Okay. Your naming system is a little complicated, but after your explanation I was able to understand it more. However, if I can ask, how do you name one specific person? Would it be like our world where people pick a first name, possibly middle name, and surname? Or, do you use a different system for that as well?
MusingWordSmith already mentioned it, but there are hermaphroditic species that reproduce. I recommend looking into how slugs get the baby making on; even if you don't use it it's cool enough just to know about on its own. #Natureissofascinating
So, within only a few hours, I have two options for how Peri can possibly reproduce. Tell me your thoughts: -Option #1: Sexually - Most of the time, a Peri has to have sex with another Peri in order to reproduce. In this case, only Peri with fully functioning female gentalia (specifically if their ovaries have eggs) are able to conceive. If both or all Peri involved have fully functioning female genitalia, then all or most can possible conceive if fertile sperm is given to each of them. However, in the case of Peri having both fully functioning male and female genitalia, they also have the option of impregnating themselves. -Option #2: Surrogate - The Peri reproduce by placing an already fertilzed egg in a human surrogate. The human then carries and gives birth to the newborn, who is then taken away by their biological parents soon after birth. Whether or not this is consensual varies.
In regards to reproduction, may I suggest reading "Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le'Guin. In it she too has androgynous people, and what they do is one will take on female characteristics for the purposes of reproduction.
From a biologically viable standpoint, option 1 is better. From a "damn that sounds like a fun story aspect" standpoint, I'd favor option #2. There would be so much to work with if you go that route. I think it's a great idea.
That kinda gives me a third idea. Option #3: Metamorphosis - All Peri are able to fully change their body from a female form to a male form at will. There is no in between. Through this, they can reproduce without complications.
Question: Is magic a thing in this world? I'm not being facetious, but I haven't seen any mention in this thread yet that it is. If not, then you might want to do some research on clownfish. They play the sex swapping game. I'm pretty sure there are other species that do so as well, but I can't call them to mind at the moment. I'm only mentioning this because if it isn't magic-induced changing, it might take time to perform the change. I don't know if that's an issue or not for you, but I'm just mentioning it in case it might be.
Option 2 up above would be delightful for a horror story. Though for a stable functioning society, I'd say option 1 or 3 is best.
Perhaps Option#2 could cause the birth of the antichrist >:3 Anyway, yeah, I'm leaning more towards Option#1 because it makes the Peri unique. Maybe I'll save Option#3 for something else.
Peri sounds and looks a lot better to me, yes. Although now I think of Nando's Peri-Peri sauce, which is pretty famous at least in the UK. It might not be a problem though, as context would make Peri distinguished from the sauce, and anyone who doesn't know Nando's wouldn't make the association. Mind you, I just googled Nando's as I was curious as to which country has them, and they do seem pretty darn famous: https://www.nandos.com/worldwide/ And the heading of the page I linked you to says, "Get your Peri-Peri fix." They appear to have branches in the USA, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the UK - all the big English-speaking countries, basically. I imagine your book will be published in the English-speaking world... Something to consider... If you're super attached to the name, you could wait till you get beta readers and ask them after they've read it if they found the name funny/distracting or if they made any random associations with it, see if anyone ends up saying Nando's and how often. It might not be a problem. Personally though I'd probably just think up a different name. Not really worth having your reader giggling and distracted as I imagine the name Peri's gonna come up often throughout your book.
So, after some brief research, there are a few alternatives I can use if I choose to later on: -Pari (Iranian spelling for Peri) -Pairika (Creature that Peri originated from) -Ahriman (Name of the evil spirit said to have created Peri) -Pēri (Alternative spelling)
They look all right to me. Ahriman is probably my favourite but whatever you like, really For me, that looks like a man's name or maybe a city or country. I'd be careful with the last one because 1. it would be a pain to type in MS Word unless you have a foreign keyboard and 2. English speakers will still sound it out as "Peri", which means they're still gonna hear Peri-Peri sauce if they know about Nando's. Pari, if pronounced like Parry, sounds a lot like how English speakers would say the name Paris with a fake French accent. Or is it supposed to sound like Pairy? Still too similar to Peri for my liking personally. Parika reminds me a tad of Paprika, and I also start thinking of Africa, America etc. But these are more distant associations.
I think I'll more than likely go with a derivative of Ahriman since that can add into the "divine origins" conflict.
