#kaito is just a really difficult hurdle

[etude-in-citrine]

Also I would also like to mention,

Hakuba kind of.. overstepped his boundaries. Literally in his very first appearance, he literally researches about Kid through his DNA and proceeds to stalk the dude to his private and school life, where he is completely Kuroba Kaito and no correlation to Kid. And yes, he does only subtly hint at it to Kaito and not blatantly reveal it, as overblown as fanfiction make it to be, it does not change how horrible Hakuba's first impressions was. Even if Hakuba does become an ally sort of character to Kaito as the manga went on, it doesn't change how Hakuba does own some information that can be used against him and I don't blame Kaito for constantly being on his guard. Because to Kaito, Hakuba has the power to blackmail him and drag his personal life (aka Aoko) if he so wishes and for an individual who is very cautious and cares very deeply about his privacy, Hakuba is pretty much a walking red flag.

In comparison while Shinichi does express many times that he wants to catch Kid, he never ever researches him outside of his heists. He respects his privacy and doesn't actually delve too much into it. It allows Kaito to be able to revel in their competition and rivalry because they're both in it for the fun (and their "totally safe" game of cat and mouse). And while Kaito does have a lot more information about Shinichi (his identity, his inner circle, and even his situation with his adversaries), Kaito never holds it against him and Shinichi is aware of that in some form.

It's why they're able to have the most chill conversations in bathroom stalls where Shinichi is able to just talk as himself with no pretenses and it allows Kaito to let his guard down and even spill some personal info because of this trust. If Shinichi really wants to, he can do some light research on him and be able to figure out his identity because Kaito has been more loose lip about his personal life too. But I think Kaito will be more okay with that because of this trust. It also helps that they're both in very similar situations so they can sympathize a lot better.

In summary, despite the imbalance of information holding they have, there's a stark difference to how it's utilized. Hakuba used it against him in their first meeting as Kaito, while Kaito has respected Shinichi's. Even though Hakuba has been acting more cordially and respectfully afterwards, it's clear Kaito does not see a friend in him (acquaintance at best I would say). While for Shinichi, they can be the biggest bastards to each other because they have an underlying unspoken trust in each other that developed after their meetings.

And guess who is KID's favorite

[g0nta-g0kuhara]

Genuinely, I'd like to know how you as the Gonta connoisseur feels about Maki x Gonta

Hmmm Yknow for a while I was uncertain about Gonta and Maki even as friends, just because I didnt feel like they would get along very well? Gonta would try his best (as he does) but Maki can have a pretty cold front, and even when she lets those walls down she can sometimes be a bit offputting ("Do you wanna die?"). Dont get me wrong I LOVE Maki but I think this would be very difficult for Gonta to get past and understand that she means no harm if Maki wasn't willing to make the effort to be HIS friend and explain that she doesn't actually want to hurt him.

THAT SAID I do think under very specific circumstances they would make a good pair. Something has to happen between them to get Maki to feel connected to him or want to connect with him. Kinda like how Kaito basically forced his way into becoming her friend. But Gonta wouldn't be that bold, so I think some circumstance would have to push them together.

Once past that initial hurdle, though, I can see them getting along. Maki not being scared/disgusted by the bugs because, so being more than happy to hang out with them with Gonta. That shared feeling of being feared by everyone for something not really under your control (Gonta's appearance, Maki's talent). Gonta being just a really great positive force in maki's life even when she tries to push him away. There's something there!! I like it :]

[mickules]

What are your opinions on rare Danganronpa ships? If you have any favorites, what would they be?

I'm afraid I don't really have any in the way of rare ones, since I tend to hover around canon-compliant. Even then, in general I don't err toward romance very often, rather I tend to land hard on platonic, ride or die, best friends interactions. There usually has to be something specific that suggests otherwise to me.

In the rare-pair platonic vein, I think Hifumi/Tsumugi are dream team collaborators. They would dominate any convention. I like to think they have a surface level rivalry where they try to top each other, but are extremely appreciative of the other's efforts.

Also, I don't know if this is that rare- I've definitely seen it floating around, I think first from @hatteymcstache Romantically or platonically, I think Celeste would love Gonta. Endlessly gullible and accommodating himbo who wants to be a gentleman? That's too perfect, she'd never let him slip through her fingers - although the bugs and lack of shoes might be a hurdle.

I mean is this or is this not her peak aesthetic?

I can see why antagonist-protagonist pairings can be so popular since there's so much interpersonal conflict to delve into and explore- especially since many 'rival' pairings are essentially two allies who are separated by circumstance. In essence that's what Taka and Mondo are, just fast tracked from enemies - friends - soulmates by way of sauna based conflict resolution.

I'm sorry to say that I've been primed by a childhood adoration of Seto Kaiba to be far too generous to Byakuya (excepting that nonsense with Chihiro) He'd never describe any of his relationships in terms other than 'temporarily interesting plebeians with some limited potential use' with any kindness he provides always having an ulterior motive; but his interactions with Makoto give off 'surly cat who happens to be in the same room as you 90% of the time' energy to me.

Nagito is a bit of a nebulous one for me to imagine since he seems a too preoccupied with his adoration of the talent the ultimates posses than necessarily caring about them as people which makes it difficult for me to see him engaging with any of them in a genuine way, either platonically or romantically. (there does seem to otherwise be some 'protag-oriented' energy in SDR2 with how the cast interact with Hajime lol)

I . . .uh. . . I'll be frank. I know he's a fan favourite but I just do not jive well with Kokichi. No shade meant, but because of that no matter how I try, I can't really imagine any interaction between him and Shuichi that doesn't boil down to:

Ah, for the record- No I don't, but I think this is continued confusion from the "v3 cast as the kids of the dr1 cast" post - in hindsight it's kinda opaque- so let me clear that up! The top part was supposed to show adult Mondo and adult Taka with adopted son Kaito meeting newly adopted sister Maki. In my mind it was unmistakable that they would be adopted so I plain forgot to specify! I can see how it looks like two separate parents introducing their kids.

The bottom part was supposed to be completely separate alternate take, showing adult Hiro with biological son Kaito from an unspecified partner. Unspecified because I don't personally picture anyone specific with Hiro romantically. (That's just me of course, I know there's a lotta love for Hiro in the fanbase!)

I hope that ^ clears it up! (Coincidentally my parents have the same age gap, tho' of course they didn't meet in high school with my dad havin' been held back like 6 times XD)

(edit: more pairing [asks])

(next set of asks [about Taka’s eating habits]) (previous set [Head-canons about Taka’s mum/Takaaki])