~*~2008~*~
Titles of Posts
January 16th: Question about CCS and CLAMP
January 24th: Syaoran and Leiyun fanart
April 2nd: Chapter 55 Platinum Up!
May 19th: Kai’s Birthday
June 25th: Syaoran’s ambidextrous canon?
July 2nd: Archaeology, Indiana Jones, and Syaoran
July 13th: Happy birthday Syaoran + FanArt 100
July 17th: Wolfie-chan
September 2nd: Moonie-chan in CLAMP’s art
September 2nd: Kobato and Arc IV
September 9th: Family Trees
September 29th: TRC 200
November 2nd: Kaitou Magician Fanart
November 9th: Ayashi no Ceres
November 10th: Songs and singing
December 1st: CLAMP’s works
January 24th: Syaoran and Leiyun fanart
April 2nd: Chapter 55 Platinum Up!
May 19th: Kai’s Birthday
June 25th: Syaoran’s ambidextrous canon?
July 2nd: Archaeology, Indiana Jones, and Syaoran
July 13th: Happy birthday Syaoran + FanArt 100
July 17th: Wolfie-chan
September 2nd: Moonie-chan in CLAMP’s art
September 2nd: Kobato and Arc IV
September 9th: Family Trees
September 29th: TRC 200
November 2nd: Kaitou Magician Fanart
November 9th: Ayashi no Ceres
November 10th: Songs and singing
December 1st: CLAMP’s works
Full-Length Posts
January 16th: Question about CCS and CLAMP
So, I've been wondering about it for a while and it always nags me
at the back of my mind... I try not to think too hard about it. But
question to all of you: is there something incestuous about Sakura
and Syaoran's relationship? Because CCS Syaoran is a far-off
descendant of Clow Reed and Sakura is the daughter of Clow Reed's
reincarnation. I guess in this example, they aren't technically
blood-related, so it's all right. But then, in Tsubasa Reservoir
Chronicles, Sakura is Clow Reed's daughter and Syaoran is Fujitaka's
son. Then again, Syaoran is not Fujitaka's real son, but his adopted
son. Since CLAMP is so keen on the idea of doubles, twins, I kind of
see Clow Reed and Fujitaka as sort of "twins." But in TRC, Syaoran
is still a descendant of Clow, no? I don't know how it's supposed to
work. It is getting a little more complicated with all the clones
running along (and quite a bit despressing as well... I don't think
my poor heart can handle it.) I am hoping and hoping that by the
end, TRC will clear up CLAMP's view on Sakura and Syaoran's
relationship-- my theory has always been, what ever form they are,
what ever universe they are put into, their souls will find each
other. And my explanation for the "incestuous" undertones is simply
CLAMP's emphasis that S+S are sort of two halves of the same soul? I
don't know...
I recently read over the end of CCS manga and I am ashamed to admit,
I forgot exactly how beautiful the manga is. CLAMP has reached their
goddess-like status in the competitive manga industry in Japan and
globally because there artwork is amazing, their storyline solid and
deep and they're very versatile. First off, the artwork in CCS manga-
- I forgot how every frame, every page is so gorgeous. This is when
Mokona was still using the fine-tip pens... the lines are so thin
and smooth-- a sign of real mastery of drawing. I sort of miss the
old style--it used to be so elegant. But recently, the art in TRC is
sort of turning more X-style, no? I like the current style of TRC
better than the art at the beginning of TRC. Kobato art is quite
similar to CCS art, but the eyes in CCS are CLAMP at the most
beautiful and expressive~ And I forgot all the little expressions in
the manga, the look of sadness in Syaoran's eyes, the little
exchanges between Tomoyo and Eriol... flowers everywhere~ each page
is like a standalone work of art. I really like Volume 12 because
CLAMP took the effort to put an entire volume without all the
fighting and magic and concentrated solely on the relationships and
character developments. What I also appreciate in CCS is the
moderation, the restraint CLAMP showed in creating a family-friendly
story (we all know CLAMP loves blood and gore), but at the same
time, they weren't afraid to touch upon more controversial issues,
ie. Touya and Yukito's relationship, Kaho and Eriol, etc... Which is
why CCS can appeal to such a wide of an age range, and continue to
appeal to people a decade afterwards. Another question to y'all...
Was Kaho attracted to Touya simply for who he was, or was it because
he was the son of half of Clow Reed's reincarnation? Kaho is an
example of a character that feels completely different from the
manga and the anime-- I prefer her much more in the manga version.
Syaoran is sort of different too--much more serious in the manga. It
takes him until the "Sakura Cards Arc" to smile, whereas you see
brief shots of him sort of smirking/grinning in the anime. I
remember he smiles in the Dash episode. I don't know if that's the
first time he smiles in the anime. But he's also all alone in the
manga, whereas he was Wei and Meilin in the anime. Poor manga-
Syaoran. It's difficult for me writing New Trials because I sort of
blend facts from both the manga and anime, which don't necessarily
align with each other. But I digress.
So, my question sort of turned into my own raving of how wonderful
the CCS manga is. It's a pity that they ended the anime before the
manga--I would have loved to see volume 12 animated. I am back in
the States after a good 3-week break and back to internet
connection, which is good. And I should get back to working on Arc 4
if I ever recover from jetlag. This post is may be my first
completely unrelated to New Trials and sorry for the lengthiness~ ^_^
Old news but... so, Dumbledore is gay. And the Slytherins DID return
to fight the final battle? Has J.K. Rowling been reading too many
fanfictions? lol... You know, I still prefer CCS > Harry Potter any
day. A hundred times over. Sigh... It's a more difficult if it were
Lord of the Rings. I read the Hobbit and the trilogy first when I
was in 4th grade... I think the younger you read/watch something,
the more impressionable it is on your mind. Narnia when I was 8, CCS
when I was 12, Harry Potter when I was 15-ish... Makes me think,
I've been thinking out the plot of New Trials for an awfully long
time. And I am finally writing out scenes that I've been plotting
since 1999. Lol... And the scary thing is... I don't have it written
down anywhere, the plotline, the ideas. It's all in my mind.
Luckily, I have a good memory, though as of late, it's been getting
worse. Ah, age...
- Wish-chan
January 24th: Syaoran and Leiyun fanart
Hi!
This is a fanart that I drew back in the fall and colored over break.
I just finished it up and put it up on deviantart.com--I figured it's
more organized to post my fanart up on deviantart.com. Anyhow, the
link is http://wishluv.deviantart.com/art/Young-Li-Syaoran-in-Hong-
Kong-75444643
***
I'm guessing you Tsubasa fans have already seen Tokyo Revelations 2?
Sniffles... But there is something very very sad yet hot about seeing
an older Syaoran do his Raitei shourei... And the whole lasin board
design, and the sword... It's like CCS!Syaoran all over again.
Speaking of which, Maaya Sakamoto's Saigo no Kajitsu is probably one
of my most favorite Maaya songs of late. (I know Kirei Blossom is as
much of a Maaya fan as I am.) Go listen to it if you haven't already!
It has this wistful air that Maaya's voice captures so expressively
(kudos to Tomoyo's seiyuu.) Now, if Maaya and Yui Makino can do a
duet, we can finally fear a grown-up Sakura and Tomoyo sing together.
Amd R.I.P. Heath Ledger. : (
- Wish-chan
April 2nd: Chapter 55 Platinum Up!
Hello again,
Whew, I did actually manage to post both new chapters up. Believe it
or not, I meant to make these two "short intro chapters" into the new
arc. So much for that. I am annoyed that something's wrong with the
formatting of the chapters and the spacing--I'll try to fix that
tomorrow. I can't deal with computer formatting problems at 2:40 AM
when I have work the next morning. Bleh... I'll finish editing
tomorrow.
I have a couple new fanart for Arc 4 which I'll post up on
http://wishluv.deviantart.com in the next few days.
With the New Year's special and two new chapters over the course of
three months, isn't that a pretty impressive record for me? I swear,
it's a rate of at least 70-ish pages per month. ^_^ Anyhow, these
first two chapters of Arc Four were really hard for me to write
because I had to planning everything according to the larger
spectrum. And I got so distracted easily because there are scenes
that I prefer to write, but I have to of course fill in what happens
before we get to that part. : ) A whole chunk of Chapter 55 has ended
up going on to the next chapter because it was getting too long. And
don't you love my original chapter titles. Lol...
Love,
Wish-chan
P.S. It would have been horrid of me if the new chapters were and
April Fool's Day prank. : )
P.P.S. It made me sniffle to see Sakura-chan's cameo in Tsubasa
Chronicle Tokyo Revelations... She was so cute.
May 19th: Kai’s Birthday
I guess I'm the only one who knows the answer to this question because
I don't think I ever mentioned it before. Kai's birthday is March
6th... And Miho's birthday is June 3rd. Not that it's of any
importance, but Kai's birthday is March 6th because way back in high school
I had little crush on this guy from Shanghai I met at the Beijing
Model United Conference. His school and my school were staying in the
same hotel and we sat next to each other in the conference, worked on a
resolutions together (which passed!), etc. I call it my 3-day crush in
Beijing. I codenamed him 603 with my friends back then, because that's
the hotel room he was staying in at the conference. (C'mon, we all have
codenames for our secret crushes. ^_^;) Lol...
Funny reflecting back on the origin of some things many years later. I
don't even remember what he really looks like anymore, but I remember
he was like 6ft tall and handsome (the make your heart flutter type).
And we were ICQ (precursor to MSN/AIM) friends for a while after the
conference and chatted online for a bit and I found out his his
birthday was on March 6. Well that is the origins of the significance
of the number 603 in New Trials. A silly 3-day crush on a guy who I
don't remember what he looks like anymore.
- Wish-chan
June 25th: Syaoran’s ambidextrous canon?
When I began writing New Trials, I just took for granted that Li
Syaoran is ambidextrous because he is a top-class trained warrior.
However, I decided I want to confirm if this is actually canon with
CLAMP.
Then, Tsubasa Reservoir happened. (Yes, and a lot of stuff did happen. )
There was much speculation over which hand Clone Syaoran uses because
several artwork prominantly portrayed him using his left hand to hold
his sword. But in others, he use his right hand.
To clear my own confusion for once and for all, I decided to make a
chart of manga and anime CCS and TRC Syaoran collages. Here it is:
http://wishluv.deviantart.com/art/Syaoran-Ambidextrous-89708718
I concluded that CLAMP intentionally drew Syaoran (both CCS and TRC
Syaorans) to use both hands. : ) But maybe it's just my wishful
thinking. You guys can tell me what you think.
- Wish-chan
July 2nd: Archaeology, Indiana Jones, and Syaoran
I'm being totally random here because I'm procrastinating at work. :)
We all know that CLAMP holds a fascination with archeology and all, as
it comes out in CCS and in TRC. So, it didn't surprise me at all that
Nekoi-san (CLAMP inker/artist) said that she was really looking
forward to watching Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal
Skull... which was enjoyable until the last half hour and then it was
like, wtf. She even drew a cute sketch of Doumeki (XXXholic) as Indie
and Watanuki as Marion. I always thought Fujitaka in TRC reminded me a
bit of Indiana. Lol... Professor in CCS and archeologist/adventurer in
TRC. Anyhow, I watched the movie a couple weeks ago and...
Spoilers for Indiana Jones newest movie...
I always liked Indiana Jones because it's action/adventure but sorta
(kinda) grounded in reality or things that can still happen. So...
with the aliens or whatnot at the end of this movie, are George Lucas
and Steven Spielberg trying to convey that there are some things that
just are not conceivable to mankind, that we should just not try to
understand? Hmm...
I saw Prince Caspian the same day. I think I'm one of the few who
liked this one better than the first. I feel like a pedophile when I
say this, but Edmund (Skandar Keynes) grew up to be so cute! If
Syaoran was a real-life person, I kind of imagine that's what he'd
look like, especially scenes that he's holding his sword in a
strangely Chinese manner in P. Caspian. Anyhow, I look forward to the
Voyage of the Dawn Treader, my 2nd favorite Narnia book after the
Horse and His Boy.
Anyhow, thank you everyone for your music suggestions. I've been
loving them (and some of the suggestions are songs I already like a
lot. :))
Point of this rambling thread if anyone made it down here... Syaoran's
b-day is coming up soon 7/13... I feel like many CCS characters'
birthdays are sadly forgotten. I was wondering if any of you feel like
doing anything special for his b-day over the Yahoo Group ie. fanart
contest, poem dedication, throw rotten tomatoes at him for being a
jerk, etc... lol. Just a suggestion. Or we can just wish him happy
birthday the traditional way.
- Wish-chan
July 13th: Happy birthday Syaoran + FanArt 100
Wow, this project is finally complete!!! @.@ I can't BELIEVE it's been
put together. I swear, when I first heard about it, I thought it was a
crazy project. But here it is, all done. It almost makes me teary eyed
thinking that there are over 100 fanarts done for New Trials... >.<
Thanks to everyone who made it possible and I look forward to seeing
many more pretty fanarts in the future by all you talented artists.
And special thanks to Amethyst-chan for putting this all together (and
Kirei-chan for hosting.) :)
This is not really "new" but here's my little "birthday card" to
Syaraon for this birthday:
http://wishluv.deviantart.com/art/Syaoran-to-Wolfie-chan-91595478
I haven't reread some of the older stuff in ages... ugh, so many
things to edit.
Anyhow, HAPPY BIRTHDAY SYAORAN! You are loved by many and serve as an
inspiration to us all. :)
July 17th: Wolfie-chan
I always imagined Wolfie-chan sort of as a Siberian Husky puppy also.
(Actually, Siberian Husky puppies are very cute because they have much
rounder, gentler features then when they are grown up.) : ) But when I
got to drawing Wolfie-chan, because he's gold, he ended looking more
like a blend between a Siberian and a golden retriever (my favorite
type of dog.) : )
- Wish-chan
September 2nd: Moonie-chan in CLAMP’s art
Happy New Trials Day!!!
I hope you all are enjoying the last days of summer. It always makes
me sad to think that summer is over. :(
Anyhow, I was reading CLAMP in Wonderland Ex the other day, and I
spotted this frame:
[insert picture here]
It looks just like my description of Moonie-chan. I was so surprised
to find it. :) Does anybody know where it appears, or if it has
appeared before in CLAMP artwork?
(Amethyst Beloved’s note: Kaori Ikeda pointed out that it was the bunny [Usyagi] from CLAMP’s Wish.
September 2nd: Kobato and Arc IV
[Selenity points out that Touya makes a cameo on Kobato (http://pics.livejournal.com/selenityshiroi/pic/000qx165)]
Kyaa!!! Touya! I love Kobato... Expect, I only read the first four
chapters or so (chapter order got so confusing. @.@) It's a pity;
Touya would have been my favorite male in CCS if Syaoran hadn't showed
up. Lol.
I'm saving it up right now, because I love Kobato's premise... It has
a CCS feel to it (the feel-good, fluffy sweet kind in comparison to
the TRC chaos). (And I love Mokona's artwork there too.) Kobato even
looks a bit like Sakura-chan, IMO. And Fujimoto might become one of my
favorite male CCS characters. Anyhow, hopefully I can catch up with it
one day.
Gosh, I feel like hugging Touya in the Usyagi costume... Okay, I'll
just shut up and return to writing Chapter 58(?)...
Last Friday, I wrote out parts of the last chapter... Can't talk much
about it, but it felt very strange writing it. Writing Arc 4 feels
weird in general, because I never thought I would make it this far.
It's weird writing scenes that I've thought about for so long.
September 9th: Family Trees
[Sylvia’s dA for NT Family Trees: http://moonlitdragon7.deviantart.com/]
Oh wow, that is amazing. I must link to the family chart on my website
next time I update.
The minor corrections that Kirei Blossom made are all correct (I think
she knows all the details of New Trials better than I do :) )
The whole Great Five's Generation was from 1840s-50s. So there is
quite a generation gap between them and any of of the people alive in
New Trials era (probably 3 generations in between Shenji and Renshu).
Just for clarification, Li Ryuuren/Wutai's line should come down from
Li Shenji (Shulin's cousin.) I never specified this
anywhere--something that was always in my mind.
Anyhow, visualizing the family chart is awesome--I bet I'm going to
refer back to this a lot. ^_^ Thanks for making it!
September 29th: TRC 200
Wow... First time a chapter of Tsubasa made me want to cry. Gosh, I
really feel for R!Syaoran.
Hmm... Parts of this chapter resonates with the themes of New Trials
too. It makes me happy that I'm sort of on the same wavelength as
CLAMP, but at the same time, New Trials is New Trials, and it's what
I've been planning for so long. I'm going to continue what I'm doing
with it separate from what ever happens in TRC.
S
P
O
I
L
E
R
S
Gosh, poor Nadeshiko. It's all to painful of a chapter because we
never see Nadeshiko's death in CCS... But seeing her with the blood
and all. And the tube scene is starting to make a little more sense to
me now. Now, if only the creepy oedipal context can be explained....
November 2nd: Kaitou Magician Fanart
I know people have been asking for Kaitou Magician and Mikai
pictures... I drew it months ago for my Kaitou Magician Special.
Anyhow, I thought I would share the fanart first. :) It's probably the
fanart that I've put the most effort into until now and my computer
crashed several times while I was working on it so I had to redo the
coloring several times. >.<
I've finished designing the Kaitou Magician Origins page and have at
least the Prelude and Chapter One ready... (Or rather, those chapters
have been sitting on my desktop for five years, waiting for Arc 4 to
come along). Still doing some minor tweaking. :)
So, see Kaitou Magician vs. Prince Mikai. Lol... I couldn't decide
which version I like better. ^_^
http://wishluv.deviantart.com/art/Kaitou-Magician-Night-and-Day-102514840
- Wish-chan
November 9th: Ayashi no Ceres
I think Ayashi no Ceres was one of the earlier shoujo mangas that I
got into as well that wasn't in the "magical shoujo" genre. In my
earlier New Trials chapters, I remember I mentioned being into Fushigi
Yuugi (which I think I only read a few volumes of) and never finished
the anime for. I used to have a huge crush on Yuuhi of Ayashi no Ceres
and used to rave about him in arc one. I feel like that was Yuu Watase
at her peak though. Her female characters are always annoying, but she
has delicious male characters. :)
November 10th: Songs and singing
Yubiwa is probably my all-time favorite anime songs (though I have a
lot.) It's just one of those songs that are so sincere and touches the
heart. :) It's the song which made me fall in love with Maaya
Sakamoto's voice. I especially like the 23-carat version. Anyhow, I
love the Yoko Kanno + Maaya Sakamoto combination, especially when
Maaya writes the lyrics. I recommend Aimo from Macross Frontier OST
to those who are fans of Yoko Kanno. It's a beautiful song--and Maaya
plays one of the heroine's mother's voice and sings part of it in
episode 14. Though I'm not usually a fan of mecha anime, the music is
awesome.
I've been in chorus from 3rd grade to 8th grade and was in a couple
musicals (in minor roles), but I'm really not that good at singing,
not to mention out of practice. I sort of lost stage confidence as I
grew up. Lol... I was a Lullaby League (aka munchkin)in 5th grade for
the high school production of Wizard of Oz (one of the few elementary
kids in the production.) I think that was the height of my stage
career. Lol. Hence I got the idea that Nadeshiko could be in a high
school production of Phantom though she was a junior high student. Hmm...
Suteki Da Ne is beautiful. I like 1000 Words Orchestra version from
FFX-2 as well, though Koda Kumi's voice gets on my nerves.
December 1st: CLAMP’s works
Oh!!!
You're absolutely right Kirei-chan... The shadow behind Doumeki is
Yuuko-- I wasn't looking carefully. Wow, talk about optical illusions.
Lol... It's like that optical illusion about whether you see an old
woman or a young lady. Lol... Oh clever Mokona (the artist, not the
character :P).
So, I'm excited Kobato is going to be an anime... I've been missing a
good old magical shoujo series (from CLAMP). I hope they get further
into the storyline before they start animating it though. I'd love to
see Touya cameos too. I mean, I love the Tsubasa OADs but I still
think the whole TRC franchise became a disaster with the Beetrain
screwing up the second season business. Oh good old Card Captor
Sakura... The only CLAMP series that I think has benefited from
animation. (Actually, Magic Knight Rayearth and Angelic Layer were
good animes too.)
So, I've been wondering about it for a while and it always nags me
at the back of my mind... I try not to think too hard about it. But
question to all of you: is there something incestuous about Sakura
and Syaoran's relationship? Because CCS Syaoran is a far-off
descendant of Clow Reed and Sakura is the daughter of Clow Reed's
reincarnation. I guess in this example, they aren't technically
blood-related, so it's all right. But then, in Tsubasa Reservoir
Chronicles, Sakura is Clow Reed's daughter and Syaoran is Fujitaka's
son. Then again, Syaoran is not Fujitaka's real son, but his adopted
son. Since CLAMP is so keen on the idea of doubles, twins, I kind of
see Clow Reed and Fujitaka as sort of "twins." But in TRC, Syaoran
is still a descendant of Clow, no? I don't know how it's supposed to
work. It is getting a little more complicated with all the clones
running along (and quite a bit despressing as well... I don't think
my poor heart can handle it.) I am hoping and hoping that by the
end, TRC will clear up CLAMP's view on Sakura and Syaoran's
relationship-- my theory has always been, what ever form they are,
what ever universe they are put into, their souls will find each
other. And my explanation for the "incestuous" undertones is simply
CLAMP's emphasis that S+S are sort of two halves of the same soul? I
don't know...
I recently read over the end of CCS manga and I am ashamed to admit,
I forgot exactly how beautiful the manga is. CLAMP has reached their
goddess-like status in the competitive manga industry in Japan and
globally because there artwork is amazing, their storyline solid and
deep and they're very versatile. First off, the artwork in CCS manga-
- I forgot how every frame, every page is so gorgeous. This is when
Mokona was still using the fine-tip pens... the lines are so thin
and smooth-- a sign of real mastery of drawing. I sort of miss the
old style--it used to be so elegant. But recently, the art in TRC is
sort of turning more X-style, no? I like the current style of TRC
better than the art at the beginning of TRC. Kobato art is quite
similar to CCS art, but the eyes in CCS are CLAMP at the most
beautiful and expressive~ And I forgot all the little expressions in
the manga, the look of sadness in Syaoran's eyes, the little
exchanges between Tomoyo and Eriol... flowers everywhere~ each page
is like a standalone work of art. I really like Volume 12 because
CLAMP took the effort to put an entire volume without all the
fighting and magic and concentrated solely on the relationships and
character developments. What I also appreciate in CCS is the
moderation, the restraint CLAMP showed in creating a family-friendly
story (we all know CLAMP loves blood and gore), but at the same
time, they weren't afraid to touch upon more controversial issues,
ie. Touya and Yukito's relationship, Kaho and Eriol, etc... Which is
why CCS can appeal to such a wide of an age range, and continue to
appeal to people a decade afterwards. Another question to y'all...
Was Kaho attracted to Touya simply for who he was, or was it because
he was the son of half of Clow Reed's reincarnation? Kaho is an
example of a character that feels completely different from the
manga and the anime-- I prefer her much more in the manga version.
Syaoran is sort of different too--much more serious in the manga. It
takes him until the "Sakura Cards Arc" to smile, whereas you see
brief shots of him sort of smirking/grinning in the anime. I
remember he smiles in the Dash episode. I don't know if that's the
first time he smiles in the anime. But he's also all alone in the
manga, whereas he was Wei and Meilin in the anime. Poor manga-
Syaoran. It's difficult for me writing New Trials because I sort of
blend facts from both the manga and anime, which don't necessarily
align with each other. But I digress.
So, my question sort of turned into my own raving of how wonderful
the CCS manga is. It's a pity that they ended the anime before the
manga--I would have loved to see volume 12 animated. I am back in
the States after a good 3-week break and back to internet
connection, which is good. And I should get back to working on Arc 4
if I ever recover from jetlag. This post is may be my first
completely unrelated to New Trials and sorry for the lengthiness~ ^_^
Old news but... so, Dumbledore is gay. And the Slytherins DID return
to fight the final battle? Has J.K. Rowling been reading too many
fanfictions? lol... You know, I still prefer CCS > Harry Potter any
day. A hundred times over. Sigh... It's a more difficult if it were
Lord of the Rings. I read the Hobbit and the trilogy first when I
was in 4th grade... I think the younger you read/watch something,
the more impressionable it is on your mind. Narnia when I was 8, CCS
when I was 12, Harry Potter when I was 15-ish... Makes me think,
I've been thinking out the plot of New Trials for an awfully long
time. And I am finally writing out scenes that I've been plotting
since 1999. Lol... And the scary thing is... I don't have it written
down anywhere, the plotline, the ideas. It's all in my mind.
Luckily, I have a good memory, though as of late, it's been getting
worse. Ah, age...
- Wish-chan
January 24th: Syaoran and Leiyun fanart
Hi!
This is a fanart that I drew back in the fall and colored over break.
I just finished it up and put it up on deviantart.com--I figured it's
more organized to post my fanart up on deviantart.com. Anyhow, the
link is http://wishluv.deviantart.com/art/Young-Li-Syaoran-in-Hong-
Kong-75444643
***
I'm guessing you Tsubasa fans have already seen Tokyo Revelations 2?
Sniffles... But there is something very very sad yet hot about seeing
an older Syaoran do his Raitei shourei... And the whole lasin board
design, and the sword... It's like CCS!Syaoran all over again.
Speaking of which, Maaya Sakamoto's Saigo no Kajitsu is probably one
of my most favorite Maaya songs of late. (I know Kirei Blossom is as
much of a Maaya fan as I am.) Go listen to it if you haven't already!
It has this wistful air that Maaya's voice captures so expressively
(kudos to Tomoyo's seiyuu.) Now, if Maaya and Yui Makino can do a
duet, we can finally fear a grown-up Sakura and Tomoyo sing together.
Amd R.I.P. Heath Ledger. : (
- Wish-chan
April 2nd: Chapter 55 Platinum Up!
Hello again,
Whew, I did actually manage to post both new chapters up. Believe it
or not, I meant to make these two "short intro chapters" into the new
arc. So much for that. I am annoyed that something's wrong with the
formatting of the chapters and the spacing--I'll try to fix that
tomorrow. I can't deal with computer formatting problems at 2:40 AM
when I have work the next morning. Bleh... I'll finish editing
tomorrow.
I have a couple new fanart for Arc 4 which I'll post up on
http://wishluv.deviantart.com in the next few days.
With the New Year's special and two new chapters over the course of
three months, isn't that a pretty impressive record for me? I swear,
it's a rate of at least 70-ish pages per month. ^_^ Anyhow, these
first two chapters of Arc Four were really hard for me to write
because I had to planning everything according to the larger
spectrum. And I got so distracted easily because there are scenes
that I prefer to write, but I have to of course fill in what happens
before we get to that part. : ) A whole chunk of Chapter 55 has ended
up going on to the next chapter because it was getting too long. And
don't you love my original chapter titles. Lol...
Love,
Wish-chan
P.S. It would have been horrid of me if the new chapters were and
April Fool's Day prank. : )
P.P.S. It made me sniffle to see Sakura-chan's cameo in Tsubasa
Chronicle Tokyo Revelations... She was so cute.
May 19th: Kai’s Birthday
I guess I'm the only one who knows the answer to this question because
I don't think I ever mentioned it before. Kai's birthday is March
6th... And Miho's birthday is June 3rd. Not that it's of any
importance, but Kai's birthday is March 6th because way back in high school
I had little crush on this guy from Shanghai I met at the Beijing
Model United Conference. His school and my school were staying in the
same hotel and we sat next to each other in the conference, worked on a
resolutions together (which passed!), etc. I call it my 3-day crush in
Beijing. I codenamed him 603 with my friends back then, because that's
the hotel room he was staying in at the conference. (C'mon, we all have
codenames for our secret crushes. ^_^;) Lol...
Funny reflecting back on the origin of some things many years later. I
don't even remember what he really looks like anymore, but I remember
he was like 6ft tall and handsome (the make your heart flutter type).
And we were ICQ (precursor to MSN/AIM) friends for a while after the
conference and chatted online for a bit and I found out his his
birthday was on March 6. Well that is the origins of the significance
of the number 603 in New Trials. A silly 3-day crush on a guy who I
don't remember what he looks like anymore.
- Wish-chan
June 25th: Syaoran’s ambidextrous canon?
When I began writing New Trials, I just took for granted that Li
Syaoran is ambidextrous because he is a top-class trained warrior.
However, I decided I want to confirm if this is actually canon with
CLAMP.
Then, Tsubasa Reservoir happened. (Yes, and a lot of stuff did happen. )
There was much speculation over which hand Clone Syaoran uses because
several artwork prominantly portrayed him using his left hand to hold
his sword. But in others, he use his right hand.
To clear my own confusion for once and for all, I decided to make a
chart of manga and anime CCS and TRC Syaoran collages. Here it is:
http://wishluv.deviantart.com/art/Syaoran-Ambidextrous-89708718
I concluded that CLAMP intentionally drew Syaoran (both CCS and TRC
Syaorans) to use both hands. : ) But maybe it's just my wishful
thinking. You guys can tell me what you think.
- Wish-chan
July 2nd: Archaeology, Indiana Jones, and Syaoran
I'm being totally random here because I'm procrastinating at work. :)
We all know that CLAMP holds a fascination with archeology and all, as
it comes out in CCS and in TRC. So, it didn't surprise me at all that
Nekoi-san (CLAMP inker/artist) said that she was really looking
forward to watching Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal
Skull... which was enjoyable until the last half hour and then it was
like, wtf. She even drew a cute sketch of Doumeki (XXXholic) as Indie
and Watanuki as Marion. I always thought Fujitaka in TRC reminded me a
bit of Indiana. Lol... Professor in CCS and archeologist/adventurer in
TRC. Anyhow, I watched the movie a couple weeks ago and...
Spoilers for Indiana Jones newest movie...
I always liked Indiana Jones because it's action/adventure but sorta
(kinda) grounded in reality or things that can still happen. So...
with the aliens or whatnot at the end of this movie, are George Lucas
and Steven Spielberg trying to convey that there are some things that
just are not conceivable to mankind, that we should just not try to
understand? Hmm...
I saw Prince Caspian the same day. I think I'm one of the few who
liked this one better than the first. I feel like a pedophile when I
say this, but Edmund (Skandar Keynes) grew up to be so cute! If
Syaoran was a real-life person, I kind of imagine that's what he'd
look like, especially scenes that he's holding his sword in a
strangely Chinese manner in P. Caspian. Anyhow, I look forward to the
Voyage of the Dawn Treader, my 2nd favorite Narnia book after the
Horse and His Boy.
Anyhow, thank you everyone for your music suggestions. I've been
loving them (and some of the suggestions are songs I already like a
lot. :))
Point of this rambling thread if anyone made it down here... Syaoran's
b-day is coming up soon 7/13... I feel like many CCS characters'
birthdays are sadly forgotten. I was wondering if any of you feel like
doing anything special for his b-day over the Yahoo Group ie. fanart
contest, poem dedication, throw rotten tomatoes at him for being a
jerk, etc... lol. Just a suggestion. Or we can just wish him happy
birthday the traditional way.
- Wish-chan
July 13th: Happy birthday Syaoran + FanArt 100
Wow, this project is finally complete!!! @.@ I can't BELIEVE it's been
put together. I swear, when I first heard about it, I thought it was a
crazy project. But here it is, all done. It almost makes me teary eyed
thinking that there are over 100 fanarts done for New Trials... >.<
Thanks to everyone who made it possible and I look forward to seeing
many more pretty fanarts in the future by all you talented artists.
And special thanks to Amethyst-chan for putting this all together (and
Kirei-chan for hosting.) :)
This is not really "new" but here's my little "birthday card" to
Syaraon for this birthday:
http://wishluv.deviantart.com/art/Syaoran-to-Wolfie-chan-91595478
I haven't reread some of the older stuff in ages... ugh, so many
things to edit.
Anyhow, HAPPY BIRTHDAY SYAORAN! You are loved by many and serve as an
inspiration to us all. :)
July 17th: Wolfie-chan
I always imagined Wolfie-chan sort of as a Siberian Husky puppy also.
(Actually, Siberian Husky puppies are very cute because they have much
rounder, gentler features then when they are grown up.) : ) But when I
got to drawing Wolfie-chan, because he's gold, he ended looking more
like a blend between a Siberian and a golden retriever (my favorite
type of dog.) : )
- Wish-chan
September 2nd: Moonie-chan in CLAMP’s art
Happy New Trials Day!!!
I hope you all are enjoying the last days of summer. It always makes
me sad to think that summer is over. :(
Anyhow, I was reading CLAMP in Wonderland Ex the other day, and I
spotted this frame:
[insert picture here]
It looks just like my description of Moonie-chan. I was so surprised
to find it. :) Does anybody know where it appears, or if it has
appeared before in CLAMP artwork?
(Amethyst Beloved’s note: Kaori Ikeda pointed out that it was the bunny [Usyagi] from CLAMP’s Wish.
September 2nd: Kobato and Arc IV
[Selenity points out that Touya makes a cameo on Kobato (http://pics.livejournal.com/selenityshiroi/pic/000qx165)]
Kyaa!!! Touya! I love Kobato... Expect, I only read the first four
chapters or so (chapter order got so confusing. @.@) It's a pity;
Touya would have been my favorite male in CCS if Syaoran hadn't showed
up. Lol.
I'm saving it up right now, because I love Kobato's premise... It has
a CCS feel to it (the feel-good, fluffy sweet kind in comparison to
the TRC chaos). (And I love Mokona's artwork there too.) Kobato even
looks a bit like Sakura-chan, IMO. And Fujimoto might become one of my
favorite male CCS characters. Anyhow, hopefully I can catch up with it
one day.
Gosh, I feel like hugging Touya in the Usyagi costume... Okay, I'll
just shut up and return to writing Chapter 58(?)...
Last Friday, I wrote out parts of the last chapter... Can't talk much
about it, but it felt very strange writing it. Writing Arc 4 feels
weird in general, because I never thought I would make it this far.
It's weird writing scenes that I've thought about for so long.
September 9th: Family Trees
[Sylvia’s dA for NT Family Trees: http://moonlitdragon7.deviantart.com/]
Oh wow, that is amazing. I must link to the family chart on my website
next time I update.
The minor corrections that Kirei Blossom made are all correct (I think
she knows all the details of New Trials better than I do :) )
The whole Great Five's Generation was from 1840s-50s. So there is
quite a generation gap between them and any of of the people alive in
New Trials era (probably 3 generations in between Shenji and Renshu).
Just for clarification, Li Ryuuren/Wutai's line should come down from
Li Shenji (Shulin's cousin.) I never specified this
anywhere--something that was always in my mind.
Anyhow, visualizing the family chart is awesome--I bet I'm going to
refer back to this a lot. ^_^ Thanks for making it!
September 29th: TRC 200
Wow... First time a chapter of Tsubasa made me want to cry. Gosh, I
really feel for R!Syaoran.
Hmm... Parts of this chapter resonates with the themes of New Trials
too. It makes me happy that I'm sort of on the same wavelength as
CLAMP, but at the same time, New Trials is New Trials, and it's what
I've been planning for so long. I'm going to continue what I'm doing
with it separate from what ever happens in TRC.
S
P
O
I
L
E
R
S
Gosh, poor Nadeshiko. It's all to painful of a chapter because we
never see Nadeshiko's death in CCS... But seeing her with the blood
and all. And the tube scene is starting to make a little more sense to
me now. Now, if only the creepy oedipal context can be explained....
November 2nd: Kaitou Magician Fanart
I know people have been asking for Kaitou Magician and Mikai
pictures... I drew it months ago for my Kaitou Magician Special.
Anyhow, I thought I would share the fanart first. :) It's probably the
fanart that I've put the most effort into until now and my computer
crashed several times while I was working on it so I had to redo the
coloring several times. >.<
I've finished designing the Kaitou Magician Origins page and have at
least the Prelude and Chapter One ready... (Or rather, those chapters
have been sitting on my desktop for five years, waiting for Arc 4 to
come along). Still doing some minor tweaking. :)
So, see Kaitou Magician vs. Prince Mikai. Lol... I couldn't decide
which version I like better. ^_^
http://wishluv.deviantart.com/art/Kaitou-Magician-Night-and-Day-102514840
- Wish-chan
November 9th: Ayashi no Ceres
I think Ayashi no Ceres was one of the earlier shoujo mangas that I
got into as well that wasn't in the "magical shoujo" genre. In my
earlier New Trials chapters, I remember I mentioned being into Fushigi
Yuugi (which I think I only read a few volumes of) and never finished
the anime for. I used to have a huge crush on Yuuhi of Ayashi no Ceres
and used to rave about him in arc one. I feel like that was Yuu Watase
at her peak though. Her female characters are always annoying, but she
has delicious male characters. :)
November 10th: Songs and singing
Yubiwa is probably my all-time favorite anime songs (though I have a
lot.) It's just one of those songs that are so sincere and touches the
heart. :) It's the song which made me fall in love with Maaya
Sakamoto's voice. I especially like the 23-carat version. Anyhow, I
love the Yoko Kanno + Maaya Sakamoto combination, especially when
Maaya writes the lyrics. I recommend Aimo from Macross Frontier OST
to those who are fans of Yoko Kanno. It's a beautiful song--and Maaya
plays one of the heroine's mother's voice and sings part of it in
episode 14. Though I'm not usually a fan of mecha anime, the music is
awesome.
I've been in chorus from 3rd grade to 8th grade and was in a couple
musicals (in minor roles), but I'm really not that good at singing,
not to mention out of practice. I sort of lost stage confidence as I
grew up. Lol... I was a Lullaby League (aka munchkin)in 5th grade for
the high school production of Wizard of Oz (one of the few elementary
kids in the production.) I think that was the height of my stage
career. Lol. Hence I got the idea that Nadeshiko could be in a high
school production of Phantom though she was a junior high student. Hmm...
Suteki Da Ne is beautiful. I like 1000 Words Orchestra version from
FFX-2 as well, though Koda Kumi's voice gets on my nerves.
December 1st: CLAMP’s works
Oh!!!
You're absolutely right Kirei-chan... The shadow behind Doumeki is
Yuuko-- I wasn't looking carefully. Wow, talk about optical illusions.
Lol... It's like that optical illusion about whether you see an old
woman or a young lady. Lol... Oh clever Mokona (the artist, not the
character :P).
So, I'm excited Kobato is going to be an anime... I've been missing a
good old magical shoujo series (from CLAMP). I hope they get further
into the storyline before they start animating it though. I'd love to
see Touya cameos too. I mean, I love the Tsubasa OADs but I still
think the whole TRC franchise became a disaster with the Beetrain
screwing up the second season business. Oh good old Card Captor
Sakura... The only CLAMP series that I think has benefited from
animation. (Actually, Magic Knight Rayearth and Angelic Layer were
good animes too.)