Blast from the past: I did not remember this chapter at all!! Even when I collected the few memories that I had, those were from the final chapter and not this penultimate one. When I started my re-read, I remembered Kai and Rika confessing their feelings but Kai's brave and tender ministrations took me by surprise. And speaking of surprises, where did that fire come from?! I was pretty riveted through out the whole scene. As for the other half of the chapter, I knew that Chiharu was going to confess her true feelings but Takashi's kiss nearly knocked the wind out of me as well. Clearly I was very influenced by the steady stream of romance novels that my friend loaned me during our college days.
The New Trials Connection: Twenty one years and two million words later, we are still waiting for Sakura and Syaoran to confess to each other. Seeing that a lot of stories end after the protagonists confess their feelings, maybe it's a blessing in disguise. Meilin confessed to Kai but their relationship is so rocky that maybe they might want to come back to that. I always thought that Tomoyo confessed to Eriol since it was her intention but she never did. Sakura was so close to confessing to Syaoran but the Hong Kong Heartbreak happened instead. Eron confessed to Sakura and they did date for a bit so good for him.
A fire also made an appearance in pre-NT when Miho lost control and burned the family home so there's a connection there too.
Reading the relaunch: None of the sappy stuff made the cut, which is to be expected seeing that the relaunch was posted by a boy. Oh my, I wonder what he'll do with that steamy S&S scene in the next chapter...
We talked about how his title referred to the completely cut C&T confession and we agreed that the three little words fell more along the 'Can we date?' atmosphere between Kai and Rika.
Review spotlight: This one comes from PunkxRockxPrincess who is someone that I don't have a real life or fandom relationship with unlike the seven other reviews that I previously spotlighted. But when I read it, I was brought back to a time where we were just starting out and supporting each other through words of affirmation from one writer to another. I haven't been involved in fandom in a long time, but the reviews section isn't what it used to be.
I like all the pairings you made, great. For your first fic, it's really good. Not that I'm an expert of course, but I know because I'm starting at this too, so you have all my support! And my reviews as well. Love your story and everything, keep it up!
Art: The OC spirt doesn't make her appearance so I fell back to one of Jeremy's request from months ago where he asked me to draw Kai. This is probably my favourite Rika and Kai moment from the chapter where he plays with a lock of her hair. I liked how that part came out put I'm not too crazy of his arm. I never gave much thought about how he looked like, and to be honest, I like Jeremy's version of Kai a whole lot better.
Up next: Sakura and Syaoran gets their ultimate chapter and I lean heavier into the romance. As for E&T, I know they're doing something but once again I'm drawing a blank.
