Weird customs in your fictional world?!

What are some weird fictional customs, traditions and more from your fictional world?
This is related to your story of course.

My Turn:

In my story, Tales of Alterra, the only “weird” custom is this one.

The First Ones are an alien race who completely immortal but still age like a normal human being only slower. However, when a baby from the First Ones is born, they are given a false temporary name. This temporary name is just given to them, so they won’t call the baby “it” once the infant grows up. Yet when it reaches adolescence there is a special day called Name Day where the teenage First One decides to select a name of their very own. The process of choosing their own name is different for each of the First One races. Still, the teenager chooses a name or sometimes (which is rare) is given a name. Th e name has a very special meaning that also grants the teenager different abilities and strength.

Depending on the name that they chose, the name itself can alter their future, personality, characteristic, and anything else.

What about you though?
What are some strange fictional customs in your fictional world?

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Well, anything I wrote in Cinderella is a Bad Girl isn’t proper for “mixed company”, but there are some things in that one…honestly, there’s something in every book, due to a fascination with cultures. I actually sit through arcaological digs and WATCH then when you can’t get me to even glance up for a movie I’m somewhat interested in.

Athelai of Broadside wears a thumb ring that indictates that she’s looking to get married (although she isn’t) as it’s hard to find interested men for single mercenary women. It’s the catalyst for starting the interactions in the first chapter.

Begging is for Losers: Rachel’s tribal ancestors (werewolves) don’t mate for life, which is counterculture to werewolf culture. Nathaniel’s people have a temple with a statue they touch during rituals. Both are pretty damn important since the traditional climax of the story is in the temple, and the habits of her people are why she’s willing to travel a continent away when too young to think about mates, just to “hook up” with some young Alpha.

In the Game of the Gods : the game is the god’s culture. Sssyraine is a freaking half-lizard–that is non-mamalian cycles, and since Elves are the origin of most species, their views on interacting with other species is very counter-culture to the majority of species. Their wedding was traditional–and weird.

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Hummnnn…

Well, Honour (a code of conduct that’s gained an entire organization around it) as an entirety could be counted, but that aside…

People who follow the teachings of Honour (“Children of Honour”) basically have their entire own culture and stuff, and part of that is when women get sorted into an order, they wear a ring thing on the last two fingers of their nondominant hand that makes the two function basically as one.

Nobody knows why they do this. They just do.

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When Kathula have had finish eating, they throw the carcass over their left shoulder meaning “thank you for the good meal”. With cups or plates or bowls, they would tap it on their left shoulder instead. It’s a very, very high praise and compliments to the chef.

When Sorcerers talk to each other, they are super, super honest in their opinions which, for some, might sound like bullying, but unless intentionally evilly said (like in a mocking tone), it’s actually just how they communicate with each other. Brutal honesty has enabled them to have peaceful lives because no one misunderstands each other. Blunt criticism is the norm.

Uhm…that’s about all I have.

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No high fives, no handshakes, only fist bumps between friends.

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In some places, a wedding isn’t as big or extravagant as what many do. White isn’t the standard color for dresses, either. The standard in some places is black (with white for funerals), though other places have different culture customs like having colorful outfits with specific designs. One of them in one of the hotter climates don’t even wear clothes to the wedding—like the guests may but the outfits would be more skin revealing. The bride would wear something to just cover her private parts, something similar to Anck Su Namun in the second Mummy movie.

With funerals, while in some places, they’ll bury their dead and whatnot, many places will do bonfires where they burn the bodies. The people who bury often believe that the body will give life to the Earth. The ones who do bonfires may believe that the soul is lifted to the heavens which would resemble the embers.

In one place, your sixteenth birthday isn’t just a “Sweet Sixteen.” It’s used as a proposal party where you’re of age to be married. So it’s thrown as an exquisite ball and the birthday person “shops” around to find a suitable person, unless they can’t find one or don’t want one lol.

There’s an alien species called the Koelegians who help my MC. Many of them have special powers (like the ability to read minds, fly, etc.) and the princess is able to pass on an ability to others, which she does to my MC and his crew. There’s a specific ritual for it, and then after you’ve received it, you have to present it in front of these statues that are of these goddesses they believe in (who are kind of real in a way, they’re like spirits trapped in them) because you do have to present that you’re worthy to have it.

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Dunno if this counts as a custom or rather just a sad fact of life, but my series takes place in a walled city called After, which is inhabited by ghosts. There’s no sun there, and going beyond the wall means certain death to most ghosts.

After endless centuries trapped in darkness, many ghosts just kinda “give up” and go catatonic. As in, they go into ghost comas. They lie where they fall and don’t wake up. Ever.

Ghosts that have formed found families look after their catatonic kin indefinitely and still treat them as a viable part of the family, always hoping for the day they’ll wake up again.

If a catatonic ghost has no such family to look after them, then the only courtesy they can expect to recieve is that other ghosts will at least try to make an effort to not step on them in the street.

There’s no real widespread “remorse” or pomp and circumstances revolving catatonic ghosts, as it’s regarded as an inevitability for all ghosts eventually. And since the streets of After tend to be littered with handfuls of the catatonic at all times, it’s just another mundane fact of life.

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That is unique.

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