Ovir
Codex
You know peacocks? Like them. Only reptiles.
Name (Singular & Plural): Ovir
Sexes: Male & Female.
Height: Averages between 4’ 6” and 6’.
Weight: Averages between 90 and 160 lbs.
Hair: Human-like hair on top of head, can be brown, black, red, blonde, or green.
Eyes: Two vertically slit, reptilian eyes. No sclera, iris dominates the eye.
Ears: Two ear holes on each side, no pronounced ears.
Homeworld: [Redacted]
Appearance
Most of an ovir’s body is covered in thin scales, with bare patches encompassing the face, the crest of the head, and the groin. Hair grows out from the scaleless patch atop the head, and is usually left uncut unless the individual is in an occupation where long hair would prove a hazard. A long tail extends from the back of the body, and the ovir can use it to manipulate objects with near-prehensile facility, limited only by its unwieldy thickness. The anus is sited at the base of the tail, and a cloaca runs from a short way away up to the front of the groin.
Eyes are uniform in color, with irises covering the whole of the visible eye and slit pupils that widen in low light. They possess human-like teeth with pronounced canine teeth. The species exhibits strong sexual dimorphism; females are a uniform drab brown or olive green, while male scales can exhibit bright primary colors from purple to green, missing only blue, with combinations of colors and patterns possible.
Both sexes have pronounced deposits of body fat on the chest, resembling breasts, though these are far more prominent in the males. These ‘breasts’ are used as mating displays, with the males having the largest displays and the brightest colors being generally regarded as most desirable. The ‘breasts’ do not naturally possess nipples or lactate like those of mammals, but since coming into contact with other species, body modification to allow one or both of these features has become common. These, after simple enhancements to increase the size and therefore desirability of an individual’s breasts, are the most frequent cosmetic procedures performed in ovir society.
Juvenile ovir are dull green without exception until their second year after hatching, when they begin to develop their adult color. It is possible to have the baby sexed by a medical professional prior to the emergence of adult colors, though some communities frown on the procedure, choosing to treat all children identically until the children decide on gender roles on their own. ‘Breast’ growth, triggered by the layering of fat deposits, is slow but steady during adolescence, with affluent diet and early development being a predictor of large size. Most ovir will begin developing breasts and other secondary sexual characteristics at 16 years of age, though famine may delay or even prevent this, leaving the individual in an undesirable state of ‘mature childhood’.
Society
Ovir tend to assimilate easily into the greater galactic society, thanks in part to their superficial resemblance to the humans which make up the majority of it and the similarity of their industry and culture to pre-space human society: prior to the introduction of space travel, ovir had achieved manufacturing processes and information technology analogous to late twentieth-century Earth. Males and females are generally equal in social standing, though males tend to be more subtly competitive as an outgrowth of their need to display sexual fitness. Unlike most humans, however, ovir tend to be polyamorous and bisexual, keeping several nonexclusive mates throughout their lives. Single-night partner swaps are frequent and generally considered a sign of a healthy community.
Children are raised in latchkey fashion, and it’s common to see the child of a couple stay with a neighbor or one of its parent’s lovers when its parents are away from home or otherwise invalidated. As consequence, communities develop a friendly, inclusive ethos and are quite welcoming to all but the most unusual visitors. However, this form of upbringing tends to result in a mild form of intellectual stagnation within homogeneous colonies as most children acquire the opinions and politics of the greater ovir community.
Some colonies in the upper range of wealth have lately been observed deviating from this norm, wherein eccentric groups of males or females will use their affluence to maintain extensive harems of the other sex in luxury and eject or trade away excess children of the unwanted sex, as a sort of return to the dynastic days of the homeworld’s ancient past. The implications of this trend on ovir society and on their image in the UGC as a whole are yet to be seen.
Reproduction
Ovir reproduction is a near-standard affair. When a male is stimulated enough, a penis will emerge from his cloaca, generally extending between 8-11 inches but with extremes ranging from 4 to 14. The penis is uniformly thick along its length and ends in a blunt tip with a slightly raised edge. The male places this penis inside his partner’s cloaca and thrusts until climax, whereupon he ejaculates semen produced by glands within his abdominal cavity. In the case of a male copulating with a female, she may shift into a front-mount or missionary position before ejaculation, in order to allow him to slide his penis all the way past the entrance and up to her uterus, to grant a greater chance of fertilizing a large number of her eggs. To be offered such an opportunity is a sign of great affection. Particularly effeminate males sometimes emulate this behavior during intercourse with other males, though only when being taken anally or with extensive body modification as otherwise the male cloaca is not deep enough.
In situations where the female does not favor the male, wants multiple sires for her clutch, or does not want to lay at all, she attempts to hold him away and allow him to ejaculate no further than the deepest part of the cloaca; she may force him to pull out entirely. Female ovir tend to ovulate in response to environment and biological cycle equally; adequate diet and warm conditions mean larger and more frequent clutches are possible. In general, a female is able to produce a new clutch every 28 days, though many ovir suppress this with medication.
Upon fertilization, eggs are typically laid within 3 days. Poorer ovir are forced to sit their own eggs, but incubators are the norm in most modern homes, allowing the parents to go about their business during the five month gestation period. Upon hatching, the young hammer their way out of the egg with a calcified spur at the tip of their powerful tails. Though the children are able to eat most adult foods within the day, many ovir parents, enamored with human culture, will use modified breasts to nurse their young with milk. Oddly, males seem to embrace this behavior more than females.