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meimi-haneoka · 18 days

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Clear Card Trivia 3 ~ Sakura's journey of growth and self-understanding throughout Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card

Hello and welcome back to my "Clear Card Trivia" series, a collection of informative posts where I delve into certain aspects of the story of Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card! ✨

The topic I will talk about today has been on my "to-do list" for long time. It's something I felt the need to talk about, and I won't hide the reason why: the desire to fully eviscerate this topic grew particularly after reading around certain criticism of Clear Card Arc. But also after listening to CLAMP's Twitter Spaces, particularly the ones towards the end of the story.

It's something that, setting aside my obvious love for the new characters, will always make me think that Clear Card Arc has been a very welcome addition to the series.

This post will delve into Sakura's growth throughout Clear Card Arc.

Sakura grew up considerably during the story, and had a character development that sadly not many people truly realized.

I'm not talking about an evolution of the character design which, despite changing and evolving throughout the story (as it's expected for a long-running serialization), kept depicting Sakura consistently with quite young looks...no, I'm talking about her mental growth, in relation to her self-knowledge and her relationship with her magic powers.

A journey that might almost feel "frustrating", because it is full of "up and downs", and Sakura sometimes seems to be taking one step forward and two back. Aside from the obvious practical reasons (the plot had to develop several other storylines simultaneously), it very much reflects the realistic growth of a pre-teen, which is never a straight line but is made of improvements and relapses.

Along the journey, I couldn't really avoid mentioning some bits of the development of Sakura's relationship with Syaoran, which will get its own deep and detailed post another day.

There's also an extra about the significance of the Clear Cards in the story, at the end.

I have to be honest, the post is very long, but I tried to insert visual elements to make it easier on the eye. If you're curious to know how the hell I found so much to talk about for this specific topic, follow me under the cut and dive into Sakura's journey throughout Clear Card (it's also a good way to review the story)! ✨

A Disconnected Beginning

Clear Card Arc starts in a very "festive" and happy way: everything is peaceful, a new exciting chapter of Sakura's educational life is starting with the beginning of middle school, Syaoran is back to Tomoeda, this time to stay forever with his beloved girl...everything seems so perfect. And precisely in chapter 1, before everything takes an unexpected turn, we have this scene here, which I consider the "true" beginning of everything:

Sakura says "I haven't been using this lately...well, that's for the better".

At the beginning of Clear Card Arc, Sakura seems to be feeling disconnected from her natural gift.

Despite she had to go on a quest to collect all the Clow Cards, which later she gave a new life to by changing them into Sakura Cards, we have to remember that Sakura was born with magic powers. They weren't bestowed on her by Kero-chan, nor by the contract with the Clow Book: she always had magic in her blood, and it apparently "woke up" on that fateful day she found the Clow Book in the library of her father.

At the beginning of this arc, Sakura seems to think that the purpose, the meaning of this natural gift which is literally part of herself, has been fulfilled by transforming all the Cards, and splitting Eriol's power as he had requested. Her words here seem to be suggesting a general idea of "if I have to use this key (therefore, my magic powers), it means something troublesome is happening, so it's better if I'm not using it because it means everything is okay".

And although we can't really deny that what happened afterwards is far from being able to be considered "peaceful", this scene here always left a bad taste in my mouth because there's almost a negative vibe attached to the idea of her magic, transpiring from Sakura's words. It's almost as if she's politely rejecting it.

Precisely after she places her Star Key in her jewelry box, probably hoping to never have to use it again, she has her first premonitory dream of the events that will shake her life afterwards. Almost as if her powers were trying to tell her "no my dear, this is you and you'd better come to terms with it as soon as possible".

Then, as we all know, the Cards turn blank. Sakura produces a new key while having another dream and a quest to fight and "secure" some strange phenomena happening around her begins, leaving her in a state of increasing confusion.

This is the beginning of the part of the story that I quite literally call "Sakura loses sight of herself".

At this very early stage of the story, she still doesn't know that she started losing control over her increasing magical power, and it is definitely not a coincidence that all of this began when she thought of shutting her main magic tool away in a box, hoping to ignore it forever. For plot reasons, this also happens simultaneously to Syaoran taking the spirits of the Sakura Cards away from her (because in the beginning, you had to be tricked into thinking he was up to something shady and was the real mastermind behind all the incidents).

Syaoran expected for Sakura to lose control over her powers, as his mother predicted a general period of trouble for her that could lead her to unhappiness, albeit without any clear indication of what could happen: Syaoran came to Japan knowing something was bound to happen to his girl and her powers, and that something was going to lead her to grief, but he had no idea about all the rest. So his uncertain and reckless approach, which ended up in some cases worsening the situation, is also somewhat understandable. He was acting like a worried, overprotective boyfriend at his wit's end.

The strange events, which Sakura materializes into a new set of Cards, surely leave her distraught and confused, not to mention the situation with the Sakura Cards and Eriol's missing replies, but I feel that what really destabilizes her core are the constant dreams she gets, sometimes even in the middle of her waking hours, making her faint on the spot wherever she is.

Premonitory dreams are a part of her natural gift that she began to express ever since the OG manga, but she never seemed to really understand them or take them seriously.

This time around, she keeps seeing this cloaked figure and this terrifying dragon, no one speaks a word despite her relentless questions and the cloaked figure seems to be wanting to take her newly made key away (Lilie!!! what were you trying to do!! *facepalm* she probably tried to pull her closer so she could talk to her), so it's just normal that all of that leaves her increasingly stressed and anxious, even though initially you never see her openly and verbally stating that, due to her overall positive nature ("I'll manage it, somehow" is part of her "everything will be alright" invincible spell, and this is indeed what she keeps telling herself in the beginning of the arc, even though in some occasions it turned out to be a double-edged sword, as sometimes it looked more like sweeping her fears under the carpet, to me).

"Something Is Not Right"

Dream after dream, Card after Card, Sakura begins to have these general feelings of discomfort and of "something is not right, here", as she openly states to Syaoran in this scene of volume 4, chapter 14. There's something about this situation that is pricking her sixth sense, and makes her uneasy, but she can't quite put her finger on it yet. All she can do is to keep "fighting" these phenomena happening around her, hoping to find out more along the way. She reiterates the same feeling of uneasiness at the end of chapter 15, after what I consider one of the most concerning side-effects of her poor control over her powers: Sakura seems almost "in trance" while she leads her guardians to the exit of the maze, and acts in a very uncharacteristic, cold way by shoving her bag in front of Yue to make him hold it for her. It's almost as if her magical sixth sense worked too strongly and warped her personality in that moment: an effect that has been mentioned several times in relation to powerful magicians like Clow, Eriol and later Kaito too, so it's not farfetched at all to attribute this one-off occurrence to her loss of control over her strong powers, which ended up affecting her personality too. Luckily, it didn't happen again in the rest of the story and the capture of this Card was completely changed in the anime (a wise decision imho, since the JP fandom is particularly fussy about the integrity of Sakura's character, and she needed to stay "Sakura" in order to do what she did at the end).

At the culmination of a "mini arc" (the visit to great-grandpa Masaki) characterized by uncontrolled visions of Nadeshiko, another frightening dream (one that ended up dragging even Akiho in, due to the synchronization) and Sakura for the first time ever confronting Syaoran about the things he's been hiding from her, we reach the following scene of volume 5, chapter 23.

"I Wish I Had A Mirror"

I always considered this scene extremely important, because for the first time Sakura spells out clearly the inner turmoil that's been gnawing at her soul ever since this ordeal with the new Cards started.

"The truth is...I'm the worst at understanding myself. And that is probably causing lots of concern to everyone." "I wish I had a mirror. A mirror that could reflect the real me. Then, I would probably understand how to not make everyone worry"

Here, Sakura clearly spells out the frustration of knowing, feeling in her bones that there's something wrong with her, something that she's not understanding about herself, and that something is causing problems, but most importantly, is causing her loved ones to worry about her. Let's not forget that not only Syaoran, but also Yukito, Touya, Fujitaka, Tomoyo, Eriol & his family have all been watching her situation in apprehension, each of them making decisions and moving discretely in a direction they felt was right (and admittedly, not all instances were so).

Sakura can somehow feel all of that, she can feel that it's related to something she still hasn't realized about herself. This tends to be forgotten because it happens in a relatively early part of the plot, but notice how this is the same problem Kaito suffers from. A quite stunted ability to understand oneself. Sakura and Kaito definitely have lots in common, when it comes to this specific part of themselves. Keep this in mind, because it'll be relevant later.

And then, the situation worsens.

Sakura's dreams start to terrify her, because they begin to show Syaoran's face under the cloak of the mysterious figure who's scaring her in her dreams. An apparent truth she cannot accept, she won't accept, even though she's still unsure about what exactly these dreams she's having are. Despite her boyfriend has been acting shady for long time, she decides to trust him and wait for him to talk to her about all the stuff he's holding inside, instead of putting him through the wringer. This also means, though, that Sakura will keep all her fears to herself, eventually bottling up.

Furthermore, Kaito starts to rewind time to fix a situation without a way out (in chapter 28, Akiho was on the verge of going berserk completely and unleash the artifact), creating an additional sense of confusion when Sakura can feel that her finger is numb due to strain, but she can't understand why (she had fought Kaito's time magic unconsciously). Whenever Kaito will rewind time, even later on, Sakura's magical sixth sense will try to wake her consciousness up more and more, giving her these vibes of "deja vu" or making her act in an apparently inexplicable way.

In the first part of Clear Card, Sakura sometimes literally looks like a soul wandering about in confusion, dragged by the events.

I wish to point out that this is not a flaw in the characterization, it is a precise design by CLAMP. Sakura IS, in this part of the story, confused and lost, overwhelmed by the events. She has no idea how to approach this matter other than "treating the symptoms" as they come. This happens because she's still, surprisingly, quite reluctant to embrace a fundamental part of herself: her innate magic power, which expresses itself mainly through her intuition. But we'll gradually get there.

Around chapter 30, before the big realization, Sakura's situation reached a point where:

- her Sakura Cards unexpectedly became blank; - almost everyday (sometimes multiple times a day) there's a new incident that she secures into new transparent Cards; - she constantly sees ominous dreams (in scattered order) with a cloaked figure acting in a questionable way and a scary dragon, and at some point she starts seeing her boyfriend under that cloak; - her boyfriend acts shady, Eriol doesn't reply to her messages; - there's a general feeling of "something is not right" with her magic and some stuff starts to not make sense to her (because Kaito rewinds time)

It is at this point that Sakura finally moves one (giant) step forward and connects all the "puzzle pieces" she collected (particularly, how much more "obvious" the creation of a Card became) and understands that she's been the one causing subconsciously each and every single incident that lead to the creation of a new transparent Card.

"I'm Angry At Myself"

And with Syaoran finally coming clean with her (because at that point he had no reason to keep things hidden anymore, as the thing he was trying to delay ultimately happened - and believe me, I'm sure he partly felt relieved to not need to lie anymore, as that took quite a toll on him too), Sakura can at last give an explanation to at least a part of the things that are happening. And she finally realizes that the doubt that was tormenting her was true: she DID, in fact, not understand something very important about herself, she didn't realize that it was her own power going out of control and that all the incidents that happened bore "her magic signature", so to speak. She failed to "tune in" with her magic.

For the first time ever, Sakura expresses anger at herself.

She will direct that anger (to a lesser extent) to Syaoran too, but I'll tackle that in a separate post.

This is a moment of deep reflection and regrets for Sakura: the poor understanding of herself, the poor "communication" between her heart and her magic powers brought to a situation where her most beloved person was putting himself in danger in order to protect her, while trying to not make things escalate. This is a very sensitive, beautiful and important moment, steeped in conflicting and complex feelings (and remember, Sakura is just a pre-teen. It is normal for a pre-teen like her to not understand herself, but there's just one tiny detail: she's not a common pre-teen, due to her natural gift, and she needs to take that into account). Eventually Sakura calms down, and after creating Rewind, her resolute face while hugging tightly Syaoran suggests that from now on she'll face this matter from another, more courageous and determined perspective.

Or at least, these were her good intentions. Because unfortunately, insecurities are hard to eradicate and in the central part of the story it's shocking to realize how far longer Sakura will insist in shutting away her emotions and refusing to listen to her heart (and intuition) fully.

"It's Just My Imagination"

Part of Sakura's anxiety might have been sedated with the revelation that the Clear Cards are produced by the girl herself, but unfortunately the true core of her problems was not solved at all and will only surface more clearly in the next 20 chapters.

Sakura actively starts having "premonitory bad feelings" when she sees Akiho in volume 7 chapter 34, a bad feeling that she does check with Syaoran, but quickly dismisses as "well, it's just my imagination". This will basically be one of the major problems preventing her from reaching the complete control of her magic. Sakura, knowing her magic potential, should've given way more credit to her sixth sense, but her anxiety, her insecurity and her crippled connection to her innate gift still pushes her to dismiss these "signs" as nothing really important or true. Timely as hell, a few hours later something bad will indeed happen to Akiho, where she completely loses consciousness for the first time and the clan/Association actively starts to absorb Sakura's power through the artifact implanted in Akiho. All of this was caused by the high concentration of magic that "triggered" Akiho's artifact (and here I have to sarcastically "applaud" Kaito, just like Syaoran he's another one who does stuff before thinking through, ultimately worsening the problem).

Once trapped in Akiho's artifact, thanks to her power Sakura can see the most horrifying glimpse of Akiho's past, when she was turned into a magic artifact, by living it on her own skin. And even though Kaito is forced to rewind time once again to save the situation, erasing these memories from Sakura's head, her heart (which is tightly connected to her magical sixth sense - I'd daresay her heart is straight up the source of her magic) DOES REMEMBER, pushing Sakura to act in an apparently irrational way, crying and hugging Akiho tight in empathy. Sakura is particularly shaken by this feeling, still in pain even hours later, but once again she doesn't understand where it comes from. However, she does express with Syaoran an intention to talk to him about it once she's able to put it into words, and in the meantime do her best with all the rest. At least, there's an intention to understand better this part of herself, but it's still soon to see actual results.

Aaand CLAMP really seem to be wanting to test Sakura in this arc, because at this point of the plot, they add the electrocution spell. 😅 No one seems to understand who caused it (it's not Sakura, nor Kaito, but now we know it was none other than Yelan!!) and Sakura's anxiety increases once again. The fact only Syaoran gets affected by it inevitably reignites the doubts in her mind, unwittingly reminded of that terrifying dream of Cloaked Syaoran she keeps seeing...but she stubbornly keeps telling herself "no, it's not like that, it's just a dream". It's undeniable that this situation where she cannot understand her foretelling dreams yet, and the way they show her scattered hints because her power is out of control, has surely contributed to Sakura's insecurity when it comes to trust her own intuition.

Her power is so out of control at this point, that even when Kaito shrinks her and throws her in a hole carved into a tree (landing in a "world" created with magic where he hopes she'll create the right Card) her dreams take over again (it's apparent by the "shaaan" sound and how everything turns suddenly pitch black, a common background of her dreams), showing her Akiho in the dress she was wearing when she was turned into an artifact and, inevitably, Sakura's biggest fear, "Cloaked Syaoran". Pay attention because these visions she's getting here thanks to her power match what will happen later on: what the talking flowers tell her here will turn out to be the beginning of the lyrics of the main theme of the "Alice in Clockland" play. This vision of Cloaked Syaoran seemingly "about to do something" to Akiho horrifies Sakura to the point of screaming in terror and creating one of the most unsettling Cards, "Break". It is after this very scary moment that Sakura starts to wonder very specifically for what purpose she is creating all these Cards. The purpose is actually more than one, but she definitely posed herself THE RIGHT question, as this brings her one step closer to the core of the problem and eventually embracing her own magic abilities.

Then, between chapters 43 and 45 we finally start to see some changes in Sakura: surprisingly, she begins to listen more to her sixth sense, first catching Yukito red-handed while activating a newly acquired magic, and then wondering about a strange painful feeling in her chest when her father tells her that lately she and Akiho became even more similar. We were all lead to believe that this was the foreshadowing of Akiho taking her place (cause everything in the plot at this point deceivingly hints at Kaito wanting to switch them), but she actually was getting foreshadowings of the "rewritten world", where Sakura would genuinely feel wrecked to know that someone important to Akiho was missing, precisely when Akiho would've become part of her family as her twin. In fact, in chapter 45, before falling completely asleep, she hears again the ominous "you won't be able to come back" (the Association's threat to Kaito), wondering WHO wouldn't be able to come back - somehow, Sakura knows that it's not directed at her.

"Just Tell me Honestly How You Feel"

And then, we reach another moment that I consider pivotal for Sakura's growth during this Clear Card Arc. The moment when she's on the verge of breaking down and finally lets all her feelings out.

Her anxiety over the dream with the Cloaked Figure reached the highest peak, so much that she finally manifests a Card, Mirage, that challenges her precisely with that appearance. While Sakura battles that Card (which at the moment she still believes it's an actual person), she seems resoluted to get to the bottom of this story, and to pull down that hood to know the truth. You can really feel that she's so done with all this psychological torture. The fact the real Syaoran appears right at that moment and she finds out the person she saw was just a Card is partly a relief for her, but also throws Sakura again in despair because who the hell is that person in the dream, then??

Syaoran, as the good and attentive boyfriend he is, can just feel that Sakura is stressing over something, so he brings her to his home to help her calming down. And to her umpteenth attempt at sweeping her negative emotions under the carpet, beating around the bush commenting over the tea with a fake smile, he cuts immediately her bullshit and just tells her : "You don't need to force yourself. Just tell me how you feel right now". When she hears that she's allowed to speak out her emotions with honesty, Sakura wears on her face one of the most heartbreaking expressions of the entire manga. She's literally about to break down in tears of exhaustion, as you can see it above. ☝️ Listening to her, gradually, Syaoran encourages Sakura to get out all that's been torturing her lately, particularly about the dream with the Cloaked Figure. It is a very difficult moment for her, because she has to relive the dream, and expose in front of him all the fears and doubts that were trying to tamper with her trust in him. Courageously, she goes through with it, even though her denial ("it's just a dream!") is so strong that she ends up creating another Card: "Dreaming". Sakura at first seems relieved to see the Card, in the hope that everything she saw was indeed a mere messed up dream and nothing else (see? she's again self-sabotaging her relationship with her magic) but Syaoran with his frankness is quick to bring her feet on the ground: the kanji on the Card show "yumemi", and the word can also indicate a "foretelling dream".

Although Sakura seems disheartened at first, her next dream with the Cloaked Figure is much more relaxed, so much that even the dragon doesn't particularly scare her anymore: our girl's intuition makes her correctly feel a sense of loneliness in this dream, which she attributes to the hooded figure, not realizing that it was more likely coming from the dragon itself (aka, Kaito). After all, in chapter 72, Lilie will confirm that her presence ended up distracting her from the one "character" she should've paid all of her attention to. Her intuition, despite being misattributed, ended up having a positive effect through the synchronization with Akiho: the girl will wake up with the same feeling of discomfort of her friend, and as if guided by hitsuzen, she will head to the garden where she'll find a sickly Kaito staring at the moon - most likely feeling the loneliness Sakura perceived in her dream. I like to think that in this scene of chapter 48, Sakura subconsciously helped Akiho comforting Kaito, by waking her up with the unresting feeling, precisely when Kaito needed it the most. Still not completely embraced her magical sixth sense yet, but a significant improvement.

The road between chapter 48 and chapter 52 is paved with lots of struggles, as the Mirror Sakura Card gets stolen by Kaito, Sakura runs the risk of being absorbed into Akiho's artifact again, she meets Momo for the first time and she's even given a hint about Kaito's plan (or what Momo thought was his plan, as he had benignly lied to her about that), but almost all of that gets rewound and erased when Kaito intervenes. Moreover, despite not remembering anything consciously, Sakura is left with a sense of unhappiness when she looks at her home, a remnant of her brief journey in the world of Momo's book which straight up threw her into despair, showing her what her life would be if everyone forgot about her. She also finds once again a Card produced out of nowhere, "Time": I'm convinced she produced this Card because her conscience was awake while Momo and Kaito talked in stopped time, and their conversation triggered her sixth sense to produce Time as a result. Needless to say, all of this worsens her state of mind once again, which leads to the other pivotal, and finally resolutive, scene of chapter 52.

Never Avert Your Eyes From Your Heart

We finally get to what I consider THE scene, the one that will definitively shake Sakura from her deadlock, from the anxiety that stunted her connection with her innate gift and her deepest emotions. And the one who helps her overcoming all her fears is, of course, the love of her life - with a honorable mention for none other than his mother Yelan!!

Chapter 52 got a very, very special place in my heart, because it's basically one giant parallel between SyaoSaku and YunaAki. The two pairings experience similar situations, but the response from one side of each pairing is quite different. Let's remind you for a moment of the part earlier in this post when I told you that Kaito and Sakura, for most of Clear Card, surprisingly have one thing in common: they don't seem to understand themselves well enough, and both have a tendency to look away from feelings that cause unrest to their hearts - anxiety for Sakura, love for Kaito.

Syaoran, always attentive and observant towards his girlfriend, notices immediately that Sakura is suffering, as soon as he sees her at school. Despite being unable to touch her to comfort her, he offers all of himself to support and listen to her concerns. Sakura is visibly and pleasantly surprised of how the boy could read behind her mask, that usual contrived smile with which she tries to dissimulate her emotions and not make him worry. A bad habit she's consolidated lately, but that Syaoran is gently determined to dismantle. After opening up with him (and this is where Sakura differs from Kaito - by having an established relationship made of love and trust with Syaoran, Sakura lowers her walls with him), she falls once again into the usual trap of "but maybe it's just my imagination" and I love to see how Syaoran is her anchor to the ground, making her see the concreteness of this situation: he straight up tells her "you produced a Card out of it, it cannot be 'just your imagination'. " And then, like a precious family gift, he passes on to her the priceless words of wisdom of his mother Yelan, an advice that not only Sakura, but also the other "lost soul" of the other paralleling pairing should listen to:

"People with magical power should never ignore the turmoil and stirring in their hearts, the so-called 'intuition'. And it’s not limited to people with magical powers. People should never avert their eyes from the changes in their heart."

This is a turning point for Sakura. These words seem to positively "break" something inside of her, showing her the correct path to follow. CLAMP beautifully portray this process of "embracing and assimilating" the words she's just heard, by making her place her hand over her heart. I love when they do that (they used the same visual when Akiho heard Kaito's true name, and 'wrote it' on the most important page of the book of her life). Sakura is truly grateful for the words Syaoran relayed to her, precisely what she needed to get out of her impasse with her feelings and magic. She knows she can always count on the support of her soulmate even in the darkest moments, and she's thankful for having him in her life.

From this moment onwards, Sakura will experience several instances where her magical premonitory senses give her signals through the "stirring" of her heart. Contrarily to before, she starts to actively take them seriously, listening, without dismissing them as the delirium of an anxious little girl. This allows her to activate the Siege Card in the fraction of a second, successfully shielding herself from Kaito's time magic, making her the first person ever who achieved that. This also leads her to effectively remember that she saw Kaito using magic, even when time was rewound by him, and contact immediately Syaoran to talk about it, planning how to move from that moment onwards. A little relapse on her bad habit is immediately dispelled by Syaoran, and our girl even goes as far as saying "there's something inside Akiho", even though she's not sure exactly why she's feeling that way. But it's an intuition she's having and she decides to not dismiss it anymore, with everyone trusting and supporting her in that direction. By listening more and better to what her heart tells her, Sakura also decides to not confront Akiho about Kaito and his magic, because she's well aware of the feelings Akiho got for Kaito and she doesn't want to potentially disrupt their relationship. So, she decides to wait for her friend to talk about it first.

Thanks to this better understanding of her own intuition, she also says in chapter 57 that she wants to meet the guardian of the book "Alice in Clockland" once more, despite not remembering if and when she's met her before. This also ultimately leads her to accept the role of Alice in the upcoming play scripted by her friend Naoko, because her sixth sense tells her that it's inevitable for her to do so. It's important to emphasize how the other characters support and encourage her to listen to her innate gift, at this point, without trampling over her self-determination like they did before.

It is a moment of big growth and character development for everyone.

The Ultimate Growth: Finding a Meaning and a Purpose

What happens afterwards is history: the fateful "Alice in Clockland" play unfolds, and Kaito completes his plan to push Sakura to create the Card he needs, exchanging his magic artifact (the watch) with Akiho's one (the book), in addition to activating the forbidden magic to rewrite the memories of everyone, to fit Akiho as part of Sakura's family.

Sakura's intuition will be crucial to wake her true self up while in Clockland, succeeding in beating Kaito's magic multiple times, till Syaoran comes in and gives the "final blow", cutting off the spell definitively.

And even when everything seems lost because Kaito successfully activated the fobidden magic, changing their memories and erasing himself from their existence, Sakura's magic and sixth sense keep making her say things she either already said or heard before in the "unrewritten world". Not only that, but even after meeting Lilie in a dream and forgetting her face (due to the strong influence of the forbidden spell), bit and pieces of that conversation keep coming back to her, and she listens dutifully to every single one of these "feelings". Kaito might have overridden part of their memories (only the ones concerning him, Akiho and the events connected to the creation of the Cards), but the experience, feelings and personal growth of each character were left untouched, that's why the chemistry between Sakura and Syaoran is the same as before the play started, but also Sakura's personal relationship with her magic is far better than before (an information that might have seemed random and unimportant is that now Sakura summons Mirror even just to chat, an indication of her completely changed perspective on her magic).

Now that Sakura finally embraced her magical power, all that's left for her is to find a true purpose for it.

A question echoes in my mind, "What am I creating these Cards for?". Sakura poses herself this question halfway through the story, and she finds the answer to it precisely at the end of the journey.

Her powerful magic intuition, combined with her immense empathy, leads her to realize that somebody is missing from their reality, and that person is the one Akiho loves. At this point Sakura is unstoppable: she wants to listen to the voice in her heart that's screaming "Go and help them!! Give the true happiness back to Akiho!", and everyone can only follow her lead as she assertively puts into practice what her heart is telling her to do.

Sakura in this final part of the story shines brighter than ever. She's more assertive and self-confident than ever. All of this is because there's something she strongly wants to do with her innate gift, as Eriol unequivocally says in chapter 75: her power grows exponentially again, but this time it's not out of her control - it is Sakura herself who's voluntarily boosting it, thanks to her strong wish. And that allows her to control it and use it exactly as she wants.

In chapter 79 her growth reaches the highest peak, by handling the resolution of Akiho and Kaito's personal problems in an admirable way (she steps aside for a moment to give Akiho all the agency she needed), but also finding herself in front of an uncomfortable dilemma, which leads her to an unavoidable reality: Sakura quickly understands that she cannot be on everyone's side and there are lines to be drawn at some point. She can't be a pure and oblivious girl forever. She needs to grow up. There are choices to be made, especially when dealing with real evil people.

And Sakura choses to go on with the people she loves, even if that means she has to "stain" her "moral record" a little bit.

Empowered by this strong wish to fix the situation, she literally gives life to a miracle, protecting her dear friend and her beloved from the grasp of their abusers, simultanously giving everyone their true memories back. The effort exerts her greatly, but what she achieved is by far the most important thing she's ever done with her magic power till now: she helped two dear people lost in a life-and-death situation. Her magical growth went along with her personal, mental one.

This is also the reason why the accusations of "the other magicians should've trained her" end up being in vain: Sakura's problem with her powers was mainly on a personal level, not on a technical one. This was a journey she had to mainly walk by herself, finding the right balance and confidence in her abilities, deep down in her heart.

No one could've done that for her.

Merely training the practical aspect of it would've just worsened the situation, because Sakura wouldn't have been truly "in it" with her heart and mind. She needed to go through this process of growth, before reaching this stage of self-awareness in relation to her magic powers. I truly feel this is the reason why CLAMP made certain choices inside this story. Again, as I always say, a good part of Cardcaptor Sakura does revolve around magic, but the main focus and linchpin of this story is and always will be the main character's heart, her growth and the interpersonal relationships with her loved ones.

This makes Clear Card Arc, in my opinion, a worthy sequel and a full-fledged part of the Cardcaptor Sakura series. I think those who decide to skip it or read it with a superficial approach miss a journey of tremendous growth for our beloved protagonist.

So much for those who kept saying "This is not Sakura's story".

How can all that ☝️ NOT be Sakura's story?

I'll let you judge. 😊

Extra: The Significance of the Clear Cards

I want to digress for a moment about a thorny topic: the significance of the Clear Cards in this story.

Sakura isn't always completely passive towards the events happening around her, but wonders several times during the story why all those Cards are manifesting like that. While the first and easiest answer is of course "because her powers are going out of control" (and this is something Momo herself questions Sakura about in chapter 50), it becomes apparent at some point that the more the story goes on, the more the Cards that are created by her are particularly relevant and connected to the events that will happen in the final part of the story.

I know this is a sore spot for many who complain about not understanding the purpose of the Clear cards. It's because people tend to compare this set of Cards with the ones Sakura captured previously. That's not the right way to look at them, because their origin and purpose are different and change throughout the story. Forget about the Sakura Cards, even though so many of these "Clear Cards" (which are never called so, not even once, in the story itself, but just "new cards" or "transparent cards") might look so similar in purpose to the previous ones.

First of all, the Clear Cards are an outlet for Sakura to vent in a healthy way her power in excess. Power that if kept inside, untapped and confined in her body, might have unpredictable harmful effects on her (<- probably the grief Yelan foresaw). God bless the Clear Cards for existing and allowing Sakura to vent out these bouts of uncontrolled power in a relatively safe way.

The Cards that Sakura produces in the beginning are sometimes reminiscing of the Sakura Cards, because her power manifests itself basing on Sakura's experiences, feelings, thoughts and wishes. The Sakura Cards are an important part of her life (before Syaoran took them, she literally acted like their "mom", keeping them alive with her power) so it's only normal that the first base for some of these new Cards would be a magic tool that she already knows. In this sense, it becomes easier to understand why many of the "captures" seem so easy, way too easy compared to what a reader would expect from a sequel: the goal of the capture here isn't to make her power and experience in capturing cards grow. She already had 2 arcs to do all of that. The capture of the Cards in this third arc becomes something new and unexpected: a "damage control" of a regrettable situation with Sakura's powers, while she learns to dominate them and enter into harmony with her supernatural abilities. The growth Sakura needs here is mainly a mental one. Performing her magical power aimlessly without having a true connection with it and a true understanding will only exacerbate the problem. This is the reason why, despite having a "capture" element, Clear Card derails from the previous arcs in the purpose of the capture. It's a pity that an element that should've brought freshness to the plot was in many cases received as an actual flaw.

In the beginning, as Sakura's power is completely out of her control, some Cards might look completely random too - they don't look based on Cards, thoughts or wishes (like Appear, Reflect, Action, etc.). But pay attention, because the more the story goes on, the more the Cards begin to become particularly specific to something that shook Sakura's heart in that moment, or referencing events/feelings that will become pivotal to the events Sakura will experience later. Especially regarding Kaito's plan. Many of the later Cards Sakura produces are a direct reflection of the feelings and wishes that Kaito infused in the activation of the forbidden magic, with the creation of "the story for Akiho", the one he wanted to absolutely have a happy ending for. Cards like Repair, Promise, Choice, Kindness, True and False, Synchronization, Rewind....many of them didn't even get to express their magical abilities in a "conventional way" (everyone expected to see Sakura literally activating them like she does with all the others), but it's just because at that point the Cards Sakura is producing are born following her premonitory intuition: thanks to the hints/speeches that those Cards give her in Clockland, Sakura little by little regains consciousness of her true self (it's a pity that many English readers will never realize all the times Sakura was about to "wake up" in Clockland, because the translation didn't respect the change in fonts of the JP text). Sakura wasn't supposed to "use" them in a conventional way (how do you "use" Kindness? You force people to be "kind"? 🤨 and what about Choice??), she was supposed to listen to them and let them guide her towards the truth. This is also the reason why all of these Cards bear the face of her loved ones. Think of them as tarots. Which is, incidentally, another use of the original Clow/Sakura Cards. I am basically sure of this interpretation because the kanji of some of those Cards I mentioned above are brought up during the climax: particularly when Akiho talks to Kaito in chapter 78, she uses two specific verbs, referring to Kindness (慈愛 - a kind of gentle and tender love) when she describes the love and support her family gives her in this rewritten world, and to Choice (選択) when she questions Kaito about his choice to disappear completely from her life. So to summarize, the last Cards Sakura produced "accidentally" weren't accidental at all, but were actually specifically produced by her power in reference to Kaito's plan, to help her finding the way out to a dire situation. This represents a very important indicator in the plot: at that stage of the story, Sakura started to listen more and more to her intuition and her sixth sense, finally quitting her bad habit of downplaying it ("maybe it's just me") but actually giving it credit and taking it seriously, trusting her instinct to lead her in the right direction. And this was, of course, all thanks to the speech Syaoran gave her back in chapter 52. It is also the case of the Rewind Card, which Sakura will ultimately understand the purpose of on her own, at the very end of the series. That's the moment where everything will become clear and make sense to her: "This Card, too...I created it precisely for this moment". The Clear Cards ultimately became the embodiment of her foretelling powers. Which then led to the birth of the first two consciously created Cards, Blank & Remind, which will become so important in the climax.

If we ever get a new arc in the next years, we'll certainly deal with a more mature Sakura, who's more in sync with her magical powers 🩷.

#card captor sakura #cardcaptor sakura #clear card arc #ccsakura #sakura card captor #clamp #sakura kinomoto #syaosaku #clear card trivia #I hope this post will make you look at Clear Card from another perspective #I'm sorry for the length but I really wanted to make a deep dive

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completeoveranalysis · 5 months

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[2]

NEW FAVOURITE COVER?

NEW FAVOURITE COVER!

Chapitre 201 - The Truth from within the Ruins

Oh this is just beyond gorgeous. Who can stand against the pure concentrated adorable that is Tsubasa Babies Family Photo? Now with all four of them!

I’m in love with all the tiny details that they clearly spent so long on - all the lovely folds of Sakura’s dress, the intricate detailing on Fai’s robe and staff. Lava Lamp is in his ceremonial garb, and tiny Kurogane IN HIS FANCY LITTLE OUTFIT. (AND HIS POSTURE? GET OUT. Incredible)

Kurogane doesn’t have Ginryuu yet (since this is Happy Childhood AU, so his father will still have it. Still has the moon though!) but Lava Lamp has the Syaoran Family Sword all ready to go. His outfit would be incomplete without it - they’re all wearing clothing from their home worlds, or maybe their families? I’m technically not sure which world Lava Lamp comes from, but his outfit is Family Legacy all the way down. I’m dying to know if Fai’s outfit is in the style of Seresu or Valeria - I don’t think they’re all that different, but I think I would put my money on Valeria based on the position of the fur and the curl motif. In which case it’s fun for me that his Happy Family AU is in Valeria instead of with Ashura. (sorry not sorry Ashura get fucked)

I suppose in this version he never had reason to leave Valeria in the first place, so it’s a very nice touch that the outfit doesn’t immediately resemble the clothing he wore in his backstory, since that’s all so closely linked to the death of his twin, who would be alive here. Very nice visual choices all around, especially with each of them in their own unique colour pallette. Oh, and even with the colour differences they all have bits of yellow somewhere on them, showing their connection.

The left/right split between them is really fun too - sword wielders on one side, phenomenally powerful magic users on the other, cats vs dogs, unique child/parent pairings, etc. It’s very funny to me that they found a super fancy chair for Sakura and a cushion for Kurogane, but nothing for the other two. But Fai draping himself over the chair is such an incredible piece of character flair, which I am in love with, but also, the TOUCH? The little touch of tiny hands? Sakura reaching back to put her hand on the back of Fai’s? Tiny Lava Lamp’s little grip on Kurogane’s arm? OH it’s so touching.

And behind them all? THAT WINDOW. Such a clear symbol positioned directly in the centre frame. At first I thought it might be an eye, but this is Happy Family AU so there should be no Evil Wolverine to spy on them. What I’m voting on instead is CLAMP playing with Tarot symbols again and this being the Wheel of Fortune, or a similar idea of a wheel of destiny. They use the latter idea a lot in their earlier works (RG Veda and X/1999 say hi), but I think the tarot symbol in particular really shines through with the ideas they’re playing with in Tsubasa/xxxHolic, and has a very strong parallel to the idea of hitsuzen.

After some much safer googling it looks like the “Wheel of Fortune” in Tarot can mean change or cycles or inevitable fate, but on the flipside could also be lacking control. I think the reversed meaning of the card really speaks to me the most about their situation in general, as it describes bad luck and misfortunes thrust upon you from external forces, that you are fighting to take control back from an unwinnable situation. That fighting it is impossible, that continuing to fight it can only bring more suffering, and that the only option is to let it go. To stop blaming yourself for the thing you did wrong, or the thing that you think was your fault. To forgive yourself, to accept it all, to let yourself move on, to accept that change is inevitable, and to finally be able to move forward and just let everything happen.

Because if that’s not exactly the whole situation we are in I don’t know what is. It’s a mirror for the things that Fai and Kurogane have already been through, and for what Lava Lamp Guy is still currently fighting, and CLAMP love to do drop these symbols all the time.

And this is a bit of a tangent but who’s gonna stop me? Clamp LOVE their tragic destiny pairs, especially in their early works - the couples deeply love but also cursed by fate, like Kendappa and Souma, Ashura and Yasha (flavoured differently in RG Veda, but still fitting this cycle again in Tsubasa), Subaru and Seishirou, Sorata and Arashi (unfinished), Kamui and Fuuma, etc. The characters who are so different from each other, so diametrically opposed, but in love still, and it burns so strong that they either have to kill each other or let the world burn around them - or both! They’re always fighting destiny, just like the reversed wheel of fortune, and they fight it to the point of obliteration.

AND THEN we have Tsubasa, and I think it’s so endlessly interesting that they took the same pattern and turned it around. Syaoran and Sakura definitely fit the theme (and wild that they took the Cardcaptor Sakura happy couple deliberately to make the most universe shattering tragedy out of it, but I still haven’t seen how their story ends, whether one will have to tragically die to save everything or whether they’ll get out somehow). But what I mostly want to talk about (surprise surprise) Kurogane and Fai, who fit the pattern exactly. Complete opposites, diametrically opposed, set up as antagonists and destined to kill each other but fall in love instead. That they both fight against the tragic pasts that defined them and eventually change their mind. Eventually, slowly, they accept love again and realise that they can actually live with themselves and each other if they let it all go.

And I think what really gets me is that if this was an earlier Clamp work they absolutely would have tragically died - they would have killed each other in the climax of Seresu and it would have been beautiful and terrible and no-one ever would have ever emotionally recovered from the complete and utter devastation.

BUT THEY DIDN’T.

CLAMP spend all of Tsubasa revisiting all their old works, taking us through a parade of the various tragedies they’ve sung across the years, all leading up to them ultimately breaking their own pattern and letting Fai and Kurogane save each other from the same Clamp fate that claimed every tragic pair before them. They choose each other and get out alive. They stop blaming themselves for the unchangeable parts of destiny and finally forgive themselves. And it’s just very emotional to me that it’s these two that make it, these two that get to recover and choose each other and live their lives inseparable from this point on. The two that had arguably the most tragic backstories also get to face their trauma, survive, and live.

And it’s just so beautiful to see how the CLAMP storytelling method has changed over the years, and to find out that after all these years, the big destiny story they really wanted to tell in their longest and most detailed work was about the two men who fell in love, against all odds and saved each other. Despite absolutely everything saying that it should be impossible, it’s Kurogane and Fai that finally flip the tarot card back around and live.

And I’m extremely interested in what this means for Lava Lamp and Not!Sakura.

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yououui · 8 months

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so I recently found out that in the Japanese fandom, 9/5 is KuroFai day (9=ku/5=fai) so happy kurofai anniversary everyone

It was becoming a somewhat regular occurrence for them to be dropped in the midst of a festival as they traveled from world to world. No matter where they went, it seemed almost human nature to find any excuse to party and drink and play. They’d experienced every kind of festival they thought they possibly could and let themselves join in on the revelry; it was a good way to try new food, drinks, and for the kid to run around excitedly in search of more information on the celebrations.

But Kurogane never thought that there would ever be such a thing as a marriage festival.

The roads were overflowing with couples attending to be wed as well as others that came to simply enjoy. There was a seemingly endless line of booths that sold food, liquor, sweets, and even wedding rings for couples to buy before they headed off to the large shrine at the end of the road.

“Maybe we should give it a try?” Fai said with a nudge into Kurogane’s side and a teasing grin.

“Tch.” Kurogane crossed his arms. “Seems tacky.”

“I’ve heard of this before,” Syaoran said beside him. “Some days are thought to bring a more prosperous marriage, so everyone gets married on the same day.”

“So it’s very smart of them to make a whole festival out of it!” Fai finished for him.

Syaoran nodded and smiled at the two of them. “Exactly. And, I mean, while we’re here, if you two wanted to, it would be fine if you—”

“Mommy and daddy will finally be married!” Mokona sang as she popped out of Syaoran’s collar. “Just like a mommy and daddy should be!”

Kurogane grabbed her to shove her back into her hiding place. “Shut it, manjuu. We still don’t know if they even have things like you in this world.”

“Mokona isn’t a thing!” She squeaked from Syaoran’s collar after Kurogane released her. “Mokona is Mokona!”

Syaoran fidgeted nervously. “I—I didn’t mean like that, I just thought—”

“Don’t worry, Syaoran-kun,” Fai said gently as Syaoran’s face started to turn that dark shade of red it often did when he was embarrassed. His eyes turned sharp and mischievous as he glanced at Kurogane. “Besides, Kuro-daddy isn’t really into these kinds of things.”

“Kuro-daddy isn’t romantic at all!” Mokona cried. “Poor Fai-mommy! Maybe it’s better they don’t get married! Then Fai-mommy can find true love!”

Kurogane glared at the spot Mokona’s voice was coming from and Syaoran took a nervous step back, like he was afraid lasers would shoot out of Kurogane’s eyes and straight through him.

Fai laughed and clung onto Kurogane’s arm. “That isn’t true! Right, Kuro-sama? You love me very much!”

“I tolerate you at best.”

“See?”

Syaoran smiled at the two of them, watching as Fai tried to pull at Kurogane’s crossed arms to get him to show some affection while Kurogane stubbornly stood as still as a rock. He was rather used to their antics by now and knew that, despite Mokona’s teasing, Fai was right: Kurogane loved Fai more than anything else in the world.

He just wasn’t very good at showing it, especially when they were out in public.

“Well… I was thinking I'd ask around a bit," Syaoran said as he began to step away. "So you guys have fun on your own—whatever you decide to do."

“Hey, kid—”

Syaoran turned and rushed into the crowd that swallowed him out of sight before Kurogane could stop him. “Off he goes,” Fai said with a breezy laugh.

“The hell was that all about?” Kurogane asked him.

“Hmm, maybe Syaoran-kun wants mommy and daddy to get married too?” Fai smiled up at him, still clinging to his arm. “Mokona-chan is right, it must be so difficult for a son to go through life with his parents never being married—”

“Shut up,” Kurogane snapped dryly as he pulled out of Fai’s hold. “Between the two of you idiots, I’m gonna need a drink.”

As he moved to venture deeper into the festival, however, Fai stood still behind him. He heard the mage quietly ask, “Would it really be that bad?”

Kurogane stopped and turned to look at him. Fai was watching the many couples that passed them by, some young, some old, all giddy with excitement and overflowing with so much love that it even made the air feel sickly sweet. As his eyes scanned the crowds, they eventually met Kurogane’s and widened slightly like he’d just been caught doing something he shouldn’t.

“What d’you mean?” Kurogane asked. “Like… getting married here?”

Fai put on a bright smile—a little too forced and a lot too reminiscent of his old habits for Kurogane's liking—and laughed like it had all been a joke. “I was just thinking out loud! I got all caught up in the romance—should we find a drink?”

Fai skipped ahead to take Kurogane’s arm again and led him into the crowd. Kurogane followed obediently, confused and unsettled by Fai’s sudden attitude shift.

To be fair, they’d never discussed actually getting married before. Weren’t they practically married already? What could be a stronger vow than exchanging blood, sacrificing limbs, or pouring magic into one another? They were more connected than any of the overly affectionate couples that surrounded them, it wasn’t like they needed some official title or a set of rings to prove it.

That didn’t mean he never thought about it, though. Being practically married and being actually married were two different things and even for someone as opposed to public displays of affection as he was, Kurogane still liked the idea of being able to add husband to the list of things he called Fai. He always figured they'd just get married when they settled in Nihon and he thought that Fai knew that too, but...

“Besides, Kuro-daddy isn’t really into these kinds of things.”

Kurogane frowned. Fai knew him better than anyone else; he knew that Kurogane didn’t like being touchy in public, he knew that if he clung to him or kissed his cheek then Kurogane would blush and complain and try to pull away. But he also knew that when they were alone, he’d get smothered with all the love Kurogane held in around other people.

But did he really think Kurogane wouldn’t want to marry him? Kurogane cut an arm off for him; in comparison, a wedding was nothing. Kurogane would marry him now or later or whenever Fai wanted.

Unfortunately, Kurogane assumed that Fai just had the same mentality that he did and he never thought to ask. He could really be an idiot with these sorts of things.

“Oh!”

Fai let go of Kurogane to venture towards one of the vendor booths. He was looking over some shiny trinkets, things like mirrors and combs and other miscellaneous things that people were buying as gifts to give to their partners as they made their way towards the shrine.

Kurogane wandered off as Fai perused, eventually ending up at a booth selling an assortment of jewelry. The biggest display they had was dedicated entirely to wedding bands, though most were already sold to the couples that came early. The ones left over all looked the same, just boring silver bands with nothing unique about them. Not that Kurogane thought something like a ring was necessary, but if it was going to be used, shouldn’t it at least be special?

As he thought that, a shimmer of blue caught his eye. He bent down to eye the ring a bit closer; the silver band was engraved with swirling designs that reminded Kurogane of the sigils Fai used to cast spells that gathered around a sparkling sapphire. Beside it, there was another ring made of dark metal with sharp, crossing marks carved into it and a small, crimson ruby in its center.

Kurogane still didn't think rings were necessary to prove devotion to someone, but despite that, he couldn't help but think that it would be kind of... nice for the two of them to wear something that reminded them of the other. And the longer he looked, the more compelled he felt to buy them, especially when he pictured how happy Fai would be to receive his.

“Are you interested in anything?” The vendor asked when he noticed Kurogane’s staring.

Kurogane nodded and pointed at the two rings. “Yeah. These two.”

“Oh, if you’re interested in a set, I have others that—”

Kurogane shook his head. “These are good.”

The rings, with their opposite colors and designs, were obviously not meant to be worn together. And yet, Kurogane thought that they made the perfect match.

Kurogane found Fai a bit later in the midst of the crowd, his bright hair and tall frame sticking out in the sea of people. He pushed against the tide until he reached the mage, who was standing in line for some kind of drink being sold. Fai beamed when Kurogane filled the space beside him.

“There you are! Where did you wander off to?”

“Just looking around.” Kurogane eyed the new accessory in Fai’s hair; dark metal was twisted intricately to mimic a flower, its petals made up of sparkling rubies similar to the one set in the ring that he had hidden in his pocket.

Fai touched the clip delicately. “What do you think? It's nice, isn't it?”

Kurogane nodded. “It suits you.”

Fai grinned happily and hooked his arms around Kurogane’s, leaning heavily into his side. Kurogane averted his eyes awkwardly, his cheeks warming. The small pouch in his pocket that held the two rings felt heavy and he wondered how he could present them to Fai without feeling like an idiot.

Fai took initiative to order their drinks when they reached the front of the line and they were handed two mugs of steaming cider. It was a bit sweet for Kurogane’s taste, but the alcohol cut through and settled warmly in his gut. Fai practically moaned beside him when he tasted it.

“Will you two lovebirds be joining the celebrations?” The woman behind the booth asked. “You should get to the shrine before the lines get too long!”

Fai laughed and shook his head. “No, we’re just here for the drinks!”

She shrugged, looking mildly disappointed, and moved on to attend to the next customer. Kurogane shoved one hand into his pocket and shifted the rings between his fingers. Maybe now would be a good time to—

“Should we find some food?” Fai asked.

Kurogane released the rings and nodded. “Sure.”

They finished their drinks and squeezed through the people crowding the booth. Fai led the way down the street, each step taking them closer to the shrine that towered over the other buildings and glowed from the paper lanterns hanging all around it.

“It looks nice,” Fai said as he looked towards it as well. “I bet Syaoran-kun is down there taking all sorts of notes, don't you think?”

“Should we take a look?” Kurogane asked suddenly.

Fai glanced up at him and lifted a brow in question. “We were going to get food.”

“We can come back,” Kurogane told him. “It might get too crowded later if we wait.”

Fai looked at Kurogane inquisitively but nodded along. “Okay, sure.”

Kurogane grabbed Fai’s wrist to lead him towards the shrine, which earned him a surprised exclamation from the blond. As they walked, he loosened his grip and slid his hand down until it was holding Fai’s; he laced their fingers together. When he glanced back at Fai, he saw that Fai was staring down at their interlocked hands with a deepening blush reddening his cheeks.

Up close, the shrine was a beautiful piece of architecture. It wasn’t exactly the same as what Kurogane was used to in Nihon, but there were some similar elements in the shape of the roof and some of the intricate designs painted on its ceilings. There was a long line leading into its doors, all couples waiting eagerly for their turn to be wed.

“It reminds me a bit of Nihon,” Fai pondered as he looked up at the tall building. Something in Kurogane’s chest warmed from knowing that Fai was also thinking about Nihon.

Kurogane swallowed. They were near the end of the line. It would be easy to step right into it and let themselves be ushered through the wedding hall.

“Do you…?” Was all Kurogane managed to say before his throat closed up awkwardly. He felt betrayed by his own nerves.

Fai looked at him curiously and tilted his head. “Hm? What was that, Kuro-sama?”

Kurogane cleared his throat and nodded towards the line. “Do you want to?”

Fai blinked at him, eyes the same color as the sapphire on the ring big and shining under the warm lanterns. “...Huh?”

Kurogane’s heart was pounding and his face was getting warm and he could feel people looking at them—it probably wasn’t typical for couples to come all the way to the shrine without already making the decision to get married. The proposal happening right in front of its doors was abnormal enough to draw attention to the two of them.

“You said we should give it a try,” Kurogane said stiffly.

Fai’s brows furrowed and he frowned, confused and looking a little hurt by Kurogane's apparently sudden shift. “I—I was just joking and besides—you said it was tacky.”

“I think all weddings are at least a little tacky,” Kurogane clarified. He took a step closer to Fai and lowered his voice so no one else could overhear him. “But getting married to you isn’t.”

Fai’s eyes opened wide with wonder as a pink blush spread across his nose and even to the tips of his ears. He gulped and ducked his head, glancing shyly at the many people around them; he didn't usually have any qualms about public displays of affection if he was the one doing it, but if Kurogane was the one being affectionate, well that was something entirely different. That was something that was usually private and hidden behind locked doors for only him to know.

“Y-You can’t just… say things like that…” he murmured while shaking his head. “You never said that you—we don’t even have any rings or—”

Kurogane dug into his pocket and pulled the little pouch out. He tipped it into his palm, revealing the pair, and Fai’s jaw fell in shock. He lifted his gaze to Kurogane’s.

“Are you… really asking me to marry you right now?”

Kurogane shrugged. “Technically you asked first. I was just an idiot and didn't give the right answer.”

Fai hesitantly reached out to the rings in Kurogane’s palm. He went to take the silver one, but Kurogane shook his head and gave him the darker one instead. Fai turned it to examine it at different angles, watching the way the ruby reflected the light, before he slipped it onto his ring finger; it was a perfect fit.

He returned his gaze to Kurogane and shook his head in quiet awe. “I don’t understand… I thought—”

“I know.” Kurogane nodded. “You thought I didn't wanna get married at all. But I always thought we’d get married, idiot. Just figured we’d wait ‘til we were in Nihon, not some random world. But I guess I should’ve told you that.”

Fai huffed out an exasperated laugh and nodded. “Yeah, you probably should have.” He looked down at the ring on his finger. “But… maybe I should have asked, too.”

“We don’t have to wait,” Kurogane continued. “We can get married right now if you want to.”

“You’d give up getting married in your home?”

Kurogane thought it over for a moment and a sudden epiphany popped into his head. “I mean… there’s no rule saying we can’t get married here and in Nihon.”

Fai blinked. “Oh… yes, I suppose you’re right…” And then his entire face brightened with a smile, beaming with love and excitement. “We could get married in every world if we wanted to.”

Kurogane’s face softened into a smile undetectable to nearly everyone except for Fai, who could read him like a book. “Sure, if you want.”

Fai looked about ready to burst. He took Kurogane’s hand and yanked him towards the end of the line.

“Then, let’s start the count!”

—

When they met Syaoran later that night as they were leaving the festival, he noticed the rings but didn’t comment on them. Mokona, however, began teasing the two of them by singing a song about wedding bells and walking down the aisle, bouncing around the three of them now that they were away from the crowds and she didn't need to hide. Kurogane squished her in his palm to get her to stop.

“We’re sorry you weren’t there,” Fai told Syaoran as Mokona squeaked for mercy.

The boy shook his head; he didn’t look very offended at having not been involved in his surrogate parents’ wedding. If anything, he looked oddly satisfied.

“I’m just happy it finally happened,” he said as he looked between the two of them.

Kurogane glanced at Fai; maybe he was right and it really did make Syaoran feel better for them to be—

“I won the bet I made with Touya. He thought it would take you guys way longer.”

Fai and Kurogane’s jaws dropped at Syaoran’s confession. The kid just smiled innocently at the two of them.

“That…” Kurogane began.

“...bastard!” Fai finished as he rushed towards Syaoran. “Why did he think it would take us so long?! Let’s call Sakura-chan, I want to ask him what he meant by that right now!”

Syaoran just laughed as Fai shook him by his shoulders. Kurogane walked over to them and put a hand on Fai’s shoulder to calm him down. Fai pouted at him and Kurogane shrugged.

“Let’s just try to go to Clow. We can get married there and prove him wrong ourselves.”

Fai’s eyes lit up with mischievous glee. “Oh, I like that idea.”

“Um, getting married isn’t a competition, you know,” Syaoran chimed in.

“It became one the second you made that bet!” Fai cried, returning his attention back to Syaoran. “Syaoran-kun, how could you?!”

Syaoran held his hands up in surrender. “I just knew he was wrong,” he told them. “I knew you guys wouldn’t be able to wait much longer. But now the next time we visit, he has to be nice to me the whole time.”

“Seems like a pretty good trade,” Kurogane mumbled.

Fai sighed, resigned, and wrapped one arm around Syaoran’s shoulders and hooked the other through Kurogane’s elbow to lead them towards their rented home. “Fine, fine. But we’re going to get married in every single world we land in until we get to Clow so we can prove him extra, extra wrong!”

“Mokona wants to be the Flower-Mokona!”

“All you’ll be is the food at the reception.”

“Wah! Kuro-daddy is so violent! Fai-mommy should get a divorce!”

Fai laughed along with Mokona and Kurogane’s banter and leaned slightly into Kurogane’s side.

“Sorry,” he said as he looked up at his husband. “He’s stuck with me now.”

#kurofai

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fandomrouletteburrito · 7 months

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Thinking about how in Tsubasa after reading the entire story how it changes how you feel about all the arcs. Spoilers for the ending and Nirai Kanai and xxxHolic below

There is no happiness in the way the arcs end especially once they reach Tokyo end, there is a sense of completeness but never like: ah yes we are happy now.

The best they get is a sense of satisfaction at having reached the goal and saving people but you know the final goal could potentially take decades and is seemingly endless and that is daunting for the cast.

And once shit starts hitting the fan theres nothing but tragedy after tragedy, the loss of Syaoran, Fai’s near death, Sakura’s loneliness and powerlessness, Kurogane’s anxiety for the other shoe to drop, the ENTIRETY OF CELES, knowing theyre all trying to cope as best as they can but every world they’ve visited since Tokyo has only faced a massacre in Clone!Syaoran’s wake and how traumatizing it is and the pain of knowing he would never do it if he was in control. Not to mention Clone!Syaoran’s inner conflict of knowing deep down he loves Sakura but despite the soul he made it takes losing her WATCHING her DIE to finally bring him to the front however briefly it is.

And in the final end, Clone!Sakura and Clone!Syaoran remain in a state of limbo, kind of dead if we’re being brutally honest.

Like Tsubasa isn’t a story of a happy ending, it’s literally just coping with tragedy and loss. And I think this is what makes me love it so much, that yes all four survived but the cost was two main characters. Its not a satisfying ending, its just tragic, after suffering so much and setting everything right and even being able to live in the original timeline, the two beings that helped them survive this long don’t get to be in this happy ending. Syaoran sacrified his parents, his childhood, his freedom, his time, his chance at a normal life and he still doesn’t get to be with his Sakura all the time. Clone! Syaoran himself said there was a timeline where Sakura and Syaorn can never be together and the knowledge that there was going to be an even worse timeline is so horrific after all that suffering…

And if we want to get into Nirai Kanai, I think this is the only part of Tsubasa I outright sobbed, the cruelty of Syaoran SEEING Clone!Syaoran or his father and needing to FIGHT him and him STAYING DEAD, was so painful. How much Syaoran didn’t want to do it but he had no choice. Not to mention Watanuki had to do the same with Yuuko to help Syaoran(they really do be the same person huh?)

#trc #tsubasa reservoir chronicles #tsubasa chronicles #clone sakura #princess tsubasa #princess sakura #clone syaoran #syaoran li #tsubasa li #fai d flourite #kurogane #trc meta #watanuki kimihiro #xxxholic #trc nirai kanai #nirai kanai

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haro-hawayu · 5 months

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CCS: Clear Card Ch. 80

FINAL CHAPTER! I actually read this the day it came out, but didn't get to finish this post and it was sitting in my drafts for a few days TuT. This chapter can be found on CLAMP-net’s YouTube Channel. As always, please check out @meimi-haneoka's post on the latest chapter for EN-JPN translation differences!!

Links for previous chapter reactions can be found here.

Reading Reactions:

And for our final chapter, our wonderful protagonist/heroine, Sakura

Whoaaa, so did Sakura split the books in order to better hide them?

Fujitaka-papa so kind.

I also can't help but made me think of Yuuko's shop...

Eriol and Sakura keeping us readers up to speed on what's happened XD

WHERE IS MOMO???

Awww Flight is still there!!

UM, THE KEYS?? MORE TRC REFERENCES???

Touya is the same as ever haha~always teasing, but always so kind

Lol, love that we can see Kero-chan and Touya being in the same scene even when things are back to "daily life" things

SYAORAN

SYAOSAKU ARE SO CUTE GAHHH

I really love how Yukito's bonding with Nakuru and Spinel~

AKIHO TuT

I'm sad that she's transferring, but at the same time, am happy that she's happy.

WHAAA STOPPED TIME!! STOPPED TIME?!!

I wonder if one of the major factors of Eriol deciding to help them stemmed from Clow & Yuuko stuff... oof, not the TRC/Holic feels again

Yes, KEEP TALKING KAITO! So many overdued words!!

asdfjsldjfj REAL NAME REVELATION!

I'm SO HAPPY THAT THEY'RE TALKING!!! TUT

Annnnd they're still keeping a space for her (i.e. Eriol buying the house so Akiho's stuff remains, Akiho's room remaining as is in the Kinomoto home), even tho she's leaving, she has a place with the people she's leaving behind, a place to return to

Awww it's cute that the boys are talking ahahah--they can actually be friends!! They even exchanged numbers!!

asdfjslajlk AKIHO HAS A REAL NAME TOO

It makes so much sense too!! TuT

THE END (????)

Wow, just wow.

I'm sad that we didn't get to see Momo returning... I'm hoping that the special chapter that's coming out next year will address this... is it too much to ask???

For the most part, I am satisfied with this ending. There are some hinted tie-ins with TRC (the tattoo, the wand), prob a bit more than I expected, so I wonder if TRC will uhhh get a little jumpstart, or if we can see what's been going on over at the other side of things... Clear Card arc's end leaves things very hopeful. Even though the way they talked about how Kaito's time being "stopped" makes me think about Yuuko, there seems to be so much more hope that Akiho & Kaito will be able to find a solution to this, whereas with Yuuko, there seemed to be so much regret and problems as a result.

Speaking of Akiho & Kaito (I'll still call them as such LOL, their true names can be just for the ones they shared with... like how TRC SyaoSaku will always be SyaoSaku to me even after their name revelation), I'm glad they were able to have that talk in the end. With Kaito apologizing for his actions, and knowing WHAT he did wrong. As sad as I feel about the two of them leaving their friends, the fact that they will be together makes me feel very happy. I found it so cute at the end where Akiho shares her true name with Sakura and not Kaito yet bc she's still a bit upset with him XD oh Akiho~

This is so surreal because back then, it felt like such a far-fetched dream for there to be a CCS sequel. I still remember when TRC was FIRST announced ~2003 (wow 20 yrs ago), I thought it was a sequel since it's featuring Syaoran and Sakura. And when it was addressed that it's not the SAME two, I was hoping we will at least find out what happens after end of CCS bc of CLAMPverse (what I called CLAMP's version of multiverse). Seeing an ACTUAL CCS sequel just made me so so happy (although a part of me feared: but at what cost??!!--I think this was slight TRC/Holic trauma speaking). There definitely were some dark moments, especially involving Akiho, but I'm glad it had a good end. The anime adaptation was great as well, so I really look forward to the continuation.

CCS was the first anime series that I watched (USA dub) that got me into anime; in fact, it's still my favorite anime series of all time! But I was a very immature fan back then and it's kinda embarassing to admit LOL. I used to really dislike Meiling back then and wondered why they had to create her at all when I found out she was anime-only character (I saw her as a threat to SyaoSaku relationship). I also did not like the idea of Eriol x Kaho because I liked Eriol x Tomoyo more (ET still has a very special place in my heart... being one of my earliest uhh... fanon ships)... it was also to the point that I kinda disliked Kaho, until I rewatched CCS series in it's entirety. I love both Meiling and Kaho A LOT now btw. But gosh, I was such a silly child then... cuz I literally was XD I guess my point is that I'm glad that as an older fan, I am still able to follow Sakura's journey and the "essence" of the series/characters has not changed even after all this time.

Until next time~

#cardcaptor sakura #clear card hen #clear card arc #ccs #manga #clamp

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lilover131 · 9 months

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Clear Card Chapter 76 Analysis

HELLO!!!

I am so sorry for the lateness on this chapter review! I was on vacation when chapter 76 came out, and honestly…I completely forgot about my analysis after that. I made a mental note to do it when I returned from vacation, and that mental note obviously did not last (DAMN MY ADHD!!). Anyways, I also found myself busy looking into a lot of big life development things! For example, this week, I am officially adopting this beautiful fur baby and bringing her home!

Her name is Diana, and I hope y’all don’t mind if I spam my social medias a bit with pictures of her once she is home. Here is my gif of the month!

CLAMP never ceases to draw stunning color pages each month, and this one is no exception! I’m not surprised to see Akiho here, but I gotta say, she looks quite nice in green! I love the lily flowers in her design and it seems to be a really nice connection made to her mother, Lillie. Other than that, it seems to be a rather basic portrait of Akiho in elegant clothes.

The chapter starts with the group at Yukito’s house. The video feed from the cameras Tomoyo left them with has unsurprisingly cut out with Sakura and Syaoran entering the space where Kaito is trapped. Tomoyo asks if they just lost reception in there (I honestly find this question pretty funny), but Eriol chimes in and states that this is not the case. He lets everyone know that before the feed cut out, he did manage to see the inside of the space for a brief moment, and based on the sight of those broken clocks, he suspects this place isn’t just one with halted time, but broken time. Now, you might be wondering what this means exactly. My theory is that it means time doesn’t function normally in this space. I imagine events in time are probably twisted together or nonexistent. After all, Kaito essentially had to break time to change it, so this doesn’t really surprise me. It seems to be, from what I can tell, at least isolated to this space, but it’s unclear what kind of damage it could do if it weren’t.

Syaoran looks around at the space and tells Sakura that there doesn’t appear to be anything wrong with the watch itself and that it only looks to be broken in appearance due to the pressure placed upon it. Sakura clutches at her head and seems to wince in pain. Syaoran asks her if she is all right, and she seems to have discomfort in head. He explains to her that the spell around them is strong enough to make an influence on her physically, and when asked, he admits that even he is feeling it (Syaoran I imagine has a much higher pain tolerance and hides it well). However, it seems that without the watch to guide them, they most certainly would have gotten lost. Sakura smiles and claims that this is as if Akiho herself is guiding them.

Sakura takes the watch back now that it has seemingly served its purpose and looks the trapped dragon Kaito. She says to him that she doesn’t know how to address him since she does not know his name, but that she feels the watch in her hand has a connection to him. She tries to ask him if the watch feels connected to him purely because of having the same magic power or if he is the owner of the watch. Dragon Kaito obviously doesn’t respond, but Sakura takes the moment to ask Syaoran, who has impeccable magical senses particularly for moon magic, if the magic that made the false moon is the same magic coming from the watch. Syaoran focuses in on this and advises her that they are not of the same magic and that something is different. I’m honestly really happy to see Sakura utilizing Syaoran’s skills and knowledge here. She herself is very intuitive and able to figure out things naturally, but that can’t entirely replace the level of training and experience Syaoran has, so I’m glad CLAMP has really made use of that here. Sakura deduces that the cage itself around dragon Kaito also feels different from the magic in the watch, so she comes to the correct conclusion that he is not here willingly and is locked up in here by someone else (-cough- Squid Clan -cough-).

Looking into dragon Kaito’s eyes, Sakura senses a familiarity that she recognizes it not simply because she saw him in a dream. Moreover, she recognizes that these eyes once watched over Akiho. Sakura reaches her hand out and tells him that he can’t stay here and to come with her, but before she can proceed further, the warped clocks around them appear to react, and Syaoran is quick to move and protect her with his thunder attack.

Meanwhile, in the Tsukishiro home, everyone is waiting patiently for some sort of update. Akiho seems to be the most focused and determined of the bunch, making sure she’s ready to go in case Sakura calls for them. Everyone smiles and Yukito says that he is happy they have each other.

Back in the fake moon space, Syaoran is fending off the attacks and tells Sakura that he doesn’t think his spells will be able to break the cage around the dragon, but he will protect her while she figures out how to break through. Sakura remembers Momo’s message to her through the RECORD card that there are other cards left behind and waiting for her to call their names. As she looks down at Kaito’s watch, she thinks about her mother’s watch and remembers seeing a card that looked just like it, though she doesn’t remember making it. She calls out for TIME and smiles seeing it, as this was a card she feels she and her mother, Nadeshiko, made together (that’s a sweet way to look at it!).

Sakura calls for the card to break the ‘cage frozen in time’, and this seems to do the trick in breaking it. It makes sense that this cage was built from time considering where they are and the very type of spell that triggered this trap in the first place. So it seems logical that time would be the thing to break it. I think even Kaito himself once said that spells could be broken more easily when you used time magic.

The cage breaks and Kaito spreads his wings in freedom! Sakura and Syaoran quickly look for an exit and starts towards it, but when they look back, they notice that dragon Kaito isn’t following them.

However, before they get much opportunity to think about why, there seems to be an attack coming from above. And OH BOY does this attack look familiar. It actually looks to be exactly the same as chapter 33 when Kaito fended off that attack from the Clan and Association! It would make complete sense to me that this was an attack from them considering how dangerous Kaito is to them. Certainly they don’t want him escaping his punishment.

I think things are really going to ramp up action wise in the next chapter, and I do think as well that Akiho’s part is very near. I have a feeling Kaito wasn’t just staying where he was to avoid attacks from the Association and Clan but also because he doesn’t feel he deserves to. And who of all people but Akiho could convince him of his worth and to come out? I’m looking forward to seeing how this goes and what sort of repercussions will arise from dragon Kaito entering Tomoeda!

I will try to make sure I post the next analysis soon after the next chapter comes out here and won't leave y'all hanging! I can't wait for the next one!

#cardcaptor sakura #clear card #manga #chapter 67 #clamp #analysis #chrissy talks a lot #sakura #syaoran #kaito #akiho #yukito #touya #eriol #kaho #suppi #kero #tomoyo #spoilers

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damnhitsuzen · 3 months

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New chapter!

Chapter 5: Time

This is the last chapter I have completely done, now I'll have to finish the next one before posting. Soooo shit has started to hit the fan, guys.

You will need CD Drama Shiritsu Horitsuba Gakuen 4 ~Ohiru no Radio: Afureru made Mattenai~ in this chapter. It's so innuendo-ed with all the finger-talk and husky voices, it's ridiculous. And I can bet whatever that Watanuki WAS is a prank with Yuuko for two reasons: a) he's not innocent in that clueless Syaoran way, in xxxholic Yuuko teases him with flirty/sexual undertones about others all the time and he reacts, flusters, or chastises her, because he GETS every innuendo and dirty joke. There was NO WAY he would innocently say all that finger stuff by chance and not die from embarrassment second later. b) at the end students say that Yuuko made them keep silent about Kurogane's voice, but puuuhhleease, when did that stop Watanuki? He has no problem with teasing Yuuko in front of customers, he cuts her alcohol to make a point. Watanuki would never give in to Yuuko's whim, if it is something that he doesn't truly approve of. He would shout his opinion proudly at her face, fully risking it to be completely destroyed by her in following moment (as usual). That's why we love our boy and that's why he had to be a part of a prank. And really, Yuuko wouldn't wire the room herself, would she? That's what she has Watanuki for.

Also Watanuki's friendship with Kurogane is something I had in mind from the very beginning, even before I got reacquainted with Horitsuba. They are just too similar in a way they react to people and event, so this friendship felt totally natural for me. Imagine my surprise, when I got to this part, when Kurogane is genuinely angry for Watanuki and how Yuuko teases him. CLAMP ladies are with me on this!

The song in this chapter is the perfect embodiment of anxiety one might have before something really bad happens. Also if never seen the music video with gorgeous Rosamund Pike, do watch! It's magnificently creepy. The sheer horror, helplessness in face of overpowering unnatural force - it's what inspired me to write the disappearing radio room act.

I really enjoyed writing this chapter, though it wasn't easy. Hope that you'll like and if you did - please consider writing a comment, I'm dying for those. Really, I'll probably cry from happiness if I find out someone liked this chapter.

#fanfiction #clamp #xxxholic #trc #watanuki kimihiro #horitsuba #new chapter #fic update #ao3 fanfic #different directions

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ellayuki · 1 year

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we're all made of glitter and nightmares (and baby, we thrive)

Tsubasa Chronicle Month 2023

- Day 5: Mokona

Mokona knows it's a weird thing, but… well, she's both happy and sad at the same time, right now, and it's not a feeling she thinks she'll ever get used to.

She's happy, yes, because finally, Syaoran and Fai and Kurogane have all found what they have been searching for on this journey, and she's happy that Syaoran and Sakura can finally stay together and be together and not be heartbroken anymore. She's happy that Fai's smiles are no longer brittle and sad, and that Kuro-puu is… well, he's still grumpy, but he's not quite so angry anymore. He smiles more, too, now, and it makes Mokona happier than she can express.

But.

The journey has ended.

After such a long time, after so many worlds, and so many tears, and so many adventures, everything has finally come to an end.

And Mokona knows that her time with her family is ending, too.

Sure, she's delighted to finally go back to the other Mokona (visits and shared dreams rarely are enough to stave off the longing to see her other half), but… Mokona has grown to love her small, silly little family so, so much, she can't really bear the thought of not being with them anymore. Of never seeing them again.

"We'll visit Mokona, too, as often as we visit the other kids," Fai promises, face pressed into Mokona's cheek. "Mokona's our child just as much as Syaoran-kun and Sakura-chan. Right, Kuro-sama?"

They both turn to Kurogane, who looks at them with soft eyes. "As if I'd be lucky to live my life Bun-free," he says, and they all know it's a tease to get Mokona to stop crying.

It works. "Kuro-daddy is mean! So mean!" Mokona exclaims, jumping from Fai's hands to Kurogane's shoulder, small hands pawing at his face in fake anger. "Mean daddy!"

"Yeah, yeah," Kurogane snorts and cradles Mokona against his chin. "I'm the worst, I know."

Mokona buries her face into Kurogane's neck, and rubs against the warm skin there, taking comfort in the love she feels from him. From Fai, too. And from Sakura and Syaoran, where they've already retreated to their quarters for the night.

Yes. The journey is over.

Yes, they'll see each other less from now on.

Yes, it will be hard and Mokona will be sad for the time being.

But Mokona knows she'll never really lose her family.

#tsubasachroniclemonth #tsubasa reservoir chronicle #clamp #mokona #kurofai #fai d flourite #kurogane #by moi #fic #my fic #2023 fic #trc fic #on ao3

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thequietkid-moonie · 1 year

Note

I wanted to take you up on the Cardcaptor Sakura offer. I appreciate you being for this request very much 💕

If possible, could autistic reader fail a test in class that only he failed? This catches Sakura's attention, asking Tomoya and Syaoran if the three of them are up to help tutor him. Autistic reader is overwhelmed by being in a group when he's usually alone, but opens up to them quickly after seeing how nice they are (he also gets distracted by Kero who sits still in the room, saying he really likes that plush). Through the tutoring, reader struggles to get answers right until Syaoran figures out reader might prefer a different method of taking on the problem. Once the method is introduced, reader is surprisingly good at the subject.

I'm not sure if this prompt is too detailed or not detailed enough. I've never done this before 😅 the gender of the reader isn't too important, any gender you prefer to write is good to me 😊 I hope this is okay.

Sakura, Tomoyo and Shaoran helping an autistic classmate

[ PLATONIC HEADCANONS ]

[ Card Captor Sakura ]

This is a really cute request! Thank you so much dear anon for making it!! >< ❤️💕

Sorry for make you wait so much, I hope you like it!

Since the start of the class year you had been having troubles in class, prefering to keep reserved and even you seems to be uncomfortable

Your classmates always tried to include you in all the activities, but seemed like that just makes you more nervious, so they decided just to let you be, but never really stoped being kind to you

When things got more difficult was with the arrival of the exchange boy, Shaoran Lee, you don't handle changes well, and this was really unexpected, out of the blue, and his serios attitude didn't help

Now it was even more difficult to concentrate in class, you felt like crying out of frustration and despair

Then exam period came, and you eneded getting really bad results, the worst in comparation with the rest of the class, everyone was worried about you, but they decided to don't do anything since they don't wanted to make you feel worst

Sakura was saying Tomoyo how worried she was, she wanted to do something to help you out, that was when Tomoyo bring the idea of tutoring you. Sakura get so excited with the idea that Tomoyo will have to calm her down before she scare you

The next day the girls approach you and Sakura offer you help and you declined, but they weren't going to give up so fast, Tomoyo was the one who ended up convicing you (she have a gift with words)

After school you go to Sakura's house to start tutoring, it become a routine, and for a while you go to her (or Tomoyo's) house to study. Sakura and Tomoyo had the opportunity to know you better, getting to know about autism. They now understand how difficult is for you being in the classroom, so they promise you to help you with that too

You were really happy, they were really kind and patiente with you, they treated you like a friend and always make sure you're confortable even before think to start studing

But no matter how much they try they never seem to manage to help you, you always get distracted by the things in her rooms, especially with Kero (you said that is your favorite plushie, but he swears that you know his secret). Even if it seemed like they don't get results they wasn't planing on give up, actually it was you who ended saying that it was ussless, so you thanked them and just go

Sakura and Tomoyo feel it like the three of you were losing all all the progress you had, thats when Shaoran gets involucrate, they say to him about the problem asking for help, and he bring the plan of different methods of study to find what's the best for you

They explain to him your autism and the difficults you have in class, just to make sure he won't triggered you by accident. They introduce you Shaoran and make sure you become comfortable with him before telling you the new study plan

After you accept once again their help the plan start, going to their house again and try new forms to teach you (may even use the card's power if it help)

Soon all of you find a way to you to learn without much troubles, and even having fun in the process. It became customary to meet to study and that helps all of you have an improve in your school grades and even make easier study

Also, in school you weren't alone anymore since you have them, Sakura, Tomoyo and Shaoran became your friends and they were happy to help you out with everything you need, not just the study, now you could be happy and comfortable im the classroom too

#card captor sakura #card captor sakura x reader #ccs #ccs x reader #sakura kinomoto #sakura x reader #tomoyo daidouji #tomoyo x reader #li shaoran #shaoran x reader #anime x reader #anime x you #x reader #x gn reader #x autistic reader #autistic reader #anime and manga #anime #manga

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syaosakureal · 5 months

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Clear card pros and cons (that i can remember i need to reread it again)

Pros:

SYAOSAKU DATING ‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥

idk more content around our fave characters (though not as much but take it as you will)

The wierd ass technology update all of a sudden everyone has iphones (minus syaoran)

It picked up from the og ending where syaoran comes back from hong kong

SYAOSAKU DATING 🥹🥹🥹

SYAOSAKU WENT ON A DATE ‼️‼️

Unlocked sakura new swag (at the cost of ending her cardcaptor retirement…)

(Anime only) english dub actors of trc syaosaku voice ccscc syaosaku i thought that was pretty cool (syaoran sounds like maybe he went through puberty a little too early but thats okay)

(Anime only) SYAORAN SPEAKS FRENCH IN THE ENGLISH DUB

cute art style

Maybe just me but sometimes i get a little emotional seeing sakura in her daily life in middle school because its like !! Wow i remember when you were in 4th grade and now you’re in 7th grade im so proud of you sakura 🥹

Momo (new mascot to make marketable plushie off of)

(Anime only) MEILING COMEBACK ‼️

THE SYAOSAKU SONG HOSHI NO TEGAMI 😭😭😭😭😭 BEST SONG EVERRRR WTF SYAORANS SINGING VOICE IS SO!:?:)/$/? THEYRE SUCH A GOOD DUET

SYAOSAKU DATING. Btw. Theyre a couple. Theyre dating and theyre in love.

Cons:

KAITO.

New characters who happen to be mediocre

Akiho is literally just a carbon copy of sakura who is just sad (they refused to touch on the different aspects of her like reading books, singing and from kong kong only very rarely)

Kaito fucking sucks literally worst ccs of all time and THATS A LOT saying theres literal PEDOS in the fucking show but theyre all background characters but they can also piss off

Tbf i got confused along the way

Too many plot holes

Syaosaku angst

Syaosaku couldnt touch for a while 😔

Anyway why did yelan do that (referring to point above)

Some shit does not make sense

Tsubasa/xxxholic references (this is for you oomf)

Syaoran???? Is part of the “im keeping things from sakura” gang???? And it sucks so bad (yes it got resolved in the later half BUT IT STILL SUCKED)

TOO MANY THINGS KEPT FROM SAKURA JUST TELL HER DAMN

pushes most characters from the og manga aside to focus on akiho and that man 🙄🙄🙄

Clamp forces us to care about them but in reality we really do not gaf

(In reference to point above) Clamp sees that and pushes the nostalgia tactics/references sometimes and its lowkey tiring

The part where the syao/saku/tomo were reminiscing that fuck ass teacher made me ill i genuinely wanted to kms

Still hasnt gotten rid of their p*do ass shit thanks clamp very cool (sarcasm)

Did i mention that the og characters were pushed back? Because they really were

Akiho felt more of the main character of this story instead of sakura

Tbh not much happened in the entirety of this manga ESPECIALLY considering time shenanigans

Im still mad that syaoran hid stuff from sakura tbh

HOW CAN I FORGET THE UGLY ASS “YUNAAKI IS SIMILAR TO SYAOSAKU” PARALLELS AND HOW BADLY IT PISSES ME OFF

syaosaku dont look but theres an ugly bitch trying to be like you (yunaaki)

Yunaaki becoming borderline canon despite it being a toxic and p*dophilic ship

Kaito still exists in this fucking story and got a somewhat happy ending (befriending syaoran dont piss me the fuck off)

COMPARING KAITO TO SYAORAN KYS @ CLAMP

Kero/tomoyo/yue/nakuru/spinnel basically everyone magically involved is pushed back basically useless until the final act (i think i mentioned the character pushback before)

Still major plotholes

Yamazaki tells the truth now

Touya got whitewashed

Akiho still has too many similarities to sakura it still pisses me off. Why cant they make her her own character

My girl sakura developed anxiety

MY BOY SYAORAN DEVELOPED DEPRESSION

angsty ass middle schoolers

Didnt like the scene where sakuras grandad was basically throwing shade at syaoran comparing his romance with sakura to … sakura’s fuckass dad grooming her mom. What

Syaoran calmed down a bit i miss when he was chaotic af but whatever #middleschoolerthings

Season 2 is taking forever to release good lord

#thats about it i can think for now #if i remember i’ll probably add more idk #clear card spoilers #thoughts

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oikawa-tooru · 4 months

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Hello.....if you don't mind me asking, who are your favorite romantic relationship's couples in books/ manga/ anime/movies/tv series (can be canon or non-canon)? Why you love them? Sorry if you've answered this question before......Thanks...

ooo this is such a great question anon! thanks for asking, bud, i've never got this before! Since this question was sent to my animanga blog, i'm going to just answer about couples in fandoms i rb on here!

Even though it seems like I go hard for non-canon couples (which believe me I do), there are so many canon couples that I actually love with my entire heart:

hak/yona (akatsuki no yona)

even though i still have to catch up to this manga, this couple has owned my heart since the moment they appeared on page. they are the definition of a true power couple who will go to the ends of the world to save one another. they throw themselves into danger just so the other can have the chance of safety. they've got one another's back through everything and anything. they will yell at one another but hold hands together side by side as they stand staring down their enemies. i just love how hak inspires yona to stand on her own and yona inspires hak to see the value in himself.

sakura/syaoran (cardcaptor sakura)

they're one of my top three childhood couples. they are just adorable and precious and they deserve only good things ever. they are just children who don't deserve to shoulder so much on their shoulders and yet they do it with minimal complaining. they are there for one another, especially through the hardest moments. he's her pillar and she's his heart. also they jumpstarted my pink x green shipping and i will always love them so much.

inuyasha/kagome (inuyasha)

they are also one of my top three childhood couples. they are everything. inuyasha sees the strength in kagome's compassion when she doesn't see it herself and kagome sees the softness in inuyasha's toughness that he doesn't let others see. they are one of the it couples. they fight, push one another to the edge, and bring one another back without another word. inuyasha's unwavering belief in kagome allows her to grow into a fucking warrior of a girl because his strength keeps her going and growing. kagome accepts all of inuyasha, which is huge for him because he's been accepted by neither world because he's never been enough for either world. but there comes kagome, not giving a shit about the worlds beliefs and going with what she believes in and that's him. it's beautiful.

lan wangji/wei wuxian (mo dao zu shi)

i'm going to cheat here because i haven't finished watching the anime but i have read the novel and watched the live-action show. i have been shipping them ever since i watched the show first because anyone who knows me knows that i love the red x blue ship aesthetic. i love how they went from strangers to friends to enemies (but not really) to lovers. it's a classic trope and i will always love it. the fact that lwj recognized wwx when he came back?? that's true love. lwj is there to support wwx when he doesn't want anyone to see him falling and wwx is there to break down lwj's world, to show that there's more to the world than just blindly following rules. the fact that they went from star-crossed lovers to being married is just the best thing ever. they are filled with all the angst AND they get their happy ending.

On to my non-canon couples (they are kept alive in my heart thanks to ao3):

dabihawks (boku no hero academia)

i will say that i have dropped bnha for now (unless two characters die, in which case i'll definitely pick it back up) but that being said, the fact that dabi grew up the child of a hero and turned to villainy while hawks grew up the child of a criminal and turned to heroism? this shit is so poetic. they are parallel lines moving in the opposite direction, ships in the night, opposites attract in such a hellish way. not only is their aesthetic red vs. blue but it's also angel vs. devil - the hero with the wings bathed in the colour of blood vs. the villain with the flames bathed in the colour of the sky. they've got an apollo/icarus vibe that i love so much. there's so much mutual destruction and they had so much potential to be even more insane than they already are.

soukoku (bungou stray dogs)

they are probably my otp of otp's right now, the ones that really kicked the whole red/blue shipping out of control for me. they are idiotic strangers to idiotic frenemies to idiotic enemies to idiotic partners forever. it's so poetic to me that dazai's ability is named no longer human and yet he's the one to bring back chuuya's humanity to him. i just really love that chuuya, who feels so brutally human so much of the time, hosts a god of calamity and can only be brought back to himself by dazai's touch. like point me to a better lvoe story than that? you can't because they are the epitome of catastrophic love. they don't judge one another's actions because they understand one another better than anyone else can. they are each other's weakness and each other's strength. they will destroy one another before anyone else can get the chance.

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meimi-haneoka · 1 year

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Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card Chapter 74: Comments + JP-ENG translation differences

Here we are, welcome back everyone!! End of the month, time for another chapter leading us into this exciting finale for Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card!! I want to start this post with a little foreword before diving into the chapter itself and the eventual translation differences ✨ I just wanted to say that I write this post with a sense of pride but also with even more sense of responsability compared to the previous months. You've probably stumbled upon my recent report of the latest CLAMP Space, where the authors have talked about CCS Clear Card, and their support/blessing to "people addressing the translation differences in their monthly posts on their blog, because they felt uncomfortable about them". Although they never straight up gave names, I certainly feel like they were talking about blogs like mine. And so I'm humbled (and even a little nervous) to be able to keep doing this, since I've wondered multiple times if it was even proper for me to write these posts every month, as if I was leading a crusade against the official English translation. In fact, I'm not. And I hope that's clear enough. When the ENG translation respects the vibe and original intention coming out from sensei's words in the manga panels, like this time around, I always make sure to say positive things about it. But try to understand me, the irritation runs deep because these are years of translation differences accumulating and at times even changing the perception of the story. And then, you stumble upon English speaking fans on the internet who got the gist of the story wrong or disrespecting/failing to appreciate it because of such translation mistakes (we go from Sakura calling Syaoran "Li-kun" in one of the earliest volumes, to Kaito saying that he wanted to give magic to Akiho, wtf??). And I think it's such a pity. It's not fair. The fandom deserves to know what the script is trying to say with a meaning as closer as possible to the original one. I hope I'll be able to help in that regard, for what's in my possibility and with my limited skills, till Clear Card will be over. ✨

OKAY, now let's cut the chatter and see what happened in this chapter!! I'm happy to say that this time around, translation-wise, we don't have anything impairing the correct understanding of the plot, just nuances! As usual, before starting, we can't skip the gif of the month!!

The Color Page

Oh my gosh! Sakura! You look amazing here!!! Such a fierce stare!! She looks just like a powerful and respected magician and OMG THEY GAVE HER A BLACK OUTFIT!! JUST LIKE I'VE BEEN ASKING EVER SINCE THE BEGINNING! I don't know, maybe the veteran followers of this blog can remember, but I've always wished to see Sakura in a black costume/dress in Clear Card 😊 She looks stunning...and what's more, she's once again with the gears and clocks decorations, just like in the period of the Clockland play. But, heheh, this time the clock looks different. The big clocks that were featured during the Clockland chapters (with Sakura + Syaoran, Akiho and lastly Kaito) were often "strange". They all had the same design, the one with SyaoSaku was "regular", but the ones next to Akiho and Kaito had their numbers either in messed up order, or straight up wrong (what kind of clock got '0' as the only number?). I had already assumed by then that they had a significance we had to decode along the development of the finale. This one in this color page, however, really looks like the most classical clock with roman numerals. The order of the numbers and their position seems correct. So could this be a sign that Sakura is about to restore order into this mess that Kaito's desperate wish created? The text on the JP version is the classic incantation to release the Dream staff from the key (we haven't heard it in a looooong time because she manifests her staff immediately, by now!) I also want to point out that we *still* don't have any announcement of "Clear Card ending in next chapter" or "Clear Card ends in 2 chapters!" like it's custom in these serializations, so I can say with confidence that Sakura won't surely be over in chapter 75 (at the beginning of July) but probably not even in chapter 76 (at the beginning of August). Are they aiming at chapter 77 (beginning of September)? Double 7, it's a lucky number for CLAMP ✨ For those worried about "3 chapters aren't enough to finish this!!", please consider that it's not so much about the number of chapters, but the amount of pages. This chapter for example is already longer than usual, 35 pages. That's what really matters, and we could get even an epilogue or some additional pages in the volume version! And now onto to the actual chapter!

An Important Discussion

Yukito, Nakuru and Touya are leisurely spending time at Yukito's home, with a funny scene of Yukito feeding some mikan to Nakuru (and she seems delighted by the cozyness of Japanese kotatsu!). Suddenly, Touya announces that Sakura is coming over. Yukito worries about how it's getting dark and that maybe it'd be better to go pick her up along the way, but a grumpy Touya says there's no need for that: along with Sakura are also coming Syaoran, Akiho and even Tomoyo. Yukito and Nakuru can't help but being surprised, and Nakuru wonders "The all-stars are coming? What's going on?" 😂 I found so hilarious the use of the term "all-stars", which in Japanese usually indicates a whole cast of a performance composed of famous actors, and sometimes it's applied to sports team too. But the room temperature drops immediately when Yukito looks at Touya, with a very pensive face, and it's immediately clear that something serious happened and Sakura is coming to discuss that. Touya might not know exactly what, but as we can see, he's already got a feeling.

Sakura and the kids arrive, apologizing for coming so suddenly, and they sit down, all with very serious faces (save for Tomoyo. Tomoyo never loses her calm composure 😆). Sakura starts dropping the bomb immediately: "I want to talk to you about something very weird" and "I want everyone who knows about the Cards and magic to hear this". Sakura is dead serious, and she informs Syaoran (sitting at her left side) that she's just told everything to Akiho shortly ago. She also tells Kero and Suppy to come out of her purse, for the second time (since the first was halted by the rewriting of the forbidden magic) putting an end to the farce of Kero constantly needing to act like a plushie in front of Touya!! Remember when the fandom used to point out that it was weird that Kero kept hiding from Touya, despite saying himself at the end of the Sakura Card Arc (after Touya gave his powers to Yue/Yukito) that he was perfectly aware that Touya knew everything about them? That really felt like a "plot hole" (maybe at this point the only REAL plot hole) for the longest time, and I am honest when I say that I had already given up hoping to see an explanation for it, wanting to treat it like a "glitch" in the narrative and using suspension of disbelief to overcome it! Well well well, CLAMP surprised me again! Cause in this chapter they actually tried to give an explanation to that "discrepancy"! And of course, being this about Kero, the explanation is rather silly (confession - I didn't understand Kero's reasoning very well, but I'll give my interpretation of what he said): Kero saw that even after that event, Touya didn't try to interact with him and thought that maybe he didn't consider him a cute and gorgeous magical creature, but rather something else....(was he butt-hurt?) Suppy of course is spitting fire cause why the heck did we need to keep pretending to be plushies?? and Kero's reply is "Because I thought it'd be fun pretending to be plushies together when you came over!". Now, if you remember how difficult and taxing it was for Suppy to force himself to stay still, you can understand why he's so mad! 😂 Touya says, quite annoyed, that he simply didn't try to interact with him because he thought that Kero was getting a kick out of acting like a plushie! I feel like sensei have quite reached and almost broke the 4th wall with this scene, because Sakura here says something that I'm pretty sure many of us have thought in regard to this "discrepancy": "I did wonder at some point why you kept that up despite I was telling you multiple times that I had the feeling my brother was onto you". And it's true, we've seen that in volume 4! Well, to me it felt like a stretch, but eventually we got an explanation for that situation so I guess it's better to leave it behind us! 😂

Cause we have more important matters at hand. Sakura places her phone on the table, showing Eriol & Kaho in videocall!! NOW all the "stars" of this show are present! 😂 So Sakura starts her recount of the most recent events, saying "It's really weird...but I swear it happened". After everyone listened to Sakura, of course they're all surprised. Nakuru wonders if there's any magician who can really have the power to "rewrite" a world...Eriol says that as far as he's heard, there isn't any magician among the living ones who has that degree of power. However, if said magician had access to a "medium" able to use the "forbidden magic", then it's another story. And that's the Book Sakura told them about. Sakura confirms that the one who told her all of this is the Guardian of the book herself. And then, to Akiho: "The plushie shaped like a bunny that you cherished so much was the temporary form of that Guardian. You named her 'Momo' ". Here I have to point out that the way the ENG translated it infers that Akiho remembers about Momo ("You know that stuffed bunny you loved so much?"), but actually in the JP version it's mostly Sakura informing Akiho that she used to cherish a bunny-shaped plushie, cause Akiho has no recollection of it. In fact, right after, she answers "But that's the title of a book I really love so much!". THERE IT IS! I've mentioned this many times in my social media accounts, and even lately in my "literary references" post here on Tumblr, but it turns out this simple answer by Akiho kinda confirms that she might really have named Momo after that book. And it's not only a beloved book because of its story, but also the one she was reading when she met Kaito for the first time. I've always thought that having her most beloved plushie named that way, and having precisely that book when they met for the first time couldn't have been unrelated. So I'm really happy for this scene here and I hope it'll get eventually confirmed better later.

Sakura takes Akiho's hands (she'll do that a lot this chapter and I simply love it) and reassures her about something that I was SURE she was going to say:

JP: "The fact that we became twins is an effect of the rewritten (world), but the fact that you are an important person to me didn't change at all, Akiho-chan"

I've preferred putting the JP version here because once again we have the usual stuff that I complain about lately: Sakura in JP used 大切なひと (important person) to describe her relationship with Akiho, and this is absolutely coherent with all the previous times. In ENG they used "you're special to me", but the adjective "special" in Japanese (特別な) in relation to a person has been consistently used in the latest chapters to describe the person Sakura is in love with (and not only Sakura). So they shouldn't have used that adjective in particular. They should stick to the literal translation. Especially cause that "special person" will come up in a few pages. I know I sound pedantic with this separation between "important person" and "special person", but I mean, CLAMP sensei are consistently keeping that distinction so I'm convinced the translation should do its best to keep it, because it's a guide to lead the readers among the relationships of CCS. Which sometimes can be quite complex.

Touya teases Sakura again with the sis-con joke, and Yukito teases him back by saying "Are you talking about yourself now?" (I love how Yukito always teases the big and grumpy Touya 😂they're really made for eachother). Tomoyo comments that it's been "a sight for sore eyes" (the term used in JP is 眼福, ganpu, and it's used when you see something precious) to see Sakura in the role of the big sister and Akiho in the one of the little sister. Akiho is moved by the fact that, despite everyone knowing the truth now, nobody shunned her or rejected her presence, and exactly like I imagined, I'm 100% sure Sakura will keep thinking about her as a sister (not a blood-related sister maybe, but surely with the same importance of one) even after everything will be solved later. Cause the bond between her and Akiho was never a fabricated thing, but always been genuine from day 1. Even if they got close in such a short period of time, it's just what happens normally in real life too. Sometimes you bond very tightly with people over a short period of time, cause you feel you're so compatible.

So Sakura continues. She says that for this reason, she wants to bring (someone) back. She's convinced that what the Record Card showed to her is not everything. She feels like there is someone who is missing from both what the Record Card had shown to her and from this rewritten world as well. Syaoran is confused, "they're missing, and yet you're sure they're there?". Sakura understands that confusion and says "It's weird, right? I can't really explain how I know it, but I just do." And then, towards Akiho: "That person....is your special person, Akiho-chan". There it is, the infamous "special person" again. It's clear what Sakura is meaning here. "This is the person you're in love with, Akiho-chan". Of course Akiho's face cannot be any other than a dismayed one at hearing that. And then the pain comes, all at once, piercing her heart and leaving her speechless. Sakura says that the Record Card wasn't showing anyone with Akiho in one of the scenes, and yet she saw her extremely happy. That was enough for Sakura to know that someone was indeed there with Akiho.

I'm Always Searching For Someone

We're shown one of the most important scenes for anyone liking Akiho and Kaito (and their bond), the night that Akiho was so brave to confess her feelings to him through a covert (and very local) way, claiming that "the moon is really beautiful". And in the same occasion he accepted to spend some time strolling and talking to her. It was clear from the moment that scene happened that it would've become important later. And the readers who know what happened and what we lost are feeling probably the same pain Akiho is feeling right now, only that she's unaware of what is causing it. Akiho says "I'm really happy to live with you, Sakura, and everyone in the Kinomoto household, but...I've been in pain. Because I'm always looking for someone who's not there...". So Akiho did feel the effects of that void. The void that only your most important person can leave when they're gone. It's just that, we've seen her being so happy with her "new" family, and yet exactly like most of the fandom imagined, that didn't really work to fill the void Kaito left. It's impossible to fill that void because that person is just irreplaceable. This scene of course stabbed my heart but I had imagined that we would've seen it sooner or later. Sakura gets more confident with the confession of what Akiho's been feeling, and tells her that she thinks the one she didn't want to lose and the one who rewrote their world are the same person. "So I'm going to bring them back". Sakura announces with a smile, but Kero just wonders in dismay how she's going to do that. Sakura believes that the pocket watch in Akiho's possession will show her how. As if on cue, Akiho takes it out of her purse and places it on the table in front of Sakura's phone, where Eriol and Kaho can see it. They recognize it's a magical artifact specialized in time magic, but they also recognize that in order for a magician to be able to use it, they would need to have a tremendous amount of magical powers. Akiho suddenly panics. It dawns on her. I think the mental connection she's made is "if Sakura wants to use this to bring my special person back, she would need to achieve an amount of magical powers that could put her in harm's way". Aside, of course, from all the other dangers that a "mission" like that could pose to our heroine. And of course she'd never be okay with that. But Sakura reassures her. "You aren't making me. I want to." Sakura explains that both when she was dealing with the Clow Cards (and we see a scene of the Final Judgement, the one where Kaho gives her the Moon Bell) and when she was transforming them into her own Cards (they show us a scene from the last battle with Eriol), she was able to overcome her troubles thanks to all of the people who loved her and cared about her.

Sakura, JP: "Therefore I want to do what I can for my important person, too"

Again the use of 大切なひと (important person) in relation to Akiho. I think this panel in particular is pretty important (and the big font indeed suggests so). I feel like it's the core, the heart of Clear Card Arc. Sakura, whom until now was accustomed to be cherished and pampered in a protected environment by her loved ones, is starting to take the first steps towards self-assertiveness and maturity. Sometimes those loved ones would overdo it with the loving, and ended up depriving her of her own agency. Sakura is finding herself, she's starting to trust her instincts and capabilities more and more, and that leads inevitably to a question: "what do I want to do with these gifts life gave me and blessed me with? What can I do to give back to the Universe all this love I'm receiving?" Searching for her self-identity will inevitably make her step out of her comfort zone. She'll take risks. Even on herself. She'll need to assess situations, make decisions. And here she decided that she wants to use her natural gift (her magical powers) to help someone in need. Someone important to her. Someone dear who lost someone irreplaceable and lacks the means to bring him back. Sakura decides to step in, help her "sister", doing exactly what she herself told her during last chapter: if I happen to be good at something that you can't do, I'll help you out. That's the beauty of being all unique and different.

I've seen people often wondering what's the purpose of Clear Card Arc, if we really needed to this arc and such. Well, to me the answer was made manifest in this chapter. 🙂

But back to our story, Tomoyo understands that moment has finally come, so she says that maybe she can't use magic, but she felt it was best to bring along with her a certain big bag (that we all know what contains, right??). She also says that she had the feeling she had made an asymmetrical costume before, but when she went to check, she realized she hadn't made it yet...

Listen to me well, because this is the solution to the mystery of the cryptical thing Ohkawa sensei said in relation to one of Sakura's costumes, during the latest CLAMP Space! Basically, she hinted that there was a reason why we hadn't seen Sakura wearing officially (for a Card battle) this costume yet, and that we would find out why soon. I know the ENG translation here talks about "complementary outfits" (referring probably to how Tomoyo will later reveal complementary outfits for both Sakura and Syaoran), but that only shows that they misunderstood the word アシンメトリー (lit. Asymmetry). Tomoyo here was literally talking about asymmetry because the "costume she thought she had made, but didn't find in the end" was precisely the one Ohkawa was hinting at during the latest Space, the one Sakura was trying on in chapter 36 and 37! Tomoyo had a sense of deja vu, about having made an asymmetrical outfit before, but actually couldn't find it because...well, the forbidden magic had removed any reference to the Clear Cards! (including, apparently, the costumes!) So that goes to show that Tomoyo, despite not having a crumble of magic, was also subjected to the deja vu and weird feelings of "discrepancy" that such rewriting of the world would cause. But hold on tight, cause another reference is on the way!

Tomoyo continues saying that while she was sewing the sleeve of the outfit, she had the strong feeling that this costume would turn into a very special one. And what do we have here? OH YES, it's THAT sleeve, the one we've been waiting for so eagerly! The one that Sakura saw in a dream with MCF once! Sakura back then asked to MCF if they would meet outside the dream when she'd be wearing that outfit, and MCF only cryptically said that it would be "the beginning of the end". Considering now we know that MCF has been mostly a byproduct of Lilie trying to communicate with Sakura and inadvertently messing things up, I do wonder about that MCF. Was Sakura, by any chance, actually was supposed to see Kaito and she saw the robe instead, because of Lilie? Or is that an actual member of Akiho's clan? Only this finale can tell us the truth. Sakura will certainly meet someone, with that costume.

Sakura thanks Tomoyo, always so ready to show her support, and she does something very sweet, as a result of regaining all of her rewritten memories: she tells Tomoyo that she'll do her best to come back without getting the costume dirty, but if it eventually starts fraying, she knows that Tomoyo will be there to repair it.....yeah....doesn't it remind you of something?? Of course I bet any Tomoyo fan knows very well what scene Sakura is referencing with this line....

When Sakura told Tomoyo she repaired her torn costume with the Repair Card in chapter 40, Tomoyo expressed the wish to be her the one repairing those costumes, with her own hands. Because she had created them specifically for Sakura, so she would also want to be the one to repair them in case they'd get damaged. Basically telling her "I made these with all my love for you, and I'd prefer that a Card didn't take my place even when needing to repair them. I want the costumes that you wear to be made completely by my own hands". Always reminding us that making something with your own hands for your loved one is the greatest proof of love for any character in CCS (which is something I find truly wholesome and beautiful). Sakura here shows to have understood and accepted that wish fully, therefore acknowledging Tomoyo and her feelings. Tomoyo is uncharacteristically surprised for a second, and then with the happiest smile she confirms that of course she'll be there to repair it!

Sakura looks at her brother Touya, who only grumpily tells her to respect the curfew. Sakura is confused because they never had a curfew time at home, but her brother replies "Come back before dad gets worried. That's our curfew". (in ENG there's an additional part here, I guess to fill in a bubble that would be left empty) Sakura confidently replies "Got it".

Nakuru is all giddy, excitedly announcing that they decided to go to war and they need to decide the formation!! Suppy mocks her, telling her she's talking as if she were playing one of her warring states games (in JP the term used here is 戦国ゲーム - sengoku game - and I've found there's a specific game called indeed Sengoku, but it seems the same term extended to indicate all the war games set in the Sengoku era), but that doesn't deter Nakuru, who says that if she gets chosen, she will certainly participate actively (here the ENG uses game language from what I can see - not an expert - but good job!)!!

Sakura's plan is different, though. She says that tonight she'll be going only with Syaoran. She knows that if everyone could go with her, she'd feel more confident and reassured, but...

Sakura, JP: "If I want to find Akiho-chan's most important person, I have the feeling that it'd be better for me to go with my most important person"

Here we go. We temporarily leave aside the "special person" terminology to go back to the more famous and loved "my most important person" term, to indicate THE ONE person someone loves the most. 一番大切なひと (ichiban taisetsuna hito). The term we all learned because it's been so crucial to indicate the person someone was in love with during the old arcs of the story. The term Sakura eventually used for Syaoran at the end of CCS volume 12 to finally give a "definition" to the love she felt for him. Now she uses it to define Akiho's feelings for Kaito. This is "the" term that takes precedence over all the other terminology used, and also goes to show how important and solemn the moment is. Sakura's intuition tells her that in order to find Kaito, Akiho's most important person, she should go with Syaoran, her own most important person. This is probably because her magical intuition (let's remember that Sakura got the power to see the future) grasped that her bond with Syaoran will be absolutely pivotal in order to have a positive outcome for the mission they're about to embark on. They will probably have to put that bond at work....maybe to explain, show, help someone understanding something that he still doesn't seem to grasp perfectly? Or rather, a stubborn refusal to understand it, which caused them all to be in this situation they're in right now? What's for sure is that if Sakura and Syaoran manage to find Kaito, and if they'll also manage to free him from the Seal of D. + the artifact with all the magical books that Akiho had engraved in herself, their job won't certainly be over like that. Kaito needs to talk to someone. He needs to understand many, many things. Some of those things, Sakura and Syaoran can at least try to introduce them to him. Because while it's true that Sakura wants to bring him back for Akiho, she also needs to make sure that coming back is also Kaito's wish. Because they can't force him if he isn't 100% convinced himself. I'm sure this is a very important thematic for CLAMP, respecting someone's self-determination. And since his state of mind, last time we saw him, was that he was perfectly expendable and that he was absolutely not necessary in Akiho's life, they need to change that perception. And there's also the fact that, despite being so different, Kaito and Syaoran are pretty similar in several aspects too. So maybe the role Syaoran can have in "communicating" with Kaito could be very important and impactful. Maybe that's what Sakura's intuition was trying to tell her.

Here, the ENG translation decided to translate that "most important person" with "favorite person". I have definitely turned up my nose at seeing that (why not leaving the iconic term?) but in the end I decided to relax because, at the end of the day, the result is similar. It indicates a person for whom your preference and importance is above everyone else. What really *mattered* in this scene - and lo and behold, it seems ONLY the English and Portuguese versions got it right (let me know about the Chinese one, cause I can't read that one) - is that Sakura used the same term to describe what Akiho feels for Kaito, and what SHE feels for Syaoran. "I am aware that this missing person is for Akiho an existence of the same importance Syaoran-kun has for me. Therefore, I will do everything in my power to bring them back, because I fully understand that kind of bond and I understand the void they leave in your life when they're not there" She knows, to some degree, what it feels like to miss your most beloved person, due to the period she had to spend apart from Syaoran. And they could still have phone calls and writing letters. Akiho's situation can only be worse. Sakura's understanding of that bond is also what causes her intuition to suggest her to go only with Syaoran. It's all connected. So it's of utmost importance that the translations use the same term when both talking about Akiho and Sakura. Then, about this scene, we could also say that it was a beautiful demonstration of how much Sakura (but also Syaoran) has grown up, now fully confident to declare in front of everyone that Syaoran is THE most important person in her life. Without blushing and without any drama. It's just a fact. After all they've been through, I think Sakura can feel confident enough in her relatinship with Syaoran, and there's no shame nor embarrassment in stating that aloud.

The people present here can only accept and show their support, and Eriol encourages Sakura to follow her intuition (remember the whole discussion about listening to the stirring of your heart, the so-called intuition? Yeah, a great lesson from Mama Yelan which will also be applied to another character soon). Sakura tells Kero that if she needs him, she will certainly call, and the guardian beast reassures her that he'll certainly hear his master's voice, same for Yue.

Then, lastly, Sakura takes Akiho's hands and holds them tightly. They share another sweet forehead touch (seriously, I love them so much ❤️). Akiho is worried, so worried, but also very resolute. She wants this as much as Sakura does. Sakura tells her that there'll surely be a moment when she'll request Akiho to do something only she can do, and asks her to please wait here with everyone till that time comes.

I'll admit it, I was really disappointed when I've read this scene the first time around. Not only because I had imagined all kinds of scenes in my head (included Akiho wearing one of Tomoyo's costumes) and they shattered that possibility (but oh well, I am prepared to that), but also because I feel like this isn't a good choice from a character development POV. I understand it, I really understand it, this is Sakura's story. She's the one who gets to shine in the finale. And we've talked about it before, there's no doubt that Sakura in this story goes through a journey to find her identity and what she wants to do. So now it's time to let her do that. But Akiho has been slandered for the whole manga, accused of all kind of things because of prejudice, and one of those was "she's weak and passive, she does nothing". Seeing her "on the sidelines" once again, when we're talking about rescuing her most important person, feels extremely off. Letting someone else do "the job for her" doesn't even feel like Akiho.

Then, as hours passed by, I thought...

Maybe Sakura wants to take care of the first part of the mission, because it'll certainly be the one where it's most likely to encounter some magical danger (dragon-chan???). And Akiho wouldn't be able to defend herself from that, devoid of magical powers as she is. She could potentially end up risking her own life. And then all of this would've been for nothing. And then I thought, wait, maybe Akiho knows that. She knows it very well, since she's a girl with a pretty good understanding of herself and her own limits. And this is certainly a limit she does have. So what she can do is to wait safely at home, as hard and painful as it can be, for the REAL, big moment when her presence will be absolutely necessary. Sakura said it with great confidence so it's 100% sure it will come. Therefore, as an Akiho fan, I will swallow this pill and wait together with her. 🫤

But the chapter isn't over yet, as Touya and Yukito go outside in the garden while Sakura and Syaoran get dressed for their departure! Yukito teases once again Touya, telling him that his face is scary and that Sakura's earlier statement ("most important person") must have caused him "damage" (still seemingly talking in game language). Touya of course doesn't reply, so Yukito continues, giving finally confirmation to the suspicion I've been having ever since this "rewritten world" started: Touya did notice something was off. He didn't know precisely what, but he knew it had something to do with Sakura. Yukito also gives us the opportunity to see just how kind and generous Touya is: he purposely didn't go back home often because he wanted to reduce his presence around Akiho as much as possible. Not because of negative feelings, quite the contrary: he was worried she'd get even more hurt if she established a bond with him, only to end up finding out that they weren't really brother and sister. (Meanwhile, we see a very cute panel of Akiho talking to Kero, Suppy and still in videocall with Eriol and Kaho!) And then, to follow the leit-motiv of this chapter, very centered on calling back stuff that had already happened in the original world, Touya says that he won't allow anyone to hurt his close ones (they used "family" in ENG, but the word 身内 can indicate also friends and such, the common characteristic is that they're very close). Got the feeling you've already heard these words, especially with the use of the word 身内 ? Yes, of course, it's vaguely the same threat he made to Kaito back in chapter 54, during the double date! 😂 Hmmmm, I have the feeling that if they manage to bring Kaito back (of course they will!), someone will want to have a word or two with him....let's hope he'll just stick to words! 😂 Jokes aside, it's very heartwarming to see how even Touya warmed up to Akiho, and took her under his protective big brother's wing! In fact, Yukito can't just miss the new opportunity to tease him (stop flirting so shamelessly in front of us, Yuki! 😂), telling him he's so overprotective for his sisters!!

The two lovebirds have finished changing their clothes, and we're all left staring at them agape, together with Nakuru: they look stunning, in their complementary outfits!! Sakura even got heels ❤️ And yes, dear readers, as already hinted when Tomoyo was speaking, this is IT, THE costume with THAT sleeve that appeared in Sakura's dream! It is the biggest indication that it's finally time for the last confrontation. Both Sakura and Syaoran look so resolute and ready to make a mess of space and time to bring Kaito back!! 😂 As many have noticed, Sakura got her Dream Staff with her, despite the Clear Cards have disappeared: my theory is that the Key was never removed by the forbidden magic, only the Cards, or maybe that the key came out now that Sakura got her memories back.

And this is where the chapter ends, with another huge cliffhanger!! Will we see Kaito, next time? Being a chapter number ending in -5, and being in the very last volume, I expect big things from it! Chapter 75 will be published on CLAMP's Youtube channel on July 1st, while the relative Nakayoshi magazine will be released on July 3rd (by the way, we'll have Sakura ONCE AGAIN on the cover and ANOTHER Sakura furoku!!). As usual, when I have less translation mistakes to talk about and more space for my feelings towards the chapter, I go overboard! Another freaking long post 😂😂 So I'll just leave you here, as usual I'll wait for your asks in my inbox! Bye Bye!!

#card captor sakura #cardcaptor sakura #clear card arc #ccsakura #ccs spoilers #translation differences #chapter 74 #Sakura Kinomoto #akiho shinomoto #Syaoran Li

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