While I know the reapers and such are gods of death and immortal/eternal... can they retire from their duties? Do these gods of death have any established life cycle of their own <birth, aging, death, etc>? What happens if one is ready to stop existing<in the instance conventional death doesn't apply>? Is this a concept or thought that just doesn't come up?
I feel like this may need to be part of a separate ask, but are there any traditions/ceremonies connected to all this?
With such long life spans, if birth or such applies, would new talismans rates be low or nonexistent? <Yes, I'm thinking of the Fairly Odd Parents lol>
Woah this one's been collecting dust, but i finally have some words to convey my answer to this!
Absolutely, Talisman can retire from their duties! Whether a Reaper, Apprentice, or Maven, Talisman from all lines of duty are encouraged to retire or try different duties out if they feel its time.
Their life cycle, I'm still work shopping, but yes! They do have an established one! Here's what I can say:
Talisman can get pregnant & give birth (which is more in-line with other AU monster pregnancies)
Talisman grow in quick spurts, reaching milestones and then plateauing for long stretches of time. They dont ever grow decrepit, even as their bodies show signs of maturing/age later in life. They'll grow grey, but they won't wither!
When a Talisman is ready to "stop existing", they'll retrieve their candle from Asgore and face one of two (so far) deaths, depending on the state of their Stats.
As for traditions/ceremonies linked in all this, yes!! Talisman are heavily rooted in their traditions and hold many ceremonies to honor milestones.
Upon their first steps/independent movement, a Talisman visits Alphys & her apprentices in the Heraldry to meet their Herald - a whole ceremony is held and theres traditionally a naming ceremony held afterwards.
When they "shed their stripes" (still working on the Talisman equivalent), a weapons ceremony is held where they visit Grillby and his apprentices to have a weapon made & attuned to their soul (usually over the course of a few weeks - month depending on the weapon being made)
It's a high honor to move up from "Ward" (trainee/apprentice) to full-fledged "Reaper", and the ceremony involved ties us into one of the two possible deaths for a Talisman - having their Soul reaped by a Ward. Once the Ward has completed the job, they are acknowledged as a Reaper and sent on solo reapings. (Name for this process in the works)
The other Talisman Death Ceremony is for those whose Stats (LV & EXP, mostly) are considered too high for a single Reaper to safely withstand on their own. The Talisman has a group of Reapers (usually close to them) perform a joint ritual similar to LV Siphoning that disperses the Talisman's Stats amongst the group.
I feel like this is a good time to mention that when a Talisman's Stats reach 0, their candles extinguish and their souls move on to Sans & his apprentices.
Whew! As for birth/new Talisman rates - Talisman births are pretty... clustered? There are many groups of Talisman that are very close in age to one another, but there never seem to be more than 13 pregnancies at a time. Many of the Mavens are in the same "age group" as one another.
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