The last weekend was a long weekend holiday in my country, because it was the Lunar New Year a.k.a. Chinese New Year. The first day of the Chinese or Lunar calendar coincides with 28 January of the Western calendar, which is a Saturday and thus, most of the workforce get an extra holiday compensation on Monday, since some of the people works 5-days week. So, here's wishing those who celebrate this occasion a Happy Lunar New Year!
There's been plenty of people wearing red or orange (due to them being the auspicious color), firecracker's crackling and drumming (from lion and dragon dance) through the weekend. But what I find most interesting is that "haunting" (or is it solitude) feeling that I felt on the evening of Lunar New Year eve. That's because the roads looked so much emptier and most shops were already closed by the early evening. This is the only time of the year that I can experience this in a normally bustling city. Or maybe it is just that I have gotten too familiar with the bustling scene, such that when everything tones down, it just feels so haunting... >.<"
Just for a fun fact, there is actually a mythical legend behind the way Chinese celebrates their new year, but I'll put that in the note at the end of this post, because not everyone will be interested in it.
Anyway, enough talk about the holiday and let's get back to today's topic. In the last post, we have looked at the modified "Ophidan Jerkin" and in this post, we will be looking at its plate version, the "Ophidan Breastplate". This armor comes in full black with designs of draconic essence. However, the major difference is that instead of a full body armor, it is made up of a chest part and a long pants. It also has several scales or cloths that start from the waist and cover the sides and butt area. Let's check out the original armor below.
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| Front View - Original Armor |
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| Front Close-up View - Original Armor |
The plate armor (Breastplate) looks less complicated than the leather one (Jerkin) but still as beautiful, except maybe for the scales at the sides and the full black color that obscure most of the details. XD
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| Rear View - Original Armor |
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| Side View - Original Armor |
For readers who knows me, you'll probably know that the long pants will be the first sacrifice, and the scales, that are blocking my views, will be the next. :p
So what else was change on the armor? Check out the images below.
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| Front View |
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| Side View |
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| Front Close-up View |
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| Front Close-up view |
And... Err.. Openings on the bra? O.O
Well, the mesh below the bra is actually a huge hole so I couldn't actually remove any portion of the bra. So I painted some portions of the bra with skin color to give the illusion that we are seeing now. XD
Well, the mesh below the bra is actually a huge hole so I couldn't actually remove any portion of the bra. So I painted some portions of the bra with skin color to give the illusion that we are seeing now. XD
Finally! No more cloth or scales to block my view! XD
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| Side Close-up View |
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| Rear Close-up View |
So, does the armor looks "cleaner" and sexier now? Check out the video below.
Side note on Lunar New Year:
The legend goes that in Ancient China, there is a huge mythical creature by the name of "Nian" (same character as "year" in Chinese) that came out at that specific time of every year to feast on humans. The ancient ancestors were helpless against it until they found out that "Nian" hates loud noises and bright colors (such as red and orange). Thus, on this time of every year villagers will all clad in red/orange, and make loud noises with drums or firecrackers to chase away the creature.
This was passed down over the ages and eventually became the tradition of all Chinese across the world. And in Chinese language (a.k.a. Mandarin), "Guo Nian" (meaning moving onto the new year) symbolizes surviving the year (which is the name of the mythical creature).
This was passed down over the ages and eventually became the tradition of all Chinese across the world. And in Chinese language (a.k.a. Mandarin), "Guo Nian" (meaning moving onto the new year) symbolizes surviving the year (which is the name of the mythical creature).
So where is this mythical creature now? No one knows. Maybe it died of starvation since it can't eat anymore human due to its weakness being discovered or maybe went into some sort of hibernation... ~.~
Anyway, what is interesting is that how human tends to held on to such things and eventually turning it into part of a culture, where people will faithfully follow without much questions asked..... even after thousands of years! o.o
Anyway, what is interesting is that how human tends to held on to such things and eventually turning it into part of a culture, where people will faithfully follow without much questions asked..... even after thousands of years! o.o
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