#mick answer

Honestly? This:

Seeing little kids (or honestly anyone) standing on the footbridge waving and seeing their tiny faces just LIGHT UP when you blast the horn . . .

A Correction

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so my highly unscientific vibe check (in amongst these asks) of the B&W gym leaders wasn’t the wild stab in the dark I assumed it was; excepting the disservice I did to Brycen and Burgh. Here’s a quick remedy to that plus some asks below:

Belated Birthday Sweets

[from here] No worries, I've also added Ingo in Hisui without the words too. Thanks so much! I'm glad you think they're pretty; I'm quite chuffed with how they turned out :)

lil' bonus:

Tis my hubris I rarely keep my guidelines so unblurred berk Ingo is lost to time, however->

shout out to @the-poor-duality-of-man who called it

!!New Challenger Approaches!!

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from [this ask] and subsequent accidental 'Parent Trap AU'

Meanwhile, in detention:

Mondo has an eye for detail when it counts

[I've explained what the hell Ultimate Devil's Advocate is supposed to mean under the cut cos it got a little wordy; along with a bunch of Taka/Ishida twin asks!]

(edit: some more [asks] about this au)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(edit: more pairing [asks])

That said, I could maybe see it platonically! She'd definitely use him as a bodyguard for sure.. Again, sorry if I put a damper!! I don't mean to diss you or anything!

Otherwise I agree about Nagito needing to see the ultimates as people and that I too don't jive with Kokichi.

[From this ask] I want to preface this by saying please don't ever worry about dissing me or upsetting me if our interpretations are diametrically opposed! I am not precious about pairings or headcanons or the like in the least, super chill 👍 I'm always down for hearing other's interpretations! Is it canon-compliant? Is it complete crack? Familial? Romantic? Platonic? Hell, you could walk into my home and state "Actually I think Taka and Mondo's relationship is doomed to end in misery" and I'd say "Ah! Do tell! how does that come about? but also how'd you find my address?"

If nothing else, platonically or romantically, Celeste and Gonta would have a really compelling dynamic to explore - the real noble raised as a complete unknown looking to rediscover his heritage, and the fake noble clinging to her dream of ascending to aristocracy, juicy!

Kokichi is a menace, and I'll have none of his fancy jiving footwork in this house.

@ididnahthither Personally no. However! I've seen some nice variations of Kirumi, Mukuro and Sakura with Taka, I think matching the girls' sensible and dedicated natures with his own - and a lot of pairings with Celeste! Often with Celeste initially pursuing Taka based on how he fits into her desired aesthetic, feelings developing later, and I'll admit- they do have the spooky goth couple look down. I think the one that surprised me with how well it could work was Leon with Taka. Leon's volatility being shown as more performative, and in fact he uses his social fluency to hide his nervous need to be liked - it creates a compelling dynamic with Taka who cannot read a room to save his life, and wears his heart on his sleeve.

That is actually kind of adorable

Given Leon's over the top, dramatic personae - calling Makoto, as someone who totally understands him, his 'soulmate' fits well into his all or nothing style. No half measures with Leon Kuwata.

He kind of reminds me a lot of Klavier Gavin from Ace Attorney, although not a suave - they're both very outwardly loud and flashy; both drawn to the spectacle of being a rockstar, but are internally much softer and in need of reassurance from those around them than you might have thought.

(Thanks so much!! :D)

fem!mondo and fem!taka are a blast to mess around with!

It'd be really interesting to see how someone goes about developing their relationship as women- A huge part of how Mondo presents and interacts with others is how he's tied his identity as a man to his reputation; his strength and pride as the leader of the Diamonds, and this is what has boiled over into his toxic masculinity. Approaching Mondo's crises and dated view of gender expectation from the lens of Mondo as feminine rather than masculine would be fascinating

@yaysof11037 [the pride comic!] In my main non-despair au I've got Mondo in my head as Bisexual, although takes his sweet time recognising his attraction to men as more than just 'admiration'. The pride comic however doesn't take place in that au, so although at first I was gonna have him with the Bi flag, I thought it might be more in line with the spirit of the comic if I left it open; so people could imagine what flag they wanted instead :) (lol I did actually mention it in the tags, but it's easily overlooked XD)

In my mind, I tend to see Takemichi as having a platonic found family style relationship with the Oowadas, basically like their 3rd unofficial brother- Mondo still being the youngest, but Takemichi as a sort of moderating, long suffering, middle sibling. I've mentioned in [here] (in the asks after the readmore) that I don't have anyone specific that I pair Daiya with. In my little non-despair au, he's somewhat of a permanent bachelor, and has only really had casual relationships previously.

I'll admit that Daiya and Michi isn't one I've seen before! Takemichi does have the briefest hint that he might not be traditionally heterosexual, so him nursing a crush on Daiya wouldn't be outside the realm of possibility. However, perhaps it's because we're introduced to Daiya through the lens of his little brother Mondo, I have to say that personally I can only really see Daiya as a sort of pseudo brother figure to the members of his gang.

Daiyakure is a pretty popular pairing, and it was a bit of a surprise to me when I first saw it! And whilst it's true they never meet in the games, I think people like to explore the sort of loose and wild dynamic they could have, and since there isn't an established interaction people can go crazy with it!

BIG OLD DISCLAIMER

UNFORTUNATELY BECAUSE TUMBLR IS A FANTASTIC WEBSITE WHICH IS VERY MUCH DESERVING OF A PAID SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE; *looks straight into the camera like the office* I'VE MANAGED TO DISAPPEAR SOME ASKS, WHILST I HAD THE ANSWERS FOR 'EM HERE IN MY DRAFTS FORGIVE ME IF IT WAS YOUR ASK WHILST I TRY TO WORK OUT WHAT THE HELL THE QUESTIONS WERE

I definitely remember something about being surprised that said I wasn't too into romance in [this ask] (which I also linked above ^) I think the rest was about being jazzed for Hina/Taka interactions, perhaps from the [pride] comic?

"I'm not romantic" *continually posts romance*

yeah, that's very fair XD I was thinking in the grand scheme of all the shows I like, and found that there are very few canonical romantic pairings that I'm invested in, and the number of headcanon ones I have, I could count on one hand.

It's worth mentioning here that the only pairing I really personally ship in Dangan is Taka with Mondo. However! I'm happy to talk about any pairings as well as ones where Taka and Mondo aren't together, zero issue there! My brain just doesn't really connect the dots of any others without prompting. My internal relationship needle mostly points to platonic like a true North, unless I see something that catches my eye and it knocks it off course XD

Taka and Hina share so much boundless passionate energy, and a certain naivete - I love to see them form a close alliance!

This ask was asking since I drew Kaito and Maki as adopted siblings in the previously linked ask dump ^ and [this one], the query was something like 'Since you drew them as siblings I assume you don't ship Kaito and Maki?'

In the original ask someone said that they saw Kaito as Mondo and Taka's kid- but I thought out of the cast of V3 Maki was a better fit than Kaito, so for that one ask, I put them as adopted siblings! In my own opinion however, Kaito fits better as Hiro's son, and upon further reflection I think Maki suits Fuyuhiko and Pekoyama best! Which of course would definitely make them not siblings.

In terms of their actual dynamic in the game, Maki's slowly defrosting nature and subsequent unyielding loyalty toward Kaito seems to be implied to being equivalent to a blooming crush. Whereas Kaito's own notion of romance is more oblique. Is it requited? Unrequited? The game'll never tell! To my mind, I don't pair them romantically- rather I lean toward Maki perhaps having an initial unreturned crush on an oblivious Kaito, but what forms instead is a strong friendship.

This ask was something like 'what do you think of saimota?' I don't remember if there was anything more to it.

I can't quite get a bead on Shuichi as a character - he's mostly reactionary, with those around him being the instigating force on how he choses to act. He seems starved of friendship because of his quiet and nervous nature so a warm, energetic presence like Kaito or Kaede certainly has him come out of his shell (literally). Shuichi and Maki have some similar traits, as well as sharing their heroic adoration of Kaito. The game seems to point toward Maki's interest as romantic so it wouldn't be disingenuous to suggest that Shuichi's might be too.

Tumblr has been MISBEHAVIN’ lately. Its fave thing is to not show my posts in the tags, but the new thing it’s done is scrambled my answered asks so they’re incomprehensible so that’s fun times!

(These asks were in reference to [this comic], and its [continuation]!)

Since the day shift has boggled my noggin I’ve been sluggish lately, however I have been amusin’ myself with some mini-comic answers to asks. Thought I might just throw ‘em all here for yous:

I think Taichi inspires the same ‘MUST PROTECT’ instinct in people the same way Chihiro does. No one believes Taichi is there of his own volition, and especially no one believes Takaaki is a police officer.

They’ll never tell. But that’s ‘cos they also have no idea. (honestly tho, I wanted it to be clear they were super close, but ambiguous enough that they audience could choose what they preferred. Perhaps a little cheeky of me but I personally fluctuate day to day between platonic DlLF/MlLF solidarity and romantic yin-yang of delinquent x lawman) If they were dating however:

The love-life of shift workers (feat. how I actually met my future stepdad for the first time)

I think Hiro does show some real promise as big bro material once he finally takes a role of responsibility after the fallout of trail 2 BUT Taka is not known for his flexibility. I think it’ll take a while for Mr. “My worth is tied to my ability to succeed as a student” to warm up to Mr. “I purposely failed high school multiple times to hide from the yakuza” He’ll get there, with a loooot of help from Mondo and Hiro.

It would be an adjustment to say the least.