Shuweek Day 1: Pregame/Post game
Saw the announcement for the first day of Shuweek literal early in the morning as I was quickly post before bed and I figured "Hey, I need hype up my favorite protag boy some more" so why not?
Extra headcanons below!
Pregame
I've had the thought that the pregame and in game version of the characters aren't actually too different from each other personality wise. The differences are more so born from the backstory which then acts as a filter for the personality. That's part of the team Danganronpa is looking at for the auditions.
For Shuichi I'd say he is anxious, but less so than he is in game, and he's a lot more awkward and out of pocket pregame.
Boy has a hyper-fixation BAD and gremlins out about it sometimes (a lot of the time).
His "thing" being Danganronpa is both a blessing and a curse, because he doesn't really know how to talk to people outside of that. With Danganronpa being as popular as it is means he does have something to talk about with people. He just struggles talking about anything else, or knowing when to stop.
Favorite character is obviously Kyoko. We don't know any of the other SHLU-Detectives mentioned in his audition and I'm sure they're ALL his favorite, but I think Kyoko would still be his MOST favorite, gotta respect the original. And she fits his vibe.
He does like other mystery/murder/detective media. Danganronpa just scratches a itch in his brain like nothing else.
A lot of his enjoyment is in analysis and theory crafting. As the other side of Game-Shuichi's detective-ing coin. Whether it be about lore and the major plot beats, or individual murders or motivations. He likes finding and putting the pieces together.
He's come up with the most crackpot theories based off the tiniest little details that most people miss and he's been right.
Boy has very likely laid out several Fangan's. Maybe not writing out full prose, but he has characters, knows the murder order, likely set up many of the murder plots and plan punishments for the culprits.
Postgame
Once he, Maki and Himiko emerge from the game (I'm partial to V3 being a simulation but it could either way) his first priority as soon as he's able is staring work to ensure that Danganronpa is actually done for.
I do think it took a genuine hit with enough people actively choosing not to vote in the finale, but he, his friends, and likely other survivors from past killing games (we know there's two a season) would want to make sure it can't regroup and change people's minds to bring it back.
Shuichi takes a lot of the responsibility for this onto himself. Both for being the face for ending Danganronpa in the first place, and also because he was relied upon a lot during the trials in the game, and that habit doesn't really go away, at least not for a while
Man is a tea drinker by choice, but a coffee drinker by necessity. He end up working really late a lot of the time, so he just needs it to stay awake. Until he's eventually forced to go to sleep
The survivor's guilt he has is really bad. It applies to the victims of course, but for the culprits in particular, he's the one that exposed them. It was to save everyone, yes, but he still feels like their death's are on his hands. And with their deaths being so torturous and him having to watch them it messes with his head.
Oh... those are all real sad aren't they. Um... well EVENTUALLY, after therapy, support, and making sure Danganronpa is gone for good, Shuichi is eventually able to relax.
He would either attempt to become a detective because that's what his mind is used to doing and he still wants to help people
OR I've also had the idea of him writing mystery novels. He writes them just for fun and his friends either way, it's a creative outlet for him. but I could see him many publishing him someday to inspire and help people through fiction! (You know, in a way that DOESN'T involve the death's of several real life people)
