not too short for a stormtrooper

every household filled with joy by pen
East West 101, Lim, gen

I don't own. Thanks to copracat for the betatasticness.

CNYE <3

( She's halfway out the door, oranges clasped in her hand, when the phone rings and her stomach drops.  )

Chinese New Year is in two days! Quickly, what can I write for red_packet?



I have to go return a million things to people ooooh noooooooooooo.

hahaha OH

(translation: 38C = 100.4F)

I do not envy those of you with your fires and your snow and such. I love a late December where I step outside and my skin prickles from the heat. I await the pre-dawn coolness; the sweltering heat of the day; battling with the flies; backyard cricket; fresh grapes and watermelons and a mid afternoon swim.

Last week several people at work commented that they do not feel that Christmas can be so soon. I suggested that perhaps it was the coolness in the air: for me it is integral to this festival.

**

In news of other festivals:


[Poll #1110143]


Please answer! I would like to create such a community in the next few days, and open it just after people gorge themselves on yuletide fic.

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.

Just Like a Hundred Times Before by Pen
Blade: Trinity, Hannibal King, G.

( They slip through the crowded streets, hunting Chinese sprites. )

The Great Muppet Chinese New Year, by Pen.
The Muppets, Kermit, G.

Chinese New Year #12

( the great muppet chinese new year )

Our Own Legends in the Silence by Pen
Harry Potter, Charlie Weasley, G.

100 words for the dragons.



When the moon is dark, Charlie steps out of his tent and finds the grounds full of people. He thinks at first that he's still asleep, for when he listens he hears nothing he can understand; he concentrates, realises the translation charm has faded.

He does not renew it; he floats on words he cannot understand, their meanings made clear via gestures and smiles.

Above the crowd, a dragon rears, roars; flame rises from its mouth and the firelight reflects off its cold scales. The crowd laughs; smiles fondly and exchanges blessings.

He wishes all could love the dragons so.

A Glimpse in Mirrors, by Pen
Law and Order: SVU, Huang, G.

( He stands in front of the fruit stand, and studies the orange in his hand )

With the Lights Left On, by Pen
The Pretender, Miss Parker, PG.

Chinese New Year #6

( The package arrives three weeks before Christmas, and the clues mean absolutely jack shit to any of them. )

One Among the Hundreds, by Pen
Harry Potter, Cho Chang, G.

Chinese New Year #4

( As she exits the hall, her arms laden with superstition, a hand falls upon her shoulder. )