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KHR 195 (or, thoughts on Gokudera and teamwork)
So, Florida was good times. I was sad to leave, but here I am, back home again.
ANYWAY, I've been kinda sick/tired the past few days, and I told myself I wasn't going to do a big post on the chapter this week. Then I actually read it, and. This happened. :|
1. First of all, just to get it out of my system: GOKUDERA IS ADORABLE IN THIS CHAPTER. The FACES, omg. Like, he went from o_o to :| to >O to !!! to :o to *_* to ;_; and then finally back to badass faito mode. It was epic.
2. Let's essay a little about Dera and Uri, because that relationship was kind of at the center of this chapter. And someone made a post in the comm a few days ago talking about how Gokudera needed another lesson in teamwork because he had been underestimating his box animal partner and basically fighting alone again lol. Now,![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
tasteslikeash quite reasonably pointed out that a) Gokudera only had like five days to learn how to fight with Uri and the Sistema C.A.I. to begin with, b) Uri DID appear to be totally useless as a weapon, and c) when Dera DID try to work with him, Uri had this tendency to, uh, try to claw his face off. All of which are valid points that I agree with. Nonetheless, the other points are true as well, which makes the development in this chapter particularly important.
It's important to remember that this fight is for all intents and purposes, a rematch, picking up from where we left off the last time Gokudera and Gamma fought. That time, Dera lost pretty badly, both because he was outmatched, and because at first, he had trouble working with Yamamoto as a team. Teamwork was an essential theme of that fight, and now it's carried over to this one as well. It's especially important for Gokudera, both because he was a loner for so long, and because as he grows into the role of right-hand man, he needs to learn how to become both a leader and a team player. He is getting better about this (especially since he got that Yama bitchslap in the last fight XD), but even so, more often than not his first instinct is still to try to go it alone, whether because he doubts his partners' abilities, or because of his tendency to try to bear the brunt of everything on his own.
Of course, all of these issues have carried over to this fight, and up to this point, not much has changed. Dera's first reaction upon seeing Gamma was to tell Ryohei, "Don't try and stop me! I have a debt to settle with him." Of course, Ryohei stopped him anyway (and then proceeded to fight solo HIMSELF, lol stubborn guardians). Skip ahead to when Ryohei goes down and Dera manages to open Uri's box. He tells Uri to chew through the ropes (ha), and when Uri tries to attack instead, he freaks--not just because Uri's not listening (again), but because he thinks Uri will be killed if he tries to fight Gamma. There's no way the little kitten could possibly be a match for a guy like that.
Fast forward to the previous chapter. Gokudera's now in pretty bad shape, Gamma is about to wrap things up, and all of a sudden the black foxes freak out and everyone's all like, "MY GOSH WHAT IS THAT?" Enter big!Uri.
Gokudera is SHOCKED AND AWED.
Shocked! And awed. Now, a lot of the readers had actually predicted this would happen. Obviously, Uri had to serve some purpose other than being cute; TYL!Gokudera wouldn't bother with a box weapon that was useless. But interestingly, it never occurred to our!Gokudera that Uri was anything more than just a little kitten. He's amazed to discover that Uri is part of the Sistema C.A.I. after all.
But that's not the only realization. In fact, of all the things in this chapter that cause Dera to make stunned little :O faces, the thing that seems to stun him most of all is when Gamma's foxes come to attack again, Uri steps in front of him, and Gokudera realizes that Uri is protecting him. He's completely taken aback.
Two reasons for this. One, as we all know, Dera has Issues From His Past where he was a lonely little duckling for a long time because everyone rejected him, etc. So when someone actually puts their neck out on the line to save him, he gets a little... well. Just look what happened when Tsuna did it. XD
And second, he's shocked because it's Uri, the abusive problem kitty who never even gave a hint of caring two whits about Dera before now. Probably, if Gokudera expected anything, it was that Uri would go off on a murderous rampage the instant he got his powerup. I mean, why the hell not? Kitty wants to fight. But instead, Uri comes to protect him. It's basically an acknowledgment that the cat is ready to work together now. And hence, the realization that "Uri is a part of the Sistema C.A.I. after all," and that he's been overlooking him this whole time.
And with that realization, and seeing big!Uri's power, Dera gets his second wind. "Now let me show you the full power of my C.A.I. This is my... no... OUR resolution!" And he proceeds to fight alongside Uri, trusting Uri to take care of the foxes while he concentrates on Gamma. And they win.
As a team.
3. Awwwwww.
4. Best Storm Guardian ever.
5. I think I've waxed poetic enough for one day. XD Looking forward to learning more about Uni next week, though.
ANYWAY, I've been kinda sick/tired the past few days, and I told myself I wasn't going to do a big post on the chapter this week. Then I actually read it, and. This happened. :|
1. First of all, just to get it out of my system: GOKUDERA IS ADORABLE IN THIS CHAPTER. The FACES, omg. Like, he went from o_o to :| to >O to !!! to :o to *_* to ;_; and then finally back to badass faito mode. It was epic.2. Let's essay a little about Dera and Uri, because that relationship was kind of at the center of this chapter. And someone made a post in the comm a few days ago talking about how Gokudera needed another lesson in teamwork because he had been underestimating his box animal partner and basically fighting alone again lol. Now,
tasteslikeash quite reasonably pointed out that a) Gokudera only had like five days to learn how to fight with Uri and the Sistema C.A.I. to begin with, b) Uri DID appear to be totally useless as a weapon, and c) when Dera DID try to work with him, Uri had this tendency to, uh, try to claw his face off. All of which are valid points that I agree with. Nonetheless, the other points are true as well, which makes the development in this chapter particularly important.It's important to remember that this fight is for all intents and purposes, a rematch, picking up from where we left off the last time Gokudera and Gamma fought. That time, Dera lost pretty badly, both because he was outmatched, and because at first, he had trouble working with Yamamoto as a team. Teamwork was an essential theme of that fight, and now it's carried over to this one as well. It's especially important for Gokudera, both because he was a loner for so long, and because as he grows into the role of right-hand man, he needs to learn how to become both a leader and a team player. He is getting better about this (especially since he got that Yama bitchslap in the last fight XD), but even so, more often than not his first instinct is still to try to go it alone, whether because he doubts his partners' abilities, or because of his tendency to try to bear the brunt of everything on his own.
Of course, all of these issues have carried over to this fight, and up to this point, not much has changed. Dera's first reaction upon seeing Gamma was to tell Ryohei, "Don't try and stop me! I have a debt to settle with him." Of course, Ryohei stopped him anyway (and then proceeded to fight solo HIMSELF, lol stubborn guardians). Skip ahead to when Ryohei goes down and Dera manages to open Uri's box. He tells Uri to chew through the ropes (ha), and when Uri tries to attack instead, he freaks--not just because Uri's not listening (again), but because he thinks Uri will be killed if he tries to fight Gamma. There's no way the little kitten could possibly be a match for a guy like that.
Fast forward to the previous chapter. Gokudera's now in pretty bad shape, Gamma is about to wrap things up, and all of a sudden the black foxes freak out and everyone's all like, "MY GOSH WHAT IS THAT?" Enter big!Uri.
Gokudera is SHOCKED AND AWED.
Shocked! And awed. Now, a lot of the readers had actually predicted this would happen. Obviously, Uri had to serve some purpose other than being cute; TYL!Gokudera wouldn't bother with a box weapon that was useless. But interestingly, it never occurred to our!Gokudera that Uri was anything more than just a little kitten. He's amazed to discover that Uri is part of the Sistema C.A.I. after all.
But that's not the only realization. In fact, of all the things in this chapter that cause Dera to make stunned little :O faces, the thing that seems to stun him most of all is when Gamma's foxes come to attack again, Uri steps in front of him, and Gokudera realizes that Uri is protecting him. He's completely taken aback.
Two reasons for this. One, as we all know, Dera has Issues From His Past where he was a lonely little duckling for a long time because everyone rejected him, etc. So when someone actually puts their neck out on the line to save him, he gets a little... well. Just look what happened when Tsuna did it. XD
And second, he's shocked because it's Uri, the abusive problem kitty who never even gave a hint of caring two whits about Dera before now. Probably, if Gokudera expected anything, it was that Uri would go off on a murderous rampage the instant he got his powerup. I mean, why the hell not? Kitty wants to fight. But instead, Uri comes to protect him. It's basically an acknowledgment that the cat is ready to work together now. And hence, the realization that "Uri is a part of the Sistema C.A.I. after all," and that he's been overlooking him this whole time.
And with that realization, and seeing big!Uri's power, Dera gets his second wind. "Now let me show you the full power of my C.A.I. This is my... no... OUR resolution!" And he proceeds to fight alongside Uri, trusting Uri to take care of the foxes while he concentrates on Gamma. And they win.
As a team.
3. Awwwwww.
4. Best Storm Guardian ever.
5. I think I've waxed poetic enough for one day. XD Looking forward to learning more about Uni next week, though.