Chapter 1: The New Beginning

Release date: Fall 1999

Word count: 5654

Summary

Thoughts: I always loved Wish-chan's decision to give Sakura long hair because it helps differentiate NT Sakura from CCS Sakura. The running trend of new students taking special notice to Sakura is always amusing. Even though Sakura has been the Card Mistress for years now, this chapter shows how incredibly green she is compared to the magician that she will become in the later arcs. It always broke my heart that Syaoran put up a cold front despite the two of them admitting that they were each other's special person. It makes for great storytelling, but the shipper wants them together forever!

Fanart spotlight: Ribbons, by Asumei. Maria generously provided the fandom with an enormous amount of fanart spreading across the first three arcs. I'll definitely be coming back to her art as my re-read continues. 

Prologue

Release date: September 1999

Word count: 1386

Click for summary

Thoughts: After all of these years, it really never fails to astonish me that 13-year-old Wish-chan had so much brewing in her head and that despite the fact that it was written before CCS's conclusion, she was able to predict key plot points, such as Syaoran leaving Japan once the chaos was over. Picking up pretty much where the series end, New Trials is the closest thing in the fandom as a sequel and I am so grateful that it's in my life. 

Fanart spotlight: The Prophecy by Digidynasty is one of NT's first fanarts. Digidynasty was the one who took care of NT on FF for a while before I took over until Wish-chan started using it as her primary updated account. While there is tons of fanart of the prologue thanks to the amazing doujinshi out there, I thought the nostalgia route would be the way to go. 

Welcome to the blog!

Hello! Many of you know me as Amethyst Beloved. New Trials has been a part of my life since 2003, yet I haven't read it from the beginning since I started the New Trials Chapter Summaries Project in 2007 until it went on hiatus in 2012 at Chapter 63. Over the years I've contributed in many side projects to celebrate the fanfic from the NT Picture Book to NT Fanfic100 to the now abandoned NT Fan Projects website (because the Facebook group has pretty much taken its place). It's about time I re-read this fanfic from the beginning and I'd like to bring you along with me to relive the memories. My main goals are to get back to the summaries project and chronicle my thoughts as I journey through the arcs. Enjoy your visit!

Fanart Spotlight: Chibi Preya by Dragurok. My friend drew a chibi version of me and all of a sudden it became the perfect profile pic and avatar for all things Amethyst Beloved. I'm a huge fan of it!

~Preya