Culture

The culture of the Fleet from Daémon is descended primarily from the country of Kanto on the dead world, but has changed over time and with the addition of features taken from other countries.

Time Measurements

The timekeeping used on the ships is the same as on the Dead World.  Because the Dead World was an artificially created location, they don't have leap years and the moon cycle fits evenly into the year.  

# Season Month Approximate Earth Equivalent
1 winter Darkmoon Early January
2 winter Fightingmoon Late January, Early February
3 winter Rockmoon Late February
4 winter Ghostmoon Early March
5 spring Groundmoon Late March, Early April
6 spring Poisonmoon Late April
7 spring Watermoon Early May
8 spring Fairymoon Late May, Early June
9 summer Firemoon Late June
10 summer Bugmoon Early July
11 summer Dragonmoon Late July, Early August
12 summer Electricmoon Late August
13 summer Grassmoon Early September
14 autumn Flyingmoon Late September, Early October
15 autumn Steelmoon Late October
16 autumn Normalmoon Early November
17 autumn Psychicmoon Late November, Early December
18 winter Icemoon Late December

Days are 24 hours long, with hours being the same as Earth hours.  

378 days per year, split into 18 months with 21 days each.  Each month is named after an element.  The year begins in early winter, and each month begins on the new moon, with full moons at the center of the month. 

Time is further split into 7-day weeks.  While an earthling might expect their days off to be at the end of the week, their traditional rest day comes at the center of each Fleet week, on days 4, 5, 11, 12, 18, and 19.  Churches typically open services on the morning of the 4th, 11th, and 18th, with the 11th being the most important and highest attended days.

Holidays

The 11th of each month corresponds to the full moon, and are the times of the 18 largest religious holidays on the calendar.  

Zodiac

Each element has various associated stereotypes and jobs.  If someone is born into the month corresponding to an element, they are said to be in particular need that element's stereotypes from the people around them for their first few years.  For example, someone born in Bugmoon will be said to be in need of forgiveness often, or need someone to defend them.  It is not believed that this follows a person through their entire lives.  

There are religious ceremonies, particularly weddings, which involve the birth month.

Daily horoscopes are not a recognized concept.  

Birthdays

Daemon usually settle between the ages of 10 and 18, most often between 11 and 13.  

Fleet culture gives a lot of freedom and independence to children.  Very young children are permitted to play or travel long distances to visit friends.  The legal age of adulthood is 16, though this comes with the understanding that they will likely remain with their parents and in some form of schooling until around 21. 

Birthdays are celebrated on the day of birth, with a gathering of a few close friends in a public place.  The birthday host pays for food and entertainment, and the guests each give a present in return.  

Religion

The basic premise of Totemin is that all souls originally came from one of several hundred Totems - god-like spirits.  They split themselves apart and give a tiny piece of their own soul to each human, as a daemon.  Whichever form one's daemon settles as is the one which originally gave the piece.  Upon death, they return to their Totem and re-merge with it, bringing all of their experiences and memories along with them.  If someone lived a virtuous life, this empowers the god.  If they were unvirtuous, the experiences sicken and weaken the god.  

Legendaries are unusually powerful and rare because instead of being merely a small part of a soul they are said to be their Totem entirely reborn, having all of the memories and experiences of their past lives to call upon.  Presumably subconsciously.  The dreams of Legendaries are said to hold wisdom and sometimes even knowledge of future events.  

Denominations

Totemin Magest:

Originating in Kanto, and the most popular denomination (about 80% of the Fleet).  They are ostentatious and highly organized.

Host of the Creation Trio:

Originating in Sinnoh.  A slightly unusual denomination, as it inherited a number of things from a previous religion which Totemin had taken over.  Notable in believing that there are many different tiers of souls, rather than only normal daemons and Legendaries.  They also have more individualized lore around different Legendaries, rather than believing that they are all equal.  Arceus, Palkia, and Dialga are the most revered, above all others, while Giratina takes on an opposing role.  

Totemin Diffuse:

The second most common with about 12% of the population.  Relatively similar to Totemin Magest theologically.  The main difference is that Diffuse are ascetic, preferring very simple and somber ceremonies.  People who visit their congregations are expected to wear simple robes of their element color rather than individual daemon fur/skin/feather colors.  Their worship involves elaborate singing and music done entirely through voice.

Unification of the Gathered:

A small denomination which chooses to live mostly around a few Halls in Spire of Winter.  Notable for their variation on burial rites, which disturb most other people because it involves spreading ashes on a special field used to provide food for ceremonial feast purposes.  Unlike others, the permanent location of their grave charms are dead-end areas and rarely visited by non-priests.

Church of the Sown Song:

A small denomination found on Tower of Autumn.  Their preferred method of worship is music, though unlike Totemin Diffuse they allow instruments.  This also includes dance.  Notable in that they allow any person to take any role in ceremonies rather than requiring specific types.

Gender

Gender is relatively unimportant culturally, daemon variety being a much more obvious way to sort people.

The pronouns of the language used on the fleet are [human-masculine] [human-feminine] [human-neutral/any] [daemon-masculine] [daemon-feminine] [daemon-neutral/any] [inanimate object].

Daemon Element

Each pokemon has one or two of 18 elements.  While both elements are equally important for practical reasons, only the first one listed is considered culturally important (meaning that Bulbasaur counts as Grass culturally, not Poison.)  

Each element has various stereotypes associated with them.  Religiously, they have a Virtue they are expected to embody.  There is also a traditional job which they were once expected to work as in some parts of the world; these are different from the current Fleet jobs they might be expected to perform which have to do with which daemons can create materials or perform other necessary tasks.  Even when it isn't practical, many people do expect to see given careers filled by certain types; most bartenders are poison-type, for example.  There are no legal requirements for being a specific type for a job as long as it is doable without Moves or Abilities, only cultural pressure.

Type Virtue Traditional Job Stereotypes
Dark Cleverness Scholarship criminal, disobedient, liars
Fighting Patience Shipping, Warehouse over-competitive, repressed
Rock Humility Construction, Mining indifferent, likes puns
Ghost Hope / Faith Preaching religious, goth, tricksters
Ground Frugality Farming dull, stubborn, practical
Poison Happiness Hospitality, Barkeeping dirty, stoners, gangsters
Water Cleanliness Medical, Janitor helpful, forgetful, fussy
Fairy Thankfulness Mercantile liars, flirty, pranksters
Fire Productivity Craftspeople angry, quick-witted
Bug Justice / Mercy Law, Law Enforcement honest, defending others, persistent to the point of being annoying
Dragon Honesty Banking aloof, cool, dramatic
Electric Generosity Engineering, Machinery energetic, mathematician, loud
Grass Kindness Teaching patient, nurturing, slow
Flying Courage Scouting, Transportation impatient, easily distracted
Steel Protection Military thug, showmanship
Normal Diligence Logging musical, talkative, flexible
Psychic Temperance Messengers very smart, elitist, prone to overkill
Ice Prudence Stockpiling, Accounting graceful, mysterious, cold

Clothing

types.png

It is also acceptable to wear colors associated with their daemon's main element, though this is considered low class.  The standard Type colors are found on the chart to the right.

Clothing style is mostly genderless.  Skirts are slightly more common among women.  Clothing which shows off the upper arms or has no sleeves are slightly masculine coded, and clothing which reveals the stomach is considered feminine, though these are also not strong indicators.  

Unsettled children wear clothing made up of a lot of different colors at once.  In particular, clothing which has different panels made from different fabric colors is a common style.  

Shirts plus a skirt, shorts, or pants are considered normal.  Robes have been out of fashion for a very long time.  Dresses are mostly an upper-class outfit, since it requires a connected top and bottom rather than mixing and matching which implies that someone is very wealthy to have them and still have options.  Capes are sometimes worn, but mostly only by people with Dragon daemons.  Many people with small daemons or daemons who know the move Fly will have harnesses built into or worn over their clothes.

It shows off wealth to have embroidered patterns on clothing, and especially beads or other things which are hard to do by machine.  Printed patterns on fabric are cheaper.  Flat fabric which is neither printed nor embroidered is mostly seen on children or on job uniforms.

Shoes are typically very soft-soled things meant to be worn on flat tile surfaces.

Burial Rites

When someone dies, a small charm (about 1 to 2 cm across) is created in the shape of their daemon.  On the Dead World these were best made from semiprecious stones.  Gold is the most common material for Totemin Magest and the Church of the Sown Song.  Host of the Creation Trio prefers artificial gems or glass.  Unification of the Gathered and Totemin Diffuse use a small piece of bone taken from the corpse.

These charms are placed in a public area near where the person died for a full moon cycle.  Mourners can place flowers or flower petals around them.  After the month is over, they are moved to a permanent location.  A place where people will walk through is considered ideal - it is polite to be silent while passing.  The largest church where the Legendaries meet has a very large room for this purpose.

The body is entirely burned.  Each person has in their will a location that they want their ashes scattered.  Some families always pick the same place as each other, but this isn't standard practice.  These always need to be in a flower garden, not a food field, because it bothers most people to eat food which had been fertilized with ashes.  The exception is the Unification of the Gathered, which has its members put their ashes into a particular food field where they grow food used in their Ghostmoon feast.  

Beyond the temporary first-month location of the charm, it is not considered normal to place things for the dead anywhere or visit individual sites for mourning.  They don't have a concept of mourning clothing.

Romance

Courting

Casual sex between two single friends is considered a normal activity.  Note that they do have to be friends - if they are new acquaintances who have known each other for less than a week, or who share only an interest in sex and zero other hobbies or reasons to speak with each other, that would be considered inappropriate.  

Once someone is in a romantic relationship (officially dating) or married, some people prefer to ask for exclusivity or limits regarding extramarital sex.  Some people are monogamous, while others ask for various less extreme limits.  These are always equal and bind both parties the same.  Polyamory of various types is considered normal and acceptable as long as everyone consents.

There is no particular taboo about homosexuality.  

In Kanto on the Dead World, and in the very early days of the Fleet, marriage and living with someone who was not related to you were considered synonyms, and the party was just a formality.  This is no longer the case, but it's still a fairly strong assumption.  If two people are living together and get engaged, one of them needs to move out some of their stuff and at least pretend to be living elsewhere in order for the marriage ceremony to be performed.  

Weddings

When people get engaged, they wear flowers of each other's color in their hair.  

The standard wedding outfit includes a half-circle shawl.  Each shawl is covered in fake flowers in the color of the other person's daemon.  Some people prefer to start off wearing the shawl matching their own daemon, then swap during the ceremony, while others don't.  After the wedding, they are removed and displayed in a completed circle, usually on the wall of the house in a glass box to prevent dust.  Occasionally the halves are sewn together at the end of the ceremony.  If they choose to separate, the circle is treated like a corpse and burned.  

The morning of a wedding begins with the 2+ people to be married preparing separately.  Each one has two religious anointments to endure - one for their daemon's main element, and one for their birth month.  These vary from element to element.  They are each accompanied by an older relative of their same gender, or lacking that whoever can best fit that role.  These take about an hour each.

While they are doing those, the wedding guests go from the home of whoever is moving out and carry their things to the house they're joining.  They put the things away in the correct locations.  Rather than having wrapped presents, each guest is supposed to bring various things that a home needs and just put them in the suitable locations along with the stuff they're moving.  Traditionally these were meant to be anonymous, though this has become less common.

Once everyone is finished, they meet in a place where a party can be held.  Houses are typically too small but were traditional on the dead world.  Churches are commonly booked for this, but many places work.  At some point in the party (usually right before the main meal is served) the new couple will get up in front of everyone and perform a short speech.  Finishing it with a kiss is common, but not mandatory.  Members of the Host of the Creation Trio split a fruit in half and eat it together.  

There is not a standard symbol like a ring.  Instead, a married person will wear an object of their partner's daemon's color on them.  If their partner has the same color daemon as they do, this will instead be a pin or other object which has their partner's daemon depicted, and if they both have the same daemon, it will be a pin/patch/thing with two of them.  It is standard for both partners to pick the same kind of object (for example two bracelets) but they don't need to be in the same style or the same piece from day to day.  

Food

The standard utensils for eating are chopsticks and spoons.  Forks are heard of and were used in non-Kanto parts of the dead world; sometimes they are offered in restaurants that serve those varieties of food.

Because the dead world does not have animals, meat is unheard of.  The only possible meat would come from humans, and most people don't know that cannibalism is theoretically possible - likely assuming that human bodies are like grass or other non-digestible material. On the dead world, before pokemon went extinct, the fat deposits dropped from pokemon were sometimes gathered and eaten, particularly slowpoke tails (which could grow back) and farfetch'd.  On the modern fleet this is impossible and the few people who still know about it consider it barbaric.

Kanto and Johto, and therefore the cultural majority of the fleet, considered food created directly through Moves such as milk drink, egg bomb, etc. to be weird.  This means that a majority of people on the fleet are vegan, especially those of the upper class.  Milk, cheese, and eggs are considered low class, but not illegal or impossible to find.  Other countries on the dead world used Move-created foods much more often than Kanto. 

Many dwellings do not have kitchens.  Cafeterias where people pay a monthly fee are the most common way of getting food.  Restaurants and delivery are also common. 

Food is fairly expensive.  Wasting food is considered very bad.  As many people don't have refrigerators, it is common for someone to offer any food they can't eat to others eating with them without considering germs. 

Alcohol is common but extremely expensive due to heavy restriction and taxes.  To buy alcohol, one must be at least 16 and obtain a license, which involves an 8 hour course and an extensive test.  It is most often made from fruit, with rare high-end alcohol made from honey. 

Orange Island cuisine - the standard Italian-American foods (lasagna, spaghetti, pizza, etc) if marinara sauce was typically made with ghost peppers.  Insanely spicy, and also has lots of cheese and noodles. 

Kanto cuisine - Entirely vegan, no honey.  The main grain of the region was rice, which is cooked in a variety of ways.  Vegetable stir-fries are common, with sauces typically on the sweeter side.  Baked goods often have their flavoring ingredients mixed into the dough and scattered evenly throughout (such as blueberry muffins).

Johto cuisine - Mostly vegan, plus honey.  The main grain of the region was rice, which is cooked in a variety of ways.  Vegetable stir-fries are common, with complex sauces including a large number of spices and flavors, though rarely hot.  Baked goods are often some form of filling surrounded by a crust (such as blueberry pie).

 

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