Release date: April 13th, 2001
Word count: 9471
Thoughts: It's not often that Sakura has dreams/premonitions of future cards, but The Whip happens to be one of them. The way Syaoran teased Sakura for calling out his name was absolutely adorable and actually a clever way to steer her from dark thoughts because he made her frustrated instead.
The Whip slashing all of Tomoyo's handmade costumes for the musical was pure evil. Sakura's art piece was also ruined and the soccer balls were slashed too.
It doesn't seem like the biggest deal, but it's sweet that S&S apologized to each other for the insults that were hurled while filling out the Best Couples Contest form in the last chapter. I totally forgot that they were chasing each other for fun at the park.
I remember The Whip pretty well because it is hard to forget the way Wish-chan was absolutely merciless when writing about the attack against Syaoran. And in this moment he literally says that he can't take watching Sakura getting hurt so he willingly takes her place. He even says, "If you had been hurt or injured in any way, I’ll be in thousand times more pain than I am now,".
Because of Wish-chan's gruesome descriptions, this is such a PG-13 chapter teetering on T.
Later on in the series, I think Eriol is the one to call Sakura out for not taking The Whip's beatings, which was supposed to make her stronger. But it was *because* Sakura witnessed Syaoran being defeated by The Whip that gave her the determination to capture it.
In this chapter, Sakura uses her power to save Syaoran from his fever and non-stop bleeding. He'll be returning the favour in the next arc, but at a significantly higher level.
Sakura gets a very serious warning from Syaoran on not to go beyond her powers and he makes her promise not to get past that point. The amount of foreshadowing for the battle against The Plague is amazing.
Syaoran gives Sakura a thank you hug and it's everything. Because there's no fanart of thid hug, I completely forgot it existed! I'll quote my favourite part of the passage that's definitely worth diving in the text for: "His hand snaked around her waist. She gasped as he pulled her close to him. Into her ear, he murmured, “Thanks Sakura. For caring for me. You don’t know how special I feel. [...]" He was shirtless in this scene too, having just been bandaged.
So much S&S fluff in this chapter. He starts to play with her braid and she had her head in his lap. Sakura is sensing that they're growing closer. As the Beauty and the Beast song goes, "there's something there that just wasn't there before."
Fanart spotlight: This is actually Asumei's second version of drawing The Whip's attack! I loved seeing how she grew as an artist since her first version. I actually have a page dedicated to before and after fanart pieces on my fansite.
The Whip is definitely one of those Dark Forces you just don't forget about. Without it and its horrible actions towards Syaoran and Sakura, we would have never gotten the Heal.
ReplyDelete"If you had been hurt or injured in any way, I’ll be in thousand times more pain than I am now,". Oh Syaoran; idk why this made me think of the Plague though. Maybe because Sakura starts talking about how this card could heal and save people from suffering. I feel like some of the interaction with the Heal was foreshadow for Arc 3.
Eron can't draw part 1? lol:
“Oh yeah. Sakura and Syaoran didn’t come to school today, huh? I wonder if they’ll come tomorrow.” Picking up Eron’s artwork, which she sat on, she burst out laughing. “Ha ha! Is this supposed be a self portrait? You look like a cow in this! You really can’t draw, can you? [...]".
Wish-chan had an enormous amount of ideas for New Trials ever since its conception. Naturally the Plague was a presence from the beginning since it was what ultimately led to both Nadeshiko and Ryuuren dying so young. If Sakura was going to seal it then she would have to own something that her mother didn't. Sometimes I wonder if the Heal Card and the Hope Card were created the same way. But I haven't re-watched the second movie in the longest time so I have no clue if the reason behind why the Hope was created was clear.
DeleteLol, Eron not being able to draw is a characteristic that doesn't go away. I think it's in Arc 4 where everyone has to do a project on their family and Eron drew stick figures to represent his.