Happy Halloween 2016! I was supposed to have New Trials of Card Captor Sakura Chapter 73, Part I ready by today in my head, but of course I don't. Fear not, I've not been slacking off. I do try to allocate quite a bit of time a week to writing, but I'm not sure why this chapter is taking so long. I guess I'm cherishing the fluff while it lasts.
I haven't been working on any new fanart because my top priority is Chapter 73, but I am sharing an unfinished doodle from a certain scene in Chapter 72. It is very shoujo-esque and also the reverse of the thunderstorm fanart from year's ago.
I had an awesome dream over the weekend, CCS related. Maybe it's because of the Clear Card Arc and the anticipation of a new movie. But I had a dream I was in a theater and was totally not expecting it but ended up watching a new, never-seen before Card Captor Sakura feature film. The animation quality and cinematography was amazing. Even in my dream though, I knew it was just a "preview" not a whole full movie. I was not expecting it at all, but then Syaoran showed up in the movie too, looking very cool in a new battle costume. That was about it. I came out of the movie and there was a darned long line to get the movie merchandise. How realistic can my unrealistic dreams get? The next night, then, I had an awful but interesting sci-fi dystopian dream of being stuck in a time loop over and over again, where everybody ends up getting killed and I need to find a way to stop the cycle. But it turns out everybody is connected to a pod and the world is just a dream world. What a befitting birthday dream.
Maybe it's because I fell asleep listening to Coldplay's Scientist last night.
Kaitou Magician's Flower by wishluv on DeviantArt For some odd reason, I thought I would be able to finish Chapter 72 in time for Halloween. That was way ambitious, considering I'm probably only 50% finished with the new chapter. Though I did mention I had been writing ahead again. I love how people on Facebook or the Yahoo Group very shrewdly pointed out they do not expect an update till December. You guys know me too well. It's a very self-indulgent chapter, so I've been having fun with it, when I do get a chance to write. I haven't posted a Meilin and Kai fanart for the longest time, I realized. They are one of the most popular pairings, and I love seeing other people's fanart of them. I'm not sure why it took so long for me to post a new fanart of the pair--I think the first of the Mei+Kai pairing that I posted on DeviantArt. Shocking, since we have Kara Reed and Mikai one up already. I grew sick of finishing my main Halloween fanart (of Sakura and Syaoran) and started finishing up an old doodle, which is how "The Magician's Flower" piece came around. In my original sketch, Kai was a vampire though. I like the idea that Kai wears more accessories than Meilin does--because she does martial arts, I get the feeling she wouldn't want to bother with accessories, besides the on Kai forces on her.
Kai is a funny character. I never really planned for him to get together with Meilin or for him to become a part of the main cast. And I used to hate Meilin when she was first introduced in the Card Captor Sakura anime. It's such an embarrassing thought, since I adore her so much now, and I have felt obligated to love her ever since. Thank you so much for all the birthday wish over on Facebook. Totally made my weekend! Do check out the awesome fanart and other fun posts over there! How cute are chibi Sakura and Syaoran by the oh-so-talented Joyce Pantaleon? Happy Halloween 2015!!! Music Spotlight:
When I first heard Magic's "Don't Kill the Magic" I immediately thought of Kaitou Magician. I decided it would be a good choice for his "character song."
Sakura and Syaoran - Masquerade by ~wishluv on deviantART Happy Halloween 2013! I'm a little late this time, unfortunately. Thank you so much for all the birthday wishes. You don't know how much it means to me. And loved all the artwork and vocal talents of everybody.
Thanks Kamaku Lemjane of FB, Draugurok, Saloni Khoja (loved a reverse-harem with long-haired Sakura,and Bubulona20 for awesome fanarts. Hopefully I'm not forgetting anyone. Loved all the song presents too. Kirei Blossom has the sweetest voice ever--a blend of Sakura+Tomoyo in my head. I got excited that you sang "Part of Your World" because everyone knows I'm just a Disney maniac. OLD SCHOOL DISNEY TWO-DIMENSIONAL ARTWORK Disney. Yes, that deserved caps. Anyhow, I had to giggle because I actually had been drawing a Disney-themed Halloween pic but postponed it because it required too much effort. You will see it someday, and I'll dedicate it to you. And Arigatou was so cute! Have you become fluent in Japanese over the years? You sure sound like you are now. I'm debating whether or not to add the links... May I have your permission to do so? But I respect your wishes. Hazuki Goldair of Syaoran the Waiter Boy fame covered one of my all-time favorite songs, "On My Own" from Les Miz and nailed it. And boy do I know what a difficult song it is--you should head on straight to broadway! Between all the musical talent in the New Trials fan community, I'm surprised we haven't been able to make a full-production anime. Lol. One of you two can sing the OST. Best scene of Little Mermaid--Part of Your World Reprise. I think Ariel has the prettiest hair of all the Disney princesses.
Octobers tend to be very hectic, and I've been so busy this month. So when I tuned back in and found out all the lovely fanarts/fanfics/etc. projects that readers have posted up at the New Trials Facebook group for my birthday/Halloween I was beyond delighted, inspired, touched and moved... And thanks Amethyst Beloved for coordinating everything. Tears.... Honorable mention goes to Bubulona's Legacy of the Five Forces fanfic. As I mentioned before, I would love to have more time to work on the Legacy arc but New Trials is a priority, and it was such a pleasant surprise to read about the Great Five (since they are OCs after all). But I have not seen so much CCS+New Trials fanart in one Halloween in a long time and check them out~ Or go to the New Trials Fan Projects page: http://thedarkforceguide.weebly.com/
I was feeling rather glum at the prospect of aging another year. Earlier this month, I had the strangest dream. In my dream, I looked down at my left leg, and there was what looked like a tattoo of a huge clock appear. But it wasn't a tattoo but sort of glowing in my skin. I remember it vividly-it was shades of gold with blue accents. I woke up thinking how can a dream be any more blatant. Ah, fleeting time.
I'm working on Chapter 69 and 70 simultaneously at the moment. Each chapter gets harder for me to write as the end draws nearer. It's sad that having a writing job makes it harder for me to spend any time doing creative writing. I think these chapters might be the most challenging to write so far, but I am glad New Trials took so long because I feel ready to tackle the finale.
Overall, it's been a really tough several months for me because of real life factors but today, I am all but filled with gratefulness, awe and wonder at everyone's talents. I thought turning another year older was a gloomy prospect in a sense (stigma of women and their roles in society) but then again, today, I am again filled with the wide-eyed sense of inspiration, aspiration and appreciation for the lovely community that my favorite hobby, writing, has brought me to.
Happy Halloween 2012!!!
Thinking what was a good Halloween song, and decided on Loreena McKennitt's Mummer's Dance, an old-time favorite since Ever After. It was on my randomly playlist when drawing the Victorian Sakura and Syaoran fanart.
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.
Happy Halloween! I unfortunately was not able to complete Chapter 67 of New Trials, but here is just a little something to pass time. Edit; I reuploaded the video for higher quality (Youtube butchers video quality these days) and added translation annotations to the AMV.
English Translation: Takayama Miyuki, Wish-chan. I wanted to create the "best translation" though I don't know if this is that. The original translations by Takayama Miyuki from animelyrics.com were very good, and I referenced that heavily, but there were some lines that I cross-referred to Korean translations for.
tomaranai mirai wo mezashite
yuzurenai negai wo dakishimete
Aiming for the unstoppable future
and embracing the unyielding wish
umi no iro ga akaku somatte-yuku
mujuuryoku joutai
kono mama kaze ni sarawaretai
The color of the sea is being dyed crimson
In a state of free-fall... [No gravity condition]
I want to be swept away by the wind like this.
itsumo tobenai HA-DORU wo
makenai kimochi de
KURIAshite-kita kedo
dashikirenai jitsuryoku wa
dare no sei?
I've always cleared impossible hurdles
by this feeling of not wanting to lose, but
whose fault is it if it's still not the best I can do?
tomaranai mirai wo mezashite
yuzurenai negai wo dakishimete
iroasenai kokoro no chizu
hikari ni kazasou
Aiming for the unstoppable future
and embracing the unyielding wish,
I'll hold the unfading map of my heart up to the light.
dore dake nakeba asa ni deaeru no?
kodoku na yoru
hajimete genkai wo kanjita hi
How long do I have to cry before we meet in the morning?
The lonely night...
The day I first felt my limitations.
kitto, koi ni ochiru no wa
mabataki mitai na
isshun no jounetsu dakedo
ai ni tsudzuku sakamichi de
tsuyosa oboetai
Surely, falling in love
is a momentary passion like a blink of an eye, but
on the uphill path that leads to love,
I want to remember my strength.
tomaranai mirai wo yume mite
kuchi wo tozashi hitomi wo hikarasete-kita keredo
motto ooki na
yasashisa ga mieta
Dreaming of an unstoppable future,
My mouth was shut and light shone in my eyes, but
I was able to see an even greater kindness.
tobenai HA-DORU wo
makenai kimochi de
KURIAshite-kita kedo
SUTA-TO RAIN ni tatsu tabi ni
obiete-ita
I've always cleared impossible hurdles
by this feeling of not wanting to lose, but
whenever I stood at the start-line
I got scared.
tomaranai mirai wo egaite
ude wo nobashi kokoro wo hiraite
Sketching out the unstoppable future,
stretching my arms out and opening my heart
tomaranai mirai wo mezashite
yuzurenai negai wo dakishimete
iroasenai kokoro no chizu
hikari ni kazasou
Aiming for the unstoppable future
and embracing the unyielding wish,
I'll hold the unfading map of my heart up to the light.
I worked on this AMV on and off for the past month as it's been about a year since I made my last TRC AMV, Saga~This is My Raod. I initially was making another AMV, but somehow I ended up with this one instead. "Yuzurenai Negai" or "Unyielding Wish" aka "A Wish that Cannot be Yielded," was the opening theme song of the first CLAMP anime I ever saw, Magic Knight Rayearth, and till this day probably remains in my top 5 favorite opening themes of all time. I first saw this anime back in 1996; Magic Knight Rayearth was one of this anime that I knew immediately, simply from watching a 10-second trailer, from the first notes of the opening theme song, that I knew I was going to love. Fantasy, drama, romance, mecha, pretty girls, a bishounen male cast, beautiful music; this anime packaged everything I loved. Sometimes, the theme song completely represents the anime, and "Yuzurenai Negai" is a song that does that.
Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle initially seemed to follow the format of Magic Knight Rayearth, three individuals (well, plus an unconscious Sakura) journey to different dimensions for a mission, especially when the three mashin from Rayearth are used as Syaoran, Fai and Kuragone's kudan. I like this version of "Yuzurenai Negai" by Masaaki Endoh even better because his voice really compliments the guitar riffs and captures the exhilarating vigor of the song, whereas Naomi Tamura's original version captures more of the wistful tone (check out the acapella version; it's very beautiful as well). I thought the lyrics really suited Syaoran. Masaaki Endoh is from the Jam Project, a group of talented musicians who often participate in anime projects. Part 2 of the video is a trailer with Yoko Kanno's "Prologue F," my favorite bgm from Macross F. I was going for a "movie trailer" effect, or TRC (what everyone thought it would be) in 1 minute. And of course, I couldn't resist putting the orchestrated version of "Yuzurenai Negai" for the credits. A sign that a theme song is a good theme song is when the orchestrated version is even more beautiful. I remember hearing the "Yuzurenai Negai" strings version on one of the latter episodes of MKR Season 1, at an age when I wasn't really aware of the function of background music, and that tune to me was the most poignant thing about the whole anime. I was thrilled to find the MKR OST years later. I think I sometimes enjoy making the credits sequence more than the actual AMV.
The most difficult part was gathering all the different episodes sub-free or cutting out the subtitles (the process took up much memory on my hard drive). But besides that part, making AMVs is very enjoyable process to me and I usually end up being much more appreciate of the production and thought that went into creating each frame of an anime, and I end up picking up a lot more details than I would just passively watching that episode. For example, I didn't really notice how much emphasis was put on "holding hands" in the anime. Having somewhat of a hand fetish, it was interesting compiling all these clips. When I make an AMV, I try to tell a story rather than just paste together a random assortment of clips to music. The last TRC AMV I made, Saga, was intended to relay sort of the epic nature of TRC, which is why I focused more on the OVAs which is post-Clone!Syaoran revelation. I wanted to make another AMV which focused more on the prototypical adventure-theme aspect of TRC, which represents the earlier half of TRC, back when everything was jovial, spirited and happy, aka before the Record Arc. Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle is a manga which I think really has two parts and the atmosphere and tone of the manga drastically changes from the Tokyo arc onwards. I bet I wasn't the only one who felt cheated upon learning that the "Syaoran" that we all grew fond of through the course of the manga and anime was a "clone." It's been a year since the manga ended, and I am still grappling to really understand the totality of the manga and waiting for xxxHolic to perhaps tie up some more loose ends. Somewhere along the way, TRC switched from the typical shounen adventure to a twisted Jungian philosophical study of character archetypes where are hero pulls a Jekyll and Hyde. I still hold my belief that though CLAMP tricks us in the end of the TRC manga with a pseudo-happy ending for "real" Sakura and Syaoran," aka the Tsubasas, it doesn't change the fact that Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle is the chronicles of "Clone!Syaoran" or to me, the original Syaoran, the hero (or anti-hero) of this story. Anyhow, I hope this AMV helps recall happier times. I also included the English lyric translations on my other TRC AMV, Saga~This is My Road. The two AMVs are meant to be viewed together, "Yuzurenai Negai" as Part 1, "Saga" as Part 2, as they sort of counterbalance each other and represent the two faces of TRC for me.
