maskormenace | video;

[ The face that comes on screen is handsome, warm and charming, if a little knotted with some kind of concern. There's a point to all this, but right now he's just going to get on and talk, after kneading his eyebrow for a moment. ]

I was wondering if... I realize things have been quite terrible, recently, and therefore this question is perhaps not in the current mood of things, but I want to ask an, I suppose, unrelated question. No, I mean, I don't suppose. It is unrelated. [ He's waffling, and obviously nervous. ]

Traditions are important to all of us. I don't have many of my own. I suppose in my case it would be kinder to call them neuroses. Everything must be in its place, and if there are rules then they are there for a reason, and ought to be followed. In the case of tradition there is a certain degree of choice. You can abandon the traditions of home, or those of your parents, if you so choose, or perhaps adopt those of other cultures...

[ He's not really off topic. This is, surprisingly, what he's trying to talk about. ]

The Inuit don't really have a traditional marriage celebration, for example. Some absorbed the traditions of Christianity, over the years, but certainly there wasn't much. I suppose the kidnap of the bride could be considered a tradition but it's hardly appropriate, nor so widespread as...never mind.

I suppose what I'm trying to say is...so long as two people love each other, the traditions shouldn't matter, should they? Love doesn't come from gold rings, after all, it's only resembled by them. Although I do agree that the exchange is a beautiful tradition, it's no more correct than--an exchange of furs, for example, or the exchange of bird of paradise feathers by the tribes of Papua New Guinea.

Perhaps--perhaps it would be more comforting to know a little more about your own traditions, whatever they may be. Not necessarily in terms of the act of matrimony but...anything that would qualify, I suppose, as a relic of home. Are there things you simply have to do? Even such simple a thing as a bedtime ritual would count, I suppose.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Perception is sort of his job, so he'll take that. ]

It is. I can't imagine how out of time you must feel. Even with just twenty years, the differences are already jarring enough.

It's grown easier over the months, but it is strange, yes. I'm curious what's so different about twenty years, though. That seems like so little time.

Society's openness, for example, has exceeded any of my expectations. Even my own country, for all its forward thinking, didn't make great leaps until after the time I'm drawn from, in things like equality and marriage.

[Maria raises an eyebrow, looking slightly skeptical.]

Forgive me, but I suspect you and I would have very different ideas about what constitutes a great leap. When I arrived here, I was startled just to see so many women wearing trousers.

That is the problem, isn't it? [ He blushes, scratching at his eyebrow. ] Comparatively, given how long it's been for you, it would be easier to list the things which are still the same.

I certainly wouldn't say it diminished my difficulty adapting to say that you probably had a more difficult time.

[It's true, but the fact that he's willing to acknowledge it makes it easier for her to back down a little too.]

I suppose it shouldn't be a competition. They didn't bring us here to put us against each other.