#vol 190

[7]

[6]

Ok that is almost too adorable to bear. 

The tiny Sakura full face drop onto the ground AND the tiny Syaoran running desperately after her. 

TOO CUTE. ILLEGAL.

But also my thoughts have fallen into another urgent crevice. If NADESHIKO exists in this universe, then does SONOMI? Since they're cousins? Is there a Clow Kingdom Sonomi that they're hiding from me?

And more importantly, if that line of the family exists, IS THERE A CLOW KINGDOM TOMOYO? IT SEEMS LIKE THERE SHOULD BE??? CLOW KINGDOM TOMOYO WHEN?????

PLEASE I HAVE BEEN ON VERY GOOD BEHAVIOUR I DESERVE THIS

I - 

WHAT

AHHHHH WHAT?

WHAT

W H A T

W H A T

CLOW Isn’t

...

SAKURA’S DAD IS FUJITAKA?

HERE?

WAIT

WAIT

WAIT

… WHAT?

WHAT IS THIS?

IS THIS AN ALTERNATE TIMELINE?

DID SOMETHING GO WRONG?

IS THE CLOW KINGDOM THAT WE THE READERS KNOW NOT THE REAL CLOW KINGDOM?

OR DID SOMETHING HAPPEN IN THE TIMELINE THAT CHANGED EVENTS?

DID FUJITAKA ORIGINALLY EXIST BUT THEN LATER IT CHANGED TO CLOW?

OR DID SOMEONE WIPE SOME PEOPLE’S MEMORIES? OR

Gosh ok there’s lots of possibilities WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON

WHICH...

WHICH TIMELINE IS THIS

ARE WE IN THE CLOW KINGDOM???

IS THIS NOT THE SAME CLOW KINGDOM?????

OR IS IT ACTUALLY THE SAME CLOW KINGDOM BUT CLOW DID SOMETHING??????????????????

HOW IS THIS MAKING LESS AND LESS SENSE THE MORE WE GO ON

But on the plus side Fujitaka and Nadeshiko are happily together again in this universe with the same children, which is a win!

[1]

Chapitre 190 - Those Who Know The World

Ohohoho I see how it is Clamp.

It’s Gay Vampire Photoshoot Part 2: this time with The Problematic fave of all time.

Aka IN HIS CLUTCHES. 

A lot of the imagery is very similar to last time we did this (187?), so I won’t go back over that, but what I WILL say is having these two pose together here in the final arc with their entire storyline completely unresolved is SUCH a power move! Go Clamp give us nothing!

Then again, the splash text reads something along the lines of:

They knew that the time

when they would see each other once more

was not too far away

So maybe it will happen! Either way you can SEE who's excited about this and who isn't.

It's GOOD. The visible contrast!! Seishirou is cradling Subaru’s arm and leaning into his touch, clearly happy to be there, but Subaru is not mirroring his smile - and their faces aren't aligned either, they're at different angles despite both looking right at the camera. Subaru’s not even trying to touch him - Seishirou is drawing him in, forcing the distance between them to close.

Their visual styles don’t align either - they both wear black with white accents, but Seishirou’s are straight lines while Subaru’s are all curves and angles. They’re mismatched, and it’s easy to see that only one of them actually wants this scenario to occur. And it’s WILD that Seishirou can make even THIS pose look predatory. He’s INSIDE the circle of Subaru’s vampire claws. He’s INCHES away from an accidental finger twitch slicing him right open. Subaru doesn’t even want to BE there, even as he hovers over him like the archetypal vampire predator that his twin was so good at emulating. And EVEN THEN, despite the powerlessness that the position should bring, Seishirou is still completely in control here. HE’S pulling Subaru closer and taking the affection he wants, even though it would traditionally be the other way around.

[5]

DREAM SEER NADESHIKO EVEN

MEANING THAT, ON THIS SIDE OF EVENTS, SAKURA DIDN’T INHERIT CLOW’S POWERS BUT NADESHIKO’S INSTEAD?

THIS IS WILD. 

I can feel canon crumbling beneath me.

I... - OH. I suppose we don't even know if the Clow in this kingdom HAS the same powers. Hmm.

*thinks of Fai and Kurogane*

[4]

Honestly I should write a love letter to CLAMP for highlighting the language barrier that isn’t there when it had slipped my mind entirely that Mokona wasn’t even here for this scene in the first place. They really do think of everything!

Perhaps too many things! Depending on how this all goes!

WELL IT'S CERTAINLY SOMETHING, THAT'S FOR SURE!

HITSUZEN REALLY PLAYS THE LONG GAME.

At this point Hitsuzen may or may not be the most confusing mess of meetings ever concieved.

But either way it's fun that CCS Syaoran is familiar with the Hitsuzen narrative. Does that mean he has any potential links to Yuuko as well, or is that just inherited knowledge? IS this an indication that both CCS Sakura and Syaoran eventually encounter more knowledge of the outer workings of the universe and Yuuko Ichihara's involvement, OR is this a hint to draw us back towards another pair of Syaoran and Sakura altogether?

... BUT THEN WHERE DID THEY GET THE STAFF?

It's gotta be CCS.

Maybe.

I'm... I'm going to be thinking about this forever if we don't move on.

NADESHIKO??!??

EXCUSE ME???

FULLY LIVING BREATHING MAGIC USER NADESHIKO IN THE KINGDOM OF CLOW????

Oh Clamp know how to spoil us. 

Interesting. Interesting. Interesting. 

SO RECONFIRMED CARDCAPTOR SAKURA FAMILY LINE THEN. LAVA LAMP RECOGNISES NADESHIKO AS HIS GRANDMOTHER. CONFIRMED CONFIRMED. LOCKED IN.

IT'S MY CANON UNTIL CLAMP PROVES IT OTHERWISE!

So, Nadeshiko married Clow in this universe? 

That’s…

(whispers in Original Cardcaptor Sakura Manga Spoilers)

WELL I ARGUABLY HAVE MORE QUESTIONS THAN WHEN I STARTED THESE CHAPTERS, BUT I HAVE READ THEM ALL THE SAME!

Cardcaptor Parents Canon?

Fujitaka and Nadeshiko alive and well in Clow Kingdom History?

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE TIMELINE??

These questions and more, bouncing around my head endlessly until the next liveblog!

But until then, thank you for all the comments! It's been a DELIGHT seeing all your reactions as I get increasingly more and more concerned about the state of time and space.

And EXTRA thank you to my patrons! This would be INFINITELY harder to pull off without them, and I am continuously lucky to have them on my side. <3

First Tier of Patrons

Rien [Ri]

Sapphireswimming

Luke Wilson

Stupid Kitsune

Jordan Fredriksz

Shynerdycactus

CloudMenaceBird

Corinne Burr

Qatari Pekarsky

Fer E

MokoCharm

limitless_paper

And the Higher Tier of Patrons:

And now I will sit here consumed with absolute confusion until next time. Take care until then!

[3]

OK SO On the one hand it’s CUTE that they both have the same advice and guidance from their mothers. But on the other hand it’s kind of hilarious to me that Sakura learned this from her mother (unidentified), and Lava Lamp (Syaoran) learned the same thing from his mother, who is Sakura, married to Syaoran, who sent THIS Syaoran to meet this Sakura. Where does this advice come from? Which Sakuras are telling which Syaorans telling which Sakuras?

And it’s around this point that I realise it’s like three years too late to actually label all the Sakuras accurately in the tags because I don’t even know where the timeline of one of them stops and the other begins. I don't even know WHICH ONE we are talking about at any given point, even when she's on screen and talking to us. EVEN OUR ORIGINAL SAKURA - WHICH ONE IS SHE, FOR SURE? WE JUST DON'T KNOW.

Also who do you think Clow’s partner is in this world? I don’t think we were ever given her name. 

I suppose I should just be glad that she HAS a mother and wasn’t just created from magic, like the unknown number of other beings that Clow has brought into existence. 

What WILL this family tree look like oh my god. 

And I still don’t know if it’s the same Clow!

OR DO I?

WAIT OK SO THE IMPLICATIONS OF CARDCAPTOR SAKURA BEING THE CANON PRELUDE TO TSUBASA MEANS THAT CLOW IS CANONICALLY DEAD AND 

~SPOILERS FOR THE ORIGINAL CARDCAPTOR SAKURA MANGA DON'T READ OTHERWISE~

SAKURA HERSELF IS THE DAUGHTER OF HALF OF CLOW, MAKING THIS SYAORAN HIS KIND OF HALF GRANDSON VIA FUJITAKA?

MEANING THAT THE CLOW FROM THE CLOW KINGDOM CANNOT BE THE SAME ONE, IF HE IS ALIVE AND WELL OVER HERE?

UNLESS TIME TRAVEL?

[2]

OOH. Lava Lamp first meeting Sakura and not being allowed to make contact with her is high key story irony compared to the opening pages of Chapter One, where the (A Sakura) and (A Syaoran) ARE trying to make contact with each other desperately, but are physically kept apart. 

And interestingly the "hand hover over her head" is a bit of an echo of the moment that Fai and Lava Lamp shared on the rooftops of Nihon, bringing forward that feeling of WANTING to connect with someone but not quite being able to. The Prevented Touch to signpost a connection that they Want to make but are kept from due to Circumstances. 

And it’s THIS feeling that STARTS their relationship.

A defining moment all the way down.