#But WHAT ABOUT WATANUKI???

[completeoveranalysis]

[11]

OH EXCUSE ME?

DROPPING BABY WATANUKI IN ON THE LAST PAGE WITHOUT EXPLANATION?

AND THE IMPLICATION THAT LAVA LAMP IS OFF HAVING A GOOD TIME WITH SAKURA

MEANWHILE HIS DECISION WILL AFFECT HIS [redacted] LEFT BEHIND?

HEARTBREAKING.

But on the plus side! The moon is back to normal here!

Whatever that means!

[floorpancakes]

[tomoyoo]

doumeki had several beautiful supporting moments in rei, just real doumeki stuff, and watanuki's responses have been 1. standing there like huh..? 2. getting drunk

i love u doumeki,,

[infearbutstillhere]

It was the day before Mahiru's birthday.

He and his mom were at the supermarket shopping for groceries. As they passed the bakery section, Mahiru saw a cake in the display fridge. It was just simple looking cheese cake with no frosting or toppings But it looked like it would taste good, and it was cheap! So he begged his mom to get this cake for his birthday. He probably didn't notice it then, but he remembered his mom looking sorry for a short moment before finally relenting.

When they finally reached the cashier, Mahiru was bouncing off his feet. He couldn't wait to have this cake on his birthday tomorrow! But then-

"Sorry ma'am, but I'm afraid there's not enough in your card."

Mahiru didn't fully understand how 'cards' worked for adults, but he knew what 'not enough' meant. Just as his mother was fretting over the payment, he took the cake away from the cashier.

"It's ok Mom. I can just put the cake back. We don't have to buy it."

It was the obvious choice. They needed everything else, the cake was just an extra expense. He tried to ignore the looks and whispers from the other shoppers as he made his way to the bakery section.

Suddenly, the cake was lifted out of his hands. "I'll pay for the cake."

Mahiru looked up to see who it was that offered to pay. It was a man who was standing behind them in line. He had white spiky hair and green eyes. He was super tall, probably taller than Uncle Tooru.

"O-oh! You don't have to do that, sir!" His mom quickly said to the tall man.

"It's fine. I'm not really buying much for myself. I can just pay for the cake." The tall man started rubbing his ear for some reason. When Mahiru looked at the the man's basket, it was filled with instant noodles and bottled water. Even so, the man still paid for his things and the cake as well. Mahiru thought that he would just leave after that.

Except that wasn't all he did. Not only did he pay for the cake, he also helped to bring the groceries back to their apartment. As it turned out, Arago-san (he later told them to call him that) was renting the apartment right next to theirs.

Mahiru had heard about guardian spirits sent by the deities. Maybe Arago-san was one, it would explain why he was so pale.

Suddenly, Mom got a call from work. She needed to help cover a shift for one of her coworkers. And Uncle Tooru was also busy with work. Koyuki and Ryuusei were also busy that whole day, though they didn't tell him why. Which means that Mahiru was going to be home alone the whole night.

Which was fine. Mahiru's a grown boy anywa-

"I can help accompany him for the night." Arago-san suddenly volunteered.

Mahiru looked at Arago-san with wide eyes. Not even the aunties that live next door would be able to make time to take care of him. And Arago-san was willing to do it even if they've only met that day?

"A-are you sure? I wouldn't want to trouble you anymore." His mom was concerned.

"Yeah, I'm sure. As long as you can make it for Mahiru's birthday tomorrow, right?"

That day, Mahiru saw his mom show the happiest smile he had ever seen.

"You are a saint, Arago-san."

That made Arago-san's entire face go red. "G-geez, you don't have to go that far. I'm sure anyone would've done the same," he stuttered out.

Mahiru's mom chuckled. "Oh, how modest. I'm sure your parents are proud of you."

That made Arago-san look a little sad suddenly, and he started rubbing his ear again. "Yeah, I'm sure they are...." He let out a small cough. "Anyways, don't worry about it."

"I just wanted to help. That's all."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mahiru was buying supplies at a local supermarket alongside Koyuki, Ryuusei and Sakuya for their school festival. They were waiting for their turn to pay as Sakuya was sharing another of his silly ghost stories (something about Hanako-san and how she lived at their school) and asking them how much of what he said was a lie. Just as Mahiru was about to smack Sakuya on the head,

"Sorry ma'am, but I'm afraid there's not enough in your card."

That caught Mahiru's attention and he turned to the front. The woman had a few groceries on the counter. To the side, her daughter seemed to be taking a set of colour pencils off the counter.

"It's ok Mama. I can put these back. We don't have to buy them."

Subconsciously, Mahiru stepped forward. "Wait, I can help pay for those."

The woman immediately interjected, "O-oh no, it's fine. You don't have to do that."

"I don't mind. I'm not buying much for myself. I can pay for the colour pencils."

Mahiru ignored the weird looks his friends were giving him as he paid for their supplies and the colour pencils. They bought quite a lot to prepare for the festival, but he was going to claim whatever amount of money he spent on the supplies from the class budget so it wasn't like he was lying.

After that, he helped the woman and her daughter to load the groceries into their car. "Oh, thank you. You really are an angel."

The comment made him blush, and he started rubbing his ear. "Don't worry about it. I just wanted to help. That's all."

As he and his friends walked back to Koyuki's house to organise their supplies, Sakuya suddenly piped up, "Hey Mahiru, why do you rub your ear at times?"

"Huh, seriously Sakuya? He's been doing that for years now!" Ryuusei shot Sakuya an incredulous look.

"I-I know that! It's just that I never thought to ask him why until now!"

"That is true, we've been seeing Mahiru doing it for years now, but I don't think we ever questioned it," Koyuki added.

All three of them stopped walking and looked at Mahiru hoping to get an answer. He just sighed and said, "It's not some grand story or anything. I just accidentally picked it up from one of my neighbours. You guys know him."

"Oh, you mean the gaijin from England?" Ryuusei asked as the four of them continued walking.

"Who...?"

"Don't you remember him Sakuya? He accompanied Mahiru while we were planning his birthday surprise."

"Uuummm... oh! Yeah, that's right Koyuki. Shit, I'm sorry Mahiru, for not being there for you when you were alone."

Mahiru sighed. "It's fine Sakuya. I know you guys were just trying to make my birthday more fun that year."

"Anyways, Arago-san helped to take care of me whenever Mom or Uncle Tooru was too busy for about a month before he had to go back to England to deal with something. Must've picked it up from him during that time."

Everyone hummed in agreement before Sakuya started speaking. "Y'know Mahiru. You could've met an angel."

"....Is this another one of your jokes, Sakuya?"

"Wait, wait, hear me out first! They say that each child is blessed with two guardian angels to guide them through life. When the child is going through hardship, one of them would appear to the child in a form that is most welcoming. The angel would help to care for the child until they believe the child is in a good situation and then leave to return to their post."

Everyone went silent at Sakuya's words. Mahiru thought about how Arago-san went beyond the kindness one would normally show a stranger. Maybe angel was a bet-

"Now who wants to guess how much of what I said was a lie?"

"Ow! Hey! Mahiru! You didn't need to hit me that hard!"

[katzkinder]

I keep on thinking of a potential au where Sakura ends up as Tsubaki's eve when they first meet after his sister dies

The idea of this is fucking me up because like. Tsubaki's chair is already occupied by the incorporeal spirit of St Germaine which hangs over Tokyo's skies like poisonous smog.

And yet. Even though it's there, that link, Tsubaki is clearly left without his needs as a Servamp met.

The idea of Sakuya as a human filling that niche for Tsubaki, a small child in a nest of vampires, their little zashiki warashi running underfoot until Sakuya is no longer a child, but a teenager, and then a man. Still human. Still hurting.

They talk a lot. Tsubaki about who hurt him, and Sakuya about those who did the same. The Sakuya who grows up is... Not entirely different. He's still grumpy. He's still goofy. He's still unsure of his place in the world, and what he should be doing.

He still wants to help Tsubaki, more than anything.

Which is exactly why I think he should still meet and befriend Mahiru. I'm not sure how it would happen. But I know it has to, if this alternate world has any hope of surviving. Two people surrounded by others but still feeling isolated... Each of them pick up a small black animal, and face each other, and wonder.

Is this the only answer?

But neither of them are strong enough yet to say 'no' and look for another way.

[dimensionvvitch]

i like to think that

just like clow mispredicting sakura’s feelings for yukito (and vise versa)

yuuko mispredicted watanuki’s feelings for, well, her. she was definitely pushing him in doumeki’s direction, even gave doumeki the egg to give watanuki an out (though she surely knows that doumeki will always put watanuki’s happiness first, magical memory eggs be damned)

i get this overarching theme in CLAMP about how feelings don’t necessary go by “rules”, e.g. in magical transactions, feelings are considered “free”

which makes sense how individuals would create different paths in the future because of their feelings, even though some paths would already be laid out for them.

case in point: clow’s wish

it’s kind of wild to think that someone with as close to accurate visions of the future would miss something as monumental as that. which makes me think clow, too, didn’t realize how deep and strong his feelings truly were to even have an effect of that magnitude.

anyway tl;dr feelings are unpredictable

[radioscientist]

Ohhh something something Kohane’s mother refusing to let her eat anything that’s been killed thereby giving her quick processed food in order to keep her “pure” vs Watanuki painstakingly fussing over a bento for hours and making everything for the three of them to share FROM SCRATCH filled with all his affection. Making something nourishing and filled with love from the bodies of the dead vs keeping yourself “clean” and therefore rotting yourself from the inside. Food as a sacrificial vs food as a joyous gift DO YOU SEE DO YOU SEE

[joelletwo]

tls/sp and their yuuko+watanuki swag or whatever

[xyriath]

Chapter 2 is up and I'm on this train until it wrecks.

[damnhitsuzen]

Final chapter!

Different Directions - Chapter 12: Fine

Final chapter, in which Syaoran swears, Fai breaks down, Kurogane eats a lot of pickles, and Watanuki unveils a horrible secret about Mokonas. Oh, and hangover is so bad, it's practically a character in its own right.

I did it, I fucking did it!

Have I stalled this because I didn't want to say goodbye to this fic? Yes! Have I reread the whole fic from the beginning to make sure ending still fitted to the story? Sure! Had Fai ruined all my plans by making a very emotional and brilliant point in the middle of the chapter and stealing a fucking culmination? YEAH, Watanuki and I were both equally shocked, and poor Tsubasa had to be satisfied with a shorter and calmer chat. Am I completely lost, posting a final chapter of this story that lived in my head for SEVERAL YEARS? you betcha So much of it still lives in my head - like Watanuki's conversation with Tomoyo, the reason Tsubasa moved the barrier, how Fai is freaked out about Kurogane's desicion to go back to Japan and how sad Kurogane will be, when he finds out that Fai still freaks out about their future.

I wrote this story about grief and with grief in mind. Everything in this story is soaked in it - it is in the core of reasoning for almost every full-bodied character, not just Watanuki. If you scratch them all, you will find them mourning something, be it people, relationships, possibilities, past or future. It is inevitable, you cannot escape it if you love, cherish, enjoy. The only way to live with it is to remember what is the source of it. Love. I am wrapping up before I am a wet mess once again. If you have any questions about this story I will be more than happy to give you all the answers. Comments are life, comments are the best.

The song in this chapter crawled in my playlist accidentally, but it was love at first sigh. Lyrics fit the mood so much, I had to include it. And of course, the name of the chapter is from a song as well - "Birds" by Imagine Dragons. In my head it is a lovesong from Watanuki to Yuuko and everybody that he loved and lost.

Damn, I am a wet mess again. Love and see you next time! (i have three different fic setups in my notes, but hush for now)

[aph-japan]

Concept: I actually make the DouxWata A.M.V. planned around the time of my earliest KouxTai A.M.V. but it never got made because I got tied up with school for way too long

[completeoveranalysis]

[1]

Here we are with xxxholic 88 - now featuring Watanuki in the naughty corner. 

Or rather Watanuki wrapped up like he’s a cursed item? The Monkey’s Paw looked a little bit like this as well. I wanted to look into this kind of thing a bit more but the only thing Google will show me is Jujutsu Kaisen results so I guess I will just suffer instead. I’ll just assume it’s a seal unless anyone can tell me more. 

Either way I’m fascinated over some of the small changes in iconography here. We have Evil Wolverine’s symbol on the pedestal but it’s not in its usual shape - here it’s slightly twisted like it’s an actual bat trying to avoid the moon, which is on the plaque as well. Watanuki has a giant sunburst behind him, with rays coming down all around him - and the sun as a symbol is pretty rarely used in Tsubasa/xxxHolic, since most of the cast are associated with the moon instead, except a few like Clow Reed. At the very least it gives a little family connection, even aside from all the spiritual symbolism.

There are little bats in the bottom corners of the page too, but they’re also shaped a little strangely, almost looking like evil peaches? Like that's probably not it but it's all I can see now. Yuuko’s butterfly is here also, sort of, in the shape of the incense holder. 

It’s a very fun take on Watanuki - like a living curse on the universe made real, sealed away and hidden from the person who made him and wants to use him for personal gain. (Also like the Monkey’s Paw) It’s strange to see Watanuki in the framing as something dangerous, or harmful - but it links together with the idea that he is a glitch of a person who was never supposed to exist. And those sad eyes as he stares directly at the camera! Like he’s resigned to it. 

The frame of the page is also giving Clow Card, which is really making me wonder what you would title this if it was. I’m open to suggestions!

[floorpancakes]

[edenaziraphale]

When I first started reading xxxHolic I always wondered why Yuko lived the way she did- drinking constantly, smoking like a chimney, attitude like she’s got nothing to gain or lose from any of this-

And then as the series is approaching it’s end we find out there really is nothing. She’s dead, she should have died so so long ago and this existence that she’s trapped in is the closest to hell most people are ever going to get. She is lonely and probably in pain, and waiting for the day she knows is coming, the one which will right the wrongs that kept her alive in the first place. Yuko is waiting to finally be allowed to die.

She knows there’s important work to be done first. She knows there will be a beautiful but achingly sad little boy, as lonely as herself, who has to be loved into reality, and that she needs to guide him toward the people who will help him survive, lest he disappear the same moment she does.

But the drinking, the smoking, the drama she can’t help but be blasé about- those are numbing. They’re distractions and they help to pass the time. At least she gets to leave, I thought. I can’t imagine what would happen if this were a stuck-in-a-tower kind of curse.

But we didn’t have to imagine, because we see it.

Watanuki takes up the mantle.

Yuko didn’t anticipate loving this boy. Most of that has been burned out of her by now, too tired to hope for anything but rest.

But she didn’t expect his eyes to be quite that big, that sad. And when she meets him and the power inside of her reaches (without her permission, as it has always been prone to doing) for a glimpse of his future, she’s struck by the sensation of emptiness. Of nothing. An apartment whose tenant the landlord can’t remember. A desk with no child inside. Anger. A boy whose dark eyes search halls for something he doesn’t know or understand. A family name which carries a legacy that Yuko remembers. Yuko worked so hard to will life into Watanuki, spent so long teaching him the selfishness and the tragedy of his own sacrificial self loathing. He didn't need to be a martyr, there was nothing he needed to die for. He was a casualty of a war that had nothing to do with him. She tried, over and over and over, to offer him a way out. I think all the time about how she must have felt knowing that Watanuki took on her imprisonment and compounded it, made it that much more intense, made it that much worse. You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make them drink. I wonder if it hurt.

[the-corvus-luna]

Another beautiful full moon in the sky, which means it's time for CLAMP's beautiful Line wallpapers!

Here are the ones that were posted, with watermark.

Here's the edited, without watermark.

Tl;Dr: Syaoran is on the left, and Syaoron is on the right.

Long Spoilers Below

This one is the Syaoran twins from Holitsuba. I didn't realize this before, but in the line post, the twins were called '小龍と小狼', which means one would be Xiaolang (Syaoran) or 'little wolf' and the other one would be called Xiaolong (Syaoron) or 'little dragon' in both Chinese and Japanese.

Syaoron = Xiaolong = 小龍: 小= small, little 龍= dragon, especially a Chinese dragon

Syaoran = Xiaolang = 小狼: 小= small, little 狼= wolf

This image from Holitsuba should give us context of who's who.

(Image Source)

"Notes on characters: Sakura and Syaoran obviously like each other, and Syaoron appears to like teasing his younger brother about that. Syaoron also appears to be the more mature twin of the pair, while Syaoran gives off a more innocent air and is more easily startled."

-quote from tsubasa.fandom

The kanji isn't listed on the source website. Without knowing the original kanji used for which character, it's just a 50/50 chance. Mistakes and mistransations can happen to anyone.

I delved into the JP wiki, and this is what I found.

小狼（シャオラン）

B組。海外からの留学生。真面目で素直だが、成績は四月一日以下。サッカー部と掛け持ちで剣道部所属。サクラとは恋仲（第1話）。

Xiaolang (Syaoran)

"Class B. An international student from overseas. Diligent and honest, but academic performance is below average compared to Watanuki. Also a member of both the soccer club and the kendo club. In a romantic relationship with Sakura (Episode 1)."

And, this:

小龍（シャオロン）

C組。小狼の双子の兄で、留学生。小狼とほとんど瓜二つでありながら、性格は多少真面目とは言い難い性格。バスケットボール部と掛け持ちで弓道部所属。第二部にて初登場した。原作における『小狼』に当たる人物。

Xiaolong (Syaoron)

"Class C. Twin brother of Syaoran, also an exchange student. Nearly identical to Syaoran in appearance, but with a slightly less serious personality. A member of both the basketball club and the archery club. First appeared in the second part. Corresponds to the character '小狼' in the original work."

Syaoran is more serious while Syaoron is light-hearted.

Syaoran is on the left, and Syaoron is on the right.

(That means the fandom link was incorrect about Syaoron being serious/Syaoran being innocent)

[naonoholics]

Happy New Year~!!!

Hiya All (｡◕‿◕｡) We made it to 2024 y'all!! We wanted to start this year off right so we have some releases for everyone. First up we have some goodies from our namesake Naono Bohra~! Error Free Life Ch 1: (Media Fire) (Mega) Shihai no Kyoukaisen Ch 1: (Media Fire) (Mega) Next we have the start of a very interesting story that I think a lot of you will enjoy by Yoshiko Watanuki. I know I'm excited to see what happens next. Tonari no Hyakkai Kenbunroku V1 Ep. Saiwa: (Media Fire) (Mega) Tonari no Hyakkai Kenbunroku V1 Ep. 00: (Media Fire) (Mega) Enjoy the new releases and Happy Reading~! I would also like to introduce our new translator Mari! She worked so hard getting all the scripts ready for so many of the projects we are going to be working on over this new year and seeing her crank out chapter and chapter really reinvigorated me. Also many thanks to all the members who have stick with me over the years and have continued to show up and show out when to comes to graphics, cleaning, typesetting and scanning the projects we work on since without them being willing to help staying around as long as we haven't wouldn't be possible. Knowing they are there to help when I need it makes me want to work on as many projects we can. Plus we can't forget about all the readers as well since at the end of the day what really makes me happy is knowing something we worked on brought a bit of joy to you all. I'm always so happy to see how excited you all get when we release a new chapter or when you all are looking forward to a new project we picked up and it makes it all worth doing after all these years. Here's to this year being better than the last! We have more goodies in the works so please look forward to it!