#xxxholic 87

[completeoveranalysis]

[10]

Ohhh. Now that is striking. This frame in particular.

You could read as many metaphors as you like into how this matches the general Watanuki narrative here - Watanuki mirrored against a distorted image of himself. Is that his past self? Or Lava Lamp? Or the hole in the universe he's causing? His grief? The general weight of his existence? The influence he has on other people's lives? They all work well, especially with one Mokona being black and one being white.

But also (Bad Apple plays softly in the distance)

OH HELP, THAT IS TOO MUCH. 

I AM OVERCOME WITH EMOTION. 

It doesn’t even matter which Sakura is his mother, honestly it’s such a Sakura move. For his new name to be a literal promise that they will see him again. 

So, that way, his an existence proof of their promise. Every moment ‘Kimihiro Watanuki’ exists that means their promise lives on. And every time someone says his name, it’s like their words are reaching him all over again.

OH HELP THAT’S TOO MUCH. 

And that’s such a cute way to round it off! Watanuki hears Lava Lamp’s voice echo through the universe, making him promise not to vanish. And this time Watanuki can accept it honestly, because he’s already decided to do the same - for the people around him and for Lava Lamp.

[therandomtapes]

Last week, in the middle of a pretty trash week in general we learned that Sakurai Atsushi, lead singer of legendary Japanese rock band Buck-Tick passed away on Saturday October 16th.

I'm not sure how much I've spoken about them on here.

I found them in late 1998. When I got that X/1999 fansub in Brooklyn where I first heard X-Japan, it sent me down a rabbit hole. I would find out the fandom and the country were reeling from the passing of X's guitarist hide earlier that year, in Spring, and I would find a stream of a tribute album. Hide tribute spirits.

This is where I first heard Buck-Tick. Their cover of "doubt" left me wanting more.

I would then learn that they had been around since 1983 (i was 3).

(this is from 87)

They evolved through many eras, from new wave to goth (?) to cyberpunk to rock'n'roll to a combination of all eras. Their influence can be felt even in modern visual kei. They are probably the band that made everyone in that scene wanna have at least one jazzy swing type song on their albums. Hell, Acchan's the reason Kyo is Kyo. Sakurai's look inspired many anime character designs (and I'm pretty sure Benimaru Nikaido from King of Fighters is based on 80s Buck-Tick....yes...they ALL had that hair).

In fact, a lot of their music was in anime (especially if said anime was about vampires. It always amused me that during the era where Acchan looked like a vampire, B-T were the band you called if you needed a theme song for your vampire anime.) Nightwalker, XXXHolic, Trinity Blood, and the very best one, the one that is actually scary, SHIKI!!

If you're not up on vis kei, you probably still have heard of him since he and Imai were in SCHWEIN with Raymond Watts from Pig and Sacha Konietzko from KMFDM.

He also had a band called The Mortal which did a pretty amazing Siouxsie cover.

I recommend Buck-Tick and the Mortal's entire catalog, most of which is on streaming now. I should make a bloody playlist.

I will add the playlist to this post later.

R.I.P. Sakurai Atsushi

one of the greatest vocalists ever, and condolences to the band.

I cannot stress enough how awful I feel for those guys.

This band was together for THREE FUCKING DECADES. No lineup changes.

Atsushi and Imai had the kind of vocal interplay you only get if you're basically best friends.

It's a terrible loss.

. . . and, . . . . no.

I can't end the post like this.

It's too sad.

This band brought too much joy to end the post like this.

I am leaving you with the saga of the paper mache head people.

in the 80s, for the album Seventh Heaven (an album I might actually like better than Sexual XXXX, I can't decide), B-T did videos for quite a few songs (they did PVs for pretty much every song on Sexual XXXX), and 3 of them feature Atsushi having nightmares about/seeing people with large fake paper mache heads. Then in the video for In Heaven they are playing a show for them.

They had something I think is crucial to every band now and forever: WEIRD ASS MUSIC VIDEOS.

You think it was jus the 80s?

no no no

check out UTA

Just your average performance video? No. They dressed up like rock icons, with ridiculous wigs.

This is what I'm talking about. Joy, kids.

Atsushi and Buck-Tick brought JOY, dammit.

enjoy.

I'll post a playlist later, I guess.

Atsushi Sakurai, rest in power you legend!

[writtenonbone]

I posted 3,102 times in 2022

388 posts created (13%)

2,714 posts reblogged (87%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@dorkery

@do-you-have-a-flag

@thatvixenisbloody

@gothwizardmagic

@martivist

I tagged 1,140 of my posts in 2022

#genshin impact - 49 posts

#nct - 19 posts

#monsta x - 18 posts

#xiao - 18 posts

#goncharov - 17 posts

#pikachu - 16 posts

#pokemon - 16 posts

#fma - 13 posts

#mx - 11 posts

#zhongli - 11 posts

Longest Tag: 140 characters

#i could never be a comedian’s child my sensitive ass would simply not be able to cope with my father joking about me so meanly for the world

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

It’s been years and I am still haunted by xxxholic. I want it to have a reboot. I want it to have its own independent storyline/ending separate from trc. I want a happy ending. I want more spooky philosophical mythological stories. I want better animation for the show. I want the characters to be happy. Clamp, pls im begging you

57 notes - Posted April 6, 2022

#4

Hi, theres a major crisis in sri lanka ‼️‼️‼️

This thread is made by a moot on twitter

See the full post

144 notes - Posted April 2, 2022

#3

Jason 😭

144 notes - Posted March 3, 2022

#2

Hasan Minhaj did a really good segment on billionaire philanthropy and i thought its a good time to bring it back

1,004 notes - Posted November 15, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

I want to make out with whoever is in charge of tumblr staff’s twitter

1,150 notes - Posted November 21, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[ian-the-existential-crisis]

 Tagged by @azaeleatheazurewolf

Rules: Answer these 92 statements and tag people

THE LAST:

1. Drink: Pepsi

2. Phone call: General Cake (my aunt) 

3. Text message: to @rosegarden-draws

4. Song you listened to: I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead - Set it Off

5. Time you cried: uh.... Yesterday??

HAVE YOU:

6. Dated someone twice: *bows head in shame* try three times

7. Kissed someone and regretted it: no

8. Been cheated on: yes

9. Lost someone special: Yes

10. Been depressed : Uh...

11. Gotten drunk and thrown up: Gotten drunk? Yes. Thrown up from being drunk? No.

LIST 3 FAVORITE COLORS:

12-14. Yellow, Orange, Green

IN THE LAST YEAR HAVE YOU:

15. Made new friends: Yes

16. Fallen out of love: Yes

17. Laughed until you cried: Yeah.

18. Found out someone was talking about you: Daily

19. Met someone who changed you: No

20. Found out who your friends are: Fuck Yeah. We aren’t friends anymore.

21. Kissed someone on your Facebook list: Like, a few?

GENERAL:

22. How many of your Facebook friends do you know in real life: About a hundred of them or so? My facebook is personal so I don’t friend many people I don’t know.

23. Do you have any pets: I, personally, have three cats. But in my house we have eight inside cats, one outside cat and a dog.

24. Do you want to change your name: Yes

25. What did you do for your last Birthday: Drank and played Uno from hell. One game lasted three hours. It was horrible

26. What time did you wake up: 2 pm. 

27. What were you doing at midnight last night: Raging to final fantasy 12

28. Name something you can’t wait for: Canon Klance

29. When was the last time you saw your mom: Like an hour ago?

30. What is one thing you wish you could change in your life: My gender

*

31. What are you listening to right now: The last song I listened to.

32. Have you ever talked to a person named Tom: Many 

33. Something that is getting on your nerves: I have a long list of pet peeves

34. Most visited website: Kissanime

35. Mole/s: No.... Okay, maybe one... but it looks almost like a freckle

36. Mark/s: No

37. Childhood dream: This is going to sound stupid, but my childhood dream was legit to have a loving family. So I guess it came true.

38. Hair color: Natural? Brown. 

39. Long or short hair: Short

40. Do you have a crush on someone: fictional characters count, right? If so I have a list.

41. What do you like about yourself?: Nothing??

42. Piercings: one set of earrings (so far) and a tongue ring

43. Blood type: No clue

44. Nickname: Again, there is a list.

45. Relationship status: On the run. Please stop chasing!

46. Zodiac: Sagittarius

47. Pronouns: I really don’t care. Either way you aren’t wrong

48. Favorite TV Show(s): Voltron, Miraculous Ladybug Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash, The Royal Tutor, Tales of the Abyss, Tales of Zesteria, Teen Titans, South Park, Superstore,Criminal Minds,The Deep, Troll Hunter, 07-Ghost, Utapri, Dream Fest, DGM, xxxHolic, Fruits Basket, Ranma 1/2, Saiyuki, Pandora Hearts, Free!!, BNHA, BSD, Assassination Classroom, Gangsta, The Boondocks, and many, many more...  (Just talk to me about my fandoms. I’m in so many.)

50. Right or left hand: Right

51. Surgery: No

52. Hair dyed in different color: Yes. Red

53. Sport: Ha, no.

55. Vacation: A darkroom, with nothing but my bed, phone, and phone charger.

56. Pair of trainers: If you’re asking what I think you are, Then Pumas. 

MORE GENERAL:

57. Eating: about to be chicken nuggets.

58. Drinking: still pepsi

59. I’m about to: smash and binge. Mind out the gutters guys... I mean smash as in eat.

61. Waiting for: Insperation to strike like a brick to the face, the usual.

62. Want: Klance Fics

63. Get married: Ha! Not in this life time

64. Career: Psh it doesn’t even matter anymore. I went to school for my career choice and you now what I’m doing? Retail... I work in the cosmetics department of a store...

WHICH IS BETTER

65. Hugs or kisses: Neither? I don’t like being touched. But a kiss is more sanitary than a hug, so if I have to choose.

66. Lips or eyes: Eyes

67. Shorter or taller: Taller

68. Older or younger: .... A-am I allowed to say this? Will I get hate for this? Older

70. Nice arms or nice stomach: Arms

71. Sensitive or loud: Sensitive

72. Hook up or relationship: Hook-up

73. Troublemaker or hesitant: Troublemaker

HAVE YOU EVER:

74. Kissed a Stranger: Yes

75. Drank hard liquor: Yes

76. Lost glasses/contact lenses: Too often to be funny

77. Turned someone down: No

78. Sex on the first date: No

79. Broken someone’s heart: Yup

80. Had your heart broken: Yeah..

81. Been arrested: No

82. Cried when someone died: Yes

83. Fallen for a friend: Yeah

DO YOU BELIEVE IN:

84. Yourself: Nothing in this world can me make believe in myself

85. Miracles: yes, I’ve had a few happen to me

86. Love at first sight: No, 

87. Santa Claus: …I wish

88. Kiss on the first date: No

OTHER:

90. Current best friend name: @rosegarden-draws and @chaos-jacques like, these two are op friends. They understand that there is no choosing between them

91. Eye colour: Hazel

92. Favourite movie: Tomb Raider: Cradle of Life

* Please just don’t even ask.

People I’ve tagged, you do not have to do this at all if you don’t want to.

@burritalks, @alpha-ultimate-trash, @rosegarden-draws, @kirinjaegeste

[weather449]

好きなキャラクター100(厳選版)

好きなものを100個書くことにより自分と向き合えると昔見たので一度試したんですが、そのとき途中からウルトラマンの怪獣ラッシュになったので今回はルールをつけて厳選して実施したいと思います。

ルール

・キャラクターの定義は『言語を話せる』

・()内は出典となった作品

・ひとつの作品から１名のみ選出

・連番はあくまで連番

・好きな、なので嫁は除く

・選定基準は性格か顔

それでは行ってみましょう。

1 ジン(王ドロボウJING)

2 シャノン・カスール(スクラップドプリンセス)

3 明日葉 郁(保健室の死神)

4 桑原 和真(幽☆遊☆白書)

5 相良 佐之助(るろうに剣心)

6 クルツ・ウェーバー(フルメタルパニック)

7 デュオ・マックスウェル(ガンダムW)

8 黒桐 幹也(空の境界)

9 福部 里志(氷菓)

10 セッツァー・ギャッビアーニ(FF6)

11 マリベル(DQ7)

12 フクロウ(ノエイン)

13 李 紅蘭(サクラ大戦)

14 テッド(金色のガッシュ！)

15 白澤(鬼灯の冷徹)

16 レット(RAVE)

17 ディードリット(ロードス島戦記)

18 響 良牙(らんま1/2)

19 竹本チエ(じゃりン子チエ)

20 パプリカ(パプリカ)

21 エルミナ(ぷちぷりユーシィ)

22 美墨 なぎさ(ふたりはプリキュア)

23 カノン(WA2)

24 湯水スグル(鉄鍋のジャン！)

25 佐倉 京四郎(京四郎)

26 ルシオラ(GS美神)

27 ニギハヤミコハクヌシ(千と千尋の神隠し)

28 ライオ(冒険王ビィト)

29 煙(ドロヘドロ)

30 川奈 昴(君は淫らな僕の女王)

31 奈良 シカマル(NARUTO)

32 タマ(たまはな)

33 鋼棍のシェル(中華一番！)

34 無免ライダー(ワンパンマン)

35 坂本ジュリエッタ(エアマスター)

36 水野 燕(大好きが虫はタダシ君の)

37 メロー・イエロー(ブギーポップシリーズ)

38 オマリー(おしゃれキャット)

39 ドジャー(オリバー)

40 宮園 かをり(四月は君の嘘)

41 上杉 景子(レッケン！)

42 乙姫 タロウ(ドラゴンドライブ)

43 黒神 くじら(めだかボックス)

44 アルノー・G・ヴァスケス(WA4)

45 タップ・オセアノ(機甲戦記ドラグナー)

46 オレルド(パンプキンシザーズ)

47 R(ロケットマン)

48 坂口 亜梨子(僕の地球を守って)

49 フロルベリチェリ・フロル(１１人いる！)

50 ガルフォード(侍魂シリーズ)

51 水原 可奈(Q.E.D.証明終了)

52 百目鬼 静(XXXHOLiC)

53 スバル・リョーコ(機動戦艦ナデシコ)

54 ピンク(PINK)

55 ラム(うる星やつら)

56 パイク(エリア５１)

57 一乗寺 賢(デジモンアドベンチャー02)

58 ナイツ(NiGHTS)

59 グウェンドリン(オーディンスフィア)

60 バティド・バランタイン(グリムグリモア)

61 ジタン・トライバル(FF9)

62 シーブック・アノー(ガンダムF91)

63 シシド(逢魔ヶ刻動物園)

64 マフリー・チェットリ(ポストガール)

65 黒百合 空亜(12DEMONS)

66 風間 美利(爆球連発スーパービーダマン)

67 矢村 大一(ぼくらの)

68 中山 りあ(侵略する少女と嘘の庭)

69 新島 良次(地獄堂霊界通信)

70 上杉 秀彦(ペルソナシリーズ)

71 宮城 リョータ(スラムダンク)

72 ロム(マシンロボ クロノスの大逆襲)

73 ポップ(ドラゴンクエスト ダイの大冒険)

74 フェニックス一輝(聖闘士星矢)

75 宮ノ下さつき(学校の怪談)

76 素敵なお兄様(学校怪談)

77 衝撃のアルベルト(ジャイアントロボ)

78 クラース・F・レスター(TOF)

79 エルメス(キノの旅)

80 ミニス(サモンナイトシリーズ)

81 伊達 京介(The Soul Taker)

82 ノロイ(ガンバの冒険)

83 朽木 冬子(殻ノ少女)

84 小金井 薫(烈火の炎)

85 フィー・カーマイケル(プラネテス)

86 伊集院 炎山(ロックマンエグゼシリーズ)

87 プリシス・F・ノイマン(スターオーシャン2)

88 黒き風(FF:U)

89 我妻 善逸(鬼滅の刃)

90 卑怯番長(金剛番長)

91 マース・ヒューズ(鋼の錬金術師)

92 トッペマ・マペット(クレヨンしんちゃ��)

93 チーク(シリウスの伝説)

94 ブラック羽川(化物語)

95 間 黒男(ブラック・ジャック)

96 広瀬 康一(ジョジョの奇妙な冒険)

97 萩原 子荻(零崎シリーズ)

98 ゲイン・ビジョウ(キングゲイナー)

99 モラン・シェトランド(LAST EXILE)

100 結城中佐(ジョーカーゲーム)

[alyssabaratheon]

100 Temas para 2018 (Carol)

9/100

1. Acampamento

2. Anjos

3. Aquário 

4. Azul 

5. Balanço 

6. Bar 

7. Biblioteca 

8. Caçada (Mya e Robert - A Song of Ice and Fire) 

9. Café 

10. Camareira

11. Câmera 

12. Campo

13.Consciência 

14.Convite 

15. Coroa 

16. Corda 

17. Creme

18. Delinquente 

19. Diário 

20. Disfarce 

21. Empurro 

22. Enterro 

23. Entrevista

24. Escada 

25. Escritório 

26. Espada (Harry/Domeric - A Song of Ice and Fire) 

27. Estrada 

28. Estrelas 

29. Euforia 

30. Fantasia 

31. Fantasma

32. Fogos de Artifício (Raven/Chelsea - Raven’s Home) 

33. Fogueira 

34. Garras 

35. Gelo 

36. Guarda-Roupa 

37. Hierarquia 

38. Hospital 

39. Ídolo 

40.Ilha 

41. Incêndio 

42. Informal 

43 Insônia 

44. Irreconhecível 

45. Irmãs 

46. Isolação 

47. Janela 

48. Jantar 

49. Jardim 

50. Julgamento 

51. Lã 

52. Lago 

53. Lanterna 

54. Lareira 

55. Leve 

56. Luar 

57. Madeira 

58. Madrugada

59. Maternidade

60.Mensagem 

61.Microfone 

62.Música 

63.Natureza

64.Noivo (Albus/Scorpius - Harry Potter) 

65.Noturno 

66.Óculos 

67.Ônibus 

68.Orfanato 

69.Ossos 

70. Outono (Doumeki e Kohane, xxxHolic) 

71. Paralelo 

72. Pedras (Penélope/Odisseu, Mitologia Grega) 

73. Pirata 

74. Pizza 

75. Porta 

76. Praia   (James/Alyssa (The End of The F***ing World)

77. Quase 

78. Quatro

79. Queda (Lyanna Stark, A Song of Ice and Fire) 

80. Reflexo 

81. Rival 

82. Sacrilégio 

83. Salto 

84. Selado 

85. Seleção (Evgenia/Wakaba, Figure Skating RPF) 

86. Separação

87. Soco 

88. Tarde 

89. Taxi 

90. Tela 

91. Tempestade 

92. Teoria 

93. Terra 

94. Textura 

95. Traição 

96. Trio 

97. Último 

98.Verdade 

99. Véu

100. Vinho

[doumekiss]

Desafio Fanfics 2018 - 100 Temas

68/100

1. Acampamento

2. Anjos

3. Aquário (Bran/Jojen, A Song of Ice and Fire) 

4. Azul (Gendry/Aegon, A Song of Ice and Fire)

5. Balanço (Doctor e Narvin, Doctor Who) 

6. Batom (Karolina/Nico, Runaways)  

7. Biblioteca (Jeeves/Bertie, Jeeves & Wooster) 

8. Caçada (Mya e Robert, A Song of Ice and Fire)

9. Cela (Gendry/Aegon, A Song of Ice and Fire)

10. Câmera (Lyanna/Howland, A Song of Ice and Fire)

11. Cereja (Mark/Jeremy, Peep Show) 

12. Cochichos (Howard/Vince, The Mighty Boosh) 

13. Concessão (Hermes/Hestia, Mitologia Grega)

14. Convite (Ginny/Neville, Harry Potter) 

15. Coroa (Julieta, Romeu e Julieta) 

16. Corda

17. Creme

18. Delinquente (Ted/Dougal, Father Ted) 

19. Diário

20. Disfarce (Rimmer e Arlene, Red Dwarf) 

21. Empurro (Arlene e Girl!Ace, Red Dwarf) 

22. Enterro

23. Entrevista

24. Escada

25. Escritório

26. Espada (Harry/Domeric - A Song of Ice and Fire) 

27. Estrada

28. Estrelas (Percy/Oliver, Harry Potter) 

29. Euforia (Alex/Piper, Orange is the new black) 

30. Fantasia

31. Fantasma (Helena/Salazar - Harry Potter) 

32. Filhas (Percy/Oliver - Harry Potter) 

33. Fogos de Artifício (Raven/Chelsea - Raven’s Home) 

34. Fotografias (Dan/Georgina, Gossip Girl) 

35. Gelo

36. Guarda-Roupa (Howard/Vince, The Mighty Boosh) 

37. Hierarquia (Jeeves/Bertie, Jeeves & Wooster) 

38. Hospital (Luna/Ginny/Harry, Harry Potter) 

39. Ídolo (Ron/Viktor, Harry Potter)

40. Ilha (Vince/Howard, The Mighty Boosh) 

41. Incêndio

42. Informal

43. Insônia (Dan/Jones, Nathan Barley) 

44. Irreconhecível (Enid/Rebecca, Ghost World) 

45. Irmãs (Claire + Dan/Jones, Nathan Barley) 

46. Isolação (Loras/Tommen, Loras/Renly, A Song of Ice and Fire)

47. Janela (Reid e Zach, Criminal Minds e Bones) 

48. Jantar

49. Jardim (Edric/Shireen, A Song of Ice and Fire) 

50. Julgamento (Percy/Oliver, Harry Potter) 

51. Lã

52. Lago

53. Lanterna

54. Lareira

55. Leve (Vince/Howard, The Mighty Boosh) 

56. Luar (Harry e Luna, Harry Potter) 

57. Madeira

58. Madrugada (Michael/Lindsay, Arrested Development) 

59. Manipulação (Jeyne/Robb, A Song of Ice and Fire) 

60.Mensagem (Nico e Amy, Runaways) 

61.Microfone

62.Música (Maleficent/Aurora, Maleficent) 

63.Natureza (Betha/Egg, A Song of Ice and Fire)

64.Noivo - (Albus/Scorpius - Harry Potter) 

65.Noturno

66.Óculos - (Doumeki/Watanuki, xxxHolic) 

67.Ônibus

68.Orfanato

69.Ossos

70. Outono (Doumeki e Kohane, xxxHolic) 

71. Paralelo (Kochanski e Lister, Red Dwarf) 

72. Pedras (Penélope/Odisseu, Mitologia Grega)  

73. Pescoço (Davos/Stannis, A Song of Ice and Fire) 

74. Pizza (Jessica/Trish, Jessica Jones) 

75. Porta (Gendry/Aegon, A Song of Ice and Fire) 

76. Praia  (James/Alyssa, The End of The F***ing World) 

77. Quase (Gert/Chase, Runaways) 

78. Quatro

79. Queda - (Lyanna Stark, A Song of Ice and Fire) 

80. Reflexo (Harry e Teddy, Harry Potter)

81. Rival (Ryan e Shane, Buzzfeed Unsolved) 

82. Sacrilégio (Sansa/Jon, Sansa/Robb, A Song of Ice and Fire) 

83. Salto (Rimmer/Lister, Red Dwarf) 

84. Selado (Simon/Alisha, Misfits) 

85. Seleção (Evgenia/Wakaba, Figure Skating RPF) 

86. Separação (Howard/Vince, The Mighty Boosh) 

87. Soco

88. Tarde (Rimmer/Lister, Red Dwarf) 

89. Taxi

90. Tela

91. Tempestade

92. Teoria (Rimmer/Lister, Red Dwarf) 

93. Terra

94. Textura (Vince/Howard, The Mighty Boosh) 

95. Traição (Nico/Alex, Runaways)

96. Trio

97. Último (Romeu/Julieta, Romeu e Julieta) 

98.Verdade (Howland/Jyana, A Song of Ice and Fire) 

99. Vídeo Game (Takiya/Fafnir, Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon) 

100. Vinho (Lyanna/Howland, A Song of ice and Fire) 

[completeoveranalysis]

[5]

Ohoho Egg Time!

Or at least Egg Explanation Time. 

I can’t remember exactly how much xxxHolic told us about where the Egg came from, but we see a little glimpse of it in the first frame here - in Acid Tokyo, when Sakura had her solo mission in the desert and brought back the monster egg that split into two when given to Yuuko. 

It’s a lovely parallel to what happened with Lava Lamp and Watanuki. 

And I’m sure Yuuko is just about to explain which two people the egg is for, but it’s Watanuki and Himawari! Or like, Himawari and Doumeki, but the Doumeki egg is specifically to save Watanuki, so that’s basically the same thing.

Yeah here we go!

With an addendum of ohhhhhh! So the different names and appearances was a deliberate choice in an effort to keep them both existing and not erased by the vague timeline rules!

That’s very fun. 

Also you could also draw a parallel between one egg that was born to be raised (Lava Lamp) and one egg that gave birth to nothing (since Watanuki was originally intended to vanish). That’s slightly less fun!

Also if Yuuko opening the locket is the going to reveal the actual faces of the parents I’m going to scream.

I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN. 

BUT!

BUT! MATCHING FAMILY MOMENT! WATANUKI WITH HIS PARENTS! WATANUKI IN LITTLE FORMAL WEAR! 

WATANUKI AND LAVA LAMP HAVING MATCHING PHOTOGRAPHS WITH THEIR PARENTS! 

And their parents giving Watanuki an auspicious name designed to protect him from his fate - which has worked so far! And even the word itself is about a process of conversion!

The meaning behind it all!

[completeoveranalysis]

[4]

Oh here we goooooo! Here’s the xxxHolic equivalent of Tsubasa's explanation moment! Where Tsubasa had a huge dramatic arc where we saw it all happen, here Yuuko just privately explains to the xxxHolic audience where Watanuki came from, just in case they haven’t been reading Tsubasa as well. And boy, what a lore to drop without any further context. 

The little black Butterfly box is… I think, off the top of my head, Watanuki’s memories? That he paid to Yuuko for a mystery wish we haven’t had explained to us just yet? I don’t think we’ve actually seen inside it yet, so it's wonderful to see the item itself - a little pocket watch detailed with two tiny birds. 

And how lovely that is! Two birds for the two twin Syaorans - they share the surface of the locket as they were both born from the same existence, and its vaguely shaped in a way that almost resembles the yin yang symbol (which is the shape of Lava Lamp’s soul). Except here they face each other, beaks touching in the middle with wings stretched out to either side, as if both are trying to protect the other which is what they have both done, several times. 

I love it I love it I love it

[completeoveranalysis]

[1]

Here we are in xxxHolic: Chapter 87ish!

And eeeeee we have the moment of Watanuki’s creation! The moment where Lava Lamp’s wish resulted in Watanuki’s sudden existence! A moment that we already saw happen in Tsubasa, but would be wild to try and figure out without that.

And most importantly we see the moment of Yuuko defending him. She has her arms outstretched to either side of him, sheltering him within her grasp. He is in soft greys, while she is in stark black. His eyes are closed, head slightly tilted, while Yuuko looks directly ahead, her gaze firm. Both of their existences are abnormal - he has only just been born, but she uses her strength to shield him from the forces that would use him for their benefit and leave him with nothing. Yuuko has made a place for Watanuki within existence itself, just as her gesture here shows that he has a place with her in this moment (as well as later). And her little smoke trails wind around her and Watanuki both, showing that their fates are wound together and intertwined. 

It’s a 10/10 moment, no notes no flaws, only endless admiration.

[completeoveranalysis]

[7]

Ok the narrative takes a bit of a turn towards ideas like suicidal ideation, so if you don’t want to deal with that today you can safely avoid this post. The pages are safely under the Read More.

There's also blood.

See this is the other thing that undoes the Cardcaptor Sakura dance - I don’t think CLAMP would write that Cardcaptor Sakura was murdered. It’s just a bit dark for what the series is. 

I call shenanigans. Something else is at play here that will make sense later, but for now CLAMP are cackling as they watch at least some of the fandom 15 years ago genuinely believe that Cardcaptor Sakura and Syaoran grew up to be murdered by Evil Wolverine. IT’S SHENANIGANS.

OH.

OH, poor Watanuki. 

He doesn’t properly remember but on some level he blamed his own existence for the death of his parents, and felt that he didn’t deserve to live after that. That explains a lot about the version of Watanuki that Doumeki saw in the past - he wasn’t just alone, he was alone and genuinely thought he didn’t want to be alive anymore, because of what his existence has caused. 

It’s so heartbreaking I don’t even know what to say about that. 

Except that the difference lies in the detail of him being so attractive to spirits because of all the dark hurt inside him. When we first meet Watanuki he is hounded by spirits, even without his memory, because his body remembers and his heart is still broken he becomes self-sacrificing as a result. 

UNTIL things start to change. We heard in the previous chapters that Watanuki doesn’t see spirits like that as much anymore. He has begun to heal. He isn't alone anymore. He doesn't think he would be better off never existing, and knows that there are people who are happier now that he exists.

Watanuki has decided to keep living, and so the pain the spirits found so delicious is nowhere near as strong as it was before.  It’s so interesting to me that his character arc matches the supernatural arc around his existence. ‘He wasn’t supposed to exist and was meant to disappear’ becomes ‘he has a place he is loved and that sustains him’ - and ‘he wanted to die from guilt’ becomes ‘he wants to live for the people he loves now’. It’s a wonderful parallel arc that you can’t even spot happening until afterwards, because even Watanuki himself doesn’t know it's happening.

[completeoveranalysis]

[2]

YUUKO TIME YUUKO TIME

EVERYONE SIT DOWN IT’S TIME FOR YUUKO

We can see the edges of the store’s reality are beginning to fade away. Time is running out. 

Time has been running out for a while but it appears that they’re really on the edge of it now, if the very fabric of it is wearing away even with Yuuko right there. 

She is also giving away feet pics, for free. In this economy. Which is surely another sign of how bad things are getting.

OHH OHH OHH. ITEMS? I'm in heaven.

Yuuko mentions that the treasure storage room should be especially protected, and we know these are the items that were critically important in granting significant wishes. My question is whether they need to be protected for their emotional worth, or if they will be used again at some unknown time in the future? Or if their continued existence is important for the reality of the wishes they have already granted? I guess we'll find out eventually!

But let’s see what we have!

-Fai’s power limiting tattoo, that he traded away to run from Ashura

-What looks like one of the dolls from Angelic Layer, still in its egg (which, like, thematically appropriate. Because egg.)

-What also looks like a little framed picture of one of the fox spirits?

-In the next frame we have Ginryuu - or like, the replica Ginryuu that Kurogane traded to get back to Tomoyo

-Next to it are two swords that I think must be the swords from Yasha and Ashura in the Shura/Shara arc, that helped pay for Yuuko’s assistance with Ashura

-A bird in a cage with ivy growing around it. I don’t recognise this at all, so maybe I've forgotten something

-Next panel over we have Fai’s staff, traded away so that they could enter the castle in Koryo

-And then we have xxxholic items! The water vase is the one from when Watanuki went to visit the Ame Warashi

-The little things below it look like the Chobits ears Watanuki was wearing when they investigated the school rumour very early on

-The decorated tube on the little stand I think is the Monkey’s Paw

-The tube below it looks like the container that held the noodle fox spirit, which I’m only just noticing we haven’t seen in a while

-And a fan! Oh, the fan that tengu traded to Yuuko so that Watanuki would save her from the spider? 

What a great selection of items! It's a fun way to showcase the connections between the various past arcs and storylines, while also reminding us of all the characters we've met and the wishes that tie things all together. The only thing I don’t recognise is the bird, so let me know if that's something I should know about!

[completeoveranalysis]

[11]

Oh! Oh ok! We’re right back into the customer of the week and secretly I was a little right after all? She IS, sort of, psychically poisoning the food with her resentment, but the resentment is for herself. 

I didn’t see that one coming, but very on theme with the earlier notes of this chapter.

And perhaps it’s not even directly at herself, but more about the process of knowing? She hates the burden of knowledge? She finds knowing the finer details of anything completely repulsive, and so she hates everything she herself does, because by default she knows every little step she’s taken? 

In which we find she isn’t so much a parallel to Watanuki but the polar opposite - she hates knowing everything, and Watanuki doesn’t know anything, especially about himself. 

Or… will this be about the past Watanuki? Who ALSO despaired with what he knew about himself, and so traded away that knowledge and eventually became happier? Will she be prompted to do the same? I guess we’ll see!

Ohoho, in the space of one conversation Watanuki has cut right to the core of it all! 

The customer’s position is essentially Ignorance Is Bliss. What she doesn’t know can’t hurt her. Anything she doesn’t know, she can pretend doesn’t exist at all. 

And present day Watanuki knows all too well that that isn’t the case. Both in terms of what he knows about Body Memory, but also in the way that he doesn’t know anything about his past, but he knows that it happened, and he knows NOW that he was still loved even if he can’t remember it. 

So the customer’s facade is flawed and would lead to disaster if she invested in it too heavily, once she realised how flimsy it was, so Watanuki’s going to get to the real problem for her instead. 

Which we will see… NEXT TIME! Probably?

[completeoveranalysis]

[6]

Ooooh! I didn’t expect that if Watanuki knew his original name, Evil Wolverine would have been able to manipulate him back to whatever Evil Wolverine intended of him, but it makes sense at least. If Watanuki doesn’t even know his birth name then it can’t be used against him. And so Evil Wolverine has no idea where he is. 

Which makes you think a bit doesn’t it. Is all Evil Wolverine needs to track someone… their name? Specifically their birth name? It would make sense why he was still able to track the Tsubasa Family even after they deviated from his course and started doing things in a new order. If he knew even just one of their birth names, he could find them - and like, Fai is a great candidate for that. Fai was the mole, so it would track that he was also there secondarily so that Evil Wolverine could always watch them. 

I don’t think Evil Wolverine would have access to Lava Lamp or Kurogane’s original names. He might have had Sakura’s, since he’s in the Clow Kingdom, but then again maybe it was Clone Syaoran as well? Due to the technicality of his name being given to him at the moment he started existing? At the very least Fai is the only one that seems like an easy Yes and not a Maybe. 

Also, in hindsight, Evil Wolverine not knowing where Watanuki is shines a bit of light on the fact that whenever Yuuko has been seen interacting with Evil Wolverine in any way (ie, spying on him, commenting on his plans, or even that one time she tracked his location) Watanuki has never present. She always did that without Watanuki around, so that even if it backfired, Evil Wolverine did not get a glimpse of where Watanuki was. I never knew any of that before but it all connects so well!

And that chilling panel on the left there! With Evil Wolverine above the sky filled with souls he stole from innocent people. Especially since it’s these souls that he used to create his replica people, and we’ve seen what’s become of most of them now. 

And! I really like the wing! The single solitary wing rising from the bottom left corner, pointing straight towards Watanuki in the next frame over. It’s a good call back to the iconic wing behind the Tsubasa logo, in a series all about wings and feathers, and how Watanuki was secretly central to that storyline all along. 

[completeoveranalysis]

[3]

Oh! Yes ok, confirmed: the items are being stored for future usage. Or perhaps even just one future usage, on The Big Future day? Trade them all in for a good result maybe?

OH and we can see the Mokona cases! The two little glass domes to Yuuko’s left are what the Mokonas were stored in at the start of the series. That’s a fun touch. 

…?!?!?

AHHH???

AHHHHHHH WHAAAAAAAAAAT

HELLO FULL BREAKDOWN MODE WHAT ARE WE TALKING ABOUT

OK OK OK OK OK OK OK OK

So Yuuko is talking about the time very very early on (volume 1 even?) when Watanuki found the Clow Staff in storage, which she explained even then was just a replica - and apparently that’s still true, but Yuuko has THE ACTUAL

THE REAL

THE GENUINE WAND USED BY CARDCAPTOR SAKURA IN HER STORE?

LIKE

LIKE

YOU SEE?? YOU SEE WHAT THEY'RE DOING TO ME?!?!?!

I am going completely off the rails in my own brain here but oh my goodness. Crossover event of the century. Sakura left her actual staff here in exchange for a wish. 

You can see AGAIN how Clamp are always always shining a spotlight on the suggestion that 'Cardcaptor Sakura might be the mother of Lava Lamp and Watanuki' even if some of the details don’t quite match up. Like, Yuuko said that she had never actually met Lava Lamp’s parents, and yet she has Cardcaptor Sakura’s staff. I suppose she doesn’t directly say that she met Cardcaptor Sakura, and the staff could have been left here by other means - or both statements are true, and Cardcaptor Sakura just isn’t related to Lava Lamp and Watanuki. 

I am going to be completely consumed by this mystery until they finally give the real answer because they’re so careful with how vague it is every single time. AND THEY DO IT ON PURPOSE FOR THIS EXACT REASON.

[completeoveranalysis]

[8]

Oops there's a bit more of the blood and dark themes in here as well, so be warned!

Watanuki falling out of the window at the same time that Lava Lamp was fighting Syaoran has been pointed out to me by quite a few people over the years, so that’s not a surprise at this point. But I DO love that the joined narrative event was not only intended but is highlighted here and explained a but further - Watanuki was, unconsciously, trying to rectify the balance of his existence. And with Lava Lamp out there fighting yet another Syaoran across the universe, perhaps the universe thought that was one Syaoran far too many and tried to tie it back together. 

What I didn’t catch before is what Yuuko says here - that Lava Lamp returned to where Evil Wolverine was. And that’s kind of true isn’t it? He left Evil Wolverine’s lair, went to Yuuko, and then went straight back to Evil Wolverine's lair - but in the far distant past, as Acid Tokyo. That’s wild.

Yeah there we go! That’s a good conclusion of the sentiment that leads back into the present. Watanuki has learned how to want to stick around because of all the people who care for him - and also this will help change the future. Which is also nice! But Watanuki would be worth it even without that.