Happy 13th New Trials Anniversary!

Sakura and Syaoran: Till the Sunrise by ~wishluv on deviantART

Being 13 years old, I don't really think I would have envisioned writing this Card Captor Sakura fanfiction 13 years later. So, I don't recall when I really started writing New Trials. All I remember is that it was around fall 1999. That seems so long ago, now. Luckily, years later fans have designated September 1 as the International New Trials Day, and it seems befitting. I am lucky in the fandom I chose because Card Captor Sakura (1996-2000) till this day remains a hugely popular CLAMP work and has had enduring power as a shoujo anime and manga franchise. Firstly, I think CCS is probably one of the best mahou shoujo anime and manga of the last decade and a half, and secondly, CLAMP revisiting the characters of Sakura and Syaoran et. al. in Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles (2003-2009) also helped revive interest in CCS and make it relevant today to a wide group of fans of all ages, male and female and all over the world. It's been three years since TRC ended already--makes me think it's about time for CLAMP to reboot the franchise one more time.

But in the meantime, New Trials has endured all these years. I wish I can have the new chapter ready, but as you all know, I do tend to go MIA when real life takes over. I haven't had a day off in over a year now. Ah, Asian work ethics. Sometimes I miss being a student. Anyhow, the several past months have been hectic. I'm working in journalism at the moment, so I have crazy hours, and I do radio broadcast early in the morning as well. Recently, my mom broke her leg, so I've been staying at the hospital--actually writing this post at the hospital. Just a warning, be careful of rain.

These days, I've been itching to draw since I couldn't for several months. My middle finger that I strained still is stiff and hurts sometimes; I think I overuse it. But it was fun doing none chibi-artwork for a change. I really wanted to draw scenes from Chapter 4: The Camping Trip since I wrote it, and I've been sketching out the scene. So, I finally wanted for the 13th anniverary of New Trials to revisit good old Arc 1 days. 

I also posted up the newly edited and annotated versions of New Trials of CCS Prologue to Chapter 4. I was tempted to do a whole lot of rewriting, but I thought for nostalgia's sake, I would keep editing to a bare minimal, just fixing up typos and grammar mistakes here and there, along with just a few factual consistancy changes.

You can find the newly edited chapters here:
Prologue
Chapter 1: The New Beginning
Chapter 2: The Mysterious Past
Chapter 3: Of Ghosts, Statutes and Quarrrels
Chapter 4: The Camping Trip

The annotations say August 2012, but these five chapters were edited in October 2010, probably right after the shock when revolutionhosing.net went down. So, in case you're all wondering why I'm editing old chapters when I haven't even finished writing Chapter 69, then it's because these edits have already been done, and I've been just too lazy to upload the edits. As for the progress of Arc 4, there's probably around five chapters left, maybe more. When I draw or write side chapters, it's usually when I have a writer's block, but these days, it's because my day job is writing, so I just down have energy to write anymore at home. 

I haven't been able to check my email or really respond to much anything this couple months, but hopefully I'll be able to catch up come fall. (Stupid heat wave this summer which made my brain melt). Seriously, I worry about global climate change but even more about my inability to piece together coherent thoughts when  hot.

This is a meaningful anniversary because it marks that I've been writing the New Trials of Card Captor Sakura for half my life now. It's sort of a sombering knowledge.

It's an awful long time to spend on one fanfiction. But writing this makes me happy, and hopefully it makes others happy or entertained as well, so that's why I keep doing it.

Happy International New Trials Day 2013!

I am always shocked, amazed and delighted by the wonderful creativity that New Trials has spurred, which can be seen collectively here: http://newtrialsfanprojects.weebly.com/updates.html many thanks to the amazingly organized Amethyst Beloved. 

Thank you so much for giving this little big fanwork so much love and support for 13 years! 

Lots of dialogue happening at the New Trials Facebook page these days so check it out!