mười bảy ❀| but if this world should ever turn around
|❀BACKGROUND; a history lesson!|
[43 years ago- 43 to her, anyway- Ho Chi Minh proclaimed Vietnam's independence from the French and Japanese at Ba Dinh Square in Hanoi. After Japan's surrender in the Second World War, Vietnam was finally presented with an opportunity to break free of France's hold, and the Việt Minh took advantage of this opportunity without hesitation. Ever since becoming an independent nation, though, she has barely had time to taste that independence, having been thrust into war against France and then, later, against herself. But Vietnam is a nation used to her wrists being shackled, used to being dominated by another, from her days as a vassal state of ancient China to her time as one of France's colonies; this has only made her desire to be independent even more fierce through the centuries of her long life. She is, to put it simply, deeply nationalistic.
And so today is her birthday. Like most nations, Vietnam has had several birthdays, all given to her at different points in her life, at times when she has been redeclared and reborn. But Vietnam does not celebrate her own birthday. It is not a habit of hers; where her people will celebrate and rejoice (and they have every right to, of course, she thinks, they have every right to because they deserve their freedom), she is often subdued on the matter. She is old enough to know that this will not be her last birthday; that a time will come when she will need to be made anew again. That day may be far off, but it will come.
Mayfield presents more of a reason to celebrate. To rejoice in her independence now would be nothing less than ironic in this prison of cheerful American smiles and blue-collar jobs.
She thinks of another bit of irony: Uncle Ho had modelled her declaration of independence after America's.
"All men are created equal. They are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. This immortal statement was made in the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America in 1776. [...]
Those are undeniable truths."
It is a truth she reminds herself to continue believing in: also ironic, then, that she and America share the same mindset on this one thing.
1969. September 2nd is also the day that Ho Chi Minh died in that year. The man she and much of her people called Uncle was someone that she loved like he was truly that: a blood relative. As much as she honors his memory, she mourns his loss and wishes him well in the afterlife, pausing at her altar that morning and burning small paper boats and flags.
Today, she does not think of the fact that America is back. That America has the year 1969 on his lips and that recognition dawns in his eyes when he looks at her. That, to him, the raw wound of her betrayal yawns widely in his chest, still fresh.
She doesn't think of him at all, and the smooth blankness of her mind is a blessing: she knows that even if she is enclosed here, her people still walk free through the land that is her home; that they now know independence and will continue to know it, because she has never stopped fighting for it.
It's something to put a smile on her face.]
|❀PHONE; public.|
Chào buổi sáng. ['Good morning'.] Aah... I would like to say that it isn't my birthday. That, ah... my birthday has... changed. Changed, yes. It is now on August 2nd, and I am sorry to say that any rather eager family members Mei have missed it. My apologies- xin lỗi. [Even if characters from after 1945 will know that she's blatantly lying. D-don't correct her, okay.]
N...no matter what anyone tells you, I don't turn 43 today. If it were my birthday, I believe I would be turning 21, according to the rules of this town, which is a nice young age for a young maiden such as myself, có. [A laugh. Or she's trying to laugh. It sounds forced. She does not want to be 43 at all.] So, ah... 21, yes. That's how old I am. Of course. I am not 43. Not at all. That would be a very unflattering age. [Never mind that she's well into her 2700s.
A pause.]
...Ah. I suppose I will share: for those of you that do not speak French, Louvre is the name of an art museum in Paris. I am not sure what it has to do with a hotel, though I will not be the one who actually visits to find out.
[ooc; Forward dated to tomorrow morning. September 2nd is Vietnam's National Day! It'll be 65 years of independence tomorrow, even if it's 43 in her 1988 timeline. I'm posting a bit early because I work late tomorrow and might not have the time to put this up then. Also, sorry for the tl;dr history lesson; I just wanted to share and provide a little bit of context huffhuff w;A;w]
[43 years ago- 43 to her, anyway- Ho Chi Minh proclaimed Vietnam's independence from the French and Japanese at Ba Dinh Square in Hanoi. After Japan's surrender in the Second World War, Vietnam was finally presented with an opportunity to break free of France's hold, and the Việt Minh took advantage of this opportunity without hesitation. Ever since becoming an independent nation, though, she has barely had time to taste that independence, having been thrust into war against France and then, later, against herself. But Vietnam is a nation used to her wrists being shackled, used to being dominated by another, from her days as a vassal state of ancient China to her time as one of France's colonies; this has only made her desire to be independent even more fierce through the centuries of her long life. She is, to put it simply, deeply nationalistic.
And so today is her birthday. Like most nations, Vietnam has had several birthdays, all given to her at different points in her life, at times when she has been redeclared and reborn. But Vietnam does not celebrate her own birthday. It is not a habit of hers; where her people will celebrate and rejoice (and they have every right to, of course, she thinks, they have every right to because they deserve their freedom), she is often subdued on the matter. She is old enough to know that this will not be her last birthday; that a time will come when she will need to be made anew again. That day may be far off, but it will come.
Mayfield presents more of a reason to celebrate. To rejoice in her independence now would be nothing less than ironic in this prison of cheerful American smiles and blue-collar jobs.
She thinks of another bit of irony: Uncle Ho had modelled her declaration of independence after America's.
"All men are created equal. They are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. This immortal statement was made in the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America in 1776. [...]
Those are undeniable truths."
It is a truth she reminds herself to continue believing in: also ironic, then, that she and America share the same mindset on this one thing.
1969. September 2nd is also the day that Ho Chi Minh died in that year. The man she and much of her people called Uncle was someone that she loved like he was truly that: a blood relative. As much as she honors his memory, she mourns his loss and wishes him well in the afterlife, pausing at her altar that morning and burning small paper boats and flags.
Today, she does not think of the fact that America is back. That America has the year 1969 on his lips and that recognition dawns in his eyes when he looks at her. That, to him, the raw wound of her betrayal yawns widely in his chest, still fresh.
She doesn't think of him at all, and the smooth blankness of her mind is a blessing: she knows that even if she is enclosed here, her people still walk free through the land that is her home; that they now know independence and will continue to know it, because she has never stopped fighting for it.
It's something to put a smile on her face.]
|❀PHONE; public.|
Chào buổi sáng. ['Good morning'.] Aah... I would like to say that it isn't my birthday. That, ah... my birthday has... changed. Changed, yes. It is now on August 2nd, and I am sorry to say that any rather eager family members Mei have missed it. My apologies- xin lỗi. [Even if characters from after 1945 will know that she's blatantly lying. D-don't correct her, okay.]
N...no matter what anyone tells you, I don't turn 43 today. If it were my birthday, I believe I would be turning 21, according to the rules of this town, which is a nice young age for a young maiden such as myself, có. [A laugh. Or she's trying to laugh. It sounds forced. She does not want to be 43 at all.] So, ah... 21, yes. That's how old I am. Of course. I am not 43. Not at all. That would be a very unflattering age. [Never mind that she's well into her 2700s.
A pause.]
...Ah. I suppose I will share: for those of you that do not speak French, Louvre is the name of an art museum in Paris. I am not sure what it has to do with a hotel, though I will not be the one who actually visits to find out.
[ooc; Forward dated to tomorrow morning. September 2nd is Vietnam's National Day! It'll be 65 years of independence tomorrow, even if it's 43 in her 1988 timeline. I'm posting a bit early because I work late tomorrow and might not have the time to put this up then. Also, sorry for the tl;dr history lesson; I just wanted to share and provide a little bit of context huffhuff w;A;w]