level 4 • text (timestamped 6am)

[necrodentia]

[ Here comes another post from Rainer in the wee hours of the morning! Question is, did she wake up early? Or has she not gone to bed yet? ]

Guess what! It's my birthday today! Don't ask me how old I am (a lady never tells).

Anyway, it got me to thinking... What sort of birthday rituals or traditions are there where you come from? Birthdays back home were always pretty normal, I feel. My dad would bake a cake and the skeletons would perform a little dance for me that they choreographed just for the occasion. Then when I was in school I'd throw a party at the tavern on campus and invite all my friends. You know, normal stuff.

But maybe it's not normal where you come from! And if that's the case, then I want to hear what is! Consider it your present to me. ;)

Comments

[puddlesoverdios]

What are typical gifts where you are from? I'm always on the lookout for new ideas, after all.

(And Jonathan, my husband, is especially hard to shop for.)

[necrodentia]

Oh, well let me see!

(Now, I'm not married, and my dad raised me by himself, so I don't have much precedent for what would make an appropriate gift for a spouse, but take this for what you will...)

I used to get my dad new clothes, like fancy new robes or hand knit sweaters. He always did like a cozy sweater. (Big stone crypts can get drafty in the winter!) My skeleton friends didn't have 'birthdays' exactly, but I would get them gifts on the anniversary of their resurrections! I usually got them some kind of weapon, since they usually needed new ones. There's also the option of gifting someone an experience, like taking them out to dinner or on a special day trip or something!

[puddlesoverdios]

[She's with her until "skeletons" are dropped. At least she doesn't faint.]

I suppose that making a new shirt or knitting a sweater wouldn't be a bad idea. (My husband is quite tall and broad-shouldered, so finding clothing that fits nicely is an adventure.)

And please excuse my ignorance on this: but where I am from, skeletons do not need weapons and aren't in the habit of being ambulatory. Is that... normal? Where you're from?

[necrodentia]

Oh, I suppose in that case getting custom-tailored clothes would be extra meaningful! Since it's not something he can just go out and get himself very easily.

That's fine. I run into this a lot, actually.

[ Especially here, where the name "The Undying Lord" doesn't carry as much weight. ]

My dad and I are Necromancers, which means we can use magic to raise people or animals from the dead.

[puddlesoverdios]

Necromancy is usually reserved for fairy tales where I am from, or myths of a Greco-Roman sort.

Is the raising consensual or is there something that needs to be done first?

[What's up, ethical dilemma?]

[necrodentia]

It's not exactly the most common or well-regarded form of magic on Nua, either, so it's okay. I don't mind answering questions.

Well, it's hard for a corpse to give consent pre-resurrection, unless they somehow give it before they die. But that just feels weird, you know? Sitting and watching someone die, waiting to raise them until after their last breath...

What my dad tries to do (and what I hope to do, following in his footsteps) is to guide wayward souls who've passed on to the Astral plane. That's what happens to the majority of corpses my dad raises. The ones that stick around as part of his skeleton army do so consensually, though. Then when they decide they've had enough fighting, my dad helps them move on.

[puddlesoverdios]

Well, you do have a point there. My father is a doctor, and before I wed Jonathan, I was a nurse. (Technically speaking, a young wife is needed to run the estate, rather than run hither and yon with medical supplies.)

It is kind of your father to help lead them on. I would hold some patients hands when they were there. I feel it's important that one not die alone.

[necrodentia]

I have a lot of respect for healers. You're right, in that we both serve similar purposes, just at different points in someone's timeline.

Have you thought about going into nursing here? I know that most of the nurses are Joys, but surely they would let an interplanar person join up if they had the right experience!

[puddlesoverdios]

I have, but then thought better of it. Pokemon breeding is quite a bit less stressful, but offers similar experience. (And the baby pokemon are simply darling!)

So, as it stands, I am quite content in my role.

[necrodentia]

Oh, you're a breeder! One my close friends here was a breeder, before she was planeshifted back home.

[puddlesoverdios]

It's very rewarding. You're a trainer, then?

If you ever need to look into a breedable pokemon, please let me know. I have quite a collection now.