21st Card [Text/dictated] (backdated to the 30th)

[legacydeck]

恭喜發財

[Clow's calligraphy is immaculate, and he follows it up with a translation out loud.]

Congratulations and be prosperous. And it's good to see the Castle has decided to be a little less.... Euro-centric, this year. I'll have fireworks on the roof again tonight, like last year.

[OOC: Open for fireworks action!]

Comments

[dgaf]

[ Fireworks sound nicer than firecrackers, but first, a thought that's been nagging her all day: ]

If everyone can have everything, no one's prosperous. Right?

[legacydeck]

Only if you define your prosperity by your neighbors, and not by your own wishes.

dictated

[unmanned]

This celebration a first here?

[dgaf]

[ That... actually makes sense. One for you, Mister. ]

So, this is about inner peace?

[legacydeck]

While I've been here, certainly. I had to make do on my own last year. But others have been here longer.

[unmanned]

What was that all about, then? 'fraid I'm not very familiar.

action (I knew I was forgetting something)

[lord_wizard]

[Felix decides to answer the summons in person. He and Clow have not had much of a chance to really speak since his return. Not in any way that matters, at least, assuming they ever did.

He step out onto the roof, reflexively casting his witchlights as he goes looking for the other mage, his hands in his pockets to ward off the late winter chill]

dictated

[freeslider]

Hey, you're back!

[legacydeck]

I suppose so - peace with your own desires, certainly.

[legacydeck]

[Clow has magelights of his own, little dancing flames in red and gold, as benefits the holiday, because he could use a little illumination for setting off rockets. They're piled next to him, brightly-colored themselves, though he hears Felix come, and glances over, giving him a wave]

[legacydeck]

The lunar new year - which is celebrated in many cultures instead of the solar new year.

[lord_wizard]

Dare I hope you'd find a warmer location for this activity?

[dgaf]

What about you?

[unmanned]

A few weeks later and another reason to drink, I suppose.

[legacydeck]

That I am, apparently. How are you?

[legacydeck]

While I'm fairly sure the castle could survive fireworks being set off inside it, I think a number of the resident would be significantly less happy. And it's not really the right backdrop anyway.

[lord_wizard]

I'm not especially versed in the finer points of fireworks.

[Felix came closer and leaned against the railing, caught for a moment in memories as he stared down at the city]

So explain to me the significance of all this...

[freeslider]

I'm doing alright. A little bored sometimes.

[legacydeck]

I've had more than enough prosperity - usually my only problem is satiating my curiosity.

[legacydeck]

If nothing else. The west got all they learned of fireworks from us, too.

[dgaf]

Well, you're no cat.

[legacydeck]

[Clow raises an eyebrow, though his reply sounds amused]

Does your world not have any celebration of the new year?

[legacydeck]

Bored, here of all places?

[unmanned]

Other things, too. [Weapons and techniques come to mind.]

[freeslider]

Compared to how my life's been the last year of my life or so before I got here, things here have been pretty quiet. Helps that nobody's gone into space again since you left.

[lord_wizard]

Of course we do, and it varies depending on the calender you're following. It's only that I wasn't aware that Earth also had multiple calendrical systems. Who follows which calendar, and in the case of your particular version, I was curious if there was any particular meaning behind the fireworks and the castle's choice in decor.

[legacydeck]

I have had more than one life, though~

[legacydeck]

Oh, certainly. More than they'd admit.

[legacydeck]

That would take some of the fun out of things, I suppose

[legacydeck]

The Gregorian and Chinese lunar calendars are only two of a great many - though many of them are religious calendars with a smaller number of followers.

As for the decorations - red is a lucky color, a color of joy. Traditionally gifts of money in red envelopes are given, usually to children, though sometimes to older unmarried people or to colleagues. The sound of firecrackers scares away evil spirits, but I prefer fireworks for their aesthetic value.

[dgaf]

Best of both worlds.

[lord_wizard]

I suppose we could do all do with a few less evil spirits.

[legacydeck]

Particularly in a place like this - but I will confess my fondness is mostly for the aesthetics rather than it's traditional role.

[freeslider]

I guess so. Less dangerous, though.

By the way, I still have the keys to your place. Um...I haven't done much with it. I can't really bake.

[lord_wizard]

I can sympathize with that reasoning. Aesthetics have their own value. [He smile slyly, giving Clow a sideways glance.]

[legacydeck]

Oh, the pie shop? Is it still intact?

[legacydeck]

[A smile Clow returns quite readily]

I won't even pretend I hadn't noticed that.

[lord_wizard]

How could you not? Our profession is all in the details. [Pretending the subtext wasn't there, just in case he's imagining it]

[freeslider]

Last I checked. I go down and sweep it out every once in awhile while I tried to find someone else to run it. So far no bites.

[legacydeck]

[Clow arches an eyebrow - he knows Felix means more than what he's simply saying]

And the best appreciate the art as much as the technique - though it seems like the mages here like to flaunt it more than many I know.

[legacydeck]

Hmm, well. In that case, I may as well take it over again. Thank you for caring for it while I was gone.

[lord_wizard]

Perhaps it's a result of being surrounded by something so much more powerful that us. Like shouting to get noticed in a crowded room. As if finesse were not something to aspire to. For some of us, subtlety is almost all we have.

[freeslider]

No problem! Seemed like a shame to neglect it after all the work you put into it.

[legacydeck]

[Clow looks clearly amused]

Somehow I'm not sure that justifies our collective vanity being on par with some royal courts I've seen.

[lord_wizard]

[That earns Clow a laugh]

We have the potential to be so much useful that any royal court, for one. Not to mention being well gifted in other areas.

[They made for a rather attractive gathering of people, after all.]

[legacydeck]

[Clow smirks] Too bad we're too busy fighting over ideology to actually run anything.

Our other talents are sometimes simpler to make use of, though~

[lord_wizard]

Too true, on both accounts. [Another blandly suggestive dip of his eyelids. Testing the waters, so to speak.]

In any case, I believe I was promised a light show?~