Are all cubi clan leaders female?

[taltamir]

I noticed how all the clan leaders thus far were female. and the first members of the clan are the direct descendants of the leader if I understand things correctly.
Are only females able to ascend to tri wing status?

[Techcubi]

Feh, Maybe Amber just has most of them be male instead of female, because maybe she wants to go for motherly when it comes to most Clan Leaders.

[taltamir]

Actually, now that i think about it, we saw abel take on female shape... cubi are natural shapeshiger. Can they get pregnant/impregnate when shifted to the other gender?
if so, then maybe a "female form" is part of the ascension process.

I find it odd that its made out to be such a secret. Do they not divulge the method of ascension to their own children?

[Psaakyrn]

My own theory is that there were singled out by the dragons. (more of coincidence than choice though)

[Mao]

As is often covered of late:  1) Yes male clan leaders can exist. 2) Shapeshifting does not change the 'internal plumbing':  As such, a male shifting to a female does not gain the ability to give birth.

[taltamir]

Alright... although if they studied basic anatomy they would certainly be able to give birth (all that requires is having a sac in your abdomen that opens to the outside), what they wouldn't be able to do is get pregnant (that requires them altering their gonads to produce ovas instead of sperm; not to mention alter their hormones, etc)... theoretically you could implant a fertilized egg into a male's abdomen and then remove it via caeserrian... (although organ damage and death is highly likely)...

ok i went off on a tangent there... thanks for clarifying though.

[Psaakyrn]

Alright... although if they studied basic anatomy they would certainly be able to give birth (all that requires is having a sac in your abdomen that opens to the outside), what they wouldn't be able to do is get pregnant (that requires them altering their gonads to produce ovas instead of sperm; not to mention alter their hormones, etc)... theoretically you could implant a fertilized egg into a male's abdomen and then remove it via caeserrian... (although organ damage and death is highly likely)...

ok i went off on a tangent there... thanks for clarifying though.

Or you could shapeshift a pouch instead seahorse-like, though I don't know the biology involved.

[Mrs_A_ZeTavia]

If all of the remaining clan leaders are female, I will admit I will be slightly disappointed.
I was hoping for some tri-wing men!   MROWR!

Oh well, at least 2 out of my 4 cubi clans I created for a story I'm working on have male clan leaders!  

Edit: (Sentence structure was off, my apologies.)

[AmigaDragon]

As may have been said before, most of the male clan founders are likely dead due to the cubi-dragon war, more so than the female founders.

As for the birth part, it would take significantly more substantial magic than mere shape shifting to give that ability to a male, actually changing them to female.

[Tapewolf]

If all of the remaining clan leaders are female, I will admit I will be slightly disappointed.

We'll see what happens, I guess.  I did ask about it once, but the ratio I was given then (IIRC it was about 4:1 in favour of the females) doesn't seem to have been borne out by the report, so I guess Amber's had a rethink since then.  (Which of course she is quite entitled to do)

[taltamir]

Or you could shapeshift a pouch instead seahorse-like, though I don't know the biology involved.

now that is thinking outside the box

[Liatai]

Or you could shapeshift a pouch instead seahorse-like, though I don't know the biology involved.

I do, I do! *waves hand in the air and puts on lab coat*

And I can tell you that it's forbidden by the rules put forth for 'cubi shapeshifting. To create a pouch like a male seahorse's is basically equivalent to creating a womb. The egg is implanted in the pouch lining, nutrients and oxygen flow from the male seahorse's blood to the developing embryo... It isn't just a flap of skin, it's a full-on reproductive organ, and as such, it is explicitly forbidden. Sorry, folks. 

[VAE]

It´s not so much forbidden as it would be impossibly hard - you would have to get the countless cells and microstructure right to make a functional organ  , while breast and so are easy to just immitate (and i do not believe the shapeshift ones are functional)

[taltamir]

It´s not so much forbidden as it would be impossibly hard - you would have to get the countless cells and microstructure right to make a functional organ  , while breast and so are easy to just immitate (and i do not believe the shapeshift ones are functional)

if you think about it, males already have breasts, they are just not as pretty. (I would say not as fatty but then there are moobs)

[Ry]

I do, I do! *waves hand in the air and puts on lab coat*

And I can tell you that it's forbidden by the rules put forth for 'cubi shapeshifting. To create a pouch like a male seahorse's is basically equivalent to creating a womb. The egg is implanted in the pouch lining, nutrients and oxygen flow from the male seahorse's blood to the developing embryo... It isn't just a flap of skin, it's a full-on reproductive organ, and as such, it is explicitly forbidden. Sorry, folks. 

Forbidden≠Impossible... 

Anyways, didn't Amber say that there was a magical process to actually change one to the other, but it was such that it could only really be done once in the creature's lifetime?

if you think about it, males already have breasts, they are just less fatty.

Pretty much- most men are even able to breast feed without taking hormones to simulate pregancy, it just doesn't happen very often because there's rarely a need.

[VAE]

Pretty much- most men are even able to breast feed without taking hormones to simulate pregancy, it just doesn't happen very often because there's rarely a need.

Not really - the men lack a developed mammary gland - it is a runt in there
When this can happen is if liver damage makes degrading female hormones not happen

[taltamir]

Pretty much- most men are even able to breast feed without taking hormones to simulate pregancy, it just doesn't happen very often because there's rarely a need.

Not really - the men lack a developed mammary gland - it is a runt in there
When this can happen is if liver damage makes degrading female hormones not happen

apparently there is lots of human female hormones in the water which we consume.

[Chakat Blackspots]

Perhaps its that DMFA proper is a Matriarchal society?

[VAE]

apparently there is lots of human female hormones in the water which we consume.

I drink tea
But seriously - there are lots produced accidentally in the body - but unless there is a huge excess they have no effect simply because the liver takes them down.

[psilorder]

It´s not so much forbidden as it would be impossibly hard - you would have to get the countless cells and microstructure right to make a functional organ  , while breast and so are easy to just immitate (and i do not believe the shapeshift ones are functional)

Hmm, for female Cubi, would this mean their breasts become nonfunctional if shapeshifted te for example be larger?

or would they be partially functional as in staying functional but not be able to produce as much milk as a natural breast of the shapeshifted size?

or would they be fully functional because the biology is present in the organism and just increased (and whatever else needs to be done) ?

**************************

On a side note, i'm starting to wish the clan elader pages had been named under demonology 101 so i could dive in on a specific one....(obs: not complaining, not even making a suggestion, just saying)

[Tangent]

There were experiments in the 80s or 90s in which they implanted an embryo into a male of the species (I'm thinking primates but I'm not 100% sure) and placed it against the abdominal wall. The fetus implanted, a placenta formed, and the fetus developed into the second trimester without difficulty. I think they may have even gone so far as the third trimester. It is entirely feasible and possible to have males carry an unborn child (and in fact that was the theme in the Arnold Schwarzenegger film "Twins").

Also, males can produce breast milk, and it has been documented before. For that matter, women can quickly start lactating if there is a need - if an infant starts suckling regularly on a woman who wasn't producing breast milk, within a relatively short period of time (usually within a couple days) induced lactation can result. (This is also used by some people who are into breast milk for more... um, playful reasons. ^^;; And some women will even sell breast milk to mothers who cannot produce, through use of breast pumps and the like.)

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

or would they be partially functional as in staying functional but not be able to produce as much milk as a natural breast of the shapeshifted size?

Technically, the size of the breasts has nothing whatsoever to do with the milk capacity or production. It's purely aesthetic.

I'm told (although, obviously, I don't have a wide range of experience in this, since my wife won't let me go around sucking variously sized womens' breasts dry for "scientific comparison purposes") that smaller breasts tend to produce more milk; I don't have any stats to back that up, however.

I'm sure someone has, I just don't have them to hand. Anyone else want to step up?

[taltamir]

i don't know about the "small breasts produce more milk" thing... but the size is indeed purely aesthetic in humans.

[Trazz]

One word. Quoar.

[Naldru]

What I heard was that it wasn't that small breasts produce more milk but that infants were more successful in getting milk out of small breasts.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

What I heard was that it wasn't that small breasts produce more milk but that infants were more successful in getting milk out of small breasts.

This is possibly correct. I can't say I've done a statistically significant verification of the findings.

... I'd be interested in doing such, though. ;-]

[taltamir]

What I heard was that it wasn't that small breasts produce more milk but that infants were more successful in getting milk out of small breasts.

we need to investigate this... obviously infants are a problem to acquire and use so i will volunteer to do the suckling myself... Get me lactating women of various breast size and I shall compare the ease of suckling

[Jairus]

What I heard was that it wasn't that small breasts produce more milk but that infants were more successful in getting milk out of small breasts.

we need to investigate this... obviously infants are a problem to acquire and use so i will volunteer to do the suckling myself... Get me lactating women of various breast size and I shall compare the ease of suckling

Well, I had a feeling we'd get here eventually.

[Anker Steadfast]

Not to worry, I've already been there for a while.
And I can tells ya that it's wonderful.


Wait? What? How much they lactate?

... erhhh ...

Dang, I knew I forgot something!

[Castle Pokemetroid]

Could it be possible for a cubi to perform a "magical operation". By that, I mean steal the internal organs of a being, perhaps, and use magic to perform a surgery. It dosen't matter if it's on their self, or another cubi/being. I just wonder.

Wouldn't it be more easier than magically transforming your own organs? It's already noted that changing one's own "internal plumbing" can be very difficult.

I wonder if even a body swap is possible.