He regards other people as a threat with an inherent advantage over him, but once someone starts doling out the compliments, he’s like butter in their hands. He ostensibly hates Yamamoto, but when Yamamoto compliments him on his intelligence, or even invites him to his house as a peer, Gokudera instantly buckles.
The more competent someone is, the bigger the threat Gokudera considers them, and the more he feels the need to peacock how much of a Badass Mafia Right Hand he is. It’s all he thinks about. Constant rejection & devaluation combined with his age creates a noxious cocktail of weird unnecessary aggression and prideful exhibitioning.
Gokudera bows to Tsuna because he’s the boss he’s always wanted who Sees His Potential, and Reborn because he’s friends with many powerful people and has the influence to tell everyone that no, he’s actually totally worth it, you guys.
Overall, he’s just extremely caught up in the opinions of others and bases his entire worth as a person on it, but he often doesn’t like what he sees, so he tries to force himself to be the Ultimate Underling (and in his eyes, an ‘Ultimate Underling’ is a violent criminal who follows his boss’ every word), which eventually comes to a head when Yamamoto gives him the world’s most agonizing verbal lashing for doing it.
Mukuro: You know mafioso can be real aggressive, so it’s important to take all the necessary precautions when approaching.
Mukuro: [blows air horn as he enters a meeting] GET FUCKED
My life has become a never ending game of ‘illegal or just frowned upon?’
tsuna is in Hero Class C and does not want to be a hero but he feels this incredibly heroic urge that draws him like magnet into the trade – that “i moved without thinking” compulsion that he realizes he can’t shake off, so heroism is all he can do, and if he can’t get a license, he thinks he might become a vigilante. His teacher is a vigilante and he’s a dick so he’s really not down with that in the slightest.
todoroki judges tsuna’s firepower as a perfect foil for his ice and goes “oh yes, this kid who is screaming and obviously woefully inadequate at hero work will be my Rival” except doesn’t tell tsuna this because he’s emotionally repressed. he doesn’t even confront him about it because there’s nothing to confront he just chose tsuna out of pure practicality
and todoroki, being a presumptuous kid, spends so much time and energy plotting around tsuna’s fire shit as a measure of self-worth and then tsuna, backed in a corner when they’re matched, for the first time uses ice. and todoroki is like hey? i wrote fanfic in my head abt how this is gonna go why are you me? im me?
and tsuna says yeah i kinda promised not to roll this one out (because it’s insanely deadly) but if i can’t use my ice even when facing you, who could crush me like an insect, and in fact already do simply by breathing the same air, then when CAN i use it. i cannot live in fear of my own ability when you are right in front of me, being, to be quite honest, So Fucking Scary
tsuna doesn’t hardcore this he just blushes and flusters and flails the entire time like he’s so confused and disoriented and he’s chewing himself out the entire time and todoroki says “understandable” and sets himself on fire and tsuna says “no NO NO THAT ISN’T WHAT I MEANT FUCK” and then loses the match
todoroki treats him like a friend after that and while that’s extremely intimidating tsuna’s like…haha todoroki-kun hey…can you….help me with the………………….maths
Tsuna: tendency to de-escalate as much as possible, to the point he joins in on his own bullying, easily drawn in by people doing their best (because he thinks he can’t do something like that, and he respects them for it)
Yamamoto: his exceptional observational skills, passive-aggressiveness
Gokudera: business-like attitude IRT the mafia – he often gets in fights with people who don’t follow the social code he’s used to, especially Yamamoto and Ryouhei
Ryouhei: compulsive need to care for others, gets pissed off really easily (remember the sports festival……)
Lambo (10YL): he is easily the most hedonistic character in the entire series. his fight with rauji boiled down to “uhhhhh i just wanna have a good time”. he outranks reborn in Treating Himself
Hibari: Talks a lot. The more comfortable he is in a situation the more he talks. Hates cowardice (codeword herbivores), not…whatever the hell people think gets him mad? It’s unclear? Doesn’t really seem capable of thinking around a problem, every obstacle he’s ever been given was answered with “hit it until it stops bothering me”
Chrome: chrome
bonus round –
Mukuro: Not like…a tease, or a sadistic character? I don’t know where this came from? If he’s interested in someone he insults them and runs away. Mukuro is terrified of emotional investment. Chrome saying that Mukuro loves Tsuna is just as funny as Hibari saying it’s disrespectful to think that Yamamoto can’t perform, for the exact same reasons. Mukuro kicked Chrome out because she couldn’t join the “staying in a decaying amusement park instead of trying to talk to the people you’re fond of like a normal fucking person” club. If Mukuro was forced to be in the same room with Tsuna he’d make Tsuna hate him with all of his effort and then spend 4 days holed up in his room eating cheese puffs and hating himself. I don’t know where “seductive power play” mukuro came from but its wrong. Rokudou Mukuro responded to finding a person he can trust by killing his entire family and enslaving him. Please
Dino: Bigtime sympathy, tends to be a bit of a force of nature when it comes to making connections with people, and is skilled at getting people on his side – his role as a teacher in the final arc was apt. Also, Dino is basically the person Tsuna doesn’t want to be as the 10th? Dino is a good person and friendly but he’s clearly already bought into the mafia and its decisions. He’s worked to make a better life for his own but that doesn’t change how comfortable he is with the mafia’s problems.
Reborn: Suicidal depression, unparalleled skill at hiding it. Is an old man.
Byakuran considers Tsuna a bit of an in-joke, but isn’t especially occupied with him.
Yuni, during her Great Sky Sacrifice, used her abilities to locate the Final Byakuran – the version of Byakuran that succeeded in his plans (the universe they’re in is simply the one where breaking the Mare Ring’s power was simply a realistic objective, thanks to Shouichi’s long game), tell him why ruling the universe gave him depression, and welcomed him as someone who supported and fulfilled him.
The effect of the Mare Rings broke, so every timeline in which Byakuran retained future reflections has him fixated on Yuni, who presented herself as someone to base his existence and emotional fulfilment on. As long as Yuni is a good person, Byakuran is one too, if on the chaotic side of things.
Any universe where Byakuran recalls Sawada Tsunayoshi and decides to focus on Sawada Tsunayoshi while showing no interest in Yuni is brazenly OOC.
(Also, it’s been a while since I read KHR too, but I think Byakuran’s impression of Tsuna after the fight is “haha uh-oh” because Tsuna recovered from a snapped neck and killed him with fire, making him weirdly threatening.)
Federico shows up twice in the entirety of the manga, even in dialogue – once when he’s referred to as the favourite child (pictured), and again when Tsuna is being told that Xanxus was the favourite child in terms of who should lead.
If Xanxus was the Vongola fav that everyone wanted to follow, that means Federico was a more personal favourite. He was theson Timoteo loved the most.
I wonder how much Federico’s death influenced how Timoteo considered Iemitsu’s relationship with Tsuna and Tsuna’s capacity to take over. One kid had to be banished to Ice Jail, three of his kids died, and the one he loved the most was the last to go. It had to be pretty punishing.
Cheloneuniverse 