Resource The Fanon Thread

Thanks for your views, guys.

I have thought up a name and explanation. Maybe three.

 

OK, everyone, going by popular demand, it looks like the next Fanon Thread discussion will be...

...life cycle customs and rituals!

...which is rather appropriate somehow, given that we're now (at least those of us in the Northern Hemisphere) at the vernal equinox and thinking thoughts of spring, new life, new growth, etc., etc.

From birth to coming of age to espousal to parenthood to death and everything in between, every culture has distinctive customs, rituals, and beliefs that mark each stage of its members’ lives. Please share with us any fanon creations or thoughts you might have in this area, whether it’s expansions on preexisting GFFA lore or something completely new.

A few things to jumpstart the discussion:

• Given the many different non-Human species of the GFFA, the “life cycle” itself may take many different forms and may look nothing like the “birth to death” progression I outlined above. What are some forms this could take?
• Are the customs you have created public or private? That is, are they performed by / limited to only the being or beings directly experiencing the life-cycle change, or is it required that other members of the culture participate as well? (Cf. the Earth requirements of having witnesses at weddings, godparents at baptisms, the sandak at a bris, etc.)
• Are the customs ancient or relatively new? What are their in-universe origins?
• What ritual objects, materials, artwork, etc., if any, are involved in the customs you’ve come up with?
• How might one culture or species’ rituals or customs be viewed by other cultures or species? Positively, negatively, or somewhere in between?
• Do you take any inspiration from real life life-cycle rituals in crafting your fanon on the subject? If so, which ones?
• Do you take any inspiration from other fandoms? If so, which ones?

As always, you are welcome to post fanon posts on anything—not just the current discussion topic.

Thanks, and enjoy!

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While I’m here, I'll also alert you to the fanon post updates for March 2016 (yes, I know I need to be more regular with these ):

Sith-I-5 added a new fanon post on the Immobiliser 418 Interdictor-class heavy cruiser.

Gamiel added a new fanon post on Planets of the Unknown Regions and updated his fanon post on MacGuffins, Artefacts, Thingimagigs, and Whatsits, his Slang Word List, and his Extensive list of non-Jedi, non-Sith Force traditions.

 

life cycle customs and rituals!

Dunai elder: (largely based on the Elves in LOTR with some Avatar mixed in it)
They have a lifespan of up to 990 years.
They form a bond of the soul when they meet their partner.
Known cases are of a Dunai elder meeting a human and getting children with a lifespan nearing half that of a Dunai elder.

Birth and growing up
Dunai elder have up to 4 children during the short period of fertility lasting from ten to twenty years. Fertility begins as early as 50 with 690 as the upper limit to get children. The man supports the woman during delivery. The children grow up to adulthood in 21 years and have all their powers developed at that time.

Falling in love and bonding
They can fall in love as early as 12 years of age when they meet their partner to be and form a bond of the soul. The marriage ceremony takes place after they reach adulthood, or when adults after their first meeting.
One of the leaders performs the ceremony usually sitting on a husan and whenever possible under a Ghenesin tree.
The man also sitting on a husan comes forward to his woman begins to sing
Shining skin, soft like a peach,
Face like a nenya flower so fair
Adorned with beautiful hair
Corusca gems of love shine
Smiling eyes with a silver line
Like a star you shine to me

The leader joins the couple singing:
Ghenesin tarba sonin el engwari
Nenya lomin e gwalion lomin
Nenya alt el engwa rhani
Nenya alt el engwa imdal
Engwari aarani
Aarani gwalion

And the 2 witnesses and guests sing again in the old language or basic after the papers are signed
Ghenesin tree planted for the eternity
Nenya flower and gwalion flower
White like the eternal soul
White like the eternal spirit
Eternity forever
Forever friends

Mostly the husan is celebrated after the wedding ceremony with this song
For millenniums in wildness
I ran freely
You saw me
I was the star of your freedom
You captured me and tamed me
From hard work I set you free
Today my greatest use
is to please you
I feel free and secure.
You are my companion
You are my joy
You are my friend
Aarani gwalion.


Death or one with the eternity
Dunai elder have learnt from the Sheir-Irel to become one with the eternity. They fade leaving nothing but clothes behind when the death of the body is near.
Usually a bonded couple becomes one with the eternity at the same time

 

The environment and the political situation of the homeworld greatly influences the life cycles of the cultures.

For example, Ryloth, the homeworld of the Twi’leks, is a brutal environment. Because Ryloth does not rotate, there are permanent areas of severe cold in the dark regions and scorching heat in the sun regions. The only temperate areas are the Twilight regions, which is also the only area where weather occurs. Because sustainability is so fragile, the Twi’lek people have grown used to customs that would seem rigid and cruel to most citizens of the GFFA.

Spoiler: Birth rituals

Twi’lek families are patriarchal. A child who is born into the clan must be recognized by the clan father before he or she can be named. A child who is not recognized cannot be named, and as unnamed people may not be assisted by named members of the clan, the child is left to fend for him/herself, which invariably leads to the child’s death. This rarely happens, but when it does there is no appeal to the decision. Named children are given to the mother to raise, and the father may engage in raising the child if he chooses. At any time, the clan father may decide that any child can be traded or sold into slavery if the clan needs income.

Spoiler: Coming of Age

Twi’lek families do not observe coming of age rituals.

Spoiler: Courtship and marriage (from fanon post)

Marriage is based on economic, social, and emotional compatibility. Elders often arrange marriages for the purpose of advancing the clan’s political or economic status.

The fathers set up marriages for their sons, and mothers have little to no say. Daughters are offered as potential wives to affluent clans. When a daughter marries, she no longer is a member of the clan that she was born into but is now a member of her husband’s clan, and her name sash is removed from the banner of her birth family and added to her husband’s banner. There is no need for her to contact her birth family again.

Often, in communities such as Coruscant where there is a large Twi’leki population, social gatherings are set up by embassies or Twi’leki cultural organizations for the purpose of introducing people of marriageable age to each other. Before the event, the men and women undergo psychological assessments to identify compatible pairs. The participants meet at an entertaining party and socialize, hoping to make personal, emotional connections. At the end of the party, the organizers read the results of the psychological surveys and the participants discover whom they have been paired with. Ideally, this is also the person that they found themselves attracted to.

Most courtships are between Twi'lek couples, however there have been many inter-species marriages as well. As the days of the Empire waned, many Twi'leks, especially women, having experienced the societal freedom of the New Republic, fought for their rights to choose their own mates without the consent of their Clan Father. More progressive fathers, seeing the possibilities for their daughters to become more fulfilled and independent, allowed their daughters to choose their own mates, asking only that they (the fathers) be given the courtesy of granting consent for the courtship. This was seen as mainly ceremonial. Most inter-species marriages came about in this way.

A successful courtship requires that the couple find compatibility in all aspects of their lives. This includes sexuality, and a courting couple is expected to have been intimate with each other to assure that they are physically compatible. When a courtship is successful, the couple is officially betrothed. They are treated as a married couple and move in together. The woman is treated as she would be if she were a full wife. This provides an opportunity for her to see if this arrangement is for her; once she is married she will not have the right to leave.

Spoiler: weddings (from fanon post)

In this culture, marriages are celebrated as the union of two clans. A wedding occurs in the temple, with a religious clergyman transferring the name sash of the bride to the groom’s family banner. Her family name changes to that of her husband’s and the wedding ceremony is complete.

Following the wedding, there is a great celebration with the two families, with feasting and dancing. Throughout the wedding, the bride wears numerous layers of sheer veils, and the culmination of the wedding celebration is the Dance of the Veils. As she dances for her new husband, she removes the veils as a symbol of her consent to fulfill her husband’s desires. As she removes the last of the veils, leaving her nearly nude, her husband often will interrupt the dance to take her away for their wedding night. The celebration is now over, and there is no honeymoon – the couple begins their married life immediately. Occasionally, the husband does not accept the wife after the dance of the veils. (This is extremely rare, as the couple has gone through strenuous compatibility alignment already at this point.) This is disastrous for the bride as she cannot rejoin her birth family, and her husband’s rejection prevents her from joining his family (it is a form of divorce, which is always at the discretion of the husband). She is now clanless, nameless, and homeless.

By contrast, a more temperate world like Baroli, which has a wide variety of climates, has a more equitable and generous approach to life customs. The Barolian faith was developed on the concepts of mathematical purity and logic, and the virtues of equity and justice are the most important to the Barolian people. The most important goal is to live a balanced life.

Spoiler: Birth rituals

Barolians do not have any specific birth rituals, although certain regions celebrate the birth of a child through local customs. However, raising a child is seen as the equal responsibility of both parents. Denying a parent access to his or her child is completely unacceptable unless there is a clear reason why the parent should not have access to the child (mental incapacitation or the parent or abuse by the parent).

Spoiler: Coming of Age

Barolian citizens observe their coming of age at around the age of 12 to 15, usually concurrent with puberty. A youth must demonstrate mastery of the many gods and goddesses of their faith. Upon demonstrating this mastery, the youth undergoes a painful process of facial tattooing across his or her forehead. The youth is expected to endure the pain stoically and silently. These tattoos are coveted and youths are eager to be the first of their friends to acquire such a tattoo. If a youth is unable to master the essentials of the Barolian religion due to intellectual disability, there is a type of tattoo that can be given that achieves a similar result.

Spoiler: marriage traditions

In earlier times, marriages were often arranged by the parents of the couple, for the purpose of political or economic advancement of the families. Often the couple had no say in the decision and were expected to comply without question, for the benefit of their family or tribe. Occasionally people were forced into marriages to satisfy tribal debts or to secure peace between hostile tribes.

The adoption of the mathematical faith, with its emphasis on equality, makes this practice not only obsolete but offensive. No marriage may be performed without the full consent and willing participation of both parties. To prevent any coercion, the only people who are present at a wedding are the couple to be wed and the clergymember who is officiating the ceremony. Each person enters the temple from a separate entrance. They may have family members in the antechamber, but only the person to be wed may enter the temple. The priest awaits the couple at a small altar. Before the ceremony, the priest reminds the pair that they are under no obligation or duty to marry, and that if they chose to leave at this point they may do so via an unattended back entrance to the temple. Only when the couple each acknowledges that they are present under their own free will are they bound together in marriage.

The ceremony is brief, a blessing and a bonding prayer, then the couple chooses the name by which they will now be known. Couples may choose to adopt either the wife’s or the husband’s family name, or they may select a new family name.
The final part of the wedding ceremony happens one to three days following the ceremony. The married couple meets with an escriver, or ritual tattooist, who tattoos a symbol of union on the forearm of each partner. The tattoo combines a symbol of the husband and of the wife, and often has a religious element to it. Being a permanent marking, the tattoo is a symbol of unbreakable love and is thought to be more meaningful than a removable piece of jewelry such as a wedding ring.

Often, the couple incorporates local customs into their wedding ceremony. Many weddings often have a feast and celebration, inviting family and friends, directly after the wedding ceremony. In northern regions of Baroli, a lighting of a bonfire is part of the wedding, to bring warmth and light to the new marriage. The tropical coastal regions often include a lappau, or woven garland of greenery, which both the bride and groom wear during the ceremony. The lappau represents the joining of two people into one unified couple. While the couple celebrates their wedding, the couple’s friends intertwine the two garlands of the lappau into one long garland and hang the garland over the couple’s wedding bed to bless the couple with joy and fertility.

Zeltron customs are heavily influenced by the Zeltron’s unique physiology. The Zeltron can sense pheromones, and often depends heavily on these external clues to identify the emotional state of others. Zeltrons are also emphatic and can physically feel emotions. Pleasant emotions such as love and happiness create soothing and relaxing responses, while anxiety and anger can create painful responses. Thus, Zeltrons actively pursue pleasurable activities and avoid stress.

Spoiler: birth customs

Zeltrons consider pregnancy to be a beautiful experience, and enjoy all aspects of creating a baby. Often, a mother is unclear as to who the father of her child might be, although it is equally likely that the parents of the child deliberately chose to conceive.
Children take either the last name of the mother or father, depending on the agreement that the parents make. It is also common for children to adopt the name of their village as their surname as paternity is often unclear. Most children live in extended family units, where multiple adults take on the task of raising children. Since there are many confusing half-sibling relationships, the children are considered to belong to the community as a whole rather than to a single family unit.
Every child’s birth is celebrated with the entire village throwing a huge party to welcome the baby.

Spoiler: Coming of Age

Zeltrons do not observe coming of age rituals.

Spoiler: marriage traditions

As a rule, Zeltrons rarely form monogamous relationships and even more rarely get married. In fact, being in a monogamous relationship is considered rather selfish, as you are denying sexual pleasure to others. Zeltrons will generally respect the marriages of others, seeing the marriage as a quaint custom observed by other cultures.

Zeltrons are very open about sex education and availability of contraceptives. Health care offices are available at any hour to assist citizens in acquiring contraceptives or to assess a potential sexually transmitted disease. Zeltrons usually become sexually active around the age of 13 or 14, usually with peers.

Sexual abuse is considered abhorrent. Any person found to be sexually abusive is sentenced to prison and removed from the society. Abusive relationships of any kind weaken the general health of the community.

 

A long time ago, in a world before internet, I wrote an Ambulance story, with the crew getting called to a Hutt having difficulties giving birth.

An egg, along with the little horned huttlet (as in those Earth creatures that use a horn to help break through the eggshell) had cracked inside the parent, threatening to poison her with corrosive slime.

And that, folks, is my sole contribution to life cycles.

All my characters, if with a normal human lifespan, have the same stages. Coming of age, etc., is probably celebrated, but I have never explored it.

 

I had this appear on my Tapatalk homepage.
What is this? It is wholly confusing!

 

If you mean a random tfn page appeared on your phone for no reason, that has been happening to me too.

 

No, it is meant to do that.

 

It is the Force telling you to post your fanon in this thread.

 

Is it purely for SW stuff?
I have alot of story ideas outside of the Wars but I haven't actually wrote anything and worry about someone using it.

 

This is not for story ideas per se, but more creations within stories.

For instance, Gamiel has created the criminal organisation, 87, so if you think it would be cool for one of your characters to have heard of them, link her to let her know then go ahead and use it.

 

So it is kinda like what it says on the tin. Fanon, trying to put canon into fan works.

 

Chyntuck do any of your fashion houses sell sunglasses? If so, what kind of sunglasses and do any of them have any special features?

More like fans sharing their fanon so other authors can use it.

 

Gamiel Ooh, good question. I didn't plan for sunglasses per se because I made up all this with a Hutt in mind and I didn't think he'd need sunglasses, but since Raissa Baiard mentioned that my Hutt could have a monocle, I've been thinking of Kristophle monocles. RL Christofle are famous for their crystal vases, and I was thinking of multifaceted crystal monocles, which would be the height of sophistication, but that's as far as I got. Maybe you can adapt that concept to sunglasses too?

 

Those massive eyes, and you didn't think a Hutt would need sunglasses?

It is eyes like that, that I expect can pull that solar energy down to power Starkiller Base!

 

Hey everyone! Just a quick note to let you know that we're entering the home stretch of the Fanon Roulette! We've gotten some fantastic and very creative entries so far, and of course we're always looking forward to more!

I've currently set the deadline at Monday, April 18, but I thought I'd ask and see if anyone would like to extend that deadline by another week or so—maybe through the 25th or sometime in early May. What would people think about that?

In addition, I am pleased to mention a couple additions to the index under "Culture and Traditions":

• Life-Cycle Customs of the Dunai by earlybird-obi-wan
• Life-Cycle Customs of the Twi'leks, Barolians, and Zeltrons by divapilot

Thanks as always for contributing!

 

May 1st, maybe?

 

I have had no chance to even look at the Fanon Roulette, and will have to bow out of that challenge.

 

01 May sounds good to me too. I really want to participate in this challenge and I've been jotting down notes, but I haven't had time to work on it properly yet.

 

May 1 sounds great. Right now I've only got 500 words and am nowhere close to being finished, and I would like to do some justice to the particular writers' respective fanon elements.

 

Thanks for the input, folks. May 1 it is for the new deadline—that works well for me (Finds) too. I've updated the date in all the appropriate places (this thread's OP and the Fanon Roulette post itself).

 

You have not updated the thread title.

 

Made some minor edits to Skakoan Commandos.

- Separated Skako and Skako Minor into two different planets, with vanilla Skako being the homeworld of the Skakoan species, and Skako Minor being a sister planet that was used as a Techno Union PR base and habitable experimentation lab.
- Some minor edits on pressure suit patents and the legal status of the commando pressure suits during the reign of the Empire.

 

Gahmah Raan - Thanks, I need that.