Felarya and Sex; How does it work?

Alright, so I've been pondering things for a time and have finally decided to vocalize my personal views upon what is, to my knowledge, an untouched issue. To be quite cantor I'm talking sex, and how it would work in the context of Felarya. Let me just throw out some things I've been speculating upon;

The general perception of it and how it would vary:

I am inclined to think to think that in terms of how the subject of sex is looked upon, it would vary greatly between the species. For instance, while humans have constructed an entire industry around it due to it generally being seen as a fun, scandalous activity for couples to engage in, species that are less "civilized" would have a primal outlook, and lean to it more for the natural purpose of procreation and leave it at that. What I'm meaning by civilized here is how individual species have come to depend less upon instinct on a daily basis and function more on free thought. While indeed all sentiments have the ability to think as they wish, not all are in an organized situation such as humans in which they can grow detached from their instincts. This, coupled with the fact that in the wild as apposed to relatively secure settlements, potential mates may be few and far between, and when found might not even have the same intent for mating. So to reiterate, less civilized species would, in my thinking, would view sex as a necessary means to procreate before anything. Pleasure is a possible reason as evidenced by Vivian, but not on the same scale as humans, as they wouldn't typically be allowed the ability to indulge in it on the same level species like humans are.

How it would be carried out when available:

This may be a little grim, but I would think that more brutish sentient individuals would mate in a manner akin to rape. My logic behind this, and what I think theirs would be as well is as follows; In the wild it's lawless. There is a distinct lack of morality and a law system to enforce it, so there are no repercussions to outright forcing one self upon another being. To put it into better perspective lets make a hypothetical situation; Male A wants to mate for whatever reason, carrying on his genes in accordance to instinct or simply pleasure. Female B, on the other hand, doesn't want to for whatever reason. Male A knowing himself the stronger of the two however, has no issue forcing his desire, and so on and so forth. I think this would happen frequently.

On the OTHER hand, there is the possibility of a level of intimacy being established. Possibly also in accordance to instinct as much as the desire to mate itself, or perhaps driven by an inherent better morality. In this case sex would likely be carried out in a manner like what truly loving pairs would do, although with a backdrop of harsh unforgiving wilderness.

Either way I feel it would vary on species, individual mentality, and opportunity.


So....uhhhh, who would be f****** who, exactly?:

Interspecies mating. Firstly I'd like to say that while scientifically this would yield nothing in terms of offspring due to genetics, you must consider the fact that scientifically Felarya makes fuck-all sense, so I think we can look past that for the moment. It could be claimed that species would be inherently drawn only to their own species, but if we look at us humans ourselves for an example we find that there are those amongst us who have more....exotic tastes, evidenced by fetishist of various sorts. The species diversity in Felarya makes it an environment in which such people, human and otherwise, could carry out their fantasies , so coupling may happen for this reason. Now, looking past purely sexual attraction, there are other things that play into it like emotion, which couples with sentience to clash against an instinctual preference for one's own species. Some writers have also already depicted interspecies couplings, which has worked generally well.


Final thoughts

I think that this subject is so variable and with so many different outlooks to be taken upon it that an absolute resolution can't be established really. But for the sake of eliciting a nice discussion I find this hasn't been touched upon directly and would be interesting.

Interesting post.

While I can't say Im a fan of forced sex, your explanation behind it does make sense. I think there is going to be a lot of thought that goes into it though. I mean, being bigger and outweighing some lady doesn't do much when she has poisonous spines or can shoot lightning bolts into your crotch. I imagine the same kind of thought process happens with that, as happens with fighting another pred for territory. If you get a bad enough injury, it can nearly be a death sentence out in the jungle, even with the healing factor.

Example:
- Guy sees petite naga girl milling about in the forest.
- Guy realizes he hasn't had any in ages, and he's twice her size.
- He tries woo'ing her, and when that doesn't work, he gets a bit forceful.
- Turns out the naga girl can spit venom out of her fangs, and she pegs him square in the eyes.
- He writhes around in agony as she slithers off, and finds himself blinded, an injury that can take well over a week to heal.
- Dies because he's blind in one of the most dangerous jungles around.

The jungle tends to prey on weakness afterall. This does add a potentially interesting new aspect to the predators...a reason why they might just want to avoid, or be cautious around other giants they have never met before.

On the other hand, given that it DOES seem that females outnumber males, I could see some that would be receptive to having a male approach them for sex. I personally assume that giant males make up about 30% or so of the total giant hybrid population, mostly as a population control factor. I think this is why we tend to see a higher rate of bisexualism amongst the giant females of Felarya (okay, part of it is because of bad writing, but my explanation makes sense too =P ). There are fewer males, and, being sentient creatures with needs...its only natural that they are going to seek out people for companionship or sexual release, and if there aren't any males around, well, they will make do with who IS around. Some turn to others of the same sex, some turn to different species, and some (Vivian is the most documented case) even turn to humans and other smaller species for help in that department.

Vivian and Crisis' relationship seems to be a good example of this. They certainly aren't in love, or even "an item"...but it has been strongly hinted at, especially in the mangas, that they do engage in acts of casual sex sometimes when Crisis comes to visit. This is likely not that rare a practice amongst various giant hybrids.

In places like Negav, I would imagine sex is looked at a bit more causally. I mean, the healing factor means there are no STD's, so that would mean none of that "SEX IS EVIL AND WILL KILL YOU!" stuff that you see in some places on Earth. Add to that the fact that they are on a world that could decide to kill them horribly with little warning, and I think you are going to see a fairly common instance of casual sexual encounters, mainly to provide temporary relief from the stress of living there. The lack of STD's and the lessening of sexual taboos likely makes prostitution a pretty big business in Negav as well. I mean, we already know of places like The Street of Red Trees, and what all goes on there.

Okay, here's my own ideas into the mix on various concepts.

Firstly, the general perception.

I agree in general that the less civilized species see it more as mating. However, this would depend on the level of leisure they can afford.

For example, we all know Vivian is always ready to do it. In her position, she is in a location with abundant food in the form of fruits. She is also a powerful mage and this would allow her to handle many challengers with greater ease than another naga. Thus, she can spend more time indulging in what she likes. A naga with less skills would have to focus more on surviving.

Also, the issue here is also pregnancy - a giant naga already consumes a lot and pregnancy, especially in a creature that seems to be mostly solitary, would be a big undertaking. This is probably why Vivian has such, to re-iterate a long term joke, lesbian tendencies - she can get her pleasure without having to deal with such other things. Then again, she is a mage, so maybe that's no issue. I'll touch more on this later.

I disagree with the concept that rape would be a common thing. Evolutionary, the prime concern of males is to have as many children as possible. If a child is born out of rape, it is likely that the distraught mother would abandon it or not be able to care for it.

Also, males predators have lower numbers. If one started going around forcing himself on females of the same species, he would soon find them ganging up on him. He would be black-listed. Females might even look for other, tougher males to protect them. As a procreative strategy in the long term, rape doesn't work. The species on earth that most engage in rape, like dolphins, are species that live in groups where males co-operate for this. For pleasure, of course, it may be done but that's another issue.

For males in Felarya, the best strategy for mating would be to try and take as many mates as possible. Since most predators don't live in groups, this would mean that males of the species are much more prone to wandering, having larger ranges - most female predators we see have their own small "zone." Of course, many females would push for a more intimate relationship and this may happen often - the female drive is to have many children as well, but with their limiting factor being the time of pregnancy and raising a child they would want help from a male counterpart.

(This is an important theory to note in sexual evolution - females are much more limited in reproductive capacity in males. A female can only have so many children in her life. A male can have as many kids as he he has women and time. So females are the "choosy" sex - they have more investment in their kids and want to make sure they're getting good genes.)

On inter-species mating - okay. Most races in Felarya are human enough, or have human enough parts, that the human sex drive would overcome differences.

Oh, right, the bisexual thing. Though people have laughed this off as the work of horny minds (which, admittedly, it probably is) it might not be so crazy. Many species have females engaging in such acts with each other. It is known to encourage cooperation and kinship between them. Besides this, predators a more sentient than an average animal - with few males around they would look to other ways to, ah, have fun. Predators with this attitude are more likely to make friends and close allies (which helps with the male rape thing mentioned.) The perfect example of this (though they are a group species) are the Bonobos of Earth.

I think sex is more "free-for-all" for most non-human cultures and, that's my personal thoughts, but some species aren't fazed at all by nudity and see it as something entirely natural. I tend to see Elves as completely non-chalant to nudity, but only most of the time, anyway. I'm sure some elven cultures see gratuitous nudity as taboo. The majority of predators don't have a problem with this, but for prey species, I think it mostly depend on cultures. I think Nekos in general are less offended by nudity than the average human. But I think in a world like Felarya, I think species would view sex for reproduction first and pleasure second, if we remove the "falling in love" aspect out of the equation. Of course, Vivian proves that there's an exception to every rules.

Spoiler:

Those are all pretty valid points, Cliff, and I can't really do much in the ways of refuting them. However, I can say that I was never fairly specific in applying this, I was thinking in more general terms. Regardless, that's a good argument.

This is Felarya. Where a naga's strength is largely located in the tail, a fairy can shrink you to the size of a peanut, dridders have poisons that can eat your insides out, and lastly the female to male predator ratio is unbalanced as hell. And you are worried about the men raping the women?

I've always stood by the opinion that in Felarya, the males of a species would be more likely to get raped than the females.

I highly doubt that if a male giant predator want's some action he has too much of a problem finding it. But if a female wants some male action then she has to spend a good deal of time looking.

Let's not forget what happens in some species relationships too *COUGH* mantoids *COUGH*.

If i was a mantoid male, my own species would probably be the last thing I would be looking to have sex with.

I'd imagine that bisexuality is somewhat common, given how many females there are in Felarya. Hell, Karbo himself has a character that's pretty much willing to get it on with anything that moves.

Quote :

Let's not forget what happens in some species relationships too *COUGH* mantoids *COUGH*.

If i was a mantoid male, my own species would probably be the last thing I would be looking to have sex with.

Keep in mind, the part about the females killing the males after mating is not canon. Kiki mentions it, and it is joked about, but it is not actually in the wiki.

Besides, that is based on a myth anyways. Female Mantids don't ALWAYS eat the males after mating. This is almost always observed in artificial circumstances, and its theorized that the stress, or some other factor may cause the cannibalism.

Karbo joked about it on his Mantoid doodles, that's enough for me!

We've already had this discussion.

Examples of female mantises eating their mates is quite rare - more often they actually have elaborate mating dances.

They only do it with a particularly weak mate if they're hungry - it may also work as a way to ensure that only "fit" males are willing to mate. So perhaps female mantoids are domineering in the relationship, but actual sexual cannibalism seems far-fetched.

Grave wrote:

This is Felarya. Where a naga's strength is largely located in the tail, a fairy can shrink you to the size of a peanut, dridders have poisons that can eat your insides out, and lastly the female to male predator ratio is unbalanced as hell. And you are worried about the men raping the women?

I'm not so sure that its that unbalanced in Felarya. If you think about it, you only need one male pred to impregnate a bunch of female preds in order to make a lot of baby preds.

Males are quite expendable, which nature has shown repeatedly. One example includes a parasitic wasp whose brood number in the hundreds and is typically 50/50 in terms of gender. Before they leave the host, however, the males are turned upon by a specialized "defender" caste that protects their siblings (at the cost of their own life) from other parasitic wasp larvae. By the time they do leave the host, hundreds of females may emerge while typically only one male will.

However, the one on one couple relationship, with each having only one mate, would likely be both highly improbably and evolutionary unfeasible for the larger predators of Felarya. Males will likely have numerous female partners, just to keep the species up.

I would see 20% males and 80% female as unbalanced. 40/60 is actually fairly stable in my eyes. 30/70 would be borderline.

As Jasconius pointed out, why is 20/80 unbalanced? A male can impregnate multiple females. A female cannot have multiple pregnancies. Females, despite their greater numbers, are still the "limiting" factor on the reproductive numbers.

Well just that something make it so that males are a rarity and females aren't. Plus, I'm pretty sure it's been confirmed the ratio was more around 40/60 in the past.

Sean Okotami wrote:

Well just that something make it so that males are a rarity and females aren't. Plus, I'm pretty sure it's been confirmed the ratio was more around 40/60 in the past.

They must be hiding in caves. Because they sure as hell don't show up anywhere else.

Felarya: Land of the Bachelors.

With so few males, the guys are constantly on the clock, ensuring any species they can is able to reproduce. Thanks guys for all you've been doing!

Though considering the low death rate due to aging, they can always afford to take a break.

trooth i thought the giant nagas where just all girls but reprodued in les orgy or both laid a cluch of eggs then they oragasumed over the eggs beared the nest and left it...... then i thought the used humans becuse dosint mater how tall they are there cells are the same size as a humans so the sperm and egg witch each are one cell would be the same size. Thats how it is in real life. on looks human and animle sper and unfertalised eggs look the same.

dragonjaj wrote:

trooth i thought the giant nagas where just all girls but reprodued in les orgy or both laid a cluch of eggs then they oragasumed over the eggs beared the nest and left it...... then i thought the used humans becuse dosint mater how tall they are there cells are the same size as a humans so the sperm and egg witch each are one cell would be the same size. Thats how it is in real life. on looks human and animle sper and unfertalised eggs look the same.

Your understanding of reproductive science is as horrifying as it is blatantly incorrect.

No, females cannot fertilize eggs by "oragasuming" over them. Neither can they somehow reproduce via "les orgy". How you even came up with this concept is beyond me.

No, they cannot use humans to reproduce, unless they are harpies of the same size.

And, despite the fact that sperm LOOK the same that is a far, far cry from being the same. Human sperm is generally weaker than that of other animals, who may not get as many chances to reproduce. Even if your bizarre assumption that sperm that look the same are the same is true, the chances of a giant naga somehow managing to get impregnated by a small human are microscopic. This not even taking into account the impossible mechanics of it all.

Um i figured giant nagas had a inharent magic nature when i frist saw them thinking they wher like nagas from china and japan witch regulery repordue with humans in leagend.

And it can work the guy just has to go a lot deeper in.......

No, it won't. The genes are not compatible. Only a few species in Felarya can cross-breed with humans. Giant nagas are not one of them.

dragonjaj wrote:

Um i figured giant nagas had a inharent magic nature when i frist saw them thinking they wher like nagas from china and japan witch regulery repordue with humans in leagend.

And it can work the guy just has to go a lot deeper in.......

That's a bit of a confusion in Fantasy in general. The Felaryan Nagas look more like the Lamia from a certain poem I forgot the name, which was based on Queen Lamia from Greek Mythos. However, the first origin of Nagas is pretty hazy, and they're depicted either the same as Lamias, or as giant snakes with a humanoid head in Fantasy. So the terms are mostly interchangeable.

I've always assumed that aside predators seeing sex largely as just for reproductive means, when they actually get around to do it it would be quick and rushed most of the time. In a land where everything is waiting to kill something you can't afford to be too distracted, even more so if you're a loner

I believe Felaryas nagas to be unique they share similarities from myths and legends but are different. At a genetic level crossbreeding would be imossible but with magic pretty much anything is possible seeing as magic can take what it wants without repercussion unlike science which is about balance.

Seeing as some of the felaryan predators don't actively seek kinship it must be more of a thing where once they reach a certain age or mindset that they look for a mate. And I would believe that it would follow some of a more animalistic approach where both sides simply want to carry on there DNA seeing as a lot of nagas seem to be fatherless it would apear the male go's off and continues to do what they do and the female births them. Seeing as Fiona and Crisis didn't have parents it's possible that after birth the mother abandons the nest or may be complacent in some cases it would show that there instinct to continue there bloodline not to be as strong after birth.

Need more time to think on this

Actually, bisexuality is more common in nature than people would expect. Most of the strictly hetero behavior humans exhibit is from societal pressure, not biological disposition. This is especially true for females, both in humans and in other animals. It's not a tremendous stretch of imagination to assume that a mostly-female sentient species with approximately human levels of intelligence would be widely bisexual. All of our romantic (and by extension, sexual) desires are just as strongly influenced by our need for intimacy as by our biological drive to reproduce, if not more so.

Kai Leingod wrote:

but with magic pretty much anything is possible seeing as magic can take what it wants without repercussion unlike science which is about balance

Okay, there are quite a few people who would disagree there, and I am one of them. While it's still debated, many people are of the opinion that magic is simply science operating through "fantastic" means that aren't possible on Earth and other worlds due to a lack of the fueling energies or lack of practical knowledge. It's all too easy, and cheap, to use magic as a solve-all solution. If it doesn't make sense, slap the "magic" label on it and it's all good! I don't like that.

I wasn't talking about lesbians more of the reproductive side I can under stand how they may seek it out to get a buzz and that.

This is about carrying on there bloodline which they need a mate to do it right? And I don't follow magic in fantasy I'm more your sci fi person, in which case science and genetics can alter the process but that would take years to study and develop.

I'm just trying to make sense of it myself and I thought it was the most logical at the time.

I'm going to grab myself a brew and sit on this one until I can come up with something more concrete.