十九 ❀ 七夕

[naicha]

phone

Hi, everyone! It was Qixi yesterday, you know. Qixi! _{[ She pronounces it more clearly. ]} Qixi is like, hmm... like Tanabata or, or Valentine's Day! Yeah, that's more like it. It's a day when everyone gives everyone else chocolates and flowers and chocolates and, and other neat things and chocolates, and they go on dates under the full moon and it's like that Teresa Teng song and then they kiss and say I love you and-

Oh! Hehe, right. Anyway, on that day, people usually write their wishes of love down and hang them up so that they'll be granted love and happiness! Or something like that. _{[ Suddenly, she is sad. ]} I didn't want that day to pass with a lot of people being lonely...

_{[ Back to her usually cheery self! ]} So I thought that everyone should get another shot at it! Drop by 1245 Williams Road and I'll see what I can do.

action

<sub>[ Taiwan has something set up in front of her house. There is a table with a box in the center with piles of strips of paper and some pens in front. The box is covered in cute heart stickers and labeled WISHING BOX. There's a small slit at the top for people to submit slips of paper to. If you plan on stealing any of these things, tough luck. Taiwan will be here all day, manning the place, smiling sweetly at you all the while. Yeah...

Everyone make wishes so she can go read them in the evening and play cupid already. ]</sub>

Comments

action;

[encored]

[hi don't mind him peering at the box and rifling through blank paper strips in a somewhat curious fashion...]

Are you trying to satiate your boredom?

[naicha]

It is a real festival, you know that. _{[ No, that's not what he means, Taiwan. ]}

[encored]

Good to know. I wouldn't put making up new holidays past you. [he really wouldn't...] Has anyone actually put in a wish yet?

[naicha]

<sub>[ I think it was Lady Gaga Day in Taipei a few weeks ago but anyway HMM she is looking at him...

while grabbing a pen and paper, quickly scribbling a couple of words and putting the paper in ]</sub>

Yeah.

[encored]

Anyone outside of yourself? [gosh Taiwan, cheating is only okay when no one else can see you do it!]

With the types of people within this city, I'd have assumed you would have massive success with something like this.

[naicha]

Oh... I don't really know. I guess... They don't need help like I thought they would after all, hehe. That's good! _{[ no it's bad, she thought wasn't the only one who'd be into this... is she the only one who needs help and good luck charms for this thing, really... ]}

[encored]

[welcome to the land of foreveralone!!]

Or most have simply been here for so long that something like a wish box doesn't strike anyone as a good investment of time or energy. [yep he thinks this is just some strange generic wish box pseudo-festival she came up with...]

[naicha]

<sub>[ no... ]

[ waves her hands in circles ]</sub> It's not so bad! The wishes actually do come true.

[encored]

[it's okay you can keep yourself company...

also, reaching for the box :T he's just curious and wants to see if there's really nothing else inside.] It seems you won't be able to test that theory.

[naicha]

_{[ Just the one she just dropped. And Iceland's. Which wasn't really his, she just wrote it down for him... ]}

It's not a theory, it's a miracle. Each miracle inside is gonna happen for sure because I'm devout and I have a pure heart and stuff. _{[ hahhahaha ]} I just need advertising...

[encored]

[this miracle box is a box of sadness. he glances up from it and gives Taiwan a look filled with pity....]

Advertising is the very tip of the iceberg. [so much faith in her devout and pure heart.] What is this, a hopeless people who believe in miracles and magic boxes festival?

[naicha]

_{[ don't... don't give her that Charles go away. ]}

Miracles and magic do exist, you know! Do you know what this town needs, Charles?

[encored]

Citizens who aren't hopelessly idiotic? New, stable people in the seats of power? Drones that don't taste so bland? Free tickets home? For every poodle skirt and loafer to be burned? [oh the endless possiblities!! he could go on for ages...]

1/2

[naicha]

Poodle skirts are cute...

2/3

[naicha]

But noooo! No, Charles! You see, sometimes the town likes getting people's hopes up by promising them freedom, or power, or a new car! But they don't give that sort of stuff to us most of the time. And it happens all the time so after a while, people stop expecting stuff and start giving up 'cause they think they'll never get what they want. But that's exactly what Mayfield wants us to do! It's psychological warfare! They want to corner you and make them depend on them and take away all your friends and your identity and your name and other stuff and they'll make you a part of them forever and ever and you'll never be heard from again!

[naicha]

So I'm granting people's wishes so they can hope for things.

[encored]

[wow Taiwan that was intense... he kind of side-eyes her for a moment because he detected several pretty suspicious similarities in that mini-rant! but it seems like a nice idea now that some of her reasoning has been explained.]

And if you come across something that isn't within your power to grant? [...he's just being practical okay, someone around here has to be occasionally]

[naicha]

That's why I'm only taking wishes that have to do with romance and stuff. _{[ because she is the best love doctor I mean obviously ]}

[encored]

What if someone wishes to be reunited with a dead loved one? Or if the target of their wish is already spoken for by another? [now he has made it his personal goal to find as many flaws in her plan as possible.....]

[naicha]

Then I'll help them find a new love. Pining over something you can't get isn't very healthy, you know. You'll end up like Vic Zhou secretly crying in his room for months and months while Barbie Hsu and Wang Xiaofei get legally married. Well, no one ever saw him cry, but I know he did!

[encored]

That's putting a rather large amount of faith in your own talents, is it not? It wouldn't be beneficial to anyone involved if you lit false hopes and made promises you couldn't keep.

[that might be a bit of a warning, but he doesn't look very serious and slides the box over right after.] Ah, but I've derailed myself. This isn't what I came here for.

[naicha]

_{[ Always! Think! Positive!!!! ]}

Huh? _{[ She looks at the box, then at him. ]} But if you're not here to make a wish... Hmm, I wonder what it could be.

[encored]

[optimists are the first to go!!]

Several months ago I promised you a cake, did I not? [take that, Holland, see he gets around to fulfilling his promises eventually.]

[naicha]

_{[ gaaaasp HOLD THE PHONE. ]}

You made one...

_{[ oh my god oh my god oh my god no one ever keeps their promises to her ever oh my god exciting... ]}

[encored]

I happened to have a sliver of free time over the weekend and our eggs and milk were about to expire, so I figured now would be as good a time as any to use them before it became necessary to discard them. [except they were actually fresh but shhh no one must know.....]

But I refuse to carry it so if you'd like it, you'll have to come retrieve it yourself. Feel free to do so at your leisure.