Urahra

There are female dwarves? Color me surprised. I haven't seen a single one. What do they even look like? But that's another topic for another day.

It seems we've moved away from mating in orc society to gender roles. But I guess the two are sort of tied together, so it makes sense that one would lead to another.

So, here's some more food for thought. How would an orc female be treated by society if she was discovered to be infertile?

Aha, now we're getting into culture.

From Blaw's story and behavior I've experienced in game, it looked as though, while male orcs have greater numbers, we had a fair degree of gender equality. Nobody's told me yet "Hey, you can't fight with us because you're a girl." If most female orcs tended to stay home and away from battle, you'd think there'd be a heavier gender bias. More "stay in the kitchen" type behavior. But I'm mostly treated like any other orc, with the exception that folks call me "female".

If your statement was true, Urara would have more trouble fitting into orc society. Orc society would dictate that the ideal female stays submissively in the hut and makes children. Yet I have encountered nothing along those lines. No one has tried to pressure me into finding a mate or having a child. Blaw's story also suggests that the actual ideal female is a powerful warrior. He doesn't say Mira is at all unusual because she's a warrior. So we have contradictory ideas of how your typical orc female behaves.

What is the "ideal" orc female, then? The submissive mate? Or the powerful warrior?

As another idea, what is the orc concept of beauty? What is beautiful to orcs? I would have assumed things that indicate strength, like muscles, large tusks, scars. But that makes Mogroka's attraction to elf females seem a little weird. But then again, he's the Warlord, so he can do whatever he wants. I guess among lesser orcs, an attraction of elves would be embarrassing.

Okay, I have another question then:

Just how rare are orc females?

I've been told over and over again in character that I'm really rare. "Oh, a female." "I haven't seen a female in X number of years." "I've never seen an orc female before."

If females are so rare that even old orcs can say they haven't seen a female in a long, long time, the orc birth rate must be pretty low. If there aren't many females, there aren't many individuals capable of having babies. Unless we primarily use other species for our breeding. If we used other species to have our children, the birth rate might not be so low, but that would make pureblooded orcs (orc mother, orc father) very rare too. Most young orcs would be half elf or half human.

So? Are orc females rare or not? In terms of numbers, how do they compare to the males? 50% male - 50% female? 60%-40%? 70%-30%? Since I'm roleplaying an orc female, I kinda wanna know.

Well, well, well... Look who's a creative writing major, now?

As a side-note. I don't think we, as a culture, are the type that would smother our children. Rather, the birth rate could be high - who knows, maybe twins are very common, or the gestational period is like 3 months, or maybe there are designated orc females that give birth as a profession - but children often die young, and parents do not develop any sort of attachment to their child until they reach a reasonable age between 6-12. Orcs are not the type of society that values life in the way you described, which seems far more suitable for elves. Personally, I like the idea of RPing that our population isn't tiny, but weakling orcs tend to be ostracized and often die either in the arena or out hunting.

Well, sure. I was just thinking of stuff. I get to thinking of things and I just have to tell people. That's why Gragarn and I have long discussions on the topic of orc periods (which absolutely doesn't matter in any sense).

My word definitely isn't law. I was just throwing stuff out to see if folks would respond.

I'm sorry...

Gragarn read this to me in a funny voice and I couldn't help but laugh like crazy.

Decent explanation of how orc mating works. I am cool with this. Your writing's pretty good, but remember "SHOW, DON'T TELL". Number one rule of writing. 'Stared in shock' could be 'stared wide eyed', etc., etc. We didn't "see" that Karthun was super strong or that Mira was orcishly beautiful until the fight scene. Move that forward. What I would do: "Karthun saw Mira lying with another orc atop a pile of recently slain elves. Her blood spatted axe lay dropped at her side. Blood and sweat glistened on her hard muscles, hair glistening in the light." There, Mira is strong, pretty, and desirable. Watch out for that. But it was pretty good, aside from some small errors. Your formatting seems a little sloppy, though. Good job, Blaw.

Over all, I liked it. And not just because of Gragarn's dramatic reading skills. Although that helped.

Oh...and another thing: Some of your wording was goofy as hell. Like, when you said Karthun was "naked before Mira, but not as he preferred"? (something like that) Goofy. If you want your story to be serious, don't include random dirty jokes out of the blue. "Blows like mountains" also sounds strange. I get that they were heavy, but I dunno, similes have to be accurate. Mountains do not hit. "Blows like flying bricks" might be slightly more accurate. Also, your use of "..." several times looked a bit silly. Sometimes it carries more power if you just use a period. ALSO: the start of the story was vague and that can lead to confusion. State Karthun and Mira's actions. What is Karthun seeing? That can also get rid of your "telling not showing" problem mentioned above. No need to be explicit, but SHOW us. You need to let the reader know what your main character is seeing, not just how he's feeling.

But really, not much about this story bothered me. You did well. The battle scene was the best part!

AND ANOTHER THING: Because I just have too many ideas for my own good. I believe it's been stated over and over again the orc females are rare. So I imagined if the after-battle urge is really that strong, there'd be some heavy fighting to be the first to get to Mira. Which could be good for you! Nothing says 'strong' like tearing through twenty other orcs to get to your woman and then killing one of them mid coitus. The fight scene between Mira and Karthun established that Mira is EXTREMELY desirable among the orcs. If the need to mate is that strong, I could see more fighting and killing to complete a successful mating.

ALSO: Because I can't edit this post enough. Gragarn and I were talking about the act of reproduction itself. We need a sequel to this talking about orc pregnancy and birth. Since we've got very small numbers, a successful birth would probably be a HUGE FREAKING DEAL. Measures would probably also be taken to protect the child until they can fight and live on their own. Infant mortality rates are probably high among the orcs, seeing as we live in a harsh environment and we're not medically advanced. Also, do female orcs have periods? Who knows! (Gragarn and I were actually arguing about whether female orcs have periods. We're a weird couple.)

Anyway...I think I'm done now. There you go, paragraph upon paragraph of idea vomit.

Out-Of-Character:

-Minecraft Account Name: Dragonhadley

-How old are you?: 18

-Time-Zone/Country of Residence: United States of America, Eastern Time Zone

-Do you have a good grip on the English language/good grammar?: Yes.

-Small 2-3 Sentence Description of yourself: I am a college freshman majoring in Creative Writing. As a longtime writer and longtime roleplayer, I feel I would be a good addition to the server.

-How much time could you be on the server weekly?: 5-10 hours per week.

-How long have you played minecraft?: Four months

-What do you know about roleplaying? Your roleplaying experience?: I have roleplayed on multiple RP forums. I have also roleplayed on World of Warcraft. I also have been a part of Shadowclan, an immersive roleplaying organization that spans multiple games.

-What do you expect this server will be like?: A healthy and mature roleplaying environment with experienced and thoughtful players.

-What other server(s) have you played on and why did you leave them?: None. This is my first roleplaying server on Minecraft.

-Have you read, understood, and agreed to the rules?: Yes.

-Name the 4 races on this server: Humans, Orcs, Dwarves, Elves

-How did you hear about us?: Through my boyfriend, who plays on the server.

-What is your The Lord Of Craft forum account name?: dragonhadley

In-Character:

-Character Name: Urara

-What is your Race?: Orc

-Biography: Urara is only five feet tall. This has made her a lifelong object of derision among all the other orcs. Because her mother is unknown, the other children often accused her of being half dwarf. Her single father reassured her that she would get taller come puberty, but that day never came. Realizing she would never, ever get taller, Urara focused her energy on becoming the strongest she could. She exercised to the point of obsession, running miles every day and lifting huge stones so that no one would ever make fun of her again. However, the mocking persisted. Urara came to the realization that she would never receive the respect she desired unless she became a Kheshig, one of the Warlord’s elite. If the Warlord approved of her, all the other orcs would have no choice but to praise her in spite of her short stature. Urara, desperate for the approval of her peers, made becoming a Kheshig her lifelong dream. Her obsessive quest for strength is never ending. She will do absolutely anything to prove her dominance and make herself worthy of becoming a Kheshig in the eyes of the Warlord.

-Character Age: 18

-Character Appearance: Urara’s defining characteristic and the thing most individuals notice about her is her short stature. She stands at an even five feet tall. With her round baby face, short tusks, and small height, Urara looks like the opposite of a strong orc. However, what she lacks in appearances, she makes up for in brawn. Urara is deceptively strong. She has a stout, muscular physique -- the result of years of obsessive training. She’ll flex for anyone who pauses to look. Urara prefers to wear tight, revealing clothing to show off her muscles, though she doesn’t have much of a figure. Small, boyish hips and a flat chest make her look more like a young boy than a mature woman. Urara longs to stand out and she embellishes her outfits with brightly colored cords and beads. She habitually dyes her black hair purple in order to draw more attention. She wears a permanent scowl in order to look more intimidating. All in all, Urara gives the appearance of ‘trying too hard’. Her dearest wish is to be praised and noticed and her appearance reflects that.

-Character Personality: Urara does whatever gets her the most attention. She’s loud, rude, and quick to start a fight. She’ll brawl with anyone who looks at her funny, no matter the species. While she often loses thanks to her inexperience and size, every loss just spurs her to try harder. Urara will run herself to the point of exhaustion in pursuit of strength, but at the same time, she hates chores. Menial tasks like farming and mining are better suited to peons. To make Urara work, one must FORCE her. Otherwise, she’ll never go. Urara suffers from an inflated ego. She feeds off praise and takes every compliment as simply more proof that she’s the greatest orc ever. Insults are dismissed as jealousy. Urara is vain, egotistical, and self-centered, but also enthusiastic and passionate. If someone told her mining would improve her arm strength, she’d mine out an entire mountain. She never turns down a fight, ever, and pursues her ambition of becoming a Kheshig with single-minded determination. Anyone who gets between her and her dream can expect to lose a limb. Urara’s energy and enthusiasm don’t balance out her self-importance and vanity, but they make her a little more fun to hang around.

-Your ambitions: To become a Kheshig and receive the praise of the entire Orcish nation!

-Can your character read or write?: To a limited degree.

-Can your character mine?: Yes, but she doesn’t like to.

-Are you a capable builder?: She knows how to swing a hammer, but that’s about it.

-Can you wield a sword?: Yes, but not very well. Urara wants to be a warrior, but she’s young and inexperienced.

-Enjoy Farming?: Absolutely NOT. That stuff’s for weaklings and babies.

-Does your character have any special skills?: Urara is strong. Thanks to years of training, she can run for miles and miles without getting tired. If she applied her strength, she could potentially become a strong miner or warrior, but she hates work unless it benefits her directly.

-A screenshot of your skin: http://i56.tinypic.com/2ldhbnq.png

-Other Information: n/a