#Is Watanuki a dream of waking then?

[completeoveranalysis]

[15]

HELLO HELLO LOOK AT THIS WORDING 

Not “brothers” like the general theory goes but “the same”

So that theory post isn’t looking as off the walls as it felt at the time 

Maybe Watanuki really is the Egg to Lava Lamp’s Tampopo.

I genuinely am not quite sure what this means in general but it’s a self described future defining development and I believe Yuuko when she says things.

…

I HAVE QUESTIONS.

So is Watanuki still a dream in nature that will get to be real through gathered experience and wishing hard enough? 

(And what is Yuuko?)

Was Watanuki like… the dream reflection accidental existence baby version of Lava Lamp (because of Sakura being in the world of dreams??) who is now his own separate person fighting to retain his existence in the physical world? 

And what future did Watanuki change by wanting to exist to prevent others from being sad?

I think I can safely assume this isn’t the final moment but it sure feels like a big moment all the same.

[asianwhumpgalore]

xxxHOLiC (ホリック xxxHOLiC) | Jmovie | Whump List

Genre: Thriller, Mystery, Drama, Supernatural, Fantasy, Suspense, Investigation

Synopsis: High school student Watanuki Kimihiro has the ability to see spirits and monsters but is actually plagued with them. Coming home one day, he’s once again assailled by evil apparitions but his feet lead him to a strange shop. There he encounters Ichihara Yuko, the mysterious owner who offers to grant Watanuki’s wish to be rid of the spirits. But the price must be of equal value, so Watanuki has to temporarily work for her in her shop that grant wishes. Thus begins his adventures in an world full of supernatural experiences.

Length: 1hr, 50 min

Whump meter: ▲▲◭△△ 

✨A whimsical dark surrealist fever dream in the best way possible. Visual stunner and very unusual.✨

⚠️Trigger Content: Blood, fantasy violence, some SA ⚠️⚠️Some SPOILERS will be found, proceed with caution⚠️⚠️

Whumpee: Watanuki Kimihiro portrayed by Kamiki Ryunosuke

00:45 | Running away from a dark force/energy, fighting against it, continues running away.

32:30 | Struck in the chest by a dark forced while trying to save someone, falls to the ground, darkness crawling up his neck, clutching chest, groaning, concern for him, writhing on the ground, labored breathing, struggles to get up only to fall onto his knees, whimpering, held | Bridal carried | Neck seen bandaged.

45:30 | Concerned for friend, grabbed by dark force, levitated into the air and throw off stairwell, concern for him, falls 3+ stairs into stacked glass, (in world) lying unresponsive, eye 'pulled out' (not graphic), screaming out in agony. (back in reality) Bloody hand bleeding onto white floor, wakes up wearing an eyepatch, seemingly not hurt, confused as to what happened.

48:15 | Reaches into pool of water and the dark force grabs him and pulls him under, (presumably in vision) lying in the rain, witnessing the death of his mother again, screaming, falls to his knees, wakes up suddenly.

01:08:50 | (continuation from fall scene recalled by a character) hand bleeding excessively, glass on his body, bleeding from the head, concern for him, held up by friend, struggling to speak, apologizing, unconscious, taken to be treated, bloody eye (non graphic), lying unresponsive on couch, flinches when eye is 'replaced'. (back in present) concerned for friend, guilty.

01:18:00 | Manhandled, pushed and thrown onto the floor, cries out in pain, clutching chest, writhing on the floor, pulled to his feet by his clothes, mocked and taunted, arm twisted behind his back, groaning, panting, choked, shoved onto the floor, dragged across the floor by his jacket, thrown, rolls across the floor and hits the wall, groaning, stepped on, thrown against friend, on the ground, dragged across the floor telekinetically, struggling to resist, concerned for friend, (in alternate reality) bound in a web made of red string. [01:25:16] Pierced by the red string and it starts tightly binding up his entire body and head, screams out in pain. Saved.

01:32:34 | Attacked by dark force, struggling to shoot a magical bow, screams, falls to the ground, panting.

[spuddy-potat]

Watanuki Kimihiro Whump List (xxxHOLiC)

its finally here!!! i know i said i would make this months ago but i finally got around to finishing it!! its my first whump list so i may have missed a few things (let me know if i should add anything!!) but i hope you find this helpful <3

note: Watanuki is affected by the presence of certain types of negative energy which make him feel ill (often shown by coughing, covering his mouth/nose, or gagging)–he reacts to it numerous times throughout the series so it will be referred to as "ghost energy" in this list.

includes some Doumeki whump as an added bonus!!

SEASON 1 1.01: chased, knocked down by spirits (comedic), trips 1.02: cooking mishap (comedic) x2, ghost energy 1.03: ghost energy, accosted by spirits, briefly unconscious(?) after nearly falling off the roof Doumeki bonus: dislocated shoulder 1.04: reference to parents' death 1.05: chased by spirits 1.06: freaked out by Yuuko's shortcut, ghost energy (coughing 1.07: bonked by umbrella (comedic) x2, dragged under hydrangea, ghost energy, unconscious Doumeki bonus: bonked by umbrella (comedic), tired from waiting/digging in the rain for hours, Yuuko mentions that his injury is aggravated by the rain 1.08: ghost energy x2 1.09: "strangled" by Kudagitsune (comedic), yanked around by Kudagitsune x2, Doumeki-induced collapse (comedic) 1.10: freaked out by ghost stories, slapped by Yuuko (comedic), freaked out by spirits, grabbed/restrained 1.11: falls from the sky, bonked by umbrella (comedic)         Doumeki bonus: soul removed, passes out (10:00), head bonked, unconscious for most of the episode 1.12: carries heavy luggage (comedic), hurts wrist trying to turn a handle (comedic), freaked out by spirit, grabbed 1.13: arm slashed 1.14: ghost energy (dizzy(?)) x2, Himawari-induced half-collapse (comedic) 1.15: none         Doumeki bonus: tea spilled on arm 1.16: bothered by Kudagitsune (heavy), nearly collapses(?) after chase 1.17: slapped with bouquet of flowers 1.18: slams face into wall youkai, falls from the sky 1.19: smacks face on tree (comedic) 1.21: trips, nightmare, body feels heavy, collapses, freaked out by spirit, childhood flashback, reference to parents' death 1.22: reference to parents' death x2, coughing x8, not eating as much (small detail), passes out x2 (16:15)(22:00), weak, childhood flashback, coughing up blood 1.23: weak, passes out x3 (3:30)(5:00)(15:25), coughing x4, nightmare, crying x3, nearly collapses, heavy breathing, worsening cough 1.24: childhood flashback [freaked out by spirit, reference to parents' death, loss of friend]

SEASON 2 (POTENTIAL SPOILER WARNING) 2.01: strange dream, blindness in right eye, split vision         Doumeki bonus: eye pain, collapse (7:00), eye sealed shut 2.02: split vision x2, smacked by Karasutengu 2.03: ghost energy x2 (weak, nearly collapses), collapses (4:52), cuts hand with glass, split vision, restrained x2, choked, eye swallowed, passes out x2 (15:30)(20:25) 2.04: grabbed/restrained, unconscious, passes out (8.55) 2.06: hopelessly bad at mahjong (collapses numerous times in defeat–comedic) 2.07: pinky hurts, trips 2.08: pinky hurts/spills tea on hand 2.09: hot tea thrown at face 2.10: cold water thrown at face 2.11: pinky hurts x3 (worsening pain), freaked out, falls out window (15:17), almost dies, sees parents in a dream/hallucination(?)–appears as a child, crying 2.12: unconscious for 6 days         Doumeki bonus: blood loss

SHUNMUKI (OVA) ep 1: Doumeki-induced freak-out (comedic), flashback [lonely], embarrassed x3 ep 2: passes out (offscreen), wakes up on the floor

ROU (OVA) ep 1: crying ep 2: wakes up on the floor

MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM (MOVIE) bothered by spirits, embarrassed (kinda cute), ghost energy (gags, has to leave the room), strange dream, falls from a balcony, smacked by a piece of wood, nearly falls off a ledge

2022 LIVE ACTION MOVIE* (POTENTIAL SPOILER WARNING) chased by spirits, stands on the roof (WHY?????), bumps into Doumeki and falls like a moe girl, stabbed in the shoulder/neck, collapses (32:30), tries to stand up and collapses like a moe girl (34:24), carried bridal-style by Doumeki, falls down a stairwell (but its ok he got better), eye stolen, dragged into pond, nightmare [witnesses mother's death], wakes up on the ground, time loop, pushed down, arm twisted, choked, dragged, restrained x2, sexually harrassed by Jourogumo (too many times, i refused to keep count), crying

*im gonna be honest watching this movie was kind of a nightmare, its super out of character and condenses/rewrites the story in weird ways (dont even get me started on Jourogumo). i dont recommend this movie if you care about the integrity of these characters and story tbh. however, i thought i should include it for the sake of completion 😔. cool visuals tho.

[noa-ciharu]

Idk what to do with this information, but I just had a dream where Watanuki is crowned the [something I can't remember] Cringe Bisexual and Honorary Disaster Gay

Wake up babe new xxxholic chapter just dropped

[bellshazes]

do it again director's commentary part 3

one evening as the golden hour light begins to creep across his desk it catches the courage crystal sitting there and refracts shattered patterns that waver back and forth along the walls. When Etho stumbles in, gripping a coffee mug with both hands and squinting at the last dregs of daylight, it catches him too and he’s lit up in flames. Bdubs’ heart seizes up as Etho tilts his head down to try and keep the light from his eyes, the deepened burning shadow transforming his face into something menacing and sharp.

this one was for the girlies who appreciate etho always dying in fire <3 and also as close to textually suggesting the courage crystal is a significant source of bdubs' paranoia, bc it does its opposite.

Etho sits up gingerly and tries to wiggle his feet out from underneath Bdubs. “Oh boy, you’re loud. What time is it?” He blearily squints at the clock on Bdubs’ nightstand; he’s not wearing his glasses, or they fell off in the falling over. “What are you doing in my room?”

i really like this part bc the image amuses me so much but also: i was thinking specifically of doumeki shizuka for this. and bdubs plays watanuki. it's just the holic influence, you know how it is with 104.

That acute awareness of absence carries him to a red seance, and when he hears Joel and Grian calling his name he doesn’t even mind the racket they’re causing and scribbles clues into the redstone dust they’ve scattered on the ground. Betrayal doesn’t come to mind at all as he tells them where the others had gone to hide.

nobody talks about the fact that bdubs answering the seance DIRECTLY led to them getting a kill on i think perhaps even cleo??? definitely someone bdubs had cared about. like he really does that. does anybody remember this it makes me sooooo crazy. the post-death influence bdubs had on the actual events of the world is important to the themes of dia, but it's also that i wanted to emphasize that etho never tried to talk to or acknowledge bdubs-as-ghost, even though it was something he could have done. I dont feel strongly about whether, in DIA-verse, he would have known he could do. but it's made relevant in the final chapter when etho says he said something when he was a ghost in case bdubs was still listening.

He’s never been good when left alone, with no one to orbit around and make sense of his place in the world. That’s the problem with putting your heart into one person’s hands: when they’re gone, you’re left heartless. A clock, a life, a question - whatever the promise, he’ll always take it if it means an end to loneliness.

i'm really maybe most proud of this part in the whole fic. i like the prose and i think it explains exactly what i want it to about bdubs being a loyal guy with loose morals and a desperate need for connection. it's not even that directly prevalent in LL but i think his bizarre version of commitment to specific persons is what drives the other recklessness.

It’s the only thing that makes sense; in the dreams that increasingly invade his waking hours as distant overlays, a disorienting kind of deja vu, Etho is overjoyed to torment him with the possibility of his imminent demise at Etho’s hands and sends him on a suicide mission that ends with Bdubs shouting Etho’s name as he dies. 

in the beginning couple chapters i deliberately left bdubs' memory of being killed ambigous so that it was reasonable he might think he was yelling at etho, who directly killed him. now, he remembers more, and his fear develops into less the physical harm and more the emotional betrayal of being thrown away, like he expresses to cleo earlier. but the loop of fearful suspicion kind of shifts without his conscious awareness; he only suspected initially because of the physical threat, and now he's less sure of that, but has invented new reasons to be afraid.

“Little guy!” Bdubs shouts, and then scowls when Jellie disdainfully hops away from them. “Don’t think I don’t know what you’re trying to do, get me distracted so I don’t get my refund. You can’t fool old Bdubs that easy, I tell you what. No - seriously, I mean it. Scar, look at me.”

writing for bdubs' voice is never easier than when he's talking to scar. all his usefully recognizable patterns come up so strongly, so easily. maybe partially because it's easiest for me to hear him cutting himself off to say the same thing in a different way for emphasis, or change the direction of the sentence entirely halfway in when scar is being sneaky and throwing curveballs at him.

“Well,” says Scar, gleeful in a way he instantly pretends to regret, clapping one hand over his heart. “If you can tell me about your dreams I’ll tell you about mine. Grian always gives me such a hard time for caring about dreaming that I used to be a wizard who made the world better with my magic because he doesn’t believe in it in the real world, but you and I know better. “

scar mainly dreams of s7 because of the continuity of his character selling crystals. it's also because he gave and received the most lives, which is the other criteria i used to measure how much a given character might remember with a crystal or after an inciting incident (like falling off the roof, bdubs' questioning of cleo).

“At this point I think Etho’s problem with you is more about not being able to one-up you when you’re going on about whatever thing he’s logically opposed to, way more than whatever it was you did to piss him off way back when.” 

etho doesn't like magic and thinks scar's a terrible influence on bdubs - which is absolutely 1000% true. he does like the mutual manipulation, but only in the light back-and-forth, and it's not really an old grudge or anything.

He had less of a choice than he realized in that moment, but he knows he would have signed anyway, not yet understanding what else Etho would ask him to give up for Etho’s own self-preservation. 

you ever think about how etho asked bdubs to give up something of himself without question twice and twice bdubs barely hesitated before doing it and once it was already over was when he fully grasped the consequences? me neither.

Bdubs thinks about how close he’d come to working for Scar, before he had built up his client list and had regular business after college. How appalled Etho had been, enough to point out that even on their meager incomes they could easily afford a two bedroom apartment on the same block as Skizz and Tango if they moved in together. So he’d taken graveyard shifts where he could find them and told Scar no instead, which was harder than he expected, even before Scar started wheedling. It had felt strangely like giving up something familiar, even though he’d known Etho for longer.

before 90s au there was a DIA offshoot that was set on one side or the other of s7 instead of s8 and paralleled the mayoral arc because bdubs never moves in with etho because he accepts the offer to work for scar instead of needing to split rent and etho is vaguely horrified and not as close but as much of nuisance a la the resistance double-siding stuff. a lot of that got rolled into 90s au though, which i think improves on it by having etho run a shade-e-ees esque side business out of what's basically a DIY container home situation everyone calls the monstrosity. (impulse crashes there frequently too, on account of it also being foreshadowing for the wool castle of 3L).

"That man has a hold on me I guess," bdubs says in LL about scar when questioned why he keeps falling for the BS. you know how it is with mayors

It’s the same shade of red as the dust he’d scrawled his ghostly message in, and he decides he’s had enough of loneliness for several lifetimes.

rage crystal! which, spoilers, chills tango out in another inversion. and like in LL, tango later gives it to etho.

Skizz pauses. “I don’t know what’s up with you and Tango, but I’m glad you’re doing something about it. I miss hanging out with my buddies, we’ve gotta get the band back together. Etho’s been harder to get a hold of too lately and everything is just all weird. I don’t like it.”

it's a shame i needed to keep my character focus really small if i ever wanted to finish the fic, and that i don't feel super confident writing skizz or tango. one day i WILL finish that third-done skizz+scar scene though..... i hope i did him justice

[sakuraswordly]

From what @completeoveranalysis said:

The wording might not be an exact translation either but when Fai says "he lived through Syaoran-kun all the days of his life" it really hammers home that his whole life was just whatever Syaoran was doing. He didn't have anything else going on, or any input (most of the time), he just had to live it. And on the one hand, there have been some benefits to that. Learning Kurogane's sweet sweet dance moves, for one (and saving Watanuki's life, for another) but on the other hand, he's lived this entire journey and knows (and FEELS) every bit of closeness that this family has grown between them, but they don't know him at all. He's finally living the life he only got to watch before, but now he's an outsider in a way he never was before. Because he knows THEM, but they don't know who HE is. 

It's a really fascinating inversion of the fact that our original Syaoran was actually the clone. Because while he was technically an artificial person, he was more real to the dads, to us, and to Sakura. So while Lava Lamp is actually the "real" Syaoran, he's still the second place replacement and a stranger to (which are the qualities you might expect from a clone). 

Real Syaoran didn't just look, but his body learned from the fake Syaoran or clone Syaoran. If you look at it alone, you probably won't be able to.

It seems Real Syaoran's heart and half of his power did affect Clone Syaoran too and can able to control Clone Syaoran's body like what Real Syaoran did in Tsubasa chronicle Vol 9 Chapter 65

That's why Real Syaoran really hope for Clone Syaoran to be himself one day too.

And clip video from Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle Ep 35 and Tsubasa Tokyo Revelations.

That's why every time a clone Syaoran dreams about another Syaoran. Another Syaoran tries to kill him.

This dream means if Real Syaoran wakes up mean likely kill Clone Syaoran's heart because Clone Syaoran didn't have a heart in the first place.

That's why Fai did anything to seal Real Syaoran's heart for Clone Syaoran to not forget the love and feeling for people around him and Sakura.

[existentialismee]

( memory prompts❀;   ) –   ACCEPTING

@eusyram​​​​ said:

*↪               [ ivory ] - a memory from a dream

“Syaoran-kun..?”

He wakes to nothing but darkness, except for the boy at his side-- the sheer force behind his eyes bringing surprise, yet relief, to Watanuki’s features. They stare at another for what seems like hours, until a question slowly starts to slip from his own lips.

“We’re..”

“In a dream.”

Syaoran finishes his sentence, somehow knowing what Watanuki was going to say.

His head dips downward, as a small, sad smile begins to turn the corners of his mouth. This was.. another dream he’d found himself in, thrown between awake and asleep for what he could only assume had been weeks-- but even that thought could be wrong. Maybe it had been days, months, or even years since it all started.. but there was no way Watanuki could really, truly tell. Not when everything was so uncertain. 

“I wonder if we’re meeting in a dream to say goodbye?” the words tremble as they leave him, and before he knows it, the boy reaches forward; grabbing Watanuki’s arm and gripping onto the sleeve of his shirt.

“Don’t disappear!”

He shouts with such conviction, as if pleading with Watanuki, so much so that it takes his breath away.

“.. you said that before.. at the shop. ‘Don’t disappear’. Yuuko-san said you even paid a price to save me.. but.. why?”

“That was the first time we ever met, so.. why would you do that for me? Syaoran-kun.. is.. there some sort of connection between us..?” 

“.. there is,” he answers after a moment, that fierce, strong grip around Watanuki’s arm loosening ever so slightly. “I learned it from my father and mother.. but I can’t tell you what it is right now.”

Their conversation carried on-- about changing the future, about the girl who was trying to keep the futures of all of her loved ones safe.. and though he was hurting, Syaoran uttered a reassurance to Sakura’s actions that that immediately caught Watanuki off guard; knowing each of those words down to his core.

“.. I told Sakura-chan the same thing..”

But despite his disbelief.. Syaoran only smiled. A gentle, almost knowing smile as the dream around them began to come apart.

“That’s because you and I are closer than anyone else.”

[merry-maker-of-marks]

I probably wont get an answer to this, but I've got to ask somewhere.

I'm reading xxxHolic (or really, finished reading xxxHolic) and I can't figure out if the Doumeki in xxxHoloc Rei is Shizuka Doumeki or Sayaka Doumeki. The fandom wiki says that it's Sayaka Doumeki, but I'm pretty sure it's Shizuka???

I think that because of the way Watanuki treats him and because when Watanuki wakes up in the third volume, he mentions Himawari, and Doumeki answers as if she's still alive, meaning it couldn't have been over a hundred years later. Unless Himawari named her child after herself, and like the Doumeki's, kept in contact with Watanuki through generations.

But also Watanuki sees Yuuko in a dream, which he wasn't able to do until the last chapter of OG xxxHolic??

So I have a lot of confusion.

[floatingcatacombs]

Why Is CLAMP Like This, Part IV

12 Days of Aniblogging 2021, Day 10

Yet again I am here to review each CLAMP manga in chronological order. We've finally reached the 2010s, and yet again I am not impressed.

In case you missed it, yesterday's post can be found here. It may be relevant for my thoughts on the sequels to xxxHolic and Tsubasa.

Gate 7

Gate 7 definitely puts its worst foot forwards. Our main character is, of all things, a Kyoto otaku, obsessed with the city’s history and everything in it. After a fate encounter with a Mysterious Yet Childish Girl Who Immediately Falls In Love With Him, he ends up joining the group house of some university students embroiled in a larger supernatural conflict. The manga routinely references Japanese history and mythology without much explanation, which can frequently leave readers confused if they aren’t already familiar. Bless the scanlators for trying their best to give context at the end of each chapter, though. Early chapters of the manga also feature jarring scanned photo backgrounds, which do not mesh at all with CLAMP’s artstyle.

But then things get better. The conflict is finally explained as “reincarnations of Japanese warlords settle feuds from the Warring States Period by duking it out with Stand-like oni”, which is way simpler then they make it out to be at first. The artwork is top-quality.. New characters are gradually introduced and their designs feel original and distinct, which is something CLAMP struggles with in many other series. Yukimura Sanada is really hot.

The sides of the conflict are established, the intrigue deepens, and what happens next? Four volumes in, CLAMP halts Gate 7 to make space for their sequels to xxxHolic and Tsubasa. Ugh.

CLAMP BULLSHIT-O-METER: 2/5

OVERALL RATING: 3/5

-

Drug & Drop

CLAMP straight-up drew their characters in fetishwear for the magazine cover and I can't not include that here

This is a continuation of CLAMP’s earlier manga Legal Drug, and Floating Catacombs veterans will remember that I quite liked Legal Drug. Granted, I was mostly in it for the crossdressing, and Drug & Drop drops that narrative thread. Instead, it chooses to start poking away at the central mysteries of its setting, which is a little less exciting but still welcome. We start to learn about the blond bishie’s tragic backstory, and the motivations of the two owners of the Green Drugstore are revealed.

As it turns out, this is another stealth sequel to Wish! It’s so strange to me that this largely unmemorable late 90’s CLAMP manga ends up being the keystone to two separate series over a decade later. The owners of the Green Drugstore turn out to be the angel x devil couple from Wish in disguise, and I’m still chewing over the idea of the angel girl passing herself off as a feminine gay guy. Somehow Clamp’s shounen-ai routinely has their most intriguing gender moments.

The childhood trauma is established, the intrigue deepens, and what happens next? Two volumes in, CLAMP halts Drug & Drop to make space for their sequels to xxxHolic and Tsubasa. Not again.

CLAMP BULLSHIT-O-METER: 3/5

OVERALL RATING: 3/5

-

xxxHolic: Rei

While it sucks that Gate 7 and Drug & Drop had to get axed for rehashes of CLAMP’s more popular series, at least I already liked xxxHolic. Rei serves as a spinoff and a sequel to the original series, although it’s intentionally difficult to figure out how it slots in chronologically at first. Yuuko running the shop like nothing ever happened, and their adventures have the lighthearted tone of the earlier parts of the series. Clients come to Yuuko’s shop, and she and Watanuki investigate curses. This whole thing is drenched in deliberate deja vu, which Watanuki himself gradually realizes. It turns out the powerful shop-owner Watanuki we see at the end of xxxHolic had at some point yeeted himself into an alternate timeline in order to acquire some magical items that Syaoran would need for an upcoming adventure. He chooses to wake up from this dream, and from there the manga continues where original xxxHolic left off.

It’s a neat narrative trick and fits the supernatural mystery vibes that xxxHolic goes for, while giving us more time with Yuuko, a deservedly beloved character. While it fails to reach the heights of the original series, Rei is still a pretty good time while it lasts.

Watanuki snaps back to reality, the intrigue deepens, and what happens next? Three volumes in, CLAMP halts xxxHolic: Rei to make space for their sequel to Cardcaptor Sakura. God dammit, we were so close to a conclusion too.

CLAMP BULLSHIT-O-METER: 2/5

OVERALL RATING: 3/5

-

Tsubasa: World Chronicle

Another decade, another pair of Tsubasa and xxxHolic manga. Once again, Tsubasa is easily the weaker of the pair, although it does at least have the decency to limit itself to 3 volumes this time.

The villain’s scheme in the main series was to destroy the rules of reality itself in order to return his lover from the dead. World Chronicle further explores that idea of the boundaries between life and death, bringing Syaoran to a world where the usual cycle of reincarnation has been put on pause, leading to fears that the dead will vastly outnumber the living and eventually spill over, creating a hellworld. Syaoran, as someone who sort of died and came back in the finale of Tsubasa, is now uniquely capable of resolving this problem, because he’s already proven capable of crossing into limbo.

Running off of the tip that his clone was last seen here, Syaoran ventures off into the world of the dead with the help of those random magic items Watanuki spent a whole spinoff manga gathering. Once he reaches a sacred grove there, Syaoran has to choose whether to renew the cyclesof life and death or let it fade away to something different, which is pretty much the ending decision of any Dark Souls game.

Anyways, of course Syaoran chooses to reincarnate the dead, it’s just the nice thing to do. In order to prove his will, though, he has to fight to the death against the one who he least wants to fight, which is apparently his evil clone. So the two guys have to beat the shit out of each other at the end of the world. Once again, very soulsey.

With the manic pixie dream girl reappearing as a goddess in this world, Gate 7 is roped into Tsubasa’s endless shared universe. Considering that it was canceled to make room for more TsubasaHolic, this feels more insulting than anything.

After three volumes, Tsubasa World Chronicle manages to do the one thing no other 2010s CLAMP series could: reach a conclusion. I wish it had been literally any other one of them, but at least this decade wasn’t a total failure. World Chronicle is nothing special, but unlike its parent series, it’s at least possible to follow the story in the moment.

CLAMP BULLSHIT-O-METER: 3/5

OVERALL RATING: 2/5

-

Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card Arc

The harlot.

_

So that’s CLAMP’s last decade. Needless to say, it’s pretty muted compared to what came before it. Three consecutive series getting canceled for “safer” sequel projects just when they were getting somewhere. There’s an obvious level of disinterest in their own manga at this point, and that’s disappointing. You can fault 90’s and 2000’s CLAMP for a lot, but at the least they were always passionate about what they were putting out, even if it was incomprehensible to the rest of us. They’re getting older, and while I don’t think it’s wrong to put out increasingly formulaic works if that’s what pays the bills, it’s still sad to watch it happen in real time. Maybe I’ll have some kind words once Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card Arc finishes so we don’t end on such a somber note, but considering what I’ve read thus far, I’m fully prepared to rip into it.

And with that, thanks for reading through my CLAMP retrospective! I crunched the numbers and CLAMP now accounts for one-third of all manga tankobans I’ve read. I don’t know how to feel about this.

Bonus: The Legend of Chun Hyang

I missed this manga when going through CLAMP's 90s works last year. The Legend of Chun Hyang is a 1992 epic mythological manga in the style of their debut work RG Veda. It adapts a Korean folktale, taking creative liberties by casting the titular Chun Hyang as a fiery martial artist with a strong spirit of justice.

It actually makes sense to cover The Legend of Chun Hyang in this section because it's ultimately another one of CLAMP's stray casualties, abandoned after just one volume and hastily reworked into a one-shot. This doesn't work too well, considering that most of the volume is setting up for a larger adventure that never happens. After the tragic death of her mother at the hands of a warlord, Chun Hyang vows to stop tyranny wherever she finds it with the help of her mysterious new traveling partner. Except, of course, we only get a few chapters of them.

To be fair, this was caused by its magazine getting discontinued, but it's a shame CLAMP never picked this series up again. The closest we see is a world in Tsubasa which features the same general premise. Chun Hyang is fine for what it is, but it's hard not to feel let down afterwards.

CLAMP BULLSHIT-O-METER: 1/5

OVERALL RATING: 3/5

[aminiatureworld]

The smell of pipe smoke became nostalgic after a while. It softened out, eroded away like everything else, with time. Now that which used to send him into a coughing fit was hardly enough to keep him satisfied, at least not for any long period of time.

Was this why Yuuko was constantly drinking then? Watanuki had to admit pseudo-immortality gave him a lot of perspective, even if it gave him little else. The rest of his life, his memories, his friends, those he loved, they all slipped through his fingers like grains of sand. In hope that one day buried under rock and dust might be the wings of a familiar butterfly.

Watanuki knew that some part of him felt he was holding on for too long. Wouldn’t it be easier to let go? To admit that sometimes there is too great a price for a wish, that one must be satisfied with dreams and visions rather than flesh and blood? Ah, but it was too late now. He could not turn back the clock, he could not rejoin his friends. It was too late now, so might as well move onwards.

It was the kind of thinking that Yuuko would’ve scolded him for, the idea that he could so easily separate himself from those he loved. After all, weren’t Domeki’s descendants still making their way to the shop, day after day, like clockwork. Yet Shizuka was gone, and with him it seemed a great deal else had blown away in a puff of smoke. There was very little in the world now. It seemed empty, a collage of different shades, an eternal night where it was only you and the cold distant stars. Except he could not wake anyone up to sate his loneliness.

-An xxxHolic drabble which I’m unsure what to do with

[tsunflowers]

haruka brought watanuki into the bell girl's dreams which imply that she and the other woman who live in her house cant see each other and each think the other is a ghost and when he wakes up from whatever that was hes just like

[completeoveranalysis]

[15]

The final piece of Yuuko’s existence follows him out of his dream and he watches as it fades away. 

But I also just had a thought!

Yuuko was there at Watanuki’s moment of creation - she was there the to see him first start to exist

And now Watanuki was there at the moment Yuuko stopped existing - he was there to see her finally fade away. 

I cannot even imagine how wildly unexplained this must be for someone only reading xxxHolic and not Tsubasa but WOW THEY REALLY REALLY DID BOOKEND END EACH OTHER HUH?

[clowite]

What's your favorite thing about each of your friends?

Everyone???? B-because, um, that's a lot of people!

But I'll try my best!

Syaoran-kun worries about everyone, even when nobody asks him to! He cares so deeply about everyone and everything. Every person he meets leaves a mark on him just as much as he leaves a mark on them.

Kurogane-san knows when to step in, but never treats anyone like a child. He lets people figure things out for themselves, but does his best to make sure nobody gets hurt. We have met deities who treat people with less respect than he does, even when he tries to be all gruff about it.

Fai-san has such ambition to try new things! Even before things happened in that world he came from, he was always living life as if there were always new things to explore, new things to fall in love with. New recipes to try, new technology to tinker with, new people to meet! There's always a new experience waiting to happen!

Moko-chan is so funny! Of course, um, Mokona-chan has many other qualities, like Moko-chan's 108 secret techniques, but those aren't secrets I can just write on my blog (even if they are super special)! When we first met- or, when I first woke up along the journey, I used to be worried that Moko-chan was pushing too hard on the jabs with Kurogane-san- but it turned out Moko-chan knew what Moko-chan was doing all along. Is that another technique! Oh, gosh.

Tomoyo-chan is so creative! I don't know how she does it! Every time I hear word of her, she's invented new things, or designed new outfits, or thought up elaborate schemes of weddings galore! It's embarrassing sometimes, having all that attention on me, but her creativity is a magic of its own!

Yuuko-san has such wit and intuition! Sometimes, I can't tell if I'm being taken advantage of in a situation, and I think of how Yuuko-san would do it. She always has quips to reply to people with, or knows what people want before they even ask for it, or knows just what to say. How can she know what balances out the universe from her shop? Was it a learned skill or is it a type of magic I don't know?

Watanuki-kun's best quality is..

Chii-chan was so.. umm.. innocent, but not naïve. She just assumed the best of everyone, like it was beyond her that someone wasn't a naturally good person.

Chitose-san is another creative type! Did you know Outo Country was apparently a virtual world? I didn't find out until much later. That's amazing, everything felt so real!

Yukito-kun is so.. tolerant. Um. There's a lot I could write here, but my favorite quality is how he can occupy Touya's time so he stops pestering me instead! I'm not going to terrorize Clow once I become High Priestess! But I might terrorize him just because I can!!!!

Masayoshi-kun was so kind. I didn't know him very much, but he stopped into the cafe a few times. He always had such nice things to say about all the other demon hunters, even if he doubted his own skills a lot. I think he was in a different country, too, but I don't remember..

Chu-nyan-chan had such a spark for a personality! She knew she was being treated unfairly, she knew she had to speak up, and it didn't matter if she was alone in her passion.

Ryuou-kun was so passionate. He seemed to act on impulse, but he went at it with his whole heart, even if it was just becoming someone's friend.

Yuzuriha-chan was similarly passionate. Um, I never admitted this before, but I'm glad we met in Outo Country. Later on, I had to use a gun, and I just tried to emulate how confident she was in using it, shooting at the demons. If I had known the demons of Outo weren't real, I may have taken up a weapon to learn to defend myself back then. I think Yuzuriha-chan would have been a great guide!

Um, speaking of guide..

Subaru-san was so gentle. I remember his voice in my dreams, back in that awful place. I think he helped wake me up- and I'm still nervous to think about what would have happened if I had just slept through it all.

I don't know Kamui-san very well, but he helped Fai-san and Kurogane-san. For that, I consider him a friend.

I've been told Fuuma-san has helped my friends out in the past, as well, but I don't know him well enough to have an opinion. I know one day he might come to Clow, and I'll be sure to greet him appropriately when he arrives.

Fai-kun tried so hard. I hear him sometimes, grieving. I don't know how to help, yet. I don't know if I'll ever be able to. I'm going to try my best, as I always do. He deserves it, if nothing else. They both do.

Umm.

Did I forget anyone?

[cywscross]

Any recs from fandoms you don't follow that closely or just fandoms you've only read a few fics from?

Hmm.. some. I can rec a few fics from a handful of fandoms.

LUCIFER

Devil's Bargain by WolftheForsaken (WIP)

Trixie gets kidnapped. Lucifer disapproves.

-0-

NIRVANA IN FIRE

implacable tide by forbiddenstars for One_Hundred_Zeros

When Lin Shu turns ten, he is fostered into the household of the Empress. Jinghuan grows up alongside his new, irrepressible foster brother. This changes everything.

Like Thunder Under Earth by troubleinmind

"Once I have my official post in the military, I will ask General Mei to appoint me as your personal guard.”

Lin Chen at Meiling in four portraits, and a long apology.

Events As They Happened by aboxthecolourofheartache

Xiao Jingrui and Yan Yujin get themselves into a scrape. Lin Chen saves the day. Mei Changsu brings everyone back from the edge.

-0-

JURASSIC WORLD

Pushing Boundaries by Macx (WIP)

Owen Grady had always had a talent for animals. Like his grandfather. It was a talent that ran in the families.

Masrani Global recruited him to train raptors. It was an intriguing, novel idea, something only a crazy or insane person would attempt.

Owen wasn't crazy or insane. He knew he could do this.

He just didn't know how deep he would get into it, how strong the connection to the pack would become, how close... they, the four of them, would become to him.

His grandfather had always warned him: don't get too close. Don't let them connect. Well, it was too late for that now.

-0-

KUROKO NO BASKET

Designation: Miracle by umisabaku (WIP)

It's been three years since seven human experiments, called "Miracles," escaped Teiko Industries, alerting the world to the presence of super-powered children. Now they're finally integrating into society-- going to normal high schools, playing basketball, falling in love-- and trying to find out if it's possible to truly escape their past.

-0-

LOG HORIZON

Begin and End by Rikkamaru (xHP crossover)

This is how it begins: a boy rejected by his family, a boy reunited with his brother by his sister-in-law's intervention. A boy who found a family in an online game. But how will it end?

-0-

X-MEN

your head caught in a waking dream by addandsubtract

in which charles is sent to a mental institution as a child and by the time raven breaks him out, he's irreparably damaged. because this is me, there's also a road trip involved.

and these, from atoms by kay_cricketed (WIP)

Five years after the Cuban Missile Crisis, Charles and Erik find themselves in a situation where they must rely on each other for survival. Trapped in a coal mine deep beneath the earth's surface, and having lost his wheelchair to a disaster, Charles fights the nature of his physical limitations while Erik struggles to remain distant. Ironically, in the dark, it is impossible to hide your heart.

-0-

GOOD OMENS

Open your eyes, look up to the skies and see by Azzy

For some entirely unfathomable reason, after the end of the world hadn’t happened, Crowley didn’t go back to his flat for a solid month.

-0-

THE MENTALIST

the dead outside my window by pprfaith

In one world, the lie Patrick Jane tells is, "I am not a psychic."

-0-

GINTAMA

Pandemonium by Xparrot

The Yorozuya trio gets an unexpected reward. They really should've checked their daily horoscope before accepting: Beware of old women bearing gifts, don't count your lizards before they're hatched, and be careful when life seems too good to be true, because it might be a sign that everything is soon going to go very, very badly.

-0-

HAMILTON

177(6) by ashilrak, lol-phan-af (lol_phan_af)

Reincarnation is normal in this verse.The Hamilsquad is at college guys, and guess what, they all fucking remember lol

-0-

DELTORA QUEST

On Paths Unseen by lovelyleias

It was supposed to be a temporary secret, but it tore them all to pieces.

(Or; what would happen if Faith was real, and Lief and Doom knew).

-0-

LEGENDS OF TOMORROW

The Saga of Kollr by oneiriad (xVikings crossover)

One minute Leonard Snart is standing with his arm deep in the Oculus, waiting to die in a temporal explosion. The next he's stuck in the Scandinavian winter at the beginning of the 9th century.

-0-

HUNGER GAMES

The Avalanche And Little Pebbles by Dyce (WIP)

What if someone else caught the eye of the public and the revolution before Katniss? When a boy from District Seven wins the Games and captures hearts everywhere, the revolution comes when Katniss is only fourteen. Tiny, poor District Twelve may be an afterthought for everyone during and after the revolution, but to Katniss, it's all that matters.

-0-

K-PROJECT

Building Up Walls by DarkrystalSky (WIP)

Deviates from episode 7: Shiro decides to let himself to be captured by SCEPTER 4 at the stadium, in a twist of events that will bring him face to face with the Gold King himself.

-0-

KEYS TO THE KINGDOM

Arthur in the House by taywen (WIP)

The AU where the Trustees decide to raise Arthur.

-0-

CRAZY RICH ASIANS

Siege by Ashling

“Either you meant it when you asked me to marry you,” she says, “or you didn’t.”

Love and loyalty, war and witchery, Nick and Rachel.

-0-

XXXHOLIC

The Professor's Wife by foolish_mortal

The students all said that Professor Doumeki had a wife who made him lunches and impeccably pressed his shirts. Watanuki found this hilarious. For the wtfholic fest prompt: "The only people who can see Watanuki are customers with wishes."

-0-

TWILIGHT

Swansong by pprfaith

She's Swan and she's just passing through, accumulation of all you never knew.

-0-

HOWL’S MOVING CASTLE

Hearts and Their Consumption by setepenre_set (SO MUCH LOVE FOR THIS TBH)

Wizard Howl eats hearts. This isn't just a metaphor.

-0-

TEMERAIRE

All True-Hearted Souls by mardia

"For God's sake, if someone doesn't talk Laurence out of these constant heroics, I wouldn't bet a farthing on his chances; no, and not ours either.” Four times that John Granby helped save William Laurence's life.

-0-

ME BEFORE YOU

but I'm not ready to say good night by violentdarlings

Before Louisa has to face a world without Will, Will has to live in a world without Louisa.

Or: bizarre twist of fate = happy ending. Happyish ending.

-0-

THE MARTIAN

i'm coming home by kearlyn (WIP)

Mark Watney never manages to make contact with Earth and NASA never realizes that he survived the storm and evacuation on Sol 6. So, needless to say, the crew of the Ares IV is incredibly surprised when they land on Mars to find a scruffy, malnourished, mentally unbalanced, but still-alive astronaut waiting for them.

These are the stories of Mark's long journey home and the lives of the people he touches along the way. (Mostly told from not-Mark POVs.)

-0-

FAST AND THE FURIOUS

Along the Way by nightrider101 (WIP, very very old, prob long abandoned, but this was my first F&F fic I ever read and I loved it)

Dom has questions. He hopes Brian has answers.

The Next Quarter Mile by astolat

“We going to get somewhere anytime soon?” Dom said.

Brian was staring out the windshield. “Do you trust me?”

“What the fuck kind of question is that?” Dom said.

“If you say yes, I’m going to take you on the worst fucking ride of your life,” Brian said. “Do you trust me?”

-0-

KINGSMAN

Care and Custody by esama

Eggsy takes out the medal in slightly worse circumstances, asking for a miracle.

-0-

HIKARU NO GO

Watch and Learn by Trial and Error by esama (wip/abandoned)

When God gives Hikaru his wish, he begins his journey again with a new goal in life, to prevent Sai from fading.

-0-

STAR WARS

Re-Entry by flamethrower

Re-Entry is an alternate universe epic that spans time and possibility. Obi-Wan Kenobi, while still a young Padawan, suffers an injury and wakes up with all of the memories, experience, training, and Force-strength of Old Ben Kenobi. It isn't long before the Jedi discover that Anakin Skywalker, a five-year-old slave from the Outer Rim, has undergone the exact same change. Obi-Wan and Anakin bear the scars of harsh lessons learned; those who love them must learn those lessons quickly, before the mistakes of old are repeated.

-0-

YOWAMUSHI PEDAL

One of the Better Days by heihua

Based off the anime post-ending scenes: Imaizumi, tired of having to watch Love Hime but unwilling to hurt Onoda’s feelings, ends up asking Onoda for anime recommendations. Everything goes downhill from there.

[clamp-box]

xxxHolic Rei vol 3

- Syaoran tried to call to Watanuki but Watanuki fainted

- Yuuko keeps reminding Doumeki that he too is free to do as he chooses, but Doumeki still struggles with the idea of going against watanuki’s wishes

- Himawari (who also knows this is a dream of good old days) tells watanuki that he can call her anytime. Watanuki is just like “oh calling would be a good idea, so doumeki wont bother us!” and she looks so sad! Watanuki has forgotten A) about her curse B) that they only meet once a year in reality

- The money exchange plot is still ongoing. Something nice happened for once

- Im so glad Doumeki and Yuuko get to be vague and mysterious together. Now they drink and talk about the time not being right yet. But soon.

- Watanuki finally realizes the timeline is not right. Interestingly enough the detail he points out is that Doumeki didnt have a phone when they actually went to school

- Syaoran keeps calling but Watanuki doesnt know it is him. New phone (and universe) who dis? 

- Watanuki is finally figuring shit out! and went to see Yuuko about it!! She is appropriately dramatic about it and gives us the same scene than in vol1

- Watanuki goes over the things that have happened in Rei so far and realizes Yuuko isnt actually granting wishes here

- He’s also very worried Yuuko is angry at him

- Watanuki says he chose the time he was "least worried" .....uhhh you were a massive ball of stress even back in the day. He also notes he was the happiest before learning what he was and.... IM SAD

- Watanuki wanted to go alone, because he is like that, but of course Doumeki and Himawari didnt let him. And honestly, how would he ever get anything done without Doumeki??

- Watanuki makes up his mind and goes home, even if it is painful to leave this Yuuko

- He wakes up and asks where Himawari is, but she of course is home. He forgot for a moment that she cant come :(

[ca-3]

Tagged Again lol ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ

Might as well do this one too since I am already sitting here. Hahaahah Thanks @karmakitty my buddy, my pal, my dude, my friend.

Okay, sooooo

Rules:

1) Always post the rules. 2) Answer the questions given by the person who tagged you. 3) Write 11 questions of your own. 4) Tag 11 people.

1 What’s your favorite Anime/Cartoon/Movie/Show??

Classic Spongebob forever.  lol anime and shows as favorites are pretty interchangeable for me. (plus my fave list is long) A movie I can always watch is Lilo and Stitch by the way. 

2. What’s your Star Sign?

V for Virgo.

3. What’s your Chinese Zodiac?

Ox. ʘ‿ʘ

4. If you could be any animal or mythical creature, what would you be?

I am wearing a shirt with a tiny Unicorn right now and have a shirt that says “Should’ve been a unicorn.” So maybe that. Hahaha but a mermaid would be better. 

5. If you were born with a superpower, what do you think it would be?

Something lame maybe. lol Idk that’s a pretty hard one. Or with my luck might be something hard to control/use.

6. Now, what would you like that power to have been instead? ;)

Kinda want telekinesis….. OR BETTER YET, teleport. I can visit all the people I love that way EASILY, and never be anxious about arriving places too early or late. Yeeeeee and I wouldn’t have to drive anywhere. lol 

7. What’s your favorite color scheme(s)? [That’s right. MULTIPLE COLORS.] MMM YES CAUSE I LOVE MANY COLORS. ITS HARD TO PICK ONE BUT I LIKE MANY LIKE THESE??

8. Tell me your favorite food!

I love SUSHI. ლ(´ڡ`ლ)

9. How about your favorite snack?

Chips or pocky tbh  :V Mostly chips, I eat chips a lot. 

10. K, now your fave drink?

Green Tea (but only the Arizona kind, cause it’s not too sweet and not too bland) also I just really like any kind of fruit juice. Serve me any fruit juice and I’ll be satisfied. (ღ˘⌣˘ღ)

11. Cool (probably. idk I’m assuming it was cool.) What is one non-language subject you’d like to learn? Pffft thanks for assuming I guess. xD Hmm I am pretty interested in animal science and history related things so something like those things is cool. ( ﾟヮﾟ)

Okay my questions now. AHHHH how to question…. I have no idea how to ask anything…. but here goes.

1.)  If you are a anime lover, what was your first anime? Or even manga perhaps?

2.) What is your favorite scent? 

3.) What is your favorite season? 

4.) Types of music you like?

5.)  Would you rather be a great dancer or singer?

6.) Are you more of TV person or book person? 

7.)  Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Wrath, Envy, or Pride? 

8.)   Do you have any pets???? :D Tell me about them!!!

9.)  What is the latest dream that you remember?

10.) Wake up early or sleep early? Or do you stay up late and sleep in late?

11.) A song you would recommend? Or what was the last song you listened to?

Tagging: kdhasdjkfjkhfk Oh god. I’ll tag mutuals and some more new peeps I guess ahahaha  @fragranceofroses @ask-doodle-heart @aka-tsuya @miss-arlert-orihara-watanuki @catslab @chubbychicken1412 @otakugoddess88 @laycotton @nana-shiros @azbenkatrina @negatopoji that’ll be all for now I guess. ^^ You guys don’t have to of course!!! Only if you want too!!!!