I. Projects absolute control/indifference as a mask
II.
Probably
has the lowest self-esteem/sense of self-worth of cast
A. Doesn't
think he deserves Mokuba's love
1. Pre
Death-T might have been trying to prove that to Mokuba
B. Doesn't
think he deserves any (non-material) show of affection anyone gives him
1. Would be
confused by but cherish any scrap of affection of love/friendship/affection
he's given & not expect more
a. He'd
hoard the memory of them up for when that person(s) abandons him
b. He thinks
scraps is all he deserves/has earned
(1) Doesn't know how to ask for more
(2) Will need frequent reassurances of his
worth as friend/lover/sibling
(a) Will not act like he does or cares
III.
Likely has almost everyone in neat categories (w/ a little overlap allowed)
A. "Wants to hurt me" -> Gozaburo, Big 5
(to some extent, Noa)
B. "Rival/competition,
may try to hurt me" -> Yami Yuugi (to some extent, Otogi)
C. "Psychopath" -> Yami Bakura, Malik,
Marik (maybe also Bakura Ryou)
D. "Nice to me, doesn't want anything,
needs protection" -> Mokuba (to some extent Anzu & Ryou)
E. "Don't
like but nice to Mokuba" -> Honda
F. "Fun to
fight/play w/ but probably doesn't like me" -> Jounouchi
G. Yuugi only has the category "confuses
the hell out of me"
1. "Why is
he being nice?"
2. "Why
doesn't he seem to want anything from me?"
3. "Why does
he call me 'Kaiba-kun'?"
4. "Why does
he act like two people?"
5. "What are
his real motives?"
6. Yuugi is
one of the few people (besides Mokuba) he calls by their name
a. Very odd!
b. Definitely
a lot of respect there (as much as he feels safe expressing)
IV.
Doesn't really understand the concept of friends
A. He's only
dealt with:
1. Abuse and
abandonment from adults
a. Death
is abandonment
2. Worship
from Mokuba
3. Wariness
from his peers
a. Age group
peers
b. Intelligence-level
peers
c. Business
peers
B. He's
never been accepted for who he is
1. He's had
to mold himself to a role for different people
a. Brother/mother/father
for Mokuba
b. Son/heir/trainee/whipping
boy for Gozaburo
c. Another
mouth to feed & be rid of for people at orphanage
d. Exploitable
child genius for Big 5
e. Untouchable
World Champion for other duelists
2. Yuugi
doesn't try to fit him to a mold
C. May not even remember how to be "Seto"
D. Hasn't been just himself for himself
(i.e., not for Mokuba or to keep up a facade) since his parents died or perhaps
the orphanage
E. To some
extent, though, he has probably laid claim to most of the cast
1. He may
not like them all, but he'll help them
V.
Has a
great deal of issues but doesn't deal w/ them in healthy ways
A. Going to
a shrink isn't likely
1. It admits
there is a problem & therefore a weakness
a. BAD!
B. He internalizes everything,
puts up masks to hide behind, denial, "If I don't admit it exists, then it
doesn't"
1. no repression
a. He
remembers everything
(1) Forgetting makes one weak
(2) Having memories stolen/sealed away is a
high crime for him
C. Will have great difficulty getting
close to anyone, physically (i.e., sex) or emotionally
1. Partially
fears letting someone close enough to hurt him or be hurt by him
2. Will
not fall into bed w/ anyone
a. It will
take some a lot of work on all parts
3. If he
feels the need to bind someone to him, he might be willing to use sex to
do it
a. It'll
cause him more emotional trauma though
b. He will
resent it being the only option he was left w/
c. He would
resent it more if it was tried on him
d. No
difficulties seeing sex as a bargaining piece though
4. Sex would
either be in the dark under sheets or w/out letting partner touch or look at
his body at first
a. Gozaburo's
"training" likely left lots of scars
(1) Note through most of the series, he's
covered from the neck down
(2) Even if he's had the scars removed,
they're still on his soul
(a) Doesn't help his self-esteem
1. Makes him
feel "less"
5. Definitely
some control issues that can go to one of two extremes:
a. Can't
perform unless he's completely in control
b. Can't
perform unless he's had control completely stripped from him
(1) Relationship could
very easily
turn abusive for him
(a) He has no concept of what a loving
relationship should be like
(2) Can very easily come to one of two
conclusions based on his past
(a) Love = worship?
(b) Love = abuse?
(c) He could come to the conclusion, when
in love, either everything is all great all the time or someone (likely him) is
bleeding
c. He can
fall between those two extremes though or move back and forth between them
d. In either
extreme, the probability of bondage/fetishes is high
(1) Not psychologically good for him
e. He needs
a sort of balancing out to keep him from slipping to either extreme
(1) He needs a give-and-take relationship
(2) Putting him in a threesome w/ a
(well-written) yami/hikari pair would give him this balance
(a) Otherwise, he needs someone who can be
both seme & uke to balance him, as well as put up with his temper &
eccentricities
(b) Putting him w/ Malik/Marik (if they are
written as separate) would be bad for his psyche
1. Bluntly,
they would break him
VI.
Has built
a sort of tower around/of himself
A. Mokuba is
at the top
1. On a
pedestal
B. Tower is
fragile
1. Mostly
thanks to Yami Yuugi
a. Constantly
beating him
b. Shattering
his personality/"soul" during Death-T
2. Is slowly
being battered down
a. Psyche is
still very fragile
(1) He won't admit/show it
C. He's already had to rebuild his mind
once (thanks to Yami Yuugi)
1. If his
mental tower falls, he'll have to do it again
2. Rebuilding
it the first time turned him from psychotic to just suspicious
3. Having to
rebuild it again might completely break him
a. Slow
changes to it are, in general, good for him though
(1) No sudden changes to what he considers
a given
D. Probably measured his self-worth by his
wins
1. Losing to
Yami Yuugi hurts/damages him psychologically
2. This is
probably thanks to Gozaburo
a. "Be
perfect or else"
(1) Or else = threat to Mokuba
b. Perfect =
winning = perfect
3. Therefore,
right now, he thinks he's worth less than nothing
VII.
Doesn't
trust easily
A. Even
Mokuba!
1. Death-T
a. "Mokuba
must see/learn how unworthy of his love I am."
B. Once his
trust is gained, though, he'll die or kill for that person, even do things he
finds personally displeasurable
1. Duelist
Kingdom
a. Willing
to die to save Mokuba
2. Battle
City
a. Teamed up
w/ Yami Yuugi to save Mokuba
C. Will be over-protective
1. Usually
w/in reason (and for good reason)
a. Kidnapping
Mokuba is the Domino pastime after all
D. Will probably be very monetarily
affectionate
1. They
indicate something is nice & he buys it immediately
a. Probably
has never hear the expression "Money can't buy love"
b. He'd be
especially giving w/ gifts if he's hurt/angered them (or perceives himself as
having done so)
(1) Buy himself back into their good graces
VIII.
In
Short/Summary
A. Everything
is an uphill battle for w/ and for Kaiba
B. Therefore,
he probably thinks "If it didn't hurt me to get it, it's not worth having/what
good is it"
1. Gifts
would confuse him
a. He would
start looking for an ulterior motive