#so... Sakurazukamori Subaru

[gabbylyons]

Subaru finding out Seishirou cheated on him (stalked and almost killed another pretty twink boy) so he goes around and cheats himself (gets his eye stabbed out by another man)

People these days dont value true love anymore 😔 dont mutual obsession and destruction mean nothing anymore???

[tomoyoo]

the more i think about tb the less i know how to feel about the trio's role in x. i like x and subaru's story in it but it’s disappointing in part as a tokyo babylon sequel, one of the big reveals being “subaru wants to be killed by seishiro because he finds meaning in that” that’s fucking crazy and like gege akutami definitely read x, but it throws away the part of subaru's character that wanted revenge and explode seishiro with his mind (as he deserves). it works in the context of x that is about self destructive desires, and i wouldn’t call it badly written it was actually so refreshing to me seeing a previous main character spiral like that… doesn’t make me any less mad when i read the end of tokyo babylon and see his determination in the last chapter !!

other than that i find seishiro’s extra chapter uhhhh enlightening, interesting to see that his upbringing was not normal and like i said before sakurazukamori don't appear so demonic by job description, they’re built different for other reasons(?

and hokuto's reveal. scream. it was good, it was shocking, it left no survivors, it was hokutoish in many ways.

[mrmissmrsrandom]

If I ever get to it someday I want to write a post-X/1999 story where the world doesn’t end. A few years pass, and Kamui gets his drivers license, learning how to move forward, while Subaru continues to work as the Sakurazukamori, but they keep in touch when they can, both of them awkwardly hovering around questions that they want but don’t think they’ll get from the other (the similarities and differences between them making their bond so close during X/1999, but now, with the world returning to an equilibrium after change, with how humans as well as the earth learn to adapt, shouldn’t they also learn?)

Then one day, Kamui calls Subaru and asks him if he wants to take a trip to Okinawa. Subaru, despite still being a workaholic, clears his schedule. Subaru thinks they’ll be taking the train or a plane, but Kamui shows up with his car, and Subaru doesn’t object. As they drive, stop at rest stops, and even encounter a haunting or two they need to assist in, they tentatively open up. Kamui planned the route to stop in Kyoto, in case Subaru needed somewhere familiar to leave the trip early. Subaru doesn’t, but calls his grandmother, and they have a meal together (also strained, but also something Subaru had missed for so long), and continue.

The ferries are points of crossing where they cannot focus on the road, where they are stuck and the world doesn’t move fast enough, so the pair are stuck with each other.

Subaru asks Kamui, “Why Okinawa?”

Kamui shrugs, his fingers tapping nervously on the dashboard.

“When you walked through my memories, you didn’t see much of the time I was here with my mom. I know that you… felt things, but it was probably too overwhelming to consider. I wanted to show you what it was like.”

There isn’t a clear “why”, but maybe there doesn’t have to be.

[noa-ciharu]

I know it's hard to notice since all angst betrayal and tragedy, but in vol7 Seishirou is actually hella creepy touchy with Subaru. Actually even during bet year, the more his 'facade slipped', the more handsy he was with Subaru even when he was conscious (ahem, hospital scene)

Yes, semi analysis and shitpost about Seishirou's creepy touching and mental gymnastic in vol7. Yes in that angst.

Oke we start with relatively chastite touch - scratch that this is Seishirou we're talking about nothing is ever chastite with him. Predatory "I'm about to fuck you up mentally and emotionally for life" type of touch

Was it necessary to pull Subaru in that close? Ofc. How else would he deliver the news of what bastard he is? Duh

Maybe 6/10 on creepy touchy scale. But we're just getting started with pain and suffering. And creepy touchiness

Very dominating, very disturbing, very possessive, very sensual - give me 5 more of those.

Also how to waste a chance to talk about Seishirou's hand fetish? Actually it's Seishirou's obsessiveness and possessiveness showing because he's so obsessed with Subaru's hands because that's where his marks are. In his mind, Subaru is his prey; is object that belongs to him. Seishirou might deny it all he wants it, but he sees Subaru as 'special' on simple basic that he made the bet in the first place. Noone else is marked by Sakurazukamori's marks nor was spared death for that long. Nor does Seishirou view anyone else as his prey; as his. Messed up and distorted way of being special yes, but from the man that views emotional connection and love as weakness nothing better could be expected.

In a way, it could be said Seishirou lost the bet the moment he made it. If we go by definition of him viewing Subaru as 'different from the rest'

Almost delicate hand hold (the irony), chin grab and hand kiss - Seishirou literally can't keep his hands of Subaru's hands. Really, if he knew he was the first person to touch Subaru's bare hands in idk, 8-9 years he would have gone feral

All while mindfuckery is playing on and Seishirou surely is getting kick out of 'tainting ' Subaru's innocent perspective on life. Psychological torture Seishirou's love language <3

Yes, hand fetish.

We know.

So here he's either sitting down or kneeling and cradled semi-conscious Subaru against himself? All while caressing his neck (vulnerable body area) and gripping chin. And ofc inflicting irreparable psychological damage on Subaru's psyche.

How Seishirou manages to look equally tender and sadistic, it's actually a very good metaphor for mixed picture Subaru has of him. For a year he was nothing but compassionate and kind to Subaru, created picture of kindness and safety. And then in span of couple minutes all of that came crashing down. Psychological trauma of this kind is deeply scaring as victim cannot tell what was real and what wasn't. Ofc when retrospecting, Subaru would be foolish to say Seishirou showed him true face during bet; but discarding all of that as pretense and lie wouldn't be the full truth either (from reader's perspective). So whilst Subaru probably discarded it all as him being fooled, we as readers are left in confusion

Some abuse followed which I won't include since ;-; but really, what was the reason for beating Subaru up like that? It served no purpose? He was already destroying Subaru's innocence and soul via psychological damage. So I can't help thinking Seishirou was lashing out, for multiple reasons. Press f to pay respect to that man's lack of self awareness

Ouch. And when you take into consideration how Subaru thought "I may be worthless and there isn't much to like about me so if someone hated me I'd have noone to blame but myself" literally before walking through that door. No wonder boy's self esteem and self respect is in minus

No creepy touching but creepy leaning over almost crucified Subaru. All while saying those things. Truly a bastard

"Ah yes, your grandmother came to rescue you since I spent too much time mentally torturing you and mansplaining. I totally should hurry up and kill you once and for all. Goodbye. Yes I'm about to kill you but let me wipe your tears and caress your face a bit more. Yes I must grip your chin a bit more. Goodbye, now for real. Yes I'm about to kill you now. For real. Ah damn looks like your grandmother broke my spell, what a pity you were able to get away. Never mind that I said literally minutes prior that I'm stronger than her, I must retreat back to safety. No I totally wasn't waiting for someone to rescue you, no way I was completely emotionally prepared to kill you. Looks like you got away this time Subaru-kun"

F in chat for this man's lack of self awareness

[fushigikage]

I was bored, so I decided to post some stories I had written during the pandemic in 2020.

Title: Funerary Dream

Fandom: Tokyo Babylon, X-1999

Tags: angst, sadness, Subaru centric

Words: 833

Summary: Sitting up abruptly, he felt his head spin and the floor collapse beneath him. He could feel the worried looks in his direction, but he needed to be strong and take control of the situation. He had to be.

[skyflyinginaction]

X/1999 Volume 6 Illustration Comments 

2000 Monthly Asuka August Issue. Title Page Illustration

This one was actually drawn on hotel stationery, which happened a lot with the X illustrations. Hotels provide very good paper, you see [laughs]. I can't use the sheets for very large pieces though. I shaded out the background and added sepia around the edges to make it look like an old photograph. The main outlines were drawn with a PIGMA Graphic pen using brown ink. The wings on Kamui's back are a tattoo. I hid his butt a little with the other ones [laughs].

1994 Monthly Asuka March Issue. Cover Illustration

 Paper: BB Kent 

Lines: PIGMA Graphic ink pen 

Color: Dr. Ph. Martin's Color Ink

Here Subaru is wearing traditional ceremonial clothes, which he hardly ever wears in the manga. The blade in his hand is one he's had in his possession for a very long time and which he uses whenever he wears the ceremonial robes. I wrote "X" on the blade in blood.

1993 X Calendar Illustration Paper: BB Kent Lines: Holbein Color Ink (Special Black) Color: Dr. Ph. Martin's Color Ink

Back then many people asked me, "Is this Hokuto? Or Subaru?" The answer to that question will become clear sooner or later (laughs].

2000 Monthly Asuka November Issue, Title Page Illustration

There were never plans for this illustration to be used in separate halves, but I still wanted to draw something that could be split in two, and that's how I ended up with this composition. The colors and poses used for Subaru and Seishiro are inverses of each other. The two are hound together by a single red thread, but that thread is also meant to echo the spider web. I drew a spider web pattern on the kimono as well. It's an image of the hunter and the hunted. Obviously, Seishiro has the upper hand (laughs).

2002 Monthly Asuka April Issue. Title Page Illustration

This illustration is meant to look like a colorized panel from the actual manga, so I used screen-tones for the background. The white area of the uniform and the hilt of the sword were done with color ink. The gold areas are in color ink too, but the eyes, shadow, and hair were drawn with Copic markers. As you can see. Yuzuriha's shadow is a large Inuki.

2001 March, Volume 16. Cover Illustration

A back cover illustration from one of the X manga volumes. The title on the front cover was printed in a gold-brown ink. The Magami family seems to have I a cursed fate flowing in their blood. This isn't a horror movie story, but it's definitely something like "It's all because of the bloodlines [laughs]. But then again, the Sakurazukamori aren't that better off either. In this illustration, at first glance they appear to be two sisters who are close to one another, but there's also a dark and ominous atmosphere that exists between them. Part of the kimonos patterns were done with acrylic gouache. and the gold areas were done in poster color.

2000 Monthly Asuka August issue, Title Page Illustration

I was aiming for a "Fake Kung-fu Action Movie" type of illustration [laughs). Sorata's pose looks like it belongs in a fighting manga, and he's wearing something that looks like a champion fighter's belt too laughs]. I used a present someone sent to us as a visual reference for drawing the braided cord. Thank you very much; it was a big help. The background and character lines were done mainly with color ink, but I also used some modeling paste for the rubble.

1999 Monthly Asuka August and September Issues, Cover illustrations

This is an illustration I drew with the intention of splitting it in half down the middle. The background is meant to look like a factory or plant of some sort. Compositions like this lose their sense of unity unless an element from each half is included in the other half, so I had Kamui reach his hand over and place it on Fuma's knee. They're also joined together by a handcuff.

2003 Monthly Asuka February Issue. Title Page Illustration

Since this was for a February issue of Monthly Asuka, I used snow in the image. You may be surprised to know that Kusanagi actually appears in quite a lot of illustrations with snow. Since he works for the Self-Defense Force, I had him wear a military-style coat. But the composition was rather bland with only that, and I wanted to add something else. Then I saw Hideroshi Nakata, the soccer player. wearing an extremely long scarf on TV. So that's why Kusanagi's wearing a long scarf too [laughs)

2005 X 0 (ZERO) Art Book. Exclusive illustration for New Edition

This illustration was created for the new edition of the XO art book. Ohkata (Ageha) had given me orders to differentiate the covers of the two art books by making one look Japanese and the other look Western, and to use a dark red color for one and a dark blue for the other. So I had Kamui wear a kimono. like clothes and made the small objects around him look Japanese as well. The dragons, which go with both the background and the pattern on the kimono also have a Japanese air.

2005 X ∞ (INFINITY) Artbook. Exclusive Illustration for New Edition

This illustration of Fuma is meant to be a counterpart to the one of Kamui in the new edition of XO. It was created to have a more Western atmosphere. He's wearing something that looks like a clerical garment, and the dragons have a Western fantasy look to them too. Since the background is blue, I made the dragons look like aquatic animals, with smooth skin, pale hues, and fin-like wings. The whole idea of drawing seven dragons in each of the new illustrations may have been a little too ambitious since it took me a really long time to complete this.

2002 Monthly Asuka August Issue, Title Page Illustration

Nataku is smiling in this illustration because I drew it after the death scene in the main story and wanted something to cheer me up. An image of the gates of heaven opening onto the land of bliss. or something like that. A sad figure who died a long time ago when young but who was then forced to keep living by unnatural means, now finally freed... Nataku was based off a character designed for a vídeo game that had a quasi-Chinese setting but was never made, so Chinese-looking clothes are a default for him

[kamuishiro]

#not exactly the same but I want a post-x au where sakurazukamori!subaru shows up at kamui's door all bloodied after a job gone very wrong yaaaaaaaaaaaas plz

please consider subaru's job was to assassinate some high-ranking official who somehow got wind of an imminent attack and took precautions by hiring someone with powers as a bodyguard, completely catching subaru off guard.

the job ends poorly. probably his first to in the years since he became the sakurazukamori, and he gets his ass handed to him but manages to escape.

he hasn't come face to face with kamui since the end of x but he's been keeping an eye on him from a distance because some part of subaru can't help but still feel protective of him despite everything.

kamui's apartment happens to be closer to where the job was than his own apartment, so subaru drags himself there, and collapses into a shocked/confused/suddenly panicking kamui's arms.

[realmofmydreams1999]

[sumeragi-hokuto]

Set 2 of chapter 1, volume 4 of the Tokyo Babylon manga. 7th chapter overall.

Cleaning/typesetting done by me, official Dark Horse translation used.

Previous, Next

[psychewritesbs]

*read in David Attenborough’s voice*

Here we have the Sakurazukamori being a total creep. He has cornered his prey and courts him by whispering sweet nothings into his ears.

Meanwhile, his prey, paralyzed by horniness the inability to comprehend the situation and how he feels about the situation, willingly falls into the Sakurazukamori’s clutches literally, look at the Sakurazukamori’s hand.

*Thank you sir Attenborough I’ll take it from here*

GOD HE’S SUCH A SINISTER CREEP AND I ADORE HIM ALL THE MORE FOR IT!

I love seeing Sei literally testing boundaries with Subaru and seeing how far he can push while Subaru looks like he’s trying to decide what to make of Sei’s proximity, but more importantly, maybe even realizing he likes it when Sei is touchy like that with him.

I mean... if the boy only knew...

Watching Sei restrain himself from being all grabby with Subaru is so satisfying, especially when we get to see just how much he enjoys being touchy.

His desire for Subaru is off the charts creepy and horny. It’s a shame he’s an idiot and can’t see into his own heart so that he doesn’t understand that he desires.

アホ！ 

[mairyuu]

Hanahaki AU

Ohh that would be hella interesting actually, especially in X timeline where tragedy after tragedy happens.

By the time Kamui and Subaru meet, Subaru has already been coughing flowers for eight years. Subaru was forced to visit hospital few times in past because of intense flower and blood coughing but all doctors could do is ease the symptoms for a little bit. Removal or roots and flowers is possible but extremely dangerous since many years have passed and disease reached lungs. Subaru doesn't care for state of his body as long it serves him; he wants to die anyway, but he'd rather he was killed by Seishirou than die in middle of operation.

Kamui figures out about Subaru's condition few weeks after they met. He saw Subaru coughing before and overall being 'sicky' but attributed that to cigarettes (Subaru is using them to mask flowery scent). Then one day during study date he notices Subaru coughing profusely; when he pulls hand away Kamui notices sakura petals. Even if he never witnessed Hanahaki in person before, Kamui is no fool - he knows what's disease about. Kamui asks who is it for but when Subaru gives him a sad smile that's all of answer Kamui needs. It hurt; also is none of his business, Kamui reminds himself. But it hurts that Subaru had to suffer like that because of someone who not only doesn't care about him, but also sees of no more worth than a flower petal. Subaru cherishes the concerns but reassures Kamui there's nothing to be worried about, he'd push those feelings aside and fight if he ran into Sakurazukamori (but Subaru doesn't mention he'd fight so he'll make his suicidal wish reality). Kamui gets miffed because that's not why he was worried in the first place. He explains it to Subaru he's concerned for his health, both physical and emotional. It comes as a surprise to Subaru but he dismisses those concerns.

Then Sunshine 60 battle happens and Subaru gets blinded. When he wakes up in hospital Subaru finds out he can breathe properly - for first time in nine years. There's no other, doctors had to have cured the disease. Still, with eye injury and Kekais falling he has much more pressing issues at hand to think about than whether he still feels something for that man; nor would that analysis be an easy feat. But just as Subaru's discharged from hospital Kamui wakes up one day and has a violent coughing episode; has to be cold he thinks. But when he pulls hand away he witnesses two sakura petals. He knows very well what it means: first, he fell in love with Subaru. And second - it's one-sided. Doesn't come as a surprise given Subaru referred to himself as love-sick, but it still hurt to know for certain his feelings aren't reciprocated.

Kamui is bending back and forth to hide beginnings of Hanahaki from everyone. Seeing as he coughs petal or two a day (unlike Subaru who had violent fits of coughing and coughed full flowers, some even bloodied or withered, nothing but thorns), Kamui sucessfully manages to hide his little secret. All until Sorata finds out one day. Kamui protests about letting everyone know, not because of illness itself, but because of implication. After few days talking Kamui lets go of stigma associated with Hanahaki and tells Arashi and Yuzuriha; he just cannot tell Subaru, he just can't.

But Subaru finds out nonetheless when Kamui's body betrays him and has a coughing fit in front of him. Kamui was injured week prior, so respiratory issues shouldn't come as a surprise; it's Kamui's alarmed expression that speaks to him. Being victim of all shapes and severities of Hanahaki for years, Subaru shares some advice with Kamui as to how handle it the best. Assuming Kamui has unrequited love for other Kamui, boy that he called Fuuma, Subaru doesn't even ask for who he caught the disease; plus being epitome of kindness and polietness, Subaru thinks it'd be uncivil to be too nosy. For first time Kamui is grateful for Subaru's unobtrusive nature. Still, even if Subaru doesn't know, other Seals are aware of Kamui's feelings for him.

Being supportive as usual, Subaru suggests Kamui he pursues his wish and one-sided love no matter what. But the Subaru gets a shock of his life when Kamui takes him up on advice one day, leans over table and kisses him. Then realization kicks in - it's not Kamui of Dragons of Earth he's pinning for, but him.

Still, even if he cares about Kamui, Subaru knows dating him would bode for disaster given, well - everything. From grim fates to tragedies, to age difference serving as reminder of Subaru's own past, to their positions and the fact Subaru saw himself as terrible choice for dating. He gently rejects Kamui, telling him even if those feelings of his are real now (given the illness), Kamui would know better in time and stop idolizing and loving him in romantic way. Plus that distance might make feelings go away as staying with someone who caught flowers because of you is never a good idea. Kamui is further heartbroken of course. He knew his feelings weren't reciprocated but hearing Subaru dismiss his feelings like regular teen crush does hurt. He pleads Subaru to not leave him which Subaru agrees on in the end. But he insists he's not a good choice and even if he shouldn't, nor has the right to tell Kamui what to do, it'd be for mutual best if those feelings (along with disease) went away.

Day after that Rainbow bridge happens. Subaru realizes why he wasn't coughing flowers since leaving hospital - but it is too late. His own wish would never be realized now. That night he leaves Seals and goes into seclusion; later on inherits role as Sakurazukamori. Even if he's not with Seals, Subaru still feels guilty for Kamui suffering because of him (from Subaru's perspective); from time to time he keeps an eye on Kamui, both to see how he's doing and observe Hanahaki's state.

In meantime Kamui feels abandoned; in a way he is abandoned. Not even Subaru's absence did cure the flowers, Kamui is convinced nothing would. He's fearful that just like Subaru, he'd be forced to survive years and years coughing flowers while not even once seeing his loved person. Little does he know Subaru's observing him from afar. Subaru is convinced nothing good would come out of seeing Kamui directly, that he'd only give Kamui false hope. But fate plays other game and they meet during final battle. Fuuma ends up returning to his past self but he has no memories whatsoever; not of Kamui, Kotori and their past, not of apocalypse. Kamui ends up being wounded during battle and since he was on brink of death, Subaru took him to his house. It took Kamui few days to regain consciousness and couple more to recover completely. They finally talk; during all that time Kamui is trying to convince Subaru he won't stop loving him; he's also trying to see why Subaru is so adamant about believing he's terrible dating choice; he's so kind and compassionate after all, always thinking about others before himself. In the end Subaru agrees on letting Kamui move in with him since he has no reason to stay on half destroyed Clamp campus.

Nonetheless Kamui is still coughing flowers. He's no fool - he knows Subaru cares about him, loves him even - but not in same manner Kamui loves him. Both of them feel guilty about whole situation. Kamui is trying to reassure Subaru that it's not his fault and he's not trying to guilty-trip him, just feels that way. Gradually Kamui's condition worsens; he starts coughing blood along with flowers in full bloom. Alarmed by that as he knew first hand how disease can hurt, Subaru suggests Kamui goes to hospital and gets lungs fixed before too much time has passed and Hanahaki roots in deeper (like it was with him). Kamui gets hurt by suggestion since Subaru makes it sound like his feelings are also a problem. Because there's a catch: if Hanhaki gets surgically removed, feelings he has for Subaru will also be permanently gone. Of course Kamui doesn't want that; one-sided nature of it does hurt, but those are his feelings, his love - part of who he is. Subaru sees the point, he understands, but also insists Kamui could potentially die because of Hanahaki. They argue a bit over that over course of few months.

All until Kamui's state worsens significantly one day. He falls into semi-coma and Subaru is forced to take him to the hospital. Upon waking up Kamui realizes he could finally breathe properly. However instead of being happy about that he feels miffed - Kamui is fearful Subaru told doctors to 'fix' the disease while he was in coma. It takes Kamui couple of weeks to realize that's not what happened at all. One evening over tea Kamui finally snaps and asks Subaru why he removed flowers against his will. Subaru gazes at him and meekly says he didn't. Kamui asks how he's not coughing anymore then. Subaru gazes down at table and says nothing. However that silence is more than enough of an answer to Kamui.

[victoriadrwrites]

Tokyo Babylon: Where vice trumps over virtue as identities are born and challenged

What follows is an analysis of meaning and its messenger and how the protagonist drives the premise (Chapter 17 exercises from David Corbett’s The Art of Character). 

In this analysis I will be looking at: 

Sumeragi Subaru and Sakurazuka Seishiro from Tokyo Babylon

Tokyo Babylon--A Save for Tokyo Story

Sumeragi Subaru

What makes him a protagonist?

Subaru is presented as a 16 year old teenage boy who also happens to be the 13th head of the Sumeragi Clan, a clan of Onmyōji that has protected Japan for many generations. 

The events in Tokyo Babylon revolve around his every day experience as an Onmyōji as he solves supernatural cases around Tokyo as part of his duty as the 13th head of the Sumeragi Clan.

The scenes in the story all serve the purpose of revealing his character to the audience. For example, his deep empathy, pathological compassion and low self-esteem.

What is most striking about Subaru is that, given his exalted role as the most powerful head of the clan in its history, Subaru does not perceive himself as someone special. True to the “chosen one” trope, Subaru is a reluctant hero who was given a role and power he did not ask to be given.

One of my favorite scenes from the manga is Subaru telling Hokuto that the moment he finds an Onmyōji more powerful than him, he will ask him to take on his role as the 13th head of the clan. And I just feel like going up to him and telling him: “honey, there is no such Onmyōji. You are, literally, part of Team Apocalypse. You are chosen af.”

What is at stake for Subaru?

Subaru’s “hero’s journey” does not follow the traditional pattern to a T but does have some of the classic markers. For example, by the time the audience meets Subaru, he has already taken the call to adventure (becoming an Onmyōji out of duty) and is immersed in his every day life as an Onmyōji. Meeting Seishiro in the train station is what ushers the transformation that Subaru will have as a character as it forces him to learn about what his heart desires.

As Hokuto says, Subaru is so busy with his duty as an Onmyōji that he’s forgotten his heart and doesn’t know what he truly desires. And as noa says, having a wish/desire = having a sense of identity in CLAMP.

Subaru realizing what he desires is partially him becoming a person in his own right--not Hokuto’s reflection or dress up doll, nor the 13th head of the Sumeragi Clan, but Subaru, the person who loves Seishiro and “selfishly” cares about what Seishiro might think of him.

By the time this realization happens, by the time Subaru becomes aware of his own person and his desires, however, the rug gets pulled from under his feet by the very source of his desire, Seishiro. 

Thus Subaru’s identity moving forward revolves around feeling rejected by Seishiro, his conflicted longing for Seishiro, his hatred for Seishiro, and the guilt he carries from Hokuto’s death.

Subaru is thus initiated into the world in the cruelest way possible. His innocence is taken from him, and his awareness of the person he is becomes tainted by the cruelty of the world he lives in. In Subaru’s eyes, to dare to wish, to dare to allow himself the privilege of desire means tragedy for himself and others. 

Sakurazuka Seishiro

What makes him a protagonist?

While Seishiro does not get as much air time as Subaru, Seishiro is one of the characters affected by his meeting with Subaru. In a sense, Tokyo Babylon revolves around the bet Seishiro makes with Subaru and how this decisive event impacts the both of them.

What is particularly outstanding about Seishiro’s role as deuteragonist is that his heart is the direct inverse of Subaru’s--or at least he thinks so. Ironically, he is also presented as someone who understands Subaru on a very deep level, thus earning Subaru’s trust and affection.

To complicate matters further, Seishiro’s last name, Sakurazuka, is associated with the Sakurazukamori Clan, a clan of assassins that works in the shadows and use their powers as Onmyōji to kill. This set up loosely uses the trope in Romeo and Juliet in which the two mc’s from opposing clans fall in love with each other. In Romeo and Juliet, however, romantic love is thought to trump all challenges.

But over all, what Sei does for Tokyo Babylon is that he introduces the Yin (Sakurazukamori works in the shadows) to Subaru’s Yang (the Sumeragi work in the light). His assassin persona is presented as a hidden opposing force in Subaru’s existence that challenges everything from his morality to his kind and gentle heart.

What is at stake for Seishiro?

Seishiro is so complex. On the one hand he says he is unfeeling, and yet, some of his actions reveal otherwise. 

On the other hand, Seishiro’s main motive in Tokyo Babylon is eventually revealed to be finding out whether Subaru can make him feel something, anything, through a bet he makes with Subaru. 

If he lost the bet and being exposed to Subaru’s kind heart changed his, then Seishiro would let Subaru live. If on the other hand, Seishiro’s heart remained unmoved, then Seishiro would kill Subaru.

The irony in all of this is that, just the way Seishiro presented a conflict to Subaru, Subaru created a conflict in Seishiro’s mind. The mere fact that he found a reason to let Subaru live was proof enough that Seishiro had felt something, anything.

Seishiro saw in Subaru a reflection of his own kind heart that he had probably buried deep within himself for self-preservation purposes. We don’t know much about Seishiro’s backstory, but the idea that Seishiro has some kindness to him, however small, is consistent with the symbolism of the Yin and Yang used in Tokyo Babylon.

In a sense, Subaru created a split in Seishiro’s identity the way Seishiro tainted Subaru’s. Seishiro found that he was not so unfeeling after all, and to admit this to himself would run counter to the defense mechanisms his ego mind had erected.

And as we see at the end of Tokyo Babylon, Seishiro chose to turn his back on Subaru and disappeared from his life after killing Hokuto. In the end, if he had truly won the bet, he would have had to kill the one person whose heart touched his. But to loose the bet would mean he had to accept the one thing he rejected about himself: his deeply kind, feeling self.

Psychologically speaking, Sei would not have been able to recognize Subaru’s kindness if it didn’t already exist within. There is a lot more to it than this but I am not going to go into it right now. Point being, believe it or not, Sei has a kind heart buried somewhere deep down in there.

The premise

Ok, this was actually really hard! I did not want to read the official premise so that it would force me to try to figure out the premise based on what I wrote for both Sei and Subaru.

So here goes my botched up interpretation of the TB premise:

Tokyo is the only city on Earth that can enjoy itself along the path to destruction. But for Sumeragi Subaru, the 13th head of the Sumeragi clan, the people he meets as part of his job as an Onmyoji are all worth saving. 

One of those people is Sakurazuka Seishiro, a veterinarian with a mysterious background who, little does young Subaru know, harbors a secret identity as the Sakurazukamori, an assassin who uses his Onmyoji powers to kill.

Tokyo Babylon is a story where vice trumps over virtue as identities are born and challenged. Above all, it is the tragedy of two individuals who, unable to bridge their differences, become victims to their fate and turn their backs on their hearts.

Ok that was painful and horrible. Don’t ever try this at home.

The ways of life in opposition

To Subaru... 

Everyone matters: Everyone is special and worth saving even if it means harming himself for their sake. One of the most poignant examples is when Subaru is willing to let Yuya’s stab him so that she can take out her pain on him. Unfortunately this leads to Seishiro loosing one of his eyes

Tokyo is a place full of special people who experience very human problems: In this example, we see Subaru taking the time to listen to people and their stories time and time again. He is highly compassionate of these characters and always tries to understand them and their suffering

His Onmyoji powers are meant to help others: Subaru uses his powers to protect others like in the “Call” chapter where he puts himself in harm’s way to protect one of the girls from a poorly-executed curse

To Seishiro... 

No one matters: Everyone is equally worthless and to put himself in harm’s way for their sake would be to go against his instinct for self-preservation. Near the end of Tokyo Babylon, Seishiro is revealed to see Subaru as no more than an object that he can destroy if he so pleases

Tokyo is a place where people betray each other all the time: The obvious example is Seishiro revealing his true identity to Subaru. This betrayal completely breaks Subaru who had come to love Seishiro after spending a year with him

His Onmyoji powers are meant to kill others: Unlike Subaru, Seishiro uses his powers to kill and desecrate, which is consistent with his complete disregard for others as beings of value

The premises in terms of the individual characters

These were actually harder than the overall premise and I might come back to rewrite them. But I just wanted to get this over with so here it is:

Sumeragi Subaru

To Subaru, the 13th head of the Sumeragi clan, using his Onmyoji powers to protect other people (even if at his own expense) and his interconnectedness to them are what motivate his identity--or rather, lack thereof. 

When he meets Seishiro, however, Subaru is at last confronted with his personal budding desire for Seishiro, something that is initially incomprehensible to him precisely because of his collectivist identity. By the time he becomes aware of said desire, Subaru is confronted with yet another challenge--the object of his desire  is a psychopath with little regard for others and human life, including his own. To make matters worse, Subaru’s twin is killed by Seishiro as she risks her life to bring Subaru back from his catatonic state. 

Thus Subaru’s identity as a person becomes tangled up with the idea that his  personal wishes and desires will bring him and others misfortune. In that sense, Seishiro managed to change him.

Sakurazuka Seishiro

For Seishiro, the world is a cold place devoid of emotion. In his eyes, he can’t differentiate people from objects and is thus able to use his Onmyoji powers to kill indiscriminately. 

That is until he meets Subaru whose kind heart awakens in him something. Thus, rather than killing Subaru, Seishiro makes a bet with him and lets him go until destiny should being them together again. When that happens, as part of the bet, Seishiro will profess his love to Subaru and act accordingly. If Subaru is unable to persuade Seishiro’s heart to feel something after a year, then Seishiro will kill him. If, on the other hand, Subaru is able to change Sei’s heart, then he will honor their bond.

Thus, Seishiro spends a year in company of Subaru and his twin sister and finds himself fighting his desire to kill Subaru until the bet reaches its conclusion. Once the bet ends, Seishiro declares he is unchanged. But is he really unchanged if he’s let Subaru go once again?

Personal notes

In conclusion, coming up with a premise is a bitch.

Anyways, and with anything CLAMP, as always, I feel like I am only scratching the surface of what is happening. I normally consider myself a “deep and insightful” person but not when it comes to CLAMP. 

Nop. Just straight up not smart enough for CLAMP.

But that’s exactly what makes their manga such great subject matter for literary analysis.

I’ve been reading David Corbett’s The Art of Character for some time now but had not gotten around to doing any of the exercises in the book. But since I am stuck without a plot outline for my wip novel, It’s Written, I thought “why not give chapter 17′s exercises a shot since premise and plot are related?”

And that’s just what I’m doing here. And like... how this is going to help me? I don’t know yet, but maybe if I do more of these analyses it will make more sense?

We’ll see.

[noa-ciharu]

42, 45, 50 for the fic writers ask ✨

42 - have you ever received a comment that particular stood out to you for whatever reason?

Honestly I love every comment I receive 🥺 it's not only affirmation that people love reading stuff I write but also chance to talk about things I spent hours and hours brainstorming and writing. Plus i love hearing people's reactions and hearing what stood out to them the most in fic. So each one stands out in its way 💕

Tho if I had to choose one that recently made me crack up it's @nayveau 's remark on fic where Subaru was tempting Seishirou's self control that she's been cheering up on him to make Seishirou snap like proud mom cheers on her soon on football game. Go boy hit the score, get railed till you can't walk 😭🍆 galaxy brain, I can't put image out of my head. We all should read fanfics the way sports fan watch football 😂

45 - what's something you improved on since you've started writing fics

I'd say I've gotten better at putting what I visualized inside head into words? Portraying the atmosphere, describing what character is feeling, thinking, little metaphors and all that. Also I have tendency to make those long ass sausage sentences where you forget what the beginning was even about by the time you reach the end. I used to have that problem even back in middle and high school when writing in native lang so it's not just enf thing. It's like having a raw emotion or concept and having to put it into words as scrutiny as possible. I guess that can also be put under what I mentioned above. Ofc long sentence here and there is fine but shouldn't become a regular occurence

50 - answer any question of your choice or talk about anything you like

I'd kill for seisub hanahaki trope 😭🌸 I mean do I even have to explain? It's made for them 😭😭😭

Also trc!Seishirou travelling to X universe and running into Sakurazukamori!Subaru and some hardcore horny yearning angst going on?? Sign me the hell up! 😤

[ayameyumesaki]

Tokyo Babylon - Clamp Premium Collection - Commentary Part 7

Previous Part First Part Next Part

So here we are, finally entering volume 3! I told myself to post one commentary at least every week, especially now I have volume 3 and 4 (and already read it more than twice) but for the sake of my sanity after reading volume 4 I needed that break lol

So, here is the glamorous volume 3's cover with Boss Mafia Subaru and his assassin Seishiro. Pretty cool, pretty cute, and pretty adult-like. I love how in covers with Seishiro, Subaru looked pretty mature but the ones with Hokuto made him like a little cute puppy. Anyway if Subaru is a mafia instead of onmyoji, imagine how powerful he would be. (We have sakurazukamori widowed Subaru tho so it's okay)

This chapter covered one long story; Call. The chapter is divided into two; Call A and Call B, but I decided to divide it into three parts because the first half of the Call A revealed a lot of important information, and even more with Call B. If I can comment something, Call A is pretty funny and full of information, while Call B is just pure depressing. I will explain why in next commentaries.

So, Call chapter is talking about three girls who believed that they are world saviors and they have special powers to save the world. The three used telephone to contact each other and they spent quite a lot of money for something that we won't know, even believing that in the past life, they are warriors that protected the world.

What's funny is one of the girls seemed to have a yochimu (predictive dream) ability.

The world will be destroyed. I, from before, already knew about it. I already predicted it. But only the chosen ones, the one with special abilities who can save the world.

Uh oh, X spoiler in 1991, CLAMP? Sounds totally what happened in X.

They then seemed to assure each other that they are those chosen people and they are waiting for someone who will tell them that they are special. That's funny because in previous chapter we are talking about what is normal and not, and here there are people who wants to be special. Okay, let's move on.

We are going on Sunshine Aquarium date Seishiro seemed to look forward to it. I already made a post about how stupid this man talking to penguins, but at least he made me sure that he has a vet license despite his questioning working hour.

The amount of sorry Subaru said in this part is immensely painful, a friendly reminder of what kind of personality this boy actually had to apologize on everything. Oh my son, I was so mad at you for keep apologizing. I forgot who it is, but my teacher, or supervisor, told me that it's not healthy to keep apologizing over and over to a Japanese; it would annoy them. Then Seishiro asked if Subaru is free that day and he said he is. Look at how happy this puppy is.

Then on their way, Seishiro spotted a computer-based fortune telling booth.

Seishiro asked if Subaru liked stuffs like this and Subaru replied that he is forbid to do fortune telling by his family because it is also their job to do fortune telling, to be told by other fortune teller is a bit (strange). Talking about onmyoji's job, I did a research about onmyoji for fanfic writing purpose and during Heian period in Japan, aside on being master of spiritual matters, they are regarded as the master of astronomy as well---focusing on predicting the future events. Since their working line is aligned with fortune telling, it's indeed unethical to be told by other fortune teller about their own fortune. Makes sense.

Seishiro's smile tho. :)

Anyway they still get that fortune telling because it was done by a computer (talking about advanced technology). Seishiro asked for compatibility telling and when they were told to tell their birthdays...

Subaru told that his birthday is on 19th February 1974 and his birthplace is in Tokyo. Seishiro asked Subaru if that's true, and Subaru said yes. While Seishiro said he was born in 1st April 1965 in Tokyo too. Damn, Seishiro is older than my parents.

Then while waiting for the result, the clerk told Seishiro that it's pretty good that his lover is a high schooler and Seishiro told him it's one-sided. Then she continued by saying that they suited each other and his lover is pretty cute; her husky voice is amazing too.

Seishiro said "it's not a girlfriend. It's a boyfriend" and SUBARU'S FACE OMG IT'S SO CUTE. Damn, Hokuto would be laughing at him looking at this scene, looking so guilty for being a boy cries cries the lady is even more shocked than them. Poor lady.

Then Subaru's pager rang loudly and look at him being cute embarassed dork. He said he had a pager because there are times where someone would contact him during the work. Seishiro commented how trendy the onmyoji right now for using a pager, and it seems Hokuto contacted him.

Talking about pager, I wasn't born in the era where pager is used so I don't know what that thing is until I read this manga. The last pagers ended their service in 2019 anyway so with the advanced technology we have right now, we probably won't ever see a pager in our life.

Then Seishiro continued with teasing Subaru and said "I told you that I'm not joking about it, so how about trusting me about it?" and Subaru was like "No, but...", he wasn't even denying it. You already fell for him that hard huh. And Seishiro told him "I love Subaru-kun" and I'm totally the woman in the back. What did I see? A love confession?

If you think Subaru's sufferings had ended. Think again.

Yes. Subaru has two people in his life that constantly making him either embarassed or extra tired which is 1) Seishiro and 2) his own sister, Hokuto. Subaru called Hokuto but he couldn't hear it due to the noisiness, so he kept saying "I can't hear it". You know how loud Hokuto? Yes, to the point people see Subaru and he needs to stay away from the phone. He apologized afterwards.

After that, scene changed to Subaru returning to his residence and Hokuto in her rabbit outfit said "YOU TWO HAD A DATE IN IKEBUKURO!?". Pretty Hokuto-like.

See her outfit? The queen slays indeed. I wonder what's the concept that they were sitting on the floor but that's not important. See how Subaru sat down and looking serious at the papers? That's pretty cute. How they had those large pillow (it looked like bean bags to me anyway) is beyond me, but I already accepted the fact that Subaru is rich so I'm not gonna complain.

Before going into the content, please highlight SUBARU'S SITTING STYLE. Look at him crossing his legs like that while apologizing to Seishiro, then he lifted one of his legs when he ate Hokuto's bread. We all know that Subaru is probably the most out-of-earth character in this series but his overall behavior? Him sitting like this? Pretty much me reflected like that.

On the plot side, Hokuto mentioning about date to a yakiniku house, oh my girl, if Seishiro is the one who pays then I will go too lol Anyway, Hokuto asked about what work Subaru got this time and Subaru asked about Dial Q2. I want to say that you can just read the translation version but I found something interesting about this:

So, according to Wikipedia, Dial Q2 was released for the first time in 1989 and like the manga explained, the first 4 number is 0990 (zero kyuu kyuu zero), thus making it Q2 (kyuushii), but it's not the official explanation. It was a paid service, and since it was targeted towards adult, 3 minutes is 300 yen (if we're going by Hokuto's explanation in the manga, 14-18 seconds will cost around 10 yen which means in real life, to reach 300 yen you will need to call at least 6 minutes so the Wikipedia's explanation is a bit crueler). And it seemed that this Q2 is more popular between the youngsters; they can talk hours without paying attention to the time and boom your monthly bill goes over the roof (here is written the bill can be around 10.000 yen to 1.000.000 yen. Average salary in Tokyo is 200,000 yen so yeah you know).

Then Seishiro told Hokuto that she is pretty detailed about this and she replied it's because she is an Aquarius, confirming that probably Subaru's birthday is right. I will talk about this later below.

They then talked about horoscopes and Seishiro mentioned about the fortune telling the couple did in the afternoon. She took a look at the paper and she said this.

Sei-chan, you were born in 1st April? Your image doesn't look like an Aries. You are more like water-related zodiac, like Scorpio or Pisces.

She knows, Sei-chan.

They then talked about how the magazines at the time talked about horoscopes and the end of the world prophecy. Seishiro then asked what Hokuto thinks about the end of the world and she replied by she is more worried about the sale bargain in IOIO (this is called Marui in Japan) that will happen in three days. Pretty Hokuto.

While Hokuto read the fortune paper, Seishiro asked Subaru about what's wrong in the dial line and Subaru explained that lately, there's been a series of prank calls. Seishiro, being who he is, said he also received a lot of prank calls that asked him like "My wife what are you doing?" or "what is the color of your underwear?" in panting voice.

And I don't know if Subaru is too naive, or he really thought that someone who've done marathon will do a prank call to a vet's office in the first place. A portrayal of Subaru's not-so-on-earth side. That aside, what the fuck is happening on the other side of the phone cries cries

Then, this triangle man continued with:

Seishiro: I'm not his wife so I can't satisfy his wish, so I let him hear the voices of my patients, like the cat, or the dog, or the monkey.

Whoever did the prank call to Seishiro, I hope you can continue whatever you are doing on the other side of the phone without getting shocked or heart attack.

Then SUBARU DECIDED TO FOCUS ON WHY THE CALLER ASKED ABOUT UNDERWEAR. It's okay it took me five looks at the panel to understand what this whole conversation means. Please, my boy.

The conversation continued with Subaru explaining that in the past 3 months, people with last phone number 19O9 (I think it's 1999) have been receiving a lot of prank calls and it's not just a normal prank, it was a prank including the use of curse art (jujutsu). At first, it seems like a normal prank call, but the houses and companies that received that call received continuous spiritual harms. But when NTT did the phone trace, because it was done in this Dial Q2 Party Line's system, it's difficult to track them, thus they seek Sumeragi Family's help.

Seishiro asked Subaru if he knew from what art this curse coming from, and Subaru said it's coming from a lot of religions and mixed. While Subaru is wondering how to find out who is the caller,

Hokuto: Wait a minute, Seishiro-chan! Isn't this horoscope fortune telling wrong!? Your personality is wrong! Also your compability with Subaru is the worse!

Hokuto, who is reading the fortune paper, is finally raising her voice and it's pretty hilarious. Her priority is showing.

And Seishiro replied with "the harder the obstacles, the bigger love will blaze". Idk how to explain this as it is but yeah it is like that. And I don't know how to explain this line if I consider what happened in the future :)

I will just say, Seishiro succeed in a way.

SO I will cut the first part here, and I'm going to talk a bit about the first half of Call A.

Just like how the second volume goes, the first part of the first chapter is talking about the information they had about the work Subaru is going to do. As you see, Seishiro teased Subaru about many things, but one thing for sure, Subaru didn't lie about his birth date, just the birth place. And if you noticed it, Hokuto unconsciously proved that Subaru's birth date is correct due to her revealing her own zodiac. Is it a good thing, or a bad thing? We will see in the future.

One thing I need to highlight here, you see, Subaru is most of the times out-of-the-world. His whole personality and view about the world is just off. We can see by how he goes sad when someone told him that he isn't normal, or how he decided to wonder why someone asked about underwears in prank calls while panting instead of focusing in the prank calls itself OR how Seishiro responded to it. Still, you can see that he is pretty much like a normal human---he can feel sad about not being like everyone else, he can feel embarassed by what people around him doing to him, he works using a pager and fax just like a normal employee, his unconscious body language, etc. etc.

I think the concept of "being normal" and "being special" is the most important theme in this chapter, and we will see how Subaru deals with this normal and special in the rest of the volume.

Anyway, that's the end of the first commentary for volume 3, and I hope I won't cry writing the next part because for God's sake, Subaru cries cries

[themidnightcircusshow]

Kinda attached to the idea that Subaru would know how to sew.

Hokuto definitely would, there's no way at least some of those outfits weren't altered. Sure she could afford a tailor, but where's the fun? The only way you can get a true one of a kind is by making it yourself.

And she would teach Subaru (because Subaru is definitely into fashion at least a little, indulgence only goes so far, fight me) because what if he needed to do repairs while he was away? So Subaru would at least be a competent sewer, who enjoys the rhythm and meditative nature of it.

Anyway, imagine a newly two-eyed Subaru, so traumatised that he's not even aware of it anymore, calmly altering Seishirou's clothes so Subaru can wear them now that he's the Sakurazukamori

[kamuishiro]

for the meme kamui

• First impression: chaotic little shit. the vampirism in trc makes sense with his dumb cape I love it

• Impression now: best boy!! 10/10 would die for

• Favorite moment: the scene where he and yuzuriha were going to visit sorata in the hospital and yuzuriha shoved a cookie into his mouth. he was so dorky and cute help

• Idea for a story: I'll never stop wanting an au where kamui chooses the DoE and subaru is the sakurazukamori from the start. they go on chaotic dates like fuuma and seishirou did except they actually have feelings and kamui decides maybe saving the earth actually wouldn't be terrible since he wants to protect subaru now

• Unpopular opinion: Still Don't Care For F**Kam 🤷‍♀️

• Favorite relationship: subkam is the only ship that matters

• Favorite headcanon: love the idea of kamui having more divine powers? characteristics? so his presence can cleanse/purify