video | un: flowercrown

[floralias]

(( Today when Will takes to the network, he looks a little more serious than usual. There's a some weariness around his features, like he didn't get a good night's rest. But he cards his fingers through his hair to push it back and he manages a soft smile when he looks into the camera. ))

I'm curious.

There are people here from so many different places and times with so many different expectations about social interactions. So, I'm really curious. What's considered right and good behavior when and where you come from? What's polite? What's rude? What's something one could get away with but could be questionable? Is there some sort of social hierarchy?

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Video | un: nightwanderer

[dragonrising]

[It's an intriguing set of questions and he ponders before responding, gathering his thoughts. Of course his dragon features are on full display when he finally does respond but he's learned to embrace them now rather than hide them.]

I was raised in a social hierarchy as you speak of. Your elders or the more powerful are to be respected and have a say in your life. They could decide what is good and right whether it was fair or not. You had to be polite without question...

[He looks down.]

I come from a more ancient time but I've watched people be hurt by these ideals more than a balance created because of them. There was a time when I was even the one causing the pain by abusing power that I have. And that's when I've realized something...

Sometimes a people will create a culture to understand the world. It's neither good nor bad. But when you use that structure to hurt and control then it becomes tainted and wrong.

Ah but I'm not sure if that actually truly answered your questions. I apologize.

[floralias]

(( Will listens attentively, nodding to show that he understands what Runyu is saying. ))

Would you mind elaborating on a few points? I have some questions, but only if you don't mind sharing.

[dragonrising]

Of course. Please as anything you wish.

[He doesn't mind at all.]

[floralias]

What exactly is your social hierarchy? How is it structured? Where I live, the social stratification is mostly based on... income. Money. People are judged by that, by what they do for a living and what they have. Esepcially those with less or those with nothing at all. Some cultures I've lived among still have respect for elders, but not to the point that those elders have a say in their life choices. In others, it could be considered rude to assume someone's age, especially if you're wrong about it!

[dragonrising]

It is similar though more in a political sense with age being secondary compared to your station. So I would be an example.

There are those that are far older than me but I outrank them by being the Emperor. However among those of equal station their age would allow them to outrank those around them.

Does that help?

[floralias]

Have you had trouble adapting to a more egalitarian society?

video un:Zidian

[jc_superstar]

That's a lot to ask for.

[That doesn't mean he's not going to not pay attention. ]

Are you categorizing that all?

[floralias]

I'm curious. Some things have been happening to people around me and I suspect it's due to cultural or social differences causing friction. So I want to understand better.

[jc_superstar]

[ He thinks about it. ]

Where I am from, you honor your elders. You do not destroy what your parents have made. There is a goal to reach perfection-immortality as some may say.

[ He focuses back. ]

That does not mean that your elders are correct or without fault. Being Filial does not mean your elders are correct.

[floralias]

How does one identify elders? Is it just those who are related by blood who are older? What if someone is only a year or two older than you? As I told another, in my current place and time if you guess someone's age and you're wrong, it could be an insult to them.

[jc_superstar]

Yes.

[He nods to further confirm that.]

Those related to you by blood carry more respect than those simply older. Rank also plays a part.

My martial brother is five days older than I, and yet he is still my gege, even though I am leader to the sect. Defining that relationship is... complicated.

And sometimes, it holds true for my people. To show disrespect to an elder is to insult them.

[floralias]

But what if an elder looks like me? I'd rather let people think I'm a cute 20-something than tell my real age. Should I feel insulted that people don't revere me as an elder?

[Video: UN: Yīshēng]

[drqingmedwoman]

What you're asking is for someone to describe their entire culture and society structure to you. These are things one is taught from the time they were born.

Why are you asking such a broad question? Is there something in particular you are looking for?

[floralias]

You say this as if I, too, didn't grow up in a culture. I've travelled my world over hundreds of years merely to learn these things. Is learning something frowned upon in your culture?

[drqingmedwoman]

[Wen Qing frowns at the defensive response and then bows her head.]

Please, I meant no rudeness. I responded to your message because I found your questions interesting, even if they were vague.

Is there a particular area you'd like to examine with me so we can compare and contrast our cultures?

[floralias]

(( Excuse him? Who's the one being defensive? He's just curious and not willing to take shit. Where he comes from, at least most recently, you don't answer a question with a question. And if you don't want to engage in a conversation, you simply don't. ))

They're vague for a reason. I can't ask about details I don't know.

(( He presses his lips together in thought. ))

Alright. Let's say I met a man who dresses similarly to you. For the sake of this exercise, let's presume you're actually from the same time and place. What would be considered a polite way to greet this person if I know nothing about him save that he's from sometime in what would be considered my past? In the time I've been among humans in my world, people in one part of the world have shifted from it being rude to introduce yourself to someone without a mutual acquaintance to make said introduction to it being considered rude if you don't introduce yourself. And that's only been in the last 200 years or so! And that's just in the Western world! So you see, it's very easy to make a misstep by not knowing the most basic social etiquette. Here I am wanting to make friends with this man and just speaking to him may be an insult to him. But how am I to know that if I don't have friends from his culture to teach me his social norms as I didn't grow up in his society?

[drqingmedwoman]

[She doesn't understand what he seems to be reacting to, so she leaves it alone. Her focus and interest remain on the topic. She listens attentively to his example and she nods in sympathy.]

That is a predicament I'm well familiar with and it has been frustrating. It is considered rude in my culture to not introduce yourself first and offer a bow of respect. The majority of people I have met here do not follow this practice, particularly those who dress in what I've learned is a more 'modern' style.

I've been slower to assume someone is trying to offend me and know that perhaps there's a misunderstanding than I used to. It's been surprising how often that is the case.

[floralias]

(( He's not reacting to anything. Nothing on his face or about his body language has changed. ))

How can you know if you respect someone if you've never met them?

Video | UN: Justice

[pilot05]

[Wufei's hair is down, framing his face but not making him look any friendlier than he does with his hair up in its usual tight ponytail.]

An interesting question. You don't expect to get a complete answer, do you? Even in one world there can be hundreds of different cultures, all different from the next in some important way.

My lover and I are an excellent example of this. He grew up in a rugged culture, where safety and survival were the highest priorities and little room for social niceties, whereas I was born into a strict culture, filled with rules and procedures required to be considered respectful. This is a reflection of our economics, as well. He grew up with on the streets where he had to fight for even the most basic necessities, I grew up in a boarding school where I had my every need catered to.

[floralias]

Not all at once, I don't. But the question is what is considered right and good where you come from. I also come from a place with many different cultures and have spent several hundred years among a handful of them. I couldn't claim to be an expert at any of them, even my own. I'm not asking anyone for the specific intimate details of their life, just what's considered "proper" behavior when and where they come from.

[pilot05]

[He smirks a little at the feisty response, and seemingly out of nowhere there was a yellow cloud forming behind him.] Well, if you want to boil it down to the simplest guidance, bow at the beginning and ending of every conversation, and any time someone even hints at doing something that benefits you. Act with honor and integrity, and hold others to that same standard, with violence if necessary.

I come from a clan of warriors, and I am the last of our kind. [And here the yellow cloud turns golden.] Of course, that means I was acclimating to another culture at the time I was relocated here, but as for the rules of that culture, I am not someone you should be asking as I was widely considered to be an extremely unpleasant person.

[floralias]

(( Will can't help smiling at Wufei's last comment. There are several kinds of "unpleasant" people in his experience. And the fact that he was even willing to engage in conversation... he doesn't seem that unpleasant... yet? ))

Do you mind me asking about your honor code?

[pilot05]

[He's not as unpleasant as he thinks he is, most of it is defensiveness, anyway.]

Not at all. At its most basic, my honor is upheld by showing respect to my ancestors, defending my family with my life, and maintaining control of myself at all times. I confront my enemies directly whenever possible, speak only the truth, and accept defeat with dignity. I have not always been successful in upholding my honor, but I have always restored it, and I hold those around me to the same high standards. [Tact is not one of his strengths, and being kind or nice isn't anywhere on that list even though it probably should be.]

[bloodyroses]

I find that murder is generally frowned upon in most places.

[floralias]

That depends on the context. The world I come from still has state-sanctioned murders, honor killings, et cetera. Those are all still murder, but not frowned upon within those cultures.