Argonians are Asexual Seahorses?

TheMythicDawn

what the hell? ok i just heard these bits of lore in the guild chats. Argonian mating ritual is random who gets pregnant?

argonian males can lay the eggs? the hell? if the male can lay the eggs why dont we just call that one the female?

im so confused

Aliyavana

argonians can correct their gender with the hist. one of the quests deals with this where one of them changes gender and finds out their former love interest also changed gender and goes after them for mating purposes

Jhalin

I think frogs irl are able to shift between male and female depending on conditions even without magic trees. Some of those Argoanians definitely look more amphibian than reptilian in Murkmire’s Dead-Water area

TheShadowScout

Aliyavana wrote: »

argonians can correct their gender with the hist. one of the quests deals with this where one of them changes gender and finds out their former love interest also changed gender and goes after them for mating purposes

Indeed, the Hist made argonians somewhat gender-fluid.
Oh, divines, so many jokes I wanna make now that would be against forum rules...
...
Seriously tho, I thought it was a really interesting "make the non-human races a bit different" idea... go argonians!

GimpyPorcupine

Still can't figure out why the "females" have mammaries...

keevil111

GimpyPorcupine wrote: »

Still can't figure out why the "females" have mammaries...

HA! Isn't it obvious? It's so they can nurse their eg.... oh....

TheMythicDawn

Aliyavana wrote: »

argonians can correct their gender with the hist. one of the quests deals with this where one of them changes gender and finds out their former love interest also changed gender and goes after them for mating purposes

oh thats pretty cool

TheMythicDawn

Jhalin wrote: »

I think frogs irl are able to shift between male and female depending on conditions even without magic trees. Some of those Argoanians definitely look more amphibian than reptilian in Murkmire’s Dead-Water area

neat stuff

i must have missed that lesson in biology tho

TheMythicDawn

GimpyPorcupine wrote: »

Still can't figure out why the "females" have mammaries...

to give the imperial boys something to look at, i guess

SpacemanSpiff1

Life...uh...finds a way. *cue Jurassic Park theme*

Silver_Strider

GimpyPorcupine wrote: »

Still can't figure out why the "females" have mammaries...

Lore wise, its so they can pass on Hist Sap to their children in the event a Hist Tree is not present to do so.

BigBragg

GimpyPorcupine wrote: »

Still can't figure out why the "females" have mammaries...

This is also something that has bothered and baffled me for the longest time. Only thing I can think of is the hist gave them boobs to help increase the success rate of finding gainful employment as maids.

Shezzarrine

Silver_Strider wrote: »

GimpyPorcupine wrote: »

Still can't figure out why the "females" have mammaries...

Lore wise, its so they can pass on Hist Sap to their children in the event a Hist Tree is not present to do so.

Source? I've never heard that one.

I've always assumed that it Argonian were made by the hist in a humanoid shape so they could interact more easily with other humanoid races of Tamriel, and that the mamaries were just an extension of that. Unless that bit of lore just came with murkmire I've never seen that anywhere else so a source would be greatly appreciated.

Danikat

Minor correction: asexual means not engaging in sexual activity. An individual which can act as either the male or female during reproduction is a hermaphrodite.

There are numerous real life examples. Some, like snails, have both sets of reproductive organs at the same time and can take on either role. With snails it's generally the biggest or healthiest which acts as the female and produces eggs, because that requires more energy. But when they're both in equal condition they can both produce eggs and have the other snail fertilise them. (And in rare cases they can fertilise their own eggs, but that usually only happens as a last resort.)

Argonians would be what's known as sequential hermaphrodites, which change sex during their lifetime, either as part of their life cycle or in response to external circumstances. This is fairly common among fish but some amphibians will do it too, and several invertebrates.

Incidentally a lot of reptiles also start off with the potential to be either male or female and their sex is determined not by their genes but by the temperature in the nest. Which way round it is varies between species - in some cooler nests are all male and warmer ones female and in others it's the reverse (the mid-point is different for each species too). They can't change their sex after hatching, but before then it can go either way.

So it's really not a stretch that a fictional reptile could also be a sequential hermaphrodite. Even the Hist sap part isn't that different to real life where environmental factors can trigger the change - although of course the argonians relationship with the Hist is both more complex that many real-life symbiotes and decidedly magical.

ningauble_7b14_ESO

This was mentioned in an oblique way in the Morrowind manual 16 years ago, although the specifics were never delved into.

ezio45

they make great shoes

ArchMikem

Not only is this spoilers but its in the wrong category.

Good job.

El_Borracho

I thought they were all lusty maids

Reistr_the_Unbroken

If Argonians can change genders than what does that make Molag?

Edit: auto correct

ESO_Nightingale

Aliyavana wrote: »

argonians can correct their gender with the hist. one of the quests deals with this where one of them changes gender and finds out their former love interest also changed gender and goes after them for mating purposes

I mean, who else goes after them for mating purposes? 0_o

WhiteCoatSyndrome

keevil111 wrote: »

GimpyPorcupine wrote: »

Still can't figure out why the "females" have mammaries...

HA! Isn't it obvious? It's so they can nurse their eg.... oh....

The real-life Playtapus says hi.

ZOS_JesC

Greetings, we've removed several comments discussing real-world politics. Please note that the discussion of religion or politics is not permitted as outlined in our forum rules.

Mavor

Reptiles have always been weird ;D

spartaxoxo

Reistr_the_Unbroken wrote: »

If Argonians can change genders than what does that make Molag?

Edit: auto correct

I didn't think Molag or many of the Daedra even had genders. They have favored forms, and those have genders, but they can take on any form they wish.

Mettaricana

Aliyavana wrote: »

argonians can correct their gender with the hist. one of the quests deals with this where one of them changes gender and finds out their former love interest also changed gender and goes after them for mating purposes

Bruh what even is this a murkmire quest?!

spartaxoxo

ESO_Nightingale wrote: »

Aliyavana wrote: »

argonians can correct their gender with the hist. one of the quests deals with this where one of them changes gender and finds out their former love interest also changed gender and goes after them for mating purposes

I mean, who else goes after them for mating purposes? 0_o

Everyone goes after those lusty argonian maids.

TheShadowScout

Aliyavana wrote: »

argonians can correct their gender with the hist...

I just realized... does that mean Argonians should get a hist-discounted "gender change token" option?

Silver_Strider

Shezzarrine wrote: »

Silver_Strider wrote: »

GimpyPorcupine wrote: »

Still can't figure out why the "females" have mammaries...

Lore wise, its so they can pass on Hist Sap to their children in the event a Hist Tree is not present to do so.

Source? I've never heard that one.

I've always assumed that it Argonian were made by the hist in a humanoid shape so they could interact more easily with other humanoid races of Tamriel, and that the mamaries were just an extension of that. Unless that bit of lore just came with murkmire I've never seen that anywhere else so a source would be greatly appreciated.

I'm pretty sure that it was either in Lord of Souls or Infernal City that actually stated it but I can't find a direct quote.
I'll let you know when I do.

max_only

Reistr_the_Unbroken wrote: »

If Argonians can change genders than what does that make Molag?

Edit: auto correct

He isn’t an Argonian...

TheMythicDawn

@Danikat

thanks for the very awesome explanation! makes much more sense now

BWS2K

So just think of the Argonians as sapient extensions of the Hist. Similar to how the daedra aren't technically limited to physical forms, so, too, are Argonians pretty free in how they manifest - largely because they don't exist alone. They are in a symbiosis of sorts with the Hist, who also vary in form to a degree and act with purpose depending on the times/needs. As such, Argonians are super versatile as a race/species. None of what I'm saying is spoilers - I haven't yet ventured into Murkmire.

I'll reiterate the Jurassic Park theme song as well though.

#argonian4life