chinese new year

[bantha_fodder]

Some time ago, hobviously issued the non-Anglo/Western/Mainstream holiday Challenge, though it (alas) didn't actually happen in the end.

This was both an answer to that challenge, and something that I did for myself: fifteen short pieces about Chinese New Year. They ranged from 100 to 600 words, and I link them all below.

I originally tried to do this in 2005; I failed along the way, because I was writing them on each day, which was why I wrote (most of) these ones in advance. Best to be prepared, I suppose. I reworked some of the themes from the 2005 drabbles into some of these ones, but I have disclaimed that as necessary in the notes of each fic. There weren't that many of them.

I would like to think that I managed to convey everything about New Year that I wanted to, but of course I didn't. I was limited by the characters that I picked, and the situations that they were in.

I'd like to thank annavtree, zeplum, fox1013, and cupiscent, for their assistance as required. All mistakes are my own; the characters are not.


That Small Circle of Light in the Night Sky: a collection of fictions in regards Chinese New Year

1. On Not Knowing the Way, Stick It. Mina Hoyt, at a New Year's Eve Reunion Dinner.


2. Show Me The Way (to go home), Space: Above and Beyond. Paul Wang, frightening away the bad spirits.


3. Just the Ticket to Ride, Kill Bill. O-Ren Ishii, scaring the bad spirits/honouring the dead.


4. One Among the Hundreds, Harry Potter. Cho Chang, honouring the dead.


5. So Close to Bedrock, Phryne Fisher Mysteries. Phryne, on not being Chinese.


6. With the Lights Left On, The Pretender. Jarod and Miss Parker, strangers amongst the celebrations.


7. A Garden, Disturbed by Echoes, Eating Chinese Food Naked. Ruby, brooms and that feeling you get when you realise you're not who you're supposed to be.


8. A Glimpse in Mirrors, Law and Order: SVU. Huang going home with oranges.


9. No Uncertain Clarity, Children of Dune. The twins and the Nian.


10. Our Own Legends in the Silence, Harry Potter. Charlie, for the dragons.


11. Sun-Drenched in a Winter Storm, The Joy Luck Club. June, on the Chinese diaspora, and the family we end up with due to the decisions our mums made.


12. The Great Muppet Chinese New Year, The Muppets. Kermit, a summary of the events that have come before.


13. On the Same Wave, X-Men. Jubilee, and the new years that we have left behind.


14. Just Like a Hundred Times Before, Blade: Trinity. Hannibal King, hunting the bad spirits.


15. Your Posture in the Celestial Realm, Firefly. Mal Reynolds and the lantern festival.

And that, my friends, is just about the end of the new year festivities. I'm just on my way out for one last family thing, so have a good one, and thank you for indulging me.

Comments

[kirbyfest.livejournal.com]

Thank you for posting these; they were lovely. I did't know all the fandoms, but the ones I knew were terrific. :)

[bantha-fodder.livejournal.com]

Thank you. I'm very pleased with it. :o)

[cupiscent.livejournal.com]

This project was amazing. Really. Hats off.

[bantha-fodder.livejournal.com]

Thank you, darling.

[sangga.livejournal.com]

oh these are so wonderful!!!

(it's so great to be reading your stuff again. this is first fic i've read since i returned that made me *glee*!)

i didn't taste-test them all, but cherry-picked - i loved cho's red dress, and hannibal and abbie chasing spirits, and mal's optimism...but how much did i love charlie's dragons!! and huang!! his grandmother screeching at him!! for some reason i loved that one the best (probably because it so typifies regular family events - always the dramas, when everyone gets together...)

thank you for writing these - get some more characters for january 09!

[genarti]

I just found these from your mention in IBARW this year. And, oh, I love these! I love the idea, and the fics are wonderful. Even the ones for fandoms I don't know are clear and delicate and the emotion comes through clearly. Very well done.