The ending of Tsubasa
Really, there can be so much for me to talk about. About this guy who has been bugging me. About the hurricane that could have hit my house and destroyed it this time, about how worried I was for my dad, because he's one of those old farts who would have stayed because he's a man and that's what men do, especially old men; stick around in dangerous situations and shake their fists at fate/god/empty sky because it missed them that time. Or I could have been marveling at the fact that I am so busy, as in actually doing things, now that I'm back at college, whereas last year I was so lonely I applied escapism through the internet so much that all I did outside of it was a little homework now and then. But, oddly enough, when I have a couple of hours to kill till class and just want to do something, this is what plagues my mind. It's not that I won't talk about those other things (in my own roundabout way) in time, (I have a whole article about the hurricane that I went through that I should probably finish before we get hit again) but that now's not the right time for it.
And so (warning: spoilers ahead for those not read up in Tsubasa):
I love Kurogane and I love Fay. Like all of CLAMP's characters they are sympathetic and they are good people (no matter what Fay says) and you can really get into their stories and what happens to them. They are notable in Tsubasa because they are the only two main characters (not including the villains) that are completely original (although we find out later that "Syaoran" is actually a new character in and of himself, he is still based off of and connected to the Syaoran and Sakura of Card Captor Sakura [CLAMP must've really liked that series by the way to do a whole 'nother thing with it]), and not from a previous work of CLAMP's. I love Kurogane, because he is just completely AWESOME, and strong, and just, and he comes to care about the people around him and he doesn't try to deny it, he just continues to do what he can to the best of his ability. He doesn't need to justify himself to anyone, he's not full of airy philosophies because: he doesn't need those things. He's himself and he's in these situations and he doesn't need to think about fate or if it was all meant to happen and there was nothing he could do about it because, from the start, he has only ever done what he wanted to do (and not just careless whims; just what he wishes for) and what he needed to do. If he was real I WOULD HAVE MARRIED HIM IN A HEARTBEAT, because, damn, a guy that actually knows what he wants? That's hot. I love Fay too, in a different way. While Kurogane you can love just because of who he is, you love Fay for his perspective. This guy that went through absolute hell (damn, CLAMP just completely screwed up this guy) and doesn't know what he wants, he wants to save his brother but he wouldn't mind it if he died, he's so messed up emotionally that he can't even imagine himself another way and beneath it all is the guilt that he thought he killed his brother and the belief that he doesn't deserve peace or happiness, even if he wants it so badly. He can only ever run away because he can't bear to face what happened to him, even when he believes that he deserves nothing but torment. And, at the same time, his care for other people, especially Sakura who is everything he's not, forces him to face his past or risk losing yet another person he holds dearly (and because of himself, no less). You love him because you can understand why he got so fucked up, his motivations, and his depraved logic because he never saw anything worthwhile in himself after he lost those who he loved and who loved him in the way he did. He's someone you love because his point of view is so sad and, despite that, how much he cares about his companions.
Okay, enough of that, you get the picture: I love Kurogane and Fay. But then there's CLAMP. Every fan of CLAMP has a love/hate relationship with those four special ladies from Japan at least at one point in time when they read their work. Because, quite simply, they like screwing with the best characters. And thereby screwing with our emotions by extension. It is also a well-known fact that CLAMP does not shy away from killing characters or making their audience cry. This, and many strong suggestions from the atmosphere of recent chapters of Tsubasa and their recent work and references (especially X/1999) has made a many a CLAMP fan, myself included, draw to one conclusion:
Someone (a main character; possibly plural) is going to die at the end of Tsubasa.
Of course, this is not set in stone. CLAMP pulls more stunts in their work than a troupe of circus clowns do during a full year of once-a-week performances. They always manage to surprise us, in one way or another. However, there is a trend in their action mangas (possibly excluding Magic Knight Rayearth) where they kill someone off in a dramatic fashion at the end. And again, the recent atmosphere, everything coming to a head in Tsubasa, and many other factors, some of which I have listed, most of which can't really be defined with words, has lead me, among many, to this conclusion. Which leaves us with the fun part: who's it gonna be?
I don't see anyone even trying to speculate on the ending for Syaoran and Sakura. Things have just gotten weirder and weirder with those two ever since the first clone was discovered, and it doesn't even look like we're nearing the end of the increasingly strange things concerning those two. I mean, when you think about it, the utter strangeness of the accounts of the real "Sakura" and "Syaoran" is reaching into the fantastical. All I think I know is that it's gonna be some weird mix with the "real" ones and the clones and that more than likely the clones are going to come out of it worse off. That is my only statement regarding the ending for Syaoran and Sakura.
Kurogane and Fai's ending? That, after an item I recently came across, I can actually guess at with some level of certainty. In fact, I would even go so far as to say that I'm convinced that this is what is going to happen, and I am sticking by it until CLAMP proves me right or wrong.
It's probably extremely bad that I drew this conclusion because of the Summer Challenge in the kuroxfai community. (let me just say right now: I hate LJ and the feelin's mutual)
Kurogane is going to die. And not Fay.
For many of you, this may seem shocking. For me, I say this: this is CLAMP.
There are two reasons why I believe this, one of them a skimpy justification with the belief in CLAMP's magnificent ability for foreshadowing, and another to show that this is possible (with more foreshadowing). There is also a third thing to address, which is neither proving or disproving this theory, but might also have something to do with the ending.
Reason 1: One innocent little splash page from the memorable Chapter 166.
In case this image isn't cooperating it says:
"Even if the beloved ones leave his side
even so, he has to keep on living."
Now, yes yes, I know, this could very well refer only to real!Fay and Ashura. However, I believe from the page itself, this has implications for the future (attention to the eye anyone?).
Reason 2 (sort of): The very interesting "eye loop-hole." (In fact, I take it back. This might be the strongest evidence that Kurogane might not be sticking around.)
Hitsuzen, pretty much. Probably even more so, since it was written off at the time.
And this:
I would like to rather morbidly point out that he doesn't say the state he will return in.
Basically, my theory goes that Kurogane dies, Fay takes back his eye from the clone, Fay takes Kurogane's body back to Nihon, they have a lovely funeral, and Fay stays there for his soulmate, obviously.
That's my guess, but, as stated, we never know with CLAMP. :3
We might not have to write massive yaoi fanfiction in morning by the end of this afterall.
And damn, whenever I sit down to do an entry it takes freakin' forever. Jeeze.
Edit: This better be the last time LJ plays screwy tonight.
And so (warning: spoilers ahead for those not read up in Tsubasa):
I love Kurogane and I love Fay. Like all of CLAMP's characters they are sympathetic and they are good people (no matter what Fay says) and you can really get into their stories and what happens to them. They are notable in Tsubasa because they are the only two main characters (not including the villains) that are completely original (although we find out later that "Syaoran" is actually a new character in and of himself, he is still based off of and connected to the Syaoran and Sakura of Card Captor Sakura [CLAMP must've really liked that series by the way to do a whole 'nother thing with it]), and not from a previous work of CLAMP's. I love Kurogane, because he is just completely AWESOME, and strong, and just, and he comes to care about the people around him and he doesn't try to deny it, he just continues to do what he can to the best of his ability. He doesn't need to justify himself to anyone, he's not full of airy philosophies because: he doesn't need those things. He's himself and he's in these situations and he doesn't need to think about fate or if it was all meant to happen and there was nothing he could do about it because, from the start, he has only ever done what he wanted to do (and not just careless whims; just what he wishes for) and what he needed to do. If he was real I WOULD HAVE MARRIED HIM IN A HEARTBEAT, because, damn, a guy that actually knows what he wants? That's hot. I love Fay too, in a different way. While Kurogane you can love just because of who he is, you love Fay for his perspective. This guy that went through absolute hell (damn, CLAMP just completely screwed up this guy) and doesn't know what he wants, he wants to save his brother but he wouldn't mind it if he died, he's so messed up emotionally that he can't even imagine himself another way and beneath it all is the guilt that he thought he killed his brother and the belief that he doesn't deserve peace or happiness, even if he wants it so badly. He can only ever run away because he can't bear to face what happened to him, even when he believes that he deserves nothing but torment. And, at the same time, his care for other people, especially Sakura who is everything he's not, forces him to face his past or risk losing yet another person he holds dearly (and because of himself, no less). You love him because you can understand why he got so fucked up, his motivations, and his depraved logic because he never saw anything worthwhile in himself after he lost those who he loved and who loved him in the way he did. He's someone you love because his point of view is so sad and, despite that, how much he cares about his companions.
Okay, enough of that, you get the picture: I love Kurogane and Fay. But then there's CLAMP. Every fan of CLAMP has a love/hate relationship with those four special ladies from Japan at least at one point in time when they read their work. Because, quite simply, they like screwing with the best characters. And thereby screwing with our emotions by extension. It is also a well-known fact that CLAMP does not shy away from killing characters or making their audience cry. This, and many strong suggestions from the atmosphere of recent chapters of Tsubasa and their recent work and references (especially X/1999) has made a many a CLAMP fan, myself included, draw to one conclusion:
Someone (a main character; possibly plural) is going to die at the end of Tsubasa.
Of course, this is not set in stone. CLAMP pulls more stunts in their work than a troupe of circus clowns do during a full year of once-a-week performances. They always manage to surprise us, in one way or another. However, there is a trend in their action mangas (possibly excluding Magic Knight Rayearth) where they kill someone off in a dramatic fashion at the end. And again, the recent atmosphere, everything coming to a head in Tsubasa, and many other factors, some of which I have listed, most of which can't really be defined with words, has lead me, among many, to this conclusion. Which leaves us with the fun part: who's it gonna be?
I don't see anyone even trying to speculate on the ending for Syaoran and Sakura. Things have just gotten weirder and weirder with those two ever since the first clone was discovered, and it doesn't even look like we're nearing the end of the increasingly strange things concerning those two. I mean, when you think about it, the utter strangeness of the accounts of the real "Sakura" and "Syaoran" is reaching into the fantastical. All I think I know is that it's gonna be some weird mix with the "real" ones and the clones and that more than likely the clones are going to come out of it worse off. That is my only statement regarding the ending for Syaoran and Sakura.
Kurogane and Fai's ending? That, after an item I recently came across, I can actually guess at with some level of certainty. In fact, I would even go so far as to say that I'm convinced that this is what is going to happen, and I am sticking by it until CLAMP proves me right or wrong.
It's probably extremely bad that I drew this conclusion because of the Summer Challenge in the kuroxfai community. (let me just say right now: I hate LJ and the feelin's mutual)
Kurogane is going to die. And not Fay.
For many of you, this may seem shocking. For me, I say this: this is CLAMP.
There are two reasons why I believe this, one of them a skimpy justification with the belief in CLAMP's magnificent ability for foreshadowing, and another to show that this is possible (with more foreshadowing). There is also a third thing to address, which is neither proving or disproving this theory, but might also have something to do with the ending.
Reason 1: One innocent little splash page from the memorable Chapter 166.
In case this image isn't cooperating it says:
"Even if the beloved ones leave his side
even so, he has to keep on living."
Now, yes yes, I know, this could very well refer only to real!Fay and Ashura. However, I believe from the page itself, this has implications for the future (attention to the eye anyone?).
Reason 2 (sort of): The very interesting "eye loop-hole." (In fact, I take it back. This might be the strongest evidence that Kurogane might not be sticking around.)
Hitsuzen, pretty much. Probably even more so, since it was written off at the time.
And this:
I would like to rather morbidly point out that he doesn't say the state he will return in.
Basically, my theory goes that Kurogane dies, Fay takes back his eye from the clone, Fay takes Kurogane's body back to Nihon, they have a lovely funeral, and Fay stays there for his soulmate, obviously.
That's my guess, but, as stated, we never know with CLAMP. :3
We might not have to write massive yaoi fanfiction in morning by the end of this afterall.
And damn, whenever I sit down to do an entry it takes freakin' forever. Jeeze.
Edit: This better be the last time LJ plays screwy tonight.