about Kaito's "ice cream" line
"You're so cold, just like ice cream."
"But... ice cream can be sweet too."
oh do i have words for this one.
SO! we all know that this is a flirty line. Kaito said it during a date with Aoko, complete with a romantic fountain and backing track. but i can totally make this angsty, here we go.
Aoko is calling Kaito cold, right? because of his poker face, which makes it so that he hides his emotions under a sunny smile and cheerful facade. because of KID, a secret he cannot let her uncover. Kaito is emotionally distant, and Aoko wants him to melt a little. to be a little bit softer and vulnerable. to be her friend.
they both know this, hence why Kaito responds by calling himself (ice cream) sweet, too. his facade is kind. it's energetic. it's flirtatious, and sarcastic, and a showman through and through, mystical illusions and mischief and 'now you see me, now you don't'. his facade is how he interacts with the world – with his classmates, his childhood friends, his mother, the idea of his father – and he's pleasant to be around. people love him and his magic tricks. they cheer for him, whether as Kaito or as KID. his facade makes him sweet. his facade makes him ice cream.
and here's the thing about ice cream: it only stays ice cream when it's cold. if it's warmed up, it's not long before it melts. and, well, who likes eating melted ice cream?
who likes a Kaito who is not performing?
Aoko is asking for Kaito to melt, and for Kaito, that is a death sentence. for the him who has built his entire life on performing for others, simply stopping is impossible; he would become a formless slop of a thing, still sweet but ultimately unattractive. Kaito's reply, then, is telling Aoko to act with him, or lose him. let him be cold, or risk him 'melting' and disappearing from her life altogether.
pretty fitting for a Phantom Thief, where weakness means he'll end up dead.
however, this can also be taken the opposite way: people only like ice cream when it's cold. similarly, the people Kaito interacts with like him – whether in partial or in full – for his facade. Saguru, for instance, is largely fascinated by Kaitou KID, who's entire essence is magic. Akako's crush on him stemmed from him being the only person to be unaffected by her magic, rather than as an attraction to Kuroba Kaito himself. (it could be argued that she evolved to care about him, but that required several KID meetings (his facade) so i hesitate to say she cares for the ACTUAL Kaito.) his classmates, again, cheer when he performs. his own teacher let him leave early (episode 1) when he kissed her hand and acted as a gentleman.
his facade is all his relationships know. that ice cream cold and sweet. that's the 'him' that they like, not the Kaito who is just a teenager, saddled by responsibility he never asked for and routinely thrust into life-threatening situations. and because they don't know what he goes through, they act like everything's fine. and Kaito also acts like everything's fine, so nothing about KID, about his internal issues and guilt and worries, none of it is ever addressed and nothing about his situation changes. and so the pressure builds, and builds, and builds.
if Kaito continues to act like ice cream, if he keeps his poker face and performances, he'll be 'consumed' by the world around him. every piece of him will be stolen by his relationships as he acts and acts and acts some more, until he's naught but an empty marionette puppeted by once-dreams. until whoever Kuroba Kaito once was is buried under all the masks.
there is no happy ending for him. either he melts and is killed, or he stays cold and is ripped apart for entertainment.
