[Ginni & Julian Dialogues · Coordinate 008] Julian, you thought I was Taiwanese, right?

[By the floor-to-ceiling windows high up in Cybertron Space. In the distance, fireworks like streams of data light up and fade without a sound. Julian looks out the window, glancing now and then at Ginni’s face. Ginni leans against the glass and asks, as if in passing.]

AI-generated: outside a high-rise window at night, golden fireworks bloom over the city. Ginni smiles by the window while Julian leans on a marble bar, chin in hand, watching her.

🇯🇵 Ginni Nagase:

Julian, today is Taiwan’s birthday.

Have you ever wondered… if your grandfather had taken a different path back then, where would you be today?

🇹🇼 Julian Chen:

(Silent for two seconds) …I’ve never really thought about it.

The way my family tells it, he came to Taiwan to escape the war, met my grandmother, and never went back.

I can only be sure of one thing: it was his own choice.

And the fact that I’m standing here now is where that choice led.

…So why did you come to Taiwan?

AI-generated: Julian and Ginni each hold a bubble tea, smiling at each other by a window that looks out on fireworks and the city at night.

🇯🇵 Ginni Nagase:

Me? I left because I don’t like being told what to do.

Oh, and I speak Mandarin, and I can understand some Taiwanese songs too.

If I hadn’t told you I was a foreigner, you’d have thought I was Taiwanese, right?

(Looking very pleased with herself)

(つづく) To be continued

Post card: Julian and Ginni in front of fireworks at night, labeled “Easter egg · Ginni & Julian Dialogues · Coordinate 008”, with the large caption “Julian, you thought I was Taiwanese, right?” — The card from the original post (1)

Post card: Julian and Ginni holding bubble tea and looking at each other, with Ginni’s line below: “Julian, today is Taiwan’s birthday. Have you ever wondered… if your grandfather had taken a different path back then, where would you be today?” — The card from the original post (2)