#im gonna put it under a cut when i get to a cpu i promise

[ruluxe]

what do you think of kuroko? who do u ship him with if anyone? ur last post said that kagami wasnt close with kuroko and im curious to know if u think kuroko and kagami are not best friends? or do you think that kuroko is closer to aomine maybe? or kise? i dont really see him being that close with the others. maybe akashi though. anyway sorry to interfere!! u dont have to answer if u dont want to

Hey hey! thanks for the ask!

To be honest, I'm kind of indifferent towards Kuroko? Please don't hate me lol, I know he's everyone's sweetheart but I just. Listen. When I first watched KnB, I didn't like him but I think I also had tunnel vision because I didn't really see anyone except Aomine and Kise. Throughout the years my opinions have changed on a lot of the characters, especially after taking the time to just analyse them and understand the place they're coming from. It's more of a personal thing, Kuroko's type of character just doesn't appeal to me (and I know some of you have the same opinions on my faves too so don't come for me lol). Anyway, I was out of the fandom for a long time so it was easy to keep that same opinion of him until I fell back into it hard just recently. I've come to appreciate Kuroko's character and what he's been through, and how important he is to everyone and it makes me really soft for him.

As for shipping, I don't really ship Kuroko with anyone except Momoi but it's not like an OTP or anything. And I'm really sad that they're not a more popular pair, but not surprised. What bothers me most is that I can find mature/explicit Momoi content with Imayoshi, Aomine and Riko or Kuroko with literally any one of the GoM and Kagami but not with Kuro/Momo.

And for Kuroko's friendship with Kagami, I do think that they're best friends, I just don't think that Kagami really opens up to Kuroko until much later in the series. I think that Kagami and Kuroko are closer friends than Kagami and Himuro, I think Kuroko is a much better friend for Kagami than Himuro. As for Kuroko and Aomine, I think they're close too, but in a different respect. I actually answered a question similar to this on Reddit, op was asking who Kuroko cared about more and was the better friend, so I'm just gonna copy my (long) response here:

I would say that both are important to Kuroko, but they both represent a different time in Kuroko's life which affects how their relationships are perceived.

During Teikou, out of all the MiraGen, Aomine was closest to Kuroko. At the time they'd met, Kuroko didn't have any friends, with the exception of Ogiwara, who had gone to another school. Aomine was the first person to really *see* Kuroko. Aomine was the first one to believe in Kuroko and see him as someone who worked hard, as someone who had value despite when Kuroko didn't believe in himself. Aomine convinced Kuroko to continue playing, put his basketball career within Teikou on the line for him, practiced with him and all in all just refused to give up on Kuroko. It wasn't because he saw potential or a hidden talent like Akashi, but because he believed that someone like Kuroko, who loved basketball and worked hard every day at improving, deserved to be acknowledged for it. In Kuroko, Aomine sees himself -- someone who loves basketball, someone with the drive to get better and as he says, someone who loves basketball like Kuroko can't possibly be bad.

When Aomine starts to spiral, Kuroko is there to offer him the same support. He sees himself reflected in Aomine -- someone who loves the sport but is losing that love because of others, because while Kuroko's talents weren't good enough, Aomine's are *too* good. And he manages, for a while, at keeping Aomine above water by believing in him as well. While everyone is telling Aomine that his basketball must be pushed further in order to win, Kuroko is there telling him not to give up because someone will come along and match him in strength, someone who will offer and accept the challenge Aomine is so desperately seeking. And Aomine believes him. He trusts Kuroko with every fibre of his being -- he always has, from year one. But this is why Aomine lashes out at Kuroko first, and cuts the deepest. As he begins to withdraw, Kuroko keeps telling him not to give up but his love for the sport has gone, and he *doesn't* believe Kuroko anymore. That's why the scene where he says that Kuroko was wrong, that he won't find what he's looking for and he leaves Kuroko hanging for the first bump is so important. It's the day that he stopped believing in *Kuroko*.

And no one ever talks about how much of that impacts Kuroko. Not only does he lose Aomine, but the rest of the MiraGen, who I'd argue were never really his friends to begin with (not even Kise), and finally, Ogiwara. No one talks about the pain Kuroko had to go through, how he had gone back to being unnoticed and essentially gave up on the sport he loved, much like Aomine had.

The air of arrogance Aomine develops is nothing but a screen to mask how truly despondent he is. When it comes to the others and in much of life itself, he's blasé, indifferent, bored. When he goes to see Kagami - Kuroko's new light - he's disappointed because he isn't strong enough, and like all the others, not give him that challenge he needs. He isn't looking to be beaten, he's looking for someone to appreciate his basketball again, but someone who can show that appreciation on the court in the form of a challenge, someone who will help reignite his passion for the sport.

When he beats Kuroko and Kagami during their first match, he's particularly mean to Kuroko because this whole time he's been spouting that he'll beat Aomine, that Seirin will give Aomine the challenge he's looking for but they don't come through. Again and again, Aomine is disappointed and loses trust in Kuroko. That is what truly hurts him, and why he's so much harsher on Kuroko than he is with any of the other Miracles.

Their friendship only begins to mend after Aomine loses to Seirin, and he later has a conversation with Kuroko where he admits to being really messed up after that loss. He begins teaching Kuroko again, spending time with him and even goes back to fistbumping and smiling around him by the end of the series. They've patched up their friendship but they aren't as close as they used to be, and it's going to take time because things were said and done that hurt. But Aomine is a really caring person who really cares about the people he holds close to him, even if now he isn't always the best at showing it.

Kagami is different because yes, both of them started off the relationship with using each other for tools to get back at the MiraGen. Kuroko wanted revenge and Kagami wanted to become the best. Kagami even states he doesn't want to make friends with anyone, including Kuroko, so it's fair to say that both had very selfish reasons for playing basketball at the time. And after beating Kise and Midorima, Kagami's head gets too big because Kuroko's there telling him that they can do it, that the MiraGen are beatable because they haven't learned the value of a team, but Kuroko thinks that he and Kagami have, but that's not the case. Even when Kuroko tells Kagami about Aomine and Kagami says that they'll beat him and wake Aomine up, neither one of them are doing it *for* Aomine. Kagami wants to continue to prove himself to be the best, and beating Aomine means he would be, because that was Teikou's *ace*, so to him, Aomine is who he needs to beat. As for Kuroko, he wants to beat Aomine to show him that his style of basketball (team play) is the right way of playing basketball. He's still hurting over his time in Teikou, this is still revenge for him, even if part of him just really wants to make Aomine love basketball again.

This is why when Aomine beats them, it crushes them completely. He tells Kuroko that his basketball will never beat him, and Kagami realizes that Kuroko isn't going to be the one to lead him to victory. In Kagami's mind, there's no strength in Kuroko and strength is what he needs to beat Aomine. And when Kagami tells Kuroko this after the game, it dredges up old memories and feelings of Aomine. Once again, someone is leaving him behind because *his* basketball and *his* strengths just aren't good enough. Once again he's worried someone's going to give up on basketball and he won't be able to stop him, or the guilt that comes along with it. It's at this point that they're both alone, and we truly see that there wasn't a friendship there to begin with, even if we were beginning to see one forming.

It isn't until they both realize what beating the Miracles will do for their team that really solidifies their friendship, and maybe not even then. Kuroko and Kagami become closer because it's required of them, but Kuroko also sees Aomine reflected in Kagami. Someone who is kind, strong and passionate and loves basketball just as much. It's that passion that he hopes Aomine can find again. It's easy to befriend Kagami because he's just a stupidly genuine person, and he too, starts believing in Kuroko's basketball. That's how he wins Kuroko over.

But it's not the same for Kagami. He's used to being on his own, doing things on his own. He had a friend who made him *choose* between basketball and brotherhood and he's not about to make that same mistake twice. Kagami puts more distance between himself and others than Aomine does, but it's less noticeable because he isn't as direct about it, like Aomine. Even after they beat Aomine the second time and he realizes the key to opening the his zone is loving basketball and wanting to win for his teammates, he continues to put that burden on himself throughout the series. He continuously thinks that his strength is what's needed to push through, that he has to carry the team. It really isn't until he discovers the key to unlocking Direct Drive Zone (after Aomine tips him off) is finally accepting that his strength comes from his team -- that he isn't alone -- that Kagami really opens himself up to having friends.

In Extra Game (the manga, not the movie), Kagami and Kuroko have gotten much closer and it seems that he's bridged the gap between all the Miracles. While they all wouldn't consider themselves friends, but it's clear that Kuroko has taught them all the value of loving basketball for what it is -- a team sport. That yes, there can be extremely talented individuals on a team, and the team may rely on their strengths a lot of the time, but when it comes down to it, the team is there to support those players and carry them when they can't carry on any further. Each of them had their own issues with basketball and themselves and by Extra Game, they've come full circle, finally seeing basketball can be competitive but it can be fun too, and you can love it and want to destroy your competition just as long as everyone respects the love for the game.

I think Kuroko and Kagami are closer than Aomine and Kuroko in the present, mostly because they spend more time together (school/practice). I think Aomine and Kuroko are closer now than their last year in Teikou and their first year in high school, but nothing compared to how they were previously in middle school, especially because outside of basketball there isn't much for them to have in common, although Aomine can confide in Kuroko in a way he hasn't been shown to confide in anyone else (including Momoi). I think Kuroko cares equally for the both of them now, and I genuinely believe that Aomine and Kagami care for Kuroko in a similar way too. I still believe that Kagami has trouble letting people in because he's just used to being alone and he forgets he can rely on people and open up to them (he's definitely more closed off with his true emotions compared to Aomine), whereas Aomine can easily fall back into an old rhythm with Kuroko, but he's got to find the balance in himself before doing so, because he stopped caring about everything for so long that he forgot how to show people he cared about them, too."

In regards to Kise and Kuroko, well. I'm a little salty about the way Kise gets treated by all of the GoM, including Kuroko. Personally it feels more one-sided to me, Kise always wanting to pursue the friendship while Kuroko feels indifferent in the matter. I've read fics where Ki/Kuro is the side pairing and I have yet to come across one where they're portrayed with a deeper connection than what we're given in canon (Kise being annoying, Kuroko being 'mean'). I'd like to see everyone treat Kise as someone who'd be a loyal, dependable friend because it's clear that he's capable of being that person with the members of Kaijou. Anyway this post is about Kuroko, not Kise and I've already ranted WAY TOO MUCH on this omg I'm so sorry