Modern westernized cultural values IG

[Is Friday]

I have always loved arm because as someone who is bi-sexual IRL its been refreshing to play a game where your allowed to be however you want to be and I also thinks that straight sometimes. Not everyone has to treat sex like a hand shake and their is nothing wrong if you do. I do DISLIKE it when someone tries to icly pressure you into sex with them with the implied pressure that if your not having sex with them your a poor roll-player for not 'living up to the norm' . Just because you can be polyamorous doesn't mean you have to be..just because you can be gay doesn't mean you can't be straight. Sexual preference is something your born with not something cultural ingrained in you. Unless we are saying people -choose- to be Gay? Which is something I for one am happy we are getting past as a species.

One thing that does humor though about the Western culture thing is the alarming number of times I have gotten weird ic reactions for breast feeding in game. That is very much an American Taboo. My cousin is half Persian her husband is from Iran but she was raised State side. Recently they went to visit his family with their new baby....she had total culture shock...apparently breast feeding is the Persian version of jingling car keys and pacifiers. Every time Madison so much as made a peep one of Amir's sisters or his mother would encourage her to nurse. This encouragement I am told sometimes took the form of pointed looks and raised eyebrows in disapproval.  This really threw her off as we are talking about a country where woman have to keep their heads covered in public but apparently breast feeding is not only accepted but in no way something a woman should be nervous or ashamed of, in fact its expected.  I just don't think anyone in arm would bat an eyelash at mother breast feeding a kid. Its not like there is baby food and the longer you keep them on the tit the more coin you save on bread.

Funny that you mention breatfeeding and sexuality in the same post in regards to Iran. It's a capital offense in Iran to be gay. America is behind most countries about breastfeeding -- probably for the same reason we still encourage perfectly healthy mothers to induce/cesarean/give birth on your back in the most uncomfortable manner possible.

p.s. babby rp is something that drives me nuts no matter what the subject is. Swaddling, breastfeeding, cooing, diaper changing, etc. I'm equally judgmental of you as a person if you are performing babby rp no matter the subject.

[Lizzie]

p.s. babby rp is something that drives me nuts no matter what the subject is. Swaddling, breastfeeding, cooing, diaper changing, etc. I'm equally judgmental of you as a person if you are performing babby rp no matter the subject.

100% agreed.

[valeria]

Since having babies is a big part of most people's lives, I'm not really sure why it's more odd or bad for people to rp the having and keeping of children, compared to any other topic that people rp.

[Desertman]

Fundamentally the only reason the rules around "being whatever you want to be sexually" exist in the game is because it would create an OOC'ly unfriendly OOC environment for certain groups of people if it were otherwise. Even if that environment were only in their own minds.

It's an IC concept that is forced for OOC considerations of OOC feelings. It doesn't have to make IC sense, and sometimes it won't, because the rule around that roleplay only exists for OOC reasons to begin with. If sometimes it feels like the IC world doesn't exactly follow along, it is because the rule isn't there for any IC reason. Sometimes there will be conflicts and contradictions.

IC'ly there are several instances of not being overly sexual with anyone and everyone and social stigmas associated with doing exactly that in the documentation.

Tuluki nobles can't have sex with any commoners for example. Why? To preserve their bloodlines. It is beneath them to bed commoners. Why? Because Zalanthans understand the concept of "my bloodlines" vs "their bloodlines".

You don't want to taint your bloodlines, so, you don't bang everything in sight because it is beneath you. It is something only commoners do because you are better than them. Thus, only lower class lower individuals who "aren't as good as you", act in that way.

Underlying connotation? Being a random slut is for trashy commoners. (At least in Tuluk.)

Highborn individuals and merchant House family members can arrange marriages and often times stipulations in those contracts dictate the flow and allocation of any children.

Why? Because Zalanthans understand and value the concept, at least in some castes, of valuing their individual bloodlines.


The only reason we don't like banging out anything and everything and everyone we see in real life is because we are chemically wired, just like most other creatures, to want to preserve our own bloodlines.

There is a reason alpha male lions kill the cubs of other male lions and will not let his girl's breed with other males. It's because he is wired to protect and further his own bloodline.

It's the same reason human males and females get jealous and will fight over their partners cheating on them with someone else. Sure, there is the emotional aspect associated, but really, it comes down to being naturally chemically wired to want to preserve your own bloodlines and promote the singular benefits of your individual offspring. One might argue that those emotional aspects are in large driven by the brute nature-driven way we are naturally wired. (I understand not everyone fits this category. I just mean in general for most people.)

A lot of my characters do not like the idea of their "mates" banging other people. (On the extremely rare occasion I even involve myself in such roleplay.)

Why? Because they are naturally wired to want to promote their own offspring. Why? Because that makes perfect sense to me. I don't see any reason why any Zalanthan in game would WANT to invest their extremely limited and valuable time and resources into raising the offspring of someone else. It IC'ly makes no sense at all.

I am absolutely FINE with female characters getting extremely jealous and angry over "their men" banging other women. Why? Because it makes an extreme amount of IC sense for them to do so. If "their men" go out and bang other women/men, they might develop an emotional attachment. They might "lose their man" to this other woman. Then, who is going to help her raise his children? She is going to have to raise his children alone which is much harder to do than doing it with his help. It is just a matter of her being naturally wired to best allocate and utilize her very limited resources for raising her offspring.

It makes all of the IC sense in the Known for men and women alike to get extremely jealous and angry over their chosen sexual partners banging lots of other people and them potentially losing them along the way to other partners.

It is just a matter of basic economics and resources if nothing else.

The fact we have any rules against putting in social stigma around it at all is an OOC consideration for OOC feelings.

My characters will continue to play it how I best feel it makes sense, because it makes sense to me. I would have to suspend basic common sense in order to do it any other way. With that being said, I am absolutely fine with everyone else playing their characters how they want.

Mostly, I see most people playing wanting to be monogamous with their partners...so I know I'm not alone. I'm probably the norm based on what I have seen. People just feel more comfortable going that route, because most people are naturally wired to go exactly that route anyways. It's what feels right.

As for being gay and bisexual and what not in game....be whatever you want to be. My characters are straight because I am straight and I have no desire to roleplay being anything but straight.

If my character is "icked" out by the thought of your character banging another dude in the butthole...it is because he just doesn't like the idea of banging dudes himself and doesn't understand why you would want to. He doesn't hate you for it. He simply thinks it is gross because of things like "hairy man butthole", that doesn't appeal to him in any way. He might laugh at you/with you, but he won't hate you. In general, I don't think I have ever encountered this beyond other guys hitting on my PC and them laughingly telling them they are barking up the wrong tree.

[hopeandsorrow]

I like Dman's post.
I always found the "polyamory" of Zalanthas a kind of forced IC concept that makes no sense behind considerations for a popular OOC kink.
Which hell, if that's what you like that's what you like.

Although I don't think monogamy or loyalty should be all that rare either, or bad role play.  In fact those couple's offspring are twice as likely to succeed since daddy ain't trying to bang every breed in town and mommy isn't strap with more children from different fathers.

[Nyr]

So yes, is the thread bait-ish? Maybe it could be under the right terms

It depends on who or what spawned the thread.  In this case, it was you.  The "what" is something you are trying to skate around and get other people to say or name so that you can safely say you didn't bring it up.  Players are perceptive enough to identify that.  You say you've attempted to bring this up before through appropriate channels and got told that whatever it was "wasn't a concern".  You're doing your very best to say something without saying anything that would go against the forum rules.  You are being disingenuous here.

I'd recommend to any players that have issues with what someone else is doing in the game:

We review all player complaints that come in with an eye to fairness (at least in an OOC sense, because there are IC rules about fairness), to the rules of the game, and to the spirit of the game as we see it.  However, if it is important enough to you to bring it to staff's attention, then you should respect the time of staff enough to express that to staff in a clear and concise manner.  Failure to do so may result in the request being declined--and not because it "isn't a concern".  We'll just ask you to be more concise, clear, or to rephrase/organize your thoughts.

I appreciate the other players here who have kept this cordial and helpful and generally about how to do things related to roleplay.  However, given that this was started for reasons such as the ones above, I'm afraid this thread will be locked.  Thanks everyone.