I don't know how many times I have posted an updated for Chapter 70 this time around, but without further ado, Chapter 70: Eye of the Dragon is up on my website. Now, you can see it in its unadulterated formatting. But truthfully, it was fun posting up the landmark Chapter 70 Part II up on fanfiction.net first. The lovely Amethyst Beloved has been uploading the chapters up on ff.net for me for years, so I didn't really keep track of the page much. I've been feeling a little bit like the narcoleptic Dormouse in Alice in Wonderland, in contrast to my insomniac days (which is better for writing!). Maybe it's the summer heat and humidity.
Years ago, I tried to do a word count of New Trials and gave up because MS Word crashed. I should have just checked ff.net first. I couldn't believe the series is reaching 1.7 million words--I think it surpassed that number if you count all the side specials like the Legacy of the Five Forces and Kaitou Magician specials. Of course, numbers are only numbers, and as you guys all know I've never been big on stats. My motto was as long as I have one reader, I'll continue writing New Trials. But the continued fan support for this fanfiction again humbles me. You guys who stuck around for 1.7 million words are awesome as well. For reference, the Guinness Word Record holding longest novel is around 1.2 million words. There definitely are longer fanfiction out there (and I don't really have any intentions of breaking records), but I'm sure this is the longest Card Captor Sakura fanfic. It might be the longest shoujo anime fanfic out there, but again, who knows. Conclusion is, kudos to all of you for reading that many words, some over the span of many years, some who have marathoned through the series!
Because the chapter was posted on ff.net first, it was fun to see the stats generated by the website. I don't think I realized I still had so many readers, especially because CCS ended so long ago, so thanks for checking by to read the latest chapters whether on ff.net or by website or backup sites after all these years. Also, I loved reading all the comments on ff.net. I have been very blessed as a writer in the wonderful comments and feedbacks I have received since 1999 via email, the Yahoo Group, Facebook, Bravenet Guestbook, Geocities guestbook, blogposts, etc. Of course, I've seen hotmail delete my inbox, Geocities crash, etc. And Facebook and Yahoo posts are for members only, so I realized how nice it is having a dated record of readers' comments up for the public to see. And I know how for many budding fanfiction writers, each comment is very precious and after all these years, that hasn't changed. I feel blessed to have more than 2,000 comments on ff.net--and this is discounting the much more numerous feedback I've received in many different medium over the years. One of my favorite recent comments was by SnowCharms who said: "I swear, I hate and love you with equal fervor." I'm having a lot of fun reading feedback for this chapter, for it was an experimental format and also one I worked really hard. Interesting stats while I knew I had the most readers from the U.S., that's followed up by the Philippines and India. There are times when I think if the internet disappears, all record of 15 years of work will disappear as well, as I've never printed a single page of New Trials. I probably should in the editing process, but hey, save the trees.
Thanks for pointing out that CLAMP is going to write a new sequel of Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle. So, my dream of a new CCS sequel must have been for a new TRC chapter due in August, darnit. I'm excited for any glimpses of CLAMP Sakura and Syaoran artwork I can get. And who else wants a chibi-Syaoran figurine? How adorable are chibi S+S? How do you get one?
I mentioned in my last post that for Chapter 70 Part II, I had Imagine Dragon's "Demon" in mind. For Part I, I had in mind theThe Band Perry's "If I Die Young." I love the simplicity and poignancy of the song, contrasting with the bright, whimsical music video, reminiscent of Anne of Green Gables and the Lady of Shalott, as Elaine was my favorite Arthurian heroine. Gosh, I despised Sir Lancelot for many different reasons, but I can probably write a whole blogpost or two on King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, probably Syaoran's inspiration for Sakura and her Alliance of the Stars.
I absolutely love Kurt Hugo Schneider's piano rendition of "Demons" as well. I kind of wish there is a nonvocal piano version of the piece--I would totally use it for my writing playlist.
The Tsubasa series will be a mini-series but glad to see a glimpse of Syaoran-tachi. I believe NT is indeed the longest CCS fanfic (haven't read a lot of fics from other shoujo series to know if it is the longest of that category. My friend who's currently in Japan now actually got the Syaoran figure!! So jealous xD and there are so many CCS merchandise being released too, so I can't help but wonder if there ill be something planned for the series. Anyways, once again, we can't thank you enough for all the work you put into New Trials, Wish-chan. ありがとう！
ReplyDeleteWah, I'm jealous of your friend in Japan who got the Syaoran figure! Is it by crane? I'm actually pretty good at cranes. I'm not sure what I would do with it but want it really bad. I too wonder about the new merchandise, but hey, if there is a demand, milk it. Hopefully some of the profits are going to CLAMP though. I really wanted the music box that plays Purachina as well. I'm not even a big merchandise person and the marketing its working on me. Well, Sailor Moon got a reboot, so CCS, probably the other "old" shoujo series with similar popularity can get at least a special manga chapter or an OVA or movie? Or at least some more new official illustrations.
DeleteAnd thanks for letting me know the TRC series is a mini-series. I thought it would just be a one-shot chapter. Who wants to bet Syaoran-tachi are still just wandering around, journeying, separated from Sakura, and run into Watanuki in their travels?
Apparently, there are more CCS figures to be released. There were some announced for Sakura in the first OP outfit, and also Alice in Wonderland outfit. This year would mark CLAMP's 25th anniversary (2 more years for CCS's 20th), so I'm certain there's something huge planned, whether it's the load of merchandise coming out or some series-reboot. There's even an announcement for hi-res release for the CCS theme songs---really excited about that :)
DeleteIf I recall correctly, it was a CCS lottery where you purchase these cards for about 600yen and when you open them they correspond with a category. So the figures are under one and my friend also got clear files and notebooks. She told me about it the day of, and the next day, she checked the store again but they were out already, haha.
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty certain they will meet with Watanuki, since the description for the mini-series was that there would be a connection to the latest Holic series. I am hoping that we see Sakura again at some point though.
I was really curious about the length of the story and found a wonderful community on fanfiction that lists all stories on the site that are over 800k words. NT is indeed the longest shoujo series fanfic and 7th in overall length! The lengthiest I found was 3.7 million though O.o (and still publishing)
ReplyDeleteI absolutely adore your series! I've been reading since 1997 when it was only four-chapters long from what I recall (when I was in year 4). Anyway, I am rereading the entire series again to catch up before I read the new chapters.
ReplyDeleteI'd just like to comment on the 'saving trees' aspect you mentioned and keeping a copy if the internet suddenly died. I actually read new trials on my kindle as there is a Fanfiction Downloader plugin on the ebook manager Calibre which downloads the entire fanfic into epub/.mobi/other format. This will allow it to be in a handy readable format for keeping :)
Thank you for still writing after all these years! It's still my favourite fanfiction ever.