#Who clearly loved Clow in return

[completeoveranalysis]

[5]

OH MOKONA DIDN’T KNOW??

MOKONA DIDN'T KNOW AND THIS IS HOW SHE HAD TO FIND OUT???

I suppose that would be a hard talk to have. How do you even bring that up in conversation.

Who knew that Mokona screaming in concern for her loved ones was going to be such a big part of this climax?

And THIS is a side of Yuuko that’s so painful to see. The clear sadness as she clutches her robes tighter to herself, her existence already starting to fade away…?

The immediate emergency aside, I’m kind of LOVING the parallel existence this gives Yuuko and Sakura. Both of them as people who died but had their existence altered by a Reed, both of them becoming hyper powerful but separated from usual reality. No wonder Yuuko cared so openly for Sakura - not only because it was Sakura, but because Sakura had such a similar fate to herself. And, maybe, a connected existence that would only allow one of them to exist? 

Is there only one blank space in the universe for a being like them? Or is it the specifics of Lava Lamp's actions that drawing them together like magnets until one overwrites the other?

I'm not sure if she was technically a "clone" in the full sense of the word, but Yuuko was, in her own way, a failed attempt at creating someone else - so another type of failed clone, but a powerful one living her own life and maintaining her part of the universe. 

And how sad that Evil Wolverine clearly saw the process that created Yuuko and decided to copy it to shatter the universe, when her existence was to maintain it. How Evil Wolverine saw Yuuko and decided to forcefully create a new broken person who would force her out of existence. 

And despite it all, despite the fact that she knew it was coming, and made plans to help the people she wanted to, and obviously cared for Sakura deeply - despite all that, look how sad Yuuko is that it’s finally happening. 

[boreum-dal]

cardcaptor sakura: boy band au #1

so, a while back, in the midst of a DEEP dive into BTS, @swingsdown​ and i brainstormed a stupidly indulgent CCS boy band AU which i’ve written in bits and pieces over the last few months for fun. i don’t plan to do much with it, but i thought it’d be fun to post little bits of it here as it gets written.

below is the rundown: 

touya, yukito, eriol, syaoran, and yamazaki make up japan’s hottest boy group, CLOW, a group that has smashed regional and global records, amassed a cult-like legion of fans, and reached new peaks of success with every comeback they stage. beyond good looks, catchy music, and charming personalities, the group captures the hearts of fans with what appears to be genuine brotherhood and love for each other both on- and off-camera. but just when it looks like they can’t fly any higher, yukito, the glue of the group, abruptly leaves, and everything is at risk of falling apart. 

these are non-chronological vignettes of the band’s time together, both while yukito is with them and after he leaves as they try to stage a return to the music world. 

[see below for descriptions of the boys’ roles in the band, etc. + first vignette]

navigation:

[intro & post-yukito #1] [post-yukito #2] [post-yukito #3]| [during yukito #1]

-touya: rapper/singer, 26, group leader, trainee for longest (6 years--15 to 21) because he didn’t have any proper musical training when he auditioned; wanted to become a musician to help make ends meet for his family. best rapper, ok singer, worst dancer. Is friendly enough for an idol but a little stoic but has lots of fans because he’s very good looking

-yamazaki: rapper/singer, 24, exceptionally good dancer and ok rapper, relatively terrible singer but had to take vocal lessons to improve after yukito left to help fill the gap; never fights with anyone, chaotic energy at almost all times, known for his smiley eyes; known for weirdly high iq

-eriol: singer, 22, classically trained/very good vocalist, TERRIBLE rapper, pretty good dancer, calmest/most polite out of the group, best “face of the group,” known for classic good looks, comes from rich family, bff/roomies with syaoran

-syaoran: singer, 22, second best vocalist behind eriol, not good rapper, pretty good dancer, sometimes gets called “mini touya” because they’re both a little surly and look alike (and is popular despite stoicism/attitude bc he’s cute), hardest on himself and known to be a perfectionist, bff/roomies with eriol, auditioned through global casting in hong kong, had to learn japanese, english, and korean in training

-their fans unironically call themselves “CLOWn.” 

-this is modeled much more after kpop boy groups/the kpop system in general, which i know is quite different from the jpop scene. 

====

[post-yukito #1]

Syaoran watched, holding his breath, as the cameraman counted down with his fingers from three for their cue. At zero, he bowed in perfect unison with his bandmates, rising back up with a practiced smile. Yukito had taught him that the eyes mattered the most--if they don’t crinkle a little, people won’t think it’s genuine, he’d said. Syaoran squeezed the muscles around his cheeks just a little bit tighter and swallowed back bile. He felt Yamazaki squeeze his elbow to his left, and realizing how tense his shoulders were, he took in a breath and tried to force himself to relax.

“Hello, we’re CLOW,” he chorused with the group, and he threw up a v-sign with his fingers, maintaining the fake-genuine smile. Yukito would have been to his right if he’d been here, and he tried not to think about how painfully naked his right shoulder felt. They’d been preparing for this for months, and even so, everything about this situation suddenly felt horribly wrong.

“Hi, CLOW!” the host, a chipper young woman with bright blue hair and purple contact lenses who’d recently made her solo debut a few months ago, exclaimed, turning briefly to them before facing the camera again. 

Syaoran briefly recalled the first time they’d been on this particular concert pre-show; it had been three weeks into their debut, and he’d been so nervous that he could hardly see straight. The interviewer then had been a young man, a fellow idol singer doing a three-month stint as the host for the show, and when the host had held the mic up to Syaoran’s face, he’d been totally speechless, his voice shot from nerves. His whole group--Eriol in particular--had given him hell about it for weeks afterward. Even Yukito, in all his sweet earnestness, had given him some good-natured ribbing about it. Only Touya had refrained, for one reason or another. 

“Today is a very exciting day--your first comeback in over six months with your new single, LOVETORN!” the host said, turning towards Touya. “Tell us, how are you feeling?”

Touya leaned into the mic, facing the camera and wearing a convincingly charming grin. “It feels amazing. We are so happy to be able to provide new music for our fans, who have been so loving and wonderful while we’ve been on our break. We only hope that our fans love the single with as much love as we poured into making it.”

“Well, within twenty-four hours of the music video’s release on YouTube, it already hit 70 million views, so I think we can say with certainty that your fans love the single!” the host chirped. “Can you tell us what the meaning behind this song is?”

Syaoran was relieved the mic did not go to him for this question; he’d have had a difficult time not rolling his eyes. The meaning was pretty clear, he thought. It was a song about wanting someone back. Touya and the producers had decided to capitalize off of the most painful moment in the band’s four-year history by writing a fucking song about the departure of the one member that had truly held the team together. 

Eriol, predictably, was a little more diplomatic in his response, for better or for worse. “Yes, it’s about the pain of being apart from your loved one for a prolonged period of time and life not being the same without them,” he said into the mic. He pushed up his glasses. “In our case, it’s about us being separated from our beloved CLOWNs for so long and wanting desperately to be reunited. And here we are today.”

The host smiled. “Such a sad song, but you’re all so happy to be here! How are you going to emote something so painful onstage?”

It was Syaoran’s turn to speak. All eyes were on him now, and taking an imperceptible half-second to compose himself, he turned on his megawatt smile once more. “It’s quite simple, really. We’ll just think about the times that inspired us to write this song in the first place. All the hardships, all the heartache--we’ll bring it all back onstage. And to that end,” he said, looking directly into the camera, “we’ve missed you very much.”

He hoped Yukito was watching, even though he knew he wasn’t. 

“That is lovely, and we can’t wait to see you perform. Yamazaki, would you like to kick off the performance?”

Yamazaki stuck his face into the camera with a wide grin. “Absolutely. You’re watching Music Centre, and get ready for CLOW’s comeback with our new single, LOVETORN, in three, two, one!”

“Cut!” The director shouted, and the cameras stopped rolling. “Great job, everyone. I love when we get everything we need in one take--after all that time away, you really are true professionals.”

The group bowed, murmuring thanks, and shuffled backstage toward the dressing rooms. 

“Good job, everyone,” Yoshiyuki Terada, the group’s manager, called, looking up from an iPad. “Take ten and then we’ll meet back here--you’re due onstage after this next performance.”

Syaoran made it into the dressing room first, and immediately, he grabbed his headphones out of the pocket of his hoodie hanging from the door and shoved them into his ears. The last thing he wanted to do right now was reflect with the band on that painful interview--not right before they had to go outside and bear their souls to the world for a four-minute performance. Just as he sat down on one of the sofas, though, he felt one of the earbuds being plucked out of his ear. 

He looked up indignantly to see Touya holding the earbud, who was staring down at him with his lips drawn into a disapproving frown. “Quick team meeting.”

Syaoran scowled, but he turned around and leaned the front of his torso against the back of the sofa to face the rest of the group. 

“Okay, guys,” Touya said, leaning against the vanity and crossing his arms. “First live performance of our comeback. How are we feeling?”

“Pretty good, now that the interview’s over,” Eriol said with a sigh. He reached down toward the floor to stretch his legs. “That was the hardest part for me.”

Yamazaki nodded. “Now that we don’t have to talk, I feel fine. It’s just a matter of doing what we’ve been practicing for the last two months now. It’s all muscle memory from here!”

Touya glanced at Syaoran next. Syaoran glared at him for a moment, but then he met Eriol’s softer gaze, and he deflated a little. “I’m--I’ll be fine. I’m not nervous.”

Touya pursed his lips. “You know that’s not what I’m asking.”

“I know.” Syaoran swallowed. “But I don’t know what else I can say.”

Touya regarded him in silence for a moment, and Syaoran knew without looking that Eriol and Yamazaki were watching the exchange with bated breath. Much to Syaoran’s relief, Touya let out a sigh and shrugged his shoulders. “Okay. Let’s do a good job out there tonight. No mistakes. The choreography on this is a little different from what we’re used to, so everyone needs to be in the exact right place at the exact right time.”

Of course it’s different. We’re missing a fifth body.

“How about you, Touya? How are you feeling?” Yamazaki asked, fiddling with the zipper on one of his many pant pockets. 

Touya exhaled softly, and for the first time all night, he raised the corners of his lips in a small smile. “I’m okay. This feels right.”

It didn’t, though, Syaoran thought. Nothing felt right. But his bandmates were clearly so excited to be performing again, Yukito or no, and he wasn’t going to ruin that for them just because he didn’t feel ready. 

“All right, guys, bring it in,” Touya said, holding out his hand. Eriol, Yamazaki, and Syaoran joined. “On three, CLOW. One, two, three--”

“CLOW!” the four of them chimed, and Syaoran followed Touya out of the dressing room and back toward the stage.

[whatdoesshedotothem]

Wednesday 25 May 1836

7 10/..

11 20/..

- A- to Cliff Hill - ready in ¾ hour fine but dull morning - out from 8 to 10 20 - set Frank and one of Robert Mann’s men to pull up and cart near to top of Godley Ing the stones of the old goit from the Godley Engine pit - to make a new drain or sough for the Godley water instead of running in an open drain under the trees of the old hedge between Sour Ing and Godley - Frank had one cart and 2 horses - Robert M- + 3 (Sam B- Jack G- and another man) levelling the hollow between upper brook Ing and Godley Ing barrowing the soil here and there where wanted - and Matthew (employed by Robert M- who began the morning by taking rubble off the road along the top of the coach house court) went before 9 to prepare wall-race (for David Booth) opposite the house - Wood poorly and not here today - Sam B- poorly (a swelling in his throat) and not at work this afternoon - so that Robert M- had 5 men this morning and 4 this afternoon - with David Booth shewing him how  I would have the wall against the road done in front of the house - breakfast at 10 20 Mr. Washington came for ¼ hour at 10 ¾ to met Holt and measure for laying coal and water drifts, holing etc on the coal plan and to measure what land I had taken from what Pickells had - SW- thinks Mr. Joseph Aspinall of Brighouse would be a proper person to value the marsh farm stone - thinks it should be worth 9d. a ft. - not 12ft. thick - if 9ft. thick at 9d. it would = 6/9 per yard - I thought it ought to be worth 10d per ft. = 7/6 per yard - SW- said he bought for A- Sir Joseph Radclyffe’s estate for £11500; and Jones the steward said he would not have sold it to anyone else for less than £12,000 - £11500 to be price if no coal in it - some person named to be consulted after this - if no coal, the agreement drawn out to be signed - £1000 to be paid on signing on Saturday next and the rest the 1st of August - SW- said A- seemed glad and I said I was glad -     vid. the last p. Sir JR-s’ estate bought for A-           out at 11 - went to the top of the hill - some time with Holt and SW measuring -asked them about the gap in the measurements of coal got - said it was not intelligible to me - for the coal being sold surface measure, their measurements ought to have been made to tally - the people had paid for an acre too little - SW- excuses lame - said it would be shewn now when the colliery was opened and when we got up to Rawsons - yes! said I but who is to pay me - I at this moment remember Mr. Briggs telling me what a pother there was about the measurements and that John Oates and c° would not pay up - but JO- was the principal resister - Remember this – at

SH:7/ML/E/19/0049

Whiskum quarry - with John Bottomley walling up temporary against it in his Long field - then at Whiskum cottage and about till the men returned from dinner - with Robert Mann and c° (vid. line 5 of today) till came in at 4 ½ - 10 minutes with my aunt - then read A-‘s note and letter to her sister, and looked at the agreement for Sir JR-‘s estate brought by George this afternoon or morning on returning from the ponies shoeing at Ward’s - Mrs. AW- better but A- uncertain about her (A-‘s) return home - from 5 to 6 ¼ wrote a few lines on the vacant end of my aunt’s letter to Marian, to give A-‘s and my love and say the newspapers my aunt meant I should send Marian were the Yorkshire Gazettes, and that Marian could have anything else she might want by the box the carriage of which she needed not fear would be [ruinous] - punctuated as letter to her sister - wrote and finished my letter to M- began on Friday and dated that day, and the next, and today - i.e. the 1st ½ p. written on the 20th and 21st and the rest today - wrote today the latter ½ p. 1 and pp. 2 and 3, and the ends, and crossed pp. 1 and 2 - said she would see how I was subject to interruptions - beg to be excused once more - to be assured of my steady friendship and regard - 3 times in York, on business, since the death of my father - the last time, thought to be off for Paris last Sunday week - unsettled again as ever - nothing fixed - M- to believe nothing till she hears it from me - too much on my hands ‘one thing drags on another’ - cannot explain clearly on paper - ‘come and see whenever you like, but not just yet unless you give me a few days’ warning’ - household troubles - ‘the late dynasty did not make the rough places plain’ - only 2 women servants ‘a cook who cannot cook or wash, and a kitchen girl in her teens to do her own work, and households’ work - and I have got the widow of my steward Mr. Briggs to keep house, and her daughter to take care of her - can you help us?’ does M- know of a housekeeper? - ‘she might arrange the kitchen department to her own mind - we want but little just now, except order - no company’ shall be off as soon as we can - mention my French maid (Lecomte) having been with us a fortnight above ½ of it under M-‘s brother’s care - Mrs. Briggs not having lived in a gentlemen house, does not know how to set up - M- to tell us ‘how much beer should the men be allowed at breakfast, dinner and supper, and how much the women of tea, and sugar and butter and heaven knows what - again God bless you! I wish I had all knowledge - teas, sugars, water-wheels, hotels, and collieries, - all crowd together in my poor brain - oh! for the goodly cedar of the Jardin des Plantes at Paris, or some Alpine pass, or balmy breeze upon the Aegean wave! oh! that I could flee away for a little while and be at rest! my favourite wanderings would be rest to me - I know it is not stillness that can suit me - sometime I hope to date to you from the other side of the water - be it when or where it may, I shall always be with unchangeable sincerity very faithfully and especially yours AL’ I had told her somewhere in my letter of my aunt’s being amazingly well - and of her being wheeled ½ a mile from the house - sent off by the bag my aunt’s letter to Marian Market Weighton and A-‘s letter to her sister (Udale house Fortrose Rossshire) and my own letter to M- ‘Claremont house, Leamington, Warwickshire’ - dinner at 6 ¼ - had coffee in the drawing with my aunt - out again at 7 5 and had Robert Mann and Jack Green and John Booth removing and planting in the wood just above young oaks from the low place near the brook to the south east of the meer-clow which low place is to be raised with meer-drift stuff - planted also (but without the railing and in Charles H-‘s acre field near the 2 great larches) a sycamore lopped taken from near the hut, where the highroad overflow water drain is to be turned into the hut-extremity of the meer - kept the men planting till too dark to see to do more, that is, till 9 35 - I came in at 10 -with my aunt ¼ hour - very fine day - F48° at 10 ¼ pm

[keepyourpantsongohan]

Ayesha Liveblogs Cardcaptor Sakura S1

For faithfulness reasons, I’ll forgo rewatching in English even though I’m Jared 19 and never learned how to read 

I will say the original English dub had a BANGER of a theme song and I do miss that

"I’m a Fourth Grader at Tomoeda Elementary” I know I watched this like when I was age 7 or smth but SHE’S LIKE 10?? OH MY GOD who is letting this ten-year-old roam the streets

“I’m gonna stomp on him” [Lucille Bluth voice] good for her

I fully forgot Sakura had a dad I was ready to accept her Grade 11 brother raising her

Sakura’s roller blades give me visceral memories of my barbie skates

Lmao is Yuki’s ability to throw a piece of candy at a child from a moving bicycle backwards foreshadowing his superhero abilities

Okay having checked this scene in both English versions and Japanese, my opinion no one asked for: the Aminax version is bad voices on all counts, Japanese has a better voice for Toya and original English dub has a better voice for Sakura and Yukito (who they called Julian lmao) I am not accepting constructive criticism 

Tomoyo and Sakura sound so similar I could not even tell that Tomoyo was speaking omg

“There isn’t anything cuter or more interesting than you Sakura-chan” Tomoyo is really honest with her feelings I guess ten-year-olds be like that sometimes

“Is someone there” home invasions are what happens when you don’t lock your front door

This is not a study lmao this is a personal library there is hardly a workspace just aisles of shelves

Oh shit The Clow WIND RAIN SHADOW WOOD SWORD POWER THUNDER SLEEP CARD CAPTORS OF THE CLOW EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED NOW

Wait if this is hanging out in her dad’s study was her dad the last Cardcaptor lmao

Or probs her mom, since she’s gone the way of all anime moms

Sakura is accepting this whole “tiny magical flying lion” thing p well

“I accidentally fell asleep” “For how long” “30 years” same

“Stand right over there” Kerberos does not ask permission before magical girl transforming you lmao

“Why are you acting so wimpy” bc she’s 10 and you’re asking her to fight a giant ghost bird???

Honestly I love a good quest-to-collect-important-items maybe Inuyasha and DBZ ruined my taste but it’s a great formula 

“You’ll be a better adult if you have all sorts of experiences in your life” r u going to take career counselling advice from a tiny flying lion Sakura

I do kind of miss Kero’s slightly unhinged young man energy

I like that whenever Sakura’s brother is rude she steps on his foot or kicks him fkjhjgkh excellent little sister depiction

I was expecting more secrecy but it is very funny to see Tomoyo try to convince her friend to be a superhero

“Do a flashy one” kfhkjdhkj Kero supports the use of magic powers for showing off

“Trademark poses and skills are the basic parts of being a magical girl” oh my gooood

I mean if I walked into my school and there was a mountain of haphazard desks waiting there I too would be threatened 

Sakura is the only one in this group who has a reasonable understanding of what ten-year-olds should be allowed to do

LMAO @ Tomoyo’s team of bodyguards dropping her off to break into the school ONLY TO DRIVE AWAY

Tomoyo and Kero’s friendship is killing me the SHENANIGANS

I’m not sure I accept this light logic bc you need light to cast a shadow

Sakura’s “heart-racing first date” ur TEN oh my god

I mean it’s nice that Sakura wants to save the penguin but why did it take that for her to get upset it was going to drown a whole adult woman

Did Toya just RIP APART a WHIRLPOOL with his BARE HANDS

I wonder how Toya feels that his little sister has a crush on his boyfriend lmao

This cell phone is really top of the line for 1999 lmao I love it 

U know if I were a high school student and my friend asked my 10 year old sibling out to lunch instead of me I’d be confused

"They’re not even gonna hold hands? Kids these days” This is a VERY weird vibe for an episode

You know I guess if you never watch the second episode you never have context for all of these superhero outfits LMAO

None of these locations have security cameras I guess the 1990s was a lawless time

Will all of Yuki’s magical advice be delivered in the form of mysterious field trips

LMAO @ YUKITO ALWAYS TAKING SAKURA TO TOYA’S TEMP JOBS

Say what you will about the ominous influence of the other card, I think Wood is being fairly polite since it’s contorting around her house instead of destroying it lmao

“I was planning to film ‘Sakura Dances in the Jungle’ in the park today” I love Tomoyo 

Every little girl in this show sounds so similar lmao this is not good for my distracted watching style 

Wow Ms Maki is really unloading on these two fourth grade girls 

Since Tomoyo clearly interacts with even the more spirit-like Clow Cards I really have to wonder why no one else in this town is seeing these giant ghost monsters loom around the city

Well I guess this episode is a direct response to my previous comment 

“I can’t stand scary stories” says the girl who spends her nights going into isolated areas and fighting magical ghosts

Seeing Sakura activate her Fly card really gives me overwhelming nostalgia for the days I wanted nothing more than to be a Cardcaptor I used to wave around a toy broom like that magic key ahhhhhhhh

In the absence of the first English voice and with the added gentle Japanese intonation for his speaking, I am constantly forgetting that Yukito’s character is a 16-year-old boy 

Toya is really casually bomb-dropping the fact that he used to see ghosts and Yuki’s just like ‘dope are there ghosts around now’

Omg Kero’s sad face as he dropped the flower in Sakura’s lap 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

“I want to see if she wants to tell me something” like maybe ‘don’t run around town at night chasing ghosts ur 10!!!’ 

UHHHH AGAIN TOYA REAL CASUAL ABOUT THE GHOST THING 

Yukito Tsukishiro: Chronic Aid-er and Abet-er of Pre-teen Mischief 

Also if I’m right his name means something like “Ice White Moon?” Very heavy-handed foreshadowing lmao

“After we left, I went to the museum again and borrowed one” TOMOYO U CASED THE JOINT KJDHFKJHF

WHY IS EVERY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL KID IN THIS TOWN ABLE TO BREAK INTO THIS MUSEUM SO EASILY

Tomoyo is eerily well-prepared for this mission it’s like she has been planning to burgle a museum all her life

They really made an executive choice to have both a Yuuki and a Yuki that was a decision that someone made

Oh hey it’s the other pre-teen supehero!!! That guy!!

The more I think about it, the stranger the height difference between Sakura and her brother becomes bc compared to him she’s really like 2.5 feet tall they did not pick a proportion scale

U see this what I mean by gentle intonation, Syaoran somehow sounds older than Yuki simple by roughness of voice

YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH TOYA U DEFEND UR SISTER

“Here, a steamed pork bun” Yuki sure nows how to de-escalate lmao��

“That is made out of an insulator as well” Tomoyo is really prepared for any and every situation

It’s not fair of Li to compare what is probably years of magical training from his family to ‘trial by fire for eight weeks with a plush toy who doesn’t explain anything important until critical moments’

I’m really not sure what’s happening with Rika and the teacher but I DON’T LIKE IT

“I just want to be with you as long as possible” [cut to floral pattern] Tomoyo is aiming to supersede Yuki as Gentle Shojo Protagonist Sakura Fixates On looool

I’m sure there’s NOTHING significant about this familiar-looking sword brooch

Kero biting Li whenever whenever he says something rude to Sakura kghkjghk direct feminist action

What IS THIS business with Li running away flustered like that are pre-teen Cardcaptors ONLY allowed to have a crush on Yukito

“I guess I’ll have to beat him up once” Toya has zero qualms about fighting a ten-year-old

Two fourth graders giving Yukito chocolate while he peacefully hangs out with his boyfriend is the funniest version of executing this weirdness that could happen

What I’m really wondering is how the hell they cut out or explained away Li’s crush in the first English anime

“You were just a fledgling teacher and you married one of your [high school] students!!” u did WHAT what the FUCK MR. KINOMOTO I’m on Sonomi’s side

“Mother got married when she was 16″ MR. KINOMOTO CANCELLED! BANNED! THE HELL IS THIS!

“It was I who was granted time with Nadeshiko from her 16th to 27th birthdays” GO 2 JAIL DO NOT PASS GO 

This episode has added a lot of layers to this show none of which I like

“What kind of person was my dad” someone who should be banned from teaching

“Your father is a disgusting person” WELL

SONOMI I KNOW UR TRYING TO BE NICE BUT HE HAS AT LEAST ONE MAJOR FLAW

Lmao they’re not even giving context why Yuki is around anymore he’s just an accepted artifact of the Kinomoto household

How is that the Time card is Li’s but not Thunder since he also returned that one to its original form

“Their fastest confirmed speed is over 100km/h” Yamazaki leave Li alone he just wants to adore the sloths jhfkhgjhgkhg

Ahhhhhh Li helping Sakura get the Power card?? These motives are quite hard to read but it seems sweet

OMGGG @ TOMOYO MAKING SAKURA DEADLIFT A PLAYGROUND

“I heard a rumour that everyone who asked Kinomoto out has been denied.” Well. [x]

“It’s one of the seven strangest things at this school, that both Kinomoto and Tsukishiro don’t have girlfriends.” WELL. [x]

AWWWWW YUKI DOESN’T LEAVE THE OTHER PRE-TEEN FAN CLUB MEMBERS OUT OF HIS KIND GESTURES

[Hannibal Buress voice] I was so caught up in euphoria of festival arcs, that for like a minute I lived in a world where the rest of this anime didn’t exist 

TOYA BEING THE STAR OF DRAG CINDERELLA... OP UR MIND

I have no idea what the premise of the next Clow Card is but I really hope it’s “turn u into whatever ur acting as” bc I will LOSE my mind

I have not heard Yuki once intone as passionately as he did when he thought Toya was going to fall 

“You like someone else” 👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀

“I didn’t promise anyone else a dance” Can I just say I LOVE TOYA?

The moment of stillness before Yukito revealed who he was asking to dance lmao... the repressed teenage wlw inside me LIVES

Yuki and Toya tag-teaming as the Sakura Support Team my heart!!

Geolocating someone from a fax... the incredible 90sness of this act....

I seriously don’t understand this world in which you leave 5- and 10-year-olds unattended for hours where are your child welfare laws

I am really choosing to ignore how absolutely bananas the concept of Tomoyo having a hidden Sakura Movie Theatre is

Speaking of weird, are we just trusting that this old man is normal? Is everyone doing that? I’m still not ready to trust yet the Sakura’s dad situation really burned me

“Girls look their best when they smile” a sweet thought that would not fly if an old man I just met told me that lmao

I’m REALLY not trusting this old man dressing up this girl in his dead (missing?) granddaughter’s clothes and staring broodily when she mentions there is a parent with her

“My great-granddaughter seemed happy” YOUR WHAT NOW 

Their school trips seem much more fun than ours were we never went to the beach or fishing or got disappeared briefly in a cave

It continues to be funny how Sakura and Li have 0% tension re: Clow Cards, 99% tension re: Yukito who is already in a committed Something or the Other with Sakura’s brother

“Why were you on the roof” “Because it’s nice out today” LOL YUKITO

There’s no rhyme or reason to these card types huh some are like “I will destroy an entire zoo for fun” and other ones are like “mood lighting :)”

Sakura really isn’t out here to teach us any lessons lol it’s really a ‘get others to do your homework if you can get away with it’ episode

Rounding out the triad of superpowered pre-teens with Meilin I suppose

“Syaoran is my fiance” I have had it up to HERE with this anime cousinfuckery I don’t CARE if it’s cool in Japan or Hong Kong or whatever STOP BEING WEIRD WITH YOUR COUSINS

Poor Syaoran he was doing so well with getting along with Sakura until Meilin got here

"It was done by a girl again?” Oh my god is Meilin beating up grown men in parks for street cred

“It seems our relationship chart has gotten rather complicated” Tomoyo probably means astrology chart but here’s my understanding so far:

Speaking of complex relationships I wonder how Meilin will react to Syaoran’s crush on Yuki

This rivalry between Sakura and Meilin could not be more one-sided

I really was wondering for a second if the card was going to split in half

I love the vibe of Sakura and Toya teaming up to help their creepy dad but even MORE SO I love that Yukito is In This Household

“The contents are already up here” This episode really doesn’t hit the same way now that cloud storage exists and also what were all those floppy disks for if not to save your work Mr. Kinomoto

I love that Tomoyo always pulls her weight in her superhero sidekick role like she is here to support and help whenever needed 

Sakura using her powers to impress her crush with a ghost duet lmao these priorities 

“Sakura’s Little Adventure” I see what u did there

Kero’s little shoulder pat with his paw to let Sakura know he’s there aw

Omg this Clow Card is so cute “Is it your fault I’m so small now?” [nods pleasantly]

It is very bold of Sakura to be doing magic so casually when her brother and Yuki are right downstairs 

I like that this show recognizes the inherent intimacy of allowing someone to cut your hair

“Information about you has gotten around to the cards” well this is an ominous start to this funky tarot reading

Well the experience of seeing his little sister try to murder him has got to be traumatizing for Toya I hope he doesn’t remember this

UMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM DID TOYA JUST FALL OFF OF A CLIFF

“Can you give me a break... and stop looking like Sakura” EXCUSE ME

“My mom’s up there too, so say hi to her for me” OH MY GOOOOD TOYA REALLY DOES SEE GHOSTS AHHHHHHHHHHH

WAIT SO IT WAS A CLOW CARD DOES TOYA HAVE MAGICAL POWERS TOO

Omg @ Toya feeding Yuki from his bed this really is an intimate episode

I kind of appreciate the slow build of this show like it took them 25 episodes to introduce meaningful stakes

“But it might be tougher than the earth going ‘boom!’ Depending on who you are...” Well hello threatening figure in sunglasses standing outside Sakura’s house what’s up

“I’ll look the other way” Ms Mizuki is literally this meme:

I can only assume that if Toya knows Ms. Mizuki then she must be a ghost

Personally if Mizuki gives Syaoran the heebie jeebies I trust his instincts

“Um... do you like Yukito too?” Oh my goooood they’re sincerely discussing being Not Straight in middle school in this 90s anime that I watched when I was 7 I cannot believe

“And it’s been a year since you told me you loved me here” WHY DOES EVERYONE IN THIS FAMILY WANT TO DATE SOMEONE TOO OLD FOR THEM WHAT THE FUCK WERE YOU DOING DATING SOMEONE TOYA’S AGE MIZUKI

Also I have to rethink every thought I had about Toya being gay. I mean bi is great too but my thoughts..... racing...........

“Because the next time I see you, you’ll have someone else that you’ll be in love with” Yukito BF confirmed but oh my GOD this relationship chart IS complicated good lord

If there’s anything the episode “Sakura and Her Shrine of Memories” has taught me it’s that everyone in this show is bisexual and all teachers in their neighbourhood should be in jail

I understand that Meilin is a kid but poor Syaoran he is constantly being harassed 

I love Yuki’s bottomless stomach lmao

Syaoran and Sakura have such a genuinely supportive relationship but it is very funny how they try simultaneously to get Yuki’s attention with the exact same words

“I’ve been thinking for a while that Mr. Terada is a lot like my dad” oh thank you Rika for someone finally being normal in this show

“Well it’s a harmless one” You see this is what I mean the dichotomy of Clow Cards is like... “I’m going trap you in a maze until you perish” or “I’m gonna give you a sugar rush :]”

I like that Sakura and Syaoran are starting to partner up as a duo on purpose like yessss I love a 1-2 finish and friendship development

Ahhh poor Syaoran he’s realizing that Yukito’s #1 in his life is the Kinomoto fam

We’re all familiar with the eternal struggle of whether using ur superpowers for school sports is cheating 

AWWW SYAORAN USING HIS POWERS FOR MAGICAL PEP TALKS AFTER HE HELPED TURN REI’S PET FOX INTO A POKEMON CARD THAT’S MY BOOOOY

“I will stomp on him” it’s been 31 episodes let Sakura stomp on her brother

Oh my GOOOD does this Big card mean that Sakura WILL FINALLY STOMP ON TOYA LMAO

Ur telling me that no one else in this ENTIRE TOWN notices this altercation of a giant preteen vs a dragon

Why does the logic for how voices travel based on size apply for the Little card (when Toya was speaking) and not for the Big card (when Sakura is speaking)

Sgskdhgkhkgjh honestly body switching as a trope will never not be funny

Syaoran blushing and running away from Sakura oh how the turn tables

Every domestic scene that Yuki and Toya have adds ten years to my life we love some gay/bi teens about to be gay/bi adults

Ffskhhfkj I absolutely cannot relate to this Southern Hemisphere nonsense of finding ten degrees celsius arctic cold like BRO that is a normal spring day here

“We’re not frozen because we have magical powers” I know that cutaway was to confirm Mizuki’s magical powers again but this would’ve been a hilarious time to reveal that like Yamazaki the Compulsively Lying Classmate had powers

Awwww he likes her now that’s cute 

“I got work that day” I will bet someone ten dollars that Toya is working at that quiz rally

Update from 5 minutes later: PAYPAL ME $10

Kero keeps whispering to the moon when in fact some iteration of the moon is right around the corner (literally)

GOOOOOOOOD SYAORAN REALIZING HE HAS A CRUSH ON BOTH HALVES OF THAT TEAM KILLS ME SWEET BOY

Shared Gaze of People Who Have Dated* Toya and Have Magical Powers They Haven’t Revealed Yet

*Go to jail Mizuki

I am really going crazy wondering when they’re gonna reveal stuff about Yukito like bitchhhhhhh I know you’re a moon man when will u tellll usss

How many more times will Sakura have this same threatening dream before she realizes her math teacher is probably going to try to kill her

Update from one minute later: I guess it was exactly one more time

“That’s right, Yukito’s birthday is on Christmas day” is this coming to be a coming of age where he like suddenly sprouts wings at age 17

I’ve been thinking this for a while but this show makes it seem like Japan has a much more fun approach to athletics than my school experiences

Yukito really is unflappable about hanging out with a bunch of kids half his height huh he’s like the Fourth Grader Whisperer

I KNEW IT YUKITO NEVER GOES WITH SAKURA ANYWHERE UNLESS HER BROTHER WILL ALSO BE WORKING THERE DFHKDFHKJ every time it’s just “Hey Toya :)”

“This kid...” HAHAH TOYA HAS JUST REALIZED THAT SYAORAN HAS A CRUSH ON HIS LITTLE SISTER AND HIS BOYFRIEND THE UTTER SUSPICION IN HIS TONE

“Wind become a binding chain” Whoops Sakura foiled by 4th grade knowledge of the elements

Oh shiiiit love a world-building moment now we have two card combos in play ayyyyy

Lmao @ Kero using his returned powers immediately for fireworks mood lighting is a serious Clow Card priority

“I would like to come again this year” everything in this show feels like foreshadowing for dramatic irony

[littlemisssquiggles]

Hello! I don't know if you've seen the Trollhunters series, but in the third season Jim has the opportunity to become a troll/human. However the effects would be permanent, and in the words of Merlin "Part of you will remain Jim, but the other part will never be the same." I've been thinking that something similar could happen with Oscar. That he has the opportunity to "fuse" his soul with the soul of Ozpin. Feeling not like Oscar, nor as Ozpin, but as someone else.

Hi there Los! I have actually seen Trollhunters and was a fan of the series for a while when it first dropped. However I sadly never finished the series (or checking out all it’s other spin-offs). I made it as far as I think the sixth or seventh episode of S2 and never got around to finishing it. So…yeah, thank you for that nice spoiler there XD Just kidding, I kind of already know about the Jim turning into a troll bit but mostly from spoiler screenshots on Twitter. I didn’t really know the context behind it until you explained it. Again, thanks for the spoiler but it’s cool.

In regards to Oscar and Ozpin and the Merge—well once upon a time, in a RWBY Musing of mine way back before V6, I shared my own views on the merging of the two souls that was not so different from your theory fam. 

I figured that the Merge would’ve been similar to fusion in Steven Universe and I even used the character of Garnet as my example. Not sure if you’re a SU fan but in the series, Garnet is a fusion of two gems named Ruby and Sapphire and the embodiment of their love for one another. 

While Ruby and Sapphire are their own individual characters with their owndistinctive personalities, what’s interesting to note about Garnet is thatinspite of being a fusion of two gems, the show and by extension, the other characters within the Steven Universe world have always treated Garnet as her own character outside of the two gems she’s comprised of.

As a fusion, Garnet possesses physical characteristics, mannerisms and of course abilities that she inherited from Ruby and Sapphire respectively. Nonetheless, Garnet is still seen as her own gem and thus her own character. This is how I originally pegged the Merge to be with the treatment of the ‘new Oscar’ afterwards.

This squiggle meister has NEVER 100% bought into the holdnotion of Oscar completely losing himself to the Merge. Ever more after I recapped V5 and remembered how Ozpin told RNJR that HE is the one destined to change with the fusing of the two souls. NOT Oscar.

I originally pictured the Merge would’ve involved Oscar and Oz forming a new persona who I dubbed the Wizard—the embodiment of both minds,inheriting all of Ozpin’s original memories and abilities while still retainingOscar as the dominant personality since he is supposed to be Ozpin’s successor.

Despite the CRWBY Writers attempting to sort of convince the FNDM with the idea of Oscar disappearing entirely by having that be a concern of said character, I still don’t buy into it because there have been other little breadcrumbs sprinkled throughout the last few seasons that highlight Oscar’s experience with the Merge being different from his predecessors.

Hence why I’ve now dropped my original theory in favour of a new one. Nowadays, I’ve deviated to my Pinehead headcanon where I think that Oscar is actually Ozma

I’m going to tag @daggerpawstudios​ here as well since my points in this response post also answers her inboxed question:

Hey squiggles!! I read your theory on Ozma and Oscar joining souls to just make Oscar whole again. I think you mat be on to something. I recebtly just rewatched eipsode 3 of volume 6 and i never noticed that Oscar and Ozma have the same voice actor as well. You can hear it wheb Ozma says his lines in the stories. I also find it interesting because it is implied that Oscar is the last recarnination of Ozma by the way he speaks in volume 5.

Basically my idea was that Oscar is possibly the teenage re-embodiment of Ozma’s original form that he never regained after his soul was first resurrected in the body of Diggs (Ozma 2.0). In the Lost Fable, it was highlighted that only Ozma was only brought back soul form. He never truly regained his original body; hence Ozma’s genuine surprise when he realized that he wasn’t in his old body and was instead inhabiting the mind of somebody else’s (Diggs). 

It also justifies Oscar’s reaction to seeing Ozma’s shock of being paired with Diggs the firs time and his solemn “He didn’t know” remark since Ozma didn’t know the Gods would bring him back in the body that wasn’t his own.

The narrative has placed too much emphasis on Oscar being his own person to just have him become somebody else.

Not to mention there’s the whole important bit with Ozpin’s allies and enemies reacting to his sudden reappearance as if they weren’t expecting him back, at least not so soon.

My hunch with that the Ozma Cycle doesn’t work like the Avatar Cycle or the Doctor Lineage. Instead of being brought back almost immediately after the death of their predescessor within the same time period, my guess is that a new Wizard is reborn every half a century or so. I do a much better job at explaining this theory in this post right here. 

But the general consensus is that Oz was NOT supposed to be back this soon.

I initially figured this was the case after recalling Lionheart’s reaction to Oscar back in V5 and Tyrian’s reaction to the news of his return in V6 and now  Ironwood’s reaction to Oscar being revealed as Ozpin’s successor in V7 further supports my theory.

“...This can’t be...I knew you would be back, but...you made it here! You found Qrow! How?” - Lionheart (RWBY V5 Chapter 11) 

“...Ma’am. I have more to report. Qrow and the children are taking the Lamp to Atlas...” Hazel Rainart.“...Not if I can help it...” Tyrian Callows“...And they’re being led by Ozpin.” Hazel“...So soon?!” Tyrian (RWBY V6 Chapter 4) 

“Oz? I’m so glad you’re here. I didn’t think you---” Ironwood (RWBY V7 Chapter 2) 

Here are three examples of characters being surprised to see Ozpin back so prematurely so clearly there is something is very, very different about the Cycle when it comes to Oscar. 

Instead of being reborn in another like-minded soul possibly years down the line as the cycle probably works, Ozpin’s soul took an unexpected detour and was instead paired up with Oscar.

You might be asking why though? 

Why would the cycle suddenly do this all of a sudden and why would it suddenly chose Oscar Pine—a 14-year-old farm boy from Mistral all of a sudden.

This brings me to my headcanon. I’d like to believe that Ozma’s cyclehas been pretty consistent up until Oscar’s lifetime. While the show didn’thave Ozpin make a big deal about him suddenly being brought back sooner than usual inside the body of Oscar Pine, it’s the characters associated with Ozpin and the Ozma Cycle that give me this strong impression.

I’d like to think there is something very special about Oscar that sets him apart from other Wizards and Ozma successors and it’s why I strongly believe his experience with the Merge will be much different and much more significant. 

This is why I like my theory of Oscar secretly being Ozma’s original body that he never regained after his first reincarnation, now resurrected in Modern Remnant and given a second chance at life.

This theory of mine was inspired by a similar scenario in the magical girl series Sakura Cardcaptors where the character of Eriol Hiraigazawa is one half reincarnation of the great wizard and creator of the Clow Cards: Clow Reed while the second half was Sakura’s father.

Both characters were two halves of Clow Reed, only Eriol was the younger half who inherited all of Clow’s memories and magical abiltiies while Sakura’s father---Fujitaka Kinomoto---didn’t. 

My idea was that since Ozpin is the current version of Ozma’s soul (theculmination of him and all the other Wizards over the years), if Oscar is revealed as the other reincarnated half of Ozma---his body--- then that could mean that our impression of the Merge has been wrong.

What if...the Merge isn’t meant to erase Oscar. It’s meant to make him whole. Body and Soul together as one make a person, right? 

So my idea was that merging with Ozpin would help Oscar see the truth of who he really is. That Oscar is in fact the one true Ozma. 

This also ties into my theory where I believe Oscar is meant to represent the end of the Ozma Reincarnation Cycle. He’s meant to be the last life. 

This is also why I love the idea of him being revealed to be the true Ozma. This whole shebang with Salem began with him in his first lifetime and therefore should end with him in his last lifetime. 

Ozma was the beginning so Oscar will be the end. The end of a cycle. 

I love the concept of the Merging of the Two Souls actually representing the reunion of Ozma’s soul with his original body, therefore fully resurrecting the original Warrior of Light from First Remnant to become the Warrior of Light of the New Remnant. 

...or at least one of them.

The irony with this is that neither Ozma’s soul nor his body are the same anymore. They’ve both been changed. Ozma or rather the soul of Ozma has definitely changed from all of his lifetimes spent living in the company of the like-minded men he was paired with while his original body was given a new life and purpose in the Modern Word. 

Ozma has been a lingering sentiment of First Remnant who has withstood the ultimately test of time. This all started with him and Salem basically. Ozma is a primary player in RWBY’s key arc with Salem. All the more reason why I think it would be so cool if Ozma and Oscar are actually one and the same.Thinkabout it.

I also really love the concept ofor the obvious nod to the Wizard of Oz and its sequel story--- The Marvelous Land of Oz. 

Wasn’t the Wizard original believed to be the ruler of Oz until  later it was ultimately revealed that Princess Ozma was the true ruler.

Princess Ozma was the true ruler of Oz. Oscar is true reincarnation of Ozma. Here we’re all thinking that Oscar is going to become the Wizard when it actuality, he’s the true ruler of Oz.  Think about it.

Imagine…how compelling of a twist it would be if, here we have Oscar believing that he’s going to lose himself entirely to Ozma—becoming someone he didn’t recognize—living as just another one of Ozma’s many lives when in reality, he’s not meant to lose himself.

He’s going to be made whole again. He wouldn’t become someone he didn’t know. He’ll be himself again and instead of living another life as Ozma, Oscar will be the proper second chance at a new life that Ozma never thought he’d get.

I really like the idea of Oscar realizing he is in fact the real Ozma and then afterwards deciding for himself who he wants to be. 

Now that he knows the truth of who he really is, courtesy of the Merge, does hetake back his original Ozma name or will be continue forward as Oscar? 

Naturally, Oscar chooses to be Oscar. Although folks can still address him as ‘Oz’ if they’d like for those who were more familiar with him under that nickname. 

Fun Fact: Did you know that ‘Oz’ is actually a pet name for ‘Oscar’.

As Oscar, our little barn prince now fully reborn as a Warrior of Light, still plans on fulfilling his duty to save humanity from Salem but he now does so under the firm motivation that his life as Oscar will be his final one. No more innocent souls being dragged into his war with Salem. It may have began with Ozma but it will end with Oscar.

This is my current impression on the Merge and my main theory for where I think Oscar’s Arc might go. I could essentially be wrong but nonetheless, this is one of my favourite Pinehead headcanons that I really, really love at the moment. And I hope you like it too, Los.

I hope this post also answers your question along with Dagger’s. 

~LittleMissSquiggles (2019)

[kurtty-drabbles]

Misfit au (meetings)

N/A: Yep, this will be a new au, now, this one will be a bit short as I want to make how Columbina and Creepy meet, and, do I make the "I seek Justice" a subplot? Maybe

@djinmer4 @sailorstar9 @dannybagpipesarecalling @discordsworld @look-ma-no-hands336

The sirens are ringing, as usual, a pink diamond is being held at the Metropolitan Museum of New Gotham and Columbina only smiles as the diamond is present and no security is fit to go against Columbina or prevent her small hands to grab the pink diamond.

She giggles happily as the pink diamond is in her hands. Phasing and gymnastic abilities are perfect for a cat burglar. "A pink diamond in the hand" she speaks and as she is running, well, to be exact, she´s hovering in the air, some cops watch her and once having the proof Kitty is intangible, call to commiserate Gordon.

Meanwhile, Columbina is moving to the Penthouse area and is giggling happily, however, once again someone is watching the figure. Dark Claw was having a low night, almost returning back home, but, now that Columbina is doing her schemes, the man should go against her.

"You know what? I´ll call him, this is his area of expertise" Dark Claw send an auto-message to his ally "after all, he loves blondes" Dark Claw speaks as Columbina´s wig still give the impression that she a blonde, but, Dark Claw know many villains and villainess use wigs in this ...so called profession.

The woman is on a balcony as gazing at Emma Gay for a moment, the blonde woman is not happy to see the clow woman as her sneer increase. "Leave or I´ll call the police"

"Sure, sure," Columbina speaks with her fake accent and adjust herself to show the diamond better "you better do call, because, then we can figure it out why the diamond in the museum is fake and why you have the real version?" Kitty crushes the diamond with a glee in her eyes and now, slowly, Emma puts her phone down "Frosty can´t resist a pink diamond, and the police wants to arrest anyone for that crime...imagine that"

Emma sneers at Columbina. "Are you being petty?" and adds in her snobbish way "the clow girl is trying to take down the Queen?"

Columbina shakes her head, in a rather comical way. "No, I just want to mess around with a dumbass" Columbina replies easily and Emma is ready to take her whip, sadly, the real blonde didn´t remember Columbina´s power so the whip is pointless.

"When you see a Queen for me to take down, let me know, ok? Frosty, oh, words of advice" she smiles childishly now "don´t mess with me unless you are ready to burn" she is flying now.

Emma is now screaming at the top of her lungs. "Columbina! I´ll get you" she is screaming and many neighbours are telling Emma to be quiet, meanwhile, Columbina just shouts back "Do you want to tell the world your secret? Miss Gay"

And now Emma Gay is dumbfounded. Columbina is her new nemesis and she will destroy her. (Emma Gay knows New Gotham has space for only one burglar and isn´t Columbina)

As she´s flying around thinking how the museum will deal with this new situation, the blame will go on her, but, the museum can also activate the insurance and get millions.

"Oh, the woes of being an agent of insurance. Must be a really, really crazy job here" Columbina speaks to herself, but, someone seems to join the conversation.

"I´d agree and I know a thing about crazy." A man covered in green fur and wearing something Jojo Bizarre adventure would be proud waves his tail (of course, he has a tail) as a big grin meet on his face. "And who are you, fraun?"

"German?" Columbina speaks, still with her fake accent, and the man seems to found the answer worth to laugh maniacally, somehow, Columbina is not afraid.

"You´re not really from Germany, uhm, in fact, you don´t seem to be from Australia either" the green fur man speaks pondering for a mere second, and Columbina likes to think her impression of accents is improving if people are being able to place a country on the accent. "what´s your name?"

"Don´t be creepy, you should introduce yourself first before asking for a woman´s name" Kitty speaks crossing her arms. The green fur man giggles amused and didn´t let that stop him. "Is Nightcreepr, actually, now, what´s your name?"

Kitty pouts for a moment, the man is clearly crazy, but hey, Columbina had a crazy life and besides, life is a comedy. "The name is Columbina"

"Not German?" he asked giggling madly at this. Columbina pouts at this. "No, not German, and what are you doing here? Wanna steal something?"

"Oh, Madchen, I would rather steal you"

"Lame pick-up, dude, and I've got a hammer"

And soon, her night was not lonely anymore as Nightcreeper makes sure of it, overall, he´s not that bad, but, the man is clearly crazy, but, not a  bad companion.

On the next day, Kitty Pryde is on the elevator, she has to shoot a new episode of Sketch TV, however, the woman is a bit tired as she did spend too much time with Creepy and didn´t manage to steal thanks for that.

The woman let a yawn and when she opens her eyes, Kurt Ryder, from the Gotham News, is there with her. "Guten Tag, Miss Pryde"

Kitty blinks. "Oh, you´re wrong" she points at him comically and he just chuckles. "Sorry, I´m a bit sleepy, and, you´re that guy from You´re wrong"

"Well, you´re right," he said looking at her chestnut hair tied up in a bun, her pink lips, her red outfit, and a sleepy face, it is a rather cute expression, he has to admit. "rough night?"

"Well, I meet someone last night, the guy is fun, a bit crazy here and there, but, hey, we´re all a bit crazy sometimes" Kitty explained as the elevator is still on the second floor, Kitty has to go to the fourth floor. Kurt Ryder smiles at that.

"I see, well, if you need coffee, the cafeteria has a new machine" he offers gentle, and Kitty refuses saying she already take a nice cup of coffee. "What I need is to do my work and laugh" she speaks as now the elevator is on the fourth floor. "And you, keep doing the real journalism...people don´t really get that my show is a comedy, not a real journalistic show"

Kurt Ryder is smiled as he has to go to the fifth floor. Kitty Pryde is really cute and is cuter without the fake accent.

[animebw]

Binge-Watching: Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card, Day 4, Episodes 17-19

Man, it’s been way too long since I watched this show. Enjoy my penultimate dive into Clear Card!

I Need to Rethink Everything

I feel like there’s a bizarre sort of dichotomy with these few episodes, in that nothing of interest really happened- we’re definitely in the hang-out-and-chill portion of the show- and yet the few tidbits of new information we did get have completely blown any previous theories I’ve had about what’s really going on straight to hell. I’m beginning to think there’s going to be more Clear Card than just these 22 episodes; the way the plot has been unspooling makes me think we’re going to end this season on a big reveal that will utterly shred the status quo once more and set the stage for things to unfold in future episodes. I don’t know if I’m right about that, but if these episodes are any indication, there’s a lot more going on here than I could’ve guessed.

First off: I’m beginning to doubt that Kaito is a villain, or any kind of antagonistic force at all. From what he talks about with Momo (who of course was alive all this time), it seems like he wants Sakura to collect all the Clear Cards as soon as possible, to prepare to challenge... the book Akiho was reading? The Alice where the events she reads somehow end up occurring in real life? Yeah, something a lot more complicated that simple antagonism is going on here. Is Kaito trying to fight the forces of fate in some regard? How is Akiho tied to the book’s powers? Is she an incredibly powerful magician herself without realizing it, and her powers are starting to wreak havoc now that she’s growing up? Was Kaito assigned to be her ward by that mage association to keep her Safe? Or to keep others safe from her? Is his time-turning-back pocket watch a last line of defense in case she starts going completely out of control? I have no idea, is what I’m saying, and that’s a refreshing change of pace after the easy-to-predict goals and machinations of Eriol.

And SPEAKING of Eriol, you have a LOT to answer for, you bespectacled bastard. Because I cannot think of any possible reason why Li somehow has access to Windy- a goddamn Clow Card power that by all accounts is unusable thanks to its card being wiped blank- except that YOU gave it to him. Which means YOU were the one who wiped the cards in the first place. Which means that even after you dicked her around for twenty-odd episodes to make her change all the Clow Cards into Sakura Cards, even after your super secret special card almost wiped her romantic feelings out of existence, even NOW you’re not done screwing with Sakura. And this time, you’ve enlisted her boyfriend to do your dirty work, a fact which is clearly weighing heavily on Li’s mind. I don’t know what you’re playing at, or why you felt it was necessary for Sakura to get an entirely new set of cards after she’d finally mastered all of yours, but it better be really fucking good.

And evidently, Yue and Kero think so too, as they end this stretch of episodes deciding that they need to contact him, whatever it takes. The vice of tension is tightening once more: Toya’s powers are returning, Sakura is growing increasingly powerful, and everything I thought I knew about the situation at hand has gone so askew that even Clow’s closest companions are scared about what’s to come. Yep, this is still Cardcaptor Sakura, alright. And I’m really gonna be sad when it’s done.

Odds and Ends

-Okay, Kero freaking out about Sakura’s well-being is aesthetic as fuck.

-Well, hello, Rika! Good to see you again.

-That was a weird sequence of everyone baking with Chibi faces. Usually we pull out that style for when people are flustered or panicking, but they were just baking here.

-”They don’t seem to be causing any harm...” Congratulations, you played yourself.

-Dessert. Roll. Kaiju. God, I love this show.

-”It can’t reach us up here!” This episode is just one long “Congratulations, you played yourself”, isn’t it?

-Oh man, the desperation in that cry was intense. Li’s so good, guys.

-”Having proper meals is important, but isn’t it more important to eat delicious things when you want to eat them?” Kaito, you’re a good egg. It’s official.

-Man, I miss pop-up books. When did I arbitrarily decide I was too old for them? Shame on you, past me.

-Homigosh she tried to make his outfit on the cake that’s cuuuuuuute

-Christ, that was the cutest belly grumble ever. You are such a Mugi, Akiho.

-An actual goddamn phoenix. Awesome. And that brief water/fire fight was EPIC.

-Oh god, that’s right. Without the Clow Cards, there’ll be no more interactions between Toya and Mirror Sakura. OH GOD PLEASE GET THEM BACK SOON SAKURA

-God dammit I wasn’t ready for that Engrish. I keep forgetting that Li is multilingual and isn’t afraid to whip that skill out on a whim.

-”Sakura’s attack just dropped his HP to zero!” slaskjdaksdjsdajkda

-Okay, I need more of Li’s sisters stat.

-Aw, what a sweet fable they read to the kids. Also, damn, Li, nice piano skills.

One more session to go. See you later today for the grand finale!

[shiobookmark]

Rereading Tsubasa...

Let’s see if I can hold this all in my head. It’s actually not too convoluted when read all at once, Clamp just loves being confusing and then trying to backtrack and explain.

Fei Wang Reed wants to bring Yuuko back to life and is accumulating power in order to do that and break apart the rules that forbid the return of the dead. In order to do that he needs a body that has seen multiple dimensions.That’s what his plan is, it’s why he does all this stuff. A lot of other stuff he does seems to be to create timeline confusion, such as manipulating Syaoran into saving Sakura from the point of death. Because if one person can do it, so can he.

If you bear that in mind and work forward chronologically, things make more sense. Clow unintentionally froze Yuuko’s time upon her death, because he wished for her to open her eyes just one last time, and his magic made it happen. Fei Wang wants to complete the wish and bring her back for real in order to surpass Clow. It’s very petty. Fei Wang eventually creates Ultimate Sakura by combining reverted time little girl Sakura with Clone Sakura’s body and a feather that’s built up power over eons. This is to shatter dimensions and bring Yuuko back. First, original timeline stuff:

Syaoran’s parents sent him to Clow dimension to try and save Sakura. We’re lead to believe that his parents are CCS Sakura and Syaoran but they’re not. CCS Sakura gave his mother her sealing wand to pay Yuuko for Syaoran’s trip to Clow. It’s a red herring. Everyone knew ahead of time that Syaoran’s choice on Sakura’s seventh birthday would set things in motion. Yuuko made the Mokonas for that purpose.

Sakura hears a call to the ruins much as she did in the first chapter. Syaoran is with her in the ruins in the morning and Fei Wang Reed tries to attack her, she’s protected by the water spirit in the temple.  He reaches for her, she tries to tell him her true name. He hesitates a moment and is unable to rescue her so Fei Wang gives her a death curse. Syaoran runs out of time in Clow and is transported back to Yuuko’s shop. He chooses to never see his parents or world again in order to go back to Clow and try and save Sakura from the curse. But he fails and the curse begins to kill Sakura on her coming of age birthday, so her mother stops time.

Syaoran wishes to turn back time so that he would not hesitate and save Sakura from the mark. But doing that makes a distortion in time which most greatly affects the people who know about the mark, Sakura’s parents, and Syaoran himself. He’s made a child again, leaving a void in relationships and time that’s filled by Watanuki, who is now the child of Syaoran’s parents, taking his place as their son. The distorted time means his parents suffer and Watanuki himself suffers and may disappear at any moment because it’s all unstable. Watanuki is the same person as Syaoran, created to fill the hole in the timeline. The reason he attracts spirits is because he subconsciously senses he shouldn’t exist and is suicidal without being entirely aware of it. Given revelations about who Watanuki/Syaoran’s parents are and that they have no memory of Watanuki... we can assume it’s because his timeline is broken. He shouldn’t exist.  Yuuko says ‘fuck that’ and takes Watanuki under her wing, trying to ensure he becomes a person in his own right so he won’t disappear. This is why in XXXholic she encourages his adventures and relationships with Doumeki and Himawari.

As further payment for turning back time, Syaoran is imprisoned by Fei Wang Reed for years, losing his freedom.  Fei Wang hints that because Watanuki looks like Clow, this was part of Clow’s plan. This doesn’t come up later. I think Clamp dropped another Red Herring. Syaoran has split the timeline, which helps further Fei Wang’s plans. (Because he’s trying to break reality and bring Yuuko back to life, so I think this helps shatter ‘reason’ more.) Syaoran is pretty sure this distortion in time is why Yui and Fai were born as twins and why Kurogane’s parents died. I think this is meant to be ‘general chaos and calamity’ rather than anything specific. Fai and Kurogane rightly point out that trying to take responsibility for literally everything bad ever happening is kind of arrogant so don’t do that shit. They’re really on the same page now and I love to see it. Power couple!

Fei Wang made a clone of Syaoran and the original Syaoran gave him part of his soul so he wouldn’t be a killing machine. Reed couldn’t remove it and it wouldn’t affect his compulsion to seek feathers, so he sent him to a new timeline to grow up with Sakura. (Remember original timeline Sakura is frozen waiting for Syaoran to save her.) Sakura was drawn to the ruins and her memories scattered, at which point Reed made a clone of her body and soul and destroyed her original body, leaving only her original soul. Or so he thinks. His goal was to have a body that’s experienced a bunch of different dimensions, which is why he scattered the feathers. The purpose behind the clone was so that he’d have a backup file, basically. He made a clone of Syaoran because he couldn’t control real Syaoran.

He manipulated Fai/Yui so he’d have a mole acting in his best interests but I honestly can’t recall a time that Fai actually did anything? Kurogane and Mokona were the only free agents. I think he killed Kurogane’s parents as an attempt to manipulate him, but Tomoyo took care of him and so that never happened. Clone Sakura remembered that she was a clone in the Tokyo arc, and regained her ability to see the future. She foresaw that Fai would kill Original Syaoran and gave up her good luck and a bunch of other stuff to both ensure that Fai would stab her instead, and that she’d survive the process by being split from her body and sent into the world of dreams. Which lead to Syaoran vs Clone Syaoran and Clone Sakura’s soul dying when they both stabbed her.

So now we have an original soul and a clone body of Sakura. Two Syaoran’s, the original intact with his soul and the clone. So far so good. By the way this is why the Syaoran we first knew had no memories. He was a clone. He was blind in his right eye because that’s where the soul given to him by the original Syaoran was kept, and how original Syaoran saw through his eyes.

So we’re going down into Clow’s ruins where original timeline Sakura is frozen at the moment before being given the curse mark, she’s been there this whole time just frozen and waiting for Original Syaoran to come save her. Clone Syaoran and Fei Wang show up. Kurogane and Fai are a battle couple against Fei Wang, really do love to see their understanding. They’ve very close and operating as a unit. Great to see Fai happy and content as well.  Syaoran and Clone Syaoran work together to land a blow on Fei Wang, but Clone Syaoran is killed in the process.  The poor boy dies asking Syaoran to return Sakura’s feathers, thanking Kurogane, Fai, Mokona and Syaoran for his life. When you consider this is the Syaoran we knew for so long, it hurts. Honestly a weakness of this plot is that real Syaoran is identical in personality and experience, it’s easy to forget. Clone Syaoran returns Fai’s magic, having tended to it and used it so much that Fai is now essentially back at full strength. They confront Fei Wang, but it turns out he just used Kyle Rondart as a body double and Kyle was simply another created being. Why he was after the feathers...? Who knows. Time starts to move again, the Clone Sakura’s body is floating and Syaoran dives to save little kid Sakura before she can be cursed again. Mokona senses feathers. But there were no feathers in the Kingdom of Clow? Except now there are because Sakura left one in Tokyo, and Tokyo is Clow’s past. The water protected original timeline Sakura because her feather was in it. Timey wimey, don’t worry about it.

The feather has accumulated power over the long time in the ruins and Clone Sakura’s body is etched with memories of different dimensions, then there’s time reverted little girl Sakura who is a ‘pure existence’ and they combine into one Sakura.  Because Syaoran saved Sakura from the moment of death, it calls Yuuko out of her suspended time.  She then reveals that Original Syaoran’s parents trapped themselves in the tube thing, waiting for years without aging, without being able to touch the person they love most. This is so they can confront Fei Wang and restore the dimensions he is shattering. Turns out what happened to Clone Syaoran was that he went to the world of dreams and Clone Sakura’s soul combined with Original Sakura’s supposedly destroyed body. Because they’re created beings they don’t die and can be reborn, circumventing the ‘not coming back from death’ rule. It’s very handwavy, go with it. Clow played the part of Sakura’s father in the new timeline because the distortion displaced Fujitaka and killed Nadeshiko. He gave his power and his life so she could be reborn. Yuuko pays the price for Clone Syaoran to be reborn by restarting her time and dying. The Clones are reborn with their memories intact. Sakura is on a school trip to Hong Kong with Umi, Hikaru and Fuu. There she meets Syaoran and it’s a lovely moment.  Years later they have a baby through a difficult birth. It’s Original Syaoran. Yup. The timeline is really messed up. But when you consider that even in the ‘original timeline’ Syaoran’s father was still Syaoran, it becomes clearly an ouroboros, inevitability thing. It’s a closed loop of time.

Clone Sakura has dreamed that at the end of all this the real Sakura and Syaoran will be separated forever. The Clones don’t want that, so they pay the price of being separated for gods knows how long so they can break out of the time loop.

There’s a lovely scene with Kurogane scolding the clones, Fai relieved they’re alive and Mokona tearing up. The kids were happy and had good lives.  The Clones realise that they’re loved by their surrogate family despite it all. But Yuuko is now dead, because her time restarted the moment she fulfilled the trade with the clones. So Fei Wang can’t surpass Clow. Fei Wang tries to turn back time and search the dimensions for a place where Yuuko exists and separate one pair of Sakura and Syaoran as the price. The other pair (the originals I think) try to save them and they all get sucked into the tube. They affirm that they love each other as parents/kids and other halves of themselves and through the power of determination choose a future where they can all be together. The Sakuras together have the power to traverse dimensions and use it to escape the tube, risking destroying every dimension. Even Fei Wang is freaked out.

But it’s better than a closed loop of time. Because a closed loop is the same as death.

The Sakuras use their feather memories to restore the dimensions but the Syaorans get trapped in limbo with Watanuki. Because Syaoran’s existence has to pay the price for his crime of shattering time, and they are all Syaoran.

But Clone Syaoran vanishes since the ‘original’ has ceased to exist and this creates the fissure they need for Watanuki and Syaoran to return. Clamp loves their circular logic. Watanuki and Syaoran have to pay a price for returning.  Watanuki can never leave the shop, which means he never dies, waiting for Yuko to come back even though she never will. She might reincarnate but she won’t be the same. And Syaoran can’t stay in one dimension. The memories of the Clones remain with the originals in the form of memory feathers, but otherwise they no longer exist. This leaves Syaoran and Watanuki as fragments of a destroyed timeline, so they needed to pay a price for continued existence. That’s the staying in one place and never staying in one dimension. That way they don’t disturb the timeline too much, apparently because they don’t linger long.

Sakura’s original parents have been restored so she’s fine.

Syaoran’s goal is to find bodies for the clones so they can all exist together. Mokona has an item that’s stored memories of other dimensions, so they can return to Clow and places they’ve already visited more often. Sakura and Syaoran affirm their love for each other and reveal that they have the same true name: Tsubasa, meaning ‘wings.’ Whew! Got it all down. I blame most of the stupid convoluted nonsense on the fact Clamp loves to tell things out of order, rely on wordy exposition, and the shorter chapters toward the end.  Not enough Kurogane and Fai. I want a spin off with just those two. Also, is Fai still a vampire?

[recentanimenews]

Cardcaptor Sakura – 31 – Sakurazilla, Queen of the Kaiju

Touya does it almost every morning: Calling Sakura a kaiju for stomping down the steps and being too loud. One day, Sakura vows to grow tall enough to “stomp” her mean big brother. Little does she know that half of that wish will come true in the service of her Cardcaptor duties.

What’s odd is that despite her friend Naoko finding a book that is clearly a Clow Card (though not a Clear Card) at a used bookstore, Sakura senses the presence of a card elsewhere entirely.

When Sakura comes by later that night when there’s no one around, Tomoyo is with her, and dresses her up in a bold blue battle costume and has her camcorder at the ready to record some cardcapturin’. But they’re not alone: Syaoran and Meiling are also on the scene, and determined to get to the card first.

Unfortunately for Syaoran, cats love him, and when Sakura and Tomoyo manage to Fly to safety after a gigantic cat chases the four of them, he ends up the cat’s focus of attention. Kero-chan determines from the big cat that the Big card is on the loose. Sakura confronts Big, who doesn’t really put up a fight when Sakura moves to seal her.

That would be all, except that Naoko unknowingly has a second Clow Card in her possession in the form of a fantasy book that has blank pages at the end which are meant to be filled in by the owner. Naoko obliges, and the things she imagines and writes down take physical form, from flying animals that wouldn’t normally fly to a 10-story purple dragon. Kero identifies it as the Create card at work.

Faced with the prospect of a literal kaiju wreaking havoc on Tomoeda, Sakura has no choice but to use Big…on herself! Growing to immense size ironically makes her even more adorable, especially as she tries to cower in embarrassment. Even with her greater stature, the dragon is still bigger and stronger and unlike Big puts up quite a fight.

Thankfully Sakura (and, incidentally, the city) is saved when Naoko decides to put the quill down, close her book, and go to bed. Just like that, the dragon evaporates, and Sakura seals Create, and returns to normal size. But the next morning, when Touya teases her about being a kaiju once more, she takes comfort in the knowledge that she could grow to the size of a real kaiju and intimidate her brother anytime…if she wanted to!

So ends another high-concept—very high-concept!—episode that plays as the complement to the episode in which she shrunk down. But whether she’s big or small, Cardcaptor Sakura will always get the job done.

By: magicalchurlsukui

[alanrangerphotography]

Woodland Photowalk - Ufton Fields Report

On Tuesday 8th January, we held the first of the new monthly woodland photography walks.  The idea is simple. Visit a different woodlands on the first Tuesday of every month, in 2019, and spend a couple of hours together on a meetup, exploring the woodlands and taking photos.

I have always had a strong connection and interest in woodlands and take regular walks in the woodlands behind my house.  The act of taking time out, away from electronics, domestic and work duties enables us to re-balance our minds and take in exercise and fresh air.

Forest Bathing

This is the healing way of Shinrin-yoku Forest Therapy, the medicine of simply being in the forest. Shinrin-yoku is a term that means "taking in the forest atmosphere" or "forest bathing." It was developed in Japan during the 1980s and has become a cornerstone of preventive health care and healing in Japanese medicine.

The woodland walks are aimed to promote our senses and connection to trees/woodland/nature - as we walk, observe and take in our environment we may decide to make a photograph, or not.

Ufton Fields Nature Reserve

We were blessed with sunny weather conditions on Tuesday so I was delighted when the first workshop sold out and I arrived at the car park at Ufton Fields Nature Reserve to find eleven eager people waiting my arrival.

Ufton Fields Nature Reserve is not large, but the 100 acre site, owned by Warwickshire Wildlife Trust has plenty of variety of trees, habitats, wildlife and pools to interest any type of outdoor photographer.  Situated in Harbury, between Gaydon and Leamington Spa the reserve is easy to access with a large enough car park and well marked out circular walking route. The parking and reserve is free of charge.

It was my first visit to the reserve and I was keen to explore the many different types of habitat and variety of shots that could be created using the pools left from the limestone quarry pits and abundance of gnarly tree trunks that always draw me to make a “Lord of the Rings” dark and moody woodland portrait.

As it transpired I found when returning home to review the images from the excursion, just about every image i had made was low key and moody.  I don’t recall setting out with that intention but clearly my mind was attracted to small window glimpse rather than the wider angle spectacular views, with the exception of one or two towards the end of the photo walk.

Contrast

Outdoor photography is predominantly impacted by the quality and quantity of light.  Bright sunshine in open space can be hard to handle with harsh highlights and shadows.  In a woodlands situation those harsh light extremities can be taken advantage of to create something moodier using one extreme against the other (light against dark for example) but contained in a much smaller area and space.  For me, it becomes essential to then find and use a strong structural framework to construct the composition. Tree trunks, paths, anything where the light leads the eye through and around the frame.

This shot, “The Edge” was my personal favourite from the day. Shot on a long lens at 160mm f13 using spot metering on the highlights to hold back the shadows to as close to black as possible without clipping and holding the exposure for the sunlit branches of the foreground trees. In fact the majority shots taken by me were taken using that method. Low Key images (low key meaning most of the pixels are shadows/dark) rely on you overriding the camera’s attempt to expose as fully as possible. Whilst exposing to the right is technically correct, it doesn’t mean it is creatively correct to do it for every shot. it pays to experiment and try different techniques to help you realise your creative vision for a shot.

I hope you will be able to join me on the next or any future woodland photo workshop.  These are different from my normal photography workshop format in that they are not restricted to six participants with my focus being the tuition and guidance of the participants.  Instead these walks are about meeting like-minded people who enjoy photography and woodlands who want to explore, share ideas, chat and enjoy a gentle stroll together. Of course, I am on hand and happy to advise, guide and answer any photography questions along the way.

Twelve Woodland Habitats to explore in 2019

Only £10

Booking and details for each workshop are online

2019 Dates:

Tue 8th Jan - Ufton Fields - Harbury, Warwickshire

Tue 5th Feb - Rough Hill Wood - Worcestershire

Tue 5th Mar - Moseley Bog - Birmingham

Tue 2nd Apr - Clowes Wood - Earlswood, Solihull

Tue 7th May - Millisons Wood - Meriden

Tue 4th Jun - Snitterfield Wood - Stratford Upon Avon

Tue 2nd Jul - Ryton Wood - Coventry

Tue 6th Aug - Tocil Wood - Coventry

Tue 3rd Sep - Elkin Wood - Coventry

Tue 1st Oct - Piles Coppice & Brandon Wood - Coventry

Tue 5th Nov - Crackley Wood - Kenilworth

Tue 3rd Dec - Hay wood - Solihull

Take a look at what others took on the day

Not everyone sent me photos from the walk but you can see from those who did just how varied the shots made were. Each person, working alone to create an image conveying their connection and vision of their surroundings. Wonderful images from a lovely group of people. Thanks to everyone who attended, it was a special morning and I hope to see you again on another one soon.

[recentanimenews]

Cardcaptor Sakura – 10 – Flowers and Family

It’s Sports Day, which means it’s truly Sakura’s time to shine. She wows classmates and parents alike with her running speed, and while she accidentally lets a baton land on her head, she looks positively adorable while doing so.

When the time comes for the obstacle course race, Sakura and Syaoran find themselves beside each other in the starting blocks, and both are equally excited that Yukito is cheering them on. But while Sakura stays focused on winning, Syaoran looks over at Yukito one too many times and trips over his feet, letting Sakura win.

No sore winner, Sakura invites Syaoran to join her, Tomoyo, Touya, and Yukito for lunch, and Syaoran accepts when he hears Yukito is there and then marvels at the amount of food the kid can put away. Then Sakura’s dad arrives, as does Tomoyo’s mother Sonomi, who was his wife Nadeshiko’s cousin and protector.

She’s never forgiven him for stealing her away and then allowing her two die so young (sadly she was in the 27 Club). When Sonomi demands to know why he’s so cool about it, he tells her he promised his wife not to cry. Instead, he’s raised two great kids in an environment of love and happiness.

Even so, Sonomi won’t pass up another opportunity to challenge Sakura’s dad, so they both enter the parent’s 100m race. But as he’s mopping the floor with her, what had been a light dusting of flower petals becomes a veritable torrent, forming an increasingly thick carpet in the school’s main quad. Sakura and Syaoran simultaneously suspect a Clow Card, but the latter can’t leave the medical station in case there are injured.

Thankfully, this is not the toughest Clow Card. Sakura and Tomoyo learn from Kero-chan via Daidouji-brand cell phone that Flower is a fun-loving but gentle card who tends to show up around celebrations or other fun events, like sports days. When Sakura first approaches her, Flower pulls her into a joyful dance, but Sakura is eventually able to return her to card form before everyone in the quad is completely buried.

Sakura immediately puts Flower into use by giving both her father and Sonomi, who were in the midst of a quarrel, nadeshiko flowers. Nadeshiko Yamato is a Japanese term meaning “the epitome of pure, feminine beauty”; a floral metaphor for the ideal woman, whom Nadeshiko clearly was. Even Tomoyo’s long hair is a tribute to Nadeshiko’s flowing locks.

The two adults end up bonding over their shared love of her, while Sakura and Tomoyo profess their love for each other in turn. It’s all so wonderfully warm and fuzzy, there were moments I thought my heart might burst! Brimming with beautiful moments between family and friends, this was one of the most purely joyful CCS episodes yet.

By: magicalchurlsukui