How far would your MC be willing to enlist their own health/safety for the object of their affection?
Pretty darn far.
In
The Kingdom of Ecstasy, Rollond puts his neck on the chopping block to secure a life with Sanci and the children he has with her (Gnyovanni, Lucine, Tensten and Adamus by that point). He kept it a secret for as long as he could, because Human-Kyusoa sexual relations are banned in every society, and having such relations means death for both partners -- they rationalize that because a certain sub-breed of Kyusoa has the ability to transform into altered (monstrous, beastly, animal-like) forms it's like bestiality whether one is having sex with a 'Stunted' (unable to transform) or 'Awakened' (able to transform) Kyusoa or not. Frankly it doesn't matter because both Stunted and Awakened Kyusoa have a standard, human-esque form. But because she's a Kyusoa and he's a human...
Following TKoE,
The Rapture of Secrets deals with a situation where Rollond's daughter, Shylen, gets pregnant by her uncle, Ashenzsi. When the time comes for her to be married to a human prince (she's actually full Kyusoa, but her dad ignores that; also the anti-interspecies law has been abolished by then), Ashenzsi arrives to the ceremony just in time to interrupt it, before Shylen steps to the platform. He announces to the public why this marriage can't happen, then explains to Rollond why he did what he did (frankly, the Kyusoa are extremely incestuous creatures, and a big part of why it took place was because Rollond created such extreme distance between Ashenzsi and Shylen for fear of this very thing happening, that he wound up creating the perfect groundwork for it to happen), and that he loves her and they all know there's no one else better for her to be with. A bull-headed, enraged Rollond puts his gun to his brother's face, intending to kill him -- but an equally as offended Ashenzsi smacks the gun away like it's a toy and gets into a feral brawl with Rollond. The aftermath is a complete and utter separation of the two; a breaking of an important bond that was in place to seal away a great evil that resided within both brothers (according to the end of TKoE); and ultimately the world going to shit.
I can't say that about
The Dissolution of Torment. Maybe with Schiirin, but I havn't wiffled (yes, I said 'wiffled') him around enough to neugin his can of pods. So maybe him, but I donno D:
What other cultures has your MC experienced? What about those cultures left an impression on your MC? How did that impression affect your MC and their actions after their experience?
