#FUCK THE SQUID CLAN AND THE ASSOCIATION

[lilover131]

Chapter 70 Analysis

I’ll be frank right now. This analysis was hard to write. It’s hard to write not just because of how absolutely wrong all my theories were (lord, were they wrrrrrrrrrrrrooonnng), but because this chapter made me unexpectedly very emotional. I’m just speechless and cannot believe that CLAMP got me again like this. I just find it absolutely amazing how Ohkawa’s writing can steer you in a direction and make you think you know what is going to happen, and every single time, she turns you on your head. Fucking incredible. I honestly don’t know how she manages to do it. Just…everything clicks now and I see the puzzle in front of me showing its picture, and it’s beautiful and also so so heartbreaking at the same time.

 I’m not going to post a gif or image of the month this time, simply because I don’t feel like there is one that really is suitable.

Also, I apologize in advance for the crappy quality images in red of the screenshots I took. The English chapter has yet to come out in good quality and is currently only available on Youtube, so I had to make do with the red colored pages for now. 

 With that said, I’ll get started on my thoughts.

The color page this month is so stunningly gorgeous and it fits the theme of this chapter so well. It is beautiful and warm but also has a melancholy feeling that can’t be shaken. Sakura has a face that looks as if there is something missing, and by the end of this chapter, we know why.

 Admittedly, when the chapter first started, I was very confused. It seemed to jump straight to Kaito using the EXCHANGE card without time for anyone to stop it, thus making my theory that Syaoran would fight to keep it from happening completely wrong. Lol. But I’m not upset about this. Not seeing a Syaoran sacrifice made me relieved, at least for the moment…(I’m still not ruling that shit out for the future. Haha)

 But I wondered what it meant to see Sakura now as the Red Queen and Akiho as Alice. Did this mean Kaito had switched their lives after all? It certainly seemed to be the way things were going, and I was worried that he had been successful and wondered what the repercussions of this would be. It’s been well described in other CLAMP series (-cough- Tsubasa -cough-) that changing the fate’s design like this ultimately creates huge ripples and damages in the world around it. There is a reason it is considered forbidden magic after all, because of course if one could simply undo things or swap lives with people, why wouldn’t it happen all the time?

 The first thing noticed though in particular was that it wasn’t just Sakura and Akiho that seemed to swap in roles. The very outfits themselves were changed. Some of you might recognize them as the first versions of the outfits that Tomoyo had made and decided to start over on as they did not feel right to her. It seems now that this is because these outfits were originally designed for them to be in swapped roles, so Tomoyo’s intuition here seems to reign supreme again but also makes me wonder for the millionth time how she doesn’t have magic (lol). Another difference seems to be that Syaoran has taken on the role of cat in the originally intended method of just voicing rather than acting on stage. Initially, this also worried me as the reason he had done the role on stage physically was to be by Sakura’s side in case something happened, so by seeing him not do this, it made me curious as to whether his relationship with Sakura was still the same.

Moreover, we must keep in mind that the title of the story had also changed from what was originally written. Before, the story of the play was called “The Two Alices” (which now I realize is super sneaky Ohkawa!) before Naoko made a last minute change and titled the play “Alice in Clockland”. Even the story itself seems to have deviated from what we saw before in the previous chapters. Alice Akiho mentions that her family had a fourth chair at the table always open, but she never understood why. And Red Queen Sakura mentions how she doesn’t remember how she became Queen and only ever remembered being in Clockland. The story soon seems to develop to reveal that the Red Queen is actually Alice’s twin sister who was lost long ago. It seems to also have a happy ending with the Red Queen returning home to her family.

 Back on the rooftop of the school, Kaito and Momo are speaking. She asks him how he feels now that he has gotten what he wanted, which is still unclear to us at this point in the chapter.  He claims to be relieved that Sakura finally created the card he needed before Momo goes on to explain to us readers (bless her) on what has occurred. And boy, is it a doozy.

 The first thing was Sakura’s wish, which was simply to switch roles with Akiho and be the Red Queen instead. That seems fairly harmless in nature, but the second wish was for the artifact inside of Akiho to be exchanged to Kaito for his broken pocket watch. Naturally, taking on the artifact is absolutely huge because it was this very thing that the Squid Clan and the Association wanted to keep to themselves desperately. It was their grasp at power, which was all they cared about in this world. Additionally, Kaito had explained before that this artifact had already absorbed so much magic that if it took on anymore that it would crush Akiho’s soul, so what are the implications of that now in Kaito’s body, which undoubtedly already has a ridiculous amount of magic in it? We know already that he has shown no care for his own well being, so this seems to be more dire a situation than he was in before.

 Akiho now has Kaito’s broken watch, but she still has no magic in her body, so she could not use it even if she wants to, so this will not impact Akiho in any way. She seems to be completely free of the binds that tied her to her awful family who wished only to use her as a tool and did not acknowledge her as a person.

 But Kaito took it one step further…

 The scene changes to the end of the play where the girls are being applauded for their performance. Naoko tells them that she knew they were perfect for the role of Alice and Red Queen. And I’ll tell you right now that when I was initially reading this chapter, it was in French (because the English chapter wasn’t quite out yet), and I had to use Google Translate. Upon translating the next speech bubble, I found myself absolutely fucking speechless and wondering if I had typed something in wrong or if Google messed up the translation.

 Not only did Kaito take the artifact away from Akiho, but he also rewrote the past so that Akiho was born as Sakura’s twin sister. I think I can safely say that a majority of us had thought that Kaito was intending to swap Akiho and Sakura’s lives so that Akiho could have a happy life and Sakura would take on the misery Akiho endured. And I feel terrible now thinking he would actually do something so cruel, seeing as he honestly hasn’t really done anything to deserve that opinion. When you think about it, he never actually harmed anyone at any time, and even the trouble he caused was still much less dangerous than even what Eriol put them through (think about it, Eriol nearly had Syaoran cut Sakura in half when he controlled him with threads!). And additionally, most of the trouble was actually caused by Sakura herself with her out of control magic.

 Was Kaito shady? Absolutely. Was he secretive and somewhat manipulative? Of course. But does that inherently make him a bad person? After this, I just can’t see it. What I’ve always enjoyed about Kaito particularly is that he always keeps you guessing. You never know exactly who’s side he’s actually on, and I’ve rather enjoyed learning more about him because of that. But one thing that always remained unfettered was that he cared about Akiho. In fact, Akiho seemed to be the only thing he ever showed any care towards (other than maybe her mother, but we still don’t know exactly how that story ended, and I’m sure we will learn more soon).

 And now that we know what his intentions were, I cannot help but see the clues written all over the wall absolutely EVERYWHERE. CLAMP has literally been dropping hints for years, and I can’t help but be angry for missing it all! Granted, that was the point, but fuck I can’t help but be impressed by the writing just for that alone. Every single mention of how similar Sakura and Akiho were, the mention of them ‘synchronizing’, even Akiho’s fucking name! I have always had a feeling that Akiho’s name wasn’t always Akiho because it felt odd that she had a Japanese name despite being born to English parents in England, but now I can’t help but think that Kaito had her change her name so she could fit neatly into her new life. And still in my head I cannot forget that one scene in the anime (episode 10) with the SNOOZE card where he came to pick up Akiho, and Sakura and Akiho said something with the same reaction at the same time, and Kaito just laughed. I always wondered why he laughed like that, and now it makes complete sense. He was laughing because he had always intended to make Akiho Sakura’s twin sister, and it was funny to him because the two of them were already acting like twins.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlT4JhTNgVg&ab_channel=AnimeCat

Not to mention the many many scenes of Kaito seemingly investigating all aspects of Sakura’s life, like her father, Touya, the house she lived in, her mother, Syaoran, etc. He did all of this because he wanted to make sure Akiho would have a good life with Sakura’s family, and that she would be surrounded by those that would protect her. And like…I know many of us noticed this and theorized he was doing this because he wanted to swap Akiho with Sakura, but I feel awful that I never considered them being twins as an option and assumed the worst. What he proved here by making them twins was that he wanted to save Akiho, give her a better life, but without taking away from others in the process.

 But there is one major problem with this wish… or rather two.

 Momo looks to Kaito and tells him that even with his magic, he cannot contain the power of the artifact. It is at this very moment that the pages of the book artifact appear beneath his feet, and some of his memories begin to show in the pages. It was when he was younger and had volunteered to go with Akiho on her journey to absorb more magic. Both the Clan and Association did not like this idea and showed distrust towards him, worried that he’d try to use the artifact for himself. But they decided to make a ‘compromise’ (assholes) by stating that he could take Akiho on her journey if he accepted the ‘Seal of D’. This seal is actually a curse that is intended to keep him in check and will activate if he tampers with the artifact in any way.

 Kaito seems to agree to this without hesitation and is warned that he can never break this seal, and if he does anything to ‘the artifact’ (god I wish they would talk about Akiho like the human being she is), he “can never return”. Do those words sound familiar? CUZ’ THEY FUCKIN’ DO TO ME.

 It turns out that the voice we have seen and heard in the manga and anime several times saying “You can never return” was directed at Kaito. The strange disembodied voice in Sakura and Akiho’s dreams was that of one of the Clan/Association members telling Kaito he could never go back if he broke this vow. And this also explains why Kaito had such a grim reaction when Akiho brought up those words before from her dream. It’s because he knew exactly what those words meant, but he still decided to go through with this anyways. From the very beginning, he knew he was going to sacrifice himself, and although we had our theories about this for quite some time, it is absolutely confirmed now.

A magical seal appears over his chest, almost undoubtedly at this point the ‘Seal of D’, and in my initial read, I again was using Google Translate on the French pages before I saw this text, and it fucking broke me.

I started crying almost instantly. To know that he was a boy that grew up caring for nothing, wanting nothing, liking nothing…to say that the very spell that will undo him is the first spell he ever wanted to use. It’s fucking heartbreaking, and for the first time other than when he laughed, I could see a smile on his face that I knew was 100% genuine in every way. He’s not hiding anymore. It is the smile of someone who feels he has just fulfilled his purpose in life and is ready for the end.

 Momo emulates me and most of the fandom by shouting and crying that he’s an idiot before he completely vanishes within the pages of the book. Sakura halts briefly, having felt something, but appears to brush it off, and lord I wish she wouldn’t have. The rooftop is now empty with neither Kaito or Momo, and the chapter ends there (because of course it does).

 -Wipes tears and blows nose-

 Okay, so this chapter messed me up emotionally, but I honestly loved it. It’s so beautiful and devastating at the same time, but I think I finally have an idea of where the story will go from here. Sakura still should have her magic and she has already developed the ability to remember things despite rewinding of time etc. But I think RECORD will also play a part. The card has been extremely useful in showing things that didn’t even happen in the real world, such as her dreams, but it has also been shown in the anime to show records of past events that happened prior to Sakura even being born and never experienced. I also think the watch will play a part. We know now that Akiho has a broken pocket watch and will likely not be able to remember where it came from but have melancholy feelings when looking at it or some sort of heart ache. I think this watch will assist in bringing Akiho and Kaito back together.

 The ‘Seal of D’ also appears to have the same kind of appearance as the dragon from Sakura’s dreams, so I believe that the curse the Association and Clan put on him will have turned him into this dragon, and that he is currently roaming the world of the book. Because Sakura’s dreams showed the dragon in Tomoeda, I think that he will somehow break through the book in this form at some point, but there is still definitely the question about the Cloaked Figure, and it is still debatable who that will end up being. We know that part is still to come as Sakura has yet to wear the ‘sleeve’ she mentioned before that she would have on when she finally meets the Cloaked Figure for real. 

 God, just when you thought the climax was finally here, it seems we haven’t even reached the tip of the iceberg. This is most definitely why CLAMP needed another full volume to finish it, and I’m all for it.

  I am so fascinated to see the next chapter and what this new timeline is like. Does Akiho know about Kero and Suppi etc.? What has gone on exactly in regards to the Clear Cards? And what about Syaoran? Does he still have the Sakura cards? What are the actual ramifications of this massive timeline change? And Lillie? What happened to her if Akiho was never born her child, and how did this affect Nadeshiko?

 SO MANY QUESTIONS!!

 But we’ll get answers here real soon, and I look forward to talking about them all with you! See you next month!

[marrowcrunch]

What are your top 3 favorite vtm clans (or bloodlines)?

Bonus: which clan do you think you'd fit in with? :3c

Oh boy, this is going to be long lol

Favorite: Tzimisce 

Gosh, what a surprise :O

But yeah. I mean, firstly, the cool factor is undeniable. It's always such a joy designing Tzimisce characters because even toeing the strictest borderlines of canon they're allowed to get real weird with it in a way that most other clans aren't. I don't mean this as hate at all so I hope it doesn't come across like that, all clans are beautiful <3 but if you're playing Ventrue, Brujah, Tremere etc to some degree you'll always just be playing as Some Guy. With a Tzim it’s like…Do you want some sick-ass bone blades on your arms? No problem! Another pair of arms to put more bone blades on? Sounds good! Do you want to be bioluminescent like a squid? Great! Go crazy! 

Second: Full disclosure, I am the “My fursona is my TWOO SELF” flavor of furry. And the idea of having near total freedom of form— to be able to give myself a tail, claws, fangs, horns, [long censor beep], whatever I want, to abandon my human shape, fills me with Yearning. 

In the complete opposite direction, I also find personal meaning in the clan as someone who suffers from chronic pain. Shamelessly copy-pasting a reply to another post: 

The flavoring of Vicissitude as a creeping infection, as the actual body of the Eldest spread from generation to generation, able to rise up and consume its bearers at any moment, resonates with me very deeply as someone whose pain is caused by congenital tissue defects and which will inevitably get worse over time.

The idea that…there’s something horrible lurking inside your body. It can’t be cured. It can’t be removed. It is part of the very fabric of your being. And it is going to eat you alive, it is going to eat and eat until there’s nothing left. That no matter how you struggle, eventually it’s going to win. But you struggle anyways, because what the hell else is there to do?

The clan also has its revenant families, who are all collectively my most Specialist Little Guy in the world. I am a huge sucker for ye old trope of Special Family Bloodline Technique, and they scratch that itch for me in a really fun and interesting way. 

Second favorite: Giovanni. I actually don't have any deep reasons for this one, I just think that “fucked up necromancer vampire crime family” is such a fun concept lol. I like organized crime stories. It's also another one for the “bloodline technique” category— in v20, they even have their own associated revenant family, the Rossellinis! 

Third favorite: Salubri. The vibe I get is that they’re deeply underappreciated because people feel like their designation in both fluff and crunch as “the nice ones” means that they’re boring and clash with Masquerade’s overall tone. But I STRONGLY disagree— I think that's exactly what gives them so much potential for the sort of personal, existential horror that is supposed to be at the heart of Masquerade. I actually want to write a much longer post sometime that really gets into why, but part of it is this— being a magical pacifist unicorn prancing in a sunny flower field isn't “horrifying,” but being a magical pacifist unicorn in a dark forest where the only other animals are wolves that want to eat your face sure is. I also think the contrast between mainline (healer) Salubri and Salubri antitribu is a really rich thematic vein— again, I want to write more on this later. 

Bloodline lightning round:

Ahrimanes: Cat-themed woman power. I like the concept of Gangrel in tune with the spiritual elements of nature. Spirits in World of Darkness are fun because they can be anything. 

Ventrue antitribu: Knights in modern settings are cool.

However, if the question was “Which clan are you most like?” instead of “What's your favorite”, the answer is far and away Toreador. I love making art, and while I mostly just write now because my body has kind of fallen apart, I used to dabble in a bunch of different mediums and loved them all. That and I already do the “oh that flower/painting/ random pattern of light on the wall is really pretty *zones out and stares at it*” thing in real life lol so that would just be business as usual. If I couldn't be a Meat Criminal this is actually the clan I'd choose to be embraced into. 

Thanks for giving me a chance to talk :)

[meimi-haneoka]

Freaking out about Chapter 41 of Clear Card

Okay. Okay CLAMP. I see you have probably taken seriously my and @chibiyuuto​‘s theory of Clear Card ending at chapter 50, and decided to start shaking things a little bit.

BUT HOLY SHIT.

It’s always like this, with CLAMP. All or nothing, flatline or loosing your shit over the plot.

And so, let’s delve into this can of worms that is Chapter 41. XD

Nadeshiko tries to mumtalk to Kaito

You can recognize a mum when she can’t help but meddle into a youngster’s life because she can clearly see that he’s going to fuck his life over (and not only his). I should know, right?  So we find out that Kaito knew Elizabeth “Lizzie” Reed , err, Akiho’s mom when he was little. Of course. The Reed Squid Clan has always been very close with the Magic Association of assholes , and so they often “bumped” into eachother, we can see a flashback inside the Association premises, and one in the garden of that location (it’s so creepy that the inside is so gloomy and the outside is so pretty full of flowers etc). Apparently Akiho’s mom tried to knock some sense into him, failing miserably. To this day, Kaito doesn’t understand what love is and how it works, what’s so special about it. I mean. If you take into consideration how this child was raised, it’s only natural. BUT. Not understanding what it is doesn’t mean he’s not feeling it. 

In these pages we also finally find out what Akiho’s mom looks like. And she’s beautiful as I imagined her. And the spitting image of her daughter, too. No, I’m not hearing you, don’t even start with that clone nonsense because THIS IS NOT IT, OK? (totally trying to convince myself)

Look at Kaito’s face while Akiho’s mom tells him about love. Dear god, could this kid be any more arrogant than this?

Anyway! Nadeshiko tries to make him understand that the reason why he can see her is because he’s about to die, but he’s like “I KNOW AND I DON’T GIVE A FUCK, except I do”. Because tell me how else should I interpret this smile masterfully portrayed by Mokona-sensei:

This is the forced smile of a man who KNOWS that he’s about to die and KNOWS he’s not entirely happy with it. But he also doesn’t care because he has a mission that he wants to complete successfully, and THAT would give a meaning to his life. He doesn’t even remotely imagine that his death would ruin the life of the person he’s trying to save. Because she’s in love with him, and he doesn’t get what love is. COOL, uh? Thanks CLAMP I hate it.

Syaoran is angry and not afraid to show it

But as Kaito is about to ignore Nadeshiko and use his powers to start the mess he was about to start last chapter, here it comes prince charming!!! And he’s damn pissed too.

Kaito definitely, definitely knew this day would come. He knows all the people gravitating around Sakura would protect her if they smelled shady stuff around her, and he’s got many info on Syaoran, too. Basically everything, I’d say, so he also knows what personality he has got. I mean, he basically asked for this when he put that silencing spell on Syaoran. He thought he wouldn’t go after him? Not in a million years.

Syaoran is pissed to no end, and the more Kaito talks, the more he wants to kill him (I mean, if raising his sword at him and his murderous stare are any sign of that). Kaito says “There’s no way you’re going to let me go like this, uh?”, almost like he didn’t want to fight against him, but knows that Syaoran wants war here. And so... They finally engage in a fight, and we have the demonstration that Syaoran really became so much stronger in such a short period of time. He worked like a dog to strengthen his magical powers, learning new skills, and here he’s even able to break through Kaito’s magic with his Raitei Shorai, almost frying Kaito and the whole tree. Kaito cannot help but recognize that. However, when Syaoran uses “Shield” to protect himself from Kaito’s attack, Kaito does something that makes Syaoran lose definitively his shit, and the fandom’s too:

After pointing out what a toll it took from him to transfer the property of the Sakura Cards to him, he says “Did you do that, too, for Sakura-san’s sake?”. The official English translation is way more blunt and automatically gives a provocative interpretation to what Kaito says, implying that Syaoran took the cards from Sakura for himself, but the original is more vague and we cannot really understand if Kaito is being the ultimate jackass or he just, really, absolutely doesn’t get all this effort for the person you love. 

They start to fight again, when...

“Eh?” (note, not “hoe?”, there’s nothing to joke about, here) “Syaoran-kun...? Kaito-san....?”

Here she is. Our princess. Our goddess. The big absentee of the chapter. FINALLY OVERCOMING KAITO’S MAGIC (he stopped time, earlier on). I knew this day would come. CLAMP made sure we knew it would, because she’s showed the signs before.

And so here we are, ladies and gentlemen, Sakura is now immune to time shenanigans (this also means that her powers increased again, yikes), and Kaito is fucked. Or is he?

We’ll find out in Chapter 42, out on March 1st for its digital release (February 29th for those living in the west)!!

Just, let me tell you that things became extremely interesting and I cannot, really cannot wait for chapter 42 and see how Sakura will react to all of this.

And, if her emotions will start the apocalypse on little Tomoeda.

Ja ne!!! 

[meimi-haneoka]

Incoherent thoughts on Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card Chapter 35

YOU THOUGHT I WAS GONE AND I WOULDN’T POST ANYTHING ABOUT THE NEW CHAPTER OF CLEAR CARD, UH??? XDDD

Instead, you’ll have to stand another one of my ramblings because BOY I HAVE SO MUCH TO SAY. Under the cut for the lucky souls who haven’t read anything yet!

(Raw scans used in the post by @horitsuba)

I’d like to start from the happy splash page, because it’s really adorable and....well, it’s almost the only happy thing of this chapter. Sakura and Syaoran dressed and acting like in a Mary Poppins musical or something really soothes our soul <3

THE PITS OF HELL®

What to say. Sakura basically lives Akiho’s past on her skin and I’m.... I mean, we had to pass through this. Akiho’s past wasn’t complete and sooner or later we had to see what they did and how exactly they turned her into a half-human, half-doll enabled to write on herself all the magic she comes in contact with. It’s part of the plot and we had to go through it. But. Actually seeing SAKURA, of all people (lord knows how much we love her) impersonating AKIHO (lord knows how much I love her), floating over that altar, in a scene that looks between a sacrificing ritual and a laboratory experiment, made my heart hurt. A lot. BUT it’s not over. On top of all of this, ON TOP OF ALL OF THIS, they had to stage it like a page straight from Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle. Why, there’s no feathers, no wings, then what? Well, I guess it’s Akiho’s dress, floating all around. Or the fact that these people are messing with her body and her soul (if she ends up absorbing too much magic, her soul will implode), and that Sakura looks SO DAMN much like Sakura-hime in that panel. Her hair, her profile, all reminds me of Sakura-hime. And it’s only normal! Mind you, I’m not saying there’s any tie to it just because of this. But I don’t think I’m too wrong when I say that CLAMP might have done it on purpose AGAIN. So, fuck you again, CLAMP! And now let me express how much I loathe these pieces of sh*t right above. Because, do you want to know why they started the “blank book” craze? Because a bored boy, consulted on the matter, said the first thing that came to his mind, in his usual snotty way. Yuna D. Kaito was a literal child when he was consulted about Akiho’s (nonexistent) powers, although being the strongest one of the Association. He said “eh, she’s just like a blank book” and those brainless jerks took it literally. This also opens a new theory about Kaito: he might be doing what he’s doing out of remorse, for something he said and couldn’t control outside of him. The deeds of the Association + the Squid Clan are the very proof the evil has made its entrance in the CCS world. But worry not: the challenge will be even harder, but I’m sure Sakura will be able to purify the story from their contamination.

The first thing I decided

In the real world, Kaito and Momo recognize that it wasn’t Akiho the one talking, but the people of the Association + Akiho’s clan. This is for them the first time seeing Akiho loosing consciousness and trying to steal Sakura’s powers, even though it kinda already happened in Fujitaka’s library (but they weren’t there). From the new information given, we now know this is absolutely something that cannot happen: both for Sakura and for Akiho too, who would die as a human being if she were to absorb Sakura’s tremendous amount of power. It is clear as the day that Kaito will not allow any of that, because he cares for Akiho. And the clarification is finally crystallized in Kaito’s memory of their first (?) meeting: Akiho is still a kid, already capable to read, while he looks more or less of Syaoran and Sakura’s current age, or 1 year older maximum. His face rounder, his eyes bigger and kind. Akiho is surprised and I can almost imagine her reaction after this: “Is this person really talking to me???” Think what you want, but I can’t help but being happy that Akiho found Kaito in her life. We have yet to see how he went from “I don’t care” to “I’d give my life for her”. Yes. Kaito decides to stop the time of Akiho’s book as an emergency solution, preventing her from going “intercom-mode” everytime she comes in contact with magic. Momo is freaking out again, reminding him of what it means to meddle with time magic, but he doesn’t care. He took a decision that day. The very first thing he decided by himself. Until then, he only went with the flow, he accepted going into the Association not because he wanted to, but because he didn’t feel strongly against it. But Akiho, Akiho’s situation was the first thing that shook him enough for him to care. Kaito says that he still got enough life left to perform this spell, and in his smile it’s clear that he doesn’t care about the price he has to pay. This might be the last time he’ll be able to perform time magic. For sure he can’t go on much longer. And while this effort might save Akiho, will he kill her with grief for his premature disappearance? Momo is very angry at Kaito, and this is the reason why.

Heart hurts

Kaito rewinds time for a few minutes successfully and we’re back at the YamaChiha scene, when Sakura suddenly glomps Akiho out of nowhere, towels dropping to the ground, starting to cry. She’s visibly shaken, and nobody understands what the hell happened to her, even Sakura herself.  But we do. Sakura’s power might be so strong that she’s starting to counter the effects of Kaito’s time magic, so her body and heart survived the time-rewinding. She’s still not conscious of her emotions, but when her brain will join in overthrowing Kaito’s magic, his tricks won’t work to keep her “ignorant” of the situation anymore.

Needless to say, Syaoran is worried sick, so much that he walks her home after school, and he CALLS HER exactly 2 minutes after leaving her, with her house still in sight. He says he’s still worried. Sakura says that as an apology for making them worry, she’ll bring some homemade sweets the day after (again the homemade thematic surfacing), and that she will try to explain to him what happened back at school, when she’ll find the words. The chapter ends with her iconic zettai daijoubu da yo, and we’re supposed to be relieved by that, but I’ve heard many people feeling still uneasy after reading this chapter. It’s absolutely worth mentioning that both Kero and Suppi freak out when they see Sakura returning with puffy red eyes, and I found especially cute that Suppi was so worried too. She’s really loved by everyone!

Now, I know Kaito rewound time again, but I think this time is slightly less meaningless. Cause of course Sakura couldn’t stay in that nightmare any longer. At some point time would have to flow again and Akiho would have absorbed Sakura’s power, determining the end (?) for both girls. They’re in a shitty situation and Kaito only seems to be able to put patches on it, but for how long? Am I enjoying this more serious turn of Clear Card? Yes I am. Especially cause I know that in the end everything will be ok, so I enjoy biting my nails (and screaming at the Squids, of course!) in the meantime. Thank you for staying with me for this rant too!! Let me know your thoughts, as always!

[meimi-haneoka]

Clear Card chapter 31 - comments

Here we go....here we go ~

SOOOOO FANDOM, HOW DID YOU LIKE CHAPTER 31??? EH? EH??

Want to scream some with me? Beware, this is going to be long because there’s SO MUCH TO SAY!! Below the cut for spoilers!!!

This cover is gorgeous!! Long time no see, Spinel Sun!! You never appeared in-story XD

Kaito’s smug assface

While CLAMP never lose their chance to show us what an arrogant, smartass kid he was, Kaito’s dream allows us to get closer to the moment in which Akiho and Kaito met for real for the first time (which isn’t this time, yet). Kaito saw her from afar when he was a kid and she was a toddler, in a crystal ball, and he was the one ascertaining that she did not have even a drop of magic.  Things to note: the Association calls him Yuna D., almost like it was his code name.  So the Squid Clan is reduced to basically 5 people including Akiho (EDIT, apparently I mistranslated a part), and they have lost a big part of their magical rituals/formulas. They’re basically a declining clan (and they could all disappear for all I care). We’re told again that Akiho’s parents were tremendously powerful, especially her mother. I wonder why Ohkawa needed to specify that. Hm.

LOOK AT HIM. Fucking Kaito. But also look at this nugget over here....I can’t get enough of baby Akiho...she’s the cutest

So now it’s confirmed: both the Association and the Squid Clan collaborated to do something about her lack of powers, they literally felt entitled to write over her, as if she was a blank book. I AM APPALLED.

Syaoran's confession

And here we are ladies and gentlemen, the moment people were waiting for since...since....since chapter 1 basically???

Man...this panel....jfc kids, you’re only 12 and you already look like on the verge of divorce LMAO so the kids are staying with me and I’ll leave the house to you I AM JOKING! OK? I NEED TO LIGHTEN THE MOOD AFTER THE LAST 2/3 DAYS IN THE FANDOM!

So...we start with most of the big confession already done, with Sakura getting confirmation that she’s actually the one originating all the events with the Clear Cards. Syaoran’s face is already sad and apologetic, but the peak has yet to come. Then, the question everyone had since we started seeing his shady faces: “Why you didn’t tell me?” That’s directly questioning him and the very core of all this mess, so Syaoran starts to falter. If he could, he wanted her to not realize it as long as possible, because in case a person who didn’t train to operate magic comes to realize that their magic is going crazy, the chances this chaos would increase are very high, because they’re too conscious about it.

Try to imagine what could happen from now on. Sakura would watch her thoughts, she would try to conceal her feelings, she would probably try to suppress bad emotions in fear those could cause something dangerous. But this is a snake biting its tail, as this frustration would only make her magic go even more rampant.

Syaoran wanted to delay that as much as possible, until they found a way to stabilize her magic. I’m sure there’s a stabilizing point out there. But Sakura isn’t stupid, and she realized. Syaoran knew this moment would come. And he didn’t lose time. He brought her directly to his home and started his confession, because LORD his burden was too much to bear and I’m sure he was thinking “ok, it’s time, just give me my punishment but let me unload this heavy burden cause I can’t take it anymore”. You think Syaoran had fun, all this time? You think Syaoran had fun, telling Sakura that he had to hide things from her? LIE to her when she asked him an opinion on the Clear Cards? Do you think he had fun, every day, thinking about what the love of his life was walking into?

Syaoran did something shady towards his girlfriend, and he doesn’t try to hide it. Even when it seems like Sakura could justify him because he already knew someone who suffered from strong magic, he jumps in saying “But this doesn’t change the fact that I’ve hidden things from you! One thing more too...” See, he’s not trying to bury his head in the sand, he’s not hiding it. He’s not presenting lame excuses. That’s Syaoran for you. He knows perfectly he’s done something wrong and he expects a punishment from Sakura.  But, I’m sure all of you would do the same as him, if you knew your most important person incurred a life threat. Syaoran doesn’t need to mention exactly what that is to know that Sakura’s life would be screwed over. His face screams it enough for him. 

Nonetheless, when Sakura says that she’s mad (at him too, soon after), he stands up immediately, as if he was called into question. I think it was a beautiful way to show that his attention was all on her. And when Sakura starts to cry....his hand reaching out to her was really a strong image, for me. He cannot bear the sight of her crying for something he caused. He can only hug her head muttering an apology. I applaude CLAMP for the choice of the position, for 2 reasons: in this way it almost seems like he’s also bowing in apology and...he doesn’t bring himself to hug her completely. He could’ve kneeled down and embraced her, but...knowing Syaoran, he’s probably thinking he doesn’t deserve it yet. 

Sakura’s reaction

Sakura is the protagonist of this wonderful story, and yet she always seems to be the last one having character development. Syaoran is often helping that development. This is a very positive thing, because growth is one of the plus sides of having a romantic relationship with someone. You learn about them, yes, but you learn also about you. Today Sakura learned 2 things: that her boyfriend loves her so much that he would throw upside down his own being for her (= Syaoran is known for being honest and straightforward) and that she might have a lot to think about herself once she gets out of Syaoran’s house. But we’ll arrive to that. Sakura cannot look at Syaoran in the eyes, initially. You can feel that she’s got a turmoil going on. Realizing that she’s the cause behind the Clear Cards, there’s a surge of guilt going all over her. And that’s why her stare is well anchored to the ground.

But it’s when Syaoran confesses about the Sakura Cards going blank, and him returning the Bear, that Sakura’s face turns suddenly into fear and shock. Cause at the same time, she’s learning that Syaoran has got something to do with the problem of her Cards and she’s also fearing that something happened to them. After this, the scene with the Sakura Cards reuniting with her and trying to weigh in to make her understand that all of this was done just because they simply love her too much, was really emotional!! And how lively and WARM all of them are...so different from the Clear Cards. Light & Dark say out loud something that we probably realized before: only her own magic can cancel out her magic...because she’s become very strong. That’s why Syaoran had to resort to the Sakura Cards to counterattack the Clear Cards. And now you can also understand why in the anime his spells worked initially, but then it quickly reached a point where nothing worked anymore. Only the Sakura Cards did.

When Mirror asks her “Are you mad?”, Sakura’s eyes are depicted in a cloudy way. Again, bravo CLAMP. Cause in her eyes is reflected the storm that is going on in her heart at the moment. She’s mad, yes. Little Angel Sakura Kinomoto admits being mad. At herself, first. For not realizing anything while everyone else around her was worried this sick. Whether she will learn something from this or not, we will see it in the later part of the story. This is the final result of that scene in which Sakura said “I am the one who understands the least about myself”. And she’s mad at Syaoran, too. Cause realization after realization, she also arrived to think what would’ve happened if he put his own life in danger to protect her. And man, that mere thought ignited a “violent” reaction (violent in a Sakura-scale) from her, bringing her to be mad at him for even thinking of causing her that much pain. Cause she can’t live without him. Yes, her “I would cry forever” is her childish way to say that her happiness would be over if something like that happened. Sakura is still a kid, but she already seems to know the extent of her feelings.

Syaoran hugs her, but she doesn’t respond. I know this caused a bit of uproar in a part of the fandom. Aside from the fact that she could be responding after a while, I think that simply the spiral of painful thoughts is too much for her and got a hold of her completely, to even think about returning Syaoran’s hug. She is angry, after all. Leave her some time to process her emotions, and I’m sure these two will come out of this ordeal stronger and closer together. I look forward to see their relationship from now on, and how she will go about the problem with the Clear Cards too.

Bonus: The British family is back?!

Just a quick thought about the very final scene of the chapter, cause this rant has been going on for too long already, but let me just scream : 

AT LAST, ERIOL?? DID YOU BRING YOUR ASS BACK IN JAPAN? 

Gdi it was about time!!!! I’m so glad they’re back, so so glad. Will Eriol apologize to Sakura too? Can’t wait for next chapter!!!

[meimi-haneoka]

Thoughts on Clear Card Chapter 29

So let me just start this post from the bottom, telling you that Chapter 30 will be featured in the next issue of Nakayoshi (the February one) out on....DECEMBER 28TH!!! Yes, you heard me right, they usually anticipate the release of the first issue of the year because on New Year’s it’s national holiday :) So this month we’re basically getting...TWO FULL CHAPTERS...and it’s not over...cause at the end of Chapter 29 they said next one is gonna be Special cause there’s going to be an additional SHORT STORY!!! I mean, Christmas present everyone??? Feels like a blessing!! XD

So after this happy announcement, let’s get going with the thoughts on Chapter 29 (after the cut, not only to protect fans from spoilers, but because there’s going to be major screaming) !!

(thanks Horitsuba for finding the wonderful clean scan of the splash page) So let me just start from the AMAZING, WONDERFUL splash color page... I fell instantly in love with it the moment I saw it. Maybe it’s because of the upside down position that reminds me of a Clover illustration, maybe it’s for her delicate lipstick and her small smile or the overall strong vibe of “Hey, our cherry blossom is growing up!”. I know I have complained countless times about Sakura & co. looking younger in Clear Card than in the old arcs, but this looks definitely more like what I expected to see in this sequel. Good job Mokona, good job.

The summer uniforms

So let me just scream for one moment.....

AAAHHHH!! ABOUT DAMN TIME!!!!!!!

I’ve been asking for them since god knows when and finally, after two years, the characters have been granted SUMMER UNIFORMS.

This also means we’re finally being lead into summer, so more occasions to go out, make school trips, GO AT THE BEACH, go to summer matsuri, overall it seems a much funnier season....

Also they have saved the students from having a heatstroke since they’ve been using winter uniforms past the beginning of June (in the anime) and Sakura said in this chapter that “lately it’s been a bit hot so I’m glad”....I guess CLAMP was aknowledging the torture inflicted on their characters? XDDDD Anyway, they’re pretty cute. They have many elements in common with those of the Blood-C characters but we’re not gonna say that 

OH COME ON NOT AGAIN

I mean, this should’ve come as a suprise, but those who have watched the anime closely (and know CLAMP) had probably already guessed that something was wrong with Kero-chan, since he kept sleeping soundly both in Sakura’s bag during class, both outside, often being absent during “action times”, but what really made go “NO F*CKING WAY, WHAT IS HAPPENING HERE” is when Sakura said in the anime that  Kero-chan went to sleep without even eating dinner. THAT gave it away, but there were still people not grasping it.

Now, with Yukito falling asleep as well, we can pretty much scream with confidence that WE’RE F*CKED. Beware, though: it seems this isn’t just a matter of “Omg Sakura is getting weak magically again”. No, because Kero-chan should be able to produce his own survival power (as said in the old manga) and shouldn’t get sleepy if this was just about a power shortage from Sakura. Just like in Sakura Card arc. So this must be about something else. What the hell is going on? While everyone is panicking, I’ll throw my 2 cents here to see if I’m right: I think this time we might be witnessing the opposite, that is, Sakura’s magical power is getting so damn strong that she’s “numbing” the magical creatures connected to her by the “contract”. Since the Cards are with Syaoran and temporarily living off his magic now, that makes only Yue and Kerberos taking the effect of it. Like when you eat too much, you know? You usually get sleepy. The same might be happening here, since Sakura is not controlling her power at all.

Also, let me vent here for a moment, but SAKURA, JESUS CHRIST, LOOK AT YOUR GUARDIAN, DOES IT LOOK NORMAL TO YOU THAT HE FELL SUDDENLY ASLEEP AGAIN AFTER SLEEPING A WHOLE NIGHT? What the hell girl, what the hell. You’re a mess, WAKE UP!

The parallel

So I’m not gonna say that I called it, but....yeah, I CALLED IT.

I mean, it’s been pretty apparent that CLAMP silently and consistently tried to draw a parallel (a baffling parallel) between Kaito and Syaoran from the beginning. Both set on their goal, both wouldn’t stop in front of anything, both are ready to sacrifice themselves for it, and both are hiding important things from the girls in love with them. This makes Akiho and Sakura even more bittersweetly similar, because they share this affliction too. I wonder if the parallels stop here...? Anyway, this whole conversation between Sakura and Akiho made my heart wrench....a heart that has been torn apart cannot be mended easily like a piece of fabric....dear god. And those ass squids in the background were....unnerving.

The magic artifact

I would swear left and right if I was on my own but maybe it’s not proper in the open like this.

STILL, WHAT THE FUCK DOES IT MEAN THAT AKIHO IS THE MAGIC ARTIFACT MADE BY HER CLAN AND THE MAGIC ASSOCIATION??

Sweet Jesus can we leave Akiho alone for like, 5 minutes? Now what, are you going to tell me that they experimented on her? 

Is this poor girl even human at all? I mean, she must be, right? That’s what they showed us some chapters ago...she was a newborn and everything.... But maybe the fact that she didn’t have magic lead them to do something unspeakable and turn her into a “vessel”, as they were saying in the last chapters. The mere thought is scary, just like the artwork in the last page, Sure, it’s beautiful, but those chains at her ankle are creepy as hell, despite being “toned down” by being made of pearls. What Kaito wants to do with her? Is he going to “use” her or is he doing all of this *for her* like many have thought until now? With Kaito it’s like going constantly on rollercoasters.

We definitely entered into an eventful part of the story, I’m really glad about this!