HOW NOT TO REVEAL SENSITIVE INFORMATION. SHOUICHI, PLEASE NOTE.
And now it is timez for the long-awaited (or, uh, not) rant!piece re: A-136.
Because this child is an idiot (and lazy as hell), I opted for the subbed instead of the raw this week. I don't feel like thinking.
WHICH LEADS TO MY FIRST POINT. You. Subbers. I am eternally grateful for you ignoring the C&D from FUNi, but when you sub, some people ACTUALLY ENJOY the op/ed (especially these latest ones!). And, if you do feel that you absolutely MUST remove said op and ed, can you PLEASE make sure to leave the last second or two of the op in, so that we viewers are given a second to orient ourselves and so that we are not thrust immediately into the action! The ones on youtube start RIGHT AWAY, and I had to go check, and double-check, and triple-check that I had actually clicked on part 1, AND that this leads directly from A-135, because I SWEAR WE START IN THE MIDDLE OF A SENTENCE. NOT EVEN A CONVERSATION. A FREAKING SENTENCE.
So, uh, anyways. Regarding the actual content.
Most of my reactions were exactly the same as from the corresponding portions in the original, which means that my usual "WTH, WHAT ARE YOU, CRAZY?! WTF IS GOING ON?!" was more along the lines of, "Oh, yeah. That. I STILL DON'T GET IT. orz" and without quite as much spazzing, but oh well. Ah, with one exception.
CERVELLO. I HAVE SAID IT BEFORE AND I'LL SAY IT AGAIN. WTH, CERVELLO. IS IT YOUR MISSION TO TAKE DOWN VONGOLA, BUT YOU REFUSE TO GET YOUR HANDS DIRTY? FIRST XANXUS AND VARIA, NOW MILLEFIORE. WTH. [There's a line from Regina Spektor's "The Call" that's rather appropriate here: "All you can do is try to know who your friends are as you head off to the war." WHICH IS KIND OF IMPOSSIBLE SINCE, UH, EVERYONE KEEPS SWITCHING SIDES. SRSLY. WTH. AND IT IS, SOMEHOW, ALL YOUR FAULT, CERVELLO.
[If this were a video game--which, sometimes, it really kind of feels like one--Cervello would be like... like Van Grants from the Abyss. YOU LYING, MANIPULATING, TRAITOROUS SONOFA~~~!]
Which, if you know what's happening, means the next part IS MY FAVORITE PART OF THIS WHOLE THING. It was a WTH ILU SO MUCH RITE NOW moment originally, and it still kind of is. IRIE SHOUICHI, YOU ARE MY NEW BEST FRIEND. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SHOOTING CERVELLO. THAT. WAS. AMAZING. But! His line about "sleep" kind of worries/confuses me. I'm kind of hoping that he did just tranq them or something, because killing people in cold blood is NOT Shouichi's style. BUT I'm kind of hoping that he DID kill them, because then at least we know that two of those legion of... hahaha, of NO-GOOD TRAITORS (why yes, I DID just steal Tsuna's nickname. Bite me) would be out of action and no longer capable of destroying such amazing things as Vongola. [But the way Shouichi said it, I am thinking that, maybe, even if they're dead they're, um, not going to stay dead. Or something. Because, obv, ressurection and revival is completely normal and kind of to be expected. Obv.]
"We're not negotiating here." BUT YOU'RE THE ONES DOING ALL THE TALKING. And uh, in this situation? I'd call that a negotiation. Considering, of course, that Tsuna is spazzing like he is. :3 AND SPEAKING OF THAT. They give him three seconds to hand over the Vongola Sky Ring? It takes him that long--if not longer!--to get his mitten off his hand so that he could even TAKE THE RING OFF TO GIVE IT TO THEM. This IS Tsuna we're talking about.
And Gokudera. And Lal. You two. This entire ep I keep going "AHAHA, WTH IS WRONG WITH YOU TWO BUT IT'S SO TYPICAL OMILIFE" because they keep encouraging Tsuna to do very un-Tsuna things (like instead of handing over the Ring, to ignore the threat of the poisoned gas that would kill off everyone trapped (aka everyone besides Tsuna, Spanner, Irie and Cervello. Oh, and Reborn) and just... get them. Which kind of epically!goes against basic codes of chivalry and all that, since Cervello are all women, but ANYWAYS~
Ummmmm... and a question. When Cervello gets shot (YAY!) one of them drop the controller and it... falls. On the ground. Facedown. WHY can I somehow see one of the buttons being hit by accident? [Didn't, I think, but SO CLOSE~!] And it takes them so long to fall over. I can kind of understand why Kris hates most females now. Sort of. [Which is really odd, since I'm female, but I mean those in series like this! Like, uh, Manah from Drakengard and Drakengard2. FAIL LOGIC RIGHT THERE. SRSLY. THE AMOUNT OF FAIL KIND OF HURTS. Because, obv, if you are trying to spend your life repenting for what you did eighteen years ago, OBV THE THING TO DO IS DO THE EXACT SAME THING YOU'RE TRYING TO REPENT FOR. BECAUSE, OBV, CHANGING YOUR MOTIVATION CHANGES NOT ONLY PROCEDURE BUT ALSO CONCLUSION. OBV.]
[Another question. Where are the gunshot wounds?]
And yes, Irie. You are amazing. THAT DOES NOT MEAN IT IS A GOOD IDEA TO DROP A GUN ON THE FLOOR WHILE THE SAFETY IS OFF.
So. I get that this entire time everyone's been working under the assumption that Irie is Byakuran's Right Hand or something like that, so he saying that he's actually been secretly working for Vongola is more than just a leeeeettle bit of a shocker, BUT THINK OF THIS. He had the upper hand. There was no conceivable reason for him to switch sides (or pretend to do so). The only thing that would have been a reason would be for him to try and infiltrate the Vongola, but considering the circumstances.... Well, he had been in a position to easily not only kill off the Guardians, but also Tsuna and Spanner and, obv, they had an idea of where the Vongola base was, so killing off everyone in THERE wouldn't have been too hard. He was in possession of all the Vongola Rings excepting the Sky, AND if he had let them destroy the round white machine, it would have only hurt them! Reborn, thankfully, followed that logic, but everyone else...! [I get that it's surprising. Okay. Nice. NOW LET'S ATTEMPT TO THINK LOGICALLY FOR A SECOND--OWAIT, THIS IS VONGOLA, TO THEM THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS LOGIC. MY BAD.]
And Irie kicks the gun away and has this kicked puppy look on his face and is trying to explain things, and everyone's still, "O that's nice, now ABOUT THAT WHOLE ACTUALLY BEING ON OUR SIDE THING?!"
So. About the tube thing that mostly everyone is stuck in. Another WTH moment, if you please?
AND FOR SOME REASON, HIBARI IS ACTING SUSPICIOUS. Or maybe that's just his surprised face? I guess he did kind of come into this in the middle of the Deathmatch with Genkishi and HAS NO BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE (not that that's stopped him~!) and is all, "Wait, whut? Who's killing who now?" but the way his eyes narrow like they do makes me think that... well, nvm. Suspicious = surprised. Sums it up, I guess.
AND BYAKURAN = STALKER (of Irie) BUT WE ALREADY KIND OF KNEW THAT. MOVING ON.
"I'm so happy you destroyed my base and box weapon!" Um... I'd be rather pissed, personally. Oh well. [Mechanic's mentality: someone breaks it, I get to rebuild it better than before! Or something.]
[I like Spanner. He's just kinda in the background for a large part of this, going, "Ohhhh. Well, I guess I did choose the right side when I went with Vongola!" Or so says his facial expression. That or, "WTH, IS SHOUICHI CRAZY?". Both kinda work.]
Silly Irie. Using "our" makes it sound like you and Byakuran, since NO ONE ELSE THERE KNEW THAT IT WAS ACTUALLY TSUNA WHO ORIGINALLY PLANNED THIS. [Which is the most awkard statement I think I've ever typed, considering that Tsuna is right there and, uh, doesn't know. BUT THAT'S WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU START RANDOMLY TIME-SKIPPING. IT IS A BAD IDEA.]
AND SPEAKING OF THAT. [This is in part 2 or 3 or something, but whatever.] TSUNA. AGAIN, I'VE ALREADY SAID THIS. STILL. THE POINT REMAINS. THAT. WAS. A. HORRID. PLAN. (Arguably, ANY PLAN that involves walking up to a Mafia Boss and getting him to kill you is horrid. Even if it's in an attempt to circumvent ANOTHER PLAN that involves killing off potentially every human being on the planet. IT IS STILL NOT COOL. AND IRIE. TELLING THE POOR KID THAT IT WAS/WOULD BE HIS OWN PLAN TO DIE ISN'T VERY NICE. Actually, that's up there with Primo, Secondo, Terzo, Quarto, Cinqo, Sesto, Setto, Ottavo and Nono telling him that he has no other reason to live than to be Vongola. NOT. COOL. [Free will? What free will? HE HASN'T REALLY BEEN ALLOWED TO MAKE A MAJOR DECISION REGARDING HIS LIFE SINCE, UM, EVER.]
AND IRIE KNOWS G-SCRIPT. Apparently. Or, um, told Gokudera to write out the "instructions" in code so that no one else could read them? I dunno. BUT, FOR SOME REASON, I DO NOT REMEMBER THAT DETAIL BEING IN THE ORIGINAL. THANK YOU EXPLANATION.
[Comment: anyone else notice that Tsuna seems to get sliced below the eyes a lot? Really. I'm surprised he doesn't have a whole bunch of thin, white scars across his cheeks that look like whiskers or something, all things considered.]
SO. MELONE BASE = NOT A DUNGEON, BUT A TRAINING GROUND. WTH KIND OF TRAINING WAS THAT?! [Er, in video-game speak. Irie himself says that he lured them there to train them and get them to "level up", which is really just his geek!side showing, but THE POINT REMAINS.]
I think. It's an example. Of how powerful the Vongola is. That EVEN WHEN THEY'RE TECHNICALLY LOSING, THEY STILL ASSUME PEOPLE ARE DOING THINGS TO AVOID PISSING THEM OFF. ("You're just doing this to save yourself!" Ummm... he's the one with the gun and the controller for the poison gas. SAVE HIMSELF FROM WHAT?)
[Comment: Gokudera's belt without all the component pieces for the Sistema C.A.I. attached to it? Looks kinda weird. Cool, but, uh... weird. ACK. WHERE IS URI?!]
Okay. Um. Trial and Succession's answer was "To Protect", right? SO THEY BUILD THIS PLAN OFF OF THAT. BECAUSE, OBV, KIDNAPPING INNOCENTS AND DRAGGING THEM INTO THIS WILL ONLY FUEL THE DESIRE TO PROTECT THEM, which makes sense, BUT IS COMPLETELY OOC AND MAKES ME WORRIED ABOUT THE EXACT STATE OF AFFAIRS RE:TYL. If it could force even DECIMO into making that kind of decision...! [Then again, the state of affairs forced Decimo to hatch a plan that revolves around him being shot to death. I REST MY CASE.]
AND. ANDANDAND. Why didn't he punch him~? THERE ARE VERY FEW THINGS THAT MAKE TSUNA AS PISSED OFF AS PEOPLE BEING NEEDLESS DRAGGED INTO THINGS AND HURT, BUUUUUT NVM I CAN KIND OF UNDERSTAND SINCE HE'S JUST HAD SO MUCH DUMPED ON HIM. [Next time? PUNCH IRIE. Or, you know, Gokudera and Hibari will apparently do it for you.] [Ah, but he's choking him instead. Okay. I'm appeased.]
I'M BACK TO THE THING ABOUT THIS PLAN. THIS PLAN... WELL, ALL THESE SO-CALLED PLANS. ARE NOT REALLY PLANS. I think. They're kind of more "let's see how many people we can kill while trying to keep people from getting killed!" plans WHICH MAKE NO SENSE. ...but enough about that. For now.
EVERYONE'S FACES. When Irie says that Tsuna was one of the plotters. Planners. Whatever. "WTH" DOES NOT DESCRIBE IT. But I think that's because they all realized that meant that, effectively, Tsuna planned his own death before Tsuna himself did, WHICH MAKES ME DECIDE THIS IS STILL THE MOST AWKWARD THING TO WRITE. TYPE. SAME DIFF. AND SEE? SEE? TIME SKIPPING IS NOT HEALTHY whether it be for the people actually skipping OR THOSE WHO LOOK THROUGH IT AFTER. [Tense? What tense? I'M THINKING THE ONLY WAY TO TELL WHAT IS THE "PRESENT" FOR THE VONGOLA IS LOOKING AT THEIR BIRTHDAYS. GAH~~~~~~]
[Of course, Hibari's expression when he hears that he was the third plotter/planner/whatever is rather entertaining, but I've already covered his facial expressions--or what counts as such--and so I stop here.]
"That's why Hibari was able to predict our ambush." O, really? I thought he was psychic. BECAUSE, APPARENTLY, GOKUDERA IS, SO WTH NOT, AMIRITE?
[Speaking of that, GOKUDERA. YOU. YOUYOUYOU. PLEASE DON'T BE EMO. YOU WEREN'T LET IN ON THIS BECAUSE YOU OBV WOULD NOT HAVE LET IT HAPPEN. Considering you kind of started beating up pretty much everyone you could get your hands on when you found out~!]
[And the interplay. Between the Cloud and Storm. They both kind of act like Uri--like those cats who REALLY DO ACT LIKE THEY'RE ROYALTY I MEAN--which is ever so awkward considering they've saved each other's lives how many times now? And then, of course, tried to kill each other, but that's kind of to be expected.]
And at least Irie makes a point of saying that it wasn't that Decimo was all, "Ye, great idea! Let's do it!" and admits that he was "very uneasy" about the whole thing. (Apparently, though, he was uneasy about getting innocents involved. Not so much about dying. Interesting, that.)
AND. That mock-flashback or whatever the hell it was? D'AW, TSUNA'S SO UPSET HE CAN'T EVEN SPEAK. Which annoys me, because all we see is his hand, really, AND BOOOOO. (But Shouichi actually looks his age there, and Hibari's all "I is powerful, bwahaha. But I will agree to this plan, too. I guess. Sort of. Smirk." Which, you know, is normal. Whatev.)
So. Just realized. They were blaming Irie and/or Byakuran the entire time for being dragged into this? Kinda hating on them and whatnot? AND IT WAS ACTUALLY TSUNA THAT BROUGHT EVERYONE INTO THIS. NOT IRIE. NOT BYAKURAN. TSUNA. (ACK. Can you imagine if instead of "To Protect" it had been what Reborn had chastised him about [the whole training and returning and whatnot]? Tsuna would probably be useless from then on if it was that. Aaaaaaah, so lucky. Really, really lucky.) Of course, everyone defends him (which is sweet), especially Gokudera and Lal and Shouichi just SPAZZES. He's almost as entertaining to watch spazzing as Tsuna!
So the Hyper Intuition is kicking back in again (TOOK LONG ENOUGH), and besides all that Reborn's COMPLETELY accepting, but that's probably because he's A) one of the Arcobaleno, and B) THE ONLY ONE WHO IS REMOTELY SANE. Which is really kind of saying something, all things considered. He's sadistic, but sane. [I would have said that Tsuna at least is still sane, but then there's that whole thing with Nuts and M-245 that kind of makes me doubt that. Ish. Or, you know, this plan. The plan itself seems to lend itself to making me believe he's not gaining a bit of a Vongolan mentality.]
Tres-ni-sette reference! MAKES ME HAPPY. And considering what everyone's been saying, I will here argue that each piece of Tres-ni-sette is actually an Ampliment (re:Geomancy), hence why getting ahold of all twenty-one of them is generally a BAD IDEA. Weeeeeell, a bad idea if you're Byakuran and would be more than willing to use them to cause portions of the world to destroy themselves and kill off everyone in that area, but, you know. Whatever. [Because the Storm for the Mare Rings? Remember? CAUSED A VOLCANO TO ERUPT AND WIPE OUT HIS OWN HOMETOWN. And that was because he was a bit twitchy. ALL TWENTY-ONE? AT THE SAME TIME? UH, NO.]
I like how Irie's all "time skipping is inevitable. Or, well, Byakuran using time skipping to kidnap you and steal the Vongola Rings is inevitable. So sorry." AND they keep saying that whatever power Byakuran has (probably from his own piece of Tres-ni-sette) is still weak and growing stronger, so THIS IS THE ONLY TIME HE CAN BE KILLED. [Personally, I still say Byakuran's a necromancer. And that Gokudera should also take up the art of necromancy, just ALL THINGS CONSIDERED.] Owait. "Defeating Byakuran now is the only way to seal his power." Since defeat = kill (generally), then... does that mean whatever he can do is non-Tres-ni-sette related? Or somehow transferable? Or something? DETAILS, PLEASE.
AND THERE WAS GOING TO BE, BUT OYEAH. VARIA. Whyyyyyy did he have to remember Varia right then?! ...AND HOW. WHAT KIND OF SPAZZY BRAIN FUNCTIONS CONNECTS BYAKURAN'S POWER WITH VONGOLA'S ITALIAN OFFENSIVE?
And again. Vongola's inherent superiority. The moment that it's revealed Irie gets stomache aches when he's nervous or stressed, they're all, "Oh. Wow, that's pathetic," and completely looking down on him. Or, uh, Gokudera and Lal do, anyways. ...anyone else amused by how similar most of their reactions are? [Anyone else have a really weird mental image of Gokudera as the head commander of COMSUBIN and Lal as a professional assassin? OWAIT. LAL KIND OF ALREADY IS. NVM.]
"Shouichi's amazing, if only because he doesn't look all that impressive." "...Spanner, that's not a compliment." SPANNER. ILU. SO HARD.
QUESTION. IF SHOUICHI WAS BEING MONITORED AND STALKED BY BYAKURAN FOR THE LAST LITTLE WHILE, HOW THE HELL WOULD HE HAVE KNOWN ABOUT THE WORLD-WIDE VONGOLAN OFFENSIVE? INFORMATION LEAK, GET.
AND NOW. PRESENTING. VARIA.
[Levi's mustache. That... I'm pretty sure it's actually a senitent creature. HEY. MAYBE IT'S ANOTHER SALAMANDER OR BOX WEAPON. BECAUSE... WOW. JUST... WOW.]
The Millefiore are all, "uh, whut? Didn't we wipe out pretty much the entire Vongola already, and their Unified Alliance?" and Squalo's all, "ALLY THIS." And it's Squalo so, um, doubt those White Spell Millefiore guys are still alive. OW. BUT I DO LIKE THE ONE WITH THE HATCHET COVERED IN RAIN FLAMES. IF ONLY BECAUSE HE'S USING AN AXE. [Gamma still wins with his primary weapon being a BILLARDS CUE. And, of course, Sawada Iemitsu with his pick axe. A SOLID GOLD PICK AXE. And the Fourth/Quarto and his FORK. BEST WEAPON EVER. OR, NO, SECOND BEST. BEST EVER WOULD HAVE TO BE A SPORK, BUT NO ONE'S USED ONE YET. LE SIGH.]
And Bel. Apparently has invisible knives. Or something. AND WTH, LUSSURIA HAS A RED MOHAWK TO GO WITH HIS GREEN BANG FRINGE AND YELLOW STUBBLE EVERYWHERE ELSE? WTH KIND OF FAIL FASHION SENSE IS THAT?!
AND. OR. WHATEVER. Levi. takes out White Spell (and the door). White Spell stumbles outside the door. Decides that, apparently, being on the other side of the threshold, even if in plain sight, means that they are safe and they promptly collapse. Because, of COURSE as long as you're not in the same room, you're safe! [And Levi's flag. Such a suck-up. BUT VARIA'S FLAG IS VERY PRETTY, Y/Y?]
Aaaaand one more comment to finish things off: Why is it that the Varia's new uniforms have those stripes of colour? Not that I'm complaining (it's rather fashionable), BUT THE COLOUR IS SKIN-TONED AND IT'S A BIT AWKWARD IF YOU DON'T REALIZE THAT IT'S STILL FABRIC.
AND FRAN. O FRAN, ILU. I think I've already been over why, exactly, Fran is so amazing, but IT'S ALMOST WORTH IT GOING THROUGH IT AGAIN. [Fran's whole presonality and reasons for going Vongola-Varia, and, aaaaaand...! Love him. So much. It kind of kills me. IF ONLY BECAUSE OF THE GIANT FROG HAT THEY MAKE HIM WEAR. :3]
Because this child is an idiot (and lazy as hell), I opted for the subbed instead of the raw this week. I don't feel like thinking.
WHICH LEADS TO MY FIRST POINT. You. Subbers. I am eternally grateful for you ignoring the C&D from FUNi, but when you sub, some people ACTUALLY ENJOY the op/ed (especially these latest ones!). And, if you do feel that you absolutely MUST remove said op and ed, can you PLEASE make sure to leave the last second or two of the op in, so that we viewers are given a second to orient ourselves and so that we are not thrust immediately into the action! The ones on youtube start RIGHT AWAY, and I had to go check, and double-check, and triple-check that I had actually clicked on part 1, AND that this leads directly from A-135, because I SWEAR WE START IN THE MIDDLE OF A SENTENCE. NOT EVEN A CONVERSATION. A FREAKING SENTENCE.
So, uh, anyways. Regarding the actual content.
Most of my reactions were exactly the same as from the corresponding portions in the original, which means that my usual "WTH, WHAT ARE YOU, CRAZY?! WTF IS GOING ON?!" was more along the lines of, "Oh, yeah. That. I STILL DON'T GET IT. orz" and without quite as much spazzing, but oh well. Ah, with one exception.
CERVELLO. I HAVE SAID IT BEFORE AND I'LL SAY IT AGAIN. WTH, CERVELLO. IS IT YOUR MISSION TO TAKE DOWN VONGOLA, BUT YOU REFUSE TO GET YOUR HANDS DIRTY? FIRST XANXUS AND VARIA, NOW MILLEFIORE. WTH. [There's a line from Regina Spektor's "The Call" that's rather appropriate here: "All you can do is try to know who your friends are as you head off to the war." WHICH IS KIND OF IMPOSSIBLE SINCE, UH, EVERYONE KEEPS SWITCHING SIDES. SRSLY. WTH. AND IT IS, SOMEHOW, ALL YOUR FAULT, CERVELLO.
[If this were a video game--which, sometimes, it really kind of feels like one--Cervello would be like... like Van Grants from the Abyss. YOU LYING, MANIPULATING, TRAITOROUS SONOFA~~~!]
Which, if you know what's happening, means the next part IS MY FAVORITE PART OF THIS WHOLE THING. It was a WTH ILU SO MUCH RITE NOW moment originally, and it still kind of is. IRIE SHOUICHI, YOU ARE MY NEW BEST FRIEND. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SHOOTING CERVELLO. THAT. WAS. AMAZING. But! His line about "sleep" kind of worries/confuses me. I'm kind of hoping that he did just tranq them or something, because killing people in cold blood is NOT Shouichi's style. BUT I'm kind of hoping that he DID kill them, because then at least we know that two of those legion of... hahaha, of NO-GOOD TRAITORS (why yes, I DID just steal Tsuna's nickname. Bite me) would be out of action and no longer capable of destroying such amazing things as Vongola. [But the way Shouichi said it, I am thinking that, maybe, even if they're dead they're, um, not going to stay dead. Or something. Because, obv, ressurection and revival is completely normal and kind of to be expected. Obv.]
"We're not negotiating here." BUT YOU'RE THE ONES DOING ALL THE TALKING. And uh, in this situation? I'd call that a negotiation. Considering, of course, that Tsuna is spazzing like he is. :3 AND SPEAKING OF THAT. They give him three seconds to hand over the Vongola Sky Ring? It takes him that long--if not longer!--to get his mitten off his hand so that he could even TAKE THE RING OFF TO GIVE IT TO THEM. This IS Tsuna we're talking about.
And Gokudera. And Lal. You two. This entire ep I keep going "AHAHA, WTH IS WRONG WITH YOU TWO BUT IT'S SO TYPICAL OMILIFE" because they keep encouraging Tsuna to do very un-Tsuna things (like instead of handing over the Ring, to ignore the threat of the poisoned gas that would kill off everyone trapped (aka everyone besides Tsuna, Spanner, Irie and Cervello. Oh, and Reborn) and just... get them. Which kind of epically!goes against basic codes of chivalry and all that, since Cervello are all women, but ANYWAYS~
Ummmmm... and a question. When Cervello gets shot (YAY!) one of them drop the controller and it... falls. On the ground. Facedown. WHY can I somehow see one of the buttons being hit by accident? [Didn't, I think, but SO CLOSE~!] And it takes them so long to fall over. I can kind of understand why Kris hates most females now. Sort of. [Which is really odd, since I'm female, but I mean those in series like this! Like, uh, Manah from Drakengard and Drakengard2. FAIL LOGIC RIGHT THERE. SRSLY. THE AMOUNT OF FAIL KIND OF HURTS. Because, obv, if you are trying to spend your life repenting for what you did eighteen years ago, OBV THE THING TO DO IS DO THE EXACT SAME THING YOU'RE TRYING TO REPENT FOR. BECAUSE, OBV, CHANGING YOUR MOTIVATION CHANGES NOT ONLY PROCEDURE BUT ALSO CONCLUSION. OBV.]
[Another question. Where are the gunshot wounds?]
And yes, Irie. You are amazing. THAT DOES NOT MEAN IT IS A GOOD IDEA TO DROP A GUN ON THE FLOOR WHILE THE SAFETY IS OFF.
So. I get that this entire time everyone's been working under the assumption that Irie is Byakuran's Right Hand or something like that, so he saying that he's actually been secretly working for Vongola is more than just a leeeeettle bit of a shocker, BUT THINK OF THIS. He had the upper hand. There was no conceivable reason for him to switch sides (or pretend to do so). The only thing that would have been a reason would be for him to try and infiltrate the Vongola, but considering the circumstances.... Well, he had been in a position to easily not only kill off the Guardians, but also Tsuna and Spanner and, obv, they had an idea of where the Vongola base was, so killing off everyone in THERE wouldn't have been too hard. He was in possession of all the Vongola Rings excepting the Sky, AND if he had let them destroy the round white machine, it would have only hurt them! Reborn, thankfully, followed that logic, but everyone else...! [I get that it's surprising. Okay. Nice. NOW LET'S ATTEMPT TO THINK LOGICALLY FOR A SECOND--OWAIT, THIS IS VONGOLA, TO THEM THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS LOGIC. MY BAD.]
And Irie kicks the gun away and has this kicked puppy look on his face and is trying to explain things, and everyone's still, "O that's nice, now ABOUT THAT WHOLE ACTUALLY BEING ON OUR SIDE THING?!"
So. About the tube thing that mostly everyone is stuck in. Another WTH moment, if you please?
AND FOR SOME REASON, HIBARI IS ACTING SUSPICIOUS. Or maybe that's just his surprised face? I guess he did kind of come into this in the middle of the Deathmatch with Genkishi and HAS NO BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE (not that that's stopped him~!) and is all, "Wait, whut? Who's killing who now?" but the way his eyes narrow like they do makes me think that... well, nvm. Suspicious = surprised. Sums it up, I guess.
AND BYAKURAN = STALKER (of Irie) BUT WE ALREADY KIND OF KNEW THAT. MOVING ON.
"I'm so happy you destroyed my base and box weapon!" Um... I'd be rather pissed, personally. Oh well. [Mechanic's mentality: someone breaks it, I get to rebuild it better than before! Or something.]
[I like Spanner. He's just kinda in the background for a large part of this, going, "Ohhhh. Well, I guess I did choose the right side when I went with Vongola!" Or so says his facial expression. That or, "WTH, IS SHOUICHI CRAZY?". Both kinda work.]
Silly Irie. Using "our" makes it sound like you and Byakuran, since NO ONE ELSE THERE KNEW THAT IT WAS ACTUALLY TSUNA WHO ORIGINALLY PLANNED THIS. [Which is the most awkard statement I think I've ever typed, considering that Tsuna is right there and, uh, doesn't know. BUT THAT'S WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU START RANDOMLY TIME-SKIPPING. IT IS A BAD IDEA.]
AND SPEAKING OF THAT. [This is in part 2 or 3 or something, but whatever.] TSUNA. AGAIN, I'VE ALREADY SAID THIS. STILL. THE POINT REMAINS. THAT. WAS. A. HORRID. PLAN. (Arguably, ANY PLAN that involves walking up to a Mafia Boss and getting him to kill you is horrid. Even if it's in an attempt to circumvent ANOTHER PLAN that involves killing off potentially every human being on the planet. IT IS STILL NOT COOL. AND IRIE. TELLING THE POOR KID THAT IT WAS/WOULD BE HIS OWN PLAN TO DIE ISN'T VERY NICE. Actually, that's up there with Primo, Secondo, Terzo, Quarto, Cinqo, Sesto, Setto, Ottavo and Nono telling him that he has no other reason to live than to be Vongola. NOT. COOL. [Free will? What free will? HE HASN'T REALLY BEEN ALLOWED TO MAKE A MAJOR DECISION REGARDING HIS LIFE SINCE, UM, EVER.]
AND IRIE KNOWS G-SCRIPT. Apparently. Or, um, told Gokudera to write out the "instructions" in code so that no one else could read them? I dunno. BUT, FOR SOME REASON, I DO NOT REMEMBER THAT DETAIL BEING IN THE ORIGINAL. THANK YOU EXPLANATION.
[Comment: anyone else notice that Tsuna seems to get sliced below the eyes a lot? Really. I'm surprised he doesn't have a whole bunch of thin, white scars across his cheeks that look like whiskers or something, all things considered.]
SO. MELONE BASE = NOT A DUNGEON, BUT A TRAINING GROUND. WTH KIND OF TRAINING WAS THAT?! [Er, in video-game speak. Irie himself says that he lured them there to train them and get them to "level up", which is really just his geek!side showing, but THE POINT REMAINS.]
I think. It's an example. Of how powerful the Vongola is. That EVEN WHEN THEY'RE TECHNICALLY LOSING, THEY STILL ASSUME PEOPLE ARE DOING THINGS TO AVOID PISSING THEM OFF. ("You're just doing this to save yourself!" Ummm... he's the one with the gun and the controller for the poison gas. SAVE HIMSELF FROM WHAT?)
[Comment: Gokudera's belt without all the component pieces for the Sistema C.A.I. attached to it? Looks kinda weird. Cool, but, uh... weird. ACK. WHERE IS URI?!]
Okay. Um. Trial and Succession's answer was "To Protect", right? SO THEY BUILD THIS PLAN OFF OF THAT. BECAUSE, OBV, KIDNAPPING INNOCENTS AND DRAGGING THEM INTO THIS WILL ONLY FUEL THE DESIRE TO PROTECT THEM, which makes sense, BUT IS COMPLETELY OOC AND MAKES ME WORRIED ABOUT THE EXACT STATE OF AFFAIRS RE:TYL. If it could force even DECIMO into making that kind of decision...! [Then again, the state of affairs forced Decimo to hatch a plan that revolves around him being shot to death. I REST MY CASE.]
AND. ANDANDAND. Why didn't he punch him~? THERE ARE VERY FEW THINGS THAT MAKE TSUNA AS PISSED OFF AS PEOPLE BEING NEEDLESS DRAGGED INTO THINGS AND HURT, BUUUUUT NVM I CAN KIND OF UNDERSTAND SINCE HE'S JUST HAD SO MUCH DUMPED ON HIM. [Next time? PUNCH IRIE. Or, you know, Gokudera and Hibari will apparently do it for you.] [Ah, but he's choking him instead. Okay. I'm appeased.]
I'M BACK TO THE THING ABOUT THIS PLAN. THIS PLAN... WELL, ALL THESE SO-CALLED PLANS. ARE NOT REALLY PLANS. I think. They're kind of more "let's see how many people we can kill while trying to keep people from getting killed!" plans WHICH MAKE NO SENSE. ...but enough about that. For now.
EVERYONE'S FACES. When Irie says that Tsuna was one of the plotters. Planners. Whatever. "WTH" DOES NOT DESCRIBE IT. But I think that's because they all realized that meant that, effectively, Tsuna planned his own death before Tsuna himself did, WHICH MAKES ME DECIDE THIS IS STILL THE MOST AWKWARD THING TO WRITE. TYPE. SAME DIFF. AND SEE? SEE? TIME SKIPPING IS NOT HEALTHY whether it be for the people actually skipping OR THOSE WHO LOOK THROUGH IT AFTER. [Tense? What tense? I'M THINKING THE ONLY WAY TO TELL WHAT IS THE "PRESENT" FOR THE VONGOLA IS LOOKING AT THEIR BIRTHDAYS. GAH~~~~~~]
[Of course, Hibari's expression when he hears that he was the third plotter/planner/whatever is rather entertaining, but I've already covered his facial expressions--or what counts as such--and so I stop here.]
"That's why Hibari was able to predict our ambush." O, really? I thought he was psychic. BECAUSE, APPARENTLY, GOKUDERA IS, SO WTH NOT, AMIRITE?
[Speaking of that, GOKUDERA. YOU. YOUYOUYOU. PLEASE DON'T BE EMO. YOU WEREN'T LET IN ON THIS BECAUSE YOU OBV WOULD NOT HAVE LET IT HAPPEN. Considering you kind of started beating up pretty much everyone you could get your hands on when you found out~!]
[And the interplay. Between the Cloud and Storm. They both kind of act like Uri--like those cats who REALLY DO ACT LIKE THEY'RE ROYALTY I MEAN--which is ever so awkward considering they've saved each other's lives how many times now? And then, of course, tried to kill each other, but that's kind of to be expected.]
And at least Irie makes a point of saying that it wasn't that Decimo was all, "Ye, great idea! Let's do it!" and admits that he was "very uneasy" about the whole thing. (Apparently, though, he was uneasy about getting innocents involved. Not so much about dying. Interesting, that.)
AND. That mock-flashback or whatever the hell it was? D'AW, TSUNA'S SO UPSET HE CAN'T EVEN SPEAK. Which annoys me, because all we see is his hand, really, AND BOOOOO. (But Shouichi actually looks his age there, and Hibari's all "I is powerful, bwahaha. But I will agree to this plan, too. I guess. Sort of. Smirk." Which, you know, is normal. Whatev.)
So. Just realized. They were blaming Irie and/or Byakuran the entire time for being dragged into this? Kinda hating on them and whatnot? AND IT WAS ACTUALLY TSUNA THAT BROUGHT EVERYONE INTO THIS. NOT IRIE. NOT BYAKURAN. TSUNA. (ACK. Can you imagine if instead of "To Protect" it had been what Reborn had chastised him about [the whole training and returning and whatnot]? Tsuna would probably be useless from then on if it was that. Aaaaaaah, so lucky. Really, really lucky.) Of course, everyone defends him (which is sweet), especially Gokudera and Lal and Shouichi just SPAZZES. He's almost as entertaining to watch spazzing as Tsuna!
So the Hyper Intuition is kicking back in again (TOOK LONG ENOUGH), and besides all that Reborn's COMPLETELY accepting, but that's probably because he's A) one of the Arcobaleno, and B) THE ONLY ONE WHO IS REMOTELY SANE. Which is really kind of saying something, all things considered. He's sadistic, but sane. [I would have said that Tsuna at least is still sane, but then there's that whole thing with Nuts and M-245 that kind of makes me doubt that. Ish. Or, you know, this plan. The plan itself seems to lend itself to making me believe he's not gaining a bit of a Vongolan mentality.]
Tres-ni-sette reference! MAKES ME HAPPY. And considering what everyone's been saying, I will here argue that each piece of Tres-ni-sette is actually an Ampliment (re:Geomancy), hence why getting ahold of all twenty-one of them is generally a BAD IDEA. Weeeeeell, a bad idea if you're Byakuran and would be more than willing to use them to cause portions of the world to destroy themselves and kill off everyone in that area, but, you know. Whatever. [Because the Storm for the Mare Rings? Remember? CAUSED A VOLCANO TO ERUPT AND WIPE OUT HIS OWN HOMETOWN. And that was because he was a bit twitchy. ALL TWENTY-ONE? AT THE SAME TIME? UH, NO.]
I like how Irie's all "time skipping is inevitable. Or, well, Byakuran using time skipping to kidnap you and steal the Vongola Rings is inevitable. So sorry." AND they keep saying that whatever power Byakuran has (probably from his own piece of Tres-ni-sette) is still weak and growing stronger, so THIS IS THE ONLY TIME HE CAN BE KILLED. [Personally, I still say Byakuran's a necromancer. And that Gokudera should also take up the art of necromancy, just ALL THINGS CONSIDERED.] Owait. "Defeating Byakuran now is the only way to seal his power." Since defeat = kill (generally), then... does that mean whatever he can do is non-Tres-ni-sette related? Or somehow transferable? Or something? DETAILS, PLEASE.
AND THERE WAS GOING TO BE, BUT OYEAH. VARIA. Whyyyyyy did he have to remember Varia right then?! ...AND HOW. WHAT KIND OF SPAZZY BRAIN FUNCTIONS CONNECTS BYAKURAN'S POWER WITH VONGOLA'S ITALIAN OFFENSIVE?
And again. Vongola's inherent superiority. The moment that it's revealed Irie gets stomache aches when he's nervous or stressed, they're all, "Oh. Wow, that's pathetic," and completely looking down on him. Or, uh, Gokudera and Lal do, anyways. ...anyone else amused by how similar most of their reactions are? [Anyone else have a really weird mental image of Gokudera as the head commander of COMSUBIN and Lal as a professional assassin? OWAIT. LAL KIND OF ALREADY IS. NVM.]
"Shouichi's amazing, if only because he doesn't look all that impressive." "...Spanner, that's not a compliment." SPANNER. ILU. SO HARD.
QUESTION. IF SHOUICHI WAS BEING MONITORED AND STALKED BY BYAKURAN FOR THE LAST LITTLE WHILE, HOW THE HELL WOULD HE HAVE KNOWN ABOUT THE WORLD-WIDE VONGOLAN OFFENSIVE? INFORMATION LEAK, GET.
AND NOW. PRESENTING. VARIA.
[Levi's mustache. That... I'm pretty sure it's actually a senitent creature. HEY. MAYBE IT'S ANOTHER SALAMANDER OR BOX WEAPON. BECAUSE... WOW. JUST... WOW.]
The Millefiore are all, "uh, whut? Didn't we wipe out pretty much the entire Vongola already, and their Unified Alliance?" and Squalo's all, "ALLY THIS." And it's Squalo so, um, doubt those White Spell Millefiore guys are still alive. OW. BUT I DO LIKE THE ONE WITH THE HATCHET COVERED IN RAIN FLAMES. IF ONLY BECAUSE HE'S USING AN AXE. [Gamma still wins with his primary weapon being a BILLARDS CUE. And, of course, Sawada Iemitsu with his pick axe. A SOLID GOLD PICK AXE. And the Fourth/Quarto and his FORK. BEST WEAPON EVER. OR, NO, SECOND BEST. BEST EVER WOULD HAVE TO BE A SPORK, BUT NO ONE'S USED ONE YET. LE SIGH.]
And Bel. Apparently has invisible knives. Or something. AND WTH, LUSSURIA HAS A RED MOHAWK TO GO WITH HIS GREEN BANG FRINGE AND YELLOW STUBBLE EVERYWHERE ELSE? WTH KIND OF FAIL FASHION SENSE IS THAT?!
AND. OR. WHATEVER. Levi. takes out White Spell (and the door). White Spell stumbles outside the door. Decides that, apparently, being on the other side of the threshold, even if in plain sight, means that they are safe and they promptly collapse. Because, of COURSE as long as you're not in the same room, you're safe! [And Levi's flag. Such a suck-up. BUT VARIA'S FLAG IS VERY PRETTY, Y/Y?]
Aaaaand one more comment to finish things off: Why is it that the Varia's new uniforms have those stripes of colour? Not that I'm complaining (it's rather fashionable), BUT THE COLOUR IS SKIN-TONED AND IT'S A BIT AWKWARD IF YOU DON'T REALIZE THAT IT'S STILL FABRIC.
AND FRAN. O FRAN, ILU. I think I've already been over why, exactly, Fran is so amazing, but IT'S ALMOST WORTH IT GOING THROUGH IT AGAIN. [Fran's whole presonality and reasons for going Vongola-Varia, and, aaaaaand...! Love him. So much. It kind of kills me. IF ONLY BECAUSE OF THE GIANT FROG HAT THEY MAKE HIM WEAR. :3]