Upon Vestia: Chapter Twenty-Three

First topic message reminder :

"You have a tablet at least, right?" Asher asked Dawn.

Asher wasn't quite as hasty as Kay, he didn't think he'd be any more stealthy if he hurried. He joined Kay in the hall. "Come on, let's find somewhere out of the way." Apparently the movie had helped with his guilt about being useless, cause he wasn't trying to avoid Kay at the moment. Huh.

~~
"I volunteer to be the test subject!" Eliie said. "Oh wait, not sure Shane wants a blue elf girlfriend who only likes girls. Umm..."

Kay nodded and led the way, slowing down a little so Asher could keep up. Oops?

---

Matt snickered. "I dunno, some guys find that hot." He shrugged.

"Seems pretty pointless, if they only like girls they wouldn't want to sleep with you." Esk pointed out.

"Good point. Though I guess you know, there's more to relationships than sleeping together." Matt shrugged.

Esk quirked an eyebrow at Matt. "We all know what you and Thalia spend 90 percent of your time doing."

Matt laughed. "well... yeah but... that other ten percent of the time!"

Esk rolled his eyes.

Asher looked amused. He really wasn't very fast or stealthy in a wheelchair, which must be unfortunate for poor Kay. Oh well.

~~
"Okay, I'll volunteer then. Unless Matt wants to turn into a blue elf. Wait, would turning into a blue elf turn him gay, or turn him straight?" Ellie mused.

"Doesn't matter, Thalia can adapt to whatever happens," James said cheerfully.

"Oh man, I don't wanna be stuck with only one!" Matt laughed. "Quite happy being pansexual thanks." He waved a hand and grinned at James. "Good point!" Damn he missed Thalia.

Esk made a face.

"I admit, I have always found this tendency for humanoids to limit their relationships to only a single gender most bewildering." Armin shrugged.

"And we find people who don't have a preference just as weird." Esk retorted.

Armin chuckled, bowing his head. "I meant no offense my friend, it is just... a very alien concept to my people. "

Kay found somewhere quiet and out of the way, that unfinished park they'd found in one of their explorations.

Skye was looking at the ones speaking more than at the movie at this point, they were more entertaining at the moment. "Artuvians don't have anything but 'straight' or familial relationships. We know they exist in other races, but we don't have any in our world."

James nodded. "Yeah Armin, it's dang weird to imagine picking a gender. Like, what makes one so preferable to the other? It's hard to imagine." He looked at Skye curiously, "Man, never? That's... huh." He couldn't imagine a species where everyone was straight, he could only imagine one where everyone pretended to be straight.

~~
The park was still empty, apparently Ellie hadn't discovered it yet. It was nice and peaceful though.

"Good choice," Asher said, smiling. "I doubt anybody will find us up here, unless Vestia tells them."

Skye shrugged and nodded "I guess you could call it a lack of curiosity on that point. I mean, we have inter-species relationships, just not same-sex or even that other, what is it, bi? liking both? Not that inter-species is approved of, but it happens with shape-shifters sometimes."

"is that a culture thing? Like, are you just not allowed?" Matt asked. "Because the Imperium is kinda like that, I mean there's obviously gay people, but they're just ignored."

"They're actively shunned." Esk pointed out dully.

"Well... yeah.. people don't like to talk about it, or ... think about it. So it's just not mentioned, except in movies like this where it's shorthand for evil deviant." Matt shrugged. "Which sucks but, yeah... that's what the Imperium are like."

"Vavare have a distinct division between reproductive mating and copulation for pleasure. One cannot reproduce with a member of the same sex after all, it is a biological impossibility. " Armin added.

"you guys have multiple partners as well though right?" Matt asked.

Armin nodded. "It increases the genetic diversity, and more adults to parent offspring eases the strain of raising many young simultaneously. Multiple parents are better able to protect their mate and offspring than solitary couples. "

"but how do you avoid sleeping with like... your half sibling?" Matt asked.

Armin tilted his head. "Generally speaking we know who our mother's other offspring are. We only mate within our age bracket anyway, all other couplings, it is not a problem."

Esk looked uncomfortable. "Not a problem as in, you sleep with them anyway?"

Armin chuckled. "Sleep is not a very apt term, but yes, it is not considered strange to engage in pleasurable activities with your siblings, so long as you do not produce offspring. "

Esk made a gagging noise.

"Are you alright my friend?" Armin asked.

"Yeah.." Esk shook his head, vavare were weird and gross he decided.

James blinked at Skye's words. "Huh. I had no idea artuvians thought that way about their mates. Interspecies stuff is frowned on?" It sorta made sense, but it sorta didn't. "Whoa, man," he said to Armin, "That's like... whoa." Yeah, he kinda agreed with the Terrans on this. Sibling stuff was squicky.

Ellie snorted. "Eeew, Armin!"

Skye shook her head then frowned as she listened "No, we just don't have that desire, we only mate with the opposite sex. Most times only within our own species, since no offspring can even come from mixed species Artuvians. Like hawk with hawk, hawk with any other bird species just doesn't produce any offspring and is frowned on. Arturians and shapeshifters from other worlds can make babies, though that is also frowned on." She tried to explain then shrugged again.

Armin chuckled good naturedly. He was apparently quite used to that reaction. He looked to Skye.
"That is most unusual, I wonder if it is truly biologically driven, or simply a cultural phenomenon that leads individuals to simply not think about other options. "

"Maybe it's just totally natural to them." Esk suggested, he didn't find the idea of totally straight species that weird.

"What about asexuals?" Matt asked curiously. "Do you guys ever have people who just flat out have no interest?"

Armin considered that. "perhaps, it would be rare. The societal pressure to reproduce is strong."

Mourn was happily watching the movie, oblivious to the conversation behind him. Which was probably for the best, this kind of thing always grossed him out a bit.

"Yeah, maybe when there's not that many of each species, it's absolutely necessary for everyone to have kids?" James said. Which was weird too, but you know, biology was weird.

In the movie, the former-cadet-now-blue-alien was definitely turning blue now, and she had converted a couple of other girls. The boys all seemed disappointed.
The free cadets were preparing to dock against the other ship and board it... hopefully.

Skye tilted her head then shrugged "If any do not wish to have a mate, they are not forced to, but I don't think anyone ever did a study on if it was just a lifestyle choice or the absence of biological need. Most cases I had heard of like that were the ones who wanted a mate they couldn't have. As far as I know, the drive to have a mate and children is there for everyone once they hit puberty."

Kay smiled, nodding. [Good.] He found somewhere to sit.

---

"Man, they need a guy blue alien to turn all the men." Matt remarked. He shrugged to Skye "Who knows man, sexuality is weird and confusing."

Esk focused on his chips, yep.

James smiled a bit. Well, this explained why Orel and Skye hadn't broken up yet. Hormones, man. He was glad he didn't have them.

"Yeah, this movie really needed a blue alien guy. The guys are totally gonna get jealous or something and overthrow the blue girls, aren't they?" Ellie said.

~~
Asher considered the bench, and tried to decide if it was worth transferring himself over there. It was kind of a nuisance, and he wasn't sure how long Kay wanted to sit here, anyway. Hmm.

Skye was quiet a minute then sighed "If none of this had happened, I would be in that class on mating and family life now, probably near the end of it by now unless my timing is off. " She was thinking of her home and parents again

Kay tilted his head at Asher, reaching out a hand to him and moving so he was closer.

"woah wait.. you have classes on this?" Matt asked.

"Like sex ed?" Esk asked.

"man we missed out on sex ed." Matt complained.

"That explains SO MUCH." Esk smirked.

Matt made a face at Esk.

"These are classes designed to prepare you for adult life?" Armin asked gently.

Asher leaned in closer, and smiled a bit. "I hope you're not disappointed to miss the defeat of the blue aliens," he said.

~~
"We had sex ed at my school," Ellie said, "It was great. They told you how to not get pregnant, and that if you did it with an alien, you'd be destroying the natural order. They didn't tell us much about having families though."

Kay shook his head, looking amused. [All Imperium movies end the same, the soldiers win, the aliens are defeated. ]

---

"Destroying the natural order? Man, you really fucked up then huh?" Esk smirked at Ellie.

"Nothing wrong with hooking up with aliens." Matt huffed. "Oh man, did you get the pamphlets then Esk?"

Esk hesitated, then nodded. [Kay has a collection of those doesn't he?]

"Man he totally does!" Matt looked around. "hey, where'd those two sneak off to?"

"I don't think we want to know." Esk replied dryly.

"Man those pamphlets. Don't have sex, you'll die of space crabs. Don't have sex, you'll get space syphilis. Does it actually work?" Matt asked.

Esk shook his head. "Not in the slightest. "

"And where's the fun in that?" Asher smiled softly. "This movie did give me one thing to be grateful for though, at least neither of us is a blue elf."

~~
"Well I haven't, you know, destroyed the natural order yet," Ellie said. "I'm just bending it, so far. If you must know."

James laughed. "Yay, the natural order isn't destroyed yet!" He looked to where his brother and Kay had been, and rolled his eyes. "Guess we'll need to get those pamphlets later. Darn."

Kay snorted, amused. [I'm not sure stds work like that.]

---

Esk shook his head. "too much information Ellie."

Asher nodded. "That would make family reunions really embarrassing. They'd see you with your blue skin and pointy ears, and they'd all know." The mental image amused him.

~~
"Says the guy who suggested I was destroying it in the first place," Ellie retorted, sticking out her tongue at Esk.

Kay laughed his silent laugh. [That WOULD be awkward. Particularly if your partner wasn't blue.]

---

Esk shrugged. "Hey, I don't wanna know the details of your sex life okay?"

Asher laughed. "I think makeup and cosmetic surgery would gain popularity very quickly if there was a disease like that." He looked at Kay for a bit, then asked uncertainly, "Kay, I've been wondering something lately."

~~
"I only told you that I didn't have one, geez," Ellie grumbled.

Kay tilted his head. Gesturing for Asher to go on.

---

Armin shook his head. "You poor thing."

Esk snorted in amusement.

Matt tried not to laugh.
"Sorry.. sorry... " Armin's pity just cracked him up.

Skye had nodded at that question of it being both a sex ed and family/learn to live class then just listened to the others.