Chapter 61: Fantasia in Memoriam

Release date: April 3rd, 2009

Word count: 31,913

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Thoughts: Spoiler alert: if this isn't my longest blog post, it's definitely the one that asks the most questions! 

The first person Syaoran meets is his father and I'm already so emotional.

Syaoran spent a seemingly long time with Ryuuren and his men. I'll be curious to see how much time has actually passed in the real world. How Narnia-esque!

The masquerade ball scene was lovely. It was great to see Sakura happy to see Syaoran again and it's inspired a fanart by Saloni.

Mika's line about how Subaru and the other children had no other place to go was so sad. So far I was able to place everyone but Elenor, though she must be from Clow's early life.

I love how Syaoran is being trained by Shulin like how Kai got to be trained by Mayura.

Hayami totally called Sakura out on being a coward and running away. From succumbing to the Memory and fleeing to the Fantasy, he isn't wrong… Who is he? I thought he was Mayura's little brother (it was actually Keigo) but maybe he's Hayashi's.

Syaoran rescuing Sakura was so gallant! I love these fairy tale moments that Wish-chan allows herself to write within the bounds of the Fantasy.

Aww, I didn't remember Syaoran pulling Sakura on top of him and holding her tight. That would have made a sweet fanart.

Ruichi calls his fellow G5 members, "a narcissist, a firecracker, a sadomasochist and an escapist". Would that be Landon, Shulin, Mayura and Hayashi? Ruichi calls himself a psychopath. 

Syaoran and Hayashi battling it out in a music showdown is hilarious as it is endearing. 

Chapter 60: Re-memory

Release date: January 30th, 2009

Word count: 33,500 words 

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Thoughts: Sakura and Eron's movie date was hilariously awkward. I'm so glad to be past the dating phase in my life.

This chapter marks the first time Erika and Jinyu meet. I am so surprised with the effect that she has on him down the road.

I love the way Kero-chan has taken over Touya's big brother role when he was grilling her about her feelings for Eron.

Yue and Clow's relationship back in the Clow era takes on different forms in CCS fanfiction. While Wish-chan states that Clow loved Cerberus and Yue as his children, she lightly skated on the other side with Kero-chan remembering that Yue wanted a different kind of love from Clow.

Kai and Kara's encounters are charged with a certain kind of energy. Reading Wish-chan's Kaitou Magician Origins puts things in perspective. I guess I should re-read and blog about that next, though I was hoping it would be completely by the time I took another dive.

Meilin tells Tomoyo that even though she's with Kai, she's still scared about him manipulating her to become a person she doesn't recognize. I wonder if that has anything to do with their current relationship status in the latest chapter.

Geeze, was I affected by the Memory too? I have no recollection of Syaoran and Sakura fighting the knights together. I don't even know which Dark Force this is (it turned out to be the Fantasy, which makes sense). I also don't remember them in the creepy house together.

I really love that it was Sakura who cured Syoaran's arm with the Heal. If she only knew she was functioning with Syaoran's power of the moon then it was the least she could do.

With the house disappearing after they escaped it, it looks like the Fantasy must have done a number on them. Maybe it shipped S&S too, haha.

Chapter 59.5: Halloween Special (Masquerade)

Release date: February 14th, 2009

Word count: 8,462 words 

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Thoughts: I read this chapter on October 31st so this Halloween special couldn't have be timed better. Wish-chan first mentioned wanting to write this chapter four months and a half before posting it in her author's note from Chapter 59.

Kai asked Meilin to dress up like a bunny for him on Halloween. It's hilarious that he gets his wish exactly five months later on March 31st at Sakura's birthday party.

Chronologically speaking this is the first time we discover that Leiyun is an otaku.

The fact that Kai dressed up like the Kaitou Magician was hilarious. Meilin's phoenix costume sounds gorgeous and lucky for us Selenity drew a fanart of it.

While I remember Syaoran dressing up as the Kaitou Magician, I forgot that Kai lent him his own costume.

I also forgot that Eriol visited Tomoyo while she was sick. No wonder she fell for him.

The scene where Syaoran and Sakura were waltzing with each other waa absolutely gorgeous. As someone who met her husband through dancing, I can totally relate with Wish-chan's descriptions.

Wish-chan's fanart of Syaoran and Sakura at the ball marks the trend of Wish-chan drawing Syaoran in somber suits while Sakura is wearing the most gorgeous dresses. I remember her making a comment about that!

Speaking about my husband, this is the chapter that came out one week after I met him. A year and a half later, we got married. This is around the time I drifted away from the New Trials fandom. As the FanFiction.Net uploader, I couldn't figure out how to place chapter further back to respect chronological order without replacing it with Chapter 60's placeholder and deleting precious reviews. I took a step back and when I was ready to embrace the fic again, I was so shy to re-submerge out of nowhere. But I wrote to Wish-chan and she was thrilled to hear from me. I've been an active member ever since and my break even rejuvenated me to be involved with even bigger projects such as my fansite and my blog while still having tons of fun.

Fanart spotlight: This is the first time I'm featuring MuzikChic. I found her through a FF review where she wrote that she would like to draw certain scenes. I reached out to her and she ended up drawing a number of NT fanarts. She did such a fantastic job at recreating Sakura's costume in 'Can I Take Off Your Mask?' and her tears are heart wrenching. She really captured Sakura's agony.

Chapter 59: Thundercloud

Release date: November 1st, 2008

Word count: 21,449 words

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Thoughts: Leiyun had one goal and that was to get the Cards back to the Li Clan. And to think that we thought it could never happen. Overall he's so creepy. It makes sense that he's the one and only person who Sakura truly loathes.

Syaoran has officially stolen Sakura's Clow book and Sakura Cards, much like how CCS:CC seemed to have stolen this plot point from Wish-chan and made it their own. It only took him six years. All jokes aside, I thought Syaoran only took the Cards after the April Fools Day Massacre so I don't remember what happens next with the exception of a scene where Leiyun forces the Memory on Syaoran.

I knew that Arc 4 was going to be fuzzy, but there are so many parts of this chapter that I've completely forgotten and it's as if I'm reading this for the first time.

Woah, I've never seen Yue dish out a harsh serving of tough love (if you can even call it that…).

It's kind of cool to see Touya admit to Yukito that his 17-year-old self wouldn't have been a match for 10-year-old Syaoran who was trained to fight since birth. 

I love the way Terada ended up teaching at Eitoukou.

"Eron scared off the Eitoukou player blocking him with the dark aura he began to radiate as he fumed over his archenemy Li Syaoran." Oh my gosh, that line is hilarious!!!

Syaoran finally introduces himself to Sakura. I guess she'll be remembering this version of him this time around.

Another appearance of the mysterious voice! Now that we know it's Moonie-chan, it makes sense that she can pop in and out of a place as she pleases.

Fanart spotlight: I might have forgotten about the scene where Syaoran secretly gives his green umbrella to Sakura if it wasn't for Wish-chan's Arc 4 music video that animates a couple of scenes from this chapter. This fanart is a snapshot of the original artwork that Wish-chan used in an Arc 4 fanart. Syaoran looks rather handsome in his Eitoukou uniform!