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 Posted: Mon Jun 22, 2009 2:06 pm
 "Use 1 teaspoon of tea per 8oz of water. Heat water to 175-180 degrees and steep tea for 1 minute."
This is obviously still under construction as much of the information is missing. But welcome nonetheless! I'd love feedback even though there isn't much here at the moment.
Contents.
o1. Welcome and Table of Contents.
o2. The Dust: Green Tea Leaves.
o3. The Dustling: Pi Lo Chun.
o4. The Guardian: [name here].
o5. Roleplaying Samples.
o6. Art.
o7. Credits.
o8. Reserved.
o9. Reserved.
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Posted: Mon Jun 22, 2009 2:08 pm
 Wikipedia o1. Green tea originates from China and has become associated with many cultures in Asia from Japan to the Middle East.
o2. Over the last few decades green tea has been subjected to many scientific and medical studies to determine the extent of its long-purported health benefits, with some evidence suggesting regular green tea drinkers may have lower chances of heart disease and developing certain types of cancer.
o3. Green tea contains polyphenols which are thought to improve health.
o4. The Kissa Yojoki (Book of Tea), written by Zen priest Eisai in 1191, describes how drinking green tea can have a positive effect on the five vital organs, especially the heart. The book discusses tea's medicinal qualities, which include easing the effects of alcohol, acting as a stimulant, curing blotchiness, quenching thirst, eliminating indigestion, curing beriberi disease, preventing fatigue, and improving urinary and brain function
o5. Tea consumption had its origin in China more than 4000 years ago. Green tea has been used as traditional medicine in areas such as China, Japan, India and Thailand to help everything from controlling bleeding and helping heal wounds to regulating body temperature, blood sugar and promoting digestion.
o6. There are several special circumstances in which tea is prepared and consumed. As a sign of respect, for a family gathering, to apologize, to connect large families on wedding days, to pass on the tradition.
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Posted: Mon Jun 22, 2009 2:16 pm
Pi Lo Chun (sometimes Bi Luo Chun) is a high quality green tea. It is the name of the Dustling.
Quick notes:
-will have a nickname (haven't decided, either part of Pi Lo Chun or maybe something else)
-will look Asian (Chinese more specifically)
-act kind of like a "traditional Chinese girl"
-outwardly she acts reserved, innocent, quiet, polite, humble (apologizes a lot, etc)
-slightly different personality underneath
-hard working, tries to be the best (not always honestly? too cliche?)
-healing powers?
-intellect that betrays her image (green tea existing for over 4000 years and all)?
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Posted: Mon Jun 22, 2009 2:17 pm
The Guardian: [name here].
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Posted: Mon Jun 22, 2009 2:18 pm
When I roleplay or write stories, I love to write dialogue. I'm working on my ability to write fluid descriptions and my ability to convey the same ideas and emotions without using speech. I'm more used to writing stories that take place in universes that I create, so I'm trying my best to become familiar enough with Life Dust's universe to write accurately about and in it.
Newer writing is at the top.
o1. My entry for the Life Dust concept contest where the essence for my dust was "Paper Shreds."Quote: Quote: Tell us of an event, with a clear beginning middle and end, where your dust does not move. The Guardian should be present. There should also be interesting and well thought out action, despite the fact that your dust remains stationary.
“Are we having rice again?” he asked making sure that his voice carried all the way to Justin’s ears, even though he knew the answer. Justin ate white rice with every meal. He said that rice was chi, or energy, and that you should have at least one bowl a day. Thor didn’t really believe in that superstitious bull, but it wasn’t like Justin was forcing rice down his throat or anything.
Justin jumped a little and swore under his breath, quickly drawing back his left hand from the pot. “Uh, yeah, we are.” He responded, shaking his hand. “I’m surprised that you’re awake,” he said after a moment.
“I don’t just sleep all day.”
“You’re pretty lazy.”
Thor didn’t respond. Yeah sure, he was lazy, and he knew it. Justin didn’t have to jab like that, though.
“Have you been there since I went to town? I went out of my way to invite you and everything,” Justin jested. “Don’t you get bored here all day? I bet I could find you a job or something easily.”
“Don’t wanna. Too much effort.” Silence hung in the air.
“I think,” Justin started after placing the lid on the contents of the pan he was frying in, “that one, you need to get over this laziness, and two, you’re just afraid of being disappointed. Which is why you don’t try in the first place.” He began to scoop rice out of the rice cooker into two bowls.
“Sorry, I couldn’t hear the sound of your voice over my laziness,” Thor spat back, still not moving his head from the table. Luckily, he was facing away from the human. ‘And I certainly don’t need you to preach to me about my problems,’ Thor thought sourly. Justin, who is usually cranky when he wakes up, was usually pretty gentle with Thor who suffers from the same issue. His guardian slid the two dishes he had prepared onto two separate plates and brought them to the table.
“Spoon, fork, or chopsticks?” he asked. Thor didn’t respond. Justin waltzed back to the kitchen and brought back the two bowls of rice and two sets of chopsticks. He placed one set in front of Thor and placed the other set opposite to the Dust before sliding into his seat. Thor didn’t make a move to touch his food. He wondered if this is how all people ate, with big dishes in the middle to be shared by all those eating at the time, with very little concern about passing germs and what not. Most of the time Justin would just pluck something from the plate of food and put it in his mouth. When they went out to eat, which was rare, the restaurant always gave each person their own individual dish.
“Not going to eat?” Justin asked after swallowing a piece of chicken along with a morsel of rice.
“I would, but I’m too afraid of being disappointed,” Thor said in a mocking voice. Deep down somewhere, Thor knew that Justin was right. It was just that hearing it from someone else’s mouth stung a bit. Okay, a lot. The whole “just woke up” thing didn’t really help either. Justin took another bite and swallowed. The rest of the meal continued without another word being spoken. The human chose to gaze out the window at the rapidly setting sun, whereas the Dustling chose to star at the white wall or inside of his eyelids.
Justin placed his chopsticks across the top of his now empty rice bowl. Thor felt his guardian’s gaze on him for a second followed by the sound of a chair scraping across the ground. As Justin cleaned up the remains of dinner, washing the dishes, storing the leftovers in the fridge, Thor did not move and did not say anything. Thor’s rice bowl was the last to go. Justin usually stored the rice in the fridge with the rest of the dishes, but instead scooped Thor’s untouched rice back into the rice cooker and kept the setting to “keep warm.” Of course, Thor was hardly aware, his head turned away from Justin, and the silence threatened to linger until the sun burned out.
Out of stubbornness, even two hours later, Thor hadn’t moved. But his breathing slowed and his eyes slowly shut and he graciously fell asleep.
When he woke up, it was morning, maybe around seven or eight. Thor noted a woolen blanket that was draped across his back. It had not been there before. Justin must have put it there. He let his eyes close once more. His eyes began to feel moist, but he wouldn’t cry. He wouldn’t. He had stayed in the same spot for who knows how many hours. He had protected his pride. He wouldn’t allow tears to ruin it.
Why did Justin have to be so irritatingly correct and nice at the same time?
Thor heard footsteps. “Hungry?” Justin’s voice came. Thor let out a small sound that Justin chose to interpret as “yes.” He moved towards the rice cooker which had been on all night. The rice was still moist and fresh, just like it had been last night.
“Feel up to going to town with me today?” Justin asked casually. Thor didn’t want to say anything. He knew that if he said anything more, his voice would crack, and it would probably give away the fact that he had, in fact, been crying.
The silence lingered a little longer and Justin’s movements slowed.
“If you don’t want to, that’s fine. I mean, I don’t want to force you or-”
Thor took a deep breath. He was pretty sure that he was composed now. “Sure.”
“Okay,” Justin said in quiet recognition. He set the bowl of rice in front of Thor. “I need to go get ready, but take your time.” His guardian left the room and as soon as he heard Justin’s door close, Thor picked up his head began to eat.o2. An excerpt from a story, Pernicious, that I never finished. Quote: Taylor breathed into her hands as she waited on the front steps of the school. It was rather cold, which was normal because it was late November. She could have waited inside, but she really didn’t want to miss the car or cause whoever called her to wait. Maybe it was just her, but they didn’t really sound like the friendliest of people. Taylor quickly checked the time on her cell phone, which had previously read “eight missed calls.” The clock just changed to one forty five. A black Mercedes pulled up in front of the school. Taylor didn’t spend her free time researching cars, but she had a hunch that this Mercedes was one of the more expensive ones. The car came to a slow stop. The passenger seat door open as a dark haired man stepped out. “Taylor Johnson?” It sounded more like a statement rather than a question. Taylor nodded her head and managed to utter a quiet “Yes?” The man stepped to the back door of the car and opened it. “Please get in.” When Taylor was young, even though her dad wasn’t always there for her, she had learned that you should never get into a stranger’s car. So, naturally, Taylor hesitated. She felt as though she was doing a lot of that lately. The stranger smiled weakly, still holding the door open. He appeared to be in his mid twenties, maybe younger. His dark eyes matched his dark hair, which matched his dark suit. As shady as he seemed, something in his face seemed almost brotherly and sincere. Taylor heard a click. It was the lock for the door on the other side. A small Asian girl with long straight black hair emerged. Not much of her body appeared over the car considering her height, but Taylor could still recognize the girl. ‘Min?’ Taylor thought to herself. The other half sister. Min smiled to Taylor. If Taylor wasn’t so shaken up, she would have probably noticed that there was something not-so-right about the smile, but a somewhat familiar face just made Taylor feel more comfortable. “How are you, Taylor?” She asked politely, laying a delicate hand on the top of the car. “Would you mind getting in the car? We can chat there.” Min smoothly slid back into the car and closed the door. “Uh- right. Um, my bag…?” Taylor asked a bit incoherently. “I’ll take it,” the man said, holding a hand out. Taylor stumbled down the stairs, slipped her bag off of her shoulders and climbed into the fancy sedan. The interior was all leather, and Min sat in the backseat next to her. She heard the trunk open then close. She couldn’t help nervously chuckling to herself, imagining her bag sitting next to a dead body. The man appeared in the passenger seat a moment later. The driver looked like a stereotypical driver, an aged face with crisp clothes. “Um- thanks for taking my bag!” Taylor said a bit too loudly. “Mister…” “Just call me Gabriel,” the man said without looking back. “Also, Taylor, there are some drinks in that compartment next to you, if you would like one.” He nodded to the driver who gently pressed the gas pedal and slowly left the school. With a little difficulty, Taylor opened the compartment. It housed a variety of wines and other liquors. Several cans of Miller Light and soft drinks were also present. She considered taking the beer. After all, there was nothing like a little alcohol to make everything better. Although Taylor drank periodically, she reasoned that not only was she underage and under the supervision of legal adults, but ingesting alcohol around these people probably wasn’t the best idea. She reached for a Canada Dry instead. Taylor hoped that her hands were steady as opened the soda. It made a satisfying hissing sound as she popped the can open. She let it fizz for a moment before taking a sip. She tipped the can a little too far, and as she swallowed, the carbonated water burned her throat a little. Taylor glanced over at her half sister. Min appeared to be wistfully looking out the window, something Taylor had been doing just a few hours ago. She looked down at the soda in her lap and idly traced the top with her finger, thinking that she had experienced her fair share of awkward silences that day.
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Posted: Mon Jun 22, 2009 2:22 pm
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Posted: Mon Jun 22, 2009 2:24 pm
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Posted: Mon Jun 22, 2009 2:24 pm
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Posted: Mon Jun 22, 2009 4:52 pm
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