Malack's gender role as parent

[CaDzilla]

Since Malack showed the love of a parent to the undead he spawned by his natural ability, who's the mother in this arrangement? If the corpse is the mother, how did he select for attractiveness? Did he fufill both parental roles when he raised his children? Did he have a domestic partner at some point in his unlife? Was he a good parent?

[BenjCano]

Not all forms of reproduction require two parents, you know.

[Jaxzan Proditor]

Since Malack showed the love of a parent to the undead he spawned by his natural ability, who's the mother in this arrangement? If the corpse is the mother, how did he select for attractiveness? Did he fufill both parental roles when he raised his children? Did he have a domestic partner at some point in his unlife? Was he a good parent?

Most likely, there is no mother; there is only Malack. As a parent, his responsibilities were probably to instruct is offspring in using their vampiric powers, making sure they didn't reveal themselves as vampires, and ensure they were getting enough blood. These are all roles he could have filled by himself.

Really, all these questions can only be currently answered by our own opinions, since the source says nothing about this. He could have had a partner and he could have been a good father, but he also might not have been. There is just not enough information.

[CaDzilla]

Not all forms of reproduction require two parents, you know.

This form of reproduction does require two people: Malack and a corpse

[Domino Quartz]

I'd say that in the case of Malack making vampire spawn, gender-roles are irrelevant.

This form of reproduction does require two people: Malack and a corpse
Yeah, but it's not like the person/thing being vampirised has much to do with the process. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go wash my brain with bleach.

[SiuiS]

Since Malack showed the love of a parent to the undead he spawned by his natural ability, who's the mother in this arrangement?

Not applicable: mentors, comrades, teachers, adoptive parents, close family not in the parent role all can fulfill parental roles.


If the corpse is the mother, how did he select for attractiveness?

Why do you assume selecting for attractiveness is a priority?


Did he fufill both parental roles when he raised his children?

Not applicable: each parent in a standard dyad tends to fulfill parental 'roles' of either gender, and the subject is further clouded by the idea of a patron god or goddess as patriarch or matriarch, allowing the abstraction of parental roles by degrees.


Did he have a domestic partner at some point in his unlife?

Unrelated to gender or parenthood.


Was he a good parent?

Define your terms; I am 100% certain he was an [Evil] parent. :smalltongue:

[BenjCano]

This form of reproduction does require two people: Malack and a corpse

A corpse isn't a person.

[Porthos]

Since Malack showed the love of a parent to the undead he spawned by his natural ability, who's the mother in this arrangement? If the corpse is the mother, how did he select for attractiveness? Did he fufill both parental roles when he raised his children? Did he have a domestic partner at some point in his unlife? Was he a good parent?

Before we go down too far down this road, I remind, once again, that he was about to vamp Belkar.

So any and all arguments that satisfy Durkon ALSO have to satisfy Belkar, even if going for 'minimum standards'.


A corpse isn't a person.

Technically a vampire can't make a vampire of any old corpse. It needs to be first alive (and thus not a corpse) and then drained by their hand.

Or, should I say, fangs.

[Gift Jeraff]

He's basically an alien parasite planting his eggs into his victims' bodies.

[NerdyKris]

Since Malack showed the love of a parent to the undead he spawned by his natural ability, who's the mother in this arrangement?

Does it matter? Why would you need to define a role to it? Does it change anything about the character to say "he was the mother" or "he was the father"? He was the parent. That's about it. Trying to shoehorn in a comparison to male/female reproduction is pointless and doesn't fit well anyways. We don't need to know Varsuvius's gender in relation to parent, why do we need to know it here?

[CaDzilla]

Does it matter? Why would you need to define a role to it? Does it change anything about the character to say "he was the mother" or "he was the father"? He was the parent. That's about it. Trying to shoehorn in a comparison to male/female reproduction is pointless and doesn't fit well anyways. We don't need to know Varsuvius's gender in relation to parent, why do we need to know it here?

It isn't the actual arrangement so much as how Malack sees himself. Does he even see himself as having a gender at all?

[KillianHawkeye]

I have seen some weird questions here but I think this one takes the cake.

[mrzomby]

Why do people assume Malack is a male? s/he has only been referred to as such by various humans, dwarves, and etc who are not experts on reptiles at all. The only other reptiles talking to malack referred to her/him "minister" not "sir" or "ma'am". Malack could have easily been tarquin's groups V, you don't know.


SARCASM OVER

[Bulldog Psion]

"He was a good parent."

"But he was a better fashion accessory!"

[Mastikator]

This form of reproduction does require two people: Malack and a corpse
Those are not two parents.

Malack wouldn't be father or mother, he'd be master, since his gender or sex is not related to his parenthood.

Although, he could call himself a father. But to be honest I doubt the master-progeny relationship is anything like any parenthood type relationship found in nature. I don't think you should try to use nature to understand vampires.

[Keltest]

I think it is significantly more likely that Malack is not all the way there. hes certainly not a gibbering lunatic, but he does not always follow a normal train of logic.

[MagicalMeat]

The OP's question is... really weird. Does every reproduction and subsequent raising of offspring require a male and a female? Ever heard or asexual reproduction, gay couples and sperm banks? Vampires reproduce parasitically. The closest human equivalent is rape and subsequent murder, and I really don't think a rapist qualifies as a parent figure.

[Vinyadan]

I think Nergal played some role in the process, at least in Malak's mind. It's possible that his role towards the "newborn" was perceived as similar to that of the god towards the follower, or the priest towards the believer.

[Skorj]

What a very ... mammalian question. :smallconfused:

Though I believe the term for vampires is "sire", and it's gender neutral.

(and for the record, I'm shocked this isn't a Luna thread!)

[MagicalMeat]

Yea I forgot about the Reptilian part. So there are two big differences; Vampire and what-ever-Malack-is-thing (Snakefolk?). There really is no human counterpart for the relationship Vampires have with their spawn, but Malack seems different. He didn't plan on leaving Durkula a thrall, so perhaps single, asexually-produced friend is the best phrase to describe Malack and Dulkula's (intended future) relationship. For Malack's dead spawn, impossible to say. Although he did seem to think of them more as children rather than friends, so it is possible he did not free them. But this is mindless speculation territory, so I better head back.

[Porthos]

Though I believe the term for vampires is "sire", and it's gender neutral.

Well, nowadays the term is gender neutral, in regards to vampires. Before it got coupled to vampire myths/stories (and still to this day outside of it) it was very masculine.

Looking about, I'm not sure just how far back the term "sire" and "vampries" goes. I can find references to it as far back as Vikram and the Vampire (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/2400/2400-h/2400-h.htm), but that might just be a coincidence. How much it was used before the White Wolf games popularlized the term, I have no idea.

FWIW, "turn" was/is another commonly used term when describing someone who has created another vampire.

[CaDzilla]

I should probably point out that vampires in d&d can interbreed with other things if they drink enough blood (half-vampire template, Libris Mortis). Malack's genitals still work, so he might see himself as a father if he ever reproduced sexually, but he appears to have just used his create spawn ability to create children. The point is did Malack think, "I'm a mommy", "I'm a papa", "I'm a parent", or "I have reproduced".

[MagicalMeat]

Why are you asking this question again? We already answered: WE DON'T KNOW. And we will never know, unless we get a prequel book on the Vector Legion/Linear Guild.

[BenjCano]

Malack's genitals still work...

I hesitate to ask...but how do you know this? :smalleek:

[oppyu]

Malack thought "I have manifested dark and horrifying powers to wrench this corpse's soul back to the mortal coil and sire an undead abomination. Well, I'm bored now, I'm going to go watch some public executions."

And through an intensive Freudian psychosexual analysis of these thoughts, I have concluded that Malack thought of himself as a daddy.

[Zmeoaice]

I hesitate to ask...but how do you know this? :smalleek:

Do dhampirs exist in D&D?

[CaDzilla]

I hesitate to ask...but how do you know this? :smalleek:


Do dhampirs exist in D&D?
Half-vampire template in Libris Mortis. The fluff states that if a vampire drinks enough blood,it can mate with another humanoid.

[BenjCano]

Half-vampire template in Libris Mortis. The fluff states that if a vampire drinks enough blood,it can mate with another humanoid.

But how does that mean that Malack's genitalia work? Malack's specifically? The way you worded your earlier post implied you had some sort of inside knowledge.

[Thrillhouse]

I honestly didn't think this topic could get any weirder than it was at the start, but man we aren't even on the second page and we're already discussing...the topic of the last post which I'd rather not even repeat as it might revive the horrifying mental image.

[MagicalMeat]

Some people love the undead. I mean, they really LOVE the undead.

But let's keep things professional. I'm not one of those discussing necrophillics.

[ChristianSt]

Some people love the undead. I mean, they really LOVE the undead.

Do you propose a Tsukiko x Malack fanfic discussion? :smalltongue:
(No, I don't think we should do so :smallwink:)

[MagicalMeat]

What about Xykon x Malack? Is that ok? :smalltongue:

[Zmeoaice]

Xykon's Chaotic, and Malack is Lawful, it would never work out.

[BenjCano]

I don't know, I think it has all the makings of a wacky Rom Com.

[MagicalMeat]

There is no way in hell that a Romantic Comedy would ever be made out of a gay romance between an Vampire Snake-thing that wants to turn the world into a death camp and an omnicidal, crazy, lazy Lich. (It would be a Dark Comedy a la Brazil.)

[BenjCano]

I don't know. Didn't they make a Rom Com movie out of a broody sparkly disco ball and an unemotional human-mannequin? And there was a love triangle between them and a set of washboard abs?

[oppyu]

There is no way in hell that a Romantic Comedy would ever be made out of a gay romance between an Vampire Snake-thing that wants to turn the world into a death camp and an omnicidal, crazy, lazy Lich. (It would be a Dark Comedy a la Brazil.)
One of them wants to establish a stable yet crushingly oppressive central government that farms sentient beings like livestock! The other just wants to watch the world burn! On March 31, come see this odd couple try to make it work while crushing all that is good under their undead heels!

[Jaxzan Proditor]

Undead heels and tail, (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0906.html)more like. :smalltongue:

[WindStruck]

He's basically an alien parasite planting his eggs into his victims' bodies.

I think this is most accurate. But as for after the "reproduction" has finished and gender roles for parents, that's probably not applicable. Maybe it's the same kind of love and treatment a mad scientist would give his newly-created frankenstein. Of course both male and female could be mad scientists.

[MagicalMeat]

Back to the topic at hand, humans can't reproduce by killing someone and turning the corpse into their slaves. The real-world relationship that is closest would probably be between a programmer/engineer/scientist that creates a robot. It cannot think for itself, and obeys everything it is told.

But Malack seemed to be truly close to his spawn, so it's really hard to say. For HK, it's probably something along the lines of killing someone and raising a clone of them. So it could be male or female. Malack is male, so I guess adoptive father is closer.

[Everyl]

Some people love the undead. I mean, they really LOVE the undead.

But let's keep things professional. I'm not one of those discussing necrophillics.

I have nothing to add to the content (such as it is) of this thread, but I wanted to compliment your wordplay (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0446.html) in this post.

[Trubbol]

Back to the topic at hand, humans can't reproduce by killing someone and turning the corpse into their slaves. The real-world relationship that is closest would probably be between a programmer/engineer/scientist that creates a robot. It cannot think for itself, and obeys everything it is told.

Now I am imagining Malack being Tenma from Astroboy.

[Dumbestupidiot]

Back to the topic at hand, humans can't reproduce by killing someone and turning the corpse into their slaves. The real-world relationship that is closest would probably be between a programmer/engineer/scientist that creates a robot. It cannot think for itself, and obeys everything it is told.

That is close, but is more of forceably uploading a human into a cyborg, and having a line of code in the cyborg to insure loyalty and fidelity that can be deleted to allow free will in the uploaded human

[MagicalMeat]

See, that's why I said real world; we don't have cyborgs like that. We do have robots.

Also, thanks for the compliment. This thread was just begging for that Tsukiko quote.

[CaDzilla]

Malack seems extremely non-sexualized for a vampire

[Everyl]

Malack seems extremely non-sexualized for a vampire

Most vampires are extremely over-sexualized for cannibalistic walking corpses.

[Trubbol]

Huh... Now I want to try to draw something based off of Twilight with Malack, maybe with Durkon as Bella.

[MagicalMeat]

Vampires are traditionally sexual, or at least the modern vampire (not the Slavic demon possessed corpses that have OCD from 400 years ago.) A fictional creature that was designed to invoke sexual themes can't oversexualized if that's what it always have been. Of course, traditionally the sexualization was not postitive (no vampire boyfriends), and was closer to sexual assault.

[Vladier]

Huh... Now I want to try to draw something based off of Twilight with Malack, maybe with Durkon as Bella.

And it would still be a better love story than the one written by Stephenie Meyer.

I'm so, so sorry for this! But it had to be done, and if anyone has to make a great sacrifice of coming up with unoriginal joke, let it be me!

[BenjCano]

Durkon Swan: Yer scales be like diamond… yer beautiful.

Malack Cullen: Beautiful? These are the scales of a killer, Dulla... I'm a killer.

Durkon Swan: I dinnae believe that. I mean, sure ye were eatin’ Belkar just a moment ago, but who hasn’t wanted tae do tha’?

Malack Cullen: How are you having trouble believing this? I’m not all that well camouflaged. My dry, rasping voice, my pale as bone skin, my penchant for black robes and devotion to the god of Death. It’s only the fact that I speak politely and reasonably that anyone doubted I was a bad guy for so long.

Durkon Swan: I dinnae care.

Malack Cullen: How are you OK with this? I ate a family of Koreans before we came up to this meadow for my little sparkle-fest.

Durkon Swan: It’s no important.

Malack Cullen: Yeah, your codependency is kind of freaking me out. I wanted to kill you at first. Mostly because I figured that the amount of beer you drink, your blood would give me a nice buzz.

Durkon Swan: I trust ye.

Malack Cullen: Don't.