Resolve and determination go a long way in Kaiba's eyes, and no one he meets throughout his life matches up as much as Yugi Mutou. However, that resolve combined with Yami Yugi's willingness to use "crueler" options is what draws Kaiba and fuels a good part of their rivalry (aside from the whole "intellectual equal" thing, you know). Despite the crueler parts, however, Yami sticks by his friends and -- in Kaiba's eyes - is able to turn even the most useless, disadvantageous quality (- aka dependency/vulnerable friendship -) into something powerful.
It's a type of power Yami teaches Kaiba, and there's no real doubt that without Yami, Kaiba wouldn't be able to grow into the better and stronger person that he is.
Moreover! Kaiba doesn't really respect himself. He has too high of standards/ a perfectionism bent for himself for that. He respects Mokuba, and he respects Yugi Mutou, but it's Yami's commitment to his personal causes - his justice, principles, his own strength, his own self-assurance, and ultimately, his friends - that has even this big ol' doof of a dragon-obsessed rich boy bowing his head.
BUT LET'S TALK ABOUT RESPECT IN THE KAIBA FLAVOR quickly because i'm running out of time
respect means that kaiba will listen! it means he'll go out of his way to aid a person, no matter how round-about and tsun he acts about it. respect means he'd cut down anyone who slighted Yami unfairly, lit. the "only I get to bully him!" ideal. it also means he has some exacting standards for Yami to fit into, and if the guy ever became a wibbling woobie, the respect would be lost... but until then (pls don't let it happen), ultimate loyalty. he'd never be able to treat yami as anything less than a person, which given who Kaiba is, is p impressive. (look at how he treats joey, after all.....)
kaiba is a ball of stress every minute of every hour of every day of every day with the sole exception of when dueling or conversing with his brother. he's got a stick up his ass, but a good portion of that comes from the stress he puts on himself all the time: he constantly feels the need to be five steps ahead of everyone else, whether or not he is, with every investment and move needing to contain some motive. small talk is his worst enemy because it means he's stressed /and/ feeling unproductive, which makes him irritated. and look at what he does to relax! duel? where he makes everything high-stakes and is just barely beginning to learn how to "trust" not over-thinking every move?
he has this convo with joey where joey tells him joey duels for fun and kaiba gets SUUUPER pissy because "every victory is vital!!" ... and joey kind of laughs at him like lol ok bro w/e, and that really sums up kaiba's stress. his forever stress.
that said when he does have those moments where he forgets who he is and what he has to do and the future of infinite possibilities, he gets really ....... this is dorky to say but he gets real soft and sort of fluffy, he can be drywall funny and basically that snarky friend who is fine with not moving for a minute or five. these moments are very very rare but idk you can see it when it's just him and mokuba walking around a virtual forest or when they hug and other cute junk like that. he relaxes. it's weird and puppies prob die while he does it.
in conclusion: when stressed, he's hyper productive but hyper irritable and closed-off. and he gets stressed about everything.
it meant the moment he had to accept that he'd gone off the deep end and had almost killed his brother (death-t version). it meant accepting that the six years of his life under gozaburo HAD corrupted him, and for the worse. it meant debunking so many of the rules that had gotten him so far in a twisted messed up Kaiba household - it meant his win over Gozaburo, and Gozaburo's subsequent death, hadn't been enough, and that he'd lost sight of what he had actually been fighting for. it meant being unable to stop himself from fucking off to comaland for 6 months, and waking up to Pegasus having kidnapped his brother, KaibaCorp's shareholders ready to rip the power he HAD won out of his hands, and, eventually, facing Pegasus, seeing his brother as a soulless doll that followed Pegasus's command as a plaything, and then losing
again and again and again
only he didn't die like his stepdad so he didn't get that excuse. losing to yami yugi meant everything he'd thought was right was going to be systemically proven wrong; it marked a total flip in his life (or, as he'd later think, a return to what he had been like before Gozaburo's influence).
though losing itself had been bad, it was really what that moment signified that makes it Kaiba's worst memory. if he hadn't lost to yami yugi, he sometimes bitterly thinks, he'd never have broken down into a coma, Pegasus never would have gotten his brother, KaibaCorp would have been fine
but then he has to admit to himself that if he hadn't lost to yami yugi he would've killed Mokuba and lost himself completely
more than Mokuba (Mokuba's a strength lbr), more than his anger, more than what he thinks is less than perfect
pride blinds him to considering obvious paths (friendship, the goddamn magic in the goddamn magical items) and making his life - and others' - easier. Pride spurs him to summon big scary dragons when he should really think rationally. It's in his anger-- hell hath not the fury of a man scorned, and all that-- and at the root of his stress, it's the block between him and others. He can't ever bow his head, so he can't ever be a master manipulator - he can only be cruel. Pride helps him move forward, but the way he relies on it as a gauge for self-worth makes it equally, terribly damning. If Kaiba lost pride in his work (in his choices, etc), he'd have lost respect for himself, and if he does that, it isn't much of a stretch to think he wouldn't be long for the cemetery.
That pride is arrogance and it's pretty awful. It makes him stupid... despite what shining beacon of happiness Yugi Mutou thinks I'd say it's a bigger weakness than kaiba's hatred.
Aside from Gozaburo's lesson of "losing = death," pride is the biggest thing to rankle under his losses to Yami.
Mokuba would have to die first. This is required. Kaiba cannot imagine a world in which he is not there for Mokuba. But in a paradox, he'd also have to be dead before Mokuba could die, because Mokuba isn't allowed to die. Um. Yeah. It gets messy. That first wish is highly subconscious and he'd deny it until he [ironically] died.
But if he had to die .......
It'd be for Mokuba. It'd have to be.
It'd be in a way that Mokuba didn't know he was dead, which goes against absolutely everything Kaiba otherwise exists for. He's so so loud in life, but I think he'd want to be quiet in death if it were for his little brother. Well, I say "quiet," but ideally he'd take the top 10 people he despised screaming into hell with him; he'd want to destroy an island, or a small nation, he'd want to go down in a blaze of absolute destruction that he knew would pay off in the long run benefit of those he cares about (see: Yugi Mutou -- not Yami bc he respects Yami and Yami can do his own dirty work -- & Mokuba). He's the type of guy who'd smirk while hitting the self-destruct button, hopefully while his enemies ran toward him to stop him, and want no evidence or answer as to his death be possible. GOD YEAH THAT'S SO IMPORTANT he wants his death to be a mystery!! the greatest mystery!!! he'd fantasize about people wondering how he pulled it off centuries after he died....... which I can't brain how he'd do it bc time limits and tired but he would. houdini of deaths. he'd leave a shockwave felt across economies! people would argue if he did the right or wrong thing in philosophy classes! history would never forget!!!
but then he'd remember Mokuba would know he was dead and how much that'd hurt his lil brother and though he'd think "mokuba needs to grow up" he'd also think "it'd kill him" and then he'd go out with nary a whisper, maybe a misleading "I'm going to America" notice
(after poisoning his enemies of course)
(truer facts: he'd never ever ever die of natural causes. sickness and old age cannot choose his death for him. this is also law.)
actually no okay... it used to be awesome when he was a kid, but Gozaburo stamped him into super logic and rational thinking. I think! he still has moments of that breed of creativity, but a lot of it is subconscious-- thus kaibaland, thus bewd jet, etc etc. he rarely daydreams, though, and he finds being intentionally "creative" when it isn't related to how to build or manage a thing super difficult. I imagine he might occasionally try but get really frustrated and turn his attention elsewhere so it doesn't feel like he's giving up though he is... kinda sad tbh.
that said if you find imagination in the art of technology and science, he's got it in spades. SO really, I'd say he was once a hyper imaginative kid, but had it shaped into hard numbers and cold science, so... he's still got it, it just doesn't look right.
if it ever did get away from him (daydreaming/dreams/nightmares/creativity), I think it tends toward violent and cruel-- an inner expression of a whole lot of pent-up anger and hate-, which is part of why he (now) shies away from it. shit in a twisted brain gets scary, yo, and he doesn't ever really WANT to acknowledge just how fucked up Gozaburo made him. so! he puts it into his creations.
(this is also why so much of his motifs are stuck on BEWD... .......... she's his symbol of hope and change, but she's also not so creative)
did they like teachers, classmates, school in general?
he liked the idea of school! intelligence! discussing smart topics! everyone working toward greater goals....
oh wait what's that Gozaburo and an over inflated ego YEAH that makes school pretty 1. stressful and 2. boring when not stressful
SO KAIBA HAS Gozaburo School, which was all the hellish tutoring and late-night studying and surprise extreme tests and basically forever being pushed to a breaking point, which he despised for obvious reasons (and then almost appreciated for a bit bc twisted mindset made him think it helped him but yami broke him of that).
Then there's Normal School, which was full of incompetent, easily manipulated teachers, stupid textbooks way below his level, and classmates who grated on his nerves with their meaningless frivolous goals and dreams and hopes and yeah he might've been occasionally bitter over how easy they had it but they were LESSER and DUMB so WHATEVER
........... he skipped as often as he could and twisted teacher's arms into over looking his absences with great grades and creepy child-working-the-system nonsense. and oh, he always got good grades. but he despised the entire system and structure every step along the way-- I imagine when he did have to go to school he was a pit of stress over the PRODUCTIVE stuff he could be doing, which resulted in him being isolated from the class aside from being known as "that rich intense kid," and teachers didn't like him because he weaseled out of participation/group projects and always subtly insulted them in his papers. as a consequence he didn't go Above and Beyond in Normal School, and Gozaburo School was shit all over sooo.
to what degree have you controlled the path your life has taken?
In Kaiba's opinion? Every step, every day, every hour, he's controlled to the nth degree. His belief in his independence of free will and choice goes to the point that he despises destiny and anything that implies he hadn't controlled. This is part because he's a controlling bastard who hates to think something has boosted him up or held him down; also part because he believes in taking responsibility for actions, and if something else forced his hand... then how could he ever take responsibility?
tbf a lot of things WERE out of his control - his parents' deaths, Gozaburo's death (arguably), Pegasus's choices, those funky Egyptian parallels - but how he responded to these things and what he shaped from them matters to him far more than any idea of destiny ever could
Outside of Kaiba's opinion? ... Things like destiny don't really matter outside of the person who thinks about it, do they?
Ishizu screams in the distance
for once in this game this answer is really small... ilu all thx for sticking wit me
For everything that happened when he was sixteen, Atem actually had a pretty awesome childhood.
His father never made him feel rejection, even if at times he was a bit foreboding of the dangers that may come to him in the future. Aknamkanon was supportive and affectionate as a father, always trying to help his son and prepare him for his reign. Besides his father, he also had the full support of his friends; Mana and Mahaad. It was nearly impossible not to feel affection with Mana and her bubbly personality, and with Mahaad as his loyalest friend. Not to mention the palace full of servants that respected his father and his kin.
All in all, Atem was blessed with a very supportive environment growing up, which only led to his further determination to protect his home when the time came.
"What was the last time you marched into the dark with only the soft glow of an idea you strongly--
Well, I feel like I still have to mention the obvious. When he literally marched into the dark, sealing his soul in the puzzle with the hopes of also sealing away the evil of the Millennium Items, giving up his life and afterlife.
However; that's really obvious and a bit literal, so I'd always like to think about another instance, or another few. Honestly, "marched in with just a lot of hope" matches half of Yu-Gi-Oh! DM's story arcs. He takes challenges head on, with no fear, just his confidence and Yugi's optimistic hope.
Particularly, I think the last time from the end of the series would have been entering the Millennium World. With nothing to go off of besides "hold cards up to rock," there was no idea of what may happen to him, just the hope of finally getting his memories back. Not only was he quite literally thrown into the world of his memories, he was totally alone (from people that he remembered, that is), which it was the first time being as such since Yugi unlocked the puzzle.
However, as I said, he seems to have a habit of marching into a lot of things, and due to the nature of dueling, he often can't devise a proper strategy until during the duel.
Careful friends things are going to get timey wimey here.
Ancient Egypt: A bit obvious here. He's a devout follower of the gods, partaking in religious traditions and beliefs. It was believed that the Pharaohs had connections with the gods, as if they were sons of the gods themselves, and Atem was thought of no differently. Especially seeing as he did have a connection with the Egyptian gods, quite literally.
Puzzle Time: He has no memories. No idea about the beliefs of Ancient Egyptians. He has no idea about religious beliefs at all, and it's not until Ishizu cryptically (pun not intended) tells him about his role of Pharaoh that there's any sort of vague idea of the Egyptian Gods. Up until then, there are no religious views, he has no reason for thoughts of the divine or the afterlife, because he has no afterlife, he's already a spirit, residing in the puzzle.
Post Battle City: He's now seen the power of the Egyptian Gods, and he recognizes them and respects them. However, before he gets back his memories, I think he would have a hard time truly believing in them. Though they seem to be quite real, what with the cards and the smiting and such. He would believe them to be real, and that they somehow control his destiny, but he is still in a way disconnected, simply because much of his knowledge of them is gone. He would "believe" in them, but not necessarily as a resource for prayer or anything of the sort, just in that they are real, they control his destiny, and he hopes they will assist him in the future.
Post Memory World: He would fully believe in the Gods again, but it's still a somewhat changed relationship from when he was just Pharaoh. Back then, it was thought that he was a son of a God, but he wouldn't think that after getting his memories back. He would however, still revere them as powerful beings that watch over the Earth and heavens. If he has any time after Memory World, I also do not see him partaking in the religious traditions and practices as much. He would believe in them, but he would not feel so much an obligation to "appease" the Gods; perhaps he feels spoiled by fighting along side them to save the world.
and I ran out of time.
"What is the most embarrassing thing to ever happen to you?"
Turns out, Atem is actually pretty good at taking things in stride, not often becoming embarrassed, even in potentially awkward situations (the start of that "date" with Anzu was a trainwreck, and all three (Yugi included) knew it.)
However, that doesn't mean he didn't have potentially embarrassing scenarios as a child/teenager. In particular, a very mortifying thing to learn was the fact that apparently thirteen was not "too young" to begin thinking of arranging a marriage to a Great Royal Wife, no matter how many times he tried to insist that to his father.
Also embarrassing was the fact that his father then tried to arrange potential candidates to come visit him, so he could pick his "favorite." (It didn't help that his "favorite" of the visitors was the brother of a noblewoman of Lower Egypt, but that was kept to himself and Mana.)
More embarrassing, however, was that he, the great and grand Pharaoh to be, the crowned Prince of Egypt, had to actually have a dinner with one of these potential wives. His father's choice, to be exact. She was a princess of a neighboring nation, and sure, she was nice enough, but he certainly didn't care about her. That did not help the fact he was extremely nervous, as a thirteen year old hoping to make his father happy by choosing the right woman, have that woman agree to marry him, to continue his lineage, to continue their reign of Egypt, to choose a woman that would help him lead Egypt to prosperity and greatness--
Nervously vomiting on the shoes of a visiting princess in front of everyone at a feast is not recommended.
The visiting princess did not return. Atem would talk to no one but Mana and Mahaad for three days out of embarrassment.
His biggest fear, the greatest, most powerful fear he has, boils down to failure.
Barely through puberty, and he had the fate of the world on his shoulders. He had an entire country (or globe rather) to protect from the evil attacking his kingdom. He had to save them, he had to act, he cannot fail, as he will not let the world burn.
Then, it's not so much the world, but instead a young teenage boy. But he needs to protect this boy, for he is light and innocence and he will not stand for injustice done to him and others. It's not the world, but this boy is his world, and he refuses to back down, refuses to lose, he will not fail, as he will not see Yugi suffer.
Then suddenly, it's not just Yugi, it's all his friends, as he watches them get possessed and used as tools in a sick game against him, it's his fault. His friends who accepted him so easily, even just knowing him as "the Other Yugi," now are suffering, potentially dying, because of him. He will not fail them, as he will not let their kindness and compassion they showed him go to waste.
Atem does not lose, he does not falter. He does not fail, for when he fails it is not just him who suffers. For the ceremonial battle, he needs to learn to accept losing, he needs to have an honest, well fought battle and truly lose and accept it, because he needs to learn that failure is okay. That failure is not always so consequential, that it is not the end of the world.
With the ceremonial battle, this greatest fear does come true, as he fails to win. But by then, it's not his greatest fear anymore. He's finally accepted that it is okay, and that if he fails this time, it's not the end of the world.
Just the end of his journey.
"what three words would others probably use to describe you?"
well, for an actual answer that sounds a little too much like my personality section on my application: proud is one. he is incredibly prideful, even when he doesn't have his memories of being an ancient pharaoh and leader of a country. he proudly takes on any challenge that he faces, believing strongly in his own strength. his confidence and pride are things that keep him and Yugi going.
he's also tenacious. he doesn't give up, he will continue going once he's set his mind on something, to the point where literally his final challenge given to him by the gods was to lose. he will not back down from a challenge, and will not give in until he succeeds in his goals.
finally, since this is how others would describe him, honestly he probably can be a bit annoying. he's always going on about the heart of the cards, believing in his deck, putting faith in his monsters, and that probably is one of the most annoying things to put up with. that and his constant winning, his pride, and his can-do attitude would probably piss a lot of people off (see; Kaiba, Weevil, Rex Raptor, literally any other duelist they come across.)
ughhhhhhhhhhhhh this is going to seem cliche but hold out with me here
He's most grateful for Yugi.
Like I know I rant about this shit a lot, about how he loves Yugi and such. And don't get me wrong, he adores Yugi, but there's more to it than just the fact that he adores Yugi. He's grateful to Yugi, because he would literally be nothing without him.
Yugi solves the puzzle; freeing him from his prison of darkness. Upon gracing the waking world once more, he responds by going, put it nicely: Batshit Bonkers™. However, Yugi, though somewhat afraid by this, does not try to destroy him or anything of the sort, but tries to help him. He helps Yami stop being so crazy, think a little more clearly, become more of a "partner." He's making a choice by letting Yami take over by Duelist Kingdom, he wants to let Yami help.
By Battle City, Yugi literally puts his life on the line to save him. He nearly burned to death in order to save him and the puzzle. Yugi shares his body and wants to be with him forever.
Waking the Dragons, Yugi sacrifices himself so the Pharaoh's soul isn't lost.
Millennium World, he leads the cause in finding him, in finding his name, in helping him learn it.
Yugi literally saved his life, several times, while welcoming him to share his body as a partner. He was essentially a parasite to Yugi, living off his body, but Yugi only responded with kindness, compassion, and a desire to help him, and that is what he will forever be most grateful for.
"how does your character react to stressful situations?"
well, the first step is to take over Yugi's body. can't let aibou get hurt after all.
but for a more serious answer, Yami Yugi/Atem's answer to stress is honestly just to meet it head on. most of his life has been a stressful situation, from having to fight against a demonic lord to having to save his friends' lives. it's rare for him to be frazzled, but it can happen (see; first Osiris duel.)
in most situations, when Yami is met with stress, he can easily fight it off, taking the challenge, tackling the issue and strategically finding a way around the problem. this is where the pride and utter confidence in himself, his friends, and his deck comes in; how can he lose?
though for those times where things do look like he's down and out, he may spend a bit feeling hopeless. he begins to worry; he worries he may fail, that he may lose, and the consequences of what will come of that. he will still never step down, he will keep trying, no matter what, until he finds out the real way to be able to get through this.
at least, that's how it is in stressful, life or death, situations. more personal issues also cause him a bit of stress, such as his identity struggles and such, and that's usually responded to with being reserved about his feelings and keeping his problems to himself, determined to find out things himself; because heaven forbid he bother Yugi and his friends any more than he already does. (luckily, Yugi usually figures him out, and makes him talk it out anyway.)
A surprisingly short answer compared to the rest of my pharaoh ramblings: his friends.
Obviously, assuming we mean a real laugh, not the laughter of insanity as he brings justice upon those who have hurt his friends. But for real, true laughter, it's the times between the craziness, between the life or death fights, the times between the shadow games, when he can just enjoy his time with Yugi and his friends. He can chuckle at Yugi's attempts to flirt with Anzu, he can laugh at Jounouchi and Honda's playful fighting or arguments or their conquest of depleting the local burger joint of every hamburger. It's the times when he can joke with them, that he can feel comfortable as he and Yugi converse in their shared soul rooms, or the two can switch control so quickly, so easily, as if walking in and out of a revolving door.
Or even in the past: holding in giggles with Mana while the two hid from responsibilities in giant vases or laughing over a game of Sennet with Mahaad as they share how their days went. Even the times he could get a chuckle out of the young priest Set, although much rarer, and usually only through playful jabs.
It is when he does not have to be a pharaoh, when he does not have to be a leader. It is when he does not have to save the day or protect Yugi. It is in between leading a country or in between shadow games that he can sit with his friends, and just laugh at simple, everyday things. Nothing complicated, nothing hard, just being able to live as any 17 year old would wish.
Those are the times that make Atem laugh the most.
(so much for a short answer this time. whoops.)
"Are you able to kill? Under what circumstances to you find killing to be acceptable/unacceptable?"
even back in season zero, however, it was not something he did often. granted, this was because he generally prefers a good old fashioned psychological torture session, what with the brain breaking illusions or horrible visions someone saw. generally, the murder was reserved for people who were really and truly awful, such as an escaped prisoner with a gun to his friend's head.
back in season zero, it was acceptable because it was justice. it was what was right. these were people who had done others wrong, whether it was to Yugi or to a wider scale. but it was acceptable because these were not innocents, they were cheaters, thugs, people who preyed on those they thought to be weaker; so he was just proving who was stronger, and delivering justice where it was due.
during his time with Yugi, however, he does learn and grow, and by the end of the series, or even by the end of Battle City, I would certainly say that Atem no longer believes in such a harsh delivery of justice. he still aims to make things right; to stop those who commit wrongs against his friends or other innocents, but he does not have the same brand of harsh, unforgiving murder or psychological torture he once did. granted, by the end of the series his opponents may still be facing dark consequences, but hey, they started the shadow games those times, it's really their own fault.
that's not to say he's one hundred percent better--3000 years trapped by dark magic will do that to a guy--but thank Ra for Yugi, right?
"how do they relate to their appearance? how do they wear their clothing/style/etc?"
so obviously, atem shares a body for most of the series, so his appearance is essentially Yugi's. however, there are still a good amount of differences specifically to show their differences.
Yami's hair gets a bit crazier, his eyes a bit closer to red than Yugi's amethyst irises, and we can't forget about the infamous "bondage slave" look. Originally, in Season Zero, when he would take over he would also don large Ankh bracelets around his wrists, and we see this trend continue later in the series, with more bracelets. There is also the signature look of the jacket cape, as if to switch up Yugi's regular school uniform look.
these differences, although not huge, are still enough to show a difference between Yami and Yugi, even when he has no identity of his own. Yami's outfits are flashier, giant Ankhs and big wrist cuffs, big black strappy boots and a jacket cape to make even a Domino High uniform look like so much more. he wears Yugi's same clothing, but in a new way, and perhaps this is influenced by his confidence, the pride in his walk and the way he keeps his head held high, but even in a high school uniform he can still look regal, commanding attention of those around him.
when he's not sharing a body with Yugi, the look still continues. in modern times, he'd likely be partial to dark clothing, with a few accessories. dark t-shirts and flashy jewelry with some tight fitting pants. the flashy jewelry a left over from the gold he was so often adorned with in ancient Egypt. he commands attention with whatever he wears, he would dare to be different. he wears what he likes, with no fear of what others will say. he may not be the loudest person to walk into a room, but he certainly does not care what others think of him.
Optimistic with a heavy dose of realism. I think a lot of his observation of Aknamkanon's manner of ruling his people and interaction with Atem lent a great deal to his belief that PEOPLE ARE GOOD PEOPLE BUT PEOPLE IN THE COURT ARE ALSO SHIT SO BE CAUTIOUS BUT DON'T LET THAT QUASH YOUR FAITH IN HUMANITY WHATEVER FUCK YOUR FUCKING TIME LIMIT FUCK YOU I WAS SCROLLING WIKIS
Devoted Alright this was my free space. Even aside from his straight up dedication to the Pharaoh, it's obvious Mahaad is a very focused individual, be it over his studies in the magical arts or his service to the court.
Confident While Mahaad is relatively level-headed and well-spoken in polite company, he is incredibly sure of himself. It never really comes off as arrogant, but where his beliefs are concerned, he could move mountains with sheer willpower.
and Pragmatic but I ran out of time
Edited 2015-11-13 07:29 (UTC)
Is your character street smart/book smart/intelligent/intellectual/slow-witted?
As far as literal street smarts go, he was probably some sort of noble and didn't get out much unaccompanied. However, he's been immersed in politics both good and bad for the majority of his life, not to mention the whole occasional Judgment of the Soul thing, so I imagine he has a great deal of knowledge on precisely how people tick. Definitely not naive in that regard.
He's also pretty hella book smart if his Best Magician In Egypt Or Thereabouts title is anything to go by (did they ever say that? I don't even remember, he's just v v good), it involved a lot of rigorous study and memorization and such. Intellectual of his time.
To what degree have you actually controlled the course your life has taken?
If I had to guess, probably had next to no control in the beginning. Growing up in a family in such close social standing with the Pharaoh had to have been seriously regulated, and if he displayed a knack for magic at an early age, that most definitely shoehorned him into study right off the bat. Even if he wasn't a naturally focused individual, slacking out of the role would hardly be a socially acceptable possibility. But being that specific individual, I don't think he was ever particularly unhappy with his role.
In the end though, I think he made a good measure of freedom for himself last minute. His endeavor to chase the thief king was of his own volition and in spite of the court's better judgment, as was his decision to sacrifice himself and become the Pharaoh's eternal servant. Which, really.. continues to lead his life down whichever path Yugi takes with the Dark Magician. But he chose that isn't that what counts..........
lbr maybe that's probably why he was never allowed to make his own decisions
he probably wouldn't ever bring it up at a younger age
spins Awkward Romance Trope wheel
........ Some... time.. during his magician's training, back when he didn't have all his People Skills and it was the first real big Responsibility he'd been given (apart from being a Noble-- chin up, shoulders back, dot your I's and cross your... bird hieroglyphs) so being the Type A wind-up toy of a child he probably was in the v beginning he was a real stick in the mud when it came to Studying Always All The Time!!
idk some girl in noble circles/a classmate probably started noticing how little he got outside and started trying to coax him out. which didn't work so she at least went to sit and study with him so he'd have some semblance of human contact. after doing this for ages (she likes him idk), he gets really frustrated and fed up over a particular section of spells and she gets frustrated and tells him to take a break/get a distraction, Go Outside and do Normal People Things!!!!!! OR LIKE. so whatever, kisses him.
probably got him to go outside though. awkwardly.
this probably doesn't work at all but it's almost 3am i don't. care
to be honest this is kind of an unfair question given his power to hop back in time and shit but CONSIDERING THAT bc he's very hard to consider without it
speaking strictly from his experience in the game entirely, he would visit Phi. Because with the knowledge that everyone was going to die tomorrow, he wouldn't allow anyone to die tomorrow. Impossible or not, if he knew, his focus would be on stopping whatever was causing the incident, not putting his fingers in his ears and humming in an effort to make the most of one last day. And even though he has the knowledge that he was/is working with Akane to stop the end of the world, he has yet to live through any of that. No matter how god-like Akane is, he's jumped through time, foiled murderers and terrorists, and disarmed bombs in record time with Phi right at his side, and he knows that she's clever, competent, and powerful. Spending their final moments trying (probably over and over and over and over and over) would be the right thing to do. it always is.
do you like to suffer? do you like to see other people suffer?
also why do I keep getting all the questions that I just have to reiterate his CHAOTIC ALTRUISM
come on
No, absolutely not. He doesn't like to suffer, but he doesn't like seeing other people suffer so much more that he's pretty darn willing to suffer... like, he literally got his arms ripped off trying to save a woman. whatever the hell he was rescuing her from, that has to be something that 99.9% of people probably wouldn't jump at.
Really though, Sigma is a man of simple needs. Movies, music, parties, bars, people people people. Definitely a big consumer of media, probably a huge fan of action/adventure movies, has a bunch of movies with way too many numbers after them he's super loyal to and will defend to the ends of the earth no matter how stupid they are.
and actually being literally smothered in women and/or cats.
This one isn't much of a surprise, but Oikawa would consider Iwaizumi his best friend.
Now at first glance, one might argue that these two don't get along; Iwaizumi seemingly can't stand this kid half the time (as made evident with nicknames like "Shittykawa"), while Oikawa tends to pick on Iwaizumi a lot and rile him up ("Don't worry Iwa-chan, none of the girls are looking at you anyway!").
But Iwaizumi clearly knows him better than just about anyone — they’ve been friends since elementary school after all, and Iwaizumi knows him well enough to call him out on his mental distractions, mistakes, etc.
Oikawa, despite his seemingly flirtatious and frivolous nature, is a more private kind of person. He is not the kind of guy who would let just anyone know what his vulnerable points and motivations are, despite the amount of intuition he has into others’ motivations. Iwaizumi’s familiarity with Oikawa allows him to not necessarily keep him in check (because Oikawa’s very aware of himself and what he’s doing), but give him a reminder of where he is when he starts to get too caught up in his own thoughts.
This is a more difficult question, since Oikawa has 0 chill. This kid works himself to the point of exhaustion and injury.
Oikawa's life is dedicated to volleyball. He practices whenever he can, and even spends his free time at home watching volleyball games online to analyze plays whenever he isn't doing his regular schoolwork. He even had a girlfriend that broke up with him because he was too absorbed in volleyball. If Oikawa has any free time, he uses it in some way that relates to volleyball.
I would consider Oikawa a more introverted character. He has great social skills (minus the times he's being a brat to any of his opponents); he is kind to every fan girl that approaches him, and he gets along with his teammates. However, since most of his free time is spent either practicing on his own or watching volleyball videos alone in his room, I see this as his way of "recharging". (Even though it really isn't. Seriously, make him go lie down or something.)
If there's one thing Oikawa knows he's not, he's not a genius.
And if there's one thing that irritates Oikawa, it's a genius, which is evident in his relationship with Kageyama.
Kageyama is a prodigy setter, while Oikawa has worked long and hard to get to where he is now. Unlike Kageyama's genius setting technique, Oikawa's talent lies in his natural athletic ability, his skill to make full use of his team players, finding weaknesses in the opposite teams, sharp aims, and powerful serves. This, however, is not without years of dedication and practice.
Oikawa is also shown to be full of insecurities once Kageyama comes into the picture in junior high. Kageyama’s so ridiculously gifted, and Oikawa is obviously pissed off. He's angry and scared and bitter, because this is not fair. Why is that he has to work his ass off perfecting his serves, receives and tosses, working until it’s late and the sky is dark when there's someone like ~Tobio-chan~ who is so ridiculously good just because he’s born this way? Why does Kageyama improve so fast even though he works less? Why can't Oikawa?
So Oikawa ends up working even harder, almost to the point of self-destruction that would take place if only Iwaizumi wasn’t there for him.
Oikawa knows that he's a hard worker, and he is fully aware of his talents. But he also knows that there is genius talent that rivals his.
Despise? That's a pretty strong word. Who gets on Oikawa's nerves? Now that's a bit of a longer list.
Kageyama is one, for reasons already mentioned.
Ushijima is different story. Aobajousai has never been the best in the prefecture, and Ushijima and his team are the reason for that. Shiratorizawa has been an obstacle that Oikawa and his team have never been able to overcome.
Oikawa is not a genius, which means he has to work his ass off and always give it everything he’s got just to be able to simply compete against people who are. People like Kageyama. People like Ushijima.
But even after putting hours upon hours into extra practice, even after 3 years of trying, he can’t defeat Ushijima. No matter how hard he worked, no matter how much he polishes everyone’s skills, and even despite the fact he was able to find a way to draw out every player's potential to the limit, they're still not strong enough to defeat a genius or to defeat pure brutal force. In volleyball, you have to use everything you’ve got, but sometimes that is not enough.
Oikawa has his moments where he can be pretty dramatic, using over-the-top gestures when saying things like "I've got this, you guys!" to his teammates and "I'll never teach you, idiot!" to Kageyama (Not to mention his habit of doing peace signs~).
However, Oikawa's most meaningful gestures are always the most subtle.
When Iwaizumi was crying and questioning his worth as the team's ace after their loss against Shiratorizawa that put them out of the tournament and ended the third years' high school volleyball career, Oikawa patted his best friend on the back. It was a small and simple gesture, but it had a huge impact on Iwaizumi. When Oikawa had felt self doubt and pressure to do well, Iwaizumi had kept him in check and told him he wasn't alone out on the court. Oikawa returns the favor and through this gesture reassures Iwaizumi that he gave it his all out there and earned his title as the team's ace.
Oikawa's other small gestures not only bring reassurance to his teammates (especially his underclassmen) but bring our their skill by getting them fired up.
Edited 2015-11-21 05:47 (UTC)
What does your character have in their pockets/backpack?
Oikawa is a very organized person, so he doesn't keep too much random junk in his pockets.
If he has his iPod in his pocket, he always wraps the headphones around the iPod because tangled headphones drive him crazy. He might also carry around a USB drive for school purposes, but it also holds tons and tons of footage from volleyball games he's studied (and will mostly likely review 12 more times in the near future). He also keeps eye drops around because his eyes are dry and itchy from staying up so late reviewing said volleyball games saved on the USB drive.
Oikawa might also keep some concealer handy, because he has dark circles under his eyes from staying up so late studying. If Iwaizumi notices that he hasn't been getting enough sleep, he wouldn't hear the end of it. He keeps some painkillers on hand because of his knee pain from overworking himself (again).
He has some nail clippers to make sure his nails are short enough and won't interfere with his setting. He also keeps a small notebook on hand or nearby to jot down notes on his team or other teams. Half of it is near illegible because it was written at 2 in the morning.
Wake up! Breakfast while checking tv news and scanning papers/ ghoul reports! Head to work, work work work, take every opportunity to sneak into the classified sections and nab details, weasel into social groups to pick up gossip, be low-key about all of this as much as possible! Lunch! Work, repeat the morning! Work done, time to head home-- oh wait gotta check up on ghoul buddies to pick up any hints there on Aogiri Tree/ghouls/Kaneki kaneki kaneki! Late dinner!! Play a little LoL, listen to some music, flip ideally through illegally hacked street feeds... Rinse and repeat the next day.
Interrupted? Depends on how. If in the way that "he gets caught," he plays it cool but inwardly sweats a whole lot. He's great at dealing with stress, though, and is adaptable with almost every punch thrown his way. If he can't wriggle his way out of being caught--- he's probably dead, because Hide plays a high stakes game, indeed.
Honestly, variety is the spice of life and for the most part as a hungry-for-mystery and adventuring thrillseeker, Hide has no issue with his routine being disrupted.
Buuuut (as you all know) if we step back a few months to when Kaneki had been in the picture... Or any time when he might have Kaneki in the picture...
He deals with his Kaneki friendship time being interrupted pretty....... interestingly. He gets aggressive to those posing a danger, manipulating people stronger than him to take them out. He ramps up his adventure loving to mystery solving, and he tries his best to put an immediate stop to anything threatening him or his (aka, Kaneki), whether it's potentially lethal or illegal or whatever else. He doesn't have much patience for dangers posed to Kaneki, and he eeespecially hates when people get in the way in a serious manner... He wants his buddy to live his life, but he also wants his buddy to live his life in Hide's sphere of total influence. So. Yeah.
Kaneki being removed from his previous "routine" had him joining an organization with a high mortality and courting literal cannibalistic death, soooo he doesn't deal so well with that kind of interruption.
But anything other than that, he's a bird on a breeze, no trouble at all.
This got rambly this character is much more new sorry friends
Imagine a little 4th grader whose busy parents' jobs had forced him to move schools and states (provinces, in japan speak), who was thrown into a big city school with a bunch of random kids who already had their cliques and groups and weren't too sure about what to do with the new kid
Now imagine the new kid wandering alone on the playground, driftless and unsure, totally powerless and feeling super vulnerable to the world he couldn't control, parents busy with moving/work
And imagine another kid who the other 4th graders leave alone because he's shy, he's kinda weird, he reads books way above their level and doesn't know how to talk or play like the others
The first kid is Hide, and the second kid is Kaneki, and Hide's best memory stretches all the way back to the day he walked up to a Kaneki sitting alone in a corner of the playground with a book and asked the loner kid to be his friend, and Kaneki had accepted with a wobbly smile, absolutely baffled that anyone would want to be his friend. Hide, a tiny 4th grader, saw someone who wouldn't hurt anybody, who had a quiet demeanor but knew a lot of fun things to talk about, and Hide could honestly have listened to him go on about books and characters and plotlines (whatever those mattered) and, eventually, moral and worldly crises and all the other angsty business middle schoolers get up to. Kaneki was an honest, secure figure, someone who gave Hide a sense of safety and place in the world. Being with Kaneki felt like belonging, even in that first moment, and it was all Hide (whose mind runs a little too fast to be normal) needed.
But it all ties back to that moment where Hide found someone willing to give him a chance just because he asked, and furthermore, someone who wouldn't change with the tide and would never, ever (or so he thought) switch things up suddenly on him. He found somebody worth being best friends with--- for all Hide's an out-going, extroverted figure, Kaneki counts as his one and only best, BEST friend, the one he could share everything with (even though he didn't share /everything/ himself) and the one he wanted to experience everything with. He trusts Kaneki with his life because he knows a kid who wouldn't mind giving the nervous transfer student a chance is worth any pain. And, honestly, he hasn't been disappointed... He just wishes Kaneki would realize Hide would stand by him through anything, even ghoulification, and tell him more.
But even while separated, Hide thinks back to that first connection and grins, because hell, they'd been friends THIS long, there was nothing that could come between them now.
3 respected people being to slander close close friend, what do?
This has honestly probably happened a lot? Kaneki was the Weird Loner at their school, and school kids are rarely kind.
First: respect is gone. Instantly. No joke, no lie, no hesitation. Hide will associate with these people for whatever he needs them for, but no farther.
Second: ...... probably makes a comment to the effect of "look at the time!", excuses himself, refuses any prodding for explanations why, and leaves. He's a polite kid so he wouldn't attack them directly or argue in Kaneki's favor (that's always giving bullies more fuel for the fire), but he wouldn't be able to stand someone talking smack about his bff. fast forward to any other interaction with these guys and he'll be so blandly Polite Nice Fake that it might rub them wrong, but he'll never ever directly say why, more like "you have bad taste..." or something sly and passive aggressive like that. Never apologizes. Forgets them, for all intents and purposes. Might think of what they Had Been somewhat fondly but even that would be tarnished. Hide is not quick to forgive... he doesn't see a reason to, if someone proves to be that shitty of a person.
Third: if these guys were stuck in a spot of trouble, Hide wouldn't go out of his way to help them. . . . . . . he wouldn't go out of his way to let them be HURT, or to cause them any major trouble (at worst, he'd add in to any gossip about them, let social power take its course), but he wouldn't make it a point to aid. Just. Such bad taste! Such idiocy! What wastes of time... Total losers, they don't know what they're talking about, those kinds of thoughts/feelings.
So he'd be PA and distant toward them for a loooong time after unless he saw them doing something genuine for Kaneki, but nothing overt. Alas, he's too Civilized Citizen for outright murder. Also he likes networking for future manipulation purposes soooo completely alienating these people would be a poor choice.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
SETO KAIBA IS FIRST
who is the person you respect the most and why
Resolve and determination go a long way in Kaiba's eyes, and no one he meets throughout his life matches up as much as Yugi Mutou. However, that resolve combined with Yami Yugi's willingness to use "crueler" options is what draws Kaiba and fuels a good part of their rivalry (aside from the whole "intellectual equal" thing, you know). Despite the crueler parts, however, Yami sticks by his friends and -- in Kaiba's eyes - is able to turn even the most useless, disadvantageous quality (- aka dependency/vulnerable friendship -) into something powerful.
It's a type of power Yami teaches Kaiba, and there's no real doubt that without Yami, Kaiba wouldn't be able to grow into the better and stronger person that he is.
Moreover! Kaiba doesn't really respect himself. He has too high of standards/ a perfectionism bent for himself for that. He respects Mokuba, and he respects Yugi Mutou, but it's Yami's commitment to his personal causes - his justice, principles, his own strength, his own self-assurance, and ultimately, his friends - that has even this big ol' doof of a dragon-obsessed rich boy bowing his head.
BUT LET'S TALK ABOUT RESPECT IN THE KAIBA FLAVOR quickly because i'm running out of time
respect means that kaiba will listen! it means he'll go out of his way to aid a person, no matter how round-about and tsun he acts about it. respect means he'd cut down anyone who slighted Yami unfairly, lit. the "only I get to bully him!" ideal. it also means he has some exacting standards for Yami to fit into, and if the guy ever became a wibbling woobie, the respect would be lost... but until then (pls don't let it happen), ultimate loyalty. he'd never be able to treat yami as anything less than a person, which given who Kaiba is, is p impressive. (look at how he treats joey, after all.....)
how do you deal with stress
AHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAA
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AHAHAHAHHAHAHAH
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AHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAH AHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAH AHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAH AHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAH AHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAH AHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAH
pretty well, all considered
kaiba is a ball of stress every minute of every hour of every day of every day with the sole exception of when dueling or conversing with his brother. he's got a stick up his ass, but a good portion of that comes from the stress he puts on himself all the time: he constantly feels the need to be five steps ahead of everyone else, whether or not he is, with every investment and move needing to contain some motive. small talk is his worst enemy because it means he's stressed /and/ feeling unproductive, which makes him irritated. and look at what he does to relax! duel? where he makes everything high-stakes and is just barely beginning to learn how to "trust" not over-thinking every move?
he has this convo with joey where joey tells him joey duels for fun and kaiba gets SUUUPER pissy because "every victory is vital!!" ... and joey kind of laughs at him like lol ok bro w/e, and that really sums up kaiba's stress. his forever stress.
that said when he does have those moments where he forgets who he is and what he has to do and the future of infinite possibilities, he gets really ....... this is dorky to say but he gets real soft and sort of fluffy, he can be drywall funny and basically that snarky friend who is fine with not moving for a minute or five. these moments are very very rare but idk you can see it when it's just him and mokuba walking around a virtual forest or when they hug and other cute junk like that. he relaxes. it's weird and puppies prob die while he does it.
in conclusion: when stressed, he's hyper productive but hyper irritable and closed-off. and he gets stressed about everything.
worst memory
it meant the moment he had to accept that he'd gone off the deep end and had almost killed his brother (death-t version). it meant accepting that the six years of his life under gozaburo HAD corrupted him, and for the worse. it meant debunking so many of the rules that had gotten him so far in a twisted messed up Kaiba household - it meant his win over Gozaburo, and Gozaburo's subsequent death, hadn't been enough, and that he'd lost sight of what he had actually been fighting for. it meant being unable to stop himself from fucking off to comaland for 6 months, and waking up to Pegasus having kidnapped his brother, KaibaCorp's shareholders ready to rip the power he HAD won out of his hands, and, eventually, facing Pegasus, seeing his brother as a soulless doll that followed Pegasus's command as a plaything, and then losing
again and again and again
only he didn't die like his stepdad so he didn't get that excuse. losing to yami yugi meant everything he'd thought was right was going to be systemically proven wrong; it marked a total flip in his life (or, as he'd later think, a return to what he had been like before Gozaburo's influence).
though losing itself had been bad, it was really what that moment signified that makes it Kaiba's worst memory. if he hadn't lost to yami yugi, he sometimes bitterly thinks, he'd never have broken down into a coma, Pegasus never would have gotten his brother, KaibaCorp would have been fine
but then he has to admit to himself that if he hadn't lost to yami yugi he would've killed Mokuba and lost himself completely
and admitting that is even worse
biggest weakness
more than Mokuba (Mokuba's a strength lbr), more than his anger, more than what he thinks is less than perfect
pride blinds him to considering obvious paths (friendship, the goddamn magic in the goddamn magical items) and making his life - and others' - easier. Pride spurs him to summon big scary dragons when he should really think rationally. It's in his anger-- hell hath not the fury of a man scorned, and all that-- and at the root of his stress, it's the block between him and others. He can't ever bow his head, so he can't ever be a master manipulator - he can only be cruel. Pride helps him move forward, but the way he relies on it as a gauge for self-worth makes it equally, terribly damning. If Kaiba lost pride in his work (in his choices, etc), he'd have lost respect for himself, and if he does that, it isn't much of a stretch to think he wouldn't be long for the cemetery.
That pride is arrogance and it's pretty awful. It makes him stupid... despite what shining beacon of happiness Yugi Mutou thinks I'd say it's a bigger weakness than kaiba's hatred.
Aside from Gozaburo's lesson of "losing = death," pride is the biggest thing to rankle under his losses to Yami.
if you could choose, how would you die
at the age of thirty
no okay in seriousness.......
Mokuba would have to die first. This is required. Kaiba cannot imagine a world in which he is not there for Mokuba. But in a paradox, he'd also have to be dead before Mokuba could die, because Mokuba isn't allowed to die. Um. Yeah. It gets messy. That first wish is highly subconscious and he'd deny it until he [ironically] died.
But if he had to die .......
It'd be for Mokuba. It'd have to be.
It'd be in a way that Mokuba didn't know he was dead, which goes against absolutely everything Kaiba otherwise exists for. He's so so loud in life, but I think he'd want to be quiet in death if it were for his little brother. Well, I say "quiet," but ideally he'd take the top 10 people he despised screaming into hell with him; he'd want to destroy an island, or a small nation, he'd want to go down in a blaze of absolute destruction that he knew would pay off in the long run benefit of those he cares about (see: Yugi Mutou -- not Yami bc he respects Yami and Yami can do his own dirty work -- & Mokuba). He's the type of guy who'd smirk while hitting the self-destruct button, hopefully while his enemies ran toward him to stop him, and want no evidence or answer as to his death be possible. GOD YEAH THAT'S SO IMPORTANT he wants his death to be a mystery!! the greatest mystery!!! he'd fantasize about people wondering how he pulled it off centuries after he died....... which I can't brain how he'd do it bc time limits and tired but he would. houdini of deaths. he'd leave a shockwave felt across economies! people would argue if he did the right or wrong thing in philosophy classes! history would never forget!!!
but then he'd remember Mokuba would know he was dead and how much that'd hurt his lil brother and though he'd think "mokuba needs to grow up" he'd also think "it'd kill him" and then he'd go out with nary a whisper, maybe a misleading "I'm going to America" notice
(after poisoning his enemies of course)
(truer facts: he'd never ever ever die of natural causes. sickness and old age cannot choose his death for him. this is also law.)
how is character's imagination?
actually no okay... it used to be awesome when he was a kid, but Gozaburo stamped him into super logic and rational thinking. I think! he still has moments of that breed of creativity, but a lot of it is subconscious-- thus kaibaland, thus bewd jet, etc etc. he rarely daydreams, though, and he finds being intentionally "creative" when it isn't related to how to build or manage a thing super difficult. I imagine he might occasionally try but get really frustrated and turn his attention elsewhere so it doesn't feel like he's giving up though he is... kinda sad tbh.
that said if you find imagination in the art of technology and science, he's got it in spades. SO really, I'd say he was once a hyper imaginative kid, but had it shaped into hard numbers and cold science, so... he's still got it, it just doesn't look right.
if it ever did get away from him (daydreaming/dreams/nightmares/creativity), I think it tends toward violent and cruel-- an inner expression of a whole lot of pent-up anger and hate-, which is part of why he (now) shies away from it. shit in a twisted brain gets scary, yo, and he doesn't ever really WANT to acknowledge just how fucked up Gozaburo made him. so! he puts it into his creations.
(this is also why so much of his motifs are stuck on BEWD... .......... she's his symbol of hope and change, but she's also not so creative)
did they like teachers, classmates, school in general?
oh wait what's that Gozaburo and an over inflated ego YEAH that makes school pretty 1. stressful and 2. boring when not stressful
SO KAIBA HAS Gozaburo School, which was all the hellish tutoring and late-night studying and surprise extreme tests and basically forever being pushed to a breaking point, which he despised for obvious reasons (and then almost appreciated for a bit bc twisted mindset made him think it helped him but yami broke him of that).
Then there's Normal School, which was full of incompetent, easily manipulated teachers, stupid textbooks way below his level, and classmates who grated on his nerves with their meaningless frivolous goals and dreams and hopes and yeah he might've been occasionally bitter over how easy they had it but they were LESSER and DUMB so WHATEVER
........... he skipped as often as he could and twisted teacher's arms into over looking his absences with great grades and creepy child-working-the-system nonsense. and oh, he always got good grades. but he despised the entire system and structure every step along the way-- I imagine when he did have to go to school he was a pit of stress over the PRODUCTIVE stuff he could be doing, which resulted in him being isolated from the class aside from being known as "that rich intense kid," and teachers didn't like him because he weaseled out of participation/group projects and always subtly insulted them in his papers. as a consequence he didn't go Above and Beyond in Normal School, and Gozaburo School was shit all over sooo.
to what degree have you controlled the path your life has taken?
tbf a lot of things WERE out of his control - his parents' deaths, Gozaburo's death (arguably), Pegasus's choices, those funky Egyptian parallels - but how he responded to these things and what he shaped from them matters to him far more than any idea of destiny ever could
Outside of Kaiba's opinion? ... Things like destiny don't really matter outside of the person who thinks about it, do they?
Ishizu screams in the distancefor once in this game this answer is really small... ilu all thx for sticking wit me
no subject
"Did they feel rejection or affection as a child?"
His father never made him feel rejection, even if at times he was a bit foreboding of the dangers that may come to him in the future. Aknamkanon was supportive and affectionate as a father, always trying to help his son and prepare him for his reign. Besides his father, he also had the full support of his friends; Mana and Mahaad. It was nearly impossible not to feel affection with Mana and her bubbly personality, and with Mahaad as his loyalest friend. Not to mention the palace full of servants that respected his father and his kin.
All in all, Atem was blessed with a very supportive environment growing up, which only led to his further determination to protect his home when the time came.
"What was the last time you marched into the dark with only the soft glow of an idea you strongly--
Well, I feel like I still have to mention the obvious. When he literally marched into the dark, sealing his soul in the puzzle with the hopes of also sealing away the evil of the Millennium Items, giving up his life and afterlife.
However; that's really obvious and a bit literal, so I'd always like to think about another instance, or another few. Honestly, "marched in with just a lot of hope" matches half of Yu-Gi-Oh! DM's story arcs. He takes challenges head on, with no fear, just his confidence and Yugi's optimistic hope.
Particularly, I think the last time from the end of the series would have been entering the Millennium World. With nothing to go off of besides "hold cards up to rock," there was no idea of what may happen to him, just the hope of finally getting his memories back. Not only was he quite literally thrown into the world of his memories, he was totally alone (from people that he remembered, that is), which it was the first time being as such since Yugi unlocked the puzzle.
However, as I said, he seems to have a habit of marching into a lot of things, and due to the nature of dueling, he often can't devise a proper strategy until during the duel.
"What are your religious views?"
Ancient Egypt:
A bit obvious here. He's a devout follower of the gods, partaking in religious traditions and beliefs. It was believed that the Pharaohs had connections with the gods, as if they were sons of the gods themselves, and Atem was thought of no differently. Especially seeing as he did have a connection with the Egyptian gods, quite literally.
Puzzle Time:
He has no memories. No idea about the beliefs of Ancient Egyptians. He has no idea about religious beliefs at all, and it's not until Ishizu cryptically (pun not intended) tells him about his role of Pharaoh that there's any sort of vague idea of the Egyptian Gods. Up until then, there are no religious views, he has no reason for thoughts of the divine or the afterlife, because he has no afterlife, he's already a spirit, residing in the puzzle.
Post Battle City:
He's now seen the power of the Egyptian Gods, and he recognizes them and respects them. However, before he gets back his memories, I think he would have a hard time truly believing in them. Though they seem to be quite real, what with the cards and the smiting and such. He would believe them to be real, and that they somehow control his destiny, but he is still in a way disconnected, simply because much of his knowledge of them is gone. He would "believe" in them, but not necessarily as a resource for prayer or anything of the sort, just in that they are real, they control his destiny, and he hopes they will assist him in the future.
Post Memory World:
He would fully believe in the Gods again, but it's still a somewhat changed relationship from when he was just Pharaoh. Back then, it was thought that he was a son of a God, but he wouldn't think that after getting his memories back. He would however, still revere them as powerful beings that watch over the Earth and heavens. If he has any time after Memory World, I also do not see him partaking in the religious traditions and practices as much. He would believe in them, but he would not feel so much an obligation to "appease" the Gods; perhaps he feels spoiled by fighting along side them to save the world.
and I ran out of time.
"What is the most embarrassing thing to ever happen to you?"
Turns out, Atem is actually pretty good at taking things in stride, not often becoming embarrassed, even in potentially awkward situations (the start of that "date" with Anzu was a trainwreck, and all three (Yugi included) knew it.)
However, that doesn't mean he didn't have potentially embarrassing scenarios as a child/teenager. In particular, a very mortifying thing to learn was the fact that apparently thirteen was not "too young" to begin thinking of arranging a marriage to a Great Royal Wife, no matter how many times he tried to insist that to his father.
Also embarrassing was the fact that his father then tried to arrange potential candidates to come visit him, so he could pick his "favorite." (It didn't help that his "favorite" of the visitors was the brother of a noblewoman of Lower Egypt, but that was kept to himself and Mana.)
More embarrassing, however, was that he, the great and grand Pharaoh to be, the crowned Prince of Egypt, had to actually have a dinner with one of these potential wives. His father's choice, to be exact. She was a princess of a neighboring nation, and sure, she was nice enough, but he certainly didn't care about her. That did not help the fact he was extremely nervous, as a thirteen year old hoping to make his father happy by choosing the right woman, have that woman agree to marry him, to continue his lineage, to continue their reign of Egypt, to choose a woman that would help him lead Egypt to prosperity and greatness--
Nervously vomiting on the shoes of a visiting princess in front of everyone at a feast is not recommended.
The visiting princess did not return. Atem would talk to no one but Mana and Mahaad for three days out of embarrassment.
Aknamkanon decided marriage could wait.
"Has your greatest fear ever come true?"
Barely through puberty, and he had the fate of the world on his shoulders. He had an entire country (or globe rather) to protect from the evil attacking his kingdom. He had to save them, he had to act, he cannot fail, as he will not let the world burn.
Then, it's not so much the world, but instead a young teenage boy. But he needs to protect this boy, for he is light and innocence and he will not stand for injustice done to him and others. It's not the world, but this boy is his world, and he refuses to back down, refuses to lose, he will not fail, as he will not see Yugi suffer.
Then suddenly, it's not just Yugi, it's all his friends, as he watches them get possessed and used as tools in a sick game against him, it's his fault. His friends who accepted him so easily, even just knowing him as "the Other Yugi," now are suffering, potentially dying, because of him. He will not fail them, as he will not let their kindness and compassion they showed him go to waste.
Atem does not lose, he does not falter. He does not fail, for when he fails it is not just him who suffers. For the ceremonial battle, he needs to learn to accept losing, he needs to have an honest, well fought battle and truly lose and accept it, because he needs to learn that failure is okay. That failure is not always so consequential, that it is not the end of the world.
With the ceremonial battle, this greatest fear does come true, as he fails to win. But by then, it's not his greatest fear anymore. He's finally accepted that it is okay, and that if he fails this time, it's not the end of the world.
Just the end of his journey.
"what three words would others probably use to describe you?"
just kidding
well, for an actual answer that sounds a little too much like my personality section on my application: proud is one. he is incredibly prideful, even when he doesn't have his memories of being an ancient pharaoh and leader of a country. he proudly takes on any challenge that he faces, believing strongly in his own strength. his confidence and pride are things that keep him and Yugi going.
he's also tenacious. he doesn't give up, he will continue going once he's set his mind on something, to the point where literally his final challenge given to him by the gods was to lose. he will not back down from a challenge, and will not give in until he succeeds in his goals.
finally, since this is how others would describe him, honestly he probably can be a bit annoying. he's always going on about the heart of the cards, believing in his deck, putting faith in his monsters, and that probably is one of the most annoying things to put up with. that and his constant winning, his pride, and his can-do attitude would probably piss a lot of people off (see; Kaiba, Weevil, Rex Raptor, literally any other duelist they come across.)
"what are you most grateful for?"
He's most grateful for Yugi.
Like I know I rant about this shit a lot, about how he loves Yugi and such. And don't get me wrong, he adores Yugi, but there's more to it than just the fact that he adores Yugi. He's grateful to Yugi, because he would literally be nothing without him.
Yugi solves the puzzle; freeing him from his prison of darkness. Upon gracing the waking world once more, he responds by going, put it nicely: Batshit Bonkers™. However, Yugi, though somewhat afraid by this, does not try to destroy him or anything of the sort, but tries to help him. He helps Yami stop being so crazy, think a little more clearly, become more of a "partner." He's making a choice by letting Yami take over by Duelist Kingdom, he wants to let Yami help.
By Battle City, Yugi literally puts his life on the line to save him. He nearly burned to death in order to save him and the puzzle. Yugi shares his body and wants to be with him forever.
Waking the Dragons, Yugi sacrifices himself so the Pharaoh's soul isn't lost.
Millennium World, he leads the cause in finding him, in finding his name, in helping him learn it.
Yugi literally saved his life, several times, while welcoming him to share his body as a partner. He was essentially a parasite to Yugi, living off his body, but Yugi only responded with kindness, compassion, and a desire to help him, and that is what he will forever be most grateful for.
"how does your character react to stressful situations?"
but for a more serious answer, Yami Yugi/Atem's answer to stress is honestly just to meet it head on. most of his life has been a stressful situation, from having to fight against a demonic lord to having to save his friends' lives. it's rare for him to be frazzled, but it can happen (see; first Osiris duel.)
in most situations, when Yami is met with stress, he can easily fight it off, taking the challenge, tackling the issue and strategically finding a way around the problem. this is where the pride and utter confidence in himself, his friends, and his deck comes in; how can he lose?
though for those times where things do look like he's down and out, he may spend a bit feeling hopeless. he begins to worry; he worries he may fail, that he may lose, and the consequences of what will come of that. he will still never step down, he will keep trying, no matter what, until he finds out the real way to be able to get through this.
at least, that's how it is in stressful, life or death, situations. more personal issues also cause him a bit of stress, such as his identity struggles and such, and that's usually responded to with being reserved about his feelings and keeping his problems to himself, determined to find out things himself; because heaven forbid he bother Yugi and his friends any more than he already does. (luckily, Yugi usually figures him out, and makes him talk it out anyway.)
"What makes you laugh?"
Obviously, assuming we mean a real laugh, not the laughter of insanity as he brings justice upon those who have hurt his friends. But for real, true laughter, it's the times between the craziness, between the life or death fights, the times between the shadow games, when he can just enjoy his time with Yugi and his friends. He can chuckle at Yugi's attempts to flirt with Anzu, he can laugh at Jounouchi and Honda's playful fighting or arguments or their conquest of depleting the local burger joint of every hamburger. It's the times when he can joke with them, that he can feel comfortable as he and Yugi converse in their shared soul rooms, or the two can switch control so quickly, so easily, as if walking in and out of a revolving door.
Or even in the past: holding in giggles with Mana while the two hid from responsibilities in giant vases or laughing over a game of Sennet with Mahaad as they share how their days went. Even the times he could get a chuckle out of the young priest Set, although much rarer, and usually only through playful jabs.
It is when he does not have to be a pharaoh, when he does not have to be a leader. It is when he does not have to save the day or protect Yugi. It is in between leading a country or in between shadow games that he can sit with his friends, and just laugh at simple, everyday things. Nothing complicated, nothing hard, just being able to live as any 17 year old would wish.
Those are the times that make Atem laugh the most.
(so much for a short answer this time. whoops.)
"Are you able to kill? Under what circumstances to you find killing to be acceptable/unacceptable?"
even back in season zero, however, it was not something he did often. granted, this was because he generally prefers a good old fashioned psychological torture session, what with the brain breaking illusions or horrible visions someone saw. generally, the murder was reserved for people who were really and truly awful, such as an escaped prisoner with a gun to his friend's head.
back in season zero, it was acceptable because it was justice. it was what was right. these were people who had done others wrong, whether it was to Yugi or to a wider scale. but it was acceptable because these were not innocents, they were cheaters, thugs, people who preyed on those they thought to be weaker; so he was just proving who was stronger, and delivering justice where it was due.
during his time with Yugi, however, he does learn and grow, and by the end of the series, or even by the end of Battle City, I would certainly say that Atem no longer believes in such a harsh delivery of justice. he still aims to make things right; to stop those who commit wrongs against his friends or other innocents, but he does not have the same brand of harsh, unforgiving murder or psychological torture he once did. granted, by the end of the series his opponents may still be facing dark consequences, but hey, they started the shadow games those times, it's really their own fault.
that's not to say he's one hundred percent better--3000 years trapped by dark magic will do that to a guy--but thank Ra for Yugi, right?
"how do they relate to their appearance? how do they wear their clothing/style/etc?"
Yami's hair gets a bit crazier, his eyes a bit closer to red than Yugi's amethyst irises, and we can't forget about the infamous "bondage slave" look. Originally, in Season Zero, when he would take over he would also don large Ankh bracelets around his wrists, and we see this trend continue later in the series, with more bracelets. There is also the signature look of the jacket cape, as if to switch up Yugi's regular school uniform look.
these differences, although not huge, are still enough to show a difference between Yami and Yugi, even when he has no identity of his own. Yami's outfits are flashier, giant Ankhs and big wrist cuffs, big black strappy boots and a jacket cape to make even a Domino High uniform look like so much more. he wears Yugi's same clothing, but in a new way, and perhaps this is influenced by his confidence, the pride in his walk and the way he keeps his head held high, but even in a high school uniform he can still look regal, commanding attention of those around him.
when he's not sharing a body with Yugi, the look still continues. in modern times, he'd likely be partial to dark clothing, with a few accessories. dark t-shirts and flashy jewelry with some tight fitting pants. the flashy jewelry a left over from the gold he was so often adorned with in ancient Egypt. he commands attention with whatever he wears, he would dare to be different. he wears what he likes, with no fear of what others will say. he may not be the loudest person to walk into a room, but he certainly does not care what others think of him.
whoops ran out of time.
no subject
Are you basically optimistic or pessimistic?
What three words best describe your personality?
Alright this was my free space. Even aside from his straight up dedication to the Pharaoh, it's obvious Mahaad is a very focused individual, be it over his studies in the magical arts or his service to the court.
Confident
While Mahaad is relatively level-headed and well-spoken in polite company, he is incredibly sure of himself. It never really comes off as arrogant, but where his beliefs are concerned, he could move mountains with sheer willpower.
and Pragmatic but I ran out of time
Is your character street smart/book smart/intelligent/intellectual/slow-witted?
He's also pretty hella book smart if his Best Magician In Egypt Or Thereabouts title is anything to go by (did they ever say that? I don't even remember, he's just v v good), it involved a lot of rigorous study and memorization and such. Intellectual of his time.
To what degree have you actually controlled the course your life has taken?
In the end though, I think he made a good measure of freedom for himself last minute. His endeavor to chase the thief king was of his own volition and in spite of the court's better judgment, as was his decision to sacrifice himself and become the Pharaoh's eternal servant. Which, really.. continues to lead his life down whichever path Yugi takes with the Dark Magician. But he chose that isn't that what counts..........
lbr maybe that's probably why he was never allowed to make his own decisions
When and with whom was your first kiss?
he probably wouldn't ever bring it up at a younger age
spins Awkward Romance Trope wheel
........ Some... time.. during his magician's training, back when he didn't have all his People Skills and it was the first real big Responsibility he'd been given (apart from being a Noble-- chin up, shoulders back, dot your I's and cross your... bird hieroglyphs) so being the Type A wind-up toy of a child he probably was in the v beginning he was a real stick in the mud when it came to Studying Always All The Time!!
idk some girl in noble circles/a classmate probably started noticing how little he got outside and started trying to coax him out. which didn't work so she at least went to sit and study with him so he'd have some semblance of human contact. after doing this for ages (she likes him idk), he gets really frustrated and fed up over a particular section of spells and she gets frustrated and tells him to take a break/get a distraction, Go Outside and do Normal People Things!!!!!! OR LIKE. so whatever, kisses him.
probably got him to go outside though.
awkwardly.
this probably doesn't work at all but it's almost 3am i don't. care
and sigma is here
if you knew everyone you loved was going to die tomorrow, who would you visit today?
speaking strictly from his experience in the game entirely, he would visit Phi. Because with the knowledge that everyone was going to die tomorrow, he wouldn't allow anyone to die tomorrow. Impossible or not, if he knew, his focus would be on stopping whatever was causing the incident, not putting his fingers in his ears and humming in an effort to make the most of one last day. And even though he has the knowledge that he was/is working with Akane to stop the end of the world, he has yet to live through any of that. No matter how god-like Akane is, he's jumped through time, foiled murderers and terrorists, and disarmed bombs in record time with Phi right at his side, and he knows that she's clever, competent, and powerful. Spending their final moments trying (probably over and over and over and over and over) would be the right thing to do. it always is.
do you like to suffer? do you like to see other people suffer?
also why do I keep getting all the questions that I just have to reiterate his CHAOTIC ALTRUISM
come on
No, absolutely not. He doesn't like to suffer, but he doesn't like seeing other people suffer so much more that he's pretty darn willing to suffer... like, he literally got his arms ripped off trying to save a woman. whatever the hell he was rescuing her from, that has to be something that 99.9% of people probably wouldn't jump at.
But he doesn't like it in the slightest.
what is your idea of good entertainment?
being literally smothered in women and/or catsReally though, Sigma is a man of simple needs. Movies, music, parties, bars, people people people. Definitely a big consumer of media, probably a huge fan of action/adventure movies, has a bunch of movies with way too many numbers after them he's super loyal to and will defend to the ends of the earth no matter how stupid they are.
and actually being literally smothered in women and/or cats.
Greetings, loved ones~
Who do they consider their best friends and/or lovers?
Now at first glance, one might argue that these two don't get along; Iwaizumi seemingly can't stand this kid half the time (as made evident with nicknames like "Shittykawa"), while Oikawa tends to pick on Iwaizumi a lot and rile him up ("Don't worry Iwa-chan, none of the girls are looking at you anyway!").
But Iwaizumi clearly knows him better than just about anyone — they’ve been friends since elementary school after all, and Iwaizumi knows him well enough to call him out on his mental distractions, mistakes, etc.
Oikawa, despite his seemingly flirtatious and frivolous nature, is a more private kind of person. He is not the kind of guy who would let just anyone know what his vulnerable points and motivations are, despite the amount of intuition he has into others’ motivations. Iwaizumi’s familiarity with Oikawa allows him to not necessarily keep him in check (because Oikawa’s very aware of himself and what he’s doing), but give him a reminder of where he is when he starts to get too caught up in his own thoughts.
Are you generally introverted or extroverted?
Oikawa's life is dedicated to volleyball. He practices whenever he can, and even spends his free time at home watching volleyball games online to analyze plays whenever he isn't doing his regular schoolwork. He even had a girlfriend that broke up with him because he was too absorbed in volleyball. If Oikawa has any free time, he uses it in some way that relates to volleyball.
I would consider Oikawa a more introverted character. He has great social skills (minus the times he's being a brat to any of his opponents); he is kind to every fan girl that approaches him, and he gets along with his teammates. However, since most of his free time is spent either practicing on his own or watching volleyball videos alone in his room, I see this as his way of "recharging". (Even though it really isn't. Seriously, make him go lie down or something.)
Is your character aware of who they are?
And if there's one thing that irritates Oikawa, it's a genius, which is evident in his relationship with Kageyama.
Kageyama is a prodigy setter, while Oikawa has worked long and hard to get to where he is now. Unlike Kageyama's genius setting technique, Oikawa's talent lies in his natural athletic ability, his skill to make full use of his team players, finding weaknesses in the opposite teams, sharp aims, and powerful serves. This, however, is not without years of dedication and practice.
Oikawa is also shown to be full of insecurities once Kageyama comes into the picture in junior high. Kageyama’s so ridiculously gifted, and Oikawa is obviously pissed off. He's angry and scared and bitter, because this is not fair. Why is that he has to work his ass off perfecting his serves, receives and tosses, working until it’s late and the sky is dark when there's someone like ~Tobio-chan~ who is so ridiculously good just because he’s born this way? Why does Kageyama improve so fast even though he works less? Why can't Oikawa?
So Oikawa ends up working even harder, almost to the point of self-destruction that would take place if only Iwaizumi wasn’t there for him.
Oikawa knows that he's a hard worker, and he is fully aware of his talents. But he also knows that there is genius talent that rivals his.
Who is the person you despise the most? Why?
Kageyama is one, for reasons already mentioned.
Ushijima is different story. Aobajousai has never been the best in the prefecture, and Ushijima and his team are the reason for that. Shiratorizawa has been an obstacle that Oikawa and his team have never been able to overcome.
Oikawa is not a genius, which means he has to work his ass off and always give it everything he’s got just to be able to simply compete against people who are. People like Kageyama. People like Ushijima.
But even after putting hours upon hours into extra practice, even after 3 years of trying, he can’t defeat Ushijima. No matter how hard he worked, no matter how much he polishes everyone’s skills, and even despite the fact he was able to find a way to draw out every player's potential to the limit, they're still not strong enough to defeat a genius or to defeat pure brutal force. In volleyball, you have to use everything you’ve got, but sometimes that is not enough.
How are your character's gestures?
However, Oikawa's most meaningful gestures are always the most subtle.
When Iwaizumi was crying and questioning his worth as the team's ace after their loss against Shiratorizawa that put them out of the tournament and ended the third years' high school volleyball career, Oikawa patted his best friend on the back. It was a small and simple gesture, but it had a huge impact on Iwaizumi. When Oikawa had felt self doubt and pressure to do well, Iwaizumi had kept him in check and told him he wasn't alone out on the court. Oikawa returns the favor and through this gesture reassures Iwaizumi that he gave it his all out there and earned his title as the team's ace.
Oikawa's other small gestures not only bring reassurance to his teammates (especially his underclassmen) but bring our their skill by getting them fired up.
What does your character have in their pockets/backpack?
If he has his iPod in his pocket, he always wraps the headphones around the iPod because tangled headphones drive him crazy. He might also carry around a USB drive for school purposes, but it also holds tons and tons of footage from volleyball games he's studied (and will mostly likely review 12 more times in the near future). He also keeps eye drops around because his eyes are dry and itchy from staying up so late reviewing said volleyball games saved on the USB drive.
Oikawa might also keep some concealer handy, because he has dark circles under his eyes from staying up so late studying. If Iwaizumi notices that he hasn't been getting enough sleep, he wouldn't hear the end of it. He keeps some painkillers on hand because of his knee pain from overworking himself (again).
He has some nail clippers to make sure his nails are short enough and won't interfere with his setting. He also keeps a small notebook on hand or nearby to jot down notes on his team or other teams. Half of it is near illegible because it was written at 2 in the morning.
no subject
describe the routine of a normal day? how do you feel when that is disrupted?
Wake up! Breakfast while checking tv news and scanning papers/ ghoul reports! Head to work, work work work, take every opportunity to sneak into the classified sections and nab details, weasel into social groups to pick up gossip, be low-key about all of this as much as possible! Lunch! Work, repeat the morning! Work done, time to head home-- oh wait gotta check up on ghoul buddies to pick up any hints there on Aogiri Tree/ghouls/Kaneki kaneki kaneki! Late dinner!! Play a little LoL, listen to some music, flip ideally through illegally hacked street feeds... Rinse and repeat the next day.
Interrupted? Depends on how. If in the way that "he gets caught," he plays it cool but inwardly sweats a whole lot. He's great at dealing with stress, though, and is adaptable with almost every punch thrown his way. If he can't wriggle his way out of being caught--- he's probably dead, because Hide plays a high stakes game, indeed.
Honestly, variety is the spice of life and for the most part as a hungry-for-mystery and adventuring thrillseeker, Hide has no issue with his routine being disrupted.
Buuuut (as you all know) if we step back a few months to when Kaneki had been in the picture... Or any time when he might have Kaneki in the picture...
He deals with his Kaneki friendship time being interrupted pretty....... interestingly. He gets aggressive to those posing a danger, manipulating people stronger than him to take them out. He ramps up his adventure loving to mystery solving, and he tries his best to put an immediate stop to anything threatening him or his (aka, Kaneki), whether it's potentially lethal or illegal or whatever else. He doesn't have much patience for dangers posed to Kaneki, and he eeespecially hates when people get in the way in a serious manner... He wants his buddy to live his life, but he also wants his buddy to live his life in Hide's sphere of total influence. So. Yeah.
Kaneki being removed from his previous "routine" had him joining an organization with a high mortality and courting literal cannibalistic death, soooo he doesn't deal so well with that kind of interruption.
But anything other than that, he's a bird on a breeze, no trouble at all.
This got rambly this character is much more new sorry friends
best memory.
Now imagine the new kid wandering alone on the playground, driftless and unsure, totally powerless and feeling super vulnerable to the world he couldn't control, parents busy with moving/work
And imagine another kid who the other 4th graders leave alone because he's shy, he's kinda weird, he reads books way above their level and doesn't know how to talk or play like the others
The first kid is Hide, and the second kid is Kaneki, and Hide's best memory stretches all the way back to the day he walked up to a Kaneki sitting alone in a corner of the playground with a book and asked the loner kid to be his friend, and Kaneki had accepted with a wobbly smile, absolutely baffled that anyone would want to be his friend. Hide, a tiny 4th grader, saw someone who wouldn't hurt anybody, who had a quiet demeanor but knew a lot of fun things to talk about, and Hide could honestly have listened to him go on about books and characters and plotlines (whatever those mattered) and, eventually, moral and worldly crises and all the other angsty business middle schoolers get up to. Kaneki was an honest, secure figure, someone who gave Hide a sense of safety and place in the world. Being with Kaneki felt like belonging, even in that first moment, and it was all Hide (whose mind runs a little too fast to be normal) needed.
But it all ties back to that moment where Hide found someone willing to give him a chance just because he asked, and furthermore, someone who wouldn't change with the tide and would never, ever (or so he thought) switch things up suddenly on him. He found somebody worth being best friends with--- for all Hide's an out-going, extroverted figure, Kaneki counts as his one and only best, BEST friend, the one he could share everything with (even though he didn't share /everything/ himself) and the one he wanted to experience everything with. He trusts Kaneki with his life because he knows a kid who wouldn't mind giving the nervous transfer student a chance is worth any pain. And, honestly, he hasn't been disappointed... He just wishes Kaneki would realize Hide would stand by him through anything, even ghoulification, and tell him more.
But even while separated, Hide thinks back to that first connection and grins, because hell, they'd been friends THIS long, there was nothing that could come between them now.
3 respected people being to slander close close friend, what do?
First: respect is gone. Instantly. No joke, no lie, no hesitation. Hide will associate with these people for whatever he needs them for, but no farther.
Second: ...... probably makes a comment to the effect of "look at the time!", excuses himself, refuses any prodding for explanations why, and leaves. He's a polite kid so he wouldn't attack them directly or argue in Kaneki's favor (that's always giving bullies more fuel for the fire), but he wouldn't be able to stand someone talking smack about his bff. fast forward to any other interaction with these guys and he'll be so blandly Polite Nice Fake that it might rub them wrong, but he'll never ever directly say why, more like "you have bad taste..." or something sly and passive aggressive like that. Never apologizes. Forgets them, for all intents and purposes. Might think of what they Had Been somewhat fondly but even that would be tarnished. Hide is not quick to forgive... he doesn't see a reason to, if someone proves to be that shitty of a person.
Third: if these guys were stuck in a spot of trouble, Hide wouldn't go out of his way to help them. . . . . . . he wouldn't go out of his way to let them be HURT, or to cause them any major trouble (at worst, he'd add in to any gossip about them, let social power take its course), but he wouldn't make it a point to aid. Just. Such bad taste! Such idiocy! What wastes of time... Total losers, they don't know what they're talking about, those kinds of thoughts/feelings.
So he'd be PA and distant toward them for a loooong time after unless he saw them doing something genuine for Kaneki, but nothing overt. Alas, he's too Civilized Citizen for outright murder. Also he likes networking for future manipulation purposes soooo completely alienating these people would be a poor choice.