Itoshi Sae, Physical Contact, and the Exceptions: Rin and Shidou
As of Chapter Ch 214, the only two people we see Sae allow to touch him are his little brother…and Shidou Ryusei.** Post (S)pain, it’s only been Shidou.
**I’m going to argue that Sae allows Shidou to jump on his back. And I mean 'argue' in the lightest sense.
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Quick preface: Just organizing and posting notes I took on the subject for characterization in a fic (they are, therefore, biased). I’m not claiming that no one has ever touched Sae, just that the manga only shows a select few occasions. We’ll go in chapter and not chronological order. For the most part.
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The first time the manga shows us anyone trying to initiate contact with Sae is with these two clowns (JFU President and U-20 “coach”) in Ch 107. Hardly surprising that Sae wouldn’t shake the hands of people he so clearly doesn’t respect.
Every expression in this panel is priceless.
Next up, Ch 111:
Aiku and his proposal are plainly of more interest to Sae than the JFU bozos, yet Sae nopes right out of Aiku’s ‘gentlemen's agreement’ handshake. And then threatens to nope out of the whole match if the U-20 Team can’t meet his standards.
We see Sae being rushed by celebratory teammates several times. Not once do we readers see any of them actually succeed in throwing an arm around him pre-Spain, in Spain, or post-Spain. Until Shidou.
Post Spain (Ch 116):
Sae has just scored a goal crazy enough to have Isagi think, “The leading actor in this game is Itoshi Sae!!” The crowd is going wild, the U-20 Team is rushing Sae in joy, …and Sae literally slaps them off: “Hands off, chumps.”
Poor Fox Kid and Not-Bokuto. They seem so darn sweet.
Now, a blast from the past.
Pre-Spain (Ch 123):
I don’t know about y’all, but I can so clearly see Little Sae ducking right out these guys’ arms—in a more humorously standoffish way. Like how we see Rin sidestep Isagi (coming right up!). An imagination is all we got here.
Spain (Ch 125):
Now in the mysterious (S)pain… Hopefully we’ll get more than a glimpse of it one day! Would Sae have dodged the Real Madrid Youth Team guys? Would he have numbly endured it? Would he have slapped them off? Etc.? The manga, again, leaves us to wonder. (My money’s on the second one.)
Once again, I’m definitely not saying Sae’s teammates have never succeeded in tackling him in celebration. Just that it’s notable we, the readers, don’t see it. Yet.
I’ll conclude with some pre-Spain Itoshi Bros cuteness, but let’s talk some post-Spain Itoshi Bros parallels first.
Ch 121
Poor Isagi. 😂 Rin sees him coming with a little “!” and dodges his charge like the plague with a grumpy lil “Hmph.”
Rin, now away from Isagi, goes right back to business in the next panel.
Ten chapters later, we have a Sae parallel.
Ch 131
Just like Rin, Sae sees a celebratory missile coming right at him with a “!” and a less than enthusiastic expression—yet Sae doesn’t dodge Shidou.
Shidou definitely takes off like a bat out of hell (ha). But do we really think Itoshi Sae of the New Generation World XI couldn’t have even sidestepped—like his little brother—if he’d really wanted to?
I think Sae allows Shidou his moment of clingy celebration. Especially in light of the Rin and Isagi parallel. Remember, this was immediately following Shidou’s unbelievable Big Bang Drive—a goal that had even Sae showing open surprise on his face (Ch 130). Shidou becomes the first one shown to have jumped on Sae in celebration.
(Real talk, though: someone please give Kitsunezato and Neru a high five!)
The next page…
Both pursuers of the Itoshi Bros end up with a hard impact on the ground, and yet….
Sae doesn’t tell Shidou to f— off after throwing Shidou off him. Shidou doesn’t get an icy “Hands off, chump” like Fox Kid and Not-Bokuto. Sae doesn’t stalk off (he actually lingers and seems to chat while Shidou just chills on the ground and gives him a lil thumbs-up). Sae tells Shidou, “You have to get a hat trick, remember? Then you’d get my number. Hands off until then, you horny demon.” Untillll being the operative word (...one of them, anyway 😅). Not only does Sae let Shidou latch on, Sae banters with Shidou.
This is outside the point of this post, but Sae looks…sad? nostalgic? when Shidou first jumps on him. It doesn’t last long, but it’s there. Perhaps relating to the panels I’m about to bring up. (Addressing what may have prompted Sae’s “Gross” and “horny demon” reactions + his punch/tackle is also outside the purview of this post 😅 Same with speculating on what the helllll these two were talking about below.)
Concluding with some Pre-(S)pain Itoshi Bros
Ch 123:
We see Little RinRin as the original No Touchy exception. And it’s so wholesome.
And Sae actually reaching out to Rin and being affectionate. Maybe we’ll see it again one day.
Ch 124
Look, the Itoshi Bros are capable of high fives! Or, they were, anyway.
Unlike Sae, we actually see Rin's teammates grabbing him in celebration, pre-(Sae’s return from) Spain.
In conclusion...
So far, the manga shows Sae breaking his general Kuzco Rule with only two people.
Pre-Spain, Little Rin was a very obvious exception. Post-Spain / currently and more subtly, Shidou is the only exception we've seen. Is it a respect thing? A soft spot? Emphasizing Sae is an "untouchable" player? Some combination?
As for canon… I really hope we see Sae and Shidou become friends. They’re both so alone but seem to bring each other to life. I also really hope we’ll see Sae accepting his teammates’ celebration one day. Just imagine Sae pulling off a crazy pass or stealing a goal at the World Cup, both Rin and Shidou rushing him in joy, the rest of the team on their tails! Or maybe something smaller, like just celebrating a cool move in practice. I think we’ll see it eventually. Just like I think we could see Shidou act as a bridge between the estranged Itoshi Bros.
You’ll find what notes / “meta” I’ve already posted under #xoxoBlueLockNotes. Will probably organize and post more somewhere in here!
PS: Check out @bluelockhalloweek for spooky Blue Lock fun! 🎃 Halloween is just around the corner!
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"call kids like us vicious and carved out of stone"
⇒ 4k | rated T | sae-centric study, background ryusae
⇒ companion fic to despite the overwhelming odds, tomorrow came
warning for graphic depictions of disordered eating habits
It's too late to take back the things he's said to Rin, back before he'd resolved himself to this path. His tongue has always been one of his greater enemies. Maybe if he starts controlling what it's allowed to taste, he can better control what it's allowed to say.
read on ao3 here
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(this is the part where you find out who you are) - blue lock fic
(this is the part where you find out who you are) - E
ch 6/29 - sae - 4.4k
endgame ships: ryusae, rin&sae, hiorin, kurobachisagi, kuro&shidou, kaisagi, kunigiri
tags: no bllk au, they all work at the mall, getting together, polyamory, eventual smut, consensual underage sex, light angst, happy ending
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Every Friday during the summer, a group of mall employees gather around the Auntie Anne’s for what they’ve dubbed ‘pretzel Fridays’.
In Rin’s eyes, Sae broke them when he decided that he’d be abandoning Rin at the end of the summer - there’s no going back from a betrayal like that, no matter how much he wishes otherwise. Sure, the summer promises some distraction in the shape of one Hiori You, but that doesn’t mean Rin isn’t still dreading the rapid approach of autumn.
Shidou’s been crushing on Sae since he first laid eyes on him. He loves that Sae doesn’t make it easy, even if it means playing the long game. No way he’s letting a catch like Sae get away.
Isagi’s had this job for, what, a few weeks now? And for some fucking reason, Michael Kaiser has made it his life’s mission to ensure Isagi suffers. Even Bachira - and everyone they both take to bed - can’t quite take his mind off that asshole of a coworker.
Chigiri’s been a part of Bachira’s orbit for a while now, but it’s never quite enough. He wants Bachira for himself, but that’s a far-fetched dream he would never force on Bachira. When he meets Kunigami, though, he might start to reconsider.
[read new ch | read from beginning]
updates weekly on mondays!
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Going Up, Going Down
Quick lil fic based on Okudosae’s perfectttt RyuSae art + the pickup line @schnooglepuffs commented on it. 💙
M-rated, read on AO3.
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Only a few floors separated Sae from his hotel room and the bliss of the king bed inside. He selected his floor and sighed, the work of the day officially behind him as the metal doors began to close. At least the man in the mirrored wall didn’t look as tired as he felt. He unlocked his phone to flick through his socials for something, anything, to help keep his eyes—
A chunky combat boot jammed through the narrow opening.
Shit, Sae almost fumbled his phone.
The elevator doors recoiled, then opened wide.
A big blonde mess shoved his way into the quiet space, jewelry and buckles clacking, boots thumping. All black everything but the magenta boxers standing high above his belt; a bright contrast against toned, golden skin. All baggy everything but the skintight shred of mesh serving as a shirt. Tall and built, with the sort of chest that could easily pull off the hardware pierced into it...
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