The Loroi don't have a media culture like we do. For their arts and entertainment, they prefer live performances over recordings so that their telepathy can be part of the experience. The truthful nature of telepathy means that they don't easily see the value of works of fiction, so storytelling is mostly reserved for the recounting tales which they believe to be true (including their heroic myths) and is typically done in small groups. Live performances are mostly concerts dances and the like, or games and physical contests, rather than plays. They have video, which they use mainly for nonfiction and various kinds of public announcement, news, education and public interest programming.
Miscellaneous Loroi question-and-answer thread
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Re: Miscellaneous Loroi question-and-answer thread
Re: Miscellaneous Loroi question-and-answer thread
Do any of the sister worlds have reserves or for primitive Loroi, like the reserves for nomadic tribes or aboriginals on Earth?
Re: Miscellaneous Loroi question-and-answer thread
There are a variety of such traditionalist societies, and they would have a range of different practices and legal situations (such as the difference between a hunter-gatherer tribe in the Amazon forest and an enclave of pre-industrial Amish farmers in the eastern United States). Some would be independent nations in their own right, some would just be civilian-designated groups doing their own thing on property they own, but there probably would be a few existing on designated preserves.
Re: Miscellaneous Loroi question-and-answer thread
Where might some of these enclaves and reserves be on Mestirot?
Re: Miscellaneous Loroi question-and-answer thread
Well, that's true, but I think that's inevitable; traditionalist societies, especially nomadic ones, tend to live at the fringes of civilization by their very nature, not necessarily because they were sent there.
Deinar isn't as intensely developed as Earth, so there is still a lot of undeveloped land. There are nomadic Tadan groups in the arid regions of Arran, and Login tribes in the forests of Malia and Seiranin. In Seiranin some of these groups form independent nations.
- Quickdraw101
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Re: Miscellaneous Loroi question-and-answer thread
I feel called out and I don't like it.Arioch wrote: ↑Sat Mar 16, 2024 6:47 pmI'm not sure that men attracted to muscular women has anything to do with homosexuality... but my point was that different individuals of the same species can be attracted to different things. There are all kinds of sexual peccadillos which have no specific reproductive logic to them and aren't easily ascribable to some sort of latent homosexual tendency, like the attraction to fat people. Or the strange attraction of some men to pregnant women... that seems particularly unhelpful in biological terms.
Which brings me to another question. Is it particularly difficult for Loroi in general to put on noticeable amounts of muscle? Not gigachad swole type, but more Laura Croft or Wonder Woman style of athleticism. They are noticeably stronger, but not to a ridiculous degree like how most comic books portray heroes.
Also, since there isn't a real nudity taboo, would it be correct to believe that when off duty, some barracks or quarters shared by warriors might very well resemble a nudist colony with how laid back the Loroi are in that regard? Because I had an amusing idea where some Terran Marines get assigned with a Soroin regiment on some bumfuck outpost away from civilization and walk in on a nudist colony of off duty Loroi who didn't expect any new arrivals.
Re: Miscellaneous Loroi question-and-answer thread
Loroi don't bulk up the way human males can, but a Loroi female can achieve a similar level of strength that a human female can.Quickdraw101 wrote: ↑Sun Apr 14, 2024 2:01 amIs it particularly difficult for Loroi in general to put on noticeable amounts of muscle? Not gigachad swole type, but more Laura Croft or Wonder Woman style of athleticism. They are noticeably stronger, but not to a ridiculous degree like how most comic books portray heroes.
I don't think most female Loroi care very much about seeing female nudity, but I don't think it would be common practice under normal circumstances for them to lounge around nude. Most Loroi facilities are kept pretty cold, as most Loroi from Deinar or Taben come from cold weather cultures, and with this I think comes a sense that part of proper decorum means wearing clothes. Even military decorum can go by the wayside if things get uncomfortably hot, but even in this case Loroi will tolerate heat better than the average human, since a lower body temperature means less waste heat to get rid of. (Also, in my experience, being completely nude when it's really hot is worse that having a little bit of clothing, as there's nothing to wick away the sweat.)Quickdraw101 wrote: ↑Sun Apr 14, 2024 2:01 amAlso, since there isn't a real nudity taboo, would it be correct to believe that when off duty, some barracks or quarters shared by warriors might very well resemble a nudist colony with how laid back the Loroi are in that regard?
Re: Miscellaneous Loroi question-and-answer thread
But could a Loroi put on some extra muscles if she was training for it?Arioch wrote: ↑Sun Apr 14, 2024 6:10 amLoroi don't bulk up the way human males can, but a Loroi female can achieve a similar level of strength that a human female can.Quickdraw101 wrote: ↑Sun Apr 14, 2024 2:01 amIs it particularly difficult for Loroi in general to put on noticeable amounts of muscle? Not gigachad swole type, but more Laura Croft or Wonder Woman style of athleticism. They are noticeably stronger, but not to a ridiculous degree like how most comic books portray heroes.
- Quickdraw101
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Re: Miscellaneous Loroi question-and-answer thread
I don't necessarily mean bulking up the same way we do as human men, but more Gal Gadot levels of muscle and athleticism. Also, I was operating under the impression female Loroi were just shy of average Human male strength and far superior to human females.Arioch wrote: ↑Sun Apr 14, 2024 6:10 amLoroi don't bulk up the way human males can, but a Loroi female can achieve a similar level of strength that a human female can.Quickdraw101 wrote: ↑Sun Apr 14, 2024 2:01 amIs it particularly difficult for Loroi in general to put on noticeable amounts of muscle? Not gigachad swole type, but more Laura Croft or Wonder Woman style of athleticism. They are noticeably stronger, but not to a ridiculous degree like how most comic books portray heroes.
I don't think most female Loroi care very much about seeing female nudity, but I don't think it would be common practice under normal circumstances for them to lounge around nude. Most Loroi facilities are kept pretty cold, as most Loroi from Deinar or Taben come from cold weather cultures, and with this I think comes a sense that part of proper decorum means wearing clothes. Even military decorum can go by the wayside if things get uncomfortably hot, but even in this case Loroi will tolerate heat better than the average human, since a lower body temperature means less waste heat to get rid of. (Also, in my experience, being completely nude when it's really hot is worse that having a little bit of clothing, as there's nothing to wick away the sweat.)Quickdraw101 wrote: ↑Sun Apr 14, 2024 2:01 amAlso, since there isn't a real nudity taboo, would it be correct to believe that when off duty, some barracks or quarters shared by warriors might very well resemble a nudist colony with how laid back the Loroi are in that regard?
As for the second, I'm not thinking about a post that's very popular or important but some far flung one where most warriors are beyond bored, and there's little for them to do when off duty. A place where asshattery and tomfoolery can be done within reason.
Re: Miscellaneous Loroi question-and-answer thread
I don't really think of Gal Gadot as being especially muscular. Maybe a better example is Gina Carano, and yes, a Loroi female could get that big.
I do wonder whether the ability to "bodybuild" (to use weightlifting to build for mass rather than strength) is a uniquely human quirk, or whether other animals could do the same. The fact that women have a harder time bodybuilding without chemical enhancement may be a clue. And I also wonder whether strength in other animals is as dependent upon regular exercise as it is in humans. Our closest relatives, gorillas and chimpanzees are immensely strong... but they don't seem that active most of the time. They spend a lot of time lying around, and their main activity in gathering food is not very strenuous.
Maybe the ability to rapidly gain and lose muscle mass is a human adaptation specific to tool-using culture? Flexibility is important to our way of life, I think.
In the GURPS models, I have Alex's strength rated at 10 (average), Beryl at 9 and Fireblade at 12.
I do wonder whether the ability to "bodybuild" (to use weightlifting to build for mass rather than strength) is a uniquely human quirk, or whether other animals could do the same. The fact that women have a harder time bodybuilding without chemical enhancement may be a clue. And I also wonder whether strength in other animals is as dependent upon regular exercise as it is in humans. Our closest relatives, gorillas and chimpanzees are immensely strong... but they don't seem that active most of the time. They spend a lot of time lying around, and their main activity in gathering food is not very strenuous.
Maybe the ability to rapidly gain and lose muscle mass is a human adaptation specific to tool-using culture? Flexibility is important to our way of life, I think.
There's not that much difference in strength between a male and female of the same weight... I think the difference is mainly that males are larger and can build muscle more easily due to higher levels of testosterone, etc., and so can become much heavier. Soia-liron musculature is a little bit more efficient than mammalian, so a Loroi of the same height as a human male has roughly similar strength... but Loroi females are around the same size as human females, so human males are still going to have a strength advantage.Quickdraw101 wrote: ↑Sun Apr 14, 2024 10:56 amAlso, I was operating under the impression female Loroi were just shy of average Human male strength and far superior to human females.
In the GURPS models, I have Alex's strength rated at 10 (average), Beryl at 9 and Fireblade at 12.
Loroi are no strangers to tomfoolery and asshattery (Talon & Spiral can attest), but lying around naked doesn't strike me as especially fun or interesting. (Unless you're talking about... something else.)Quickdraw101 wrote: ↑Sun Apr 14, 2024 10:56 amAs for the second, I'm not thinking about a post that's very popular or important but some far flung one where most warriors are beyond bored, and there's little for them to do when off duty. A place where asshattery and tomfoolery can be done within reason.
- Quickdraw101
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Re: Miscellaneous Loroi question-and-answer thread
Our flexibility and muscle structure allows us to write and throw very accurately. Chimps can't do the same, neither can gorillas. It all comes down to the different way our muscular systems are made.Arioch wrote: ↑Sun Apr 14, 2024 7:13 pmI don't really think of Gal Gadot as being especially muscular. Maybe a better example is Gina Carano, and yes, a Loroi female could get that big.
Maybe the ability to rapidly gain and lose muscle mass is a human adaptation specific to tool-using culture? Flexibility is important to our way of life, I think.
Loroi are no strangers to tomfoolery and asshattery (Talon & Spiral can attest), but lying around naked doesn't strike me as especially fun or interesting. (Unless you're talking about... something else.)Quickdraw101 wrote: ↑Sun Apr 14, 2024 10:56 amAs for the second, I'm not thinking about a post that's very popular or important but some far flung one where most warriors are beyond bored, and there's little for them to do when off duty. A place where asshattery and tomfoolery can be done within reason.
And while neither Gal Gadot or Gina Carano are particularly muscled compared to a human of the same size and weight class, they are compared to most women, so my question has been answered.
As for referring to anything else, not really. It's just that the nonchalant attitude that Talon and Beryl showed earlier to Alex when they gave him that pressure suit, made me think that their attitudes towards people wanting to be nude are very liberal. So if they happened to have a few warriors who liked going nude, none of them would raise more than an eyebrow, and go about their normal off duty business.
And hearing and seeing some of the tomfuckery that goes on in Army and Marine barracks around the world, and knowing that Soroin and to an extent Teidar, are basically Army and Marines, such stuff shouldn't be unexpected from them, when off duty.
Re: Miscellaneous Loroi question-and-answer thread
"Maybe the ability to rapidly gain and lose muscle mass is a human adaptation specific to tool-using culture? Flexibility is important to our way of life, I think."
Heh, I'm reasonably certain it's a non-evolutionary outcome of a modern, sedentary lifestyle (ie, we didn't evolve to become more flexible, technology allows us to become weaker).
"... but lying around naked doesn't strike me as especially fun or interesting."
That's not what I've heard, from people who spent significant time in an army barracks. "Terminal Lance" had a few things to say on the subject.
Heh, I'm reasonably certain it's a non-evolutionary outcome of a modern, sedentary lifestyle (ie, we didn't evolve to become more flexible, technology allows us to become weaker).
"... but lying around naked doesn't strike me as especially fun or interesting."
That's not what I've heard, from people who spent significant time in an army barracks. "Terminal Lance" had a few things to say on the subject.
Re: Miscellaneous Loroi question-and-answer thread
To the Loroi or their allies (or even enemies) have a tattoo culture(s). Humans have developed seral before the Polanyian word for it became near universal for it. Lots of space ships, probably a sailor culture there. If so how would the different cultures and subcultures view them?
Re: Miscellaneous Loroi question-and-answer thread
Physiological changes that dramatic usually don't happen in just a few generations, so the human musculature most likely developed to be the way it is tens of thousands of years ago, at the very least. But regardless, such adaptations are still "evolution," whether they are beneficial or not, and whether they are driven by changes in the natural world or changes in lifestyle or technology.
Talon and Spiral have face tattoos, so the obvious answer is 'yes.' Tattooing traditions have had a variety of contexts across different Loroi subcultures throughout their history. In some times and places, tattooing or ritual scarring was a standard part of diral rituals. This is no longer official practice in the modern Loroi military, but it's still not uncommon for diral kids to do it on their own, either individually or as a group identity -- as we see in the case of the "High Tide Low-lives", Talon & Spiral's diral, who all got matching face tattoos.SaintofM wrote: ↑Sun Apr 28, 2024 8:27 amTo the Loroi or their allies (or even enemies) have a tattoo culture(s). Humans have developed seral before the Polanyian word for it became near universal for it. Lots of space ships, probably a sailor culture there. If so how would the different cultures and subcultures view them?
I think that in the modern Loroi military culture and sense of fashion, tattooing is mostly viewed as a primitive affectation, emblematic of a traditionalist, a member of a specific subculture, or kids being rebellious.
Re: Miscellaneous Loroi question-and-answer thread
My definition of "evolution" is "involves genetic mutations, selected by natural conditions." The effects of being a couch potato are not evolution, except indirectly (via behavior and motivation).
But perhaps we are talking about different things. I was responding to the idea that our ability to increase muscle mass from exercise was an adaptation to tool use, and I was expressing skepticism, and proposing that it's just a latent capacity that normally goes untapped because we lead sedentary lifestyles now.
Exercise works because intense long term effort breaks down muscle and other cells, which are rebuilt by the body stronger as an adaptation to environmental stress (which is how our ancient ancestors would normally get exercise, health clubs having not been invented yet). Our bodies are amazingly flexible and can adapt to a wide variety of conditions and lifestyles, but that was always there. I once had a dog that didn't get enough exercise, so the vet recommended more frequent daily walks, a better balanced diet, and more play. As the months went by, you could see the physical changes happening (my wife claimed the same for me). So I don't think it's just us.
But perhaps we are talking about different things. I was responding to the idea that our ability to increase muscle mass from exercise was an adaptation to tool use, and I was expressing skepticism, and proposing that it's just a latent capacity that normally goes untapped because we lead sedentary lifestyles now.
Exercise works because intense long term effort breaks down muscle and other cells, which are rebuilt by the body stronger as an adaptation to environmental stress (which is how our ancient ancestors would normally get exercise, health clubs having not been invented yet). Our bodies are amazingly flexible and can adapt to a wide variety of conditions and lifestyles, but that was always there. I once had a dog that didn't get enough exercise, so the vet recommended more frequent daily walks, a better balanced diet, and more play. As the months went by, you could see the physical changes happening (my wife claimed the same for me). So I don't think it's just us.
Re: Miscellaneous Loroi question-and-answer thread
My point is that there are many animals, including very closely related ones such as chimpanzees and gorillas, with powerful musculatures that do not exercise much as part of their daily routine. They mostly lie around all day, and when they're active, they're usually not running after prey or doing anything particularly strenuous, as they are mostly gathering fruit, etc. Yet all this inactivity does not appear to cause them to lose muscle mass as humans do. Since we have a fairly recent common ancestor with chimpanzees, it would seem that our rapid gain and loss of muscle mass is a specific and recent adaptation, but not so recent as the development of technology.
Early humans had a different lifestyle than chimps and gorillas -- I think we were persistence hunters first and gatherers second -- but we're not that different.
Early humans had a different lifestyle than chimps and gorillas -- I think we were persistence hunters first and gatherers second -- but we're not that different.
Re: Miscellaneous Loroi question-and-answer thread
OK, I understand now. That seems plausible--cats are even more sedentary, and lions are famously muscular. Everything evolves to meet the needs of it's own niche. Our niche, as you point out, was constantly running down prey and gathering plants. That presumably selects for chronic low level activity. Cease that activity and you lose the advantage.
Our ancient ancestors were into aerobics!
Our ancient ancestors were into aerobics!
Re: Miscellaneous Loroi question-and-answer thread
Can Loroi catch a sunburn? If so, what color does their skin turn from it?
Re: Miscellaneous Loroi question-and-answer thread
Yes. In humans, burns and other rashes are reddish because the blood supply is increased near the surface of the skin, so it follows that sunburn in Loroi would be bluish. Same goes for any other similar phenomenon, such as blushing.
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