Atton Rand & miscellaneous names (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
suitably_heroic) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
fandomhigh2015-09-18 06:54 pm
suitably_heroic) wrote in fandomhigh2015-09-18 06:54 pm
Entry tags:
Philosophy of Loss, Friday, 2nd Period
When students arrived, they wouldn't find Didi there, but Atton, looking mildly uncomfortable. "Hey," he said, "Your regular teacher's out for the day, so I'm covering."
He sat down on the desk. "A lot of cultures place a lot of importance on bodies," he said. "I think this local culture called the Egyptians had this idea that in order to remain immortal after death, you had to keep the entire body as intact as you could. They had these intricate rituals that were meant to preserve as much of it as possible. They'd leave gifts behind, too, and they'd cast spells. Nowadays, Earth culture is a little more relaxed on it, but people will still go to great lengths to get bodies back, so they'll have something to bury. Sometimes bodies get cremated and strewn out over significant locations, that kind of thing."
He took a deep breath.
"Which leaves the question, what if there isn't one?" he said. "Some people feel that leaves them with nothing to mourn. Like it's empty, or not real. For other people it doesn't matter. I'm sure there are rituals out there, too, like marking a location and declaring that grave your loved one's anyway. Most of the time, what people really need is just a place they can mourn at, that's tied to this other person."
He shrugged lightly. "How do you feel about that?" he asked. "Are there rituals you know of? If someone you cared about died somewhere far away and you couldn't retrieve their body, what would you do?"
He sat down on the desk. "A lot of cultures place a lot of importance on bodies," he said. "I think this local culture called the Egyptians had this idea that in order to remain immortal after death, you had to keep the entire body as intact as you could. They had these intricate rituals that were meant to preserve as much of it as possible. They'd leave gifts behind, too, and they'd cast spells. Nowadays, Earth culture is a little more relaxed on it, but people will still go to great lengths to get bodies back, so they'll have something to bury. Sometimes bodies get cremated and strewn out over significant locations, that kind of thing."
He took a deep breath.
"Which leaves the question, what if there isn't one?" he said. "Some people feel that leaves them with nothing to mourn. Like it's empty, or not real. For other people it doesn't matter. I'm sure there are rituals out there, too, like marking a location and declaring that grave your loved one's anyway. Most of the time, what people really need is just a place they can mourn at, that's tied to this other person."
He shrugged lightly. "How do you feel about that?" he asked. "Are there rituals you know of? If someone you cared about died somewhere far away and you couldn't retrieve their body, what would you do?"
Re: Discussion
And, perhaps, answering the question. Although to be fair, he'd take a drink if he could retrieve the body as well. Or if nobody had even died. Or if his glass had liquor in it ever.
Re: Discussion