I've been really busy. (If you've seen my unavailable message on Gmail, you probably know why.) I... have a lot of stuff to talk about! But right now, because it's three in the morning and the mind boggles:
1. HOLY SHIT THAT SPLASH PAGE IS GAY. <--First thought, verbatim, for this chapter. I kid you not. It's the pose. People kept theorizing that we would have the Kurogane & Fay splash page soon, since we've had Fay & Sakura and Kurogane & Syaoran, but I didn't let myself believe. I mean, the likelihood! Am I right or am I rightfully paranoid? This is CLAMP. But the pose. Holy shit, Fay.
Holy shit.
2. THERE WAS LIP TOUCHING. OMG. I THINK AFTER MY BRAIN SPAZZED I MELTED.
DO IT AGAIN, SAKURA.
3. Yes, I was so hoping he would do that again. XDDDDDD I was just waiting and waiting this whole time thinking Fay, KISS HER AGAIN, it makes my heart roll over and die a million times. Srsly. Cannot begin to express my love here. And I'm sure Sakura likes it too~ Who wouldn't? XD She isn't objecting in the slightest. And what he whispers into her skin the next moment is even sexier. Holy shit, man. First Sakura getting her sexy on and then Fay whispering into her flesh is just! My brain is a happy, melted pile of goo.
I want Fay/Sakura porn now. It wouldn't have worked before, but now, in this world and after everything that's happened... I could so see it happening! *______* Entirely plausible! Sinfully intriguing! Etc. ('Sides, Batboy!Syaoran is, uh, not putting out. PUT OUT MAN, IT ISN'T AS IF THIS IS REALLY A SHOUNEN MANGA. *snorts* Go lay some moves on your sweet honey! Didn't you learn anything from the Hanshin Republic?? ...Okay, right. Srsly, tho. Boy has to just go for it. He's getting rejected without him having done anything, here. He's pulling an Ayu, for lack of better terminology. XD) And really, Fay & Sakura is a dynamic that can no longer be defined. I've always had awe and respect for the one indefinable relationship, one that is so complex that it's no use to call it strictly platonic (e.g., Rosiel & Katan, Ed & Al, etc.)
I--IT COULD RLY WORK, YO. JUST SAYIN'
4. Mokona enjoys being molested by Kurogane. OMG, you whore! XO You have Black Mokona waiting for you in Japan Country! Tsk. D:
5. But this sudden mention of Sakura's hidden desire (BTW, she really is channeling Eriol's catchphrases a lot lately) seems awfully convenient. I usually don't have a problem with CLAMP's storytelling/planning, since they're almost as good as KT at it (and KT is almost as good at it as JKR, no joke XDXD), but this should have been mentioned earlier, or at least hinted at enough for the readers to conjecture. As it is, this is only a sudden development.
Also, who noticed
this? (Mild spoilers for Kurogane's backstory, which by now shouldn't have to be called a spoiler at all.) I always thought it was a random crease! Well, I lack an artist's eye, so... But, uh, still. Almost as good at KT at that kind of thing, yo. XD
[EDIT: I think I've figured out part of the reason the splash page looks so gay. Mostly it's Fay's doing why there's nothing like "camaraderie" in this picture at all, but another thing is Kurogane's face is pretty much in Fay's groin. Sure enough, he's looking at the reader, but his face is in a whole other direction.]