#It really mirrors Syaoran’s role in Clear Card as well

[completeoveranalysis]

[5]

The UNEASE when one of the fun Mokona quotes of the series (Mokona is Mokona) is thrown BACK AT MOKONA in the distressing time loop situation (The princess means the princess!)

Kurogane visibly SWEATING (from the heat, as Fai observed last chapter?) as he wonders when in the timeline of Clow this is. ME TOO KUROGANE THANK YOU FOR THIS. 

Lava Lamp does his dialogue duty and asks the npc directly so let’s see let’s see

Do you think I will like this answer. 

I do not. 

SEVEN

BABY SAKURA TIMELINE ACTIVATED

BABY APPLE SAKURA TIMELINE ACCIDENTALLY ACCURATE?

I have deep deep appreciation for the murder dads getting to react in shock at these revelations and then also vocally discuss the implications of everything between them. I’m living for this active investigation. It’s all spiraling further and further into confusion but they’re keeping all the pieces together in a logical form for now. And LOVE that expression on Fai when he says they won’t find any useful answers here.

Meanwhile Mokona asks her own question in the investigation (about seeing Sakura, because Mokona is always a darling) but the answer is that she’s not in the castle. The pause in everyone’s reaction to this makes me think the next line he says is going to be even worse. 

INTERESTING. 

This is new information (to us) but Lava Lamp reflects on this as if he should have been able to figure this out all the way back here. WHEN HE WAS ALSO SEVEN.

WHEN HE WAS SEVEN YEARS OLD (or close enough) AND TRAPPED IN A LAVA LAMP, UNABLE TO DO ANYTHING AT ALL EXCEPT LOOK THROUGH SOMEONE ELSE’S EYE, and he still thinks he should have been able to piece together the mystery from the fact that Sakura did purification rituals at the ruins before her birthday. 

Hindsight can be a bitch to deal with but Lava Lamp is just unerringly hard on himself. 

[kurogabae]

Kurogane has a submissive personality

an essay by me because it was only a matter of time.

is this well organized or put together? no. is this typed mildly like a shitpost? yes. is it the true word given unto us from on high? yes

okay for starters we literally never see Kurogane in a command position in the entire series. not once is he In Charge. sure he’s the fighter, the strong man, the head of the attack, but that doesn’t mean he’s the general or the one calling the shots (or often than not that role belongs to Syaoran of Sakura). in flashbacks he’s either a child still answering to his parents or he’s serving Tomoyo. and sure he gripes about being bossed around but he still does as he’s told. every time. 

every. single. time. 

except that whole “hey could you not kill literally everyone on my palace roof thanks” thing but he was improperly dealing with years of trauma and grief so idk if that counts?

even in Yama he and Fai, while having high positions, and still not the highest. Kurogane is still taking orders.

and it isn’t as if he’s not smart enough to be a leader. he sees through a lot of the smoke and mirrors and he’s playing with the smallest deck of cards plotwise. he has no idea of what is going on, he just knows he loves these idiots who are in so much trouble and he’s gonna protect them. he’s smart and clever and could easily step up and take charge of the family, but he doesn’t because he’s perfectly comfortable being the knight and not the king.

this submissive personality is also reflected in his familial and romantic relationships. he’s never the (ironically) aggressor or pursuer of the affection/attention. 

in the post Tokyo chapters Kurogane is clearly seen as being in sore need of some comfort, having to be the one to dole it out and keep his crumbling family together. he could easily reach out to Syaoran or Mokona or even Sakura really for a bit of comfort, but he doesn’t because he needs to be strong for them. (thankfully Mokona comfort him with the praise of telling him he makes her feel safe.) likewise, he doesn’t seek out validation from Tomoyo or Kandappa once he returns home. he doesn’t gloat or tell them that he’s returned a changed man. he doesn’t even ask anything of Tomoyo - forgiveness, an apology, an explanation. he lets them come to him and deals with them on their terms.

then of course there’s Fai who Kurogane literally only acts on when left with no other option (well the option of act or watch Fai die). it’s clear that Kurogane is very attached to Fai much earlier than Tokyo but before this there’s no need for him to really push it. he takes his openings where he sees them and other than that they go about their business.

Kurogane is not an active participant in a lot of ways and for all of his aggressive personality traits he is not nearly as combatant as one would expect him to be