[D2 ME, Archives] Cultural Competency

[Zanja]

"Well, if they're not trying to lie, can't they all be true? From a certain point of view."

[Eir]

"That's what I said," there was definite exasperation in Eir's voice. She made a disgusted noise and flopped back in her seat, "it was a dumb idea, anyway."

[Zanja]

"Sounds like most of them are just doing what you said, anyway. Line up what everybody else wrote and try to make sense out of it." Zanja shrugged. "If you're dumb, they're all dumb, basically."

[Eir]

Eir huffed and switched off the terminal, "nah, it was dumb, I was just trying to think of a way to help Mir with his studies."

[Zanja]

Zanja sat back with a sympathetic huff. History wasn't her best or strongest subject either. "Phew. It's a good thing nobody's asking us to top a bunch of real historians to make Padawan, then. We just got to get the basics down all right." Belatedly, she remembered a lot of Eir's teachers were consulars and eyed the smaller girl with a slight wariness; maybe that actually was a real life ambition for her or something.

[Eir]

Nodding, "history's important, but the really important stuff is happening out there," she gestured vaguely upwards.

[Zanja]

"Yeah," Zanja agreed. "History... that stuff is only important if it helps you figure out what to do now, if you ask me."

[Eir]

“It helps to know where other people went wrong, so you can see the warning signs, but mostly history seems about learning from other’s fails.”

[Zanja]

"Or explaining shit that makes no sense otherwise," Zanja suggested without great enthusiasm. "Like why the Mandalorians are all split up into factions, or why Alderaan has a king even though they're a democracy."

[Eir]

"The second one is easy. Lots of stuff boils down to tradition. It doesn't make sense, but it kinda doesn't have to?"

[Zanja]

"Traditions started sometime," Zanja said with the matter-of-fact certainty of someone from a youngish colony planet where 'tradition' generally went back no more than a couple of standard centuries. "But yeah, most of the time you don't really need to know. I guess."

[Eir]

Nodding, "I mean, if you assume the tradition used to have meaning, and it isn't, like, holding progress back or something, why not?"

[Zanja]

"Like stickin' needles full of ink in everybody's faces when they come of age?" Zanja suggested with a gravelly chuckle, suddenly noticing the conversation had pretty much come full circle.

[Eir]

"Yeah, but that's totally badass." They had, indeed, come right around again.

[Zanja]

Zanja smirked. Then, after a moment, she looked down at her terminal again and nodded. "Anyway, I'm gonna go transfer some of these pictures to flimsies. I can't draw for crap, but maybe this'll help me figure out what mine should look like."

[Eir]

Stretching, Eir pushed back from the terminal, "this was a bust, anyway, I think I'll go for a walk."

[Zanja]

"Right. See you tomorrow at the" Zanja wrinkled her nose slightly, "written test."

[Eir]

Nodding, "you sure will. Enjoy," she gestured to the tattoo designs with her claws before waving good night and heading out.

[Zanja]

Zanja went to do battle with the flimsy-printer, and thence back to her room...

/scene!