#talking about these two... two softies...

[soft-pentagon]

can we talk abt them 😔😔

For what 😔 to make me suffer?

[sableu]

my random take is that even though dragon does often feel resentful towards garp for remaining a marine, he's a sentimental person who is sympathetic towards people still trapped in the system and still really likes his father and would be devastated if anything happened to him.

this is in stark contrast to sabo who is the devil on his shoulder constantly being like "boss just so you know if we end up having to take out your dad in the class war i WILL do it and i WILL enjoy it"

[alliekills]

date for tonight is cancelled bc we are instead going on a roadtrip tomorrow morning and i won’t be back until fucking friday night LET’S GOOOO. spontaneity is so goddamn sexy i love it

[yellowhollyhock]

It's not actually a big deal at all how people interpret different iterations, and in fact I think most people who have seen 1987 and rise are on the same page as what I'm about to say

But it still feels like a constant uphill battle to be saying, the 1987 turtles are different and that's okay! Raph doesn't need to tap into his aggressive side to be in character! Michelangelo doesn't need to pull pranks or be the little brother! They're their own iteration, they're fun to watch, and they're different and that's cool

But Rise is not that different, it's exactly what you would expect from a show that draws on the ones people would've been familiar with! Raph has a temper! Leo is a great strategist! Donnie's a huge softie! Mikey thinks he's invincible! They're just as similar at their core to 12 and 03 as those are to each other they're just in different circumstances. They are the same that's what makes the shake-up so brilliant

[stygiansauce]

MY DAD IS SO CUTE?????????? LOOK WHAT HE JUST SENT ME 😭😭😭😭😭

[softie-rain]

one thing about me is that if you're watching tbosas with me I will in fact yell "DID YOU KNOW IN THE BOOK HE VOMITS IN THIS SCENE AT THE SMELL OF MA'S COOKIES" during Coriolanus break down scene post Sejanus' death

because did you know in the book he vomits in the break down scene post Sejanus' death when he smells ma's cookies because of how guilty he feels

[im-still-watching-anime]

apollo: valentine’s day is a corporate holiday it isn’t even that special

trucy: you were just yelling and blushing for three hours because klavier got you a bear that says “i wuv you bear-y much”

apollo: that’s not fair those emotions were because i’m afflicted with feelings for klavier and NOT because of capitalism induced romance

[kiekuhaku]

so. trying to pick up noa and ego crumbs up to ch328—the available tidbits of their pasts + narratives: (note: other charas are mentioned. isg especially)

ch 1 + 154 — noa is isagi's idol (calls him lord noa/noa sama. to that point). came from a slum in france and this is widely known information, it seems. current #1 striker in the world who explicitly said he would rather make more goals and lose instead of the opposite. in ch154 noa is revealed to play in germany for bastard munchen, and isagi admired germany since he was little—so, maybe, noa played in germany for a long time already (not really sure, honestly). in ch1 anri said ego is an indispensable coach. this chapter also mentions ego's ultimate goal (later repeated by his trivias and future mentions)

ch 204 — they are teammates over 10 years ago. "old war buddies"

ch 204 — while happening repeatedly in narrative, noa verbally confirmed that isagi's theories (at least some) are similar to ego's. (note: won't mention all the time it happened, but pxg's talented learner + genius + evolution theory is one of the instances)

ch 204 — official en noa using "haunting me". also there is a literal 'ghost' of ego behind noa. similar visuals have been used on characters who became phantoms for other characters, i.e.: isagi, hiori's parents, sae.

ch 272 colored page — once again, ego is placed behind noa, this time not as a ghost but out of all characters in the page, he is not facing the camera alone.

ch 231 — snuffy mentions that isagi and barou remind him of noa and ego's "rotten rivalry". noa however, says "don't lump us in. i want to see someone beyond all that." (note: i haven't really deciphered if there are other meanings or hints in that answer)

ch 247 — noa calls ego 'exalted ruler' in official en trans. also they seem to be at least able to communicate pretty casually with each other?

ch 303 — "in this project i am god." ego said this. add another tally to god mention (so far mentions has been by: isagi, noa, kaiser, and ego. isagi, kaiser, and ego especially directly referred to god as an entity.)

ch 308 — when buratsuta tells nagi to play soccer to prove ego is wrong, the imageries used are gun & bullets. the only character who has on-field presence & ego related to such imagery is isagi yoichi. nagi seishiro's imagery is a skull (a death).

later in 326 aiku mentions isagi might devour ego's plan. 304 brings to the forefront how isagi feels about ego, 328 is basically them bonding. ego is shown more (in almost a more sentimental light too) recently. 312 and later 327, it is shown nagi (and kira too) wants to destroy blue lock. 309, ego says both him and the players should use each other to reach their dreams. gee. subtle foreshadowing...? (yes, this threat has appeared before. but not from player's side and mentioned with this much frequency. knsr is hammering everyone in the head atp)

ch 309 — there is this one set of isagi's and ego's panels where they have the same expression + panel placement + mirrored panel shape. the page of these panels are one right next after the other

ch 311 — ego doesn't want buratsuta to come to the facility, at least in front of the kids. it is kind of obvious that he keeps the kids out of the backstage, but this confirms he specifically requests this too. (on a softer, more sentimental note, ego doesn't want to involve them in all the bureaucracy mess and just wants them to focus on soccer. he does mention repeatedly the importance of 'environment' in his speeches & theories afterall)

ch 205 + 328 — his eyes does not have pupils and drawn completely dark, resembling nagi a lot post the lock off, when nagi is clearly in his lowest point (despair? hopelessness?). in ch 205, it's especially hightlighted when yukimiya says he refuses the offer presented because his ego might growing if he accepted. in ch328, it's when telling isagi to not prioritize methods he can't reproduce. (note: possible reason to why ego quits? do note these are not the only instances ego is drawn without pupils (examples from the ones i spotted through quick chap jumping: 1, 131, 132, 247, 311)—these moments too are not always implying "despair" (could have missed it or something tho). isagi to have been drawn in the same manner when he insults loki in 284. could be a visual stylization choice and not simply just depicting despair or similar feelings only.)

(but do note in 328 especially there are a lot of panels highlighting ego's eyes and they change a lot in that chapter. same manner of depiction was also used on sae in ch 124 & 125 during flashback)

ch 328 — slightly reveals why ego really pushed "formulas & methods you can reproduce" and why he makes his theories. "the god of soccer" he met once for 7 minutes and never again. said by ego to be the reason why he stops being an active player.

ch 328 — ego does wants isagi to surpass him.

ego and isagi share multiple physical resemblances. the sprout, the eyes (outer shapes especially), beta isagi design having an undercut and sketches similar to ego's current design. age, height, build, hairstyle, and eye bags are the biggest differences in their design. (slight interpretation: at some point, you wonder if ego is isagi's alternative future. but their resemblance is definitely intentional.)

(noa & kaiser have also been mentioned to bear resemblances in appearance. in eyes & their fair color values, but most observations are not exactly 1:1 or to ego & isagi's degree of eerie resemblances. there is also other white haired characters and another genius like nagi. but noa and kaiser's biggest similarity is their origin, a fw who came from poverty and succeed. lorenzo is there too. also, kunigami doesn't match 1:1 to noa either, and he got called "cheap copy" by canon. take this note as you will.)

ch 328 — ego sees his past self as an active player in isagi. a dreamer full of ideals.

ch 328 — ego's back number was 11. other characters who has this number are isagi, kaiser, and nagi. 11 is isagi's number especially (u20, nel, and current wc u20 arc)

ch 327 + 328 — blue lock side b's body suits are white, nagi & kira have white hair. currently ego seems to wear black/dark clothes, along with his black hair—clear visual juxtaposition.

noa and ego's trivia — noa's favorite food is japanese cup noodles and admits ego is the one who introduced him to it. ego's favorite foods are also instant noodles, albeit he detailed them to be yakisoba and ramen (wiki).

isagi's light novel — isagi was chosen by ego himself, ego highlighted isagi's strengths. isagi was the only one that is chosen by ego himself, as far as we know.

ch 303 — there is a direct narrative juxtaposition to this. "i don't choose seishiro nagi" said by ego himself.

ego, isagi, and noa's birthdays are a 3-day combo with each other, in that order.

noa shares the same blood type as isagi (B type). ego's is AB.

ego's trivia — his favorite subjects are PE (shared with many blue lock characters) and psychology (shared with...kaiser????? but note that it could not always mean a lot of parallel too. i.e. hiiragi the tarot guy from epinagi like philosophy too. the only thing he blatantly shares with kaiser is their position as antagonist,s and that's it. shidou & isagi like the same subject too, but you can count their exclusive interaction in one hand.)

ego is 1 year younger than noa.