When one thinks of Clamp tropes, it usually consists of cherry blossoms and unfinished series. My friends, Tiffany, Carolyn, and Zach, decided to cosplay from a Clamp classic, X/1999, for the March 15 get together at Lake Balboa. In Fer's words, "We're bringing X-y back. You Tsubassa boys don't know how to act."

It was an overcast Sunday morning in the valley. It was a simple drive up the 405 North to the 101 North. To our dismay, there was not a soul in the usual meeting point. The group decided on getting breakfast at Denny's to kill time before people would start coming by. Of course, Carolyn had to remind us that her birthday was coming up in less than 20 days. Party in the magic kingdom, perhaps?

We finally went back to Lake Balboa. Jason, Nergene, and Kenji - our resident cosplay photographers have arrived. We found out that Julia, (Black) Matt, (White) Matt, Caitlin, Becky, Jill, and others were in the hidden bamboo forest.

The hidden bambo forest? To our discovery, there was a hidden place right by Lake Balboa's entrance, close to the bridge, that had a hidden bamboo forest. Though the cherry blossoms were not at their peak, we still made use of what the park had. (Black) Matt and his crew brought Street Fighter goodness to the get together.

And what's a gathering without random hijinks? Stan gave Julia her birthday present, Kevin's car from Ben Ten Alien Force. A few people arrived in normal attire, but it doesn't mean they can't join in on the fun. Just say that you're some background character from an obscure series and strike a pose. Most likely, my camera will be ready to capture the madness.

Pro Tip: Other halfs have free will to cosplay. Case in point, Carolyn luring Jared into Professor Utonium cosplay for SoCal Spring. However, knowing how men are, they are likely to forget and pull something at the last minute.

Caitlin in her .hack // gu outfit:

Becky as Rozalin's mother from Disgaea 2 outfit:

It has always been Traveling Valentine tradition to take product placement shots at gatherings. Caitlin would like to assure you that while you may be in The World, remember that there ain't nothing like the real thing. The thirst stops here. Niki reminds us to freshen up with H20.

Caitlin and Stan were up to their usual partners-in-crime hijinks. Caitlin had a score to settle with Stan's foot. After talking about university and school crunch time, Caitlin had to be on her merry way home. Unfortunately, Caitlin was not able to say her "bye bye"'s to everyone upon leaving. She had this to say:

While waiting for the rest of the Happy Clampers (aka our X/1999 compatriots), we ate what snacks that was available to us. Many thanks to Aldo for making a party tray run. I will repeat, whomever brought the riceballs is heaven sent.

Finally, our X/1999 crew arrived. Carolyn finally strapped her boobs down to crossplay as Kamui. Tiffany was already to go as an art book variant of the dreamseer Hinoto. (Rumor has it, beneath those layers of robes is a closet Inuyasha costume.) Zach cosplayed as the Dragon of Earth, Fuuma. Then there was Jared who was drafted in as Seichirou Aoki. Blame him for the windy weather. Of course, I cosplayed as the Soapland call girl, Karen Kasumi.

Pro Tip: Ramune Babies may not be familiar with the X/1999 franchise. Best way to sum up the series? Red versus Blue.

I honestly do not remember the last time I saw an X/1999 group together at a convention or a gathering. The last time that I can recall is Fanime 2004's X/1999 gathering. While there are the occasional Clamp gatherings, it is a rare occasion to see X/1999 cosplayers. The fandom was big back in 2003 when the TV series came out. I am very glad that we were able to do this group together at Sakura watch. One day, Fer will have her Arashi ready with Matt Matt as Sorata in tow. Stan, Jared, and I were looking at Tiffany's X/1999 art book. I then nudged Stan into Seishirou Sakurazuka. After all, Stan would feed his victims to trees. Party like it's X/1999!

I voiced Hinoto in an X/1999 English dubbing project I did in my undergraduate studies. Yet, words cannot describe how amazing Tiffany's art book variant Hinoto is in person.

Of course, with any photo shoot done to epic proportions, you need to have your behind the scenes action. Zach served as Tiffany's photo shoot ninja in helping her veil give that flowing effect. Aoki was too lazy to use his wind powers as he was chit chatting with a shinigami for a manga series deal. For whatever reason, the trees have a vendetta against Jared. Since X/1999 is in the shoujo genre (key words include "borderline slash," "December May," and "swan song"), Carolyn as Kamui did a magical girl victory pose. Leave it to Fer to make the X/1999 shoot a bit more Clamp-tastic by adding more cherry blossom petals on the cosplay subjects. Everything's coming up sakura!

Pro Tip: New on NBC it's Yuppie and the Shinigami. Two tough cops fighting crime in style with a quater of a million dollar sports car and a sandworm. "I don't know how things are done in the afterlife, but on earth we don't cut people in half for minor traffic violations," says Reginald Vel Johnson in the role of the chief.

Last, but not least, here are photos of one of my all time favorite OTP's (one true pairings), Karen and Aoki. As Fer said, "I like them married with children!" Of course, I had to recreate Karen's death scene. As Julia said, "You need to stop cosplaying as dead characters, Vic!" It's not my fault for writing off the entire cast - at least in the theatrical release. Many thanks to Fer for taking these photos. (I first met Fer back in Anime Expo 2003 as Karen, since then her title is "Number 1 Karen Fangirl.")

And here's a few of Jared's Aoki Seichirou.

And here's my fourth variant of Karen Kasumi. This is the first time I cosplayed as Karen in a while. The last variant I made of Karen was back in 2004 for Hitori's X/1999 volume 18 photo shoot. I took a basic cheongsam pattern and added sleeves to it while modifying the slits. This is the same wig I used when I first cosplayed as Karen at Comic Con International 2002.

Of course, we cannot forget the shinigami known as Hisagi Shuuhei of the gangster division (sometimes known as Ninth Squad). Stan created the shikai variant for Shuuhei. Take a closer look at his division 9 vice captain's badge.

Sometimes, I even amaze myself. Stan wanted a shot of him looking off in the distance. By sheer luck, I was able to capture the sun's radiance. I never considered myself much of a cosplay photographer, but this is one of my favorite shots from Sakura Watch.

A few more shots of Karen and Aoki one true pairing shots. Cosplay yaoi shots are overrated. Let's here it for some PG heterosexual fun times!

There was a party from across the lake. We were able to hear the bass line from the music playing. Anela and Jared wanted to crash the party and start raving. I simply declined my interest because I am far too cultured for raves. While Carolyn and Zach were getting a few final shots, Jared was teaching the former Anime Expo Ballroom Dance instructor the art of "white dancing:"

I also met another Karen at the gathering. Well, her real name was Karen. She was cosplaying as Yukari from Paradise Kiss. Like X/1999, it's another shoujo must read! (Keywords include "modeling," "metrosexuals," and "Franz Ferdinand.")

The sun was ready to go away. Everyone was making plans for post-dinner adventures in Burbank. We all parted ways and vowed to see each other on the Intarwebz.

Of course, many thanks to Jason of i360 for pulling this event together and keeping us informed on the cherry blossoms.

On the ride home, it was the usual karaoke in the car with Carolyn and I. Jared requested that I do a few showtunes from Jesus Christ Superstar and South Pacific. Yet, Stan and Jared started to talk guy stuff to counter the girly karaoke fun time. After the event we dropped off Carolyn. The remaining three decided to have post-dinner in Downtown Disney. Since Deb lives in the area, she joined us for some yummy gumbo at the Jazz Kitchen. It was a delicious way to end March's Sakura Watch events.

What's next for the Scarlet Rhapsody Team? Cosplay from NBC's The Office.

And remember to also check out Stan's Week Two photos at his Photobucket! Stan also made it out on March 14 (Pi Day!).

Pictures are copyright by Traveling Valentine and Valenti East. If I took your picture, feel free to use it on your site or cosplay gallery. While you're here, do sign the guestbook. This site was brought to you by the font Ham Lake. Many thanks to Chaz Boston Baden for the image resizing and watermarking program.