001 // a very bear-y christmas

[cardcaptured]

Xiaolang Li shared a photo. 12/15 near Birch Hills

A general question: has anyone ever received something from Retrospec that was intended for somebody else? Or something you were certain WASN'T yours, even if the ticket said otherwise? Because I do have memories of a bear, but it definitely was not THIS one.

((pretend this bear is 100% handmade and doesn't have the Stieff logo or the name on it's foot, okay--))

Comments

[roseblooms]

Ah, well — if you're certain, I'll do my best to at least keep this linear, then. Just a moment, however; I'm going to switch this conversation to a private one between the two of us, if you don't mind.

[And thus this becomes private;]

Let me start, then, by explaining that the mirror in question didn't precisely belong to my other self. It...came into his possession, to be sure, but it wasn't his. Quite understandably, the person it did belong to wasn't happy about having lost it, and thus sent someone to retrieve the mirror accordingly. That person, who came to retrieve it, was the "someone important" I mentioned.

My other self was happy enough to relinquish the mirror to him, as best I can tell. However, another acquaintance of his took objection to the attempt at retrieval, and picked a fight with that important person. In the course of the fight, the mirror's surface was shattered. And as I was watching the fight, though not precisely participating in it, I recall that happening.

As for your other question — let me ask you to reason something out for yourself. Suppose it were less of a "granting" of a wish, and more of an exchange — a "something for something in return" proposition. What do you think would be worth the granting of a person's greatest wish?

[cardcaptured]

Oh, um-- I don't mind. I didn't realize that was a feature on the app, so go ahead. [Granted, Xiaolang hadn't had much time to fool around with the Retrospec app since he got it, but it was good to know?? This way he could talk to Sakura in peace without worrying about people taking screencaps of his awkward duck moments with her coughPROMPTOcough

He reads through Kit's explanation thoroughly, a picture of the whole scenario forming in his mind, though the question at the end does give him pause. The concept of the mirror itself was kind of unbelievable-- there was no way such power could possibly exist, at least in this world, but theoretically...]

I suppose it depends on the scale of the wish. If your heart's greatest desire was something relatively small, like... maybe trying the best chocolate sundae in the world, then I can see the price being something that could balance the costs for the ingredients and the work. But for something bigger, like mass riches or eternal fame... I'm not sure what could be given to compensate for it. Your memories, perhaps? Or your soul, if you believe things like that actually exist.

... I will say both of the people in this story, your 'important person' and your acquaintance, were hugely reckless. If the mirror was as valuable and powerful as you say, then they should have taken more care in protecting it from getting broken. Especially the one trying to get it back.

[roseblooms]

You're fairly close in your latter guess, actually. And in your assessment of the person choosing to use it being "hugely reckless". As it turns out, the price for having one's heart's desire granted is the life of the person making the wish.

That's quite the trade, isn't it? To be granted the thing you want most, but with the guarantee that you won't live to see it come to fruition.