Saturday, November 21, 2009

Rules...or no rules?


I've been watching the discussions lately on the value of social networking and after Serena's blog about dining with a werewolf, I started wondering about the social aspects of being a shifter.

Are there strict rules of conduct? Arranged marriages for the hierarchy? Do they date outside their species, heck do they bother with dating and move right to mating?

Have you set up an entire culture or do they base their socializing on the typical rules of society that we've come to expect? In my first jaguar shifter novel, Assassin's Kiss, the consequences of taking a forbidden mate was the same as theirs, death. Do your shifters suffer any consequences?

How do you handle the dating/mating rituals of your shifter society? Inquiring minds want to know;-)

Hugs,
Paris

17 comments:

Anny Cook said...

So far, my shifters either live in a world where their abilities are accepted by society, OR they reveal themselves one my one to their potential mates.

It IS an interesting question which I'll need to think about a bit more.

Regina Carlysle said...

In my lycan world, my wolves live in a secluded west Texas communtiy. They could have sex with humans but a true mating is usually with an unmated lycan female. I DID have a human conversion but she was a 'gifted' human. In my jaguar world, despite the fact that cats are normally solitary, due to a lack of females, two males can mate with a female. In my panther world, a menage is ceremonial to help bring the unmated panther females into her beast but it is a temporary menage.

Anonymous said...

For my wolves, the alpha's word is law. Any wolf who wants to mate has to clear it with their pack leader first. Defiance of the law means expulsion from the pack. Because wolves are so social, exile can lead to death or insanity, if not both. A wolf would need a damn good reason to risk cutting him/herself off from the family. Unless, of course, they want to challenge the alpha. If they win, they get to run the pack and make the rules. Otherwise, it's exile and death, etc.

Alphas have it slightly easier than lower ranks in that two mated alphas form a psychic bond, which enables them to work as a unit when guiding the pack and raising pups. This is why alphas are so choosy about taking mates; they only get the one shot, so they'd better pick the right one. The mate bond isn't supposed to work with outside species, but writing about the exceptions to the rule is what makes for conflict and good plots.

Naturally, my alpha hero is headed for an arranged marriage, falls for a human and has to fight his mother for control of the pack so he can mate with his chosen woman. Wouldn't be a fun story otherwise.

Pat C.

Savanna Kougar said...

Paris, good questions... which could evoke pages of explanation from me about my various shifter societies/cultures.
Sun Rocket, my red lioness heroine, isn't mating material for most of the galaxy she lives in, since cat shifters are looked down on. Her mother wants her to change into a woman of the erotic arts like her and mate with another cat shifter on the Mars moon that is their homeworld. However, Sun Rocket failed those erotic training courses and prefers capturing bad cat shifters... then, she's accidently beamed aboard Draxen's space cruiser.
~~~
Zio, my stallion shifter, has his own galactic trading enterprise. He is devoted to his homeworld, but is at odds with his father, a King. His kind are forbidden on the heroine's world and she isn't considered to be a proper mate by his parents.
~~~
Sable Kiki, my black cat girl, is being manipulated by her cunning father into being captured by Devon, so he can establish an inside connection... okay, the plot is too complicated... but Sable's kind is highly desired by Devon's race as erotic companions.
~~~
Trail, my stallion shifter of ash and flame, is forbidden to mate with an Earth human woman because of certain complications that occur. He loves his equine shifter world and is on a mission to protect the portal to Earth from forest fires. Earth's wild horses are vital to his kind's health and well-being.
~~~
Never mind all the society/worlds of my shifter WIPs.

Serena Shay said...

Good question! You know in my jaguars world socializing is less about dating and more about that special connection. ;) However, never say never about the old fashioned sweetness, it could pop up anytime.

Paris said...

Anny,

Wouldn't it be great if everyone would accept people/shifters for who they were? Thanks for stopping by!

Paris said...

Regina,

I love shifter novels but I think the jaguars solitary natures make for some great conflict. I have no idea why I'm so drawn to them. Possibly my own solitary nature.

I do love the idea of an entire lycan community in Texas. Sounds very natural;-)

Paris said...

Pat,

I have to agree. There are no fun stories without conflict:-)

Paris said...

Savanna,

Love your vivid imagination and I look forward to all of your WIP's!

Paris said...

Serena,

LOL! sometimes sweet just isn't a good fit for the story;-)

Paris said...

I truly appreciate everyone dropping by today! Thank you;-)

Crystal Kauffman said...

There are no rules where my vampires are concerned, only the Sacred Laws that prevent them from keeping slaves. But the Guardians cannot take a human mate. If the other doesn't want to change, or the Guardian give up his immortality, they can't be together.

Good topic, it opens up some interesting thought...

Don Luis de la Cosa said...

It is a thought provoking question - with all of the automatically inferred pecking orders online, but then the supreme value of pseudo- anonymity, it could be quite a thrill for a cadre of were-jaguars to be stealthily creeping through teh internets. Of course, my first inclination is that they would follow along the paths of sensual and sexual exploration mirroring historical vacilations of the human element and immediately develop a curiously persistent case of jungle fever...(I couldn't help myself) bounding off to explore previously forbidden delicacies and throwing all caution, social mores, or sense of heirarchy, not to mention taboos against interspecies interactions into the wind. In their fervent deliberations throughout the myriad message boards, heck, they might even participate in a wide range of textual intercourse...and that could conceivably lead to a whole new arena of genre bending! Just take a moment to consider the ramifications of that!!! -ahem-

Savanna Kougar said...

Mygoodness, Don Luis la Cosa... I have to say that would be quite a romp through the internet jungles, not to mention a dining banquet of carnal delights!

Paris said...

Hey Crystal!
Always interesting hearing from you;-) I love all the "woo-woo" aspects that we create and that's part of the fun in writing the paranormal elements. Thanks for the comment!

Paris said...

Don Luis de la Cosa, honey that's quite a mouthful;-)(your comment not your name;-)and you have a very interesting and thought provoking take on this question. And I'll need more than a moment to consider the ramifications--it may take awhile to imagine the wide range of textual intercourse available!

Paris said...

Savanna,
It does sound like quite the wild romp, doesn't it;-)