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lilover131 · 1 year

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Chapter 70 Analysis

I’ll be frank right now. This analysis was hard to write. It’s hard to write not just because of how absolutely wrong all my theories were (lord, were they wrrrrrrrrrrrrooonnng), but because this chapter made me unexpectedly very emotional. I’m just speechless and cannot believe that CLAMP got me again like this. I just find it absolutely amazing how Ohkawa’s writing can steer you in a direction and make you think you know what is going to happen, and every single time, she turns you on your head. Fucking incredible. I honestly don’t know how she manages to do it. Just…everything clicks now and I see the puzzle in front of me showing its picture, and it’s beautiful and also so so heartbreaking at the same time.

I’m not going to post a gif or image of the month this time, simply because I don’t feel like there is one that really is suitable.

Also, I apologize in advance for the crappy quality images in red of the screenshots I took. The English chapter has yet to come out in good quality and is currently only available on Youtube, so I had to make do with the red colored pages for now.

With that said, I’ll get started on my thoughts.

The color page this month is so stunningly gorgeous and it fits the theme of this chapter so well. It is beautiful and warm but also has a melancholy feeling that can’t be shaken. Sakura has a face that looks as if there is something missing, and by the end of this chapter, we know why.

Admittedly, when the chapter first started, I was very confused. It seemed to jump straight to Kaito using the EXCHANGE card without time for anyone to stop it, thus making my theory that Syaoran would fight to keep it from happening completely wrong. Lol. But I’m not upset about this. Not seeing a Syaoran sacrifice made me relieved, at least for the moment…(I’m still not ruling that shit out for the future. Haha)

But I wondered what it meant to see Sakura now as the Red Queen and Akiho as Alice. Did this mean Kaito had switched their lives after all? It certainly seemed to be the way things were going, and I was worried that he had been successful and wondered what the repercussions of this would be. It’s been well described in other CLAMP series (-cough- Tsubasa -cough-) that changing the fate’s design like this ultimately creates huge ripples and damages in the world around it. There is a reason it is considered forbidden magic after all, because of course if one could simply undo things or swap lives with people, why wouldn’t it happen all the time?

The first thing noticed though in particular was that it wasn’t just Sakura and Akiho that seemed to swap in roles. The very outfits themselves were changed. Some of you might recognize them as the first versions of the outfits that Tomoyo had made and decided to start over on as they did not feel right to her. It seems now that this is because these outfits were originally designed for them to be in swapped roles, so Tomoyo’s intuition here seems to reign supreme again but also makes me wonder for the millionth time how she doesn’t have magic (lol). Another difference seems to be that Syaoran has taken on the role of cat in the originally intended method of just voicing rather than acting on stage. Initially, this also worried me as the reason he had done the role on stage physically was to be by Sakura’s side in case something happened, so by seeing him not do this, it made me curious as to whether his relationship with Sakura was still the same.

Moreover, we must keep in mind that the title of the story had also changed from what was originally written. Before, the story of the play was called “The Two Alices” (which now I realize is super sneaky Ohkawa!) before Naoko made a last minute change and titled the play “Alice in Clockland”. Even the story itself seems to have deviated from what we saw before in the previous chapters. Alice Akiho mentions that her family had a fourth chair at the table always open, but she never understood why. And Red Queen Sakura mentions how she doesn’t remember how she became Queen and only ever remembered being in Clockland. The story soon seems to develop to reveal that the Red Queen is actually Alice’s twin sister who was lost long ago. It seems to also have a happy ending with the Red Queen returning home to her family.

Back on the rooftop of the school, Kaito and Momo are speaking. She asks him how he feels now that he has gotten what he wanted, which is still unclear to us at this point in the chapter. He claims to be relieved that Sakura finally created the card he needed before Momo goes on to explain to us readers (bless her) on what has occurred. And boy, is it a doozy.

The first thing was Sakura’s wish, which was simply to switch roles with Akiho and be the Red Queen instead. That seems fairly harmless in nature, but the second wish was for the artifact inside of Akiho to be exchanged to Kaito for his broken pocket watch. Naturally, taking on the artifact is absolutely huge because it was this very thing that the Squid Clan and the Association wanted to keep to themselves desperately. It was their grasp at power, which was all they cared about in this world. Additionally, Kaito had explained before that this artifact had already absorbed so much magic that if it took on anymore that it would crush Akiho’s soul, so what are the implications of that now in Kaito’s body, which undoubtedly already has a ridiculous amount of magic in it? We know already that he has shown no care for his own well being, so this seems to be more dire a situation than he was in before.

Akiho now has Kaito’s broken watch, but she still has no magic in her body, so she could not use it even if she wants to, so this will not impact Akiho in any way. She seems to be completely free of the binds that tied her to her awful family who wished only to use her as a tool and did not acknowledge her as a person.

But Kaito took it one step further…

The scene changes to the end of the play where the girls are being applauded for their performance. Naoko tells them that she knew they were perfect for the role of Alice and Red Queen. And I’ll tell you right now that when I was initially reading this chapter, it was in French (because the English chapter wasn’t quite out yet), and I had to use Google Translate. Upon translating the next speech bubble, I found myself absolutely fucking speechless and wondering if I had typed something in wrong or if Google messed up the translation.

Not only did Kaito take the artifact away from Akiho, but he also rewrote the past so that Akiho was born as Sakura’s twin sister. I think I can safely say that a majority of us had thought that Kaito was intending to swap Akiho and Sakura’s lives so that Akiho could have a happy life and Sakura would take on the misery Akiho endured. And I feel terrible now thinking he would actually do something so cruel, seeing as he honestly hasn’t really done anything to deserve that opinion. When you think about it, he never actually harmed anyone at any time, and even the trouble he caused was still much less dangerous than even what Eriol put them through (think about it, Eriol nearly had Syaoran cut Sakura in half when he controlled him with threads!). And additionally, most of the trouble was actually caused by Sakura herself with her out of control magic.

Was Kaito shady? Absolutely. Was he secretive and somewhat manipulative? Of course. But does that inherently make him a bad person? After this, I just can’t see it. What I’ve always enjoyed about Kaito particularly is that he always keeps you guessing. You never know exactly who’s side he’s actually on, and I’ve rather enjoyed learning more about him because of that. But one thing that always remained unfettered was that he cared about Akiho. In fact, Akiho seemed to be the only thing he ever showed any care towards (other than maybe her mother, but we still don’t know exactly how that story ended, and I’m sure we will learn more soon).

And now that we know what his intentions were, I cannot help but see the clues written all over the wall absolutely EVERYWHERE. CLAMP has literally been dropping hints for years, and I can’t help but be angry for missing it all! Granted, that was the point, but fuck I can’t help but be impressed by the writing just for that alone. Every single mention of how similar Sakura and Akiho were, the mention of them ‘synchronizing’, even Akiho’s fucking name! I have always had a feeling that Akiho’s name wasn’t always Akiho because it felt odd that she had a Japanese name despite being born to English parents in England, but now I can’t help but think that Kaito had her change her name so she could fit neatly into her new life. And still in my head I cannot forget that one scene in the anime (episode 10) with the SNOOZE card where he came to pick up Akiho, and Sakura and Akiho said something with the same reaction at the same time, and Kaito just laughed. I always wondered why he laughed like that, and now it makes complete sense. He was laughing because he had always intended to make Akiho Sakura’s twin sister, and it was funny to him because the two of them were already acting like twins.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlT4JhTNgVg&ab_channel=AnimeCat

Not to mention the many many scenes of Kaito seemingly investigating all aspects of Sakura’s life, like her father, Touya, the house she lived in, her mother, Syaoran, etc. He did all of this because he wanted to make sure Akiho would have a good life with Sakura’s family, and that she would be surrounded by those that would protect her. And like…I know many of us noticed this and theorized he was doing this because he wanted to swap Akiho with Sakura, but I feel awful that I never considered them being twins as an option and assumed the worst. What he proved here by making them twins was that he wanted to save Akiho, give her a better life, but without taking away from others in the process.

But there is one major problem with this wish… or rather two.

Momo looks to Kaito and tells him that even with his magic, he cannot contain the power of the artifact. It is at this very moment that the pages of the book artifact appear beneath his feet, and some of his memories begin to show in the pages. It was when he was younger and had volunteered to go with Akiho on her journey to absorb more magic. Both the Clan and Association did not like this idea and showed distrust towards him, worried that he’d try to use the artifact for himself. But they decided to make a ‘compromise’ (assholes) by stating that he could take Akiho on her journey if he accepted the ‘Seal of D’. This seal is actually a curse that is intended to keep him in check and will activate if he tampers with the artifact in any way.

Kaito seems to agree to this without hesitation and is warned that he can never break this seal, and if he does anything to ‘the artifact’ (god I wish they would talk about Akiho like the human being she is), he “can never return”. Do those words sound familiar? CUZ’ THEY FUCKIN’ DO TO ME.

It turns out that the voice we have seen and heard in the manga and anime several times saying “You can never return” was directed at Kaito. The strange disembodied voice in Sakura and Akiho’s dreams was that of one of the Clan/Association members telling Kaito he could never go back if he broke this vow. And this also explains why Kaito had such a grim reaction when Akiho brought up those words before from her dream. It’s because he knew exactly what those words meant, but he still decided to go through with this anyways. From the very beginning, he knew he was going to sacrifice himself, and although we had our theories about this for quite some time, it is absolutely confirmed now.

A magical seal appears over his chest, almost undoubtedly at this point the ‘Seal of D’, and in my initial read, I again was using Google Translate on the French pages before I saw this text, and it fucking broke me.

I started crying almost instantly. To know that he was a boy that grew up caring for nothing, wanting nothing, liking nothing…to say that the very spell that will undo him is the first spell he ever wanted to use. It’s fucking heartbreaking, and for the first time other than when he laughed, I could see a smile on his face that I knew was 100% genuine in every way. He’s not hiding anymore. It is the smile of someone who feels he has just fulfilled his purpose in life and is ready for the end.

Momo emulates me and most of the fandom by shouting and crying that he’s an idiot before he completely vanishes within the pages of the book. Sakura halts briefly, having felt something, but appears to brush it off, and lord I wish she wouldn’t have. The rooftop is now empty with neither Kaito or Momo, and the chapter ends there (because of course it does).

-Wipes tears and blows nose-

Okay, so this chapter messed me up emotionally, but I honestly loved it. It’s so beautiful and devastating at the same time, but I think I finally have an idea of where the story will go from here. Sakura still should have her magic and she has already developed the ability to remember things despite rewinding of time etc. But I think RECORD will also play a part. The card has been extremely useful in showing things that didn’t even happen in the real world, such as her dreams, but it has also been shown in the anime to show records of past events that happened prior to Sakura even being born and never experienced. I also think the watch will play a part. We know now that Akiho has a broken pocket watch and will likely not be able to remember where it came from but have melancholy feelings when looking at it or some sort of heart ache. I think this watch will assist in bringing Akiho and Kaito back together.

The ‘Seal of D’ also appears to have the same kind of appearance as the dragon from Sakura’s dreams, so I believe that the curse the Association and Clan put on him will have turned him into this dragon, and that he is currently roaming the world of the book. Because Sakura’s dreams showed the dragon in Tomoeda, I think that he will somehow break through the book in this form at some point, but there is still definitely the question about the Cloaked Figure, and it is still debatable who that will end up being. We know that part is still to come as Sakura has yet to wear the ‘sleeve’ she mentioned before that she would have on when she finally meets the Cloaked Figure for real.

God, just when you thought the climax was finally here, it seems we haven’t even reached the tip of the iceberg. This is most definitely why CLAMP needed another full volume to finish it, and I’m all for it.

I am so fascinated to see the next chapter and what this new timeline is like. Does Akiho know about Kero and Suppi etc.? What has gone on exactly in regards to the Clear Cards? And what about Syaoran? Does he still have the Sakura cards? What are the actual ramifications of this massive timeline change? And Lillie? What happened to her if Akiho was never born her child, and how did this affect Nadeshiko?

SO MANY QUESTIONS!!

But we’ll get answers here real soon, and I look forward to talking about them all with you! See you next month!

#cardcaptor sakura #clear card #manga #spoilers #chapter 70 #analysis #chrissy talks a lot #sakura #akiho #kaito #syaoran #tomoyo #momo #FUCK THE SQUID CLAN AND THE ASSOCIATION #this chapter broke me

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muthaz-rapapa · 1 year

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[Theory] Kaito's Desired Endgame

Actually, this is more of breakdown of why I don't think the common (?) theory of him aiming to switch Akiho and Sakura's lives is true.

It just bugged me a lot and I need to sort these thoughts out of system. Because if Kaito does want the girls to switch places, then that would count as malicious intent on his part (cuz doing so would harm Sakura which is like the biggest tabooboo in CCS land). And that doesn't align with what I see in the portrayal of his character so far.

Yea, he may be sneaky but there has been nothing to suggest that Kaito is a cruel or evil person. Far from it.

So I'm going to attempt to prove the "switch lives" theory wrong and come up with a possible new one at what his real goal might be. (others may have thought some of this up already but I've been out of the loop on CC as a whole to mentally recover so...just please give me space, thanks)

Remaining chapters

Let's start with the technical stuff first.

CC will end with vol 14 and right now we are currently at 69 chapters with ch 70 to be released at the end of January (so within a few days).

Usually a volume has 5-6 chapters with each one being about an average of 30 pages long. If so, the story should end with ch 70 or 71, right? Since vol 13 ended with ch 65 so ch 66-69, which are already out, fills up 4 chapters of vol 14 already.

Well, final manga volumes can be thicker than the regular volume by having more pages in the final chapter(s).

This happened with Pandora Hearts (the only other manga I have on hand that I can use as reference for this matter). Its final Japanese volume (24) had 70 more pages than the previous vol 23 and the final chapter alone totaled around 100 pages. See below photo for comparison:

Yea, so at the very least I think we might get 1 or 2 more extended chapters after 70 to wrap everything in the story up properly. 3 chapters maximum if we're really pushing it.

It can't be 5 chapters because then the story would end end at vol 15, not 14.

Right? Right. Ok, next.

EDIT: I stand corrected because ANN announced in an article last year (?) it would end at vol 14 but apparently, there was a mistake and now it'll end at vol 15. So yea, there's 5 more chapters of story after ch 70!

2) The possibility of a "simulation" or a dream-like scenario where the two "Alice"s experience switched lives.

Kind of something similar to the final judgement in the first arc where Sakura faced off against Yue before becoming the master of the former Clow Cards. The part where she went unconscious and saw a world where everybody forgot who they loved most?

Yea, that's exclusive to the anime series. It didn't occur in the original manga where Sakura stayed conscious, fended Yue off and won a lot faster.

If such a thing were to be added to CC's finale, you're going to need at least 3 out of the 6 chapters left for the desired...emotional impact. But even so, when we've spent a whole two volumes in the fantasy world of Clockland already, adding another layer to this "dream" the characters are already in...it's kinda superfluous and tiring, to be honest.

Not to mention, you need pages to wrap up other things as well. Like addressing Sakura's control over her growing powers? How are they gonna close that out? What about the European magicians? Will we know what they'll do once they learned Akiho isn't the artifact anymore? So many things to do before ch 75.

Creating and diving into another reality adds a whole other problem to the pile and frankly, even with the Exchange card, I don't believe there's even enough magic to be able to pull off such feat either.

But more on that later because there's something else that I must address before that.

3) Clues aren't direct and premonitions aren't exact.

There seems to be some collective perception that Momo's hint for Sakura back in ch 50-51 is suggesting Kaito intends to have Sakura replaced with Akiho and that's why nobody recognizes Sakura when she runs around frantically asking everyone what's going on.

Bzzt. Wrong.

The hint was not that she was going to be forced to switch lives (because if that were true, where was Akiho then?) but rather, Sakura was going to be thrown into the world of the story of Alice in Clockland. In other words, Momo's book.

Notice how all the houses and trees and stuff resemble props within a play? And how the school play eventually ended up connecting with the story in the book.

Yea, the hint was telling everyone that the finale will take place in a fictional setting.

As for why none of her family and friends recognized her in Momo's simulation, the opposite actually happened when Sakura became "Alice" after entering the book.

In the hint, Sakura remembers everyone but nobody knows who she is.

In the book, Alice!Sakura doesn't remember who she herself is but all the Clear Cards that took on the image of her loved ones (and therefore, are representing her loved ones) do.

In other words, the hint was meant to throw everyone off of what to expect while still giving us a clue of what will occur in later chapters. (side note: this also sorta brings to mind a line that Alice in the AiW books said: "Nothing would be what it is because everything would be what it isn't.")

And the meaning behind the hint became clear quite recently to me too.

Sakura was able to break the spell on her and recall her true identity by remembering the bonds she has with the people important to her. This effectively indicates that the memories we have with others are a large part of what defines who we are.

That if we don't lose sight of our connections with those dear to us, we won't lose sight of ourselves either.

Just like how Akiho recalled much faster about who she herself is by remembering never forgetting her feelings for Kaito.

Next, the premonitions.

Keep in mind that while Sakura's dreams fortell the future, they are also a product of her mind trying to sort things out while she's sleeping.

The things we couldn't readily process while awake (like confusion, shock, etc) would often be set aside in our unconsciousness to be dealt with later. Notably during the time we're not awake.

And I believe that the brain would try process those things to the best of its ability...but it can only do so with the information it already has available on hand. So anything you're not aware of or don't know yet, something else will be used as placeholder instead.

For example, the cloaked figure that Sakura pulled the hood off to reveal (a soulless-eyed) Syaoran underneath. That actually foretold that she will confront the Dreaming Card and an imposter Syaoran (aka Kaito in disguise) in Momo's book.

When she was still dreaming of MCF (sp?), she wasn't aware of Kaito's true identity as a magician yet so she kept seeing Syaoran in the cloak who always wore an expressionless face that she couldn't decipher. Because she didn't know that person was going to be Kaito.

But after she learned Kaito could use magic in ch 54, she no longer saw MCF!Syaoran in her dreams anymore.

Additionally, the Akiho who Sakura saw in her dreams turned out to be different than what's happening now.

In her dreams, Akiho is not conscious and always wearing her ritual dress with a vacant expression on her face. Like an empty doll.

But in the book, Akiho is awake despite the fact that her memory was temporarily subdued and she is wearing a noticeably different outfit. The dress of the Red Queen.

Her expressions are solemn but her eyes are very much alive in contrast to the Akiho in the dreams.

As for the serpentine winged dragon, no one smart should've expected it could represent anyone else other than Kaito.

On the corner of Kaito's robes as well as the back, there is the symbol of the dragon.

But as Sakura didn't suspect Kaito of anything yet at the time when she started having these dreams, her mind used the image of a dragon to clue her in on who she will be confronting later on.

However, it should be noted that none of what Sakura saw in the dreams suggests that she will switch lives with Akiho.

It only foretold that she will meet and confront these figures (the imposter Syaoran/Kaito in disguise, Akiho, the Dreaming Card and the dragon/Kaito as his real self) within the book.

And that future she saw already came to be as of these past two volumes.

4) The creation of the Exchange card

It should be pretty obvious by now that the whole synchro plan was for the sake of creating the circumstances needed to establish the foundations of this card.

Through Akiho and Sakura sharing feelings and bits of memories across their joint dreams, the idea of a "trade" has been incepted into Sakura's mind early on so that she will eventually create a card that can function as a link, a channel, for an exchange to be possible on immediate demand.

Throwing her into the book and making her "Alice" was just the final push to materialize the card into existence. Because the cards are born from Sakura's inner emotions, the events that led up to this point were meant to foster a certain feeling within her for that purpose.

As "Alice", the heroine, she was faced with the dilemma of the Red Queen's loneliness and inability to leave Clockland. That is what developed a wish in her to save the Queen (Akiho).

A desire to help Akiho by saying "I should've taken your place".

With that desire, a new card is born.

My prediction was correct (partially). Kaito was betting on this with the combination of his two plans (the synchro + the story of Clockland). He wanted to utilize the heroine's tendency towards altruism to bring about the card he needed.

As long as Sakura wanted to save Akiho, she would be able to birth the card needed for such a task.

However, none of that necessarily means he intends to use it to switch their lives. The only definitive thing out of this was that he wanted a specific card from Sakura all along...which is also what he's been saying all along, too.

How he intends to use the card may not be what everyone is expecting.

5) Conditions that need to be met + conflicts that may arise in using Exchange.

There are several things we need to ask before we come to any conclusions, chiefly among them the following:

Who can use the Exchange card? (read: is likely to use it in the current scenario)

And do the conditions differ depending on the person using it? Along with what their respective wish is?

First off, let's remember that the four central characters are all within a rather ambiguous space at the moment.

While the Clear Cards are there in the book and were created by Sakura, she was told that not all of them would not outright obey her commands. Or at least, they are following her subconscious will rather than her conscious one.

For example, when Sakura was fighting off the Dreaming card, trying to escape the book with Akiho, only to realize she didn't truly leave the book and what she saw was only a dream. Her attempt to leave was an illusion...a dream that she wished for as clarified by Kaito after it broke.

In other words, it can be interpreted that what Sakura truly wanted deep down was to believe that everything happening around her was not real. That it was a dream.

We should also note that Kaito, as the author/creator of Clockland, has some significant control over this field as well. They are playing on his turf right now so he has a slight advantage over them.

At the very least, the ones that seem to hold the most sway over the turnout of the story are the two most powerful magicians present (Sakura and Kaito) as well as the one whose choice will influence them the most (Akiho).

Moreover, we should also remember that he was able to use Clear Mirror to disguise himself as Syaoran.

As such, who can be called "master" over a Card may have been blurred within the book. It's possible the cards can respond to the will of anyone.

Depending on whose hand they're being held in and perhaps also, provided that the order they give doesn't conflict with Sakura's subconscious desire.

So now it becomes the question of who Exchange will fall into the hands of...

If it goes to Sakura, there are two ways this can play out:

Kaito reveals the truth about him and Akiho along with his wish to Sakura and asks her to use Exchange to fulfill it. If his wish is for her to switch lives with Akiho (and therefore, harmful intent), of course Sakura would refuse and his plan will fail on the spot. So naturally, it can't be that. Frankly, this approach makes no sense and further rules out the switch theory. Kaito cannot afford to fail in his quest to save Akiho so he needs a plan that is as airtight as possible with a higher percentage of succeeding. Relying completely on Sakura's goodwill won't give him that because he knows Sakura isn't a pushover. He knows she wouldn't just say "yes" to anything drastic even if it's to save a friend.

A more likely possibility is that he would offer himself in exchange for Akiho's life. His priority is to save Akiho and the most immediate danger is the book inside her. More than switching lives, he needs that book removed (and there's no guarantee that switching lives will remove the book anyway). He is willing to sacrifice everything he has, including his magic and what's left of his dwindling life, to get it out of her. In which case, Sakura would also refuse because not only would that hurt Akiho if she loses Kaito but it would also be assisted suicide. Which is something she would never consent to (and also extremely inappropriate for a story with a young age demographic). Sakura would never consent to sacrificing someone else no matter what the cause, especially when she still knows nothing about Kaito. And when she does learn the truth about him and his and Akiho's past, it will just make her refuse to let Kaito die even harder.

This part of the theory hasn't taken into consideration of what other cards she might use later (like Rewind) but I think we can say with some certainty that Exchange in Sakura's hands would be a dead end for Kaito so he will probably do his best to not let it go to her.

Now, if Exchange falls to Kaito, then it's a question of what his true intentions are with this card.

Everyone wants to perceive that he wishes to switch the girls' lives.

But I...simply do not believe there's enough time to bring about something that cosmic-sized of a change (along with all the action it entails), prevent it, resolve the issues at hand, have Sakura's party learn everything about Akiho and Kaito's pasts, reconcile...and then dedicate the entire last chapter to SyaoSaku being loveydovey with each other for fanservice. If the last 5 chapters are all 30 pages each.

Also, it seems a little too obvious to be true and there are too many contradictions that can make this go wrong.

For one, if we follow by the rules of magic, magical transactions usually need to be equal in value on both sides to be done successfully. Otherwise it will either not go through...or there will be severe consequences to make the transaction even.

So the definition behind Exchange shouldn't be that different.

Frankly, in the case of Akiho and Sakura's respective lives, they are not in fact equal.

They may share some things in common (being chocomint fans, of the same height, etc) but those are all surface similarities and nothing deep.

Since they've led different lives and had different experiences, they would naturally have different feelings, different hearts and therefore, different values.

What is important to Sakura is not the same for what is important to Akiho. For instance, the people they love most are different and thus, inexchangable.

There are also things that Sakura has that Akiho doesn't (magic, family, happy childhood, etc) and that goes the same the other way around, too. Akiho possesses things that Sakura doesn't have either (passion for books, emotional scars, trauma, and a deeper understanding of darkness due to a sad past).

Adding that up, the exchange would be doomed to fail because Akiho and Sakura are too distinct from each other as individuals to be switched smoothly.

Kaito is a magician so on top of knowing how different Akiho is from Sakura, he must be aware of this rule as well.

Furthermore, if the Exchange card takes into account what the user sees as equal in value for a trade, then he would fail there too.

Because of course he would place more importance on Akiho's life than Sakura's or anyone else's.

The scales would be tipped and maybe the magic might not even start up because the conditions for a fair trade have not been met to initiate it.

There's also the possibility of Kaito exchanging positions with Akiho.

In fact, he and Akiho are on more even standing than Akiho and Sakura are.

They share similar backgrounds (lonely pasts, traumatic and abused childhoods) and both are in danger of "dying" with their time running out (Kaito from using too much rewind, Akiho from the progression of the artifact that will erase her soul).

Since Kaito possesses a lot of innate magic while Akiho has that book filled with magic inside her, he can have Exchange put the book inside him while Akiho receives his magic. Doing so, Akiho's soul is preserved at the cost of his own.

But does he really want that with how much his life has been shaved off already from the multiple rewinds?

Doubt it.

Because besides saving her soul, Kaito wants Akiho to live a long and happy life as well. He didn't do all this work just to extend her life for a few more days or weeks or months. He wants her to have a future.

Moreover, even if it can save her soul, any method that forces magic onto Akiho goes against the biggest principle he's been standing by this entire time: that Akiho doesn't need magic.

That she isn't less valuable because she doesn't have any powers.

Whether it be from Sakura or him, it doesn' t matter. He does not want Akiho to change since she's already fine as she is now. She's fine being a normal person.

Giving her magic goes against the moral of their story and most of all, would validate the cruel criticism Akiho's clan had always thrown at her which is something Kaito would want to avoid at all costs.

So any way that ends with Akiho gaining magic is a no no. Because as long as she has magic, whether as an artifact or a magician, Akiho will always be in danger of being taken back by her clan to serve their own purposes.

They only have any interest in her if she contains power within her. If she doesn't, they will give up trying to reclaim her. That is the best outcome Kaito could hope for. Hence why he wants the book removed because then the magicians will stop chasing after Akiho for good and she can finally live in peace.

One more thing. A switch of lives means uprooting what has established the girls as the people they are now...which is gonna be incredibly hard to do.

Not only does it mess with personal history and relationships and therefore, effectively change who they are, it can screw up world through... some effect.

The girls have already lived 13 years, they made their mark in the records of time. The logic that constitutes them individually are already imprinted on the fabric of reality. This is not easily undone, rearranged and stitched perfectly back together.

And the price to attempt it sounds like it would be too much as well. It's not something Kaito alone can pay for. Not even with his and Sakura's magic combined.

Again, his major goals are 1) to remove the book from Akiho foremost and 2) to ensure that nothing that makes Akiho "Akiho" changes.

That includes the things that are the most precious to her. Her appreciation for books, her cherishment of Momo, the friendships she's made in Tomoeda.

And also, her love for her parents.

She may not have known them but she still treasures the fact that she had parents once, that she is the daughter to someone. The few things she does know about her mother and father, she keeps close to her heart. She wants to hold onto whatever she has of them because she has nothing else of them to keep.

Kaito understands this more than anyone because Akiho told this to him herself.

And the fact that Lilie, Akiho's mother, was also a significant person in his life is more than enough to deter him from ever wanting to sever the connection Akiho has with her parents. Because Lilie is an important part of Akiho, too. If Akiho loses that, she will no longer be the Akiho that she is now.

In short, switching Akiho's life with another's might turn her into a girl who has warm family and friends and a happy, sheltered childhood and all...but that girl wouldn't be the same Akiho in front of him at this moment.

Therefore, I must conclude that exchanging Akiho and Sakura's lives is probably not what he's aiming for. Because that ultimately means changing Akiho from who she is now into someone entirely different.

She would not be Akiho anymore if that happens.

6) Kaito's true wish + the endgame he wants

This is the part where I throw out a new theory.

Even if it's not an exchange of lives or magic, there will still be an exchange of something.

A wish and a price to pay for that wish.

Kaito wants the book that has been carved into Akiho's body to be removed.

The book has been implanted by the powers of many, many magicians from both the Association and Akiho's clan. And over the years, more magic has been added to its pages through all the books Akiho had read.

The amount of magic within her, though not specified, must be enormous. For it to be taken out without harming the vessel (Akiho) would require a very hefty price.

Kaito's life and his magic might not be enough. Hell, even adding Sakura's magic into the equation, overflowing as it is, might not be enough either because she is still only one person against the hundreds of magics and taboos stored in Akiho.

So what can Kaito offer, something that only belongs to him, to make it so the book no longer endangers Akiho? What does he alone possess that can match in equal value for the fulfillment of that wish?

Perhaps his own existence?

As in, erasing it from the world? That's a pretty big offer, isn't it?

Like it was discussed above, any tempering with the events of time is a very difficult thing to accomplish. In the magician society, it is also a widely known taboo. You don't mess with the workings of time and even the altering of one person's life in the flow of it can result in some significant change.

But see, if this is indeed possible...then the task is "easier" to carry out with Kaito precisely because there a very few people who are aware of him. In fact, the less others know about him, the better. It would not create such a big backlash if he were to disappear.

Because he thinks he didn't make enough of an impact on anything that would be hard to forget and also probably believes that everybody wants to forget about him.

He has no blood relatives looking for him so he believes he doesn't have a true home or family to go back or belong to.

The Association only ever saw him as a tool to be used and is out to kill him for taking Akiho (the artifact) away so they definitely won't miss him.

And nobody in Sakura's party really understands what he's after. They only suspect he's scheming something so they think the worst of him because they lack information to consider otherwise. Moreover, Kaito had also went to great lengths to hide his personal information from being discovered. He doesn't want people to know about him because that will make disappearing much more difficult.

Knowing him and his self-loathing, his belief and depression that he'll always be alone, his guilt over that blank book comment that brought this fate upon Akiho (the person he loves most) and how little time he has left to live anyway, Kaito is definitely in the mindset that there would be no problem if he were gone.

For him, it might even be preferable. This way, Akiho can be saved and he (as the "villain" he thinks he is) can exit this story, this world, so that it could have the "happy ending" he envisioned.

Though I suspect he wouldn't request for an ending on such a massive scale either because again, he cannot risk anything that could change Akiho from who she is now.

He'd still want his efforts to remain, to keep everything that built up this story to stay (taking Akiho away from her clan, bringing her to Japan, letting her meet and befriend Sakura, enacting the magic of Momo's book to remove the artifact, etc) so that it preserves Akiho's foundations as her own person.

He would just want to blot himself out. So that only he is forgotten after this is all over.

Akiho can still have Momo, her friends, her memories of her parents, the life she's lived up till now. It's only Kaito who wouldn't be there like he originally was.

There may be blank spots left behind where he used to be but since not many people knew about him, he trusts the world can fill in those blanks on its own. Like history correcting itself by creating little "coincidences" or whatever to explain and make sure things make sense.

For Akiho, he knows he can at least entrust her into Sakura's care after he's gone. That might be another reason why he allowed them to form a close friendship in spite of the dangers it could've posed to Akiho (i.e. the artifact reacting to Sakura's magic and reaching closer to completion, thereby shutting Akiho's consciousness down).

It wasn't just for the sake of the synchro and creating the Exchange card he was waiting for. It was also because he needed a good person to be there for Akiho, someone who is capable of protecting her when he no longer could. And for sure, he has confidence in Sakura because everybody knows Sakura will never abandon a person in need.

As long as the book is removed, the European magicians won't come after Akiho anymore. Sakura and co can take good care of Akiho because they are kind people. They will give her a safe place to stay, away from all the troubles of magic.

Including him, who believes his value lies only in his magic and was the source of this whole mess to begin with because of his affiliation with magic.

To make up for his "sin", for what he accidentally did to Akiho, Kaito is more than willing to step aside and vanish so that he doesn't get in the way of Akiho being happy.

However, he could not be more wrong because he still has absolutely no idea just how much Akiho loves him and therefore, how it's inevitably going to change her, to destroy her, if he erases himself from her life.

She is who she is because of him. If it weren't for Kaito making the choice to take her away from her clan, to save her from the doom of losing her soul, she never would've gotten this far. She never would've survived to become the Akiho she is now. Never to know what love is, to make friends and to realize that she's always had the choice in the matter of her own happiness.

Kaito taught her all that. He gave her that chance when no one else did.

He is the lynchpin of her existence. The reason why he's the most important person in her life.

She was able to become who she was because he was there for her, to support her and encourage her and to protect her and love her as she should've been loved.

Take him away and everything that they both worked so hard for will become undone. It doesn't matter how well taken care of she is by people like Sakura afterwards, they can never fill the hole he'd leave behind.

That void will always hurt her because she knows something, someone, is missing from where they should be.

Only he can fill that spot in her heart. No one else can.

He is the only person for her. He is the only person who knows best how to let Akiho stay Akiho.

And Akiho's greatest task in this story is to make him see that.

To make him realize that there is someone who will be deeply affected if they were to lose him and that's her. The one he cares most about and wants to save the most.

If he doesn't want Akiho to change into something she isn't...

If he doesn't want to see her worst off than she is now, a hollow husk who will grieve the loss of him forever...

If he truly wants her to be happy, then he has to listen to her. He has to believe her when she says "I love you. I will never be the same without you so don't leave me. Stay with me."

With that, I think I can picture the order of what might happen for Akiho and Kaito.

Akiho will be saved first with the removal of the book.

Then Kaito will be saved next through some other miracle means with Sakura's assistance.

But for sure, it is Akiho who will contribute the most to stopping him from dropping off the edge of no return. That loss will be hers to bear if she fails to so the one who has to put in the most effort to save Kaito will also be the person who loves him the most.

And she'll do that all without the need for magic. Just like she's always done to get by.

She just needs to be herself, to just be Akiho.

After all, Akiho is the true main character of "Alice in Clockland" whereas Sakura is the stand-in heroine for the sake of manifesting the magic Kaito needs.

The world of Clockland can bend to her will because she is the Queen.

Likewise, the story of Clockland can end however she wishes it to because she is in fact, the real Alice.

Kaito weaved this tale for her sake, for the real Alice.

Therefore, only she has the power to stop him. Only Akiho, the real Alice, is capable of turning him away from death and giving him reason to want to live.

Kaito wants the best and happiest ending for Akiho? Then don't go. Don't disappear.

He needs to understand the importance of his connection with Akiho. He needs to understand what it is that his most beloved reader truly wants in order to properly give her the most satisfactory "happy ending".

#i'm sure it won't happen exactly like I'm imagining it would and there are def some things I forgot while thinking this theory up...#but w/e cuz I did this to clear my head so I can focus on the things I want to do now #anyway last hurrah to throw in the void before it finally ends #prayer circle for no more sequels cuz i hate this trend to death #cardaptor sakura #clear card hen #yuna d. kaito #shinomoto akiho #kinomoto sakura

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lightaflametoburnmethrough · 1 month

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April 29th marks the anniversary of this YunaAki scene in episode 16.

The moment doesn't last more than 2 minutes before Kaito's uncharacteristic slip-up causes him to rewind time but it's enough to show how much he cares about Akiho's well-being and how highly he thinks of her.

He goes out of his way to meet her as she's walking home. Even though the neighborhood seems relatively safe and it's still light out, he's concerned for her safety. Understandable since at this point, the magical artifact hasn’t been removed yet so her clan and the Association are still targeting Akiho. She has no powers of her own and therefore, no means to protect herself so Kaito can't possibly leave her alone and vulnerable to being kidnapped.

But Kaito is always careful not to alarm Akiho so he greets her with a distraction. Yet even that distraction is heartwarming because it's a compliment of Akiho's voice. It would've been sufficient to say he was worried or use that same old line "I'm just doing my job (to take care of you)” but instead, he chooses to tell her how beautiful her singing is.

The fact that Akiho wasn't even singing but humming and he could hear her "quite clearly" says a lot about how much he admires her.

However, due to the harsh criticisms she often received during her early childhood, Akiho can't even begin to accept an honest compliment without feeling uneasy about it. Her instant reaction is to want to deny it, like she feels she doesn't deserve such kind words or any form of approval.

It's so sad that the abuse inflicted upon her has conditioned her into always having a low opinion of herself ("I'm clumsy", "I can't do anything", "I'm useless") and it must hurt Kaito a lot to see the person he cares about most think that way when none of it is true. Which is why he is often reassuring her that she has many great qualities, hoping she would one day see herself the way he does.

At the same time, he knows that Akiho is particularly sensitive to any comments regarding herself so he doesn't push it and steers the conversation to a topic she's more comfortable with: her new friends.

Akiho brightens immediately at the mention of them and the troubled expression on her face disappears. Kaito was able to cheer her up but again, it's sad to see how difficult it is for Akiho to accept value in herself as opposed to how readily she praises other people for theirs.

But it goes on to show that if anything, Kaito is ever the determined type (haha, oh yea)

Their conversation leads back to another sensitive subject for Akiho: her clan.

The clan that always thought poorly of Akiho for having no magic. The clan that jumped at the opportunity to turn her into a object that they could use to store all their greed in.

Even though it's their fault that Akiho's self-esteem is so low, she still directs that blame towards herself.

"if I wasn't so shy, if I was more capable, if I could just do better"

It's heartbreaking. For both of them.

Because Akiho is further chipping her confidence away, little by little, and it must be all Kaito can do to hold back his anger at those magicians for causing her to turn out like this.

But even if he were to berate them or curse them, it wouldn't make Akiho feel any better. It'd just make her sadder than she is now over her circumstances.

It would be counterproductive to his goal of wanting her to be happy.

And for her to be truly happy, she needs to be free of them.

The only way to do that is to lessen the hold the clan has over Akiho, to replace that negative influence with something stronger for her to believe in.

Every time she's about to put herself down, Kaito gently counters her with encouragement and support.

"(That's not true) You're a wonderful person, Akiho-san"

"Akiho-san will surely be able to achieve it (I believe in you)"

"You're better than they can ever hope to be (and I love you for that)"

And by the way Akiho smiles even just a tiny bit at his words, you know it's working. It's been working since the moment they met all those years ago. Gradually and carefully, he helped her repair and build up her self-esteem to the point where she can now make friends with no problem.

It won’t ever be perfect because her trauma runs too deep for those scars to be erased completely… but Akiho has come so far from the little girl who would run away whenever someone approached her because she was afraid of being criticized, of getting hurt. And that's all thanks to Kaito being there for her when nobody else cared.

Akiho would not be the person she is now if it weren't for Kaito refusing to give up on her. He defied everything that would deny her the happiness he repeatedly said she deserved. Including, occasionally, Akiho herself.

If someone put in that much effort for you, to fight so hard for your sake even on a level where you're just simply exchanging words with one another on the way home...what is that if not love?

#yea the lighting is nice but the context behind this scene is what's really important #I treasure every YunaAki moment there is #going back to these scenes to study them and their interactions with each other made me re-evaluate how I see the world #and how I want to and ought to treat it and how I want to be treated in return #but even so...the way Kaito cherishes Akiho with his concealed words and actions #that's an extremely rare form of love that even the luckiest people can hope to find #yunaaki #akiyuna #shinomoto akiho #yuna d. kaito #🕰️🌾

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ginnyrules27 · 1 year

Note

Have you have any ideas for descendants AUs that isn't based in cannon, like a once upon a time AU or ever after high au

Oh boy that's an interesting question :D

Probably the only AU I've thought of is a kinda 'coffee shop' AU where no one has powers and whatnot. Believe it or not, I actually have some of it laid out lol

Bal Coffee Shop AU

Mal runs a ‘hipster’-ish coffee shop that’s decorated with spray paint art that she does personally.

-Cousin of Uma: who works at her mother’s fish pub causing tension with her other cousins who think overfishing damages the ocean.

-Friends with Evie, Jay, Harry, Carlos, and Gil

-Evie manages her own design company and Gil helps out

-Carlos is a Veterinarian

-Jay is a professional athlete, teases Mal for having ‘mainstream’ friends while maintaining her ‘grunge’ image

-Harry works part time at the coffee shop and the other half with Uma

-The denial still exists, much to everyone’s frustration.

-The coffee shop is a split off of Olympus Coffee Company, a conglomerate that was on every corner.

-Hades (her father) runs it but gets criticized by other CEOs for being too soft on customers, looking the other way if someone’s short on cash, giving free food to the homeless, etc.

-Hadie (her brother) volunteers at the local community garden their mother set up

Ben is the son of a wealthy publishing company CEO (Belle) and politician (Beast). Everyone thinks he’s going to follow in his father’s footsteps.

-Dating Audrey, the daughter of a wealthy florist conglomerate and Congressman.

-Best friends with Emir and Akiho

-Emir runs a non profit soup kitchen despite being the middle son of a Congresswoman

-Akiho runs an ice cream truck in the summer and helps his dad run their ice rink in the winter rather than volunteer as a congressional aid for his mother

-His father volunteers to be Santa every year because he inherited his family’s reindeer farm

-His aunt runs the books for the ice rink

-Lonnie’s a professional athlete but comes home every off-season

Otherwise, everything else is more crossovers (LOTR, Liv and Maddie, GoT...possibly OUAT if I can figure out how to make it so Baelfire's still alive...). Though they'll have to wait until I publish what I'm already working on :D

#responding to ask box #ask box #answering ask box

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banana-milk-enthusiast · 5 months

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Clear Card arc is finally done woohooo.....

🌸 SPOILERS BEWARE 🌸

I dont like being negative about this, I really did try to love it. But sitting through 80 chapters over several years just for an ending like that almost feels like an insult.

At least we got more Sakura, Xiaolang, and the og cast because not much else was going for it.

Rambles below I guess

It just felt so aimless all the time, and it was driving me insane. Outside of Sakura and Xiaolang's romantic relationship, there was no growth whatsoever. No one really matured further or learned a lesson or developed their character.

Admittedly I never cared for Akiho from the jump because she felt like she was just a Sakura clone with no personality; and while that ended up being the point due to plot it actually made me dislike her even more. She was literally just a plot device at all times, but the manga acts like you should be endeared to her somehow. Her crush on Kaito also made me more annoyed than anything but thats to me personally.

Kaito annoyed me at the beginning, but as more of his actions were revealed, I started finding him really interesting. But his plan was kinda disappointing ngl, where is the drama??? I literally felt no urgency about the situation because he was so soft that there wasn't even a 1% doubt in my mind anyone would end up hurt. In the end he wasnt even really a final villain.

Just a failed opportunity to make an actual villain. Which now that i think about it is something cardcaptor does very often, and yet Kaito is still the least interesting of the bunch. How is Eriol the child more menacing of a rival character than a mage that masters time magic.

Also, why make Sakura create all those clear cards just to get rid of them at the end. I understand that most of them were redundant, but like it feels like a waste. I actually enjoyed how she used the weirdly specific cards to her advantage. So to just delete most of them sucks. She pretty much keeps Flight and the ones with matches from the Clow cards fused.

And I can't believe i sat through all of that just to toss in some Tsubasa stuff in the end. I like Tsubasa. In super small quantities. But I actually dont want it to bleed into Cardcaptor. that's what XXXHolic is for cmon. Fai's symbol in the magic books, Sakura mentioning passing the clow staff on one day, Syaoran learning to master time magic.... It's too much. Because the whole heritage thing in Tsubasa is easily my least favorite part. It's so unnecessarily convoluted for no reason. I was about to start my Tsubasa rant, let me stop.

It just felt like nothing had happened. 80 chapters of just weirdly convoluted plot with no expense or dire situations. Like idk how to explain how i feel.

But if I read 80 chapters and the only emotions I feel are Confusion and Cuteness (over Sakura and Syaoran); then it's actually really sad. What happened to drama and suspense. Or literally anything about the Hero's journey. Does CLAMP need to go back to english class/creative lit???

I've read a lot of CLAMP works okay. I would even say I'm a fan. But this is probably one of the most boring work they've made. It's not the worst, but honestly, close.

Now, this might just be my childhood rose colored glasses for the og. Or the fact I'm much more familiar with the anime than the manga, which I only read once. I know the anime made many changes, so for all I know, the og manga could've been the same in writing. But I really hope that should the anime return, it cleans up whatever that mess was because I felt like I was slowly going insane during Clear Card arc.

#clear card spoilers #clear card arc spoilers #clear card arc #to delete i guess

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ecargmura · 8 months

Text

Delicious Party Precure Episode 2 Review - Officially Teaming Up

I feel bad for Rosemary. Imagine being stuck in a foreign planet with no way back and on top of that, you have to rely on a child in middle school to help you defeat the enemies and search for the Recipe Bon and Recipeppis. It’s understandable that he is trying to be a reasonable adult and not get a child like her into danger because of him. He gets stressed out and behaves a bit out of his usual character because of this. This reminds me a lot of how Cure Sky didn’t want Cure Prism to be in fights because she was afraid she’d get hurt before realizing that they need to work together to make things work. That was pretty much this episode in a nutshell. Though, Rosemary looks like a fit adult, why can’t he just punch or kick Ubauzo or Gentlu if he lost his abilities to use his powers? Throwing hands is much better than not doing anything at all.

I like learning a lot about the Cookingdom. The CooKing is a bit eccentric while the CooQueen is calmer and the info dump of the two. I think they work well together as they both know the ins and outs of the gadgets and lore from their kingdom. Sometimes, in animes, rulers turn out to be some of the most incompetent people and out right useless. Fortunately, these two don’t seem to be the case. Rosemary possesses a Delicious Stone, which is what CooKingdom’s knights possess; he is seemingly a knight of that kingdom and a high-ranking one at that too.

Regarding the Bundoru Gang, I think the boss seems to be someone from the CooKingdom as it seems that people from that world are the only ones aware of what Precures are. I have two guesses on who the boss might be: either that Fennel guy introduced or the master Rosemary briefly mentioned. I have no idea who this master is, but hopefully he’ll be introduced later on. Why I think Fennel might be the Bundoru boss is that his voice is deep. If you touch a deep voiced person’s voice, it’ll become even deeper…right? Anyways, what I’ve learned from Persona 4 is that the culprit is always the person you least expect to be the killer, but it makes sense; they have to not be the main character too.

In terms of the other characters that are not Rosemary, Yui’s a nice girl who decides to help Rosemary out with his quest to search for the Recipe Bon and save the Recipeppis. I do feel like she sort of accepted it thoughtlessly, but given how she’s someone who loves helping others, as shown by the flashback of her with the stray cat she once helped, it makes sense why she’d do this. She loves food and helping others, so it’s a double win for her. I feel bad for Takumi who got left behind after the whole Ubauzo incident in the first episode and then got forgotten by Yui who suddenly remembered him after realizing she left him behind; on top of that, Yui then pleads him to take in this strange man she just met into his family’s guest house. Like, girl, do you not have any sense of stranger danger? Though, I do wonder about Rosemary asking if he had met Takumi somewhere. Given that Takumi is definitely the caped guy in the intro, there might be a connection there? The Bundoru Gang is just the Bundoru Gang.

I think the stand out character for this episode is Akiho Nagomi, Yui’s mother. I think she’s really sweet. I can tell Yui grew up as a loving girl because her mother trusts and respects her. I can see that she trusts her when Yui asks if she could take care of Kome-Kome. While most Asian moms would freak out if their child had brought in a strange animal, Akiho is calm and composed despite wondering if Kome-Kome is a dog or a cat. I love the fact that she knows how capable Yui is as she says “I believe you can do it.” I think the fact that she’s the only character interested in Rosemary’s beauty tips was both cute and funny.

I also really like the comedy. I feel bad for the brown haired girl. She’s been in comedic moments when it came to food. She got knocked over while on a ramen delivery and was in the Omurice shop during Gentlu’s attack in the previous episode and this episode, she was just eating karaage and then Gentlu attacks. I think my favorite comedic moment was Rosemary’s expression when Yui just casually shows up in the Delicious Field after the Heart Cure Watch guided her to his location. CooKingdom’s technology sure is advanced.

Anyways, now that Yui and Rosemary have decided to cooperate, where will this story head off? How long will it take for the other Precures to join Yui? From the preview, it seems that the girl who will become the blue Precure will be formally introduced next episode after her small appearances in the previous and this episodes. What are your thoughts on this episode?

#delicious party precure #Yui Nagomi #Cure Precious #Rosemary #Kome-Kome #Akiho Nagomi #Takumi Shinada #review #anime #anime review #ecargmura #arum journal #gentlu #CooKing #CooQueen #Fennel

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ccsthemovie2 · 11 months

Note

I honestly really hope that Yuna and Akiho relationship isn't endgame, but this is CLAMP we're talking about.

a. agreed. i wasnt sure for a bit and was kinda Heres How Dad Kaito Can Still Win truthing a while back but by now i think it's good as canon , esp with some syaosaku paralells iirc

b. I think it'd be very funny if last minute by some magic contrivance kaito either is revealed to be a younger teen who magiced himself into an adult body or becomes a kid again to regain a lost childhood or whatever and then clamp goes like see you should have believed in us. dont you feel ashamed now. at this point i truly hope this is what happens. like can u imagine

#ask

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maiblossom · 6 years

Video

The Day Has Finally Arrived...

Before The Episode Releases In A Few Minutes Let’s Look At Our Favorite Moments From Clear Card

{Favorite Moments In Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card}

#cardcaptor sakura #cardcaptor sakura clear card arc #clear card arc #clear card #sakura kinomoto #syaoran li #tomoyo daidouji #akiho shinomoto #yuna d. kaito #cardcaptor sakura kero #syaosaku #syaoran x sakura #I CAN'T BELIEVE IT ENDS TODAY #clear card anime #anime favorites #ccs #ccsmine #ccsedit

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falconcoast · 2 years

Text

the wedding planners | thoma x reader | six

six. 72 days left

masterlist

you and the kamisato conglomerate decide to take a business trip to the wedding venue, crescent moon island. in the meanwhile, ayato and ayaka interrogate you on your love life (or rather, lack of it).

a/n: wake up wedding planners nation i’ve got food !! this took a longggg time to write due to writing block, but in return !! it’s longer than usual actually !! honestly it’s less about thoma and the reader and more about world building :D still, i hope this is enjoyable!

warnings; wine, slight hints that people are under the influence

the airy feeling from saturday night followed into the workweek. as you opened the door to the printing room, determined to print out a few documents before going to your office, you were surprised to see germany inside. his hair was pulled up into a slick bun, but a few stands framed his face nicely. striding in beside him, you offered him a small smile. “good morning, thoma,” you greeted. “how was your weekend?”

“a good morning to you too, y/n!” he grinned. he pressed a few buttons on the printer before placing his hands on his hips. “it was alright. i mainly stayed home and tidied things up.”

you pulled your laptop out of your bag, pulling up a document. “ah, that’s good to hear,” you replied, rolling on the balls of your feet.

“oh, that reminds me,” he perked up as he pulled out a thick set of paper. you pressed the print button on your laptop, tucking it away. “you remember that we’re leaving tomorrow morning, right? to go see the venue with the happy couple?”

you blinked before realizing what he said. “oh, dear. that must’ve slipped my mind. i’ll be sure to pack my bags for the night. i’m quite excited to go visit after seeing those photos of the lake.”

“planning a night together already?” ayato interrupted, making you nearly jump out of your skin. his tall figure appeared from the doorway, a slight smirk hidden behind vanilla-colored files. “i didn’t know you two were moving so fast. though, a little workplace romance is what we need to liven things up around here.”

“mr. kamisato!” thoma replied, bowing deeply as you did the same. “apologies. we are not planning a vacation together. we’re actually discussing tomorrow’s trip out to the wedding venue.”

standing up straighter, he nodded and clapped his hands together. “that’s right. i’m quite excited. i heard there were excellent boba shops by the shoreline.”

“i don’t believe that you’re the one holding the wedding, ayato. unless you are secretly engaged?” ayaka piped up, peeking behind her shoulders. “remember, tomorrow’s vacation is strictly business. if you wanted a vacation, you could have ordered plane tickets for fontaine.”

“you’re no fun, do you know that?” ayato replied, uncrossing his arms and lightly tapping the folder onto her head. “anyways, back to work we go. work hard today!”

“morning, thoma,” you greeted, stifling a yawn. you waved with a work bag and suitcase in hand. sunshine barely poured in through the cracks and crevices of the skyscrapers. thoma greeted you with a small smile, as did the kamisato siblings. he dressed casually, in a white dress shirt, red striped tie, and red linen slacks.

“good morning, y/n!” he answered, green eyes twinkling. “here, let me take your things and put them in the trunk.”

ayato greeted you next, arms crossed. he, too, was dressed in a white shirt but wore no tie alongside it. he bit a hair tie as he pulled his hair back. as he finally smoothed his hair, he flashed you a brilliant smile. “good morning, y/n,” ayato greeted as he crossed his arms. “i’ve been looking forward to going on a little field trip since you and thoma reserved rooms for this hotel.”

his sister wore a light blue blouse with a long white skirt. coughing slightly, ayaka smiled through gritted teeth. “i believe that this is a strictly business-only trip, correct?” she reprimanded. “need i remind you that this is for your good friends mr. ren and miss akiho.”

“bah, you know how to dampen the mood,” he almost pouted. “anyways, now that thoma is almost done putting your things away, we better get going.”

“speaking of which,” ayaka piped up. “thoma and you will be riding alone together. ayato and i decided that it would be beneficial for you. you know both of us, but getting closer to thoma doesn’t hurt anyone, right?”

clapping his hands excitedly, ayato grinned. “oh, that’s correct, dear sister,” he drawled, clasping his hands together. “i wish nothing more for my sweet employees to become close friends. maybe even more?”

shaking your head, you let out a small laugh. “ha, you’re in a teasing mood, mr. kamisato,” you stated. “you could have just said that you’d like us to do some more team bonding.”

“it’s more like we want you and thoma to--” ayaka began before her brother lightly flicked her.

they conversed with each other through their eyebrow expressions. ayaka’s eyebrows raised as if to say “what?”. the elder kamisato narrowed his eyebrows as if to say “keep it under wraps”.

thoma joined your side, tilting his head. ayato cleared his throat. “you know, i’m really impressed with the two of you. communicating without words is a very successful skill in our field,”

thoma raised an eyebrow. “well, uh, i’m flattered by your compliments, but did i miss something important?”

reverting back to a normal, composed stature, they brushed off invisible dust in sync. “no, no, nothing at all,” ayaka shook her head. “please, let’s get going. i’m sure our clients are on their way as well.”

you parted ways with the siblings, waving as they both got into their chauffeured car. thoma opened the passenger door for you, and you gave your thanks. the interior of the car was sleek, a model you had seen on television. the seats were leather and had sleek features. “ayato sure goes out on the company cars,” you muttered as your driver got in his seat.

“alright, ready to go? it’s only a two-hour drive from headquarters,” he chirped, closing his eyes in delight. “it’s been so long since i’ve been out of the city. i’m really excited to get some fresh air.”

“as am i,” you nodded curtly, placing your hands in your lap. truthfully, you were also excited. unlike liyue harbor, inazuma city was tightly packed and had industrial roots. any chance to escape the hustle and bustle was welcome by you.

thoma turned the engine on, keys letting out a jingle. as he navigated through the busy streets of the city, he perked up. “hey, would you mind picking some songs on my phone?” he asked, eyes not leaving the road. “if that’s okay with you, of course.”

nodding silently, you picked up his phone. his home screen was a picture of him with his dog, both cutely smiling at the camera. you let out a small note of appreciation. accessing his music player, you scrolled through his playlist. there were several to be found; his workout playlist, a playlist for commute, a playlist for work, and a playlist for cooking.

you pondered on what to pick for a second before selecting a song that was found on all of your music playlists. as thoma crossed the bridge leading into the city, he grinned brilliantly. “you have great taste, y/n,” he complimented. “i love this song!”

as he hummed along, you pressed a hand onto your cheek. you could feel the heat emanating from your cheek, and you tilted your head to the window. sighing, you pursed your lips. you couldn’t be getting this flustered; the ride had only just begun.

the ride to the lakeside town was silent, other than the music playing. large, iron buildings faded into lush greenery, and highways turned into blue rivers. the sky was a pleasant shade of cerulean, dotted with smears of white clouds. the sight was so beautiful that you couldn’t help but fall into slumber.

when you blinked awake, thoma’s hand was on your own. you swore you were dreaming; in no real life, scenario were you going to be holding hands with your coworker. “are you awake, y/n?” he asked, gently tugging on your fingers. “we’re here.”

sitting up straight, you covered your face in your hands. “m-my apologies! i didn’t mean to sleep!” you apologized profusely, shaking your head.

laughing, thoma reassured you that it was alright. “no worries at all. it was a long drive and, naturally, you would sleep a little,” he said. unbuckling his seatbelt, he quickly got out. running to your side of the car, he was quick to open the door for you. offering a bashful hand, you took it gratefully. rising, he stared you in the eyes for a silent moment. “i shall get our luggage. mr. and miss kamisato should be fetching us soon.”

as soon as he was off again, your hand was still in the position that he left it in. the heat rose to your cheeks, and it was not because of the summer sunshine. looking around, you saw several cars in the parking lot. the grass was verdant and down the hill where the parking lot was aloft was a sea of flowers. beyond was the shining, teal lake. a sign hung from a willow tree, swaying back and forth, reading: “welcome to crescent moon island”.

as you shut the car door, ayaka and ayato began walking over. “y/n!” ayaka smiled, waving a hand. “how was the drive with thoma?”

“he’s an excellent driver,” you answered, nodding respectfully. “and he also has good taste in music.”

chuckling, ayato smiled. “i’m glad to see that you both are getting along nicely.” looking at his watch, he pursed his lips. “miss kagami and mr. ren both informed me that they’re currently boarding the ferry to the island. they should be arriving at the hotel in about half an hour. let’s head down there, shall we?”

the walk down the hill and into the town was pleasant. thoma eagerly handled all of the luggage, insistent that he carried all the suitcases. after you tried to offer help, he shook his head with a brilliant smile.

the wafting scent of waffle ice cream cones and sweet fudge floated through the air, making you smile. the buildings are unlike the city, with color sidings and a short, stocky height. in between some of the buildings were docks, harboring small and large boats. above, bluffs hosted houses of all sizes. unlike the capital city, the muggy, unbearable heat was replaced with cooling lake effect weather.

looking at his phone, ayato hummed. “it’s not too far of a walk from here. we’re about five minutes from the hotel.”

mindlessly, you continued to admire the sights as you walked by. windows and shutters were open on every structure. banners fluttered in the wind, and people sat on their balconies. what was most surprising of all was the lack of cars; it seemed all of the town’s cars were at the top of the parking lot hill.

after a few more minutes of walking, the main street revealed another set of bluffs. several summer homes, mansions, and villas dotted the cliffside. as you finally turned the corner, the destination was revealed. the crescent moon island hotel was gigantic, just like the one in the pictures. the ivory-colored walls glistened in the summer sunshine. burlesque columns stood on the long porch, casting long shadows onto the viridescent hills, which swelled out into the sea. “my, you and thoma both have an eye for venues,” ayaka complimented. “i’m sure that our clients will enjoy it.”

as you climbed the hill to the hotel, you were thankful to escape the battering heat from the sun. people milled about in the large front yard of the hotel, sitting by the fountain and running in between rows of flowers.

inside, the chilly air replaced the heat outside. thoma placed all of the luggage down, not even breaking a sweat. ayato folded his sunglasses, loosening his tie. “i’ll be the one to check us in,” he nodded dutifully, leaving just you, ayaka, and thoma in the front of the hotel. a glimmering, crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling, swaying over a grand set of staircases. red velvet chairs were placed in small pods, each accompanied by a golden-gilded glass table. it was luxury in a hotel, and nothing short of what you expected mr. ren and miss kagami to like.

ayato’s voice snapped your attention. “it seems that all of our rooms are available. come along now, let’s get settled and prepared for ren and kagami.” he flashed a set of key cards before happily turning around and walking ahead.

as you began walking towards the elevator, you were quick to pick up your suitcase. “i-i can handle those, y/n,” thoma interjected, but you shook your head.

“thoma, you just carried at least forty pounds worth of luggage for a mile. we wouldn’t want you getting injured before the tour, now, would we?” you countered softly, bumping his shoulder. “i know you can handle it, but it doesn’t hurt to share a burden.”

you and thoma both entered the elevator, squeezing in beside the kamisatos. “quite cramped in here,” ayato absentmindedly muttered. he gave a look to his sister, and you noticed her lip quirk up slightly. dismissing it, you refocused your attention in front of you.

ayato handed you your individual room keys, looked at his phone, and walked out of the elevator at the same time. “what a shame that we didn’t put you two in a room together,” he mumbled.

“did you say something, mr. kamisato?” thoma asked as he set down all of the luggage.

“nothing, nothing,” he replied, taking his suitcase. “thank you for carrying our suitcases, thoma. we’ll take it from here. we can reconvene in the lobby in about fifteen minutes when our clients arrive.”

“mr. ren, miss kagami, nice to see you!” you greeted respectfully, waving your hand in the lobby. “how was your trip to crescent moon island? is it to your liking so far?”

“it was. it was the first time i had been on a ferry before,” miss kagami smiled, nodding politely. today, she was wearing black sunglasses, a large sunhat, and a baby pink dress. her fiancee wore a white, open button-down with shades and shorts. “my, you both have an eye for venues. it’s peaceful, and i don’t think that paparazzi have found us just yet. not to mention, the lake is beautiful.”

“indeed, it’s beautiful,” mr. ren smiled. “thoma, y/n, and ayaka, very well chosen.”

“mmm, a week on this island and off of vacation for once,” you swore you heard ayato mutter, to which ayaka’s grin became slightly strained.

“we’ve gotten permission to tour the venue,” she announced. nodding to her secretary, she smiled. “i’ll take it from here. let’s look at the ceremony venue, shall we?”

walking outside, the early summer breeze swept at everyone’s silken robes. the season was just right for marriage, and while you were quite happy to be planning one, you couldn’t help but think of when you were going to have your own.

“here would be the venue,” ayaka began, pointing her hands towards the gazebo. the marble gazebo stood at the back of the garden. wisterias waved their sage leaves and fair rose stalks swept against vernal bushes. ivy crawled up the grand gazebo’s columns, scaling the ivory. the grasses provided enough room for chairs for the five hundred guests that the couple had invited. beyond the gazebo was the bluff, where shining blue lake water reflected the perfect blue sky.

playfully, mr. ren took miss kagami’s hand and took her under the gazebo. the two giggled, drawing their hands together and looking into their eyes. ayato stared at the happy scene, crossing his arms and shaking his head. you could picture it now: blue ribbons on the columns, miss kagami in her pretty white dress and cathedral length veil, and mr. ren donning a light-colored suit. you and the rest of your coworkers would be sat up front, clapping with gloved hands and bright smiles.

it was a delight, truly, to watch two people deeply in love get married. you tucked your hands behind your back and looked at the sky. a few wisteria petals scattered the sky, sending their sweet scent with them. looking to your right, thoma stared at the couple, smiling at them. you wondered when he, too, would be married.

“right then, i do believe it to be the time to visit our reception venue, back inside,” ayaka nodded.

walking on the pathway back into the hotel, you stood in the back of the touring group. ayaka eagerly described the ballroom where the venue would take place. you stalled, staring again afar.

“y/n?” thoma asked, snapping you out of your daydream once more. “is the sunshine getting to you? i promise to go get water once we are inside.”

gratefully, you shook your head. “no, no, that will not be necessary at all. thank you for your concern, thoma.”

inside, the cool, air-conditioned ballroom was the playground for your creativity. perhaps the gazebo and garden would do well in fitting in the ballroom. floral arrangements were popular in the weddings you had seen online. staring at the end of the ballroom, you thought you saw a balcony. out there would be a fine spot for post-wedding photos, and the caterers would be on the left--

“miss kagami, mr. ren, what do you think? suitable enough for your wedding?” thoma asked, standing beside you.

“show-stopping,” mr. ren interjected. his fiancee nodded happily. “you know, before you all came along, we couldn’t decide on what our wedding is like. now that you’re here, and all of this is becoming real, it makes me so happy. so happy that i could just--”

he swept kagami off her feet, twirling her around. her laughter rang out in the ballroom and even ayaka could not hide her smile. ayato laughed once again, relishing in the others’ happiness. thoma looked at you with kind eyes as you stared, great emotion sweeping over you.

“it’s beautiful,” you whispered, but you were not sure to who.

“say, ayato, when shall you get married?” ayaka asked suddenly, making him spit out his wine.

thoma was quick to get up from his chair and offer a napkin and a glass. ayaka didn’t bother to hide her smile beneath a hand, only chastely lifting a glass to her mouth.

the reserved dining room filled with his choked breaths, finally settling with a rescinding cough. “dear sister, i do believe those kinds of questions are best answered in a more private setting, no?” he slightly scolded, cutting into his steak once more.

“please,” she stated, placing down her glass. “no one else is in the dining room but us four. might as well ask the question.”

“and in front of our subordinate?”

“as if we treat them like anything less than family,” she shrugged. thoma retired back to his seat, diving into the steak. “now, answering that question or not?”

sighing, he reclined in his chair. “i will get married when the conglomerate is successful and stable. is that a fair answer?”

“always avoiding the question,” she muttered. your eyes widened at their banter--never had you seen the siblings so vulgar with one another.

“actually, i believe the better question to ask is when thoma will get married,” ayato asked and now it was thoma’s turn to spit out his water.

“mr. kamisato,” the secretary raised a finger. “what a forward question, mr. kamisato.”

“that question could equally be asked to y/n,” ayaka piped up. “do you happen to be getting married, or dating anyone, or your eye on anyone for that matter?”

blinking, you placed your hands in your lap. the thoughts from this afternoon spiraled once more. there, again, was the question that you had been asked at least a thousand times over since you turned 20. the truth was that no one had caught your eye. ever. and though you were of age, and your friends were getting married left and right, you were too busy studying your life away. and now, as an almost graduate of business school, as an almost new businessperson, as almost someone who has their life in order, you were going to be unwed.

it was not that you hadn’t thought about it, nor that you didn’t want love. time was occupied by school and thoughts of the future. and now with your witnessing of the happy couple’s maddening love, you were once again asking yourself when it was your turn.

“y/n?” thoma asked. “you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.”

shaking your head gratefully, you looked down at your plate. “i will get married when i have met the right person,” you stated plainly. “and as of right now, i have not yet met the right person.”

“boring,” ayato whispered behind his glass.

“as for me, mr. and miss kamisato,” thoma piped up.”i’m not seeing one at the moment. though i do wish that my future spouse would be good friends with me first, i suppose.”

“hm, isn’t that convenient?” ayato smiled, almost slyly. “two, beautiful, single coworkers right next to each other. say didn’t the two of you go out to dinner the other night?”

“i believe that was because you had a meeting, mr. kamisato, and ayaka had to attend a charity ball in your place,” thoma clarified, coughing into his fist. “but we had a lovely time together in your place. even went on a walk together in a park afterward.”

“you’re a hopeless romantic,” his boss chuckled in response. “long walks in the park late at night, a fancy, dinner… you probably gave them your suit jacket too, right?”

“y/n,” ayaka asked, turning her head in your direction. “would you like to date thoma?”

you were the one spitting out your water this time. as soon as air returned to your lungs, you let out a breath. placing a hand over your beating heart, you shook your head quickly. “ah…don’t get me wrong, i do believe that thoma has a heart of gold and is a wonderful person, but mr. kamisato has made it fairly clear that workplace conduct is important to maintain,” you sheepishly said, scratching the back of your head. “after all, romance can be a serious problem in getting work done. we work right next to each other in the same office. if we ever broke up, it would derail our current projects, no?”

ayato studied you, eyebrow raised as if to say “i never said that”, but eventually turned his face into a neutral expression. ayaka played with her steak, poking around the meat. with that, you coughed slightly, “well, a wonderful dinner that you have served,” you said, standing up and dusting yourself down. “i’ll have to give my personal thanks to the chef later. for now, i shall retire to my hotel room. a good night to you all.”

as you scooted out of your chair, ayato nodded with a small smile. “thoma,” he announced, sitting up and readjusting his legs. “please escort them to their room, would you?”

“of course!” he said, standing up. the chair screeched, echoing through the room.

“ayato and i will continue our dinners. thoma, come down once you’re finished,” ayaka smiled. “good night, y/n. i will see you in the morning.”

waving goodbye, you and thoma walked out of the room quickly. as soon as you exited the dining room, your shoulders relaxed quickly. thoma adjusted his collar, blush evident on his face. “i would never have expected those kinds of questions tonight,” he breathed out as you walked through the marble lobby. you both waved an appreciative hand to the receptionists.

“ayaka and ayato have loose lips when drinking a little bit of wine,” you chuckled. “i would never have thought they would have gone so far as to ask us to date. they have the strangest humor.”

he laughed, pressing the elevator button. “you’re right in that sense,” he chuckled.

you squished in beside him, shoulders touching one another. your eyes focused on the elevator floor, your reflection staring back at you. thoma’s fingers brushed yours ever so slightly before drawing away. you didn’t even realize that your own fingertips were chasing after him.

when the door opens, your coworker let you out first. you awkwardly led the way, walking down the red-carpeted hallway. you passed by view windows, showing off the sunset. red, orange, and pink hues painted the white doors. looking back at thoma, his hair became platinum, eyes verdant green, and skin the warm color of honey. he smiled, head tilting to the side cutely. you tried to smile back, despite the heat rushing up to your cheeks.

eventually, you stood in front of your doorway. looking at thoma, you fiddled with your room card key. “um, thoma,” you began, focusing on his very nicely polished leather shoes. “i didn’t… i didn’t mean to make it sound like i didn’t want to date you, or that you were undateable, but i also didn’t want to try and break corporation rules while in front of its boss, and--”

taking your hands in his, thoma smiled encouragingly. “i didn't take offense to your comments at dinner, y/n. i know what this internship means for you. if i were in your position, i would have said the same.”

nodding quickly, you pulled your hands away and began to unlock your door. “thank you, thoma,” you said gratefully. “i really appreciate it. see you tomorrow morning.”

as thoma began to walk away and you opened your door, he piped up. “hey, y/n,” he began, turning around. you spun around attentively, hand still on the door.

“yeah?” you asked, wondering what he wanted to say.

“just for the record,” he said, crossing his arms with a slight smile. “i don’t find you undateable either. in fact, i believe you’re quite the opposite.” as your eyes widened, your mouth opened stupidly, and your hands dropped to your sides, he happily smiled before turning around.

“night, y/n. dream of me.”

taglist. @polluxminor @lowermoons @salamiwrites @dilucsz @ttaechi @infinite-cats @blissmal @mel-goes-unknown @melancholia-k @glaazelilies@shulkerdotjar @ttaechi @iamconstantlyinpain

#genshin impact #genshin x reader #genshin impact x reader #genshin impact thoma #thoma x reader #genshinimpact imagines

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meimi-haneoka · 4 days

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Every time I see the English translation of a certain Clear Card panel with Touyuki appearing on my TL I want to pull my hair because that line was mistranslated so, so badly and people are making speculations and going nuts about it in the tags and it's all based on something that doesn't exists because that's not what Touya says, not at all. Like, not even remotely. It's also so out of character for him to say something like that, I don't know how his fans don't realize something is off in that line.

One day I will compile those translation mistakes in one giant google sheet or something, I need to turn this into a mission because it's honestly so irritating to see how riddled with mistakes this localization is, sometimes to the point of messing with important parts of the plot. I don't see them releasing a decently translated edition in the near future, so it's all I can do to give back some respect to the story. Clamp are aware of the translation mistakes and how they change the perception of the story for the foreign readers, just as they are aware of the posts I've made about them over the years (they talked about this in a Space long time ago, and I still cherish that mention in my heart with pride). But there was basically nothing they could do at the time, if not suggesting the English readers to check the posts mentioning the translation differences. That's great and all, I'm glad I have their blessing but this is also not really how ideally one should read a story. My posts are long and filled with personal comments and maybe that would deter many people from checking out what a certain line actually says, so I need to find a quicker and easier way. Also, I started to do those only from chapter 40 onwards (and in the beginning I was way overzealous, I would need to revise) and this panel I'm mentioning above is part of the butchery they did in the first volumes, which weren't covered by my posts yet.

#sorry for the vent but everytime I see certain panels my blood boils #i love Touyuki they're soulmates and I'm all for their moments together but damn that line was really NOT IT #it's so maddening to think how little respect was used in the translation of this work #and how much of the translator's bias shows through shamelessly #this is also referencing to how people probably still believe Lilie had a thing with Momo #while being very much engaged to Akiho's future father #another terrible translation mistake that hinted at a wlw pair when there was none of it #as I always say headcanons are free real estate #and you can mess around with them however you like #but canon must stay canon and the translation has to reflect precisely what's been said in the original JP text #no ifs and no buts #people deserve to know the real story #not being lied to for the sake of inventing stuff or giving 'flavor' to things #that's not Clamp's story anymore #it's the translator's story at that point #me being mad about this shitty translation all over again was really not what I needed when I'm so tired after a wedding party #goodnight #please do me a favor and read this story in Spanish if you can read Spanish #Norma's translation is really WELL DONE #always grateful to Agnes Perez for actually doing her job with love #goodnight again

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tsubasaclones · 3 months

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i don't give a fuck what clamp wants me to believe. kaito is NOT a changed man at the end of the story with his half assed (not even it's more like 1% assed) "apology" that grossly understates what he put akiho through and doesn't even mention anyone else. not to mention being romantically involved with a middle schooler... that he raised... JAIL

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lilover131 · 11 months

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Chapter 73 and 74 Analysis

Long time no see! It’s been stressful over here, since I just moved into a new house (my first time living on my own!) and have been distracted with unpacking everything as well as just living life, but I have lots of good things coming my way and much to look forward to! But I’m exhausted...hahahaha.

These past two chapters managed to be both extremely calm and yet crazy exciting at the same time! I know the new chapter is pretty much out now (or will be very very soon), and so I wanted to get this out before I officially read it and don’t get behind three months in a row! There is so much to talk about, so let’s dive right in!

In chronological order, we’ll start off with chapter 73! OMG, THE LILIE COLOR PAAGGEEEEE!! I’m in love with her dress, and honestly this may be my favorite outfit drawn so far in the entirety of Clear Card. It’s so elegant, detailed, and definitely gives me those Tsubasa/Magic Knight Rayearth vibes! Lilie looks like a straight up princess, and it reminds me just a bit of Kaito’s outfit on the chapter 40 cover page. Lilie’s is a lighter blue color than that particular image, but it has that gradient blue on the white with the gold filagree pattern, so I almost wonder if this was done on purpose…

The chapter starts off more a little bit after where the last one left off. Sakura has returned from school after her revelation and conversation with Syaoran, and she goes straight to Akiho to spill the beans about the magical world. Regardless of whether Sakura thinks Akiho would accept it or not (which of course she would), I think this is a good call and will make things easier if everyone in the household is on the same page (TALK TO FUJITAKA SAKURA).

Sakura enters Akiho’s room and comments about how it has a similar layout to hers but that it doesn’t take much to tell it is her room. Of course one telltale sign is the bookshelf! She’s got a nice collection going on, and the cute moon shaped lamp on her nightstand certainly has some Kaito vibes (hehe). Akiho asks her if she really believes that, and Sakura explains that although they have a lot in common, she is still her own person. Akiho shares the sentiment and speaks on how unique Sakura is, which makes her blush a bit before her eyes draw to the watch. It looks less broken since the last time we saw it, which shows how hard Akiho has been working to fix it!

We finally hear the story of how the watch came into her possession, and Akiho explains that she found this in their great grandfather’s house, but that he doesn’t know where it came from exactly. They had attempted to get it repaired at watch repair shops, but no one managed to ever get it working again. Despite this, Akiho has been working diligently to fix it herself because she can’t help but feel that it is very very important (indeeeeeed Akiho. Quite important!). In a way, this feels more symbolic than just repairing of a watch. This comes off to me as Akiho working to restore Kaito’s time in general. Right now, I think his time has stopped rather than moving forward, and fixing the watch will be like fixing Kaito (even if she isn’t aware of that herself).

Sakura encourages her to keep working at it before she explains that she has something to tell her. The following panel seems to indicate some time has passed, and we flash forward to after Akiho has been told about her magic. Sakura is somewhat nervous after telling her, understandably so, but Akiho as expected completely accepts it and seems even excited about it as it feels like something out of a book. She goes on to say that it’s a good thing they are different despite being twins, and that even if she can’t use magic, she hopes that she can find something she’s good at to help her that Sakura cannot do. She then states “It’s what I can do…and what I can’t…that makes me who I am”. Not only were these words spoken by her real mother Lilie, but she is also saying it with the same kind expression and pose that her mother did when talking to Sakura in a dream.

This seems to stir Sakura a bit. She can’t remember the dream she had, but it does seem that this triggers a feeling in her that she has to look for something, particularly something magical. Akiho mentions she wouldn’t be to see it since she doesn’t have magic, but Sakura mentions that even she cannot see it. It seems she certainly senses it is there, but Akiho assists by telling a story she heard about hidden magic that only would appear when called by name. Through a discussion about magic and similarity to books, Sakura is triggered to think about books containing memories…a record, and this seems to be enough to summon the RECORD.

This at least serves as confirmation that SOME of the Clear Cards still exist (at least RECORD does), and unsurprisingly, it has captured memories from the previous timeline. Sakura’s magic really never ceases to amaze me. But what is even more interesting about this is that it reveals a scene we had yet to see before. In this scene, Syaoran is giving her advice to use the RECORD card and having it essentially remain active due to the feeling they were having that someone was making them forget things (-cough- Kaito -cough-), and I can’t help but sit over here and be like “OMG, MY BABIES ARE SO SMART!!”. I’m so proud of them for thinking of this, and man is it coming in handy now.

It turns out the RECORD card even managed to capture the moment Momo visited Suppi and Kero (which I haven’t forgotten about!!). Sakura is naturally pretty surprised to learn that 1. She was making new cards and doesn’t remember, and 2. Seeing Momo, who she does not recognize, talking directly to her in this recorded memory advising her of exactly what is going on.

Momo introduces herself and states that she is the guardian of a ‘certain book’ (Alice in Clockland), but that she cannot stop the time rewind that she knows is going to happen (she was right that it was going to happen, but we were all wrong about the reason why. Hahaha). Momo had to be neutral despite her feelings and she could not tell Sakura or Akiho what was going on. Akiho is naturally surprised, because she doesn’t remember Momo in this timeline, but clearly she knows her name. Moreover, Momo mentions “The boy” (-cough- Kaito -cough-) and how he is definitely hiding something but will never breathe a word of it (she was definitely right about that one).

It seems we have Momo to thank for Sakura getting this vision entirely as the RECORD card should have actually vanished with the time rewind, but thanks to the ring/crown Lilie gave Momo, she was able to cast a spell that allowed RECORD to stay intact without discovery from Kaito. Now, her statement here might make one believe that none of the cards exist if RECORD was only there due to the last spell with the ring, but she tells Sakura that there are other cards that haven’t disappeared and are waiting for her to call their names. I wonder which oooonnneesss?! I imagine REWIND is certainly one considering she hasn’t actually used it at all yet since its creation, and it must have some sort of purpose that we haven’t discovered yet (perhaps the ability to undo Kaito’s spell?).

The RECORD card then turns into a crystal and enters Sakura’s body, bringing forth all the memories from the previous timeline. These memories bring Sakura to tears, which concerns Akiho, but she embraces her tightly and tells her that she “must bring back what they should never have lost”. It seems here that she is talking about Kaito, and the chapter ends there. What an intense ending!

NOW ON TO CHAPTER 74!

CAN I JUST SAY WHAT A BADASS SAKURA LOOKS LIKE IN THIS COLOR PAGE?! She looks ready to FIGHT, and I’m all for it. I love serious Sakura and can’t get enough of it. I absolutely love the outfit and the stars behind her. It’s all very lovely and definitely gives the vibes of the final battle we were all waiting for. She looks powerful in this image, and the colors in general are just absolutely gorgeous with the blues and reds mingling.

The chapter begins at Yukito’s house. Yukito is adorably feeding Nakuru what seems to be mandarin orange slices? Regardless, she seems awfully comfy under the warm kotatsu. Haha! Touya interrupts a bit to tell them that Sakura is on her way, and when asked if they should go to meet her so she does not walk alone in the dark, Touya affirms that she is fine because she is coming along with Syaoran, Akiho, and Tomoyo as well. This is of course surprising to the both of them, because it is unusual for Sakura to come this late along with the entire gang. Touya has a serious expression, meaning he knows that it is something indeed serious that she wishes to discuss.

The group arrives, and Sakura cuts right to the chase. She tells them that she has something “weird” to tell them (the understatement of the century) and specifies that she wants particularly everyone who knows about magic to hear what she has to say. She cues for Kero and Suppi to come out, and FINALLY Kero acknowledges that he doesn’t have to hide since Touya knows everything. Suppi asks the question literally all of us have been asking by shouting ‘WHY HAVE I BEEN PRETENDING TO BE A STUFFED ANIMAL THIS WHOLE TIME?!”. Hahahahaha. Not sure if CLAMP planned this conversation on purpose or if they realized they had a small plot hole to fill, but honestly….this is totally a Kero thing to do. Kero explains that he did this because Touya never really warmed up to him, and that maybe he didn’t know how truly awesome he actually was. I still don’t get this logic, but Kero’s never been the brightest to begin with. Lol. Touya explains he never called him out on it because he assumed Kero just liked pretending to be a plush, and honestly that seems logical from his perspective. Even Sakura states that she never understood why Kero kept up the act, and I just find this hilarious.

Just when we thought the whole group was present and ready to hear what Sakura had to say, we get a video call with Eriol and Kaho! I’m so glad they get to be a part of the conversation too! This is the first time we’ve had all of them truly together talking at the same time, and I’m living for it! Sakura begins to tell them what happened, and we see a panel of the moon to show that some time has passed in the conversation before everyone reacts. Naturally, everyone is shocked, and Nakuru comments on who would even have the power to do such a thing.

Eriol, our ever knowledgeable magical resource, explains that he is not aware of any living sorcerers who possess such a power, which means he has never become aware of Kaito’s existence in this timeline. However, he also mentions that if they have the book required to cast ‘the forbidden spell’, that’s another story. So despite Kaito not existing in this timeline, the book certainly still does. Sakura tells them that the ‘guardian of the book’ told her this and specifically tells Akiho that she had a stuffed bunny she loved very much named Momo who was the guardian’s other form. Akiho is surprised and states that ‘Momo’ is the title of a book she loves, which confirms the theories some fans had about Momo being named after the book ‘Momo’ by Michael Ende (remember the book about the girl who fights time traveling thiefs that Akiho told Kaito about in their first meeting? It’s that book). How cool!!

Sakura takes Akiho’s hand and tells her that even though they are only twins due to their lives being rewritten, it doesn’t change the fact that Akiho is special to her. This warms the heart of everyone in the room, and Touya makes a comment about Sakura’s ‘sister-complex’, which Yukito teasingly refutes by pointing out his own sister-complex. Hahaha. Tomoyo, sweet as she always is, talks about what a beautiful big sister Sakura was and that Akiho made for a beautiful little sister.

Sakura continues to explain that she doesn’t seem to remember everything, but that she knows there is someone out there who has been cut out of their current timeline. She can’t explain why she feels this way, but she can’t help but think this person is Akiho’s precious person. Seeing the RECORD card’s memories of Akiho without Kaito really gave me those Tsubasa vibes again (funny how that keeps happening) of the memories Sakura had without Syaoran. It’s really sad honestly…

Akiho says that being a family member of the Kinomoto family made her happy, but that she felt something inside of her that hurts and like she was always searching for someone. I’m sure that she felt that when looking at the watch, and perhaps she thought that fixing it would give her clues. Sakura tells her that she thinks they are someone Akiho would have never wanted to lose, and that they are also the one who rewrote the world. And as a result, they have to take that person back.

Kero asks how, which is a valid question indeed, considering they don’t know who this person is or where they have even gone. But Sakura’s instincts tell her that the watch Akiho has will help. We, of course, know she is right on the money with this one, but it’s interesting watching everyone react to the watch. Eriol and Kaho seem to recognize it immediately as an artifact used in time magic specifically, but note that only someone with tremendous abilities would be able to use it.

It’s at this point that Akiho seems concerned about Sakura’s safety, and she expresses that she doesn’t want her to do anything that would put her in harm’s way. But Sakura counters this by telling her that she’s not being forced in any way, and that she was able to get through all the difficult challenges she’s had to this point because she had so many people who cared about her and supported her. And because of that, she wants to do the same for the people she cares about.

Tomoyo takes the chance to pull out the bag with the new outfits she’s made and mentions how she could have sworn she made some before, but when she looked, they were all gone (likely due to the time rewind). But while making the sleeves of this one particularly, she had a thought that these outfits in particular were going to be special. I like how CLAMP calls out the sleeves here, because I believe it’s meant to call attention to the fact that this is the outfit sleeve Sakura saw in her dream where she asked the Cloaked Figure when they would meet, and it was when she had that outfit that she would. That is out signal that this is truly the final battle! Whooo! Another thing to note is that the panel showing Tomoyo sewing looks very familiar to the REPAIR card version in Clockland

Sakura shows her appreciation and also tells Tomoyo she’ll take care not to damage them, but that if she does, Tomoyo will be there to fix it. I like this call back to the REPAIR card conversation where Tomoyo asked she allow her to repair the clothes instead.

Touya finally chimes in after being silent for quite a while and insists Sakura don’t stay out past curfew. Sakura is confused because she’s never actually had a curfew, but Touya elaborates by stating that her ‘curfew’ is getting home before their dad starts to worry, and that’s how it’s always worked. Hahaha. I find this page both funny and adorable at the same time.

Nakuru starts asking who is going to be going and is eager to be chosen as part of the ‘party’. Hahahaha. She speaks as if she is being picked to play a game, and even Suppi comments on it with the same thoughts, pointing out that this is real life and not a video game. Lol. Sakura declines though to bring anyone but Syaoran with her. She wishes she could, but her instincts once again are telling her that because they are looking for Akiho’s special person that she needs to bring hers as well. This is super duper sweet, but I think this is also CLAMP’s way of telling us that Syaoran will have an important role to play here. I know I have said many times that I feel like Kaito and Syaoran have some sort of connection, but I feel like this kinda adds even more to that thought. I can’t wait to see what happens!

Eriol agrees that she should follow her instincts, but Sakura lets everyone know that if she realizes she does need them, that she may call for them. Sakura takes Akiho’s hands and also tells her that there will be a time when she will need her to do something only she can do, and that she must stay with the others until that time. I imagine it will be Akiho’s voice that becomes important here. Kaito hearing Akiho’s words and calling for him I think will be vital to bringing him back.

In the next page, Yukito and Touya are talking outside, and Yuki is teasing him for his reaction to Sakura calling Syaoran her favorite person. Hahahahaha. Touya is a little jealous, and even though he didn’t express that outwardly, Yukito of course would be able to notice it. He also asks if Touya already knew about the world being rewritten, and he says that he did not know specifically what had happened, but felt something was off and that it was related to Sakura somehow. He had also been out of the house more often, because he knew it would hurt Akiho to learn the truth about her life. He gets a rather deadly looking expression on his face and says “No one hurts my family and gets away with it”, which really reminds me of his conversation with Kaito back at the botanical garden. It seems he still has that sentiment deep down and also views Akiho still as family even though he knows now that she is not actually his sister.

The last page shows Sakura and Syaoran in their new battle costumes, and OMGGGG THEY LOOK SO GOOOOOODDDDDD. This definitely screams final battle, and I CANNOT WAAAIIITTTTT.

That’s all I’ve got for now. Now I can go read the new chapter and start on that analysis! Hahahaha. Thank you again for all your patience and support!

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