The "Little Black Book of Fandoms" Meme

[akk]

spotted on rheasilvias journal...

Sum up your former/current fandoms in a few sentences, as if they were human beings/very convincing sockpuppets on your flist. Ask your friends to guess which fandoms you're talking about!



May I introduce the following animes, books, and mangas:

1. There were countless references, endless rides, comical elements and serious issues. Sometimes brilliant, sometimes on the edge of pain. Your violet sparkles, golden light, and green eyes caught me.
[Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers, guessed correctly by elbales]

2. Nobody believed in you. There were four attempts before the fifth turned out working, and even that was a haphazard chaos, few people put faith in. Yet it worked out, in the past and the future and even in the darkness of a new middle ages.
[Babylon-5, not guessed]

3. Spaceships on the surface, a war against the gods on a planet not fully terraformed yet. You are a beautifully drawn movie, but still I always believed your story to be more complicated than could be told in your roughly two hours.
[Big Wars, not guessed]

4. When I discovered that you are based on novels written in the 1940s I was thrilled. But before I even read them, I played in my mind with your drop-formed ship.
[Captain Future by Edmond Hamilton, not guessed]

5. I just discovered you, after I fell in love with your arch enemy a few weeks ago. Your name means nothing, but you are anything but. In fact, you kind of remind me of the hero in 4. :)
[Cosmowarrior Zero by Leiji Matsumoto, not guessed]

6. You are feckless and powerful, strong and confused; a knight in shining armor, who scrapes his knee on the parapet of a crumbling wooden fortress with an owl to lead him through the shadows into the arms of one soon to be king.
[Fortress in the Eye of Time by C. J. Cherryh, guessed correctly by elbales]

7. You are tough, smart, and deadly - and despite you telling your own tale, I'm sticking around waiting eagerly for the next natural death.
[John Rain the assassin created by Barry Eisler, not guessed]

8. Kill the frogs! And then fall back to earth, Commander! 264 is waiting for your astrogator.
[Raumpatrouille, guessed correctly by rheasilvia]

9. You leave none of your characters truly unharmed, though your creators proclaimed never to do a resurrection, at least one of your (minor) characters came back from destruction.
[X, guessed correctly by solo____]

10. You carry the X and the pentagram. Sakura petals flutter like snow flakes through your blood tinted pictures. Your men are dead, guilt-ridden, powerful, mysterious and/or perverted.
[Yami no Matsuei or Descendants of Darkness, guessed correctly by jjblue1]

11. Your dead sidhe prince changed forever my perception of what elves (and sidhe) are supposed to be. I never wrote fanfic about you, but there are two pastel chalk pictures and an original shortstory of mine, clearly being inspired by you.
[The Dreaming Tree by C. J. Cherryh, guessed correctly by elbales]


And? Any idea who they are? :)

Comments

[jjblue1.livejournal.com]

As for all I found:

Seishiro's talking Sakura in Ueno is fancanon. According to Hokuto the Sakurazukamori only kills in order to protect Japan not to feed a tree so Subaru should know this. TB 1999 drama cd and the episode 'Save' seems to confirm it. Mn... you probably know this already...
The marks on Subaru's hands disappeared after he accepted Seishiro's eye (at least it's implied Subaru doesn't have them anymore when Nataku dies...)
Fancanon assumes Subaru's marks hurt. In TB/X is never said/implied (thouggh I would think they did, at least in the beginning when they bleed... Subaru however looks very stoic about them... but it might be he was in shock or something close). You can however assume they did.
According to a now long closed web CLAMP declared Nokoru's birthday is 16/June/1980. Sadly I hadn't been capable to find where CLAMP declared it... however even if the year might not be right I find it's likely going to be a right enough approssimation. According to it Nokoru would be 12 in 1992 and the CLAMP Gakuen trilogy (20 Mensho, Duklyon, CLAMP detective) was printed in 1989/93. Usually manga are placed in the year in which they're printed or around the year in which they're printed (unless the manga needs differently... see 'X' [also TB who had been printed in 4 years but tecnically should contain only a year of story and a bit... plus a flash on Subaru's future]). This date also imply that either 20 menshou is in an alternate dimension or the world is going to be saved since Akira married at 22...
Imonoyama Tsuzuku, one of Nokoru's older brothers (he's 8 years older than Nokoru) was a CLAMP Gakuen student in his elementary years and so Sasaki Keiji. Since CLAMP Gakuen is a rather big complex I do think it took some years to be built so it had to be ready before Nokoru's birth or at least before he could go to kindergarten.
While CLAMP never said Seishiro didn't go to CLAMP Gakuen Seishiro's uniform is definitely not CLAMP Gakuen one in the sidestory in which he kills his mother or in the one in which he met Subaru. CLAMP uniform is buttonless and the pin indicating the students' class is different. Since CLAMP Gakuen didn't require the use of the uniform Seishiro might have adopted another (Kobayashi Ryusuke [and also some Hagunsei Senki chara if I'm not wrong] wore a slightly different version of the uniform with longer jacket) however such a different uniform would make him stand out while at school and, at least in other schools, it's considered a sign of rebellion. If he's wearing it to not be recognized as a CLAMP student... well, Subaru should have noticed not only the pin but also the uniform. Also CLAMP gakuen already have a special class... it's class Z that's why you see a Z on the pins. It collects the best students no matter their economical situation (in 'CLAMP Gakuen Kaikigenshou Kenkyuukai Jiken Files' you can see that students from other classes have different letters on the pin). The I on Seishiro's pin likely mean he's in a school that calls classes using roman numbers like Saiki, one of Shidou Hikaru's brother (a 'Rayearth' chara) or Mihara Ojiro's (an 'Angelic Layer' chara whose unifrm looks very close to Seishiro's one) one.
I re-read CLAMP Gakuen Tantei-dan but I couldn't find a vice-headmistress, just the Rijichou and founder, Imonoyama Rarisa. Also, according to 'X' she altered the CLAMP Gakuen to look as it is in the manga after talking with Kamui's mother. Since the CLAMP Gakuen is shielded with various techniques the Sumeragi might have had a hand in it but so should have other experts because, according to TB it's forbidden to use different types of magics... (which make me think Seishiro bent rules when he used rune magic... or is it part of Onmyoudo? I couldn't find this info...) Nokoru inherited the place of Rijichou from Rarisa.
Also... according to the Italian translation when Subaru met Seishiro the first time Subaru's grandmother was at the Kunaicho (in Chiyoda-ku, Marunouchi). CLAMP Gakuen is approssimatively in Minato-ku, Odaiba... quite far from it...

[jjblue1.livejournal.com]

It's unsure if Seishiro went to live with his mother after he met her at 9. During the conversation they have in the drama cd he's in Junior High and it's said he's visiting her, apparently implying he didn't live with her.
According to Nokoru CLAMP Gakuen temperature is controlled by air conditioners only, not by the Campus magic which should be only working as seal to protect the Shinken. However I think you can stretch it and use it to keep the plants green as well.
Subaru also saw Seishiro's Shiki in TB but he might not have ever connected the Shiki he met inside Mizuki to Seishiro... and he might have forgot/be too out of it to remember Seishiro's Shiki fought with his grandmother's one...
Also it isn't sure if Subaru followed Seishiro's power when they first met. The translation said he felt being called, found a tree that harbored the grudges and the hatred of many. Later when Subaru's grandmother will reach him the sakura will disappear in a flutter of petals as Seishiro's illusions usually do. Anyway Subaru sensed a call but it's never said it was a call of power. It might be he sensed the hatred. As for from who the hatred came... that's unsaid. However since Seishiro had killed a girl and Seishiro kills who threat Japan's well being it might be that the apparently harmless little girl was a murderer like the girls in 'Call' and that the hatred was caused by her (I would assume Seishiro would shield from hatred from his victims because it can have negative consequences...) However you can assume he sensed the Sakurazukamori's power. I know I did in a fic.

On a sidenote: for the Subaru and Seishiro's Shikigami thing... it's not canonically stated however it might be that the birds Subaru and Seishiro create with Ofuda aren't Shiki in the real sense of the world.
I've been making researches about them... there are no clear info however the definition of Shikigami seems to fit more to the bird Subaru used in 'call' (and that, with the use of an Ofuda, divided into 3 birds) and Seishiro's hawk. 'Yami no Matsuei' calls the creatures made with Ofuda Tsukaima (=usable magic).
Shikigami should be more powerful than Tsukaima...
And no, this isn't an error you made... and not even a secure canon information... sadly I don't know enough about Onmyoudo to be sure of the overmentioned info...

According to the translation I found 'Nandaro' is the nickname CLAMP used among them for Seishiro's shiki not its name...
'"Place and date of birth of Sumeragi Subaru." He caught Subaru's wrist in a hard grip. "The real ones, not the fakes you gave me at Sunshine 60.' Actually Subaru only gave a fake birthplace. The use of plural should imply he gave both them fake... or it's my lack of English knowledge that's making me see a mistake where there's none? The birthdate was real... and according to Yuko (from xxx HoLic) giving it Subaru gave to Seishiro the right to control his life...
According to TB 1999 the movie Hokuto's spirit is still a ghost capable to possess other people... however I can't understand the Japanese dialogues so I don't know much about it and some do not consider TB 1999 as part of the TB/X continuity.
By the end of X Subaru's hair is almost the same lenght it was on TB... so they arent' that short anymore...

[jjblue1.livejournal.com]

I don't know if this is wanted but I'm not sure Nokoru's name can be shortened in ''koru'... I've read an article about how Japanese shortened names that seemed to imply that they cut the ending and not the beginning... however I know some rare case of names from which the beginning was cut... so, unless you already did it, I suggest to check this one with someone with Japanese knowledge...
Not really an error but I do wonder how Suoh discovered the Sakurazukamori chased his prey for a year but not who the prey was. The only ones who knew were Seishiro, Subaru, Subaru's grandmother and maybe someone in the Sumeragi's family. Somehow it seems difficult they mentioned it to the Takamura's family... Suoh was informed by Hinoto or someone whom, like her, can know things through dreams, magic and such?
Fancanon assumes that the Sakurazukamori's victims are buried under the tree, ergo Hokuto's body had never been found... however Subaru's grandmother received a call informing her of her demise. Unless it was Seishiro that likely means someone found secure proof she died. Plus in TB and X we never see Seishiro buring bodies but discharging them where they are carelessly. Ergo Hokuto shouldn't have been considered missing...
The final battle (or at least the battle presented in what will be Vol. 19) didn't take place on Tokyo Tower. To my shame I admit I hadn't managed to recognize the place however you can see Kamui looking at Tokyo Tower that looks quite distant from where he and Fuma are...

Just wondering... the two dragons are inspired by the X movie?

BTW, according to my researches it's Subaru's house is in 'Kinki-chiho - Kyoto-fu - Kyoto-shi - Ukyo-ku - Sagano'.
CLAMP Gakuen have a whole hospital placed near it's center... so I think it's more likely the university would have an infirmary.
CLAMP didn't state where Togakushi Jinja is... however when Yuto left it to go to Shinjuku he used the Yamanote-sen and called Kanoe from Ikebukuro-eki which I assume was the closest station to where he was. Yamanote-sen have no stations in Edogawa... and I think if he was to take another line he would have said...
I don't know if Fuma, being a minor, can be Kamui's guardian... I couldn't find any info about it, sorry...

And I would love if you were to friend me but I warn you... on my journal there's nothing too interesting and it's often written in poor English...
Can I friend you as well?
And my apologies for such a long reply...

[akk]

1. 'koru, was checked. It's an unusual & informal choice, but given name & nickname rules are somewhat flexible as long as the people in question are comfortable with it.

2. Suoh is kind of suspicious about Seishiro and since the Sakurazukamori is supposedly a fairytale, he keeps his ear close to the rumors & old-wives-talk.
ANd of course, are you sure he didn't know it was Subaru? ;)

3. Hokuto's disappearance. Yes. That is a troublesome aspect, I spotted myself - unfortunately, only after that part was written. I decided to live with the error in this regard.
And I never stated that there are bodies buried. Please! Crime Scene Investigations would have a field day then!

4. I didn't recognize the place in Vol. 19, either. I decided for a place that worked for the fic and didn't contradict the drawings that much.

5. No, the dragons per se are inspired by the manga & animation. That there are two is due to the nature of the Taiji symbol of the Dao. :)

6. TB German gives the Sumeragi Estate in Sagano, Kyoto. The rest was my choice of scenery.

7. I didn't find a hint of where Togakushi is. I needed a place far off, so I decided to put it in the East. Deduction of locations is always ... a guess if you can't read the street signs. :)
Did Yuto leave Togakushi or KAmui's flat? That's not identical.

8. Fuma as a minor. No.
But Kamui's papers are conencted with the shrine warden, Fuma's father. So far, no authority stumbled about it. ;)

Sorry for the elongated replies.
And again - thank you for easing my worries about a major goof-up. I think I did reasonably well within my limited choice of story source. :)

[jjblue1.livejournal.com]

1. ^_______^
I should have known you would have checked it!

2. LOL I don't know why but the idea that Subaru's the only one who thinks his feeling for Seishiro aren't noticed by other people amuse me!

3. True you didn't state it. I wrote this checking chap by chap if, maybe, I remembered wrong... but it seems I still shouldn't do work late in the night... sorry...

4. I've just got X 18.5
The pic is clearer than the scans so I'll try to use it to find some clues... however, after reading X should have 21 volumes I've been wondering if the place in which they currently are is truly the place for the last battle or they'll later move on Tokyo Tower and fight there too...
If only CLAMP would consider ending X...

6. the Italian version too. However I checked and the Sagano in Tokyo should be a neighborhood with many temples, as well as Rakushi-sha, the Fallen Persimmon Hut in the Ukyo Ward (or Ukyo-ku). I hadn't been able to find a Sagano ward... unless with Sagano-ku you mean something different from 'ward'...

7. In the manga Yuto and Sorata began fighting just out of Fuma's house. In the manga Kamui's flat is never mentioned/showed (before seeing the anime series I was wondering where the poor boy was sleeping). Kamui's old destroyed house was in the neighbourhood of Fuma's temple if I don't remember wrong.

8. And Fuma's so tall and serious looking people might mistake him for a 20 year old boy... so it fits!

Don't worry, I love long replies... and it was my fault for writing so much in the first place!
You did wonderfully well so don't worry!

[akk]

4. Yes, though on the other hand... we have a lot of fun playing with it as it is, neh?

6. But Subaru travels to Kyoto to meet his grandmother at the estate. So assuming the estate in Tokyo doesn't really make sense.

7. :) One of the parts where I always confuse manga and anime. *sigh*

8. *g*

*blush* thank you!

[akk]

1. Seishiro clearly lives with her just before he kills her as shown in X-manga. The rest is interpretation.

2. the Sakurazukamori kills to protect Japan - or to protect himself if he has been spotted on a job. If the tree is then participating or utensil or whatever is up for imaginative graps. :)

3.temperature control of a large area will affect planted greenery there. Look at small parks enclosed in large cities. They often have leaves and bloom weeks before the plants in the countryside. That's a natural effect actually.

4. "the fakes you gave me" - it's just casual - as in informal - talk. I didn't mean to imply that both are wrong. :)

5. Nandaro is a nickname, right. And I found it cute. There's no name stated for it anywhere as far as I know.

6. Hair length. Ok, you caught me. But he still could use a good hairstylist... ;)

[jjblue1.livejournal.com]

1. I don't know if Seishiro was living with her in the manga or just visiting her again for a couple of days... if you ask me he, at least lived with her the last year before her death... because it just would match the year he spent with Subaru his potential heir.

2. yep but it seems he has to kill to feed the tree as well... because the tree seems to need to be feed. So, if there are no people threatening Japan or spotting him he would have to kill someone, some minor criminal maybe, like the one the tree murdered. (of course it might be the tree knew that guy would be troublesome... and I always wonder if he tried to 'eat' Subaru only because he wanted to push Seishiro at action or because Subaru looked tasty...)

5. Not in the canon we can get. If I've got it right CLAMP said its name in the tale in Shoten... but I can't read it.
On a sidenote: I use nandarou as well despite being just a nickname... *shame on me*

[akk]

1. yes. we have some evidence - and as usual nothing conclusive. Your guess is as good as mine I think. I like yours because of its symmetry with the bet, I prefer mine because of some plot event to come. :)

2. depends on how long the Tree can really forgo sustenance, and when it's just obnoxiously getting on its guardian's nerves. ;)
I think a serial rapist might not be a minor criminal. Also, the terminus "threatening Japan" does include future deeds - think of the reasoning at the MS insitute in TB. "In a few years, you will..."
So there is a preemptive element in it, too. Ever wondered how that agrees with the law of causality? ;)

5. The Shotens are funny, but hardly X or TB canon. They are Clamp's first playing with figures, as far as I know.

[jjblue1.livejournal.com]

1. teaser! admit it, you want me to die of curiosity!

2. A minor criminal in general terms no. But it's a criminal that generally doesn't get sentenced to death (too bad...) and yes, I've wondered if the tree choice was based on how that criminal would affect future events.

5. yep, they are... and i can't jusdge how much canon there's in them until someone will be so kind to translate them...
Most of their canon had been kept but... shadowed... for example the previous Rijichou had been created by an ex-CLAMP member... CLAMP kept it but never showed her face.
Tomoe is a character from Hagunsei Senki. in it she's not Yuto's real sister but they call each other brother and sister (how would I love to get my hands on Hagunsei Senki...).
Anyway all this to say that... with CLAMP you can never know! ^_-

[akk]

1. Nokoru's age - or better: the CCD timeline in relation to X's timeline is a voluntary deviation on my side. I labelled it as such in 36°.

2. The German translation states Subaru's grandmother was at a department (not which one). And since Subaru apparently waited for some time & wandered off, I considered a farther off destination possible.

3. Vice-Headmistress is one of my addendums. CCD itself doesn't include that many details. :)

[jjblue1.livejournal.com]

1. yes, I remember. I thought to mention it anyway because it gave troubles to me too... so I try to spread his birthday's date info as much as I can (*sighs* in a fic I've assumed Subaru and Akira had the same age... I should have really know better...)

2. Sometimes I so wish I could read TB in Japanese and not rely on translations...

3. oh, okay.

[akk]

1. For me it was a deliberate choice that a) worked with my personal feeling for the characters and b) accommodated the background tale (like Akira being married already) to some extend.
X & co. aren't a fandom with truly fixed timelines and therefore... :)

[jjblue1.livejournal.com]

My life would be so much simpler if CLAMP would just give us a timeline to work with...

[akk]

Simpler... and probably more boring?

[jjblue1.livejournal.com]

2. You've probably forgot about this but... I've finally had the chance to check with the Japanese version and yes, she was at Kunaicho (宮内庁): "Imperial Household Agency"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_Household_Agency

[akk]

I didn't forget about it. Luckily, it's unimportant what she told Subaru, since she then went somewhere else. ;)
Thanks for pointing it out, but I don't do "retro-editing". I won't hide the mistakes I made. :)

[jjblue1.livejournal.com]

Oh, it's okay, besides, as you pointed out, it doesn't truly affect your story...
I just thought to share since you said your country's version wasn't clear (and because I was happy that, for once, mine was right. I'm checking the Italian translation with the Japanese version... I can't say I'm happy with it... -_-)

[akk]

Well, comparing translations is a daunting task.

Though I can't say that I'm unhappy with the German translation. For me, it's important that the plot is presented congruent & readable, and that's the case with TB.
The German X for example has some glaring errors even in the German text (Seishiro spelled Seiichiro once!) which makes it a lot harder to deal with.
However, when writing something I have to decide on what I want to base the story, and of course, I base it on the books and material I have at hand and can easily read (as in German and English in my case).

The IHA being granny's "official appointment place" fits actually quite well, considering that Subaru was left to wait in the Kokyo Gaien...
...and I like the connection that makes between the Sumeragi and the IHA there. It might fit well a tad later in the plot...
*beware the multiplying carnivorous plot-cherries here*

[akk]

Forgot earlier:
using magic in Onmyodo.
there's a talk between Seishiro and Subaru in TB related with the Call story, right?
For me, their statements basically mean that there are kinds of magic - like religious magics etc. - they won't use, because the magical backlash (sakanagi) is too severe to contemplate those. It is not stated that any kind of magic is explicitly forbidden.
Onmyodo (or Onmyojitsu) as a belief system is actually an amalgamat of Buddhism, Shintoism, Taoism, Tantra and a good measure of the Indian Veda gods. Wikipedia (English) has an entry about it, if you are interested.
So Seishiro using runes is not against the rules of Onmyodo. It's actually just not part of the art, because as a magical system, runes are completely different - you pay them beforehand (in cash, so to speak) and not afterwards by enduring sakanagi. ;)
But the runes / Subaru's ancestor spirit in the basement is a story thread I yet have to close properly.

[jjblue1.livejournal.com]

I'll pay to get a comprensive text explaining how Onmyoudo work in TB...

S&S said using other types of magic is taboo and that Subaru, or a professional, wouldn't do it (Seishiro however didn't say if he would do it or not... and I think that, should it be useful to him, Seishiro would happily step over Onmyoudo's rules...)

I can't remember in which type of magic runes are used (in the past I did researches of magic types but I admit I can't remember them right now) but from your note I got the impression they were from German magic (it might be just me... I'll pay to be better at English...) so likely out from Onmyoudo magic...

Onmyoudo's rules seem rather complex... Subaru can't even have his future predicted... however his grandmother had a vision over him... (another thing I'd like to know was how the Kakai works... I couldn't find it in all the net... maybe Subaru's grandmother's vision was incidental and not done by purpose so she didn't break rules... or maybe it's okay to see the future of an Onmyouji if he's a family member... but then I wonder... Hinoto and Kakyou were also forbidden to see Subaru and Seishiro's future or they were powerful enough to bent rules?... sorry, I'm rambling, I'll quit...)

[akk]

1. Onmyodo is no specific invention for TBX, so I assume a general approach based on the listed beliefs. For how it is handled in TBX, we can refer to the scenes / fights shown and extrapolate from there.

2. I've seen quite a lot of variations in the translations of that talk between them about the use of other magics. The point is: Subaru knows them as well, but he wouldn't use them (out of respect, taboo, etc.). It is not stated that onmyodo explicitly forbids other magic (at least not in the German version) but the abuse of them. That's not quite the same.

3. Runes are Nordic magic, used by ancient vikings, Germanic, Celtic, and Anglo-Saxon tribes. It is a fundamentally European style without a comparable element in the Asian myths and magics on which Onmyodo is based.

4. Not everything the Sumeragi do is based on the rules for onmyodo. There are a lot of old customs and rituals related to Shintoism and tradition, not magic. Not to seek out a fortune-teller seems to be one of the family customs. Asking the fire at the monthly festival about the savety of the relatives is another custom.

5. Hinoto and Kakyo...
well, as stated somewhere - "A dreamseer can only see the future of the reality *that is*. If reality changes (thanks, Dao), it's a new reality and until that reality happens, a dreamseer can't see the future of it. (that's my explanation - the whole topic is very far off anything addressed in the manga or elsewhere)
Hence, Kakyo believed the final battle was to be decided and the world ended. The reality ended indeed - to be replaced by an altered version of it. Again (thanks, Dao). *g*
As for Hinoto...
she's got a mad split personality disorder! ;)

6. The spirit is much in the future right now. But I woN't close the story without getting the disagreeable sod out of Seishiro's basement. I'm sure, he has better use for the room than stacking it up in ancient Sumeragis!

[jjblue1.livejournal.com]

4. I so would like to know also how the Sumeragi family works... I've done researches over family clans but I didn't came up with much...

5. LOL Poor Hinoto... I don't know why but I've never liked her... it's interesting how Kotori managed to see what Kakyou and Hinoto couldn't see despite her gift being latent... I do wonder if she would have ended up much more powerful than them...

6. LOL
But Seishiro seems to like to have Sumeragi in his house... well, no, actually only one Sumeragi... and maybe he'd like a bit of privacy! ^_-

[akk]

4. Try the books of Lafcadio Hearn about Japan. They are up in English at Project Gutenberg. I found them rather helpful when depicting a very traditional Sumeragi Clan. Of course, my take on them might be more strict and archaic than others. :)

5. I'm not sure Kotori saw anything. She could also be just a young girl dreaming.

6. I think he's very specific about which Sumeragi. And greatgreatgreatgreat...greatgrandpaps is certainly *not* that one. ;)

[jjblue1.livejournal.com]

Sorry, incidentally I pushed the send button before ending what I've to say...

Oh, more on the spirit? Now you're making me really curious...