I realised...
My brain went into Tsubasa (or rather KuroFai) overload and I realised three things.. Share your insights with me =)
Dragon and Phoenix
As we all know, the price Kurogane paid to Yuuko is his sword, Ginryuu, also known as Silver Dragon. On the other hand, Fai's price is his tattoo, which is in the shape of a phoenix.
In Chinese culture, dragon and phoenix are a pair and they are even used to associate with married couples.
According to Wikipedia, "in ancient China, [phoenix] can often be found in the decorations for weddings or royalty, along with dragons. This is because the Chinese considered the dragon and phoenix symbolic of blissful relations between husband and wife, another common yin and yang metaphor."
You can read more about Chinese dragon here and fenghuang (Chinese phoenix) here.
Tsubasa Caractere Guide 1
I was trying to find some obvious pages in the manga that Kurogane and Fai are in love with each other, and I wasn't really successful. We do get a lot of hints, with Fai's truckload of nicknames and Kurogane's recent SPOILERS life-saving END spoilers feat. But there is nothing that jumps right out from the manga that declare that this ship is canon (as in there is really romance between them), is there?
Borrowing Cardcaptor Sakura example, we know that Touya/Yukito is canon because we have Yukito's "Touya is the person I like best" and I can't remember what Touya says -_-.
Do prove me wrong, I want to be proven wrong, haha.
So the best obvious thing I found, that can signal their romance, is from Tsubasa Caractere Guide 1. I have the Chinese version (publisher: Tong Li). Refer to page 69, where Fai is giving comments to the patrons of Cat's Eye, specifically the comments to Kurogane.
He said, (pardon my lousy translation) "You should regard [the nicknames I've given you] as love and accept them". Yes, the word "love" is brought up *fangal squee*.
Can anyone with the Japanese Caractere Guide check whether Fai's words are the same in there? Cos' translation can sometimes change the meaning of words.. *cross fingers*
SPOILERS from Ch 130
SPOILERS
We were wailing about how disappointed (or at least I know I'm wailing =P) we were when Fai called Kurogane by his name in Ch 130. But now that I've come to terms with it, I recall reading in xxxHolic volume 2, that the lack of honorifics while addressing another can mean the intimacy of a relationship. Please correct me if I'm wrong, I don't have Holic with me now and I'm still learning this whole honorifics thing..
Fai didn't go all polite and called him "Kurogane-san" but just plainly "Kurogane".
Does the lack of honorific here actually mean something?
END spoilers
I can't help but remember in Koryu, where Syaoran remarked that Sakura would never call him by his name but "Syaoran-kun" and earlier in Clow (when the two were younger), Sakura asked if she can call him Syaoran without the honorific, signifying the closeness of their relationship.
I guess that's all. Tell me what you think =)
Dragon and Phoenix
As we all know, the price Kurogane paid to Yuuko is his sword, Ginryuu, also known as Silver Dragon. On the other hand, Fai's price is his tattoo, which is in the shape of a phoenix.
In Chinese culture, dragon and phoenix are a pair and they are even used to associate with married couples.
According to Wikipedia, "in ancient China, [phoenix] can often be found in the decorations for weddings or royalty, along with dragons. This is because the Chinese considered the dragon and phoenix symbolic of blissful relations between husband and wife, another common yin and yang metaphor."
You can read more about Chinese dragon here and fenghuang (Chinese phoenix) here.
Tsubasa Caractere Guide 1
I was trying to find some obvious pages in the manga that Kurogane and Fai are in love with each other, and I wasn't really successful. We do get a lot of hints, with Fai's truckload of nicknames and Kurogane's recent SPOILERS life-saving END spoilers feat. But there is nothing that jumps right out from the manga that declare that this ship is canon (as in there is really romance between them), is there?
Borrowing Cardcaptor Sakura example, we know that Touya/Yukito is canon because we have Yukito's "Touya is the person I like best" and I can't remember what Touya says -_-.
Do prove me wrong, I want to be proven wrong, haha.
So the best obvious thing I found, that can signal their romance, is from Tsubasa Caractere Guide 1. I have the Chinese version (publisher: Tong Li). Refer to page 69, where Fai is giving comments to the patrons of Cat's Eye, specifically the comments to Kurogane.
He said, (pardon my lousy translation) "You should regard [the nicknames I've given you] as love and accept them". Yes, the word "love" is brought up *fangal squee*.
Can anyone with the Japanese Caractere Guide check whether Fai's words are the same in there? Cos' translation can sometimes change the meaning of words.. *cross fingers*
SPOILERS from Ch 130
SPOILERS
We were wailing about how disappointed (or at least I know I'm wailing =P) we were when Fai called Kurogane by his name in Ch 130. But now that I've come to terms with it, I recall reading in xxxHolic volume 2, that the lack of honorifics while addressing another can mean the intimacy of a relationship. Please correct me if I'm wrong, I don't have Holic with me now and I'm still learning this whole honorifics thing..
Fai didn't go all polite and called him "Kurogane-san" but just plainly "Kurogane".
Does the lack of honorific here actually mean something?
END spoilers
I can't help but remember in Koryu, where Syaoran remarked that Sakura would never call him by his name but "Syaoran-kun" and earlier in Clow (when the two were younger), Sakura asked if she can call him Syaoran without the honorific, signifying the closeness of their relationship.
I guess that's all. Tell me what you think =)