Characters / Chaos Card Captor Sakura

Kinomoto Sakura / Orchid:

• Despair Speech: “Orchid can’t die. She’s already gone. I wish I still had her courage. Her strength. Her power. But no… she’s gone. I am Kinomoto Sakura now, just some pathetic girl who can’t get over the fact that… that… that I have no one left to live for… This is the fate such a worthless girl like me deserves. This is my fate.”
• Gambit Roulette: At some point, Orchid starts whispering to Lycan, to screw with him. Depending on when this all began, Orchid is either schizophrenic, clumsy, or the world's greatest chess master.
• An Ice Person: Sakura’s own natural kaos after Lycan steals the Elixir of Fire manifests like as ice. Lampshaded at the end of Chapter 7, it was originally played as I'm Cold... So Cold.... More explicitly stated by the icy rain that falls during the Final Judgment.
• Limited Wardrobe: Played with. Sakura only wears one 'civilian' outfit, her other two outfits being school uniforms (both fall and, when the fall uniform was taken by Mirror, spring). There are two costumes in the story, a leopard-themed battle costume and a cowgirl costume, though Mirror winds up wearing the latter.)
• Not Brainwashed: An Insistent Terminology, especially when accused of being the exact opposite.
• Transformation Sequence: Sakura absorbing the Elixir of Fire’s magic through her heart, and later expelling it out her eyes and mouth. An unusual instance in that it is described in prose.
• Unwilling Suspension: In chapter 8.5, Sakura is bound up by a pair of chains, so that Gin can beat her up with impunity. Also to keep Sakura bound up to, at least in theory, make it harder for Orchid to stop Gin from completing the Life Card.
• Wake Up, Go to School & Save the World: Played with early on, as Sakura must balance her responsibilities of being a Card Captor with her mundane responsibilities and ethics. It is downplayed as the story takes place during Sakura's summer break.
• What You Are in the Dark: She also shows slight traces of Superpowered Evil Side, only without such clear-cut alignment delineation.

Syaoran Li:

• Big Damn Heroes: Syaoran is on various sides of this throughout the fic. Early on, he is the one coming to Sakura’s aid (and in a larger sense that was the entire premise of Chapter 3), while later on Sakura / Orchid will come to his aid.
• Blood Oath: The Inferno Crossbow is fastened to Syaoran's arm by using his blood as an adhesive.
• Cannot Spit It Out: In as much as Season 3's continuity has to be preserved, he can't confess his love to Sakura.
• Depleted Phlebotinum Shells: When Syaoran acquires the Inferno Crossbow, he learns a new way to use his ofuda: the Rites of Kaos.
• Uncanny Family Resemblance: To Gin Clow, barring Gin’s silver hair and presumably atrophied British accent. Used as a plot device so that Gin telling Sakura that he loves her and Syaoran watching Mirage, Sakura’s look-alike, telling Gin, Syaoran’s look-alike, that she loves him could both be played up for angst.

Tomoyo Daidouji:

• The Load: Tomoyo bemoans her uselessness at helping her friends. A lot of it has to do with Lycan’s gall to break Tomoyo’s facade, as seen above.
• 10-Minute Retirement: In Chapter 7. In the previous chapter, Lycan found a chink in Tomoyo’s emotional armor by insinuating that Tomoyo tries to be The Matchmaker because she secretly blames herself for her dad leaving her mom. Thinking about it for a minute, Tomoyo deems that she can’t continue to follow Sakura and Syaoran in their magical adventures.
• Muggles: Tomoyo is a magic-less mundane person and has a hidden inferiority complex about this. starts showing latent magical powers of her own, which she unknowingly uses to help Syaoran reach the Oblivion Card’s core.
• Stepford Smiler: Her outgoing Kawaiiko personality is just a front to cover up her unhappiness at potentially causing her parents to split up.
• Unlucky Childhood Friend: To the American exchange student Tobias Erikson, according to bonus background material.
• The Watson: Tomoyo is generally the one who asks questions about whatever magical powers Sakura / Orchid and Syaoran are using.
• Wise Beyond Their Years: Lampshaded by Damien in Chapter 5, as well as that this may have been something Tomoyo had in common with Gin Clow.

Kero / Keroberos:

• Big Eater: Justified, in spite of being a Guardian. Clow got Kero addicted to food early in his creation, presumably as a joke (similar to how Eriol deliberately screwed up Spinel). Turns out that it was to protect him. Keroberos was specifically designed with the ability to metabolize food into magic power. Not only does this enable him to aesthetically emulate the power of the sun, which shines under its own power, but it allows Kero to survive without having to draw his magic from a foreign source, such as his future master.
• Calling the Old Man Out: Kero does this a lot with Clow Reed, even despite Clow being long gone. Yue thinks more idealistically of Clow on account of Clow faking Yue’s memories of being created, but Kero knows better.
• Cloud Cuckoo Lander: Apparently Kero takes more after Clow than he would care to admit…
• Immortal Immaturity: More of a Really Two Hundred Years Old Immaturity. This is how Lycan gets to Kero.

Yue:

• Can't Get Away with Nuthin': No matter what Yue does, Damien always says it’s his fault. Always. And when Damien lets Yue off the hook, you just ‘’know’’ something bad is about to happen...
• Deadpan Snarker: Particularly when he goes to chew out Damien without ever skipping a beat.
• An Ice Person: As a Foil to Damien, and vice versa.
• Kick the Dog: Even some readers found Yue attacking Orchid in a fit of anger over Clow Reed’s honor to be a bit extreme!
• Mirror Character: Yue and Damien. It is implied that Damien is dying because of Yue siphoning off his magical sustenance. In actuality, it was actually Damien’s own hatred of Clow Reed that was consuming him the whole time. The assumption is that Clow created Yue because Damien rejected him as his potential master, and not the other way around. Cue Season 3, when Yue encounters similar difficulties for similar reasons…
• Servile Snarker: Though he will still defend her, Yue still doesn’t think that highly of Sakura as his master. Justified in light that this fic is not only set right after Yue getting stomped in the Final Judgment, but right as he is coming to the harsh reality that Clow was not, in fact, the wise and sagely magician Yue thought him to be. invoked
• What Measure Is a Non-Human?: Yue is simultaneously the most human-looking of the Guardians, but the least human-acting.

Lycan / Gin Clow:

• Appropriated Appellation: Lycan derives his name from the scared, huddled masses that called him such.
• As the Good Book Says...: While stalking Orchid, Lycan quotes one of pop culture’s more memorable bible verses: “Be sober. Be vigilant. For your adversary the Devil walks about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” (This being the predominantly Shinto Japan, the reference is a bit lost on Orchid, though this does nothing to diminish the return fire.)
• Attack Its Weak Point: While attacking the rest of Lycan’s body is often utterly useless, his mask is solid, and thus can be hit. After a few fights, everybody picks up on this.
• Beware the Nice Ones: Gin Clow has a split personality: one sadistic and spiteful, and another affectionate and doting. Guess which one is his kaos self...
• Breath Weapon: How Lycan uses the Fade Card. He gets his own breath weapon later on in the form of an atomizing stream of raw power!
• Cursed with Awesome: Clow Reed’s idea of a curse is to turn you into a magic hyperspace dragon wolf.
• Embarrassing Nickname: Lycie-chan (given by Orchid) gained rapid popularity in the fanbase.
• Eye Scream: Being largely intangible, Lycan averted this with ease when Yue shoots him in the eye with a magic arrow. He later plays it straight when Syaoran shoots him in the eye with the Inferno Crossbow after Lycan became corporeal. Lycan’s reaction: “Do you have any idea how much that stings?!”
• Final-Exam Boss: Every Kaos Card was either put to use against (or by) Lycan at some point during the final fight.
• Mind Rape: Lycan's favorite pastime.
• The Reveal: Lycan is Gin Clow. How this works has yet to be revealed.
  • It turns out that Gin did it to himself. Clow Reed just takes the (bad) rep for it when all he did was lock up what remained of Gin’s soul.
• To the Pain: Lycan not only screws with your head, but explains what you've done to deserve said screwage, from Orchid to Naoko.
• You Cannot Grasp the True Form: The most obvious way that Our Werewolves Are Different. You physically cannot shine a light on Lycan’s body (pre-One Winged Angel form) such that you can get a clear look at him. Also, any projectile attacks directed at him merely sink into his skin, like shooting at a wormhole. In fact, Lycan uses this power as a Mind Screw in its own right.
  • According to Word of God, light actually ‘’does’’ harm him in large enough quantities. The reason that the Light Card didn’t even faze him is because the Light Card was never intended to be used as a weapon.

Damien:

• Almost Dead Guy: For the entire story, he believed that Clow Reed created Yue as his replacement and that Yue was siphoning off his magical sustenance and killing him. Lycan finally kills him by taking advantage of this degradation… and then skewering him. See Clipped-Wing Angel below.
• Ambiguously Brown: Damien is heavily bronzed, either as part of his decay, or as a contrast to Yue’s pasty pale skin tone. Possibly both.
• Call a Rabbit a "Smeerp": Damien is a member of the zaangr’t (pronounced zon-gret) species.
• Clipped-Wing Angel: He’s already in this form at the start of the fic, hence his fading, depleted powers, corrupted human form, and incessant lamenting (mostly at Yue) about how he used to be a lot stronger than he is now. But there’s a worse form to come, characterized by a complete reptilian transformation.
• Determinator: He has his moments of unbridled implacability. When he becomes an even nastier Clipped-Wing Angel, he throws Lycan around like a ragdoll and beats him half to death!
• Five Rounds Rapid: Tomoyo’s bodyguard tries this against Damien. Apparently, this is the same kind of greeting he always gets. Is it any wonder why Damien hates humans?
• Flaming Sharp Things: Damien can summon various kinds of flaming bladed weapons, most commonly knives and javelins. One time he summoned a massive halberd, but Yue cut him off at the pass before he could use it.
• Gaia's Vengeance: Damien's raison d'etre, or at least why he wants to Kill All Humans.
• Hot-Blooded: Especially after his final transformation.
• Jerk Ass Dissonance: Damien is the common favorite of the two Kaos Guardians, even though he's a Jerkass. Apparently, when compared to the Eldritch Abomination, Magnificent Bastard, Made of Evil Omnicidal Maniac that is Lycan, merely calling Damien a "Jerkass" makes him a saint.
• Leeroy Jenkins: Damien doesn't think a lot of his combat ethos out. Also the Weaksauce Weakness of his Clipped-Wing Angel form.
• Never Hurt an Innocent: He’d beat Yue half to death if he ever got the chance, but he won’t lay a finger on Tomoyo.
• Nonhuman Humanoid Hybrid: He’s a dragon from the waist and elbows down.
• Really 700 Years Old: Nobody knows exactly how old Damien is, given that Gin basically adopted him and touted him as his Guardian. He's at least a fair bit older than Yue.

The Kaos Cards:

• Absolute Xenophobe: Other Kaos Cards seem to come off this way (which figures, given that Damien presided over half of them), but Mirage is far more obvious and explicit about it, not caring for people, guardians, Clow Cards (except Mirror), or anybody else who isn't a Kaos Card (or Gin Clow).
• Alien Geometries: The seven-pointed star on the back of each of the Kaos Cards.
• Awesome, but Impractical: The Nightmare, being a scythe, is horrendously unwieldy. So much that it even seems to cause Orchid some problems when using it against, well, anybody really.
• BFS: The Nightmare Card. In this case, Big Fancy Scythe. That can fly.
• Brown Note: The Life Card's portrait, to those with magical foresight, can act as a very small version of this.
• Combat Tentacles: Though none of them do anything particularly naughty (well, at least not officially), tentacles, tendrils, and various other binds appear.
  • This is essentially how the Industry functions while in its visible form. What’s especially shocking is when combining the tendril traits of its visible form with the fact that it can conduct electricity.
  • The Dominion Card can also function as a binding mass of threads, though its primary function is what it does to the victim’s heart. Don’t worry, the possibility of Lycan’s mind being in the gutter is the last thing the victim has to worry about.
• Ghost in the Machine: Industry’s primary power, which can affect and manipulate any forged, inanimate materials like suits of armor, electrical wires or even resin handguns. A bit useless in a forest, though.
• Involuntary Shapeshifting: Though independently sentient, Mirage explicitly states that she cannot control her own transformations without the consent of her master, usually keeping her stuck in one form for a long stretch of time.
• Seven Deadly Sins: Subverted. The fact that there are only seven Kaos Cards is more of an eight-minus-one thing, rather than a reference to this trope.
• Toxic Phlebotinum: The Fade Card gets weaker and weaker the more it consumes, and yet it’s a glutton.
• Tsundere: Oh Mirage, always acting so tough, especially when Syaoran is around.
• Voice for the Voiceless: Mirage. All other Kaos Cards are more bestial.
• I Want My Beloved to Be Happy : All the Kaos Cards are very attached to their master, though are willing to accept their presiding guardian as a suitable surrogate.