HW_07 Amandine Gendolo

 

STORY :

-Bai Su Zhen was a small being living on the moon. Every night she would look down at the earth from above, fascinated by all the little lives beneath her. One day, she saw a child through a window, watching the moon, his eyes seemed to be so envious of what could happen up there, which seemed to Bai to be quite curious given the monotony of the moon.
-After having observed a boy fascinated by the moon every night at her window, she decided one day to leave her home and visit her village

-When she arrived, she came across a monk, armed with his bow and looking for his meal.
-When the man saw the blue fur of the rabbit, his greedy mind whispered that he could get a good price for it. He tried to shoot the poor animal, which fled in terror.
With an arrow lodged in its leg, the whimpering little creature could barely move when it saw the figure of the monk above it.
-A boy suddenly stood between the monk, with his bow drawn, and the little animal. Furious, the monk told the boy to move away but he told him that it was his animal and that he had already hurt him enough.
-Recognizing the boy's face, and his father's status, the monk gave up his grip, a bitter taste in his mouth of that silky blue fur that could have saved him from his miserable life.
-Wounded for life, the rabbit was never agile enough to rejoin her family and every night she turned a wistful gaze to the place where she once was.
-The child, full of kindness, looked after her, and for years the rabbit seemed to feel at home with him.

-Years later, the boy, now a young man, had reached marriageable age. Coming from a rich family, ladies from all over the country came to him in the hope that he would take their hand.
-Realizing his affection for the one who had always protected her, and the danger of seeing him leave for a new life, the blue rabbit left his silky fur for a white hair with bluish reflections.
-her beauty stunned the whole village as she walked towards the young man.
-With one look at her, Xu Xian knelt down and pledged his allegiance to her without hesitation.
-The marriage was a magical one, and although he was saddened by the loss of his companion, Xu felt deep down that he had never really lost him.
-Leaving the title of emperor to his brother, the yougn man settled in a humble workshop, blacksmith making weapons and his wife making potions and remedies to help those in need, they lived what seemed to be the happiest years of their lives.

-Until the day a monk showed up at their door and collapsed on the threshold. Dying, the old man had only the night left.
-Bai stayed at his bedside all night and applied remedies of which she alone knew the secret. The monk, his eyes closed and his forehead feverish, suddenly grabbed Bai's wrist and fixed the mark on his forearm, a simple round scar, which was probably caused by an arrow.
-The monk then stared terrifyingly at Bai, who struggled and then fled the room, terrified by the encounter and swearing she had not recognized the man earlier.

-The next few days were quiet, but Bai didn't want to go out anymore and lived in fear that her secret would be revealed and that she would lose everything that was dear to her.
-She was nevertheless forced to go out one evening in autumn, during a splendid festival organized by the villagers and celebrated in the whole country. In a serene mood at last, Bail wandered through the streets without seeing the man in the shadows slipping a strange substance into the cannons scattered around the town.
-The festival was splendid, the powder and the smoke escaped from the lanterns and the powdery trails of the fires crossed the festive and dancing village. Suddenly Bai had a violent cough and collapsed, with her husband screaming for help. But he realized that the crowd around him was forming a distant and terrified circle around him.
-When he turned his head he was faced with a strange creature, with silky white fur.
-Though different, when he looked into the creature's eyes he saw the same kindness, the same bluish tint as his wife's.
-The sound of the fire then mingled with the cries of the soldiers, ready to slaughter what he had just met.
-Xu Xian moved to stand between his wife and the soldiers, and accepted the evidence and the color of his wife's hair, which for all these years had seemed to be that of his former companion. But this time, the arrows with a thud fled the ropes.
-He collapsed at Bai's feet.

Continued:

-object to find (mushroom-plant-water from a spring etc)

-Place of passage: bridge, river and raft, portal, magic elevator? Plant like magic bean?

-combat and obtaining the object.

-resolution (living husband?, deceased husband remaining deceased but Bai accepted in the village? Pregnant and raises her child in the memory of her father's bravery having accepted her difference).

MAIN THEMES :

-love
-an immense gratitude
-the rejection and fear of what is different, a quick judgment
-mystical and the secret aspect of it
-the journey to another spiritual/sacred world
-a happiness that hangs by a thread (if its nature is discovered everything collapses) a peace that never lasts very long
-an enemy who does not take action, creating discord without getting his hands dirty, deceitful (old?) and not very powerful... Let others do it for him ?
-Religion which often doesn't accept difference.

CONCEPT ART ELEMENTS :

Bai Su Zhen

-Elegant woman with white hair with a bluish sheen (albino: white eyelashes, white skin etc)
-Traces of her spiritual form? White down? Massive eyebrows etc?

Xu Xian

-Son of the emperor, comes from one of the richest families in the country
-Yet he decided to lead a life far from the comfort of his status, a warrior with the talent to fight like no other

-blacksmith? Warrior?

Fa Hai

-Monk living in the temples.
-Secret cult party composed of monks with the wrong beliefs? Unknown party in the forest far from the eyes of the villagers.

Creatures

Bai:

-Yokai / Japanese spirit?

-Inspired by the Chinese legend of the Moon Rabbit (symbol of fertility and ability to reproduce according to the legend)

-Rabbit, white fur (repulsive aspect despite the fact that Bai is nice? Ex: Fiona Shrek, cursed etc.)


Props

Weapon to fight the guardian

-Kusarigama? Spear? Katana? Her husband's weapon, hanging in her house because he had sworn never to use it again?


Environments:

Herbalist shop:

-mixed between forge, and potion/plant shop etc?
-On the drawing: behind the counter we could see the couple welcoming their customer, with a mirror hanging on the wall behind showing Bai's true nature.

Bridges/place of transition between two worlds

-portals, river with a boat (like styx...), magic elevator?