls with it. i'll skip a little forward but basically they talk about it some, with kuroo participating in the conversation with ease.
this part about bokuto's sisters made me cry because we don't really know much about them so this was gold. it makes me think they might not be that much older than bokuto himself but anyways... i don't know how to explain it, but in the audio here, the way kuroo goes "... hmm, that's not hard to imagine" he sounds like he's actually thinking about it as he agrees.
because i have my bkkr lenses on, to me it's just 1) kuroo actually knows bokuto's sisters (maybe even his parents!?); and 2) well enough that he can agree with bokuto and go "yup, that's what they'll probably do". i don't know how else to say that's crazy. like. i'm gonna bite my fist
so bokuroo knowing each other's families? kuroo visiting the bokuto household and getting to know bokuto's sisters (again, and parents?), maybe even hanging out with them? i could go on forever but for the sake of everyone else i'm gonna move on omg
i don't even know what to say.
once again. kuroo being the one to hurry and add on and fill in the gaps bokuto (cutely, unwittingly) leaves. apologising for bokuto. married as hell i can't articulate properly because this ends me every time.
"meaningless conversations" but you were participating pretty deeply in that "meaningless conversation" kuroo-kun... what does that say about you.
(i really can't with the apology too on bokuto's behalf. imagine: bokuto rushing forward to the counter to order some food, and immediately prattling what he wants to the cashier because he's just eager. the cashier who stands there surprised. cue kuroo sliding in and going "ah, sorry!" and repeating the order with a smile once the cashier's over their surprise. or just "ah, sorry!" and waiting a beat before he pats bokuto's back and tells him to do it again.
listen. so many of those scenarios could happen anywhere and everywhere. and my mind is gonna blow up)
i'm gonna skip a bit again but the dialogue between the three is really cute, and so is kuroo's wheezing laugh at kageyama's responses. please. crazy adorable.
kuroo and the way he has the two of them hanging off his words even though the topic is random as hell. kuroo was born for his jva job. kuroo was born to promote volleyball cause look at him go. insane!
but more importantly, "some audience too in bokuto's case". alright now. why'd you have to add that in. this is mostly a lighthearted laugh moment but i think it shows again that these two people are close, that kuroo knows bokuto well to know what gets bokuto going and comfortable enough to say it.
also thinking to the recent magazine interview with bokuto and how he talks about the audience cheers... it's so cute that he never changed. i'm gonna be emo.
and then i just let out the loudest sigh ever known to man.
kuroo's little "M!" and "M-m!" in response to bokuto being progressively hyped about his realisation (re: kuroo's words!) is so. encouraging.
kuroo truly is bokuto's hypeman and i don't accept any other answer at this point. i don't even know how bokuto jumped to zombie vaccines to be perfectly honest with you (and kageyama agreeing oh my lord... so cute) but kuroo at the end just going "heh, it's amazing that i can see them actually doing it as long as they're passionate enough" what the heck???
i'm dead. i'm gone. i don't feel like i'm translating my thoughts to types well enough for all the things going through my head, but this short radio drama lives rent-free in there i actually think about it from time to time tbh.
so. yes. i think this little zombie apocalypse radio drama was a godsend. it's also full of kuroo just going along with bokuto and easily adding tidbits to spice up the conversation / keep it going even though he said it was 'meaningless' lmfao. #getyouakuroo
concluding remarks
anyways. unfortunately that's all i have for now despite knowing that there are probably more things to be added (if i'm not wrong, kuroo says somewhere in the manga that bokuto could save the world...) but i don't have it in me currently to comb through the whole manga. maybe i will come back and edit this post or add on to this post whenever something comes up in my brain.
but for now... have this tiny list of fanboy behaviour exhibited by one kuroo tetsurou with regards to one bokuto koutarou.
seriously, he knows him and supports him so well do you guys see it or am i crazy
