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meimi-haneoka · 1 year ago

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Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card Chapter 79: Comments + JP-ENG translation differences

Welcome back to our monthly appointment, CCS fans! This chapter comes right after this month's full moon, the Hunter Moon! (lol yes I will feature the name of the relative full moon till the end of the story). And speaking of the end of the story, I will start this analysis and translation post from the end of the chapter, where I found the confirmation to the rumour that had been going on for hours before the official release on Comic Days:

yes, dear readers, this is not a drill, Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card Arc will end with chapter 80, after 7 years of serialization! 🎉✨ When *the last chapter* is announced, there's no turning back! No more sudden announcements of extensions! 🥹 But at the moment of writing this post, no mentions have been given about any "epilogue" or extra chapters that might be serialized in the upcoming months leading to the big release of volume 16 on April 1st!

On the translation side, I have to sigh in relief because no major misunderstandings happened in the ENG version, just some minor inaccuracies! I was kinda scared because this chapter is pretty important and complex in itself.

And let me say that what happened in this chapter 79 definitely marks the end of the climax, so I can totally see it ending in next chapter. The chapter tackled some very important thematics regarding the presence of "evil" in this series, that I will talk about extensively in my analysis.

The announcement today made me already a bit nostalgic and sad, but I want to strive hard to accompany myself and all of you towards the end of this arc with excitement and a smile, therefore I won't let myself be prey of the sadness yet and introduce you immediately to the gif of this month, because there's a lot we need to talk about and analyze and we can't waste time!!

This is entirely dedicated to our protagonist and heroine Sakura-chan, because damn, she really slayed this chapter!!! Under the cut to see what miracles she made happen!

The Color Page

My dear readers, after years of countless pleas on my social media, after being let down month after month, CLAMP FINALLY GRANTED ME A COLOR PAGE SOLELY DEDICATED TO KAITO AND AKIHO TOGETHER ON THE SECOND-TO-LAST CHAPTER!! Yaaaay!! Excuse me while I celebrate this event here in my little corner, especially after having a rough month! 🎉🎉🎉 I hope my followers thought of me when they saw it? Like "finally she'll stop asking for it" (breaking news, I'll keep asking for more even after the series is over) 😂 It took them 79 chapters to do so and honestly I'm laughing because....yes, I admit it, I expected another vibe for such an important color page coming after such an important emotional scene in chapter 78, but honestly the first thing I thought when I saw it was "....they had to wait 79 chapters for this? 😧" 😂because it's very very "regular", I think it would've been ok for this to come out long ago. LOL I'm being brutally honest here, I hope no one gets offended, especially because that pet peeve aside, OF COURSE I love this precious color page to bits, and I know under its "normalcy", its got a very important meaning to the both of them.

Akiho and Kaito are depicted together clearly during one of their travels....but the question is, is this from the past? Or the near future? I'd daresay they look the same age they are now, so this might probably be a foreshadowing for the future...? They'll keep travelling the world? But seeing the content of the chapter, this might also be just a call-back to their memories together and everything that they experienced during those travels, tightening their bond. Travelling the world is, after all, really their thing, their element. I really like Kaito's expression, with his usual smile that almost turns into a smirk, he gives off a vibe of being finally free to express his emotions. He looks carefree, and that's really something for him. Akiho, on the other hand, is always so much more expressive than him and you can literally feel the joy and excitement emanating from her delighted expression. Travelling with him makes her happy, so yes, should this be what awaits them in the finale, it's fine by me as long as they're happy (I'm rooting for the other option though, the "stay in Tomoeda with your newfound support network" route).

But as you know, I always have to analyze the color pages a bit deeper, especially when they're about these two. And since I had to keep myself distracted, I made a bit of research. Other than the "travelling" vibe, this illustration gives off also kind of a "vintage" vibe (which is another strong element to Akiho and Kaito). It seems Akiho is dressed in a sleeveless coat with cape and wearing a bonnet fully inspired by those worn by children in the second half of the 1800s, in the Victorian era.

(pic courtesy of Etsy) This is a model from 1896, for example. When I pinpointed the period, I immediately thought "uh, the Victorian era is also the period when Alice in Wonderland came out", although that was more towards the 1860s. I found it really interesting and a nice touch for this illustration with a retro flavor (the suitcase and purse also look kinda vintage).

But another thing that immediately caught my eyes were those cute birds landing on Kaito's shoulder and Akiho's bonnet. I immediately tried to look what kind of birds they are, and it seems like they could really be eastern bluebirds, typical of North America. Searching further, I found out that in several cultures bluebirds are harbinger of happiness and symbols of hope. I couldn't honestly have thought for a more fitting symbolism, for these two. Especially cause birds often are associated with an imagery of freedom, and this is something else that these two need, after being hunted by evil people for so long. They really do look free, in this color page. Also, the presence of the birds in this color page immediately brought me back to the color page of chapter 62, where we can see baby Kaito in a wintery setting, sitting on a lamppost, extending his little hand to a swallow coming to him. Swallows are a symbol of hope and bring a message of "spring is coming", and continuing from that message of hope, of "spring is coming for you too", we can finally see here in chapter 79 our Kaito with his true happiness, symbolized literally by the birds most associated with happiness. Another thing that caught my eyes is of course the lily depicted on the cover of the book Akiho is holding, a nice callback to Akiho's mother and Kaito's torment, Lilie. She's always going to be with them ❤️

The Japanese editorial text over the picture is an excerpt of what Momo was musing to herself in chapter 39, while imagining to talk to Kaito: "You traveled with her, and spent time together with her". I think CLAMP chose to feature this line to indicate an important thing that will be restored at the end of this chapter.

Everyone Is Doing Their Best

The chapter starts with a panel showing some light coming off Yukito's house, and we find out that even Touya fainted, exhausted by the effort to keep time stopped as much as possible. Ruby Moon is cradling his head on her lap trying to assist him and "recharge" his magical power, in hope to be able to maintain time "stopped" a bit more. In fact, if you notice, the "black covering" that symbolizes the time-stopping spell isn't completely destroyed yet, but only riddled with "holes", an indication that the spell is still somehow active, even if feebly. I imagine this might "slow down" the attacks, which are still coming but probably not at full speed like they would if the spell came undone completely. I have to point out immediately a mild inaccuracy in the ENG version, that I want to specify in order to dispel extreme theories before they're born: no, Ruby Moon didn't give up all of her powers to Touya, the verb used here is simply 補える, "can replenish (your magic)", not "give all".

Touya doesn't lose his sense of humor even in a dire situation like this, and comments sarcastically "What are you, a battery?", a clear recall to the whole "batteries" matter that came out in the un-rewritten world. Touya isn't supposed to remember about that, and he probably doesn't, but this is just a way from CLAMP to show that even in a situation where memories have been rewritten, some things will be unconsciously said again, because they're just meant to happen.

Ruby Moon calls for assistance from her "brother" Spinel Sun (love how even in these true forms, she still calls him "Suppy"), whom rejects the appellative of "battery" but agrees to give her a hand with "recharging" Touya to keep the spell up a bit longer. Everyone looks outside, only one thought in their minds, which is voiced clearly by a serious Tomoyo: "Sakura and everyone else are fighting with all they've got". I have to point out a typo here in the Japanese version (nothing serious, it can happen and will be surely fixed in the tankobon version): Tomoyo calls Sakura "Sakura-san". I loved the "sparkles" around Tomoyo's eyes, as if indicating that her extraordinary intuition is "at work" and just telling her that, even if they can't see them because they're quite far away, Sakura and the others are doing whatever they can to stop these attacks. And the fact they can see the attacks, but not their friends and their condition, must be really hard to witness, for all of them. But no worries, there's Touya nii-chan who's always ready to lighten the mood even in this challenging situation, joking that "If they don't get back before the curfew, they won't be getting their snacks tomorrow!". Here the ENG adds "squirt" to make Touya refer specifically to Sakura, but truth to be told, in the JP there's no subject, so he might be referring to everyone. It's amazing how he's able to keep his spirit up and be sarcastic even in this situation....he really believes in his little sister so much!

I'll Make Them Forget About You

Back where our heroes are, the attacks keep coming relentlessly, countered by Syaoran, Yue and Kero in tandem. Sakura reflects on the fact that the only transparent Cards she's got left are these two she's holding in her hands (Time and Rewind) and Flight. This statement leads me to believe that when Record transformed into that crystal that entered her, that meant that the Card completed its duty and disappeared inside of her. But Sakura isn't worried at all, because she knows that she can create more Cards. Yessss, this development that I've been anticipating since quite some time is finally here! ✨🎉 Sakura seems to finally have a concrete plan, but before proceeding, she needs to ascertain something. She asks directly to Kaito: "The people who are using these spells were trying to hurt you, right?". Kaito, with a pensive face, answers affirmatively.

But it's when Sakura asks again "Were they trying to hurt Akiho too?" that his expression turns really painful, the background after him portraying well his raging emotions and, while Mokona-sensei chose to leave Akiho hidden by Kaito's black wings in the previous panels, now she finally shows how both she and Kaito are holding onto eachother, while our boy answers with a "...Yes" dripping with sorrow. It really squeezed my heart with pain, this scene. Because as long as Sakura was asking about him, his expression was pensive but almost as if it's something he's used to, that didn't shake him too much. But when Sakura mentions Akiho, god, that wrecked him. Any mention, any reminescence of what those bastards did to her and how they were chasing after her to put their filthy hands on her again wrecks him even now, and it's like Mokona with her visual skills is showing how Kaito seems to be holding Akiho a little bit tighter, while he answers Sakura's question. I also have to point out something that I had noticed already from last chapter, but a panel tricked me into believing I was just seeing things: CLAMP here use a dark screentone for Kaito's eyes, that he never had before (actually, no other character in CCS got this effect in their eyes). This effect will be used on him for the entire chapter.

And it seems like it's the very same screentone that was used for the dragon. I think this might be an indication that the wings aren't the only reminescence of his dragon appearance!

Sakura shows once again an incredible empathy that allows her to go right to the heart of the issue without investigating much. If Kaito rewrote an entire world, and if it's true that Akiho in the previous world didn't have all the love and familiar support she's got now, it means that she was probably in danger too. And seeing as these people are attacking them now because they freed Kaito from his "punishment", Sakura doesn't really need much to make 2+2 and understand the situation. Sakura believes in Akiho, therefore she believes in Kaito too, and knows that if he came to this point it's because they were in a desperate and dangerous situation.

Showing an incredible insight, Sakura shocks both Kaito and Akiho by asking:

Sakura, JP: "In that case, can I make those people forget about you both?"

Because our girl needs to make sure that the plan she came up with won't have any undesired consequences. But most importantly, she needs to have their consent. She reiterates this once again, actually she will make sure to ask Kaito and Akiho's consent 3 times in total. She says: JP, lit. "If going back to before the world was rewritten will put you through hardships once again, then, can I just make them forget?" Kaito is even more shocked, because he finally understands Sakura's intent. A generous, selfless intent born from a loving heart. Our girl wants to make sure that these two will be safe and sound once she fixes this situation. She can't take risks, because their happiness is all she's really caring for right now. And in his shocked expression, I can also see some kind of "omg YES, PLEASE" vibe. Because probably, having those terrible people forgetting all about them is everything he ever wished, but couldn't achieve. And I think it's really funny how we berated Kaito so much in the past chapters for making Akiho and the others forget facts that happened before and forgetting about him, but here Sakura just takes "inspiration" from him and actually decides to use that same "trick" in the right way. Because it's not fair that it should be them, the abused people, to forget about their most important person, in order to achieve a happy life for at least one of them. It isn't fair and it isn't right that Kaito was driven into making all the mess that he made, pushed by desperation. The abusers, that clan and Association of magicians, should be the ones forgetting.

But this is Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card's finale, and Sakura definitely hasn't finished with being amazing yet, she actually just started. Her very strong power at this point allows her not only to see things that were difficult before, but also to connect the dots more easily thanks to that renowned instinct that I've always talked to you about, and that she learned to finally listen to.

As if she were seeing through him with X-rays, she confidently affirms that there's a book inside of him, a white book where you can inscribe magic on. And she also knows that that same book was inside Akiho, once. I guess this might be even coming from past memories of the unrewritten world (do you remember when, before the play started, Sakura said that she could feel something inside Akiho?). Akiho of course is shocked to hear that, and from her expression you can almost feel the chill that went down her spine in that moment. Sakura affirms that this book knows both Akiho and Kaito (thanks to the fact that it was inside both of them - something that I've always found painfully heartbreaking but also quite moving, for my ship), and it's got a very strong power inside of it. These will be two crucial things for Sakura's plan. In fact, our heroine is hellbent in attempting something pretty arduous: utilizing that artifact's power to create a new Card. For impartiality, I have to point out that the ENG added (completely on their whim) a "you, her special person" that isn't there in the JP version! Of course it's all the better for me, since they repeat (finally with the right adjective) that Kaito is Akiho's special person, but it's kinda funny that they messed it up so much in the previous chapters, and now they're adding it where there isn't any mention of it!

Sakura will be using a tool that knows the both of them, therefore she is sure that her plan will succeed, because the Card will know what it will need to erase. Sakura asks for Kaito and Akiho's agreement one last time. After hearing how those people wanted to hurt them both and even implanted the same magical artifact inside of her, Akiho is quite resolute and doesn't have any doubt: on with the wiping off! It doesn't matter who those people are, they've tried to harm her most important person and her too, so she doesn't really seem to give a damn about proceeding with this plan. Kaito, on the other hand, seems to be giving a more lackluster affirmative reply, but it's not that he's uncertain: he's just still riddled with guilt for all the mess that he's done, and he's probably realizing that now Sakura will need to put herself on the line in order to fix this and protect both of them, hence his sad face.

Still surfing the confidence wave, Sakura guesses that once those people have forgotten about Akiho and Kaito, then the magic arrows will stop too, and Kaito confirms that: forgetting about the person who had the Seal of D enforced on him will be equal to "undo" both the activation of the Seal itself (when Kaito removed the book from Akiho) and also the rescission of it (what Sakura did when she freed Kaito from the cage). This will therefore stop the arrows too, because the Seal wouldn't have been triggered in the first place. However, Kaito warns her that, although time is still barely "stopped" (because the time-stopping spell is still weakly on), it's necessary an enormous amount of power in order to do what Sakura wants to do. I have to point out another inaccuracy in the ENG translation in this part, which makes Kaito say "before things could get worse" and I have the feeling they misunderstood the word 辛うじて, "barely" or "narrowly", which is also written with the kanji of 辛い, "hard" or "tough". So Kaito isn't saying "before things could get worse" but actually meaning "although time is barely stopped".

Sakura doesn't seem to be scared by Kaito's warning, and activates her wand without a second thought, and immediately we can see that her task wil NOT be easy, as she can feel the strain almost right away.

Here we go with another inaccuracy of the ENG translation:

Sakura, ENG: "Great book, please show yourself! My power alone won't be enough...!" Sakura, JP: "The book....doesn't want to come out. (it's too difficult to pull it out) with just my power..."

Basically, Sakura isn't begging the book to "show itself", she's actually actively trying to pull it out of Kaito, and she's aware that it's opposing a lot of resistance, and her power alone isn't enough to take this damn book out. Sakura refuses to give up, because everyone else is doing their best too. Yes, everyone else.

And that's when CLAMP decided to bring us a big surprise for this finale.

A pair of hands seem to be appearing next to Sakura's, as if a spirit is hugging her from behind. We can see the famous fan that we learned to recognize so well ever since her first appearance in Movie 1. Sakura feels immediately the same magical power of Syaoran surrounding her, and with her instinct she finally recognizes her: it's Syaoran's mother, YELAN!!! We can see her, sweating and all, in her sacred chinese pavilion, lending her power to help in this difficult task.

What a great, welcome surprise for this finale!! You might have heard me saying on Twitter that Clear Card is really a celebration of motherhood, with this constant presence of mothers and mother figures who try to help these kids growing up without removing their right to choose for themselves. And since Yelan is the only mother figure who can concretely help Sakura in this moment, with her immense power, I really loved to see how this woman didn't hesitate to assist her future daugher in law. For any SyaoSaku fan, this scene here is a huge thing. We have seen in the anime how Yelan doted on Sakura ever since she met her in Movie 1, even before her own son realized his feelings for this girl. Yelan and Sakura haven't met in the manga yet (and hello, CLAMP, now this is a good chance for letting that happen, after the madness is over), but the woman didn't hesitate a moment to lend her power. I can really imagine how along these two will get, in the future. ❤️

Sakura thanks her aloud, while her eyes show that she's really really tired. Yelan's assistance is finally effective in summoning the artifact book out of Kaito, and we see again those countless book pages that we saw both when Akiho used to go "berserk", and also in the most heartbreaking scene of chapter 70. Kaito, still holding onto a worried Akiho, seems to suffer physically from this removal, and I can't understand if it's because removing something magical from inside is naturally painful (we've been shown something like that before, Syaoran crouching to the ground in pain while the Sakura Cards were being removed from inside of him) OR if the removal of the artifact also triggered his poor health conditions in which we left him, before he disappeared in chapter 70.

Sakura tries with all she's got and finally manages to turn the artifact into its "true form": a book filled with countless of spells written in strange magic runes.

You have spotted it, right? ☝️ I haven't seen many fandom reactions yet, but I guess this "cameo" made more than one person scream: it's Fay D. Fluorite's tattoo, yes! This page of the "book" is probably describing the procedure to cast that tattoo (which was also a kind of "seal", if I remember correctly). So that spells exists in this CCS world too! 😅 The magic Sakura is weaving starts "working" on the book, literally removing the spells from its pages and turning them back to their original form of magical books (remember that the Squids used to say that they would inscribe "magic books" and their power onto Akiho?).

Then, solemnly, we hear probably for the last time ever the magical incantation that accompanied us in the beginning of the story, used by Sakura to secure the strange manifestations of power into a transparent Card:

ENG: "Force without master, heed the call of my Staff of Dreams and become my power! SECURE!"

The countless of books and all this tremendous amount of power get secured into the birth of a new Card: BLANK!!!

Blank got the human appearance of Akiho, but also the protective wings of Kaito. The girl is holding a book (of course, how perfect for her) which is the representation of the artifact that was inside both Kaito and Akiho. This card is really so meaningful for someone like me who loves Akiho and Kaito. It's representing them united in their suffering (the artifact) but also in the hope for a better future (Akiho is smiling and the Card will be used to grant them safety, away from their abusers). I've always imagined that one of the last Cards Sakura might have produced would have Akiho and Kaito's elements, and here it is.

Also, how AWESOME is that Sakura managed to dispose of that damn artifact and succeeded to use it for Kaito and Akiho's sake, and turned it against the monsters who created it??? HOW. AWESOME. IS. THAT!!!!

Producing the very first consciously created transparent Card sucked almost all of Sakura's power and strength, and she's close to fainting, under the terrified eyes of Akiho, who lets go of Kaito for a moment in a gesture of going towards her "sister". But Sakura isn't done yet, no. She can't give up yet because her job isn't done.

And I Will Make Them Remember About You

Sakura wants for Akiho and the people who care about her (the ENG decided to translate this with "the people SHE holds dear") to remember who Akiho really is. She wants basically to "undo" what the rewriting of the world caused on the people who know Akiho, making them believe that she was born into the Kinomoto family and that she was Sakura and Touya's sister.

After pondering for a while and discussing with my friends over at my Discord server, I decided I'm not gonna go out on a limb and assume things from this decision, because I definitely NEED to read the next chapter to see how much Sakura intends people to remember, with this move. It's really not clear at all, as of now.

Anyway, other translation inaccuracy incoming!

Sakura, ENG: "I'm going to make another new card for that...and I might not have the power to do it alone" Sakura, JP: "It might probably be really difficult to create one more new card with my power, right now..."

As you can see, the nuance is different, because Sakura in the JP addresses how it's almost impossible for her to create another new card in the situation she is in right now, exhausted and all.

That's why, very cleverly, she's going to do something different. (My gosh how proud I am of this girl!!)

Saying "But these two Cards will surely help me", Sakura skillfully manages to merge Time and Rewind to create a new Card, not from scratch (which requires more power) but using what she's already got: and that's how the REMIND Card is born!!! The name of the Card originated by just replacing the "W" of Rewind with the "M" of Time. Ingenious, isn't it???

And as the two Cards merge, they give us lots of flashbacks, like the "effect" used here resembles a lot the one that used to happen when Sakura was changing the Clow Cards into the Sakura Cards back in the old arcs, or how the merging of two Cards seems to also be a callback to how the "card without name" and the "Nothing" merged to create HOPE in the very last minutes of Movie 2! What a nostalgic trip down the memories lane!

And the appearance of this Card is even more touching, because it features Syaoran (with his current age) holding Nadeshiko's pendant watch. I found that so sweet, especially coupled with Yelan's assistance to Sakura in this chapter. Yelan associated with Sakura, and Syaoran associated with Nadeshiko. How sweet. And when you think that even Lilie, Akiho's mother, was associated with Kaito, you really can realize that this is some kind of "theme" that CLAMP seemed to be wanting to portray in this story.

I Can't Be On Everyone's Side

And now, the scene that I think is worth the whole chapter, but probably the whole Clear Card Arc in its entirety. As usual, with important scenes, I'll use the literal translation from Japanese:

Sakura, JP: "It might not be right that there'll be people who will forget things (after this), but....I can't be everyone's friend/ally/can't be on everyone's side. So I won't go back...but actually, along with the people important to me... I WANT TO GO ON"

Wow. Let that sink in.

Sakura, of Cardcaptor Sakura, just came to the realization and spelled out clearly that she cannot be on everyone's side. That she cannot be "everyone's friend", like in a cheesy fairytale.

And I really, really, want to thank CLAMP-sensei for this scene and this line because for a period, long time ago, I was worried that this story would go down the "let's be friends" or "let's show sympathy to them" route. But as the chapters continued and the things CLAMP told us about the Association and the Squids were more and more cruel, and they made me more and more sick, I started to realize that there was simply no way CLAMP could've had Sakura try to justify or compromise with them. Because when cruelty is real, there's no compromise to be made.

This scene also shows how Sakura realizes for the first time ever that in her world, contrary to what we all believed previously, evil exists. It might not touch her or her "entourage" directly (and she's really blessed for that), but it exists out there and it's hurting people, people who can also become really important to her. And she decides to not stand idly by, blessed as she is with the luck of not experiencing that evilness, but actually using whatever it is in her power to bring those suffering people to safety.

Sakura cannot fight those people on equal terms. She's just 13, and although her power is very strong, she's still inexperienced. Moreover, she cannot really bring herself to deny her current nature and use violence on other human beings. That's not Sakura. I want you guys to reflect on this because I know that one of the favorite things expected for this finale was to have a direct magical confrontation with the true villains of this arc, defeating them and restablishing the peace. And I am sincere when I say that I would've wished for the same too, because you know how much I love Kaito and Akiho, and how much I was disgusted to read about what they did to them. I've spread my "burn the squids" gifs all over the fandom. I wanted someone to vindicate them. But not here. Not in this manga. I realized that after the initial satisfaction, I would've probably felt like the series would've been "defiled". And that's exactly what happens when you answer to violence with more violence.

Sakura just could not go hunting those bastards down and defeat them in a magical battle. Because, powerful and corrupted in their greed as they are, the only way to "fix" this situation would've been to exterminate them. I just could not picture this story to cross that boundary, no matter how much the bar had already been raised well over what we initially thought.

So, if someone out there is disappointed by this outcome, I'm sorry for you, but it was just not meant to be and I'm actually really glad that this series kept true to its fundamental values. Of course it would, CLAMP really do care about this series and they know very well how far to push the plot, and when to actually stop.

So what is the role of Akiho's clan and the Magic Association in this story, especially considering that we never saw their faces at all? Talking with lots of fans in these years, especially Japanese, I've come to the conclusion that they are not in this story to fill the "villain that needs to be deafeated" role, but actually they're a representation of abusive families that smother and suffocate their children with expectations, completely disregarding those children's natural inclinations, and abuse them when they do not meet such expectations, but also the society as a whole, that looks at you only basing on how it can take advantage of you. Which is exactly what happened to Akiho and Kaito, driving them to very dark places. The absence of faces for those characters makes it possible for the readers to see the Squids and the Association as the representation of whatever environment they relate the most to. It can be family, society, school, workplace etc... It also helps us focusing on their actions, rather than their faces, and not attribute any prejudice to them (because of religion, race, skin color, or whatever other attribute they could have).

Seeing as the story treats them more like a concept, than an actual entity, it's basically impossible for Sakura to defeat them (and their great power is an indication of that impossibility). Just like in real life, darkness will always exist, along with light. Good and evil will always be side by side. It's bigger than any of us. Then, what can we do, in a situation like this? What Sakura is choosing to do, here, is not to confront directly with violence these people who are way out of her league, and not even to sit back and look, but actually finding a way to make them forget about her friends and keeping her friends safe, granting them the possibility of living a happy life, finally away from the darkness of the past, healing the wounds on their souls together with the people they love and who love them back. Because even if you've been abused in the past, you can still hope for a happy life.

The focus here is all on helping the abused people. And Sakura, in order to do that, is okay with coming to terms with the fact that she can't be on everyone's side, and she needs to choose. In the end, the thing that really matters the most is to GO ON with your most important people. Not going back to what is lost, but going forward. And I know that this is such a CLAMP theme, and I'm glad that they reiterated it in this arc. When I say that Clear Card brought Sakura so much more closer to what's usual for CLAMP, I mean this.

The panel with Sakura raising her staff and shouting she wants to go on is absolutely beautiful, with those wings growing so big and unleashing Sakura's power in a storm of cherry blossom petals.

Sakura is exhausted, she finally reached her limit by using her ultimate magic. As she faints, her eyes just make it in time to catch a glimpse of her prince, the love of her life grabbing tightly his girlfriend's hand, to not let her fall, while the watch of Remind and the book of Blank do their job in the background. And I really loved this spread too, because even if it's not a conventional romantic scene made of physical display of love, this in my opinion is even more powerful. Many were reminded of Tsubasa, but I was also reminded of the long time those two spent unable to touch one another, and this scene here seems like a catharsis for that hardship they went through. Syaoran will always catch Sakura everytime she falls, he will always be there to grab her hand, no matter if he can really touch her or not. Cause his love is stronger than any kind of impediment. He will always be by her side, no matter what. When she's exhausted by her heroine's duties, she knows that she can always count on him to support her.

And speaking of "always be by her side", I just can't avoid mentioning how Akiho and Kaito stayed "glued" to eachother for the entire duration of this chapter, protecting and supporting one another. Kaito, in particular, kept holding Akiho even as Sakura's magic was hurting him like hell, because it was extracting the book from him. Even in excruciating pain, he did not let go of Akiho, intent in protecting her and keeping her safe in his hold. Akiho let go of him just for a moment when she was scared out of her mind for Sakura, but went back to him when she saw that her "sister" was hellbent in completing her task no matter what. Kaito, as the good "moon boy" he is, is someone who shows his feelings through his actions rather than words, just like Syaoran. And his constant grip on Akiho in this chapter, such an opposite act compared to how he used to stop his hand everytime it started reaching out to her, told me all that I needed to know about him: she's his most important person, and he will never let go of her, ever again.

Sakura wakes up in her bed. The scene is a direct parallel with an almost identical scene in chapter 3, as you can see here:

Kero is next to her and is relieved to see her awake, so he goes to shout in the hallway, directed to Touya, that Sakura is finally awake. Sakura seems a bit surprised to see Kero talking so nonchalantly with her brother, and he tells her that he chatted with him back at Yukito's house, together with Suppy, so I guess now he finds it "natural" to talk to her brother too! 😂 I'm kinda glad to know that, I like this "change of relationship", compared to the old series (and it was also kinda long overdue).

Sakura opens the palm of her hands and she finds the Dream Key, still intact and all. She also asks about Remind and Blank, and Kero confirms to her that she was able to use them successfully! Sakura is absolutely delighted to hear that, and says "We were able to go on!"

And thaaaaaaat's how the second-to-last chapter of Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card ends! Solving a lot of the pending situations, but still leaving some secondary questions that will surely find a (more or less) detailed explanation in the final, next chapter. And well, we also have to prepare to not have ALL the answers to ALL the questions we might have. This is usual for CLAMP, and especially in their Spaces they never made it a secret that they love for their fans to wreck their brains over theories and imagining the characters' future after a series is over. They love for the fans to give their interpretations to things, they encourage that a lot (also because it creates more long-lasting engagement with their series).

Alas, I expect they'll leave something in particular to everyone's interpretation, but we'll see. 😅

Overall, I really loved this chapter and it was really emotional for me. I think it's fitting for a "climax". Sakura was ABSOLUTELY running the show and after this I dare anyone to say that she isn't the main character of her story. She pushed her limits, and even questioned her own morality in doing so. What a wonderful thing. She reminded me so much of Sakura-hime when she shooted all those monsters in order to take the precious egg, back in the Acid Tokyo arc of Tsubasa. She knew she was doing something bad, but her wish to do everything needed in order to "have him back" was stronger than anything else. And she made her own choice. Here, Sakura, on a smaller scale, made her own choice too.

Now, I hope in the last chapter we'll be granted the possibility to delve a bit more into Kaito and his thoughts, I need to see his character development, I need to see that he learned something from this. That he -at least- started to interrogate himself over the nature of his feelings for Akiho. I know it's reasonable to think that with him, things will take looooong time, but as least show me the signs. Because I need to know that Akiho will be truly happy with him (I know she will!), and she can only be if he's learned to be honest with himself. And learned what Lilie meant with the last conversation we saw between them.

Also, WHERE'S MOMO, I NEED TO SEE MOMO BEFORE THIS ENDS!!

Okay, this is probably the longest post I ever did but I think as the second-to-last chapter it deserved to have some big thematics explored in depth, because they're very important. I'm still pondering if I should divide the post of the final chapter in two because, in addition to even more pages, I expect there'll be soooooooooo much to talk about (cross your fingers with me that there won't be any translation mistake).

I also hope there'll be room for an epilogue or a couple of extra chapters, to help us coping with the separation in a more gradual way, cause after 7 years it's quite hard. I was curious to see the end, of course, but also not entirely ready to let this wonderful story go. I really, really enjoyed it and I say this from the bottom of my heart. I don't care what everyone else thinks, I can only be grateful to CLAMP for Clear Card Arc. 🙏

Chapter 80, along with all the tears that will come with it, is expected to be uploaded on November 29th on CLAMP's Youtube channel. Yes, it's less than a month away! I also expect some news about the anime (BLESS THE ANIME!! Something to cling onto when the manga is over 😭).

Well, see you at the end of November (please come to hold my hand cause I cannot do this alone, lol) !!!

#cardcaptor sakura #card captor sakura #ccsakura #clear card arc #ccs spoilers #sakura card captor #chapter 79 #sakura kinomoto #akiho shinomoto #yuna d. kaito #syaoran li #translation differences

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fullscoreshenanigans · 7 months ago

Note

When and how did you get into TPN? For me I discovered TPN in 2021 through the Fandom page where I spoiled myself about Conny and some other stuff which I forgot and in 2023 I purchased the first two volumes of the manga and I fell in love. And the rest is ancient history!

Sorry about my little history lesson!

You're good! (If anyone else wants to share how they got into the series on this post I'd been down for that too)

My sister and a friend recommended the anime to me at some point (I want to say after it was on US Netflix) as something I might like. I did not pay any attention to this at all lol. They did lord this over me when it became one of my favorite series. But I managed to avoid all spoilers for it other than the orphanage being a farm, which wasn't a big deal to me since it happens so early on.

Fast forward to March 2021, within the ballpark of a day or two of the season 2 finale airing in Japan. I finished watching another series on Netflix, and it recommended TPN to me. I thought, I vaguely recognize this title, the description sounds interesting, and the thumbnail looks cute, so why not check out the first episode.

(dmotta3's blind reaction lives rent free in my head and inspired this post)

I got to the end of episode 6 and realized that my idea to just check out one episode at 1am was terrible because it was now 4am. But I had the day off from work, so after going to bed and doing everything else I needed to do that day I wrapped up the rest of season 1 because was hooked. I had to know what the fuck is up with these little babies with the mental fortitude and emotional maturity to handle this fantastical dystopia they found themselves in so well. And the final six episodes delivered and then some for me.

Me within watching the first ten minutes of S1e01: oh this kid with the black emo hair is going to be my favorite :)

Me upon watching S1e11: LKJFSDLKFLKDFJL OMFG?? OM?FG?? 🥴🙃🥴 THERAPY! THERAPY FOR A THOUSAND YEARS FOR YOU!!!

I noticed the second season wasn't on Netflix, so while avoiding as many spoilers as I could I took a peek around and discovered that a lot of people were unhappy with season 2. I asked some friends who had watched it if they liked it, and they said it was all right, but not as good as season 1. So what I ended up doing was figuring out where the first season left off in the manga, and then read a few chapters before watching the corresponding parts in the anime to see where it really diverged. By the time I got to the bunker in the anime and saw there was no dad to go in it, I dropped it entirely to focus on reading the manga. It took roughly four days from me putting on the anime on a whim to me reading the bonus chapters and epilogue, and I was initially kind of bummed about it for reasons I've discussed here.

(Chart I made to explain to a friend group my personal enjoyment of the series by arc because it's one of the silly things we do with each other, while avoiding some spoilers by removing the names of the last few arcs. I'd rank Cuvitidala and the human world arc a bit higher now and Return to Grace Field arc lower, but the rest is still largely the same.)

But even with my gripes with the series, it had nestled itself inside my heart and mind, and I was endeared to it enough to buy the blu-ray of season 1 and import the soundtrack.

Another crucial aspect for me was that @1000sunnygo was translating the mystic code book around this time as well as a plethora of other content that wasn't receiving official English releases. This kept me engaged with this silly little shounen that had endeared me so deeply, as I had new official content and information to look forward to every now and then in addition to latching on to some fanfics that proved to be foundational for my personal interpretation/enjoyment of the series. It also helped explain some of the issues I had with it, one of them being the pacing toward the end due to Shirai trying to salvage his health after being in serialized publishing for almost four years while still maintaining his sense of artistic integrity by ending the series on his own terms. I don't think this frees said choices from critique, but it helped me personally accept them more.

And then after almost ten months after first watching season 1 on a whim, I made this blog, though I didn't really start using it until February 2022. It was a first for me since I usually just keep everything on main in a random hodgepodge, but the brainrot wasn't going away, and I couldn't put my mutuals through another major interest, so here we are roughly 2.5 years later.

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brightlilith · 2 years ago

Text

.008.

.important.

< previous chapter ; next chapter >

Masterlist Tokio Hotel - Masterlist Connected by music • Tom Kaulitz

I once read somewhere that one of the only certainties in life is uncertainty. At the time, I remember that I found it confusing and I didn't insist on understanding what it meant.

Years later I understood.

୨୧ ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ ୨୧

My breathing was heavy, my eyes were burning, a bitter feeling in my throat, and my heart was pounding.

His eyes were shining, his breathing was labored and he still remained nervous. He was waiting for my answer...

"Yes" I said, I didn't think, I just said.

He smiled, put the ring on my finger, and it fit perfectly.

He got up and kissed me, a kiss so desperate and passionate it gave me chills, I don't know why.

"Come on, let's tell everyone" He dropped his hand that was around my neck to my hand that didn't have the bouquet.

"Go first, I need to process that this actually happened." I said with an excited voice and a clearly fake smile, both.

He nodded and kissed the top of my head and left, I could hear him screaming, "SHE SAID YES", everyone was screaming and applauding.

I looked at my watch, it was 11:59 pm, we were here for almost an hour, I didn't want to go there right now...

I could hear them screaming as they counted down the seconds to the new year.

...

"FELIZ ANO NOVO" (HAPPY NEW YEAR) Shouts, whistles, loud music.

I smiled to myself, I knew that Bruce was looking for me, but I also knew that my mother convinced him to leave me alone for a while, she knew that I appreciated my moments alone.

I know I should have been there, but I didn't want to, didn't want eyes focused entirely on me, congratulating me all the time. Suffocating.

"Hey honey, hurry up, we're late for the party" A blonde girl like 2000s clothes said from across the beach, next to a royal blue car.

I smiled and looked around, thinking it wasn't me, but it was.

I approached and greeted her from afar, she approached and hugged me friendly and then pulled me by the hand to get into the car.

I insisted that I didn't want to go, but when I realized it, I was already in the car with two other girls, one behind the wheel and the other in the copilot.

They talked and as incredible as they seem, they included me too.

They introduced themselves, the blonde was Larissa, the brunette Julia and the redhead, who was the copilot, Olivia.

We arrived at such a party that the first girl said, the brunette who was driving parked the car next to the place, we left and I left the bouquet in the car.

There was a huge queue, but it seemed that the security guard knew the girls, they greeted them and we entered.

Loud music, the smell of sweat, cigarettes and all kinds of drinks that exist was remarkable. Played several famous songs from the 2000s.

Maybe it was a retro ballad?

୨୧ ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ ୨୧

She was panting, sweaty and thirsty. I looked at the watch on my wrist, it was 3:21. I had talked to my parents and Bruce about where I was, I lied a little bit. I had said that I had found some friends and we left, they were worried but I ignored it.

I spoke with the girls that I would go to the bar to get a drink, I asked if they wanted it and they denied it.

I walked there, and sat on a bench that was free and waited for the bartender to serve me.

I looked around and I had never noticed that there was a club here in Morro de São Paulo, in all these years. I know there was one years ago, but it had closed.

My gaze landed on the calendar in front of me, it was dark but I could still see it.

On the calendar it said today was January 1, 2008.

"WHAT THE FUCK"

Constructive criticism and supportive messages are always welcome, it motivates me to keep writing.

(not reviewed)

🩷

Taglist;

Forever Tags: @ihatepeanutss @lovelyy-moonlight @tsamiaxo

Connected by music; @ajaxisbae @penquinsqge @suvakrpa @bxcndd @tokiohotellllll @f4ivc

Tokio Hotel; @sunooslover @willow-sages

Tom Kaulitz; @justash02 @pearlssck @dearstell @venderretta @instabull @aqxllo @Neteyamlovr

Bill Kaulitz; @aqxllo @Neteyamlovr Gustav schäfer;

Georg Listing; Sam Winchester; @willow-sages

Dean Winchester; @willow-sages Robby Keene; @instabull

Damon Salvatore; @instabull

Klaus Mikaelson; @instabull

Let me know if you want to be added to the tag list 💗

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chibivesicle · 2 years ago

Text

Daniel Law - when you’re only human all you can do is smartly manipulate others

After writing one meta about Daniel, I realized that I’d only really hit the highlights of his character around three key events. His introduction, the Noctova Smile Incident and then the Calamity Auction. However, he pops in and out during the rest of Back 2 Back and I figured that he was worth a revisit. Plus, I already write super long meta - I couldn��t fit everything about Daniel into that first one.

Let’s dive into Assistant Inspector Daniel Law a bit more.

This is pretty much the only image that I can find where Daniel is genuinely happy and not looking like a smug bastard. Things resolved themselves, lives were saved and he got the outcome he’d wanted.

First off, I’d previously written about his formal introduction in the chapter ‘Run! Lunch!! Run!!!’ where he threatened to arrest Klaus and Steven in the back alley. Going back on a read through and comparing with the wiki, I realized that he actually appears in ‘Z’s worst day part 2′. Very stealthy there Nightow. I didn’t even notice since I’d watched the anime first and will always think of his smug ass in the alley scene.

As all of the intoxicated citizens rush to see the plane be destroyed by the tentacles and the like the HLPD try to get them to move away from all of the chaos.

A policesuit tells Daniel that the drunks keep coming. Of course Daniel replies as we’d expect him to, stating that it would be surprised for them to actually listen to the police order. He then states that he needs facts and orders video for evidence.

As things wind down it is interesting that Steven is the one who gives orders to the team to disperse. With clear instructions to shake off any police who might be tailing them. Therefore, at this point in time it is unclear if the HLPD knows the current location for their office.

Then we have Daniel’s official introduction, which I’ve discussed at length. And yes, he ‘convinces’ Libra to assist the HLPD using a moral argument to win over Klaus, implying he knows that Klaus is the person to target while Steven snarks back annoyed leading to the threat of arrest. His comments about K.K. also tell us that he’s been doing his homework on Libra. Perhaps, he was assigned to them or became the in house expert on Libra?

The next time he appears is when the immature Blood Breed is wreaking havoc and Leo is at the mercy of the deranged doctor who wants him for his eyes. Daniel is charge of setting up the perimeter so it doesn’t cause more damage and he clearly called Libra (well, likely Steven) for assistance as soon as they figured it out was a Blood Breed. I’m not sure if the title of captain is a typo/translation error or what. The point is that Daniel is barking orders at the beat cops and threatens to dock their pay.

Daniel is annoyed but slightly relieved when Steven and Klaus arrive and he gives them the update on things. That’s pretty much it. He’s in a few background scenes but won’t do anything else active since the entire story is about Leo trying to figure out how to fight a mainly visible foe and contact Libra.

We get the return of Daniel in the Noctova Smile Incident which has lots of quality Daniel and Steven bickering. Through context, we can determine that Steven and Daniel have met up other times between the events where we see them on the pages. Apparently Steven has a habit of showing up when it is any event of importance to Libra.

Their behind the yellow tape conversation highlights both of them don’t sleep enough (we already knew this for Steven) and it is clear both have their vices; coffee and cigarettes. It also shows that they have very similar body posture, with much more slouchy/noodle than other characters. I’ve previously stated that the two of them are very much each other’s foil. Both will do whatever it takes to get people to do what they want but with different styles. Steven will snark you quietly into submission all with a sly smile while Daniel will bark at you, but because his suggestion is valid you’ll go along with it.

Now, I’m going to call bullshit on Daniel in this scene. Steven is quite upset spitting out that he has no faith in him at all and Daniel replies (without looking at him) that is his rule to not trust anyone. This is a great example of Daniel using very threatening or menacing language but not following through on it. Why do I say this? He wouldn’t be able to do his job if his subordinates didn’t trust him in the first place. And for his subordinates to trust him, he must also trust them as well. Daniel Law does not lead through fear despite being very loud and emotional when giving orders.

For Noctova Smile, Daniel still uses his HLPD influence to have Libra work with them, but instead of going only to Steven and Klaus, he invites the key members to the precinct showing professional respect and dare I say it, trust. After the death of Veneno the interdimensional thief, we get the chapter where the role is passed onto his daughter, Venedranda. Before that main point, Steven and Klaus meet with Daniel to get more information from the HLPD. He stayed behind after the events resolved and Noctova Smile was destroyed by Klaus to continue to comb through the scene.

This really tells us that Daniel did his due diligence following the crime scene and that he’s detail oriented and wanted to find that mysterious blade. As he’s talking we get a clear view of their positions as they talk somewhere outside and undisclosed. Daniel almost completely has his back towards them! What was that about trust Daniel? You definitely trust Klaus and Steven to turn your back to them and have your left hand in your pocket and right hand carrying your leather briefcase.

We get some monologue from him about how the incident is stuck in his brain. However, we don’t get the completion of that statement as he then pulls out the briefcase and hands a document to Steven. I love how he doesn’t make eye contact with them when he holds the manila envelope out for Steven to take a look at it, making it clear that the information is confidential.

Yep, Daniel, sharing confidential information with Libra, I see where this is going. Klaus then asks if they’d be able to examine the head but Daniel reveals it sucked itself into nothingness along with a part of the room. As the chapter unfolds Daniel gets one more page where he gets to be a little badass. It is obvious that he’s dealt with a lot of otherworldly items popping up in HL and that trying to understand them is pretty much impossible at best.

Interestingly, his monologue continues over the next page noting that it may be a sort of contract between the wielder and someone else related to the sword - very similar to what we know is the case for Leo. So, kudos to you Daniel, you have a pretty good grasp of how these sorts of things work.

He shows up in all of volume 5. First, when Brody’s old gang, Dead Lynx, try to rescue him from prison with Hummer and the Warden Alice gets kidnapped along the way. Thus, he has choice but to call in Libra since Brody & Hummer were taken along with the Warden as Brody & Hummer are technically Libra when he’s allowed out of prison.

For the two chapter, ‘My life as a Doc’, Daniel leading the HLPD runs directly into the Bradbury Hospital where Dr. Estevez works. He is attempting to arrest a very nefarious criminal with the nickname ‘the mechanic’ as he’s able to manipulate everything to allow for him to fight, absorbing all sorts of random items.

The criminal dashed into the hospital grounds heavily wounded putting Daniel in an immediate pickle.

Luciana stands up and states that they will be taking things from here on out, which Daniel isn’t a fan of.

In typical Daniel fashion he demands he be handed over, but Luciana explains that he must be treated first. Realizing that he’s stuck, Daniel asks if this is for real before calling Minsk a bastard. Who gets half a page of hahahaha while we turn to Daniel in a terrible mood on a rooftop. He angrily kicks a HVAC pipe or something of that sort while Mackenzie (who must be his partner) Steven and Klaus watch him vent from a distance. Steven tries his “Now, now” which only gets cut off by Daniel telling him “Don’t you “Now, now” me!!” Which tells us Steven has used his trademark line on him in the past and it no longer works on him.

Steven awkwardly looks like he wants to reach out and support or console but is stuck as Daniel continues to vent. Again, with his back towards the three of them. Interestingly, Klaus is the one who tries to reason with Daniel stating that Law and Estevez are both trying to do their jobs to the best of their abilities. Welp, I guess this will be the last time Klaus tries to converse with Daniel in a professional setting how well that went over. This allows for him to bring up an interesting point; we want to be sympathetic to those who are injured, even those who have committed crimes. But what do you do when that person is going to use that time to be treated only to recover and return to their criminal activities?

This also has a line where Daniel states he needs to make the hospital staff remember that those with power (like himself) have a responsibility to the general public to protect them.

Now back to his usual eloquent self, Steven asks the Assistant Inspector what he is going to do as someone with this power. Since he called them specifically to meet him on the roof top. There is an odd silence before Daniel replies; it seems it takes him a minute or two to shift from ranting mode to work mode. His solution is for Libra to be guards while Minsk recovers in the hospital, stating this is the best compromise he can manage. And in that Daniel is legally correct - if this were a normal criminal there would be armed guards on him.

All of his reasoning is totally logical. You can use normal mechanized guards against him and that he has the right to post guards on Minsk is all within normal protocol. The only difference is that he has pulled in Libra for a favor since the HLPD can’t handle this and all of their abilities are not mechanical something he can’t manipulate.

As expected, Minsk eventually gets discharged, after threatening to kill everyone which is oh so pleasant in the room in front of the group too. Daniel is waiting armed to the teeth and is also cleverly making use of Libra who are still there with Dr. Estevez keeping an eye on Minsk. Once Klaus saw him in person, you know that Klaus would not let this man go if he hurt anyone.

As soon as he become aggressive both Steven and Chain along with Zed try to stop him, but it doesn’t go as planned since even he has counter measures to their attacks that he’s seen.

When Minsk is released as soon as he leaves the hospital grounds, Daniel orders the force to open fire on him to try to capture him. This goes poorly yet he remains undeterred and boldly holds his ground as Minsk literally splits his body in two around Daniel.

This goes terribly, but it anything showed that Daniel trusted that the HLPD forces had his back, I don’t know what else would prove that point. Ultimately, as things spiral out of control, Klaus tries to seal him like a Blood Breed which Steven stops and it looks pretty bad. Yet, the one who finally figures out that they need to ask for aid from Luciana is Law. Recognizing that she’s the person who healed him, he likely will be able to wound him in a humane-ish way.

She prepares to perform surgery on him to cause him to stop, but understanding her moral quandary, Leo messes with Minsk’s vision so he can’t see that Zapp and Klaus are protecting her and Klaus obliterates him into a blob of cells. The cells were then collected and once she’s able to put him back together, he’ll stand trial. Either way, this all ended with Daniel putting the right people in the right place to perform actions he could not accomplish.

Which led the the only panel where Daniel looked happy in the manga. This also resulted him to taking Libra out for dinner and drinks but it devolved into a night from hell with Luciana and Chain outlasting the rest of the group.

Daniel is face down on the table his tie off to the side possibly wearing his dress shirt only. Steven is passed out next to him looking equally disheveled with his tie loose and someone had managed to balance a bottle on his head. Leo and Sonic are in the foreground looking pained while Klaus is limp in Luciana’s grasp. I can’t image what the bill was when Daniel went to pay it much later. Klaus may have forced Daniel into inviting Luciana to join them but it appears his gut reaction to exclude her was correct.

Before the Calamity Auction, Daniel returns for a minor role in ‘Be Quiet & Follow Me’. As usual he’s the contact point for Steven as they are discussing the next job to stop another attempt to destroy HL. The HLPD have some sort of device that is in revision with their engineering team, who are stating that it will be able to get the job done. Always skeptical, Steven asks if it is secure while Daniel bluntly tells him to shut up and not ask him. This is a point where instead of saying, “I don’t know.” Daniel of course deflects that question and says that the engineering team said it will work. Very political language there Assistant Inspector.

There is also management bonding during the course of the call where reservations about working with a domestic terrorist group aren’t an ideal option for the HLPD and Libra. Doing their day to day job whether Libra or the HLPD is a giant money pit, so they will tread carefully moving forward.

We learn that Guinness Purururo is one of the engineers working on the updated HLPD device and she smartly asks where she could get a good glass of scotch. Daniel kindly obliges her request allowing for her to find Patrick at his usual bar drinking alone. As the chapter unfolds we learn that Patrick brought Neyka along with him from some previous job in her home country and they started working together. We also learn that Patrick and Guinness dated a long time ago and ran in a similar group with K.K. as well, who knows her trade nickname of “Queen Bee”.

Under some sort of weird mind control, Guinness’ son Andrew is used as a way to manipulate her including her sabotaging the HLPD device which results in a panicked call for Libra’s aid. It is quite obvious that the engineers may have over engineered their own creation as Daniel screams out at why they designed it as such.

Libra rush to their aid, destroying the device. Welp, another time things didn’t go Daniel’s way but this time, as we saw from his language earlier he wasn’t the person fully endorsing the device in the first place. It slowly unfolds that Guinness was forced to sabotage the device and Patrick rescues her to the best of his abilities. After he’s able to cause their van to crash no one other than Daniel is there to whisk them back to Libra to put the special anti-magic gun in perfect working order so that Libra can crush this week’s opponent set to destroy HL. Daniel is more than willing to listen to their story as they fly back to Libra to save the day.

He knows that both of them are critical to the success of their current goals, as he did give Guinness information to find Patrick earlier. However, once he delivers them to Libra he watches silently in the background. Patrick states he’d return to her sooner, while Daniel snarks he won’t come and rescue him either.

The ending panel for the chapter has Daniel talking to no one in particular that there is not way the Patrick is going to run back to Guinness again.

While someone else comments that it is a bold declaration. How do we read this? That Daniel is correct in stating that Patrick should steer clear of trouble? Or is this how dense he is to the feelings that Patrick will always hold for Guinness despite having dated her a long time ago? I could go either way, Daniel is no idiot but we have not seen him have a social life besides work, yelling at people to do things and meeting with Steven in secluded places.

With that the next major arc with him is the Calamity Auction where he does many things including getting his ass literally frozen by Steven, violating house arrest, tracking the Blood Breed bat Bloodline Gate correctly, saving Chain in the process, making sure Leo isn’t hurt in all the chaos and then arresting the auction house owner. When Daniel no longer has his regular position of power, where he’s barking orders, he still has people who are more than willing to work with him. For example, he snuck out on his own and started chatting up some of the beat cops who were on the ground when the auction house incident occurred. MacKenzie finds him and joins him as Harrison reports what the snipers saw in regard to the bats. Both men turn a blind eye to Daniel’s violation of house arrest.

This circles back to the whole concept of trust. The fact that Harrison is ready to follow Daniel Law’s orders even when he’s technically under house arrest and off duty, the option is better than dying. Which only results in a normal Daniel spaz response that he’d get fired. However, he’ll reveal his active role when he spots the bats borrowing a police radio and drops his badge number. Later, he’ll lead the SWAT team to the room with the bat gates, save Chain right as the bat blob was about to kill her and also find one of the active gates left behind.

What all can we conclude about Assistant Inspector Daniel Law?

Despite all of his bark, he doesn’t have a lot of bite. He clearly trusts others in the HLPD, his partner MacKenzie, and a decent number of the beat cops. Perhaps, not so much those guys in the policesuits? They seem to get the most of his bitching.

He says that he doesn’t trust Libra but he frequently leaves his back towards Steven or Steven and Klaus when meeting them more discretely. If anything, the fact that asked Steven for more information on the rooftop seems to show that the trust is a little bit more on Daniel’s side than Steven. Whoever at the HLPD above Daniel was smart enough to go after Libra without his knowledge. And when you look at all the times he’s either calling them or working on things with them it is obvious that he is the closest member of the HLPD to Libra. This really demonstrates that Daniel is excellent at manipulating others into helping him to achieve his goals - big picture - to protect HL and its inhabitants from all of the threats. Daniel knows what words to say to get Klaus sucked in, how to convince Steven something is important and he even requested Luciana’s assistance when it was a smart thing to do. Why does Daniel do this? He doesn’t have any other options; he’s a fairly smart and honest guy who is still a normal human. He knows he can’t make a difference in HL or the HLPD unless he plays things a bit differently. This goes back to my previous comments in my first meta about him. Daniel never uses his gun. I keep thinking that he sees it as a moot point, thus, only finally drawing it when he arrests the auction house owner view the Bloodline Gate.

With Beat 3 Peat several chapters in, I’m still waiting with baited breath when Daniel will return. Hopefully wearing his pinstripe three piece suit too. That was when he had the best style.

#daniel law #lieutenant daniel law #inspector daniel law #kekkai sensen #kkss #kekkai sensen meta #blood blockade battlefront

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otwdfanfic · 1 year ago

Note

Very random and out of pocket but!! A few weeks ago I followed some classes on designing book covers based on themes and what you want possible readers to feel when seeing the book for the first time.

So it's been a while since I did that, and I got to thinking, what if I make some little cover sketches for otwd to practise? After some thinking and rereading some of the earlier chapters, I put down a little concept;

The most important part, for me, was showing one of two main things that really jumped out to me when reading; the ocean/freedom and betrayal. So, I jotted down some things for either idea.

For the ocean/freedom, I decided to go with a bit more of a traditional cover, very balanced, very light, as Nuffink's story isn't dark from the very start. I'd combine it with lighter shades of blue (to connect it to Nuff's main colours as well) with the colours darkening in ITPN and book three (see the colour palette in the top! Would also help the cold of itpn stand out)

In the first option, I also thought it would be really cool if the ocean was parting slightly as a way to invite nuffink to its waters, real "child of the ocean" vibes (and also to keep the image more balanced). The mist in the background would be a nod back to HTTYD and RTTE, where the mists to both the Dragon Island and into the Great Beyond was a symbol for mystery and adventure. And that's what Nuff's doing! He's going on an adventure that's gonna scar him for life! I'm still contemplating if the Chicken should be drifting on the ocean in the bg, but I think it would be a very good nod to Nuffink being invited onto the open waters. This cover would be leaning towards a light blue!

The second cover I based on the theme of betrayal and, more literally translated into the image, backstabbing. This would be much darker and colder immediately, which I'm not certain is the best decision considering the first chapters of otwd aren't outright dark, but it would display the idea of betrayal very well! As for colours, again, it would be darker, but still keeping the idea of blue to connect it back to Nuff and his ocean. The knife would be hanging just above his back (which would also be pretty significant as for the most part in otwd, he's not actively being betrayed, it's more hanging above his head and hits him at the end and thus it hanging above his back instead of already being in his back would make this more clear)

Anyways, that was a bit of my thought process behind these cover ideas! I'm not entirely certain if I'll work them out (it really depends on time lmao) but just in case I won't, here are the sketches and the ideas!

Again, this might be very out of pocket but I just love thinking about these kind of things haha

That class sounds really cool omg. I love these ideas! I've brainstormed otwd covers in the past but very generic ideas like just a picture of the kids flying on their dragons lol not so much theme based like a real book cover.

The composition of the first idea reminds me of the painting Wanderer above the Sea of Fog which is soo fitting! I like the idea of ocean/freedom/betrayal as the fundamental themes for the first one and it's interesting to think how the themes would change over time through itpn and totg. Do you know the book series Red Queen? They're sitting on my shelf rn and the covers have a similar shade of blue and each book is darker as the story becomes darker, I love the effect.

My dream would be to eventually commission a set of matching covers like these (maybe after I finish all 3 fics or at least start posting totg) and also make my own set of covers. If I ever make my own set I'd probably give each character their own cover- maybe Nuffink for otwd, Baldur for the downed dragon, Bjorn for itpn, Eret for the dancing and the dreaming, and Zephyr for totg? Gustav's prequel would be tricky lol

#httyd #otwd

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crystalninjaphoenix · 2 years ago

Text

Past Unknown

Switch AU

A JSE Fanfic

I am so excited for this one guys omg. I’m not gonna delay with the summary. Marvin and JJ are tracking down Anti, after Distorter managed to take him from right under IRIS’s nose. And meanwhile, Anti himself is not having a good time, but Distorter is enjoying making illusions for him, and isn’t that what really matters? =) Let’s see how this all works out. Wait until the end for a surprise guest :)

More of This AU | | First Chapter | Previous Chapter

It felt very unsafe in the car right now. Jack hadn’t been kidding when he said he wasn’t a good driver. Marvin and JJ were having trouble adjusting to the sudden starts and stops and too-wide turns around corners.Those had slowed down a bit when they got out of the city streets and onto the motorway, but now they were going fast. Perhaps a bit faster than the speed limit.

“You know Jems’ car has a—what’s it called?” Marvin paused for a moment. “Right, a cruise control. Are you usin’ t’at?”

“I don’t know how to turn it on in this model,” Jack said, not taking his eyes off the road.

“I t’ink it’s a button on the steering wheel? In t’at spot.” Marvin leaned forward into the gap between the front seats and pointed. “Just press whatever’s t’ere.”

“Y’know, I don’t really want to take my hands off the wheel, so can one of you guys do that?”

JJ glanced over at Jack. I think that’s even less safe.

“Marvin, what did he say?” Jack didn’t turn his head to look at JJ’s signing.

“He says t’at’s even more unsafe,” Marvin translated.

Sam, sitting on the dashboard, rolled around, creating an effect like they were rolling their eyes—or, whatever you would call it when that eye made up their entire being. They hopped into the air and flew to the spot Marvin had indicated, pressing the button there with the end of their nerve-tail.

“Right. Thanks, Sam,” Jack said, a little bit of tension leaving his posture.

JJ nodded at Sam, also thanking them, then looked back out the window. His eyes glowed bright blue, as they had been on and off for the past hour or so. He was using a tracking spell to find Anti. One that would give them instant results. But that came with some drawbacks. The spell didn’t tell them how to get to where Anti was, only his location. So they’d been forced to guess on which roads to take—which probably hadn’t helped the unsafe feeling in the car.

They were going steadily north, out of the city. That matched up with what they knew. There was, apparently, a strange facility to the north owned by the company IRIS. That had been where Anti was for the past few days. But now, he was gone. Distorter had... done something. They didn’t know the details. But they knew they had to intercept Anti before Distorter got him back to the city... back to that house on Aspen Street.

“How are we lookin’, Jems?” Marvin asked.

We’re closer, JJ said. We might need to get off at an exit soon.

Marvin raised an eyebrow. He looked out his own window, past the lanes of cars. The motorway was currently cutting through some empty-looking fields. “Are you sure? Not much out t’ere. What if t’ere’s not an exit for a while?”

Then we’ll have to improvise, Jameson said grimly.

Marvin sighed. “I was afraid you’d say t’at. Hey, Jack. Jems says we’re gettin’ closer. Get ready t’get off the motorway soon.”

“Right.” Jack nodded. “Uh... how much space do you need between cars to change lanes?”

A lot, Jameson said hurriedly.

“A lot,” Marvin repeated, stressing the importance.

“Right. That’s probably enough space, d’you think?” And before either of them could respond, Jack was already switching lanes.

The other two braced themselves, grabbing onto parts of the car as others on the highway honked and Jack jerked the steering wheel back.

“I guess that wasn’t enough,” Jack muttered.

Marvin and Jameson exchanged glances. At this point, Distorter was the least of their worries. A threat, but not one they would ever get to face if they got into a wreck on the way there.

They both really hoped that wouldn’t happen. They had enough to deal with.

———————

This was his home. The house he’d known for most of his early life. He never thought he’d be back here again. But he was. He recognized it immediately. The dull brown-yellow wallpaper with a faded pattern, the box of a TV sitting on the floor, the sofa that sagged in the middle. He was here.

And he wasn’t alone. All his friends were here too. And all his family. His four best friends were in the living room. It was cramped, even with just them in there, so he excused himself from the conversation to go check on the others. They didn’t mind. Jackie smiled at him, and Schneep gave him a pat on the back, while Marvin and Jameson told him to tell the others hi for them.

The kitchen/dining room was the same as ever. The appliances hadn’t been updated, and they would probably keep going until they caused a house fire. There was even the same overflowing trash bin next to the plastic dining table and chairs. Rama and Michelle were in here, and so was Stacy. They all waved at him.

He went into the hallway to check elsewhere. Nobody was in the bathroom. Then again, who would want to be in there? It wasn’t the worst bathroom ever, but the cracked tiles and mold on the shower curtain didn’t make anyone want to stay.

Jack was in the bedroom. He was sitting on the bed and looking through a box of photographs, Sam sitting in his lap. He asked him about some of them, but he didn’t answer.

At the end of the hallway was the door to the garage, and the trapdoor leading to the attic. He reached up and pulled on the dangling cord, opening the trapdoor and letting the ladder fall down. Climbing up, he found himself in another familiar room. So... so familiar. The faded posters on the walls, the piles of dirty laundry, the miscellaneous junk shoplifted from stores, and the old computer on a desk that was the only clean spot in the big room. He’d never forget this place.

Will was sitting on the floor by the one, circular window in the room. He walked over and sat down next to him. They stared out at the hills together, all grass dotted with trees.

It should have been peaceful. But instead, his skin was crawling.

Why were they all here? Why did they know about this place? When had they found it? He didn’t want them here. He didn’t want anyone here.

The lights went out in the house. Outside, the sun disappeared.

The circuit breaker was in the garage. He stood up to go turn it on.

Don’t turn it on.

He climbed back down the ladder to the first floor hallway. Everyone was where he’d left them, shocked and confused. He made sure they were all there, then went back to the door that led to the garage.

Don’t make me turn it on.

His skin was still crawling, shivers increasing now, but he kept moving. Even though he wanted to stop. Even though he wanted to run. He reached the door and opened it, stepping into the garage.

Please.

They never had a car. The garage was just used for storage, since the attic was already full of unwanted things. He walked past boxes and random objects until he reached the breaker mounted on the wall. It sparked as he opened it up. Some of the fuses continued to spark as he reached to flip everything back on.

Please please please please please—

He turned it all on.

And then the screaming started.

No!

He ran back into the house, but it was too late. The rooms were filled with smoke. It stung his eyes. Through his tears he could see bright orange flames. They were all screaming. The sound was tearing his ears apart. The sound was tearing his heart apart. Where were they?! Where were they?!

No no no no no no no please! Please!

He ran through the house, but it was collapsing around him. The heat was searing. He couldn’t see. He couldn’t find anyone. But he knew they were screaming. They were dying. It was all his fault.

No...

It’s all your fault.

No! No!

Say it.

It... it’s all my fault...

Finally.

Anti gasped. He stumbled and tripped, collapsing to the ground. Solid earth. Dirt covered in grass. Not burning carpets. That—whatever that just was, it was—it was just a dream. It was all just a dream. Even if it felt so... so real...

“Are you sure it wasn’t?”

His head jerked up at the voice. There, grinning down at him, was Distorter. For the first time in a while, Anti tried to make out his features. Stacy had said something about the color of his eyes, once. She’d seen them. But he just saw pure black, dripping blood. “Sh-shut... shut up.” He hated how weak his voice was.

Distorter crouched, lowering to the ground right in front of Anti. “You didn’t answer my question,” he said in a creepily singsong voice. “Are you sure it wasn’t real?”

“It... it couldn’t have been.” Anti shifted position, trying to stand up, or at least get to his hands and knees. It... wasn’t really working out. Why were his muscles so weak? Why weren’t his arms and legs listening to him? “There’s... there’s no way that... something like that... would happen. Just... logically.”

“World’s not as ‘logical’ as we like to think,” Distorter said. “Sometimes things just... are. And sometimes things just aren’t.”

“Why are you doing this?!” Anti blurted out. He finally managed to get his arms under control, and lifted himself partially off the ground. “You—I-I thought you wanted me to die. Not—not go through all this. Wh-what, do you want to be friends now?”

Distorter sighed. “Your memory is really terrible.” Despite the sigh, he didn’t sound disappointed at all. “We’ve talked about this before, Aodhán.”

“Don’t call me th—”

“That’s who you are.” Distorter snarled. An unusual thing to see when that smile still didn’t fade. “And don’t distract me. We’ve talked about this before, Aodhán. You promised to give me anything for your son and goddaughter’s safety. This is part of ‘anything.’”

Anti’s heart stopped. “Will... In that place, th-they said—they said h-he never came back. You never... Did you ever give him back? Or... this whole time, did...?”

Distorter’s smile widened. “Your son is safe. And away from you. If you ask me, those things aren’t a coincidence.”

Anger surged, giving Anti the strength to try and get up again. “You fucking—”

Before he could finish his insult, Distorter’s hand shot out and grabbed his face, blackened nails scraping his skin. That ever-present smile disappeared. “You’re going to die, Aodhán McLoughlin,” he whispered. “But not until I have everything I need from you and the people you love. Not until I have what I want, and everyone else is gone. And you’ll help me do it, Aodhán. And only once you realize that you’re all alone, just as you deserve to be... only then will you die. And you will deserve that, too.”

Anti couldn’t help but shiver. His mind went blank. There was warm liquid dripping down his face.

Distorter stared into his eyes for a few seconds more. Then that smile returned, and he let go of Anti’s face. “We need to get there first, of course,” he said in a falsely cheerful tone as he stood. “Come on! Get up!”

He didn’t want to. In fact, he collapsed again, pressing his forehead to the ground. The smell of earth was strong, and he breathed it in deeply. It was tinged with the metallic tang of blood.

“Aw, are you really going to make me do this again?” Distorter said. “Well, it’s your choice. You’re just making this harder for yourself.”

Anti’s vision started to fade, and he felt himself drifting away. No! Wait! He tried to struggle, tried to claw his way back to reality, but it wasn’t enough. Not another one of those dreams! Please! Please!

The darkness consumed him.

———————

“You know, I don’t think I can drive us anywhere closer to where you’re trying to get,” Jack said, parking the car.

They were on a small dirt road, out in the middle of nowhere. It had taken a few wrong turns and double-backs to get here. But now, they were stuck.

Jameson nodded in agreement. The tracking spell told him Anti was nearby, but he was pretty sure there was no road leading directly to his location. Thank you, he said. I can drive on the way back.

“Oh, I’d be happy to—”

No, it’s fine, I won’t need to concentrate on the tracking spell, JJ insisted. In the back seat, Marvin chuckled.

Jack shrugged. “Alright, if you’re sure.” He turned off the car and handed the keys to JJ. “Now... where do we go from here?”

JJ’s eyes flared blue again, and he pointed into a nearby field.

“D’you t’ink we can get my chair t’rough the grass?” Marvin asked.

“It’s not that high,” Jack said.

“I’m more worried about bumpin’ around.” Marvin made eye contact with both of them. “But neither of you tell me to stay back, okay? We’re out in the middle of nowhere. It doesn’ seem safe to stay in the car, especially since Distorter coul’ be nearby.”

JJ nodded. Would you prefer to wheel yourself or have one of us push you? he asked.

Marvin thought about it. “It’ll be faster if one o’you pushes.”

“I can do it,” Jack volunteered. “JJ will probably need his hands free. For magic. Or sign language.”

Marvin leaned forward. “If you make my brain rattle around I’m gonna smack you the moment we get back to the car.”

Jack chuckled. “I got it. Just tell me if it gets too much.”

They all got out of the car, locking it behind them. It took a moment to get Marvin’s wheelchair out of the trunk, but soon they were on their way, JJ leading as he followed the distant beacon of the tracking signal. Sam flew around them, full of nervous energy. Nobody spoke.

The dirt road had disappeared by the time they saw the distant movement. A figure was walking slowly through the grass. Marvin raised a hand to shield his vision from the sun. “T’at might be him,” he said quietly.

“Which one?” Jack asked.

“Looks like Anti, I t’ink.”

JJ’s eyes flared blue. He nodded. That’s what the spell says. I don’t see Distorter, but that’s not saying much. He could be hiding from our perception. The glow in his eyes didn’t fade. Be careful.

Marvin nodded firmly. Jack nodded as well, looking a bit more uncertain. Even Sam bobbed up and down in confirmation.

They picked up the pace a little bit. It soon became clear that the figure was, indeed, Anti. He didn’t turn to look at them as they got closer, just kept walking, occasionally stumbling. And he kept walking like that up until the moment Jameson strode up to him and grabbed his arm. When that happened, he stopped.

“Anti...?” Marvin said, his voice quiet and cautious.

Anti didn’t answer. He still didn’t look at them. Jameson waved a hand in front of his face, and got no reaction. Not even a blink. This wasn’t too surprising. After all, the twin trails of blood dripping from his eyes were a tell-tale sign of Distorter’s control.

“Are... are you okay, Anti?” Jack asked uncertainly. “You... don’t look so good.”

Besides the bleeding eyes, Anti was pale. His hair was a mess, and so were his clothes, and there were dark bags under his eyes. Five small wounds on his face were also bleeding. That, combined with the eyes, had stained his white shirt red. His bare arms were dotted with occasional bruises.

Jameson glanced around. He looked at their surroundings—really looked. Tried to peer through whatever perception-altering magic was in the area. But he couldn’t see anything. Until—

Sam suddenly spun around and darted straight at something behind them. “Gah!” And then they flew right back, spinning end over end and landing in the grass. “Stupid fucking eyeball!”

Jack and Jameson immediately turned around, with Jack also spinning Marvin’s chair around as well. “T’ere you are!” Marvin gasped. His fists clenched. “What did ye do to Anti?!”

Distorter was glaring at the spot where Sam landed, but he looked at Marvin as soon as he heard him shout. “Hello, Marvin. It’s been a while.” His voice was calm and vaguely happy, a huge contrast to the angry exclamation a few seconds ago. “I’m surprised you made it all the way out here. You know, with you being the way you are.” He gestured vaguely at the chair.

“Shut the fuck up, it’s your fault and you know it!” Marvin shouted. “And I’m quite capable, t’ank you! What did you do to Anti?!”

“We spent a little time together.” Distorter shrugged. “It was great! I haven’t gotten that much time with one of you since Jackie was home with me.” He laughed.

Jameson stepped forward. He didn’t say anything, just raised a hand. Shards of blue magic danced around his fingers.

Distorter raised his hands and stepped backwards. “There’s no need for that, Jameson. I’ll just go.”

“Wait, what?” Jack glanced back and forth between Distorter, Marvin and Jameson, and Anti. “I don’t—That doesn’t seem—Is that... normal?”

Jameson shook his head. He didn’t lower his hand.

“...oh. It’s... you.” Distorter stared at Jack, head tilted to the side. “I don’t think we’ve met, but I’ve seen you in some of their memories. Jack, right? You’re Anti’s cousin.”

Jack swallowed nervously. “Uh... y-yeah...” Sam lifted up from the ground behind them, shook themself a bit, and then flew over to hover by Jack’s shoulder.

Distorter kept staring at Jack. “...you are so lucky that dumb eyeball is there for you,” he said quietly. “You’re wide open. It’s only their light guarding you. I’d hate to think what someone could do to you if they weren’t there.”

“H-huh?” Jack’s face went white.

“You don’t have to be involved with this. I’m not giving you a second chance after this one.” Distorter began walking backwards. “In any case. I’ll see you all again.” He laughed again, and gave a little mock-salute with his hand before fully turning around and walking away.

They all stared—Jameson, especially. His raised hand was wavering a bit.

“Jems,” Marvin whispered. Jameson looked down at him, and Marvin raised his hands to sign the words, Do it.

Jameson hesitated. Then he looked back at Distorter, retreating. His hand moved, becoming a single pointed finger. And a line of cold blue magic shot from the end, hitting Distorter square in the back.

Distorter yelped in surprise as he was knocked to the ground. He quickly stood up again. Blue magic was growing like frost from the impact site on his back, trying to surround him, but he shook it off, moving in a quick, spasming way that made it hard for the magic to keep its hold. Once it was fully gone, he turned around—just in time to see Jameson shooting another beam of magic at him. He bent backwards, the motion accompanied by a few sick cracking noises, and then shot upright again. “Well that’s just playing dirty,” he said in a low voice. “You know what? Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.”

Before Jameson could try another spell, Anti suddenly screamed and collapsed. The three others all immediately turned to look at him. “Anti!” Marvin gasped, and Jameson ran forward. Anti had fallen forward into the grass, so Jameson knelt beside him and rolled him onto his back, then lifted him into a sitting position. Anti’s head fell back, his body totally limp. Jameson pulled Anti against himself to help support him. He checked for a pulse in his neck.

Marvin wheeled himself closer, and Jack and Sam were right behind him. “Is he alrigh’?” he asked, leaning forward.

Jameson nodded hesitantly. There was a pulse. But Anti’s eyes were rolled back into his head, almost completely white. Sam flew over and landed on Anti’s leg, curling their nerve-tail beneath them.

“How is it, Sam?” Jack asked. Sam looked up at him. After a long moment of silence, Jack went even paler—if such a thing was possible. “A-are you sure?” More silence. “Alright. I guess—I guess we should get him somewhere safe. Somewhere we can keep an eye on him. Is... is your guys’s house alright?”

“I... yes?” Marvin said. “Wait, does Sam have some sort of—some sort of mind powers we don’ know abou’?!”

“Well, they can talk with me telepathically, so they’ve always had mind powers,” Jack said. “But this isn’t like that. Sam can...” He paused, searching for the words. “Sam can... purify things.”

Marvin just blinked, even more confused. “Like... unicorns?”

“What?”

“Unicorns in legend are said t’be able to get rid of poison and do t’ings like clean whole ponds of water.”

“Well, I guess? It’s more like in a video game, like an RPG, sometimes you have a character with a move to remove status effects.”

“I’ll stick wit’ the unicorn metaphor,” Marvin said, but Jameson nodded in understanding.

“Anyway, Sam’s been able to fix Distorter’s effects before,” Jack continued. “They said they did it with you once, Marvin. But more relevantly, one time we found Anti out in the city, unconscious. Sam said Distorter had him in some sort of illusion and they were able to break him out. Apparently this is a similar situation, but... a lot stronger. They’re... going to need some time. And I don’t think the middle of a field is the best place to do that.”

Jameson nodded firmly. Marvin, do you think you can hold onto Anti? I think it’ll be easier if we push you two together.

“Oh. Yeah, o’course. Seems a bit difficult, but worth a shot.”

Another nod from Jameson, and he turned his attention back to Anti. He stood, carefully lifting him into the air, moving slowly as if Anti was made of glass. Then he passed him to Marvin, who took a moment to adjust both his position and Anti’s. The result was a bit awkward-looking, with Anti cradled in Marvin’s lap, his legs draped over the arm of the wheelchair. But Marvin was holding him tight.

“Alright.” Marvin took a deep breath. “Let’s go. I hope you remember how t’get back to the car.”

“I got it,” Jack said, slowly turning Marvin’s chair back around.

The group started walking. A few minutes passed before Jameson looked at Jack and said, So... you’re Anti’s cousin, then?

Jack laughed. “H-he didn’t want you guys to know. Yet. I think he was going to tell you eventually, but who knows when that would be? E-either way, um, it should have been his choice. Not Distorter’s.”

Jameson nodded. So... that photograph you wanted me to talk to Anti about?

“It was my aunt’s. Anti’s mom. I, uh... to be honest, I-I didn’t know I had a cousin until after she was... gone. And I never thought I’d meet him...” Jack shook his head. “I’m sorry, this is—this is really Anti’s conversation to have.”

Jameson was silent for a moment. I hope we’ll get to have it one day.

“We will,” Marvin said firmly. “We will.” His arms tightened around Anti’s limp body, as if he was afraid he’d disappear.

———————

No no no no not here!

The city was dark, the buildings indistinct in the night. Something went wrong with the lighting in this town, because there should have been all sorts of streetlights and lit signs illuminating the streets. But there weren’t. It was dark except for the occasional yellow square of light provided by a window. There weren’t even any cars in the area. No bright headlights to let him know someone else was awake in this town.

He couldn’t remember the name of the city. He wasn’t even fully sure how he got here. Had he hitchhiked or taken a bus? Maybe a train? It didn’t really matter. He didn’t dwell on the past.

He’d been walking for a while. His muscles felt weak and disconnected from his mind. Though that may have been something else...

Please, anywhere but here! Any moment but this!

“Aodhán!”

God, that fucking voice. It pissed him off just hearing it. He stopped walking, leaning against one of the few streetlights for support. His head was spinning, so he turned around slowly. And there was that man. They’d run into each other over and over since he’d been in this city. It could be said that they were in the same sort of circles, but that wasn’t quite true. The man liked to occasionally dance into those circles, but mostly watched them for his own amusement. His name was Connor. You’d never forget his name after this.

Connor was standing outside a restaurant. No, a pub. There were a few others with him, two men and two women who were the same sort of people. He stared at him, looking him up and down, and smirked. “Are you high tonight or just drunk?”

He growled, and flipped Connor off, not pointing out that Connor was loitering outside a pub.

“Both, then?”

“Shut the fuck up.”

“Shu’ teh feck up, yea?” Connor repeated mockingly. He and his friends laughed.

He glared at him. “Maybe get a better hobby, Connor. Go back to school and actually become that self-made man you always claim to be. Maybe then your mother’ll love you and you’ll get a girlfriend for longer than a month. Because right now nobody could love a fucking child like you. Even your friends here are gonna leave, and then you’ll die alone.” He didn’t mean to talk so much. He was just so, so fed up with this man.

Connor stopped laughing. He waved at his friends, and they all fell silent as well. One by one, they disappeared into the pub. “I’ve been sick of you since the moment you walked into my city, Aodhán. And you’re really asking for it tonight. So I’m finally going to give it to you.”

“Take me to dinner first,” he said mockingly.

And then Connor jumped him. He pulled him into the alley beside the pub and immediately started throwing punch after punch.

He knew how to defend himself, though.

I don’t want to see this.

First, he returned the punches. They were a little wide and sloppy, but he didn’t stop. That anger was feuling him. It was edging him on. Pushing him further.

I don’t want to see this!

He needed more. And he had just the thing. He’d picked it up for self-defense, and that included this, right? He reached into his pocket...

I DON’T WANT TO SEE THIS!

The knife slid easily into flesh. Connor paused. He probably thought it was a really good punch. Nothing more.

But then he pulled it out and stabbed again.

And that’s when Connor realized something was wrong. He screamed and staggered back. “You’re fucking insane! You fucking psycho!”

Again.

Connor slumped back against the wall, groaning, and that finally drained the anger.

He stared down at him. Then at the knife in his hand. Ice water splashed over him. He just—no. No, he—didn’t mean to. He—It was just—This was self-defense—He should have just ran away—But he’d been so—It was—No. No no no no no! This isn’t what he wanted!

What were you expecting?

He screamed. And then he turned and broke into a dead sprint down the street. He didn’t look back. He just ran and ran and ran until he collapsed. And then he woke up and kept going, until the city was far behind him.

He didn’t die.

You don’t know that.

I would have heard. I would have heard.

You can never know for sure.

I didn’t mean it. I didn’t mean it. I didn’t mean it.

That doesn’t matter. It’s still your fault.

I know.

Then say it.

It’s all my fault.

You’re horrible.

I’m horrible.

A monster.

I’m glad we’re on the same page.

———————

“Do you think we should get him a new shirt? This one’s covered in blood.”

“Well any shirt he wears is going t’be covered in the stuff until the bleedin’ stops.”

“When will that be?”

“Dunno. However long it takes Sam to do t’is.”

Marvin, Jameson, and Jack had gotten back to Marvin and JJ’s house just a minute ago. They had immediately gathered in the living room. Jack and Marvin had laid Anti down on the sofa, head propped on a pillow with a towel covering it, and Sam had flown over and curled up on his chest. Mr. Fluffiington had come into the room not long after, and had jumped up to sit on Anti’s stomach. Marvin chose to believe that was because he sensed Anti needed all the help he could get.

“Well, like I said, Sam thinks it’ll take a while,” Jack said. “So...” He trailed off. “Should we be worried about blood loss?”

“It doesn’ come out at a very fast rate, but if it’s a long enough time, yes.” Marvin nodded. “I don’... remember how long I was stuck in the house for. The last time, I mean. When my leg broke. But for however long t’at was, I’d lost enough blood to worry the doctors.”

“Oh fuck.” Jack ran a hand through his hair. “Should we take him to a hospital, then?”

“Is there a hospital t’at won’ mind a flying green eyeball spendin’ time wit’ him?” Marvin drawled.

“You’re the one who said you lost a worrying amount of blood!”

Marvin winced. “...I know,” he whispered. “I... we might have t’risk it. Sam’s rather small, they can hide if someone comes into the room.” He sighed. “Jems, what d’you t’ink?” He looked over his shoulder at JJ. “Uh... Jems?”

Jameson was standing at the living room window, staring intently through the glass.

“Jems!” Marvin half-yelled.

Jameson jumped. Sorry! But... there’s someone outside.

Marvin tensed. He turned his chair around and wheeled over, also looking out. There was never too much traffic on the street, so they’d both learned to recognize their neighbors’ vehicles. The motorcycle parked outside their house wasn’t one of them. It was black and silver, with a fair amount of rust from age. The man leaning against it was dressed in a black jacket with fur on the inside of the hood, which was currently pulled up to partially cover his upper face. The lower half of his face was hidden by a cloth mask.

He’s been staring at our house, JJ said, turning back to the window. I don’t think he’s noticed me looking back yet.

“Huh.” Marvin squinted. “Wait a minute... I t’ink... Is that Henrik?”

Jameson’s head whipped towards him. What?! How do you know?!

“T’ose might be his boots,” Marvin muttered. “They don’ have the weird leg-brace parts, y’know, the parts that he said helped reduce shock damage from falls or somet’ing, but I still t’ink it’s—Jems?!”

Halfway through Marvin’s speech, Jameson had turned and ran out of the living room. He ran all the way to the front door, pausing a moment to fling it open, and then kept running outside—running towards the man.

That man noticed him the moment he sprinted out through the front door. He muttered something Jameson couldn’t hear and quickly got onto the motorcycle, starting it up. Jameson made a throwing motion, and a ball of blue magic flew through the air and splashed against the cycle. The engine made a distinct stalling noise, and didn’t start. The man cursed. He looked towards Jameson, glanced down the street as if he was considering making a run for it, and then sighed. “Since when could you do that?” he said.

Jameson skidded to a halt only a few feet from the man. If there’d been any doubt before, it disappeared the moment he heard the familiar voice. What the hell were you thinking?! he signed.

Schneep pushed his hood back, but didn’t remove his mask. “Do you know how long it took me to find this? Or how long it took me to figure out how to drive a motorcycle? Hell, I’m not sure if I know how to drive it even now—”

Shut up! Jameson interrupted. What are you doing here?! Why are you standing outside our house and watching us like a creep?! Were you planning on saying anything or just leaving?!

“Jameson—” Schneep started.

No, I said shut up! Jameson’s hands were moving almost too fast to interpret. Do you have any idea what’s happened since you’ve been gone?! It’s all gone to shit, I’ll tell you that! And you were just—just gone! We had no idea what happened to you! We were so worried! You could have been dead or worse! Why didn’t you call us? And don’t say because it wasn’t safe, you’ve already said that, and I’m not sure it’s enough!

“Jameson, if I could have contacted you all, I would have!” Schneep snapped. “But I could not! I know you’ve all been through terrible things in the meantime, but—but things were—they weren’t great for me, either! I-I was physically unable to reach you in any way!” He paused, taking deep breaths as he leaned forward, gripping the cycle’s handlebars tightly. The air seemed heavy, and Jameson could feel the hairs on the back of his neck standing up. “I... am sorry,” Schneep said quietly. “For everything.”

A moment passed. Then, slowly, JJ nodded. I’m sorry too. I shouldn’t have shouted like that. It’s just... He trailed off. How was he supposed to say it? That he couldn’t let any more of his friends be harmed, and the worry about Schneep maybe being hurt while he couldn’t do anything about it was killing him? That’s a hard thing to say, with your voice or with your hands.

“I understand.” Schneep looked over at JJ again. “Did... did you get rid of the cameras inside your home?”

We were in the middle of it when you called us about Distorter getting to Anti, JJ explained. Then we rushed out to get to him.

Schneep nodded. “I cannot stay long then.” His eyes flickered towards the house, then back to JJ. “Jameson, I am not kidding about those cameras. I... will not risk it.” A pause. “Is... Anti... Is he okay?”

Well, we got him away from Distorter, JJ said. But he’s stuck in some sort of trance. Jack said Sam might be able to help him—

“Jack? Sam? They are both here?”

They’re inside. They overheard your conversation with us and offered to help.

Schneep laughed. “Of course they did.” He shook his head. “Noch mehr Menschen, um die man sich Sorgen machen muss...”

JJ continued. Well, Anti’s stuck in a trance, and Sam might be able to help him, but it’ll take a while. We’re not sure how long, but a while. We might need to take him to a hospital in the meantime. He hesitated. And... there was something about Distorter when we went to get Anti back... He... almost seemed to give up once we got there...

“Very unusual,” Schneep agreed. “Jameson, have either of you heard from Stacy?”

What? JJ didn’t hide his surprise. Well... No, not really. Not since we got back from rescuing Marvin, and that was... god, that was over a week ago. Ten days, I think? If not more. We probably should have checked on her, but it all got so busy... Why do you ask?

“You should check on her,” Schneep said.

Why?

“You just said you should, I am just confirming.”

JJ’s eyes narrowed. There’s something about the way you said it, though. Why are you being so vague?

Again, Schneep glanced towards the house. “Necessity.” Then he looked down at the motorcycle. He tried starting the engine again, and it turned on normally this time. “Glad to see that magic you threw didn’t have a permanent effect.”

Sorry about that, JJ said. I’m not even sure what that was, I just really didn’t want you to go. Raw power, I suppose. Sometimes magic responds to will without spells, but that can be dangerous, since there’s no direction... He trailed off. Wait, what are you doing?

“I said I couldn’t stay long.”

You can’t just go, though! JJ protested.

“I can, and I will,” Schneep said. “I might come back once you are done getting rid of the cameras. And I will definitely call again. Or text you, I suppose, if you agree to delete the messages once the conversation is done. We may be able to meet up somewhere discreet—”

But we need you! JJ insisted.

“That’s a bit of an exaggeration, isn’t it?” Schneep chuckled.

No, it’s not! JJ took a few steps closer. You’re the smartest of us, you know. And you’re a great fighter, too, when it comes down to it. And besides that—besides that, I can’t have another friend just LEAVE us! He blinked back the sudden wetness in his eyes. First you, then Jackie, then you again—it’s too much, Schneep!

Schneep stared at him. His eyes also seemed a bit wet. “I’m sorry, Jamie, but it’s not safe. I will call you, though. It may be another number. And... that bit about Jackie...” He trailed off.

Jameson stared at him. Yes?

It was hard to read Schneep’s expression with the mask covering his face. “Don’t... don’t worry about him. I mean, perhaps you should, considering—Nevermind, I just mean... I-I am going to handle him, okay? I think I have the best chance of getting through to him.”

What do you m—

But before Jameson could even finish his question, the cycle’s engine roared and Schneep pulled away, disappearing down the street and around the nearest corner.

#jacksepticeye #jacksepticeye fanfiction #jacksepticegos #septic egos #septic egos au #jacksepticeye au #jameson jackson #the jaunty jackson #marvin the magnificent #1920s marvin #antisepticeye #programmer anti #chase brody #distorter #septic eye sam #brigid writes fanfiction #septicswitchau

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datsteboi · 1 year ago

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So I recently finished playing SubaHibi/Wonderful Everyday and wanted to give my thoughts on it.

I think it's important to note that this is the first long length visual novel I have actually finished. Yes, I have played Clannad and Muv-luv but ran out of time on my original playthroughs of those. I got to every route except for 3 Nagisa, Kotomi, Fuko and after story for clannad, and I finished all of Muv-Luv extra and that's it. Yes, I know it gets good i just need to get on that after Clannad. Well anyway lets get back to SubaHibi. The game starts off really weird, well the entire story is weird, so I guess different from the rest. You have to get through a false start as I like to call it. These are actually quite common in Visual Novels especially in horror ones. This false start focuses on the first Protaginist Minakami Yuki and her two childhood best friends making memories with a Girl named Zakuro. There are two side routes which are basically a Yuri fanfic within the story itself, and the main ending which is an ominus storyline about the end sky which is a sort of backround theme throughout the plot. Like with any false starts it is often called the worst part of the story which I dont think is fair. It can be a slog to get through at times but the foreshadowing is insane and it makes an interesting start in general.

Down The Rabbit Hole:

While the false start is also technially called Down The Rabbit Hole and also has the same Protaginist, this is the offical start of the plot and is usually referred to as Down The Rabbit Hole II or just RHII. This chapter is very short and doesn't give you many details. This is cleary intended. All the choices are just different parts of the school you backtrack to and there aren't any side endings. The story itself is just an introduction to the main plot pretty much with Yuki trying to find out about Mamiya Takuji and his deeds.

It's My Own Invention:

This is the longest chapter and personally my least favorite. I don't think its bad but it's incredibly long. This chapter focuses on Mamiya Takuji who goes insane after his only friend commits suicide. This is the first part where the foreshadowing from RHI is apparent. The girl who commits suicide and is friends with Takuji is none otther than Zakuro, who is the girl you become friends with in the false start. After that quite a bit of the plot is his delsusions and mental health issues. This is the problem i have with this chapter. It definitly is intersting seeing the crazy things he does including a magical girl he deludes himself into beleiving is real, but the mental episodes go on forever and you can go hours without character dialouge. The later parts of this chapter focus on a cult he forms by sending curse mail to girls that bullied Zakuro. This is also where Kimika appears who also has her own ending. i also think this is where it is important to note that this novel has some pretty graphic and gross scenes. The one i found the worst is actually in this chapter and revolves around a teacher he recruits into the cult and tells to have sex with her dad and she does and the entire scenario really had my stomach turning.

Looking-Glass Insects:

This is what I like to call an outlier chapter sort of like RH1 as its pretty seperate from the rest of the story even though its super long. It focuses on Zakuro and the events leading up to her suicide. She become's friends with Kimika and then becomes a target of severe bullying. There are a few interactions with Takuji but the main plot revolves around her bullying getting worse and worse to the point of her being raped by multiple guys. The last hour or so of the story explain the girls she was with in RH2. She is brought into a cult that tells her she needs to have a near-death experience to regain former powers. She then goes with the girls and dies.

Jaberwocky 1:

This is where the true story shows itself, but there were some issues with translation starting here. It isnt that noticable but its there. Its also important to note that the tone shifts quite a bit here and is pretty lighthearted sometimes. So you are in Tomosanes perspective this time and finally find out or you already kinda knew if you played the side ending in Zakuros chapter that several of the characters are just multiple personalites. In this chapter Tomosane belives he is the off personality of Mamiya Takuji and so is Yuki. Yes that Yuki. She was also a personality as well. Going through this chapter you start to find out that both Tomosane and Yuki are at risk of disapearing due to Mamiya Takujis actions and they need to try and stop him.

Which dreamed it:

This is the shortest chapter and the only one not to have any choices. This is from his sisters perspective and shes the real victim here. She was involved in the "incident" that caused the multiple personalities to happen. This chapter really only focuses on the times tomosane disapeared and hasakis reaction to it. It also introdcues the reporter guy and why he was in the previous chapter. He gets really important here.

Jaberwocky II:

This is the last chapter and it has kind of a weird structure. Its always starts with a collection of different memories that explain Tomosane's backstory and all of that. It also showcases the orignal incident that weve been curious about for a while at this point. After that you get the ending depending on the choices in Jabberwocky I. There are two main endings and a secret ominius ending with Ayana who randomly appears in every chapter.

I honestly really enjoyed this VN despite all the mindless clicking through long segments i had to do. If you have the time i would certianly reccomend it.

#visual novel #otaku #anime

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general9chaos · 2 years ago

Note

I've been the guy demanding that the author make it make sense, and then he did, and I was very happy. I get that you're complaining about a different set of people, but the literal interpretation of the first sentence of your ask bothered me.

Sometimes people genuinely do write characters in confusing ways. I've got the first few chapters of Gold by Ryuugi in mind here, because of just how bonkers that shit is. It's one thing to have Olga get betrayed by Lev, as in canon, but then the simulations inside Chaldeas start up, in which Olga is fighting Grail Wars with two women, both sides of Khepri. Which is which? Read to the end, and the one that can talk will say "This is as we are the moment we’re summoned. When we leave, our time will start. I will degrade and she will advance." That's the only hint saying that this one is Taylor Hebert and the other one is Queen Administrator, the alien Shard who empowered her. It took several more chapters to even start to clarify this mess.

It's a massive mindfuck. And, like, I'm here for that. When lots of people responded with confusion and wild mass guessing, Ryuugi responded with several long essays. It was pretty cool: Gold gets into all kinds of bonkers Nasuverse lore and fantasy interpretations of the Entities of Worm. I learned of a bunch of obscure spin-offs with random bits of lore about a character who died in the prolog of Fate/Grand Order, but who had been referenced in a bunch of stuff for like a decade before that.

Here's the intro to the essay What To Do About A Problem Like Olga Marie for funsies:

More seriously--not that I'm not serious about a main character's gut feelings trumping the world's greatest detective--the subject of Olga probably needs to be addressed since I've given plenty of attention to Taylor. Olga hasn't had much coverage, not that she's gotten much in FGO either, but as an important character, there's a fair bit to be said. She is Taylor's Master, after all. Unfortunately, it's a rather complicated subject, in the sense that... Look, I love the Nasuverse, I actually really do, but it's a relentless bitch to get into. Not so much in the sense of all the weird setting terminology and specific nonsense--although there is a lot of that--but more in the sense that it scatters things across different mediums as much as Kingdom Fucking Hearts, and then proceeds to plant those setting details in obscure places down long-winded roads, such that it's entirely feasible to think you know what's going on with a character, have a conversation, and end up in a situation where the person you're talking to goes 'Oh, have you not read the fourth spin-off manga of the fighting game? Did you read the translation of the first opening song from the fourth year of the mobile game? Did you read the guidebook, the physical guidebook, that came with the anime spinoff one-shot of the mobile game? No, not that one, the other one. The other one. Did you read the specially released profiles that came with the anime taking place in an alternate universe featuring a different version of this character that has implications for this completely different version or about that other version from that fourteen year old magazine?' I'm that guy, by the way. I'm the guy saying that. Those aren't random examples or exaggerations, they're actually what we're about to talk about?

The thing is, confusion is the only reasonable response to the first couple chapters of Gold. It did need the author to make it make sense, and once he did everything was peachy.

People who are ‘confused’ and ‘make it make sense’ about how other people write and draw characters are the single most annoying people in fandom. Actual outrage about “mischaracterization” in FAN CONTENT. Make it yourself!! Entitled and annoying.

I get not liking other people’s wild cracky and even pretentious or weird takes that happens to me constantly. I don’t need a detailed explanation on someone else’s imagination though I am not “confused” on how that works are people so regressive in their own creativity they cannot understand that people like to make up whatever the fuck they want?? Oh no they’re delusional! So out of character that is actual blasphemy against Holy Canon!! Not my precious blorbo being portrayed in THE WRONG WAY! Deadass treating these fictional concepts like Idols and Deities with Agency and Transgressing from the Canon Scripture is a Sin.

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merchantarthurn · 3 years ago

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So chapter 59 is out on mangadex which means I’m no longer relying on machine translation and can point this out without worrying that I have the context entirely wrong. Now... Shirahama’s great with panelling, composition, body language... well everything really but she uses them with a lot of purpose.

I invite you to go through Olruggio and Qifrey’s part of chapter 59 and check

1) when are they in the same panel, and when aren’t they?

2) when they’re in the same panel, how often do they face each other? and if they are, do we see the speaker’s face?

3) when do the shifts happen?

you’re welcome.

actually, lemme just gush about the switches in composition - the chapter starts tensely, with qifrey and olruggio set apart by lighting, panel breaks, angle. qifrey’s got his “uh oh” side to the camera. and then olruggio shatters the mood by getting flustered and passionate about what he thinks is going on and whilst qifrey is baffled, it brings them into the same space for a bit.

and... then...

the two panels on the left there are a single image, split by a panel break. it’s got dual purposes - it’s a good pacing tool for the length of Olruggio’s speech and makes the page look nice (I love how she keeps the bubbles flowing in her work - it’s very clear here, right and down!). it also... separates qifrey from olruggio right at an incredibly pointed shift in their conversation.

whilst olruggio is clearly speaking from some sort of experience re: getting teased for having matching accessories ruining some kind of budding romance (tassel swap? please) they are still very much talking about coco and tartar up until right here. if it wasn’t for the masterful composition it wouldn’t be as obvious that, once again, they’ve shifted into talking about themselves through the veil of talking about their charges (see: chapter 18 and the scalewolf convo). once again, olruggio is trying to subtly extend a hand - implying he’s realised something is up that qifrey isn’t telling him... and qifrey very firmly doesn’t take it.

and... god. him being alone in this rather large panel and cast so much into shadow... that it seems to be olruggio’s perspective... god damn man.

and you know... like... tell me this isnt the face of a man who knows qifrey’s talking about himself. and olruggio. i mean shit, do we know how well that memory spell even worked? he remembered that they were talking about something important!! does he know know?! anyway this has been agonising since this chapter was published sldkfjg

edit: wait also - qifrey’s rebuffing doesn’t have much to go off in the facial expression department where as oru is all expression because once again olruggio is an open book and qifrey glued all the pages together on purpose.

#long post #witch hat atelier #sorry im on my sauce

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magiefish · 21 days ago

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The King of Terror: Part 4

The one where Tweedledee and Tweedledum show back up, and nothing that interesting happens.

This chapter is called ‘Kill Surf City’. I have no idea why: it has nothing to do with anything in this chapter. Not a lot of interesting stuff happens but I imagine a lot of it is relevant to the plot so there’s a lot of summary here sorry.

So we pick back up with Barrington and Paynter after they have been slowed in their quest by a search by immigration control because they lost track of Bulyjin and Paynter decided to respond to this by losing his shit with an immigration officer. Really high class secret agent stuff.

Oh boy I sure do hope non-consensual butt stuff doesn’t come up again in this completely normal book.

Paynter also threatens to speak to the manager and get everyone fired because, again, he’s a very reasonable and competent secrete agent.

They meet up with the guy in charge of UNITs Los Angeles office, who’s called Mel Tyrone and is, of course, black because what else do you think Keith would call a black guy. He takes the two of them out to get burgers and also runs a red light because this is AMERICA babey!1!!

Has Keith ever spoken to a black person face to face is my question, because describing a black character as ‘looking like Malcom X or Martin Luther King’ or ‘a black singer’ is usually one of my indicators for someone not understanding how to write or describe a black character. Keith also has a very annoying habit of being able to describe characters only by comparing them to other actors or characters, which is a bit of a pet peeve of mine because it relies entirely on the audience either a) knowing who these people are or b) having access to the internet. It’s just lazy, and if you write a character you should know how to describe them. Also got to love how Barrington and Paynter both get extended characterisation as a pair of rogues in a straight guy-angry guy duo, and then we get to Tyrone and he’s just ‘nice’. Thanks Keith.

Tyrone tells them a bit more about InterCom: Paolo Sanger has a frontman called Joyce (who looks like Joseph Goebbels, of course) and a hit man called Shaun Ryman, which is funny to me because Ryman’s is the name of a stationary store near to me. UNIT LA has tried a number of tactics in order to take Sanger down — sex scandals, working with competition, bumping him off, y’know, all entirely ethical stuff — but nothing works.

It is at this point we switch over to a meeting at InterCom between Sanger and Ryman. Sanger mentions the two of them ‘coming here’ so I’m going to wager a guess and say they’re aliens. He calls in his secretary Michelle Stonebringer, who tells them Bulyjin has arrived. This is how she’s described:

Yeah. There’s also a brief cut away to two CIA guys, Frank Greaves and his superior, discussing the UNIT presence in the city, and then another to a girl called Kyla stealing a computer disc from InterCom in Japan. I’m just bringing these up because I imagine they will be relevant later.

Bulyjin has finally reached InterCom, where we meet the head scientist Richard Lewis and the head of R&D Stephen Joyce in person. He delivers the plutonium and (of course) immediately gets betrayed and used for DNA experiments. Yay.

We now cut to France, where there is extended French dialogue I cannot be bothered to translate. A guy named Pavil Luvik meets up with Alain Giresse, who came up as important earlier.

So these guys are definitely aliens. Cool. That was a whole lot of nothing.

Meanwhile, in Chapter 4 the descriptively named ‘California’, Five, Tegan and Turlough arrive in Los Angeles and Tegan also almost immediately spots some police brutality, because AMERICA babey!!2!

Yikes. This whole bit feels quite reminiscent of the moment in ‘Logopolis’ where Tegan points out the city is run like a sweatshop. Unfortunately, it also has a few of the early character treatment Tegan overtones where she’s treated more like a silly woman who doesn’t know what’s going on and inserts herself into situations without understanding the context but uh. She’s right here y’know. She is completely right.

Wow! A normal interaction with a woman! Never thought I’d see the day!

At the hotel, the Doctor does a little bit of recon and finds out the terrorists are some guys called The Sons of Nostradamus (as seen in epigraph 207).

Also more casual racism.

I only note this ending bit because of this weird ending line, and also because of the detail with the half-moon spectacles, which feels like a deliberate parallel to Five’s granny glasses, which suggests to me that Keith might try and pull some sort of ‘we’re the same you and I’ bit later. Oh joy.

We have now passed the section of the book I pre-read before I decided to start this liveblog, so from here on out I am sailing in complete darkness! I have no idea what’s coming for me! I am very afraid!

There is a name oft spoken of in hushed tones within the circles of those who are fans of the Fifth Doctor’s era. It has a rating of 3.5 on the Timescales; it has no plot description; it is the reason why the TARDIS wiki has an article for ‘anal probe’. But, as much as it mentioned and then hushed up, there is at present no further in-depth guide to this novels bizarreness, it’s staggeringly low-quality, it’s unrelenting horniness. If one wishes to understand this horror, one must read it firsthand. Well no more. I, in the name of knowledge and first-hand wisdom, have decided to set out on a journey so that no others may have to undertake it, and with the skills I have honed through my study of English Literature provide a degree of critique and commentary to Keith Topping’s infamous offspring.

I, dear readers, am going to liveblog reading The King of Terror. Starting now.

The King Of Terror Liveblog: Part One

[TW: This being the King of Terror, we will almost certainly be getting into discussions of SA/non-consensual sex. The word ‘r@pe’ will almost definitely come up (indeed it literally comes up on the first page). Also, I will not be censoring it beyond this point because a) this isn’t TikTok, and b) even if I used ‘grape’ or something everyone would still know what I was talking about so there’s no real point. I assume everyone here is a mature adult who doesn’t need to hide behind codes in order to discuss serious and upsetting topics. If you are not, Please God Don’t Read This, it will likely still be here by the time you’re old enough. Go watch the show instead, it’s better and more family friendly (and has well-written violence and kissing in it). If these topics bring up any unpleasant memories for you or will put you in a bad state of mind, then please do not read this live blog, it is not worth it. Furthermore, I imagine various kinds of bigotry will come up in incredibly breezy barely relevant ways (sexism, racism, homophobia, etc.) because this is the year 2000 we’re talking about. There’s also probably something related to medical trauma in here. I will also probably get Very Angry as a lover of literature and Doctor Who at some point, so we’ll see how that goes. Anyways, onwards and downwards.]

Wow, I feel sorry for these guys

Interesting choice. Wonder how this will be relevant to the ‘themes’ of this work.

Huh. Okay. This isn’t actually a bad start. A bit pretentious maybe, but the descriptions are very visceral and it’s certainly a good hook, perhaps this won’t be so bad-

Aaaaand yep not even a page in and we’re already using the phrase “rape”, really cool Keith, very mature and based. Now, I’m not categorically averse to using the phrase ‘rape’ semi-metaphorically. But it is one of those words that has to be handled very carefully and with a proper understanding of the feelings and ideas that it implies.

‘The Things’ (the 2010 short story based off of ‘The Thing’) uses it towards the end in a way that I feel illustrates my point - the alien is disgusted by humanity and our ‘individualised’ existences and decides to forcefully ‘teach’ us why it’s so much better to be like it via the means of, y’know, infecting people with parts of it and then making them go all schlorp. Right before it assimilates one of the men, he calls it a ‘rapist’ which the alien later adopts in the final line of the story: ‘I will rape it into them’. Now, to me, this works because the aliens convictions are painted in a somewhat religious light throughout the story and also because assimilating people is literally a physical violation, so the use of the word at the stories end seems to be used to deliberately conjure ideas of ‘corrective’ SA in a way that feels intentional given the previously discussed themes. It is also, as I have noted, used right at the end as the final line of the story, in a way that indicates to me that the writer understood the very visceral feelings the word evokes and decided to reserve it to be used to reinforce the bleak, foreboding tone of the ending.

Keith does not do this. Keith decides to use the idea of SA and all its violent implications right out of the gate to, presumably, shock the reader and try to grab their attention. He did not have to do this. His abstract, vague descriptions and in-media-res opening were enough by themselves. What this belies to me is a) a belief that violence or shock are inherently compelling and b) a lack of confidence in the strength of his writing on its own. We shall see if I am correct in both of these estimations.

Now, Keith is certainly not the only writer guilty of a very liberal use of SA in the wilderness years of Doctor Who. It seems, from the little I have read, almost inescapable. I remember reading ‘Goth Opera’ and the word ‘rape’ being used to describe what the Mara did to Tegan within, like, the first 30 pages or something. (Which, okay, some critics have definitely compared the scene from ‘Kinda’ where the Mara possesses her to an SA scene, but within the first 30 pages? And without unpacking any of that? Mr. Cornell??) But that doesn’t excuse any of this it just makes him another part of a rather unfortunate pattern.

Oooo somebody wrote this before ‘The Weddding of River Song’. Keith Hopping JNT just called, he wants you to know that fucking with the UNIT timeline is his domain.

So old Keith is aware of Shadows Over Avalon. I don’t really know how much cross-continuity was going on with the PDA / EDA / VNA / VMA writers, so I’m not really certain whether this reference to stuff that has happened in other stories is complacent or unusual. I haven’t actually read Shadows Over Avalon, I’m not that far into the EDA’s (I got distracted before I could read Alien Bodies :( ).

WILL this man ever get to enjoy retirement!

I was never under the impression that the Brigadier was a straight up Tory but I haven’t seen that much of him so what do I know? Also, ‘a smile of admiration’? What, cause being a Tory is just such good old lovable nostalgic Britain? And patriotism too? Ugh. Anyway, the set-up for this narrative is seemingly that a bunch of UNIT files have been decommissioned. This journalist is initially interviewing the Brigadier about a case involving the Waro (who were in Keith’s last book “The Devil Goblins From Neptune”, so, nice self-repping Keith).

This then moves into the two of them discussing the Doctor and his involvement with some company called ‘Intercom’, setting up the events of this story. I also don’t know what the Brig is on about here with the Doctor being ‘a man of peace’ because *I* definitely saw Three’s Venusian moves but okay. Anyway, this section is attributed to an in-universe book so it seems like Keith is trying to a bit of a meta-textual House of Leaves thing. Let’s see how he succeeds in the next post, which will be a reblog of this one.

#not a lot to say about this one except AMERICA bab- *I get taken out by the FBI*#the king of terror #fifth doctor #vislor turlough #tegan jovanka #doctor who #classic who #past doctor adventures #wilderness years #liveblog

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telehxhtrash · 5 years ago

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A masterpost on Togashi’s gay subtext and why it’s intentional.

Hi ! After seeing so many posts about Togashi dropping subtext about Killua's possible romantic feelings for Gon, I thought it'd be a good idea to make a sort of "masterpost" with all the subtext that Togashi has included into his work.

I usually see a lot of people trying to say that HxH isn't about romance and that Togashi isn't interested in writing romance into the manga, but when you analyze all the subtext that's been going on the further Gon and Killua's relationship progresses, I think it's incorrect to say that Togashi has never hinted at the possibility of romance in HxH.

This is going to be a long post, enjoy your read!

Also, please note that I will only base this analysis on the manga, so there can be no mistake that "maybe this is just something the anime made gayer" : i want to prove that the subtext is 100% intentional on Togashi's part.

I'd also like to mention, although I will analyze it further after listing the subtext, that Togashi is a VERY smart man. There are always little details in the story and/or foreshadowing that are easily missed at first but when you notice them, it truly makes you understand how much attention and care Togashi puts into his work. There are countless details and symbolism that are analyzed daily through wonderful meta posts, from the main 4′s birthdays and their link to their character or the religious symbolism in Kurapika’s story arc.... Togashi loves to foreshadow and plant little details into his work, so when Togashi plants subtext, I'm sure he 100% knows that he's writing it, and it can't be seen as unintentional.

I'll also link all my references for this post at the end of it, so feel free to read all the additional textposts and content if you want to know more.

Well, let's get into it!

EDIT : i can’t believe this post is still being used as a reference it makes me so happy... thank you so much !!! i edited this to tweak it a bit because i wrote this a while ago and the phrasing seemed off to me, so if you’re reading or re-reading this post, hi, welcome to masterpost on gay subtext 2.0 !

GREED ISLAND ARC

Greed Island is to me the arc that lays down the nature of Killua and Gon's relationship. It's during this arc that we get to see a bit more of what Killua thinks, how he's lucky to have met Gon and that he feels really grateful. Gon’s behavior in this arc is also very affectionate, with him always reassuring Killua about his place next to him. While the scene where Killua thinks "You've got it backwards, Gon, I'm the one that's glad I met you." can't be considered as subtext, I think it's something that lets the reader know a bit more about how Killua feels towards Gon.

But other than this scene, which can clearly be dismissed as platonic, there are 2 more moments in the Greed Island arc that are layered in subtext.

• The Rainbow Diamond (chapter 151)

During their time in Dorias, Killua uses Risky Dice to gain cards from the slot machines. The first card that Killua gains is called "Rainbow Diamond", the description of the card being "A diamond that shines in a rainbow of colors. Propose with this diamond and she is guaranteed to say "yes"".

There are 3 different things we can take from this panel. First, the card is a marriage proposal card, so it's obviously romantic in nature. Second, the object is a RAINBOW diamond. And third, Killua, wanting to keep the card safe, gifts it to Gon.

In short, Togashi sat down at his desk, decided to draw Killua winning a MARRIAGE PROPOSAL CARD (it could've been any card, but Togashi CHOSE to make Killua win a marriage proposal card) that has a RAINBOW diamond on it and made Killua gift it to Gon.

While I personally don't think that subtext can be used to 100% ascert that Killua has romantic feelings for Gon, I think it's a funny little touch from Togashi, and I'm even gonna say a sort of hint towards how Killua's feelings for Gon are going to evolve in this arc and the next.

• “It has to be Killua” (chapter 166)

Now this is a scene that I've never seen anyone talk about, at least on Tumblr, but when I read a bit of analysis on it I was 100% convinced this was intentional subtext. I'm basically quoting here what this article explains, so if you want more detail, I recommend reading it.

As you probably recall, during their deadly dodgeball game against Razor, Killua decides to sacrifice his hands to ensure that Gon could use all his strength. When confronted about it, Killua insists that it's nothing, and Gon shocks him by saying that he knew all along that he was hurting himself for his sake.

Gon then says that it can only be Killua holding the ball, and that it has to be Killua, resulting in Killua being absolutely awestruck and embarassed. I'm also going to talk about the anime adaptation for this one, because it's perfectly executed and translates extremely well the nuance that the second sentence bears. If you want to rewatch it, this scene happens in episode 70. It's worth noting that in the anime, we see Killua not reacting to Gon's first sentence, but losing his composure entirely when Gon says the second sentence. But why ?

The reason was lost in translation. His exact words are "Booru wa Killua ga motte-kurenai to. Killua ja nakya dame nan da.". Both sentences basically say the same thing : It has to be Killua holding the ball. That second sentence can be translated literally as "If it's not Killua, that won't do." However, the second sentence, in a different context, can also be used to say a totally different thing.

While it's certain that Gon used this sentence in the context of the dodgeball match, the sentence "~ja nakya dame nan da" also serves as a confession of one's feelings in japanese. It's basically the equivalent to "you're the one for me". When you google the sentence, it turns up romantic songs, forum posts asking what it would translate to in English and posts on how to confess to someone.

The sentence basically drowns in romantic subtext. As mentioned before, Killua has no reaction to the first sentence "Booru wa Killua ga motte-kurenai to.", but loses his composure at the second one, and I think that was a very deliberate thing Togashi wanted to convey : this sentence has an additional layer, and clearly Killua is taking it to heart.

I will come back to this specific subtext in a bit, because we can parallel it with another subtext-y situation, so please keep it in mind for now.

CHIMERA ANT ARC

Now onto the sad gay arc! This arc is so RIDDLED in subtext and parallels that it's making me lose my mind.

• Gon, you are light. (chapter 199)

This scene is just... So romantic in nature. I’m not too objective on this, but I really do believe that this moment is the exact moment Killua fell in love with Gon and started to realize he felt a bit more than friendship towards him. It’s Killua respecting Gon for who he is, realizing that he’s light and he’s always been, he’s the one who saved him and who’s always been so bright and optimistic and always makes the best out of any situation. In this scene, Killua lets himself drown in Gon’s light, allows himself to feel this “wow” moment of pure admiration and love, and it’s absolutely beautiful.

It's extremely important to take the context of this scene into account. What happened is that Killua, who has been struggling mentally for the entire series with the fact that he's always running away, ran away once more, leaving Kite to die with Pitou. This ENTIRE chapter is literally adults absolutely DESTROYING Killua, first Kite's troupe bashing him for leaving Kite behind, and then Netero, Morel and Knov coming in like icing on the cake telling Killua that "After all, he's just a kid", and that he should hurry up to his mommy.

Killua is beating himself up for running away again, got destroyed by Kite's team and 3 extremely strong pro hunters. His morale is down in the drains right now. He expects Gon to be mad at him for betraying Kite, for running away once again, for leaving Kite to die alone and ripping Gon away from Kite : he expects that he'll lose Gon for his cowardice.

HOWEVER, the first thing that Gon says to Killua after having been passed out for god knows how many hours is "Thank you".

Gon woke up and instantly eased up all of Killua's fears : he wasn't a loser for running away, and Gon was actually thankful for him. Gon, at this moment, was the only one that showed kindness, understanding and gratefulness towards Killua. Gon even goes so far as saying that he knows that Kite isn't dead, and that they have to help him. At this instant, Gon is truly Killua's saving grace. He's the one that trusts him with his entire heart, and believes in his choices when even he can't believe in himself. Gon is truly Killua's light at this precise moment, because he was the only one who supported him, trusted him and reassured him in this awful situation.

How can someone shine so bright in such a terrible situation ? How can someone be so positive that nothing bad will happen ?

Gon asserting all of this makes Killua respect him a lot. Keep this word in mind, because it’s going to be important in the next piece of subtext I’m analyzing, because those two scenes canonically follow each other and are basically Togashi highlighting that something special happened when Killua called Gon his light, and that his feelings deepened.

• Introduction to Palm's character (chapter 200)

This piece of subtext is very very easy to miss but it's one of the most important subtext-y scene, because coupled with the “Gon, you are light” scene, it’s very clear that this dialogue is deliberately highlighting Killua’s feelings.

This chapter introduces Palm's character (which, imo, is a character introduced for the sole intent of being a catalyst to Killua's feelings towards Gon, but I'll talk about it in my post talking about the CAA parallels) - edit: i talked about this briefly here.

So, Killua having looked into Gon's eyes for like 10min straight and concluded that Gon was the light of his life a chapter ago, is now chilling with Gon as they meet Palm.

Palm takes them to a café and STRAIGHT OFF THE BAT harasses them about how much she's in love with Knov. Like when I say harassing, it's literally a whole page of her explaining her feelings towards Knov.

There are two interesting things that can be drawn from this interaction.

First, it's extremely easy to draw parallels between Palm's situation towards Knov and Killua's situation towards Gon. Palm starts by saying how amazing her master is, that she probably has special feelings for him but the most important thing is to respect the other person. Remember how I talked about how this last scene was Killua having a surge of deep, deep respect for Gon ? Palm makes sure to highlight that special word, that it’s important to respect someone when it comes to love.

She then goes on to say that she hasn't said anything to Knov, and never will. All of this adds nothing to the story, it's empty dialogue, Togashi could've introduced Palm in virtually any other way possible, but he chose to drag her and the gay duo to a café and make her have a monologue about love RIGHT after the extremely emotional panel of Killua declaring that Gon is his light just a chapter ago.

But there's more. Not only does Palm monologue for a while about love, but after finishing her monologue, this happens :

This panel features ONLY Palm and Killua, her looking at him like the psycho she is, and straight up telling him that "love can suddenly spark out of nowhere, don't you think so?".

What's so interesting about this is the fact that Togashi made the deliberate choice to have Palm say this to Killua and Killua ONLY, which after the gay existential crisis he had last chapter, can very much be applied to his situation. Love DID spark out of nowhere, and Togashi wants you to notice. Togashi could've made Palm say this to herself, with no distinct listener like the last panel, but he made the conscious choice to draw this panel with Palm adressing herself to Killua SPECIFICALLY.

Those two pieces of subtext, that fit perfectly together, make me believe 100% that Togashi knows what he's doing and he's not unintentionally planting gay subtext in his work. The fact that Togashi sat at his desk, drew Killua calling Gon his light, and then followed this scene with the introduction to a character who picks Killua apart to tell him that "love is something that just happens, don't you think?" is 100% proof that Togashi knows what he's doing.

• Date with Palm (chapters 217 and 218)

I think this situation has many layers, but many people still dismiss it as bro behavior so I'm gonna try my best to counter argue. First of all, and although that's not proof of anything, Killua looks EXTREMELY distressed by the prospect of Gon going on a date with Palm, but that can be counter-argued by saying that Killua is just worried because Palm is completely crazy.

What I want to talk about is the scene that happens right after, when Gon and Killua go to the gym (because theyre DUDES YEAH WE WORK OUT NO HOMO), and the conversation casually drifts to Killua asking Gon if he's ever been on a date before, valid question considering what just happened previously. There are multiple things here :

1) Killua seems distressed that Gon has been on dates before. While it can be argued that it's a normal reaction because Gon has and he hasn't, I believe that Killua - who is in no way a normal person who would get flustered about "not having been on dates before a certain age" - would not feel uncomfortable that his friend is more experienced than him - especially when literal seconds later, he monologues about how he doesn’t care about dates and just wants to stick with Gon.

2) Gon then proceeds to ask Killua if he's ever been on a date, to which Killua responds :

What I want to highlight is the panel where Killua says "And the truth is, I want to stay by your side... Always...". Basically, what Killua is saying, is that he doesn't care about dates, all he wants to do is be with Gon.

I don't think this can be counter-argued as bro behavior, but with all the subtext I've explained before, this right here is pretty gay. Togashi put this panel deliberately to show that Killua doesn't give a crap about dates when he can stay with Gon, and with the "gon you are light" scene and everything in mind, this is another intentional subtext.

There's also the fact that Killua stalks the date like a jealous girlfriend - but I'm not gonna count that as subtext because it can be argued that he's just worried about Gon because Palm is insane.

• Gon is my best friend ! (chapter 219)

Remember how I told you to keep the "It has to be Killua" subtext in mind because I was gonna come back to it later ? Well.

During Palm's date with Gon, Killua runs into Rammot, who would definitely have ran into Palm and nenless Gon. Killua is forced to confront his worst fear : this is the moment where he knows that if he runs away again, Gon WILL die. Killua is literally overcoming his "programming", the physical representation of years of abuse out of love and care for Gon. He's ripping out the needle from his forehead out of pure, genuine care for Gon, because if he doesn't, then he'll lose him forever.

Now, what I actually wanna talk about is this panel :

What we see is Killua thinking happy thoughts about all his adventures with Gon because he can't - won't - doesn't want to run away anymore, and all this for his sake. But what I wanna draw attention to is the dodgeball panel that's bigger than all the others, and the only one where you can actually clearly make out what's written : "Killua ja nakya dame nan da".

Now, isn't that interesting that the panel that takes a bigger place in the whole panel is the one with this particular sentence? Remember what I talked about a bit earlier, about how "~ ja nakya dame nan da" is a sentence with a lot of romantic connotations (would pretty much equal to "you're the one for me" in English). Clearly this particular sentence stuck with Killua.

I'm not completely objective on this matter since I firmly believe that at this point, Killua has romantic feelings for Gon, but I interpret this as another deliberate thing Togashi did : putting the panel bigger so we can see that it has a particularly significant importance to Killua, and Killua's state of mind right now (not wanting to lose Gon).

In my opinion, two things happened here: One, Killua remembers this specific interaction because he knows how much Gon trusts him and he doesn't want to betray his trust. But I also firmly believe that Killua remembered this specific interaction because of the romantic connotation the sentence "Killua ja nakya dame nan da" has. Those words clearly shocked him, and I think he remembers them in this life-threatening situation, after the "gon you are light" scene, Palm talking about "love just happens", the "i want to stay with you, always" because he realizes that he wishes Gon would say that sentence in a romantic context, and not in the context of the dodgeball match, thus leading him to surpass himself to prove his love and perhaps live to see the day where Gon could say those words in that romantic context.

Now, of course, all of this is my interpretation, so it's really up to debate, but I really wanna highlight the fact that Togashi deliberately CHOSE to highlight this particular interaction between Gon and Killua, this sentence with romantic subtext, to lead Killua to finally break his chains and be able to be protect Gon fully. It’s also interesting to note that the 2011 anime adaptation also makes it a point to emphasize how deep these words stuck to Killua by making it the last flashback that makes Killua effectively rip out the needle out of his head.

Also let's quickly mention the irony in the situation here : while Gon is on a romantic date, Killua fights to protect him, overcoming his weakness to prove his love. It’s not Palm who deserves that date, it’s Killua.

• A lovers’ suicide (chapter 286)

Now, onto the most important piece of subtext, that can not be counterargued as platonic in any way, shape or form. During the palace invasion, Killua leaves Gon's side, proceeds to go kick Youpi's butt only to have to fall back because he used up all his electricity nen. When Killua is charging up, he meets with Meleoron, and tells him that once he's done charging, he'll go back to Gon's side.

They briefly exchange information about the battle, and then Meleoron proceeds to ask Killua what's the plan for him and Gon. That's when Killua explains that "Once Gon is like this, he won't budge an inch. Worst case scenario, it'll be a double suicide.". At worst they both die, cool. They “go down in flames together”. It’s actually much, much more meaningful than that.

The specific word that Killua uses for double suicide is "心中" (shinjuu), which is a heavily romantically connotated word in japanese. Shinjuu, also translated as "lovers’ suicide", is when two people die out of love, by the same method, because there's a belief that this'll allow those two people to spend eternity together. Shinjuu is a major theme of Japanese literature, and it is always used romantically. It's a very uncommon word to use to refer to two people dying together, because of its heavy romantic connotation, and because it always refers to double suicide committed by people bound by love. In literature, it always refers to two lovers, in love. If you want to read more on shinjuu, i suggest this and this, those articles explain its historic roots and the definition, also emphasizing the feeling of "oneness" that characterizes shinjuu. If you’re interested, I also suggest reading the japanese article that defines shinjuu, and hitting the google translate button, it has some pretty interesting sentences like “Shinjuu is traditionally committed by men and women out of mutual love, in the hope that they will be connected in the afterlife because they can't be together in this world.”

So basically, what Killua is saying is that he wants to go back to Gon's side to die with him, committing a "lovers’ suicide" because he doesn't want to leave Gon to die alone, and wants to die with him.

I also want to emphasize how special this word is to Killua, and that he and everyone around him know the special meaning of this word - In chapter 300, Ikalgo literally says "We were... No, KILLUA was ready to commit shinjuu with Gon". Ikalgo is really highlighting the fact that this word holds special meaning, especially to Killua, and that it was HIM who was willing to commit shinjuu by staying with Gon. Ikalgo and company dying with Gon wouldn't be shinjuu, but Killua dying with Gon would be, and Togashi emphasizes this through Ikalgo's thoughts.

This is pretty much the gist of it, but I suggest reading the wonderful post I linked in the references below if you want to know more about this specific subtext.

(edit : i actually wrote a post going a bit more into detail on Killua’s shinjuu wish if you want to read it here ! :3)

• “The one that Gon needs the most is you” (chapter 294)

I will go into this subtext more in details when I write the post about parallels in CAA, but I still want to talk about it briefly here.

Like I said before, to me, Palm was introduced as a catalyst for Killua's feelings towards Gon. Togashi purposefully wrote Palm as having romantic feelings for Gon to foil Killua's feelings for Gon and make him show jealousy towards Palm.

To Killua, Palm is someone who stole Gon from him, he sees her as a threat because maybe she'll make Gon happier than he does ? (ofc we all know thats not true but Killua is baby) - Basically, Killua thinks Palm might be more important to Gon than Killua is, because he believes they are romantically involved. That's why when he sees her again later on, after Gon rejected his help, leaving Killua helpess as to how to save his dear friend, Killua sees Palm as a saving grace.

He knows that if Gon sees Palm as a chimera ant, he will spiral down even more, so he tries to reason with her to get her to be gentle to Gon, because if not her, then who could? Palm would clearly be able to comfort Gon, with whom Killua believes is romantically involved with, better than him, right ? If Gon rejected Killua, then clearly Palm could help, since she seems closer to Gon (BECAUSE HE BELIEVES THEYRE DATING), right?

This confrontation between Palm and Killua closely ressembles a situation like an ex confronting a new girlfriend - and I think this is exactly why Togashi wrote Palm this way. He wanted Killua to confront who he thought was a threat to their relationship, making him believe that this person who's """"dating"""” Gon is more important to him than himself, only to have her openly admit that she means nothing to Gon. The only one Gon needs is Killua.

And that, my friends, coming from someone you believe is romantically involved with your best friend (who you probably have a crush on), someone you're jealous of, the one you thought was the person most important to him, that's a pretty meaningful statement.

Basically, what's happening, is that Palm reaffirms that Gon holds Killua closer than a potential romantic partner. And that's why Killua is so, so happy to hear that. He was questioning his entire relationship, questioning if Gon even cared about him, because he rejected him a few minutes before, but then his "rival" comes in and reaffirms that even she knows that no one comes close to Killua to Gon.

I also want to mention that this act of pure love (Killua only thinking of saving Gon when in a life threatening situation) is what made Palm come back to her human senses. d'awwwwww

• Illumi and Hisoka’s parallel on lovers who die of Alluka’s requests. (chapter 323)

Now onto the final significant subtext - while I don't particularly think of it as subtext-y, I know a lot of people have so I still want to include it here.

When Illumi explains Alluka's powers to Hisoka, he explains that there are two different types of linked deaths when a request is failed : 1) the person who failed + the person they love the most 2) the person who failed + the people they spent most of their time with.

When applied to Killua, Hisoka naturally comes to the conclusion that no matter the outcome, Gon would always be the one dying with Killua, because he's spent so much time with him, and because he's the one that Killua loves the most. In the panel where Illumi explains this, we see a romantic, heterosexual couple demonstrating the effects of not completing one of Alluka's requests, and thus the "most important person dying".

While not making any true parallels, the fact that Hisoka, and the readers, are drawn to compare a heterosexual, romantic pairing to Killua dying with Gon because he's his "most important person" is an interesting piece of subtext.

_______

I want to finish by talking about Killua's birthday and how significant it is in my opinion. All the main 4 characters have birthdays that fall on specific dates, related to Japanese tradition, and often with events that can be associated to their character. Gon's is 5/5, which is Children's Day. Kurapika's is 4/4, the number 4 being considered an unlucky number, and this being an unlucky day to have a child. Leorio's is 3/3, Hinamatsuri (not really any main parallels here but still). But Killua's birthday is 7/7, and is the Japanese day to celebrate Tanabata.

If you are not familiar with Tanabata, the story is as follows : Orihime is a princess who works for her father, working hard and well, but she laments the fact that because of her hard work she can't meet someone and fall in love. Her father arranges for her to meet Hikoboshi, allowing Orihime to leave because he expects her to come back to work for him, but the two immediately fall in love and get married, and she never returns. I won't get into the rest of the story as it's this part that interests me the most, but if you want to read more about Killua and Tanabata I suggest reading the post I referenced below.

Does the story of Orihime remind you of anyone ? Killua also works for his father, but laments the fact that he can't go outside and meet someone. His father then lets him go, saying, and i quote: "he will come back, because he's my son". Doesn't this remind you of the tale of Tanabata ? Killua's story references the tale of Orihime perfectly, and I believe this is intentional : Killua's birthday isn't of any importance to the plot, so why make it Tanabata, a day that celebrates a love story that closely ressembles Killua's story ? The answer is simple : subtext.

With all this in mind, I think it's pretty clear that Togashi is writing intentional subtext to hint at Killua's feelings being romantic in nature. Togashi is a master writer, he has years of experience, and I strongly believe he knows what he's doing and not planting unintentional subtext. He's a very smart man, and knows how all of this can be interpreted.

I will finish by saying that Togashi is NOT an author that would deliberately queerbait his readers. So many people dismiss the possibility of having gay subtext leading onto an actual canon gay relationship because "it's not like the author would ever have gay main characters". While this holds true for a lot of manga authors, especially shonen manga authors, it does NOT apply to Togashi.

Togashi has always displayed interest in queer subjects and queer representation, putting trans characters in all of his major works (Miyuki in YYH, Mikihisa in Level E and Alluka in HxH). There were also canonically gay characters in his previous works : Itsuki in YYH, and a character named Kuramoto in Level E.

Togashi also always had interest in mangas having BL elements, citing Maya Mineo's "Patalliro!" as a manga he was attracted to during High School. If you're unfamiliar with Patalliro, the story focuses on the main character's love life as a gay man. He also admitted to basing Hiei's (YYH) design off a character from that manga.

Last but not least, Togashi mentioned in a note included in volume 1 of YYH that he wanted to write a sports manga, called The Trouble Quartet, where basically all the characters are gay. Togashi said he based it off his own interests as a writer, and that while it was refused by Shonen Jump, he got deeply attached to the project and that he would love to explore this project in a different shape once he made a name for himself. I suggest reading this post because the parallels between The Trouble Quartet and HxH are HILARIOUSLY accurate.

In short, Togashi has always had interest in queer matters, and was always interested in putting queer representation in his work. After YYH, which was a terrible experience for Togashi as a writer, he managed to snatch a contract that basically allows him to do whatever he wants with HxH. Having always held dear BL matters but never being able to explore it to his full intent, I believe Togashi is exploring queer identity further with HxH, because Shonen Jump basically lets him do anything.

To conclude, with Togashi's past experience and skill, his interest in queer representation, and the amount of subtext surrounding Killua, I honestly believe that Togashi is trying to explore further queer representation, and I wouldn't be surprised if HxH ends with Gon and Killua becoming a canon pairing, whether it be delivered in an ambiguous manner or not.

Edit : I actually wrote a post on why I believe it won’t be ambiguous, and that it’s truly never been ambiguous, just developing : here.

I hope you enjoyed the read, thank you for reading all of this, and feel free to show this to anyone who denies subtext in HxH !

REFERENCES

- "It has to be Killua" - Medium article, "Impossibilities in Translating Queerness : The Dodgeball Dilemma"

- Palm's Date Scene - Reddit post, "Togashi's love of Ambiguity: Chapters 217 and 218"

-A thematic analysis of Palm’s character : ”The Issue With Palm”

- Shinjuu - Tumblr post by hunterxhell, "A lovers' suicide, I guess." : + the post that mentions Ikalgo talking about shinjuu

- An analysis on different subtext-y situations

- Illumi and Hisoka’s parallel : here and here

- Killua’s birthday : "Killua, July 7th, and the significance of his birthdate”

- Togashi's interview mentioning Mineo's Patalliro

#hxh #hxh meta #hunter x hunter #killugon #meta #my posts #my meta

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whyissupernaturaltrending · 4 years ago

Note

Local MHA fan here to explain why the Destiel meme is being used. Sorry for the essay (spoilers for the MHA manga):

The MC, Deku is kinda going through it and is isolating himself to keep his friends safe. His friends and classmates are trying to help him and are chasing him down, trying to convince him to let them help him fight the big bad. Among these classmates is Mineta, a character who has spent the bulk of his time in the series being the token pervert (but it should be noted that the author has toned him down quite a bit).

Each character has had a moment trying to reach out to Deku, including Mineta. Now, in the raw japanese, he says the phrase "惚れる" which has a lot of meanings, "be enamored by/greatly admire/fall in love with". When translating it to English, the official manga used the line "I fell for you when...."

Now the *context* is that Mineta has always admired Deku. Deku is brave and inspires Mineta to be brave. And the japanese phrase in question according to many Japanese speaking fans is not exclusive to romantic love. It is very unlikely Mineta is making a confession here, especially since his moment isn't even the focus or highlight of the chapter. It's one page before the story moves on to much more important characters. Mineta is just saying how much he admires Izuku. So the English is an awkward but not entirely inaccurate translation, that could have done with some more consideration as to how most English audiences would read it at face value.

The Destiel meme in particular is being used because in the situation, Mineta is making a "confession" and Deku very promptly shuts him down. It's poking fun at the absurdity of a character like Mineta being a serious contender for Deku's love interest

Thank you for coming to my ted talk and sorry again for the long ask. I've been in hysterics all day since the memes are great, particularly the Destiel one, that shit had me *rolling*

i also got a link to this explanation post from tumblr user @shmegel

is that what learning things about supernatural against will feels like?

#but on a serious note - thank you so much for explaining this! it's super helpful #spn trending asks #not spn #mha #long post #i'm not gonna post about it anymore but i just wanted to share for everyone confused

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twistedtranslations · 4 years ago

Text

Cater Diamond - Full of Lies

You can unlock this story by getting Cater’s SSR Scary dress

Big thanks to Rym and Apollo for proofreading!

Translation under the cut

Chapter 1

Main street

/Notification

Cater: Oh? A message on MagiCam? Who would've thought it was that girl! How nostalgic~ The picture those ghosts took at Ramshackle dorm made our college's Halloween event trend -> Jumping onto the bandwagon and posting a lot -> Huge success for Cay's follower-catching strat! So far it's been going well but… Mixed within the comments and DMs of my new followers are a lot of old aquaintances. Even some classmates from middle and elementary school are here.

Cater: "Hey! It's been a while! Oh, would you like to come to our college? Cay welcomes every single one of you! You can always come over to hang at NRC's Halloween event!"

Cater: And now some emoji full of feelings! (^○^)♪ (ゝω・)☆　d(’ｖ｀*)b

Cater: Everyone is really so casual and easygoing~ Well, it's easier on me, so I'm not complaining.

???: HEY!

Cater: Where did that loud and rowdy voice come from? I've got a bad feeling about this…

Front Gate

Sebek: Humans, don't crowd around the young master! Get out! Leave!

Boy A: Hey, what are you doing, sweptback bro! Don't interfere with our Draconia Challenge.

Boy B: We're putting our lives on the line to show our bravery by uploading a picture of us touching The Malleus!

Boy A: Huh, since when did Malleus disappear?! It's that sweptback bro's fault.

Boy B: Don't be so angry. After all the effort of having a sweptback, let's show the world a huge smile on that face!

Sebek: For humans of your social standing to use the name of the Lord of the esteemed Valley of Thorns in vain…Besides, my hair is swept back like this so I have an unobstructed view to find those like you who behave rudely towards my young master! You shall receive punishment for insulting the Draconia… no, for insulting the young master. My thunder shall shock you all to bits! HAAAAA...

Cater: Okay, stop! I'm part of the Halloween Committee. It's forbidden to fight. Why don't you try talking to this lad if something's up?

Sebek: Don't interrupt me, you frolicking human! I will shock you to bits as well!

Cater: Won't you create a scandal for the Draconia family if you were to harm an ordinary human with magic?

Sebek: W-Well… You're right. Besides, didn't you just say you were part of the Halloween committee? Both the young master and master Lilia are both performing the same duties… They ordered me to listen to the orders of the other committee members. Ok, I shall talk this out.

Cater: Even though you are crossing your arms and puffing your chest out, you are being apologetic right? Anyway, these are our college's precious guests. They have no intention to harm Malleus.

Sebek: These magic-less weaklings were making a spectacle bothering Young Master with a toy. I cannot forgive that!

Cater: Malleus is like super famous, and he's an admirable being, right? So just for this festival, it should be fine to interact with our guests as a little fanservice right?

Sebek: Stop messing around. The young master is a dreadful being who makes everyone kneel and bow down to him. AND THAT'S WHY I WILL NEVER LEAVE HIS SIDE AND PROTECT HIM ALL MY LIFE!

Cater: You're just obsessed!

Boy A: Hey, interfering our Draconia Challenge aside, what are you two squabbling about?

Sebek: Hm? You humans are still here? I told you to leave.

Boy B: Huh? You've got some nerve, talking rudely to us like that!

Cater: Come on guys. Why don't we take some pictures together since it's finally Halloween! We, Heartslabyul are those who rise from the soil in the darkness, the underlings of the night~

Boy A: Wow! Now that you mention it, you do look real good for the camera!

Cater: Cheer up everyone and gather! Let's decide on a pose~~~ Happy Halloween~

¨*shutter noise*

Cater: (Ugh… This is exhausting)

Chapter 2

Classroom

Kalim/Cater/Lilia: *Sigh*… I'm tired….

Cater: This year's Halloween was exhausting. Mainly due to our guests being rowdy..

Kalim: It was fun entertaining the guests, but I was really troubled because Jamil got in a foul mood.

Lilia: Even we, three most gentle boys, have been worn down. The other students must be at the limits of their patience.

Everyone: *Sigh*…

Cater: Now that you say it, by chance all the members of the light music club are also part of the Halloween Committee. Let's have our usual relaxing tea time while also discussing some countermeasures.

Kalim/Lilia: Agreed~

Cater: I got this! Trey's home-made pumpkin pie! It's moderately sweet, so it's my favorite!

Kalim: I have kunafa. It's a cheesecake from the Scalding Sands. It's delicious when it's hot!

Lilia: Oho, these are all sweets befitting of Halloween. As the last one, I have prepared this. Licorice!

Cater: You're always bringing the same thing! You know me and Kalim don't like that.

Kalim: The smell makes my nose shrivel up~

Cater: But you know, since it's black, it does feel like Halloween. Oh, right, let's take a picture together. It's super charming to be in costume and have themed food.

*shutter noise*

Cater: #TheBestHalloween #SelfmadeCostume #HomemadeTreat #LightMusicClub #NRCHalloween

Kalim: The best? Didn't you say you were exhausted earlier, Cater?

Cater: I never said it wasn't exciting and for things like SNS, isn't it better to exaggerate a bit?

Lilia: As expected of you. We live in a period where everyone is connected all around the world. It is most wonderful to spread happiness instead of complaints.

Cater: Oh. The picture I just uploaded got an amazing response!

*notification*

Cater: Another message from that girl. Was she the kind to keep track of people's activities?

*ringing noise*

Cater: This time it's a call. (How persistent…)

Kalim: Cater, is it from one of your friends? You can pick up if you want.

Cater: Hm~… More like an acquaintance from the past? But it's alright? We're at a very important meeting, after all.

Lilia: We are only eating sweets, taking pictures and uploading them to MagiCam though…

Cater: It's the age of social media where everyone can keep in contact at their own pace, you don't have to go through the pains of having to response in real time to a phone call.

Kalim: Do you have that many people who want to get in touch with you? You're so well connected Cater~

Cater: Well, if you look the amount of aquaintances I have, that might be true? My dad's a banker. The bank he works at has branches all over the world. Therefore, whenever he transferred to a different branch, our entire family would move with him. We moved once every two years, so I kind of feel like a pro at quickly packing things?

Lilia: Commonly said, you are a family who moved a lot for the sake of the breadwinner.

Kalim: So the reason why you have so many friends is because you have travelled around the world since young.

Cater: Yeah, the girl just now said we are friends as well. Having to change schools frequently, I got to meet more people compared to someone staying at one place. From the best to the worst… a lot of people. However, they all had something in common.

Kalim/Lilia: …?

Cater: If I left there, they remained there. That's why I'd rather have a casual and happy time with everyone than to deepen a friendship. It’s like a circus troupe, you know, having fun hanging with people all over the world and then leaving. That's why MagiCam is the best! People from my school from three years ago contacted me out of the blue. My social circle is expanding as well. Cay is getting popular!

Kalim: Even if they're far away, you don't have to hold back you know? I got it! I'll lend you my magic carpet, so you can visit your friends whenever you want.

Cater:… I expected no less of you, Kalim. I'll take you up on that offer next time.

Lilia: I feel like I understand you.

Cater: Hm?

Lilia: The relations between humans are eternal. They are things that cannot be severed. In a new place with no trace of your existence, new relations will continue to be forged. That in itself is nature. However, I think the more precious a relation is, the more lonely it becomes. Why does it feel that way? I have lived a long life but the reason is still unknown to me. But just as Cater said, there may be a perfectly logical explanation for not getting too attached to one person in particular.

Cater: Lilia, what got into you suddenly? What I wanted to say was-

*ringing noise*

Lilia: Hello, this is Lilia speaking? What business do you have?

Cater: He just casually picked up the phone during our conversation.

Lilia: Oh, Sebek. What is it? You are so loud. Right now, I am in a meeting with Cater and Kalim. WHAT?! MALLEUS?!

Kalim/Cater: ?!

Chapter 3

Hall of Mirrors

Silver: Stop pushing. It's forbidden to enter the Hall of Mirrors.

Man A: Huh, really! I came all the way to the Isle of Sages to see Malleus Draconia.

Man B: We are doing the Draconia challenge now! Why can't we enter~

Girl C: He’s inside right! An actual Draconia, the Actual Malleus!

Everyone: MALLEUS! MALLEUS! MALLEUS!

*Lightning and thunder*

Silver: It's a rare event that Master Malleus is participating in. He also agreed to interact with the guests... For it to come to this... Everyone, it’s better if you leave. You have angered master Malleus.

Man A: I paid a lot of travel expenses, did you know that? This is the price of fame.

Everyone: MALLEUS! MALLEUS! MALLEUS!

Exterior Hallway

Cater: Did the visitors who wanted that MagiCam glory end up angering even Malleus himself?

Sebek: Yes. At first he was gentle and calmed me down when I got angry… but a fool grabbed Malleus by the horns and made fun of him by saying "Look! It's a bicycle from the olden days!"

Lilia/Cater: Gh!

Cater: I don't know if they're brave or just reckless. Were the dark clouds and thunder rampaging in the sky above the Hall of Mirrors due to Malleus' anger? You don't think he overblotted, right…?!

Lilia: Do not worry. Using that amount of magic power shall not make him overblot. He is simply irritated. Back when he was young, mountains would be destroyed by his lightning whenever he threw a tantrum.

Cater: Hahaha… that's on a totally different level. I guess it was a good idea to have Kalim fetch the professors.

Sebek: Upperclassman Vil noticed something was up and isolated the young master. He also casted a defensive spell so the tourists wouldn't be harmed. And it seemed that Upperclassman Jade is persuading the angry young master with some unique methods... Even so, those humans who can't seem to understand the gravity of the situation keep stirring up the young master, they're uncontrollable.

Lilia: This means we must use our last resort. We must put in effort to suppress the onlookers and avoid the worst situation.

Cater: Wait a second, Lilia. I thought of something. It's not like people there dislike Malleus or anything. Despite that, it doesn't mean that they like Malleus as well... They're just interested in trends. Just like my old acquaintances.

Lilia: ?

Cater: First, I'll take a picture of Lilia, who's wearing the same clothes as Malleus!

*shutter noise*

Cater: Next we use something catered to influencers. We'll elongate Lilia's picture with a photo editing app!

*swiping on phone*

Cater: Now we just add some text to finish it up. And then upload a cropped version to MagiCam!!

*Phone SFX*

Cater: #AWildMalleusAppeared #DraconiaChallenge #UnexpectedlyAtSportsGround #NRCHalloween

*Phone SFX*

Hall of Mirrors

Man A: H-Hey. Look at the Draconia challenge tag.

Man B: It seems he's at the Sports Ground now. As expected of Malleus. He's much faster than we are!

Girl C: Okay. Everyone, let's move!

Everyone: YEAH!

Silver: What happened? Master Malleus should still be in the Hall of Mirrors.

Cater: Fu. With this, I hope the storm has passed…?

Vil: Good grief. Accidents are an unavoidable part of stage plays. Letting yourself get influenced by the guests is so amateurish. My work here is done. I will return to the dorm to straighten up my appearance.

Jade: My, that was a close call. Malleus is extremely powerful. I persuaded him to the best of my abilites, trying to get him to understand. But there was no one to turn to if it had failed. Well then, I will also return to my station. I wish everyone a wonderful Halloween.

Malleus: I caused many disturbances between different racial groups during a mere school event. I should restrain myself more…

Sebek: The young master has done nothing wrong! It was the fault of those inferior humans!

Silver: The young master told us to avoid hostility between fae and humans. Why are you getting more hostile?

Sebek: WHAT DID YOU SAY SILVER!

Lilia: Malleus. Did you forget our promise from long ago? Call for us when the tranquility in your mind is disturbed. Even if we are not related by blood, we are still a family. Got it?

Malleus: Lilia… My apologies. To everyone.

Everyone: …

Cater: ….Family…huh.

Flashback

Lilia: But just as Cater said, there may be a perfectly logical explanation for not getting too attached to one person in particular.

Flashback ends

Cater: (That was full of lies. For a guy who grew up and lived in the same place, he never had to deal with rebuilding relations over and over…He would never understand my worthless and meaningless feelings.)

*ringing*

Cater: Hello, Trey. What's up? Huh? Are we doing our rehearsal for our night show at the stamp rally now? And Deuce, who is also part of the Halloween Committee, was at his wit's end due to the lack of manpower. So Ace is helping him out? Darn, Ace is definitely going to extort me for a favor later!

Cater: Argh! And is Riddle on the verge of a rampage? I'll be back soon, Trey. Please calm him down! I am currently at the site of the biggest crisis yet of this Halloween Week! No, for real! I'm not lying. That's why you don't have to be so cold to me, 'kay? URGH, TREY, YOU'RE SO CRUEL!

Cater: Now that Diasomnia's turmoil has settled, let's change the mood and continue on with work. In any case, we’ll still separate after the fourth year… It would be different if I repeated a year though. Anyway, I should just enjoy the moment to my heart's content! I'll surprise everyone with this charming skeleton costume! I'll show them what I'm capable of!

Cater: Happy Halloween!

#twisted wonderland #cater diamond #Lilia Vanrouge #kalim al asim #sebek zigvolt #vil schoenheit #jade leech #silver #malleus draconia

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twirlyeyebrows · 3 years ago

Text

How Could I Have Known?

(A Zosan Fic)

Link to Chapter 3!

Ch. 4 - Two Glasses Instead of One

The swordsman followed behind the cook after taking a moment to himself. He tried to process what was going on but he couldn't wrap his brain around it, no matter how many different ways he tried to look at the situation. He felt now that maybe he wasn't supposed to think about it as much as he had tried to. Sanji clearly wasn't upset, or at least that upset. Hell, he's even about to go make him food. Zoro smiled to himself and picked up the pace to the kitchen. He stopped his stride as he entered the door to the kitchen, the first thing he saw being Sanji tying his classic pink apron around himself. He tried to get his mind off of thinking “how cute” but it was useless at that point, he just prayed it didn't translate in his face. He set down his swords against the bench like clockwork and sat in the same spot as yesterday. He felt like this seat had bad luck because of what had transpired prior but this was the best view of the chef so he wasn't about to give it up to superstition. He watched as Sanji immediately got to work. He grabbed a bottle of wine from the cupboard he had just organized the day before and Zoro smiled to himself, mostly out of embarrassment.

Abandoning the wine, for now, he grabbed the food he made earlier today out of the fridge. “Damn, no special treatment?" The swordsman playfully ridiculed. Sanji whipped around, his sunny hair moving in tandem. "Like I'd cook something entirely new when there's perfectly good food already prepared, count your blessings moss brain." He responded lightheartedly. He grabbed a pan to reheat the meal for the man at the table beside him. Zoro once again smiled to himself, watching Sanji grab other vegetables and spices that hadn't previously been in the dish. "So if you're not cooking anything new, what are you doing with those?" He asked, sarcastically pointing to the new ingredients. The hardworking chef didn't even glance at him, but he did chuckle. "I know what you like, swordsman. Plus, I'm already here so I might as well." Zoro felt his heart leap more than a little bit. He knew the cook was just doing this because he was obviously going through something, but the sentiment still hit...hard. The gesture was accompanied by a smile from the cook, one that of course made Zoro’s stomach twist. It was genuine and sweet. He knew he wouldn't be able to describe it, not like he'd ever do so anyways, but because of this he tried to memorize it in the split second he was able to see it. At this point, that wasn't hard.

Only a few minutes later, Sanji had the dish plated and garnished in a beautiful display. Zoro tried not to look as he walked over and set the plate down in front of him. He noticed how colorful the food was despite it only being a few ingredients in total. He always paid attention to how the chef never failed to make the food he cooked look notably delicious, even when he was feeding people he didn't need to impress. He knew it probably had to do with the cook’s personal standards but it still made him gleam on the inside. It made him feel like he was important enough to Sanji that he would only want to present him with delectable-looking things. It was a silly thought, but his feelings for the man were also ridiculous, so he let his brain cherish the thought. “Thanks, Curly,” Zoro commented, taking the fork in his hand. Sanji looked like he was deciding whether to be sarcastic or not. He put his hand on the table and leaned against it like a scene in a shitty rom-com. “No problem, garden head. It is my job after all.” He said charmingly while taking a pack of cigarettes and a lighter out of his pocket. He took out a cigarette and twirled it between two fingers, putting it against his lips and lighting it in one smooth motion. Zoro saw out of the corner of his eye but didn't allow himself to fully look, he knew it wouldn't end well for either of the men. He kept his eyes on his meal as he practically stuffed his face with it, not realizing just how hungry he was until now. “Jesus cook, this is great.” He said, continuing to shovel food in his already full mouth. Sanji looked down at him, slightly proud that Zoro enjoyed the food so much but mostly disgusted at the way he was enjoying it. He inhaled through the cigarette and exhaled the smoke. “I wish you would've waited to tell me that until you had actually eaten it instead of talking with your mouth full...but thanks.” Zoro just laughed and kept eating.

By the time Sanji had walked away from the table, got a bottle of wine and two glasses, walked back over to the table, and sat down, Zoro was practically done with half his meal. “Wow, you definitely were hungry,” Sanji said, still grossed out by the lack of table manners Zoro exhibited. “Yeah for sure,” Zoro said in response, completely unphased by the cook's subtly snide remark. “Well if you happen to be thirsty too I have something that'll help with that,” Sanji said, tilting up the bottle of wine and setting down the glasses. Zoro nearly choked on his rice when he heard that sentence leave the cook’s mouth. Luckily, he caught himself (for the most part) so he didn't think Sanji had noticed. He coughed softly a few times and swallowed the rest of the food immediately. He gave a weak smile and a stupid thumbs up that he instantly regretted. “Thanks..” He said, embarrassed. He looked at his hand and realized he still had his thumb up, to which he then promptly put down. Sanji let out a nervous laugh, though still somehow made it sound derisive. “You not gonna eat anything?” Zoro asked, desperate to change the subject and leave behind what he had just done. The chef smiled with a look of “you really are an idiot, aren't you?”. “I can't eat until everyone else has, which unfortunately includes you.” He said, playfully sarcastic.

As Zoro shoveled more of the rice concoction into his mouth he realized that that's one thing he'd surprisingly never noticed about Sanji. Now that he was thinking about it though, he hadn't ever seen him eat before everyone on the ship had food on their plate. It warmed his heart but broke it at the same time. Zoro knew bits and pieces of Sanji’s past, he never wanted to press for details, in the same way, Sanji never asked about his. He had heard about the island though and of course, his policy to feed anyone who's hungry. It was such a sweet thing to do but Zoro realized it was a habit that stemmed from bad experiences. He could feel guilt in his stomach for eating in front of the cook, even though that's the last thing he should feel. He pushed the feelings down deep to not alert Sanji to any mixed emotions he had. He'd never be able to explain this train of thought to him and even if he did, he'd probably just make Sanji relive things he didn't want to. He glanced at the cook through his eyebrows and saw that he looked content, maybe even happy. Zoro of course knew Sanji loved when people enjoyed his food and he realized that his last comment hadn't been said with any sadness or anything, he was simply stating what he practiced. Zoro felt his shoulders relax and the knots in his stomach loosen a bit. “What am I doing? Overthinking this much. I'm insane.” Zoro thought to himself while trying to think of an actual response to the cook. “Well clearly-” Zoro began but abruptly stopped as he noticed Sanji’s face turn sour. Zoro put his fork down and rolled his eyes. He covered his mouth and noshed on the food with huge bites, trying to get it down quickly so he could finish his thought without talking with food in his mouth. He swallowed in one huge gulp and opened his mouth again to speak when Sanji cut him off. “I never thought I'd live to see the day where you practiced table manners. Maybe we are getting somewhere with you, you damn bastard.” He taunted. “Fuck off.” He said plainly, but his facial expression read “I'd do anything you asked me to.” “Anyways, what I was gonna say,” Zoro started again after taking a breath, “I already have my food so what are you waiting for? Get something for yourself.” He said almost making it a question. “Wow, I love being told what to do by someone in my kitchen, thanks for the permission!” Sanji snapped. Zoro felt his face heat up. “God, I hope I didn't strike a bad chord.” He said in his mind. Just as he felt the guilt starting to reappear in his gut, Sanji swung his legs over the seat of the table and stood up. “Calm down. I was just joking, moss head,” The cook said, shooting a concerned smile at the swordsman. “And as a matter of fact, I think I will.” He walked over to the pan on the stove and started to fix his own small plate of the food he just served the other man. He turned his head over his shoulder and aimed his words at Zoro. “Hey and if you're not too busy spacing out, you should pop that bottle open and fill those glasses. It’s not like I put them there for decoration!”

Zoro held his breath as he did just that. He was thankful the cook was occupied with putting his cigarette out so he didn't have to witness him pop the cork with his teeth. “What have I gotten myself into?” He thought, pouring out some wine into one of the glasses. Suddenly it hit him just what was happening. He had a plate of food in front of him and Sanji was getting one for himself. He had a bottle of wine and two glasses. Everyone else had already eaten and they were all spending time on the deck. Zoro swallowed hard while any guilt leftover in his stomach turned to butterflies. He had one last thought to himself before Sanji walked back over and sat down across from him. “Are we about to have lunch together...just the two of us?”

#zosan #one piece zosan #sanzo #zosan fanfic #zoro x sanji #one piece fic #one piece #roronoa zoro #vinsmoke sanji #black leg sanji #fanfic #sanji x zoro #twirlyeyebrows

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lilover131 · 4 years ago

Text

Chapter 56 Analysis+Theories

AHHHHHH CHAPTER 56 AHHHHHH!!! <--Chrissy every time a chapter comes out

I wasn’t as hyped up about this one as I was for the last one thankfully, seeing as we didn’t have a super long wait, but I certainly don’t want to diminish in any way the importance of this chapter!!!

I won’t waste any time and will get right to it, so buckle in, cuz’ the theory train is coming! More under the cut!

So I’ll start by saying that when I first read the chapter, it was 2 AM where I was. I had been sleeping and just kinda magically woke up right when the chapter just came out, so I like to think there was some fate there. But when I opened that chapter on my phone and the first thing I saw was that Syaoran color spread, I audibly gasped and instantly woke up a bit.

I woke up not because it was absolutely stunning to look at, or even at the fact that we haven’t had Syaoran in a color page for a while. No, the thing that caught my attention was the serious atmosphere it contained and the tone that it seemingly set. To me, this was one of CLAMP’s subtle ways of saying “Prepare for the final battle”. I could be reading into it too much, but I was right about what I believed the Syaoran and Kaito color page insinuated, so I’m gonna stick to my guns here.

We start off the chapter without a moment’s pause where we left off last time. It continues right from the last point of the conversation where Sakura dropped the bombshell that she had seen Kaito use magic. She seems to think that they may not believe her at first, but Syaoran interrupts her to affirm that he 100% believes her and that he even already knew. Sakura is naturally confused by this, but he finally FINALLY gets to tell her what he’s been dealing with this whole time, and it definitely seems to be an uncomfortable topic for him. But at least this time he got to tell Sakura truthfully that he hadn’t ever intended on keeping this from her but was physically not able to. Despite not needing to feel guilty about this, Syaoran seems uncomfortable for the simple fact that someone else had that much control over him, and he was unable to do a thing to stop it. It’s also important to keep in mind that Kero and Suppi were hearing this for the first time themselves as well (about the silencing at least).

Not much time passes after this before Kero and Suppi fess up to also knowing about Kaito, but they admit that theirs was a conscious decision rather than force, but that they believe they too would have been silenced like Syaoran was had they attempted to speak. One could say that since they didn’t know Syaoran was silenced in the way he was that this is not entirely truthful or was just a bad decision, but in reality it still makes perfect sense why they thought to be more careful. They saw Kaito’s magic first hand violently take down Eriol, and if he could shut down a magician of that caliber from halfway across the world, then he could easily do the same or worse to the guardians. And since they also weren’t yet aware of his true intentions with Sakura, it would have been likely seen as dangerous to provoke him and possibly put Sakura in harm’s way. I guess the only thing that doesn’t make much sense to me is why Syaoran and the guardians didn’t collaborate and put together what they knew sooner. Even when Yue went to Syaoran’s apartment, the topic of Kaito or Eriol never came up, and since they both clearly had Sakura’s best interest in mind, I’m not sure specifically why they chose to keep their information to themselves when they both knew they had the same goal. This, I would say, was actually a bad decision on their part, but when it comes down to it, they’re not perfect and everyone makes mistakes (I think Cinzia made the same point here, so I apologize if it seems like I’m copying here! I just also agree when it comes to this).

I’m actually going to pull in a little thing I learned from my counselor not long ago when I felt guilt over a particular decision I had made long ago, and that is that you can only work based on the emotions and information you have at the time. And because we don’t know the future, it is not possible to always make the right decisions, but there is also no telling if our decisions would have changed things for the better, so it is best not to dwell on them. I believe truly that based on what they knew at the time and through the experiences they had, they were likely only trying to protect each other, but missed that they could have probably helped each other. It’s easy to miss things when you’re on the defensive.

What I love about Sakura after this is that she forgives them immediately. This is not the first time she’s had things hidden from her for her protection, and naturally it’s upsetting to not feel like you can be trusted to deal with the serious information. When Syaoran told her how he’d been hiding what he knew before, she was upset but more because she thought he suffered as a result. This time around though, they concealed things from her not because they were worried about how she’d handle it, but rather out of fear from what Kaito would do if they tried, so it’s a completely different reason and much easier to forgive. Sakura is able to differentiate this, because she is a very emotionally intelligent girl and a lot more observant than she gets credit for when it comes to reading people. She’s grown a lot and isn’t as ‘dense’ as she was in Elementary School.

Then we get a precious gift of seeing Syaoran show off how smart he is, working out how Kaito managed to make them forget about said confrontation at the botanical garden. He’s probably thought about it a lot already, considering he mentioned before that he felt like someone made him forget something. But this time, he had additional information that Sakura was able to provide, and this was the final piece of the puzzle he needed. The most important detail that Sakura gave him was the location in particular, the botanical garden. He knew that that was where they intended to go, but that they had yet to go there. This prompted him to check his phone and see how much time might have passed without them realizing, and because he knew what time he had arranged to meet Sakura, 9:30 AM, he was able to observe that it was impossible for them to meet, go to the botanical garden, have this encounter with Kaito, and both get back to their houses in only 16 minutes. This meant it was not just a mere meddling of memories but rather time magic as it was the only explanation for the time discrepancy issue and memory loss. I can’t say how freaking proud I was of Syaoran for working this out. He’s such a smart boy, but I know that Sakura also would have been able to come to the same conclusion had she had more knowledge about the magical world. Sakura is running on pure instinct right now, which is super strong, but Syaoran really helps fill in those gaps where things don’t make sense for her, making them the perfect magical team!

The scene changes to Momo, who appears to be keeping tabs on the conversation (though it’s unclear if Kaito is aware while they are under Siege). And this part is perhaps the most worrying of the entire chapter, and I’m not talking about the line where the English translation says “Into the final act of your story”. That line in particular is a gross mistranslation cleared up by @meimi-haneoka, who graciously gives us translation notes each month in comparison to the Japanese version. The actual line in fact says “Into the final act of THE story”. This changes the entire tone of that page as the first translation implies it is leading to Kaito’s death, whereas the Japanese translation actually more implies that we’re nearing the climax of the story. Momo’s facial expressions also match the wording of the Japanese translation better, as we know she does not seem to want Kaito to die, so she would certainly look more upset here if she were speaking of such a thing. Also, I have to speak up about how pretttyyyy Kaito looks in that panel. The way CLAMP designed that page is just stunning as always.

HOWEVER

Back to what I was saying before! The most concerning part of the chapter for me is the page right before that, where Momo says “Once a spell’s been seen for what it is, it all comes crumbling down. Particularly, where time magic is concerned. And that’s to say nothing of your target’s considerable power. Now everything you’d turned back time to undo. Everything you’ve succeeded in freezing…is beginning to move again”. So here comes Chrissy’s big crazy theory and possible overthinking, but bear with me here!

I think…that what they are saying here is that these moments that were frozen in time and turned back were cut off from the timeline and now floating in a separate space. And now these scenes, which were all intense in their own way and incredibly frustrating for us, are about to move forward.

….all of them….

….at the same time….

This concept isn’t exactly new in CLAMP series. It happened with Tsubasa where Syaoran turned back time to go back to a moment where he could take Sakura’s hand and keep her from being cursed, and to keep that moment ready until he could return, it was in its own separate dimension, cut off from the rest of the universe. Eventually, once he got there, time started to move forward again. Turning back time is a taboo in the magical world for a reason, and Kaito has done this over and over and over again. But also, wouldn’t it be so like CLAMP to say “Hey, we know you’ve been frustrated that all these scenes were seemingly amping up to a big confrontation, but then Kaito rewound time over and over, so how about we give those back….ALL AT THE SAME TIMMMMEE?”. Can you even imagine the consequences of such a thing? At least three of the occasions where Kaito turned back time, Akiho went into what I call ‘book-mode’, where she is no longer herself and tries to absorb Sakura along with her magic (and even succeeds on one occasion). Then there is also Syaoran and Kaito’s battle and Syaoran having his outburst about Kaito being a magician right in front of Akiho. It would be absolute utter chaos, and honestly I’d be living for it. Lmao.

If you believe that this line Momo said was simply to state that his time magic won’t work anymore and that things will continue to progress in this timeline, that would make perfect sense as well, so I don’t want to discount that. I’m just throwing out theories here based on what I know about CLAMP and concepts that are not out of the realm of possibility.

The scenes from here on out bounce a little bit back and forth from a continuation of the conversation with Syaoran and the guardians and present time with Akiho at school. I kinda like the way they did the transitions here, and it didn’t really feel awkward at any point but rather pulled up the relevant information when it was needed.

When Akiho comes in to the classroom, Sakura recalls how the topic of Akiho came up in the conversation from the day before. It’s natural for everyone to question at this point what she knows and if she is someone to be concerned about too. Syaoran mentions that he can’t detect any magic from her, which was something he had looked into from the very first day Akiho arrived at Tomoeda Middle (he knew literally nothing about her, but you know how transfer students go in this town. Lmao). Sakura drops another bombshell here by saying that she actually senses something in Akiho, but she is unclear of what that is and why she feels that way. It’s completely likely that she’s strong enough now to sense the suppressed magic spell the association and her clan put on her. I also noticed Syaoran seemed to tense up when Sakura said this, and I’m sure that this new information probably made him feel very uneasy. Sakura’s instincts are never wrong, and if she feels something, that means there is something, but to think that it’s something even Syaoran can’t sense would definitely be concerning.

It is then that Syaoran decides to approach the idea of addressing Akiho directly about Kaito’s magic to see what she knows. Maybe at this point in time he is thinking “If she possibly has some sort of magic in her, then she might know already about Kaito”, but like Sakura, he has seen Akiho’s behavior as a person and probably believes that she is not doing anything malicious of her own accord. Perhaps he thinks that Akiho might be able to talk some sense into Kaito and put a stop to things. But the way he goes about it doesn’t push Sakura, but rather just offers it as a suggestion as something a bit more direct.

Before we see Sakura’s response to this, we are back to Akiho in the classroom and she is very cheerful from having gone out with Kaito the day prior, and OMG CAN I JUST GUSH FOR A MOMENT ABOUT HOW FREAKING PRECIOUS SHE IS? She is seriously adorable, and the more I see her smile, the more it makes me want to burn her whole clan down to the ground for being so awful to her. But also, it reminds me how strong she is to have gone through everything she did and still smile and hold no hatred in her heart. I can’t honestly say I would be the same in her shoes, so it’s really admirable. For those My Hero Academia fans out there, remember Eri’s smile? You know the one I’m talking about. That’s how I feel every time Akiho smiles.

Anyways, back to Sakura’s response. She decides, in a very Sakura-like fashion, to avoid the subject with Akiho for now. It is true that they don’t fully understand who Kaito is and what his intentions are, but the one thing she does know is that he is considered precious to Akiho, and that at least says something about his character. Akiho herself also isn’t an idiot and is perceptive to Kaito’s feelings. Even when he’s smiling, she can tell when he’s actually hurting inside, so if he had bad intentions at all, that likely wouldn’t go unseen either, so Sakura decides that she’ll wait for Akiho to come to her first if the discussion between them needs to happen. I think this is a very mature decision on her part but also continues to show how much she considers the people around her and cares for them.

Back in the present, Akiho apologizes for talking so much, and Sakura tells her that she doesn’t mind and will listen to whatever she has to say. More than just trying to show good will as a friend, I think this is also her way of opening up the door to tell her “If you want to talk about more serious things, I’m here to listen as well”. That way, when the time comes, Akiho will feel comfortable having that conversation with her.

The scene moves on to Yukito’s home where all the guardians are having a nice little get together in their true forms. It’s not entirely necessary for all but Yue to do this, but I love it as we haven’t gotten to see much of them in these forms in the series so far, especially Spinel and Ruby Moon. Ruby Moon is surprised that they decided to go along with what Sakura said, which I suppose makes sense considering they’ve been kinda doing their own thing up until now. But it turns out that it was Syaoran who made the final decision, and the others just took his lead.

I love that Syaoran was so comfortable just trusting Sakura and realizing that this time, they needed to let her make some choices, especially since it concerned her the most. Moreover, I love that Kero, Suppi, and Yue just basically caved when Syaoran agreed. This shows how much they respect the opinion of not just Sakura, but Syaoran too. They could have easily gone off and continued to work secretly without Sakura, but they didn’t do that. It obviously didn’t work well for them before anyways.

I cracked up when Ruby Moon mentioned how much Syaoran has grown a lot and used to be a ‘pouty brat’ back when they were in Japan the last time (in his defense, Eriol was screwing with him a lot, so he had a lot of good reasons for the bratty attitude. Lmao). But Kero and Yue’s responses are just precious. They both have the same expression initially, but their actual responses seem to differ quite a bit. Kero states that he will always be a brat to him and that he’s only grown ‘a little’. This is classic Kero essentially saying he agrees that he’s grown a lot, but he won’t admit it yet, hence why Spinel calls him childish. Hahahaha.

Yue’s response however makes me absolutely melt. He states he’s not upset about the mention of Syaoran’s growth, but that that he doesn’t think they “should be in such a hurry to grow up”. He sounds just like a freaking dad here who is happy to see his children grow up, but is also wanting to them to slow down and stay children simultaneously. I am absolutely living for it, and I love seeing how soft he gets when it comes to them. -squeals-

Despite how lighthearted this scene is, I’m gonna put out another theory here that might seem like I’m overthinking and perhaps makes this appear a bit darker than possibly intended. My thought was “Why did CLAMP put such focus on this subject right now?”. They could have simply stated that they decided to go along with Sakura and been done with it, but the made a point to talk about the children’s growth as human beings, particularly Syaoran. Now where am I going with this you ask? Perhaps it’s the Tsubasa PTSD speaking, but when CLAMP has dialogue like this, it usually it done quite purposely at times, because it is meant to enhance our emotions when a particular moment comes later on. So when I thought “Now, why would they be talking so much about how Syaoran’s grown emotionally and how much Kero and Yue care about him?”. I think they are trying to emphasize how much people in general care about him. CLAMP showed it again recently with Touya, who threatened Kaito and purposely included Syaoran in his statement, and again when Kaito pointed his staff at Syaoran and Sakura reacted. CLAMP is pointing out right now how much people care about Syaoran, and I think this is once again a signal that something bad is going to happen to Syaoran, and I think it’s going to be soon.

Now, Cinzia actually recently found my reaction to spoilers of chapter 1 of Clear Card (that’s right, chapter 1 from all the way back in 2016), and from the very beginning, I have been screaming at the top of my lungs that I had the worst feeling that something bad was going to happen to Syaoran. I imagine some of you are probably tiring of hearing it from me. Lmao. So here we are, 55 chapters and numerous bad dreams later, and I finally feel like that time is really really close. I’m calling it right now that it will probably happen within the next 4-5 chapters, and if I’m wrong, I will eat my words, but them even putting Syaoran on the color page all by himself for this chapter gives me more reason to think that “that time” is approaching.

That is a good transition for me to talk about the last part of this chapter. We are finally getting some progress on this play Naoko has been writing, and the moment she mentioned it was about “Twin Alices”, I thought to myself “this is going to be where the climax happens”. The pieces are coming together for it, and we’ve finally gotten to hear the premise of this play. We all knew Naoko would ask Sakura and Akiho to play the main roles, but it’s unclear what the role she wants for Syaoran will be when she inevitably peer pressures him into it. Lol. But I’m telling you, I really think this play is where shit is going to hit the fan and we’ll finally get some real answers.

I can’t wait to see what happens from here on out, but it’s very clear to me that things are just going to get more and more intense from here on out!!

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