Merry Christmas 2011!

Sakura and Syaoran Snowman by ~wishluv on deviantART
I was doodling another Christmas chibi picture as a continuation of last year's doodle but changed my mind last minute because I wanted to draw something more snowy. Luckily, it took very little time.

Merry Christmas 2011!




I love Trans-Siberian Orchestra for Christmas (and in the middle of summer too). While I like both versions of Christmas Canon, I like the children's choir version slightly more than the Christmas Canon Rock version, just because the choir version sounds so angelic.

Happy Halloween! Who's afraid of the big bad wolf?

Two steps forward and one step back. It's strange how time passes by and you feel like you're getting nowhere, yet I realize I am closer to my dream than I have ever been been before. 

To explain my delay in updates, it's because I've been working six days a week, sometimes seven, 11 hours a day. Somehow, I'm doing what I love best, writing, though journalism is not exactly the kind of writing I wanted to do though it is interesting and a bit mind-boggling. Yes, I think I've wanted to write since I was age eight, and I wanted to write fiction. Journalism writing is quite different from fiction writing, but there's still a lot to learn. This makes me feel a little guilty because I know people whose dream is journalism but hey, life doesn't always take you where you plan. Either way, I've gotten a precious opportunity cultivate my writing skills for a change, and I feel like I'm getting a little bit closer to my ultimate dream. Or not. Who knows.

Chapter 68 is probably 70% complete. Maybe more; there are times when I get really stuck on chapters, but this chapter, it's been so much fun to write, but I'm just too tired to write at the end of the day. I hope Chapter 68 will be fun because I think all the main characters will have a storyline for a change. 

The fanart is just a doodle I drew last year when I thought, "I want to draw Syaoran as the big bad wolf." And Sakura's Little Red Riding Hood. It's not really finished though. Anyhow, I thought it fit the Halloween theme.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN 2011!


Here is an awesome Card Captor Sakura and New Trials AMV to Avril Lavigne's I'm With You made and sung by Hazuki Goldair, with rewritten lyrics to match New Trials! Thank you very much, Hazuki-chan! Check out Syaoran the Waiter Boy if you haven't already, also sung by Hazuki Goldair.

New Trials Manga Doujinshi by Asocialcat

One of the greatest joys in me writing the New Trials of Card Captor Sakura over the years was undeniably the awesome fanwork that I have seen inspired, even in the tiniest bit, by my writing (which in itself is a fanwork inspired by CLAMP). I have seen spin-off fanfiction, fanart and many other creative projects and am always eager to see all the creativity out there. I got a request to make New Trials into a doujinshi many years ago from a reader in Asia, but I never really heard back about the results. Some time last December, Asocialcat (from the Yahoo Group) asked if she could make a manga out of New Trials. I said definitely yes. And as you know, I went in MIA for a while. Somehow, half a year or so has passed by, and Asocialcat-sama has completed the first chapter!

It's a whopping 74 pages. 74 pages!!! It's as many chapters drawn as the average New Trials Chapter, and I know how painstaking it is to draw even a page. Truthfully speaking, I haven't looked back at the first chapter in a long time, and it was so fun reading the chapter in manga-format. It was fun reading it, and I felt like I was reading everything for the first time just because it's in a different medium. I told Asocialcat to take whatever liberality she wants to take with the story, but overall, the first chapter is very faithful to Chapter 1: A New Beginning. I love how you can see how much thought she put into each panel and page, and truthfully am a bit overwhelmed at thinking how much time the project took her. I had so much fun reading the doujinshi, so please go ahead and check it out! here: http://www.butterflyspell.com/ntmanga/

This is a message from our humble Vanessa-sensei (aka Asocialcat): "I apologize for the inconsistent character designs and sketchy artwork. I promise that it'll get better as I get more comfortable. Also, I am planning on getting as far as I can into the series, but don't expect it to be an exact replica of Wish-chan's work. After all, I'm making a sequel to the manga and not the anime, whereas Wish-chan tends to follow the anime more often than the manga." 

She is just being overly humble, and she is a very talented artist, writer, singer and pianist, a little bit like our Tomoyo-chan. ^_^ She is a very talented young lady, and do check out her site at: http://www.asocialcat.butterflyspell.com/ and give her feedback either via the New Trials Yahoo Group or at the New Trials Facebook Group (and please join either group if you have not already done so!)  

Happy Birthday Li Syaoran 2011!

Syaoran's Birthday Omake by ~wishluv on deviantART

I'm pretty sure I've celebrated Syaoran's birthday far more frequently than I have Sakura's at this point, though I've probably missed it quite a few times since I have become a fan of Card Captor Sakura. Syaoran's just luckier that his birthday falls in a less busy time of the year, smack in the middle of summer. 

Shockingly enough, I wrote Syaoran's Birthday Special, "Small Wolf's Most Precious Birthday" a decade ago, and to celebrate its ten year anniversary, I finally edited it and reformatted the funky script that kept appearing on the chapter. I'm sorry it took so long to do that. I didn't realize how bad it was! Anyhow, I could really tell the one-shot was a one-shot, because apparently, I didn't even edit it before publishing it. I kept editing minimal, in spirit of keeping the high schooler Wish-chan's writing alive. I think rereading my own writing, I was impressed at how carefree things were back in the golden era of Arc 2 and also somehow I kept foreshadowing things back then. I wonder if the fifteen year old me knew that I would still be writing the same story ten years later. Probably not. 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LI SYAORAN JULY 13, 2011!

Character Spotlight: Daidouji Tomoyo

Cendrillon - Tomoyo and Eriol by ~wishluv on deviantART

Tomoyo versus Eriol. Who would win in a duel of wits? I would say Tomoyo because she has the higher EQ of the two. Daidouji Tomoyo of Card Captor Sakura fame is one of the most beloved shoujo best friends of all time. She is a talented seamstress, budding filmmaker, amazing songstress and beautiful and kindhearted to boot. Not only that but she's the daughter of the president of a huge toy-making company and has six female bodyguards who escorts her all the time and a personal chauffeur. Who came beat her awesomeness?

Writing an older Tomoyo in my fanfiction, the New Trials of Card Captor Sakura was challenging and immensely enjoyable as well. Tomoyo was voted by readers as the number one character they were most similar to. Unsurprisingly, out of the large cast of characters, I would also liken myself to Tomoyo; not in terms of visual or her many hobbies, but because of her personality type as the observer. Of course, it is very difficult to be as selfless and nice as Tomoyo, but I feel like Tomoyo's numerous hobbies and obsession with Sakura in its own way veils a deep insecurity within herself as well. 

There are many Tomoyo+Eriol shippers out there, and while I am not completely convinced about a romantic relationship between the two, I am fascinated by the relationship they do have. The reason why Tomoyo's relationship with Eriol is special is not because of romantic ones but because Eriol is the only character in CCS (and consequently in New Trials) who can probably see through the poise. She is also the only person he seems to recognize as an equal as opposed to his playthings (with the exception of Mizuki Kaho, of course, though we are shown very minimal interaction between the two in the manga). I really enjoy writing scenes between the two because I think they really have a different dynamic than any of the other characters in New Trials. I haven't been able to include much Tomoyo in Arc 4 of New Trials yet, but hopefully Chapter 68 will be time for more Tomoyo awesomeness.  

Today's music spotlight is Kokia. I think if Maaya Sakamoto was not associated with Tomoyo already, Kokia's voice is one I would equate to for and older Tomoyo's singing voice. Kokia is an artist I have liked for years now, and I believe she is rather underrated. She is a talented singer and composer and the clarity and beauty of her voice I think makes her stand out amongst the other J-Pop artists. She was trained in opera as well, and some of her later songs show the true range of her voice. "Ningen tte sonna mono ne" has a long title that is rather difficult to remember, but it roughly translates to "Humans are like that." It's a song that's hard to translate because it doesn't use the personal pronoun, but it's uplifting yet mellow. Something about the timbre of the song reminds me of Tomoyo. 


If you haven't checked out the new Valentine's Day Special, check it out on my website!  4 more days till Syaoran's birthday!

Song: Ningen tte sonna mono ne - "Humans Are Like That, Aren't They?"
Singer: Kokia

Translation: Translated by Wish-chan from Korean with reference to here

Kokia - 人間ってそんなものね

kanpeki na risou ni naritakatta no?
dareka wo maneteta dake deshou?
donna tobikata datte yokatta no yo?
tobitatsu yuuki ga daiji nan deshou?
“mou dame da nante” ittari mo suru kedo

Did you want to become your perfect ideal?

You were only trying to imitate someone, weren't you?
Any way of flying was all right, wasn't it?
The most important thing is the courage to take flight, isn't it?
“It's no use,” we are used to saying, but...

naite waratte nayande okite
kanjiru subete ga jibun ni natteku
ikiru tte jibun de iru tte
atarimae no shiawase ga ureshii 
shinjiru tte ganbaru tte
sono tabi nandomo yarinaoshite
ningen tte sonna mono ne
yurushiaeru tte subarashii

Crying, laughing, worrying, waking up,
Feeling everything, I become who I am
Living, being myself,
Such simple happiness makes me happy
Believing, trying my best,

Each time, being able to start over again and again
Humans are like that, aren’t they?
The way we can forgive each other is wonderful

kakkotsukeru no wa tsukareta desho?
angai daremo ki ni shite nai yo
meiwaku wo kakeru no wa iya da nante
hitori de aruite kita tsumori na no?
ningen tte…

Aren't you tired of trying to look good?
Unexpectedly, nobody really cares

Not wanting to cause others trouble,
Did you make up your mind to walk alone?
Humans are…

tasukeatte kata kashiatte
sukoshi susunde wa tachidomatte
iki wo suite shinkokyuu shite
tama ni wa tameiki tsuitari shinagara
naite waratte nayande okite
kanjiru subete ga jibun ni natteku
ningen tte sonna mono ne
yurushiaeru tte subarashii

Helping each other, lending each other a shoulder,

Advancing a little then taking a stop,
Breathing in, taking a deep breath,
Sometimes sighing as well
Crying, laughing, worrying, waking up
Feeling everything, I become who I am
Humans are like that, aren’t they?
The way we can forgive each other is wonderful

shiawase na toki wa dareka to
wakachiau nara
sorenara kurushii toki ni mo
hitori ja nai
dareka to kyouyuu dekiru yorokobi

If you share the happy times with someone
If that’s the case, even in painful times
you are not alone
That's the joy of being able to share with someone

tasukeatte kata kashiatte
sukoshi susunde wa tachidomatte
iki wo suite shinkokyuu shite
tama ni wa tameiki tsuitari shinagara
naite waratte nayande okite
kanjiru subete ga jibun ni natteku
ningen tte sonna mono ne
yurushiaeru tte subarashii

Helping each other, lending a shoulder to each other
Advancing a little, stopping
Breathing in, taking a deep breath
Sometimes with a sigh attached
Crying, laughing, worrying, getting up
Feeling everything, we become ourselves
Humans are like that, aren’t they?
Sharing with each other is wonderful

tasukeatte kata kashiatte
sukoshi susunde wa tachidomatte
iki wo suite shinkokyuu shite
tama ni wa tameiki tsuitari shinagara
naite waratte nayande okite
kanjiru subete ga jibun ni natteku
ningen tte sonna mono ne
yurushiaeru tte subarashii

Advancing a little then stopping,
Breathing in, taking a deep breath
Sometimes sighing as well
Crying, laughing, worrying, waking up 
Feeling everything, I become who I am
Humans are like that, aren’t they? 
The way we can forgive each other is wonderful

hadaka no watashitachi wa daremo ga
yowasa ya sabishisa no naka ni
atataka na nukumori wo sagashite
dou ni ka susumou to shiteru…

We who are naked,
amid weakness and loneliness
are somehow trying to move forward to search for a little warmth...
 

New Trials Update: Valentine's Day Special - The Ring

Waiter Syaoran and Sakura by ~wishluv on deviantART

I never realized that the downside of having a blog is having a clear reminder of the how long you have been absent. Is it an oxymoron to say didn't realize I have been absent for so long, but at the same time, I was constantly thinking of how long it's been since I have updated? Many apologies for my long absence (work and sickness-induced). Though I would say the sickness was just a three-month long common cold/ bronchitis which resulted in over-the-counter medication hence constant drowsiness in the evenings when I got home from work, since I've been working pretty much 11 hour days for the past four months. I really don't know what is the greater evil: college applications, senior thesis (hundred and fifty pages galore) or work. Or an island without internet connection. All of which I have been at one point before in my decade of fanfiction writing, which consequently induced periods of being MIA.

A longer apology is included with the Valentine's Day Special: The Ring. It's a complete fluff chapter, but it is semi-plot relevant. Nah, not really. I just enjoy writing Nadeshiko and Ryuuren scenes where I can squeeze them in.

Well, it's July 7, so should we officially start the countdown till Syaoran's birthday? Yup, it's only Syaoran's birthday, not even Sakura's, that can draw me out of seclusion. Just kidding. Many apologies for missing Sakura's birthday. It just falls at the horrible time of the year. I think I've missed Sakura's birthday many more times than I have missed Syaoran's. Well, six more days to go!

Update: I just logged into the Yahoo Group after long months of absence, and sorry!!! I am not dead, and luckily, I wasn't in Japan during the time of the earthquake either, though I had originally been planning a Japan-trip around that time of the year before work to precedence over everything. I was simply brain-dead over the past couple months, that's all. Perhaps deprivation of oxygen and phlegmy coughing-induced exhaustion, from wake up, work, eat, stare at TV or computer screen then fall asleep from cold medicine (and I used to be a firm believer of cold medicines being just placebo effects). >.<

Music Spotlight: Chihiro Onitsuka

 Chihiro Onitsuka belongs in my top three list of favorite Japanese female artists (though I admit it changes from time to 
time.) I was first introduced to her during the "Watashi to Waltz o" era, which was the theme song to the third season of the popular Japanese drama "Trick," starring the beautiful Nakama Yukie and Hiroshi Abe. The song was immensely popular with my Korean friends who were not necessarily J-Pop gurus and can be arguable one of her catchiest songs. "Infection" and "Watashi to Waltz o" were repeated on my playlist during Arc 3 era of New Trials. In fact, Chihiro Onitsuka's albums have been consistently been on my playlist for the past 5-6 years while writing New Trials. There are songs that I get addicted to because they are new and trendy at the moment, and there are songs that I will always return to listen to years later and find them just as amazing as when I first heard them. That's the kind of artist Chihiro Onitsuka is. I read some time ago in a CLAMP interview for Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle that Ohkawa Ageha-sensei listens to Chihiro Onitsuka as well. She mentioned that when she was writing the wing scene for Sakura, Chihiro Onitsuka's "Sign" was constantly on replay, so I dug up the lyrics and really found how the lyrics could relate to that scene and Sakura. (Ohkawa-sensei also said she listened to Da Pump's Wadachi while drawing Kurogane's past, and likewise, I hunted up the song and it was on my workout playlist for a while; the song's great, it's "oriental-inpsired" with a cool beat and masculine lyrics befitting our favorite ninja. Somehow, when I read about Ohkawa-sensei's music sense, it made me feel closer to understanding her (she who insists on gouging eyes and severing limbs). After all, music is such a big inspiration for me when writing, and it makes me feel like I'm on the right track with New Trials when my music taste seems to coincide with CLAMP's (aka Maaya Sakamoto and Yoko Kanno)! 

Chihiro Onitsuka's songs to me bear a level of heart-rendering poignancy that I think is difficult to find in artists anywhere in the world. She is an artist whose songs and lyrics seem to come from a burden in her soul, and when she sings, she seems to urgently transmit this immense energy unimaginable coming from such a small, frail body. Many of her songs seem to convey a quiet sort of desperation that seems to build up and up and explode with her chorus. She holds the complete package: composition, lyrics AND voice. Not to mention she's a beautiful woman as well, though there are times when she has been dangerously skinny due to an ongoing battle against an eating disorder amongst other events troubling her life.

Shine (Album Version). Shine was Chihiro Onitsuka's debut single. I prefer the Album Version to the Single Version because the Album Ver. is more stripped down and raw with just a piano accompaniment, whereas the Single Ver. is almost deceivingly upbeat; the beat sounds very Nineties J-pop and a bit jazzy to me. The song is perhaps her most depressing songs and very resounding. Chihiro Onitsuka's forte is piano ballads, and I really don't think I've heard anything like this and this song grew on me the more I listened to it over the years. She displays the full extent of her alto, slightly husky powerful voice. Again, I don't know how such a deep, strong voice comes from a tiny woman. 

 Infection. This might be my favorite Chihiro Onitsuka song because it was one of the first ones I ever listened to and it's very haunting, the way the song starts out softly, quietly and just seems to grow and grow and explode into her full vocals in the chorus. The piano and soft strings accompaniment is all that is needed and simply highlights Chihiro Onitsuka's voice. The lyrics are full of poignant imagery, especially in the chorus:

An explosion has ripped apart the shattered fragments of my heart
And although now all I see are glittering lights all around me
When, I wonder, did I become this weak?

Chihiro Onitsuka as a child is said to have started writing poetry before she got into music-writing, and you can tell. She is one of the rare musicians who has mastered artistry in the triple-field: vocal, music composition and lyric composition. She doesn't sing your cookie-cutter love songs. Her songs carry strong imagery and symbolism and are "poetry" that have meanings as opposed to random compilations of words used to match the music. I do appreciate songs that use such such subtle mechanisms as opposed to in your face lyrics or catch-phrases popular in the industry today. And the beauty is, you don't have to understand the language or the meaning to be able to understand her song; she conveys it simply with the strength of her voice and music alone, but it's a bonus when you understand the lyrics as well. She received a lyric prize for "Memai," a subtley uplifting song that is needed to cheer you up after you listen to some of her darker songs. Onitsuka Chihiro's songs 

"Gekkou" or "Moonlight" is the song that catapulted Chihiro Onitsuka to fame and is her best-selling single to date. Here, you can see Onitsuka's Christian roots with the religious imagery in the lyrics "I am God's child, set down upon this decayed Earth/ How do I live on such a field?/ This isn’t why I was born..." This was the theme song to the first season of the subsequently popular "Trick" franchise, and it's a poignant song. I am not sure if I prefer the Album Version or the Single Version. I do like the simple piano and soft guitar accompaniment of the Single Ver., but the Album Ver. starts out with a beautiful acapella vocal accompaniment. She sounds even more awesome in the live version, where she starts off acapella, and the intensity of her voice just blows you away. 

 

"Watashi wo Walz o" is the song that introduced me to Chihiro Onitsuka and made me wonder "who is this woman with such a powerful voice." The song reminds me of a surreal foggy bluish ballroom in a swirling Cinderella-esque scene. It's the theme song to the third season to "Trick." I thought "Gekkou" was very befitting to the drama's theme, but I personally haven't figured out how this song relates to the theme of "Trick." When I first heard the song, I thought it was from a different decade, from an older, veteran artist. Onitsuka definitely does not have a typical "J-pop" voice. Her "Gekkou" lives are more powerful, but the instrumentals in this live version was awesome.

I have to admit, Chihiro Onitsuka's pre-hiatus (circa 2003) songs are a bit stronger. Since then, she went through a throat surgery, changed record labels and recovered from an eating disorder and went through a two-year hiatus until she made a comeback in 2007. She has mentioned that "Everyhome" is a song she believes will remain through time as her representative work. Truthfully, it didn't make much of an impact on me the first time I heard it, especially since some of her earlier songs were so powerful, but this is a song that grows on you with listening and becomes really resonant. The lyrics rather remind me of Kai. It's sad that Chihiro Onitsuka's voice doesn't have the same level of control from before surgery, but it's still powerful and beautiful (albeit not autotune, computerized artificial-perfection). I love my standard pop and rock but Chihiro Onitsuka seems to bare her heart in her songs, especially if you listen to her live performances, and I know I will be listening to her songs for many years in the future. I hope her the best in her future works!

New Trials Fanwork

Reunion of Hearts by *selenityshiroi on deviantART

The artwork is by our talented Selenity Shiroi who has illustrated a scene from the latest New Trials chapter. I'm so excited she drew it, because it's a scene I wanted to be drawn! 

As you all know, the readers of New Trials of CCS are a very talented bunch. Artwork, songs, spin-off fics; there have been numerous artwork (in a very liberal sense of the term) inspired off of Card Captor Sakura and also as a response to New Trials. I think Chapter 67: Sacrifice has had a very good response in terms fan response. Ever since I began writing New Trials. I love, love, loved all the fanart, fanfics, spin-offs, projects, etc. that people have emailed me about. Some of the compiled artwork can be found in the New Trials Devianart group http://newtrials.deviantart.com/ kindly put together by Amethyst Beloved; if you type in "New Trials of Card Captor Sakura" into deviantart, you'll find a plethora of awesome New Trials related artwork. Below is my favorite Meilin + Kai fanart, also by Selenity Shiroi

Meilin And Kai Sunset Ch 53 by *selenityshiroi on deviantART

Similiarly, there have been quite a few New Trials AMV made on youtube. I should probably make a New Trials youtube channel to compile all the videos. Check out Winxc1ub's version of Jinyu dancing the infamous internet meme "Caramelldansen." It's oh so hilarious and wrong, yet so right. I can never look at Jinyu the same way again. 

Kirei Blossom posted up her awesome Tomoyo’s Video Diary: New Trials Edition: ~*The Sniffing Chronicles*~

on the New Trials Yahoo Group today. It's hilarious, check it out! And finally, the Yahoo Group itself is a grounds where numerous people have shared their talents, ranging from singing, (check out Hazuki Goldair's "Syaoran the Waiter Boy" if you haven't already), artwork, found in the Files section, to professional photoshoots such as those of the lovely Melanie Mackey inspired from the Veil Card artwork I did of Syaoran and Blindfolded Sakura. I absolutely adore how the photo shoot turned out, and Melanie made a cameo in New Trials Chapter 63: The Joining of the Circle as the model "Malanie." I just wish I did a better job of compiling and documenting everything from the beginning. But I'm horrible at computer organization. But sometimes I just have fun googling "New Trials of Card Captor Sakura" and seeing all the fun stuff that pops up. 

Anyhow, thank you to all you talented artists, writers, musicians, singers and readers. You all are inspiration to me!

Happy Valentine's Day: "Syaoran the Waiter Boy" AMV

Everybody knows how much I like Broadway. Hazuki Goldair from the Yahoo Group posted up her rendition of Kristin Chenoweth's "Taylor the Latte Boy" aka "Syaoran the Waiter Boy," lyrics written, sung and recorded by herself. First off, I've loved Kristin Chenoweth since Wicked, and I love cabaret-style songs. Kristin Chenoweth oozes awesomeness, and I just love her versatile voice and sense of humor. Hazuki Goldair's rendition of "Syaoran the Waiter Boy" is brilliant as well; the lyrics are witty and hilarious, yet sweet because it's Sakura's POV, a perfect parody of "Taylor the Latte Boy," and it's amazing how well the lyrics fit in with New Trials (I especially love the reference to Chapter 49.5: The Words We Couldn't Say with the white chiffon cake. And I can't shower enough praises on how well Hazuki Goldair sang the song; her voice is beautiful with enough nuance of humor as well for the song. I like it better than the original version, though I guess I'm Syaoran-biased. Sorry Taylor!

After finishing Chapter 67, I had been working on a New Trials Valentine's Day Special Chapter because I realized that I haven't done a Valentine's Day special yet (not a good reason, I know.) Either way, "Syaoran the Waiter Boy" fit in so perfectly with Chapter 67 and the not yet completed Special, and I was inspired to make an AMV out of it, with the permission of our singing math whiz Hazuki Goldair. I swear there are so many talented people on the Yahoo New Trials Group. The lyrics, courtesy Hazuki Goldair, are below. Coincidentally, her birthday is also on Valentine's Day. Happy Birthday!

"Syaoran the Waiter Boy"
Lyrics and song by: Hazuki Goldair from the Yahoo New Trials Group
http://mathgeeksanonymous.blogspot.com/ 

Inspired from Kristin Chenoweth's: "Taylor the Latte Boy"
Composed by: Marcy Heisler and Zina Goldrich

"Syaoran the Waiter Boy" Lyrics

There’s a boy who works at La Seine
Who is very inspirational
He is very inspirational because of many things.

I come in at 4:11, and he smiles and says, “How are you?”
When he smiles and says, “How are you?”
I could swear my heart grows wings!

So today at 4:11
I decided I should meet him
I decided I should meet him
In a proper formal way.

So today at 4:11 when he smiled and said, “How are you?”
I said, “Fine, and my name’s Sakura.”
And he softly answered, “Hey.”
And I said, “My name is Sakura, and thank you for the extra soy…”

And he said his name was Syaoran,
Which provides the inspiration for this poem.

Syaoran, the waiter boy
Bring me stir-fry, bring me joy
Syaoran, the waiter boy
I love him, I love him, I love him…

So I’d like to get my nerve up
To recite my poem musical.
He would like the fact it’s musical
Cuz he plays violin.
So today at 4:11, Syaoran told me he was playing
Tokyo’s symphonic orchestra; he could probably sneak me in.

And he brought out something extra, saying, “Compliments of your chef.”
But I knew he’d made it for me, and he didn’t think I knew.
But I saw him decorate it with pink spun sugar blossoms
And I knew that white chiffon cake meant that Syaoran loved me too!
I said, “What time are you playing? And thank you for this tasty cake…”
He said, “8 PM tomorrow,” and I saw him blush before he ran away.

Syaoran, the waiter boy
Bring me stir-fry, bring me joy
Oh Syaoran, the waiter boy
I love him, I love him, I love him…

I used to be the kind of girl who’d run when love rushed toward her.
But suddenly a voice whispered, “Love can be yours if you sit down at the table and order!”

Syaoran, the waiter boy
Bring me stir-fry, bring me joy
Syaoran, the waiter boy
I love him, I love him, I love him…

So many years my heart has waited,
Who’d have thought that love could be so complicated?
Syaoran, the waiter boy
I love him, I love him, I love him.
I love him, I love him, I love him.

I had fun making this AMV; it's much easier to make a narrative AMV, because I knew pretty much which clips I wanted to use. "Syaoran the Waiter Boy" has been stuck in my head ever since I first heard it, and I'm sure all of you will find it very addicting. Originally, I intended on just using original art, but knowing BOTH CCS and TRC had "waiter" theme episodes, I couldn't resist using them. I wanted to make a story within a story within a story. Well, three parallel existences of Sakura x Syaoran FTW.

I also had fun drawing the Valentine's Day fanart for the ending theme to the AMV to the Card Captor Sakura Season 3 ending theme, "Fruits Candy" sung by Kojima Megumi. I always thought "Fruits Candy" was a very catchy song, and it fit the theme du jour quite well. I never saw the lyrics translation before, and hey, it fit perfectly with the waiter theme! Bad news is, I didn't finish writing the Valentine's Day Special. I didn't expect myself to, because two weeks to write even a short chapter was too ambitious for even me. Maybe by White Day...

Check out the original version of Kristin Chenoweth's "Taylor the Latte Boy." The Rebuttal Song is also hilarious as well. Thanks to Ellie (lunalove101) from the Yahoo Group for pointing it out!

xxxHOLiC Rou Final Chapter: Chapter 213... The End?

Well, following the route of Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle, xxxHolic seems to an abrupt end. I wasn't expecting it at all. I actually haven't been following xxxHolic that faithfully these past 8 years though I think it might be one of CLAMP's most unique works. I finally caught up with the last couple chapters. Spoiler warning...

 
So, I think that xxxHoliic ended along the lines of what I expected. The last chapter was very symbolic with minimal dialogue. The artwork was beautiful as usual, with great use and of black and white space, and I think I never found Yuuko more beautiful before. I am glad we are able to see her again, even in a dream state. Truthfully, I was pretty sure Yuuko will never come back. Watanuki would have been able to come to a new level of growth if he was able to "let go," but I think it's poignant how he shoes not to let go and continue caging his heart up. I was wondering who Yuuko reminded me of this chapter, and I realized it was Ruby Moon, especially with the butterfly obi tied in the back and the hime-haircut. Also, Watanuki looked strangely more like Eriol this last chapter, especially with the Western clothes in the dream, the Clow magic circle and the strangely more round glasses.

I think xxxHolic Rou has tragic yet somehow poignant in that Watanuki is stuck in the same spot as the world around him changes. I was a bit shocked when I heard that Himawari has married. And the most shocking part about this chapter was the fact that a century had lapsed and Doumeki is not Doumeki. I had been counting on xxxHolic to tie up the loose ends of TRC, but so much for that. Time flows differently in the TRC-verse, and since Watanuki is finally released from being bound to the store, I wonder whether Tsubasa!Syaoran can finally return to Tsubasa!Sakura. Or maybe they're all dead already as well. The last time we heard of the TRC crew, it had been 520 days since Tsu!Syaoran had returned back to Tsu!Sakura in xxxHolic Chapter 204.5 whereas over a decade has passed for Watanuki. So almost two years to every ten, if time is constant, which I doubt it is. Twenty years to get back to Sakura, if he ever did make it back. Poor Syaoran. Poor Watanuki, watching all his loved ones grow old and die, leaving only him behind. And he's still stuck in an infinite loop; it's the makings of a great sorcerer *coughClowReedcough*

I followed Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle and xxxHolic less for the plot and more for the characters, and as with TRC, xxxHolic was a good study of Clow Reed for me. Why Clow Reed? I know that Clow doesn't equal Watanuki as many people theorized earlier on, but I do believe that the analogy between Clow Reed's wish/obsession to keep Yuuko alive with Watanuki's desire to see Yuuko again is pretty blatant. It's sort of the trinity of Tsubasa!Syaoran, Clone!Syaoran and Watanuki with the trinity of Clow Reed, Fei Wong Reed and Watanuki, with Watanuki Kimihiro being the intermediary force between the two entities. He's sort of like the Void Card of the Card Captor Sakura Movie 2, the null between space and time dimensions. And I think he is the loneliest of all CLAMP-dom characters. He's not even angsty or angry at his fate; he just is. Doumeki-Watanuki shippers shouldn't despair though; I see their relationship sort of in a Shuichiro-san Kohaku sort of way. Obviously, in the CLAMP world, if you reproduce, your offspring is a clone of you. And Himawari turned out to be just about the most insignificant CLAMP heroine ever. Anyhow, it's obvious that after Watanuki finally dies, they'll all be reincarnated into Horistuba Gakuen. Or maybe Horitsuba Gakuen is heaven. 

Fanart is a quick doodle I did of Yuuko after I finished reading Chapter 213. If xxxHolic had a happy ending a la Card Captor Sakura...

Happy Lunar New Year! Happy 7th Anniversay Yahoo Group!

Cheerleader Kinomoto Sakura by ~wishluv on deviantART

Happy 7th Anniversary Yahoo New Trials Fan Community! The New Trials Ring was launched on February 4, 2004 by the amazing Kirei Blossom and is the biggest active Card Captor Sakura fanfiction Yahoo Group (yes, very specific) on the internet (I think). (And did I count right? I get confused sometimes.) This fanart is dedicated to all of you awesome members of the Group who have provided me endless entertainment, awe and inspiration for the past seven years. It's a shoujo love triangle, and oddly enough, my first "published" fanart of Sakura, Syaoran and Eron together in a fanart. It's about time, right?

Also, Happy 2nd Anniversary wishluv.blogspot.com started on February 3, 2009! I guess February's a pretty eventful month in the New Trials-sphere.

Happy Lunar New Year 2011!!! Can you guess who this it? It's the Black Dragon. Li Jinyu looks brooding and solemn as usual. I'm sure Jinyu's not the best person to celebrate Lunar New Year with, but I made a really rough colored doodle of him the other day. I do have a bunch of concept sketches that I should post up eventually.   

New Trials Update: Chapter 67: The Sacrifice

Sakura Syaoran in the Rain by ~wishluv on deviantART

Yes, it's finally done! Thank you everyone for being so patient. I miss the days when I could edit a chapter in one sitting. Unfortunately, this chapter is in its beta stage (actually, I view the entire New Trials Project as being in its beta stage), but I figured at this rate, I could not keep the "before February" promise. It's been an emotionally draining chapter to write, and the longest one to date, but I am glad it's finally here. I would have liked to spend another month or so on this chapter, but I didn't think readers would be too happy about that.  ^_^;

Without further ado, here's Chapter 67: The Sacrifice.


I do enjoy my pop once in a while, and the remix version is awesome. And face it, who doesn't love Glee?

Happy New Year 2011!

On New Year's Eve, I was at a dinner party with a fortunetelling decor, and each table was laid out with Tarot Cards. I was amused to find the Tarot Cards on my table to be: Sacrifice, Heartache & Loss, Patience and Transformation. Talk about no such thing as coincidence. I'm personally not a very superstitious person, but how can there be a more in-the-face reminder to go finish up New Trials Chapter 67 when the Tarot Card decorations on my dinner table is pretty much spelling out the current chapter's title and themes? Speaking of which, I am in editing process now for the chapter. It's the longest chapter in Arc 4, I think. I couldn't resist taking a photo of the Tarot Cards with a chuckle to myself.

It's 1/1/11! Somehow, time seems to fly by. Happy New Year 2011 and thank you so much for reading my blog and supporting the New Trials of Sakura. I will continue to try my hardest to bring you the best quality chapters!

Song of the day is Ingrid Michaelson's "Parachute," original version of X-Factor's Cheryl Cole's "Parachute." I like both versions, but this one probably is less known. When I write, I usually divide up my playlist into three sections: instrumental (when I can't have lyrics as distractions), mood-setters (songs that get me into the emotion or mood of what I want to write) and contemporary (what ever song is "in" at the moment, songs with good beats. I've been listening to "Parachute" a lot lately since it has a catchy beat, and I do love the imagery of the lyrics as well. Besides, I didn't think I can start off the New Year with an angsty or melancholy song. The tango choreography in Chery Cole's PV is well worth checking out as well, though I admit I'm biased since I've liked Derek Hough since Dancing With the Stars.