#at least we're finally getting an official translation but this is going to get absolutely no new fans lol

[meimi-haneoka]

Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card Special Chapter: Comments and Analysis

WELCOME BACK, CCS FAAAAAAAAAAAANSSS!!!!!

Oh my god 3 months went already by from that December 1st and chapter 80, didn't they?? Feels like yesterday 🙈But we're finally here, finally ready for the release of the definitive, last SPECIAL CHAPTER of Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card!!!! After this, no more CCS for at least a while!!

Why do you see me so euphoric?? WELL, THERE IS MORE THAN ONE VERY GOOD REASON 😂 But let's not jump the gun and let's introduce this post properly: this time around, I won't be posting pictures to "illustrate" the analysis/commentary, because this special chapter was treated differently from the other ones. It didn't get, in fact, a free release on CLAMP's Youtube channel, in any language, and wasn't even uploaded for digital purchase on Comic Days like all the rest of the chapters. The only way to obtain it was via the April issue of Nakayoshi, either with the physical or digital version. Since it is clear to me their intention to keep this gem of a special chapter away from the internet jungle, and since lately I used only the screenshots from Youtube to illustrate my analysis, this time around I won't be posting anything (aside from the color page, which was released by the official account themselves).

AND! I won't be mixing analysis and summary, because I have already conveniently prepared some screenshots with a detailed summary of the chapter for the people who were curious to know, but didn't get to see the chapter yet or did see it but couldn't read Japanese. I have already posted these screenshots on my Twitter account, and I'll put them here too under the cut (please don't repost them around or in other social media), so you can immediately get a broad view on the content of the chapter (I don't have to point out translation mistakes, haha 😅), and then, afterwards, I'll write my commentary. And there is SO MUCH to say!!

But before starting, we can't break the tradition right at the LAST ROUND of our chapter commentaries, right?? So off we go, with the GIF OF THE MONTH!!

Yes, I think this is the GIF that can represent this chapter the most. 😂

The Color Page

This special chapter is composed of 33 pages, and of course I can't avoid starting my commentary precisely from the color page!!

I admit it, I hoped for a color spread with the four main characters of Clear Card (hence, including Kaito and Akiho too), but since the other two appeared with their own color page just in chapter 79, we'll gladly take this single color page with SyaoSaku too!! ❤️ The JP text reads "We've been together till now, and we will always be! Featuring a long-awaited special chapter!!" Syaosaku look absolutely adorable....and so, so happy!! Looking at us, from a wreath made of cherry blossoms, of course dressed in their image colors pink and green, in a "pair look"...I think their shiny smiles conquered the hearts of the entire fandom (saw many comments about it) and it is certainly a perfect introduction to a chapter that is, indeed, completely made of this happy, leisurely, warm atmosphere. I feel like it tastes even better, after all the anxiety they made us go through, right? I'm pretty sure that was CLAMP's goal all along, giving us this little reward after all the hard situations they've put their characters through. This color page looks like Sakura and Syaoran are saying "goodbye" to us, holding their hands in a lover's hold, but seeing them so cute and happy definitely soothes the sad feeling 🥲 Until we meet again...hopefully!

Letters From Around The World

But it's when the chapter starts that we get our first surprise: the time skip is of one entire year!!! We left our little heroes at the end of the first year of Tomoeda Middle school, ready to go in spring break and then start the second year...here, Sakura says she's in her spring break of the next year, ready to become a 9th grader!!! I almost couldn't believe they actually went that far, I knew from CLAMP's podcast that there was a timeskip, but I expected just some months! Although....I have to say the characters don't look that different, Mokona said she made them a tiny bit older and she kept true to that, because it's barely visible! 🤭 But if you compare them with how they looked at the middle of the story, of course the difference is visible.

I was so happy to see that the chapter started right away with a letter from Akiho: a letter or a videocall was definitely among the type of content I wanted to see in this chapter, because of course I still was quite preoccupied about the difficult journey Akiho and Kaito embarked on, so I wanted to see how they were faring. The amount of letters Sakura accumulated over the span of this year tells me that they moved around quite a lot, and she had always something to share with her "long-distance sister" 🤭 Kero praising Akiho's skills and even feeling some sort of "reverence" for her insane talent to find all the crazy and rare books was so funny and nice!! 😂Sakura is adorable, feeling all proud about the talent of her "sister" 🤭 Loved that they actually mentioned the place where Akiho and Kaito are currently at!! (cause they didn't reveal where they'd go first, in chapter 80, and I guess we'll never know). I appreciated SO SO much that they let us see that Akiho didn't drop, but actually continued to practice her sewing skills like she was doing before everything went down the drain with the Alice in Clockland play: moreover, finding out later that this skill is also helping her greatly with the true ambition of her life made me incredibly satisfied. How cute of her to send outfits for Kero and Suppy, even from far away??

I was quite surprised to find out that Akiho sends all the rare books to Eriol, and then laughed my as* off at Kero saying he's selling them off (the way Kero phrases it in JP makes it look a QUITE shady activity 😂). This shows there's a continued collaboration between the "group" in England and YunaAki, and it's very nice. They're not only "taking" support from Eriol, Akiho also does return the favor, providing Eriol with the books he needs.

And then....got really emotional to know that Kaito wrote a letter to Sakura, back when they left one year ago 🥲 I DID feel like some kind of acknowledgement or apology from Kaito to Sakura was missing from chapter 80 (but honestly, with everything they had to explain, where they could fit that?) and so this little mention completely fixed that sense of "he made a mess and barely managed to apologize to Akiho before leaving". Kaito isn't an ass*ole so of course he would've done something like that, and a letter seems perfect for an introvert boy of few words like him. I imagine the letter wasn't really long either. The little moon on the sealing wax...❤️The fact that Sakura is storing that single letter together with Akiho's letters in a specific box makes me almost cry. She cares for those two so, so much! 😭 Sakura wishes to receive more letters from Kaito and I really hope he will open up to her along the way, because he could benefit ENORMOUSLY from her advices and perspective! Also THANK YOU CLAMP for giving us a little "still" of those two next to eachother from the moment when they were leaving Tomoeda, with the suitcases and all 🥲that last faraway shot of all four of them together in chapter 80 was so great, but I wanted to see them like this too!

The SyaoSaku Date

Aaaaaand then we get to the long awaited, craved, coveted SYAOSAKU DATE!!! 🤣 I can't count how many people I've seen wishing for this....to be honest I was going to be ok with any kind of sweet moment between the two, but gotta admit that a carefree afternoon watching a stage play and then taking refreshment at a café gives this sense of normal, complete fun that was missing a bit for them. They are dressed in a very fancy way (loved that Sakura isn't wearing her usual long one-pieces but something different, with puff shorts! A sign of her growing up?) and even though they're not exactly wearing a "pair look" (too corny, maybe?), they are well matching eachother's outfits. And of course we find out that Tomoyo made Sakura's cute outfit and even the decorations on Syaoran's collar! The fact she was the one asking Syaoran to wear them at the date is kinda funny, like some sort of guidance into looking like a couple, thanks to the matching decorations! Tomoyo really takes care of everything....yes....everything. 🥲 The mention of Sakura's wedding dress of course made me go "OH MY GOD" and made me realize that if Tomoyo is already mentioning that.......we aren't *that* far away from that day (I always imagined SyaoSaku marrying early, since they're soulmates and got together so young!! 😆). Truly an emotional, sweet moment that was reinforced by Tomoyo's tender expression in the flashback. Her resolution to devote herself to learn to design even normal everyday outfits, or date outfits, everything that could accompany her dear Sakura everyday, reminded me that Tomoyo found her very own way to be with Sakura, and she's perfectly content with that. Tomoyo's happiness is seeing Sakura happy, and she will do anything to achieve that. ✨

Syaoran and Kaito's Friendship

And then my blushy blushy Sakura changes topic and suddenly throws me on the floor in a fit of laughter, because seeing Syaoran's confused look while he was trying to make sense of the pictures Kaito sent him on his phone WAS HONESTLY PRICELESS. 😆 My god, how long have I wished to see them like this? Moving their timid steps into a friendship (since their girlfriends are like sisters and Sakura literally saved Kaito's derriere), being their awkward dorky selves...they surprisingly get along so well and Syaoran doesn't seem to hold resentment towards him, which is GREAT for me!! He's learning from Sakura to just let go of hard feelings, when you've found out the person who acted in an oppositive way was just in a very desperate situation and had actually no ill intentions. And that makes me incredibly happy. Kaito needs all the support he can get, to make the right decisions in his life, and I can totally see him finding a particular connection with Syaoran, due to how they're both moon boys, who would give their life for the person they love. I think precisely for this, precisely because Syaoran can understand to a degree Kaito's situation and behavior, he wouldn't feel judged and would feel more free to establish a connection with him. I was k*lled with laughter and endearment when I saw that Syaoran felt confused, but still tried to understand Kaito's peculiar way of communicating with him 😂 And guess what? I think he doesn't realize it, but he's totally starting to get it! 😂The way our wolfie boy snaps that picture IMMEDIATELY as the cat passes by, and how he only framed the ear, really shows how in the end he's speaking "the same language" as Kaito 😂 Seeing Sakura so excitedly think to herself that the two became such good friends made me scream "SAME SAKURA-CHAN, SAME!!!" 😂 All in all, seeing these two having such a relaxed, comfortable date talking about their friends and stuff that happened lately made me completely feel that one year that elapsed, and now they act totally like a couple that's been dating for quite some time. 😊 Ooooh thank you sensei, really. Thank you so much for this scene. 🙏

The Moon Is Really Beautiful, Right?

BUT! The real reason why CLAMP will always have my heart and my gratitude is hidden in the next scene. 😂

Oh my god, the screams I've belted out when I saw them. And when I've read THAT. But let's go in order, let's go in order and not jump the gun! We're in Germany, Akiho and Kaito now seem to be living in an apartment in a nice building! They're still talking in keigo, and still calling eachother "Akiho-san" and "Kaito-san". 😊

Kaito SMILES genuinely at the picture Syaoran sent him!! And answers, to an observant Akiho, that he's having fun!! 😭HIM! The one who couldn't understand what was fun in interacting with others!!! He looks honestly so radiant and happy, a sign that his mental recovery is going strong. And that he's slowly expanding his "trusted people" network. 🥲🙏Also, he looks younger than ever!!! 😂

It made me INCREDIBLY HAPPY to see that Akiho didn't drop the "hobby" she had started in chapter 26 (ages ago!!), remember this scene?

I remember how much I loved to know she had started learning how to do this, because together with my friends, at the time, we all thought this could easily become her aspiration in life......and guess what?? CLAMP confirmed she wants to take on a job revolving around books and book repairing!! This is all canon!! T___T oh my happy tears.... There's a sense of pride in seeing that this journey for Akiho isn't only revolving around finding the cure for Kaito's shortened lifespan (which hurt his body terribly) and restarting his "stopped time", or finding Momo and the Alice in Clockland book, but she's also got the mental resolution to do something for herself, for what she wants to do in life, something that is completely disconnected from Kaito. Again, I cannot reiterate enough how this girl doesn't have an unhealthy codependent relationship with Kaito, and she's completely capable of thinking about her own future, aspirations and wishes. She wants him with her, and she could never live happily without him, but the love of her life isn't the only thing that exists for her. It is incredibly satisfying to see her working hard for her own future, where she'll be able to contribute (especially financially) to their livelihood. I can see Kaito helping her and assisting her with that. The other day I was dreaming away with my friends about Kaito and Akiho managing a "book cafè" together somewhere, how impossibly sweet that would be?

Seeing this volitive, ambitious, strong-willed Akiho once again filled my heart immensely. And I wasn't the only one, apparently.....

Oh god, you have no idea of the SHRIEKS I belted out when I saw Kaito saying "the moon is really beautiful, right?" in full daylight. Like. It is absolutely unmistakable at this point what kind of love he feels for her, and while I always knew, I'm sure the character took his own sweet time and personal introspection to reach that conclusion. If you remember, I've always said it and reiterated it at the end of chapter 80: Kaito won't understand things overnight, it will take a long time. And one year, at that age, is enough of a long time to come to terms with one's feelings and understanding what exactly they mean. They lived all that time together as two "equals", no more butler/boss bullsh*t, so they had even more opportunities to see eachother's true colors. And Kaito couldn't help but fall even more in love with Akiho, to the point that seeing her working so excitedly for her future made him gently overflow with that feeling....and said that sweet quote of Natsume Soseki that we all know, by now, what it means. I think the mere fact that what made his heart explode was seeing her so independent and strong, is a good sign that Kaito's love for her is the healthy and supportive kind, too. He doesn't love her and feels attracted to her soul because she's a weaker, younger, malleable being that he can dominate (as a toxic relationship would portray), but at the contrary, because she's free and strong and wonderful on her own. The more he sees her shining, the more that feeling grows. Throughout this scene, he looks at her and talks to her in such an intensely sweet way, you can totally see he's smitten with her.

The most popular reply to someone who confesses with "the moon is beautiful" is the equivalent of "I could die for you/I can die happy now", in Japanese. And Kaito had been unconsciously replying that way, with his actions, the whole damn time during the serialization of Clear Card. But since he took it way too literally, things were really heading to tragedy. Nobody wanted him to die for real, and yet, subconsciously, that was the only way he had found to give outlet to an enormous amount of feels that he couldn't express (because it wasn't appropriate, and nobody would ever love him, and he only caused her pain, and he had to let go of Akiho anyway at the end of it).

So considering all of THAT, this "I love you very much" he said now (he added とても, "very", like Akiho did ❤️) in this way, makes me think even more "yes, you finally understood what was the best way to convey it!" and therefore, it represents another character development for our moon boy. 🥲

There's debate over whether he had already understood what Akiho had meant, in chapter 48. I stand firmly by my convinction that, even if he was informed of the Japanese folklore tale around it, he quickly dismissed it as "no, she's meaning it literally for the moon", since he couldn't really believe that anyone would ever take interest in him, and was sure he would've always been alone. Otherwise, if he really understood and believed that Akiho was in love with him, I don't think he could've ever said that "I thought you didn't need me to be happy". It doesn't make sense. But everything that happened at the fake moon, and all her angry tears, and all her resolution to find a way to cure him, made him finally see that she really meant it in that way. ❤️So his own acceptance and introspection could finally start, and....it brought to this. ❤️ If you want to know more about the popular phrase "the moon is beautiful, right?", I invite you to check my first Clear Card Trivia post, focused on the literary and musical references portrayed throughout this story!

And LOL, I couldn't help but noticing several things in how this scene played out: first, he immediately "runs away" blabbering about the breakfast being ready, a very similar way to how he "ran away" in chapter 52 when Akiho could see right through him and was trying to express her support and feelings to him. This is definitely an indication (taking into consideration also how he acted when he was little) that the reason why Kaito walked away back then, slamming the door, had a sprinkle of embarrassment embedded in it, too. Yeah. I mean, look at the face he's making here, just before he notices, puzzled, that his hand is shaking:

He's smiling so tenderly, among the pain he's feeling because of his poor health. He even laughs! He's happy he heard that! But he just couldn't stay hearing any longer, back then. Now, in this scene of the special chapter, he literally throws "the bomb" and runs away without hearing her answer or reaction 😂😂😂this is definitely embarrassment, and I'd like to think there's even a hint of teasing streak that I've always seen between the lines in his personality. It came out particularly with Syaoran and Momo, but Akiho isn't excluded from this dynamic! 😂

And excuse me, but Akiho's reaction literally made me roll on the floor laughing!! 😂The poor girl is probably so used to live abroad, and Japanese folklore isn't probably coming up immediately in her mind anymore, despite it's a phrase SHE used HERSELF back then! 😂Or maybe it's because she didn't really expect it from him, and so she took a moment to connect the dots. Either way, it was extremely funny! And I can't absolutely avoid pointing out how our girl isn't blushing like mad anymore, but just slightly.... I mean. It must have been quite clear to her too, by now, that her feelings were in some kind "reciprocated", be it for what Sakura said back at the fake moon, his decision to go back to her, and his decision to reveal his true name, hence giving her his most vulnerable part of himself... This isn't a shock for her, and she probably waited patiently, patiently, for him to finally say something like this. So maybe, more than embarrassed, she's surprised that the day finally came! 🥲 Goodness. This really puts all my worries to rest, Akiho will truly be happy. And it makes total sense that CLAMP made him say this now, and not at the end of chapter 80. As I said, more time was needed. This entire scene leaves me with a sweet, soft, comfortable feeling, and it's totally how I've always imagined their relationship to be. Also....no more of that "he loves her as a daughter/sister" crap, not canon-wise at least. 😊

One last thing I have to point out about this scene, which curiously reconnects everything together, is that recently CLAMP have announced the themes to which their upcoming exhibition will revolve around: among them, there's LOVE (of course!), and among the decorations surrounding the featured character on the key visual (Sakura, for now, but there's at least another one coming!) there are a couple of birds too. Birds are, in this sense, a symbol of love in CLAMP's language. I couldn't really help but noticing all the birds flying outside the window next to Akiho, the moment Kaito says that "the moon is really beautiful, right?". Basically, CLAMP were trying to scream it all over the place, however they could. 😂

"Momo-san?!"

It was so nice to see Yukito and Kero-chan gossiping about Touya right in his face, with the complete intention to tease him 😂in that sense, Yukito really seems like a sweet and harmless character, but don't be fooled! His teasing power is over 9000!! 😂Touya's killing glare made me crack up! He's so done for, now that both Kero and Yukito can tease him in the open! 😂😂😂

But please, please, let me scream about MOMO!!! Oh my god I would've never accepted a special chapter that didn't feature her!! Aaaaahhh I'm so glad to see that she's fine 🥲 The conversation between her and Sakura made clear to me that she isn't that free to move how I imagined her to be. Certainly, she decides where to go and who the book stays with (and when to leave), but the impartiality imposed on her role doesn't allow her to act freely like she wants, unless she pays a price. And she decided to pay a price, not to see Akiho and Kaito, but to go and thank Sakura herself first. Because, as her "those kids" suggests, she of course still feels some kind of maternal instinct towards them, and as any mother would do, she wants to thank Sakura from the bottom of her heart for having helped and saved those two. Even her body language (the position of her hands) portrays that. And excuse me, but I A B S O L U T E L Y loved how CLAMP clarified once and for all, addressing directly the complaints of their own fandom, that Sakura wasn't forcingly dragged into a matter that wasn't related to her. Everything she did, she decided to do it because she felt it touched her personally. From the moment she became Akiho's friend and came to care for her, everything that happened and everything that she was involved with was related to her too. This wasn't "somebody else's business" anymore. Because Akiho is one of her most beloved friends, no matter how "fast" that happened. Some relationships bloom almost immediately, because the connection is just that strong. And so, this turned into just another expression of "your happiness is my happiness", with Sakura acting according to what her heart suggested. As Kaito is Akiho's most beloved person, Sakura couldn't help but care for him too, because doing so would've made her friend happy, in a wonderful "circulation of love".

Special mention for the scene with pregnant Lilie, oh my god I didn't really expect this either. How long ago I wrote that Tumblr post about cosmos flowers and the origin of Akiho's name? A couple of weeks ago? It's like CLAMP answered my curiosity, with this scene. I still keep my interpretation in my heart, but I also love the logic "it is a flower that keeps the same name in many countries". Of course. "Wherever you'll go, you'll always be your unique self". (And now I want to cry, mama's heart is so big😭) The way Lilie keeps her hands over her womb made me tear up. The ring isn't there anymore, a sign that she probably already gave it to Momo (understandably, since once Akiho would be born, she wouldn't really have much time left). The baby bump isn't that noticeable, probably because she's at the beginning of her pregnancy. Who knows if she kept seeing little Kaito while she was pregnant. 🥲Who knows if in the scene where she's telling him about how wonderful it is to have something you love, especially a person, she was already pregnant with Akiho. 🥲

Momo and Sakura's final words made me understand that Momo cannot go back to Akiho and Kaito till the circumstances and the moment is right. Whether it depends on Akiho's wish, or the right cosmic arrangement, it's surely not in the short term. Especially considering the limited scope of Momo's agency. It cannot come from Momo (unless she pays a huge price), it needs to come from them, strongly enough. I also want to think that, again as an acquired mother figure, Momo wants those two to find their own way, identity and figure out their relationship on their own, without her interference. I'm sure she's keeping an eye on them from faraway, though. 🥲Even though this still feels bittersweet because I wanted to see them reuniting in canon so badly, it gave me lots of hope for the future. Momo is just waiting for the right moment, and she'll be ready to embrace them when the time is right. Maybe, who knows, we'll see that reunion in another series or in a special publication in the future?

The End

And then....the final scene 🥲NOW it is finally clear what Ohkawa meant in that one Twitter Space, when she mentioned that there was a reason why they never featured Sakura's birthday!!! THEY NEEDED TO KEEP THE EXCLUSIVITY FOR THIS!! 😂 I'm so glad they did, really...it's so sweet to see her reaching 14 years old (the "standard age" of many shoujo heroines! 😂) and seeing Syaoran giving her a present, with that strikingly sweet smile full of love...but most importantly....the breathtaking final double spread 🥲🥲🥲🥲 The way she pulls his hand close to her chest, to her heart, while saying that Syaoran will be forever and ever her most important and special person.....really, this chapter is meant to k*ll us all with feels!🥲and I love how CLAMP keep finding ways to portray their physical displays of affection without resorting to the classic, most wanted (but also probably considered not appropriate yet) "kiss". The very final page is a direct parallel of a page from chapter one, where Sakura was going to school alone and looked back down the street to admire the cherry blossoms in full bloom.

Now, she's not alone anymore, but actually hugging the love of her life on her special day! Really, what a wonderful and fulfilling way to give the final touch to this amazing story! 🥲 Her very last line also contributed to this. Sakura leaves us again, 24 years after the first ending, with words of positivity for the future, and love for her important people. This wraps everything up nicely, but it still keeps things quite "open-ended", hopefully in the eventuality to return to this wonderful series in the future. Sakura is growing up, as CLAMP wished, and it might be possible to see her dealing with more "grown-up" situations, magic and non-magic wise. But one thing is for sure, her relationship with her loved ones will always take top priority. ❤️

Well well well, we came to the end of this looooooong commentary for this special chapter too. I can't help but thank once again all of you who followed my posts all these years, and commented with your POVs on the story.

As I've said multiple times, Cardcaptor Sakura gave me so much ever since I was a kid, and this sequel was no exception. This special chapter, in particular, overflowed with things I wanted to see, and I'm sure I'm not the only one thinking so. I once again want to congratulate CLAMP for wrapping everything up nicely, and thank them from the bottom of my heart for these almost 8 years of emotional journey. 🙏

See you around with my other tumblr posts, and let's look forward to the release of volume 16 on April 1st, and hopefully, news about the anime sequel of Clear Card!!

[sage-nebula]

I'm FINALLY all caught up on Horizons! I've been using this website called Blissey's Husband (lol) to watch them, and I have to say I ended up a bit disappointed today when I was met with anti-adblock measures AND episode 49's subs not using the English translations for the cities / pokémon names / moves when every episode prior had subs that did (and the inconsistency there bothers me SO much) . . . but I got around the anti-adblock and I could deal with the subs suddenly dropping their use of the English names for this one episode, so it was whatever. (Though if they're not going to bother with that, then I'll probably just download the new episodes from Some Stuffs from now on, like . . . the only reason I was using Blissey Husband, aside from convenience of streaming, was that it was nice to have the attack names and pokémon names translated. There's no reason to use that site otherwise.)

BUT ANYWAY. Now that I'm finally all caught up through episode 49, here are my general thoughts:

As I mentioned in a previous post, I think the Horizons anime is absolutely fantastic, particularly if we're judging it by the metric of "a Pokémon anime" -- because if we're being honest, there are sliding scales of anime that differ not only by genre, but also by demographic and intention, and so a Pokémon anime is not necessarily intended to hit the same storytelling quality as, say, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. But with that being said, particularly when you compare it to the previous Pokéani that ran for over two decades, Horizons is just so, so, so good. It has an ongoing narrative, the characters are excellent, the story is compelling, the animation and battles are fresh and exciting, the music is great, so on and so forth. I'm having such a fun time with the Horizons anime. Anyone who refuses to watch it just because Ash and/or the TRio aren't in it are missing out. It truly is their loss.

Speaking of, Captain Pikachu > Ash's Pikachu. Not necessarily in terms of battle capability (although honestly . . .), but in terms of characterization and personality. At least so far, Cap is chock full of personality and is clearly not there just to be The Mascot or Friede's partner (or, worse, a babysitter to other pokémon), but rather a whole, full-fledged character in his own right. And to be honest, sometimes he's kind of a dick! He's cocky! He's arrogant! He argues with Friede when he thinks he's right! He yells at the kids in the beach episode and continues frowning at them even after! (No clue what he was yelling at them about either lmao.) Cap's not a complete hardass, but there is a shade of that there! And I mean, he taught himself to fly using Volt Tackle, so he holds himself to those same exact standards. Again, this is an example of how this series does such an excellent job with its characters. They had to have a Pikachu, but they didn't half-ass the Pikachu character. Cap is a fantastic part of the crew.

That said, sadly there are some neglected members of the cast. The Six Heroes are pretty much immediately forgotten after their captures, which I find to be extremely disappointing and, at times, distracting. Don't they need to eat? To be cared for? Or do the ancient pokéballs take care of that? It's never explained, and it's odd for Liko -- who is so compassionate and cares for others at the expense of herself even -- to just completely ignore them after they agree to search for Rakua with her. (Or is it Lakua? Or Laqua? Do we have official romanization?)

But okay, maybe we can't fit giant pokémon into the regular episodes. Then what about Wattrel? It honestly feels like Roy neglects that poor bird after the first three or so episodes after its capture. Unlike Liko and Dot, whose secondary captures walk around with them constantly, Wattrel is constantly in his ball and basically never comes out -- and when he does come out to be used in battle, he is out for maybe two seconds before he gets knocked out and has to be recalled (or is only there to help Dot with an art project, because Roy didn't want to use both of his pokémon for help with the sculpture that required pokémon help? hello???). Of course, Wattrel is probably weak, because Roy never trains it. Because the writers forget about it 99% of the time. Again, it wouldn't be as noticeable if Hatenna wasn't in Liko's hood 99% of the time and Tinkatink wasn't constantly clambering around Dot's feet, but since they are, it is. Why is Wattrel always in the ball? Why does Roy forget Wattrel exists until Dot asks if she can borrow him? It looks like we're going to get a Wattrel episode in a couple weeks (I think it's episode 52?) and it won't surprise me if it's a release episode because the writers just can't be fussed to remember Wattrel exists otherwise.

Changing tracks -- for the most part I think that the balance has been good with acknowledging the fact that Liko, Roy, and Dot are a.) kids and b.) newbie trainers, and thus need the adults to help them out of dangerous situations, without making it seem as if the kids are helpless and can't do anything. This is particularly well-handled in the fact that the kids have been consistently learning and training, and are now in a Terastal course where they're on a little independent journey to grow even stronger. It's a delicate line to walk between coddling your child characters, and making the adults in your cast look useless. Historically, Pokémon has been a very "adults are useless" series, but with so many prominent adult characters, Horizons can't really do that. So I'm glad that, for the most part, they've managed to avoid going in the opposite direction. The only time I felt they failed was in the episode when Roy's ancient pokéball got stolen, and Cap had to "save" them from the thief. I felt that the kids should have been allowed to win that battle on their own. But otherwise, I feel this series handles this aspect pretty well, and I'm glad that we've been shown an ongoing growth arc for the kids.

Though having said all that, I am scratching my head a bit at the beginning of this most recent arc acting like Liko is the weakest battler of the three: putting her against Katy when the Basics tests were decided on aptitude, having Liko say that "even [she]" could pass her test, et cetera. Not only is Liko thus far the only one of them with an evolved starter pokémon, but Liko has won numerous battles throughout the series so far (I think more than Roy and definitely more than Dot since Dot rarely battles and pretty much all of her knowledge is theoretical) and she's been shown to be a clever strategist. Like that's been the major point of difference between Liko and Roy: Liko is a strategist who can deduce how to use her surroundings to her advantage and knows how to direct her pokémon with precision, whereas Roy goes in guns blazing. It was only by following her example (and by Liko throwing) that Roy managed to beat her in the test set to them by Kabu. So it makes little sense that Liko is implied to have the weakest battling aptitude (and thus is put against the weakest Gym Leader), that she is the one to lose her Basics test battle even if she passed the test, and so on. We're being told now that Liko is weak at battling (something Liko also said when talking to Rika at Naranja Academy), but we've been shown the opposite. If anyone should be considered the weakest battler of the main trio, it should be Dot. (Since, again, most of her knowledge is theoretical; she's actually battled very little.)

As a final thing, I really love the mystery elements of the story. The Explorers are a fascinating antagonist organization and I love every little glimpse that we get of them. The individual Explorer members are excellent as well, with each one having a fantastic design and stand-out characterization. I'm currently operating under the opinion that Lucius and Gibeon were divorced, and Lucius was the one who got Rakua and custody of Terapagos in the settlement.

I've also seen the theory that Amethio is either a descendant or a clone (or a cloned descendant?) of Gibeon. While I don't think that Amethio is Gibeon's son (I think Gibeon is too old for that), I could see either grandson or, I think strangely more likely, clone. Because the way that Terapagos reacted so strongly to Amethio made it seem like he'd seen Amethio before, when there's no way he could have. I thought maybe he was reacting to Explorer insignia, but Amethio wasn't wearing the crest. But if Amethio is a dead ringer for Gibeon (as in, a clone), and Terapagos thought Amethio WAS Gibeon, and Gibeon and Lucius had a messy divorce and Lucius got custody of Terapagos IN the divorce . . . oh yeah. It's all coming together. But of course I don't think Gibeon or Hamber would go around parading the fact that Gibeon cloned himself, so they'd probably just call Amethio his grandson (similar to how Hunter was called Belos' nephew in The Owl House). So that would lead to the other Explorers seeing him as a "pampered prince," when really he's only kept around the way he is because he's Gibeon's clone.

I've also seen theories that Ann is evil, and while I'm not convinced of that, I do agree with the people who pointed out that she and Sango look so much alike. The little fang, the pigtails, the eye shape . . . I don't think that Ann is Sango in disguise (why would Sango need to infiltrate Naranja Academy / the Terastal Course as Sandwich-chan if she was already infiltrated as Ann?), but I could see them potentially being sisters or cousins or something. Similarly, someone else pointed out that Conia and Spinel have the same hair and eye color, so there's a possibility for relation there as well, and with family (found or otherwise) being such a HUGE theme in Horizons . . . oh yeah . . . it's all coming together . . .

ANYWAY. As I said, I am really loving the Horizons anime so far, and I'm glad that I'm caught up. It's really great and I can't wait for the new episode this weekend! For now though, I may go to AO3 to see what I can find over there 👀 I've got some fic ideas I'm toying with myself, but I'm curious what others have cooked up too. I'm sure there's some good ones already.

[sith-shenanigans]

Character Interview: Ahene Coris

Tagged by @a-muirehen! I appreciate it <3

Tagging @frozenabattoir @highexarchs @cipherr @autisticanakin @i-declare-a-kaggath @geek-o13 @aurrieccentrics

(we're going to be assuming that she doesn't get to lie, for obvious reasons)

► Name ➔ "I was born Ahene Coris. I took Kallig as my family name for several years, and I suppose I'm a part-time Izarae as well now, but I'm still rather attached to my original name. It's carried me through a lot."

► Are you single? ➔ "I'm married. The ceremony was extremely private—I'm qualified to officiate unions between Alliance personnel, after all, so Sirue and I were the only attendees necessary."

► Are you happy? ➔ "For a while, I was. Right now? No."

► Are you angry? ➔ "Oh, yes." [impassive stare] "This is my angry face, can't you tell?"

► Are your parents still married? ➔ "They weren't when I was born, and it's not as if they raised me anyway."

NINE FACTS

► Birthplace ➔ "Kaas City, actually. I wasn't there long."

► Hair Color ➔ "Black."

► Eye Color ➔ "Sort of a golden brown. Not Sith gold—small mercies. Sirue would never let me hear the end of it."

► Birthday ➔ "Third day, fifth month. It's been a long time since I celebrated it."

► Mood ➔ "For me to know and others to wonder about, generally."

► Gender ➔ "I've never entirely defined it. Being female works well enough, I suppose."

► Summer or winter? ➔ "If we're being honest, it's still odd how disparate they can be."

► Morning or afternoon? ➔ "I like to get started early."

EIGHT THINGS ABOUT YOUR LOVE LIFE

► Are you in love? ➔ "Yes, and have been for a very long time."

► Do you believe in love at first sight? ➔ "That sounds suspiciously like destiny."

► Who ended your last relationship? ➔ "The Empire did, I'd say." [slight shrug] "That's the simple version, anyway. More accurately, Sirue and I both took a few turns until we finally worked things out."

► Have you ever broken someone’s heart? ➔ "I... did a lot of things that I'm not proud of. Breaking Sirue's heart is one of them."

► Are you afraid of commitments? ➔ "Anything I care for and anyone I love can be taken from me. I know that. And, yes, it's rather terrifying. But I won't allow it to happen again."

► Have you hugged someone within the last week? ➔ "It's a wonder that I can extract myself from her in the mornings."

► Have you ever had a secret admirer? ➔ "I suspect the number is at least in the hundreds. As long as they don't insist on telling me about it, I don't really care."

► Have you ever broken your own heart? ➔ "Oh, yes. It's a survival skill."

SIX CHOICES

► Love or lust? ➔ "Love. I've never really understood lust."

► Lemonade or iced tea? ➔ "Tea. Never trust an unfamiliar lemon; the category is far too broad."

► Cats or dogs? ➔ "I'm in no position to care for a pet. If I was, it would probably be a wrat."

► A few best friends or many regular friends? ➔ "I don't consider someone a friend unless I can trust them absolutely, and that list is very short."

► Wild night out or romantic night in? ➔ "Celebrations tend to go wrong around me. I'd rather have the opportunity to relax for once."

► Day or night? ➔ "You can get more done during the day, but there's something calming about watching the stars."

FOUR HAVE YOU EVERS

► Been caught sneaking out? ➔ "It nearly got me killed. I think it would have, if I hadn't been Force sensitive."

► Fallen down/up the stairs? ➔ "A couple times, back when I was still in the crèche on Verios. I was an eager child."

► Wanted something/someone so badly it hurt? ➔ "Often."

► Wanted to disappear? ➔ "Out of fear, out of spite, out of knowing the power in going unseen... I didn't get that ridiculous title just for being an enigma."

FOUR PREFERENCES

► Smile or eyes? ➔ "Smiles don't prove anything. Eyes can lie too, but they tell more interesting ones."

► Shorter or taller? ➔ "Having a preference seems... pointless. Sirue is shorter than me, though, so do with that what you will."

► Intelligence or attraction? ➔ "Yes. Though Sirue was less interested in mending her broken education than I was, and I don't begrudge her that choice. She's clever, and she doesn't need to be able to translate a thousand-year-old philosophical essay for me to see that."

► Hook-up or relationship? ➔ "I don't think I could enjoy casual sex. It's just not for me."

FAMILY

► Do you and your family get along? ➔ "It's been—interesting. I've only barely started talking to my father, my sisters are the most Sith Sith I've ever met and the most truly Jedi Jedi, my mother has the maternal instinct of some false bird, and I'm descended from a helpful but rather intense ancient ghost. But my crew is family as much as the others, and we've stood together in the face of oblivion itself."

► Would you say you have a "messed up life"? ➔ "'Yes' would be a massive understatement."

► Have you ever run away from home? ➔ "It wasn't home anymore." [faint smile] "I did return eventually, though."

► Have you ever gotten kicked out? ➔ "I'm told it's hard to get rid of me."

FRIENDS

► Do you secretly hate one of your friends? ➔ "Friends? No. Political allies? Sometimes. Aligned interests and aligned personalities are very different things."

► Do you consider all of your friends good friends? ➔ "Yes. Trust is rare, dangerous, and—to be a little bit sappy—the only thing that makes a friendship worthwhile."

► Who is your best friend? ➔ "Sirue. Always Sirue." [pause] "What, I can't pick my wife? Talos, then. Lana and Theron come close, and I think Velnira would like to be everyone's best friend, but... he's a different sort of friend. I don't think he's had a hidden agenda in his life."

► Who knows everything about you? ➔ "Me. And I enjoy keeping people guessing."

[batwomanandmotherpanic]

(Updated January 1, 2020)

I've mentioned a few times across various posts here that I strongly believe Kate Kane was officially involved in boxing at West Point, but I haven't really explained the reasons for that, at least not all in one place (apart from a few fanfics). So that's what I'll attempt to do now.

But there's a larger point here, too. This is a specific example, but it works to illustrate how a lot of information about a character can be gleaned from reasonable extrapolation and a bit of research, even if that information may not have been intended by the authors. It's a window into how I tend to read characters, and I think the principles described here can be applied in many different cases. I certainly don't claim to have invented it (especially since it's strongly related to Watsonian textual interpretation), but I do think it's a valuable exercise.

So first, let's look at the scene where this all spiraled out from, in Batwoman: Rebirth #1:

I try to research as many avenues as I can about Kate and the things she has probably done or experienced, but this was particularly interesting to me because it overlapped with a sport I love.

The first order of business was to establish a timeline. We know that Kate left the Academy early into her final fall semester, that DADT was repealed in September 2011, that Kate was 20 when she left, that Kate is 27 as of her 2017 series, and that there needed to be at least a year between her dismissal and the repealing of DADT, or else she would easily just have re-enrolled.

I really don't like that Kate was de-aged in Rebirth, but it does still work out; this scene with Sophie has to take place in fall 2010.

The next question then became: could women participate in boxing at the Academy at that time? After all, on the surface this scene says nothing about that one way or another. Maybe Kate and Sophie were just renting out some of the Academy's trunks and shoes for some private, unofficial sparring.

The answer to this question proved to be more complicated than one might think.

Through various articles, I found that female cadets were not required to box until fall 2016... but prior to that, if they completed all PE requirements in their plebe year, boxing was available to them as an elective, provided that they were each paired with another female cadet of similar weight (co-ed sparring was strictly prohibited).

I also found that West Point's women's boxing club started up in mid-to-late 2009, and that early 2010 was when some of their members competed for the first time, before they officially achieved club status. So that worked out as well. There was also, unfortunately but unsurprisingly, quite a bit of sexism from Academy officials regarding the formation of the club; this potentially serves as a valuable subtextual parallel to the homophobia already present in Kate's time there. Like her potential military service, it is yet another thing that became officially integrated and accepted after her time. Thematically speaking, this seemed like a right thing to include in her story.

With all this in mind, other things about that initial scene started to click into place and confirm that I was on the right track. And the beauty of it was that, like so many such things in comics, I don't know if any of it was intended to stack up this way. But it did.

There's Sophie's first line to Kate, which implies that Jacob helped her in a similar situation:

That is to say: a previous fight. Looked at from an internal perspective, why else would Sophie be saying this? What else could it be about in this context? It can't be a reference to Kate's kidnapping and rescue, because A) wow that would be a super inappropriate thing to be talking about in this situation, especially so flippantly, and B) Sophie says "help," not "save."

So, if Jacob helped Kate in a previous fight, it had to have been at a public event, which, based on the established timeline, would have been the 54th Brigade Open. And given the context of the line, since Kate is losing to Sophie here, it means Kate won in part due to Jacob's help. He gave her ringside coaching, in other words.

There's also the matter of the clothes each woman is wearing, if we circle back to the possibility that the gear was rented. Not so, it seems. None of it looks like West Point's own boxing gear (whether circa-2010 or present-day), meaning that it's almost certainly Kate and Sophie's personal attire. And why would they bother with that if they weren't involved in the sport somehow? Those articles I referenced earlier even speak of this very thing; due to budgetary constraints, many members of the fledgling club purchased their own gear.

And there are smaller, prior bits of evidence that also fit. Kate mentioning in her New 52 #0 issue that even before her Batwoman training she felt confident in her fighting ability, implying she had fought often:

(Bonus: Note where Kate describes getting beaten up.)

There's Simone's Batgirl #12, where Kate is shown jabbing as Barbara narrates that Kate is testing her reach, which is indeed one use for a jab:

Barbara's first line here also strongly ties into this discipline: boxing is at least as mental as it is physical (when done well, that is), so it's fitting that Kate would have that as a foundation for her future combat skills to rest on.

But most importantly, this participation falls in line with a few aspects of Kate's character.

Her sense of service: participating in boxing this way, at this specific time, would mean Kate was part of something that helped open up new opportunities for future female cadets at the Academy (a sentiment that a few of the real members of the club have expressed in interviews). The service aspect also ties into Kate's intended future as a leader of soldiers. A big reason boxing is required at all the service academies is not just for its obvious physical benefits, but also that it helps instill all sorts of disciplines into future troops. If you read or listen to interviews with the head coaches of the academies, they mention things like strategic thinking under stress, the ability to adapt to physical fear, perseverance in the face of hostility, etc. These are all things that would clearly translate to a battlefield situation and any good leader on that battlefield. I think Kate would have been savvy enough to seek out extra benefit in this way, and the fact that she would have had to go out of her way to do so sounds like her to me.

Dovetailing with that a bit, it also reflects her ambition: this would have presented Kate with the opportunity to be one of the first champions in a new and permanent athletic landscape at the Academy (though not the absolute first). Given the way she excelled in all other areas up to that time in her life, I imagine that this would have been another attractive point for her.

To sum this all up, the logical conclusion from all this evidence is that Kate was a member of the newly-formed women's boxing club at West Point, and won a match at the 54th BBO.

So. That was all very long-winded and thorough. Why is it important?

Well, in particular, it offers a new (if not totally revelatory) facet to Kate, and any information about a character has value.

But in a larger sense, this exercise demonstrates what I mentioned earlier: that researching a detail about a character, no matter how small, can yield a wealth of new info, even if that info was unintended or remains subtextual. To use another example for Kate: we can know a great deal about her academic skillset just from the medals she earned. Not because we're shown or even told any of that information, but because the qualifications for each of those medals can be looked up.

And this ties into a final, even more important point: this concept is a great strength of comics and other collaborative fiction. It allows for the sum to be greater than all the parts.

Even in this relatively minor case, the individual pieces built on each other and interlocked to such an extent that what they point to is pretty airtight, it seems, even though that endpoint may not have been considered by anyone involved.

Does this always happen? No, of course not, and often the exact opposite can occur, resulting in little more than a pile of narrative rubble. But when it does work, it’s incredibly cool. And if it can work for something like this… imagine the potential it can have when applied to weightier character details.

 What all is still out there waiting to be uncovered like this?