It's already 2012. Time flies by so quickly that it frightens me. This year has been a busy year, very work-focused. Truthfully, it wasn't the best year at all, and I spent a good portion of it with a horrible cold, but that's that. This coming year is the "Year of the Black Dragon."
I was very excited when I heard that CLAMP designed a wedding dress for the Tokyo Bridal Collection, unveiled Christmas Eve. I think it fits the Card Captor Sakura image very well, though I had envisioned something a bit more elaborate, but I think it's just given that paper does not always translate well to real life. I prefer it modeled than on display. I wish I can see a close up of CLAMP's new CCS artwork.
Anyhow, when I heard about CLAMP designing the wedding dress, I couldn't help thinking CLAMP and I are in sync. It'll make more sense with Chapter 68 of New Trials. As for any New Year's resolution? Finish the new chapters of New Trials of Card Captor Sakura in a timely manner. In fact, the immediate goal: finish Chapter 68. It' getting there!
Happy New Year 2012!!!
I'll leave you with one of my favorite songs from Kokia, Time to Say Goodbye. It has that bittersweet tone befitting the end of one year and starting a new one.
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.
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.
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!)
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.
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...
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). >.<
