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 Posted: Wed Feb 02, 2011 9:09 pm
x x x x x❸━━━━❷━━━━❶ ━
x x x x x Fireworks ✰ !
x x x x x x x x x a CHINESE NEW YEAR prompt!
x x x x x x x x x x Ni hao!
x x x x x x x x x x Welcome to Anima Regnum's Chinese New Year prompt in our joint celebration!
x x x x x x x x x x Here, you'll find our semi-custom Luxia that's looking for a good home to bring luck
x x x x x x x x x x and good fortune to. As you may know, this is the Year of the Rabbit, and to keep
x x x x x x x x x x theme, this Luxia's essence will be of a rabbit -- the catch, however, is that you get
x x x x x x x x x x to choose the breed of rabbit as well as the oil!
x x x x x x x x x x If you're interested in taking this potential cutie home, all you have to do is fill out
x x x x x x x x x x the form provided below and have just a dash of that good fortune on your side!
x x x x x x x x x x Remember the reason for the celebration and have fun with it.
x x x x x x x x x x Happy New Year!
x x x x x x x x x x This event runs from 12:01AM PST February 3rd to 11:59PM EST February 14th!
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Posted: Wed Feb 02, 2011 9:11 pm
x x x x x x x x x x ✺ Shop rules apply here. As always, please be courteous~ x x x x x x x x x x ✺ One entry per person. No mules, and no entering for a friend. x x x x x x x x x x ✺ Keep to the theme! Oils chosen to compliment the rabbit soul or that embody the New Year are more successful~ x x x x x x x x x x ✺ Submit your form and reply here. Do not PM the mule or the staff; entries not posted here will be disqualified. x x x x x x x x x x ✺ Have fun! x x x x x x x x x x Prompt 1 x x x x x x x x x x In the Anima Regnum, you come across two young Luxia squabbling over a shiny, golden coin! x x x x x x x x x x As a Rabbit, you're a prime candidate to solve the argument peacefully. How do you do it? x x x x x x x x x x Prompt 2 x x x x x x x x x x Let's face it. You're a rabbit. The idea of leaving the safety of the Anima Regnum terrifies you, x x x x x x x x x x but you know it must come to pass. What do you do to prepare yourself? Do you ever set foot outside? x x x x x x x x x x Prompt 3 x x x x x x x x x x Representing the Year of the Rabbit is a big deal, and kinda cool! What do you think of yourself? x x x x x x x x x x How do your personality and actions reflect your special birthright?[size=11][b]Name (of the Luxia):[/b]
[b]Gender:[/b]
[b]Rabbit Breed:[/b] (Provide a link to a picture if possible, please!)
[b]Oil Choice:[/b]
[b]Entry:[/b] (Answer ONE prompt here~)
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Posted: Mon Feb 07, 2011 9:50 am
Name (of the Luxia): Yi Min
Gender: Male
Rabbit Breed: English Angora
Oil Choice: Red Plum Blossom (The color red is auspicious in Chinese culture and plum blossoms are used as decorations during Chinese New Year since they bloom in winter. This latter trait makes them a part of the "Three Friends of the Cold" which includes pine and bamboo.)
Entry: Prompt 1
Silence filled the air of Anima Regnum as Yi Min passed through its blackened barrier walls upon his return from a trip to the human's world. This was a welcome thing - the place he had visited was fraught with New Years festivities and while the busy air in that plane was a delightful change from the ever pressing silence of the Regnum, it wasn't long before his sensitive ears became antagonized by the sounds of the festival and the canon-like explosions of detonating fireworks. Though the event was something unlike he had ever seen, he finally did have to obey his aching ears.
While he had had to leave quicker than he had intended, the Rabbit did not return to his home empty handed. Along with noise of the festivals and celebrations there also came trinkets and an awing array of treats that caught the Luxia's eye and sent him darting to the streets more than once during his trip. Though he lacked proper pockets Yi Min was able to carry back a small number of knick knacks thanks to a small paper bag he had also found strewn on the curb and was happy to have it on his arm as he made it through to his world. Rifling through the once cast aside red bag with gold-colored handles, Yi Min was once again pleased by his haul. Some of what he had inside could be seen as trash to those who dwelled in the world from which they came, but to the Rabbit Luxia, they were precious luxuries and potential talking points. Sparkly confetti, twisting crepe paper garlands, tiny plastic toys in the shape of rabbits that wound up and hopped, forgotten sparklers, cocktail picks with colorfully gaudy tops, shells of what were once party poppers, and the greatest and most impressive of all - a number of shiny coins in metallic colors littered the bottom of the bag and all clinked together when he swung his bag to and fro.
It was a great haul for sure and he couldn't help but pat himself on the back for what he saw as his good fortune. Yi Min couldn't wait to take it back to his personal little nook in Anima Regnum and add it to his growing collection of human world oddities. As he floated through the soul-lit air he already began to imagine what would go where and where they would all look best, picking through his prizes and handling each one in turn as he floated away from the barrier.
"This will go...Ah, next to the giant cup. Little and big, a perfect contrast! And this sparkly stuff will be best sprinkled around those stones--"
"GIVE IT BACK!"
"NO! IT'S MINE!"
Yi Min was jerked from his thoughts and spun around just in time to see two Luxia - one darkly colored, the other light - come barreling through the wall one right after the other. The dark child was in the lead and had something in hand but he lost it as his lighter pursuer tackled him from behind. When the dark Luxia was down the light one immediately went scrambling for the object.
"YOU GIVE THAT BACK!"
"IT'S MINE!"
The fallen leader picked himself up and Yi Min played witness to a vicious game of keep away. He stood in stunned silence as the two children darted after one another, fought in midair, dipped, dove, and grabbed arms, legs, tails, and hair in order to each get their hands on whatever it was each was claiming as his own. The cries of ownership continued and mixed with yells of indignation and pain as each tugged and was tugged in turn. Soon enough though the chase became a tug of war and with the two Luxia now not zipping around so fast they were blurs the Rabbit could clearly see it was a coin they were fighting about.
"IS NOT!"
"IS TOO!"
"IS NOT!"
"IS TOO!"
"I SAW IT FIRST!"
"NO I DID JERKFACE!"
Yi Min winced even though the insult was slight and childish at best. He didn't know the two youths but what he did know for sure was that friends - if they were that to begin with - shouldn't call each other hurtful things like that. He frowned as they continued to bicker back and forth but kept his eyes on what they were arguing over. A gold coin, and a familiar looking one at that. Pushing the cover of hair away from his eyes, Yi Min saw clearly that the coin was similar to one of the many he had picked up on his excursion. In fact, it could be dead on for one of his own and that put an idea into his head. He might not know the kids, but he had a way to mediate and make sure their own friendship stayed intact. All it would take was a quick dig into his bag and, perhaps, a little magic.
"Well now, what's all this about?" The Rabbit took charge and floated forward, but not before slipping his right hand into his bag and taking a matching coin from the mess within. Yi Min made sure to keep it balled in his hand but kept this as unapparent as possible by holding his bag's handles with the same hand as well.
The Rabbit's call alone made for a decent trick by itself, silencing the argument and making the two child Luxia break apart. Despite the end of that present war, the dark one - lacking the coin - still cast dirty looks to the lighter child who was holding the shiny object with pride.
"He stole my coin." He said as he pointed an accusatory finger to the other young Luxia and tried to make it look like he was the victim in the matter. His companion's prideful appearance deflated like a balloon but he quickly puffed up again with the beginnings of another battle on his tongue.
"I did not!"
"You did too!"
"Did n--"
"Now now," Yi Min cut in softly, "calm down, both of you." He came to a stop before both of the children and his clipped tone stopped the nonsense before it could begin anew. Yi Min pushed back his bangs with his left hand and pointedly looked at the object that was causing such a ruckus. "Are you both really fighting over that little thing?"
The two boys looked to each other, to the coin, and then back to Yi Min before nodding. It was exactly what they were fighting over. The shine of golden light, the comforting weight, and - to the small children - the sheer size of the metal disk was something to both be proud over and, of course, fight for ownership of.
"Of all things!" The Rabbit Luxia shook his head, face taking on that look of chiding maturity that to the children looked as though Yi Min had grown up too much to remember what it was like to be a child. This wasn't the case of course, but he couldn't help but act the part even a little in light of this odd turn of events. He was rather the grown up here, even if he was merely a teen, and did what would both help his little plan and seem like the proper part. He held out his hand. "I guess I'll have to take it then, if you two can't play nice and share."
"What?!"
"No way!" The boy who held the coin gripped it tighter and backed away from the Rabbit, looking him over with the same distrust his once-friend had shown him. Some random stranger wanted this? Over his tiny dead body!
"You two can't share, can you? And I guess taking turns is off the board too..." The look from the lighter Luxia gave him his answer on both accounts. No way and not on his life. "Neither of you can be happy that way, but what if I said I could make it so you wouldn't have to fight over it, eh?"
Though he hadn't been showing anything but touches of that grown up sternness, the Rabbit broke into a light smile which only grew as both boys looked to each other. They were flummoxed. Just what was this fluffy-headed Luxia saying exactly?
"What are you talking about mister?" Not having to fight over the coin was high on the dark-colored child's priorities, especially now that he learned his light-colored friend could put up a fight when provoked well enough.
"Give me the coin and you'll find out."
"You aren't going to run off if we give it to you, are you?" It seemed they had been played before and knew full well they couldn't chase down an older, winged Luxia.
"I wont, I promise. I don't need that one little coin because I have my own bag of things here." Yi Min swung the paper bag enough that the items inside clattered together, and the fact he had that with him helped turn the tide in his favor. To the duo before him it seemed like he had a lot of things, so what would he want with their coin? Plus he was saying he could make it so they wouldn't fight and that sounded like the Rabbit was going to give them something from the bag! It was a pleasing thought, so the Luxia with the coin looked to his friend and then approached the Rabbit.
"Okay...But we're watching you!"
"That's fine. I want you to watch me." He took the coin in hand and flipped it about so it was held out to the children between his thumb and fingers. "So you see this coin, yes?"
"Yes."
"Yes." The word came in unison and Yi Min had to chuckle.
"Good." He set his bag down, and swung the coin around before setting it carefully into the palm of the hand that had been holding the bag. With his left hand free of the coin, he wiggled his fingers to draw their eyes to his left hand. "Nothing in my hand, yes?"
"Yes."
"Right."
Yi Min picked the coin back up, but aligned right behind it was the one he had been hiding up until that point. Thanks to the angle, the thinness of the coins themselves, and the fact his person was being watched more closely than the coins the second was not spied by either boy. With those now positioned in hand, Yi Min opened and closed his right to show there was nothing in that one as well.
"And nothing in my right, yes?"
"Yes."
"Yeah."
He could only smile at them.
"Okay...So I have in my hand one coin. There's nothing in my other hand and my bag is at my feet. There's nothing behind me," and he spun around to show that there was nothing there but the vast endlessness of the Regnum. Clearly there was nothing on or around the teen that could be a cause for any nay-saying later. "So I'm going to close this coin in my hand and then I want you both to tap on the back of it."
"Why do you want us to do that?"
"You both own the coin right?" Or rather, each one claimed to own it all on his own, but no matter.
"Yeah?"
"Well in order to make it so you don't fight again, you both need to have a part in it." It wasn't the best excuse he had, but he was making this up on the fly. If he had more time to prepare, Yi Min felt he could have made a great stand up act for the kids. He thought about it and tucked that idea away for later. Not a bad one at all. "So will you tap when I say to?"
Both boys nodded and Yi Min smiled once more. Excellent! Participation was always key. He gestured to their coin once again with his free right hand and then folded his left around it and the hidden second. There was no clink or sound of metal sliding on metal and for that he was both grateful and proud. He gave his hand a squeeze and held it out to the youngsters, the back of his hand facing up at them.
"I'll count to three and each time I say a number, you both tap my hand at the same time. Got it?" Their voices were in unison.
"Got it."
"Got it."
"Okay. Remember, tap as I count." Yi Min gave his hand another squeeze. "One..."
Tap
"Two..."
Tap
"Three..."
Tap
Upon the third touch Yi Min turned his hand upside down and opened it, exposing what was hiding in his palm. Where there was once seemingly only one coin there was now two - one slightly overlapping the other and both glinting in the dim soul light.
"Voila!" He crowed in triumph, swinging his right arm back and flapping his wings in a grand display for the reveal. The two before him could only ogle the scene; eyes darting between the coins and each other in shock and awe. Yi Min chuckled softly and tipped his fingers so the top coin slid off the bottom, showing full well there was now one for each of them.
"See? Now you don't have to fight over a single coin anymore!" Each boy took his share and, after flipping his piece around a couple times, the dark-colored Luxia looked up at him with eyes as wide as dinner plates.
"You know magic, mister?"
"Neat trick, huh?" Both faces lit up and each boy's tail swished in childish excitement and delight.
"Yeah!"
"How'd you do it?"
That question was expected but Yi Min only crossed his arms over his chest as he turned his head with that showman's air. He had put on a very successful show, and for that alone he grinned even as he felt a little puff of pride bubble in his chest and loft him upward. He had done some good and the loss of one coin was nothing on him when the end result was shock, awe, and overall delight. Though he soaked in those feelings and the repeated questions that followed, Yi Min did eventually give the boys a reply. It wasn't what they were looking for, but it was one which would only add to their discussion of the fluffy older Luxia once they finally left his "stage" with what was most definitely the product of some kind of magic.
"Magicians do not reveal their secrets!"
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Posted: Mon Feb 14, 2011 1:30 pm
*runs in - tosses this down - and runs out* I SORRY CHRYS DXName (of the Luxia): Yin Liu
Gender: Female
Rabbit Breed: Plush Lop | (Picture here - from this page)I decided on plush lops because they look like, well, bunny plushies, and that tied nicely in with the concept I was running with in the prompt. :3Oil Choice: p***y Willow (but not the terrifying yellow caterpillar stage! ;A; ) | (Like the first buds here (without the artsy yellow tint) | another shot here)The wiki linked above says it all as to why p***y Willows are Chinese New Year plants, but I pretty much picked it because they are my favourite Chinese New Year plants - I used to slide the papery casings off prematurely when I was a kid, revealing the silky sleek silver-white bud within. Couldn't get enough of it (like popping bubble-wrap, eheh). Just looking at these pictures make me nostalgic!Entry: Prompt 3
Face - just so. Hair - just so. And the ears - the ears are especially important, because - because… Face - just so. Hair - just so. The mirror shard in front of her reports as much, but she keeps fussing, obsessively smoothing down tufts and tendrils, reaching for something - something that is just out of reach in the fragmented recesses of a mind before a time it was her mind. Today is a special day…this year…
"You look…busy," the sighing whisper of a drifting soul, passing idly, transient, through her sphere.
"It will be busy - big shipment incoming and we've got to move them before the event's over; they'll need my signature and -"
- and - what?
The line had slipped, automatic, from her lips, but - what? She has no idea - of course she knew, she had placed that order herself, a fantastic opportunity - no, she has no idea what came before, no idea what comes after. A broken moment, she burns with shame. But - dignity, always dignity; she draws herself up to her full height, feigns nonchalance in the face of the Luxia's distractedly patient stare, "Apologies, I was…thinking aloud. You were saying?"
Tries to ignore the slight quirk of a lip as the stare cuts right through her façade.
"Have you been…out? There…something seems to be…happening," is all he says.
Today is a special day…
"Yes…" she says, tentative at first, then brightening, her own lips curving excitedly upwards as her eyes glaze over at the pictures playing behind them, "there were lights…and - sounds."
She has not been out; she thinks she has: "Fire in the sky, red - all over. Voices…happy - always, happy voices…"
Always happy voices, calling her name, calling for her. They are looking at her, they were all - they are smiling for her. They are excited, they clamour, they want her to smile at them too. But she is calm, she is always calm; face - just so. Hair - just so. Every bit, inch perfect; she is always calm. It is not a game, it is a show - it is not just a show. She is the best there is, it is a show, it is a business, a machine, a fever, a religion, they want her. She is more - more than anything they can ever be…but only - only everything they want her to be... No - not this year. This year, it's her year - and - she -
He is gone. How long? She does not know. She falters; she does not show it, only her eyes dim. Slowly, like a wind-up doll, she turns back to the shard, hands towards her head. It is dark - but it is always dark here. Somewhere, there are lights, sounds. Fire in the sky, red - all over. Voices. Always, happy voices. Today is a special day…this year.
Face - just so. Hair - just so. And the ears…[Augh, I have belatedly realised this is about 1/10th the length of most entries around here. ^^;; I just have to share what compelled me to approach the prompt like this: close to Chinese New Year, Maxx came home, deathly pale, and imparted to me the sum total of the season as announced through the local Chinese radio channel. "This year," an expert had gravely announced (in Chinese), "BANNI is very hot." BANNI being in English - but the tragicomedy of this moment probably doesn't come through without the Chinese words bracketing it. XD;;
Tragicomedy aside though - I find it really fascinating that the animal that represents each lunar year literally makes or breaks the market for millions of merchants, and that is the true meaning of Chinese New Year. Last year was apparently a fiscal disaster - but this year, bunny is "very hot." My original desire was to make her a businesswoman selling her own pin-up empire, buuuut it didn't really fit into the soul realm idea, so I went with the idea of the packaged merchandise ala idol-type past life for the feeling of being representative for the season instead. Personally, I suspect she was a small-time getai (Chinese outdoor performances primarily for the lower-classes) singer with a good eye for merchandising opportunism - but she doesn't have to remember that much. XD;;]
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Posted: Mon Feb 14, 2011 8:16 pm
Name (of the Luxia): Déhuá.{Chinese for Virtuous China}
Gender: male
Rabbit Breed: Himilayin
Oil Choice: White Plum Blossom
Entry: Prompt 2.
It all seemed so empty. So... quiet. Not even white noise tainted the air. Not a scrape or drop of disturbance echoed in the endless void. Scratch that... dimension. The eerie and opaque spirits with varying figures and forms drifted aimlessly about, as if there were no place in particular to be or anything of necessity to do. There were the occasional whispers and murmurs from silk like voices, but they were indistinguishable, inaudible, and too fleeting like a dandelion in the wind on a Summer's eve. Of course it was a safe haven, a sanctuary for those who had to await trial and error, but it was far from paradise; not that Déhuá was one to complain. But the darkness that surrounded him was becoming more encasing and suffocating as the days.... or petrified time passed on. He felt a calling... a urge.. a desire to move... to feel something. His phantom legs gave occasional kicks and nose a random wriggle from time to time... yes, old habits seemed still in tact, and itching to return.
Such a quiet boy, that Déhuá. You'd hardly tell he were around, even if he were before your very eyes. Such a calm boy. Never did a wrinkle or furrow grace his smooth brow. Ears only giving the faintest of twitches or swivels, eyes usually presenting a sort of stoic disposition. As if they were looking right through you... through your very soul. It was enough to make a chill race down your spine... or your proverbial spine, if you were but a whisp or glow. The male held an old soul, that much was certain, and an elegance that was strong as an anchor's chain, yet delicate as strewn lace. In his previous life he was just the same. Each press of a dainty pad placed with care and premeditated precision, making only the rare disturbance if a weak twig were unable to hold the lithe weight from the cony, causing a minute crack to sound for the briefest of moments, forcing the lightly treading Hymalayin to freeze in his tracks, cherry red eyes wide and alert, ears perked and swiveled forward to attention.
His heart would throb, coursing it's beat through the thin veins along the membranes of his dark ears. All would be still. A twitter or whistle from a bird would break the ice like air, and sound for the all clear. The pulse and life of the low-land forest resuming it's usual behavior and routine.
That great mountain air... crisp, cooling, flushed with the aroma of the peaks above. Collected ice droplet's that were ushered down the the jagged sides, and roll around the grounds in a layer of the soft illusion that is mist. It encased the mystery and myth of the terra. To taste the greens that were sewn with the droplets that rested in a picturesque manner atop each leaf, steam, and bulb that was within the vicinity. Touched with the clean and clear liquid from the heavens. How refreshing it was to lick up one of the beads of water with his round pink tongue tip, leaving a sweet and nutrient rich taste along his pallet, full of minerals and vitamins.
The feel of a drop sliding smoothly down the length of a leaf to plop onto the rabbit's fur, resting neatly on the porcelain white pelt, unaffected by the impact. From time to time, a drop would seep its way to his tender warm skin, but it was gentle enough to just kiss the flesh with a gracious touch.
Reminiscing... remembering the life that once was, how could he not want to return.. To at least get a taste for what used to be. How he would regret not ever seeing the light of day again, or the betraying dark nights... the sounds that filled every reach of life and corner of the world. He yearned for it... he needed it. The composed, selfless rabbit wanted to live again. Perhaps not in the same vessel he was familiar with, but he wanted to feel again. To hear again. To taste, and see again. The unknown was intimidating, and held no promises, but at least it held chance for something he once loved. Even though he wasn't the most courageous, he was a dreamer, and a believer. If his impeding doom was to be struck upon him with his reckless, and spontaneous act, like a lightning bolt, well... at least he'd seen another day... or another night.
For what is to live if you cannot live without chains?
and indeed, that Déhuá did as he had proposed. That kind gentle boy.. so soft and so sweet.. he took the step into the ship of Destiny, who escorted him to Fate.
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