of course, ill do my best op…

• rin is the most genius member of bllk, less of an opinion more of a fact because it came from knsr. he does not play soccer for himself but for sae. he DID have an ego, but it was overwritten by sae when they were children when he told rin to be the second best in the world. nagi had an ego that was extinguished, but rin was just bruteforcing bllk, so he’s in a worse place than nagi. every time he tried to develop it enters a cycle of regression. but since we are on the world stage, rin just getting by is no longer sustainable, so his superficial ego cracked and ego benched him.

• rin sees sae as an extension of himself instead of his own person, which is unhealthy. but sae was rin’s original “evolman” (aka his target to destroy and die with) and this role was replaced by isagi. this is why sae says isagi will be the savior of JP football, because he can bring out rin’s instincts. sae kind of has a plan where he is using isagi to evolve rin, so i see this going in a direction where = sae and isagi become the new nucleus of the team in the early knockouts which pisses rin off, before sae betrays isagi and sets up rin for some crazy play during spain, which in turn causes isagi to flip. sae and isagi are also both puppeteers who control the game, which will cause a divide on the team. and then rin will learn that sae was using him as collateral for his beef against bunny, which causes rin to flip but also realize that sae was never the end point but instead a stepping stone because he was already defeated by someone stronger (and playing against bunny will make him emotional instead of logical, prone to messing up).

• rin’s development to me must culminate in a manner where he is free of worldly desires (destroying isagi and sae), is no longer dependent on anyone, and plays soccer because he found a reason that made him truly love the sport. an independent rin is a whole new rin. like comparing it to kaiser and isagi during PXG, it would be his zero state. rin will devote himself to destroying and dying with his enemy through his macabre soccer, and when he’s finished with them, he simply moves on if they cannot keep up.

also, i think he has self destructive tendencies that he funnels into his play. bunny is like rin on steroids to me (which is kind of obvious, since he is a rin villain.)

honestly i just think people need to be patient. it’s hard, because we’ll probably have to wait a year for substantial development, but it will be worth it trust the plvn. ship brain also ruins story discussion, so if you are reading takes from rnis/ allis accounts i suggest you just ignore it because its full of bias. rin and isagi do have an evolman - kaiju rs dynamic, but rin right now is dependent on isagi’s ability to perform (and when isagi goes under rin does as well, because he’s just been bruteforcing bllk with no actual ego) if nagi was starting from 0 rin is in the negatives lol. but if there’s anything to suspect in regards to isagi and rin, their rivalry will remain, but rin will no longer be dependent on him / nor play just to defeat him.

also, even if rin were to defeat isagi, he’d just move onto the newer, shinier stronger target. it’s what i expect will happen between rin and sae during spain.

(sae oshi speaking) rin surpassing sae is non negotiable. i want them to come to a point where it’s not like things will be the same as when they were children (because it wont, time passes, people change) but they will still come to understand e/o’s choices and go their own ways healthily. which speaking in all honestly they’ll likely both play on Re Al together but the point still stands.

they should see the other as separate people with their own lives instead of being extensions of their own selves. for their more personal motivations, rin should find his own passion for soccer instead of playing for sae, and sae should come to peace with himself instead of chasing past demons.