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: 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.]