Happy Valentine's Day and Happy 15th Anniversary of the Yahoo Group!

Syaoran's Birthday Omake #5 by wishluv on DeviantArt

I've always wanted Sakura to wear a statement green evening dress at one point in New Trials, especially after seeing Keira Knightley's green dress from the 2007 film Atonement. I still haven't watched the film, but the shade of that green dress really was alluring. I'd forgotten this thought for a while, however, until I was trying to decide on a dress for Chapter 73.5: The Hong Kong Encounter. Sakura's dress was supposed to be gold in the first draft, but it didn't feel right, and then I remembered I had been "saving up" a statement green dress all this while. Below is a concept art I did of Sakura's green backless dress when I was writing Chapter 73.5.This is an artwork I do plan on coloring eventually. I don't really share WIP frequently, and I wasn't quite sure I was convinced on the dress design, which is why I never finished this up last year.

The fanart I draw for the particular holiday never seems to really match the holiday and I have to scrap it (like the angsty Meilin and Kai artwork I was sketching for Valentine's Day). I doodled a Yue and Touya piece for Christmas last year which I never finished. Yukito's birthday is on Christmas Day, which I rarely remember. I'm never inspired to draw Yukito, for some reason. Yue on the other hand I do enjoy drawing, but his outfits are so hard to put together. I think he might be the hardest character in CCS to draw (besides Cerberus and Spinel Sun). 

I was just looking back and realized how quickly the past year passed by and was a bit taken back. This year marks the 20th anniversary of New Trials. It's all thanks to you guys that New Trials existed for 20 years, growing alongside the marvelous Card Captor Sakura franchise which has also made an awesome comeback. Again, belated Happy Valentine's Day and Happy 15th Anniversary of the Yahoo Group! The Yahoo Group really has been such an important support system, and despite it's somewhat outdated (and unreliable) platform, as a creature of habit, it really is my security blanket in a sense.



Music Spotlight:

I haven't gotten over my "I'm sick of everything on my playlist" ennui since last summer--I don't listen to as much music anymore in general lately because of this (I mean, I still do listen a lot, mainly when writing), but I have been seeking opera and then cycling back to my favorite musicals just to get through. And I supposed Korean drama OSTs because that's most readily available to me. I actually had a few more depressing songs picked out, but I realized this is the first "Music Spotlight" of 2019 (the Year of the Pig), and this is technically a Valentine's Day post, so I decide do share an uplifting song. 

Junggigo (정기고) - "D-Day" 



This song was from the Korean drama "My ID is Gangnam Beauty" and it was my rare groove last summer during my music dry spell. It's a feel-good song that puts you back into that excited campus crush, first love state of mind. Junggigo has a really soothing voice as well.

Belated Happy Valentine's Day and Happy Lunar New Year!

Living Together: Sakura Blow-drying Syaoran's Hair by wishluv on DeviantArt

This one's a little bit late, but I sketches this for Valentine's Day 2016, I believe, but never finished it. I decided it to color it up for Valentine's Day this year but am slightly late because it's been so busy at work, but luckily now it's Lunar New Year break. It's junior high Sakura and Syaoran from Arc 2 era, when they were living together, which sort of makes me feel nostalgic. I feel like it's been a while since I posted actually completed artwork instead of sketches or chibis!

Happy Valentine's Day 2018 and Happy Lunar New Year!

Music Spotlight:

Cheryl Cole - "Fight For This Love"

Happy Valentine's Day 2016!!!

Tomoyo and Eriol in Seijou High School Uniforms by wishluv on DeviantArt

Do you ever feeling hiding in a hole and not coming out? That's how I feel whenever I do not finish a chapter by my mentally implemented due date. Which is every time. But I thought to drop by here, anyhow. I'm about 90% finished with Chapter 72 of the New Trials of Card Captor Sakura. I think if I had about 48 hours of consecutive uninterrupted time to work on it, I would be able to finish it. Unfortunately, that is impossible. The chapter itself came about quite smoothly, but I've been writing ahead, so it's been taking longer. So, thank you so much for being patient, and it's nearly getting there!

This is a really old fanart, over 8~9 years old, that I decided to post up since it might never see the light of day anyway. It was a character study of Tomoyo and Eriol in their Seijou High School uniforms, a precursor to the Seijou High School uniform group picture. It's not completed; I didn't even shade it. Just think of it as an old character sketch. I was working on a couple Sakura and Syaoran fanart but thought I should focus on finishing the new chapter rather than new artwork.

Happy Valentine's Day 2016! I realized this is my first blogpost of the year, so Happy New Year and Happy Lunar New Year as well!

Music Spotlight: Shimizu Shota - Dream



This feel-good song is a recent discovery, and it fits Valentine's Day, I think. It's the kind of song I would draw to but not cannot write to. Here are the English lyrics.

Update: New Trials Chapter 71 Part I and Part II on ff.net and Happy Valentine's Day!

 
Sakura and Syaoran Seijou High by wishluv on DeviantArt

Both Part I and Part II of The New Trials of Card Captor Sakura Chapter 71: The Alliance of the Stars are up on fanfiction.net. I posted up Part I on ff.net earlier this month. I'm getting some website issues sorted out, but hopefully I can have a final version of the chapter up on my website soon.   

Yes, in case you were wondering where that S+S fanart in their uniforms comes from, it's this chapter. 

Happy Valentine's Day 2015!




Music Spotlight: Adam Levine - "Lost Stars" 

"But are we all lost stars, trying to light up the dark?"

As you guys know, I was on a Maroon 5 kick last year. I got my Western pop fix and I've been back to listening to J-pop recently. Onitsuka Chihiro was on repeat on my playlist this chapter (after failing to find a good new playlist to write to.) If I had to pick my favorite song of 2014, I'll probably pick "Lost Stars" from the OST of the movie "Begin Again." I was a big fan of "Once," so it was no surprise I loved "Begin Again," which I watched on the airplane last year. I love a good cover of a song, but this is one of those songs I think that only Adam Levine can pull off, especially the falsetto part. I also loved the lyrics of the song, especially, "God, tell us the reason youth is wasted on the young. And I think the song fits nicely with Chapter 71. 

Happy Valentine's Day

Sakura x Syaoran - Valentine's Day Cherry Kiss by ~wishluv on deviantART

Wow, this is my first blog post of the new year. I can't believe it's already 2013. Happy New Year, Lunar New Year. My heart is still stopped at 1999, it feels like. Which is the year which I first began writing New Trials, now that I think of it. I had my first very short break in nearly two years last week. I went to Japan for three days again, this time to Fukoka, so I might blog about it later. It's my first time traveling in ages.

It was recently the New Trial Yahoo Group's anniversary, but I didn't get to do anything to celebrate so I felt guilty. But thank you to the Yahoo Group for keeping me inspired through all the ages.

Cherry x Kiss is a concept that I thought would be cute for Sakura and Syaoran. In the Korean-dub broadcast of CCS, Sakura's name was "Cherry." Strangely enough, Syaoran was kept "Sha-o-rang"--perhaps because he's supposed to be foreign. I wonder if anybody would photoshop the picture and erase the cherry, squish them together and actually make them kiss. I might do that actually someday if I'm bored. I was actually doing a Meilin and Kai fanart for Valentine's Day but it ended up coming out so angsty that I decided to stick with S+S for a lighthearted day.

I know you are all waiting for Chapter 69. I was able to get out of my writer's block all thanks to Kirei Blossom's The Secret Wedding Chronicles which I definitely would recommend to pass time if you have't read already. So, though I don't have a lot of time to do personal writing, I've been working consistantly for the past two months, even if its several lines a day. And then I asked myself, why in the world am I making no progress in Chapter 69? It's because I've been writing ahead again. But since there are only an estimated 4-5 chapters left, it's kind of necessary to plan ahead instead of the "plot of the day" sort of chapters that has usually been the case. So, perhaps future chapters will come quicker, but I do promise I'm working hard on Chapter 69.



Song of the day is an all-time favorite feel-good band, Spitz's "Cherry." I didn't realize how much the lyrics can apply to Syaoran in Arc 4, but totally can imagine him singing the song to Sakura. Actually, the song is sadder than I thought, now that I think of it.

Happy Valentine's Day 2013! And belatedly happy birthday to Amethyst Beloved, the wonderful person who has done so much for New Trials over the years, not least of all maintaining and running the New Trial Fan Project site amongst many other things.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Sakura and Syaoran Valentine's Day by ~wishluv on deviantART
This has been a pretty sad year for New Trials updates when I intended it to be an awesome year. But I hope the long-awaited Chapter Next chapter SPOILERS Chapter 68: Regeneration promises action, Tomoyo versus Leiyun confrontation, perhaps a little romance and maybe a wedding. Or I might be lying and it'll just be more angst. Lol. It's 80 percent done, but I've been writing at a rate of a paragraph a week the past half year. Sigh. But I've written out parts of the ending three years ago if that's any solace.

While waiting for the next chapter, you can reread the New Trial's Valentine's Day Chapter 67.5 and check out Hazuki Goldair's awesome song Syaoran the Waiter Boy again in the spirit of Valentine's Day.

Happy Valentine's Day 2012

And a beautiful song by Damien Rice, "Cannonball," for those of you who feel mellow on V-Day.

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!