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eepy babies

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Sasuke tries (and fails) to intimidate the new recruit 😌 (Anbu AU!)

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Toy Stoy 3 (2010) dir. Lee Unkrich

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We’re going to be so happy

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Cleon - Love Tropes (9/9)

Literally Falling in Love

When both characters have had an Unresolved Sexual Tension for a long time, occasionally fate helps a little by making one of them trip for some reason (often a fight) and fall on the other. They may both lose their footing and fall to the ground, or the standing one might brace the impact against a wall. Either way, awk-ward.

In some cases, if this trope is in action, by the magic (and surprise) of their sudden proximity, they will fall silent. They'll look intensely into each other's eyes, forgetting their fight entirely.

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"just one dinner" aww so cute X3

@sardine0313 @sardine twitter

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Korean twitter is where they're at, true!

So I know it’s 20 fucking 21 but

I’m rewatching Slam Dunk (as an old guy) because I ran out of shit to watch and does anyone wanna talk about how cute these two are, actually?

There’s just clenches my fist so much potential between Mr. “Fifty Times Rejected By Women” and Mr. “Has Been Beside Him Through It All, Secretly In Love The Whole Time”, y’all fuckin’ FEEL ME?

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Why ship Agon & Yoichi? Welcome to the 2nd portion of my long AgoHiru meta post!! I ended up having to break it into 3 parts because of the sheer amount of images. If you missed Part 1, please go HERE.

~~Part 2~~

TWO YEARS LATER - Agon doesn’t care about football.. except when he does

Agon is considered such a high-value player that scouts from University teams & Sports writers come see him play. Unfortunately for them, Agon doesn't actually enjoy football enough nor deems his participation important enough to play full time or train. And yet, when it comes to Yoichi’s new High School team, Agon makes exceptions.

During Sena’s first Deimon vs Ojo match, Agon makes surprising appearance. And he's not only keeping tabs on Yoichi, but also on any interesting newcomers to the team:

Checking out Mamori, downplaying Sena, insulting Yoichi.. tsk tsk

Remember how Agon insults Sena along with Ryokan during Riko’s interview? From the moment Yoichi’s football team begins to boast a new star, Sena becomes Agon’s new target of ire. Sena who, like Ryokan, lacks in areas Agon can excel. Sena who is currently Yoichi’s trump card.. the position that should be Agon’s.

Sena has no power, but his speed gives Deimon a chance at the Christmas Bowl, & Agon can’t stand that. Because at the end of it all, I think his issue isn’t the fact that Yoichi plays football, it’s the fact that he continues to choose his less talented friends to accomplish his goal instead of the "once in a century genius athlete" that is Agon.

For all his talk about playing football to crush those without talent, nothing personally motivates Agon more than playing for the sole purpose of ruining the dream Yoichi Hiruma has with his friends..

An answer that evokes an image too similar to the one Agon saw the day he decided to join Shinryuji.. Even Riko can tell this topic spells a land mine, oof

Yoichi influences Agon: +20 points! (Agon hates Yoichi’s friends, specifically Ryokan & Sena.)

~

DEIMON VS SHINRYUJI - Dethroning the Gods

When the chance to play against Deimon finally arrives, Agon, of course, decides to play the game in full, much to the surprise of his teammates. And he quickly escalates to participating in ALL ASPECTS due to Yoichi's continued provocations, because it is of course Yoichi’s opinions that he cares about:

When he finally faces off against Yoichi himself, Agon chops him down the same way he does everyone. But once Yoichi gets a hold of his leg, Agon smashes him to the ground so hard, the demon bleeds!

Such strong aggression.. like some seriously pent up UST

And five minutes after contact, Agon still can’t stop thinking about it because he’s so affected by it!

As the match goes on, Agon reluctantly begins to accept Sena as a formidable player, but nonetheless he continues to keep an eye on Yoichi, often bringing up his history with him to assess the potential of Deimon’s plays.

Despite not speaking to each other for two years & the fact that they mostly only hung out for blackmail, Agon sure knows quite a lot about Yoichi’s stats & play style. I think this shows he’s clearly very invested in him.

Deimon's match against Shinryuji is SUPER DELIGHTFUL to me for several reasons, especially because:

We got a story of origins: how the Maou trio ended up in Deimon

The Shinryuji Nagas have been set up since vol 6 as the Best Team in all of Kanto, with 9 consecutive championships won

Agon is presented as a personal villain to the our protagonists, which makes winning against his team all the more sweeter

Yukimisu debuts!

Because Agon is a man who can play any position, this is the only game where every touchdown by Deimon was done by a different character

Agon, the once-in-a-century genius had such malicious intent in proving to Yoichi that his team was made up of losers. But he instead ends up getting owned by a variety of Deimon's players, even those who had never before touched the ball in an official match!

By the end of the game, guess what Agon thinks about?

His conversation with Yoichi, and the two players he bashed the most. The end result of this match crushes him so badly that he decides to do the previously unimaginable: to TRAIN.

Yoichi influences Agon: +30 points! (Agon plays a full match. Agon tastes defeat. Agon decides to train!)

And so.. after being bested by Deimon, Agon begins to take the sport seriously, fully intent in seeking another rematch. Another chance to once again prove he’s the best player & that Yoichi should've chosen him.

Oops.. Except that Deimon’s third years don’t get to participate in sports.

See, training soon proves to not be enough for Agon. Not only does Agon keep a close watch on Deimon's next matches, he even goes so far as to try out for Teikoku High after Deimon secures their ticket to their long-coveted Christmals Bowl. Because Agon doesn’t want to wait a whole year for a rematch. 

Maybe it's just drama to up the stakes, but taking his history with Yoichi & his tremendous grudge against Yoichi's friends into account, I posit he did it because he knew Deimon’s third years don’t get to play sports. Defeating Deimon without facing Yoichi would feel pretty pointless, after all, it is Yoichi whom he wants to brag to.

A year ago, Agon turned down Teikoku because of how committed he was to staying at Shinryuji specifically. Yet that goes out the window the moment it wasn’t enough to ruin the dreams Yoichi build with his friends

In any case, Agon goes to watch Deimon vs Ojo in person once again, as well as the Christmas Bowl. As for the Hakushuu match, he only watches it through TV (maybe he couldn't watch Yoichi get crushed in person).

Yoichi influences Agon: +20 points! (Agon tries to get into Teikoku. Agon gets increasingly more invested in football)

→Continue to Part 3→

What’s it like when they finally play on the same team? Where do they go from there? And other bonus topics!

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Glad to see someone talking about this because I knew by watching the anime series alone that there's SOMETHING in there between Agon and Yoichi. It left out a lot of info but ugh, it's really juicy. I personally love Kurita and Yoichi's relationship because I find it wholesome in its own way with Kurita just being so pure and kind that he somewhat "tamed" a devil like Yoichi. So I can see Agon's jealousy.

Why ship Agon & Yoichi? It’s not just because they’re both devious geniuses who get each other somewhat—making them compatible enough that they don’t need explicit instruction from each other. It’s also that they have a long history filled with changing dynamics & drama. And because, by & large, Yoichi has a tremendous influence over Agon’s choices throughout the story. For a prideful & super talented villain like Agon, I think that’s highly meaningful!

~~Part 1~~

AGON KONGO’S EARLY DAYS - Aww man it sure is hard to be so talented

Agon is a boy with an ability that cannot be trained - his Godspeed reaction time. On top of that, he is quick to take up any physically & mentally arduous activity, has great looks, & is naturally strong as hell. And he achieves it all without much effort~ 

His early days were therefore filled with praise, admiration & envy from everyone around him, including with the one significant relationship during this moment: his twin brother, Unsui. 

Too smart for his own good, Unsui resigns himself quite early on, taking the loss as “an average athlete” and tries only to improve Agon’s prospects rather than his own.

Unsui: Then all my effort will have paid off.

Agon: Shut up. That's my plan anyway.

For Agon Kongo during this time, he probably felt there wasn’t anyone he could call an equal.. 

~

YOICHI HIRUMA’S EARLY DAYS - I’m going to that fun place now

Yoichi Hiruma as a child feels bored and understimulated. Bright but devious by nature, he one day decides to shake up his humdrum by sneaking into an American Army base at age 10, where he spends his days honing his skills in provocation and intimidation while playing poker with men much older than him. 

It is quite apparent that lying and coercion were natural skills to him.

This is also the place where he picks on the habit of carrying guns, speak in foul English, & learns all about American football. By the time Yoichi enters middle school, he’s gone through quite a transformation of looks:

Though at first, Yoichi does not consider himself suitable to playing the game himself, there is no denying he is immensely attracted to the strategic angle of it, spending hours drafting formations in his spare time.

For Yoichi Hiruma during this time, perhaps he only dreams of one day commanding a team with players of his own choosing..

~

AND THEN THEY MEET …wait, who, what, when, where, how??

So how did these two terrors meet? Unfortunately we’re not shown. It is unclear when or how they meet, but we know that it happens before Yoichi decides to play football in Middle School. 

Here’s a headcanon: The “book of threats” was likely an idea Yoichi developed long before, just never had a big enough reason to make one yet. Until he needed to. Until he found something he really wanted to pursue with a lot of obstacles in the way: American football (the man already had used cell phone collection boxes placed around..)

Thanks to a series of events in which Ryokan convinces him to play the game, Yoichi sets out to make his infamous book of threats. For that, he calls on an acquaintance for help! That acquaintance was none other than Agon.

↑This is seriously their earliest known on-screen interaction & we’re presented with this dynamic about them: Yoichi calls, Agon fetches. I know Yoichi isn’t one for pleasantries, but he doesn’t even introduce much context, he merely points to a place & Agon gets to work.

SO WHAT WE KNOW:

They meet somewhere during middle school.

They meet outside of school (no shared school)

Coincidentally Agon also goes through a transformation of looks.

Look, look.. I think it’s quite telling that out of ALL places Agon could’ve been during this very early interaction, he’s at a HAIR SALON. Like, he really really could’ve been doing anything else, or be literally anywhere else. But here we are:

The last one, he says… so they’ve already been at this!

Just IMAGINE! From the moment they meet, however or wherever that was, Agon & Yoichi clearly vibe well enough to exchange contact information & then… Agon forgoes his natural blond hair in exchange for dark dreads.

What could it be? He already wore sunglasses, is liked well & is superbly popular. But perhaps upon meeting this young man with pierced ears & bleached hair, Agon got the idea that he wanted a more intimidating look as well?

Why not? Afterall, he becomes Hiruma’s on-demand thug.

Yoichi influences Agon: +10 points! (Agon gets dreads)

And so, for the next two to three years, Yoichi & Agon apparently spend HOURS running around doing this stuff:

Agon beats people for money, Yoichi gets the blackmail. 

Ahhh yes bonding through filming naked dudes, errr.. Blackmailing, I mean. Hah? Totally normal

Yoichi influences Agon: +10 points! (Agon spends his days as Yoichi’s thug)

If their acquaintanceship formed before Ryokan meddled into Yoichi’s life, then Yoichi has a longer history with Agon than with his friends from Maou. Outside of family relationships, theirs is one of the longest-standing relationships in the series. And with long histories come moments of drama. With Ryokan Kurita in the picture, things begin to go sour.

~

I was never your friend but I thought you were mine.. a.k.a. AGON’S JEALOUSY OF RYOKAN KURITA

One of the strongest proof for me that a proud man like Agon is in fact very desperately thirsty for Yoichi’s attention is the evidence showing that he views Ryokan as an obstacle. Ryokan.. whom he would openly say is miles beneath him in terms of talent, looks, brains.. You get the picture.

It’s not “I’m glad I kicked you & your loser friends.” Was perhaps Agon expecting or hoping Yoichi would choose to drop Ryokan & still apply for Shinryuji himself? Afterall, there wasn’t anything stopping Yoichi from doing so except friendship.

These are instances where Agon isn’t insulting Yoichi. His beef is with the people Yoichi chooses to associate himself with, most prominently Ryokan & later Sena (more on Sena in part 2!!)

But why the antagonism toward Ryokan specifically? Wasn’t Gen (Musashi) also around? If Agon Kongo were a genius of interpersonal relationships, he might've figured it out. Because the truth is no one in this story changed Yoichi more than Ryokan.

Ryokan is the reason Yoichi starts playing football & why we get to the Deimon Devil Bats & the story of underdog Eyeshield 21. And while we have evidence that Unsui also plays football in middle school, that doesn’t mean Agon had any interest in it. An interaction from Riko’s interview gives us a hint:

Which suggests that when Agon found Yoichi suddenly immersed in the sport, it was something that must’ve surprised him. Meanwhile Yoichi’s comment suggests Agon followed the same “stunt” afterwards.

In fact, for Agon, the decision happened here:

Was it a mere coincidence that Agon was at this particular scene? Maybe he & Yoichi had plans to meet up later but Agon happened to arrive earlier by chance. Or maybe Agon was here on purpose..

Genius Agon who is feared, admired, & envied by all.... who is good at any sport, who has the looks & talent to potentially get anyone he wants, being put aside by someone he kinda somewhat valued..

I mean, given the time they spent together, it’s reasonable to assume Agon enjoyed hanging out with Yoichi. So this scene where Yoichi is having fun with people who have nothing to do with him, Ryokan in a Shinryuji Uniform especially, must've affected his sense of security on a subconscious level. We aren’t shown any other source of antagonism for his messing up with Yoichi's plans. The thing is, deep down, Yoichi is the closest he could consider an equal. Not like he knew it at the time.

Also, while the panel above paints Agon in a clearly antagonistic light, the original magazine run of that panel was actually juicier:

Really, it wouldn’t be far-fetched to interpret this as anger, envy, maybe even betrayal.

Yoichi influences Agon: +20 points! (Agon enters Shinryuji High School. Agon joins a football team)

And so, Agon sets out to destroy what he saw that day so badly that he really decides to attend an all-boys buddhist high school despite being a giant womanizer. And when Yoichi confronts him to try to remedy his dick move, Agon decides to cut him off as well, effectively ruining whatever sort of friendship they had.

Alas, their version of a breakup... I've also talked about Yoichi's choice of outfit in this post, heheh!

ALL TO PLAY A SPORT HE DOESN'T EVEN LIKE!! Now that's some serious malevolent & jealous-driven commitment!

→Continue to Part 2→

Where I explore Agon's disinterest in Football when it doesn't involve Yoichi, his newfound beef with Sena, Deimon vs Shinryuji & beyond~

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“Miss… and you’re done.”

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"HE LOOKS AT HER LIKE ,

HE JUST REALIZED WHAT LOVE IS " 🫠🥹🫶

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Gaoshun isn't paid enough for this

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finished ep 8 of the apothecary diaries

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Great news Aeriseph fans! Aeriseph Week 2024 is coming to you on 22-27 July! Mark your calendar and get ready as we have some interesting prompts created for everyone. Share this post to tell your fellow Aeriseph fans!