#vol 184

[5]

INTERESTING. 

I don’t think we know about this festival yet. We get the flashback of Sakura in the ruins though, as expected, and that shot of Lava Lamp and Mokona dramatically glancing back is LOVELY. 

We keep getting these brief shots of Fai leaning all the way down to whisper with Lava Lamp, which is just delightful considering how obvious this looks with their height difference. 

Also I’m really loving the sheer level of himbo energy the marketplace guys are giving off. I think I instantly love them.

THIS page shows a closer look at how they’re really feeling. Lava Lamp has his suspicious stare going, Fai is whispering conspiratorially with him, and he glances to Kurogane to confirm he agrees with the plan. Loving, of course, that we’re still working with Kurogane’s hearing consistently just being better than everyone else’s. Because ninja. 

Also the shot of the ruin's shadow becoming stretched out and distorted in the sunset is 10/10, lovely metaphor.

Actually one thing we’ve skipped over here is anyone reacting to Mokona in any way. She wasnt speaking directly to them before in the marketplace but now she is, and they’re responding to her normally like anyone else. I’m 50/50 on whether magical beings are a regular sight in Clow and we just haven’t seen it yet, or if the people here just weren’t programmed to register her as anything different. 

[4]

At first appearance all the people here seem just as normal and friendly as their Regular Clow counterparts, but the Tsubasa family are still on high alert and are immediately trying to figure out what’s going on together. We LOVE to see it. Even Mokona is adding in her observations. Detective family arc?? Detective family arc part 2??? J’adore! 

We also get to see Kurogane use his ninja senses to try and get a read of everyone’s aura - bringing back that skill set they spent so long building up in Outo. 

Fai also seems to be deliberately dropping things into the conversation to see how they’ll react - ie, that they only just arrived, to see if anyone thinks this is out of place. 

Oh THIS just stabs me in the heart (positive). 

The overly friendly citizens are just… openly fangirling over the idea of them travelling together based on the concept that travelling together must be nice. Which is hilarious. 

But then CLOSE UP ON FAI AS HE AGREES. 

We see the return of Fai’s friendly smile here as they talk to these unknown elements but it’s not the same as before - he’s not playing it up or exaggerating anything, and in fact is just openly stating the truth. Which makes his open eyed calm smile as he agrees that travelling together is nice just SLAM HOME his entire character arc in one frame or less. He’s made it THIS FAR that he not only HAS this new family, but has it genuinely, without any lies or curses between them, and appreciates how truly incredible it is to have these people with him. 

[3]

I kind of wonder at the translation of Kurogane’s wording here, since… either he’s talking about the ruins, which are NOT that way, or he’s talking about Sakura’s body, which is not a “thing”. Maybe he meant their goal in general or…something..? 

Either way! That's an absolutely wonderful shocked reaction panel, don't mind if I do.

Oh!

I actually wondered if they were all frozen in time here until I realised they were making noise. So, time confirmed not frozen! 

Also hi Miyuki!! How terrible that you’re stuck here too! 

I LOVE that the wings of the city gate visually line up to frame the ruins in the exact centre. It’s haunting the background of the shot, directly where we can’t miss it even when we’re trying to look elsewhere, and hanging directly above the Tsubasa family themselves.

I ALSO love that this tiny child is just running at them with a basket of apples apropos of nothing - but mostly because only Lava Lamp would even recognise these as regular apples. In Hanshin neither Fai or Kurogane recognised Syaoran's description of what apples from Clow looked like. I don't think they clarified at the time exactly what their own apples were like, but Syaoran definitely described them as pale yellow in colour - and OH the Trademark Clamp consistency, 180 chapters later! I can't BELIEVE they brought this back right at the end of everything.

I can't BELIEVE I've kept this apple knowledge in my head ready and willing to be used all this time.  

[1]

Chapitre 184 - Cut Off From Time

Last time I mentioned Lava Lamp and loneliness and oh boy I must have been tuned in to CLAMP FM because oof. Next in the sequence of cute chapter covers featuring young Sakura and Syaoran having fun in the desert is: Lava Lamp Alone in the Same Spot! 

HEARTBREAKING. 

Especially when Lava Lamp himself wasn’t even present in those desert memories - except he very much experienced the entire thing and watched it through his double’s eyes. So NATURALLY he remembers the exact spot, and what they did there, because it was nice for him too. 

Except now Sakura is dead and Syaoran is solo chasing her empty body and Lava Lamp is here, wearing Syaoran’s clothes, alone, staring up at the same sky with an open hand of scattering Sakura petals. 

He gets to see the stars for himself this time and not through anyone else’s eyes. 

This does not appear like it's a significant comfort. 

Meanwhile the splash text looks like it says something along the lines of: The place of no return, where we said our goodbyes, there I must return, to bring an end to it all.

[6]

Fai and Kurogane continuing the narrative investigation while LAVA LAMP ENTERS THE APPLE ZONE

THE COMPLETE APPLE EXPERIENCE

Which apparently now comes with tiny baby hands - what a steal!

AHHHHH TINY BABY SAKURA HAND DELIVERING THE APPLE BONANZA

LOOK AT THAT ADORABLE FACE

This is it this is my reward for caring about Apples. I accept. This is tiniest precious apple child of all time. 

[7]

APPLE CRIME!

THE PAR-YU IS MISSING. INVESTIGATION BEGIN.

DON’T WORRY, KUROGANE-SAN IS ON THE PROWL

OHOHO TIME LOOP TIME LOOP TIME LOOP

This is wonderful.

[8]

OOPS THAT’S THE END?

MY MISTAKE. I didn’t realise we’d read so much at once there. 

What if we had… a special treat…

And just kept going…?

[2]

Honestly the little flair popping up to introduce us to 'The Kingdom of Clow' is BRUTAL. Because we’ve been here already - but we haven’t! Not this one! It’s not the one we know. 

But also for Lava Lamp Guy, who saw so much of this kingdom from Syaoran’s eyes (he second hand LIVED here) but hasn’t BEEN here, and it’s not the one he’s familiar with. 

Heartbreaking for the others too, to finally see the home of the Sakura and Syaoran they love so dearly, but being here without them. To remember details of what Sakura and Syaoran said about it, what they loved about it, but now seeing it without the context of their existence - and a twisted version of it at that. 

It’s a bit melancholy. It’s a little bittersweet. It’s ominous as hell.