fandomhigh | How To Get By In A Hostile World, Thursday

"We've had a few classes by now about appearances and what you can do with them," Atton said easily, leaning against a desk in the Danger Shop as soon as everyone had filed in. "But they were pretty one-size-fits-all, right? And that while it's a lot easier for a young girl to get away with stealing something than a shifty-looking guy. So today we're going to talk about first impressions and how to use them."

"Sure, local culture goes on a lot about how appearances shouldn't matter, but they do, and once you know what impression you give off to everyone else, you can start to use it. Control it. It can help you find work, it can help you get out of sticky situations, it can even save your life," Atton continued.

He gestured at himself. He was wearing a white blouse, a brown jacket with a few nearly impossible-seeming triangle shapes in it, long gloves without holes for his fingers, and a belt over his nondescript black pants. His hair was pretty disshelved, and his clothes looked like they hadn't been washed in a while. "So what impression do I give you guys?" he asked. "Tell me that. Then look at one of your classmates. Write down a few words, then give the note to me. I'll pass on the cards after, though any cards that are insulting go right in the trash."

He looked at the students. "After that," he said. "Well, we're in the Danger Shop, so we might as well make use of it. I found a dress-up program somewhere in the systems that you guys get to use. Poke around. Find an outfit that either pushes the impression you give off to the point where people won't want to pay you any attention, or find one that gives off the absolute opposite impression of who you are. Experiment a little. Show off to your classmates. Go."

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Breq was well aware that appearance mattered. Her simple shirt and trousers, with inexpensive gloves, would, in her universe, tell people she was Radchaai with a modest income.

"It's hard for me to form an impression of your appearance without knowing where you're from," she told Tip. "You don't look poor, and I would guess not wealthy, although that depends on the fashion."

"Knowing where I'm from wouldn't help you that much if you've never heard of the place before," Tip noted. "If I was from where you're from, what would you think?"

"Foreign." A Radchaai would probably have said uncivilized. She continued: "It's the lack of gloves. And memorial pins. Most other things could be assumed to be local fashion."

Tip nodded. "Which would be good to know if I was trying to blend in where you're from. Like, where I'm from, if you're wearing gloves when it's not cold you'd be seen as fussy or weird or maybe up to no good."

"Understandable," Breq said. "But clothes aren't everything. In Radch, your accent would sound provincial, and your skin is too light to make it likely that you belong to one of the old Houses."

Tip had to smile at the "skin too light" bit. "I think that's one of the only times anyone has ever said that to me. Usually I'm too dark to fit in."

"Is it like here where you are from?" Breq asked. "Radchaai are almost all dark-skinned, and the darker you are the more likely you are to be related to some of the old, influential Houses."

"A little. Honestly, this island is kinda crazy white. When I was growing up, I got to be around more diverse people -- a lot of the poorer areas where I'm from have more people of color. When we got some money after the invasion, Mom got us a house in the suburbs, and -- yeah, having an actual alien around helped with feeling like the local weirdo a little, but I was still one of only a handful of black girls at my last school."

"That's a think you can't control," Breq noted. "Where I'm from, if you put on a pair of gloves people would assume you were Radchaai. Provincial yes, but still. From what you are saying there are many places in your world where I wouldn't fit it, and there would be nothing I could do about it, unless it's possible to change skin colour."

"Well, I mean, for the most part everyone would still be perfectly nice to your face," Tip said. "You'd be a little more likely to get followed around by police or security, but what would really put people on edge -- please don't take this the wrong way -- is your expression. It tends to be kind of . . . blank. Which is fine, but people where I'm from really won't be used to it."

"I know I should work on that." Breq wasn't at all offended, but that, obviously, didn't show on her face.

"You don't -- If it's how you are then it should be other people who need to work on it, on not being weirded out by it. But, yeah, it's something that's useful to understand about yourself."

"It would make things easier," Breq replied, then smiled. "As you say, it might make people feel uncomfortable."

"Yeah, and me being a smart kid made people uncomfortable, too. That didn't mean I was going to dumb myself down."

Breq knew she needed to get used to making facial expressions eventually, but she did like that Tip didn't care.

"I'm glad that you feel that way."

Had Tip been part of her crew she would have her tea served instantly and at the right temperature every time.

Tip was pretty good at adjusting to other people's idiosyncracies these days. Exposure to non-human cultures helped immensely.

"If anyone gives you trouble about it I'll punch them in the face," she said. She was mostly joking.

Mostly.

"I'll remember that." She paused, then added: "And if someone bothers you I will do the same."

"Deal," Tip said with a smile.

How To Get By In A Hostile World, Thursday

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