#SHE DESERVES HER EMO ARC

[iambicpentameterhamster]

Every umbrella academy character ranked

Prior to Season 4 coming this year, thought I'd share my character rank with you for the first 3 seasons all together. (Spoilers ahead)

#33- Marcus, Jayme, Alphonso and Fei

Painfully insignificant and underdeveloped. Their only character traits being "spoiled and a bit evil" made them EXTREMELY captivating villians...

#32- Christopher

Only higher because I find the idea of someone carrying around a cube on a stick onset really funny.

#31- Sparrow Ben

Hard to watch honestly, especially in comparison to his lovely counterpart Umbrella Ben.

In general, the Sparrows were terrible and pointless characters, and clearly the writers knew this because most were killed off pretty quickly. All except for Sparrow Ben, which just meant we had to suffer watching him for even longer.

#30- Viktor

This is a controversial choice. He is tolerable in season 1, but then just becomes a moochy emo sod who is boring to watch. I don't know if it's the acting, script or both, but he’s just such a meek and flavourless character who is PARTICULARLY bad in season 3 when he jeopardises his whole family and is repeatedly selfish and has a victim complex.

#29- Luther

He caused the apocalypse in season one and you can't convince me otherwise. Got some alamaba shit going on with Allison...

There are so many reasons I hate Luther. He's a self-centred man child who couldn't care less about his siblings and their feelings, showing zero empathy to Klaus or Vanya, for example. He only shows respect and kindness when he is attracted to the person (As shown when seasons 1 and 2 he is only nice to Allison, then completely ignores her when he moves on to Sloane) or when they pose as an authority figure to him. All he does is whine and feel sorry for himself.

What's that? You lived in the apocalypse all alone for 40 years? You are addicted to drugs and lost the love of your life in a war? You have a power you can't control and a lifetime of rejection? WELL LUTHER WENT TO THE MOON

#28- Carl Cooper

Hated him as a character but he was a menacing villian which I can respect

#27- Harlan

Couldn't care less about him, only there for plot convenience and Victor's arc pretty much

#26- Sloane

An improvement from Luther's literal sibling. Further evidence that Luther will simply fall for any woman who gives a flying fuck about the moon.

Personality: attracted to Luther

#25- Pogo

Basil exposition of the first series

#24- Detective Patch

Barely remember her

#23- The Swedes

They were kind of goofy as villians but there was some good acting and they posed a real threat. Cute moments with the cats. In general, alright, but they could have easily been replaced plot wise with something more interesting.

#22- Cha Cha

Lack of character development for me. I think she deserved to be fleshed out more, I don't think it's fair that only her partner got to be a three-dimensional being. What are her motivations? Who is she underneath it all?

But overall i liked the acting and she was a good villian.

#21- That hotel worker from season 3

He's barely a character but I liked his sass so he's on the list.

#20- Reggie (Reginald Hargreeves)

He is supposed to be the main antagonist/villian of the show, yet The Handler stole his spotlight. He's a bit too stereotypically evil and asshole-ish for me, basically twiddling his moustache and stroking a cat in a dark corner the entire show. The delivery is too blunt and that doesn't help to build the tension and mystery surrounding him as much, but if he were more complicated and cryptic in his personality it would be more effective.

This is very nit picky and overall Reggie is fine. He has some hilarious moments with Klaus in season 3 and I am genuinely intrigued about the unanswered questions surrounding him.

#19- Elliott

He wasn't a particularly important or central character but I enjoyed it when he was on screen and he played his role convincingly. He was a good comic relief in some scenes, and when he died (spoiler alert) the reactions from other characters were realistic and quite impactful. I felt for him throughout, which is impressive for less significant characters and he had a lot of depth relative to the size of his role.

#18- Destiny's children

Not a singular character, but I LOVED Destiny's children. It fit Klaus's character perfectly to have a cult and led to some of the funnies moments in the series.

#17- Dave

From the very limited moments we see with this character, a lot of personality and emotion was communicated, and I feel like we got a big sense of the character. That is down to the brilliant acting from both of Dave's actors and from Robert Sheehan that really sold this character with so little screen time.

Anyway please come back to life Dave! Death doesn't look good on you!

#16- Agnes (Donut woman)

Very sweet and I wish her all the best in life.

#15- Sissy

BRILLIANTLY acted and impactful. Stole every scene between her and Vanya.

Also, she looks EXACTLY like Sheldon's mum in young sheldon...

#14- Herb and Dot

I want to put them both in my pocket and protect them from harm.

#13- Kenny's mum

Again, barely present but I love her. She's a queen. I would go to a rave with Kenny's Mum.

#12- Stan

I love Stan, and he's a big part of Diego and Lila's character development and motivations. I hope they adopt Stan and live happily ever after.

But yeah, great one-liners from Stan.

#11- Grace

Very well acted and haunting.

Top 10 *drumroll please*

#10- Harold Jenkins (Lenoard Peabody)

Again, quite a controversial placement, but I stand by my decision. The acting and delivery of Harold Jenkins as a villain is possibly the best in the whole show. I was totally convinced Lenoard was a nice guy and I was rooting for him and Vanya, until he started dropping hints and slowly revealing his true self and losing the facade and its... it's chefs kiss. So realistic. The actor deserves an award and a standing ovation.

The writers also deserve a pat on the back for this one because he has a convincing motivation and backstory, and the dialogue is DELICIOUS when it comes to Lenoard. He is a truly menacing villain without being overtly scary and powerful and dangerous.

#9- Ray

Charismatic, gentlemanly, empathetic, loving, trusting, supportive... Ray is THE IDEAL MAN. I'm a little bit in love with Ray so I don't blame Allison.

HUGE step up from Luther, for sure.

#8- Umbrella Ben

I would have liked to see more of his character, but I liked what I did see. He loves his siblings and shows it. He is selfless and sacrifices his own existence for Vanya, he is blunt with Klaus because he cares and wants him to improve. Of course, he and Klaus are also a hilarious duo.

#7- Hazel

One of the most touching arcs that offers an insightful message about what life is for, and about Love. Beautifully acted, a very real and lovable character who probably resonates with many in some ways. Hazel is adorable and i miss him in later seasons.

#6- The Handler

I LOVE THE HANDLER MORE THAN WORDS CAN EXPLAIN!!! Funny, playful, entertaining, uexpected and whimsical and yet simultaneously dark and menacing, AMAZING villian that stole EVERY SINGLE SCENE she was in. Kate Walsh was the perfect choice for the role and she played it to perfection.

A bit of trivia about the role, The Handler was originally written for a man, and when Kate Walsh got the role she insisted they didn't change the script (which, let's be honest, they would have.) She put a wonderful spin on it and it's just perfect, I wouldn't change a thing. I would 100% watch a spinoff all about the handler. Season 3 was worse than the previous two thanks to them killing her off (amongst other questionable plot choices)

#5- Allison

Allison was the only character who knew what they were doing, and honestly, if everyone just listened to Allison, there would be no apocalypse. Her storyline losing both Claire and Ray and her powers driving her crazy with power breaks my heart but is well portrayed and impactful.

She's charismatic, clever, strong, and kind. I love Allison and I think most of us do.

#4- Diego

He's stupid but in an endearing way, I find him to be so entertaining and funny, and the actor's face is like an open book. He's not show-stopping but his consistent presence just sets the mood and allows others to act off of him, while he really sells it with his expressions. He's like the rock of the show.

#3- Lila

Lila. Mi amor. Mon amour. Amore mio. Meine Leibe.

#2- Five

For several reasons:

A) He is the daddy here, Luther!!

B) That should be the only reason you need

Seriously, though, I was SUPER impressed with Aidan Gallagher and his incredible screen presence, especially at such a young age. He really embodies the character. Five is the face of the Umbrella Acadamy, and is undoubtedly the most iconic character. 10/10, two thumbs up, absolutely BRILLIANT.

#1- Klaus

No justification necessary.

[milgram-tournament]

MILGRAM Best Song Tournament, Round 1, Match 8 TRIAGE vs. I LOVE YOU

Propaganda for both options under the cut!

Propaganda for TRIAGE:

1. THE VOCALS!!!! TRIAGE REALLY GAVE A CHANCE TO LET SHIDOU'S VA SHINE BECAUSE HOLY SHIT!!! THAT FINAL CHORUS??? SO GOOD!!

2. SPEAKING OF THE FINAL CHORUS, THAT SLOWED DOWN PART???? STUNNING

3. THE LYRICS OH MY GOD I'M CRYING!!! "If the voices crying out in pain, can be saved by me Allow it to be my charge and mission"??? "I want to be INNOCENT, I want to live"??? PURE GOLD!!

3.25. OH AND DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON THE "extract that fang" LINE. IT'S SO GOOD!!!!

3.5. THE WAY THE LYRICS PERFECTLY REPRESENT HIS INTERNAL CONFLICT AND HIS ARC??? SO GOOD!!!

4. THE MV??? CATCH ME CRYING

To conclude: Triage is in my top 3 Milgram songs, I love it so much!! It turned Shidou from a character I didn't care about to one of my favorites!!!!!

---

-The scene with Shidou and his family… yeah don’t talk to me I’m so emo about it.

-The arc Shidou goes through during the song?? It starts with “why did you vote me innocent I don’t deserve it” to “I’m going to do my best with what you’ve given me.” Is really cool and I don’t think it’s talked about enough!!

-The final “I want to live!” Enough said. Shidou’s voice in general just fits this song really well.

-It gives a really good motive for Shidou, and helps you feel sorry for him. (Easiest inno vote of my life!)

Propaganda for I LOVE YOU:

mappi’s spitting bars 🔥🔥🔥🗣️🗣️🗣️

ok but i, as the iloveyoucountdown person before it released, waited 89 days for ily and SHE DID NOT DISAPPOINT‼️‼️‼️🗣️🗣️🗣️🔥🔥🔥 go vote ily now bc its peak music

---

the acoustic section where it just feels so raw and emotional it's crazy also we love to see mappi/miho okasaki rapping again and good lord mahiru delivered hadauwd, like you think about it a lot? like "Ishokujuu plus ai Miss you Raishuu aemasuka no Cadence Yurusarenai ikigai mou iki mo dekinai" it's also so catchy just "Dai- dai- dai- datte suki suki! Dai- dai- dai- datte daisuki."

it's such a quick song but it delivers and it DELIVERS WELL there's so much in the instrumental you can also miss, like sirens and such! again guitar section it's crazy!! i didn't even touch on the visuals, like the visuals are absolutely amazing and really touch on the toxic cycle of mahiru's relationship for example, the carousel turning into a forest! and also they were still able to implement some of tihtbilwy in the beginning of the song! we got to see mahiru's boyfriend as well!! additionally, RATS AND CAKE. HOLY SHIT we all know the absolute shock that appeared on everyone's faces the second that cake turned into a rat (to be honest, I was absolutely sick with shock for the rest of the day) It's really amazing as a song and MV, plus it did help give some more information on Mahiru!

---

miho okasaki's vocals are so powerful. it sounds like mahiru is screaming because of not being forgiven and because of what happened to her boyfriend and because "she can't just do it right".

THE LYRICS ARE SO. "clothes food shelter + love and miss you"?? "my lethal weapon is how to be in love with you"?? "kiss goodbye to this feeling cuz it's too heavy"?? again, the "why can't i just do it right" line?? SO GOOD.

MAHIRU RAPPING. THIS SONG STARTS WITH HER RAPPING. LITERAL CHILLS

i've heard the i love you chorus once and now it's in my head forever. i wake up, i sing the i love you chorus. i go to sleep, i sing the i love you chorus.

the lyrics are so sad when you start thinking about them more. "saying i love you but doing what i did, i know i have no right, crossed and covered in sin"?? please, don't you want to give mappi a hug. please she deserves it. she needs it

the "DIE-suki" pun.

the mv is so. i can talk about it for hours. it literally starts with showing us what happened to her bf. i've watched it live, i knew about this part and i still was shocked. mahiru's boyfriend is dead. mahiru is also rapping. also, the lyrics. this scene is terrifying to me and i mean it in the best way possible.

the cake symbolism. mahiru refusing to accept her reality and the true nature of her relationship with her bf and still seeing everything around her as cute and soft and pink. her feeling guilty and not knowing how to express love properly and still choosing to continue to love in this way. i don't know, something about it is so.. it's so sad and so realistic and so heartbreaking

i love how we can say so much about her relationship with her boyfriend based on mv and the lyrics. this is more of a theory and i probably shouldn't talk about it but i like the fact that mappi and her bf's relationship wasn't just abusive or one-sided love or anything like that. it's like they loved each other, they just.. didn't know how to show it or express it in a healthy way (or maybe mahiru's bf did know, but he was okay with going through all of this for her). like this scene when they're both riding the carousel and looking happy at first and even when both of them look like a mess, mahiru's face expression is still pretty much the same while her boyfriend looks much more tired, but he's still smiling. something about that part breaks me.

the instrumental is so fun and chaotic and creepy please listen to it. all milgram instrumentals are great but ily instrumental is definitely one of my fav ones.

[buckybarnesss]

Heather - I once again come to you with strange character choices that Jeff made that actually make sense?

Like how Derek just stood there and took Allison's abuse of him (and by extension his pack) when she was manipulated into becoming emo!allison at the end of season 2 - but he still doesn't tell her??! that her mom was also a kool aid drunk psycho who wanted to kill the love of her life and also just a tiny baby 16 year old?! He doesn't tell her! He just stands there, stoically and withstands the abuse.

S3 derek is so _chefs kiss_ I LOVE LOVE that arc of him becoming more like his mother, where he embraces his ideals of power and family and pack and GOD I will never forget that moment in s4 where satomi looks like LOOKS at derek and goes "you really remind me of your mom" I gotta make that gifset one of these days.

derek and allison parallels my beloved.

derek is fully aware allison would never believe him about what went down with her mother no matter what he said. instead he tells her, "your family's little honor code killed your mother, not me." which is true. the argent code of suicide rather than be a werewolf due to their own bigotry is what ended up really killing victoria in the end. not once did chris or victoria stop to question it or the impact this would have on allison or how gerard could manipulate them and her. they're both fully indoctrinated into the hunting delusion of righteousness.

no the information that victoria attempted to kill scott has to come from scott. that's why derek kept pushing scott to tell her the truth. he could've ignored it all together but derek respected allison enough to believe that she deserved the truth of what happened. that it was unfair to hold back a vital piece of information as to what occurred in the timeline of victoria's death that led to allison being manipulated by gerard.

the truth doesn't exactly clear his name with allison but it provides context that derek was acting in defense of scott. something that could change allison's perception. i think some part of derek sympathizes with her because he's been manipulated, lied to and abused in the past himself. he knows what can happen to an otherwise decent person under those circumstances. he to an extent understands allison's pain.

scott withheld the information from a place of good -- he didn't want to hurt allison further by tainting the memory of her mother -- but ultimately doing so i think was selfish. the lack of information is what harmed allison more in the long run as it allowed gerard to manipulate her.

derek values truth and forthrightness which contrasts peter and lessons peter has attempted to teach derek. derek spends a lot of season 2 contending with that conflict and when he gives up his alpha spark to save his sister he proves to be his mother's son over peter's protégée. derek was able to walk away from power in a way that duecalion, peter, kate, gerard and jennifer were not. they were consumed by it and derek instead used his to save cora's life.

[solisaureus]

What was it about Will and Nico that drew you to them, individually and/or as a ship?

nico has always been my favorite character!!! well technically that's not true it was annabeth until battle of the labyrinth (and i still love her very very much) -- i read the original series as each book was coming out so when titans curse came out in 2007 i honestly thought nico was so annoying LMAO and i thought bianca was going to be the new addition to the cast. so when she died i was totally shocked and i didnt know how to feel about nico until battle of the labyrinth came out. and then he had that dark and edgy character arc, and my dark and edgy emo 14 year old self was like "ok this kid rules actually" and hes been my fave ever since. how long has it been. (checks watch) ive been stanning nico di angelo for 15 years.

i have always loved nico because i've always related to him -- i have a lot of the same problems that nico has (catholic repression, internalized homophobia, trauma, mental illnesses, feeling like you dont belong, i could go on) and seeing him fight so hard to survive just for the chance to see the day when things might get better...it was really inspiring to me. it sounds corny but this character helped me get through some really difficult times in my life. the way that nico strove so hard to survive in heroes of olympus when he basically had nothing he wanted to live for really gave me strength to keep going too.

And thats part of why solangelo immediately appealed to me! Nico di Angelo finally finding love and laughing and allowing himself to be close to someone after i watched him endure ceaseless torment since 2007 was so gratifying. ever since their initial interaction in blood of olympus i have felt like will was so right for nico -- he was never afraid of him, he treated him the same as everyone else, he went out of his way to make nico feel wanted and refused to let nico fall back on his old self-destructive habits. and i thought it was really fitting that nico's love interest would be someone new, someone unentangled with nico's twisted past, someone he could look to the future with and heal with.

so i started liking will because he was nico's love interest, but once trials of apollo came out I got really invested in will as his own character too, and this feeling has only strengthened with the sun and the star's release. I have actually been waiting for an Apollo demigod to be a main character since I was like 12, because I've always identified with Apollo (I've had a lifelong special interest in Greek mythology lol). And Will was exactly who I was waiting for -- i love how gentle he is, i love that he's a healer, i love his relationship with Apollo, I love how much of a dork loser he is, i love how much he cares for people, and i love his dynamic with nico so much. i ended up writing my fic Solace because I couldnt stop thinking about how will was there in the background the entire time, he lost his siblings, he pined for nico, he was forced into leadership roles when he wasn't ready. and after reading tsats i LOVE how much he is filled with self-doubt and anxiety and how he loves nico so much and wants to support him and make him feel safe and loved in the ways that nico needs. he is so so so fucking good and i adore him and he is truly unlike any other character in this series.

i love nico, i love will, i love solangelo, i love how they contrast each other and yet are the same in so many ways, i love how they overcome realistic relationship obstacles to be together because after all theyve both been through they deserve to feel secure and at peace with someone they love, who they know loves them back.

[lunawings]

Some further thoughts on AiPri.

Himari and Mitsuki's friendship is really sweet, but.....

.....

I also kinda hope there is a future episode or story arc in which Himari has to learn to be brave and stand on her own without Mitsuki.

Something that always stood out to me about the first episode of PriChan, and is still memorable to me to this day, is when Emo and Mirai were about to debut, despite all her big talk it was actually Emo who was nervous and Mirai who supported her. It painted a picture of this beautiful mutually supportive friendship.

Mirai deserves a lot more love IMHO. I feel like she's often forgotten in favor of more popular main characters like Laala and Aira but at least I appreciate her. Her defining character trait, at least to me is, even though she is somewhat soft spoken, she is very brave!

Himari... well, we'll see how she grows!

[shenanigans-and-imagines]

Any thoughts you’d like to share on the other origins characters? Anything you like about them :)

Again, haven't played the game so these are my general thoughts based on a few romance compilations, YouTube Shorts, and memes. If anybody would like to rectify this, please Venmo me $500 so I can buy a PS5.

Shadowheart

Admittedly don't know that much about her other than the emos love her and she follows a goddess of loss. Looks like her arc is all about questioning institutions and her god, which I think is very sexy of her. If anybody has a quest line compilation video to recommend so I can see her whole story, please send it my way.

Lae'zel

The other origin character I admittedly don't know that much about. Still love an arc about questioning the system she was raised in and her god. Again, very sexy of her. Fish out of water stories are some of my favorites. Pair that with a hardened character learning to enjoy the gentler things in the world, and you've got yourself a banger. I should really look up her quest line at some point to get a full view of it.

Karlach

Best girl. Strong muscles, soft heart. I want her to be my best friend IRL. She deserves better and if there is any way to get a better ending that allows her to stay in Faerun, the studio needs to get on that ASAP. In the meantime, I'm going to stay in the part of the internet that says she's fine don't worry about it. I'm hugging her and there is nothing you can do about it.

Wyll

Sweet boy. A perfect boy who did nothing wrong ever. Yeah, yeah, sold his soul to a devil, but he had a good reason. Plus, he was seventeen. Nobody should let a seventeen year old make any decisions ever. I do need to find a good romance compilation. He needs more love. His friendship with Karlach is everything to me.

Gale

People really need to stop complaining about this man. I see too many being ragging on about how he's not over his ex and keeps bringing her up. "With you I forget my goddess?" That isn't him saying with you he forgets his ex, he's saying with you he forgets his god. How are we all not collectively swooning? And he's a nerd who will info dump about his passions? Sign me the fuck up. His comfy pjs and burnt out gifted kid swagger has bewitched me body and soul.

Astarion

Guys, you've seen my blog. I'm obsessed with him.

The moment I saw this asshole pop up on my dash, I knew I was going to love him. He was the reason I decided to finally look up a romance compilation once I realized my computer was too old to let me run the game. He's my type to the point of parody. Literally anybody who knows me, knows this guy would end up being my favorite.

His arc is about bodily autonomy and trauma. He's allowed to not be the perfect victim. He's angry and violent. He's selfish and terrified. And he is, sadly, one of the few characters who, as part of his arc, realizes he can say no to sex and he can be loved without it.

My point is, it should be no surprise to anybody that the ace community loves this man, and anybody complaining about it should shut up.

If you want to write your sexy Astarion fanfic, there is nothing stopping you. More power to you. I've seen the graveyard scene too. I recognize that regaining his autonomy and being able to have sex with somebody he cares about is part of the healing process.

At the same time, if writers want to interpret his arc is him realizing he never wants to have sex again, and that being okay; let them. We need this. There are so few characters like him out there.

At some point I do want to write an hour long video essay about his arc and how it's resonated with the ace community specifically.

Anyway, those are my general thoughts. I feel like I just swung a bat at a hornet's nest with that last bit, but what's life without a little danger?

[aroaceleovaldez]

My very important Big 3 kids fashion opinions (very strong):

Percy - Grunge(esque), punk-leaning. 90% of his clothes are thrifted and he wears them until they’re falling apart, and then some.

Thalia - Punk. All punk flavors. You can hear her approaching from a distance cause all her studs and chains are clinking and her boots are heavy as fuck. Is wearing that much metal when you have electricity powers a hazard? Maybe. Also let her dye her hair funky colors.

Nico - Alt/Emo, goth-leaning. Alternatives: Scene or 1930s vintage. Has the best hoodies/jacket selection. Usually prioritizes comfort. Scene is if he didn’t didn’t go on his emo arc or later down the line (his favorite music genre is technopop and he’s a nerd AND likes emo/goth stuff, scene is right up his alley). Vintage is just him digging his old clothes out of his closet.

Jason - Sporty/Preppy, though he totally deserves to go scene, he'd love it. You know he’d have a sparkledog wolf fursona and love going “xD *glomp!*” Him and Nico go on shopping trips to Hot Topic together. But until that point he’s very basic. Probably owns too many polo shirts.

Hazel - 1920s-40s vintage, goth (particularly romantic goth), or lolita (general or gothic). She deserves big frilly stuff and cupcake skirts and just looking cute. Vintage is just again, old wardrobe. She already owns the clothes for that.

Bianca - 1930s vintage. See above.

[nighty-night-nh]

I finished two books in the span of a month, be proud of me.

Here I stand on the other side of Eagle Strike and I have some Thoughts. A little negative to start but we go up from there.

First off, not gonna lie, I think I was less engaged with the book than the others for the first half. Unfortunately I didn’t find Damian Cray an interesting main villain at the start or when it was all over. He’s at the bottom of favorite main bad guys for me at the moment behind Julius Grief, and I like Grief so that’s an oof for him. He does get brownie points for the pennies execution method and his own ‘Syndrome from The Incredibles’ adjacent death.

Don’t get me wrong, there were definitely bits at the start I enjoyed. Like the fact that we hardly get 300 words into the book and Yassen is just There to ruin Alex’s holiday and the matador moment but overall it was a slightly sad “Ok he’s dealing with a madman with nukes that thinks he’s doing the world a favor two books in a row. Sarov did this way better than you months ago and this book is rapidly ending. Where is the third act shoe-drop that makes people like this book?”

And, um, the shoe certainly did drop. Several of them.

Starting with Sabina’s kidnaping at the hospital. Not only was it the first ‘normal’ thing in the book grounding it to reality but it just made me feel sick to my stomach because something like that happens to girls often irl. I really hope she does ok until the next time we see her. Then there’s the whole business with the plane. I’m not American but as somebody who watches videos speculating on hypothetical WWIII start points, the hijacking of air force one did properly freak me out.

And finally, what you’ve probably been waiting for me to get to: Yassen and The Big Reveal.

Yall just watched me get attached to this man knowing full well this is the book he died in, huh.

I was so enjoying him fighting himself on what he was doing with Alex and trying hard not to strangle Damian. Of course there’s the conflict of interest: Money vs not being able to live with himself if he killed the son of the man who saved him. No wonder he spoke so fondly of him. I mean he still put him in the bull ring but w/e. But this isn’t everything. He may be dead now but I’m still in the dark about a part of his story. Why and how did he start? How did he get to be this good, and this hardened to contract work? Where exactly did his code of not killing kids come from? It couldn’t have been from Alex, he already didn’t kill kids. I have so many questions that’ll probably get answered in the next few books.

My last point of note is realizing the Rider brothers were on two sides of the same coin. They both killed. John was a contract killer for money, Ian worked for MI6 and both hid it from people in their lives. Did they know? Did they ever know? We can’t ask dead men questions, can we.

Now with all of that out of my system, I move onto Scorpia. Which is the book I am actively scared of. I heard whispers of it in Never Say Die, Its consistently voted the favorite of the entire series and I’ve heard it’s the start of Alex’s even emo-er arc which he 100% deserves by the way.

I am in for a world of pain for this next book n’ I don’t think I’m ready.

[regaliasonata]

Also character ask ZIGGY

Character Ask: Ziggy Grover

First Impression

-Definitely falling under the average green ranger stereotype of being the silly but less engaged member of the team, though that is quite alright cause he'll probably give some positivity to the team due to the state they are in via the season

How I Feel About The Character/Impression Now

-.....I love this twink and honestly me and everyone else should love him, the fact that he was in a mafia, managed to escape, gave medicine and supplies from said group to orphans in needed AND GOT OFF SCOT FREE WITH HIS TOASTER BOYFRIEND speaks volumes.

Favorite Moment

-So far has to be that scene between him and the cartel where he's got that serious face, I'll have to go back and fully complete RPM but seeing Ziggy look so cold is amazing.

Idea For A Story

-okay think of this....Ziggy as a Peter Pan type character who was reborn in another world that raises orphans or children who've passed early and they live in this alternate world with magic, at the same time he's an assassin that's teaming up with Dillon and Tenaya(who also have powers based on fairy tales) to steal ancient treasure from a tyrant king in order to rule the rule, Once Upon A Time walked so this can run.

Relationships

OTPs

-Ziggy/Dillon....obviously, can't have a happy twig without his grumpy muscular emo boyfriend.

-Ziggy/Scott, Ziggy/Flynn. Both these work really well in my opinion.

-Crackship idea if this crossover was ever a thing...Ziggy/Jarrod/Dillon/Casey, imagine all that chaos together with those four like(I'd pay to see a one shot of this tbh). Heck not even a crossover needed because JKP exists in the RPMverse and assuming the entire team is alive then this could fly, crazy twinks and the emo duo.

BROTPs

-Ziggy/Dr.K, honestly feel like he understands Dr.K and they are really close when it comes to hearing each other out, plus Ziggy might actually get her to enjoy some hobbies.

-Ziggy/Casey...seriously Disney fucked us over from ever getting this interaction, be happy with marvel I guess but imagine the send off you could've had.

-Ziggy/Tenaya, she needs earplugs every time he talks about Dillon...

Unpopular Opinion

-Kinda wish we got even more of a backstory for him or seen Ziggy encountering other green rangers. I feel like both him and Trip would get along quite well to be honest.

One thing I wish would/had happened in the show

-....We serious? That Jungle Fury/RPM crossover obviously because ALL THOSE INTERACTIONS AND SUCH WOULD'VE BE LEGENDARY.

-Even if he didn't end up with Dillon we should've had Ziggy kissing some guy.

-Imagine a scene of Ziggy hacking Venjix down with his axe after he found out the program's intention for Dillon, or if Venjix succeeded and Dillon died...it would've been brutal like Ziggy would be shown Venjix why the cartel kept him around🗡🗡🗡🗡🗡

Headcanons

-The RPM team technically has sentient zords because in reality they hold secret Engine Souls like their Go-Onger counterparts. This is actually a result of humanity evolving and without the vitality from Earth's nature so their animal spirits evolved into Engine Souls, thing is the team hasn't unlocked them but when they do the zords will be able to talk(a little fib of my JFAU movie arc idea with RPM cause we deserve that crossover).

-Ziggy's fingernails can turn dark green because of Venjix exposure, some humans after being exposed to the virus during their apocalypse developed small traits via their survival(Scott having sharper canines, Summer being able to detect metals for tools, Flynn when growing out his hair has white highlights and can absorb radiation, Gem and Gemma can see people's dreams and Dillon can purify dirty food and water).

-Ziggy sleeps with a huge dolphin as a pillow or just something to hold whenever he's sad. If he can't morph then he'll fill it with rocks and beat down venjix monsters with it.

-Sometimes when he would leave the dome(before the world began to return to normal) he'd walk miles until making it to the ocean since it wasn't fully destroyed and enjoyed watching the waves. Plus that spot is the only one in the world where the stars in the sky are still viewable.

-After RPM Dillon, Tenaya and Ziggy ventured out into the world to see what needed to be fixed, they built a railroad and it oddly began to glow with energy. This led to the team getting powers via trains and soul power with imagination, humanity's will to keep going(ToQger adaption), villains born from the deceased malice of humanity aim to take advantage of this world and others leading to the team having bigger stakes than last time.

[ctrl-lupin]

OK let me rephrase that

Basically I wanted to know your opinions on the secondary characters that were big focuses from each show

Rebecca from Part 4

Ami From Part 5

And Sherlock Holmes from 6

Does that help clear things up?

Sorry for the time this took! I've had a lot of stuff going on lately.

Rebecca: I think she's a very fun and refreshing character, the fact that she's a thief and goes toe-to-toe with Lupin on some heists is really cool. It's nice to see a different method of thieving too. I like the fact that she's both an ally and an antagonist at the same time; she's friendly but she does pose challenges. Kind of like Fujiko but in a different way. On that topic, it's also refreshing to have another long-term female character other than Fujiko; because Fujiko's been The Woman of the series and this tends to be a restrictive role.

Ami: She deserved so much better from the writers. Her character had a lot of potential, even if she was very steeped in the emo hacker cliché; but that crush on Lupin was just... yikes. That was completely unnecessary and added literally nothing to the plot or to her character. She could have admired him like a big brother, or hell! like a father figure, that would have made a lot of sense with her character arc. Oh well. I guess it's up to fic writers to do her justice.

Sherlock Holmes: Eh. An interesting take on this character but he had way too much screentime. I really didn't like the first arc of Part 6 so I don't really have much to say on it or on Holmes himself.

Bonus that no one asked for:

Sebastian Moran: Do you have any idea how LOUD I yelled when he showed up? Sebastian Moran (BBC Sherlock MorMor fandom version) is the very reason I got into Lupin III in the first place. He's the reason I instantly imprinted on Jigen like a baby duckling. I told my best friend about it and her reaction was "Jigen and Moran in the same episode?? Your house is still standing? You didn't spontaneously combust?" Only good element of Part 6 arc 1 imo (that and Jigen Accidentally Adopts A Middle-Schooler).

[asknarashikari]

and here i thought racules was going to die... also...

it turns out the senpais have the right idea to protect houtaro based on the latest episodes lol

Eh, I always knew Racles was gonna live, no matter how much I wanted the opposite to happen. I saw the pretty shitty relative redemption arc coming from a mile away... so of course he did it all for the greater good.

Honestly, I don't really know what to feel about it. I suppose it explains a lot of his actions, though not really excuse them. And he does go out of his way to admit that he isn't exactly a good person in all of this... I think it all feels very Itachi, but with Gira actually playing the part of the good guy he hoped/anticipated him to be.

(Yeah, Racles is basically just pulled an Itachi with a brother who was actually heroic and not an emo edgelord who had to have a talk-no-jutsu beaten into him)

I guess it was done better than what the Kurama parents or George or especially Buffabutt got. And they're actually putting him on trial for the shit he's done, which is already a damn sight better than most of the crappy relatives/friends have gone through.

I don't see them actually sentencing him to death, but I do hope they at least give him a bit of hell over it all. And I do hope that if he gets something coming to him the fandom isn't going to throw a fit over it, or at least admit he's crappy enough to deserve it a little.

Eh... sometimes I yearn for the days when abusive asshats got the literal axe (though I hear that guy is also being redeemed too... eww)

As for Gotchard... Yeah my parent friend instincts went up a notch after last ep... I mean it's not surprising that they'd go after Houtaro but Houtaro's protective streak can turn dangerous real quick...

Though at least Rinne's a Rider now too (this ep explicitly takes place after the movie) so at least, once she manages to get her strength back (aka when she has her formal in-show debut) he has someone to watch his back. And it looks like Spanner's due for his formal Rider debut as well... hopefully he does it by not being antagonistic to Houtaro.

[seoafin]

gege fridging yuki and now tsumiki. shoko, utahime, mei mei, momo, miwa disappering from the plot and now i dont think nobara is coming back after reading the newest chapter which would mean that her death was handled horribly 💀💀💀

i genuinely dont understand whats going on in jjk anymore tbh either like i stopped reading after 208 and your blog was how i found out about the tsumiki thing 😭😭 i wish gege wouldve atleast utilized her in the past chapters if the plan was to kill her because the impact just. isnt there. and like what was the point of yorozu??????? to show us that sukuna is strong?????????🤔 i will actually be surprised if gege turns all of this around but honestlyyyyyyy 😬 (1/2)

its a shame that gege doesnt know how to include female characters into the plot anymore because theyre all just interesting and have wayy too much potential.

like the idea of a character who only cares about money and could go as far to exploit their own sibling like mei mei or someone like shoko who is one of the few/only people in the world who can use rct to heal people (the fact that she was in the same class with the 2 strongest sorcerers in the world and she was never shown to be afraid of them or take their shit) or someone like yuki who was the first special grade in their generation and also an spv??? (if this had been revealed during HI arc the drama would increase tenfold...) OR TSUMIKI omg this one frustrates me so muchhh like she had SO SO SO MUCH BUILD UP AND FOR WHAT??? this girl had to get into the role of a parent for her younger brother because toji sold him and left them and her mother abandoned them and left. SHE IS ELDEST DAUGHTER CODED (so much so that her perspective and feelings during a traumatic situation are never explored because shes fine if shes hardworking and doesnt complain *cough*minari*cough*) imagine going through all of this at such a young age and having to adapt constantly and pick up the pieces alone because the have to keep living. like if megumi was too young to be going through all of that SO WAS SHE????? she deserved wayyyyyy better i could go on for hours about this but. yeah 😭😭😭 basically theyre all characters who've got their own agendas and it wouldve been so much better if already existing characters had been explored rather than 1098274 new characters being introduced. i miss plant trio. nobara balanced out fushiguro's emo angstyness by bullying him. oh well atleast we have maki 😍😍😍 (2/2)

no i agree with you 100% jjk had so much potential to have active and important female characters with agency in the beginning of the manga where akutami was still tying characters into world building. i think that made people (like me) hopeful for a deconstruction of gender norms and dynamics in the jujutsu world that would propel the female characters forward instead of letting them stay one dimensional but it looks as if that's what ended up happening anyway. once again i don't think akutami is intentionally sidelining them if that means anything i just think his planning and organization is off (not enough time given to develop characters other than megumi and yuuji) and that he bit off more than he could choose (having a large cast of characters). which is such a shame bc he could be doing so much more with them!!! like the narrative giving shoko the spotlight for like 2 seconds isn't even a step in the right direction it's the bare minimum!!! it's something we should've gotten during the shibuya arc!!!

also yes. i will die mad about yuki tsukumo and tsumiki. they could've been saved idc idc killing off one of the strongest female characters in your series is just plain WRONG. and tsumiki deserved to live my god.......NOT ANGEL. TSUMIKI. AGHHHHHHHH.

[song-writer-melo-wrath]

[momentary sadness from the fact I can't easily make one of the characters I thought would pair great with Wyll a Tav or Durge. I mean. I guess??? She'd be an elf??? But it doesn't really fit much aldkjfasl]

[realization that it gives me an excuse to make the dynamic as wack as possible]

[lots of self-indulgent ramblng ahead:]

A patron of warlocks who stumbles across the party, in hopes of making Tav/Durge/whichever Origin character is leading the party a member of her bundle of warlocks. Then she takes one look at Wyll and how Mizora has affected him and goes "oh absolutely not."

And from then on decides that her new mission is "quit your contract. join my emo band."

This is Mercy Melody Suerine. But her friends call her Melody, or Mel <3

(She also has a more human-like form but all my drawings of that form have clothes that are a bit too modern hahaha-)

She finds it sweet that he's good with kids and that he always seems to see the best in people. When she learns he's an excellent dancer, she tries to suppress a delighted gasp. Music and dance is her thing. "Does what it says on the tin" type of thing. A few of her other warlocks multi-class as bards.

Would she like it if Wyll let her be his patron instead? Of course. But she's a patron for a good bundle of warlocks already. Wyll's arc is about how he defines himself, without being a part of a pact, so she wouldn't want to diminish that character growth. But should he ever decide to ask for aid…

W: It will be a bit different, going from a Fiend patron to an Archfey patron. Anything I should start learning? M: …OH, YOU THINK I'M AN ARCHFEY? Oh, oh my goodness, Wyll, I'm so flattered! W: You...aren't? I thought, uh, with all the colours I guess- M: Ah, of course, I see, heh. No, heheee, actually. I'm an Undead! W: W: OH! M: That alright, Wyll? W: Well, I have…gotten on better terms with undead during this adventure.

And like, I'm not saying having a better patron would fix things for Wyll. But he deserves more people in his life who unconditionally have his back.

[coldninjaruins-blog]

if Jonathan dies, then I'd go on a mad killing spree. heck if it comes to Jonathan vs byler, I'd choose Jonathan without hesitation. Jonathan deserves so much love

Hi, first of all sorry for the delay in answering this!

While I too would be super upset if Jonathan dies in the show (mainly because I think it would be lazy writing and lousy ending for his character) but don't make me choose between byler and anything because my decision makes me even dislike myself lmao.

Anyway, I don't understand why we can't have both, why so many bylers are dead set on Jonathan dying, unpopular opinion but I don't think it's as foreshadowed as some of you think it is.

Maybe it's because so many want that angst for Will and kinda copy Max's arc in season 4 for Will in s5? But I don't see the narrative point to it and Will doesn't need Jonathan to die to have his emo phase.

Plus the fact that many want Jonathan to die simply because they think it would be more interesting for Will's development rubs me in the wrong way...

Look, I love Will too, he's my baby and I think everything revolves around him okay? But Jonathan is his own character outside of being Will's brother. Like is obviously a primary and important part of his character but he's not just that.

I already said in my other post how bad it would be for me if Jonathan, the parentified child, who even seems to give up his dream since he was 6 years old to go to NYU to choose a college where he can be close to his family ends up dying sacrificing himself to protect his younger brother.

Also let's think for a moment how Jonathan's death would really affect all the characters close to him.

I think many ignore is that if stranger things is serious about anything it is grieving and the death of its characters. Barb's death is something that still has a major influence even after 3 seasons, Joyce couldn't date Hopper in season 3 because she still wasn't over Bob's death. And I can say many more examples.

We all know is that this is why the Duffers don't permanently kill off their main characters and create characters specifically to sacrifice them for him sake of the plot. They said it themselves “When Barb dies, it’s two seasons of grappling with that”.

The Duffers said that even Eddie's death is going to have major repercussions in season 5 and I believe them, especially I think it's going to have major repercussions on Dustin's character.

Now imagine Jonathan is killed off, how would this affect Will? Joyce? Joyce who said she is not having any more funerals? Joyce who spent season 1 and 2 looking for her son and trying to keep him alive? Joyce who lost Bob in season 2 and lost Hopper in season 3? How would it affect her to lose a loved one again?

How would this affect Nancy and would this mean that all the drama about which colleges they are going to was unnecessary? Because dead people can't go to colleges.

This would have repercussions even on Argyle.

Killing Jonathan at the end of the season wouldn't make sense to me because how are they going to do that and have the Byers have a relatively happy ending and killing him off at the beginning of the season would feel out of nowhere and cheap and you really think a single season would be enough to encompass the repercussions of his death? To tie up nicely the problems his son-mother relationship with Joyce has? (I'm sorry but their relationship has problems that need to be addressed and even Jonathan's death wouldn't be good closure).

And not to make this about Byler again but what would be the point of having Jonathan as an observer of Mike and Will's situation in s4, not only in the van scene but especially in the van scene and if this in the end had no reason to be?

I hope this was a good answer and at the end of the day this is just my opinion so feel free to disagree with me.

Sorry for the rant and thanks for the ask!

[meimi-haneoka]

Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card Chapter 65: Comments + JP-ENG translation differences

End of the month, time for another chapter of Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card Arc!

This month we have chapter 65, the first chapter of the future volume 14, which might or might not be the last one of this arc (personally, I have a hard time believing everything can be wrapped up within the 14th, especially seeing how they took this entire chapter to introduce the world of Clockland).

And let me tell you, it was a very oneiric chapter, exactly what I’ve been expecting from the world where our Sakura/Alice was bound to be thrown into sooner or later: I’ve been anticipating a strange world, where nothing really made sense and where the reader is left to use their brain big time to understand what’s going on. And beautiful drawings, of course. Which CLAMP totally delivered in this chapter.

So before diving into this literal rabbit’s hole that is chapter 65, I’d like to reveal the gif of the month, which I find particularly fitting this time around 😂:

Sit down, relax and get stoned let’s analyze together this chapter 65!

The Color Page

ALL HAIL THE RED QUEEN AKIHO!!!

The last time our lovely Akiho was featured alone on a color page was back in chapter 23. 42 chapters ago. Sure, she’s been featured other times, but always in combination with Sakura, which honestly contributed to exacerbate the annoying opinion that’s recurring in the fandom, “she’s just Sakura’s carbon copy”. Akiho is a unique character with her unique characteristics and quirks, who deserves to see that uniqueness being recognized more.

In this color page we finally find out the colors of her play outfit: contrarily to what I imagined in my own fanart, CLAMP decided to take the emo/darker route and paint the bodice and upper layer of her dress all black, with red lining. But if you look hard enough, you can actually recognize they’re simply keeping everything in theme: the illustration itself got the same background of the one with Sakura and Syaoran from last month, same clocks, same gears. Akiho’s dress is mostly black with a smaller white part, while Sakura’s outfit is mainly white with black accessories. I kinda knew it would’ve ended up being black for Akiho, but since she’s the Red Queen, I hoped the red would be more prominent. 😅 In this way it really gives off the “mourning bride” vibe I was complaining about last month, but since some followers on Twitter have suggested to me a brighter way to interpret that, I won’t be particularly bothered by the choice of colors. And then, and then….Akiho looks really GORGEOUS in them 😁

As I said often lately, the darker vibe suits her. Because of her past, and what she went through. Darkness is, willing or not, part of her too.

All things considered, we’re definitely entering a “sub-arc” (the play) and so it’s fitting they would develop a “theme” to be portrayed on the color pages. Besides that, I also realized that the 3 kids are dressing in a way that is matching Momo, who’s got her own outfit equally divided in black and white, with golden accents. That makes sense, since they’re likely inside of Alice in Clockland, and so Momo’s book. Now we're only missing Kaito on the color page, so we can see the color combination of his outfit too (I will guess white with black decorations, at this point).

And now, let’s proceed unto the actual chapter itself!

Take me to Wonderland

The chapter opens with Sakura sleeping in fetal position in an unspecified environment. A voice asks her “Alice. Tell me, Alice. What is sorrow to you?”. You remember this line, right?

Momo asked this to her back in chapter 50.

The decoration in the upper left corner of the page signals to us that we’re witnessing the story coming from the Alice in Clockland book.

The style of the clock hands is precisely the same on the cover of that book, while the gear is arranged a bit differently. From now on, the chapter will be completely dialogue-less for 9 pages.

Sakura/Alice wakes up and finds herself in front of a scenery that we know very well….but she seems to not recognize. We’re in the maze created by the Labyrinth Clear Card!

A giant bird flies over Sakura/Alice’s head. (Mirage) She starts to run, seemingly after the bird, climbing the endless stairs of that maze (Reflect and Snooze). Chasing after Snooze’s fluff ball, she finds a creature between a fish and a bird (Gale). Following the creature and climbing more stairs, she witnesses two other creatures, one made of water and the other made of fire, battling eachother (Aqua and Blaze). A gust of wind lifts her up in the air as if her weight is nothing, and a giant spiral opens up above her (Spiral). The spiral engulfes her, removing her from that environment.

Meanwhile, in another corner of that world, Syaoran is still climbing on some stairs, that now are starting to crumble, looking for Sakura. With his proverbial agility, he’s able to jump from a piece of debris to another and latch onto a safe part of the stairs, while thinking to himself that there’s a very powerful spell at work, so much that it could create this “world” they’re in now. Syaoran tries to motivate himself to stay focused, or the minimum wavering of his conscience will cause him to be literally yeeted from that world. After all, he’s only got this one chance to bring Sakura back.

And indeed, we go back to our Sakura/Alice, who emerges in another part of that world.

Her surroundings are just like those of a picture book. But a bird that was only painted onto the background starts to move by surprise, startling Sakura/Alice. To Sakura/Alice’s surprised exclamation, a creature sitting on a flower with the appearance of Rika (Appear) tells her that the bird moved because she wished for it.

To Sakura/Alice’s surprised answer, “Rika” explains that this whole [world] manifested its appearance because she wished for it.

Sakura/Alice is still unconvinced, and replies back that since this is “Clockland”, there must be a Queen here. Her interlocutors change immediately though, as she finds herself in front of creatures bearing the appearances of Naoko, Chiharu and Yamazaki (True or False, Synchronize). It is to be noted that Sakura doesn’t seem to recognize or get surprised to see any of them. This is the major indication that Sakura might not be aware to be Sakura, but actually believing to really be Alice.

“Chiharu” and “Yamazaki” confirm that indeed the Red Queen is present in this world.

Sakura/Alice reiterates that this land is something that should be governed by its Queen, and so the [world] too must be governed by her.

Pay close attention to this affirmation. Sakura here is affirming that they're in Clockland, and the Red Queen (Akiho) must be the one governing (so taking decisions for) this world. But Sakura is apparently the one doing it instead. Even though this isn’t the natural order of things. What does happen when Sakura points this out (with a very serious expression)?

“Chiharu” and “Yamazaki” ignore her rightful objection and offer her tea. God.

Let’s take a step back, getting out of the story layer of the play for a moment, and let’s analyze this scene.

When Sakura asks “Why isn’t Akiho deciding for this?”, the other characters change topic.

Considering who’s likely involved with this strange world (you’ll see more hints later), it doesn’t surprise me in the least that this rightful question gets ignored. And if this is really what CLAMP want to tell us through this scene, I can only applaude them.

Back to our story, Sakura/Alice accepts the tea, and “Naoko” speaks. She reiterates, just like explained by the Cat, that everything will be decided by her, and what she will decide will shape the [world].

But, “Chiharu” and “Yamazaki” interject, somebody’s dream is intertwined with this world. Dreams are wishes too. And those two call to eachother, making each other stronger as a result. (to be really honest, this part is a bit confusing no matter the language, so we'll just leave it here for now)

We reach the first part where I think the ENG translation went a bit too far, imposing an interpretation that (as usual) is left very vague in the Japanese version, and it’s supposed to feel that way (just look at what kind of world we’re in! IT IS supposed to sound confusing!)

Naoko, ENG: “You have to look within yourself...and decide whether you desire dreams..or the truth”

Naoko, JP: “You’ll have to ascertain... Is it a Dream (False), or is it Reality (True)?”

As you can see we have once again the play on words that was featured back in chapter 58 (kaji says something, while furigana says a different word), right after the capture of True or False, and that one got lost in translation too. It’s nice to point out these small details lost along the way because they’re proof that everything is coming together and many things that happen now and will happen later will recall something that was said/happened earlier in the story. Even “Rika”’s scene of a couple of pages ago is strongly reminiscing of the encounter Sakura had with the talking flowers (which told her the same things) back in chapter 39, one of the creepiest chapters of the whole story.

The characters tell Sakura/Alice to go forward, following what she decided to do. Again, a very strong CLAMP thematic, “choices”, is echoing loud and clear in this scene.

Sakura/Alice proceeds forward, and holy moly, what do we have here?? A creature looking like Tomoyo (Repair) is sitting under a gazebo sewing with love a piece of fabric.

Hold on a second.

We have already seen that gazebo.

Yeah.

It is exactly the same gazebo Lilie and little Kaito were sitting under, in the flashback of chapter 60, while Kaito was dreaming of his past. It happened shortly ago so maybe it’s still in the memories of many fans.

Before moving forward, I’d like to take this detail to point out that this might be a major hint of whose dream is intertwined with this world. I think it’s Kaito’s, since earlier on they were talking about someone’s dream with a strong wish. If there’s anything we know in this Clear Card Arc, is that Kaito is conjuring up a major mess in order to fulfill a wish he’s got. We still don’t know exactly what that wish is, but in this moment there’s probably no one with a stronger wish than him in the story.

And if this is the case, then having Lilie’s gazebo here makes sense. As it’s his dream too, parts of his subconscious might appear here and there along the way. Who knows what else will appear later on. It’ll be interesting to see.

Sakura/Alice asks “Tomoyo” what she’s sewing (again, no sign that she recognizes her and to be fair no sign from Tomoyo too), and she replies “a dress for someone important”.

Sakura, once again, asks if the dress is for the Red Queen (she still feels the Queen should actually be the protagonist in this strange world), and “Tomoyo” says that yes, she did sew one for the Queen too, but this one she’s sewing now is a dress for her most important person.

Now, I’ll just point out a pet peeve of mine that is not technically an error in the ENG translation, but I wished they kept truer to the original.

In the JP version, there’s no clear indication of “girl” from Tomoyo (indeed, I could already feel from the reading of the ENG version that it was so damn direct for someone like Tomoyo, so I already kinda knew I would find something different in the JP version). Tomoyo uses the word 方 (kata, “person”) which is genderless and even got a more polite tone (as Tomoyo always uses).

So a translation truer to the original would be “It’s for my most important person”.

Now, we all know who Tomoyo loves, so making her say “girl” isn’t really saying anything incorrect, but as I believe CLAMP characters are strenuous supporters of the “love regardless of gender” and fall in love with someone else for what they represent to them, not for what gender they are, I feel like the choice of kata should’ve been preserved in the translation too, to reflect more accurately CLAMP’s view. But it’s not a big deal.

And after this little side note, we continue with Sakura/Alice asking her where this person is now, to which “Tomoyo” replies “Somewhere” (not exactly “elsewhere” like in the ENG, because that would imply Tomoyo has got at least an idea of where this person is, while “somewhere” is a lot more vague), and here we have another slight translation difference:

Tomoyo, ENG: “But I know in my heart that she’ll come back someday...to wear the dress I made for her”

Tomoyo, JP: “but I firmly believe she’ll come back to me, wearing my dress (the dress I made for her)”

Why am I pointing this slight translation difference out? Because this is a recall to, lo and behold, none other than The Sealed Card movie, when Tomoyo told Sakura that it’s important that she always wears one of her dresses because that’s her prayer that Sakura will come back to her safe and sound, together with that dress. And this is what “Tomoyo” is saying here, too.

So, coming back to her wearing the dress, not to wear the dress.

“Tomoyo”, while saying so, takes Sakura/Alice’s hand and seemingly sews something unto the fabric of her costume, and we see some wind surrounding our Alice. Is some kind of magic at work?

Hard not to wonder about that, since we have, hehe, another recall to a scene we’ve already seen in chapter 61:

What does this mean? Did “Tomoyo” sew some kind of protection onto Sakura’s costume? Or did she simply put a spell that will change Sakura’s dress when that time will come (the meeting with MCF)?

We don’t know, as a giant kind of black bird (Shade) appears out of nowhere, and “Tomoyo” utters the last words she’ll tell to our Sakura/Alice:

Tomoyo, ENG: "Never forget...what matters the most"

Tomoyo, JP (literal): "Don't forget...the one thing you must absolutely not forget"

Why did I put this translation difference here? Because I think these two have a slight different meaning. The first one is pretty generic, while the second one seems to be hinting at something very specific. And here words are very important. You see, this Sakura doesn’t seem to know she’s Sakura at all. I believe she’s convinced she’s Alice. And so, I can easily infer the “something” Tomoyo is talking about is her identity. Never forget who you are. You are you, there’s only one of you, you’re unique, with your own story and baggage of experiences. Irreplaceable.

How many times I’ve been mentioning this as one of the major themes of Clear Card? I think we’re finally heading in the direction of making this message loud and clear for everyone.

Before moving onto the next scene, I just want to comment on how damn sweet this part with Tomoyo is.

The way she holds that piece of fabric? It melted my heart!!! It’s still unclear exactly what these Clear Cards featured here represent, if they’re maneuvered by someone else or they’re truly manifestation of the Cards, but it’s just amazing to see how Tomoyo’s strong feelings for Sakura translate perfectly onto this “version” of herself, born from Sakura’s power meddled with her memories and feelings for her.

Tomoyo’s love is so pure and sweet and unconditional, it’s a kind of higher love that I believe not everyone can feel. Since I know Tomoyo was missed for long time in the fandom, I find this scene a very important puzzle piece of the climax (she’s the one telling Sakura the most important truth!).

Moving forward, there’s a black mass engulfing and destroying everything in this world (why does this black mass reminds me of the black mass that springs from Akiho everytime she goes “berserk”…) and it’s in the middle of this mess of debris and black mass that Syaoran and Sakura get a glimpse of eachother…

Sakura/Alice calls him “Neko-san” (Mr. Cat - another proof she isn't herself) and, as Syaoran is about to approach Sakura, the ground under her cracks and she falls into the void, with Syaoran yelling her name, in a scene (hehe, once again, this is a reference-fest) that reminds us a lot about the one that happened in volume 6 of the old manga, when Sakura fell down a cliff and Syaoran yelled her name for the first time.

Luckily, Syaoran is quick enough to catch her hand, and.....what? Her hand? And he isn't being fried alive??? What is going on?

I'm telling you what is going on....

Here. I feel like if I put it like this, exactly the same way you can read it on Comic Days, you have a better idea of what's going on.

This is not THE SAME scene, but actually TWO scenes happening at the same time.

In the one on the left, Real Syaoran catches a fake Sakura that is revealed to actually be our poor, distraught Mirror (Sakura) Card, whom, with tears in her eyes, apologizes to Syaoran. On the right, we see Real Sakura being caught by what we can safely say is a “fake Syaoran”, since the real one is dealing with Mirror right now.

So probably, what happened here is that when Sakura and Syaoran "saw" eachother in that mess of black stuff, Syaoran actually saw a fake Sakura (and ran to her) while Sakura saw a fake Syaoran (and he "saved her"). The real Syaoran and Sakura never actually saw eachother.

A black mass engulfes Syaoran, the real one, and we do not know what happens to him afterwards. Was he taken somewhere else? Was he kicked out of this world? Hard to believe, with someone like Syaoran. If Kaito is behind this.....did he take him where he is? Will they talk? I have to say it's one of the scenes I look forward to in this finale.

Meanwhile, Sakura/Alice thanks the Cat, and he looks at her with a very intense stare. A black bird (once again, Shade) originates under them, and this "fake" Syaoran urges them to go, riding on this bird.

And this is how chapter 65 ends, leaving us with...how many? How many question marks on our heads?? 😂 Certainly it was a dream-like, oneiric chapter.

Among the comments I've read around, of course there's been a lot of "wow I didn't understand a damn thing" 😂, but also lots of comments about Tsubasa flashbacks (and so the consequent anxiety that ensues whenever TRC is involved).

But personally, I found this chapter a very endearing tribute to all that is Cardcaptor Sakura. The world Sakura is in right now not only serves someone's purpose, but will also turn out into an opportunity for our brave girl to learn something very important about herself. And I'm sure other characters will learn important, vital lessons too. And then all the references, allusions, hints, recalls of events already happened in all the 3 Arcs, but especially in this one....just like a puzzle of which you've seen the pieces separately before, and now the puzzle is coming together right in front of your eyes. I feel like this chapter is better grasped if you don't insist in reading it literally, but actually taking a step back from what we're seeing and trying to interpret what each scene might be referring to on an allegorical level. It's something I really like in stories and so I was excited while reading this chapter. Maybe in 10 days, re-reading it, I will realize a new key to interpreting things that I didn't see before. Or a new reference. I'm sure many of you will point out things I didn't notice, and I think that's the beauty of this chapter.

As this is tangled with someone else's dream, we have to remember how dreams "behave". Not everything is linear and not everything makes sense immediately. And so, I believe the characters appearing in this chapter are in some moments acting in Sakura's interest, and in some others are influenced by the owner of the dream. The distinction between the two behaviors isn't clear at all, as it should be. I have the theory that Momo might be pulling the strings of many events that are happening in this chapter, softly trying to steer everything in the direction she wants, without tipping Kaito off too much.

On another note, I hope all those who were racking their brains in search for a purpose for the latest Clear Cards, which didn't seem clear at all (no pun intended 😂), are now satisfied. As I've been telling often: the Clear Cards of this Arc do not have the same function the Clow/Sakura Cards had before. You need to detach yourself from that concept to enjoy it fully. They started as the manifestation of Sakura's rampant powers out of control, they were created by accident by Sakura herself, they weren't created with a project in mind like Clow did. And in fact, along the serialization, their shape changed, starting to feature Sakura's loved ones and representing more and more abstract concepts: their purpose is more conceptual than to really help Sakura with a particular skill like flying or moving objects. They're there to remind Sakura who she is. And as it often happens, our loved ones are the ones who can remind us of who we are, when we need it. This is exactly what the human Cards featured in this chapter did. They're trying to guide Sakura so she doesn't lose herself into this Wonderland that is so fantastical, but can also become her prison. Since the Cards representing Sakura's family and Syaoran didn't appear yet, I think we'll be in for more intimate, emotional moments where Sakura will remember who she is precisely thanks to them.

But this story is made up of Two Alice, and so I have to wonder where is Akiho right now, what is she seeing? Probably.....a nice town called Tomoeda, where she's got lots of friends and a family that loves her dearly....? Yeah, the perfect life Kaito wanted to give her. But fear not. As I believe the Two Alice will have to wake up from their dreams together, I'm absolutely positive Akiho will miss Kaito's and Momo's (and Sakura's too!) presence regardless of how happy she might be in the dream she's living now. Because our loved ones are unique and no one can replace them. And when we're talking about our most important person....all the more. Just imagine Kaito's face, doing all of this for Akiho's sake, when she'll destroy it to go back to him. I am anticipating that moment so much.

Well, this month we didn't have major translation mistakes (thankfully, as half the chapter is without dialogues!) and I hope we can continue on this path. The climax is important and as you can see, it can get pretty confusing even without translation mistakes.

I have to unfortunately announce that Clear Card will take a break from next issue of Nakayoshi (contrarily to what I initially announced on my Twitter, but I swear Comic Days still says next chapter is on August 31st), so chapter 66 will come back on these dates:

September 30th, on Bookwalker (digital, ENG) October 1st, on Clamp-fans and Comic-days (digital, JP and other languages) October 3rd, on Nakayoshi (paper and digital, JP)

I know, it'll be hard to wait for next chapter when we've reached such an important part of the story 😭, but every summer CLAMP take their deserved vacation, so it was kinda expected (I was so surprised to see from Comic Days that there wasn't a break, I should've known). It might actually be the last break we'll have for this series.

Let me know what you think about this chapter and if you noticed something I didn't see before!! See you at the end of September!!

[haventdecidedyet]

I FINISHED ROBIN HOOD YESTERDAY

(the birthday of RA, may I note)

After 34 days, or thereabouts. That makes me seem like a casual, non-fixated media-consumer, but actually that's my disciplined strategy of ensuring my fixation can sustain me for a long period of time.

Now it's time to reflect on season 3 and do some episode-by-episode reviews.

Total Eclipse - What was going on. It was different. Everything felt different. Robin had had a haircut and Guy had had a hair growth, which was actually debilitating to his vision. Also the Sheriff had eye shadow and shaved that bit of hair that everyone liked. Guy made a fool of himself by not killing Robin but entered his emo phase.

Cause and Effect - Kate began her campaign to make everyone cringe at the construction of female characters. Unfortunately she would never get over the death of that pathetic brother. Really random Irish guys. Goodbye Gisborne.

Lost in Translation - yes, Wikipedia, you're very right to note Gisborne is absent. I was almost losing hope for the series. The Bible in English, that's crazy. Was this when they dug up a skeleton?

Sins of the Father - I don't know why everyone acted like they knew Rufus. Allan and Kate definitely could have developed a relationship from here, but no, Robin's the only charmy smarmy man allowed. Snivelling accountant was killed. A little three-way conflict and little laddy escaped the shadow of his father.

Let the Games Commence - Gisborne returned with a boosted ego, styled hair, a pet lion, and things looked up. He has a sister? Now you're pushing it, writers. I did find her attractive here but, you know, that changed. A nice circus theme going on and that ginger kid tried his best.

Do You Love Me? - Now things really looked up. Prince John is a gem. He set that random wedding on fire. Gisborne and the Sheriff were pitted against each other, ouch. Did I hallucinate or did the Sheriff claim to be like his father as Guy 'killed' him? The awkward dinners, amazing. The failure at kingly healing, oh yes.

Too Hot to Handle - Prince John carried it again. Robin and Isabella really shouldn't have been a thing so it was good when Guy went after them. After treading water and undressing Isabella snapped and turned bad and we had a quarreling quadrangle: Robin, Isabella, Gisborne, Prince John.

The King Is Dead, Long Live the King - a kind of uninteresting episode, but Guy escaped Isabella, began his redemption arc, Robin faced off with his old mentor.

A Dangerous Deal - Guy and Meg, my heart, incredibly adorable, Meg was literally the best female character and she deserved more time, Guy had a character reversal, flash feminism I guess and husband-killing.

Bad Blood - the most weird weirdest episode to exist, we learnt a lot of too convenient and too overlooked facts about Robin and Guy's family history, had to watch loads of new characters take all the action, where Robin's dad happened to spring from who knows, but I overlooked the massive stretches for the sake of seeing Robin and Guy ride off into the sunset

The Enemy of My Enemy - I really wish Robin and Guy could have developed as a pair like this for longer, Archer was somewhat a prick, but I'm nevertheless fond of the strange brother trio.

Something Worth Fighting For Part 1 - Showdown time. Honestly, Kate and Robin's romance was a no-go. But sure. Turning gang members out, almost suffocating Much, Guy and Robin in the tunnels, Allan's painful death, there was some good drama.

Something Worth Fighting For Part 2 - I was so glad to have the Sheriff back. Having it back how it used to be, the final fight being against the original, key villain. Guy not a villain, a solid gang member. But then it was die die time. That tunnel scene was cruel. Guy and Robin as friends: I don't care if it's unbelievable, it makes me happy. Robin took on the nice little 'I'll be the hero and sacrifice myself so everyone else can prosper' trope. When Marian stepped out of the trees I was a goner.