tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26974492.post5695954271464782328..comments2024-03-28T18:54:13.800-04:00Comments on alien romances: Reproductive OdditiesRowena Cherryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11839386556697211986noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26974492.post-19893622262335070382008-02-07T10:15:00.000-05:002008-02-07T10:15:00.000-05:00Excellent point about romance or other kinds of em...Excellent point about romance or other kinds of emotional bonding occurring independently of sexuality. In my vampires, "romance" is independent of reproductive sexuality, though not of eroticism. Vampires mate very seldom; females go into heat at rare intervals, and a male has no capability of ejaculating or producing sperm except when exposed to a female in heat. So there are no love affairs between vampires. Their erotic energy goes into sharing blood with human partners.Margaret Carterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08293021955480708191noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26974492.post-17549946256229205112008-02-03T11:41:00.000-05:002008-02-03T11:41:00.000-05:00Margaret wrote:Much smaller than his mate, he atta...Margaret wrote:<BR/>Much smaller than his mate, he attaches himself to her body and atrophies into little more than a tiny lump of sperm-producing flesh. It would be quite a stretch to make a romantic character out of an alien with a reproductive pattern like that. <BR/><BR/>Wellll - In Molt Brother and City of a Million Legends (both available on Amazon), I postulated that the "romance" (or psychological bonding) occurs totally independent of sexuality. <BR/><BR/>So the Bee model Rowena mentioned, and the fish Margaret was talking about would probably form their major bonds in other dimensions of their lives. <BR/><BR/>The "romance" bond is formed in humans during a state of reduced psychological barriers -- a lowering of the privacy and personal limits. <BR/><BR/>That's why we prize honesty so much. In SMALLVILLE Clark's reticence about his secret caused him to lose an important relationship. That "truthfulness" or "honest" is our signal that the barriers are down and bonding CAN happen. <BR/><BR/>That dimension of personal bonding would have to be developed in any species so that a Civlization could cohere. <BR/><BR/>I played with that and some other exotic sexuality in a set of novels that haven't been published. They are in what I call the BOXMASTER universe, and you can find a few free chapters of each novel at <BR/><BR/>http://www.simegen.com/jl/boxmaster/Jacqueline Lichtenberghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01613040740264804278noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26974492.post-35324034688169877982008-02-03T03:39:00.000-05:002008-02-03T03:39:00.000-05:00And then there are bees. The male bee's package br...And then there are bees. The male bee's package breaks off inside the female. He dies. The female flies away with his broken off "package" acting as a plug to prevent other males from fertilizing her.Rowena Cherryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11839386556697211986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26974492.post-80145776856142336742008-01-31T14:47:00.000-05:002008-01-31T14:47:00.000-05:00IBIS sounds really intriguing. I hadn't heard of i...IBIS sounds really intriguing. I hadn't heard of it before.Margaret Carterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08293021955480708191noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26974492.post-11620897552613674802008-01-31T14:13:00.000-05:002008-01-31T14:13:00.000-05:00Linda Steele's Ibis (DAW 1985) is about a matriarc...Linda Steele's Ibis (DAW 1985) is about a matriarchal hive society where the aliens keep humans as pets. It has been many years since I've read this one, but I believe that they also emit pheromones that capture the humans. I have it listed as a romance because the human male addicted to his 'woman' knew he was addicted, but chose to stay with her when others escaped.<BR/><BR/>Vicky WoodardAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com