Profile
ace of hearts
“it feels so good to be so young and have this fun and be successful.”
trivia
- makes to-do lists for to-do lists
- says she isn't really competitive but gets REALLY into boardgames. do not play monopoly with her.
- somehow ALWAYS has cuts or bruises on her face and hands (and bandaids with cute patterns).
- constantly feels too hot (hot damn).
- sneezes when she looks directly at the sun or generally when it's too bright.
- always makes facial expressions when others are talking without realising.
- tends to get hiccups before games.
- sticks post-it notes EVERYWHERE.
- believes her kneepads bring her good luck.
- forgets her hairties 9/10 times.
- has an older brother who's a complete enigma. no one knows anything about him.
- cannot sing to save her life but tends to sing or hum a song under her breath during matches. it helps her stay calm
- terrible at texting. takes weeks to respond or doesn't respond at all. if you need something from her, you have to call her.
nomenclature
- 愛 (mana) meaning “love, affection” & 海 (mi) meaning “sea, ocean.”
- 北 (kita) meaning “north.”
current concern
How to get inside the Sakanoshita Store without having to walk past the pigeons in front of it.
appearance
At 169cm height, Manami is one of the tallest girls in her class, though in terms of volleyball players she's still more on the smaller side. But she should certainly not be underestimated because of that. She has a fit, athletic build, tending towards the lean side but with visible muscles - especially her arms hold an impressive amount of power and can pack a pretty intimidating punch - clearly showing that she is very physically active.
Manami has an angular shaped face with a small, slightly upturned nose and dark brown eyes. Her hair is naturally a deep brown, however she has been bleaching and dying it white since her first year at high school. It always has a slightly frizzy look to it, bouncing around as she moves and getting into her face during practice.
With her clothing style she tends to put comfort before looks - most of the time she wears athleticwear anyways - though she does pay attention that her clothes fit at least somehow together style-wise. Somehow, she manages to give even a simple oversized hoodie and leggings a certain kind of chique.
written works
- ambition (eng)
- loving you is a losing game (ger)
Details
Likes
- mystery novels
- winning
- thunderstorms
- puzzles
- oversized hoodies
- nature documentaries
Dislikes
- history class
- losing
- coffee
- sweating
- pigeons
- giving up control
Personality
dedicated, high-strung, perfectionist
If there is one thing that Manami knows with absolute certainty, it is her goals. She knows the exact reason when she decides to put all her effort into something. Once she has set her mind to something, it is very, very hard to get her off of that path, and she will put all her energy into achieving her goals. Her brain is practically never turned off, always running through strategies or observing and analysing situations. She has a very hard time actually relaxing because there is always something left on her to-do list and tends to be a perfectionist. She gets very caught up in whatever she is focusing on and needs to be reminded by others to take a break or she will work herself to complete exhaustion.
loyal, reliable
Apart from volleyball, the most important thing in Manami's life is her friends and family. She is loyal to a fault, though she tends to not realise that. In her eyes, the people close to her also know exactly what they are doing and have their reasons - just like she does - and that is why she supports them. Which means they can also always rely on her to help them. When she makes a commitment, she is determined to see it through and tends to get annoyed when others are not showing the same kind of determination. She also gets upset when she gets the feeling that others are not as loyal to her as she is to them.
organised
Funnily enough, this originates from the fact that she is an absolute scatterbrain. If she does not write something down, she is bound to forget about it, which is exactly why she has lists for everything: to-do lists, schedules for every single day, a planner that is filled to the brim with reminders and notes, ... Every evening she sits down to plan the schedule for the next day so she can make sure that she does not forget anything important. Manami also leaves post-it notes literally everywhere. Little reminders on her mirror or in her locker, an important date stuck to her door - sometimes she even puts post-it notes on her volleyball uniform because she knows that she will look at it at least once during the day.
direct, bossy
She has a very direct attitude. When she notices something, she says it, sometimes without thinking of the consequences, which can make her seem kind of harsh in certain situations. Manami herself does not realise that, however, because she also expects others to be this honest with her. She also tends to boss others around when she gets the impression that they are not putting their all into something - if she gives something her all, she also expects the same from others. Surprisingly enough though, she can be incredibly patient when she realises that someone is trying hard and offers her support in whatever way she can - sometimes in the form of hard-hitting but honest observations.
inflexible
Manami relies heavily on familiarity. She has certain 'rituals' she does before every match, some of them might seem incredibly silly but which athlete isn't at least a bit superstitious? If she gets interrupted in her routine, she is thrown off her balance and needs some time to recollect herself. This also applies to situations during matches. Manami has memorised a number of strategies for all kinds of situations she could encounter, however if she is forced to improvise because none of the previously planned strategies is working out, she is left floundering.
analytical
Manami pays very close attention to detail. Even when she is left sitting on the bench during a match, she never allows herself to relax. Instead, she observes her teammates and their opponents, taking in the situation in front of her to come up with strategies. This also makes her a very pragmatic person - her focus is on what she can see, just following gut instincts makes her very uncomfortable and nervous. She needs hard facts and background information to support her decisions. While this makes her an incredibly good player, since she posseses a wide variety of knowledge, this can also be her undoing.
Aesthetic
Summary
family
Manami has an incredibly average family. There truly is not a single out-of-the-ordinary thing to say about them. She is the youngest child of two, her parents both work fairly regular jobs - her mother being a police officer and her father a nurse - and have a house in the more rural area of Miyagi, just outside of Sendai. Since their parents' jobs keep them pretty busy at times, her brother Mitsuaki was often times tasked with watching her. Once Manami grew older, she learned to become less dependent on him, actually wanted to focus on her own independence, though she still enjoys spending some time with her brother when their parents are workingand the two of them have a close relationship. Only thing is, he barely knows anything about volleyball.
volleyball
For as long as Manami can remember, she has always played volleyball. There is no life-defining memory in which she decided that this would be the sport she was going to put her all in - she just picked the ball up one day and has never put it down since. At this point she cannot imagine a life without volleybal, especially because her life practically revolves around the sport. She is determined to continue as a pro volleyball player even after school, silently hoping that she will maybe even make it on to the national team.
Manami still remembers very vividly that she had to beg her parents to let her go to Kitagawa Daiichi middle school. It is located quite far away from where her family lives but she after learning that they are a very prestigious volleyball school, there was no other option for her than to go there. In the end she managed to win her parents over and has not regretted her decision even once. After all, this was what truly kickstarted her volleyball career. Like so many first years, she spent most of the matches on the bench at first but quickly moved on to become a regular player in the team's starting line-up. Together with her teammates she won many matches and even gained a couple awards, most notably the award for best outside hitter during her third year of middle school. This was also where she met Tooru Oikawa, who she struck up an unlikely friendship with, forcing him to set the ball for her until she got the perfect spike down and to help her improve her serves.
She actually intended on going to Shiratorizawa Academy when it was time to pick a high school, however that was when her parents put their foot down, saying that it was too far from home and because they were worried that the school's high-pressure and achievement-oriented approach would not be good for Manami, given recent events. Instead, she enrolled in her brother's old school - Karasuno High School. Despite the fact that the school had not been very successful in recent years, she does know of their former reputation as a powerhouse and hopes that she can still improve her own skills as part of the team there. In order to be able to still be a part of the starting line-up, Manami switched from her usual position as outside hitter/wing spiker to that of the opposite hitter, something she agonised a long time over. In the end her need to be able to stay on the court for most of the game persevered, though she sometimes still has a bit of trouble adjusting to the fairly new position.
riona yuuki
[ setter / rio-chan 🏐💖 ]
“stop being so wobbly, i'm gonna fall off.”
They met a couple of times during official tournaments while still in middle school - especially the first time she still remembers extremely well. Back then Riona stopped her serve, which she was sure was going to be a service ace. Ever since then Manami has kept a close eye on the small, back then, libera whenever they encountered each other. And then when she started dating Oikawa, who somehow also was part of Manami's friend group, the two of them ended up hanging out together a couple of times outside of volleyball. When she found out that they were going to play on the same team in high school, she was very excited because she sees in Riona a worthy opponent who she can learn a lot from, but also someone who is a great teammate ... even if she sometimes uses her as her personal jungle gym. Manami also firmly believes that Riona's sets are among the absolute best and gets a little upset, whenever she sets for someone outside of their team.
akari ryujin
[ middle blocker / akari-chan 🏐💖 ]
“sometimes you have to try new things and will discover that they actually aren't so bad. and sometimes they will make you puke. that's just life.”
Even though she has only known Akari since high school, she definitely thinks of her as one of her closest friends and admires her for her incredible endurance during games. Since the other girl is a bit more on the quieter side, Manami appreciates her input even more whenever she shares it with her. Even though she is not exactly a fan of improvising methods in volleyball, she is always grateful for the unique perspective Akari can offer on things thanks to her time as soccer player - and sometimes it is exactly what she needs in order to try out new things on and off the volleyball court. However, she still cannot get over that one time Akari made her drink some weird kind of coffee type that almost made her throw up. She will hold that over her head until the day she dies, probably.
iwaizumi hajime
[ bhf = best himbo friend / iwalein 🥵 ]
“look i know don't show it that often because you're a fucking idiot, but i guess you're my best friend or whatever.”
No one is really sure how this happened. Hajime would probably say it is Oikawa's fault - and maybe it is. But once Manami befriended Oikawa, she ended up spending a lot of time with Hajime as well and somehow he became her closest friend during that time. His straightforward and ruthless demeanour is exactly what she needs when she gets too focused and starts to wear herself down, something to stop her from working herself into another a breakdown. He also does not have a problem with Manami's very direct way of saying things which she greatly appreciates. And he in return appreciates that he can vent to her about whatever stupid annoying thing Oikawa has done now.
tōru oikawa
[ friend / tōru-chan 👽✨ ]
“you want to take a picture of my serve?”
Manami often times watched the boys team of Kitagawa Daiichi train during middle school in order to learn new techniques and plays. One day Oikawa noticed her and mistook her for one of his numerous fangirls, offering to take a picture with her, to which Manami responded by looking at him like he had lost his mind. It may have been a rocky start for their friendship but once he realised that Manami was more interested in his serve than him as a person, they struck up a certain kind of friendship in which they helped each other improve their skillsets. Since the switch to high school, the two of them have not been able to see each other as often anymore but still maintain sporadic contact over text messages, though things have become a bit strained after his break-up with Riona.
yui michimiya
[ captain / captain-san ]
“i know you're feeling a little lost right now, but i'm absolutely certain that you can do this. now go out there and score us a dozen points.”
Manami admires the older girl for her determination and her skills and is always eager to learn something from her. She is also grateful for her captain's willingness to listen to her observations and strategy ideas and stopping her when she notices that Manami is starting to get too caught up in her own head. Sometimes she thinks that she could be a bit more strict with their other teammates and does not understand how she can just let them slack off, though it is one of the few things she will not say outright - if only because Michimiya can be very scary when she wants to be.
akaashi keiji
[ a frustation / akaashi 🦉 ]
“i'd like to serve for you again sometime.”
The two met for the first time at the training camp where they played on the same team during one of their evening training sessions. Manami does not want to like him and be able to play well with him and yet she does. He is confusing and unreadable and overall just very frustrating. And she definitely does not want to get to know him better.
bokuto kōtarō
[ health hazard / bokuto-san (fukurodani captain) 🦉 ]
“HEY HEY HEY!”
Manami met Bokuto during the same trainingscamp where she met Akaashi. She was immediately impressed by his skills and strength and is definitely planning on asking him for some tips and tricks. Also, Manami can relate to his enthusiasm very well and likes that there are other people out there who enjoy volleyball just as much as she does. However, she also sees him as kind of health hazard ever since the one time he almost threw Rio through the entire gym when he tried to chestbump her.
kuroo tetsurō
[ akari's friend?? / cat-tain (nekoma captain) 😼 ]
“KIENMA!!”
Another person she met at the infamous trainingscamp. He and Akari seem to have some kind of weird relationship that Manami does not really understand. It is very confusing but he seems like a fun guy to be around. Although Manami still is not entirely sure if she can trust him or not, he kind of gives off some mischievous vibes.
hisashi kinoshita
[ classmate / k-kun ]
“hey, can i get another piece of cake?”
Since they are both in the same class, the two of them sometimes have study sessions together and Manami would maybe even go as far as calling him a friend. At least she knows roughly what is going on in his life and is able to hold a conversation with him (even about other things than volleyball). She also did invite him to her last birthday party so that definitely counts as friends, right?
tobio kageyama
[ eh / +81-9018569701 ]
“um, who're you?”
Manami simply does not like this guy. The fact that he is pretty much unreadable frustrates her and also the few times she actually talked to him, he kind of seemed like an asshole.
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