¤ [Voice] ‹›‹›ҳ

[nonedible]

I have a question.  How do you know when someone is flirting with you?  I just do not understand flirting at all so I do not know how to recognize it.  Or how to even flirt.  It never really seemed like such an important thing.  But apparently it is?

I mean, for us sylvari we are blunt.  If we like someone we tell them.  We do not see a reason to beat around the bush, you could say.    But it seems to be a thing the other races do.

[Silence for a few moments, as if she's debating on adding anything else.]

We have some new arrivals again.  Hello!  I hope you can find a way to make this place feel like home.

Comments

[Permavoice]

[nonedible]

I have gathered that much from other responses. Which makes it rather confusing and frustrating.

But that does make sense. The um, more attention and affection part.

[Permavoice]

[controlledvariable]

At least you know even humans have trouble figuring it out, and we grow up being exposed to flirting.

Glad I could help a little. I guess flirting just means paying special attention to a person, though some people just flirt for the sake of flirting, so they make things more confusing.

[nonedible]

That is true.

Yes, I've gathered that much as well. This is why I think it better to just be upfront about it.

[controlledvariable]

I'm guessing your people don't have a huge aversion to rejection? Because humans kind of do, and I think that's partly why flirting became an accepted social convention.

[She's actually putting serious thought into this. That probably isn't necessary.]

[nonedible]

Rejection is simply a part of life. We accept it and continue on with our lives.

sorry about slowness :c

[controlledvariable]

That's a good way to look at it. Unfortunately humans aren't quite as chilled out about the whole thing, especially dudes.

[She will take any opportunity to make fun of guys.]

s'ok, kinda slow here too

[nonedible]

I suppose that's understandable. You have had much longer for things to develop as they have. I have to wonder if we sylvari will still view things the same way down the road.

[controlledvariable]

That might have something to do with it, I'm sure we were a lot more blunt back in the day.

Are the Sylvari a young race?

[That's the right term, right? She has no idea.]

[nonedible]

Yes. The firstborn awakened only a little over twenty years ago. We are the youngest race on Tyria.

[controlledvariable]

[Steph refrains from pointing out that isn't how species work, because, well, there's all sorts of weird things here.]

That's definitely a lot younger than humans. And if you're, ah, interested about keeping your race going, it makes sense you don't wanna mess around with flirting.

[There are a shitload of humans, they don't really need to worry about having babies to keep the species alive.]

[nonedible]

Keeping out race goin-- OH! You mean sexual reproduction! [She gives a little laugh.]

We sylvari don't reproduce like most animals. In fact, we're more closely related to plants than animals.

[controlledvariable]

[Steph laughs as well, sounding a little sheepish]

Yeah, I, uh, that's what I meant. I probably shouldn't have assumed you guys work like we do, huh?

[nonedible]

Depends on what you mean by work like you. We can have sex in the same way you humans do but we lack what is needed to produce offspring.

[controlledvariable]

I suppose that makes sense. [SORT OF???] Is it rude to ask how you do produce offspring?

[Now she's curious.]

[nonedible]

The Pale Tree births us all. We grow in pods amongst her bough and in time our pods fall and we emerge fully grown.

[controlledvariable]

That's definitely more like plants, then.

[on the original point:] I wonder if it's more like - how kids are more upfront about things than adults, rather than being an evolutionary thing.

[nonedible]

Yup!

Hmmm...maybe? I haven't talked to many children before. They're quite fascinating, smaller versions of the big ones, but still haven't had much of a chance.

[controlledvariable]

They're not so caught up in all the social rules that adults are, since they haven't really had a chance to learn them. And I guess if you're a young race, you haven't had time to develop many social mores, either.

[She's a social studies student, not an athropologist, but it's still interesting]

[nonedible]

I suppose that makes sense.