#but not a hashtag relatable level
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would you be able to give examples/explain more about how race only impacts gideon in the tlt-universe? not being facetious or condescending, genuinely asking. thank you!
Hi anon! If you mean my tags to this post, I wrote
#earth conception of race doesn't impact any character in the series except the canonically brown main antagonist
By which I mean my Worstie and main antagonist of the series, John Gaius (PhD).
I don’t think TLT as a series engages with race in any especially meaningful ways. It’s set in a post-Earth society with entirely different social norms, and there’s no concept of race and ethnicity within the population of the Nine Houses. Physical descriptions of the characters are scarce to say the least, and they rarely spell out the kind of features that suggest specific racial connotations, because the POV characters don’t seem to think it’s something worth remarking upon. iirc, it takes until halfway through HtN for the narrative to confirm that Harrow has brown skin.
[See also Tamsyn’s GtN characters description post. It quotes passages from the book, and you can see how minimal the descriptions are, and she repeats several times that her characters’ appearances are up to the readers’ interpretations. It just doesn’t seem to be a big concern of hers]
Then there’s John, who grew up in twenty-first-century New Zealand and IS explicitly Māori in a way that absolutely impacted his character arc. It's not A major theme of his Nona chapters, but it’s there if you read between the lines. The boarding school he went to, which IRL had a high percentage of low-income Māori students on scholarship. The depth of his climate anxiety, his uncompromising “Nobody left behind” stance before the cryo project was halted, and his fervent hatred of ‘the trillionaires’ afterwards... these are all informed to some extent by his background as an indigenous man imo, and so was the global reaction to his developing powers. The “We were going to put you fellas in jail, weren’t we?” the way his initial attempts at publications are all flat-out ignored by the scientific community and dismissed as culty gimmicky faith healing until he leans into it.
John being Māori is just one of the many pieces of his backstory, and far from the most impactful to what eventually went down, but my point remains that he is the ONLY character in TLT whose racial background 1) affects his story arc and 2) is relatable to the audience. Everyone else is ten thousand years removed from Earth, and I’m just not very interested in using racial identifiers when exploring these characters and their dynamics, because the characters themselves don’t care and neither does the narrative.
#on a more hashtag meta level#John is why I’m personally uneasy about any analysis of the series that tries to interpret TLT through racial allegory lenses#especially when it’s weaponised for discourse purposes#You can write meta about John’s war crimes without comparing him to white imperialism#Or you can go ahead and do that anyway but I highkey disagree that it’s a fitting metaphor or in any way deliberate on Tamsyn’s part#and I think the implications are unfortunate to say the least#That said I AM extremely interested in the ways John relates to the culture he left behind#and why he made the choices he did when it came the moment to reshape humanity’s cultural consciousness after the Resurrection#but that’s on a character level!#I don’t think we can apply twenty-first-century social / identity labels to the series as a whole#especially a series where the author says 'I imagine X character as Y but it doesn't raelly matter'#and it doesn't influence the canon directly in any way#SORRY THIS IS LONG!#anonymous#ask#ejg#tlt thoughts#elle tlt posting#tlt
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i hope ruby gets a well-that’s-alright-then-style notdeath. on the one hand it will make haters mad because oh no not another companion with an impermanent end (and i like to see haters mad) on the other it would require creativity to depict this in a new way + i love all the implications i love the dark fairytale quality of these companion exits i love my un-undead schrodinger’s women
with the way the legend of ruby sunday is titled… legends aren’t usually told about living people. legends are stories of the bygone past, of an age long since over, fictionalised and overgrown with folklore like barnacles sticking to an abandoned shell. there is such a thing as a living legend, but they’re exceedingly rare. the unmistakeable raven’s call in the 73 yards teaser, the trailer’s cut to fifteen crying alone after promising to cherry he’d protect her daughter… the foreshadowing is clear as day…
and yet. there’s one massive HOWEVER. ruby appears in s15: millie’s been spotted on set filming it. which leads me to believe — the doctor isn’t one to take the time travel route and revisit companions that in his future are genuinely dead. that would hurt too much, it would cause unnecessary trauma and could break the timeline. that must mean ruby stays alive in some way. ish. she’s alive and a legend and a mystery. girl-ballad girl-song girl-paradox
here she is, fading out.
p.s.: thesis statement on moffatgirls from the tags i left on somebody else’s post about charley pollard.. well it belongs here since it’s basically the semiotic hurricane swirling around ruby at the moment :)
#on a personal level what interests me about these characters is precisely what gets them labeled as being subject to#misogynistic writing by pop-feminist video-essayists. as an autistic girl* (*ish) however; i find female characters that#aren’t quite ‘normal people’; women who represent an idea or concept or are a puzzle to be solved or a manic pixie dream girl to be#more and in a way far more interesting than a girl-next-door-type universally relatable protagonist#they make for more nuanced stories with more symbolism and more layers of interpretation usually. why should there be realism in a#fantastical narrative? similarly i like characters that are haunting the narrative or dead before it began (big locked tomb fan if you#didn’t know) and like. not to be tvtropes but the lost lenore archetype. dead woman who spurs the hero on to recklessness or revenge.#i identify with that dead girl. the laura palmers of the world. set the story in motion without#necessarily having agency. maybe it’s something to do with my#constant background radiation of passive suicidality. in a fun whimsical way :) i would never kill myself but i don’t want to be a real#person. i want to be objectified but not necessarily in a k*nky s*xual way (that too) in a princess in a tower way#the ultimate femme fantasy innit? there’s something about it. hashtag problematic hashtag conforming to gender roles#10000 tags be upon ye#ruby sunday#millie gibson#doctor who#dw#steven moffat#clara oswald#fifteen#fifteenth doctor#twelveclara#amy pond#charley pollard#river song#donna noble#ncuti gatwa#doctor who meta#jamie.txt#haunting
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i will say, after reading the comics and knowing mark's increasingly fraught relationship with superherodom and the overall trajectory of discovering what kind of work brings him personal fulfillment, i do think it's really lovely how they made amber super into volunteering and activism and hands-on, structural change in the show :( it makes it seem like she's actually gonna have a major impact on the way mark views the world in the long run, as opposed to comic!amber who is sort of just forgotten about as time goes on
#invincible#invincible comic spoilers#when i first watched the show i thought they were trying to make it a joke#like 'haha boy dates Woke Girl and has to pretend to care about any of it to date her 🤪 isnt that hashtag relatable guys?'#but now im like. aw no there's a level of intentionality here that i definitely gave an uncharitable read to#but at the same time. can you rlly blame me when they did those cringey doc siesmic jokes so early on#willow whispers
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Long hair Leigh Whannell my beloved.....
Part 2
#leigh whannell#abc recovery#babygirl#my stuff#had to get multiple screen shots from the Simpsons video in there cause he looks sooooouurrrr good#the lip bite?!?! HELLO????!!!#he's such a lil guy ugh 😩#touching his hair ONCE would fix me#i'm in love with his hair colour. it's so nice#i love u Leigh Whannell i want you forever and ever#i would put a ring on his finger SO FAST bro#his recover era is everything to me#i wish i could listen to his sonic speed level rants for hours and hours#also the blonde girl grabbing at him? same#hashtag relatable#i'm obsessed with his smile GOD#saw#adam stanheight
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uraaaaaaagghh
#mine#t-2 hours until interview and i'm nervousssss i couldn't sleep well last night...#i ended up falling asleep looping one of my favorite songs by my favorite band which was nice but urrgrgghggh#i feel like i didnt prepare enough yesterday and now im so nervous im pretending the google doc i made doesnt even exist#i mean i have it open 2 tabs away but you know...i don't want to see it or think about it#TWO 30 minute sessions with 2 separate people...AND interviewing in spanish shortly after that...first time doing so...#uuuuggghhhhhhh#i'm really hoping that the 2 30min parts will cover like every question they want to ask (seriously why do we need a whole hour...)#and then the spanish part will be more language related#most of all i hope she asks things i can answer and i hope my spontaneous spanish is good because i could not be assed#translating all of my rehearsal answers -_- no thanks girl#URRRRGGGJJ#all this for a call center job too -_- but whatever every interview is more experience and i need to level up hashtag gamer
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i'm always a polyshipper before anything else bc my own found/created family is a polycule & i base all my (healthy) written relationships off various irl dynamics of mine. i'm genuinely curious how opinions of my fave toh polyship skew amongst people here. answers to this poll will not change the way i post about them or how annoying i am about them though.
#please do not ask questions about whether the ship is hashtag problematic they are very very very tiring as a polyamorous person.#hunter and amity are typically metamours or qprs within this polycule;#hunter and luz can be either qprs or romantic depending on the author/artist;#them being romantic is not incest because they are not related did not grow up together and do not share a guardian.#ok questions Unrelated to these three things might be fine. i just know what the kneejerk discourse is and it is. So So So So So Tiring.#did my time in another fandom with a polycule involving a gay man and a woman as metamours and u would not BELIEVE#the level of viciousness hate discrimination and straight-up evil bigotry. i just Really Dont Wanna Do It For This Fandom#now that that soapbox is over. THEY#CAN WE PLEASE TALK ABOUT THEM. IM DYING TO TALK ABOUT THEM I WANNA TALK ABOHT THEM ALL THE TIME#toh#lavender winter
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Since I'm especially on a tear about this: I also wish people who claim to enjoy fictional women would ask themselves if they still take an interest in female characters when those characters are not specifically designed to be universally-liked?
#I'm not talking about 'women who are not good people'#I'm not even talking about 'women who are a mess/extremely flawed' necessarily#I'm talking about women who were not meant to be hashtag relatable and just exist in the story as they are#whose function is not just to be as palatable as possible.#like...are you normal about women when you don't directly relate to them basically. are you normal about them when the point isn't to#cater to you#hold on I'm going to go find a post real quick. it talks about misogynoir and fandom racism which are NOT the same as general#misogyny. but I think about that post a lot and it exemplifies a lot of what I'm trying to say when I talk about how people discuss#characters and discuss fiction in general#mel screams about fictional ladies again#and I know that this is The Women Blog and that's the reason a bunch of you are here. so I don't really know what me talking about this is#really going to accomplish after a certain point because if the people watching me scream into the void didn't on some level already#care or know this they probably wouldn't be following me or looking through my blog?#but I do also need to Uncork My Thoughts™ sometimes and unfortunately that usually means flinging them at tumblr lmao
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oh hell yes I can give my Fighter Counterspell, this is gonna be so fucking funny
#ramblings#he just shouts 'MAGIC ISNT REAL DUMBASS' and it Just Works#Eldritch Knight turned out to be a perfect fit for sid sibyl- surprising absolutely no one#i'll have to wait to level up before I can take the spell but it's something to look forward to#on a related note he can also attune to his sword so he cant physically be disarmed unless unconscious and can summon it out of thin air#HashTag Hot Girl Shit let's go
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hang on who's the other Eddie???
lmao I read IT for the first time this year
#if I could choose to only see uncomfortably hashtag relatable elements in characters who are cool and great#then I would have to be someone who is cool and great instead of a gigantic loser weirdo with poor social skills#chatter#I hope this is what you meant#this is all saying Embarrassing Things About Me on entirely too many levels. the 4D chess of fuckor
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Ppl are getting mad again that I asked them not to tag my Self Portraits Of Me That I made as "me", because they're me, and it's weird to read Also people are being weird about reading comprehension again, seeing the words I typed and instead deciding that I think they Aren't Allowed To Relate To Art At All
pink carnations for the floral portrait series + detail (pls do not tag as "me", thank you!!)
#nothing is stopping you from thinking or feeling a certain way but the artist made a super surface level Request#and now you are Mad. maybe you don't need to be so mad about that?#ppl very deliberately Only do it to be an ass or be contrarian#most folks are very nice and can express that they relate to the piece without going OH YOU DON'T LIKE THAT? WELL HASHTAG ME#it's really just super weird and aggressive the way some ppl react to it it's wild#it's super uncomplicated of a concept#i don't usually put this type of braindead reply on your dashes so sorry abt that but like look how fuckin annoying these people are lmao
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This could have been you black bloggers but you chose to slut out for a raggedy bald head who doesn’t give a fuck about you as much as you didn’t give a fuck about him because if you had you would’ve bullied him to offering apologies and if he gave a fuck about you he would have apologize or better yet don’t shoot at people especially while he’s on probation
Treat black meat sucking bloggers like the msm
To hell with them
Turn them off and never turn them back on again ever don’t even give them a second of your time
Fuck their ratings and views up
Go to sources that really matter like Meghan thee reporter
#Avatar#cyarskaren52#Jan 31#We are quickly approaching a point where criminal legislation will need to be considered and enforced as it relates to parasocial relations#— Tenille Clarke (@tenilleclarke1) January 31#2024#ALT#View on Twitter#❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️#This whole case had me changing my opinions and views(at least for the moment)#celebrating the police and the system#being xenophobic towards Canadian people#posting stories with reader plus white celebrities with fluffy or smutty material#nearly being racist towards black men#saying that some of them nigcels deserved to be another hashtag#and backing the death penalty.#megan thee stallion#i’m not sad for her#i’m outraged#i’m just glad she’s in a better place now#those people can speak for themselves they know who they are#and they can go straight to hell#they will pay for their crimes#for sucking that abusers meat#Instagram#As always a loud and sincere fuck you to everyone who has doubted her and supported that Canadian cuntery who must not be named#She went through unnecessary trauma for two years#That’s unforgivable#Next level fuckery#That that type of ish that would lead to an episode of snapped or deadly women
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the ONLY ofmd characters who are into taylor swift more than passingly are alma, mary alamby, and edward fucking teach. and that's IT.
listen i like taylor swift generally speaking more than the next guy, but if i see one more person say frenchie ofmd would be a swiftie i might actually lose it
#some of the others are like yeah she's pretty good but they're not fans. they're not going to concerts or buying merch or doing covers.#AND ed is into 1. extremely innovative weird self taught garage band industrial metal#and 2. hashtag relatable singer songwriter girl power/boy troubles pop top 40#and for both it's a major bonus if they have some level of theatricality or that megamind type Presentation#so yes. taylor. BUT ALSO. we must keep in mind his age and nationality when thinking of his preferences!#taylor is huge internationally and retains old fans while gaining new ones so fine if you like that sort of thing it's not bad chances#you will anywhere and any age#i may be biased but i'm sure the same goes for bey and britney but like.#idk man i don't think a nearly 50yo maori immigrant to either the caribbean or the uk#is gonna be listening to primarily contemporary USAmerican pop girlies#and the rest of them don't even have a desperate craving for privilege and to be somebody's lame boyfriend#and btw izzy would be one of the most insufferable taylor haters of all time#while also secretly shamefully liking olivia rodrigo (in keeping with alex saying s1 from izzy's pov = sour)#(+ because she makes Noises and does some punky stuff and actually sounds angry and mean when she's being angry and mean#as opposed to taylor and idk sabrina/gracie/maisie who always sound very pretty even when the lyrics are mean)#anyway i didn't mean to talk for this long#and i meant to say somewhere in there that if we MUST consider americans for ed to stan we NEED to be talking about cher#hc
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fascinated by elp's g1 storyline literally being that he has depression. he has chronic severe low mood, lack of energy, inability to enjoy the things he used to love and a general constant sense of hopelessness. on commentary he was constantly making self deprecating comments. he can't maintain a basic level of personal care anymore. despite having supportive fans and family (jado) and occasional moments of cheerfulness and humour he quickly slips back into being subdued and depressed as soon as those moments are over bc when you're depressed every moment of happiness feels like an accident while every setback feels like a sign from the world that you are not supposed to be here. he's participating in this really important, prestigious event in his chosen career field but he'd rather be curled up in a ball in a corner alone. unfortunately? hashtag relatable... i am so curious about where this is going to go because i assume it's not 'elp starts taking ssris and seeing a therapist' and the wrestling equivalent would be rediscovering his fighting spirit, making new friends etc
#wrestle opinions#well i said i wouldnt deep dive on this bc frankly it feels a little out there even for me#but then i did. so#mental health#< how is this a tag on a post about the haha backflip nip twist man#el phantasmo
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If anyone can rally up a base, it’s Taylor Swift.
When sexually explicit, likely AI-generated, fake images of Swift circulated on social media this week, it galvanized her fans. Swifties found phrases and hashtags related to the images and flooded them with videos and photos of Swift performing. “Protect Taylor Swift” went viral, trending as Swifties spoke out against not just the Swift deepfakes, but all nonconsensual, explicit images made of women.
Swift, arguably the most famous woman in the world right now, has become the high-profile victim of an all-too-frequent form of harassment. She has yet to comment on the photos publicly, but her status gives her power to wield in a situation where so many women have been left with little recourse. Deepfake porn is becoming more common as generative artificial intelligence gets better: 113,000 deepfake videos were uploaded to the most popular porn websites in the first nine months of 2023, a significant increase to the 73,000 videos uploaded throughout 2022. In 2019, research from a startup found that 96 percent of deepfakes on the internet were pornographic.
The content is easy to find on search engines and social media, and has affected other female celebrities and teenagers. Yet, many people don’t understand the full extent of the problem or its impact. Swift, and the media mania around her, has the potential to change that.
“It does feel like this could be one of those trigger events” that could lead to legal and societal changes around nonconsensual deepfakes, says Sam Gregory, executive director of Witness, a nonprofit organization focused on using images and videos for protecting human rights. But Gregory says people still don’t understand how common deepfake porn is, and how harmful and violating it can be to victims.
If anything, this deepfake disaster is reminiscent of the 2014 iCloud leak that led to nude photos of celebrities like Jennifer Lawrence and Kate Upton spreading online, prompting calls for greater protections on people's digital identities. Apple ultimately ramped up security features.
A handful of states have laws around nonconsensual deepfakes, and there are moves to ban it on the federal level, too. Rep. Joseph Morelle (D-New York) has introduced a bill in Congress that would make it illegal to create and share deepfake porn without a person’s consent. Another House bill from Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-New York) seeks to give legal recourse to victims of deepfake porn. Rep. Tom Kean, Jr. (R-New Jersey), who in November introduced a bill that would require the labeling of AI content, used the viral Swift moment to draw attention to his efforts: “Whether the victim is Taylor Swift or any young person across our country—we need to establish safeguards to combat this alarming trend,” Kean said in a statement.
This isn’t the first time that Swift or Swifties have tried to hold platforms and people accountable. In 2017, Swift won a lawsuit she brought against a radio DJ who she claimed groped her during a meet-and-greet. She was awarded $1—the amount she sued for, and what her attorney Douglas Baldridge called a symbolic sum “the value of which is immeasurable to all women in this situation.”
Last fall, tens of thousands of people registered to vote after the superstar posted a link to Vote.org on Instagram. And in 2022, her fan base, so enraged after waiting hours to buy tickets to the Eras Tour only to be beaten out by bots, reignited conversation around antitrust issues with Ticketmaster and Live Nation’s mega-merger. A cringy Senate hearing followed, and an investigation into Live Nation’s agreements with venues and artists is ongoing.
Swift and her fans could advocate for legal changes at the federal level to pass. But their outrage could do something else: lead platforms to take notice. “When you have a really massive group of users saying this content is unacceptable in this very high-profile way, the power there is about what it says to the platform about what users will and won’t tolerate,” says Cailin O’Connor, a professor of philosophy at University of California, Irvine and coauthor of The Misinformation Age: How False Beliefs Spread. X did not respond to a request for comment on the images and its moderation efforts regarding deepfake porn. Elon Musk bought the site in 2022 and quickly gutted its moderation teams. Advertisers have also dropped off recently after Musk’s apparent endorsement of an antisemitic conspiracy theory.
It’s not clear whether Swift will take on this issue. A representative for Swift did not respond to a request for comment for this story. Harassment of female celebrities is frequent and often brushed aside, but deepfakes are harming them and others without the same power. This could be a moment for Swift to use her powerful platform—or at least for her fans to push the issue before the public.
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Clear Card Trivia 4 ~ The most ancient Magicians of Europe, the Magic Association and their role in Clear Card
Welcome back to my corner focused on eviscerating all the thematics, hidden messages, trivia, aspects of Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card!!
We're at the 4th "episode" of this series (you can find the previous ones under the #clear card trivia hashtag) and this time around the tone of the thematic will change a little bit. We get into a darker corner. Yes, because when it was time to decide for the next thematic I would delve into, I felt it was finally time to address everything concerning The Magic Association and Akiho's clan, the so-called Most Ancient Magicians of Europe.
I've been feeling the need to delve into these two "entities" appearing in Clear Card for long time and for several reasons. One of those is that there are still so many people out there who tend to conflate the two and confuse "who did what". It's time we dot the i's and cross the t's on who's who. And rest assured I made sure to mention every single thing we know (and don't know) about them. For this reason, the post is a bit long, but I wanted to make it as comprehensive as possible.
Moreover, these two groups of people hide a very deep and important role inside Clear Card's story. Despite representing the darkest, most horrible part of this arc (I'd daresay if we have to find a villain in CCS at all costs, we have quite found them), I can see and appreciate a lot the social commentary CLAMP made through them.
If you're curious to know what this social commentary is and read in one place everything we know about these magicians, just follow me under the cut!
The Magic Association of England
Let's start with them. The first mention we have of the "Magic Association of England" (in Japanese イギリスの魔法協会 or they've been called 魔術師協会 - Magicians association - too ) is in volume 4, chapter 15, when Eriol over the phone reveals their existence to Syaoran, and even correctly speculates that Yuna D. Kaito might be one of their members.
Basically, the Magic Association of England is a congregation of powerful magicians (not necessarily related by blood) who associate together for their mutual personal benefit. Their headquarters are, of course, in England.
They are recognizable in the story by their long black robe with purple lining and a headpiece that covers their heads and faces entirely, shaped vaguely like the head of a dragon.
It seems like they are organized according to a hierarchy, for two reasons: some of them wear an additional layer of clothing on their shoulders, as a way to indicate a "higher rank" of magicians (they're probably the oldest ones, or the ones who run the entire thing), but they also assign "titles" to their magicians basing on their level of magic - Kaito is basically the strongest (while not being part of the higher hierarchy, because he doesn't wear the additional piece of clothing) and he's been assigned the title of "D". That's what the "D" in his (fake) name means, nothing else. We can assume there are magicians of rank C, B and A too, in this Association. They even seem to have a collective magic circle, as we can see in more than one scene, but more clearly in chapter 79:
As Eriol implies very early in chapter 15 (and as we will have plenty of opportunities to see with our own eyes), their activities are shady at best and criminal at worst (that's why Eriol replies to an unaware Syaoran "Your clan probably hasn't mentioned them to you yet, because of the plenty bad rumors about them").
It also seems like they constantly try to recruit new members and actively look for powerful magicians to add to their ranks. Like they did with little Kaito, reaching him at the unknown location he was living in (beware, this is often a point of confusion but the men with the caucasian-like headpieces we see in the flashback are not part of the Magic Association. It is just a "circle of people" where little Kaito lived for a period after being separated by his parents.)
Not only that, but in order to achieve their main goal, they also seem to form "alliances" with other influential parties. This is apparently done for the common goal of broadening the Association, their authority and influence in the magic world, as stated by little Kaito himself in volume 13, chapter 60. Although, little Kaito also says that they won't think twice in betraying those alliances when they see fit, and it seems to be customary because the boy says that it's certain to happen.
And "alliance" is the type of relationship that connects them to the next subjects of this post.
The Most Ancient Magicians of Europe
The "Most Ancient Magicians of Europe" (in Japanese 欧州最古の魔術師達) get introduced for the first time in volume 6, chapter 25. Yet, the very first mention of a "clan" Akiho belonged to appears as early as volume 5, chapter 21, when Akiho explains to Kaito she recognized the robe passed down in her clan in the vision she had unwittingly shared with Sakura.
Their ceremonial outfit is composed by a white robe with a light blue cloak hemmed in yellow, just like the removable headpiece covering entirely one's face when pulled up. They also have a collective magic circle identifying the magicians part of the Clan:
As opposed to the Magic Association, this clan is a big family of magicians, all related by blood. They do not seem to have a common last name they go by, like the Li Clan does for example. This gives an inkling about their very broad reach. Although the ones closest to Akiho seem to have their headquarters in England just like the Association, the name suggests that their scope and/or presence might be spanning all over Europe. The family is so big that Lilie basically married one of her distant relatives, part of the same clan.
In this regard, I have to make a very important clarification about a translation mistake in the ENG localization that affects concretely the plot. This mistake made it to the printed volumes.
As you can see here, the ENG translation basically makes a Clan member state that they have the same blood as Clow Reed. We all know that Clow Reed was born from an English father and a Chinese mother and since in this scene the Clan is talking about their rivalry with the Li clan, it is almost automatic to assume that they are the Reed Family.
This is a very egregious translation mistake, as the correct translation is the version that the scanlation group RhapsodyInBlue uploaded back in the day:
A "They are of Clow Reed lineage" (as the Li's indeed are) turned into "For the blood of Clow Reed", giving birth to quite a big misunderstanding.
This clan has never been officially confirmed to have any blood ties with Clow Reed.
Any indication in that sense is pure speculation and fan theories. I know "it's the official English translation that says so!" but unfortunately this is not the first and definitely not even the last translation mistake that affects severely the understanding of the plot.
The only thing we know for certain about the Most Ancient Magicians in Europe (I'll call them "Squid Clan" going forward, cause this is a common nickname I've been using forever in fandom) is that they hold a grudge against Clow for unknown reasons (they wouldn't be the first ones) and consequently they are constantly competing with the Li Clan (blood relatives of Clow) for who is more powerful and influential between their Clans. Although we don't know if it's mutual, this rivalry is nothing recent, as it was already there when Akiho and Syaoran were born, and it's certainly part of the cause that pushed the Squid Clan to turn Akiho into an artifact (to compete with Syaoran of the Li Clan). Syaoran is very well aware of who they are, as he's the one recognizing the robe in Sakura's dream in volume 10, chapter 46.
Another thing that I wish to point out is that, although fandom spaces sometimes call this Clan as "Shinomoto Clan" or even arbitrarily call Lilie as "Lilie Shinomoto", none of this has been hinted at or even confirmed in canon. In fact, the sticker with a phrase from Lilie that is being given out at the CLAMP Exhibition held in this period in Tokyo, indicates her name as just "Lilie", not "Lilie Shinomoto", while all the other characters are fully featured with their first and last name. As it's been revealed in chapter 80, Akiho uses an alias in everyday's life, following a common practice in magic clans. So it's very likely that the entire name "Akiho Shinomoto" is an alias and "Shinomoto" got nothing to do with the Clan Akiho was born in at all.
When they were still alive, Akiho's mother and father were the most powerful magicians in that Clan, with dreamseer Lilie being the top magician. And as we can hear from her own words, the Squid Clan's collective goal is to put their hands on the magic of the entire world and on any means to operate it. That is particularly evident in the purpose for which they have turned Akiho into an artifact. It is also what seemingly steers their interest when it comes to marrying off their members: feelings and happiness of the parties concerned are of no importance, all that matters is how profitable that union will be for the Clan in terms of power. That's why they were thrilled to know Lilie and her husband decided to marry, but then considered it a failure and said they should've never let them meet when they lost their life in an accident and all they left to the Clan was a magicless little Akiho.
Kaito and the Magic Association
Next, let's review how both of these groups affected the other characters.
The Magic Association approached little Kaito in the community he was living in (unknown location) when he was very little, asking him "to help them out". They had certainly sensed his astounding powers for someone so young and saw an opportunity to make their Association grow. Little Kaito didn't particularly want to help them out (or do something for someone else, for that matter), but due to his already problematic growth process and emerging child depression (from what we can see in the flashback, he was seemingly feared and kept at arm's length by the people of that community, so he was already growing up in solitude - I wouldn't exclude they were the ones calling the Association to have him taken away), he didn't even feel strongly against the idea, so he just decided to accept.
What followed were years where Kaito kept growing up in solitude despite being surrounded by so many adults, fending for himself, feeding on anything that was edible enough (Lilie will find him eating a Calorie Mate for lunch), without a shred of love, care or emotional education, simply used as a tool and exploited for his strong magic powers. The boy had the opportunity to train and develop his powers even further, quickly becoming unrivalled in magic battles.
Along the story, Eriol (in a short chapter) came into possession of secret documents about Kaito's life in the Association (the sheets bring the Association mark) and he said that they included his "spectacular war records". What exactly he meant with that term isn't clear, but it's legit to assume that the Association might had young Kaito fight against other magicians (we don't know the extent of the violence of those fights).
Kaito's impressive performances in magic earned him the title of "D" in the Magic Association, the highest title that can be bestowed on a magician in their environment, and he was allowed to attend the Association's meetings with the higher members of the council. During a "character exposition" moment, Eriol reveals that the request that the Association made to Kaito the most was to use time magic for their benefit. This, well knowing the effects that time magic has on the caster. They had a young boy performing that dangerous magic, shaving off his own life span, while they continued undisturbed and unaffected.
Note that in all the flashbacks we saw of Kaito in the Association, we never saw him taking initiatives in their activities, but just merely following passively the orders he received. From his bored behavior we can see in volume 7 chapter 31, he wasn't particularly keen in attending their meetings either. Even the abomination the Association did on Akiho, he never took any part in it, he was merely informed at "fait accompli" (this might be harder to get for how they translated this in the ENG version, but in the flashback in Japanese the Association talks in past tense, as something that had already happened).
From all the hints and scenes we can see of young Kaito in the Association, up to the conversation he had with Lilie and the multiple warnings he gave her about their intentions, my idea is that Kaito wasn't aligning with their wicked morals and felt uncomfortable among them, that's why he strived to be kept alone as much as possible, but being the only adults he could cling to, and with an already crippled self-esteem, he didn't even have enough will to leave that place forever.
Until Akiho came into the picture, that is.
When both Kaito and Akiho were two little children, the Squid Clan requested to the Association to have their most powerful magician to "check up" little Akiho at a distance for any trace of magic power in her body.
This is the incident that basically started everything: Kaito said with honesty that the girl had no powers, "just like a blank book", with the hope that her Clan would expel her and let her live a normal life. Sadly, some years later, that same comment had been taken literally by Akiho's blood relatives and gave birth to a very sick plan for Akiho's purpose in the Clan.
Despite seeking his assistance due to his massive magic powers, the Association was at the same time very wary of Kaito. His unbothered and disinterested behavior might also be the reason why the Association and the Squid Clan didn't trust him and decided to engrave the "Seal of D" on him when he offered himself to escort Akiho in her travels around the world, unknowingly seeking for magic to write on her body (I'll talk about this whole matter in the next paragraph).
The "Seal of D" is a magic of "confinement" that works only on magicians with a title of "D". It's easy to imagine why this thing exists in the first place: magicians with such enormous magic powers are convenient but also pose a threat to the authority of the Association, especially considering how there's no sense of comradery and loyalty in this group of people, and they're ready to betray anyone at any moment. The "Seal of D" works as some kind of "trap" that is triggered by the undesired behavior of the magician (in this case, they had programmed it as "should the magician tamper with the magic artifact in any way, activate the Seal of D on him"). Young Kaito had no qualms in accepting to let them engrave it on himself, because at that time he already had a rampant self-loathing and probably the guilt of what he realized he had caused was already wrecking his mental state. They even had the nerve to ask him "Do you understand what it entails?", as if shaking the responsibility off themselves. Of course he didn't know. He didn't have a complete idea of what he would have to sacrifice, at that time.
Following Kaito's refusal to return Akiho to their abusers (roughly around 1 year prior the events of Clear Card), they excommunicated him officially from the Magic Association and started persecuting both of them. In volume 7, chapter 33, we saw one of those attempts at attacking them to take Akiho back, promptly repelled by Kaito in secret to not let Akiho notice anything. It is easy to guess there had been other attempts in the past. This is also very likely the reason why for Kaito it was absolutely vital to live in Eriol's ex-mansion once they arrived in Japan, as the house was naturally a perfect place to store and protect magic artifacts.
When Kaito exchanged the artifact implanted in Akiho's body with his own pocket watch, the Seal of D and everything that happened afterwards was triggered automatically, sealing Kaito away in a hidden dimension where time was destroyed, stripping him of his humanity and caging him in the form of a dragon, unable to talk, to move or use his magic. Any attempt to free him would trigger an endless stream of magic attacks, like Sakura and Syaoran had the displeasure to realize later.
One peculiar thing that I'd like to remark and that contributes to emphasize even more how despicable those magicians were, is that when Eriol started investigating to understand who Yuna D. Kaito was, with the help of the Li Clan he found out that the "official version" of why Kaito was excommunicated from the Association was that he had "lost" an important taboo artifact that shouldn't have been removed from its premises for no reason. Furthermore, rumors over rumors said he didn't "lose it", he actually ran away with it. All of this is of course a lie spread to make Kaito look like a delinquent who stole the magic artifact (Akiho), when in fact they were the ones willingly sending Akiho away. It is very likely they were the ones spreading this misinformation to both make Kaito look like a criminal but also to not lose face in front of the magic world.
Kaito's permanence in the Magic Association worsened exponentially an already precarious situation with his upbringing, exacerbating his low self-esteem, denying him a childhood where he could know the warmth and comfort of love, exploiting his magic powers at his own expense, while not meeting any resistance from him, reacting to this abuse with a concerning "apathy" as self-defense, for something he could not comprehend entirely yet, and so he could not effectively consent to it. It is a kind of "silent abuse", where they didn't use violence on him (at least not for what it was shown and not till he was still living with them), but still wrecked him on the inside in ways that are not visible to the eye, and it will probably take years and years to heal. Akiho alludes to those scars in volume 6, chapter 29, when she confides to Sakura her fear that Kaito might be suffering in silence from scars "invisible to the eye".
Because of this, his relationship with other people and the way he goes about things might appear particularly troublesome and hard to understand. He definitely doesn't react to things as someone with a healthy upbringing. His abuse and exploitation has been explicitly mentioned by Mokona sensei in a Twitter Space, so even if it's pretty evident once you carefully read the chapters of his backstory, it's confirmed even on the author side.
Akiho and the Most Ancient Magicians of Europe
Cosmos, whom we've known as "Akiho Shinomoto" in the story, was born into the clan of the Most Ancient Magicians of Europe as a result of the love and union between Lilie and her husband, both part of the same clan and respectively first and second strongest magicians in that family. It is immediately horrifying the realization, along the story, that Akiho's abusers are people of her own family, tied to her by blood.
But let's proceed in order.
As soon as the accident that killed Lilie and her husband happened, the Clan took care of their only surviving daughter.
Ever since the first panels of Akiho's backstory, the Clan members are shown having great expectations about what kind of magic she would develop, as everyone else in that family had done till that moment. When they heard about Lilie and her beloved's engagement, they were already fantasizing about what incredible powers their offspring would have. That's all they ever cared about. At the "ripe old age" of about 1-2 years, the baby girl was expected to show some signs of magic as soon as she started walking, but she had none. It is roughly in this period that they had Yuna D. Kaito, from the Magic Association, evaluate her at a distance. Even though the boy declared she had no trace of powers, they seemingly decided to wait and see.
But by the time the girl turned 6/7, when she was old enough to read books, still no fragment of magic appeared in her. That was, for the clan, something unacceptable. And the beginning of Akiho's tribulations.
It was in this moment that they started to compare her to Syaoran, of the Li Clan in Hong Kong, and the concern with her non-existent powers began to look more and more like an obsession. They actually started seeing her as a stain on their Clan's pride. Suddenly, the focus was all on how they could surpass the other rival Clan, and Akiho was isolated, left in the grip of loneliness. A magicless member of the family was a member who didn't even deserve being talked to. An interrogatory, at most. They didn't really care if the little girl wanted to socialize, if she wanted to play, if she was the only young person in that Clan, missing her parents who died so early on. All the questions Akiho stubbornly made them about her parents were sistematically ignored, save for one little detail that she was able to snatch from them, probably out of exhaustion: that both her parents loved mint chocolate. It was an apparently insignificant detail, which for Akiho became everything she knew about her parents, and the only "proof" she had of her connection to them. She was also denied any picture of mom and dad, probably deeming her unworthy of them.
In the short story n. 2, Akiho tells Kaito that her Clan denied her even plushies. Even if she asked for some, they would tell her "if you've got time to play, then you've got time to read". In this sense, it is a miracle that Momo managed to stay, via the guise of a plushie, by Akiho's side throughout her childhood.
The girl grew up, and the situation stayed the same, or rather, it worsened. The members of the Clan became more and more cruel, calling her “worthless”, “useless” in her face, in one scene they even doubted she could really be the daughter of her powerful parents. They kept making all kinds of attempts and experiments to see if she would develop any powers. As Akiho herself told Kaito in volume 13, chapter 60, she remembered how they'd repeat countless times how unfortunate it was that Lilie, a dreamseer, wasn't able to foresee her own demise, and that if all they would leave behind was such a worthless, magicless child, then they should've never let the magician and her husband meet. Basically, declaring in front of Akiho that it would have been better if she had never been born at all.
This was the moment where they completely went out of their mind and remembered Kaito's comment on her: if she was "like a blank book", they would make sure to turn her into one.
With the collaboration of the Magic Association, they executed a magic ritual to turn a human being into a magic artifact, engraving a magic tool inside Akiho's body (the infamous book that we will see in its entirety in volume 16, chapter 79. Note, this is DIFFERENT from the white Book of Time guarded by Momo that Akiho carries with her everywhere). We never saw entirely the scene of the crime, but the few flashbacks CLAMP depicted are horrifying enough: Akiho floated over an altar, seemingly tied to it by a chain made of pearls around her ankle. She was completely surrounded by members of the Clan and the Association, and we could even spot both the Clan's and Association's magic circles hovering over and under her. In a particular scene, we saw Sakura in Akiho's place, and she seemed to be suffering. Probably what Akiho herself went through during the real thing. After the successful completion of the procedure, it seems the magicians burned the book they took this taboo ritual from, as a way to have the exclusitivity of the artifact for themselves.
The ritual didn't come without a price though, even for those who executed it. The magicians discussed the toll that such a taboo ritual would take on them, but since their greed was stronger than anything else, they still considered it worth the loss. When the Association's higher members informed Kaito of the successful experiment (and bragged about how magnificent it was), they also mentioned the price they had to pay: several members of both the Clan and the Association lost some magic spells and rituals forever.
It is to be noted that Akiho doesn't seem to have any recollection of this ritual and what happened during it, nor she's ever aware that she carries a magic artifact in herself, so it's pretty much legit to assume they've put her to sleep throughout it. Or....the trauma caused her some memory loss.
Either way, from that moment onwards, Akiho was just considered "an artifact" created and owned by both the Clan and the Magic Association, for their own consumption. The plan was to make little Akiho travel the world to hoard all the magic she could absorb from several grimoires, as that was less risky (in their sick mind) than bringing all the grimoires to her. And in chapter 80, we saw the amount of grimoires that Akiho had unwittingly engraved on herself along the years.
As if this wasn’t horrifying enough, the spell hoarding all the grimoires progressively tried to crush her soul and conscience, until it would get destroyed completely. So when the artifact reached its limit, it would've been the death of Akiho as a human being. Only a shell of her would remain. And judging by what was said by Kaito in volume 8, chapter 35, they actually hoped for her to lose her consciousness completely, so they could make use of her more easily.
As we all know, that's when Kaito decided to step up and change the course of his and Akiho's lives forever, offering himself to accompany her in the travel they planned for her.
Just like in Kaito's case, rehashing Akiho’s past in the Clan is important to understand her personality and behavior fully. CLAMP, in the Clear Card manga, have portrayed the story of her past in a very peculiar way: it starts as any other fairytale, with light tones and cute designs. But as the story progresses, and the horror ensues, the tone of the tale changes, and so the drawing style too. It becomes serious, darker and “realistic” (as opposed to the initial cutesy style). What started as a possible generic fairytale, turned into a real nightmare.
Mokona sensei described Akiho as having "nerves of steel" in a Clamp Space, and that certainly helped the girl surviving her childhood in her Clan. Yet, certain things will simply wreck you up inside, willing or not. And in the flashback of volume 6, chapter 25, we could see Akiho struggling to comfort herself with the fantasy stories she would read to keep herself company. Despite wanting to enjoy them and smile, tears of loneliness still cut through her eyes. The mental abuse the Clan inflicted on Akiho showed its effects throughout the manga, with various moments where the girl's optimistic and cheerful nature would crack at the memory of what she had to endure while she lived with her relatives. Her apologetic behavior, constantly seeking for validation, is another symptom of that trauma. All of this, ignoring that her abuse didn't stop at mere verbal one. Because what they engraved into her with that ritual crosses any boundary and trespasses into physical abuse too. This is truly the most horrific part of Clear Card and it's no surprise that's been received by the fandom with criticism and concern while the serialization was going on.
Yet, I think the fact CLAMP wanted to introduce and depict the abuse these two magic groups perpetrated *in Cardcaptor Sakura*, of all stories, totally makes sense and in the next paragraph I will hopefully explain why.
How Sakura Was Affected By Them
Now that we have eviscerated both the Magic Association and the Squids Clan in every possible aspect, it's time to look at what CLAMP tried to depict through their presence in the story and what kind of role they have in the journey of self-understanding and growth for the main character Sakura Kinomoto. None of this is possible without taking in consideration all that I've explained above. ☝️
Truthfully, the Association + the Clan touched and affected (or we should say wrecked) Kaito and Akiho the most, directing their dangerous attentions towards Sakura only a couple of times. But they were very important for her growth too, since they represented the first "taste" of what awaits her as one of the most powerful magicians out there, and they led her to make the most important decision she's ever made till that moment.
After all, Eriol said it loud and clear. Powerful magicians are naturally drawn to Sakura, since she is a powerful magician herself. And Sakura was meant to meet all the magicians she encountered throughout her story.
The first point of "contact" with these two groups of criminals happened in volume 6, chapter 27, in the infamous scene of Fujitaka's library. The strong energy present in that place (capable to protect Clow Reed's book and the guardians) triggered the artifact inside Akiho, opening it (almost) completely. It was heartbreaking to watch Akiho push Sakura away with the last crumble of consciousness left in her, seemingly to protect her, before the Clan and the Association took control of her body through the artifact and started commenting on Sakura's powers. Several members of the two groups, both male and female voices, took turns in talking through Akiho, almost as if they possessed her. A scene that, if they'll decide to keep it in the anime adaptation, will be creepy at horror movie levels. Of course this is another one of those details that was completely lost in the English translation, as they didn't keep the difference in fonts that you can see in the Japanese one, hence you don't understand that it's not Akiho speaking, but most importantly there are several people speaking through her. I think what's most disturbing of this depiction is how it conveys perfectly how much they consider Akiho a property. A property they can exploit and literally manipulate and make use of as they please.
As soon as the Clan and the Association realized who Sakura was (till that moment she was very likely shielded by that protective spell that Eriol and Kaho applied on the girl, the same that Momo and Kaito had to see through to find her), they immediately tried to absorb her power into Akiho. That, as I've pointed out earlier on, would've instantly meant the death of Akiho's soul, as her "capacity" was almost full by the time she reached Tomoeda. This attempt will be foiled by Kaito through time rewind at his own expense, but the criminals will try again in volume 7, chapter 34, when Sakura used her magic in stopped time. This triggered Akiho's artifact again, and this time they successfully managed to trap Sakura into the big book that emerged beneath Akiho's feet (the same scene we saw afterwards in chapter 70, once the artifact passed to Kaito). Once she was inside the book implanted in Akiho, thanks to her intuitive powers Sakura was able to see a flashback of the moment when Akiho was turned into a magic artifact, living it (and suffering it) from Akiho's point of view. Even this attempt to absorb Sakura's power was foiled by Kaito once again, with a time rewind.
In chapter 46 Syaoran mentioned the existence of the Clan to Sakura after seeing their robe in her dream. Other than that, Sakura won't come in direct contact with them again till the end of the story (the attacks at the fake moon were triggered automatically and they didn't have a direct intervention from the Squids/Association), but I'm pretty sure that once she regained all the memories of the un-rewritten world (including the memories erased by the time-rewinds, as we can see in some scenes featured in the "film strips"), she had already pretty much connected all the dots, hence why she proposed to Kaito and Akiho to erase their existence from the memories "of those people".
At the moment of the climax in chapter 78/79, Sakura finds herself in a situation where she starts to grasp that behind Akiho, the real Akiho, and this guy she doesn't remember but who's Akiho's most important person, there are people who want to hurt them. She doesn't know much, just what Akiho told her in bits and pieces throughout the story, but that's already enough for her to come to a very important conclusion (and decision).
The conclusion that in front of straight-up cruelty, she can't compromise, she can't keep being the good little girl who tries to be everybody's friend. Cruelty is inexcusable in Sakura's eyes, as it should be. All the more if the ones being hurt are people who are important to her.
Sakura finally learns with her very own eyes that in this world there isn't only the love, protection and comfort she grew up in, but there's wickedness and evil too. That such cruelty isn't a "far away thing" but it can actually hurt people very, very close to her. Of course, CLAMP calibrated on the target audience the depictions of such cruelty and Sakura's involvement with it, never crossing certain lines. The culmination of this realization is Sakura's decision to erase the existence of her friends from their abusers' memories, saying "What I'm about to do is probably not right, but I can't be on everyone's side". I thought that was one of the most powerful, most empowering messages that CLAMP hammered in our brains with Clear Card's finale. Our Sakura isn't a perfect, spotless angel. Within reason, she will stain her moral record a little bit, if it's necessary to protect the people important to her.
And here it's the right moment to introduce the symbology of the Magic Association and the Clan in this story. This is strictly connected to why Sakura made that decision, and why CLAMP decided to not have Sakura confronting the magicians directly.
A Message of Hope Through Social Commentary
Long time ago I had a very interesting discussion with a Japanese CCS fan on Twitter. This fan was wondering why the two groups seemed so important, like the source of all the problems behind this arc, yet they kept being depicted with their cloaks and headpieces pulled up, effectively hiding their identities from the readers' eyes. And the fan had found a very valid reason for it.
One of Ohkawa's private Twitter Spaces pretty much confirmed it for me, later on. Back then the topic was "prejudice" and chatting away, she ended up discussing a bit about CCS and particularly about Kaito's behavior in the chapters that were being serialized at the time. Her message between the lines was clearly "I know you think of him in a certain way right now, but don't let your better judgement be consumed by prejudice. When this story will be over, try to reconsider his behavior". The whole Space was centered on her effort in everyday's life to not let prejudice rule her decisions and assessment of situations.
With Clear Card's story over, I can finally attest that it truly was a story where CLAMP constantly tested our prejudices, time and time again. Not only with Kaito, but with Syaoran and other characters too. And the Japanese fan I was mentioning above explained that in their idea, the reason why CLAMP kept the Squids and Association's faces hidden the whole time was to prevent us from applying a prejudice over them too.
Their appearances don't matter. They can become distracting. This story isn't about them. It doesn't matter what skin color they have, if they're tall or short, if their hair is blonde or dark. We barely know they are located in England, we don't even have a name to call them with. Inside this story, all we need to know about them and focus on are their intentions and actions. Their actions are what define them and what we should be judging them for.
And that's when I realized the "no faces" approach also allowed for CLAMP to turn these two groups of people into a symbolic representation of abusive systems. Thanks to the fact that they're faceless, the readers can literally see in them whatever they can relate to basing on their own experiences: abusive families, exploitative working environments, but also modern society on a larger scale. Never doubt for one moment that CLAMP aren't still doing social commentary in their latest works, even after all these years.
Particularly, in this story Akiho's family is "just" a magic clan, but on a metaphorical level they are the representation of abusive families that burden children with expectations that destroy them psychologically. Think about how strong this metaphor is: "the spell that's been activated on Akiho by her clan will suffocate her soul until it gets destroyed completely, making her easier to manipulate" which is like saying "the family loads the children with lots of expectations, so much that they end up losing their identity, becoming 'puppets' of their family members". Some time ago I've read of a disabled Japanese fan who saw themselves in Akiho's character. Her lack of powers and the way she was treated by her family reminded the fan of their own disability, and what they had to endure everyday due to society's expectations and ableism. They were grateful to CLAMP for introducing a character like Akiho, with a story like hers, and that Sakura and all the Tomoeda kids accepted her and loved her for who she was.
In this way, it becomes clear that the Squids and the Association are representative of systems and concepts that are just too big for a little child to fight against on their own. And that's indeed what happened in this story to Sakura (and Akiho) too. Those magicians are ruthless, organized in big groups and magically very strong. There's no way an eventual fight would've been on equal footing for her, no matter how strong she is. She's just a 13 years old girl, she shouldn't be taking on herself the burden to go against such an overwhelming danger.
Just like in real life, darkness will always accompany light and evil will always exist alongside good. It's unrealistic and unfair to expect that a child could be facing evil all on their own. Even if they are supported by other dear people, it's just impossible and utopian to hope to eliminate evil from existence like Sakura would've eliminated the Squids and the Association in an eventual magic fight. Sakura is the heroine of the story, yes, but she isn't magically nor mentally equipped for such a thing. CLAMP didn't want to lie to us and to their youngest readers. Some battles might be just too overwhelming to fight, and if there's ONE thing they hammered like crazy in this arc is that, no matter what you do, even if you're protecting someone you love, you always have to remember to keep yourself safe at the same time. Reckless heroism doesn't really benefit anyone. That was valid for Syaoran, for Kaito and for Sakura too, in the end.
That's why CLAMP, through Sakura's choice, decided to not let her have a direct confrontation with those two groups of criminals. Besides, let's be honest. There's no way she could've made them convincingly "change their mind" and pressured them to turn suddenly into good people with just a couple of idealistic phrases. It would've honestly looked like a joke and an insult to all the readers who had to endure abuses in their own lives. Oh, how nice, Sakura turned the Big Bad Evils into good people! ...Sure, but what about the pain, neglect and suffering that were inflicted on those who were just little children? Erased by wiping those people's slates clean?
Honestly, the only viable way that wouldn't have insulted the reader's intelligence would've been a straight-up violent fight, and that would've been not only jarring to see in CCS, where violence is certainly not how you solve problems, but also probably resulted in Sakura's death. Which of course, no one wanted to see.
So what do we do when we find ourselves in front of an evil too big to confront, too big to fight on our own? We just give up? We just succumb?
Nope. That's indeed why CLAMP have Sakura deciding to erase the memories as an ultimate, well calculated attempt to free Akiho and Kaito from the grasp of their abusers and at the same time stop the attacks that were threatening to kill all of them. Instead of focusing the resolution of the problem on the abusers, engaging in a fight with them that would've probably worsened the situation, she decided to prioritize the people she loves and ensure their safety first and foremost. I believe CLAMP never wanted to make it all about Sakura vs. Evil Magicians in the finale. That's not the kind of story they wanted to tell. I believe their constant focus and concern in the finale was the marginalized, abused party and how Sakura could help them out from her "privileged" position of a girl blessed with love and protection from all sides. How she could make use of her gifts (both her magic power but also her safety network of people she loves and who love her in return) to do good. Real, effective good.
So, summarizing all the above: by not showing any of the Squids/Association's faces or names, CLAMP successfully conveyed the idea that in the climax Sakura didn't judge and repelled individuals, but rather, the systems they were representing. Sakura didn't oppose "Mark, blue eyes and dark hair" "Elizabeth, green eyes and blonde hair" but actually their systems AND their actions, the atrocities they committed. And what I appreciated is that she didn't need for Akiho to tell her every single thing about her past in order to make her decision, because that's something for Akiho to disclose IF and WHEN she'll feel ready to. She just needed to hear and concretely see that her friends were being literally hunted, and let herself be guided by her affection for Akiho. Sakura did all of this prioritizing her abused friends, the oppressed minority (here it comes out again the topic of minorities so dear and precious to the CCS franchise) while ALSO protecting herself, by not engaging in any dangerous fight with those horrible people.
CLAMP's message for all those children (and even adults) who are suffering for situations that are just too big to defeat on their own, is to first and foremost figure out how to break away from the abusive environment. Run away (like Kaito did), cut ties (like Sakura helped to do), find help so that the poison can't reach you and bring you down again. You have to look for help first and foremost, but also find in yourself the will to be helped.
Akiho and Kaito received help from Sakura, but they also wanted to be helped by her (that's the part where Sakura asked them for their consent on the memory-erasing spell not one, but THREE times). And that's pivotal. The two things are interconnected and salvation isn't possible if you don't genuinely find in yourself the will to be saved.
Once you can break away from the source of abuse, you can start again. You can take control of your life once again, lick your wounds, heal, move on and find happiness again. That's the concept of "we won't go back, we'll go on" that echoed loud and clear in Sakura's words during the finale.
I think the wish that inspired CLAMP while they were writing Clear Card's story is that any of their readers who are stuck in suffering can hopefully find their own support system.
Though the "Clans" or "Magic Associations" will keep existing out there, we don't have to face them alone. Our loved ones can help us getting out of that toxic environment and never look back.
#card captor sakura#cardcaptor sakura#clear card arc#clear card trivia#clamp#ccsakura#sakura card captor#magic association#squid clan#sakura kinomoto#akiho shinomoto#yuna d. kaito
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Zodiac Legacy Challenge
Welcome to the Zodiac Legacy Challenge for The Sims 4. This challenge was created entirely by me, @liisims, with the help of information from the internet and inspiration from the people around me. The challenge is based on the 12 zodiac signs, with each generation representing one zodiac sign.
Rules:
- Play with a normal lifespan.
- While I don’t recommend using money cheats, it’s up to you.
- The heir can be any gender (for simplicity, a female heir is used as an example).
- Complete the aspiration, max out the career, and achieve the max level in all listed skills unless instructed otherwise.
- Utilize the specified traits; their order doesn’t matter.
- The suggested number of children is a guideline, reflecting my vision for each generation. It’s not obligatory; feel free to interpret it as you wish.
- If you share anything related to the challenge (screenshots, gameplay, etc.) on Tumblr, use the hashtag #zodiacliisims , and tag me @liisims.
I recommend reading at least one generation ahead before starting the challenge. For instance, if you’re currently on generation 1, make sure to familiarize yourself with the rules and description for both generation 1 and 2. This is particularly helpful as it often provides insights into how the generations grow up. Ofcourse, how you play is entirely up to you!
My love for challenges started by watching Clare Siobhan play the amazing not so berry challenge from @lilsimsie and @alwaysimming . When I looked more into other challenges I realized I wanted to create my own, and well here I am now! Sharing my first challenge. Before creating this challenge I made sure to look at no other zodiac inspired challenge as I wanted it to be 100% my own. Disclaimer: this is based on some things from the internet and people I know irl. Take it with a grain of salt! Enjoy!
Generation One: Aries
You’re a career driven overachiever. You love fitness, like LOVE. You can barely go a day without some physical activity. Your love life is a mess, you go from partner to partner and rush into things way too quick. People either really like you or they really don’t, it’s probably cause of your strong personality.
Traits: Self-Assured, Outgoing, Active
Aspiration: Super Parent
Career: Law (Branch of your choice)
Skills: Research and Debate, Fitness, Parenting
Children: 3 (Each child with a different partner)
Generation Two: Taurus
You’re a stubborn homebody. You prefer staying in for the night rather than going out. Growing up your mom always took very well care of you. However, you were just really stubborn and did not listen very often. You do really love your friends and family, as keeping good relationships with them is very important to you.
Traits: Loyal, Erratic, Goofball
Aspiration: Neighborhood Confidante
Career: Freelancer (Branch of your choice)
Skills: Charisma, Comedy
Children: 1
Generation Three: Gemini
You’re the “perfect” daughter. You always listen to your parents, until…. you become a teenager. You start to rebel, and your relationships with family and friends slowly weakens. Once you become a young adult you try your best to make up for it. You discover you actually are outgoing and decide to become a ‘youtuber’.
Traits: Outgoing, High Maintenance, Perfectionist
Aspiration: Fabulously Wealthy
Career: Videomaker, use ‘The more views video station’. (This isn’t an actual career on the list.)
Skills: Production, Charisma
Children: Twins
Generation Four: Cancer
You’re an ambitious gardener. You really love growing plants, but you also love eating them! You grew up in quite a chaotic household. Your family could be pretty overwhelming sometimes. You’d be full of anger. So you would find peace in caring for plants. That’s where your passion for gardening began.
Traits: Hot-headed, Vegetarian, Ambitious
Aspiration: Freelance Botanist
Career: Gardener (Branch of your choice)
Skills: Gardening, Logic or Flower Arranging (This depends on which branch you choose in the career.)
Children: 2
Generation Five: Leo
You’re the center of attention. Or atleast that’s what you always want to be. Dating a lot, and then secretly destroying love life’s will definitely get you attention. Just seems like a easy way to go then, right?
Traits: Romantic, Self-absorbed, Cheerful
Aspiration: Villainous Valentine
Career: Critic (Branch of your choice)
Skills: Writing, Charisma
Children: 4
Generation Six: Virgo
You’re a wellness-obsessed neat freak. Seeing your mom cause so much mayhem in others lives growing up, you just really wanted to bring them peace. You discovered you love wellness. As well as helping other people! You can get quite jealous though when co-workers try to steal your clients…
Traits: Neat, Jealous, Family oriented
Aspiration: Self-care Specialist
Career: You won’t have an in game career. You will just go to the spa and host classes, give massages, etc. This is because there isn’t an actual wellness career.
Skills: Wellness, Cooking
Children: 1
Generation Seven: Libra
You’re an indecisive music lover. You had a great relationship with your mom, she decided everything for you. So now you really struggle with making firm decisions. But there is one thing you’re sure of… you LOVE music. The right music just makes you wanna dance your feet off.
Traits: Dance machine, Noncommittal, Good
Aspiration: Musical Genius
Career: Entertainer (Musician branch)
Skills: Comedy (level 3), Piano, Guitar or Violin (level 8)
Children: 3
Generation Eight: Scorpio
You’re a passionate foodie. You love food, but it has to be of best quality. When you were younger your mom made lovely home-cooked meals. Which is where your passion for cooking began. Once a teenager you took over this job from your mom every now and then. Until you realized, this was the way to go for you!!
Traits: Snob, Overachiever, Clumsy
Aspiration: Master Chef
Career: Culinary (Chef branch)
Skills: Cooking, Gourmet cooking
Children: 2
Generation Nine: Sagittarius
You’re a true bookworm. You’ve always been very book smart. Even though your mom really wanted you to become a master chef just like her. You’ve got a blunt tongue and made clear that wasn’t the direction you wanted to go. She did pass down one thing though. Her love for food, hence why you are also a big foodie.
Traits: Bookworm, Childish, Foodie
Aspiration: Nerd Brain
Career: Education (Branch of your choice)
Skills: Research and Debate, Comedy, Logic
Children: 4
Other: Must adopt 1 child.
Generation Ten: Capricorn
You’re a self-challenging oddball. You love creating challenges for yourself. You’ve always been extremely socially awkward. So what better career choice then to become a politician. You’re very ambitious, so you try your hardest to persevere every challenge.
Traits: Socially awkward, Ambitious, Genius
Aspiration: Inner Peace
Career: Politician (Branch of your choice)
Skills: Charisma, Wellness
Children: 2
Generation Eleven: Aquarius
You’re an innovative helper. You have a very creative way of thinking, and coming up with solutions. Which is why you are so good at being a doctor! You don’t show it often, but you really love helping other people. You truly value being in the company of others.
Traits: Creative, Proper, Squeamish
Aspiration: Neighborhood Confidante
Career: Doctor
Skills: Logic, Handiness
Children: 1
Generation Twelve: Pisces
You’re a sensitive soul. You love outing your emotions in art. Growing up your mom was always very supportive of you and your dreams. She did her best to support you in every way she could. You’re a people person and very easily influenced by the people and their emotions around you.
Traits: Gloomy, Art lover, Good
Aspiration: Painter Extraordinaire
Career: Painter (Branch of your choice)
Skills: Painting
Children: 4
I’ve been working on this challenge a while. So I’m super excited to finally share it!! Have fun!
#zodiacliisims#simblr#ts4#sims 4#sims4#sims community#new simblr#sims legacy#sims challenge#the sims community#the sims 4#sims 4 cas#sims 4 challenge#sims 4 legacy#sims 4 simblr#the sims 4 community#sims 4 gameplay#the sims4#sims 4 story
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