Sylvari relationships with other races

Sylvari relationships with other races

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Posted by: Toli Rosca.9041

Toli Rosca.9041

We know that the Sylvari are pan-sexual and that gender roles among the Sylvari are non existent. In fact they even view other races gender views as being a bit backward.

We know that the Sylvari don’t procreate in the traditional sense and that they are born as fruit of the mother tree. And we also know that cross-breeding and hybrids don’t exist (although human/norn has been disputed)

And we have been lead to believe that Sylvari are anatomically correct with working… Ah… Plumbing.

So all that aside what do you think Sylvari would make of having relationships with any of the other species.

Some Sylvari you talk to in game come across almost xenophobic pointing out the difference between Sylvari and the other mammalian species of Tyria.

Some are much more friendly towards other species working with them closely.

Most are just curious of the world around them.

Would anyone actually oppose a human and a Sylvari having a monogamous relationship?

What if it was a Human male with a Sylvari male? I mean Sylvari wouldn’t even consider the gender implications but Human society might not be so welcoming.

So how do you think interspecies relations are received on Tyria?

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Posted by: Madora.9340

Madora.9340

I’m sure they’ll be people that would oppose such a thing, I mean, interracial dating and marriage is still looked at with raised eyebrows. I’m sure when the human and Sylvari males get married, expect the church to be razed to the ground because you’re getting both homophobes and xenophobes, but that’s my opinion.

Although, I keep getting the feeling Rox likes Brahm, though perhaps not in the sexual sense. I don’t know how things would work out gene-wise because I take it Charr are a completely different species than a Norn, same goes with Sylvari and Asuran….But I think human and Norn are close enough to a common ancestor to make it work.

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Posted by: Zaxares.5419

Zaxares.5419

While I haven’t seen any interracial couples in-game myself, there is a pair of Sylvari in Lion’s Arch near the crafting stations who remark on a pair of passing Norn. One of the Sylvari (female) comments on the male Norn in a way that suggests she finds him attractive. From that, we can extrapolate that interracial couples DO exist, but they’re probably in the minority. Reactions to interracial relationships would probably be as follows:

1. Sylvari would probably be openly accepting of relationships with other races.

2. Norn relationships are typically based on a union of equals. If a Norn feels that a partner is worthy, they enter into a relationship. Other Norn might find it strange that a Norn might marry a non-Norn, but as long as the non-Norn partner could demonstrate their strength or worth, the Norn probably welcome them with open arms.

3. Charr don’t seem to enter into formal relationships as a rule. Cubs are born when two adults develop a physical attraction to each other, stay together long enough to procreate, and when the cubs are old enough to be sent to the fahrar, they break up. The Charr probably don’t care who an individual Charr fraternizes with, as long as it doesn’t interfere with the carrying out of their duties.

4. Very little is known about Asura families and relationships. They do fall in love and make long-term commitments, but it’s unclear if they have marriages as humans and Norn do. However, since Asura generally seek academic achievement as an indicator of social success, they probably disregard any eccentricity of an Asura’s sexual tastes as irrelevant to what they have discovered/achieved.

5. Humans… Well, use real life humans as a barometer for how they might react. Some will be accepting, some will be intolerant. But on the whole, I think most humans would be too busy trying to survive against centaurs/bandits/krait/Risen to really bother about who’s sexing who.

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Posted by: Ashes.9586

Ashes.9586

4. Very little is known about Asura families and relationships. They do fall in love and make long-term commitments, but it’s unclear if they have marriages as humans and Norn do. However, since Asura generally seek academic achievement as an indicator of social success, they probably disregard any eccentricity of an Asura’s sexual tastes as irrelevant to what they have discovered/achieved.

Well there is Tonn and his wife Ceera, they clearly love each other dearly and Tonn refers to her a lot when he talks. So from what I’ve seen they do have human/norn like marriages. Though who knows how widely that kind of marriage is used or what their main “culture” is when it comes to marriages, they might just be an exception of sorts. Maybe they just like the human/norn way.
http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Demolitionist_Tonn
http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Pact_Medic_Ceera (Ceera’s page has unhidden spoilers on it, just to warn people.)

The Legion Calls

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Posted by: Zaxares.5419

Zaxares.5419

Yeah, I’m unsure if marriages are something that Asura traditionally do, or whether it’s just a case of Tonn and Ceera adopting the human custom because they liked the thought. Most other Asura I’ve heard discussing relationships in Rata Sum refer to their partner as… well, “partner”.

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Posted by: Rainbow Sprint.3215

Rainbow Sprint.3215

Yeah, I’m unsure if marriages are something that Asura traditionally do, or whether it’s just a case of Tonn and Ceera adopting the human custom because they liked the thought. Most other Asura I’ve heard discussing relationships in Rata Sum refer to their partner as… well, “partner”.

Lots of asura fall in love, including a lot of npc asura seen in metrica. Even two members of your krewe are in a relationship if you choose the college of synergetics. (It might be dynamics, I don’t remember too well).

It does seem that all asura that are in a relationship seem to be part of the same krewe. Though we can’t say if that’s because they met that person because of the krewe they’re in, they both joined the same krewe, or if that’s asura custom. You’d think though if it wasn’t asura custom we’d eventually see an asura in love with someone not on their krewe though, but i’ve yet to see that.

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Posted by: Zacchary.6183

Zacchary.6183

I am under the impression that asurans warp into existence. No sex. Just a catalytic process between two synergistic temporal fields that vibrate eachother until reality splits open and BOOM… a distressed asuran prodigy craving nutritional sustenance.

On topic: For a 25 year old race, I doubt they would anything but open because if you think about it, socially acceptable behavior is part of one’s culture to a point. Sylvari, are extremely new and do not have a set culture in annex, an intricate set of social guidelines.

(edited by Zacchary.6183)

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Posted by: Toli Rosca.9041

Toli Rosca.9041

I am under the impression that asurans warp into existence. No sex. Just a catalytic process between two synergistic temporal fields that vibrate eachother until reality splits open and BOOM… a distressed asuran prodigy craving nutritional sustenance.

On topic: For a 25 year old race, I doubt they would anything but open because if you think about it, socially acceptable behavior is part of one’s culture to a point. Sylvari, are extremely new and do not have a set culture in annex, an intricate set of social guidelines.

I did think about that. I wonder if the mother tree would have any views on it. I mean if her children do have romantic relations with other races then I suppose it would actually help solidify their position amongst the other races.

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Posted by: Dustfinger.9510

Dustfinger.9510

Good points those last two. it would also further the sylvari goal of learning about other races for Dream.

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Posted by: Donari.5237

Donari.5237

I get the feeling that Sylvari generally are more interested in what’s inside a person than what their outer shape is. This may come from their connected empathy. However, that leads to the question: Since they can’t “feel” non-Sylvari, might they find that off-putting in terms of deeper intimacy than casual friendship?

To Madora: I don’t think homophobia is nearly as rampant in Tyrian humans as in Terran ones. They don’t have the same religious and cultural history that created the prejudice here. Plus they have other sentient races to deal with, making any other human seem far more “of the tribe” as it were. Humans might look very askance at interracial love matches while not caring one bit about variations on inter-human consenting adult couples.

Plus humans tend to adopt bits and pieces of cultures that interest them. The sylvari have been out and about long enough to get a lot of imitators. I wonder if the sylvari lesson tends towards courtly chivalric love, or towards free love? -grins-

(For those who haven’t taken classes in Arthurian romance literature, courtly love is the hopeless adoring from afar that makes a knight go off on quests to prove himself).

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Posted by: Asgier.6873

Asgier.6873

So this answers a lot of the questions I had, however, There was one thing that I am still wondering. So lets cut the chase. I am writing a fan fiction and was wondering about the possibility of a norn marrying sylvari twins. I am not seeing anything against it fundamentally in either culture (assuming that norn could marry a sylvari and also that a pair of twins were actually born which is rare) it is just typically not done. does anyone know of any problems with this? Also assuming sylvari DO have the proper “plumbing” could a sylvari give birth to a norn child? I know that sylvari are not born that way but norn are so the question arises. Thanks for your thoughts.

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Posted by: Toli Rosca.9041

Toli Rosca.9041

Sylvari have the external appearance of sexual organs without the function of them. They cannot have children because the internal workings do not work. Even if they could have children they are plants and Norn are mammals, plants do not reproduce in a way that mammalian reproduction could identify. The physiology is just too different. In our world for two different species to produce viable offspring then they need to be very closely related such as a horse and a donkey to create a mule.

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Posted by: Donari.5237

Donari.5237

ANet has specifically stated back before beta that there are no “half-breeds.” The different races are not inter-fertile. Not even norns/humans. Toli Rosca is correct as well, sylvari can’t have children. They are actually freaked out by children, these tiny helpless things that come into the world without knowledge or skills.

In terms of marrying, I’m not sure norns or sylvari do that. The player-made Wiki says "Two norn will marry, but only if they are of equal status. During the wedding, someone must speak on behalf of the couple in order to show that they are a worthy match for each other. " So perhaps they do, but how would one judge the relative status of a sylvari?

As to sylvari, their whole culture is a quarter of a century old at best. They haven’t had time to develop many traditions, though they’ll likely magpie in a lot from others. Still, they’re more likely to simply say “you and I are heart-mates” than to seek the okay of authority figures for the union.

With twins, yes, that’s doable. There are sylvari who come out of the same pod and are called twins. There’s a pair of male twins in a sylvari PS chain. So your norn could heart-bond with two sylvari (and put up with a lot of manure from his norn buddies for it). But kids? Nope.

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Posted by: WyldKat.4712

WyldKat.4712

No sex. Just a catalytic process between two synergistic temporal fields that vibrate each other until reality splits open and BOOM…

That sounds a lot like sex actually. Just sayin’.

Zestee, Cryptician Zetti, Zissi The Jack, Zi Mao,
Ziffy Snidehide, Zadie Hawkkin, Zannie Oakley, Zuulja
[ODIN],[NaCl] – Tarnished Coast

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Posted by: Wulfram.9654

Wulfram.9654

I’d worry about splinters.

Going by a quest where you disguise as a human, Sylvari bodies are quite different. “I feel mushy and unwieldy.”

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Posted by: Sylv.5324

Sylv.5324

Sylvari have the external appearance of sexual organs without the function of them.

They do work according to the devs, but they are sterile.

There is a (budding) couple in Orr between a Human Vigil Soldier and a Sylvari Priory researcher. Or rather, he is in love with her and she only starts to get it at the end of their arc.

Norn hit on humans a lot in GW:EN; as long as you are tough they seem to dig you.

Ardeth, Sylvari Mesmer
Tarnished Coast

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Posted by: Ezekiel.1985

Ezekiel.1985

Sylvari have the external appearance of sexual organs without the function of them. They cannot have children because the internal workings do not work. Even if they could have children they are plants and Norn are mammals, plants do not reproduce in a way that mammalian reproduction could identify. The physiology is just too different. In our world for two different species to produce viable offspring then they need to be very closely related such as a horse and a donkey to create a mule.

Pretty much this. When it comes down to it, I’m pretty sure they can “do the do”, just that no children can come of it. on a related note, it might depend on the sylvari. For some reason a lot of RPers have taken to calling sylvari skin “bark”, which doesn’t make sense to me. Bark, in some cases, can be quite pliable, but most definitely cannot bend and shape in such a way that would be conducive AT ALL to moving limbs.

As such, I’ve always looked at sylvari skin as more fleshy – like somewhere between your average “flesh” of the other playable races, and maybe like vines.

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Posted by: FlamingFoxx.1305

FlamingFoxx.1305

Well that really depends, there are a lot of trees with very thin bark that can easily be twisted and bent in any shape without breaking – and it would make sense that if it’s their version of skin whatever plant matter it is made out of would be relatively thin, just like human skin is. But like you said, it depends on the Sylvari, some of them certainly look barky, whilst others are most definitely leafy xD.

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Posted by: Zaxares.5419

Zaxares.5419

Yeah, I think it depends on the Sylvari in question. My Sylvari has a mixture of leaves and “fleshy” parts for her skin. I think that her skin would feel like leaves and soft, fleshy stems similar to what celery or tomatoes feel like. Other Sylvari have bark-like skin (one face has cactus spines!), and I think their skin would feel harder and more rigid as compared to mine.

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Posted by: Sylv.5324

Sylv.5324

Some sylvari have bark for skin (just like other ambulatory plants in Tyria do), and it works because magic.

Ardeth, Sylvari Mesmer
Tarnished Coast

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Posted by: An Siorai Tharian.4516

An Siorai Tharian.4516

Some sylvari have bark for skin (just like other ambulatory plants in Tyria do), and it works because magic.

Sylvari cannot be magical beings in the strictest sense. Because they are considered incorruptible by the Elder Dragons, who generally can only corrupt beings that house the spark of magic. So that would seem to indicate that their existence is one that does not utilize magic in the strictest sense.

XIII | JAH | FNG | LWA
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